Ask, Seek, Knock | Summer on the Mount | Trinity Sermons

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity

Sermons. This week we are continuing our sermon

series called Summer on the Mount, where we are

diving into Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. And today

Jesus says, Ask and you shall receive, seek and

you shall find, knock and the door will be opened

to you. Now does that mean that Jesus will give

us anything that we ask for? Does this mean that

whenever we knock, any door will be opened to

us? I'm not so sure. But that's what Rob is going

to unpack with us in our sermon today. Let's

listen in. Today our reading is from the Gospel

of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 7 through 12. Ask,

Matthew 7:7–12

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. Which of you, if your 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. The word of

the Lord. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you

will know that that was Harry's cousin, Dudley

Dursley. And Dudley is the spoiled child of Vernon

and Petunia Dursley. And in Dudley, there is

the perfect storm of three really toxic traits

going on. First, he's self -centered. Dudley

thinks that the whole world revolves around him

to cater to his every whim. Secondly, he is entitled.

All those... presents he got, they weren't really

gifts because he felt like he was owed them.

The world owes him. He's entitled. And thirdly,

he's shallow. His relationships have become merely

transactional, right? His parents just give him

things to keep him happy, not necessarily because

they love him. And his parents, the reason he

has parents, according to him, is basically to

supply for his needs. There's no real depth in

his relationship. He's self -centered. He's entitled.

and he's shallow. Now, even though Dudley is

a fictional character, unfortunately, he's a

real reflection of a lot that goes on in our

own culture and society today. seen parents like

that from time to time. And let's be honest,

we've been parents like this from time to time,

spoiling our kids, maybe spoiling them rotten

even. And like Dudley, what happens is when parents

constantly say yes to their children, they too

end up creating these self -centered little monsters

who believe that the world exists just to satisfy

their desires. In fact, research shows that overly

indulgent parenting actually correlates strongly

with narcissism in children later in life. And

like Dudley, many children today, they also feel

entitled. They believe life owes them. They won't

accept a no. They're very impatient. They're

frustrated easily. Those are all signs of entitlement.

And thirdly, like Dudley, this kind of parenting

style can lead to shallow relationships. Relationships

that are more based on, hey, what have you done

for me lately, rather than relationships based

on love. love and affection. And again, some

studies actually link highly permissive parenting

with low emotional intelligence in children later

on in life. It's just harder for spoiled kids

to sustain meaningful, deep, and affectionate

relationships. So the research is clear, right?

Dudley isn't just a fictional exaggeration. But

he's a reflection of something that's dangerously

real in society today. And here's where things

get a little bit uncomfortable and closer to

home. Because here's the thing. If a parent who

always says yes to his or her child can form

them into self -centered, entitled, and shallow

creatures, then what happens when that's our

view of God? That God exists primarily to always

say yes to our prayers and to indulge in everything

that we ask him. I call it Dudley discipleship.

And it arises when we believe that God is always

there to say yes to what we ask for and give

us everything. And therefore, the same kind of

stuff ends up happening spiritually in our lives,

too. It leads to self -centered prayers. Our

prayer life becomes all about our personal wish

list. We don't really pray, Lord, thy kingdom

come. What we're praying is, may my kingdom come.

And it also leads to... an entitled kind of spirituality,

a spirituality where we say that we deserve constant

blessings from God, and if they don't come, then

we're very, very resentful. And it leads to a

shallow relationship with God. I mean, when God

is just there to dispense gifts to us, then our

relationship with him is just paper thin. God's

a tool. for our desires rather than the treasure

of our heart. There's no intimacy. There's no

depth there. And so here is the danger. The danger

is when a bunch of self -centered and entitled

and shallow Christians get together into a church

and this takes root, it actually screws up the

mission that God gave us, which was actually

to be people who are marked by self -giving love

and who sacrifice their own wants and needs for

the sake of others and for the sake of the world

and for the sake of the kingdom. Like Paul, what

we end up actually becoming are lovers of self,

lovers of money, proud. arrogant, abusive, disobedient

to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless,

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Sounds like Dudley. Sounds like me. If I'm honest,

it sounds like you too, probably, if you're honest.

