I would like to bring a message
to you this morning from Matthew chapter seven, the gospel of
Matthew chapter seven. And you know, the gospel goes
out, men preach this glorious message and this gospel goes
out all the time to men and women who are not really interested
in hearing it. not really interested in knowing what our Lord has
to say in his word in regard to salvation, not interested. Solomon, the wisest man on this
earth, he said, remember now thy creator in the days of thy
youth while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Remember your
creator, he said, Before you get to that time in life when
you say, I'm just not interested, not interested. God's word is
a message of mercy. God has recorded mercy in his
word for centers like you and me. It's a message of forgiveness. It's a message of healing, but
our Lord himself said they that are whole have no need of the
physician. They're they're not interested.
If they're not sick they're not interested in the physician.
And even though God proves in his word time and time again
that every soul born into this world every single soul born
into this world is sick with sin. Our Lord keeps telling us
that he keeps telling us that. We're all born sick with this
disease called sin. Every soul stands in need of
the mercy and the forgiveness of God. Every single soul does. But even though the message that
determines eternal life and eternal death, even though that message
is plainly declared in God's word, many, many people are not
interested. But you know what? Some are. Some are. Some people know that
they're sick. Spiritually speaking. Some people
know our Lord said they that are whole have no need of the
physician. But he said they that are sick
do. If a person is truly sick, he
has an interest in the physician. You don't have to convince a
man who is truly sick. You don't have to convince that
man that he's sick. You go into the cancer ward at
a hospital. Men and women are in pain, receiving
chemo and things of that nature. You don't have to go around trying
to convince those men and women that they're sick. They know
they're sick. Some people know they're sick.
And spiritually speaking, it's the exact same. Spiritually speaking,
men and women, some know that they're truly sick. The message that God declares
inside the pages of this book, this is an announcement of the
free gift of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Did you know
that's what our Lord has recorded in his word for us? A declaration,
an announcement of a free gift of the unsearchable riches of
Christ. And amazingly, I'm amazed by
it. Many men and women are not interested. They're just not interested.
I'll tell you this though. Some are, some are, some people
know that they're poor and I'm, I'm speaking spiritually and
every bit of this. Some people know that they're
poor. Some people know that they don't
in and of themselves have anything. Nothing. Our Lord himself, he
stood up in the synagogue that was in Nazareth and from his
own word, they handed him his own word and he read and declared
that he was going to open the prison doors. Isn't that what
he said? Set the captives free. And you
know what? They weren't interested. He declared
that to them and they weren't interested, but I know who would
be. I know who would be very interested
in that. Some men and women know that
they're bound spiritually. Some men and women know that
the goodness and the kindness of God. has declared to us, plainly
declared to us, how sinful man can be justly forgiven. Justly, rightfully, according
to the law, forgiven. It has declared how God's anger,
and did you know that God is angry with the wicked every day?
Did you know that? People are not being told that
much anymore, but it's still true. Our Lord said he does not
change. And he said, I'm angry with the
wicked every day. Every soul on this earth is naturally
wicked beginning with the preacher. But God has declared to us how
a sinful soul can be justly forgiven. How God's anger can be satisfied,
appeased. How the Lord Jesus Christ can
reinstate to man everything he lost. He lost it. And God tells
us how Christ can reinstate everything that a sinner lost. And some
people are interested in that. I'm one of them. Are you one
of them? I pray so. Our Lord said in verse
14, here in Matthew chapter seven, that it's only few. He said, straight as the gate,
narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that
find it. Few, but some are interested. A few are interested. May that
be us. May that be both of us, me and
you, this message. is to those of us who know, absolutely
know that we're spiritually sick. This is for those of us who know
that in and of ourselves, we're spiritually poor, spiritually
bound, and it's all because we're sinners. We know that, don't
we? We know that. This message this
morning is for those who are empty lost and outcast. That's who this is to. Now our
text is going to be in verse seven, Matthew seven, verse seven. It says, ask and it shall be
given you seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened
unto you. That's glorious. That's glorious. Ask, it'll be given. Seek, you'll
find. Knock, it'll be open to you.
That is wonderful. The only time, the only time
that a person will truly ask is when he's empty. That's the
only time a person will truly ask is when he's empty. Man by
nature, men, especially, they don't want to ask for anything.
They don't want to ask for anything. The flesh is too proud. Men hate
asking for things. It's too arrogant. This flesh
says, I'm happy to tell you some things, but I don't want to ask.
