Ask. Seek. Knock.

Let's read Scripture together.

This is the text from which the sermon will be based tonight.

! Matthew 7-12.

We're working our way through the Sermon on the Mount.

! Just a few weeks left.

And Jesus says this in Matthew 7-12.

Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and it will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives.

And the one who seeks, finds.

And to the one who knocks, it will be opened.

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

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 gifts, good things to those who ask him?

So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.

For this is the law and the prophets.

This is God's Word to us tonight.

My name is Chris.

It's my privilege to open God's Word for us tonight.

Before I do that, let's pray together that God would enlighten our minds, open up to us,

open our minds, open our ears, open our hearts to receive the truth of his Word.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity we have to come before you.

We ask, Lord, that you would open our eyes as we read your Scripture,

that you'd open our ears so we can hear.

Lord, open our hearts so that these words will penetrate deep into us, change us,

so that we can live lives worthy of kingdom citizens.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, we've been working through the Sermon on the Mount,

and the Sermon on the Mount is a teaching from Jesus that tells us what it means to live like citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

The section that we're in, I think we've just finished the section with the reading that Corey read for us today,

is all about the law and the prophets, the Old Testament, the Bible as it was in Jesus' day.

And it shaped the religious, moral, civil lives of all the people who were listening to him.

In the section that we're in, I think it begins in chapter 5, verse 17,

because in chapter 5, verse 17, Jesus says,

Do not think that I've come to abolish the law and the prophets.

I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

So, Jesus is telling the people who are listening that he's not come to do away with the laws that they had learned until this point,

but he's coming to complete them.

He's coming to bring them to fulfillment.

And from that point, until where we read to today,

Jesus has been explaining to us what it means not just to obey laws,

like we might tick boxes on a form,

but what it means for them to enter into our hearts,

for them to penetrate us,

really change us.

And not just a list of rules,

but a way of living,

a way of being before God.

Because the way that we live

really matters.

It matters to us.

It matters to the people we live with,

the people we live around.

And it matters to God.

We stop reading at verse 12.

And Jesus has again come round to the law and the prophets.

And this time,

he gives us a summary

of what it all means.

This is it.

According to Jesus,

the law and the prophets,

all the Old Testament writings boil down

to this.

Do to other people

what you would have them do to you.

We don't think that this teaching's

entirely unique to Jesus.

So, scholars think that maybe 3,000 years

before Jesus came into the world,

people were living by a maxim

that was something like this.

Very similar.

We call it the golden rule now.

That's what it might be titled in your Bible.

And before Jesus came,

it existed as something like,

don't do to other people

what you wouldn't want them to do to you.

But rather than telling us what not to do,

Jesus is telling us what to do.

He says,

so whatever you wish that others would do to you,

do to them,

for this is the law and the prophets.

And so why is that significant?

Why does that matter?

Well, I think it's significant

because it moves our mindset

from just avoiding harm

to actively looking

to do good to people.

But to be able to do that,

to be able to live

like kingdom citizens,

we need to be transformed

into kingdom people.

people.

Because we can't do that by ourselves.

And so the rest of the passage

that we read,

verses 7 to 11,

offer us a way

of becoming kingdom people.

If you want to live

like a person

of the kingdom of God,

you have to come to God

and you have to ask Him

to change you.

You have to come to God

and say to Him,

God, I want to be different.

I read Your Word.

I see the truth.

This is the kind of person

that I want to be.

This is how I want to live.

And I can't do it by myself.

Lord, don't leave me

the way that I am.

So verses 7 to 11

are about prayer.

And Jesus has already spoken

quite a bit about prayer.

in the Sermon on the Mount.

He's warned us

against hypocritical prayer.

So standing in the spotlight,

making sure everyone sees us

so that everyone can see

how prayerful,

how holy we are.

He's warned us against

long prayers

or repetitious prayers

that think that we'll be heard

because we say lots of words.

And then in chapter 6,

as we went through,

I say we,

I wasn't here,

but you guys did,

went through as a congregation

the Lord's Prayer,

where he teaches us.

He gives us a template

for how to approach God

in our prayer life.

So,

tonight,

this is what Jesus tells us

to do

with kingdom prayer.

There's three things.

things.

And the first

is this.