The question we have to ask this morning, where

does this self -centeredness come from? Where

does this entitlement, where does this shallow

spirituality arise from? And I'm sorry to say

that I think a lot of it comes from a misreading

of a very famous part of Jesus' Sermon on the

Mount. We've been going through Jesus' most famous

teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. It's found

in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. And we have already

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

gone through chapter 5. We've already gone through

chapter 6. And today we break into chapter 7.

Now I should say, you'll notice we didn't cover

chapter 7 verses 1 to 6. And the reason is because

that whole bit, which was about not judging others,

is something I already preached on back on June

1st. So if you want to access that, you can go

to our YouTube channel and you can dig that up.

But today what we're really arriving at is Matthew

7, 7 to 12, which Sally just read for us. sounds

a lot like Jesus is pulling an Aunt Petunia and

an Uncle Vernon. Ask, and it'll be given to you.

Seek, and you'll find. Oh, knock, and the door

will be opened for you. Whoever asks, gets. And

whoever seeks, finds. And whoever knocks, the

doors will be opened to you. I mean, doesn't

that sound like God is teaching us to be self

-centered, entitled, and shall, oh, Rob, whatever

you want, you can have it. Oh, little dudders

here. Do you want more? Have another present.

Have another present. You want 30? 30, 40 presents?

Seek and I'll give it to you. Ask and you'll

have it. Knock and the door will be open to you.

Is that enough? Is God trying to raise us the

way the Dursleys raised Dudley? Giving us everything

we want? Making us into self -centered, entitled,

and shallow Christians? Is that what he's saying

here? It might look like it, but actually couldn't

be further from the truth. No way. If we take

a closer look at what this passage is really

saying, we will see that Jesus is trying to teach

us a way. better method of prayer, and that God

is actually trying to raise us, his children,

in a way better manner of life, okay? So I want

to invite you just to follow along. There are

some sermon notes that we've handed out on your

way in, and if you're joining us online, you

can access the sermon notes online by visiting

our church app, which is called Church Center.

So let's get started. Here's the first thing

I want to say. When Jesus says, ask and seek

and knock, It's easy to rip those verses out

of context and to imagine that God is saying,

hey, whatever you want, I'll give it to you.

But if we actually read the context, we will

realize that that's not true. That in context,

Jesus is not speaking about every kind of prayer

that you pray, I will answer and give to you.

But he's talking about a very specific kind of

prayer. Not a self -centered prayer, a prayer

for me. It's about God. other centered prayers.

That's what he's promising to answer. But to

see that, you've got to look at the context.

Here's what I mean. Just before Jesus speaks

these words, what is he talking about? He's talking

about how we judge others. He's talking about

hypocrisy. He's talking about the need for us

to remove the plank from our own eye before we

try to pick the speck out of somebody else's

eye. In other words, what's he talking about?

He's talking about making peace with others.

He's talking about restoring relationships. He's

talking about forgiveness. That is the context

of ask, seek, knock. It's about relationships.

And then afterwards, what is Jesus talking about?

Oh, guess what? He's also talking about relationships.

This is where he gives us the golden rule, do

to others what you would have them do to you.

That is not a verse about me getting my own way.

It's a verse about loving others the way that

we want to be loved. So that's the context after.

So follow with me here. Right before Jesus says,

ask and seek and knock, he's talking all about

restoring relationships. And right after Jesus

says, ask and seek and knock, he's talking all

about loving others and again, relationships.

Which means that the prayer that Jesus promises

to answer in Matthew 7, 7 and 8 are prayers for

relationships. It's a certain type of prayer,

a kind of prayer where we're asking God to help

us love other people well. If you've ever had

to mend a broken relationship, then you'll know

exactly what I mean. It is hard. You cannot do

that on your own. You need wisdom. And Jesus

is saying, ask me and I'll give you that wisdom.

Seek me out. Knock on the door. I'll teach you

the wisdom. I'll give you the courage to restore

that relationship. I'll give you the patience

and the grace to forgive that person. Come to

me and ask. So I'm going to say it again. Jesus

is not promising us anything we want in these

prayers. But in context, what he's really offering

us is wisdom for healing relationships. Okay?

