1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,400 I ask you to grab your Bible and open to Matthew Chapter 7 Now. 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,360 While you're grabbing it, you can grab your worship guide. 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:12,800 You'll be able to take notes there. 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,800 So I encourage you to do that as you follow along in the sermon 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:21,120 this morning. We are actually nearing the end 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,920 of the Sermon on the Mount portion of Matthew's gospel, and 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,960 Jesus has been teaching us through this, as we've said each 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,560 week, what life in his Kingdom is supposed to look like. 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:38,640 Now, Jesus has taught us what we're calling Kingdom citizens, 10 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,160 right believers. Jesus has taught us that Kingdom 11 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:46,640 citizens are poor in spirits, they're meek, they're merciful, 12 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,200 they're pure in hearts, they're peacemakers, they're willing to 13 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,520 suffer for righteousness sake or for the name of Christ. 14 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,720 He's added to those things a lot of other teachings, right? 15 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,440 Like He, he's taught us that our righteousness must surpass that 16 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,360 of the scribes and Pharisees, the the religious elites of the 17 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,360 day. He, He's taken us beneath the 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:17,880 surface of outward obedience and has pressed the law into the 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,240 heart of man. We see it this way. 20 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:27,520 Anger is murder in seed form. That's where it begins, in the 21 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:32,080 heart with hatred. Lust is adultery in the hearts. 22 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,040 Truthfulness must mark our speech. 23 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,920 Love must extend to our enemies. Giving, praying, fasting, all of 24 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,280 these things must be done before the Father and not for men's 25 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,520 applause. We must lay up treasures in 26 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,440 heaven. We must seek first the Kingdom 27 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,400 of Christ. We must not judge with 28 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,160 self-righteous hypocrisy. And so it's no wonder that every 29 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,240 week when you guys leave here, your toes are all curled up, 30 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,000 right? It's a lot. 31 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,680 Christ has laid out a lot for us. 32 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:15,000 A lot that causes us to be introspective and to wonder, how 33 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,440 in the world can I do this? How can I be a true Kingdom 34 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,640 citizen, right? How can I live for the glory of 35 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:25,400 the Lord? Like if you're listening to 36 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,080 those things week in and week out, and I know that you are, 37 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:38,480 then we may rightly ask, Lord, who is sufficient for these 38 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,080 things, right? Surely you feel that pressure. 39 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:49,120 How can I, Lord, live this way the way that you're laying out? 40 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:54,960 How can I reflect what it means to be a Kingdom citizen day in 41 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,600 and day out? Well, Jesus doesn't leave you 42 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:07,160 with this burden. His answer is in our passage 43 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:12,760 today, and his answer is wonderfully simple, right? 44 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,440 Christ knows that sheep are simple. 45 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,360 Not dumb, not stupid, just simple, right? 46 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,040 But it's deeply comforting as well. 47 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,920 Like, like it's a simple truth, but it's deep and it's comfort. 48 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:30,560 And here's what he says. Here's what he's going to say to 49 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,960 us. Ask your father. 50 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:44,320 Seek your father. Knock at your Father's door. 51 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,160 The Kingdom alive cannot be lived in self-sufficiency. 52 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,840 And that's really the tension you ought to feel after several 53 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,200 weeks in the Sermon on the Mount, right? 54 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:04,480 I It must be lived in prayerful dependence upon the Father. 55 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,840 That's what Jesus wants us to see today. 56 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,320 So if you're able, would you please stand as we read Matthew 57 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:15,120 7, seven through 11. When I'm finished reading, I'll 58 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,440 say this is the word of the Lord and you can respond, thanks be 59 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,360 to God. Chapter 7, verse 7. 60 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:28,120 Jesus is still speaking. Ask and it will be given to you. 61 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,360 Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to 62 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:39,800 you, for everyone who asked receives, and the one who seeks 63 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,680 finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 64 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,680 Or which one of you? If his son ask him for bread, 65 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,480 we'll give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, we'll give him 66 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:59,480 a serpent. If you then, who are evil, know 67 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,520 how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will 68 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,440 your father who is in heaven give good things to those who 69 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,520 ask him? This is the word of the Lord. 70 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:16,600 But speak to God, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are grateful 71 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:22,200 to be in a place of worship this morning where we can lift high 72 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,280 your name. And I thank you, Lord, that we 73 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,920 have done that already in our prayers and our singing, our 74 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,920 giving. Today, Lord, we want to lift 75 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,360 high your name in the preached word. 76 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,320 We're going to lift high your name. 77 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,960 As listeners today, Would you grant to us ears to hear and 78 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,240 eyes to see? Would you grant to us hearts 79 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:49,120 that contain good soil, that Your Word is planted in our 80 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:53,840 hearts, that it would bear fruit in the weeks and months and 81 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,280 years ahead? Father, I ask that you would 82 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:01,000 turn our attention to this text today, that we would hear the 83 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,760 words of our King, that we would receive our marching orders for 84 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:10,080 prayer from him today. And Lord, would you help us to 85 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:15,320 be a prayerful people as a result of having heard your word 86 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,960 preached and having believed it today, it's in the name of 87 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:20,920 Christ to pray. Amen. 88 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:22,680 Amen. You may be seated. 