Yes Please!
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Opening
Opening
Good Morning!
I’ve heard it said that God answers prayers in three ways: yes, no, and slow
Or yes, no, and not yet.
Sometimes we have a bit of waiting to do.
Does that sound about right in your life?
That’s been my experience
What if I told you that there is a way to get more yeses from God?
This is not a scheme. Nothing manipulative. I’m not going to tell you to give every penny to the church or anything like that.
But there is a way to get us on the same page with Him
Do you want to hear more?
Bible
Bible
You’re going to need your Bible today
If you’d like one of ours, please raise your hand and an usher will bring you one
We will be in Matthew 7, page 832
Series
Series
This is our 12th week in our series in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount! We just have a couple weeks left.
It is Jesus’ longest recorded sermon in Scripture as He taught on Kingdom Living
One of the overarching themes in Matthew 5-7 is that Jesus’ followers should not think and act like the rest of the world
Last week Pastor Josue brought us to court and taught us how to handle Biblical judgment.
There is a time for us to judge between good and evil and to discern what is foolish and wise - but before we judge, we should first do some self-examination.
And then when we are in a position to see more clearly, we can make better judgment calls.
That is important for where we are going today because part of getting yeses from God is asking good questions, and that takes good judgment.
The last verse we looked at last week was Matthew 7:6
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Pigs don’t know what to do with pearls and dogs don’t have any use for what is sacred. They will not steward those things appropriately.
In the same way, there are things that people think they need or want, but when they get them, they can’t handle it.
I imagine a lot of the “no’s” in our life are because God has the ability to foresee that if we got the things we wanted, we would trample them under our feet.
I am confident that God is not being a jerk when he says “no” or “wait.” He sees the bigger picture.
Of course, it’s never fun on our end to get those answers.
So how can we get more “yeses” from God?
1. Actively Engage Him
1. Actively Engage Him
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
I’ll be honest that my first thought when reading this, as I was studying last week, is that I’ve done those thing. I’ve asked and God has said no.
Did God not hear me?
Is this verse not for Jeff? Was it just for the original audience?
Well I know God hears me and I believe this message is for all of us.
So there must be more to it than just the surface level.
Jesus first says “ask”
The Greek word αἰτέω is a present imperative, which implies ongoing asking. The same goes for an ongoing seeking and knocking.
There are situations where you may have to keep asking.
Many of you know that I used to work for Cal Baptist University. I was there for 10 years and loved it. I would have stayed there full-time if I wasn’t called to ministry. But before getting hired, without exaggeration, I applied for jobs there about 30 times. I think I had 5 first round interviews before getting hired. That means 4 other interviews that didn’t work out and 20-something applications I didn’t even get an interview over a 3 year period. How often do you think I asked God for a job at CBU during those 3 years? Probably close to 1000 times.
Now some of that was unhealthy and we can talk about that on the Podcast this week, but the point of my story is that sometimes it works to keep asking.
In this case I really believed that a “yes” would be a good thing for me, my family, and for the Kingdom. And in hindsight it was!
When Jesus says, “ask and it will be given to you,” one commentator said
the clause could be translated ‘ask God for what you
Not necessarily what you want
Keep in mind that this is part of Jesus’ same sermon where he taught us how to pray.
Remember the Lord’s Prayer? Matthew 6:9-13
After praising God and asking that His Kingdom come and His will be done, what is the ask?
“Give us today everything we want?” No, it’s “Give us today our daily bread”
Our needs, not extravagance that will distract us from Him.
Though God is very generous in blessing us beyond just our basic needs.
One of my friends is a proponent of asking God for specifics. He and his family are moving into a new home soon and they were looking for some specific things and they asked God for them- more rooms and space for their family, a pool - they don’t NEED a pool, but it would be great for their kids and they can have their friends over and its a safe and fun place to gather. My friend said that God provided everything they asked, in the price that they could afford, down to their request for an avocado tree! That was a make or break for them.
