What happens when we Ask, Seek, and Knock
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning...
Great to be with you all this morning. If you would, as we are getting going, please open your Bibles to Matthew 7.
Last week, our topic involved asking God with the correct motives and our passage today is similar in a lot of ways. Making sure that the things we are seeking are flowing out of a genuine heart that is focused on God. To be in that place, our pride must be checked and humility must abound.
Now, before we go any further, we must understand a few things. Pride is basically the catalyst of all sin. Now, we don’t have a full account of this but we can even point to the fall of Lucifer or Satan in Scripture with his angels. That began out of a place of pride…thinking he could be god. It didn’t work out well for him and it won’t in the very end.
Isaiah reminds us of the end result of such pride-
12 Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. 13 You said to yourself, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. 14 I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you; they will look closely at you: “Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble, who shook the kingdoms, 17 who turned the world into a wilderness, who destroyed its cities and would not release the prisoners to return home?”
That level of pride results in being condemned for eternity. And that is no different for us. We attempt to be God everyday when we try to do it within our own power and basically...”Say, God, I got this.”
Pride weakens us....but through the right motives, particularly when we seek the Lord in prayer…humility abounds.
To be clear here…pride is a selfish attitude that results in selfish actions. When we do things outside of a Godly focus....it generally.... if not always will result in pride.
But humility is found when God is sought and the things of Him are the focus.
To be clear here....being proud of someone is not the same level of pride…taking pride in yourself by being well kept is not technically the same thing…I prefer to took at that as personal stewardship.
Greek Alert
physioo, puff up, inflate or blow up
Zadon (Hebrew)- over-confidence, presumptuousness, boiling up, overstepping
enkauchaomai- boast
kauchema(kahema)- boast or speaking well of
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Like everything that God has given us…can we make it sinful. You bet. It’s all about motives and genuineness of heart. That’s why I wanted us to start with that when we look at our prayer life, because our motives are important and Scripture says as much.
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I bring this up again today because pride is not a topic we can get away from. It will remain a part of this series because when we let pride take center stage our prayers derail. Keep the focus on pride and humility at the forefront of your day to day as a reminder of where you should be.
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Now, as we begin our time looking at our passage for today, boldness or confidence is the keyword. You may not see that when you read this passage but hopefully by the end of our time, it becomes evident.
What is boldness?
Here is how we define it in the English language
Lack of hesitation or fear in the face of risk or danger.
Refusal to be held back by the opinion or judgment of others.
Basically, doing things regardless of what the consequences may be.
Christian author and speaker Jon Bloom says this about boldness for the Christian-
Boldness, in the biblical sense, is not a personality trait. A typically soft-spoken, introverted, calm person can be bold at a time when a typically driven, outspoken, brash person shrinks back. Boldness is acting, by the power of the Holy Spirit, on an urgent conviction in the face of some threat.
Throughout Scripture we see instances of boldness happening.
Paul exhorts us in Ephesians, asking for boldness.
19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that we can boldly approach God, no matter what because of Christ Jesus and what He has given us.
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Paul speaks to us that we have God’s Spirit in us, who is bold and courageous.
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
And Jesus reminds us of where the boldness comes from...
20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
It is not a constant in our lives…that is why Paul seeks pray to be bold. It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit but it must comes from Him.
Charles Stanley said this of boldness of Christ-
“His voice leads us not into timid discipleship but into bold witness.” - Charles Stanley
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I believe our passage today pushes us to bold witness as Jesus declares to us to believe enough to ask, seek and knock.
Are we asking Him with boldness?
Are we declaring Him with boldness?
Are we drawing close to him with confidence in who He is and that He loves us?
Do we remember and maintain where our boldness should start?
Our prayers have to be with the right motives but they are to begin with a bold proclamation that declares we believe in Jesus Christ.
Our prayers are to begin with a bold proclamation that declares we believe in Jesus Christ.
Our prayers are to begin with a bold proclamation that declares we believe in Jesus Christ.
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Please stand..
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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Who among 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 snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. 12 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Pray
As we dig into the passage today, something I want us to keep in mind.
Jesus, for two lengthy chapters before this… had been teaching on many things, some difficult things. Difficult to understand, difficult to implement at times…difficult in some ways cause you just didn’t want to do it.
And then, when we reach this moment, Jesus is winding His teaching moment down. After this passage he roughly has 15 verses left. This had been one long teaching moment that spanned 3 chapters in Scripture and probably took Jesus days to complete.
So, as Jesus is winding this down, in this moment, after all He has said He then seeks to exhort them to pray.
