Ask Seek Knock. (Persistence)

Introduction.

How many of you think that being a follower of Jesus is Hard? Im not talking about being a convert, sitting in church on Sundays, singing psalms and hymns, though for many of us who struggle to get to church these things can be a challenge in themselves. I’m talking about being a follower who seeks to honour Jesus in every area of your life. Your time, your money, your social life, submitting yourself to his teaching, seeking to put sin to death, making him Lord of your Job, your dreams, your goals, your work, your play. Honouring him with your eyes and your body, your health and your wealth and your fidelity. How many of you would say that to follow Jesus in this world is Hard?

All around the world today

Dont be surprised that you find it Hard. Jesus said it would be (The narrow path)

When the whole world is telling you be true to yourself, Jesus teaches bus to be true to God, to deny yourself and pick up your cross.

When the whole world is saying be free, Jesus teaches the worlds freedom is slavery for all who sin are slaves to it.

When the whole world is saying.

We have been going through the early chapters of Matthew’s Gospel at Ross keen Free Church where Jesus teaches what he expects of his disciples and how they are to live for the Glory of God. We spent a long time in Chapter six and discovered that Jesus sets a very high standard for his followers. () (Your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees in 5:20)

We spent a long time in Chapter six and discovered that Jesus sets a very high standard for his followers.  Therefore, I thought I’d take a moment to answer an important question in todays sermon. Namely, how are we to live up to them?  How do we turn the other cheek? How do we give generously? How do we love our enemies? How do we go that extra mile, how do we be discerning yet not judgmental, be critical yet not hypocritical? How do we treat others the way we want to be treated?

We have asked questions of ourselves in the light of Jesus teaching, examining our hearts and asking the Spirit to convict us of sin and lead us in Repentance because so often we miss the mark.

We spent a long time in Chapter six and discovered that Jesus sets a very high standard for his followers.  Therefore, I thought I’d take a moment to answer an important question. Namely, how are we to live up to them?  How do we turn the other cheek? How do we give generously? How do we love our enemies? How do we go that extra mile, how do we be discerning yet not judgmental, be critical yet not hypocritical? How do we treat others the way we want to be treated?

How are we to live up to the standards Jesus sets for his followers. How do we turn the other cheek? How do we give generously? How do we love our enemies? How do we go that extra mile, how do we be discerning yet not judgmental, be critical yet not hypocritical? How do we treat others the way we want to be treated?

Ultimately, we know from the Bible that none of us have lived up to God’s standards. That even if our righteousness was to exceed that of the Pharisees it would still be as filthy rags before God. Therefore, we put our trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sins. We put our trust in the one who lived in perfect obedience before God, who died in our place for our sins and was raised to life again, and who now intercedes for us before our Father so that we can be forgiven. Yet, as those who have trusted in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of sins, we still seek to respond to God’s gift by loving God and obeying Christ’s teaching and letting out good deeds shine before men. How are we to obey His commands? How are we to live out the sermon on the mount? How are we to live up to the standards Jesus sets for his followers. How do we turn the other cheek? How do we give generously? How do we love our enemies? How do we go that extra mile, how do we be discerning yet not judgmental, be critical yet not hypocritical? How do we treat others the way we want to be treated?

We need wisdom and power if we are to live as Christ disciples in this world.

We need wisdom if we are to live as Christ disciples.

Well in ” along with its parallel account in Lukes Gospel Jesus addresses this issue when he command us in our prayer life to ask seek and Knock.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

A Materialistic way

A Evangelistic way.

When we pray we are to Ask Seek and Knock

All three verbs ask seek knock imperatives. They are all in the present tense. (The NLT brings this out well when it says keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking)

Ask

Who are we asking? What are we asking for?

This is a really important question. When people usually quote this passage it is usually used in two ways,

A Materialistic way - Whereby we pray to God for our material needs. God to give us something we think we need. It is right and proper to pray to God for these things but that is not Matthews concern in employing Jesus teaching.

What are we asking for? This is a really important question. Often when this passage is approached its thought through the lense of praying for God to give us something we think we need. A job, A house, a spouse.

