1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,360 It's wonderful to be here with all of you today to worship God 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,320 in spirit and in truth. In looking out over the crowd, 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,560 it looks like we have several of our folks that are not here. 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,800 Maybe they're sick or traveling, but we have a wonderful crowd 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:18,120 because you're here and we're here together to worship God. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:20,880 We have some visitors that are among us from other 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,360 congregations and we want you to know it's great to see you and 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:26,160 we are glad that you're here with us today. 9 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,000 And we say welcome as we continue our series on the 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,600 greatest sermon ever preached, and that's the Sermon on the 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,000 Mount. We now come to Matthew Chapter 7 12 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,320 and verse #7 where Jesus said this. 13 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,440 Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find and knock 14 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:51,160 and it will be opened to you. In this passage, Jesus gives 3 15 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:53,600 great imperatives. And all three of these, by the 16 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,080 way, are in the present tense. In other words, it's not just a 17 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,400 one time thing. What the Lord is saying here is 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,760 He's saying, I want you to keep asking, I want you to keep 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,600 seeking and I want you to keep knocking. 20 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,440 These are very important for our life. 21 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,040 And you know, really, by listing these three actions and then 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,680 repeating them in the very next verse, I think the Lord is 23 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,960 showing us 2 very important things #1 God wants us to have a 24 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:22,920 continual, ongoing relationship with Him. 25 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,240 We've talked about the relationship that we have with 26 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,320 God and with Jesus Christ. And it's not just something. 27 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:32,280 And in our Christianity where we go through the motions, it is 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,440 personal. And having a relationship with 29 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,880 God and a relationship with Jesus is everything. 30 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,520 The very fact that Jesus said to ask, seek, and find in a 31 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,720 continual way show number one, God wants us to have a 32 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,280 continuing, ongoing relationship with him. 33 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,360 But #2 I think it also shows that God wants all of us to have 34 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,200 an insatiable desire for spiritual things. 35 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,000 You know, it all goes back to this point too. 36 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,480 I don't know how it all works. And later on in this lesson, I'm 37 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,320 going to talk about a little bit about Providence, and I'm going 38 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,840 to say in advance, there are things about Providence that I 39 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:10,759 just don't understand. And I'm good with that. 40 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,320 I don't care that I understand it. 41 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,920 In fact, to me, it increases my faith to no one believe that it 42 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:17,960 does exist. And God is doing all those 43 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,240 things, even if I can't explain it and even if I can't define 44 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,960 it. There's one aspect of the 45 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,000 asking, seeking, and finding too, that goes all the way back 46 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,480 even to somebody that's not a child of God. 47 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,320 If somebody is looking for the truth and they're looking for 48 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,680 the Lord, I don't know how it all works, but if they're truly 49 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,200 asking, seeking and knocking and looking for it, God's going to 50 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,520 make that happen. Does that mean that God puts me 51 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,080 as a preacher in their life of people that I might have a 52 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,600 center of influence over? I don't know and I don't care. 53 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,760 I just know He gets it done. Does it mean that God brings 54 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,800 people to my life? I don't know and I don't care. 55 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,840 I just know He gets it done. Or to your life that you have an 56 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,880 influence over. God wants us to have that kind 57 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,720 of a relationship with him after we become Christians too. 58 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:06,960 And when Jesus talks about asking, seeking, and knocking, 59 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,480 he demonstrates an increasing increased intensity. 60 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,560 First, there's the verbal request in the asking. 61 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,280 But he doesn't just leave it there. 62 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,920 He talks about seeking. And that's the request is not is 63 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:21,880 active and not passive. And #3 and this is very 64 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,600 important. How about knocking? 65 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:29,200 Knocking shows a willingness to persist in spite of setbacks and 66 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:31,400 difficulties. I'm going to tell you right now, 67 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,920 you all know this. I'm not saying anything at all 68 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,520 to you right now. You do not know you're going to 69 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,680 have setbacks and you're going to have difficulties in your 70 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:41,600 life. Absolutely. 71 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,520 And you're going to have setbacks and you're going to 72 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,920 have difficulties in your life. Even if you are continuing to 73 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,520 ask, seek and knock, it's going to happen. 74 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,760 The whole point of this is Jesus says, I want you to continue to 75 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:00,080 do that, OK? The truth of these passages here 76 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,960 is demonstrated in two parables and you know what they are and 77 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:05,440 I'm not going to go into them very deeply. 78 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,800 One of them, when Jesus talked about persistence and prayer and 79 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,320 asking of God and trusting in God and having faith in God, he 80 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,120 likens it into a widow that is very persistent. 81 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,480 We all know the story. The persistent widow goes to an 82 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,600 unjust judge, and the unjust judge, the Bible says, does not 83 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:26,480 fear God and he does not fear man. 84 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,200 And this poor widow goes to him and she begs for mercy in terms 85 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,400 of justice for herself and for her adversary. 