Matthew chapter 7. I was telling
Brother Bob a few moments ago, I believe the Lord has given
me a very good instructive lesson this morning. I hope that you
all will listen to it very carefully. I hope this gets listened to
online often. I think it would be very helpful
to God's people who are seeking Him. Our lesson begins In Matthew
7, verse 7, I titled the lesson this morning, Asking, Seeking,
and Knocking. Ask and it shall be given you.
Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh,
findeth. And him that knocketh, it shall
be opened. Now, I know that these verses
cannot be talking about physical things, praying about physical
things, material blessings and physical healings and so forth.
And, you know, the Lord will always give those things to us
as long as we ask for them in the right way. That cannot be
what the master's teaching in these verses. I know that for
two reasons. First of all, because that would
be works, wouldn't it? If the Lord gives me something,
if I ask for it in just the right way, Well, then I've done something
to deserve it. That's work. So I know the master's
not teaching that. Second, I know that the Lord
is not teaching this. If we ask the right way, the
Lord will give you all these material and physical things
that we would pray for. Because of an example in scripture,
the apostle Paul asked the Lord three times to remove his thorn
in the flesh. And the Lord, we know, did not
remove that thorn, don't we? Well, it wasn't because Paul
didn't ask right. No, that wasn't it at all. Matter of fact, the
Lord gave him something better. The Lord gave him something better
than removing that thorn in the flesh. He gave him grace. He
told Paul, my grace will be sufficient for you. He didn't remove that
thorn in the flesh because Paul asked for it to be moved in the
wrong way. He did it to keep Paul dependent
upon God's grace. So I'm not saying, please understand
this. I'm not saying we shouldn't pray
about the physical, material things that we need. We should
pray. We should be very, very diligent about it. The apostle
Paul was, this was a serious matter to him. He was very diligent
about it, but just do that understanding as far as these material, physical
things goes. The Lord may not, in my experience,
seldom does give us what we ask in those areas. But it could
be because he's given us something better. We just don't know. We
should pray for the Lord to provide things in this life. I fully
believe the Lord will provide. I fully believe that. No question. And we ought to pray for things
from the one who gives it, and we ought to pray giving thanks
to him for everything that he has given us. But the Lord here,
he's not talking about material, physical things. The Lord is
talking about spiritual needs. That's the context in which he's
preaching here. He's talking about things that
we need, salvation, redemption, righteousness, forgiveness of
sins, peace with God. And if there's anyone here this
morning who is lost and knows it, if anybody's listening to
the recording of this message and you are lost and you know
it and you want to be saved, I have three words of instruction
for you and I have an assuring illustration. Now, the first
word is ask. The Lord says, ask and it shall
be given you. Everyone that asketh, receive
it. This is not a maybe. This is
not a sometimes. This is a definite thing that
the Lord's saying here, isn't it? The word ask means to beg. Now, we're not to ask like we're
asking a question for information that, you know, really doesn't
matter or not. No, we're to beg. The word is to beg. And we are
to beg in great need, in need. We'll only beg for what we need,
right? I mean, we're too proud to beg
for something that we can live without. The only thing we'll
beg for is what we need, something we cannot live without. Well,
what does a sinner need? What is it that everybody in
this room needs? Well, we need righteousness because
we're unrighteous. We need forgiveness of our sin
because we're sinners. We need holiness because we're
unholy. We need cleansing because we're
filthy in our sin. We need sight to see Christ because
we're blind. We need ears to be able to hear
the gospel because we're deaf. We need to be given faith to
see and to believe Christ. We need God to do something for
us. We need him to draw us to Christ
or we'll never come to him. That's what we need. That's what
we need. Then beg God for it. And God
says he'll give it to you. That's what God says. And we
only beg for what we need and we only beg for what we cannot
earn. You know, I just would refuse
to beg for anything that I could earn eventually. I would not
do it. I'm too proud for that. Well,
we can't earn anything from God, can we? The only thing we can
earn from God is damnation for our sin. So beg God for mercy
and he'll give you what you need, what you need. Now look at Luke
chapter nine. Here's a wonderful illustration. I love this story of this. Exactly. The Lord will give you what you
need. Luke chapter nine, verse 10. And the apostles, when they were
returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them and
went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called
Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew
it, followed him. They went out into the desert
to follow because they needed him. They needed something. And
he received them and spake unto them of the kingdom of God and
healed all that had need of healing. They had need. These people came
to Christ in great need. They needed Him to heal them
because they had no other hope. And He received them, didn't
He? He preached unto them the kingdom of God, and He healed
everyone that had need of healing. So the only question is one of
need, isn't it? God only saves people who are
in need. Remember, some weeks ago, we
began studying this Sermon on the Mount. And the Lord, in the
opening His opening words of the Sermon on the Mount described
believers. He described believers not by
what they have, but by what they don't have. They don't have any
spiritual good in them. They're poor in spirit. They
have nothing. They hunger and they thirst after
righteousness. He described his people by what
they do not have. So they need God to fill them. They're empty. They need God
to fill them with what they don't have. Righteousness and goodness. Then beg God for it. Because
He fills His people with those things. Blessed are the poor
in spirit. Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. God
will give them what they need. Now God saves people who are
in need. He gives freely to people who
are in need. So the question I have for you
and me this morning is this. Are we in need? Are we in need? Then ask, and it shall be given.
