40 Four Truths That Unlock Jesus' Promise Seek and You will Find (Matthew 7:7-11)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to Wednesday in the Word. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. This is the 40th talk in my series on the Gospel of Matthew. Today we're gonna study Matthew chapter 7, verses 7 through 11. The lecture notes for today's talk are on the link below this podcast. They contain links to everything mentioned in the talk and an outline of the main points. And you can also find those notes by going directly to wednesdayintheword.com slash Matthew 40. On that website, you can find all previous episodes in this series and also many other series. I'm so glad you joined me today. Thanks for listening. Well, we are nearing the end of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 7. We're gonna finish the third major section and we're gonna look at his conclusion next week. And let me just review where we've been for those of you who are joining the podcast. The entire Sermon on the Mount has been about one topic: who will be accepted by God? Who's going to be saved? The first section, the Beatitudes, tells us the qualities of saving faith that someone must have to inherit a place in the kingdom of God. And then in the next section, Jesus warns that we have to be righteous in a way that is different than and exceeds the Pharisees in order to enter to the kingdom of God, and he gave several examples of how what he meant by that. In the third section, Jesus challenges those who are worldly and that they are too concerned with all the things of this world. And in 7.6, he began his transition to his conclusion by urging us to embrace the truths that he just taught. And I argued in the last podcast that Exodus 22, 31 is the key to understanding Matthew 7.6, which reads, Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. And I took a minority view on this verse. I argued in the last podcast that Jesus is not saying something like, Figure out which people are unworthy and hostile to the gospel, and don't cast your pearls of wisdom before them. You don't have to preach the gospel to them. Rather, he is saying don't be the kind of fool who throws away what is beautiful and precious. What kind of foolish person throws holy meat to the dogs or valuable pearls to the pigs? Think of how perverse it is to take what is holy and beautiful and throw it away. You're taking something that's valuable, something God has given you as a gift and treating it as if it were worthless or profane. Only a fool throws away something holy and precious. Instead, cling to that which is holy, cling to that which is beautiful, hold fast to the things of God, value his promises and commandments above all else. As he argued earlier, seek life in his kingdom and not the pleasures of this world. Don't be like the Pharisees who have essentially wasted the gifts they've been given. They have the incredible gift of the Old Testament scriptures, but they devalue the things of God by using them for worthless and worldly pursuits, and that is like throwing meat that is holy to the dogs. Well, all of that raises the question, will it work? Can I trust God? Can I trust the words of Jesus of Nazareth? God has made all these promises, and those are great, but I'm a sinner. How do I know that God will forgive me and accept me? Part of this whole deal of saving faith is recognizing the depth of our sin, and if I understand how sinful I am and I'm fully convinced that God owes me nothing, that one day I will stand before Him on judgment day and he can justly and rightly find me guilty, well, how do I know that trusting God's going to change any of that? How do I know that I haven't committed one sin too many and I've lost my chance of forgiveness? Well, there's a sense in which the gospel sounds too good to be true, and I think it's that kind of doubt that Jesus goes on to address in the section we're looking at today. Let's look at Matthew chapter seven verses seven through eleven. Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. For which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Now in one sense, it seems like there's not a whole lot to talk about here. This section, unlike the verse we looked at in the last podcast, is very straightforward. It seems easy to understand, and it's among the most positive and encouraging statements found in Scripture. God is saying, Ask me, and the answer will be yes. How much better can it be than that? Think about how good parents are generous to their children. Well, God's a whole lot better than that because He's holy and truly good. His generosity is not tainted by sin. Well that's wonderful news. But when we stop and think about it, the picture gets a little more complicated than that. After all, God does not answer every request with yes. Many times the answer God gives is no or wait. You knock and the door remains closed. Then there's this comparison to earthly fathers. Well, we are like God in some ways, but there are a lot of ways that we're not like him, and he is not like us. And it's a little misleading to say, look at how you would do it, and wouldn't God do it even better? Because I can think of all kinds of ways where God wouldn't do it anything like the way I would do it. His way would be completely and totally different. So what comparison is Jesus making? How are we to put this together? Jesus clearly intends to give some kind of encouragement here, but we want to be careful that we don't take these words and run off in a direction that Jesus did not intend. We want to fit these words in with all the other things that we've seen in this Sermon on the Mount and the other things we know about God from Scripture. To that end, I'd like to remind you of