86 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,520 What does the judge do? At first he kind of dismisses 87 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:45,000 her, doesn't care, right? Jesus says at some point in 88 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,480 time, the judge, as I paraphrase, is saying this, this 89 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,560 woman is driving me out of my mind. 90 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,160 And finally the judge is going to give in, not because he's 91 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,080 good, not because he's wonderful, and not because he 92 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,560 wants justice, but because of her persistence. 93 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,360 Then Jesus says, how much more if this unjust judge will give 94 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:08,680 in? How much more will our heavenly 95 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,000 Father give to us who cry out to him day and night? 96 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,000 That's number one. Here's the second parable Jesus 97 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,080 gave, and you know this one too. It's the parable of the friend 98 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,160 at midnight and Jesus likens it like this. 99 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,440 He's teaching persistence in prayer and trusting in God. 100 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:26,480 And he says it's kind of like this. 101 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,200 You go to your neighbor's house and you knock on the door and 102 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,880 it's midnight and you say, can you give me 3 loaves of bread? 103 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,960 Because I got somebody that just stopped by and I don't have any 104 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,880 food to give them. And the friend is going to say, 105 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,560 hey, get lost, it's midnight, we're in bed, go away. 106 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,680 Jesus says eventually the friend is going to give in and give 107 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:51,000 whatever you ask, not because of your friendship, but because of 108 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,040 your persistence. The new King James says. 109 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,320 The old King James says because of importunity. 110 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,360 Here's my point. These are examples of men that 111 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,960 will give in due to persistence, but that giving in is done 112 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,760 reluctantly. Compare that with God. 113 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,440 When you are persistent with God and God gives to us, He doesn't 114 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,880 do it reluctantly. He doesn't do it painfully, and 115 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,760 He doesn't do it because He doesn't want to. 116 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,240 God does not reluctantly give to His children. 117 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,640 In fact, in verse 11, don't look there yet. 118 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,800 We're going to get there. We're going to get there. 119 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:36,880 But in verse 11, I think it shows and demonstrates that God 120 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,840 has tremendous joy in helping His children. 121 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,520 He gets great delight in helping His children. 122 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,040 Got to make a couple of points of clarification here. 123 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,360 Some people believe that this passage means anything. 124 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,320 I ask because I'm a Christian. I'm going to get. 125 00:06:57,440 --> 00:06:58,600 That's not really the point, is it? 126 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,240 This verse does not mean that we're going to get things just 127 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,840 because we want them. Now. 128 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:09,400 There's a lot of things in my life that I'd like to have that 129 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,480 I would want, and there's things in my life I might be. 130 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,760 It's OK for me to ask because I want them, but doesn't 131 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,040 necessarily mean I'm going to get them. 132 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,360 God knows my needs and those things are the things that are 133 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,080 promised. But let me just say this, just 134 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,400 because you ask it doesn't mean God's giving it. 135 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,400 And notice we are not going to be given based upon our own 136 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,040 lust. Notice what James says on this, 137 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,160 on this idea in James four and verse three. 138 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:42,640 You ask and you do not receive because you ask a miss that you 139 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:48,080 may spend it on your pleasures. So just because I ask it and I 140 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,920 want it and I want to have it on my pleasure, doesn't mean God's 141 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,320 given it. That's not a blanket promise for 142 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:54,400 that. What else? 143 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,680 What else is it not a blanket promise for? 144 00:07:58,360 --> 00:07:59,960 How about those that are insincere? 145 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,720 The insincere person is not someone that this promise is for 146 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,840 either. How about this? 147 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,720 Who else is not included in this promise that the Lord gives so 148 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,000 long ago? How about those that refuse to 149 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,040 listen to God? How about those that refuse and 150 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,680 reject God and aren't following a life of Christianity? 151 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,880 Those people aren't promised these words that Jesus says. 152 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,320 So who's the promise reserved for? 153 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,679 There's that word righteous, and please don't be afraid of that 154 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:36,640 word righteous. Sometimes people think when you 155 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:42,200 talk about righteous, we have an idea in our mind and we look at 156 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,960 our own shortcomings and sometimes we think that we can 157 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,040 never attain it. And we can never achieve it 158 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,520 because we think that righteousness means some sort of 159 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,640 really high level of holiness that we can't ever achieve. 160 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,280 I got news for you. Nobody's achieving that. 161 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,680 And if you think you have and you look down your nose is 162 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,440 somebody else because you don't think they have, be careful. 163 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,280 You just fill because guess what? 164 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:06,520 Humility just went out the window. 165 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,680 Don't do that. What does it actually mean to be 166 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,720 righteous? The word righteous means right. 167 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:16,600 Doing OK Now, about 10 years ago, I preached a sermon and I 168 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,200 put this little phraseology on the screen. 169 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,160 I'm going to do it again. So most of you probably remember 170 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,200 this, but I'm going to talk about the the connection between 171 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,280 godliness and righteousness and what all that really means 172 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,640 because sometimes people get godliness all out of whack too. 173 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,560 Godliness is not your own personal goodness. 174 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:39,080 It's not. Notice what it means to actually 175 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,280 be righteous and how do you actually attain it. 176 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,080 And guess what? All of us human people that are 177 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,080 imperfect, guess what? We can do that. 178 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,480 How are we going to do it? Well, notice righteousness is to 179 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,640 godliness. You've heard me say this before. 