89 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:31,520 So at first glance, this text may seem like just a general 90 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,640 encouragement to pray, and it is to some degree. 91 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:42,040 But it's more than that, right? Jesus is not giving you in this 92 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,280 text a blank check for your selfish desires. 93 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,760 All right, we know this to be true. 94 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:55,400 But we are inundated with the message of the health, wealth, 95 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,000 and prosperity gospel. We're inundated with this idea 96 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:05,040 that we can come to God and He is like a cosmic Santa Claus who 97 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:10,160 will meet every need that we have so long as we ask, almost 98 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,800 as if he's a genie in a bottle doing our bidding, right? 99 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,600 But, but Christ is not teaching us to treat God like a vending 100 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:24,000 machine today, right? In a vending machine, you might 101 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:29,040 put in the right words, you may push the right buttons, and you 102 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:34,760 expect your selected option, your selected blessing to drop 103 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:39,600 down and you take hold of it. And you don't return to the 104 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,080 vending machine again until you need something. 105 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:48,720 Right now Jesus is teaching here that Kingdom citizens are to 106 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:54,240 come to God as their heavenly Father, right? 107 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,000 A vending machine gives you what you select if you make the right 108 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,920 payments. A father gives what is good 109 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,040 because he loves his children, right? 110 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,040 A vending machine responds mechanically. 111 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,720 You put your money in, you push the button, it drops down what 112 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:19,280 you've asked for. But a father responds wisely, 113 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,880 right? A vending machine gives you what 114 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:27,240 you choose. A father gives you what is good, 115 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,880 right? So the question in this text is 116 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:37,919 not having read ask, seek, knock, will God grant me 117 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:42,400 everything I want exactly when I want it right? 118 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:46,640 We we know that's not true. We might approach God that way, 119 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,720 but we know that that's not the way this works. 120 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:59,200 The the better question for this text is can I trust my Father to 121 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,520 hear me? Can I trust my Father to help 122 00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:07,160 me? Can I trust my Father to give me 123 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:12,400 what is good as I seek his Kingdom and his righteousness? 124 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:19,120 And Jesus answer is yes, yes you can, right? 125 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,760 The main point, if you're taking notes from our text today, is 126 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,560 this. Kingdom citizens should pray 127 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:34,840 with confidence because their Father is good and he gives what 128 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:36,920 is good. All right. 129 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,640 Kingdom citizens should pray with confidence because their 130 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,600 Father is good and he gives what is good. 131 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:46,120 Now we're going to see this in three movements or three truths. 132 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,120 The first will be come to the Father with persistent 133 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,040 dependence. Secondly, we'll see trust the 134 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:57,120 Father's generous goodness. And 3rd and finally, we'll see 135 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,040 rest in the Father's greater love. 136 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,520 So let's look at the first truth now #1 come to the Father with 137 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:11,160 persistent dependence. So it's examining verses 7 and 138 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,160 8. Christ says again, ask and it 139 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:17,560 will be given to you. Seek and you will find knock and 140 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:21,960 it will be open to you. Jesus gives 3 commands here, 141 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,280 right? Ask, seek, knock. 142 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,920 These are simple words, to say the least, but they're not 143 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:36,000 shallow words, right They they describe the posture of a needy 144 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,440 disciple before a generous heavenly Father. 145 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,960 Ask of him, seek him, knock at his door. 146 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,800 What? To ask is to admit I have a 147 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,640 need. It's to admit I'm not 148 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,160 sufficient. It's the language of dependence, 149 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,480 right? The one who asked knows that he 150 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:04,840 does not have what he needs within himself to seek. 151 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,280 This is the idea of pursuing, right? 152 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,640 The prophet Jeremiah tells us that, and it's God speaking 153 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,560 through him. He says if they seek me, they 154 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:22,720 will find me. So this is the language of 155 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,560 active dependence, but it's the it's the coming to the Father. 156 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:33,840 So seeking him out, it's the heart that says, Father, I need 157 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,480 you. I, I need your Kingdom, I need 158 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,480 your righteousness, your wisdom, and your grace. 159 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:52,160 To knock is to come to the door and keep looking to the one who 160 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,400 can open it. All right? 161 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,840 It pictures urgency, persistence, expectancy. 162 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:04,120 It's knocking at the door. I know you're in there, right? 163 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,400 Open the door. No answer. 