Ask... Seek... Knock...

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

We've been working our way through Matthew,

we've been working our way through the Sermon on the Mount,

and here we are in Matthew chapter 7, verses 7 through 11,

Matthew 7:7–11

and our Lord King tells us about prayer.

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 things to those who ask him?

Well, in this section on the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus compels us to pray,

to ask, and to seek, and to knock.

He's been calling us, his disciples,

to a righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees.

You can look at that on chapter 5, verse 20.

That is a high call.

But if you look over at chapter 5, verse 48,

you see this call.

You, therefore, my disciples,

must be perfect,

as your heavenly Father is perfect.

And so, before we talk about this call to prayer

Jesus is making on us,

you've got to be reminded

of what he's been calling us to

in this sermon all along.

It's a call to holiness.

Let me highlight some things.

We know we're not supposed to murder people,

but we're not supposed to hate them either.

We're not supposed to commit adultery with people,

but we're not to lust in our hearts for others either.

We know we're not supposed to hate our enemies,

but Jesus calls us to the high call.

We're to love our enemies.

We know we're not to live for the dot

and store up treasures on earth,

but we're to live for the line

and store up treasures in heaven.

We know we're not to be anxious about our lives,

but seek first the kingdom and his righteousness.

We know we're not to be sinfully critical,

ungraciously judgmental of our brothers and sisters.

Rather, we're to take the log out of our own eyes

so that we can take the speck

out of our brother and sisters.

This is high call stuff.

This is calling to holiness,

a righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees,

the very professional religious folk of the day.

This is a call to holiness,

to perfection.

It's beyond us.

Jesus is calling us to the impossible.

Now maybe you got one of these down.

Maybe you're like,

yeah, you know, I'm never anxious.

Never anxious.

Well, how about the rest of the Sermon on the Mount?

If you read through it like most of us read through it,

you're like, no, I cannot do that.

That's beyond me.

That's exactly the point.

The Sermon brings us to an end to ourselves.

It exposes in us our constant need for our God.

Our constant need to depend on our Father

for only what He can give,

the good gift of holiness.

And that's the point of why Jesus

is brought us to this part of the Sermon.

He's bringing it to application.

He's turning us to response.

And the first response He calls us to here

is to pray,

to ask, seek, and knock.

You can't do it, brother and sister in Christ.

You can't do it.

You can't live out the Sermon on the Mount

in your own power.

You can't.

But God can give you the grace you need.

And we must humble Himself, ourselves, and seek Him.

So this morning, brother and sister in Christ,

you need to hear this.

Your Father in Heaven wants you

to come to Him.

He wants you to ask Him

for the good, holy things.

To give you what only He can

to live a life that only He can enable.

And so this morning, in this passage,

I want you to see three things.

We are to pray persistently.

We are to pray with promise.

And we are to pray paternally

with an eye to our Father.

We are to be persistent

in our prayerful pursuit

of perfection,

of holiness.

That's the call.

So let's look at this first point.

Pray persistently.

If you look at chapter 7, verse 7,

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.

There are three words of persistence

that you need to understand.

You already see them.

Ask, seek, knock.

And so again, remember,

at this point in the sermon,

this was a sermon Jesus preached.

He's walked us through

the call to holiness

and now He's calling us to respond.

And He's saying, pray.

Pray, ask, seek, and knock

for the very things

I've just called you to.

Call upon your Father.

Here's what I love about Jesus.

He says, okay,

if you've got kind of a lust issue

in your heart,

just don't go work it out.

Call upon your Holy Father.

Ask Him for purity.

Seek Him for a godly life.

Knock on His door

to open ways unto holiness

that only He can.

To be persistent

in our prayerful pursuit

of perfection.

We're never going to be perfect

on this side of glory.

But that doesn't mean we strive.

We don't strive.

We strive.

He's called us to this.

And He is able to

give us what we need.

These three verbs,

ask, seek, and knock,

are commands.

Scholars call them imperatives.

Have you ever seen

a war movie

and there's a commander

and He has His groups

around Him

and there's explosions

and rumbling

and He says to His team,

team, it's imperative

that we get hill number 473.

It's imperative.

It's vital.

It's essential.

It's necessary.

That's what an imperative is.

There's urgency.

And so Jesus is saying,

in light of this call

to holiness,

holiness,

it is imperative

that you call upon

your Father in Heaven

to give you what you need.

It's imperative that you ask.