Jesus is calling you,

even tonight,

to pray like your life

depends on it.

In English,

if we take the words

ask,

seek,

not,

it makes this lovely little

three-letter acronym,

ask,

which is really easy to remember

and quite handy

to keep in your pocket.

But I think

the truth is

that a simple ask

doesn't do justice

to the emphasis

that Jesus places

on the words

that he uses here.

Matthew records

for us here

words that Jesus uses

and he uses

a rhetorical device.

We call it

the power of three.

So,

friends,

Romans,

countrymen,

I came,

we came,

we saw,

we conquered.

And he's repeating

it three times

to emphasize

just how important

it is to us.

This isn't a nonchalant ask,

like asking somebody

to pass you the salt

at the dinner table.

This is something

much more intentional,

much more deliberate,

much more intense.

Even the words

that Jesus uses

increase in intensity

if you think about them.

Because first of all,

he says ask,

which is

opening your mouth

to the person

before you.

Very simple.

But the next step

is to seek,

which at the very least

involves lifting your head

and scanning about.

And thirdly,

he says to knock,

which adds

a physical element.

You can't knock

without moving your body.

So,

Jesus is increasing

the emphasis,

the intensity

of the words

as he speaks.

And to add

to that as well,

in the original language,

ask,

seek,

knock

carries the sense

of ongoing action.

So,

it's not a one-time thing.

We could take

ask,

seek,

knock

to mean something like

knock and keep on knocking.

Ask and keep on asking.

Seek and keep on seeking.

Isn't that

a one-and-done,

one-time word

with the Lord

for something?

And it isn't a

I know he's there

when I need him

approach to prayer.

What we're told here

is to come to God

with a burning desire

to be heard.

And to come

again

and again

and again

over

and over

and over.

Like a five-year-old

might come to you

because they want a bunny.

Maybe that's a personal

anecdote.

But we're so bad

at asking,

at coming to God

in this way.

Because for us,

I think,

admitting

that there's something

that we need

that we can't fix

by ourselves

takes,

our pride

takes a dent.

And more than that,

I think

for a lot of the time,

we can question

whether we think

prayer works.

Is prayer

actually

that important

after all?

Sometimes our pride

makes us think

we don't have weaknesses.

Sometimes our pride

stops us from

seeing those weaknesses.

And sometimes

our pride

tells us

that we don't think

prayer means anything

at all.

when it comes

to being

citizens

of God's kingdom,

we need to recognize

deep down

that we're not enough.

We're not enough.

And we can't do this

on our own.

We can't earn

our way

into

this kingdom

no matter

how hard we work.

Look at the things

that Jesus said

it takes

to be a citizen

of the kingdom

of heaven.

Things that we've

thought about already

in the Sermon on the Mind.

And then let's ask

which of us

would not want

to be

a citizen

of that kingdom?

How many of us

would not want

to live in a place

that's populated

with people

who are always good?

Always in control

of their anger?

Are non-judgmental?

People

always seeking

peace?

People who are

committed,

always loyal,

who are always

truthful,

continually generous?

That's not a list

of Christian desires.

This is what

everybody wants

to see.

This is the kind

of Scotland,

the Edinburgh

that we all

want to live in.

But if we're

honest with

ourselves,

which one of us

can manage

to live out

one of these

attributes perfectly

on our own,

let alone all of them?

If we hang around,

sometimes when you

apply for citizenship

of a country

or you have to

pass a language test,

so I think that

if we all hung around

for church long enough,

we could learn

the language

of this kingdom.

We could put

phrases together

that make it sound

like we belong here.

But to be a citizen

of God's kingdom,

learning the language,

saying the words,

paying lip service

is not enough.

It has to be

who we are.

It has to be

pressed down

inside of us,

imprinted

onto our hearts.

So which one of us

thinks that we can

measure up on our own?

Which one of us

even thinks,

well,

I could give it a go?

because right back

at the start

of Jesus'

sermon on the mount,

he says that the people

who will inherit

the kingdom

are the poor

in spirit.

Poor in spirit

has got nothing

to do with your

bank balance,

but it's about

your posture

towards God.

It's about

understanding

that there's

nothing you have

that you can

offer to God

in exchange

for your passport

into his kingdom.