164 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,760 All right. Knock. 165 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:15,640 Be persistent. Ask persistently. 166 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,880 Seek persistently. Knock persistently, right? 167 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,160 Seek him out. Knock at his door. 168 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,840 Ask him. And so Jesus here is calling his 169 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,840 disciples those Kingdom citizens. 170 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,960 He's calling them to persistent dependence. 171 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,160 Prayer. Again, I think this matters a 172 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,440 lot for its placement in the text, right? 173 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,880 We want to consider the context. If we want to understand the 174 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,160 text, we have to understand where it falls. 175 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,920 We're in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. 176 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,200 We're in the middle of all of those things I described earlier 177 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,320 in the intro, right? All these different commands, 178 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,560 all these different ideas that Christ is sharing about what 179 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,200 Kingdom citizenship looks like and how it must manifest itself. 180 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,120 And we must have a righteousness that's greater than the 181 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:12,200 Pharisees, right? I mean, think about it. 182 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:20,680 Jesus has not given us commands that we can fulfill by the 183 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:22,840 strength of our own flesh, has He? 184 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:28,680 I mean that there's not one in there that I can fulfill just by 185 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,280 pulling myself up by my bootstraps each week. 186 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,640 But I can't muster the strength for this. 187 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:40,560 He's described A righteousness that reaches down outside the 188 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:44,440 exterior of the man and into the interior of who he is. 189 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,520 It affects His heart. Now you and I don't have the 190 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:54,320 power to transform hearts, not even our own, right? 191 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,320 We might create some good habits, we might build some 192 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,280 healthy routines in our lives just by matter of strength, 193 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:06,040 right, by matter of discipline, but we cannot affect the heart. 194 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:12,280 We need the Father through His Son by the Spirit to transform 195 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,480 our hearts. That's what Christ is saying 196 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,040 here is if you're going to be a Kingdom citizen, then prayer is 197 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,680 not an optional part of your Christian life. 198 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,280 It's not optional. You don't pray only when you sit 199 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,760 down to eat. You don't pray only when you go 200 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,440 to bed at night, right? We need to ask repeatedly. 201 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,120 We need to not persistently. We need to seek the Lord 202 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:47,000 constantly. Prayer is essential to the 203 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,080 Kingdom life. It's the language of spiritual 204 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,080 poverty. That's how we express our need 205 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,920 for the Lord. This is what Kingdom citizens do 206 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,600 because they know that they cannot produce a Kingdom 207 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,520 righteousness apart from the grace of the God. 208 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,400 And so verse 8, verse 7, having given us the commands, verse 8 209 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,520 reinforces this great promise from Christ to us. 210 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:23,960 And it is a promise for everyone who asked receives and the one 211 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:30,680 who seeks fines and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 212 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,840 You see, Jesus is just repeating the pattern that he's encouraged 213 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,960 us to do because he's encouraging his people with the 214 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,040 promise behind the pattern, right? 215 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,680 If you ask, you'll receive. If you seek, you'll find. 216 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:48,920 If you knock, the door will be opened. 217 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:56,320 Now you may say, well, not every prayer of prayer, not ever, not 218 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,160 every asking I've brought to the Lord, not every request, not 219 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:09,400 every seeking, not every knock has been answered or so who's 220 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,400 wrong? Is Christ wrong or am I missing 221 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,680 something? We can answer it if we ask it 222 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,400 that way, right? Christ is never wrong. 223 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:22,560 So what Christ is not saying is that every prayer is answered 224 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:28,320 exactly as requested. The rest of Scripture will not 225 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,800 allow us to interpret the passage this way. 226 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:37,400 But what Christ is saying is that the Father truly hears you. 227 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,000 The Father truly responds. He truly gives what is good to 228 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,880 his children. And so Jesus is inviting us here 229 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:55,000 to pray with confidence, to know that your Father hears this 230 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,440 passage tells us something about us and something about God. 231 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,599 What it says about us is that we are, we are needy. 232 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,319 We, we are dependent. And I don't mean needy in like a 233 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:11,319 bad way. I mean it is like an encouraging 234 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:13,960 way, right? We are needy, we're we're 235 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,960 dependent, we're weak, we're not self-sufficient. 236 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:23,760 And what it tells us about God is he. 237 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,079 He's totally different than all of those things, right? 238 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:31,120 He's the opposite of all of that and he's approachable. 239 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,440 Ask your father. Seek your father. 240 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,600 Knock at his door. He's approachable. 241 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,800 He's attentive. You don't have to wonder when 242 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:45,400 you pray or when you seek the Lord. 243 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,000 Is he paying attention? Of course he is. 244 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:53,200 He's attentive. We read here that he's generous. 245 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,160 All right, we'll see that further in a moment. 