Matthew 7:7-12

you Matthew 7 is our text this morning. Bear

with me with my voice. I think it's just allergies.

I know it's annoying to listen to, so I'll do

the best I can. Matthew 7, we'll begin with verse

7 and end at verse 12. The word Jesus speaking

says, 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

he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it

will be opened. What man is there among you who,

if his son asks for bread, will you give him

a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will you give

him a serpent? If you then, being 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? Therefore,

Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to

them. For this is the law and the prophets. Let's

pray. Our gracious God, this morning, Lord, we

come and God, we have heard the word of the Lord,

Lord, written and read. And God, now would you

help us as it needs to be expounded and explained,

Lord. Father, would you give the illumination

of your Holy Spirit, Lord. Father, I realize,

Lord, this morning my voice may be a distraction.

God, would you help me? Lord, I pray that I would

preach with power, not fleshly power, but, Lord

God, the power of your spirit to unction, Lord,

that, God, you would give us, Lord, your grace

and your spirit. Lord, as we hear the word from

heaven, Lord, God, may this word take root, change

us, Lord, to be more like Christ because of what

we're hearing. God, we need you, Lord. Help us

to make much of Christ, even in our own weakness

and frailty, Lord. Would you show forth your

power? We pray this in Jesus' blessed name. Amen.

We have spent some considerable time working

our way through this masterpiece known as the

Sermon on the Mount. Really, this sermon, it

is the sermon. It is preached by the preacher.

Nothing can even come close to rivaling it. If

you talk about Matthew 5, 6, and 7, these chapters

are so well known, not just within the church,

but without the church as well. In fact, you'll

find portions of them referenced or quoted. Politicians

in various political speeches will use these

verses. But if we're not careful, we can easily

miss the big picture. What is the central point

of Christ as he's preaching this message? Well,

he's been talking about his kingdom. And he's

detailing what life in his kingdom looks like.

So the grand theme, if you will, the great subject

of this entire sermon, Matthew 5 all the way

through 7, really is the kingdom of God. Now

the kingdom of God is also known as the kingdom

of heaven. That's how Matthew references it.

It's also referenced as the kingdom of Christ.

All of those mean the exact same thing. Now there

is some confusion. In fact, there's a lot of

confusion on what the kingdom of God really is.

And I think there's some good reason for that.

When we speak of the kingdom of God, what we

mean is the rule of God, the reign, R -E -I -G

-N, the reign of God. So if I would ask you this

morning, where is Christ currently reigning?

Is he ruling over all the earth? Well, in one

sense, the answer to that would be yes. I mean,

there's no one or no thing outside of his jurisdiction.

Christ is the sovereign one. But not all the

nations, not all people, joyfully affirm his

rule. So where is Christ then recognized as king?

In his church. With the Christian. With joy,

great joy I would say, and with great enthusiasm,

we do cry out, Christ is Lord. Now when we're

saying that, we're making some also denunciations.

At the time of the writing of this, we would

say Caesar is not Lord, although Rome was a political

powerhouse. We would also say that no earthly

king today is Lord. No president is Lord. In

fact, Christ Jesus only is Lord. So when we're

talking about the kingdom of God today, currently,

we are talking really about his church. Christ

rules over his people. He rules over them primarily

in two ways. By his word and with the sacrament.

And it is in his church that he is recognized

as the great king. The word rules over us. It

gives us our marching orders. The sacraments

entrance into the community of God. And also

it has fellowship with the risen Christ. If someone

will not be obedient to the word. And they continue

in their stubborn rebellion after being confronted.

The church then brings discipline upon that person,

excommunicates them from the table of the Lord.

So he's ruling, he's ruling over his people.

But that's not the only thing that's meant by

the kingdom. When we speak of the kingdom of

God, we're also referring to the final end time

event when Christ returns and all creation will

once again joyfully, readily affirm his lordship.

