Following the Way of Jesus (2)

God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King.

“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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his 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! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus is coming to an end of this great sermon on the Mount. God’s Kingdom is here and we as citizens of this Kingdom need to learn how to live well in it.

There will be a multitude of situations that will arise that we will lack the wisdom and wherewithal to respond to well. What should we do in such situations? We should seek the wisdom and the help of God. God is just a prayer away and as James reminds us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Here, Jesus assures his followers that, far from demanding the impossible, He is providing the means by which the otherwise impossible things can become possible for us - the cultivation of the beatitudes ; the ability of be salt and light in the community; to live by the spirit and not just the letter of the law; to love our enemies and to give to the needy; the ability to pray and fast; lay up treasures in heaven; to not worry and not judge others does not come as a result of our merely willing this into existence, but rather ccomes to us as we “ask, seek and knock” on God’s door in persistent prayer, and discover the help and grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can’t do this on our own, but God can do this through us!

And this gracious enabling is open to “everyone” (Mt 7:8) who persistently asks, seeks, and knocks. - “Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.” ― George Mueller

To pray is to “ask” of God to do the impossible in us.

To pray is to avoid discouragemnt and defeat.

Prayer is our lifeline when we are threatened with doubts; failures and discouragement - God’s Kingdom is here - PRAY = ASK SEEK KNOCK - and don’t give up on the King. He won’t let you down!

I. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - Keep banging on His door!

Jesus says: “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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “

Joachim Jeremias said: “If the beggar, although harshly repulsed at first, knows that persistent appeals will open the hands of his hard-hearted fellow men, how much more certain should you be that your persistence in prayer will open the hands of your heavenly Father.’(Jermias).

Ask, Seek and knock are metaphors for prayer, not separate exhortations. The 3 different verbs add emphasis to his message; all three verbs are in the present tense, conveying a clear picture of persistence in prayer. They suggest increased intensity of praying and they test our resilience and longing.

These words are Jesus’ recognition that prayer is not an easy route for us to take. There are hindrances that we meet in prayer, times when God’s mercies are withheld from us and at such times we need to seek them. We have to keep on asking; seeking and knocking - keep on banging on the door until God opens and answers - see Luke 18:1-8.

Fundamentally prayter is asking God for things!

Ask, whom? - God, your Heavenly Father. He is able and willing to help you.

Ask, when? - Any time. Morning, evening. The time of trouble? When faith is lacking and troubles are crowding in.

Ask, where? - Anywhere, you are not tied to a religious building or a particular sanctuary.

Ask, how? - Order your thoughts. Be honest and straightforward. Be humble, submissive and childlike. Keep on asking and don't give up when your prayers are not immediately answered. Ask in faith. Ask repeatedly: until you receive an answer. Ask in the name of Jesus, your only Mediator between you and God.

To pray is to apply our faith and understanding to life. It is to set in place our emotions and our resolve to change this humanly impossible situation by divine grace and favour.

And notice the 3 outcomes for asking’ seeking and knocking - -it will be given, you will find, and the door will be opened! The latter us in the future tense, while receives and finds are in the present tense. Hence you can transalte Matt 7:7–8 as, “Keep on asking, and it will be given to you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking will continually receive, and he who keeps on seeking will continually find, and to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.”

II. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - After all, He is your Father!

“Which of you, if his 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!

Now it is clear from the illustration that Jesus uses here that the more childlike the asking the better.

This is why Jesus introduces the metaphor of “your Father in Heaven.”

Jesus goes to great lengths to change his disciples' picture of God from a distant; law-giving Potentate to “Abba, Father.” (3 times in NT - Romans 8:15, Mark 14:36, Galatians 4:6).

“Abba” is the defining term for father in the Aramaic language, spoken by Jesus and Paul as an intimate term to characterize their personal relationships with God. It is also used of Priest’s on the Syriac Church and denotes a term of revence and respect.

“Abba” is a term of inteimacy - only a child can use it. It is also a term of respect, only an obedient child can use it - “Abba Father…not what I will, but what you will.”

As obedient children seeking to do the will of God our King, we can call Him “Abba” and seek His aid to do His will “on earth as it is in Heaven”

When it comes to describing the Father’s willingness to help us as we seek to obey Him, Jesus uses an “argumentum a fortiori” (Latin “reason from the stronger”) an argument that says that if something less likely is true, then something more likely will probably be true as well.

An example of such an argument would be. “Brian is dead; therfore it is reasonable to assume that Brian is no longer breathing” OR this example from Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (Act 3:3). “Truly, I would not hang a dog by my will, much more a man who hath any honesty in him.”