246 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,760 But he's generous. He welcomes the prayers of his 247 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:05,120 children. You see, the God of heaven, the 248 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:09,840 God who created all things, the God who is so high and so lofty 249 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:15,480 and so above us, is not irritated by the cries of his 250 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:22,400 people. Do you understand that? 251 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:31,600 He's not irritated when you cry out to him in the same way that 252 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,760 I'm not irritated when one of my sons cries out for my help. 253 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:45,160 And I'm an evil father, right? According to the text, he's not 254 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:54,520 distance from your cries, he's not cold towards you, right? 255 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,880 I don't know what your experience with an earthly 256 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:58,680 father might be. Some of you have a great 257 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,880 experience. Some of you may have a terrible 258 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,240 experience, or times of terrible and times of good, right? 259 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:09,000 Not sure, but what I want you to understand is you're talking 260 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:14,840 about a perfect father here, one who is not cold towards you. 261 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:23,680 He is your heavenly Father. And Hebrews 416 tells us that we 262 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,520 should draw near to Him with confidence. 263 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,920 We should come to the throne of grace with confidence that we 264 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,400 might receive mercy and find grace in our time of need. 265 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,600 So ask. Ask the Father. 266 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,200 In the book of James we read you have not because you ask not. 267 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,520 We also read you ask and do not receive because you ask with 268 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,800 selfish ambitions. That doesn't. 269 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:57,400 Neither one of those say don't ask. 270 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:02,440 They say ask right, Let the Lord train your heart, let the Lord 271 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:07,400 redirect your desires, Let the Lord answer the prayer right. 272 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:12,720 Ask God big things. When's the last time you asked 273 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,280 God to make you holy as He is holy? 274 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:24,800 When's the last time you asked God to grant you wisdom or ask 275 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:30,040 God to help you forgive someone? Or ask God to strengthen your 276 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:34,960 marriage. Ask God to make you patient with 277 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:40,000 your children. Ask God to help you fight lust 278 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,560 or anger or anxiety or bitterness or hypocrisy. 279 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,120 When's the last time you asked God to make you faithful in 280 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:53,240 secret, not merely impressive in public? 281 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,360 When's the last time you ask God to help you seek first His 282 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:03,960 Kingdom and His righteousness? When's the last time you ask God 283 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:09,280 to save someone who's lost? When's the last time you prayed 284 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:15,640 for God to grow his church or ask God to make you more like 285 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,480 Christ? You see what I'm saying? 286 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,200 There's all sorts of big lofty prayers and often times we don't 287 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,720 consider these things that we read in the text as 288 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,440 opportunities for prayer. And so we'll come to the Lord 289 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,720 with just really, they're not even trivial things, They're 290 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,640 things that matter, but they're typically always about someone 291 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:45,000 else or some health problem or and we really do kind of use 292 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:50,280 prayer like a vending machine, but prayer is meant to be a 293 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:56,120 major part of your communion with God, your daily fellowship 294 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:01,760 with him. But when you pray those big 295 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,880 prayers, the encouragement here in the text is not to ask once 296 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,880 and then stop as though God didn't hear it or didn't care or 297 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,720 didn't want to answer it. Well, he says ask, seek, knock. 298 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,640 Now the truth of a text like this, you know, it's not all not 299 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:22,480 painful. Anything Christ says is going to 300 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,920 hit us right between the eyes sometimes. 301 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,120 So the truth of this at times is some of us do not pray because 302 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:34,080 we are too self-sufficient, right? 303 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:37,000 We're, we're too dependent upon our own ability to do things. 304 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,960 We, we live as though we can manage life on our own. 305 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,280 Others of us do not pray because we are discouraged. 306 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,880 We've prayed before and we have not seen the answer we wanted, 307 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:59,000 and so we quietly drifted into prayerlessness. 308 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,880 I want you to know Jesus is speaking to both here today. 309 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:13,120 To the self-sufficient, He says ask why? 310 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,200 Because you are needier than you think you are. 311 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,240 You're not as sufficient as you have estimated. 312 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:30,520 Ask your father to the discouraged, he says, ask why? 313 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,800 Because your father is better than you fear. 314 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:39,360 He's a good God. But I want you to understand, 315 00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:42,320 the confidence of prayer does not rest in the strength of our 316 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:48,920 asking right? It, it rests in the character of 317 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,880 the one to whom we pray. That's where the confidence of 318 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,960 prayer rests in His character. And that brings us to point #2 319 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,320 trust the Father's generous goodness. 320 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,360 Trust the Father's generous goodness. 321 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,280 Or which one of you? Verse 9 If his son asked him for 322 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,120 bread, we'll give him a stone. Or if he asked for a fish, we'll 323 00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:20,160 give him a serpent. So Jesus is now just offering an 324 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,680 illustration from ordinary family life. 325 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,600 A son asked his father for bread, and the father, being 326 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:33,760 kind, does not give him a stone. A son asked for a fish, and the 327 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:35,400 father doesn't give him a serpent. 