One day all the nations will cry out, Christ

is Lord. Now so currently we say the kingdom

is here, but it's in seed form. But the kingdom

has not yet fully come in fruition. That awaits

a future date. So a lot of times in scripture

you see a motif. Already, but not yet. And there's

many ways that this is done. But here's one of

the ways that this is done. The kingdom is already

here. but not yet in its final form or in its

completed form. Now, how can I prove that? When,

Matt, in Luke chapter 11, Jesus said, but if

Luke 11 · chapter mention

I cast out demons with the finger of God, with

the power of God, surely, now notice his wording,

the kingdom of God has come upon you. The kingdom's

here, all right? But is that what Jesus means

when he talks about the kingdom? Well, no, in

a sense, it's not yet here in its final glorious

form. Revelation 11. Then the seventh angel sounded.

There were loud voices in heaven. Well, what

were those voices saying? The kingdoms of this

world have become the kingdom, singular, of our

Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever

and ever. In this great sermon then, we're starting

to see what life looks like, how the people of

God, that is, That is, the people of the new

covenant are to order their lives this side of

heaven. The kingdom's here, folks. We're in the

kingdom. It's just not yet arrived in its full,

robust, glorious form. So if we're talking about

the sermon, then this is how one is to live his

life in the kingdom of God. Because it is here

in the kingdom. Our king, Jesus Christ, he makes

demands of his people. And these demands are

inflexible. They don't change. They're not going

to be softened. And he makes difficult demands.

Let's just review some of them throughout the

past few chapters. In Matthew 5, he said the

believer is to be perfect. Verse 48, therefore

you shall be perfect. How perfect are you talking

about, Jesus? Just as your Father in heaven is

perfect. Then in Matthew 6, we are to pray, we

are to give, we are to fast, but secretly. Take

heed that you do not do your charitable deeds

before men. Take heed. Beware of that. So you

don't want to be seen by them. Otherwise, you

will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

And by the way, as we're living on this side

of earth, he says, yeah, lay up treasures. But

don't do so on earth. Lay up treasures in heaven.

Verse 20. Lay up for yourselves treasures in

heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys,

where thieves do not break in and steal. Don't

live on this side of eternity. Then we are also

to live quiet lives, trusting and depending upon

our Heavenly Father. Verse 31. Therefore do not

worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall

we drink or what shall we wear? Why not worry?

Life sometimes can be one big worry. Why not?

For after all these things, the Gentiles, these

are the pagans, these are people that don't know

God. They're all seeking those things. Every

one of them. But you, you and the kingdom. For

your heavenly father, he knows. He knows what

you need. He knows what you have. He knows what

you don't have. He knows that you need all these

things. And then we turn over to chapter 7. You

and I are to live in community with each other,

with our brothers and sisters in this kingdom

without being censorious, without being overly

strict and overly critical. We looked at this

last week, chapter 7, verse 1. Judge not, condemn

not. Credo is the word. Condemn not so that you

be not condemned. That means don't set yourself

up to be morally superior, but consider carefully

how you judge others. Why? Because on the day

of judgment, friend, you're going to be judged

by the very same standard. Don't do it. Now,

after reading all these demands, Every one of

us, just starting with the first one about being

perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. We

ought to start to despair. There ought to be

a sense of our conscience bothering us a little

bit. Who does this? It's like Paul when he's

talking about the care of all the churches and

he says, I have so much on me. Who is sufficient

for these things? I think that's how we should

feel right now when we look at the demands of

the kingdom and Christ is saying this is life

in the kingdom. We ought to be saying, but who

then is sufficient for these things? If this

is kingdom life, how can I, how can you, how

can we possibly endure? Who can do this? And

this leads to our text today. See, what we do,

we start to see our great need in being the disciples

of Christ. And we do have great need. And we

must have then great grace because there's not

one of us here this morning that on our own can

fulfill these demands. They're too lofty. They're

too high. The awareness, this awareness that

we have lack, that we have need, it drives us

onto our needs where we ask for grace, we seek

for wisdom, and we knock on the very doors of

heaven for the resources that we need to accomplish

his will. Friends, listen. There is a sense in

which we would despair that Christ, our pastor,

our shepherd, He comes to us and he says, don't

despair. Why? Because you in the kingdom, you

have a great high priest, the Lord Jesus, and

he offers his help, offers his supernatural help

to his people. Verse 7, ask. Just ask. It'll

be given. Seek. And you will find, knock and

it will be opened to you. For everyone, everyone

who asks receives and he who seeks finds and

him who knocks it's opened. That's a great promise.