four truths that will help us fill out this picture and clarify what I think Jesus means in this section. And then we're going to look at what Jesus says in light of these four truths. Truth number one, God is our creator and we are his creatures. God does not owe us anything. We've talked about this idea a lot throughout the sermon. This is one of the four convictions of saving faith. When Jesus says that God gives good gifts to those who ask him, it is not because God is required to do so. He gives good gifts because it is his pleasure to do so. He does not answer our cries because he owes us anything and he's required to answer. He answers our cries because, like a loving, generous, compassionate father, he wants to. In fact, it is essential that we accept this truth. This is one of the core convictions of saving faith. Jesus' words only apply to those people who have saving faith. People of faith are people who have humbly accepted that they are creatures of God who have no right to demand anything from him. They call on his good will and his mercy. God will turn away from the person who comes to him saying, Here's what I want and you owe me big time. The door is going to remain closed to that person. But Jesus has very good news for those who come humbly and with faith. Even though God owes us nothing, Jesus tells us that God gives good gifts to those who ask. Truth number two We are sinners who have earned nothing but condemnation from God. And this is another one of the core convictions of saving faith that we've talked about throughout this sermon. Not only is God not required to give us anything, he is justified in condemning us because of our rebellion and sin against him. When Jesus says God gives good gifts to those who ask, it is not because we have earned God's favor in some way. He gives good gifts in spite of the fact that we have earned rejection and condemnation. He gives because he has chosen to be merciful. Again, it's essential that we accept this truth. This is another core conviction of saving faith. Jesus' words only apply to those who have saving faith, and people of faith admit that they are rebellious sinners in need of God's forgiveness. If someone approached God saying, You'd better give me the good things I've earned, God would have no good things to give them. They will get what they earned, but they're not going to like it, because what they've earned is condemnation. But Jesus has very good news for those who humbly admit they are sinful and that they need God's mercy. Even though we deserve condemnation, Jesus tells us that God gives good gifts to those who ask. Truth number three, God's definition of good things is not necessarily the same as ours. Another core conviction of saving faith is that we long for holiness. We hunger and thirst for righteousness and we long to be freed from our sin. But it's all too easy for us to forget what is truly important and where true life is to be found. We get blinded by the cares and concerns and pleasures of this world. When Jesus says that God gives good gifts to those who ask, he's not saying God will always give you what you think is good. He will not necessarily give you what you asked for. He will give you what he knows you truly need. Things like forgiveness, wisdom, mercy, and eternal life in the kingdom of God. It's essential that we accept God's judgment on what is good. Another core conviction of saving faith is that what I truly want from God is for him to make me holy. I'm not looking for him to give me all the goodies and pleasures of this life or to make my life smooth. I want in the end for him to free me from my sin and make me holy. I have to know what I want him to save me from. Part of knowing I'm a sinner is seeing the other side of the coin, holiness and realizing how truly valuable it is. Now again, these words only apply to people who have saving faith, and part of saving faith is trusting God and believing that what we really need is holiness. And this has been a central theme in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been telling us that the fortunate ones are those who stand to inherit eternal life in the kingdom of God. Even though in this life they may be poor in spirit, mournful, persecuted, reviled, they stand to inherit the thing that we almost need, that is holiness and a place in God's kingdom. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray that God would establish His holiness over all the earth and over all creation, and that God would make us holy as He is holy. Well, how are we supposed to pray? What are we supposed to ask for and set our hearts on? For God's kingdom to come, for forgiveness of our sins and perseverance in the faith, so that we might inherit eternal life in God's kingdom, because these are the things we truly need. Jesus tells us that the treasures of heaven are truly valuable in contrast to the treasures of earth, and that we can't serve two masters. If we set our hearts on the treasures of earth, then we are going to lose the treasures in heaven. This whole sermon on the Mount has been focusing on this theme of who will inherit eternal life and who won't. Those who will inherit eternal life are those who have saving faith, and those who have saving faith know that God owes them nothing, that they are sinful and deserve condemnation, and they long to be made holy and righteous. They see how truly valuable that is. Keeping these three truths in mind helps us see what kind of request Jesus is talking about here. Jesus is not claiming that God answers yes to every request we make of him. If I pray, don't let those people hate me for following Jesus, from what I know of Scripture, I can expect the answer no. If I pray, God, this is too hard, please blind me to my