328 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,640 Now Jesus is using something pretty obvious here to make 329 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:50,040 something glorious plain to us. Even fallen human parents know 330 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,160 the difference between a gift and a danger. 331 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,480 They know the difference between nourishment and horn. 332 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,760 They know the difference between bread and stone, between a fish 333 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:10,080 and a serpent's. A decent father, Not even a good 334 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,280 father, but just a decent one, right? 335 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,680 He does not mock his child's hunger. 336 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,960 He doesn't trick his child. He doesn't give something 337 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,480 harmful when the child is asking for something that's necessary 338 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,760 to life. No, Jesus teaches us here to 339 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:33,200 reason from earthly fatherhood to heavenly fatherhood. 340 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:42,640 Now, the contrast is important. A small limestone rock, which 341 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,600 might look like a loaf of bread, could not nourish the child. 342 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,720 Rather, it would frustrate him. Me. 343 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,520 Picture it, Dad. I'm really hungry. 344 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,880 You have some bread? Yeah. 345 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,040 Here, here's some. And he bends down and picks up a 346 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:03,240 rock and hands it to the child. That would frustrate the kid, 347 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,160 right? He might hurl it at his dad. 348 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,760 A serpent would not nourish the child. 349 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,920 It would endanger him. Dad, do you have some fish? 350 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,440 I know we caught some fish the other day. 351 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,560 You got some left that we could eat? 352 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:27,000 Yeah, I do. Here. 353 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:34,040 Here's a a serpent, right? There's an endangerment there. 354 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,800 The the point is not merely that the father would refuse to give 355 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,960 something useless. The the point is that a father 356 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:49,480 would not deceive his child by giving something harmful instead 357 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:55,880 of something good. Jesus is using this to say to 358 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,440 us, Your Father in heaven is not cruel. 359 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,840 He's not deceptive, He's not careless about your needs, and 360 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,160 when you come to him, he does not toy with you. 361 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:15,800 This point highlights God's goodness. 362 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,160 When we talk about God's goodness, we're, we're saying 363 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:27,440 what what we mean is that he is benevolent, He's kind, he's 364 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:34,800 generous, he's wise and all his dealings with his people, right? 365 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:39,040 He, he's not good in a merely sentimental way, right? 366 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:41,800 We can think God's good and we can get kind of the warm fuzzies 367 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,880 about it and we can know that it's true and it is sentimental. 368 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,080 Like it comforts us to know that God is good, but it's not merely 369 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:50,600 sentimental. That's not what Christ is 370 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,680 explaining here. He, he's saying that God is good 371 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,240 in a sovereign way, right? His goodness is joined to all 372 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,680 that he is, to His wisdom, His Holiness, His power and His 373 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:08,920 love. What that means is that he knows 374 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,400 what is good, right? He has the power to give what is 375 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,920 good. He, he has the wisdom to give 376 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,960 what is good in the right way. He, he has the love to give it 377 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:27,080 for the good of his children. And This is why prayer requires 378 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:32,640 a deep trust in God. We can trust that he is good. 379 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:41,320 Psalm 100 verse 5 says that he is faithful, He's abounding in 380 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:45,920 love, and that he's good to every generation. 381 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,880 And I don't want you to miss the point of this. 382 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,600 We're we're not praying. You're not praying to a weak 383 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,800 Father who means well, but he's unable to help. 384 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:07,440 We're not praying to a powerful ruler above us who can help yet 385 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:13,240 doesn't care. We are praying to our Father in 386 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:17,120 heaven who is both sovereign and good. 387 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,920 I think this corrects some suspicion we might have about 388 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:34,240 God. You think suspicion about God? 389 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:38,840 Well, I think we can be more guilty of this than we realize, 390 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:45,200 because it's really subtle. Ever since Genesis 3, the the 391 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:50,600 fall of mankind in the garden, fallen humanity has been tempted 392 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:57,600 to question God's goodness. The serpent suggested that God 393 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,480 was withholding something good from Adam and Eve. 394 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:06,160 If you take that fruit, you will be like God, and he's trying to 395 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:13,080 keep you from that. I think that same suspicion 396 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:22,160 still creeps into our hearts. I mean, Satan is, he's a 397 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,000 tempter. He's the father of lies. 398 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,680 He's a deceiver, A murderer from the beginning. 399 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:34,160 This is one of his oldest tricks, and it's one of his most 400 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:39,160 useful tricks. We, we might say things like 401 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:45,400 this. If God is good, why has he not 402 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:54,680 answered my prayer yet? If God is good, why did he say 403 00:30:54,680 --> 00:31:04,200 no to my prayer? If God is good, why is this 404 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,240 station in life, the circumstance, so hard? 405 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:16,760 If God is good, why did he give them that person over there? 