Jesus uses such reasoning when He says: “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! “

He contrasts the eathly, “evil” father with the Heavenly Father! Clearly Jesus did not get the memo that says all humans are born in herently good! - “evil.” - a strong word, the same as for the ‘Evil One’ in Matt 6:13,. It assumes man’s essential sinfulness. However, Jesus is saying here the even though earthly fathers are by nature “evil”, they have a natural affection for their children which is not only shared by the Heavenly Father, but He exceeds abundantly!

This is reinforced by use of an illustration - “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? “ No parent would deceive a child asking for bread or fish by giving him a similar looking but inedible stone or a dangerous snake. These food items were very common around the Sea of Galilee and their appearance - the round loaf could look like a stone, and the eel-like catfish, Clarias lazera resembles a snake. The point at issue is not merely the parents’ are willing to give but they care about what they give - it must be be good; wholesome; helpful! And they do this elfless act,e en though their nature makes them self-centred and grasping. t

That is why Jesus says, “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! “. The blessings we shall receive from our heavenly Father in answer to our prayersare “good things.” Temporal and spiritual “things.” (see Luke 11:13 which refers to ‘the Holy Spirit’, who is the source of blessing in the disciple’s life.

Paul uses a similar logic when he states in Romans 8:28-32 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

So, what is fundamentally at stake is our concept of God!

God is not a reluctant stranger who can be cajoled or bullied into bestowing his gifts (Matt 6:7–8), or a malicious tyrant who takes vicious glee in the tricks he plays (Matt 7:9–10), or even as an indulgent grandfather who provides everything requested of him. He is the “Father in heaven”, who though He is a great King, graciously and willingly bestows the good gifts of the kingdom in answer to our prayers.

And this should encourage us when praying! God is the best of Fathers.

In today’s environment of parental abuse, transient relationships, and growing isolationism, this portion of Scripture provides comfort for the deepest needs of many adults who are, inwardly, abandoned children.

God is not like earthly fathers, however good or bad they have been - He is of superior moral character; has vastly superior knowledge and insight as to what is best for us.

He outlives every earthly father and he is always near, at hand.

He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5).

“Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think You're like But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night And You tell me that You're pleased and that I'm never alone

You're a good, good Father It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are And I'm loved by You It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers far and wide But I know we're all searching for answers only You provide 'Cause You know just what we need before we say a word

Oh, it's love so undeniable I, I can hardly speak Peace so unexplainable I, I can hardly think As You call me deeper still As You call me deeper still As You call me deeper still into love, love, love

Because You are perfect in all of Your ways You are perfect in all of Your ways You are perfect in all of Your ways to us.”

(Chris Tomlin)

III. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - 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.”

Our passage ends with what is often called THE GOLDEN RULE - This is a rule of conduct that should govern our behaviour and motivate our actions.

God gives us many principles in His Word, but He does not give specific methods or rules for every conceivable situation, not least because situations keep changing and vary greatly from age to age and person to person.

Chrsitians often face these dilemmas with WWJD but Jesus put is a little differently - your rule of life, in all circumstances is "in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”

This he said “sums up the law and the Prophets.” To give specific rules for every circumstance would require an enormous library of statutes and laws and case studies, and so the answer in such circumstances is not more rules; but more prayer and an overriding principle to govern interpersonal relationships - “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you (7:12) .

The Golden Rule was not invented by Jesus; it is found in many forms in highly diverse settings.

Confucius, 5 Centuries before Christ said: "Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."

Socrates, in the Fourth Century BC said: “Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others.”

About A.D. 20, Rabbi Hillel, challenged by a Gentile to summarize the law in the short time the Gentile could stand on one leg, reportedly responded, “What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it” (b Shabbath 31a).

Jesus’ Golden Rule us a little different however, He phrased the rule positively - “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you (7:12) . The negative form of the rule covers acts of commission whereas the positive include acts of omission. To give you an example, with Confucius; Socrates and Rabbi Hillel, you could justify not helping someone on the basis that you did not actively harm them. As long as you were not imposing anything on anyone or angering them or being hateful toward them then you were ok. However Jesus goes further in the positive form - He will not allow us to cross by on the other side and leave a man in a ditch, justifying this on the basis that we are not responsible. In the negative form the goats in Matt 25:31–46 would be acquittedbecause they did not actively harm those whom they did not care to feed; visit; house; clothe or care for. Jesus however says “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you (7:12) - if you would want someone to feed; visit; house; cloteh and care for you in such circumstances then actively seek to do it for others in similar circumstances.

Notice that Jesus places no restriction on the scope of this rule.

The others in question include everyone, enemies as well as friends, just as in Matt 5:43–48.