180 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:59,240 As conduct is to the heart, godliness is a practical 181 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,760 awareness of God in every aspect of your life. 182 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,440 That's the mind, by the way. You know what else that is? 183 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,280 That's called the heart of the Bible. 184 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:12,440 The heart is the mind. As a man thinks in his heart, so 185 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:13,640 is he. We're not talking about 186 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,360 something that's pumping in the chest, OK? 187 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,600 We're talking about the mind. As a man thinks in his heart, 188 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,160 the Bible says so is he. What is the heart of the Bible 189 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,880 do? It thinks, reasons, believes, 190 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,640 and obeys. That's what the heart does. 191 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,080 Guess what? It all begins with godliness in 192 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,560 the heart or the mind. That's a practical awareness of 193 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:38,480 God in every aspect of my life. You know what it's going to do? 194 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,040 It's going to demonstrate itself in my outward conduct. 195 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,640 You know what that's called? That's called righteousness. 196 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,360 We can all do that. We can all do that. 197 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,600 This promise is for anyone that is trying to live the Christian 198 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,520 life and doing their best to listen to God. 199 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:04,840 OK, got to add this though. Even if our requests are not 200 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:09,560 based on our lust and even when our requests are based upon 201 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:11,280 things we are allowed to ask for. 202 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,600 I touched on this a moment ago. I'm going to expand upon it now. 203 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,800 It doesn't mean that the answer is always going to be yes. 204 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,160 And here's why. We always pray it with the 205 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,160 provision, if it be your will. We always pray that and we 206 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,600 believe in that. We don't ask a miss. 207 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,720 We ask God according to his will. 208 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,560 That's what the Bible says that we're supposed to do. 209 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,960 And when you pray with the provision, if it be God's will, 210 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,680 it is not bending God's will to you, it is bending your will to 211 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:42,280 God. That's really what that means. 212 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,400 You're saying whatever you say, Father, however you answer this, 213 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,800 I'm good. That's what it means to pray 214 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:49,400 with the provision if it be God's will. 215 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,040 That's all true, but have you ever stopped to consider this? 216 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:58,040 That in the realm of praying or God receiving our prayers and 217 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,200 answering our prayers according to His will? 218 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:07,280 Understand He does so also by answering our prayers according 219 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:13,400 to His wisdom. I got news for all of us in case 220 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,200 you didn't know, and you do. God knows way more than we do. 221 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,680 It's like a guy said one time, you know, I know that there's 222 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,200 two irrefutable facts in life. There's a God and I'm not him. 223 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:33,040 And that's really true. Our thoughts are not God's 224 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,200 thoughts. His thoughts, His ways are so 225 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,920 far above us. And sometimes God just knows 226 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:43,800 better. No, always God knows better, but 227 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,440 there are times when we think sometimes that we know better, 228 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,080 but God knows better. And sometimes the answer is no. 229 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,600 It doesn't mean that we're not receiving what we're asking. 230 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,680 It means God is answering that prayer according to His will and 231 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,120 according to His wisdom. So all that being said, this 232 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,920 verse is not about receiving. That's not the emphasis of the 233 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,520 verse. What's the emphasis of the verse 234 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,640 here? It is one big word, faith. 235 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:14,400 That's the emphasis of this passage. 236 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:18,600 Faith is going to give us the ability to keep knocking. 237 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,720 OK, That's the persistence, regardless of the difficulties 238 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,320 and whatever is being thrown our way and discouragements, right? 239 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,320 Faith will give us the ability to keep on knocking no matter 240 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,240 what. But faith also will give us the 241 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,000 ability to trust God. That's a big word, trust to 242 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,240 trust God that God's going to open the doors that He chooses 243 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,640 in your life, and not just the ones that I think ought to be 244 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,360 opened. Then we go to verse #8 Jesus is 245 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,600 going to sum up what He just said in verse 7 for everyone who 246 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,480 asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it 247 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:02,280 will be opened. So this promise here is a 248 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:07,240 successful conclusion to our request that's contingent upon 249 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:11,280 the truths that I've just stipulated with you for the last 250 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:12,440 few minutes. OK. 251 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,680 I think this is a very comforting passage, by the way, 252 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,680 that the child of God has the right and the reason we have the 253 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,160 right not by our own goodness or our own audacity or our own 254 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:29,280 demands. We have the right because God 255 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:34,360 has given us the right to pour out our petitions to Him before 256 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:39,040 His throne and #2 to know that absolutely, while we do so, God 257 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:40,520 cares. I'm going to tell you what, 258 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:41,920 there's a lot of people in life just don't care. 259 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,000 There's a lot of people in your life that don't care about you, 260 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,960 but God cares about you. He cares about all of us. 261 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,640 All right, so what's God doing here? 262 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,720 This is a wonderful thing. Furthermore, our God is giving 263 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:58,520 us an open invitation to our ongoing and constant pleas. 264 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:04,080 Open invitation. I remember years ago my pal Don 265 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:08,080 King, Yeah, I quote him, absolutely. 