Intro:
Dear God: Please send a new baby for Mommy. The new baby you sent last week cries too much. Debbie, 7
Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. Jimmy, 6
Dear God: How many angels are there in heaven? I would like to be the first kid in my class to know the answer. Norma, 8
Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you please give my brother some brains. So far he doesn’t have any. Angela, 8
Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weather man. Hank, 7
Dear God: Please bring me a new brother. The one I got socks me all the time. Agnes, 6
Dear God: Please help me is school. I need help in spelling, adding, history, geography and writing. I don’t need help in anything else. Lois, 9
Dear God: Do you have any helpers in Heaven? I would like to be one of Your helpers in Heaven when I have summer vacation. Natalie, 7
Dear Lord; Tomorrow is my birthday. Could you please put a rainbow in the sky? Susan, 9
Dear God: I need a raise in my allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my father. Thank you. David, 7
Dear God; I am saying my prayers for me and my brother, Billy, because Billy is six months old and he can’t do anything but sleep and wet his diapers. Diane, 8
A young man goes into a drug store to buy 3 boxes of chocolate. The pharmacist says what size small medium or large "Well," he said, "I¡¦ve been seeing this girl for a while and she¡¦s really Beautiful. I want the chocolate because I think tonight¡¦s "the" night. We¡¦re having dinner with her parents, and then we¡¦re going out. If she lets me hold her hand I¡¦m going to give her the small box if she let¡¦s me kiss her on the cheek I¡¦m going to giver her the medium box and if she lets me kiss her on the lips I¡¦m going to give her the big box. The young man makes his purchase and leaves. Later that evening, he sits down to dinner with his girlfriend and her parents. He asks if he might give the blessing, and they agree. He begins the prayer, but continues praying for several minutes. The girl leans over and says, "You never told me that you were such a religious person." He leans over to her and says, "You never told me that your father is a pharmacist."...
Discussion:
How do we look at prayer? Do we just throw up something hoping that a blessing will hit us over the head? Do we thoughtfully make our requests to God and then believe? Do we only ask for stuff ¡V much like we would a list for Santa ¡V I need a new car, a new house, a new pair of shoes, a new this¡K.a new that. I need you to take care of this problem, or get me out of this¡K(Don¡¦t make me stronger or show me perseverance) ¡§Dear Lord¡¨. God is more than our convenient Santa Claus. A committed Christian is a prayerful Christian. That would make a good bumper sticker, that would be a good sign for the front of the church.
If you would turn with me this morning to our Text ¡V Matthew 7:7-12. I see three characteristics of a prayerful Christian. A Christian who truly has knowledge of God¡¦s will for their life. A Christian who is able to get through, by prayer, and trust that God will do what he says he will do.
A prayerful Christian is:
I. Persistent in prayer (7-8)
Proverbs 30:7-8 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD ; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.¡¨ (advance)
a. Ask
i. It means we need something, when we ask
1. usually something we can¡¦t provide for ourselves
I don¡¦t get lost, but I have found myself ¡V we¡¦ll call it ¡V ¡§Locationally challenged¡¨. I hate asking for directions because it means that I have to be dependent on someone else.
ii. Asking takes humility
iii. Asking takes trust
1. Trust that you are asking someone able to fill the need
2. Trust that you are able to receive (advance)
John 15:7 ¡V If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
I have been told that we should be careful of what we ask for, because we just might get it. It¡¦s a scary thought that the saints of God are asking for things we aren¡¦t ready for.
3. Trust that you are asking the one who is able to answer.
When I was in customer service at AOL and ATTWS ¡V we¡¦d get calls all the time asking for the supervisor. In their minds I wasn¡¦t able to give them something they wanted or thought they deserved. When we go to God, we should ask Verse 7 ¡V Ask and it will be given to you. When you are asking for something you want to know the person you are asking is able. You can put your trust in God ¡V because he will be faithful.