It will be given freely. It's not going to be earned now.
It's going to be given freely, a gift of God's grace. Not because
we ask right to deserve it. No, it's going to be given freely
as a gift of God's grace. And if you don't have the salvation
and the forgiveness that you need, James says it's because
you ask not. You have not because you ask
not. Then ask. Don't bargain with God. You know,
if you'll show me this, then I'll do that. Now that's bargaining
with God. Don't ask not really believe and you'll do it. Kind
of test in the waters to see, well, will he really do? He said,
I don't know if he will or not, but if you'll kind of show me
something, then then I'll know that that's testimony. Beg, ask. And the master said it shall
be given. All right. I got a little bit
of an understanding of who God is and who I am. What right? that somebody like me have to
ask God for anything, much less expect Him to give it when I
ask. What right do I have to do that? Because God commands
it. God commands it. The Lord here
is not asking us to ask. He commands us to ask, and He
promises to give what we need. Then ask for mercy. Ask for mercy. I know I can't obey the commandments
of God's law, but a poor sinner like me sure can beg for mercy
because that's what God commands us to do. Ask. All right. The second word is seek. The
Lord says, seek and you shall find. He that seeketh, findeth. Sure thing. This is not a maybe.
This is a sure thing. Well, I'll tell you what we seek. The only thing we seek is what
is lost. Right now, I'm not seeking for
my wallet. I know right where it's at. It's
in my back pocket. But if I didn't know where it
was, I'd be seeking it. I'd be seeking it. Almost every single time Janet
and I leave a restaurant, we get in the car, I start to drive
away, she opens up her purse and she says, Frank, I lost my
phone. Every single time it's been in her purse, but she says
this time I've really lost it. And she's frantically going through
that purse and I'm just driving. By this time I've learned she's
just frantically going through it. Oh, okay. It's here. It's
here. You only seek for what's lost. What's lost. Sinner, seek what you lost in
Adam. What did we lose in Adam? Everything. We lost life in Adam. We lost
righteousness. We lost acceptance with God.
Then seek those things which are lost and seek for them diligently. Seek for them desperately like
your life depends upon it. Because it does. It does. When I was a little boy, we were
staying at a motel. in the morning outside the motel
there. I was out playing, doing something
outside. I remember watching a door or
two down. There was an older couple, older couple, probably
my age now. They were an older couple. And
I watched them loading up their car and packing up to leave.
And I noticed they had their luggage and they're sitting there
on the sidewalk and the man was loading it up. And when they
left, the woman left her purse. sitting there on the sidewalk.
And I thought, I can catch them. And I ran and got that purse.
I ran after that car, waving my arms, you know, and stuff,
and couldn't catch him. Confucius say, man who runs behind
car gets exhausted. Buddy, I did. I chased him up
a hill. I just thought, for sure I'd catch that car. Couldn't
do it. Well, I had this purse now. How am I going to do this?
I went and asked my dad, well, what should I do with this purse?
And he said, well, take it down to the front desk. Maybe they'll
come back. I said, all right. So I did, and a little while
passed. You know how kids are. I completely forgot about the
purse. And kids' mind, boy, it switches tracks fast. I completely
forgot about this purse. Well, a little bit, there's a
knock on the door. And there stands this woman, this older
woman, that woman I saw holding up her car. She's standing there
crying, holding her purse. And she said, I have been looking
for this purse. I have been scared to death.
She said, I got medication in this purse. I would be very,
very sick if I lost this medication. I'm so far from home, I couldn't
get it. I would be in bad trouble without this medication. And
she came to thank me. She took out her purse. She tried
to give me all the money that was in her purse. And my dad
would let her. He said, no, he just didn't want
to do the right thing. I thought, well, you know. But
I still could take the money. No. I mean, it was a lot of money.
