Ask

God is a GOOD Father

You can talk to him about anything and he will give you what you need.

When The Star-Spangled Banner is sung at sporting events, the climactic phrase comes to an elongated high note: “O’er the land of the freeee ….” The cheers begin here. Even though the song goes on to talk about “the brave,” this is an afterthought. Both the melody line and our culture highlights freedom as the main theme and value of our society.

Passage Context

Matthew 6:12 ESV

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

To understand forgiveness we need to understand sound judgment

To know when to apply v6 (Dogs & Pigs) & the golden rule we help from God

Ask, Seek, & Knock

Matthew 7:7–11 ESV

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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of 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 serpent? 11 If you then, who are 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!

v 7&8 - Ask, Seek, Knock = Prayer

Roll up our sleeves and press into God.

2 sets of 3 - God is a Good God!!

Time in prayer - Martin Luther

4 hours a day

v 9&10 - Examples of His Goodness

Bread & Fish

Stone & Serpent

Stone & Bread

Matthew 4:3 ESV

3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Satan: “God is giving you stones and you need bread”

NO! You have a Good Father who will give you what is best for you - even if you don’t understand it.

What we think is Good for us might not be

Looking for a job

When we know God is Good we ask, seek, and knock all the time

V 11 - Ask Your Father

Knock on the door of Heaven

Ask Your Good Father he will give you what you need.

Talk to God about it you can’t do it on your own.

Martin Luther

Sermon on the Mount (Two Temptations)

The world is insane. It tries to get rid of its insanity by the use of wisdom and reason; and it looks for many ways and means, for all sorts of help and advice on how to escape this distress. But the shortest and surest way is to go into a little room or a corner and there to open your heart and to pour it out before God, filled with complaints and sighs, but also with confidence and trust that as your faithful heavenly Father He wants to give you His help and advice in this distress.

God is a Good Father ask him

to help you forgive

to help you navigate relationships

to help you trust him