KEY THOUGHT...

“PRAY CONSISTENTLY and PERSISTENTLY knowing we have a LOVING FATHER who HEARS and ANSWERS our PRAYERS”

INTRO...

The verses we are going to read today, like last week, are used regularly in our world today, but not always correctly...

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

-- PROSPERITY GOSPEL/WORD OF FAITH theology
-- To understand Jesus’ words correctly, we have to look at them in context of the whole SERMON ON THE MOUNT, all of the things that Jesus has already said in the previous two chapters concerning the qualities and attributes of citizens of his Kingdom, a disciple.
-- Looking back at the whole sermon, Jesus told us...

* to be poor in spirit
* to mourn our sinfulness
* to be meek
* to hunger and thirst for righteousness
* to be merciful
* to be pure in heart
* to be peacemakers
* to endure persecution and to endure all kinds of evil and false accusations
* to be salt and light (character and conduct)
* that our righteousness should exceed the scribes and pharisees
* that we should deal with our anger, our lust, and to take seriously our marriage vows and keep our promises without looking for a loophole
* that we would not retaliate against people that have wronged us but actually love our enemies and do good to them
* to consider the motivations of our heart when it comes to giving, and praying, and fasting
* that our pursuit in life and our greatest treasure would be things of heaven, not things of the earth
* that we would not love money and serve it as our master but that we would love the Lord and serve him as our master
* that we would not be anxious about anything but that we would know that our Father loves us and that he will provide for our every need
* that we would be careful in our judgments by recognizing our own blind spots, our own impaired vision as we humbly, graciously and mercifully help our brother and sister see their sin and blind spots
* and lastly to be discerning in who we even offer our judgement and correction too

--> WOW. This is quite the list, this is quite the standard

-- Even as I read these I am feeling the absolute inability to be able to accomplish all of these tasks, or to even do some of them well.
-- Jesus gave us a standard to live by, and honestly, it is absolutely unattainable in our own ability, strength (flesh).
-- Which leads us to our text today and why we absolutely need to be CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT in prayer!

QUOTE: JOHN PIPER

“When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised — when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.”

THE PROBLEM:
WE STRUGGLE TO PRAY CONSISTENTLY AND PERSISTENTLY...

--> Why is it hard to keep praying, to keep asking, to keep seeking, to keep knocking?
-- Do you feel like you are being annoying when you ask God over and over?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we think that we will be heard because of the amount of words in our prayers, that God isn’t listening to us?
-- Is our lack of consistency and persistence in prayer an indicator that we misunderstand God’s character and his attributes?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we think God is ignorant and needs to be informed?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we think God is unwilling and needs to be persuaded?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we think we are transforming a hard-hearted God into a compassionate and loving one?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we think that God will be swayed in his decision by our putting on a show in our prayers and actions, as if he were incapable of seeing through the veil of our hypocrisy?
-- Are we supposed to be persistent because we are selfish and want to exploit God’s blessings to our own glory and gain?
-- In our lack of consistency and persistence, are we trusting in our own abilities, our own wisdom, our own plans instead of running to God and asking, seeking and knocking?

--> Today, After studying this part of Jesus sermon, I hope we will be inclined to pray more and more and grow in our dependence on our loving heavenly Father to hear us and answer our prayers, faithfully meeting our needs, for our good and for His Glory!

OBSERVATION #1:
JESUS INVITES US TO PRAY...

[VERSE 7-8]
Three times he commands us to pray — ASK, SEEK, KNOCK — It’s the number of times that he invites us that should get our attention |

-- His repetition is saying…
“I mean this. I want you to do this. Ask your Father for what you need. Seek your Father for the help you need. Knock on the door of your Father’s house so he will open and give you what you need.” “Ive listed a lot of things, expectations, standards, and I know it is overwhelming. I don’t want you to try to do it on your own, in your own power…Ask, seek, knock. I invite you three times because I really want you to run to your Father and enjoy your Father’s help.”

OBSERVATION #2:
JESUS MAKES PROMISES TO US IF WE WILL PRAY...

[VS 7-8]...(7 PROMISES)
1. It will be given you.
2. You will find.
3. It will be opened to you.
4. The ASKER receives.
5. The SEEKER finds.
6. The KNOCKER gets an open door.
7. Your FATHER will give you GOOD THINGS.

OBSERVATION #3:
PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY ~ OUR FATHER IS FOUND THROUGH PERSISTENCE...

[VS 7-8]
-- The GREEK tense of these three commands mean to ‘keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking”
-- In our persistence, in our pursuit of God, He will answer our prayers
-- I think it is important to emphasize the PURSUIT OF GOD over the ANSWER TO THE REQUEST FROM GOD here
-- There are three different ways we persistently pursue God in our prayers…He can be found in all of them
1. We ASK and HE GIVES...If a child’s father is present, he asks him for what he needs. (we ask continually…He is the giver)
2. SEEK and YOU FIND...If a child’s father is somewhere in the house but not seen, he seeks his father for what he needs.(we keep seeking…we will find)
3. KNOCK and HE OPENS...If the child seeks and finds the father behind the closed door of his study, he knocks to get what he needs. (we keep knocking…He is the one who opens)
-- There seems to be a “PROGRESSION OF PERSISTENCE”

—> It seems that whether you find the Father immediately, or after a diligent search or even when there are ‘doors’ that keep you from seeing him, he will hear us and answer us…because we looked to him and not other things, other people, or even within ourselves!