Jesus says not only ask ¡V But we should (advance)
b. Seek
Psalm 105:4 ¡V Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
i. Means searching for something ¡V (advance)
Deuteronomy 4:29 ¡V But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1. You know it¡¦s there, but aren¡¦t sure where
a. When it comes to scripture ¡V we can be sure where the truth is.
ii. When was the last time you honestly searched the Bible and read?
I believe we don¡¦t spend enough time in God¡¦s word. It¡¦s tempting to just pray and shove this list of wants on God ¡V hoping he will give you a blessing. Listen, you want to know what to ask God for ¡V read scripture. His will and your will, will mold into one. This Wheel of Fortune prayer list has to stop. A committed Christian is a prayerful Christian. And, it¡¦s helpful to know what to pray. It only leads to blessing when I know what he wants for my life, and therefore know what to ask for, then when I get it, I am not only prepared, but ready to allow whatever it is to help me to grow.
iii. Jesus says seek ¡V
1. Adds promise
a. You will find ¡V
iv. You want to know God more?
1. Seek his face (advance)
Psalm 27:8 ¡V My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD , I will seek.
v. You want to have a better relationship with your co-workers, family, Church family ¡V
1. Seek his face
I am not making this up ¡V your relationship with people has a reflection on how you view God. I have scripture reference after scripture reference, that shows God cares about how you care for others.
Jesus says that you should not only ask, seek, but you should also knock. In other words, be persistent in your prayers. Here he says:
c. Knock
You knock on the door when you want to know if someone is home. Most of the references in the gospels for the word ¡§Door¡¨ are in the negative. They are usually about someone outside the door knocking and the person inside telling the truth, denies that he knows them. Remember Peter¡¦s denial? John¡¦s account of that story the young girl who confronts Peter ¡V she¡¦s standing in the doorway. It¡¦s usually negative. However this is positive.
i. The door will be opened
1. There will be someone home
2. There will be a loving heavenly father inside waiting to open the door for you
Psalm 91:15 ¡V He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
What¡¦s the result of you seeking God? You find! What¡¦s the result of you asking your heavenly father for something? You receive! What¡¦s the result of you knocking at the door? He answers, not only that but he opens the door. A committed Christian is a prayerful Christian.
I don¡¦t know what you think about humor in sermons. I don¡¦t think it should be one joke after another. I think, and rightfully so that Jesus used humor. I think, and rightfully so Jesus used some of the same thought that we use today. In verses 9-11 he¡¦s clearly using some of the same logic we would use, he¡¦s saying that we should have:
II. Faith that God will provide (9-11)
Jesus basically asks the question ¡V ¡§If your child came to ask you for bread who would give him a stone that looked like bread¡¨ -- YOU DON¡¦T DO THAT! The neighbor¡¦s kid might be a different story ¡V
Which one of you would ¡V if your child comes and asks you for some fish will give him a snake? YOU DON¡¦T DO THAT EITHER!
a. What would you do in either of those situations?
i. You give!
b. Why do you give?
i. Because it¡¦s your child who asks
Although you could argue well it¡¦s out of obligation that you are giving ¡V yeah it might be, after all you are the parent. Let me suggest you provide, out of love.
c. God does the same thing
i. He provides out of love
In fact Jesus says ¡V If you, 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!
What do you mean evil? Is Jesus speaking to sinners and the tax collectors? ¡V I mean, surely he doesn¡¦t mean me. Jesus is speaking to you, and about you. Here and now, he¡¦s talking about you and me.
d. BUT WAIT! I am not evil!
i. I might not read the Bible everyday
1. But, I pray before every meal
2. I attend church
3. I have even been baptize! ¡V Why is Jesus calling me evil
Proverbs 20:9 has a better question: (advance)
Proverbs 20:9 ¡V Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?
e. We are evil compared to God
i. God is righteous in all he does ¡V are you?
ii. God is always patient ¡V are you?
iii. God is always holy, pure, good ¡V are you?
Jesus has the right to call us evil because all of us sin. All of us are in need of a perfect, righteous savior. We are evil compared to God.
f. You give good gifts to your children ¡V
i. Bread when they ask for bread
ii. Fish when they ask for fish
How much more will God give to those who ask, honor those who seek his face, and open the door when you knock. In other words ¡V he does give in abundance when you ask him. A committed Christian is a prayerful Christian.
