Main Sermon Idea: As we receive the generosity of God s Kingdom, so also we should freely give to others.

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Alexina Tucker
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1 Interrogation Techniques Keys of the Kingdom: Godly Character for a Godless World Calling Collect Subseries New Life Assembly Matt 7:7-12 July 10, 2011 Main Sermon Idea: As we receive the generosity of God s Kingdom, so also we should freely give to others. Sermon Application: God does not hold out on us. He loves to give His children good gifts. We need to be people who treat others like God treats us and pass on the environment of the Kingdom of God. Introduction Our nation recently went through a process of deciding what legal and ethically legitimate interrogation techniques are. We as a nation have discussed if things like water boarding and other forms of interrogation work and are even ethical. Some call these things torture and others like this phrase enhanced interrogation techniques. This is the kind of thing that happens when a nation doesn t think it s getting the information it needs to feel safe. But there is a different way in the Kingdom of God. God is not someone who is holding out on His children. He operates in a completely different fashion. You see, when God s children ask for something, they receive it. There is no need for interrogation techniques. And so also, when others interact with God s children, they should use that same generosity in their own lives. Let s take a look at our final section from the Sermon on the Mount as we turn to Matthew 7:7-12. I. God is willing to answer our requests (7-11). A. When we ask, we are answered. 1.God hears us when we ask. a. Throughout my life and ministry, I have been asked the fateful question, Why isn t God answering my prayer? We ask things like these when it seems God doesn t even hear us. b. We suggest that perhaps God doesn t hear it, and so He doesn t answer it. But I don t see anywhere in Scripture where God doesn t hear or answer! c. I believe it is very dangerous to ask questions that contradict Scripture s overall teaching. It s not like you ll be struck dead for asking them, but that we re asking the wrong question. 1

2 d. When we look at what Jesus has to say about asking God for things, He makes us quite aware that when we ask, we will receive. There is no question in His mind that God will not hear or answer. e. Illustration: We sometimes get interesting images of God the Father. Some people believe that He s just waiting for you to mess up so that He can beat you over the head with a big bat and judge you. Others see God as a God who holds back when our requests do not line up with His. He doesn t hold back. He answers. God always answers us. f. Throughout Scripture, God always answers prayer and requests. He usually does it immediately. Now His answer may have criteria. In other words, He may not always answer yes when we want to hear yes. g. But when we receive a different answer than we expected or hoped for, that does not mean that God did not answer. Sometimes it s yes. Sometimes it s no. And sometimes it s not now. 2.God immediately responds to us. a. Another important feature of all three of these commands is that they are continuous. This means that we are to continue asking God for things. Part of our relationship is asking and seeking and knocking. b. We are a needy people and we need God, and I believe one of God s greatest joys is that we come to Him first for our needs. I believe He enjoys fulfilling our needs with His provision rather than us going somewhere else. c. Now there are some other passages of Scritpure that help us with understanding why we might think that God doesn t answer prayer. James 4:3 says that we can ask with wrong motives and not receive. d. Illustration: We can t ask for things that we want that don t line up with God s plan and will. I would love to have $1 Million, but if I just want the money to be rich, I m probably not going to get that. It s not because God doesn t want me to have it, but because it doesn t make me a better Christian and my intentions may not be pure. Money tends to change people, and not always in a good way. Remember that Paul said it was the root of all evil! e. In another passage, John 14:12-14, Jesus tells us that we can do incredible and great things for Him. And then when He promises to act when we ask, He qualifies it with in My name. 2