OBSERVATION #4:
EVERYONE!...

[VS 8]
-- I love how Jesus emphasized who will be heard and who will be answered…everyone!
-- This doesn’t mean everyone on earth is heard and answered equally, Jesus was speaking here of ‘children of the Father’, who know him and are part of the family, citizens of the kingdom, disciples
-- We see John’s description of this person in...

[JOHN 1:9-12]
“9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

-- Everyone who is a child of God is heard and answered
-- But I want everyone who hears my voice to know you can be a child of God. Trust Jesus now, repent and believe for the forgiveness of your sins! He will answer that prayer immediately!

OBSERVATION #5:
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS BETTER THAN OUR EARTHLY FATHERS...

[VS 9-11]
-- Our earthly dads are evil, harsh statement but true according to Jesus' words
-- We have good fathers and bad fathers, we all have different experiences as a child depending on the dad we had and that affects how we see and relate to our heavenly Father
-- But no matter how good your dad is, Jesus was clear, all dads are considered evil because of sin…that is just the facts
-- BUT even evil dads (OR MOMS) can give good things
-- Even though our earthly parents are evil (or you as a parent are sinfully evil), we still have received from our evil parents good things (and as parents we have given good things)…
-- But our heavenly Father is even better! Even more loving! He gives us exactly what we need…all good things!

OBSERVATION #6:
Question: SO CAN WE ASK FOR ANYTHING AND EXPECT GOD TO GIVE IT TO US? [this is where this can get messed up]

[VS 7-8]
-- SO what does this mean for all of us who are children of God?
-- Do we get everything we ask for? The text implies the answer is NO > we don’t get everything we ask for or want…
-- Jesus says in verses 9–10 that even an EVIL FATHER will not give his child a stone if he asks for bread, that an EVIL FATHER will not give him a serpent if he asks for a fish.
-- THEN Jesus says in verse 11 that our HEAVENLY FATHER loves us way more than our earthly fathers do…which implies that he will also deny requests that we ask that he deems “not good”
-- I often want things that are not good for me...Even though it might seem that getting what I want is best, God knows exactly what I need and what is good for me
-- And honestly…I really don’t want God to give me everything I ask for! If I got everything I wanted it would make me, in essence, God…I would be making “God” do what I want, obeying me in what I said…
-- The truth is that God should be God.
-- I would not want to be in the place of God and have to shoulder all of the weight of being the smartest, most intelligent being in the universe…which clearly I do not have! I just don’t know enough or have the wisdom to be able to discern what should be done in every situation…in my own life or in the lives of everyone around me!
-- We are not God and that is a good thing.
-- We are not infinitely strong, or infinitely righteous, or infinitely good, or infinitely wise, or infinitely loving.
-- But thankfully, our Father’s great love has shown us a great mercy in that we don’t get everything we ask for. God as my loving Father always gives me exactly the right things, in the right amount, at the right time…

--FOR MY GOOD AND HIS GLORY...seasons of my life, waiting, trusting, growing in dependence, humility, patience has taught me that God does good things for me all for His Glory

-- HE GIVES ONLY GOOD THINGS...He gives good things. Only good things. He does not give serpents to his children. The text points away from the conclusion that “Ask and you will receive” means “Ask and you will receive the very thing you ask for when you ask for it in the way you ask for it”. It doesn’t say that. And it doesn’t mean that. Ultimately that really is a good thing God has done for us

IN SUMMARY:
IF WE TAKE THE PASSAGE AS A WHOLE, IT SAYS THAT…

-- when we ask and seek and knock —
-- when we pray as needy children looking away from our own resources to our trustworthy heavenly Father —
-- he will hear and he will give us good things.
-- Sometimes just what we asked.
-- Sometimes just when we ask it.
-- Sometimes just the way we desire.
-- And other times he gives us something better, or at a time he knows is better, or in a way he knows is better.

-- This absolutely will tests our faith.
-- Jesus is commanding us to pray…pray…pray
-- For our good and His Glory!

TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD…

-- If we refuse to take Jesus at his word, we will forfeit all of the blessings he desires to give us…because we did not ask and seek and knock
-- We will forfeit...
- blessings for ourselves
- blessings for our families
- blessings for our church
- blessings for the valley
- blessings for our nation
- blessings for our world

—> Ive been convicted this week about my inconsistency and lack of persistence in prayer || as a disciple we believe prayer is one of the four pillars to being mature (mission statement)

—> So would you join me in a fresh new commitment to set aside time for prayer (1. alone for the remainder of the year? As things get ramped up for school and the fall and winter months, lets commit ourselves to praying…ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING…

WAYS TO PRAY OR BE PRAYED FOR
24 Hours of Prayer coming in October || Tuesday PM Prayer Gathering || to be prayed for: Prayer Corner weekly || Comm Card in Weekly/app

PRAYER AND COMMUNION...

- RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO PRAYING
- RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO SURRENDER TO YOUR GOOD PLAN
- RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO YOUR TIMING
- RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO MATURE IN OUR DISCIPLESHIP BY MAKING PRAYER A CONSISTENT AND PERSISTENT DISCIPLINE IN OUR DAILY LIFE