It's imperative that you seek.

It's imperative that you knock.

In the original language,

these imperatives

are in the present tense,

which means

it has an ongoing force.

And so you could say it like this.

Keep asking.

Keep seeking.

Keep knocking.

Do you know why?

Because the Sermon on the Mount

is a call on us

all the way through

until we see Jesus face to face.

We're to keep asking.

Keep seeking.

Keep knocking.

It's persistent.

Persistent asking,

seeking, and knocking.

And not only do these

three imperatives

have this ongoing force,

they have increasing urgency.

Did you notice that?

We move from asking

to clicking up a notch

to seeking

to clicking up a notch

to knocking.

My youngest daughter,

Mary, embodies this.

Let me show you how.

This is how it works out.

Mary has a particularly strong bond

with my wife, Jenny.

And so Mary's

at the dining room table

and it begins with an ask.

Mom, where are my stretchy pants?

Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

The ask.

And it's persistent.

But then when Jenny doesn't respond,

the asking continues,

but it moves into seeking.

Mom!

Where are you?

Mom!

Mom!

Where are you?

I'm up in my room.

Walk, walk, walk.

Step, step, step.

And if the door is closed,

Mom!

Where are my stretchy pants?

Will you let me in, please?

You know what my little daughter illustrates?

She's pursuing her parent

for what she needs.

She will not be denied.

We, as children of our father,

we ask

and then we seek him

and then we knock on his door

to open up

so that he can provide what we need.

This pursuit,

this persistence,

it's a pursuit

of our heavenly father

who has what we need

for holiness.

He is the object of our pursuit.

He is the one

that gives us

what we need

for holiness.

That's not in the bottom

of a crackerjack box.

Our father gives that.

So if you're anxious

about something

or you're tempted

to be critically judgmental

of someone else,

ask your father.

Go to him.

Ask him for a peace

that transcends all understanding.

Ask him for a humility

that sees your own sin

for what it is

and you can help others.

Ask him.

Seek him.

Knock on his door for that.

Let me ask this question.

What is the need

for the persistence?

Why the ongoing asking,

ongoing seeking,

ongoing knocking?

What's up with that?

Well, I've already alluded to it.

We are to pray persistently

because we are

in persistent need.

Jesus knows us really well.

And the kind of persistent need

we have

is the need

for God's grace

to make us

holy,

holy,

holy.

To grow us in holiness.

The fancy word is

sanctification.

The process of being made

more and more like Jesus

in our everyday lives.

We need persistent

for that.

It's a persistent,

prayerful pursuit

of paternal perfection.

Holiness.

Holiness.

We are asking him

for the grace

that he alone provides

to make us like him.

That's why this is a persistent need.

You need it everyday.

God says,

I am holy.

You be holy

for I am holy.

We need his help.

Now,

if you fail to make

the connection

between

what Jesus is calling us

to here

and what has proceeded

in the Sermon on the Mount,

you know what you are

going to ask your father for?

You are going to be

content to ask him

for Green Bay Packer tickets.

You are going to be

asking him for things

that are good things,

but

not the greatest things.

Your father wants you

asking him

for good things

unto holiness.

Throwing Packer tickets,

great.

So,

what we see here

with this persistent

praying

is Jesus

commanding us

to depend

persistently

on our

father.

It's essentially

an act of

ongoing dependence

is what we're being

called to.

It's a call

to ongoing humility.

It's a call

to abiding

in our God.

We need him

in order to live

the life he's

called us to.

Are you seeing this?

Are you seeing

the need?

How do you respond

to what Jesus

is calling you to?

How do you respond

to this?

How do you respond

to this call

to persistent praying?

I can imagine

two kinds of responses.

The first

kind is the way

that I typically

respond to something

like this

and that is

to go into

pragmatic

list mode.

So,

it goes something

like this.

All right,

Jesus is calling me

to pray persistently.

Okay,

I got it.

Check.

Now,

the reason why

I don't pray

persistently

is,

well,

it's a lack

of discipline.

Check.

And so,

what I need

now,

more than anything

else,

is a list

of things

to be praying

for so that

I can be praying

more persistently.

Or better yet,

I need to wake

up earlier

in order to pray

more.

Or maybe even

better yet,

what are the books

on prayer

that I can be

praying so that

I can be more

persistent in my

praying?

What do I need?

Do I need to get

more accountability

in my life?

Do I need to

listen to more

sermons?

What do I need

in order to be

more persistent

in my praying?

