Pastor Terry Cheek Th.D.

www.theinspiringword.org

Thanks for returning to read another publication of “The Blue Ridge Christian News” and our article “The Inspiring Word”.

This month open your Bible to Matthew 7:7-11 and read as we continue with our look into “The Sermon on the Mount.”

Comparing our February article with March it seems only natural that Jesus would move from discussing relationship with our fellow man to relationship with our heavenly Father. Consider this, our Christian duty of discrimination (not judging others, not casting pearls before pigs, and being helpful without being hypocritical) is impossible for us to achieve without divine grace. Grace is the key to our Christianity, that is a very broad statement but one with biblical support. Let’s consider a few things about relationships, and how our relationship with others is directly influenced through our relationship with God. Not just from the perspective of having a relationship or not, but how deep is that relationship with God and how much of an influence do we allow it to have in our personal lives!

Jesus makes three promises in verses 7 & 8. Very simply put they are; ask, seek and knock. Let’s take a condensed look at them. Do you notice they are in ascending order based upon urgency? For example; if a child’s mother is near and visible the child will ask their mother, if the child’s mother is not visible the child will seek their mother and if the child locates their mother but she is isolated (for instance in another room) the child will knock to gain the attention of their mother. Notice how urgency establishes the order of importance. These three verbs, ask, seek, and knock all illustrate the persistency we should exhibit when making our requests known to God.

Now notice with me the promises are in universal statements. The pronouns everyone, he and him indicate who the Lord is directing His instruction too. Let me be clearer. The Sermon on the Mount is directed to the Lords disciples. Yes, the Pharisees and gentiles are present but the Sermon is directed to those who believe in Him and follow Him. That may better explain the context of the pronouns.

Third, in our study is the home spun parable Jesus uses to expound His promises. From verses 9-11 we find a very interesting illustration. Jesus sets before them a situation all of them and even you and I today can relate too. The parent child relationship. Specifically, a child coming to their Father with a request. Jesus illustrates the application through two very interesting items, a stone and a snake! If a child were to ask for bread, would the child be given something which looks like bread but is in fact very different, e.g. a stone instead of a loaf, or a snake instead of a fish? Said another way, if the child asks for something wholesome to eat (bread or fish), would the child receive instead something unwholesome, either inedible (a stone) or even harmful (a poisonous snake)? Parents who truly love their children would never intentionally do anything like this. Notice the depth of Jesus teaching here. Parents, even though they are imputed with the sin nature, i.e. selfish by nature, still love their children and give them only good gifts. Jesus here asserts the inherent sinfulness of human nature. At the same time, he does not deny that sinful men are capable of doing good. What Jesus is saying is that even when parents are doing good, following the noble instincts of parenthood and caring for their children, they do not escape the depravity of a sin nature, because that is what we are.

So, we come down to the purpose of the passage. How do these three promises reflect our relationship with God the Father through Jesus the Son? First, we see the Lord asking not if God is ready to give, but are we ready to receive? Are we asking the right thing for the right reason at the right time and is our heart ready to receive the righteous truth God has in store for us? Second, we see the necessity of seeking God the Father. We see Jesus identifying the disciple with God not only as creator but as abba His Father, our Father. With that relationship and the application previously given we must not ignore the necessity in our life to seek God in a growing Father/child relationship. Having confidence that God will provide only what is wholesome and safe for our well-being. Third, when we ask for the right reasons and seek the proper relationship our approach (knock) will be productive (the door will open).