WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.040 Well please take your Bible again and open it to Matthew chapter 7. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.400 Again, that is Matthew chapter 7. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:17.600 And as you're turning there, I'll just remind you of our plans for this week. 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:25.199 You know, as we've learned in the last few weeks, what we plan doesn't always work out. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.239 But we go with what the Lord gives us. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.679 And so our plan is this evening at 6 p.m. 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:39.439 to return to Psalm 23, looking specifically this evening at the phrase, I shall not want. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:41.359 What does that mean? 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:55.439 And then, Lord willing, on Friday evening, we will have a time of study in the Word of God, looking at the testimony that condemned the Lord Jesus to death. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:02.880 And then, of course, we'll be back here next Sunday morning celebrating the risen Lord together. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:23.359 But this morning I wanted to return to Matthew chapter 7, sort of in a way to conclude our study last Sunday, because this passage beginning in verse 7 really summarizes or ties everything up from last Sunday. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:30.000 And so as we begin, I would like to read again that passage that we looked at last week. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:38.719 So if you have your Bible, I'll be reading Matthew chapter 7, beginning in verse 1, continuing all the way through verse 12. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:48.799 The Lord Jesus is speaking to the crowds surrounding him on the mountainside, and he said to them, Judge not that you be not judged. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:59.840 For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure that you use or you measure, it will be measured to you. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:08.319 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:17.039 Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye? 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:27.919 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:40.639 Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot, and then turn and tear you to pieces. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.560 Ask, and it will be given to you. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:46.879 Seek and you will find. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.759 Knock, and it will be opened to you. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:58.719 For every one who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:08.960 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. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:22.719 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? 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:29.439 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.520 For this is the law and the prophets. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:34.240 Amen. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:35.439 Let's pray together. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:40.240 Lord Jesus, this is an unusual time. 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:48.400 Every single one of us is experiencing something different in life. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:54.400 Some in our country are are quarantined, some are are restricted. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.080 Others who who may not be restricted are are dealing with businesses that are shut down. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:02.639 Some have have lost their jobs. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:07.520 Others are dealing with loneliness and loss. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:12.800 There's so many things in our lives that are different. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:16.720 So it is a comfort to us. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:21.839 It is a rock upon which we can rest that you are unchanging. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:27.439 That you are the same yesterday and today and forever. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:32.240 It is a place of comfort and rest for us that your word is unchanging. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:39.920 And it is a place to find encouragement, to find strength in our time of need. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:47.279 So we ask that your spirit would be with us as we are dispersed this morning. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:55.040 That wherever we might be, that you would gather us together by your spirit to be refreshed by your word. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:05.040 We ask this, Lord Jesus, because you promised to send your spirit as a comforter to us, who would lead us into all truth. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:11.920 May He do that this morning using the Word of God to not only refresh us but to cut us. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:28.879 That your word would be that sharp sword that divides even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of bones and marrow, that we would be laid open before you to be to be renewed by your Spirit. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.560 All of it, Lord Jesus, to the praise of your glory. 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:33.519 Amen. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:44.000 What if God promised to give you exactly what you need? 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.920 No, let's change that. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:55.839 What if God promised to give you abundantly beyond anything that you could even ask or even imagine? 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:58.560 What if God did that? 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:01.439 Would you ask? 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:12.079 Would you be bold enough to remind God of his promise and then trust him to be faithful? 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:42.560 The prophets, the apostles, the pastors, and other charlatans of the health and wealth movement proclaim day in and day out that if you will only claim God's promise, if you will only ask in faith, if you will knock down his door and seek his presence, that God is somehow duty-bound, that he is obligated to give you what you ask of him in faith. 