406 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:25,400 What I've been asking for if God is good, why does obedience feel 407 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:32,880 so costly? If God is good, why are bad 408 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:43,870 things happening in my life? And what verses 9 and 10 do is 409 00:31:43,870 --> 00:31:45,950 they call us back to the Father's heart. 410 00:31:48,950 --> 00:31:52,990 Your Father is not handing you stones when you need bread. 411 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,920 Your father does not hand you a serpent when you need fish. 412 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:05,640 Your father is good, now does that. 413 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:13,440 That doesn't mean that you will always understand his answers, 414 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:20,760 You just might not. It It does not mean you will 415 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:25,320 always immediately see how his answer is good. 416 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:34,320 But Jesus calls you to trust the Father's heart when you cannot 417 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:41,280 trace the Father's hand. And then Jesus presses this 418 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:45,000 argument even further. He does not merely say the 419 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,200 Father is good, He goes on to say the Father is infinitely 420 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,240 better than even the best earthly father. 421 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:59,600 Which brings us to .3 verse 11. Rest in the Father's greater 422 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:04,920 love. Now Jesus presses the lesson 423 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:10,560 home, if you will. If you then who are evil know 424 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,480 how to give good gifts to your children. 425 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,240 Now we'll stop there because that phrase is quite striking. 426 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:24,320 If you then who are evil, can't say Amen, you say Ouch, right? 427 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:30,400 Ouch. Now Jesus is not about 428 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:37,200 flattering human nature, right? He, he tells, he tells the truth 429 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,520 about us, even the best earthly fathers. 430 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,880 What Christ is saying here is even the very best earthly 431 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:52,320 fathers are still fallen humans. We may love our children 432 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:56,760 sincerely, but we are not loving them perfectly. 433 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:05,440 We we are limited, we're inconsistent, we're impatient, 434 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:13,600 we're selfish, and we're sinful. Yet even fallen fathers know how 435 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,639 to give good, give good gifts to their children. 436 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,880 So Jesus is not saying that earthly fathers are perfect. 437 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,520 He is saying that even sinful fathers typically understand 438 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,400 that a hungry child should receive nourishment, not danger. 439 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,639 Right. And then comes this great 440 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:42,760 encouragement. How much more will your Father 441 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:48,120 who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? 442 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:54,679 Now the phrase how much more really does kind of carry the 443 00:34:54,679 --> 00:35:02,800 weight of this verse. How much more I like what Jesus 444 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:07,000 is doing here. He is arguing His point from the 445 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:11,520 lesser to the greater right. If fallen fathers know how to 446 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:15,400 give good gifts, how much more does your heavenly Father know 447 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,720 how to give good gifts? If sinful fathers can show 448 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:24,240 genuine care, how much more does your heavenly Father, who is 449 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:30,160 perfectly holy, wise, generous, and loving, care for his 450 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:34,360 children? And so the point lands right. 451 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:40,280 You can see it. Notice what Jesus says the 452 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:51,800 Father gives good things. It doesn't say that the Father 453 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:56,200 will give everything. We ask for exactly how we ask. 454 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,120 He says the Father gives good things to those who ask him. 455 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:04,800 Now that is not a smaller promise. 456 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,400 That's a better promise. Brothers and sisters, Amen. 457 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:15,240 That might be hard to agree with because again, in our 458 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,400 self-sufficiency, we think we know best. 459 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:19,840 We think we know what we need better. 460 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:22,960 But again, we're talking about the Heavenly Father here. 461 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,800 It's not a smaller promise, it's a better promise. 462 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,960 Our desires. Here's why it's a better 463 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,440 promise. Our desires are not always wise. 464 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:41,560 Our vision is limited. Our hearts can be mixed. 465 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:43,760 We can have two masters at times. 466 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,400 We we can ask for things that look like bread to us but would 467 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:53,680 become stones in our hands. We we can ask for things that 468 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:58,160 look like fish to us but would become serpents to our souls. 469 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:03,920 But your Father in heaven knows the difference. 470 00:37:06,240 --> 00:37:08,120 He he knows what will nourish you. 471 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,960 He knows what will harm you. He knows what will make you 472 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:13,880 holy. He knows what will draw you 473 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,880 nearer to Christ. He knows what will serve his 474 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:22,800 Kingdom purposes the best, and he knows then what is truly 475 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:28,320 good. So Jesus isn't promising that 476 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:31,760 God will always give us whatever we would choose if we had his 477 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:36,480 power. He's promising something far 478 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:41,600 better. Don't don't miss his points. 479 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:46,280 Our Father will always give what is good according to his wisdom, 480 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:52,160 his will and his love. Now this first teaches us about 481 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:57,680 God's fatherly goodness. God isn't reluctant to hear his 482 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,360 children. He's not stingy with his mercy, 483 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,480 right? There's a reason we sing his 484 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:07,120 mercy is more around here. We believe it. 485 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,640 He's not annoyed by our dependence. 486 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,000 He's not cold toward our needs. He's not bothered when his 487 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,960 children come asking and seeking and knocking. 