How we treat others is not to be determined by how we expect them to treat us or by how we think they should treat us, but by how we want them to treat us

We should “do to others” not what they actually do to us - i.e. he punched me on the nose so I’m going to punch him back! - but he punched me on the nose he ought not to have done that. I am not going to punch him back because that’s not what I would ideally want to happen to me!

This ‘Golden Rule’ (the Emperor Alexander Severus reputedly had it written in gold on his wall—not a bad example to follow! (R.T. France).

the Golden Rule has not been bettered. In the positive form propounded by Jesus it makes a very far-reaching demand for unselfish love in action.

Only Jesus can give the power to live by that full truth. The dynamic for living this supreme ethic must come from outside our fallen nature. It can come only from the indwelling Holy Spirit, whose first fruit is love (Gal. 5:22).

In Jesus Christ, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). Only Christ’s own Spirit can empower us to love each other as He loves us (John 13:34).

Conclusion & Application:

I. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - Keep banging on His door!

II. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - After all, He is your Father!

III. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - Live by the Golden Rule!

Remember the generousity and faithfulness of your Father in Heaven.

Be confident in prayer. Jesus wants to convince us of the amazing kindness and goodness of God. He is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”(Eph 3:20)

However, let’s be earnest and sincere in our seeking!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

James 4:2–3 gives some reasons why prayer sometimes does not “work.” Wrong motives; selfish ambition and even double-mindedness are a barrier to effective prayer - For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7–8).

Likewise, John says: “Whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

Other passages that teach persistence in prayer are Luke 11:5–8; 18:1–8. and these too indicate why prayer is not successful.

Furthermore, all prayer must be in accordance with God’s will for us! - “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

George Muller accomplished much for God.

Muller was a native German, born in Kroppenstaedt on September 27, 1805 and lived almost the entire nineteenth century. He died March 10, 1898 at the age of 92.

He saw the great awakening of 1859 which he said “led to the conversion of hundreds of thousands.” He did follow up work for D. L. Moody, preached for Charles Spurgeon, and inspired the missionary faith of Hudson Taylor. He spent most of his life in Bristol, England and pastored the same church there for over 66 years. He preached 3 times a week from 1830 to 1898, at least 10,000 times. And when he turned 70 he fulfilled a life-long dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87. He traveled to 42 countries, preaching on average of once a day, and addressing some three million people.

He is perhaps most famous for his work with the homeless children. He built 5 large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. When he started in 1834 there were accommodations for 3,600 orphans in all of England and twice that many children under eight were in prison. “fifty years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in England alone.”

At age 92, not long before he died, he wrote, “I have been able, every day and all the day to work, and that with ease, as seventy years since.” He led a prayer meeting at his church on the evening of Wednesday, March 9, 1898. The next day a cup of tea was taken to him at seven in the morning but no answer came to the knock on the door. He was found dead on the floor beside his bed. 24

The funeral was held the following Monday in Bristol, where he had served for 66 years. “Tens of thousands of people reverently stood along the route of the simple procession; men left their workshops and offices, women left their elegant homes or humble kitchens, all seeking to pay a last token of respect.” A thousand children gathered for a service at the Orphan House No. 3. They had now “for a second time lost a ‘father'.”

He had read his Bible from end to end almost 200 times. He had prayed in millions of pounds in today's currency, for the Orphans and never asked anyone directly for money. He trusted God to put in people's hearts to send him what he needed. He never took out a loan or went into debt. And neither he nor the orphans were ever hungry. Muller, when faced with a crisis in having the means to pay a bill he would say, “How the means are to come, I know not; but I know that God is almighty, that the hearts of all are in His hands, and that, if He pleaseth to influence persons, they will send help.”

Muller’s faith was based on his whole concept of trusting in his “Father in heaven”- “The three chief reasons for establishing an Orphan-House are: 1. That God may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means, in its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that thus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal welfare…It seemed to me best done, by the establishing of an Orphan-House. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now, if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an Orphan-House: there would be something which, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted, of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was the primary reason, for establishing the Orphan-House. . . The first and primary object of the work was, (and still is) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided, with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without any one being asked by me or my fellow-laborers, whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL.”

Muller lived his life as he put it to become a “visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord.”

“The longer I go on in this service, the more I find that prayer and faith can overcome every difficulty. The greater the difficulty to be overcome, the more will it be seen, to the glory of God, how much can be done by prayer and faith; and also because, when God himself overcomes our difficulties for us, we have, in this very fact, the assurance that we are engaged in his work, and not in our own.”” ― George Müller, The Autobiography of George Müller

So, let me exhort you today to trust in your Heavenly Father:

I. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - Keep banging on His door!

II. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - After all, He is your Father!

III. God’s Kingdom is here! - Don’t give up on the King - Live by the Golden Rule!

And as you reflect on this sermon today, here the words of Muller: “My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you.”