Matthew 7:7-12 – Seek, Trust, Love Intro: People are prone to extremes - For some people, God is little more than the cosmic vending machine
o i.e. if I just put in the right prayers or say the right words of faith and then believe hard enough, God will give me whatever prosperity, success, health, etc. I ask for
o It might be a little more personal than a vending machine…more like an indulgent Santa Claus who expects us to be good little people, but is mostly there to fulfill our wish list ▪ Either way, prayer is treated almost as a “blank check” you can use to get God to make your every dream come true ▪ The passage that we’re looking at this morning is sometimes used to justify this view of God, but does no such thing when considered in context
- On the other extreme, there are people who see God as perpetually angry & disapproving (and maybe a bit sadistic)… “he loved me enough to save me, but I don’t think he really likes me”
o Maybe he is like Zeus with his lightning bolts just looking for an excuse to smite people
o Or maybe he is like a malevolent genie who will grant a person’s request literally to the letter but in such a way that it is unhelpful or even harmful
o In today’s passage Jesus absolutely demolishes this view of God as he emphasizes how loving and approachable God is
(7-8) Seek - At first glance, Jesus seems to be shifting the topic somewhat randomly from 7:1-6
o Jesus is starting his wrap-up – Over the last 85 verses, he has shown what it looks like to live as a citizen of his kingdom, ▪ 5:3-11 – the values of the kingdom ▪ 5:13-16 – being salt and light (living in a way that glorifies God) ▪ 5:17-48 – true righteousness rather than rule-keeping ▪ 6:1-18 – pure rather than self-centered motives ▪ 6:19-34 – focus on things of eternal rather than earthly value ▪ 7:1-6 – not having a judgmental spirit, but showing discernment
o If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we frequently fall short ▪ This should drive us not to despair, but to dependence on God ▪ Jesus started this sermon by with “blessed are the poor in spirit” – those who realize that they are fully dependent on God for anything of true value ▪ Now Jesus turns to God’s absolute willingness to receive & help us when we ask - Seeking God is not a blank check to be used when we want something, it is a way of life
o Romans 10:9-13 – It starts with coming to him for salvation ▪ Asking him to forgive us and save us, seeking a relationship with him…like we are knocking on the gates to be let into his kingdom ▪ We do this recognizing that we are only made righteous (justified) through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…none of us are righteous on our own ▪ No one who comes to him with faith in Jesus is turned away • No sin is too great…no one who comes to him is too far gone • The infinite Son of God suffered the wrath of God for your sins so you wouldn’t have to when you trust him to be your lord and savior ▪ There is all kinds of “God’s sovereignty stuff” going on behind the scenes too as he graciously draws us to himself and enables us to respond in faith (for further reading: Ephesians 1:3-14, John 6:35-44, Romans 9:14-24)
o Asking, seeking, and knocking continue in other ways throughout the Christian life ▪ The verbs are in a tense that implies continuous or frequent action: “keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking…” ▪ Jesus has already told us the kinds of things that we should be pursuing with our asking, seeking, and knocking
o Keep asking… ▪ …for God’s will to be done in your life and in the world (6:10) ▪ …for daily necessities (6:11) ▪ …for forgiveness and a restored relationship when you sin (6:12) ▪ …for deliverance from temptation (6:13) ▪ …for the good of your enemies (5:44)
o Keep seeking… (includes “keep knocking” to find open doors of opportunity) ▪ …the kingdom of God & his righteousness above all else (6:33) – at the moment of salvation your citizenship in God’s kingdom is secured & you are righteous in God’s eyes…now seek to live in line with that righteous standing ▪ …to make peace (5:9) ▪ …to do good to others in a way that brings glory to God (5:16, 6:3-4) ▪ …to forgive (6:13-14)
- These verses are about something far better than wish fulfillment for earthly possessions/ease
o They are God’s promise to welcome us with open arms when we come to him in faith
o They are his assurance that as we pursue a life of eternal kingdom values he will be there answering our prayers, helping us to live righteously, and giving us opportunities to serve him (9-11) Trust - God will not always give us exactly what we ask for, but we can trust that he will not give us things that are worse than what we asked for
o The illustration: A parent is not going to give their hungry child a rock or a venomous snake when they ask for food (unless there’s something seriously wrong with them) ▪ Even we sinful human beings usually do our best to provide for the most basic physical needs of our children ▪ How much more can we trust our heavenly Father to give us what is best for us?