488 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,520 He is our Father in heaven, and that means that he's both near 489 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,840 and sovereign. He's near enough to hear. 490 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:30,560 He's powerful enough to act, He's tender enough to care, and 491 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:32,920 He's wise enough to know what is best. 492 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:40,360 He's generous enough to give, and he's holy enough to never 493 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:49,600 give you what would destroy you. So we can say rightly from the 494 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:55,560 text his yes is good. We can say rightly from the text 495 00:38:55,680 --> 00:39:01,400 that his no is good. We can say rightly from the text 496 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:10,960 that his weight is good, his redirection is good, his 497 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,440 discipline is good, his comfort is good. 498 00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:19,160 We could go on and on and on. He is good through and through. 499 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:25,520 Not because every circumstance feels good. 500 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:29,640 Many circumstances do not feel good. 501 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:41,480 Not because every answer is easy to understand, many are not. 502 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,160 But because the father himself is good. 503 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:53,440 He cannot deal with his children in a way that contradicts his 504 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:59,720 character and the greatest proof of the father's goodness. 505 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,160 It's not that He gives us everything, every earthly thing 506 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:10,640 we desire or demand. The greatest proof is that He 507 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:17,120 has given us His Son. He's given us Christ to be the 508 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:22,080 sacrifice for sinners. He's given His beloved Son to 509 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:26,280 live in perfect righteousness, to die in the place of his 510 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,560 people, all who will call upon His name, to rise from the grave 511 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,480 to bring us into the family of God. 512 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,480 This is the ultimate test of God's goodness. 513 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:40,920 When we come to God in prayer, we're not trying to convince a 514 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:45,560 reluctant God to be kind. No, we're we're coming to the 515 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:49,320 Father who has already revealed his heart at the cross. 516 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:53,600 He gives good gifts to His children. 517 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:00,080 So then you may have the question that I have, How then 518 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:05,880 should I pray? I'm going to walk you through a 519 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:07,160 few things. First, you should pray 520 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:11,400 confidently. Jesus invites us to come. 521 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:16,840 He says ask, seek, knock. Do not hold back because you 522 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:21,040 think your needs are too small. Do not stay away because you 523 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:25,840 think your sins are too great. Do not stop praying because the 524 00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:30,520 answer has not yet come. Come to your Father. 525 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:35,920 Come confidently. Secondly, you should pray 526 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:40,040 biblically. Now, how do we know we're 527 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:44,560 praying according to God's will? We pray according to God's will 528 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:47,000 when our prayers are shaped by these three things. 529 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:53,920 Number one, God's Kingdom #2 God's character and #3 God's 530 00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:58,320 word. So we walk through those, pray 531 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,000 in accordance with God's Kingdom. 532 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:02,960 Jesus has already taught us how to do this. 533 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:04,600 He's, he taught us to pray this way. 534 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,720 Your Kingdom come, your will be done. 535 00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:12,360 So when we pray, we should ask questions like this. 536 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:15,600 Does this prayer seek God's glory? 537 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,200 Does this prayer submit to God's will, whatever may come? 538 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:29,080 Does this prayer align with seeking first His Kingdom and 539 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:31,480 His righteousness above all else? 540 00:42:37,570 --> 00:42:39,970 Secondly, you should pray in accordance with God's character. 541 00:42:41,770 --> 00:42:44,690 Bring your request to Him as your heavenly Father. 542 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:49,240 Trust that he is holy, that he is wise, that He's good, that 543 00:42:49,240 --> 00:42:52,160 He's sovereign, that He's merciful and faithful and 544 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:56,760 generous to every generation. Pray according to his character. 545 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:03,720 Pray in accordance with God's word #3 the most practical way 546 00:43:03,720 --> 00:43:08,880 to do this is to simply pray the Scriptures back to God. 547 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:16,520 To pray Scripture is simply to take God's words and turn them 548 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:21,400 back to Him in faith. If you're unfamiliar with this 549 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,960 idea, there's a great book by Donald Whitney called Praying 550 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:28,320 the Bible. Small little book, very helpful, 551 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:35,200 Praying the Bible. And here's essentially how we do 552 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:41,360 this. You read a command, and then you 553 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,480 pray it back to God, and you ask for grace to help you obey it. 554 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:50,960 You read a promise, you bring it up before the Lord in prayer, 555 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:53,440 and you ask for faith to believe it. 556 00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:59,480 You read a warning, you bring it to God in prayer, and you ask 557 00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:05,720 for mercy to heed the warning. You read about God's character 558 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:08,600 and you bring those things before the Lord, and you just 559 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:12,680 exalt, and you praise Him and you magnify His name. 560 00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:21,440 You read about Christ and you cling to Him in prayer. 561 00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:27,360 So I'll give you a few examples from the Sermon on the Mount in 562 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:29,400 Matthew 5. We read blessed are the poor in 563 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:30,960 spirit. We read blessed are several 564 00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,160 folks, but blessed are the poor in spirit. 565 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:37,000 And you can just bring it to the Lord in prayer like this. 566 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:44,240 Heavenly Father, make me poor in spirit, heal, crucify my pride. 