They asked and it was given. My friend said that they have been intentional about praying for specifics with the faith of a child.
Will you get a house with all your specs? I don’t know. Will you steward it as well as my friends? They are a faithful bunch.
Will you meet the person of your dreams this season? I don’t know. Are you at a place where you will be a good husband or wife?
Will you get your dream job? I don’t know. What kind of worker have you been in your other jobs?
Here’s what I would encourage: Actively Engage God.
Jesus says seek. We may find ourselves looking for something that is not yet in sight.
One commentator says:
[Seeking] may imply that the person praying is not sure what he should ask for, though he knows that what he seeks is a gift of God.
As we seek God we get to know who He is and learn what are good questions to ask
Many times in the Gospels when Jesus interacted with people he would not answer them directly, rather he would ask them questions or share parables to get them to think more deeply. He was pushing them to seek greater things.
When God doesn’t immediately answer as we would prefer - in our timing and in the way that we framed it, is there something else He wants us to know? Might He be asking or answering a different question?
Loren, who you see every week leading worship on the electrical guitar (phenomenal musician), also leads our Prayer & Healing Room on Wednesday nights. He has been a great blessing to our church and it is neat to see how God is using him to encourage others.
Loren and I were talking last week about prayer and seeking God. And he asked a brilliant question . . . do our prayers evolve as we hear from God?
They should! If we are actively engaging God, we should be gaining better perspective.
The beautiful thing about engaging Him is that He is gracious to meet us.
Jesus says knock and the door will be opened. He opens it and invites us in!
Apply
Apply
So what does actively engaging God mean?
Get to know Him! Would you know His voice if He spoke?
Jesus said,
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
It’s okay to ask God for big things. We pray God-sized prayers around here. But, first . . .
Ask God what His will is in your life. Ask Him if there is something He would like from you this season. Ask Him for wisdom to follow Him.
Seek Him above all else.
And knock on the doors where you know God is dwelling.
At the beginning of the year, several of us wrote down what God is calling us to do in 2025. Have we done what God has asked of us?
Don’t treat God like Google where you are looking for quick answers.
It is a relationship with Jesus and that requires time with Him. We are here to help you build that relationship with Him - that’s the whole point of our mission with becoming fully devoted.
Another way we can get more “yeses” from God . . .
2. Say “Yes” More Often to Others
2. Say “Yes” More Often to Others
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
How many of you are parents?
When your kids were hungry, at any time did you intentionally give them something inedible or even dangerous? Hopefully not!
And according to Jesus you are evil!
That sounds a bit harsh, but his point is that we are all sinners. We are selfish. We know how to be greedy and judgy and try to hold the power and use it for manipulation.
No, not me! Yes, you.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
You are evil and yet you know how to give good gifts.
You don’t give the ones you love stones when they’re hungry.
This reminds me of Charlie Brown. Have you ever seen the Halloween episode - The Great Pumpkin? {IMAGE}
The kids all go trick or treating and then compare what they got after each house. Lucy and Pigpen and Sally say “I got 5 pieces of Candy, I got a Chocolate Bar, I got a Quarter” and then Charlie Brown says, “I got a rock.” Same thing with the next house. “I got this Candy, I got this one” - “I got a rock.” Poor Charlie Brown
But you wouldn’t do that to the ones you love when they ask for help.
As parents, Carrie and I, get joy out of blessing our boys with treats and fun activities. We’ll surprise them after school sometimes and take them to 711 for Slurpees and let them choose pizza on Friday nights after a long week. It makes us happy when we get to do something special for them.
Last weekend we even said yes when they insisted on getting popsicles from the ice cream truck when it was 100 degrees outside. [IMAGE} We weren’t home, so I think we used a whole pack of wipes to clean them up.
How much more does God, who is good, enjoy giving to His Children who He loves - His church!
When we say yes and give to others, we get to understand something about the workings of our Heavenly Father who has shown so much favor to us
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
We cannot say yes to everything - If I did my children would be on screens all day and eat candy for breakfast. I love them too much to let them have everything they want.