I think when we read this the first thing we should see from Jesus is...
When we pray there is assurance that our God hears us.
When we pray there is assurance that our God hears us.
We must remember though, we can’t be praying for selfish reasons and our motives must be genuine…they must be focused on Him. But all the same, he hears us…and he answers.
John Piper says,
“This has proved, in my experience, to be one of the most motivating passages in all the Bible to pray with the confidence of being answered.”
- John Piper
The idea.... as we ask, seek and knock…is that God hears you and he answers you. Often times we think we didn’t get an answer because NOTHING happens. The reality is, nothing happening is something…and it often times is the answer.
If you recall last week, we were told that within our motives our desire should be to pray for the wisdom of God to take root in our lives.
Well, that translates to this passage too.
As we ask, seek, and knock .....and as we receive, find and it is opened to us....the result will always be what is best for us.
The result of our prayers will always be what is ultimately good and best for us.
The result of our prayers will always be what is ultimately good and best for us.
God will always answer our prayers in line with His standards and what is always the best for us.
So, when we pray, if the answer isn’t what we want or expect…the reality is, it wasn’t in His will and wasn’t the best for us.
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That can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes. Because sometimes the answer we want seems like it is good for us…or for someone else. Healing, recovery, etc...
We don’t understand God’s motivation in every situation, nor are we supposed to. And I don’t have all the answers to this in this situation....But I can guarantee, that if it happens it’s part of His plan and we can trust Him. As hard as that can be at times.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Our understanding is limited, we can’t see the whole picture....but God can. He knows exactly how “unanswered” prayers will be the best for us..and in the end bring Him glory.
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The reality though is...
All prayers are answered, just maybe not with the answer we want or expect.
All prayers are answered, just maybe not with the answer we want or expect.
And sometimes…we will never know why certain things happen they way they do or why God answers our prayers in certain ways…but always know…the answer you get is always what is best for you, even if you don’t see it or understand it.
And that it’s this very thought that allows boldness and confidence in our prayers....
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Our prayers are not unanswered, so we....mere creation…can approach the Holy throne of God with our prayers with boldness and confidence....regardless of how insignificant they seem....We ask, he hears and answers....we seek answers and he will reveal the answer…HIS ANSWER....we knock on the door....and he will open our hearts and minds to the wisdom that comes from above revealed to us through his answer.
Parents
We can boldly and confidently do that.
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
This goes back to our motivation. God’s answers will always be right, which is why we need to be praying according to his will.
Kings Court
And this was a promise of God. He is trustworthy and we can trust Him that He will answer us.
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Another insightful look at this passage from John Piper-
So when Jesus says he will give good things, he means that. Only good things. And only he knows ultimately what is good for us. And notice, when he says dads don’t give stones when asked for bread, he does not say dads always give bread. Just no stones. And when he says, dads don’t give snakes for fish, he does not say dads always give fish. Just no snakes.
Now, the idea here from verses 9-11, is that a loving dad…even the crudest of dads, probably would’t go to such lengths to promise something good and then be deceitful by giving something else. Particularly with food.
Jesus example was especially meaningful to the Jews because snakes were ceremonially unclean. They couldn’t eat them. So this example packed quite the punch. Why would a father do something so heinous and deceptive to make his child disobey God.
And then Jesus makes the point....in general, if sinful, even non saved fathers would do amazing things and give good things to their children....Wouldn’t that place God way above.
It goes back to this reality...
We can fully trust our God to have our best interest at heart.
We can fully trust our God to have our best interest at heart.
A verse that always is a reminder of that trust is this..
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Our God says who He is…doesn’t change and keeps His word.
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Has anyone ever had someone tell them that whatever they need, you got it? I’m here for you.
When you were told that, did that person LITERALLY mean anything?
Often times our offers come with stipulations. We may say we mean anything…but the reality is, when push comes to shove, it doesn’t mean anything. And usually the stipulations are our own self-interests. I’ll do this for you, as long as it doesn’t affect this for me.
God on the other hand tells us to come to Him and He will do anything…BUT He has never not been clear that that anything is anything that is according to His will....whats best for us.
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When we go to God, what should be the desire?
To get our prayers answered. To get what we want.
Our God is a providing God but that provision is conditional on what is best for us.
See when we say we will do anything for someone…maybe we do mean that…but it should be conditional for what is best for someone.
Leaving husband
So, when we pray to God we should desire wisdom from Him in how to handle different situations or His wisdom in giving us the things we ask for.... so the end results is what’s best…His will.