sins so that I can feel good about myself, the answer is going to be no. Children of God have one multifaceted prayer. And one or another way of saying that is one prayer with many, many applications in different situations, and that is basically, Father, forgive us and give us the good things you have promised. That's the kind of prayer every person of faith makes. That's the picture of believers Jesus has been painting in the Sermon on the Mount, and people who pray that prayer always get the answer yes. And I think that's what Jesus is saying here. I think he's answering our doubts. We hear the good news of the gospel and we think, Father, can I trust you? Lord God, you've made all these promises and those are great, but I'm a sinner. I know how completely unworthy I am. Can it really be true that you will forgive me and accept me and I only have to ask? And Jesus is answering, Yes. If you pray this prayer of genuine saving faith, knowing you're a sinner, knowing God owes you nothing, longing for holiness and life is his in his kingdom, and trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ, the door will be opened to you. Seek that and you will find it. Knock on that door and it will surely be opened. You can absolutely count on it. Jesus has very good news for those who believe what God is telling them is truly valuable and are seeking that. God gives these good things you are seeking to those who ask. Truth number four the kind of prayer that Jesus is talking about is a necessary expression of saving faith. Hopefully, you can see that this follows from everything we've been talking about up to this point. His teaching in this section must be seen and understood in light of the entire teaching of the Sermon on the Mount and the rest of Scripture. We desperately need the good things that God has promised in the gospel. We need his mercy, we need his wisdom, we need to be rescued from sin and death. We don't get these things automatically by virtue of being human. We have to respond to the gospel with belief. We have to humbly accept what he says is true and seek to live in light of that truth. Furthermore, we don't get these things instantaneously upon conversion. They don't come overnight. Our faith has to grow and mature. We grow in wisdom, we increase our understanding, we learn more and more to value what is truly valuable. Part of the way we live out our faith is by asking God for the good things He has promised. God, you've told us that if we seek life from you, you will give it. Here I am seeking it. I'm asking for you to grant me mercy and grace. Asking, seeking, knocking, these are things that believers do as they turn to the God that they trust. Life in this sinful world is hard and difficult. Every day we face temptations and trials and circumstances that test our faith and make us choose, do I really want God's way or do I want the world's way? Every day we make choices big and small on whether or not we're going to follow God in a specific situation. We have to persevere in believing God's promises even when it's hard to do so, and that is a huge theme in the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. Life now in this age is about confronting the question, do I really believe the gospel? Do I really trust God? Do I really want what He has promised? Persevering in that hope, clinging to that faith, holding fast to those truths is what this life is all about. And in that struggle we will turn to our Father in prayer, asking, seeking, and knocking. Our job in this life is to cling to the promises of God to the end. Learning and believing and trusting that God is trustworthy. Agreeing with Him about what is truly valuable, clinging to God in the midst of the pressures that try to draw us away from Him. That kind of prayer, that kind of asking, seeking, and knocking is an expression of faith. I've heard God's promises, I believe them, I'm struggling and seeking to cling to them, and I turn to God and say, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And when we do, Jesus has this incredibly good news. When you, his child, turn to God in prayer and saving faith, the answer is going to be yes. Ask for faith and it will be given. Seek forgiveness and you will find it. Knock on the door to the kingdom of heaven and you will be granted eternal life. Those who ask and seek and knock are those who believe God and continue to believe God through all the struggles and trials of this life. The author of Hebrews makes this same point this way. This is Hebrews 11 6. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Let me read that again. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. The author of Hebrews is arguing that they need to have faith. They need to believe the promises God has made, and they must persevere in that faith. And it's a struggle sometimes to keep seeking God, keep asking, keep knocking, and keep believing that He's going to respond. Those who ask, seek, and knock believe that God exists and that He will reward those who seek Him. They continue to knock in spite of all the pressures to walk away. In Luke 18, we find one of my favorite parables, the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. And in the parable, a widow pleads with a judge to grant her justice. He continually refuses, but she persists and eventually he gives in. Well, Luke tells us at the beginning of that parable, this is Luke eighteen one, and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. Well why does he put those two things together pray and not lose heart? Because it's so easy to lose heart. God's people cry out to him day and night, and sometimes it seems that our cries go for nothing because the waiting goes on for so long. I think that's why he's urging them not