A few Sundays

ago,

I preached

a sermon

and I made

an illustration.

It's the difference

between the

Christian life

as a rowboat

and the Christian

life as a sailboat.

And when we

respond to a call

like this by saying,

what do I need

to do more?

It's like

grabbing a

rowboat.

Okay,

I just need

to pray more.

That's not what

Jesus is getting

at here.

The problem

Jesus is putting

his finger on

is not a lack

of discipline.

The problem

that Jesus is

putting his finger

on is a lack

of understanding

our desperate

need for him.

that's where

it starts.

And that leads

me to the

second kind

of response.

The Sermon

on the Mount,

it exposes

our constant

need for God's

grace as his

disciples.

It exposes,

it shows us,

we can't live

this without him.

And so if we

don't need more

discipline,

what we need

more of is

God himself

and the grace

he provides.

That's what we

need.

That's what

we're going

to.

That's where

Jesus is bringing

us to here.

You can't live

this on your

own.

So ask,

seek,

knock,

depend on

your heavenly

father for

this.

Keep asking.

Keep seeking.

Keep seeking

your father.

And then when

you've got that

sense of

desperation in

place,

that's when you

start looking

for books.

That's when you

start looking

for accountability.

That's when you

start looking

for help.

But you need

first to attend

to your heart.

Are you

desperate?

Do you want

holiness?

Are you

motivated to

pursue your

father for the

only thing he

can give you

for it?

Do you want

it?

Do you want

holiness?

Do you want

the sermon on

the mount?

Do you want

that for your

life?

We're to pray

persistently

because we

are in

persistent

need of

God's grace.

We're to pray

persistently.

And the second

point I want you

to see here is

we're to pray

with promise.

promise.

If you look at

verses 7 and

8 you see the

imperatives right?

Ask, seek, and

knock.

But what you

also need to

see is that

every imperative

is met with a

promise.

Ask and it

will be given

to you.

Promise.

Seek imperative

and you will

find promise.

Knock imperative

and the door

will be opened

unto you.

Promise.

promise.

promise.

Every imperative

is met with a

promise.

Jesus in

verse 8 is

emphasizing the

certainty of

knowing that

your heavenly

father when

sought for

holiness will

say yes.

promise.

It's his joy to

give it.

Your heavenly

father hears

your persistent

prayers and

persistently

answers them.

He wants good

for you.

He wants you to

share in his

holiness more

than you want

to.

Jesus in

this with these

promises he

wants us to be

certain that if

we are persistent

praying God will

persistently answer.

Did you hear the

word if?

Is Jesus saying

here that we can

ask the father for

anything we want

and we can be

certain that we

will receive it for

anything?

Is he saying

that?

He's not saying

that.

He's not saying

that.

We all know

that's the case.

And we could

probably make an

argument just

from our own

experience.

I'm guessing

you have prayed

for things that

you have not

received.

The issue here

is the kind of

promise that

Jesus is making.

There are

classically two

kinds of promises.

There are

unconditional

promises and

there are

conditional

promises.

The unconditional

promise is when

party A commits

to doing something

for party B

and it has no

bearing on what

party B does.

Party A is going

to follow through.

The classic example

is for us

Christians.

God says,

I will never

leave you nor

forsake you.

Period.

Nothing can

separate you from

the love of God

in Christ Jesus.

Period.

Unconditional

promises.

But a conditional

promise is a

promise that goes

something like this.

Let's say one of

my children wants

to use the car.

And I, as his

father,

knowing that

there's other

areas of his life

to attend to,

says,

son, I would

be glad

for you to

use the vehicle.

I promise

that you can

use the vehicle

if you

clean your

room.

That's a

conditional

promise.

And what we

see going on

here in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

7 through 8,

are conditional

promises.

Ask.

And it will

be given to

you.

There are

three conditional

promises going

on.

Three conditions.

You may not

see them,

so I want to

draw them out

for you.

You ready?

Condition one

is this.

You've got to

be a Christian.

Condition two

is this.

You've got to

be a Christian

who's actually

asking.

And condition

three is this.

You've got to

be a Christian

who's asking

according to

God's will.

Those are the

conditions.

And God

says,

you meet

those and

I will

give you

what you're

asking for.

You're going

to find what

you're looking

for.

I'm going

to open

the way

for you

to walk

in.

Now,

I want to

help you

see that

more clearly.

So,

condition one,

you've got to

be a Christian.