But let me tell you what it's not. This is not

a blanket promise that the child of God is going

to receive everything he asked God for. This

is not the promise for selfish consumers. This

is not for people who want to consume things

upon their lusts. But there is a promise here

and it's precious. There is a promise here for

God's help and for God's empowerment to obey

all that our Lord has commanded in these three

lofty chapters. So it's an encouragement. How?

You don't have what it takes, nor do I, but we

go to God and the people of God. We go and we

ask and we seek and we knock for what? Daily

grace that is needed to be the disciple of Christ.

I can't, but he can. We feel helpless. And we

see our utter inability. And we cry out to the

Lord for grace. We cry out to the Lord for mercy.

We cry out to the Lord for his help. And this,

in our admission of need and his promise to give

it help, he's glorified that way. Because in

the kingdom, the King, the Lord Jesus Christ,

he is gracious. He is more than glad to offer

his help to the subjects who are in his kingdom.

Friends, you don't have a king that we ought

to fear going to. He's gracious. Verse 7, this

context, it is for disciples. And it's for disciples

who know they need help. It's not for independent,

self -sufficient people. It's for people who

know they don't have what it takes. Andrew Farley,

in his commentary, he says, Christ encourages

them, that is us, his disciples, to boldly ask

God for whatever they need. To seek from him

whatever they require to knock on the door of

heaven with their petitions. And if they do so,

they will find their father in heaven hearkening

to them. Amen. See, the verb tense, though, I

know, grammar nerd here, this is in the progressive

form. What does that mean? It means the disciples

are to Christ are to continue asking, continue

seeking, continue knocking. This is not a one

and done deal, in other words. Keep on. Keep

on what? Keep on asking the Lord. Keep on seeking

the Lord. Keep on knocking on the door of heaven.

Knowing, knowing, being assured, your Father

in heaven will answer. Now, we have here other

scriptures that will help us to understand there

are certain conditions that our Father in heaven

puts on prayer. Is he going to answer? Yeah.

Well, Psalm 66 says, if I regard iniquity in

my heart. Then the Lord will not hear me. 1 John

3. Whatever we ask, we receive from him. That's

a strong statement. Because, he's explaining

why. We keep his commandments and do those things

that are pleasing in his sight. What is John

saying? We don't perfectly keep them. If you

are living, friends, in the kingdom, in rebellion

to God, and there is no repentance in your life,

you can claim Matthew 7, 7. You can claim 1 John

3, 22 all day long to know of El. The word will

not hear. Moreover, the word searches our motives.

James, speaking to us, he says, you ask. That's

what we're told to do. But you don't receive.

Why? I thought if we ask, we do receive. Because

you ask amiss. You're asking wrongly. How? That

you may spend it upon your lust, upon your desires.

Lust doesn't mean sexual lust. It can mean that.

But they're desires that are contrary to the

will of God. So when he's saying, when we're

asking and we're seeking, we're knocking, the

petitions we ask of God must be according to

his will. John tells us that again, 1 John 5.

Now this is the confidence, okay, that's great,

that we have in him that if we ask anything,

now there's a clear caveat here, according to

his will, he hears us. And if we know that he

hears us, whatever we ask, because it's according

to his will, then we know that we have the petitions

that we have asked from him. Do you see how this

is starting to come together and it paints a

fuller picture for us? Far too many Christians

have sought to take a biblical text like Matthew

7 -7 as a promise and divorce it from its context.