But if it is something that is good and blesses them, even if it is a sacrifice for me, I will often say “yes”
Apply:
Apply:
What if we said “yes” more often to others?
I want to challenge you to try it this week. And here is why . . .
It will give us more insight into the heart of a giver . . . more importantly God’s heart
If someone asks “will you help me?” Yes. Or will you go with me to this place? Yes.
As we say “yes” to others, we can learn what kind of people God wants to say yes to. Spoiler alert, it’s not just the people you would normally pick.
And as we say “yes” to others we can learn what kind of things God says yes to. He is often gracious to us. He doesn’t say well you should have done this this and this and because you didn’t I’m not going to help.
He is gracious and wise.
Say yes where you can, where it is good, and where it is a sacrifice.
In doing so, I believe you’ll learn something about getting more “yeses” from God.
Finally, a way we can get more “yeses” from God . . .
3. Live by the Golden Rule
3. Live by the Golden Rule
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
If you truly love others and treat them well, you are being obedient to what God commanded.
This aligns with what Jesus says later in Matthew 22:36-40 when asked about the greatest commandment. Jesus replied:
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
But what does this have to do with getting “yeses” from God?
At first glance, Matthew 7:12 seems to be starting a new topic. But, I believe Jesus ties it in at this part of his sermon for a reason.
God is watching how we treat others and that impacts how He responds to us.
Similar to what we talked about last week with judging
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Or in the Lord’s Prayer . . .
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
The importance of how we treat others is a theme running throughout the Sermon on the Mount
Consider this too . . . If you live by the golden rule, there will be many more people lined up to help you in your times of need.
One of my favorite Christmas movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” [IMAGE} Spoiler alert if you’ve not seen it, but it came out in 1946, so if you’ve missed it the last 79 years that’s on you.
George Bailey helped a lot of people over the years and at a very low point when he considers taking his own life, a guardian angel comes to show him what the world would be like if he was never born. He comes to terms, but still has a great problem to deal with. A large sum of money is missing from his family bank and George knows that this will mean jail time and the collapse of the business. But when he comes home the townspeople who he helped over the years come and sacrificially give whatever money they have to cover the loss.
George lived by the golden rule throughout his life and then his need was answered through the people he blessed all along.
Apply:
Apply:
It turns out that following Jesus’ second greatest commandment to love our neighbor will bless us as well.
So what should we do?
Put others first! Live by the Golden Rule!
That’s easy to do towards likable people
I want to challenge you this week, when someone is rude to you . . . keep calm and be kind
When someone cuts you off in traffic, keep your hand and all your fingers down, and let them pass without losing your minds.
Give someone the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe they’re having a bad day.
Maybe their mama never taught them manners.
Closing
Closing
Your Heavenly Father loves you. I’m convinced of it. Would He have sent Jesus to this earth and to the cross if He didn’t?
He says yes to everyone who acknowledges Him as Lord and Savior and asks Him to come into their hearts. Yes to being the King over our lives. Yes to eternal life.
He says yes every time we ask Him for forgiveness
He says yes to every one of His promises in Scripture - you’ll get an inheritance in heaven, that’s for sure. You’ll get a new incorruptible body at the resurrection, that’s for sure.
Jesus is coming back for you, that’s for sure too!
I have to believe that He really likes saying yes to you when He knows it is good for you.
So actively engage Him, say yes more often to others, and live by the golden rule.
And then let’s see what God will do.
Here is my big ask this week. Jesus, will you save every person listed on the glass panels of our church? I would love for you to ask God the same thing this week. If you tap on the chair in front of you, there is a link to the prayer page on our website.
{IMAGE} Or you can go to centerpointchurch.church/prayer and there is an image of the 7 panels with all the names written on them.
Please pray for some of the individuals by names this week. If you want to go big pray for one panel each day of the week until we gather next Sunday.
I am hopeful for many yeses from our amazing God!