Leon Morris is a commentator. He agrees. He says,

the request Jesus speaks of here is not a carte

blanche for selfish desires. The prayer arises

from the preceding teaching, like we said. wisdom

to live righteously grace to forgive and the

courage to reconcile and then again craig blomberg

talks about the verses that come right after

he says the linking of verses seven and eight

with the golden rule suggests strongly that what

we're to request from god is whatever will enable

us to treat others as we would want to be treated

therefore the emphasis is on ethical and the

relational not the material i am so sorry this

morning If you thought that this reading we just

read was teaching us to pray for a Ferrari. Or

pray for a bigger house. Or that God would give

us a lifetime supply of chocolate if that's what

we wanted. No. When Jesus says ask, he is not

saying ask for Raptor Seasons tickets. When Jesus

says seek, he is not saying seek for a new iPhone.

When Jesus says knock, he's not saying knock

on the door of an all -inclusive resort in Maui.

No. This is a certain kind of prayer. where Jesus

is inviting us to pray for help to heal our relationships.

So therefore, Jesus is saying, I will help you

when you pray prayers like this. And I've left

these blank. You can fill them in however you

want. But when you pray a prayer like this, Jesus

says, I will help you. Lord, help me to forgive

my spouse. Jesus says, yes, I will help you with

that. Father, give me the courage to apologize

to that. Fill it in. Coworker. God, show me how

to love that family member or that person at

coffee hour who's really, really annoying. I

know it's not what we wanted to hear. We thought

that God was offering to give us anything. That's

not what the context shows us. And it's actually

a good thing because we don't want to grow up

to be dudley disciples. Okay? So that brings

us to the second. The first misunderstanding

is this is actually, this is about relationships,

not about material things. The second misunderstanding.

that we need to work out is these ask, seek,

and knock prayers. Make it sound like God is

this emergency responder. That normally in life,

we're going along just fine. Thank you very much.

I can handle life myself. But if we need something,

God says, oh, if you run into trouble, ask me.

I'll be there. If you run into a bind, seek me

out. If you have a real problem, just knock on

the door and I'll sort you out. And then you

can be on your merry way again in your life.

I'm just there if you need it. But a closer look

at what Jesus is teaching us to pray here actually

shows us he isn't encouraging us to pray these

entitled one and done kind of prayers. He's teaching

us to rely on him through prayer in this ongoing

way. Here's what I mean. When commentators look

at what Matthew 7 to 11 is really saying, many

suggest that the best way to read it, given the

tense of the verbs, is keep asking. Keep seeking,

keep knocking. The verbs in Greek are in the

present tense, the imperative mood and the active

voice, which apparently expresses an action that

is ongoing and it's continual rather than a one

time event. So you see what this means is God

wants you to be relying on him through prayer

all day. Every day, not just when the going gets

tough. Entitled people say, you know what, God

owes me. But when we develop the spirit of reliance,

we actually come to say, no, God cares for me

each and every day. Entitled people say, I deserve

this. But people who are reliant on God day in

and day out say, no, I need him always. Entitlement

is about getting. But reliance is about staying,

staying in a relationship with God, not to make

us spoiled, but to keep us close. Again, Leon

Morris says, prayer is not an attempt to force

God's hand, but it's a humble acknowledgement

of our continual dependence on him. Dudley, he

had this once a year windfall, his birthday.