If you look

at verse

seven,

ask and it

will be

given to

you.

Seek and

you will

find.

Knock and

the door

will be

opened unto

you.

So,

the really

important

question we

need to

answer is

this.

Who's the

you?

And that's

where you

flip back to

chapter five,

verse one.

We have the

answer to that

question.

Seeing the

crowds,

Jesus went up

on the

mountain and

when he

sat down,

his disciples

came to

him.

And he

opened his

mouth and

taught them,

his disciples.

Who's the

you?

His

disciples,

followers of

Jesus.

That's who the

promise is to.

You've got to

be a follower

of Jesus to

be certain

that God

the Father

is going to

answer your

prayers.

you've got to

be a child

of the

Father.

That's the

first condition.

The second

condition is

this.

You need to

be asking.

Did you

notice?

Ask,

and it will

be given to

you.

Seek,

and you

will find.

Knock,

and the

door will

be opened

unto you.

James says

it this way,

James 4,

2.

you have

not

because

you

ask

not.

Does

God know

our needs

before we

ask?

Absolutely.

Does,

is he able

to meet

your needs?

Oh yeah,

he's all

powerful.

He owns a

cattle on a

thousand

ills.

Does he

even want

to meet

your needs?

Oh yes,

he does.

But if

you don't

ask,

he won't

give it.

So why?

What's up

with that?

Our God,

our Father,

wants us

depending on

him.

He wants

us coming

to him.

We are

dependent

upon our

Father.

This past

week,

I have

been asking

myself the

question,

what is it

that I want

that I don't

have?

Because I'm

not asking

for it.

And I

started thinking

about our

church,

and I

started

thinking,

what is it

that I want

to see

happen that

I haven't

been asking

for?

And you

know what

it is?

That God

would add

to our

numbers by

conversions,

by people

coming to

faith in

Jesus through

our corporate

witness of

the gospel,

and they

being added

to our

numbers.

We're so

grateful for

the people

God is

bringing

here.

But we

want God

to bring

people who

have yet to

hear about

Jesus,

they hear

about Jesus

through our

witness,

and they

come to

Christ.

Oh man,

I started

praying that.

What is it

that you

want from

your Father

unto holiness

that you

don't have

because you

haven't been

asking?

Maybe it's

something with

your marriage,

maybe it's

something with

your parenting.

We have

not because

we ask

not.

That's

condition

two.

You've

got to be

a Christian

who's

asking.

Condition

three.

You've

got to be

a Christian

who's

asking

according

to God's

will.

Do you

remember

the immediate

context of

what precedes

this?

Jesus is

calling us

unto holiness.

He's calling

us to

perfection.

perfection.

And so

when he

says,

ask and

it will

be given

to you.

Seek and

you will

find.

Knock and

it will

be opened.

What's

the it?

A life

pleasing to

God.

A life

lived unto

his name.

Hallowed

be your

name.

Your kingdom

come.

Your will

be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

There are

some other

passages to

look at

that make

a case

for God

hearing the

prayers of

obedient sons

and daughters.

I'm just

going to turn

you to one.

If you

would turn

to 1 John

1 John 3:22

chapter 3

verse 22.

1 John

3

22

says this.

And

whatever we

ask we

receive from

him.

Well that

sounds great.

Whatever we

ask we

receive from

him.

And then

look at the

rest of the

verse.

Because we

keep his

commandments and

do what

pleases him.

Do you

know how

you can be

assured that

God is not

only hearing

your prayers

but is poised

to answer

them?

He's intending

to.

He will.

He will.

You walk in

his ways.

You walk in

obedience to

him.

We see the

very similar

thing in

John 15

7.

1 Peter

3 7

talks to

husbands.

Husbands

live with

your wives

in an

understanding

way.

And he

closes it

by saying

if you

don't your

prayers are

going to be

hindered.

So this

third condition

is a

condition in

which

if we

want to be

certain that

God is

going to

answer our

prayers,

one of the

steps that

we take is

to make

sure we're

walking in

obedience to

him.

So three

conditions.

You've got to

be a Christian,

you've got to

be a Christian

who's asking,

and you've got

to be a

Christian who's

asking according

to God's

will.

When these

are met,

you can be

fully confident

that God is

going to give

you what you're

asking for,

above and beyond

what you ask

or imagine.

So what I've

been trying to

say is these

promises are

conditional

promises.

Another way to

talk about it

is this.