A Evangelistic way. - Again it is right and proper to ask seek and Knock if you are looking for God but thats not Matthews main agenda

Matthews concern is how we live as Christs disciples, how we obey his commands from the heart, how we acquire the wisdom and power that we will need to live out the Sermon on the Mount.

interpreted through the leanz of praying for God to give us something we think we need. A job, A house, a spouse. Sometimes this passage is referred to as how we are And while it is right and proper to pray for these things what Matthew has in mind here is in quoting Jesus teaching is Jesus answer to how we live like disciples.

Asking in faith implies humility, a dependency on God and an awareness of our needs. We need God’s help if we are to live the way Jesus Commands us to. We need God to work in us and through us. We need to be empowered.

We are asking God the Father for wisdom through the Holy spirit,(Quote Luke)Luke says - How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” We pray for the spirit because the wisdom and understanding The Spirit gives he helps us to live out our identity as children of God and followers of Christ,

We are asking God our father for the empowering presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit at work within us so that we persevere and obey Christs commands from our very hearts. We are asking for the Holy spirit to endow us with the wisdom of God.

Luke

Luke says - How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke says - How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

T=he New International Vers

.

Every Born again Christian without exception has the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. However our relationship with the Holy spirit does not stop at our conversion.

We are as the Apostle Paul says to “go on” being filled with the Holy Spirit (Imperative) (Command not a suggestion) its the responsibility of every christian to go on being filled.

Ephesians 5:18 ESV

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Colossians 1:9 NIV

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

Because Paul uses the language of being filled, The Spirit is a Person not a substance, not Petrol or some impersonal force. And I say that because He is often spoken of in such ways in many Charismatic Christian Circles.

The Spirit is a Person not Petrol or some impersonal force.

To be truly filled with the Spirit is to be in an ongoing relationship of dependancy on the Spirit to live the Christian life, leading to Godly maturity and putting sin to death. Thats what it means to be a spirit filled Christian. We are to keep in step with the mind of the Spirit if we are to be Christs Disciples. This is why James says

Prosperity? a Ferrari?

The Spirit to be at work in our lives. We are to keep in step with the mind of the Spirit if we are to be Christs Disciples.

The Spirit to be at work in our lives.

()

James 1:5 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), –

Objections  

I asked I didn't get.  Where you persistent? Where you praying for the right things? where the gifts good for you?

I asked I didn't get.  Where you persistent? Where you praying for the right things? where the gifts good for you?

You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jas 1:4–5.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

Why were you praying?  If the Ferrari is a means of Joy then perhaps the lasting Joy you seek will not be found in material things, God is working for your good.  Your prayer is being answered.

Maybe the gift you think is good is not good. Why were you praying?   perhaps the lasting Joy you seek will not be found in material things, God is working for your good.  Your prayer is being answered?

James 3:17 NIV

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

So, we are to ask The Father for the holy Spirit so that we can have wisdom and understanding. We are also to Seek.

Seek

What are you seeking. You are to seek Jesus. For in the person of Jesus who is mediated to you through the Holy Spirit we find all the wisdom we need, because Jesus himself is the very wisdom of God.

What are you seeking? You are seeking the wisdom of God through Jesus because jesus himself is the very wisdom of God. For in the person of Jesus who is mediated to you through the Holy Spirit we find all the wisdom we need,

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .Jesus

“Who are we seeking”

1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. The Wisdom that we

The New International Version Chapter 1

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Co 1:30.

So, In your quest for wisdom to live out the sermon on the mount from the heart, you are seeking out Christ himself. Read about him, learn from him, Imitate him, love him, listen to him, and as you do, be affected and changed by him, moulded and shaped by him enraptured by him, captivated by him and as you remain in him you will find your actions affected by love.

Seeking after Jesus is not simply asking of the Father, it is asking, plus acting.  For example, it’s not enough to simply ask for a deep knowledge of the Bible in order to get to know Jesus better, we also have diligently search and examine the scriptures, go to church and seek with all effort to be in harmony with Gods will. How can you know Jesus’s will if you haven't read or heard his commands.