3 f. Our asking, according to this verse, must be in line with God s will and work in this world, and also with His reputation. We cannot simply ask for things we want, but things that we want so that we can serve God. g. One more passage in James, James 1:5-8 tells us that we must not doubt when we ask God for what we need. Why would we doubt God and still come to Him? Trust that He will answer your need! h. Application: When we are willing to ask God for His good gifts, He gives them without deliberation. He is a loving God who wants to give us good things. But do we go to God first for what we need? Do we trust Him to answer our prayers? Do we truly believe He will answer? Let us learn how to ask God in a holy way and let us also learn to receive from Him. Let us always seek the Giver, and not the gifts alone. And let us be thankful for every good gift! B. When we seek, we find. 1.Seeking the Lord is a worthy journey. a. We often equate seeking and knocking with asking. But I believe they are different endeavors. I believe that when we seek, we are not seeking a gift but rather seeking God. b. So in this portion of the message, I want to focus on the fact that when we make the effort to seek God, we will indeed find Him and only Him. c. First let s discuss the negative aspect of this principle of seeking. Throughout the Old Testament prophets, God actually promises that when His people live in sin, they will not find Him. d. Take a look at Hosea 5:6 that says that because of the wickedness of the people of Israel, they will seek God and not find Him. He has withdrawn from them. e. James also tells us in James 4:6-10 that if we are proud in our approaching God, we will not find Him because He resists the proud. f. Illustration: We are all on a journey and we are all seeking something or someone. Many novels and movies have been made about the romantic seeking of a soul mate. Many millions have been made by those seeking wealth. But the greatest search in all our lives is to find the Living God. We can seek the gifts, or we can seek the Giver of every good gift. g. Application: These negative verses speak to the very nature and motive for our search. How we seek and whom we are seeking are vital questions to answer. The way that we live as we seek God is 3

4 of the utmost importance. We must be a holy people and a humble people in order to find God when we seek Him. We must seek Him in purity, for only then will we make any advancement toward finding Him. 2.Finding the Lord is a priceless result. a. Now to the positive affirmations of the Bible on finding God. We are all searching for God. Sometimes we try to fill that longing for God with which we were designed with lesser things, like loving someone or doing drugs or having money. b. But the best search that we can participate in is to know God. Jesus promises us that when we come to God and seek Him in a pure manner, we will most certainly find Him. c. As sure as God answers our prayers the moment we speak them, so also is the surety of finding God when we seek Him. Now there are verses that teach us how to seek God more efficiently. d. First, we discussed this a bit last time, but Matthew 6:33 tells us that when we prioritize seeking God s kingdom, other things will be added. We must seek God first, not other things. e. Next, we find that when we seek God with our whole heart in Jeremiah 29:11-13, especially verse 13, tells us that God must not only be our priority, but He must also be sought with our whole being. We cannot half-heartedly search for God. He must be our quest and Him alone. f. Acts 17:27 tells us that we spend all this time and effort traversing through wastelands to find God, and yet He is very close by! And James 4:8, as we have already read, tells us that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us. g. Application: There is a principle that when we seek God wholeheartedly and with abandon, we will definitely find Him. Don t think that you can be deceived into not finding God. When you seek Him, He will allow you to find Him. We don t seek Jesus and find Satan. We must trust that in our genuine search for God, we will genuinely find God, His Son and His Spirit. C. When we knock, we can enter. 1.God can open doors for us. a. The imagery of opening and closing doors is a way of saying that God can make ways for us to follow in. This is the image of being able to live out a decision with wisdom. 4

5 b. Throughout especially the New Testament, there are references to someone being stuck on the outside and knocking on the door to get in. c. Getting into a group that one desires to enter is seen through the imagery of knocking on the door. The opportunities and challenges that God has for us are available immediately. d. We have already said that God immediately answers our requests, and also that He is immediately available when we seek Him. So also the things He has in store are ready to be opened to us. e. One of the greatest images of the door being opened is found in one of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 3:20. Jesus is standing at the door of the church knocking, waiting for lukewarm Christians to open the door to Him! f. In another of the seven churches, Philadelphia, Jesus is described as the one who opens and no one will shut and who shuts and no one will open. g. Application: God can do the impossible. He can make things happen for us when we seek Him and ask. Every possibility is because of His grace and goodness in our lives. God prepares us a road and goes before us. He is the God who doesn t only supply our needs but also our successes. We need to be willing to walk through the doors that God opens. 2.God can close doors for us. a. Revelation 3:7 also tells us that God can close doors that have been opened. Many times when we have big decisions to make, we are torn between two or three equally good possibilities. b. I have had times where both roads I could take were, as far as I could see, within God s will and also things that I would like to do. But which one should I choose? It s abundantly easier when God closes certain doors to help us see more clearly in our decision making. c. Illustration: The last semester of Bible College was riddled with decisions. Should I put my resume into the district and look for a church after graduating four years of College? Or should I look into Seminary and a graduate degree? I wanted to get out into the field and pastor. But God was beginning to close that door for the moment and open one into the seminary. And so I found myself taking one class at the seminary as a dry run, and of course, the rest is history. God closed that door temporarily to help me make the 5

