INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• How many times have we wondered why God has not blessed us in a certain way? You asked God for something from your heart only to feel that God kicked dirt in your face or that He did not hear you?
• How do you feel when you hear someone speaking about how God has blessed them and you just cannot relate to what they are saying?
• There are times we really struggle with our relationship with God because we do not feel like God is blessing us or hearing us.
• In the last few chapters Jesus has given us some very difficult things to carry out, with some of the things almost impossible to do. Truthfully, left to our own devices, they are.
• Jesus has asked us to keep our focus on heaven, which we cannot see and not on the world that we can see. He has told us to put our full faith in Him (whom we cannot see) for our daily provision. Jesus has told us to love people that seem to be unlovable. He has told us not to hypocritically judge people. We are told that our righteousness is to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if we are going to see heaven.
• The question now comes, “Just how are we to do these things?” How does God expect us to do these things, things that do not come naturally to us?
• The answer is given to us in the passage that we will look at today.
• Jesus wants to bless each and every one of those who belong to Him. Jesus wants each and every one of His children to live a victorious life in Him; He wants each and every one of His children to live life to the full.
• What do we need to do so that the gates to God’s blessing become open to us?
• The answer to the question is one that is simple, but yet seems to be hard for us to carry out in our lives in a consistent manner. The answer is prayer.
• Jesus is going to tell us that if we want help carrying out all the great things that He has told us to do, we need to pray.
• If we want to receive blessings from God, we need to pray.
• If we do not feel blessed, we need to just ask!
• SLIDE #2
• Let’s begin with Matthew 7:7-8
• Matthew 7:7-8 ( ESV ) “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.
• Let’s begin with…
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. GOD’S PLEDGE TO GIVE BLESSING (7-8)
• God has pledged to us that He will bless us. Jesus lays out a path for us follow in order to receive these blessings.
• We are given a formula for a dynamic prayer life. That formula can be found in the acronym “ASK”.
• In Verse 7 Jesus tells us to do three things. Each of the steps He gives to us builds to a climax to the last step. Let us look at what Jesus tells us.
• SLIDE #4
A. ASK
• Jesus tells us we are to first ask. As we look at the progression it starts with simply asking.
• SLIDE #5
• James 4:2 ( ESV ) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
• Jesus says in our passage if we ask and it will be given to you. James tells us we do not have because we do not ask.
• How many times have we really needed a blessing, and yet the last place we go if we there at all is to God?
• As with the other two things that Jesus tells us to do, the verb tense of the word “ask” indicates a continual asking. It does not mean just ask one time or two times, but ask continually!
• Asking in itself is not enough. There are some things that need to go into our asking.
• We must believe that Jesus can answer our prayer.
• Matthew 21:22 ( ESV ) And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
• When we ask for something in Jesus name, it needs to be something that Jesus would want.
• SLIDE #6
• John 16:24 ( ESV ) Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
• To ask in His name means we are praying for things within God’s will.
• This also goes to motive. God does not obligate Himself to answer selfish, carnal requests from His children.
• SLIDE #7
• James 4:3 ( ESV ) You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
• The one who claims this promise must be living in obedience to his Father.
• SLIDE #8
• 1 John 3:22 ( ESV ) and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
• Jesus says if we persistently ask it we be given to you.
• Next we are told to seek.
• SLIDE #9
B. SEEK
• When we ask, we use the voice, when we seek, we use the body to start looking for what God has in store for us.
• This seeking implies that we are actively seeking God’s will in what we are wanting.
• Trouble comes when we want what we want, not what God wants. Some time ago I ran across a wedding prayer that illustrates how subtly this can be done. This is a girl praying on her wedding day:
• "Dear God. I can hardly believe that this is my wedding day. I know I haven’t been able to spend much time with You lately, with all the rush of getting ready for today, and I’m sorry.
• I guess, too, that I feel a little guilty when I try to pray about all this, since Larry still isn’t a Christian. But oh, Father, I love him so much, what else can I do? I just couldn’t give him up. Oh, You must save him, some way, somehow.
• You know how much I’ve prayed for him, and the way we’ve discussed the gospel together. I’ve tried not to appear too religious, I know, but that’s because I didn’t want to scare him off. Yet he isn’t antagonistic and I can’t understand why he hasn’t responded. Oh, if he only were a Christian.