266 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,600 My good buddy, I had cancer and when I was going through cancer 267 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,240 and I was getting toward the end of it, he goes, man, I wish 268 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,200 you'd get over this and stop bugging God about you. 269 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,960 I really appreciated his thoughts. 270 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,120 I appreciate his prayers about doing that. 271 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,400 That's the beauty, though, about what Jesus is talking about with 272 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,160 the persistence here. Don't you see that no matter how 273 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,000 many times you go to God in prayer on the same subject over 274 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,640 and over and over again, there's an open opportunity and an open 275 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,240 invitation for our pleas over and over and over again. 276 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:53,960 Wow. Then in verse 9 he says, or what 277 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,880 man is there among you? Now Jesus is going to give some 278 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,280 examples. I love this just as human 279 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:06,680 parents now with natural affection, with kindness and 280 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,200 love in their heart for their children, just like a human 281 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,640 father is going to give to his children and provide for his 282 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,520 children as he has opportunity and ability. 283 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,400 Just as that is the case, how much more is God going to 284 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,360 provide for us? So here's the first example He 285 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,280 says. Or what man is there among you? 286 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:30,040 The Lord was absolutely brilliant because everybody 287 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,120 would have understood that. And then he gives this example. 288 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,480 Who, if his son asks for bread, will they give him a stone? 289 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,000 I've always wondered about that. Why is he using these examples? 290 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,480 He can talk about bread and the stone. 291 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:44,280 He's going to talk about fish and a snake. 292 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:48,280 You ever wonder about that? Well, first of all, the word 293 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,920 bread here in this passage he always referring to, It's 294 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:57,480 referring to those flat round cakes that Palestinian women 295 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,040 would bake in preparation for their meals. 296 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,680 So get that in your mindset, get that in your mind that that your 297 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,640 mind's eye what that looks like. Those flat round cakes. 298 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:19,160 They were very similar in shape, in size, and in appearance to a 299 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:23,640 stone that was often found on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. 300 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:30,960 What the Lord's point is this is even a human father who has a 301 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:36,760 child that is in need of bread is not going to give him a 302 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:38,200 stone. Here's the point. 303 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,040 No father with natural love takes one of these worthless 304 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,320 rocks and tries to pass it off his food. 305 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,920 OK. Likewise, God doesn't trick his 306 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,680 children. He doesn't trick his children. 307 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,040 And you know what's interesting about this appearance? 308 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,200 Have you ever stopped to consider when Jesus in Matthew 309 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,600 chapter 4 was being tempted by the devil 40 days in the 310 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,520 wilderness? He didn't eat, He fasted, right? 311 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:11,640 He's hungry. And the devil says, if you are 312 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:17,000 who you say you are, make these stones into bread. 313 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:22,440 Jesus responds by saying, it is written, man shall not live by 314 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,640 bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth 315 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,800 of God. OK, we know that the devil was 316 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,040 not just saying, by the way, oh, there's rocks over there, make 317 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:34,680 them into bread. What he was saying is he was 318 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,000 referring to these Palestinian rocks and this Palestinian 319 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,440 bread. And what he was talking about is 320 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,560 he was talking about these stones that look like bread. 321 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,240 The devil was saying this. Oh, by the way, if you were 322 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,600 Sarah, see these stones right there that look like bread? 323 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,320 Turn them into bread because that's what they look like. 324 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,960 A human father is not going to be deceptive to their child like 325 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,440 that and give him a stone when they ask for that. 326 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:02,440 Let's go to the next example in the next verse. 327 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,720 Or if he asks for a fish, will it give him a serpent? 328 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:11,520 OK, a common, another common food in Galilee was fish. 329 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,600 In fact, in the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee was filled 330 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:17,960 with all kinds of fish. It was really stocked full of 331 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,400 tons of fish, so much so that it gave a lot of fishermen a great 332 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,600 livelihood and it actually drew fishermen to actually live 333 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,280 around those areas because there was there was a, there was 334 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:36,120 plentiful amount of fish. OK, now why did Jesus say if a 335 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:41,160 if a son asked a human father for a fish, will he give him a 336 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,000 serpent or a snake? Let me tell you what this does 337 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,240 not mean, even though some people think this is what it 338 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,080 means. If you ask a son asks his 339 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,680 father, can dad, can I have some fish? 340 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,960 It doesn't mean that a father's not going to throw you a snake 341 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,560 that's dangerous and do something mean to you. 342 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:01,680 That's not what the context of this passage is. 343 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,960 The context of this passage, As noted commentators and scholars 344 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,080 would agree, he's talking about this. 345 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,680 He's talking about fish meat and snake meat. 346 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:19,720 That's what he's talking about. What he's talking about is if a 347 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:25,800 son asks a father for fish, he's not going to give him cooked 348 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:31,560 snake meat and then tell the son, hey, this is fish and try 349 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,480 to trick him into eating something disgusting. 350 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:36,680 We're setting the tone here now, aren't we? 351 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,520 He's saying that's what even a human father would not do. 352 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,000 Luke adds this dramatic example too, in Luke Chapter 11 and 353 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,760 verse 12. Or if he asks for an egg, will 354 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,720 he offer him a scorpion? Same is true. 355 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:53,840 It's going back to visual likeness. 