Right? And if you see God only that way, as this

guy who shows up to hand you gifts on special

occasions, your relationship will always have

that sense of entitlement. But when you keep

coming back to him, keep relying on him day by

day, moment by moment, that's when you move from

a birthday relationship with God to an everyday

relationship with God. I mean, think about Israel

when they were in the wilderness. When Israel

was in the wilderness, you know, could God have

whipped up a Costco -sized pallet of food and

given them food for a whole week? Yes, but he

didn't. He gave them bread day by day. And why

was that? It was so they would keep coming back

in reliance on him. Or consider what Jesus said

in John chapter 15. He says, apart from me, you

John 15 · chapter mention

can do nothing. Now, that's not a statement about

the occasional need for emergency help. It's

a reminder that our very life, all of our life,

flows from an ongoing connection to God. You

know, I probably should have done this a lot

earlier, but now that we've got more drivers

in our house, I went in for the family -sized

CAA membership, you know, just in case anyone,

whether it's Sophie or Petra or me or Sal, need

some roadside assistance. that is often how we

treat God, roadside assistance. We're fine cruising

along until something breaks down and then we

just dial in a quick fix. But Jesus isn't offering

us CAA for the soul. He's inviting us into a

relationship where we don't just call him when

we've got a flat. We invite him into the car

for the whole trip. Okay. That brings us to the

third and final thing I want to share with you

today about how we sometimes misunderstand this

command about prayer. At first glance, Jesus

seems to be describing this very shallow relationship

with God as if God's this heavenly ATM. Insert

your prayer, get your blessing. Insert your coin,

get your result, right? But upon closer inspection...

Praying the way that Jesus is teaching us does

not result in a shallow relationship, but actually

one of the most intimate relationships possible,

the relationship between a parent and a child.

Listen to what Jesus says. He says, which of

you, if your son, this is parent -child language,

asks you for bread, we'll give him a stone. Or

if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a snake.

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 gifts to those

who ask him. Now notice the shift. Jesus does

not say God gives. He says your father gives.

Prayer isn't about a shallow transaction. It's

developing a relationship of intimacy with your

heavenly father. That's the result Jesus is after.

Good parenting. doesn't just result in kids who

believe that their parents can meet all their

needs. Good parenting results in kids who know

they're loved and who love their parents. You

can't love a vending machine, but you can love

a father, and a father can love you. And Jesus

wants us to develop that kind of intimacy in

our prayer lives, which helps us to know God

as our Father, we need, even if it's not what

we want. And that's actually really important.

I put this quote from Dallas Willard actually

into your notes because I think it's really important.

The idea that God would automatically give us

whatever we want is not the mark of a loving

father, but of a careless stranger. Do you get

that? Like the very fact that we don't get what

we ask for is a sign That we are relating to

a person, not a machine. When God says no, or

when God says not yet, it's actually a sign of

love. We don't always know what's good or bad

for us, but our father does. A toddler might

ask for candy for breakfast every single day,

but a good parent won't say yes. Not because

they don't love them, but precisely because they

do love them. What Dudley needed most in Harry

Potter wasn't more yeses. He actually needed

more no's or not yet. He didn't need more gifts.

He needed more love, more care, and more intimacy

with his parents. They kept handing him snakes

and rocks and gifts that weren't good for him

and actually hurt him in the long run. But a

good father doesn't just give you what you want

in the moment. He gives you those things that

are going to grow you up into the person you

were made to be. And that's how we should pray

too. Because when we approach God as a father,

then prayer actually becomes less about getting

stuff from God and more about getting God himself.

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you

will find. Knock, and the door will be opened

to you. If we misunderstand Jesus' words, we'll

become spiritual Dudleys or spiritual Duds. Our

arms are loaded with presents. But we're never

satisfied, self -centered, entitled, and shallow.

That's not what Jesus is teaching us here. Now

we've seen. Jesus doesn't want to make us spiritual

Dudleys. He wants to move us from being self

-centered. to other -centered, repairing relationships,

living out the golden rule. He wants us to move

from entitlement to reliance, making prayer the

posture of our life every day and all day. And

he wants to move us from a shallow relationship

where God is a vending machine to a deep, intimate

relationship where God is our Father who gives

us what is best, even if it's not what we expect.

Friends, how are you approaching God these days?

Are you approaching God like Dudley or like a

disciple? A Dudley comes to God demanding, but

a disciple comes to God depending. Dudley wants

gifts, but a disciple wants the giver. Dudley

wants more stuff from God, but a disciple wants

more of God himself. And so this week, I just

want to encourage you to renew your own prayer

lives in this way. And as you're praying this

week, ask yourself, am I praying to get something

from God? Or am I praying to get close to God?

And then take Jesus at his word. Keep asking,

keep seeking, and keep knocking. Not because

Jesus or God is stingy or hard of hearing, but

because he loves you. And because he's shaping

you into someone who can love others like he

does. So thanks be to God. Amen.