Series: Sermon on the Mount
Lesson #28
Title: IT SHALL BE GIVEN
Text: Matthew 7: 7-11
Date: November 22, 2009
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Thursday night we covered Matthew 7: 1-12. Most of us have heard these passages preached from before. They are treated as individual passages. But it came as a blessing to my heart to look at these passages together. Luke places some of the things said here together. As we saw, these words of our Lord appear to be the very key to understanding the entire epistle of James.
By way of review, we saw that in verses 1-5 the Lord teaches us to deal with one another in mercy rather than in a condemning spirit. We saw from James chapter 4 that when we speak evil of brethren, we speak evil of the law, particularly our Lawgiver. When we judge our brother, we judge the law, particularly our Lawgiver. There is one Lawgiver. Christ Jesus is the Master who alone is able to save and to make stand.
Christ Jesus bore the sin of his people in his own body on the tree. The judgment of God fell on Christ that God's mercy might fall on those he everlastingly loved. Christ is the Master who is able to make his people stand--to grow them by his grace, in knowledge of him and to increase them in fruits of righteousness. Those who have tasted the Lord's grace delight to show mercy.
We saw that this self-exalting, hypocritical judgment is removed out of the believer's eye when the Spirit of God lifts our eyes to Christ.
Romans 8: 33: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
When we have the Light of Christ, we can see clearly. We sing psalms of God's grace rather than words of condemnation.
Matthew 7: 6: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
We looked at this as it applies to the old, fleshly, self-righteous nature in us which is far too critical and judgmental of others. To give in to our old nature results in trampling under foot the precious pearls, casting the pearls as if they were stones rather than carefully restoring our brethren with the promises we have in Christ. Paul said, "If ye bite and devour take heed that ye be not consumed of one another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Gal 5: 15, 16.) I encourage you to listen to that message--Judgment of Swine, Mercy of Brethren)
If I had been preaching from notes Thursday night, I would have remembered to first give you the more common interpretation of verse 6. So I want to do that this morning before we move on. Having instructed us not to set up ourselves as judges of one another, the Lord also teaches us to use wisdom in dealing with others.
There is a time to work with men in patience and a time to dust off our feet as a witness against them. The Lord said:
Matthew 10: 12: And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13: And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14: And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15: Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Acts 18: 6: And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles….19:9: But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Always be eager to confess Christ before men. But if you speak to someone about the things of God, and they obviously do not want to hear what God has revealed, leave them alone.
Today, verses 7-11 is where we will focus today's lesson.
Matthew 7: 7: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Just as we saw, Thursday, if any lack wisdom let him ask God. Do any here lack wisdom? Any time that a believer is brought to truly "ask", to "seek", to "knock", it is because the Lord has reminded us again that we lack wisdom. James seems to quote these very words of our Lord:
James 1: 5: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
Faith believes God. Do we believe this promise of our Lord Jesus Christ? Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. This promise is sure to all who believe.
Proposition: THE LORD IS GIVING US GREAT REASON TO ASK IN FAITH.
Matthew 21: 22: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Listen to the simple reasoning in these next few questions.
Matthew 7: 9: Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10: Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Even sinful, fallen, depraved sinners are naturally predisposed to give good things to their children, simply because they are our children.
Matthew 7: 11: 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 to them that ask him?
I. HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR FATHER
If you are a believer it is because God is your Father.
Without us asking, He gave his Son to lay down his life for us.
If you are a believer it is because Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is your Everlasting Father, the second Adam.
The father of the family is the legal representative. That is why in our first father, Adam, all whom he represented sinned in him. That is why in our Everlasting Father, Christ Jesus, all whom he represented are righteous.
The father of the family is the one of whom you are born.
1 John 3:9: Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
It is from our Everlasting Father that we receive the inheritance--it is his to give, he reserves it for his children.
Hebrews 3: 5: And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 6: But Christ as a son over his own house; [I am my earthly father's son, I am a son over my own house, I am the father of my children--so it is with God and his Son, with Christ our Everlasting Father] whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Do you see how much assurance you have that God the Father and his Son Christ Jesus is YOUR FATHER?
II. HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN
Your Father in heaven is all knowing.
Our heavenly Father knows what is best for his children.
Matthew 6: 8:…your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Your Father in heaven is all-powerful
He is able to give, able to raise up, even from the dead. Is it an erring brother for whom we pray?
Romans 14:4: God is able to make him stand.
Is it personal provisions to aid in the work of the gospel?
2 Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
III. HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS
I can not pass this word "give."
We do not earn gifts. We do not bargain for gifts.
Luke 12:32: Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Secondly, good things.
Spurgeon: We, although ourselves evil, correct our children’s blunders in their requests to us, and much more will our all-wise, and good, heavenly Father amend in his bestowals the errors of our beseechings. He will give the good which we did not ask, and withhold the ill which we so unwisely requested…We know not what we should pray for as we ought, but he knows how to give as becometh his perfection, and he will do so.
The chief--good thing--that our Father gives is the Holy Spirit. That is how this is recorded in Luke:
Luke 11: 13: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
We looked at this Thursday.
James 5: 14: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
When a believer prays for a brother who is sick, we are asking God for the sake of Christ Jesus, to comfort that brother through the Holy Ghost, the Oil of gladness.
Psalm 45: 7: Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (compare with)…Acts 10:38: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:
John 14: 16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you….16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
We saw last time that our heavenly Father will provide our earthly needs. But "Things" may or may not give us gladness. We may or may not recover from "sickness" and if we do we will eventually die. But even if we do not recover from sickness, even if we do not receive earthly things, through the gift of the Holy Spirit we are comforted because he guides us into Christ the Truth. The Holy Spirit whispers into the soul of the believer the words our heavenly Father and our Savior, saying, : All things are yours; your brethren, the world, life, death, things present, things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s (I Cor 3: 21-23.) Then whatever the mountain that stands in our way, in our own hearts, it is cast into the sea. This is how God raises up, and is able to make us stand.
Job 34:29: When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?...whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
Now we end where we began:
IV. HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THEM "THAT ASK HIM?"
Do you have any reason to doubt our Lord? Or heavenly Father? Do we believe him?
Matthew 7: 7: Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you 8: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.