When we want

what God

wants,

God's delighted

to give it.

we pray with

promise.

It's a

conditional

promise,

but it's a

promise.

The last

point is

this.

We pray

paternally.

Have you

heard the

word of your

maternal

grandmother?

You're talking

about your

grandmother on

your mother's

side.

Your paternal

grandmother is

your grandmother

on your father's

side.

paternal means

father.

It comes from a

Greek word,

pater, which

means father.

And it's the

word that's being

used in this text

in verse 11.

How much more

will your father

who is in heaven

give good things

to those who

ask?

In verses 9

through 11,

Jesus shows us

why we can be

certain that God

will follow through

on his promise.

If we are going

to him and

asking for things

that are right

along his will,

we can be

absolutely confident

that he's going

to respond.

Why?

Because of who

he is.

His character.

You see,

the case that

Jesus is making

here is ultimately

prayer is

theological.

theological.

It matters

what you think

about God.

He's,

Jesus is

grounding our

confidence in

prayer in

God's character.

The very

fatherhood

of God.

Let me just

read verses

9 through 11

for you.

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?

That's really

kind of

interesting

questions,

don't you

think?

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

to those

who ask

him?

Verses

9 through

11,

and 11 in

particular,

is a kind

of an

argument.

It's called

a how much

more argument.

Jesus is

making a

case for

you to

pray.

And a how

much more

argument goes

something like

this.

If the

Wisconsin

Badgers

defense is

one of the

top ranked

defenses without

their star

linebacker,

how much

more will

their defense

dominate when

that linebacker

is back in

the game?

Did you get

the how much

more argument?

Let me come

in at a

different angle.

If I feel

this good

having lost

five pounds,

how much

more,

how much

more wonderful

will I feel

if I lose

ten?

It's a how

much more

argument.

If we think

our times of

worship are

sweet now,

how much

more will

they be

joy-filled

when we sing

to our Savior

face-to-face?

How much

more argument?

The how

much more

argument Jesus

uses here

touches on

something that

we can all

identify with,

a father

giving gifts

to his

children.

In verses

9 and 10,

he just kind

of sets it

up.

He wants

us to

understand

that even

though we

are sinful

at the core,

we still

have this

ability to

give good

gifts.

So for

example,

he says,

which one

of you dads,

if your son

comes to you

asking for

bread,

will give

him a stone?

And back

in the day,

a stone would

look like a

little kind

loaf of

bread.

Which one

of you guys

would give

your son a

loaf of

bread,

a stone if

he asked for

a loaf of

bread?

And the

answer is

nobody would.

I don't want

my son to

break his

teeth on a

stone.

I don't want

to do that

for him.

Jesus' point,

nobody,

no father

would do

that.

Verse 10,

if your son

asks for a

fish,

you give him

a serpent.

The fish that

Jesus is probably

talking about is

an eel.

I know that

eels probably

don't appeal to

your palate.

Apparently they

did back in

the day.

What Jesus is

saying is,

which one of

you, if your

son is hungry

and asks for

a delicious

eel,

would give

him a

serpent, a

poisonous serpent

instead?

Who would do

that?

Jesus is setting

up his argument

that he's going

to make in

verse 11.

He says

this,

if you

then,

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?

How much

more?

So this

how much

more argument

is a

comparison.

And it

makes the

point by

moving from

lesser to

greater.

And the

lesser in

this comparison

are earthly

fathers who

have sinful

natures.

We can

still give

good gifts.

I can

give some

awesome

gifts.

But I'm a

sinful man.

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How much more is he able to give good gifts to those who ask him?

Jesus is making a case for us to pray based upon God's posture of heart to his children.

His ability aimed at us in love.

He wants good for us.

All right, for the sake of going too far, let me just say this.

Who would give the better gift?

You tell me.

A father who is limited in his knowledge and in his ability and in his resources with a sinful nature

or a father who is unlimited in his knowledge, unlimited in his ability, unlimited in his resources,

and does not have any hindrance of sin.

Rather, he's fully holy.

Which one will give the better gift?

Amen.

Our Heavenly Father.

The good things that our Heavenly Father gives is good things unto holiness, unto godliness.

He delights in that.

He is postured.

He wants you to share in his holiness.

I used to think that holiness was boring.

And then I started to think about God.

And I started to think about how joy-filled God is.

He's the most happy person in the world, in creation.

He's also the most holy.

God wants you to delight in sharing in his holiness.

