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Read: Matthew 7:7-11 (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. 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!"It is with a grieving heart that I share to you tonight the implications of what we are going to discuss for this week’s series entitled “Kingdom of Heaven”. These verses that we have just read are one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood verses in the entire Bible and I for one before was guilty of that too.
The centrality of Christ in these verses show a deep importance of what relationship with Christ should be.
A lot of people have been using these words printed in their shirts, bookmarks, and books; spoken in motivational conferences, and even shared in business concepts!
There’s a lot of heresies out there right now that if we just stick to those and not be immersed in the Word of God, that is, the Bible, we are going to fall prey.
This topic for me is so grieving knowing that what I am going to tell you pertains not only to you but to me as well. How “nothing” we are apart from God.
Even the mere fact that a lot of people have been victimized by false pastors and teachers through the wrong preaching and teachings taught by a lot of prosperity gospel and word of faith gospel, that just goes to show how eager we are to be comforted of lies instead of truth that should be of great character to us His church- His “children”.
Now these people who are victims of these falsities have made a false “god” in themselves and thus the end result is that they will fall, headlong!
Let’s take a closer look on these verses and its preceding ones in order for us to fully understand what God truly mean to say unto us.
Now, the verses that we have just read are well placed in the Book of Matthew such that if we look closely, we can see that Jesus was telling stuff that’s we cannot fully comply-as in 100%.
That’s the point of this- that failing to love God means failing to love others also.
ASK
This word pertains to us communicating with God.As we connect with Him and as we become aware that we are to be genuinely submitted to His will and instructions , our desires are being reoriented such that it is no longer about your selfish whims and personal interests but rather these desires become a mirror of God’s will for you.
Psalms 37:4 ESV
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
God cannot just blindly answer all our prayers knowing that our hearts are crooked and our ways are not in step with God.
James 4:3 ESV
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
If you have been following very thoroughly the words of our Lord Jesus Christ on the preceding verses of Matthew 7:7-11, you could see for yourself our incapacity of not being able to love God and to love others truthfully, thus you’ll say to yourself, “God, how can I do all of these things that you have said?”
And so, Jesus tells us to ask, in prayer. Prayer to our God shows our dependence on Him and that the more we are immersed to Him through prayer, we become conscious of His heart for us and what He wills for us.
Our connection with God was and will always be His priority, not our pockets.
He know what you need, not what you want.
And the first thing that we need is for us to right with God.
The need for us to know what it means to live in and for Jesus.
The need for us to suffer for His name’s sake, because that’s what living in Christ means.
That despite the loss, you are still filled with joy.
The danger of not knowing God is us beginning to think that we could do all of the preceding verses without Him.
SEEK
This word pertains to the most valuable thing that we have lost- that is seeking God first.Matthew 6:33 ESV
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
We have become callous even to a point that we fail to see God in the midst of your life!
We have become callous to the point that even reading His Word has just become a routine and no longer a love for Him.
It is only through Christ that we could be genuine in our attitude towards Himself and others.
That is why it is imperative for us to have Jesus in our lives.
2 Peter 1:3 ESV
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”
And Apostle Peter goes on to say this,
2 Peter 1:8 ESV
“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”
In short and simple words, we have been saved by God from our sins, in accordance to His grace to us, and that we are to respond by seeking Him more in our lives. We are becoming dead to sin and its grip in our lives. We are to respond in accordance to what He did to us- we are to seek Him and deny ourselves always. His work in us goes on and on and on until our last breath.
“It is for us to set our priorities and and focusing of our hearts on God” (gotquestions.org)
KNOCK
As what Matthew Henry said in his Concise Commentary, “Sin has shut and barred the door against us; by prayer we knock.”Indeed it is sin that’s blocking our relationship with God.
We try to use religion in order to bring back what’s broken between us and God but to no avail.
What we need is for us to knock on the door of God’s mercy and salvation (Benson Commentary).
His faithfulness in our lives can never be measured, that’s for sure.
He wanted everyone of us to realize that we are guilty of not attaining His standard and that the only way for us to be reconciled with God is for us to abide in Christ, who is the only way, the only truth, and our only life (John 14:6).
Our reality is this- no moralistic therapy could cure our sickness and that is sin.
He doesn’t want us to perish but for us to have eternal life (John 3:16).
Our desire to seek God naturally prods us to all the more seek His audience and be reconnected to Him even more.
Gotquestions.org has this to say regarding Matthew 7:7
“Ask, seek, and knock. Notice the three different senses being considered here. Asking is verbal; Christians are to use their mouths and petition God for their needs and desires. And believers are to seek with their minds—this is more than asking; it is a setting of priorities and a focusing of the heart. To knock involves physical movement, one in which the Christian takes action. Although asking and seeking are of great importance, they would be incomplete without knocking. The apostle John said Christians ought not to love in word alone but with actions also (1 John 3:18). In the same way, it’s good to pray and seek God, but if one does not also act in ways that are pleasing to God, all is for naught. It’s no accident that Jesus said believers should love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27).”
Photo by: Melody Grace Gerodias
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