Ask, Seek, Knock

Introduction: You may not know this but other than Christmas and Easter, today is likely the 3rd most important day on the Christian Calendar. Today is known as Pentecost. The day in which the Holy Spirit is poured out on those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, death, burial and resurrection.

Acts 2:1–12 ESV

1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

The giving of the Holy Spirit was filled with meaning and purpose for the early church.

It was the fulfillment of OT prophecy,

Joel 2:28-32 Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 7:7-11. Having just finished warning us against judging others while also encouraging prayerful discernment, Jesus turns to one of the most beautiful promises in all of scripture.

Joel 2:28 ESV

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

It was the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise that He would send the Holy Spirit who would empower them to accomplish the Great Commission.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Today we continue our study on the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7 about Asking, seeking and knocking.

And it’s fitting that this instruction should be given here. After reminding us that we should be slow to judge others because all have giant logs in our eyes that make it difficult to correct others. And also that we are in need of help discerning the times in which we live with the people around us.

This should make us humble almost to the point of despair. Might even lead us to ask, “Who is sufficient for such things?”

It’s in this context that Jesus reminds us that we can…

Introduce:

Big Idea: TRUST that God will PROVIDE.

Read: Matthew 7:7-11

Matthew 7:7–11 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 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!

Big Idea: TRUST that God will PROVIDE.

1. ASK so your NEEDS may be MET. (Matthew 7:7-8)

Explanation: Jesus has already talked about prayer in contrast to those He called hypocrites.

Matthew 6:5–8 ESV

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Likewise,

Matthew 6:31–32 ESV

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

And there it is, your Father know what you need before you ask Him.

So why do we need to ask Him? Why doesn’t He just provide?

Because God wants more than just to give us stuff. He wants the relationship. He wants you to ask.

Don’t get me wrong, we love when someone takes initiative to meet a need that is obvious.

Illustration: This is true in the workplace. Our jobs usually value initiative. Maybe even reward initiative. We can also be taken advantage of when people will know if they just ignore something you will pick up the slack.

Our spouses would love nothing more than for us to see a need and meet that need without needing to be asked.

But we also know that it’s nice to be asked sometimes.

And to be fair, God is meeting needs every single day that you don’t even know about.

But the way the grammar is here it implies that this needs to be repeated over and over. God wants us to keep asking for our needs to be met.

And then we should thank Him for the needs that He’s already met.

Keep asking, keep seeking, and keeping asking. And over time, God conforms our prayers to the things that are best for our good and His glory.

Application: Sometimes, God answers a prayer right after we say it.

Acts 12:5–17 ESV

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. 6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

Sometimes God answers in His own time.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Other times Satan gets involved.

Daniel 10:12–13 ESV

12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,

The point is, keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking on heaven’s door.

Because….

2. God will always PROVIDE what we NEED. (Matthew 7:9-10)

Explanation: Matthew 7:9-10

Matthew 7:9–10 ESV

9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

Now God does not always provide us the things that we want, but He will provide us the things that we need.

Jesus draws a comparison between God and a Father. Which makes sense since God is our Father.

But a Father will not give stones to a hungry son asking for bread.

Nor will he give a serpent in response to a request for a fish. For one, a serpent was considered unclean to eat. So it would have been harmful spiritually to eat it. But for me, assuming this was a snake, I don’t want it.

I do love fish though.

In other words, God will not give you things that will hurt you.

That’s not to say He will not allow trials to come that could cause us pain or even death.

Trials and tribulations will come and they will test our faith. You may ask for comfort and God will bring trials instead. And you might think that this is like asking for bread and getting a stone.

But in the long run, trials that strengthen your faith are better for you than comfort.

Comfort makes us complacent. It makes us lazy. It causes us to lose our battle readiness to face the spiritual battles that are no doubt coming our way.

Trials keep us spiritually mature and ready for the battles that are coming.

On the other hand, God will not provide that which may cause us spiritual harm.

We often use the million dollar example. What if I keep asking, seeking, and knocking for God to give me a million dollars? Will he not respond?

We often think that money will solve our problems when it often leads to more problems, because money will often bring out the worst in people. They aren’t disciplined enough to manage it well.

Which is why most lottery winners are broke within 5 years.

Even professional athletes who make it a few years in the league are usually broke only a few years after their dream ended.

God’s not going to provide you with things that take you further from Him. He will give you things that will test you and draw you close to Him.

Illustration: I love the story of Solomon.

1 Kings 3:5–14 ESV

5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

Application: The greatest gift God will give beyond Himself, our salvation, is wisdom.

Wisdom covers a multitude of stupidity.

One of the most scathing rebukes from Jesus comes in the form of a parable.

Luke 16:1–9 ESV

1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

As sons and daughters of the Light we ought to be wiser than the sons and daughters of the world…especially when it comes to dealing with our own people.

But we fight and argue and bicker about secondary issues that don’t make for unity.

So rather than silver and Gold, ask for wisdom.

3.It is in God’s NATURE to PROVIDE for His CHILDREN. (Matthew 7:11)

Explanation: Matthew 7:11

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 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!

As a Father, it is in God’s nature to provide good gifts for His children. No stones and serpents or anything else that will cause us spiritual harm.

But have you thought about what we truly need?

We think it’s money. We think it’s more stuff. We think it’s that new job or comfort and peace.

But none of that is what we really need.

There are only a few things that scripture tells us God will always give if we ask. One we have already heard…

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Luke 12:32 ESV

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The kingdom of God is coming on Earth as it is in Heaven. It’s just a matter of time. So we ought to be asking God to conform us to citizens of that Kingdom now. So that we are ready.

But how will God accomplish this?

But something I find to be very interesting is that in the parallel account in Luke there is something very specific that the Father delights to give us…and this is especially poignant for today.

Now this will sound very familiar.

Luke 11:9–13 ESV

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

And there it is….

The Holy Spirit is what we need more than anything. He is all we need.

Illustration:

Application: There are so many things that we think we need in this life. But that God would give us Himself forever is the greatest gift of all.

We often overlook the Holy Spirit in our theology. We think of God the Father as Creator. We think Jesus as Savior. But what about the Holy Spirit? He is always at work.

You might say, we need Eyes for Seeing all that God, the Holy Spirit is doing.

The Spirt convicts the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgement (John 16:8)

The Spirit seals us for the day our redemption and is the guarantee of our future salvation. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The Spirit empowers us with Spiritual Gifts to do the work of ministry and build up the Church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

The Spirit illuminates God’s Word that we can understand it’s meaning and purpose in our lives. (Mark 13:11)

The Spirit bringing to mind God’s Word when we need it most. (John 14:26)

The Spirit Transforms us daily more and more into the image of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Response: Are you TRUSTING God to meet your NEEDS?

Summation:

Big Idea: TRUST that God will PROVIDE.

1. ASK so your NEEDS may be MET. (Matthew 7:7-8)

2. God will always PROVIDE what we NEED. (Matthew 7:9-10)

3.It is in God’s NATURE to PROVIDE for His CHILDREN. (Matthew 7:11)

Trust God to give you the Holy Spirit.

Ask for the Holy Spirit, both initially and that you would be filled regularlly.

Receive the Holy Spirit.

Lean into the Holy Spirit.

Closing Illustration: The Holy Spirit is God meeting our greatest need. It’s God dwelling in us forever. It’s God giving us Himself that we may do all things through His power and not our own.

Romans 8:11 ESV

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to empower us first to be saved, something we could not do on our own.

But then to empower us to Love God, Serve Others, and Change the World.

But it starts with knowing that God is enough.

Let’s pray.