356 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,240 Going back to the bread example, same thing. 357 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,440 I read that large scorpions back in the East, back in those days 358 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,560 when they're all balled up or curled up, look like a bird egg. 359 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,960 What he's saying is, is no human father is going to trick you. 360 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:16,400 But the gifts from the Heavenly Father are even greater now. 361 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,200 It is true, by the way, it is true that there's a lot of 362 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,560 people in our life that will try to trick us. 363 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,240 I somebody tried to scam me this last week. 364 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:34,920 Big time tried to scam me. I've said this many times and 365 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:36,400 I'm going to say it again. I believe it. 366 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:43,480 I don't believe in the concept that there's bad in the world 367 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:45,040 and the only good are Christians. 368 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,840 I don't believe in that at all. There's a lot of wonderful 369 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,040 people in the world. It just doesn't necessarily mean 370 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,760 they're saved. There's a lot of wonderfully 371 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,600 good people in the world. That's why I'm glad the world is 372 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,160 still standing so we could try to reach them. 373 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,120 Wonderful, right? We pray for that opportunities. 374 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,680 I also don't believe in the concept that there's good in 375 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:08,240 everyone. I don't believe in that either 376 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:15,200 because there are some people that are rotten and there are 377 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,720 some people that try to do bad things to other people. 378 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,600 But I do believe in the concept like that country song, and I 379 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,240 think most people are good. I really do. 380 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,600 Human fathers that have natural affection for their children are 381 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:31,640 going to love them to the point they're not going to trick them, 382 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:38,040 even though the world wants to say that the world tries to 383 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:42,400 trick us. All that being said, that is the 384 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,800 good gifts of a father. Let's talk about the better 385 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:48,880 gifts from God. That's the next verse. 386 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,600 If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your 387 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,760 children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven 388 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,680 give good things to those who ask him? 389 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,720 Now, first of all, the word evil here, why is he using the word 390 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,480 evil? Was he saying that everybody in 391 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,920 his audience was wicked and evil and terrible? 392 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:10,120 I don't believe that to be the case. 393 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,560 I think what he's saying is his listeners, by the way, were 394 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,640 those that were many of his listeners were some of the 395 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,560 greatest disciples the Lord ever had in this life. 396 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,640 I think we can honestly say too, that there were people in the 397 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,360 audience that were perhaps some of the nicest people and the 398 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:29,960 greatest people in the world, maybe at that time, I don't 399 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,960 know. Let's just assume that in this 400 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,520 massive crowd on the Sermon on the Mount, why did Jesus say if 401 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,880 you then being evil, the word evil is used in a comparative 402 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,240 sense. OK, The word evil simply 403 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:52,560 demonstrates the superior nature of God's care when compared to 404 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,840 the care that a physical father gives his son. 405 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,440 In similar fashion, when Jesus says except you hate your father 406 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:05,240 and your mother, he didn't mean hate them with disdain, He means 407 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,040 love them less, showing a comparison. 408 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,840 Our love for God has to be greater. 409 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,760 When he says evil here, he was not saying you're a bunch of 410 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,800 evil rotten people. He was saying even the human 411 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,400 fathers that I just talked about that are doing good things for 412 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,960 their sons and daughters and all of that and are not tricking 413 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,760 them and giving them good things, it pales in comparison 414 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,160 to the superiority of God's gifts. 415 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:36,120 OK, The point is, if human parents with all of our flaws 416 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:38,800 and imperfections, and boy, do we all have flaws and 417 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:43,560 imperfections, do we not? If we can demonstrate nourishing 418 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:48,800 kindness for our children, how much more will God perfectly 419 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,040 care for his children? Now I got to say this. 420 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:58,360 Luke adds the words Holy Spirit to what Matthew's account says 421 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:00,120 in this passage, and we're going to talk about that. 422 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,160 Let's notice Luke Chapter 11 and verse 13. 423 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,960 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your 424 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,600 children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the 425 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:16,400 Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 426 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:23,120 All right, Matthew's account says good things. 427 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:28,640 Luke's account says Holy Spirit. What are we talking about? 428 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,400 We're talking about the comparison between man's gifts 429 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:35,680 and God's gifts, right? This is a very powerful 430 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:41,920 illustration because the gift of the Holy Spirit comes from God. 431 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,800 Acts 238 Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, 432 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,280 everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 433 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:54,680 of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 434 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,760 Now I got to say I'm going to talk about gift for just a 435 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,840 moment. My entire life I've heard the 436 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:09,160 Holy Spirit argued and debated, sometimes to the point that 437 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,880 people just get ugly and I don't understand that. 438 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,680 I really don't get that. One of the things that people 439 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,360 vehemently argue over is what the word gift means. 