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:53.120 Of course, the catch for them is that if you do not receive, if God doesn't answer, then your faith is too small. 00:06:54.319 --> 00:07:00.800 Now, most of those false teachers will have this passage in their repertoire of sermons. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:06.240 But is that really what Jesus is saying? 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:14.560 Was it his intention to proclaim that God will answer any prayer? 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:24.240 Is this an extension really of the passage previously in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray? 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:33.600 Was he saying, if you ask, if you seek, if you knock, God will answer and will give you whatever you ask for? 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:37.680 Well, it depends. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:42.879 On one level, it depends on your reason for asking. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:59.360 James, for example, the Lord Jesus' brother tells us in James chapter 4, beginning in verse 3, you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:06.240 And then James continues on to make an in-your face kind of statement after that. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:15.839 He says, You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:24.319 Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:41.360 To ask God to give you what you ask for so that you might use it to please yourself is to be an enemy of God. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:56.000 To ask rightly, then, is to ask according to the will of God, to what God desires, seeking his provision so that he will be the one that is pleased. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:07.600 So does this section of the Sermon on the Mount teach us that asking according to the will of God gets us what we ask for? 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.600 Well, it depends. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:17.200 It depends on what you are seeking from Him. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:25.759 This is the key element in this passage of God's Word. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:42.879 If we miss this, we will misinterpret this section, we will misinterpret verses one through six, and we will likely be led to twist our understanding of God's word, especially as it speaks to prayer. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:51.759 Understanding this passage and rightly applying it all hinges on a single question. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:00.320 For what are we to ask, seek, and knock? 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:08.480 Is it an open-ended question, an open-ended invitation to ask God for anything? 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:16.320 Are we encouraged from this text to come boldly to the throne of heaven asking for anything? 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:19.200 No. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:22.000 No. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:29.840 Jesus commands us to ask God the Father for something very specific. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:38.080 And when we obey this command, we will receive more than we can ask or even imagine. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:41.840 Do I have your attention yet? 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:43.600 I hope so. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:46.799 I have two goals here. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:57.360 The first is to clarify the meaning of this passage because God's people should not abuse God's word through misunderstanding or misinterpretation. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:00.879 So we're going to clarify what Jesus meant. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.480 The second goal is practical. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:13.200 I want to embolden us to seek God the Father's provision. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:18.159 By the Lord's grace, both of those will become evident. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:27.600 So, first, notice with me from verses 7 through 12 the Father's inherent goodness. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.519 Notice the Father's inherent goodness. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:37.440 Now, before we proceed here, we need to establish a foundational truth. 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.639 This is directed towards God's children. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.799 That's a very specific, defined group. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:56.559 In the Sermon on the Mount, it's those who have become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, genuine disciples. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:04.960 It's those who believe that Jesus is the one whom God promised from times past to send. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.360 He is the Redeemer. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:09.039 He is God in the flesh. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:19.360 God's children are those who have trusted in Jesus as the one who makes us right with God through his death on the cross and his resurrection to glory. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:32.000 These are the poor in spirit who have inherited the kingdom of heaven and who now submit to the rule and the reign of the King of the kingdom, the Lord Jesus Himself. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:43.360 These people, the scriptures tell us, have the privilege of being adopted children of God the Father. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:56.399 Ephesians chapter 1, verses 5 and 6 tell us that God the Father predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.759 He purposed to adopt his children. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:13.200 Through their faith in Jesus Christ, these people have received the grace of God that gives them new life from sinful deadness, saving them from eternal punishment for their sins. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:19.279 Now we could stop our discussion of the Father's goodness right there. 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:42.559 Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 and 5 in the same passage says, but God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, for by grace you have been saved. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.159 Hear me clearly. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:14:01.039 Now that is the you of these verses. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:11.679 The children of God who have been adopted by his grand goodness through his saving grace. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:17.440 God's adopted children saved by his good grace. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:23.679 But the Lord Jesus does not highlight the goodness of the Father's grace. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:32.720 Instead, he illustrates the Father's goodness through a very stark contrast. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.960 He uses human fathers. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:43.200 He says human fathers by their very nature are evil in verse 11. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:54.320 All parts, not just fathers, but mothers too, all parts of us are impacted by the curse of sin. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:57.360 There is not a part of us that is left untouched. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:11.679 And so our natural bent by nature is not toward God, but toward sin, toward ourselves and our sinful nature. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:21.360 And yet, even with that natural bent toward sin, we have a remnant of the conscience with which God originally created us. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:34.480 So if our children ask us for something nourishing to eat, we're not going to give them a rattlesnake or a cobra. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:44.960 If our children come to us and say, Mom, Dad, I'm hungry, I need something in my stomach, we're not going to fill their stomachs with rocks. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.639 We try to avoid that, in fact. 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:53.679 Rocks don't digest well. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:16:01.200 And venomous snakes are not the safest thing to give kids who eat with their hands. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:13.440 Now you see, human beings still have a semblance of love for their children in spite of the overwhelming impact of sin on their lives. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:19.759 We love our children and we want to give them what is best for them. 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:29.519 So our nature is directed towards evil, but our desire is to give our children what is good. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:45.039 Now, how much more will our Father who is in heaven, who is by nature good, not evil. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:52.080 How much more will he give what is good to his children? 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.600 Now we need to point out two elements of God's character here. 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:01.519 The first is God's assumed goodness. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:17.599 Now, I don't mean that we are assuming God's goodness, but that in his statement here, the Lord Jesus is resting his argument on the unstated fact that God is good. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:23.440 And the scriptures plainly declare that repeatedly. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:32.640 For example, the Psalms alone state directly that God is good eleven times. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.799 Now there's more than just that. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:39.440 But eleven times it states very directly that God is good. 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.119 Let me just run through them for you quickly. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:42.559 Psalm 25, 8. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:43.759 Psalm 25.8. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.400 Good and upright is Yahweh. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.519 Therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:51.759 Psalm 31, 19. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:58.480 Oh, how abundant is your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:00.640 Psalm 34, 8. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:02.720 Some of you might have this memorized. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:07.759 Oh, taste and see that Yahweh is good. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:19.920 Psalm 86, 5, for you, O Yahweh, are good and forgiving, abounding and steadfast love to all who call upon you. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:29.680 The Psalms continue to couple that sense of God's goodness with his steadfast loyal love throughout the rest of the Psalms. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.039 Psalm 100, verse 5, for Yahweh is good. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:36.319 His steadfast love endures forever. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:42.000 Psalm 106, 1, hallelujah! Oh, give thanks to Yahweh. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:42.559 Why? 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:44.799 Because he is good. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:52.000 Psalm 107 1, 118 1, 118 29 all say the same thing. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.079 Oh, give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.319 Psalm 119, verse 68. 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:06.000 You are good, and you do good. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:09.920 Psalm 136, 1. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:13.839 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good. 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:24.160 You cannot read the Psalms and come away with anything but the fact that God is good. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:32.079 Underlying this section in Matthew is a foundation built upon the character of God. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:36.480 He is good, and he is the father of his children. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:41.519 Therefore, the children of God the Father have a good father. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:45.759 That is the first element of God's character that we must notice. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.680 The second element of God's character is that he is a giving God. 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:58.400 Verse 11, your Father who is in heaven will give good things to those who ask him. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:13.279 Now in verse 6, Jesus said that there comes a time when we must cease giving the holy and precious things of God to those who continually refuse them. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.480 And that follows the character of God. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:29.359 God himself, the one who is slow to anger, who is patient and who desires all people to come to repentance, at times says, enough is enough. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:38.079 And in return, he hands those people over to their own desires as a means of his judgment. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.480 He says, fine, that's what you want, go for it. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.319 You can read Romans chapter 1 for an illustration of that. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.759 God does not give his holy and precious word, his holy and precious grace and mercy. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:00.720 He does not give his good gifts to those who respond to his goodness with viciousness and thanklessness. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:22.160 But when his children ask, when his children seek, when his children knock on his door, how much more will he give good things to his asking children? 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:26.319 My friends, this is based on his character. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:40.480 James tells us in James 1.17, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:50.160 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:56.240 God is a good God and a giving God. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:58.400 Let me repeat that. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:08.000 God is a good God and a giving God who only gives what is good. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:20.799 Therefore, those who have this God as their father receive good things from his unchanging and unending goodness. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:30.079 How necessary it is to become a child of God. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:45.599 Come to him, confessing your sin, repenting of your faithlessness, and believe in Christ the Son for the forgiveness of your sin, becoming a child of God. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:56.559 And then, then, this good giving Father will bestow on you the good things out of his limitless treasure of his inherent goodness. 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:07.039 The Father says to his children, I will give, and I will only give good gifts out of my goodness. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:15.359 Notice with me secondly, the Father's kind intention. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.599 The Father's kind intention. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:33.839 When you read carefully, it's clear that Jesus says the Father will give good things to his children when they ask. 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:35.839 But why? 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:38.640 Why? 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:41.359 Why is the Father going to do this? 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.680 What is his intention behind giving out of his goodness? 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:51.359 Well, we need to remember the context to answer this question. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:24:02.079 You see, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, beginning in chapter 5 and continuing all the way through this chapter that we're in in chapter 7, is like a normal sermon. 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:07.599 It has an introduction, it has a body of text, and it has a conclusion. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:14.799 Where we are in chapter 7 is at the end of the body, of the main part of the sermon. 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:22.960 And so verse 12, chapter 7, verse 12 is sort of like a bookend to the main part of the sermon. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:36.799 So if you look back at chapter 5 and verse 17, you will find Jesus beginning the main section of the sermon by saying that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:41.920 That's the Old Testament, but instead to fulfill it. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.440 Now in chapter 7, verse 12, we have the other book end. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.519 For this is the law and the prophets. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:56.000 The Old Testament was not abolished by Jesus. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.640 It needed to be fulfilled, not abolished. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:09.839 But the way the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of Israel were attempting to fulfill them, was insufficient. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:17.759 They could not keep it perfectly, because sinful human beings can't keep God's law perfectly. 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:28.960 Therefore, the only way to get into God's eternal kingdom, the only way to become a child of God, is to have a greater righteousness. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:36.880 Jesus put it like this: He said, Our righteousness must exceed, it must go beyond that of the Pharisees. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:48.079 And as we've seen in our study of Matthew, the only way for us to have that righteousness is through the King, through Jesus. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:52.960 Because he fulfills the law. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:26:02.880 And his perfect obedience is then applied to the account of everyone who comes to him in faith. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:17.039 And now in chapter 7, verse 12, being more righteous than the Pharisees is summed up by the phrase, this is the law and the prophets. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:33.200 God's children, Jesus said, are able to display a greater righteousness than the hypocritical Pharisees by doing to others what we wish would be done for us. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:44.880 Those whose righteousness is greater than the Pharisees will treat others, especially the children of God, with an unhypocritical love. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:50.319 This is the Father's kind intention. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:27:00.640 He desires us to display the righteousness of his beloved Son through our treatment of one another. 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:11.279 The Pharisees are, for some good reasons, are the epitome of hypocrisy in the gospel record. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:19.599 In fact, in our own world, we often use the Pharisees, Pharisaical, as a sort of synonym for hypocrisy. 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:40.640 But Jesus is telling us that if we, as God's children, if we judge our brothers and sisters in Christ while living with unrepentant sin in our own lives, we are no different than those hypocrites. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:28:00.240 If we seek to remove the specks of dust from the eyes of others while we have entire trees stuck in our own eyes, then we're not living out the righteousness of Christ, we're living out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:13.759 Now, what we cannot miss here is how God's character, how his goodness is connected with his intention for his children. 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:17.359 So God is good and God has an intention. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:21.680 Let's connect the dots so that we can be clear in our understanding. 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:31.920 Our Father in heaven expects the law of God to be fulfilled in his children. 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:43.039 That happens through his only begotten Son who came to fulfill every aspect of God's requirements. 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:52.400 The righteousness of God the Son is then credited to the account of everyone who believes in him. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:54.559 So follow me here. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:29:05.680 Because our account with God now says righteous instead of hypocrite. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:18.400 Because our account now says child of God instead of Pharisee, our Father expects us to treat one another. 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:28.640 Even, yes, even the frustrating and irritating members of our Christian family, as we would want our Father to treat us. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:33.599 Chew on that for a moment. 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:55.599 Whatever you and I, as children of the living God, whatever we want our good Father to do to us out of his goodness, we must give that to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:58.720 Let me be more specific. 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:08.480 If you want love from your Heavenly Father, you must give love to others. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:24.000 If you want mercy for your faults from God, if you want God to say, you know what, I understand that you've had a rough week and you know you tripped up here and you know there were people pestering you over here. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:35.119 If you want mercy from your God, that is, God to not give you what you deserve, if that's what you want, then you must give mercy to others for their faults. 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:53.920 If you want grace and immediate forgiveness from your good father, if you have just a rotten week where you have sinned left and right and you come to him begging him to remove your sin from him as far as the east is from the west, and for him to remember it no more. 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:59.759 If you want immediate forgiveness from your good father, guess what you must give to others? 00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:05.359 You must give grace and immediate forgiveness. 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:09.680 This is unhypocritical love. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:15.039 It's love that has its foundation in the love of Christ for his own people. 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:20.720 It's love that has its foundation in the love of God the Father for His children. 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.400 It's the love that's described in 1 Corinthians 13. 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:28.000 No, it's not a it's not a reward system. 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:35.440 God isn't rewarding our forgiveness of others with forgiveness for our own sins. 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:42.240 No, it's more a cause and effect because of a familial relationship. 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:45.279 Sort of like father like son. 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:51.440 My wife says to me on occasion, that looks just like your dad. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:54.240 That was just like your dad. 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:56.240 That was just like Lynn. 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:10.079 We display the character of our father when the righteousness of his son dwells in us. 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:22.160 The hypocrite, the Pharisee, is not willing to do for others what he expects God to do for him. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:26.720 The hypocrite says, God, do this, this, this, and this. 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:34.079 God forgive me, but never in a thousand years will he be willing to forgive that person who irritated him just that once. 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:43.839 The Pharisee wants God to give and give and give to him, but he is not willing to give to others. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:49.440 Instead, the Pharisee is only willing to be a dust inspector in the eyes of everyone around him. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:59.039 So you can see then why Jesus continues on in verse 13 to say, Enter by the narrow gate. 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.680 For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:06.720 And those who enter by it are many. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:11.039 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:13.279 And those who find it are few. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:25.200 In our context, here in chapter 7, there are there are many hypocritical dust inspectors with trees in their own eyes. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:30.640 But the father's children are not so. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:43.279 They're not hypocritical in their judgments, but instead they treat others with proper judgment, out of love for their father and others. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:49.440 Now let's let's bring this all together so we can see the full picture of our Father's goodness. 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:56.000 I want you to do that by pointing out the Father's inviting directive. 00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:59.599 The Father's inviting directive. 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:05.519 Ask and it will be given to you. 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.519 Seek and you will find. 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:17.440 For everyone who asks receives. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:23.519 And everyone who seeks finds, and everyone who knocks, it will be open. 