People do it all the time. Right now, TV and

internet preachers are replete with false teachers

who are seeking to fleece the flock of God by

twisting these sacred promises. They do it all

day long every day. So the request that we're

coming to God with, it must be according to his

will. That's 1 John 5. Because he's not going

to grant anything that would hurt us, because

he's too wise. He's not going to grant anything

that would hinder us from fellowshipping with

him. But Jesus is talking to his disciples. He's

nearing the end of the sermon, and he's telling

them, you need to continue in prayer. You don't

just come one time. Why does God do that? The

Bible doesn't tell us. We have some clues. I

think one of the things is to teach us perseverance.

You are not to quit praying just because you

don't receive the answer the very first time

you ask. Persevere. If you know you're praying

and your motives are pure and it's according

to God's will and it's for his glory, keep on

asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. God

might delay in order to teach us to persevere.

It's also the way we learn to walk in faith.

Friends, not everything goes our way. And God

in his providence ensures us at times, ensures

that things don't go our way. Why? How else are

you going to learn to walk by faith and not by

sight? Keep on. Asking the Lord for something,

that implies that I lack something. So in that,

I am humbled and he's exalted. By seeking the

Lord for something, that implies he has what

I need. Again, there's lack on my part and provision

on his part. I am humbled and he is exalted.

By knocking on the door of heaven for something,

there is the implication that he alone holds

the door and he can open it as he wills. In this,

I am humbled and he is exalted. Martin Lloyd

-Jones says, the first two essentials to salvation,

and we ought to listen to that, and to rejoicing

in Christ, two essentials, the consciousness

of our need. You've got to know that you're needy.

And the consciousness of the riches of grace

that are in Christ. You know that you have lack

and he has provision. The command, this command

to ask, to seek, to knock, it causes us immediately,

because we're having to go to him, it causes

us to see ourselves as weak. But it also, at

the same time, causes us to see our king as sufficient.

You and I know that we are needy, but we see

that he is powerful and this God is glorified

in. And in verse 8 he said, here's a confidence.

Here's a confidence you have for everyone. Everyone

who asks will receive and who seeks will find.

And the one who knocks is going to be opened.

Again, when we're praying in faith according

to the will of God, God promises that you will

receive the petition you desire of him. And in

this persistence, in this perseverance, our character

begins to be refined. It becomes honed. And our

sense of dependency on him is strengthened. Our

fellowship with him is strengthened. Because

we are going to him daily for his rescuing grace.

Again, I want to quote Lloyd -Jones here. If

we really want to be men of God, he says, If

we really want to know him and to walk with him

and experience those boundless blessings which

he has to offer, we must persist in asking him

day by day. Now, it's interesting. Our Lord loves

to do this. He loves to illustrate. He's a master

teacher. So he's going to illustrate his willingness

to answer our prayers by comparison. So there's

a comparison here. Look at verses 9 through 11

here. What man is there among you? If his son

asks for bread, is he going to give him a stone?

If he's asking for some fish, is he going to

give him a snake? He said, if you then are evil

and know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more your father in heaven, how much

more will he give good gifts to his children?

So now notice what he's doing. As Jesus commonly

did, he was arguing from the lesser to the greater.

You see that all the time, that how much more,

he says. If earthly fathers who are sinful by

nature, that is, we know that we are depraved.

and you and I know how to give good gifts for

our children, and we delight to do them as good

dads, then what about the one who is truly good?

The Father in heaven, don't you think he will

know how to give good gifts, but even better?

I mean, if you know how to do it, how much better

will he do it? The scripture tells us that every

good thing, every good gift you have ever received

in your life, every good thing, Finds its source

in a good God. James 1 .17 Every good gift and

every perfect gift is from above. Now listen

friends, that means anything, anything right

today that is good in your life has come from

him. Any blessing you've received, any kindness

you've received, anything for which you give

thanks has come from God. Every good and every

perfect gift. And the problem that many of us

have, including myself, Is that many times we

don't know the heart of our father. This is something

I'm continually learning. For years I lived.

