In A Good Place

Introduction:

When my Father and I are in a good place… (Matthew 7:7–12)

  1. I ASK, knowing my Father’s GENEROSITY. (Matt 7:7–8)

    James 4:2c – […] You do not have, because you do not ask.

    James 4:2c–3 – […] You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

  2. I TRUST, knowing my Father’s CARE. (Matt 7:9–11)

  3. I LOVE, knowing my Father’s LOVE. (Matt 7:12)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 7:7-12

  1. What was your big take-away from this passage / message?

  2. What are you personally afraid to ask the Father right now?

  3. Share a time when you were disappointed in the moment, but now look back and praise God for not giving you what you wanted.

  4. What is your biggest challenge in treating others as you want to be treated?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

  • Good morning.

    My name is Justin Cady. If we haven't met yet, I serve as one of the elders here at Harvest and

    as we prepare to get into God's word, I'm going to ask that you would pray for me to

    clearly and accurately communicate and I will pray for you to have hearts to receive. So let's pray.

    In Jesus' name, amen.

    If you have your Bibles, you can open them to Matthew chapter 7 and

    we're continuing our journey this year through the Sermon on the Mount, but before we get there, I want to ask you.

    Can you remember a situation ever where you needed to call your dad for help?

    I'm blessed that by God's grace, I've always been able to go to my dad when I'm in a jam and in God's providence,

    He blessed my dad with a son who often got into jams.

    So I thought back, way back, to the first jam that I can remember. I was around five years old.

    I was playing Nintendo and I made it to the end of a Super Mario Brothers castle, but I couldn't defeat the boss.

    So I thought, I'll just ask my dad.

    But he was at work, so I paused the game and

    I closed the cabinet over the TV. In the 90s, we all put our TVs behind doors, right?

    And I thought what I was just going to leave it on all day and then when he got home, he could help me.

    But my mom found it. She didn't agree with my leave the TV on all day plan.

    So, but I know given the chance, I have complete confidence he would have delivered.

    Another jam later in life when I was a teenager with a driver's license.

    One year, we were just getting back from family vacation that very evening.

    And some of my friends were getting together for a back-to-school pool party.

    And my parents try to tell me, look, it's getting late, you're only going to be there for a little bit.

    Are you sure it's a good idea to go out there?

    But of course, I had to go.

    Now, not only am I old enough that I was playing the original Nintendo,

    I'm also old enough to have been operating a motor vehicle before the age of Google Maps.

    So as I was heading out to this party, I got lost.

    And while doing a three-point turn on some random street out in Murraysville, I slid my car over the curb.

    So I had to call my dad, who that day had packed us all up and drove us all home from the beach

    and explained that my car is now hanging halfway over the curb, stuck into somebody's downslope driveway.

    Dad, what do I do?

    Has anyone ever had to make a call like that?

    Or dads, have you ever received a call like that?

    At another decade or so, and I had to call my dad about a different car problem.

    Michelle and I were buying our first cars, a married couple, and I, knowing absolutely nothing about cars,

    I was totally panicked that we were going to buy a lemon or we're going to way overpay,

    or who knows what I'm going to get fleeced into.

    So in my panic, I called my dad.

    And I said, "Dad, could you come with me to negotiate on the car?"

    And he could have rightfully said, "You're on your own, son."

    But he came to help.

    And don't worry, that was a very long time ago, and since then I've purchased my vehicles all by myself.

    But I share those few examples to point out the reason that I always saw my dad's help

    and the reason that he always gave it to me.

    Our relationship.

    The reason is our relationship.

    He is my father and I am his son.

    And my dad and I have always been in a good place.

    And I realize how blessed I am to be able to say that.

    And because of that relationship, I could always and did always ask my dad for whatever help I needed.

    I called to ask him for help yesterday.

    But for the moment, I want us to shift our view from earthly fathers to our relationship with our heavenly father.

    The Bible tells us that believers can address God as father because through Jesus we become children of God, amen?

    But if we didn't talk to our heavenly father for years, would our relationship be the same?

    And I'm not talking about a salvation issue.

    Once you are his child, that's that.