440 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:22,600 In this passage, there's two positions. 441 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,360 I say these in no particular order, but please listen. 442 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:31,320 One position that's argued is the gift of the Holy Spirit is 443 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:38,360 the Holy Spirit's gift, which is salvation and all spiritual 444 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:41,440 blessings in Christ, and that you get that at baptism. 445 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,720 That's one argument. The second argument is that the 446 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:52,400 gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit himself that you get 447 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,880 at baptism for the remission of sins. 448 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,160 I'm just going to say this, whatever your position is on 449 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,280 that subject, and by the way, I'm going to tell you what I 450 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:05,520 believe in just a moment about several things about God, Jesus, 451 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,040 the Holy Spirit, angels, and Providence. 452 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,960 I'm going to sum it up in a very short little statement, OK, And 453 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,680 just a second, So hang on. But let me just say whatever you 454 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,120 believe about the gift of the Holy Spirit here, it doesn't 455 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:21,080 change the narrative of of Luke's account because the Holy 456 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:27,600 Spirit is a gift from God that comes from God, and that gift is 457 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,680 far superior to any gift that any man could ever give a son. 458 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:35,600 OK, we get that. Now let me tell you what I 459 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:40,360 think, what I believe. First of all, about arguing over 460 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:44,200 it. Come on, getting mean over it. 461 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,480 Let me tell you what I believe. Here we go. 462 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,920 And the older I get, the more resolved I am with exactly what 463 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,760 I'm going to tell you right now. Number one, I'm a Christian. 464 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,680 I'm a baptized believer in Jesus Christ. 465 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,800 I've been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, washed in the 466 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:08,040 blood of the Lamb. And because of that, and I'm 467 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:09,520 trying to live the Christian life. 468 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,160 God is working every day in my life. 469 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:20,400 I believe that while my heart don't you #2 because of the same 470 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:27,280 reasons Jesus Christ is working in my life every day, and 471 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:31,520 because of the same reasons the Holy Spirit is working in my 472 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:40,600 life every day, and because of those reasons, the Holy Spirit 473 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:45,160 is indwelling me in a non miraculous way. 474 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:57,200 Why can't we just embrace those facts and stop arguing over 475 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,640 hell? Those are beautiful facts. 476 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:08,240 Beautiful facts. I also know this too, that 477 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,800 somehow, someway there are angels out there. 478 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,240 I can't explain everything, but I do know this. 479 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,600 The Bible says, and you might remember this from my sermon on 480 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:24,920 angels several years ago, that angels are ministering spirits 481 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,080 and God is using them for His purpose, for us, for the child 482 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:31,840 of God. How's he doing it? 483 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:33,320 I don't care, He's just doing it. 484 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:40,880 And finally, I believe with all of my heart in the providential 485 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,560 care of God and because of the things that I stipulated and set 486 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,840 forth originally for those reasons about God and Jesus, the 487 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:54,160 Holy Spirit, and dwelt all of that for the same reasons, God 488 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,680 has me in His hand and he's providentially taking care of 489 00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,400 me. And I'm going to tell you 490 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,720 something, folks, I'm going to be 58 years old. 491 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,680 And there was a time in my life when I had to define it. 492 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,560 I had to, I had to explain it. I had to put it in a box. 493 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:09,760 I had to say why. I had to say how. 494 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,000 I'm going to tell you right now. I don't need to say any of that 495 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,160 now. I just know it gets done. 496 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:21,840 I just know it gets done and I'm good with that. 497 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:26,240 And do you know something, if that's you in your life, that 498 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,640 you know that God is doing all that stuff, but you don't have 499 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,400 to define or describe how he did it or say, well, that's all that 500 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:32,960 He did with that or He did with that. 501 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,640 And you just know that He did. And you know that all of those 502 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,960 things we already talked about are working for us. 503 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,800 Isn't that the demonstration of what we talked about not long 504 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,920 ago with what great faith actually is? 505 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:53,200 When you trust God, when there's no human reasoning for it, isn't 506 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:58,800 that better? It's a greater gift that any 507 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,400 human father can give. OK, so why this though? 508 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:07,040 Why did Matthew say good things and Luke say Holy Spirit? 509 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,520 I like what Burton Kaufman said. It was a great explanation. 510 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,760 Here's Burton Kaufman. This discourse in Luke comes 511 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,600 later in Jesus ministry, nearer to the to Pentecost than does 512 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,640 the Sermon on the Mount OK in which the passage cited in 513 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:25,240 Matthew occurs. Therefore, Jesus can be more 514 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,360 specific with reference to the needs of his disciples. 515 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:30,880 And what's the greatest need of his disciples? 516 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,200 All the things that come with salvation. 517 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,040 And that goes back all the way to Acts 238, the gift of the 518 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:43,440 Holy Spirit, remission of sins, all of those things. 519 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,160 I think the point is, folks, you can trust God. 520 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,200 I quoted my pal Don King moment ago, but I'm going to quote 521 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,960 Patsy. Patsy said to me one time, she 522 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:02,040 goes, you know what, Frankie? She goes, you can always trust 523 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:03,240 God as people you got to worry about. 524 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,760 That's true. Sometimes it's people that we 525 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,240 have to worry about when it comes to trust. 