THE SEEKER + HIS SAVIOR

LAST WEEK

We talked about what judgement means

We talked about what it does to the Church internally and externally

We concluded that as a church we need to change the game up a little bit

We need to stop proving to the world that church is a courtroom

And we need to start promoting it as a Venue of Forgiveness.

How we do that can be best displayed in how we forgive others

How we live out what has been lived in by the Gospel

If you were not here, want to hear it, or see it

It is up on iTunes, Youtube, or our Website.

THIS WEEK

We are going to look at an important part of the Christian Journey

Something that should

A facet of Christianity that we should actively be participating in

Something that should create a curiosity about what God is up to.

Something that should help us take our Worry and turn it into Wonder.

I firmly believe that there is so much left to discover in our lives

So much about ourselves

So much about the church

So much about what God wants to accomplish through us

As much as we should want to discover that

I feel like we lack a desire to see those things happen

Maybe we don’t feel able or called

Maybe we don’t know how to participate in the Mission of God

Maybe we don’t see it yet

Or maybe we just haven’t asked yet

Maybe we truly want to discover more of God

But we dont know how.

Maybe we want just enough of Jesus to

Maybe we want to see God work

Im sorry, but you are at the wrong church.

Maybe

But we are too busy seeking other things

Maybe we want to grow in our Faith

But we are afraid to ask for opportunities to grow

Maybe we need courage.

TURN TO

The New King James Version Chapter 7

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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being 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!

PRAY FOR COURAGE

The New King James Version Chapter 7

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

The New King James Version Chapter 7

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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

As we continue in the Sermon on the Mount

We see that Jesus is starting to get really specific about what the future citizens of Heaven would look like

He has already talked to us about so much

As he looks out at the crowd of Unbelievers, Skeptics, and Gentiles

He already spoke to us about certain things that should and should not exist.

He doesn’t want them to worry

He doesn’t want them to be judgmental

And now, He wants us to be a seeking people

He is desiring us to be an Asking People Group

He wants us to be a people looking for Opportunities to knock on

Jesus says

In doing these things

You will find out how good God is

How many of us know that God is good?

How many of us can testify of how Good God is?

We always say God is Good

How many of us want to know that in more detail?

How many of us want to discover How Good God is?

In fact it is easy to say God is Good when you are on the positiive end of blessing

How many of us want to discover How Good God is?

Jesus encourages those listening

To practice some very practical things

Practices that point to our humility, our insufficiency, and our curiosity

Seek, and you will find

Ask, Seek, and Knock

Knock, and it will be opened to you

So how are these things lived out?

So how are these things lived out?

ASKING | aiteo: to ask or beg for

Asking

It is used in the New Testament in various ways

In it is used as a pleading for benevolence

In it is used in demanding Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus

In it is used to request Barrabas instead of Jesus

In it is used in demanding Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus

In it is used to beg for something that one was in need of

One could say that in these examples lie some very hard truths about the use of this word

These tell a deeper story:

These tell a deeper story:

This Greek Word tells of

Our Insufficiency

When we ask someone to fulfill our fleshly desires, it proclaims our sinfulness

It tells the nature of the heart when we ask for something that will satisfy the flesh

Our selfish demands

When we demand Justice instead of Mercy, it speaks to our judgmental state

What our flesh desires

The state of our heart

It also reveals the motives of the heart when we declare our need

This word AITEO,

More frequently, it Is used in the new testament in the form of a request

It is positioning the audience in a state of humility

It is putting us in a place of desiring something that we in-and-of ourselves cannot provide.

If our hearts are in the right place

If we are asking in humility

If we are requesting a move of God

We may or may not get the exact thing we are asking for

But we will get our deepest needs met

We may not understand it

We may not be comfortable with it

We may not agree with it

But it is something that God has allowed to further our growth as his child.

For Example

We can have questions like:

“God, I don’t know why you put me in this situation”

“Why did the lady have to hit my parked car”

“Why are you kicking us when we are down”

“God, how are you going to provide for us?”

These are true and valid questions

These are true and valid questions

Questions that I’ve wanted to ask, but which I don’t have the courage to ask.

Questions that we have the right to ask, but maybe they aren’t the right questions to ask.

Instead, of asking the wrong questions, I went back to two weeks ago and I began to live in the Wonder of how He would provide.

I found myself desiring prayer

I found myself in a state of humility

Knowing that I could not provide what He supernaturally wanted to give.

The first night, we got a $200 gift venmo’d to us by someone who I haven’t talked to in a while.

Thursday, someone gave us a cash gift.

This upcoming week I don’t know how God is going to provide.