There is one final quality of a prayerful Christian. This is often quoted as the golden rule. We should:
III. Treat others right (12)
The world has a different rule. The corporate world has a different rule. The schools our young people attend play by a different rule. Again the laws of love in Jesus Christ are different than the laws of this world. The world says ¡V do to others before they do to you. You should be the first to raise you holy fist when someone offends you. You should be the first to grab all the gusto you can.
I heard a story about a man who has so much money ¡V he¡¦s called the money man. He went to a mall and shot $10,000 dollars worth of bills out of a gun. It turned out to be a little anti-productive. A riot occurred, and 8 people were seriously injured¡Kover money!
a. In Everything¡K
i. Doesn¡¦t leave much room for error
1. In my finances
a. I will treat everyone like I would want to be treated
2. In my speech
a. I will talk about people like they were standing behind me
This applies to the slow waitress, the person checking you out at Wal-Mart who believes their time is more valuable than yours. This has no age limits on it, Old, Young everything in between.
b. Regardless of how they treat you (advance)
Romans 13:10 ¡V Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
i. Someone gossips about you ¡V you take it like a Christian
ii. Someone does something against you ¡V you take it like a Christian
iii. Someone runs over you, abuses your time, ignores you ¡V you take it like a Christian.
You do it, not because you like it. Let¡¦s face it some people in this world are like steam rollers ¡V they enter a room and lay everyone just as flat as a pancake ¡V I doubt you want to sign up for something like that. Jesus isn¡¦t suggestion that you sign that list. He is saying when someone lays you flat out, they run over you, they do anything against you, you should act differently than they just treated you. He¡¦s not saying jump for joy about it, he¡¦s saying react differently. He¡¦s not suggesting it¡¦s the easy thing to do, he¡¦s making it clear ¡V it¡¦s the RIGHT thing to do.
When the world looks at the church do they see anything different than if they looked at themselves. If all they see is arguing, and fighting among people who are suppose to love each other ¡V how in the world can we be a witness to them?
Conclusion: „³ Blank
This started off about prayer ¡V it ended in how we treat others. It¡¦s easy to claim that there is no connection, when if you read God¡¦s word, the connection is clear.
I remember when we were kids I brought home this small dog. My parents let us keep it. We gave it love, food, water, all the toys a little dog could want. He had a nice pillow bed, that he could use anytime he wanted. The dog had been abused when we got him. Although we were willing to care for his needs and everything he wanted ¡V he didn¡¦t trust us. Everyone in his life before us was mean to him. Who knows what they did to the poor dog, but he acted abused. He was protective of the things around him, you¡¦d put him on your lap to pat him, he¡¦d jump off, you¡¦d roll him over to rub his belly, he¡¦s roll back over. You¡¦d crumble up a news paper to swat a fly ¡V he¡¦d run into the next room. It took years for that germen shepherd to warm up to us. He finally got to where he would jump on you when he saw you, and where he wanted you to rub his belly. We¡¦d let him in the house and he¡¦d beg from the table, like normal dogs.
Some of us are much like that dog. We have been hurt, run over, abused. We might even been in bad relationships, unfruitful relationships that do nothing but drag us down. We might even be open to the blessing that God desires to give us, but we aren¡¦t prepared for what he has planned. It might even be that we are aware he provides everything around us, but we take the easy things in life for granted. The Christian life is about trusting in God because he is able to meet our needs.
Maybe you are sitting there this morning and you have tried to trust God, you have tried to give him your life, but you only offer parts to him, it doesn¡¦t seem like he keeps those parts very long. Pretty soon everything is like it always was, the language was changed for a little bit, the thoughts were transformed a little but nothing lasting. The Bible says that Jesus came to offer life ¡V Life abundant and free. In order for you to trust God, you have to be his completely. You have to be willing to have him guide your ways, your thoughts, your actions.
Jesus is waiting for you to accept him. He¡¦s already in love with you as you are, unconditionally. Please come as we stand and sing.