567 00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:53,880 Teach me to depend upon you. In Matthew 6 we read Seek first 568 00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:56,920 the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything 569 00:44:56,920 --> 00:45:01,400 else will be added unto you so you can pray it this way. 570 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:05,320 Father, would you reorder my desires? 571 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:10,320 I've got a lot of anxiety. I've got a lot of worry. 572 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,880 I've got a lot of concern about all these varying things going 573 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:15,440 on in my life. Would you help me now just to 574 00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:24,240 teach me to seek first Your Kingdom in Matthew 7 or text 575 00:45:24,240 --> 00:45:29,200 today, ask, see, knock. You can bring that before the 576 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:33,640 Lord in prayer this way. Father, I come to you today as a 577 00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:39,160 needy child. I'm trusting You to give me what 578 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,600 is good. I understand that I don't always 579 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:45,080 know what's best for me, but you do, and I'm trusting your hand. 580 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:49,880 Help me trust your wisdom when your answer differs from what 581 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:59,520 I've expected. So I think Kingdom citizens hear 582 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,640 the kindness of Christ's invitation today. 583 00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:08,800 At least I want you to. He's saying ask, seek, knock. 584 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:16,520 What he what he's telling you is do not try to live as Kingdom 585 00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,000 citizens. Do not try to live the Christian 586 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:25,080 life in your own strength. Do not try to obey the Sermon on 587 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:30,800 the Mount by sheer willpower. Do not try to fight sin and 588 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:34,240 pursue holiness and love your enemies and forgive those who 589 00:46:34,240 --> 00:46:37,520 wrong you and seek the King. Seek first the Kingdom, or 590 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:41,280 endure life's burns as though you are on your own. 591 00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:45,520 Because you are not. You're not alone. 592 00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:53,520 Your Father in Heaven is for you, and He's good. 593 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:57,280 He's better than the best earthly father. 594 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:01,480 He is wiser than you are. He is kinder than you can 595 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:03,640 imagine. He is more generous than you 596 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:09,200 deserve, and he gives good things to those who ask him. 597 00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:15,360 And so I implore, implore you, along with Christ this morning, 598 00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:20,400 come to your Father. Come to him needy, Come to him 599 00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:23,440 honestly. Come to him persistently. 600 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:28,000 Come to Him submissively. Come to Him, trusting His heart 601 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:33,960 for your life. And if you are not in Christ, 602 00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:42,440 you are not a believer. This invitation begins here. 603 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:47,720 You must come to the Father through the Son. 604 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:55,120 Hebrews 725 says of Christ that He is able to save to the 605 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:59,680 uttermost all of those who draw near to the Father through Him. 606 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,960 Romans 10 tells us that all who call upon the name of the Lord 607 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:10,640 will be saved. You cannot go know. 608 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:16,040 You cannot know God as a heavenly Father apart from Jesus 609 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:22,600 Christ, but through Christ and through the cross, through the 610 00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:29,960 resurrection, sinners are forgiven, rebels are adopted as 611 00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:34,280 sons and daughters, and the needy are welcomed home. 612 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:39,880 So I urge you, I implore you today from this passage, repent 613 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:45,360 of your sin and come to Christ in faith today. 614 00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:52,640 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 615 00:48:52,640 --> 00:49:00,440 for your word. God, I ask that you would help 616 00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:09,440 us to be the kind of people who ask who see Kunak, who pursue 617 00:49:09,440 --> 00:49:12,560 you with our prayers. We pursue you with our lives. 618 00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:17,960 Help us to be the kind of people who come confidently to the 619 00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:23,000 Father in our time of need, that we might find mercy and grace to 620 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:28,600 help. And Father, would you forgive us 621 00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:32,960 of self-sufficiency? Forgive us where we have tried 622 00:49:32,960 --> 00:49:37,640 to live independent lives. It's ingrained deep in our 623 00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:41,760 souls. But Lord, would you help us give 624 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:46,800 up some independence today. Help us to lay that independence 625 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:50,760 on the cross of Christ, to crucify it there, that we might 626 00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:56,920 be dependent upon our Lord, that we might come to you, Father, at 627 00:49:56,920 --> 00:50:01,520 all times, in all things, and trust Your goodness, Your care 628 00:50:01,520 --> 00:50:04,640 for us, Your love, Your holiness, to trust Your 629 00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:07,520 decisions and Your will above our own. 630 00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:17,200 Father, I pray for anyone here who doesn't know you, who's not 631 00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:20,000 made Christ the Lord of their life, who has not been 632 00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,560 reconciled to You, Father, through Him. 633 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:28,560 I ask that you would save them today, that you would grant them 634 00:50:28,560 --> 00:50:32,560 new life in Christ, that you would help them to see that they 635 00:50:32,560 --> 00:50:41,000 are poor, needy, spiritually dead sinners who are in need of 636 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:44,800 a new life. We're in need of a new heart 637 00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:50,520 with new desires and God. May they call upon the name of 638 00:50:50,520 --> 00:50:53,480 the Lord and receive His salvation today. 639 00:50:53,480 --> 00:51:01,280 I'm going to give you a moment there in your seat to pray and 640 00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:03,920 to seek the Lord. Ask him. 641 00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:06,840 Seek him. Knock at his door now for all 642 00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:09,760 that you need. Confess sin to him. 643 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:12,640 Be reconciled to God this morning. 644 00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:09,240 Heavenly Father, it's my prayer that your people gathered today 645 00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:12,280 have found mercy and grace as they have sought you. 646 00:52:17,560 --> 00:52:23,320 Lord, would you help us to be more dependent, to be more 647 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:28,480 deeply trusting in your character and in your will in 648 00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:33,880 every area of our lives. In the name of Christ, I pray. 649 00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:34,880 Amen.