to lose heart because sometimes it doesn't seem like God's coming through with his promises. There is still suffering in this life. There is still injustice in this life. Life is still hard and full of trials. On the surface, it can appear to us that we are foolish to continue trusting in God. What's the alternative to losing heart? Praying, turning to God, asking, seeking, and knocking. Continually going back to God and saying, Lord, I believe. I have put my hope in the promises you have made. This is what I'm looking for, this is what I'm asking for. Don't let me walk away. Well that's It's the opposite of losing heart. People who trust God ask, seek, and knock. Those people who say, Well, you know, I asked God, but he didn't come through for me in the way I wanted him to. So what good does it do for me to follow him? I'm out of here. Those people aren't going to receive anything from God. The people who ask God for help but then keep plan B in their back pocket just in case God fails or they don't like the way he answers, the people James calls double-minded, they're not going to receive anything from God. But those who persevere in asking, seeking, and knocking, they are going to receive what they ask for. So those are my four clarifying truths. Three of them are core convictions of saving faith. Let me just run through them one more time. God is our creator and he owes us nothing. We are all sinners and we deserve nothing but condemnation. God's definition of good things is very different than ours, and we should long for his holiness and freedom from sin. And finally, the kind of prayer that Jesus is talking about is a necessary expression of saving faith. Now let's go back to the passage and try to put all this together. Keep all these truths in mind as I read Matthew seven verses seven through eleven again. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? This is one of the most encouraging passages of Scripture, I think. He's saying God will not turn away from those who rightly ask, seek, and knock. He's saying, Look, I understand how easy it is for you to lose hope, how easy it is to forget how willing God is to open the door. I understand how easy it is to get overwhelmed by your sinfulness when you see it face to face, but God gives saving faith to everyone who asks. Jesus compares God to earthly fathers, and the power of that comparison I think arises from three things. First, God presents himself to us as being like a father, he gives us life like a father does, and he cares for us as a good father cares for his children. So our experience with good earthly fathers provides some insight into our relationship with God. Second, the child in this analogy is asking for the fundamental needs of life. He's asking for bread and fish. He's asking for the things he needs to sustain his earthly life, things which he can count on his earthly father to give him, and he can have confidence that his father wants him to eat. Well, we're making the same sort of prayer to God, only we're not asking for bread and fish, we're asking for faith and holiness. We are asking God for the things which will sustain our souls, things which we can count on our heavenly Father to give us. We are asking for the very thing we most need and the very thing God has promised us in the gospel. So just like an earthly father wants his child to eat, God wants his children to have faith and hope. We can be certain of it. We can have confidence that we are asking for something our Father is willing to give us. Third, the power of this analogy arises from the character of God. We earthly parents are still sinners, we're still flawed, we're still selfish, but we selfish sinners know how to give good things to our children, even if we don't always do it properly. Unlike us, the God we're praying to is not evil. He does not fail like we do. He absolutely knows how to give good gifts to his children, and we can have confidence that he will. Ask God for the life he has promised and you will receive it. Seek the good things he has promised and you will find them. Knock on the door to the kingdom of heaven and it will open to you. These words are powerful because of the difficult battle they represent. Believing and acting on the promises of God is a central struggle of the Christian life. We are creatures who cannot presume on our Creator. We are sinners who deserve nothing but condemnation. We are fools who don't really understand what we need most in this life. We grow weary in the struggle to persevere in believing God's promises. And here Jesus encourages us, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. God will answer you. If we persevere in our humble request for God's mercy, if we persevere in our humble request to be rescued from sin and death, then we'll receive it. God will not turn us away. And that is the great profound encouragement of these words. If we believe him, turn to him, and keep turning to him, our Heavenly Father will not turn us away. Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word. This is the podcast that explains not only what a passage of Scripture means, but also shows you how to figure it out. You can hear all previous episodes in this series on my website, wednesdayintheword.com. There is no charge, no spam, and no ads. It's all free to help you improve your study skills and understanding of scripture. If you've been blessed by this podcast, please subscribe. And if you can, leave a positive rating or review wherever you listen. But most importantly, share with a friend what you learned and maybe mention where you learned it. Thank you to Reggie Coates for the use of his beautiful song Tenacious. You can find all of Reggie's music on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.