And I think this by natural default. We all become

Pharisees. We know of grace. We talk of grace.

We've even experienced grace. But we live lives

on this metric of performance. I mean I know

this. But I believe that if I obey God. God's

going to be pleased. And that's true. We do please

God by our behavior. To love him is to obey his

commandments, he said. But I also believed that

the moment that I stepped out of line, God was

there in his judgment to strike me down. I mean,

I didn't read it. It was just my natural default.

And the good news is that God has already struck

down his own son on the cross. So that I won't

ever be struck down. He punished. He did. He

didn't overlook my sin. He's never overlooked

the times I've gone out of bounds or transgressed.

We've just read about that in Isaiah 3. But he

punished his innocent son, the Lord Jesus, so

that he could become a father to his guilty son.

That is me. Christian, I want you to know this.

I would love for you to get this in your spiritual

DNA. God has loved his people. That means he

has loved you from all eternity. He never started

loving you. He has loved you from eternity. He

did not begin to love you when you were saved.

That's false. You were saved because he did love

you. It was because God so loved you, God so

loved the world, that he gave his only begotten

son. It's because he did love his people that

he sent his son into the world to save his people.

See, our father is rich. He's rich in what? In

mercy. It's a well that never runs dry. You will

never out need God. Meaning whatever need you

have, he has more than enough mercy for it. He's

rich in grace. He's not there to strike you down.

He's rich in grace. And he delights because he

is a father who knows how to give good gifts

to his children to shower you with both his mercy

and his grace. As Psalm 23, as David ended that.

Do you remember how the Psalm 23 ends? Surely

goodness and mercy. shall follow me all the days

of my life. Why? Because God is a good God and

his son has paid for my sin debt. Surely goodness

and mercy. They're following me down and by that

word in Psalm 23, the idea is like they're running

a race and they're going to overtake you. God's

goodness and mercy will hunt you down and overtake

you. It's going to follow me all the days of

my life. But look at verse 9. So what man, he

says, if his son asks for bread, is he going

to give him a stone? Now that seems like a weird

thing to say, but there was a common bread in

that day that was a round bread, a round loaf,

and it very much resembled a stone. He said,

would any good father give to his son, who comes

to him hungry and is asking for bread, give him

that stone that looked like bread in order to

possibly hurt him or to trick him? No. No, no

one would do that. Look at verse 10. What about

if he asks for a fish? Is he going to give him

a serpent? Now here he's arguing from the absurd.

The idea is absurd. He's hungry and he's asking

for food. You're going to give him a poisonous

snake? No. The idea is ludicrous and that's the

whole point. J .C. Ryle, he says, evil and selfish

as they are by nature, that is you and I, they

do not neglect the needs of their children. Much

more will God of love and mercy attend to the

cries of those who are his children by grace.

The best father on his best day is still beset

by sin. But even though he's beset by sin, he

still knows how to give good gifts to his children.

How much more will God, who is absolutely righteous

and good and knows no sin? Verse 11. If you then,

being evil, know how to give good gifts, surely

how much more will your father give good things?

Now notice, this is, I love this. Now notice

verse 11, if you would. Everyone look at your

Bible. Notice how Jesus makes a distinction between

himself and others. He said, if you then being

evil, notice what he did not say. If we being

evil know how to give gifts, how much more our

father? No, he made a distinction. He's not included

in the evil part. He's the sinless one. But he

does say you, and he's talking to everyone there

that day, followers of his, if you being evil,

that is what? Sinful. That is depraved by nature.

Sons of Adam. And you know how to do it. How

much more? How much more will the Father who

is in heaven give good things to those who what?

Asking. I wonder, what are the good things the

Father is willing to give? What's the context?

Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The grace and the power

in order to be obedient to the commands of Christ.

Here's the thing. Whatever you need to live a

godly life before God is what he's willing to

give to you. Whatever you need. Luke 12, 32.