Not your time,

not your savings,

not your talents,

not your best effort.

It's recognizing

that whatever

you have materially,

whatever gifts

God has given

to you

as a person,

you're spiritually

destitute.

There's nothing

you can do

to lift yourself

up

from your

spiritual poverty

community.

If you think

that you could

work your way

into the kingdom,

have a go

at being good

enough to get in,

you've already

fallen at the

first hurdle.

This is why

Jesus is so

insistent

that his followers

pray.

That's why

he repeats it,

increases in

intensity,

and insists on

constantly coming

to God in prayer

again and again

and again,

asking,

seeking,

knock,

knock,

knocking on

heaven's door.

Passionate,

consistent,

utter reliance

on God

to shape us

into the kind

of people

who can live

in his kingdom.

Prayer,

as Jesus outlines

it for us here,

is less a thing

we do

and more the way

that we live.

Jesus is teaching

that we're to pray

as though our life

depends on it

because our life

does depend

on God

entirely.

We're creatures

of absolute

dependence

on our

absolute

God.

Prayer is

acting like it.

There's a

theologian,

a Puritan theologian

called Richard Baxter

and he said

that prayer

is the breath

of the new

creature.

A new creature,

somebody changed

by Jesus.

Prayer isn't

a tool

that you keep

up your sleeve

for when you

need it.

It's what

sustains a Christian

moment to

moment.

It's vital,

so vital

for Christians,

Baxter says,

that to be

without prayer

is to be

without breath.

Do you pray

to God

like your life

depends on it?

Take a moment

to think about

the state

of your prayer

life today,

right now.

Is prayer

the thing

that you first

think of

when you open

your eyes?

Is prayer

the thing

that you're

most committed

to as you

go about

your day?

Or has

your prayer

life become

like it's

automated?

What do you

need to change?

What are the

things when you

go home tonight

that you can

change to

make your

prayer life

more fruitful?

How can you

pray like

your life

depends on

it?

Okay,

secondly,

pray to

the life

of Christ

pulsates

in your

heart.

We've spoken

about the

context of

this passage

being really

important,

and context

is really

important for

every passage,

because the

danger is if

we take

a statement

like ask

and it will

be given

you,

and we

copy and

paste it

and stick

it on a

t-shirt or

stick it on

a mug,

when we

look at it

by itself,

we can

think,

well,

God says

that all

I have to

do is ask

for something,

and then

he'll give

me anything

that I

want.

Some people

do think

like this,

we know

that they

do,

people call

it power

prayers,

or name

it and

claim it

praying,

you say

what you

want,

God will

provide it,

but it's

dangerous,

because it

reduces the

gospel down

to being

about our

health and

our wealth,

we think,

God,

I'm going

to need

a pay

rise,

God,

I'm going

to need

a guarantee

that I'm

not going

to get

lower than

a C

in my

Hebrew

exam,

God,

I want

at least

two

grandchildren

by the

time I'm

60,

God,

I know

you can

do this,

oh yeah,

God is

a giver

of all

good gifts,

everything

that we

have is

from God,

and God

can do

these

things,

but the

problem

with name

it and

claim it

power

prayers

is that

they treat

God like

some sort

of genie

who's on

hand to

fulfill our

desires,

and what

that reveals

in the

heart of

a person

is that

they want

the things

that God

can give

them and

not God

himself.

I think

it also

assumes

that we

think that

we know

better

what we

need

than

God

does,

and a

God

who

doesn't

know

more

than

you

is

not

a

God

that

you

want

to

trust

in.

The

epistle

of

James

is a

letter

that was

written

by one

of

Jesus'

followers,

probably

Jesus'

half-brother,

so likelihood

he heard

Jesus

saying,

if not

these exact

words,

things very

like them,

and near

the beginning

of his

letter,

he uses

language really

similar to

our ask

and it

will be

given

you,

and James

says that

the thing

that we're

to ask

for is

wisdom,

and wisdom

is required

if we're

going to

follow the

path of

a citizen,

a kingdom

citizen.

We need to

know how

to discern

between being

judgmental

and naive,

and we know

that wisdom

is a good

thing for us

to pray for.