526 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:13,640 But you can always 100% trust God in your life. 527 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,560 So since all that's true and God gives good things and good gifts 528 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,840 and all the wonderful gifts that are far superior to man's gifts 529 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,640 because of that, we go to one more verse, one final verse, and 530 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,200 that's verse 12. And that finishes this section, 531 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,680 by the way, in Matthew Chapter 7, and then goes on to another 532 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,520 section. Some scholars say that this 533 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,760 verse probably should have been in the previous section or after 534 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,160 the previous section. But at any rate, whatever it is, 535 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,680 it's true because of what God does for us. 536 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,280 It leads us to this next passage. 537 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:57,480 We got to do the same to others. And this, by the way, this verse 538 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,080 is proactive in advance. Here it is. 539 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,960 It's called the golden Rule. And I know that people say if 540 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:05,720 you ask them what the golden rule is, they say, do unto 541 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:07,600 others as you would have them do unto you. 542 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:08,920 Some people say, what's going wrong? 543 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:13,160 Do unto others before they do it to you, right? 544 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,200 This is a proactive passage in verse 12. 545 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,960 What is Jesus actually saying? What did He really say? 546 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:25,360 He said, therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also 547 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,760 to them. For this is the law and the 548 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,560 prophets. It's called the Golden rule. 549 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,320 It is the foundation of Scripture. 550 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,880 In fact, it's the essence of the law and the prophets. 551 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,560 In other words, please get this about the phrase the law and the 552 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,280 prophets. The teaching of the Old 553 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:46,680 Testament brings man into the correct relationship with God 554 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:51,640 only by also bringing him into a correct relationship with his 555 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,160 fellow man. That's why Jesus says, for this 556 00:33:55,320 --> 00:34:00,920 is the law and the prophets. In fact, I'll just say this, I 557 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:06,240 know it's a bold statement. 1 cannot be truly at peace with 558 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,400 God if he is not at peace with others. 559 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:16,239 You can't be truly at peace with God if you're not at peace with 560 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,760 others. If you have issues in your life 561 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,920 and you've got things in your life with somebody, please clean 562 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,719 those things up. Do we really think that in our 563 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,280 minds we can have odd with each other and just let it go and do 564 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,600 nothing at all to try to fix it? And it's all going to be OK 565 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:36,760 anyway? We're all going to be in heaven 566 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,480 together anyway someday, and my relationship with God is going 567 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:41,880 to be OK because I obey the rules. 568 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,440 Come on now. We can't be at peace with God if 569 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:48,600 we're not at peace with each other. 570 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:51,639 I love the fact that this congregation, and it's been for 571 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:54,639 many, many, many, many years, we are at peace. 572 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,800 Yeah, powerful. That is how important that is. 573 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,720 We're at peace. We're not divided on anything. 574 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:07,360 We love each other. I love it sometimes on Sunday 575 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,320 afternoon services are over and nobody leaves. 576 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,680 They love each other. We're at peace. 577 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:23,320 This verse is talking about being proactive about our 578 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,760 dealings with other people. First John chapter 4 beginning 579 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,960 in verse 20. If someone says I love God and 580 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,440 hates his brother, he's a liar. For he who does not love his 581 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:38,080 brother whom he has seen, how can he love God who he has not 582 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,080 seen? And this commandment we have 583 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,600 from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also. 584 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:49,560 You know what James calls this? James calls these words here, 585 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:56,200 the royal law. James says like this, James 2:00 586 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:57,880 and 8:00. If you really fulfill the royal 587 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,760 law, according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as 588 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:01,480 yourself. You do. 589 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:03,840 Well, that is the royal law according to James. 590 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:10,160 Wow, good stuff in it. But what about this right here 591 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:15,240 do also to them? You know what that means? 592 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,480 That means you have to initiate the process. 593 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,880 Let me tell you what it does not mean. 594 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,520 I had somebody the other day say he was apologizing to me about 595 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,800 something. A friend of mine, and he said 596 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:36,080 I'm sorry. But if you're not sorry too, I 597 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:42,360 take back my apology. Have you ever heard people say 598 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:43,720 this? This is also what it doesn't 599 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:45,720 mean here that this nothing. It doesn't mean. 600 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,080 It doesn't mean I'll be nice to you. 601 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,320 If you're nice to me doesn't mean that either. 602 00:36:54,160 --> 00:37:02,200 This is a proactive way to live. Because God is so good to us, we 603 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,800 must be proactive in being the same to other people. 604 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,680 How is that to treat them like we want to be treated? 605 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:19,080 There was a story told one time about a Gentile, and the 606 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:26,360 Gentile, he comes to two rabbis. He goes up to the first rabbi. 607 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,960 He was a noted rabbi, and this rabbi was kind of grouchy. 608 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:33,280 And he comes up to him and this gentile says, make me a 609 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,560 proselyte. In other words, convert me. 610 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,480 Make me a proselyte based upon one thing. 611 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:46,880 I want you to teach me the law as I stand on one foot. 612 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,200 In other words, give me the short version. 