Going For The Gold Series

Going For The Gold

Matthew 7:7-12

Dismiss Grove KIDZ

QUESTION...

Are you ready for some Word of God this morning?

Are you open to whatever that Word has to say?

And do you believe that God’s Word really...

• is alive and active, sharper than a double edged sword?

• can judge the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts?

• is able to equip us for every good work that God has for us to do?

• will fall on us that today, and like rain and snow falling from the sky will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He desires, achieve His purposes, causing our lives in Him to bud and flourish?

Me too...

Okay, here is our text for this morning...

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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:7-12

May God bless the reading of His living active word!

MGCC – 2000 years ago on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Jesus preached the greatest sermon ever preached, His Kingdom Manifesto, about what it looks like to live in His Kingdom...

106 verses, ~ 2,349 words that are simply overflowing with: truth, power, depth, insight, beauty, encouragement and challenge.

AND – as crazy as it sounds MGCC... we have spent 37 weeks plunging the depths of Jesus’ timeless, vital and much needed message.

OKAY – now don’t put a lot of money on it (because you know how things can go with me) but nevertheless I am reasonably confident that next week we will wrap up our time in the SM with a conversation I am calling, “Gates, Fruit and Builders.”

AND THIS MORNING – we will be doing a deep dive into Matthew 7:7-12 in a conversation that I’m calling, “Going For The Gold.”

QUESTION – when you hear those words, ‘going for the gold,’ what images almost immediately come to mind...

The Olympics, right?

NOW - this week I came across the following video of some very unique Olympic games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x04jgjQ_hLI&t=1s

Baby Olympics

NOW – there was not any deep theological meaning in showing that clip... it was just for fun...

AGAIN - I just kind of stumbled across it this week.

OKAY – let’s do this, “Going For The Gold” and MGCC the way I want to attack our text is by unpacking two statements...

• The Golden Promise

• The Golden Rule

Prayer...

OKAY – let’s do this!

Matthew 7:7-12, “Going For The Gold”

I. The Golden Promise

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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:7,8

QUESTION... so, what do you think of these two verses?

have you ever heard them before?

do you find them to be encouraging?

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you...

LIKE - what an awesome promise, right?

IF – you ask for it, you get? IF – you seek it, you will find it?

AND IF – you knock the door will be open.

I MEAN – it almost seems like the Maker of heaven and earth is offering to be our cosmic vending machine...

Just place the right prayer in the slot and God will give you whatever you ask for.

BUT – is that really what this verse is saying... that God is obligated to do and give us, whatever we want or ask for?

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you...

OR MAYBE - you have found these words to be a little confusing and discouraging... BECAUSE - there ever been times when you have prayed really hard about something... Times when you did not just ask, but you keep asking and keep seeking and keep knocking...

YET – you did not receive or find, and the door was not opened.

Why not? Was it because you asked in the wrong way?