    I'm just saying, if you never spend time together or you never ask him for help, or you never trust anything he said,

    or you never listened to anything he tells you to do, what would that say about your relationship?

    You wouldn't say it's great, right?

    In that regard, how is your relationship with your heavenly father?

    Would you say that you're in a good place?

    Now, careful listeners this month might be wondering, our series the past few weeks has been about our heart towards the world.

    So in the last couple weeks we've talked about money, worry, judging others.

    What does my relationship with my father or asking of my father, what does that have to do with my heart towards the world?

    Well, it might seem like Jesus is taking a sudden turn at the start of this passage,

    but we're going to see how your relationship with your heavenly father, it absolutely affects

    your relationship and how you also ask him and approach him when you're in a jam.

    It absolutely affects your relationships with other people.

    So on your outline today, when my father and I are in a good place,

    number one, I ask, knowing my father's generosity.

    So in Pastor Jeff Sermon last week, if you were here, you know we saw a lot.

    We saw twigs and logs. We saw hogs and dogs.

    But primarily we saw Jesus telling us, do not do these things.

    This week we're going to see him telling us, do these things.

    And the week before last we studied Jesus speaking of the father's provision.

    If you remember him talking, Jesus talking about feeding the birds and clothing the flowers.

    We'll see some parallels to that today, but well, that section of Jesus teaching focused on worry.

    This passage starts out with a different focus. It's an invitation.

    So Matthew seven starting in verse seven, Jesus says, ask and it will be given to you.

    Seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.

    Let's stop there.

    We see in verse seven, Jesus is inviting his followers to ask and we'll see in the following verses.

    He's talking about asking the father. So ask, seek, knock. All of these are referring to asking the father in prayer, asking continually according to the original language.

    And the repetition here emphasizes, we're not talking about half hearted by the way prayers.

    We're talking about passionate, all of me prayer.

    But you might be thinking, why does Jesus even tell us to ask?

    Because doesn't God already know what we need even before we ask him?

    And yes, he absolutely knows Matthew six, eight tells us that.

    But our heavenly father desires relationship.

    And here Jesus invites us into the same relationship he has with the father.

    Throughout Jesus ministry, we see him asking of the father, don't we?

    And again, through Jesus, we become children of God.

    And while inviting his followers to ask their father, Jesus gives encouragement that those who ask what receive verse eight for everyone who asks receives the one who seeks.

    Finds the one who knocks, it will be opened.

    But what does Jesus mean by that exactly?

    Because that might sound like Jesus is handing us a blank check, right?

    Ask for anything and it shows up like a supernatural prime day.

    And listen, sometimes it is like that. Amen.

    Sometimes God shows up and immediately answers prayer, just how we asked.

    And we stand there with our jaws on the floor like, what just happened?

    I've seen that as a church. We have seen that.

    But have you ever asked God for something and not received it?

    Or at least not yet.

    Yeah, that happens too.

    But if Jesus said everyone who asks receives, why does that happen?

    Now, we could spend a lot of time digging into that.

    Honestly, it's something we cannot fully understand this side of heaven.

    But scripture does give us some reasons that we do know.

    So why don't I get what I asked for?

    Number one, I don't ask.

    I don't ask.

    James four.

    Starting in verse two, the end of verse two tells us you do not have because you do not ask.

    Now it could be because you get so busy with other stuff.

    You don't spend time in prayer seeking the Lord wholeheartedly bringing your request before him.

    Or this is a big one.

    Sometimes we don't ask because of pride.

    I got this God. I'll let you know if I need you.

    Now, we probably don't say those words, but our actions do.

    We try to do whatever it is on our own without prayer.

    We try to fix it ourselves, whatever it is without seeking him.

    I mean, why does Jesus even have to tell us to ask?

    Pride because in our pride, we forget our need for God.

    And not just physical or material needs.

    We forget our spiritual needs.

    A struggle with a particular sin or an area where we need to grow like in patience or in wisdom, in joy.

    What about asking the Lord to equip us for all of Jesus instructions in this sermon?

    I don't mean today's sermon. I mean the whole sermon on the Mount.

    Do we ask our Father to help us be better disciples?