Jesus saying, do not fear, little flock, for

it is your father's good pleasure to give you

the kingdom. Now, let me just argue here for

a moment. Just listen to logic. If God is more

than willing to give the kingdom, is he not willing

to give us all that we need to live in that kingdom?

That's what he's saying. Romans 8 .32. He that

spared not. He did not spare his own son. He

gave the best, the unspeakable gift. Then he

delivered him up for us all. He had him crucified.

Now notice here. How shall he not then? With

him, the one that was not spared, freely give

us all things. Wonderful truth here. What Paul

is saying, what Jesus is saying in Luke, what

Jesus is saying in Matthew, if we ask, if we

seek, and if we knock for anything that is going

to be pleasing to our Father in heaven, it's

going to bring us nearer to him, or it's needed

for our ultimate perfection, then he will give

it to you. He withholds no good thing. If you

really want those things, if you're really going

to seek those things, then you've got to ask

for them. Seek for them. Knock for them. And

you will find them in your possession. Because

he's good. And he's merciful. Now then, we receive

so much from our gracious Father. We receive

so much from them that it changes us. You spend

time with God. You know what spending time with

God does? It makes you more like God. Having

received all this daily grace and this mercy

from God, we now then are going to be changed.

How should we relate to other people? Verse 12.

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you,

do also to them. For this is the law and the

prophets. Now you and I know this is what the

golden rule. So our Lord is simplifying life

in his kingdom. The way you would like to be

treated, that's the way you need to treat other

people. Verse 12 is a summary of everything he

said in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Do unto others as

you would have them do unto you. Now, he's not

going to give a bunch of rules. He doesn't give

a bunch of regulations because all that can lead

to disputes. You find people fighting all the

times over religious interpretation. Instead,

Jesus gives his people, there's one maxim to

live by. Just one. What is it? One maxim. This

is life in the kingdom. You treat everyone else

the way that you would want them to treat you.

That's it. And again, I like J .C. Ryle. I think

he has a great commentary. You and I are not

to deal with others as others deal with us. It

doesn't matter what they do. That's selfishness.

That's heathenism. That's for people who don't

know God. You and I are to deal with others as

we would like them to deal with us. This, friends,

is real Christianity. Think about it. If you

put this rule into practice, it would solve all

relationship problems. And I wrote that down

and I thought about it. I'm like, all relationship

problems? All of them. Think of one relationship

problem where this doesn't solve it. Treat others

the way you'd want them to treat you. It's the

law of love. That's what it's called, the law

of love. We also know it as the royal law. Jesus

said it is the law and the prophets. So how is

it the law and the prophets? Think of the law.

Think of the Decalogue. Think of the Ten Commandments.

Let's just pick one. You don't want people to

lie to you. He said, well, then don't lie to

other people. Stealing. You don't want people

stealing from you. Well, then don't steal from

anyone else. You don't want someone committing

adultery with your spouse. Then you don't commit

adultery with their spouse. Hey, I want people

to be kind and show respect to me. Well, then

you be kind and show respect to them. Hey, when

I wrong someone, I want them to forgive me. Well,

then you also offer forgiveness when someone

wrongs you. He said, that's the law and the prophets.

It sums it up. Everything the law forbid is found

in that one verse. Now, why is he saying this

is the law and the prophets? Because I believe

he had his eyes that day fixed on the scribes

and Pharisees who were experts where? In the

law and the prophets. See, they knew the law.

They made their boast in the law. And yet they

were what Jesus said, judgmental hypocrites,

far from God. They failed to discern the most

important thing. extraordinarily religious and

extraordinarily far from God. But there's a problem

here. You and I cannot consistently sustain this

type of living in our own strength. I can't do

it. Which is why we must ask and seek and knock

to be able to fill this royal wall. There's a

parallel passage in Luke, and I think it's so

helpful here. I love this parallel passage. Luke

11, 13, notice the difference here. Jesus speaking,

still Sermon on the Mount, that's Luke. If you

then, being evil, know how to give good gifts

to your children, how much more would your Heavenly

Father give? Now notice, Matthew says good gifts.