I mean, they're on vacation. But I wondered about that lady
for a long time. I mean, she had a purse. Why
was she standing there crying when they opened the door? It
was desperation. It was desperation. I'm going to die. I can't get
that medication in that purse. She was seeking for that purse
like her life depended upon it. Seek the Lord that way. Seek
Him in desperation like you will die without Him. Seek the Lord
because he's precious. Seek him like that merchant man.
He sold out. He went away from home and traveled
a long way seeking for goodly pearls. He sought them. He sought
them till he found them. Seek him in desperation. And the Lord says, now the Lord
says, you have the Lord's word on this. If you seek him like
that, you'll find Proverbs 8, 17 says, those that seek me early
shall find me. Somebody seeking them early,
that means they put a high priority on this. They sought the Lord
first. Those seeking me early will find me. The Lord says in
Jeremiah 29, 13, you shall seek me and find me when you shall
search for me with your whole heart. Whole heart, like your
life depends upon it. And here's the thing about finding
what you're seeking. You're going to have to look
where it's at. You're going to have to look where it's at. If
you want to find the Lord, seek Him where He's found. The Lord
is not found with us sitting on our couch on Sundays and Wednesdays. That's just so. The Lord is found
in His Word. And I'd make it my business to
read it. And I'd make it my business to
be where it's preached. Because I do know this. The Lord
is found where His people gather together to worship Him. That's
where the Lord promised he would be there. Part of this word seek
that the Lord uses doesn't just mean to look for, it means to
worship. That's part of the definition
of this word. Be in the worship surface. That's where the Lord
said he'd be. If you want to find him, got
to look where he's at, don't you? All right. What right do I have? A lost
sinner. Now, what right do I have? I'm
lost and it's my fault. What right do I have to seek
the Lord and to expect to find Him. What right do I have to
seek what I've lost? Salvation, life, peace, acceptance
with God. What right do I have to seek
those things and to expect that the Lord will give them to me?
Because He commands us to seek Him. He commands us. The Lord
isn't asking us to seek Him. This is a commandment, seek me. And His promise is, if you'll
seek me, You'll find me. Then I believe it'd be wise for
us to seek the Lord, don't you? So there's ask, there's seek,
and the third word is knock. Knock, and it shall be opened
to you. To him that knocketh, it shall
be opened. Now this is not a maybe, it's
not sometimes, it's a definite. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. Now when is it we knock at a
door? Well, we knock at a door if we're locked out. And we also
knock on a door when we know I don't belong behind that door.
I don't live behind that door. When I go to my house, I don't
knock on the door. I don't walk in. If I go to your
house, I knock on the door. I don't live there. Well, you
and I were kicked out of the garden in Adam. We were thrust
out of God's presence in Adam. We're thrust out of fellowship
with God in Adam, and I need back in. See, this goes back
to the question of need. I need back in. I'm going to
die out here. I need back in. Christ is the
door, isn't He? He's the door. Then knock and
beg Him to open it. Knock and beg Him to let you
in. And He said He will. Now, don't just knock and say,
oh, well, nobody's home. I knew he wouldn't let me in
anyway. When I was a little fella, I had a newspaper route. And
there were two fellas on my route that were very unpleasant, two
very unpleasant men. And every day, you'd deliver
the newspaper. And then once a week, you would
go and collect the money that they owed for that week. And
it was time to collect at those two homes I would knock and give
it about three seconds and say, Oh, not home. There's such jerks. Not gonna pay me anyway. Cause
I just didn't want to see him. No, don't. And then after they
got about four weeks behind, I knocked and knocked. I had
to get the money, you know, don't just knock and say, Oh, well,
you know, I knew the Lord wouldn't save me anyway. I mean, he'll
save some people. I knew he wouldn't save me. No, if you need him,
you're going to knock. and you're going to keep knocking
and you're going to keep knocking and you will not shut up until
it's open to you. Now, that's not being presumptuous.
The Lord taught us to do this. Look at Luke chapter 18. Here's
another story that I love. The Lord taught us to do this.
And here's a great big theological word, importunity. That simply means keep knocking
and don't don't hush up. Luke 18. And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint, not
to quit, saying there was in a city a judge which feared not
God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that
city, and she came unto him saying, avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while. But afterward he said within
himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this
widow troubleth me, I'll avenge her, lest by her continual coming,
she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what
the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. He will.
And if an unjust judge will do that, certainly the judge of
all the earth shall do right. He'll do that. Surely he will.
Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, So he find faith
on the earth. So he find that kind of faith,
that of importunity that will, that will knock and keep knocking
and call and keep calling till the doors open. The Lord taught
us to knock and to call and not hush up until the Lord answers. All right. And he said, don't
you give me any rest till I answer. That's what the Lord said. Well,
that's my right to knock and to call and to not shut up to
the Lord's answers. I mean, can you imagine a beggar
like me just knocking on the door of the king demanding to
be heard? Just calling and not shut up. The king's trying to
rest and me not giving him any rest? What right do I have to
do that? The Lord commands us. That's
our right. The Lord commands us to knock
and to knock and to knock and to knock and not shut up to the
Lord's answers. lets us in, lets us into his
presence. See, this is a commandment. The
Lord's not suggesting that we knock. He's not saying, you know,
it might be a good idea. No, he's commanding us to knock.
And he promises that he'll open to whoever knocks. Then by all
means, knock. By all means. Don't be denied. Now asking, seeking and knocking. is a continual part of life. Is a continual part of believers
life. This is not a one time thing that we ask once we seek
once we knock once and then we quit because we don't get an
answer and say, oh well, nothing I can do about it. No, a real
hell deserving guilty sinner will never say that they'll keep
asking. They'll keep seeking. They'll
keep knocking because they are in need. And I'll tell you, I
am determined that if I'm going to perish, I'm going to perish
at the feet of Christ. I'm going to perish asking Him
for mercy. I'm going to perish seeking His
face. I'm going to perish knocking
and begging Him to let me in because I have no other hope. And the good news is, the Lord
said, nobody's ever going to perish there. Not at His feet. Not someone asking for mercy.
Not somebody seeking His face. not someone begging him to let
them in. So ask, seek, and knock. Matthew Henry says, to ask, seek,
and knock is to pray, to pray sincerely, and to pray often.
Asking is to pray. Seeking is to pray sincerely.
And knocking is to pray often. Ask, seek, and knock. Those are
the three words of instruction to those who would find the Lord.
Now here is an assuring illustration for needy sinners. In Matthew
7, look here in our text, verse 9. Or what man is there of you,
whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he
ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things
unto them that ask him? Therefore, all things whatsoever
you do, oh, I'm sorry, I went too far. Yeah, let's read verse
11 again. If you, then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that
ask him? Now, every parent in this room
understands exactly this illustration the Lord just used. There is
not a mother or father in this room that would not give your
child anything that they needed. if it was in your ability to
give them to them. Not one thing, if it was in your ability to
give them to them. Now, just because of our society today,
I'm going to say this. This is not saying give your
children everything that they want, everything their little
hearts desire, or everything you can necessarily afford to
give them just because you can. Because if you do that, you're
going to turn your child into a spoiled, entitled brat, and
the world's got nothing in it. So let's not produce no more
of them. This is talking about parents giving our children what
they need and what they need. Fathers and fathers, work and
crimp and save and plan ahead to give to our children what
they need. How many of you started a long,
long time ago starting to try to save up for college tuition
and these kind of things, trying to prepare ahead for these things,
to give our children what they need? We would do that for our
children without batting an eye. I mean, without even thinking
about it, it's just the natural thing a parent would do. We do
that and we're evil. We're evil. The Lord calls us
evil. You know, we don't know the Lord.
We've not asked, we've not sought, and we've not knocked. We don't
know we're evil. No. We just simply don't know the
Lord if we don't know we're evil. The Lord only saves evil sinners,
but just evil people in general tend to provide these things
for their children. Well, if evil centers are, can
be good enough parents to give their children bread when they're
hungry, they ask for bread and you don't give them a stone to
trick them, but you really do give them bread. They're hungry
and you give them a fish. You don't try to trick them by
giving them a snake yet. If evil centers are good enough parents
to do that, How much more do you think our heavenly father,
who is holy and good and does right, will give good things
to his children when they ask him? Do you think our heavenly
father is going to give us evil things when we ask good things?
Not possible, is it? So here's the assurance that
the Lord is giving his children. The Lord is ready to hear and
he's ready to answer the prayers of his children, just like you
mothers and fathers are ready to hear what your children have
to say and what they need. And the Lord, our heavenly father,
is ready, willing, and able to give us what we need. And more
than that, he's wise enough and he's good enough to give us things
we need, even when we're not wise enough to ask for them.
He gives his children good things. And if you look at Romans chapter
eight, I can show you why. Romans chapter eight. Verse 31. What should we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, How shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? He's going to
give His children all good things because that's what Christ purchased
for us at Calvary. That's what Christ purchased
for His people with His blood. He'll give His people freely
all good things. Now, what more encouragement
do you need than that? What more encouragement do you need to
ask and to seek and to knock than the promise of our Heavenly
Father to give good things to His children because of the sacrifice
of Christ for His people. I don't know about you, but that
encourages me to ask and seek and to knock, to pray and to
pray and to pray and to pray again. I hope it will. Lord bless you.