I don't want to ask, but I'll tell you this. When God empties
a man, When God empties a woman, I mean truly empties that person
when all the pride leaves. And he puts us in positions that
empty us. He causes us to see we truly
have nothing to boast in, nothing to glory in. And when God empties
a man of all of his own wisdom, all of his, he thinks he's so
wise when he proves he's not. When he proves to him, you're
a fool. Christ is our only wisdom outside of him. We're fools.
When he removes all that pride, when he removes all of a man's
own security, all of his own foundation, that man will start
asking. He will, he will start begging
when he sees his need. He'll start begging. He'll know
that man. Once God does that work on him,
that wonderful work, he'll be convinced. I don't have what
I need. I don't have what I need. And
if God ever gave a man or a woman the ability to ask for one thing
from him, what should they ask for? If God ever gave that ability,
if God ever showed a man his need and that man cried out and
asked, he said, ask. If a man or a woman ever had
that ability to ask, what should that man or woman ask for? Peter
was given that ability. God put Peter in a position where
he showed him his need and he gave him just enough time to
ask for one thing. It's over in Matthew 14. If you're
turning with me in your Bible, go there to Matthew 14. Our Lord
said in verse 22, straightway Jesus constrained his disciples
to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side
while he sent the multitude away. He put his disciples in a ship
and sent them out into the sea. And when he had sent the multitudes
away, our Lord went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening
was come, he was there alone. So he was not with his disciples.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves,
for the wind was contrary. Our Lord sent a storm to them
on purpose. And in the fourth watch of the
night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. He came walking on
the water. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out
for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto
them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter
answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
thee on the water. If that's you, would you allow
me to walk on the water with you? And he said, come. And when Peter was come down
out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. He was so afraid. Here he was walking on the water,
actually walking on the water. As long as he had his eyes on
Christ, he was headed toward the Lord Jesus Christ. And as
long as he had his eyes on Christ, he was doing something that with
man is impossible. But as soon as he took his eyes
off of Christ, And this is a, this is a truth that we all must
know. Christ is all. If we take our
eyes off of him, we're going to fall. As soon as Peter took
his eyes off of Christ, when he saw how mighty these waves
were, the Lord allowed him to enter into how weak he was, how
insufficient he was, how in trouble he was. He emptied him of his
pride. You know, Peter, I'm sure thought
immediately, I'm walking on the water. None of the other disciples
are God emptied him of that, and he saw how boisterous these
waves were, and immediately he started going down. Immediately,
and he only had enough time you've jumped into the water before
you know how quickly as soon as your toes touch your head
is under. He only had enough time to beg three words. Verse 30 says, When he saw the
wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying, Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Verse 31 says,
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him. and said unto him, O thou of
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? For every soul who
has been emptied by God, absolutely emptied, there may only be enough
time. There may only be just enough
time to ask this one thing. Lord, save me. Save me. At that moment, right
at that very moment, Peter's boat didn't mean anything to
him. His fishing nets didn't mean anything to him. Nothing
mattered to him. Lord, save me. That's it. That's it. Save me. I'm the dying sinner
in need. Here's where I am, Lord. I have
one moment to be honest with you. I'm the dying sinner in
need. I'm going down. I have no hope. I can't do anything about it.
Lord, you must do it all. You must do it all and I'm begging.
Save me. Well, back in the text in Matthew
chapter 7. It says ask and it shall be given
you seek and you shall find. Seek and you shall find, you
know. The only soul who will truly seek. Is the soul who knows
he's lost? That's the only one I mean, really
start seeking or the soul who knows he has lost something.