Psalm 1 NIV

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Read the Bible with someone.

If you know you lack motivation get accountable read with someone, go to bible study group. Ask Seek Knock

There are many counteight Jesus’s around (Jehovas)

Knock

Who’s Door are we knocking on and why are we knocking?

Knocking is asking, plus acting, plus persevering.

Who’s Door are we knocking on and why are we to be so persistent?

The way in which you do these things is vital

Well it is God the Fathers door, and Jesus gives us a fascinating insight into how the Father relates to us when we knock with persistence.

Luke 11:5–10 NIV

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: 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.

Luke 11:15 ESV

But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

τὴν ἀναίδειαν -More than boldness, its a kind of persistance that forgets all decorum, propriety, it lacks proper restraint or consideration, it implies intemperance and an almost cheekiness which takes advantage of a situation, it Is why the modern NIV translates it as Shameless audacity. So Jesus says we are to be persistent.

ἀναίδεια - More than bodlness, its a kind of persistance that forgets all decorum, that is lacks proper restraint or consideration, it implies intemperance and shamelessness, Shameless audacity.

ἀναίδεια

ἀναίδεια - More than bodlness, its a kind of persistance that forgets all decorum, that is lacks proper restraint or consideration, it implies intemperance and shamelessness, Shameless audacity.

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

In Faith Now when it comes to acquiring wisdom and power to live the Christian life through Asking Seeking and Knocking these things must be done in faith because if we Ask Seek and Knock without faith we are no better than the Pharisees that Jesus criticises for thinking they will be hears because of their many words.

James 1:5–6 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Faith and Trust.

God is a good Father who knows how to give good gifts to his Children.

God will Answer according to his Glory and our ultimate well being.

Yes persevering, prayer accompanied by the activity of faith will be rewarded by God.

Yes persevering, prayer accompanied by the activity of faith will be rewarded by God.

Objections

Objection

James 4:3 ESV

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Asking seeking knocking is not about life improvement and material comforts its about Christlikeness, thats the Goal.

You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Asking seeking knocking is not about life improvement and material comforts its about Christlikeness, thats the Goal. Seek first the kingdom of God.

You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Asking seeking knocking is not about life improvement and material comforts its about Christlikeness, thats the Goal. Seek first the kingdom of God.

Application

If you are someone who has been asking seeking and knocking for something for a long time with persistence. Wether it be your own spiritual development, freedom from a besetting sin, the salvation of a friend or family member, keep asking, keep knocking, dont stop, (Dont let the devil convince you its all pointless) The ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open. And if it seems that your prayers have not yet been answered there could be a whole plethora of reasons unknown to you thats where faith trust comes in.

Perhaps the timing is not yet,

Perhaps God has something he is doing in you first.

Perhaps there is something better in store

Whatever the reason is remember God knows how to give good gifts and when he does his timing is always perfect.

but remember God knows how to give good gifts and when he does his timing is always perfect.

If you are someone who has stopped

Proverbs 8:17–19 NIV

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.

Landing

Christian rest assured that in answer to your prayers, the Father will provide help for the earnest attempt to follow Christ’s instructions in a world that tries to steal your affections and devotions and worship.  Ask (petition) Seek (act) Knock (be persistent). The Father loves you, He cares for you and he wants you to ask for the things you need to live out the Sermon on the Mount.

Finally a Word to any Visitors this morning.

If you are seeking God, God has already sought you out this morning. We believe that God revealed himself fully to the world through Jesus Christ and that Jesus died and was raised to life again for the forgivness of our sins. You can know him and have a relationship with him, If you seek him with all your heart today you will find him. He wants to know you. do you want to know him?

Now if we ask Seek and Knock without faith we are no better than the Pharisees.

Yes persevering, prayer accompanied by the activity of faith will be rewarded by God.

Warning

I stand at the door and knock

Revelation 3:20 NIV

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

You let the king in. When a king comes to your door you let him in

Gods door may be open to you now, but it will not always remain open.

Many will knock on the door.

Luke 13:23–28 NIV

Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.