• Dear Father, please bless our marriage. I don’t want to disobey You, but I do love him and I want to be his wife, so please be with us and please don’t spoil my wedding day."
• That sounds like a sincere, earnest prayer, does it not? But if it is stripped of its fine, pious language, it is really saying something like this:
• "Dear Father, I don’t want to disobey You, but I must have my own way at all costs. For I love what You do not love, and I want what You do not want. So please be a good God and deny Yourself, and move off Your throne, and let me take over. If You don’t like this, then all I ask is that You bite Your tongue and say or do nothing that will spoil my plans, but let me enjoy myself."
• We are to seek God’s will for our lives and our prayers and Jesus says that we find it.
• Then we are called to knock!
• SLIDE #10
C. Knock
• Jesus wants us to be persistent. WE are not to just ask once and quit, we are to ask continually and as we are asking, we are to seek God will continually and as we are doing these things, Jesus wants us to knock at the door of heaven continually.
• Knocking implies that we will have the courage to pass though the open door and that we will have the courage to pass through any worldly obstacles that get into our way!
• In Luke 18:1-8, we have a parable concerning persistence.
• An answer for EVERYONE (verse 8)
• Jesus says that everyone who does these things will receive an answer from God.
• Everyone refers to those who belong to the heavenly Father. Those who are not God’s children cannot come to Him as their Father.
• SLIDE #11
• John 9:31 ( ESV ) We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
• John 1:12 gives us this encouragement.
• SLIDE #12
• John 1:12 ( ESV ) But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
• (SPEAK ABOUT THE FATHER ISSUE)
• SLIDE #13
• We need to ask out of a heart of obedience.
• 1 John 3:21-22 ( ESV ) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
• Those who are trying to live in obedience to God are the ones who have confidence. (TALK ABOUT THE CONFIDENCE)
• Next let’s turn to verses 9-11
• SLIDE #14
• Matthew 7:9-11 ( ESV ) 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!
• SLIDE #15
II. GOD’S PATTERN FOR GIVING BLESSINGS (9-11)
• In verse 9-11 Jesus is more or less saying, “If you do not believe that God will give to those who ask, seek and knock, just look at the example of your earthly fathers.
• It has been God’s pattern to bless us even when we did not deserve it.
• Jesus says that our imperfect earthly fathers who in comparison to God are evil give us what they think we need, why wouldn’t the perfect heavenly Father give us good gifts or blessings?
• Notice that verse eleven says that God will give what is GOOD to those who ask.
• This means that we will not always get what we want because God in His perfect will and knowledge knows what is good for us and what is not.
• Too many times we throw a fit before God wanting something that would not be good for us.
• It would be like your 3 year old throwing a fit because you will not let him play with your loaded gun. No matter how big a fit the kid throws, you know the gun is not good for the three year old even though the three year old does not understand that.
• God knows what will help you and what will hurt you and He will not give you what is bad for you.
• SLIDE #16
• James 1:17 ( ESV ) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
• Let’s conclude with verse 12
• SLIDE #17
• Matthew 7:12 ( ESV ) “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
• SLIDE #18
III. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR GIVING BLESSINGS (12)
• This verse takes us to the purpose for God’s blessings upon us. The golden rule. In my home I have a variation of this that Rachel does not like. (GIVE IT)
• Jesus finishes up this section by telling us that “therefore” or “since” God gives good gifts to us, and that God’s love motivates Him to be good to us, that we are to treat other people in the same manner.
• This rule of conduct is a positive command. Instead of saying, “an eye for an eye”, Jesus is saying that we are to treat people the way we want to be treated.
• Jesus says, “Do what God commands”, then “do to others as you would have them do to you.”
• We are told that this was supposed to be the general principle of the Old Testament that the people really did not understand.
• SLIDE #18
• John 13:35 ( ESV ) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
CONCLUSION
• The pathway to being blessed by God is a persistent prayer life.
• God wants to bless all of those who belong to Him.
• Do you feel that you are lacking in God’s blessings? Just ask!
• If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, then you need to make a decision. In order for God to be your Father, you need to make Jesus your Lord.