6 right decision. Either of these would have been a good option, but God s timing was more important than mine. d. The opening and closing of doors by God is really important when we have two godly choices and would like to know which best serves the Kingdom of God. e. There are times when two or three good and godly options are open to us, and we need God to confirm what would please Him the most through the closing of certain doors. f. God can of course also use this closing of doors to keep us from sin and evil. He is the one who offers to us possibilities, and helps us to see what He desires for us right now. g. Application: The opening and closing of doors tends to work through circumstances in our lives. One option becomes more appealing because another seems to be getting farther and farther away from happening for us. It is only one of the ways that God speaks to us, but He alone can open and close doors as the Lord of History and the Lord of our lives. Will we walk through open doors or attempt to put our foot in a closing door? II. We must be willing to treat others well (12). A. We learn how to be generous from God s example. 1.The earthly image of parenthood helps us to understand God. a. Jesus illustrates God s goodness through the image of parenthood, specifically fatherhood, and provision. He asks a couple of rhetorical questions. b. The first question suggests that a parent would never intentionally harm their child by giving them something worthless in place of their physical need. c. Stones and bread might have resembled one another in Jesus day, with roughly the same browned color and a big stone could be about the size of a loaf. d. So the imagery states that the parent gives the child something that on the surface looks like what they ask, but is in substance an entirely different and useless thing. When a child is hungry, stones won t fulfill the need. e. The second image is of a fish and a serpent. Both of these could also be eaten, but in the first example, the stone will not hurt the son who asks. f. In this second example, the serpent can cause bodily harm to the child. So in the first example, the parent does not fulfill the need, but does not put the child in danger, other than malnutrition. IN the 6

7 second example, the child s need for food is not only ignored, but also challenged with putting the child in danger. g. Application: God does not present us with gifts that look like they will fulfill our needs but in reality do not deliver. The devil is more prone as the Father of Lies to give us something that looks like it will fulfill our needs but does not deliver. We know that because of temptation. Sin always takes more than it gives. But more than this, the Lord does not see our needs and then put is in danger without fulfilling them. God is not out to get us. He is out to bless us as we ask, seek, and knock. 2.We can expect good things from God always. a. Jesus sums up these two images by talking specifically to fathers who specially provide an image of God the Father to their children. God is more interested in providing our needs! b. The parents understand the natural inclination within a parent to want to provide for their children and see them happy. How many parents have it as their goal for their children to have worse lives than they do? c. Despite our best intentions as human beings, we are born into an evil world, and Jesus calls all of humanity evil. Since we have that starting point and want to do good for children, God is much more wanting to do good toward His children. d. Earthly parents are not perfect. They try their best, and sometimes they fail to provide. But God does not. Some parents are not good parents at all, and might even be like the parent who gives a snake to a child, but God is certainly not like that at all! e. Illustration: When I was about to be pastor here and I had my interview with the pulpit search committee, they asked me if my parents were supportive of my ministry as a pastor. That was an interesting question to ask, and of course you know my parents are very supportive. They want me to fulfill God s will for my life just as much as I do. In fact, my mom prayed when she found out she was having a boy that I would be a minister like my grandfather. But she never once forced me into this. I chose it. My parents would have supported me in any endeavor I would choose, and still do, except for sin of course! f. It is so much easier for me to accept that God is good and He wants my very best, because I had godly parents who did their best, although not perfect, to exemplify God the Father for me. 7