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:29.280 You know, God the Father has given his children a special gift. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:31.199 Special gift. 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:35.519 And that is the gift of access to him. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:46.719 We are able to ask the ruler of the universe, who happens to be our dad. 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:54.239 We can ask him, we can seek him out, we can knock on his door. 00:34:55.280 --> 00:35:00.079 And as a good father, he gives out of his inherent goodness. 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:10.639 But this is not merely about the ability of a child to run to daddy and ask for help. 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:14.639 This is a command. 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:20.400 If you're a grammarian, it's an imperative three times. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:27.679 Three commands point to the same action with this sense of continuity involved. 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:32.320 Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. 00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:37.599 For what are we commanded to ask? 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:45.840 I said earlier that this question is the key to understanding this passage and the key to rightly applying it. 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:58.320 Well, the first part of the passage that we read earlier, verses 1 through 6, deals with our relationships with other people, especially within the body of Christ. 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:07.119 Deals with those relationships that go awry, that we see others and we see how, you know what? 00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:11.679 They've got a little bit of a character issue that I think it would be good for them to know. 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:14.719 So I'm going to go tell them about it so they can get it fixed. 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:21.280 They irritate us. 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:27.440 They bother us, they frustrate us, and so we seek to help them grow up a bit. 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:29.679 How kind of that of us, right? 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:34.480 But Jesus said, don't be a hypocrite. 00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:42.400 Let God, the Father, do some spiritual eye surgery on you before you go and help another person. 00:36:44.079 --> 00:37:00.320 And now we are told that our Father expects us to treat all of those people, whether they have specks of sawdust in their eyes or a bit of dirt in their eyes, or that they're so blind to their own faults that they have trees growing out of their eyes. 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:06.079 We are to treat them all in the same way that we would want God the Father to treat us. 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:09.119 How are we to do that? 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:16.639 You all know certain people that just get on your last nerve. 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:30.239 You know those people that you come into the church for you on Sunday morning and you spot that person out of the corner of your eye, and so you start working the other direction? 00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:33.920 You know who you are. 00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:48.800 How can our father expect us to treat those people with an unhypocritical love? 00:37:50.800 --> 00:38:05.199 How can our father, who knows our sin, expect us to love everyone else in the same way that our father loves me? 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:09.199 It's very simple, really. 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:11.760 Astoundingly simple. 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:14.400 Ask him. 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:18.159 Ask the Father. 00:38:18.639 --> 00:38:20.159 Keep on asking him. 00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:22.320 Keep on seeking him. 00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:24.480 Keep on knocking at his door. 00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:33.760 You see, our Father in heaven desires that his children display the righteousness of his son by treating others in the same way. 00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:40.880 But he knows our weaknesses, he knows our frailties, he knows our sin. 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:43.280 He knows our inability. 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:48.239 No matter how many commands he gives us. 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:53.119 So he gives us what we need. 00:38:54.559 --> 00:39:01.280 He provides what is needed for us to deal with those irritating people who are our brothers and sisters in the faith. 00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:08.480 He provides the wisdom that we need to know when to take what is holy and precious and move on to someone else. 00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:23.280 And so the child of God, hearing the words of the Lord Jesus, is able to say, I have every reason to trust my good father. 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:27.360 I have every reason to trust him. 00:39:29.840 --> 00:39:33.519 I have every reason to love others well. 00:39:35.679 --> 00:39:40.880 And I have every reason to ask my father for help to do that. 00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:45.920 In case you didn't get those, let me say them again. 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:51.440 I have every reason as a child of God to trust my good father. 00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:59.119 I have every reason to love everyone else well, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:05.679 And I have every reason to ask my Father for help, to do that, to love them well. 00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:12.880 Earlier I said Jesus commands us to ask God the Father for something very specific. 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:19.280 And when we obey this command, we will receive more than we can ask or imagine. 00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:33.679 Jesus commands us to keep on asking for help so that we might treat others the way we want God to treat us, especially those who are most difficult for us to love. 00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:37.599 Now that's pretty specific. 00:40:38.880 --> 00:40:42.239 But we can get even more specific than that. 00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:52.960 Jesus commands us to ask God the Father for something extremely specific. 