    Now, to clarify, physical and material needs are important.

    100% ask for them.

    Don't mishear me on that. It's a both and.

    But for all of the above, we don't ask.

    Another reason that we don't ask, we're afraid of the answer.

    We don't ask because we're afraid of being disappointed.

    So what are you afraid to ask God for right now?

    A health issue you've been dealing with for a long time?

    A lost family member that keeps making destructive decisions no matter how many times you try to help.

    A goal or a desire or something in your life that always seems like it's just out of reach.

    Think about it for a second.

    What are you afraid to ask God for right now?

    Now, we're going to get more into disappointment in a moment, but how would Jesus respond to you not asking out of fear?

    Based on this passage, he would say, ask whatever it is, bring it to your father.

    Why don't I get what I asked for?

    Number one, I don't ask. Number two, I ask wrongly.

    James continues, you do not have because you do not ask.

    You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.

    Okay, so first you don't ask, but when you do ask, do you ask wrongly?

    Now, in this context, wrongly means selfishly or sinfully.

    Like, Father, I'm asking for a Ferrari.

    I am seeking a Ferrari.

    I am knocking on the door of the Ferrari dealership.

    Now, God is certainly capable of that, but why?

    Is there any purpose beyond my passions?

    I hope you see what I mean.

    There's nothing wrong with owning that whip.

    It's about the heart.

    Is my request just for my glory?

    Instead of asking things so we can impress people or keep up with people,

    we should pray for God to get the glory in all things.

    God, will you bring healing to this person so that your name may be glorified

    because you're doing the healing?

    God, will you provide a new church building so that your name may be glorified

    because you're doing the providing?

    God, will you free my brother and sister, brother or sister from addiction

    so that your name may be glorified because only in you can they experience true freedom?

    Now, I'm not trying to prescribe exact words.

    I'm just saying our hearts should desire his glory instead of our own.

    Why don't I get what I asked for?

    Those are just two reasons.

    The point is we interpret Jesus' words here knowing he's not a Christian.

    Knowing he's not fully explaining all the details of God's provision in this passage.

    We understand from the rest of the New Testament that God is not a vending machine.

    If this was the only teaching in the whole Bible on prayer, then we might think he was,

    but Jesus is talking about one aspect of prayer.

    He's telling us we should have hearts that go to our Father and ask.

    He is inviting us to ask, knowing that there's no limit to our Father's generosity.

    Our Father wants to give to his children,

    but the answer we receive is not always the one that we expected.

    Why don't I get what I asked for?

    The hard truth is sometimes what we ask for is not what he wants for us.

    Our call is to maintain total confidence in our Father regardless of the answer,

    because point number two on your outline today,

    when my Father and I are in a good place, I trust knowing my Father's care.

    Let's continue looking at Jesus' words.

    We're going to pick it up in verse nine.

    It says,

    So Jesus paints a picture to help us understand more deeply.

    And there are some details we don't want to miss.

    Like in verse nine,

    if his son asks him for bread, we'll give him a stone.

    If you're hungry, what good is a stone?

    It's worthless.

    It does nothing.

    Or if you're verse 10,

    if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a serpent.

    If you're hungry, what good is a serpent?

    It's worse than worthless.

    It's harmful, right?

    Jesus is saying, and I'm paraphrasing,

    even you evil humans know these responses would be insane.

    So how will your Father in heaven, who is truly good in a way we never can be,

    how will he respond when we ask him?

    And that's the point.

    We can trust our Father because of who he is.

    He is a Father who cares for his children.

    Back in college, my friend Jesse and I would play pick-up hockey at the school ice rink.

    And hockey being a sport with a ton of equipment,

    they had lockers at the rink that you could rent

    so you didn't have to lug all of your stuff back and forth.

    So one day I was sitting in class and I got a text message from Jesse

    with these exact words,

    "Give me your hockey locker combination.

    Don't question me."

    Now, in that moment, I had a choice

    because college age males sometimes build friendship through destructive pranks.

    But I chose to trust, and I sent back the combo.

    And he did not prank me that time.

    As I later found out, as a birthday present, he grabbed my skates,

    took them to get sharpened, retaped my stick, stuff like that.