King Solomon,

hundreds of

years before

Jesus,

he had a

dream one

night,

and God

came to

him and

said,

ask me

for whatever

you want

and I'll

give it

to you.

And the

thing that

Solomon

asked for

was an

understanding

mind to

discern between

good and

evil.

Solomon asked

for wisdom,

and God was

pleased that

Solomon asked

for wisdom,

and so he

answered his

prayer and

he gave him

wisdom.

He made him

the wisest

man that's

ever lived.

Even today,

even people who

don't think the

Bible is true

still use Solomon

as a cultural

reference for

what it means

to be really

wise.

But despite

a promising

start,

despite all

this wisdom,

Solomon fell

into sin,

he turned

to idols,

and he looked

to things that

weren't God

to satisfy

him.

If the

wisest man

who's ever

lived fell

away from

God, how

much more

clear can

it be that

we need to

be constantly,

persistently

pursuing after

God in

prayer?

Solomon

shows us

that wisdom

is good,

to ask for

wisdom is

good, but

discernment

alone isn't

enough.

There's a

parallel passage

to this

passage in

Luke chapter

Luke 11 · chapter mention

11.

And there we

can read the

same passage,

it's almost

word for

word.

Ask and it

will be given

to you,

seek and you

will find,

knock and

the door will

be opened

for you.

For everyone

who asks

receives,

and the one

who seeks

finds, and

to the one

who knocks,

the door

will be

opened.

But at

the end of

the Luke

account,

Luke tells

us the

what,

the good

thing that

God will

give to

his children

who ask.

He says,

if you

then,

although you're

evil, know

how to give

good gifts

to your

children,

how much

more will

the heavenly

father give

the Holy

Spirit to

those who

ask him?

Be asking,

seeking,

knocking,

because God

is ready and

waiting to

gift you the

Holy Spirit.

What does

that mean?

Well, it's

the Holy

Spirit,

the third

person of

the Godhead,

who enters

into believers'

hearts when

they put their

trust in

Jesus.

And the

Holy Spirit

never leaves.

It's a

mark of your

citizenship of

the kingdom of

heaven,

irrevocable

and secure.

And he

dwells in

believers,

working in

them, changing

their hearts,

renewing

them, shaping

them more

and more

into the

image of

Jesus.

One

theologian

describes what

the Holy

Spirit does

like this.

The work

of the Holy

Spirit is

to make

the life

of Christ

pulsate in

the life of

the believer

so that we

live not,

but Christ

lives in

us.

We're to

pray so

diligently for

the Holy

Spirit that

he would

increase in

our lives,

that he

would fill

us up with

the good

things of

God so

that we

can be

made to

live more

and more

like Jesus

did.

So that

good things,

love, joy,

peace,

forbearance,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control

come pouring

out of us.

I wonder if

we are seeing

evidence of the

Holy Spirit

working in

our lives.

Is your

heart pulsating

with Christ

likeness?

Is it

evident to

the people

around you?

Do you

get angry

way less

than you

might once

have?

Do people

see you

becoming more

and more

humble?

Do you

exude joy in

your life,

thankful for

the things

that God's

given you

rather than

always being

worried about

the next

thing that

you want

to get?

Those are

all signs

that the

Holy Spirit's

working in

you.

This is

what we

are to

pray for

so

unwaveringly

and

impassionately

because the

way to be

shaped into

a citizen

of the

kingdom of

heaven is

by imitating

the life of

the king.

And to

do that,

we need

help.

And if you

are producing

this kind of

fruit in your

life, if you

are noticing

that you have

changed, if

people around

you are, what

a witness that

is to the

power of

God and

what a

witness to

the power

of prayer.

We so

often look for

miraculous

cures to

terminal illnesses

or for

survivors of

horrific accidents

as evidence

that God's

working in

the world.

But the

slow, steady

shaping of

his people

to be more

like his

son is

clear evidence

of the

power God

offers to

those who

ask for

it.

Thirdly, and

lastly, pray

because God

guarantees the

best answer.

So we said

this passage is

about prayer,

and I think we

can be even

more specific

than that.

I think we

can say that

this passage is

about the

God-given

guarantee

that your

praying life

will be

rewarded.

This whole

passage is

filled with

the assurance

that we

will receive.

Ask and

it will be

given to

you.

Seek and

you will

find.