But I found myself praying in a way that I’ve never prayed before

“God, just give us this day our DAILY bread”

Just enough for today Lord.

For tomorrow has its cares of its own.

This Growth that God has sovereignly put together is an answer to my prayer to grow

This is the adventure we are in as a family

This is an area where He wants me to trust Him in

“God is going to bless you incredibly”

This is an example of how my prayer was answered with something that I did not desire.

“You just wait and see man”

So here we go.

Though this may be true

All I desire right now, is to be faithful with what He has given us

If I am going to receive some crazy blessings from God, I need to make sure my heart is correct and it stays correct.

If God, wants to bless, thats His Business.

God is in the business of growing our trust and faith in Him

If this is His desire

Sometimes it comes unexpectedly

If this is His Will for our lives

If he promises to give us what we ask in His name

Sometimes it comes at the worst times

Why wouldn’t we ask for it?

But it never comes at the expense of the truth that He is Good

Why wouldn’t we desire it?

Why wouldn’t we seek after it?

SEEKING | zeteo | desire, look for, attempt to find

It is used in the NT in various ways

In the Angel of the Lord explained how Herod wanted to search for Jesus in order to kill Him.

Jesus in asks the skeptic who was searching out the things He prophecied about his resurrection.

It speaks to searching things out with expedience and curiosity

What did Herod do when he sought after Jesus?

He didn’t just do it himself

He sent hundreds if not thousands of men to seek after this child named Jesus

It was something that he put all his effort into to

Every time Jesus said something that was counter-culture

Many sought out what he meant with earnest hearts

Though they may have doubted

Jesus knew that doubt was the fertile ground where Faith could grow

In this text, Jesus encourages us to seek with a promise that we would find

Remember a few weeks ago

When he stated in that we should be actively and primarily seeking after the Kingdom of God

Jesus reassures those in the crowd that were actively seeking and possibly doubting

So today, we can look at the Word of God and lean on this promise

If you are truly seeking the things of God

God will respond . . . You will find

This is such a rad promise for those who are truly Seekers

That God would meet someone where they are at

That God would respond to their searching

That God would act upon their desire to know Him

There is so much hope here, both for the Christian and the Seeker

Both the Skeptic and the one who is Curious

You want to know what is rad about truly seeking after the things of God

Your Curiosity & Your desire to truly find

Your desire to truly find

Creates a child like courage that results in knocking on every door in order to find what you are looking for.

KNOCK | krouo | knock, strike, smite

This action is spoken of 9 times in the Bible

4 times it is used to explain this passage by Matthew & Luke

Twice it is used by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke

Where Jesus is speaking in parables to the people

Explaining how to prepare for the Kingdom of Heaven

Twice it is used by Peter in the Book of Acts

Once, it is used by Jesus himself in the Book of Revelation

The New King James Version Chapter 3

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Knocking on doors is probably the most adventurous thing you can ever do

Walking up to a door that may hold your future is so fascinating to me

It sparks a curiosity that sparks my imagination

It begins to look at your life with endless possibilities

But before you begin to knock, you need to stand up and walk

You cant knock on doors from the comfort of your couch

You can dream from your couch

You can ponder from your couch

You can brainstorm from your couch

You can ask from your couch

You can even seek from your couch

But in order to see if this is God’s will

You must get up and knock.

WHY NOT ASK, SEEK, & KNOCK?

The New King James Version Chapter 7

9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being 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!

We don’t ask, seek, and knock because

I firmly believe that we struggle with these commnands.

I firmly believe that we really don’t believe that God has promised us something here

I believe that we know what the word says, but we lack the courage to actually find out what it means.

Think about it

As parents

As aunties and uncles

As a family

How many of us, if one of our kids where to ask for bread, would give them a rock?

Or if they ask for fish, would give him a snake?

We, as imperfect evil humans, don’t respond to a need with the wrong resources

We find out what the need is

We ask questions

We get up in each others business

We ask the hard questions

We find out what the ultimate need is

This helps us respond to the need with good things

We respond with good gifts

We respond with things that we know will help the situation.

In like manner,

How much more will a God who is perfect respond to your need?

How much more will your Father do for you in your time of need?

How much more will your Heavenly Father respond to your petition with a display of His Goodness?

Paul had learned this early on in his ministry

He knew that his every need would be supplied abundantly in Christ

He knew that God would respond richly according to His nature

The New King James Version Chapter 4

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

THE QUESTION IS

DO WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD RESPONDS TO OUR NEED?

Wouldn’t this cause us to respond in with asking, seeking, knocking?

Wouldn’t this drive us to action?

We need courage.