o Our heavenly Father is not subject to any of the failings of a human parent ▪ He is never lacking in resources – he is the Almighty Creator ▪ He is not going to make a mistake – He is omniscient & holy ▪ He is not selfish – He has already given his only Son to die for us and his Holy Spirit to live within us (Luke 11:13 Jesus uses the same illustration and specifically ties it to the gift of the Holy Spirit)
- When we fail to trust God’s goodness it leads us into sin
o The first human sin was the result of Adam and Eve thinking that God was holding back something that would make their lives more complete (Genesis 3:1-6)
o When we are dissatisfied with how God has answered our prayers we are tempted to get what we want by means that God has forbidden (i.e. sin) ▪ e.g. lying, cheating, sexual immorality, gossip, neglecting God’s work, etc. ▪ Trust God’s goodness enough to turn all concerns over to him in prayer and not take sinful “short cuts” out of fear that you will miss out on something good
(12) Love - This brings us to Jesus’ big summary of what it looks like to live as a citizen of his kingdom: the “golden rule”
o Because we have such a good and loving God who willingly helps us in pursuit of righteousness, we need to reflect that love to others
o This is the command to treat others how you would like to be treated ▪ NOT treat others how they treat you (cf. 5:38-48) ▪ NOT a guarantee that others will treat you with the same love & respect (a standard of your own behavior, not a means of manipulating others) ▪ This is what “love your neighbor as yourself” looks like in practice (cf. Matthew 22:37-39)
o This command sums up the entire moral intent of the Old Testament Law ▪ The Bible does not contain principles and commands just for the sake of have a holy “to do” checklist – that is legalism, the religion of the Pharisees, and of far too many Christians ▪ Romans 13:8-10 – the point of those principles and commands is to guide us in what it looks like to love our neighbor as ourselves (under the overarching umbrella of loving God with all that we are) ▪ True love looks out for the good of others ahead of my own
- This command is a call to action
o Various religions (e.g. Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism) emphasize a similar command ▪ E.g. “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn” – Rabbi Hillel ▪ This is certainly included in Jesus’ command – we want others to refrain from harming us, so we should refrain from doing harm to them ▪ Jesus’ command calls for more than being inoffensive…it is not just “live and let live.”
o Jesus’ command implies that I have some responsibilities…whatever I would like people to do for me I am supposed to do for them. ▪ I would like people to pray for me and help me when I am in trouble that seems to be beyond my ability to handle ▪ I would like people to encourage me with their words ▪ I would like people to give me the benefit of the doubt, assume the best about me, and come directly to me if they have a problem with me ▪ I would like people to warn me if they think I am in danger (over the remainder of this chapter we will see Jesus being pretty blunt in warning people against false teachings and false beliefs) ▪ And the list could go on…there are countless applications of this one simple command…this one-verse summary of what it looks like to live as citizens of God’s kingdom
Applications - Continually ask God to help you in the pursuit of his kingdom & his righteousness
o Starts with trusting Jesus as savior
o Continues throughout the Christian life as we are on the alert for opportunities to serve God, to know him better, and to reflect his character
- Trust God’s answers to your payers
o Approach him as your perfectly loving heavenly Father
o When the answer appears to be “no” or “wait” don’t take sinful shortcuts
- Do for others whatever you would want done for you
o Negatively, includes not treating them in a way that you would hate ▪ …regardless of who they are ▪ Jesus didn’t limit this to your fellow Americans, fellow Christians, or any other religious, ethnic, or socio-economic group with which you happen to identify
o Positively, it includes actively looking out for the good of others
o A challenge: what is one thing that you really wish people would do for you, that you aren’t doing for others? Pray about it, and go out and make a conscious effort to do that this week!
- Reflect the self-sacrificing love of Jesus – and now we are going to reflect on that love that gives us new life and enables us to live according to this golden rule