8 g. The point of verse 11 is that God is our good father who always gives us good gifts. In Luke, the writer specifically points out giving us the Holy Spirit. And James 1:17 reminds us that God is a good Father who always gives every good gift. h. Application: Perhaps you aren t like me at all. Maybe you didn t have a good example of God as Father from your father. Maybe your parents really didn t care about you that much. That will really make it hard for you to see God as He reveals Himself, but you will learn more about His good nature as you are blessed by Him in your life. Be open to God s blessings, but don t consider the evil things from Him. Remember that the devil would like to ruin your image of God! B. We fulfill the law when we treat others like we wish to be treated. 1.We are proactive in our treatment of others. a. Now we come to the Golden Rule. This is a rule that Jesus stated which tells us that we should seek to treat others at least as well as we wish to be treated. b. This rule essentially puts us in another person s shoes. We think, if I were in that situation, I d love it if someone would address me this way and not that way. c. This rule teaches us to look at least through our own eyes at someone s situation and treat them at least the way we want to be treated. d. Illustration: The statement Jesus makes is not new. Confucius actually posited the statement in a negative way: Don t do to others what you don t want them to do to you. But this way stated the rule only allows for you to not hurt others. It provides no insight on how to positively impact others. It just keeps us from killing one another. Jesus statement goes much father. It actually calls for us to treat one another as well as we would like to be treated. That s not just not hurting others. That s being kind to others. e. Now we all naturally want to be treated with respect, with kindness, with love. This is why Jesus standard is much better than any other statement of the golden rule. It forces us to treat others better. f. Application: When you are out to treat someone the way that you don t think Jesus would treat them, think about the golden rule. Always see yourself in that person s shoes. If you were in that situation, how would you wish for others to react to you? That is 8

9 how we should treat others. Now, when it comes to matters of justice, remember that God is the Judge and that it is easier on us when we judge by the standard of mercy! 2.We fulfill God s law toward fellow human beings. a. We as God s people are especially capable of emulating God the Father when it comes to how we treat others. We who have received those good gifts from God can be priests who issue them to others who desperately need to be treated in a godly way. b. Because we have been so well treated by God, there is no excuse or reason for us to not treat others with godliness and righteousness. c. The Lord completes our series on the Sermon on the Mount the same way it began when we talked about how our righteousness should be greater than the Pharisees. Through mentioning the law here as we end on this verse, Jesus reminds us that our fulfillment of the Law of God comes only through obedience to Jesus. d. We have been dealing with what the Law says and how to take it to the next level, internalizing the law for our lives and acting on Jesus teachings. e. So here we come to the end and the law comes up again. If we fulfill the golden rule of treating others the way we wish to be treated, we fulfill the law and the prophets. f. One of the laws focused on our horizontal relationships with other human beings and Jesus said it is the second most important law, that one that says, Love your neighbor as yourself. g. So this is how we fulfill the law and the prophets. The prophets told us that God expects us to act ethically with our neighbors, and that is what Jesus says also. h. Application: We must treat others with the grace of God. If we don t, who will? It is up to us to represent Jesus well to this world and so we must be the ones to help others, to be kind, to be compassionate. We are on the front lines of society, working for godliness in a godless world. The world needs Jesus. It needs salt and something different. How will you treat others greater than yourself? Conclusion As we complete our series on the Sermon on the Mount, I want to challenge you to live with godliness in a Godless world. This world needs to see the Risen Jesus and His Church teaching people that God is good and wonderful. They get the judgmental messages all the time, 9

10 but so rarely are they treated with righteousness on the part of the Church. We need to be images of Christ to a dying world. We need to be bold in our asking, seeking and knocking because the need for righteousness and God s provision is so great! We need to be generous as the Father is generous with us. We need to be righteous people to fulfill the inner law of God on our hearts, and so maybe to win some to Christ in the process of following in His footsteps. 10

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