    It was very nice.

    But the point is, I responded to that text

    without knowing why he needed to get in the locker

    or what he was going to do.

    I didn't know what to expect.

    But because of our friendship, I trusted him.

    Do we trust God like that?

    Do we trust our Father not because he tells us exactly what's going to happen,

    but because of who he is?

    Because our relationship is in a good place.

    Or let me ask in a different way.

    What do you expect from God?

    At times, especially around hard times,

    I think we expect stones and serpents.

    Again, we might not say it like that.

    We say things like, "Of course it would happen this way!

    That's how it always works out for me!"

    And that's because our expectations can be influenced by relationships with people.

    We don't trust God to give good gifts because we've been hurt by human relationships.

    Human fathers are not perfect fathers.

    Human friends are not perfect friends.

    Trust gets broken.

    You might say, "Justin, you don't get my situation.

    My life has been full of disappointment.

    Things have not turned out how I expected at all."

    And you're right.

    I have not walked in your shoes.

    I don't know your situation.

    And I cannot speak to your disappointment.

    But I know my Father.

    And He tells us to ask and to expect good things from Him.

    Because He cares for us as a Father cares for His children.

    So will hard times come?

    Oh yeah.

    Jesus tells us that elsewhere.

    And you won't always understand why.

    But here He tells you to trust your Heavenly Father.

    Trust Him regardless of what you expect and regardless of what you ask for.

    Because sometimes we ask for the wrong things and that's okay.

    What do I mean?

    We ask God for that house or that job or that anything.

    And we can and should freely ask for all of that because praise God,

    He does not always give us what we ask for.

    If my kids ask me to have dessert for all three meals,

    I'm not going to give them what they asked for.

    And I do that because I care for them, right?

    In the same way we can't see sometimes what that house or that job

    or that whatever it is will ultimately do to us, but He can.

    So we trust Him to give good gifts.

    And we don't have to worry even about getting our request exactly right.

    So continually ask and totally trust.

    I know just continually ask and totally trust.

    It is incredibly difficult for us to do that.

    But do you trust Him?

    Is your relationship with Him in a good place?

    Because now we're going to see how that relationship affects our relationships on Earth too.

    When my father and I are in a good place,

    point number three, I love knowing my father's love.

    So we've been talking again about our heart towards the Father,

    but what about our heart towards the world?

    Let's read our last verse for today, Matthew chapter seven verse 12.

    It says, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,

    for this is the law and the prophets."

    Now we know this as what rule?

    That's right.

    This is commonly labeled the golden rule, just like Grandma taught in Sunday school.

    This is how Jesus wants us to love, humbling ourselves

    and doing what we would wish to others.

    Now verse 12 opens with a "so"

    and I believe this is another instance of Jesus' logical progression

    that we've seen in the Sermon on the Mount.

    He is connecting this verse to the verses that we just read.

    But how does Ask Seek Knock connect to Do unto Others?

    Again, our relationship with our Father influences our relationships with people.

    Jot down 1 John 419, it says, "We love because he first loved us."

    Understanding the Father's love for us is what motivates us to love.

    Now Jesus is also here pointing back to the entire Sermon on the Mount as in,

    so based on all of that, love others this way.

    I mean think back throughout the year, back in the Beatitudes,

    remember when we had all the congratulations balloons up here,

    to anger, adultery, retaliation,

    and on and on, so much of our study this year was about our relationships with others.

    And that all lands here.

    Verse 12 again, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you,

    do also to them for this is the law and the prophets."

    This verse summarizes Jesus' teaching on discipleship from the Sermon on the Mount,

    but as if that wasn't enough, Jesus says this statement is the law and the prophets.

    Now many might notice that the greatest commandment,

    "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,"

    is not here because again Jesus is speaking of human to human interaction.

    But even limiting it to the scope of human relationships,

    think about how much is in the Old Testament law,

    how much is in the books of the prophets that were sent to Israel.

    Jesus is saying all of that is right here.

    How?

    Jesus is talking about the heart of the law rather than the letter of the law.

    The golden rule is the law and the prophets for one because Jesus says it is.

