Sermon Tone Analysis

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-

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.

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.

Paul speaks to us that we have God’s Spirit in us, who is bold and courageous.

And Jesus reminds us of where the boldness comes from...

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.

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Please stand..

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.