00:40:54.639 --> 00:41:01.840 I want you to see how grand God's good giving is. 00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.599 We find that in Luke chapter 11. 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:11.599 Luke chapter 11 is the parallel passage to Matthew 7. 00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:16.239 So some of this will sound familiar. 00:41:16.559 --> 00:41:25.119 Jesus says in Luke 11, verse 9, and I tell you, ask and it will be given to you. 00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:27.760 Seek and you will find. 00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:41.920 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:46.000 Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion. 00:41:46.800 --> 00:42:02.559 If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 00:42:05.760 --> 00:42:10.800 What is the greatest gift that God can give his children? 00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:16.480 What is the greatest gift that God can give his children? 00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:22.960 The greatest gift that he can give his children is himself. 00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:26.639 That's the greatest thing. 00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:36.719 What is the greatest need that we have in dealing with sinful, irritating people that fill our lives and our churches? 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:49.840 The greatest need that we have is the ability to see others through God's eyes rather than our own, and the power of God to treat them in godly ways rather than sinful, self-centered ways. 00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:52.079 What then does Jesus command? 00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:56.239 Ask the Father, seek him out, knock on his door. 00:42:57.039 --> 00:42:58.960 Don't ask selfishly. 00:42:59.280 --> 00:43:02.079 Don't ask for ways that benefit yourself. 00:43:03.920 --> 00:43:05.119 Ask for him. 00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:09.119 Ask for the Holy Spirit. 00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:15.599 Ask that the Father give you himself by means of his Spirit within you. 00:43:16.559 --> 00:43:26.320 And your Father, who is in heaven, who gives good things to those who ask, will give himself. 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:31.440 What is the good thing that he gives? 00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:33.760 He gives himself. 00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:45.840 And when you have God the Spirit in his fullness, you have everything you need to live out the law of God that loves one's neighbor as oneself. 00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:56.239 When the Father gives you his spirit, you have everything you need to love others as Jesus loves you. 00:43:59.039 --> 00:44:04.960 And that Is the application of this passage, my friends? 00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:09.360 There is only one primary application. 00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:20.480 Obey Jesus and ask the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you might not be a hypocrite, but love others with an unhypocritical love. 00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:28.719 Do you struggle to deal with other people? 00:44:29.679 --> 00:44:31.440 Of course, who doesn't, right? 00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:34.079 We all have those moments. 00:44:35.199 --> 00:44:40.159 In these moments that we're all cooped up in our homes, maybe we struggle to deal with our own families. 00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:46.800 Maybe you don't have what you need because you haven't asked. 00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:56.159 Maybe you need to obey the command of your Lord and ask the Father to give you his spirit. 00:44:57.280 --> 00:45:07.280 To give you his spirit and the power of his goodness so that you might extend some of that goodness to others. 00:45:09.760 --> 00:45:14.239 You know, we have many helps given to us in our world. 00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:20.880 In the age of the internet, we have live streaming that is a help to us. 00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:25.679 We have helps in terms of resources that are out there. 00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:30.480 I have a library of books that I call my friends that are helps. 00:45:32.559 --> 00:45:40.880 We have counselors, we have coaches, and we have all of these things that are out there in our world that might be helpful to us. 00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:48.159 But if I may be very bold and very stark for a moment, just like Jesus. 00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:55.119 You don't need a counselor, although one might be helpful. 00:45:56.159 --> 00:46:01.519 You need the counselor, the one whom Jesus said he would send. 00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:07.679 You don't so much need a life coach. 00:46:08.719 --> 00:46:11.679 You need the spirit who is life. 00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:22.320 You need the spirit of the living God to give life to your mortal body and to give light to your head, your heart, your soul, and your mind through the word of Christ. 00:46:22.639 --> 00:46:24.400 Ask the Father. 00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:33.440 How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 00:46:36.320 --> 00:46:37.679 Keep on asking. 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:39.920 Lord Jesus, we ask. 00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:46.960 We come to you, our Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:56.400 We come in obedience to his word, asking that you would renew us, that you would give us clean hearts. 00:46:57.440 --> 00:47:13.519 And that in that purity of heart that comes through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, you would give us a new desire to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. 00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:19.920 That by loving you, we would seek your help to love others well. 00:47:20.159 --> 00:47:22.159 Lord, we do not want to be hypocrites. 00:47:22.239 --> 00:47:26.880 We want to be your children in all purity, all clarity. 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:31.679 That doesn't mean we won't fail. 00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:38.000 That doesn't mean that we won't treat people in harsh ways sometimes. 00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:55.599 But we ask for your spirit boldly, in fulfillment of your command, in obedience of your command, and we trust that you will give us your spirit to fulfill the law of God in Christ Jesus. 00:47:56.800 --> 00:47:57.280 Amen.