    That's enough, right?

    But if we want to totally lawyer it out,

    Jesus is saying this is the heart behind everything else in the law.

    It's the foundation.

    This is the ethics of Christianity compressed to a single statement.

    So the question to us is then, how do we do that?

    And I know what we're all thinking, "I already do that.

    I always treat others the way that I want to be treated."

    Let's think about that for a minute.

    When you're at work, do you always treat everyone with the attitude that you would like directed back at you?

    What about marriage?

    When there's a disagreement, do you handle yourself the way that you would want when you are wrong and you will be wrong?

    What about with family or our friend who just pushes your buttons every time you're together?

    Would your response be what you wanted if the roles were flipped?

    In church, I saved this one for last.

    When you are driving a car,

    do you consistently treat others with the same patience, understanding,

    and a benefit of the doubt that you want to receive as a driver?

    You're like, "What is this guy's deal with cars?"

    With just a little self-examination, we can see how far off we often are.

    And the standard is actually even higher than we might realize,

    because especially with the people that frustrate us, we set the bar at not hurting them.

    But look at what Jesus said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them."

    That is a higher bar than just not hurting.

    Jesus says, "Do. Take action. Actively put their needs ahead of yours."

    That is hard.

    It's also hard to come up with examples for something that affects basically everything we do,

    but we want to merge into traffic when we're behind schedule, right?

    So let others in when you see them trying to merge.

    I promise that's the last driving example.

    Or what would you want when you're in a stressful season?

    A card in the mail, meeting for coffee, bringing a meal or a tub of ice cream?

    When you know that someone is going through a stressful season of their own,

    take whatever it is to them.

    Or we want others to listen to us when we have something to say or just get off our chest, don't we?

    So listen to others instead of just waiting for your chance to say something.

    It's so difficult to live out things like that.

    So how can we love like Jesus commands?

    A few years ago, we had some people over for dinner, just low-key hanging out,

    and we were cleaning up afterwards and I was doing the dishes.

    And one guest asked me, "Why do you do the dishes?"

    I said, "I don't know, I just do the dishes to help out."

    And he asked, "Did your dad do the dishes?"

    And I thought back and answered, "Yeah, my dad did the dishes quite a bit growing up. He still does."

    And this guest said, "You do the dishes because your dad did the dishes."

    And that whole conversation was 20 seconds, but it's stuck with me ever since, because he's right.

    There are so many things in my life that I do as a father, as a husband, as a man, because that's what my dad did.

    So how can we love like Jesus commands?

    Because that's what our dad did.

    He loves us, and he proved that by sending his son.

    Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and gave us the right to become children of God.

    Through his death and resurrection, we can have a relationship with our father.

    God's love for us is not in question, yet so often our love for others is.

    But when we truly know the love of our father, how can we do anything else?

    Or in the language of this verse, in our hearts, we wish nothing more than to be loved, so we must do that unto others.

    So as we prepare to close for today, how is your relationship with God the Father?

    Maybe you're thinking, what if he and I are not in a good place?

    What if I don't have a relationship with God at all?

    If that's you, remember, God desires relationship, and Jesus made that possible.

    The Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

    So repent, turn from your sin, and start a relationship with him today.

    And if you already have a relationship, but it's not in a good place, open the lines of communication to get it there.

    Now of course we cannot do any of this on our own, so we ask, seek, knock for help.

    Actually, let's go in reverse.

    We know we have to love, and we can't do it by ourselves, so do you trust in the care of your heavenly Father?

    Then he invites you to ask him.

    Let's pray together.

    Our heavenly Father, we come before you and follow Jesus' command to ask.

    We ask you for help, Lord God.

    We know that all of the things that we talked about today that we read from your Word, we can't do on our own power.

    We need you, God.

    We need you for the very breath we breathe.

    So I pray, God, that you would give us a renewed focus on deepening our relationship with you, Lord God.

    And I pray that as we are filled with your love, we would pour that out to others.

    God, in all the things that we ask, in all the things that we do in our lives as individuals and that we do as a church, Lord God, may you be glorified.

    We thank you and praise you in the name of Jesus. Amen.