Knock and

the door

will be

opened.

For

everyone who

asks

receives,

and the

one who

seeks

finds,

and to

the one

who knocks,

it will

be

opened.

These are

statements of

certainty.

And to

emphasize the

point, in

verses 9 and

10, Jesus

uses these

rhetorical

questions that

I think are

deliberately a

bit ridiculous.

He asks

parents, if

your son

asks for

bread, would

you give

him a

stone?

Or if

he asks

for fish,

would you

give him

a serpent?

We know

that not

all parents

are good

parents.

Some

children

suffer

terribly,

and we

pray against

that evil.

But generally

speaking,

parents

intuitively

know how

to give

good things

to their

children.

The

unspoken

answer to

these

rhetorical

questions is,

none of us,

Jesus, we

all know how

to give good

things to

our children.

Jesus

says,

if you

then, being

evil, know

how to give

good gifts

to your

children, how

much more

will your

father who's

in heaven give

good things to

those who

ask him?

Driving

home the

point, Jesus

compares God

the father with

an earthly

parent.

He says,

if you who

struggle to be

filled with love

the way that

you should be,

can still

give good

things to

your children,

how much

more likely

is it that

your perfectly

good, perfectly

merciful, perfectly

holy father

will give good

things to his

children when

they ask?

Giving them

exactly what

they need.

The answer is

infinitely more

likely.

certainty.

God doing

what he says

he's going

to do is

not even a

likelihood, it's

a certainty.

Just like a

good father

always answers,

just like a

good father,

God answers

our prayers by

giving us

exactly what

we need,

not always

what we want.

earlier in

the series,

Ryan quoted

Tim Keller

and Tim Keller

said, God

will give you

what you

would have

asked for

if you

knew everything

he knows.

God does

answer, he

does give

exactly what

you need.

So if you're

sitting in your

seat tonight

and you're

holding back

from pouring

yourself out

to God

in prayer

like this

because you're

afraid that

you'll put

yourself out

there and

your prayer

will go

unanswered,

well you

can lay

that concern

aside completely

because right

now God

is asking

you to

come to

him.

When you

beg and

search and

hammer on

the door of

heaven to

be made

more like

Jesus,

it's more

certain God

will answer

your prayers

than you'll

answer your

next phone

call.

God gives

you his

word.

Maybe you're

not ready

for constant

unwavering

passionate

pursuit of

God because

it sounds like

a lot to

commit to.

And if

that's the

case,

then I'd

invite you to

think about

just for a

moment how

committed

Jesus is to

guaranteeing that

your prayers

will be

answered.

Jesus is so

committed to

making sure your

prayers are

answered that

he died on

the cross for

you to

guarantee it.

Before Jesus

went to the

cross, he was

in a garden

with some

friends.

And three

times he went

to pray to

his father

asking,

seeking,

knocking.

Jesus was

in agony.

He was

praying so

fervently and

his sweat fell

to the ground

like drops of

blood.

And Jesus

prayed to

God, his

good,

merciful

father, and

he said,

is it

possible for

me not to

have to do

this?

Father, is

there any

other way?

But you

know what's

right.

There was no

other way.

God is a

God of

justice.

When Jesus

died on the

cross, he

didn't die for

his sin.

He didn't

have any.

He died to

pay the

justice for

your sins.

So what

you have

now is

access and

answers.

You can

come into

the presence

of almighty

God, not

as a

guilty

prisoner

before a

judge given

a stay of

execution,

but as a

child comes

before a

loving father

who longs to

be pestered

by you,

asking,

seeking,

knocking,

to be made

more and

more like

Jesus,

your older

brother who

sacrificed

himself to

save you.

When you

pray to God

for God,

your prayer

is guaranteed

to be

answered,

because that

prayer of

Jesus that

he prayed in

the garden

went unanswered.

God,

let's pray.

Lord God,

we thank

you for

the opportunity

we have to

pray to you.

We thank

you for the

gift of

prayer.

Teach us,

Lord, to

pray to

you as

we should,

fervently,

diligently,

consistently.

Lord,

make us

people who

breathe in

and pray

out.

we thank

you for

the assurance

we have

that you

will hear

us because

of what

Jesus has

done.

And we

pray in

his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.