613 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,320 Well, I stand on one foot. I don't want the book. 614 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,120 Just give me the crib notes on that. 615 00:37:55,120 --> 00:38:00,320 The you know, the give me that. He was wanting to know this. 616 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,640 I want to know what the essence of the whole thing is. 617 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:06,360 Quickly and to the point. The first rabbi says get out of 618 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:07,520 here. He's disgusted with him because 619 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:08,840 he didn't think he really wanted to know. 620 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,160 Then he went to another rabbi, and this other rabbi, by the 621 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,520 way, was kind and generous and he was kind of sitting there. 622 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:17,360 He was listening to the man, and the man says the same thing. 623 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,680 Show me the whole law. If you can convert me, give me 624 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:20,960 the whole law as I stand on one foot. 625 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:23,280 And you know, he said, he said this here it is. 626 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:28,880 What is hateful to you do not do to another. 627 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:33,960 This is the whole law. The rest is just explanation of 628 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:39,640 it. That's what Jesus was talking 629 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:44,480 about, about how we're supposed to live and treat one another. 630 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:48,440 Powerful passages. So what do we learn? 631 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,360 What do we learn from the passage that Jesus is talking 632 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:55,000 about, about ask, seek and knock? 633 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,640 In conclusion this morning, what do we know? 634 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,480 We know six things here. They are 6 things we get from 635 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,240 this. Number one, God's gifts are far 636 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:05,880 superior to the good gifts of man. 637 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:08,600 That's number one. And these are the six things 638 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:13,360 that I hope you leave here with. God's gifts are far superior to 639 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:18,080 the good gifts of man. Number two of six, God wants us 640 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,680 to have a constant, ongoing relationship with Him, as well 641 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:30,920 as an insatiable desire for righteousness #3 Jesus shows in 642 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,840 verse 7 an increased intensity with our requests. 643 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:40,120 What are they that brings #4 It begins with a verbal request, 644 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,800 then add seeking, which shows that that request is active and 645 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:47,080 not passive, and then knocking shows our willingness to persist 646 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:54,160 #5 The point of these verses is what we said that it's faith. 647 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:59,440 Just as faith produces diligent knocking, it also waits for God 648 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,760 to open the doors that God chooses to open for us in our 649 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:04,640 life. And oh by the way, based upon 650 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:06,960 his wisdom, he knows so much more than we do. 651 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:11,240 And finally, finally, finally. All that being the case, it 652 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:15,720 brings us to number six. Since God is so good to us, we 653 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:20,080 must be the same to others and exercise the golden rule in our 654 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,680 life. And it's such a better way to 655 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:27,800 live. So I'll just say go and do 656 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,640 likewise. Let's go be that. 657 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:35,400 It's a better way to live. It's a life of faith. 658 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,760 It's a life of trust and it's a life of obedience to God, but 659 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:43,120 it's also a life of understanding our relationship 660 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:47,200 with other people too, and being the right kind of people and 661 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,640 treating other people the way we would like to be treated. 662 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:52,520 I'm through this morning. Thank you for your kind 663 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,480 listening. We've now come to a part of our 664 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,480 service where after we've taught from the Word of God, we extend 665 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,720 an invitation to somebody that might be subject to the gospel 666 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:03,920 call. I don't know how it is with you 667 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:05,720 in this audience. Maybe you're not a Christian. 668 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:07,960 The steps to become a Christian are very, very simple. 669 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,240 You got to hear the Word of God. Romans 10/17 So faith comes by 670 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:14,600 hearing and hearing by the word of God. 671 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:18,040 Upon hearing the word of God, we all have a choice to make. 672 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:20,240 We have to believe it with all of our heart. 673 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,280 Hebrews 11 and 6. Without faith it's impossible to 674 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,720 please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and 675 00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:30,160 that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 676 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,280 Then what? We got more to do. 677 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,280 We got actions to do. It's called repentance. 678 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,520 We have to repent of our sins. Acts 17 and 30, truly these 679 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,800 times of ignorance got overlooked, but now commands all 680 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,480 men everywhere to repent. I got to change my life. 681 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:46,880 I was going in this direction no more. 682 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,880 I'm going in that now. That's it starts with your mind 683 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,880 and with your life. Best part, it changes your 684 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:54,520 relationship with God. Great stuff. 685 00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:56,840 Then what? I got to say those great words, 686 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,160 the greatest words I will ever say in my life. 687 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:02,640 I got to confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God. 688 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:06,920 Acts 837 Then Peter said, if you believe with all your heart, you 689 00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:08,160 may. And he answered and said, I 690 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:12,080 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 691 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,400 All of these steps are pointing toward the point of salvation, 692 00:42:15,720 --> 00:42:18,840 but it's when we are baptized for the remission of our sins, 693 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:23,080 we are saved. Mark 1616, He who believes and 694 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:27,680 is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be 695 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:29,880 condemned. Are you here today and you're 696 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:31,520 not a Christian? You can take those steps. 697 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,760 We'd love to assist you in that. Maybe you have, but maybe 698 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,920 there's things in your life that are not what they ought to be. 699 00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,360 No problem, just fix it. Repent of those things, Confess 700 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:42,120 those things. We'll pray with you and for you, 701 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:43,880 and God will forgive and restore. 702 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,760 Be one of either class. Come forward while we stand and 703 00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:47,240 while we see.