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His will is His Wisdom. After Jesus, our greatest need from God is probably His wisdom. We need that divine counsel to make it day to day.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
So, when we look at these verses-
Ask and it will be given to you
Seek and you will find it
Knock and it will be opened to you
God wants us to be dependent on Him. So, that applies in our prayers. When we approach Him, even for physical things it has to be in a way that seeks His blessings.
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BUT, there are a few things we have to keep in mind when asking, seeking and knocking.
Why are we asking, seeking, knocking?
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
2. Whose will are we seeking to glorify?
Just a chapter earlier, Jesus pointed out that man cannot serve two masters. He was referring to money, but the idea still holds. When we approach God in prayer, particularly when we are petitioning Him, who are we looking to satisfy with the request.
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Now we get to verse 12…The golden rule.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Now this is probably often taken out of context and implemented poorly.
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Where we have been has been building to this moment.
God’s love for us is most evident when we are taking the things He tells us and putting them into practice with others.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) God’s Purpose for His Children Demands It
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
But here is the catch of this and where it gets taken out of context. Remember where we have been as we have arrived at this place. Motivation is key.
Often times we look at this verse… and the motivation is one of self-interest. I’ll treat people well, because I want them to treat me well.
But that wasn’t Jesus’ point here. If we only look at the negative…do nice so not nice things won’t happen to me…we are missing the fulness that Jesus gives.
The law and prophecies that had been handed down for generations were continually pointing the people to God and Jesus’ coming to save them. It was a self-less love that motivated things.
Selfless love does not look out for it’s own interest’s but it places others as more important.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.
But beyond that… here is why Jesus concludes this section with this.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It’s always about Jesus.....
Our actions and motivations will either point people to Christ or push them away from Christ.
Our actions and motivations will either point people to Christ or push them away from Christ.
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God listens and hears our cries. We should be bold when approaching Him and asking…but understand…It’s his wisdom we should desire because His wisdom will be the answer that is best...
And the end result, as we pray, as we pray for others....is that our prayers, our actions should always be aligned with his truth and point people to Jesus.
So, if you are spending time in prayer daily…keep track during this…make sure your are praying with the right motives and that in your prayers you are seeking God’s wisdom so that as you ask, seek and knock, God’s response is the same thing you were asking, seeking and knocking for.
For His will to be done.
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Closing
Closing
Here’s the thing...
All of this…asking, seeking, knocking....
Gospel
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know Jesus as your savior....if you haven’t accepted Him as your savior…these instructions are futile.
These instructions aren’t some open forum for whoever…to be able to boldly approach the throne of God with our prayers is only available to someone who has given their life to Him. Jesus was addressing believers here. Our motives can only be right if the message of the Gospel makes sense.
Jesus came to this earth…to save mankind from our sinful , God separating acts. He lived perfectly without sin and died on a cross so that He would be given the punishment for sin…death and separation from God....
But, only He…Jesus…could conquer that by raising from the dead....so that when we place our trust in him…truly....not this idea of I have gone to church my whole life or I attend every Sunday or I am a good person…But you truly, by God’s Spirit…accept Jesus as your Savior then you are saved and get to spend eternity in Heaven.
The debt was large and had to be paid for us.....it was too big for us....Jesus did it.
I urge you today…if you feel God’s Spirit speaking to your heart, accept Him today. If you are unsure what to do…see some of our deacons during our prayer time…see me. We would love to assist you in this. Understand though, this is God’s doing and what an amazing gift it is.
Online
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Once you accept Jesus as your savior, then asking, seeking and knocking means something totally different. Because at that point you can confidently approach the throne and He hears you and answers you. But until then, the only prayer He is concerned with coming out of your mouth, is that you have accepted him.
Do that today!
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For those who are believers.....the title of this sermon series is Prayer Matters for a reason…the idea behind that is because our prayers do matter…how we pray…what we are asking for and how we approach prayer.
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I want to encourage all of us again…have an active and rich prayer life. Take time throughout your day…schedule time into your day to specifically be praying.
Scheduling
It’s too important not to do. Remember…prayer is a main focus throughout Scripture…if it wasn’t that important…it wouldn’t be talked about, taught about and mentioned that much.
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Jesus wants us to be an example of Him. I would say most, if not all of us want the same. Jesus prayed…a lot.
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Seek God’s wisdom in your prayers…desire what is best…which is His will. But always approach him in prayer confidently…because..as the title to this sermon says…what happens when we ask, seek and knock....
He listens…and He answers.
Always.
Pray