When we sinned against God, we lost God. We lost God. We lost our access to God. We lost our good standing with
God. We lost righteousness, we lost
holiness, we lost purity, we lost life, spiritually speaking. We died spiritually separated
from God. The wages of sin is death. That's what our Lord said, death. But turn with me back in the
Old Testament to Leviticus 17. In Leviticus 17, it says in verse
11 for the life of the flesh is in the blood. The life of
this flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you upon
the altar, the sacrifice to make an atonement for your souls,
a covering. for your sinful souls. He said,
for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Blood makes an atonement for
the soul. That sacrificial blood is the
only thing that can make an atonement for the soul. Spotless blood. The soul that lost it all. I mean, lost everything. That
blood will be a covering for that soul. It'll be a hiding place for that
soul. And that soul will find safety. That soul will find everything
it needs in that blood. The God who punishes all sin. This is what he said. When I
see the blood, I'll pass over you. When I see the blood, that
blood will atone everything. And he said, when I see the blood
of my son on you, I'll pass over you. Where is this blood? It's in Emmanuel's veins. It's
in Emmanuel's veins. If we can find him, If we can
get to him, we will find mercy from God. That's what I want
to find. Is that what you want to find? Mercy from God Almighty. If we
can get to Christ and to his blood, God will spare us from
everything we deserve. Death. All the wages we deserve,
God will spare us from it. He said in Jeremiah chapter 29,
Verse 12 and 13, he said, then shall you call upon me and you
shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you, I'll
listen. You'll call and you'll pray and I'll listen. And you
shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with
all your heart. All your heart. How does a sinner
seek God with all his heart? This is the commandment. Seek
God with all your heart. How does a sinner seek God with
all his heart? How? The answer is in Psalm 27. In Psalm 27, verse 8, David said,
When thou saidst, when you said, when God said, seek ye my face."
When you said to me, seek ye my face, David said, my heart
said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek. In your good time,
when it pleased you and you spoke to me and you came to me and
you called me and you sought me, When you started it and you
said, Seek ye my face, that's the very moment my heart in return
said, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. God gets all the glory for it.
That's grace before mercy. That's grace, that's kindness
before mercy, and that's the key to it all. Even seeking the
Lord is his doing. It's all under his praise and
honor and glory. Revelation 22 says, if you look
back at the last book in this Bible, Revelation 22 verse 12,
it says, behold, I come quickly, our Lord speaking, and my reward
is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.
I'm Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end, the
first and the last. He said, blessed are they that
do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of
life and may enter in through the gates into the city, that
they may enter in. He said, for without, without. are dogs, and sorcerers, and
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie." That covers every soul on earth. Everything he just described
right there, that covers every soul on earth. Now our text said,
ask and you'll receive, seek and you shall find, knock and
it shall be opened unto you. It'll be opened unto you. The
only soul that will knock. The only soul that will knock
is the soul that knows. He's outcast out without. Outcast from the kingdom of God. Outcast from the presence of
God. That's the only soul that will
start knocking. Only the soul that knows what
he truly is. All those horrible things our
Lord just mentioned. I'm outcast. Only that soul will
start knocking and begging. Lord, please open to me. Please. Let me ask you this. Does anyone
listening right now feel like an outcast? Does anyone feel,
does anyone know I'm lost? I'm lost. I'm out. I have no
right to God. I'm not worthy to be in his presence. Ephesians says no hope and without
God in the world. Does anybody listening right
now say that's me? No hope without God in the world. If that is you. Turn over to
Isaiah 55. Look at what Isaiah 55 says. He said. In Isaiah 55. Verse seven. Seek the Lord while
he may be found. While he may be found, call on
him while he is near. He's near. You hear that? He is near. He is so near. Seek him right now in the heart. He said, you'll find me when
you search for me with all your heart. Seek him in the heart.
He'll have mercy on you. He will abundantly, abundantly
pardon. Abundantly. Ask, seek, knock. Lord, please open to me. Please open to me. Can you imagine
how many souls started knocking on the ark that God told Noah
to build after the rains came? Knocking on that door, let us
in. It was too late. God shut the door, it says. God
shut the door. But if you are a sinner just
like me, if you're a sinner who knows that you and I both in
our flesh, we're outcasts from God, Our Lord said. He said this in John 10, he said,
I am the door. Isaiah said he's near. He's near
come to Christ. Christ said, if you come to me,
I'm the door. You knock and I'll open to you. I'll receive you. Christ is the
only way back in to the presence of God, the love of God, the
kingdom of God. Only in Christ will we hear God
the Father say, welcome in. Only in Christ. If He, in mercy,
allows us to find Him. If He, in mercy, draws us to
Himself. If he says to our hearts, behold
me, I am the door. If he does that, let's start
knocking. He gets all the glory. Let's
start knocking. Let's not stop knocking until
he opens. Our Lord said that I'm going
to do all these things for my people, everything I require,
I'm going to do it. But he said, I'm going to be
inquired of by them to do it. So let's start knocking. Lord,
please, please, please. Any soul who has a dying interest
in these things, here's the promise of God Almighty. Ask, it'll be
given. Seek, you'll find. Knock, it
will be opened. Till next week, may the Lord
bless His word to our hearts.