Luke 11 says give the Holy Spirit to those who

ask him. I love this. God is going to give the

empowerment of the Spirit to those who come to

him asking, seeking, knocking. You and I, we

need so much, right? We need the wisdom of God.

We need the power of God. We need the love of

God to fill us. In other words, it's not what

we need, it's who we need. And who we need is

the Holy Spirit of God. What the child of God

needs to live in the kingdom of God is God. What

the child of God needs to live life in this kingdom

of God is God. We need the Holy Spirit. And Jesus

said, how much more your father's one to give

him? You're saying, well, I thought we got him

at salvation. His feeling more of him. You want

more of God? Then ask for more of God. Seek more

of God. Knock for more of God. And you will have

more of God. But where does this all begin? It

begins with a relationship with God. See, let

me just say this. You cannot ever be loving enough.

You cannot be forgiving enough. You cannot be

merciful enough. to earn your way into the kingdom

of God. That is a fool's errand. It will never

happen. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 11.

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your father's

good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Notice

that. The father gives the kingdom. Entrance

into the kingdom is a gift. It is not earned.

It is to be received by faith. He graciously

gives the kingdom to those who will bow the knee,

trusting in his son. Who? If you're willing to

bow the knee and trust in Christ, it's a work

of God. Salvation is a gift of grace, and it

is a grace, and it's received by faith, by believing

and trusting in the promise of God, and it saves

the one who believes in Jesus. That's Paul in

Romans 3. So what? So what's this mean? Today,

this is the word of God. It says salvation is

here. The day of salvation is here. That means

the door of salvation is wide open. God has withheld

his judgment. Judgment has not fallen yet. The

day of salvation is here. And God does offer

the kingdom. He does. It's a legitimate offer

to anyone who will understand his need and come

to his son in faith. If he comes to his son asking,

seeking, and knocking. He receives and he finds

and the doors opened. If you have received the

gift of eternal life, if God has awakened you

by his grace and shown you Christ, he calls you,

his people, to a higher plane. That's what this

whole sermon's about. Everything's about it.

Loving others and doing unto them what we would

have them doing to us is what the kingdom of

God is. Looks like. It's not the way into the

kingdom. That's all of grace. And it's all of

grace by the way. Even afterwards. But it is

the ethic. The way. Of the kingdom. And this

is what Jesus is going to say. And next week

we're going to see. That not everyone who hears

this understands it. In fact he says if you don't

press your way into it. Because there's a wide

door. That will lead to judgment. Friends this

is. The gracious words of our God. We're hearing

from our king today that this is his kingdom.

But to you, to the people of God assembled, don't

you want to commune with him? Don't you desire

to fellowship with him? Well, he's also made

provision for that. It's the table of the Lord

where he offers himself. We eat his body. We

drink his blood, the Bible says. Not corporally.

We know where that's not turning into flesh and

blood. But there is a mystical union there. There's

a spiritual union that takes place. And we are

invited into the fellowship of the Lord to commune

with him by God's grace. He gives us himself

today. And this is what is so glorious about

the worship of our God and King. Our God does

it all. And we here who have received it, come,

come weak, come beggarly, come needy, ask, seek,

knock. And he's there. And today, if you don't

know Christ, I do stand and say this by the authority

of the word of God. Jesus said, all who are weary

and are heavy laden, come to me. Come to me.

He said, you'll find rest into your soul. So

I say today, if the Lord has opened your eyes

to your sin and show you your need, confess Christ.

Confess him as Lord and King. And then I'd love

to talk to you afterwards about what that means.

Let's pray. Father, we trust you this morning,

Lord. God, you have been so gracious. Lord, your

word is rich. Lord, we do eat it. Lord, it's

nourishment. It nourishes our soul. God, it brings

peace. It brings conviction. Lord, as we have

heard the word, Lord, we want to expose our lives

to its judgment upon us, Lord, for we will be

judged by the Lord.