Give It Up Series

Series on the Mount

Give It Up

Matthew 7:9-11

October 7, 2007

If you son or daughter asks you for a loaf of bread, give it up. If they ask you for a fish, give it up. If you, though you are evil, give it up for your own flesh and blood, how much more will your heavenly Father, who has already given up so much through his son Jesus, give to you.

As mentioned last week, the couple of verses before this and these verse are all about God. They are about how completely and totally good our God is. God is All-Good! And that is what we are going to examine a little more closely. Turn to Matthew 7:9.

Speaking of giving good gifts… After being away on business, a man thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk.

She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. “That’s a bit much,” he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. “That’s still quite a bit,” he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. “You know,” he said, “What I mean is that I’d like to see something really cheap.” The clerk handed him a mirror.

"Ask 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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you, if his 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.

Now I don’t know if you noticed this about the verse from last week but God desires out questions. Ask and you will receive. Sure, this is about asking in prayer. Asking for God to reveal His will. Asking for the strength to carry it out. But these are questions. It is ok to question God—if you are truly seeking. Sometimes people question God and other people not to seek answers but to judge and accuse them. But if you want to know, ask God. This communicates enormously about the goodness of God. God is so good that God wants to help us even when we get it wrong about what we need to help us or simply don’t understand what will truly be best.

God is All-Good...

God is All-Good. Completely totally good!!! He is holy. He wholly or completely other than what we are. He created everything! I mean everything. From the smallest subatomic particle to deepest, darkest black hole. He is totally, awesomely good! That is His character and His nature. If we can’t trust anything else, we can trust that God is good. When ceasers and kings and presidents and politicians and governments and institutions fail us, we can trust in the goodness of God. When our community turns their back on us because we are following Jesus, we can trust in God. When our health fails, we can trust in God. When our money runs out, we can trust in God. When the stock market crashes and when it soars, we trust in the goodness of God to provide. When we are persecuted, we can trust in God. When we are slandered, we can trust in God. When we are insulted, we can…??? Trust in God!! When we are hungry, we can… Trust in God. When we hunger and thirst for more righteousness then we can find in this world, we can… Trust in God. He is God. He is Good!

But you know what else? Not only is God All-Good, we are not.

God is All-Good... we are not.

“Though you are evil.” Now this is not about beating ourselves up. It is about comparing ourselves not other people, which we so like to do. It is about comparing ourselves to God in which there is NO COMPARISON. He is holy, we are not. Most of us think of ourselves as pretty good people. But compared to God who is All-Good. We aren’t even close. So why are we judging others?? Especially when we need to judge ourselves!

There was a quote that I have used before that says, “When his divinity meets our depravity, it is a beautiful collision.” When all that we are, meets all that we could be, it is wonderful. It is amazing. It doesn’t mean that everything is fixed and I’m perfect. It doesn’t mean that I can become a new creation. I get a taste of what love, His love, can truly do to me and help me become.