The good things that we are to ask for are things that pertain to godliness.

So we persistently and with promise persevere in this prayerful pursuit of perfection.

That's what we do.

Jesus is showing us how important theology is to prayer.

If you think God's a jerk, you're not going to want to pray to him.

If you think God is always angry with you, it's going to affect the way you pray with him.

If you think that God spoils his kids, it's going to have an effect the way you pray to him.

But if you think God is a heavenly father who gives good gifts according to his wisdom out of love for you and wanting to share in his holiness,

it's going to affect the way you pray for.

He gives good gifts.

Jesus.

Jesus.

There's one way you can really know that.

Because the greatest gift he ever gave is the guy speaking.

Jesus.

Our father sent Jesus so that we can be brought into his family.

Jesus removed our sin and gave us the right to become children of God.

This use of your father that we see in verse 11,

this is the 11th time in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus has referenced God as either our father or your father.

Jesus wants us to know that through him, this God is our father.

In his posture towards us is goodness.

Ask him.

Ask him for things unto godliness.

Ask him.

The point of this how much more argument is to compel us to ask.

Ask our holy heavenly father and he will give.

He will give.

There's another how much more argument that I want to make right now.

It's not from Matthew.

It's from Romans.

Romans 8.32.

Listen to this.

He, our father, who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

You hear the how much more argument?

If God gave us Jesus, how much more will he give us everything we need for life and godliness?

God wants you to share his holiness.

He wants you to enjoy his holiness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our heavenly father wants to give you good things.

He wants you to ask.

He wants you to seek.

He wants you to knock.

He wants you to persistently, in prayerful pursuit, ask him for things.

Jesus.

The Sermon on the Mount is a call to holiness.

And here Jesus is calling us to respond by asking our father for it.

To ask, seek, and knock for it.

Now, I can imagine that some of us in this room right now are sitting here

and you're saying something like this.

Maybe you're not.

Maybe you just, I just need to put it in your head.

You're sitting there thinking, I'm not sure if I want holiness.

I'm not sure if I want what the Sermon on the Mount calls me to.

How do you respond to that?

Ask for your father to give you a desire for it.

That God would give you a hunger and thirst for righteousness.

That you begin to see the Sermon on the Mount, not as a pileup of to-dos,

but a menu of holiness that you just want to take in.

Could you imagine if our church is praying more and more,

oh God, would you give me these good gifts so that I can be more and more like you in holiness?

What if it's more and more of us are praying that way?

I think we become more and more like him.

Now, you may be sitting here too and you're wondering if you're even a Christian.

You're wondering if you are a child of God.

Well, if these conditions are true, which I pointed you to in the second point,

you have no assurance that your prayers are heard by God on high.

But I'm here to tell you there is one prayer that he will hear.

One prayer that he will hear from a sinner.

And this is it.

It's a prayer asking God to forgive in Christ.

It's simply going to God in prayer and saying,

oh God, I recognize that I'm a sinner.

I do not measure up to anything in Matthew 5 and 6.

Nothing.

It exposes me as a sinner.

I stand condemned.

There's nothing I can do to make me right in your eyes.

And the sinner's prayer is this.

Oh Lord Jesus, I receive you as the gift you are.

Father, God's gift of salvation to me to forgive my sin

and to usher me into the family of God.

Father, would you make me a child?

When you ask God that,

he will give it to you.

He promises to you.

You can bank on that one.

So if you're not a Christian here this morning,

cry out to God.

Ask him to bring you into his family

and he promises he will.

This morning, we have this call to pray.

To ask, seek, and knock

for the good things our Holy Father alone can give.

Let's close and pray together for it.

Father in heaven, we do thank you so much

for sending Jesus on our behalf.

Father, we ask that you would give us

a hunger and thirst for holiness,

that we would want the very thing

that Jesus calls us to,

to be perfect as you, Father, are perfect.

God, we realize that we can't

manufacture that in ourselves.

But that is something that you will gladly do.

And so this morning, we come asking, Father,

we come asking that you would pour out

your grace upon us

to make us more and more like Jesus.

That we'd be like Jesus in our hearts,

in our minds, in our actions.

God, we recognize that

that we have nothing to offer unto this.

Lord Jesus, you are the vine

and we are the branches.

Apart from you, we can do nothing.

I pray, Father, you would make us

humble, dependent people

who pray out of a desperation,

a desperate longing

to be more like our God.

God, would you do a work in us?

And we ask this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.