The Golden Rule

The Sermon on the Mount is:

A masterful lesson on how we are to relate to God and to other people. It reveals our inadequacy, showing us out need for an all-sufficient Savior, who knows we cannot do this on our own.

It starts with the defining characteristics of every Christ follower:

Be poor in spirit

mourn for your sin

Be meek

Hunger and thirst for righteousness

Be merciful

Be pure in heart

Be a peacemaker

Be willing to be persecuted for righteousness sake

Be ok with being reviled, persecuted, and hiving evil uttered against you falsely for Christ’s sake.

Be salt and Light.

Then Jesus explains the Law and the Prophets - how they are for us, how they reveal the character and nature of God, and how they ultimately show us our need for a Savior.

He then shows us that we are not as righteous as we think simply because we don’t violate the Law outwardly…our hearts are a mess and we transgress the Law regularly in our hearts

Again, showing our need for a Savior

In Chapter 6 - Jesus dives into our practices

Generosity

Fasting

Prayer

Forgiveness

What we do with our money

And how we worry unnecessarily

Chapter 7 starts with the practice of judging others

Again, the Sermon on the Mount masterful lesson on how we are to relate to God and to other people. It reveals our inadequacy, showing us out need for an all-sufficient Savior, who knows we cannot do this on our own.

And what we are reading today is Jesus coming to His main point, His big idea in His message if you will...

Today, we are in Matthew 7:7–12 ““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

There is a pattern of actions that Jesus gives us here, that I think is important to note.

ASK

Ask, and it will be given to you.

Lexham Theological Wordbook αἰτέω

αἰτέω (aiteō). vb. to ask for, to demand, to plead for. This verb can be used to indicate requesting things of God.

How do we do this? Prayer

What are we to ask for, demand, or plead for?

What has the Sermon on the Mount really taught us - Or inadequacy and God’s sufficiency in our lives - and our ultimate need for a Savior

So that’s what we ask…Lord be sufficient where I am inadequate. If you are not saved - Lord, save me and be sufficient where I am inadequate.

So we pray - realizing who and where we are - relying on Christ to conform us to His image.

Next we:

SEEK

seek, and you will find.

Lexham Theological Wordbook ζητέω

ζητέω (zēteō). vb. to seek. To seek what is lost, what is due.

This word carries two nuances that should be considered together. First, it means “to seek something that has been lost” (e.g., Matt 18:12), as seen also in the Septuagint’s use of zēteō as the most common translation of Hebrew בָּקַשׁ (bāqaš, “to seek”). Second, it also means “to demand what is due” (e.g., Luke 13:6). The word implies serious effort, and can be used of seeking information (e.g., John 16:19) and of seeking to perform an action (e.g., Luke 6:19).

How do we seek? We pursue God - we study His word, we discover His will, we live out His purpose for us.

But this is a good point to remind ourselves - this is a journey…we are seeking something. We cannot be static or we become stagnant.

Next we:

KNOCK

Knock, and it will be opened to you.

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament κρούω

κρούω (krouō), knock

Knock means to persevere.

Luke shares this in Luke 11 at the end of a parable about a persistent friend or neighbor who has a friend coming, so he goes to his neighbor at midnight saying lend me 3 loaves of bread…he’s first turned away by the neighbor saying we’re all in bed, my kids are asleep, go away…but he’s persistent.

We must persevere.

Do not lose hope

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Persevere!

PRAY _ SEEK _ PERSEVERE!!!

and Jesus tells us the response we will receive -

Matthew 7:8–11 “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

THIS IS NOT - A GENIE IN A BOTTLE STATEMENT!

THis doesn’t mean to ask, seek, and knock for your own pleasure or prosperity...

Our goal in asking, seeking, and knocking it to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven - to seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness

We are asking for, seeking, and knocking for the things we need to do that!

And from that place, we do verse 12:

Matthew 7:12 ““So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

The BIG IDEA of the Sermon on the Mount.

Do you want to be judged? No - don’t judge.

Want people to be angry with you - don’t be angry

Want other people to lust after your loved ones? - Don’t lust over theirs.

Want forgiveness? Forgive

Want grace and mercy - give grace and mercy

for this is the Law and the Prophets - that thing that I did not come to abolish but to fulfill - this is it.

That’s really simple…a little too simple right?.

We can’t do it in our own power and strength!

And that’s the hard part for us - because as much as we claim to want relationship - we love religion.

We do....we love to do things in our own power to earn our place so we can say look at us!!!

We like that - the Pharisees did too…chapter 6 started with people being generous so they could say look at me....people praying so they could say listen to me…people fasting to say look at me.

We want to be the reason for our goodness !

BUT

WE ARE INCAPABLE OF DOING ANY OF THIS ON OUR OWN!!