This morning's text is found in the seventh chapter of Matthew, the gang in verse 7. The word of God is like a search light that searches the soul. It is like a hammer that breaks down the walls in our heart. We have built up and it's like an instruction book that directs our steps and teaches us that now turn our hearts to the word of God that we might be instructed and that we might be changed. Here now, God's Word, ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who finds, he who seeks knocks, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be open. Which of you, if his son's asks for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? The Word of God endures forever. The Scripture say that he who conceals his sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses his sins and turns from it finds mercy. Let us now confess our personal sin and find the mercy of God. Let us return to Matthew, chapter 7, as we continue our study in the gospel according to that white collar first century thief who met Jesus Christ. His name was Matthew, an unlikely man to write a gospel, just like all of us. It's very unlikely that we would be here when we really know who we are and really know who he is.
Lord has tremendously blessed and dependent in these last few years. I couldn't help but to think this morning as we said in early worship, and I can remember when that worship started, that 830 worship, I want to tell you, it was slim, but this morning I am this winter, this fallen, this winter, it has really, really grown. This morning I just had to look out and on the inside say over and over and over again, thank you, thank you Father for what you're doing here. It really is incredible. And really you know I didn't think there would be such a crowd here at 11 o'clock because there was such a crowd at 830, there was a crowd here. And I don't understand this, those of you who know independent, know that we're not about numbers, we don't talk about numbers. I think this might be the first time I've ever said anything about numbers in my life in this book and I've been here almost 18 years. That's not the reason I mention it. I mention it because God said who much is given, much is required. Remember the 10 lepers, he healed 10 people of their leprosy and only one came back and said thank you. Folks, we can't come here week after week and see all that God's doing. We can't come here and watch this and say well isn't it nice? All over this room, there are people whose hearts have been changed, whose marriages, been saved, whose families have been changed because of what God is doing in this place. We need to stop all through the week every day and not only say thank you for what he's doing in our individual lives, not only thank you for what you've been doing in our families but we need to stop and say thank you for what you're doing in this place, that independent. Folks, we've said it over and over again, it's not the person that stands behind this desk and it's really not the people that's sitting in the pew. It's only by God's grace. That's great. Our Father in heaven, our greatest fears that we would come here and that you wouldn't be here. We've been in this room when you have spoken powerfully to our souls and we know your voice. We know the voice of Jesus Christ in our hearts. We're not the same people we were, we're not the same church we were, we're not the same ministers or elders or deacons, we're not the same fathers and husbands and wives and mothers and children that we were. Our Father, our greatest fear is that we would stop growing, that you would stop changing us and stop stretching us. Oh Father, breathe your Holy Spirit across this congregation. We know that He is here, faithful to His promise that we're two or three gathered, His name He would be here. But Father, it's one thing for Him to be here and it's another thing for us to be filled with Your Spirit and we pray that we would be filled with Your Spirit in this place. Our Father, we pray in these next few minutes that we would hear the voice of Jesus Christ in our hearts. And His name, amen. Do you pray, young children, great-grandfather and grandmothers, businessmen, students, do you pray? Let me simply read, a few brief pointed sentences from the great Anglican Bishop, J.C. Ryle, quote, I have a question to offer you, it is contained in three words, do you pray? I believe that thousands never utter a word of prayer at all. They eat, they drink, they sleep, they rise, they go forth to their labor, they return to their homes, they breathe God's air, they see God's right sunshine, they walk on God's earth, they enjoy God's mercies, they have dying bodies, they have judgment and eternity before them, but they never speak to God. They live like beasts that perish, they behave like creatures without souls, do you pray? The question, that question is one that none but you can answer, whether you attend public worship or not your minister, you and your minister knows, but whether you pray in private or not, only God and you know, so I ask you, do you pray in quote, you need to know that Jesus had more to say about prayer than any other individual in all of scripture. I read this week as I prepared for this message, I read through the gospels and saw again what Jesus said about prayer and when it all comes down, when you put it all together, I think he would like those simple words of J. C. Ryle, after we read all that Jesus said about prayer, there's nothing more to be said except to ask the question, do you pray? That's the question before the house this morning. That's the question we have before us as individuals, as we look at the words Jesus used as he began, this is the beginning as he began to teach his disciples about prayer, we'll come back to the question, let's look at what he said, first I want us to see in this passage the simplicity of prayer, look at verse 7, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find knock in the door, we'll be open, ask, seek and knock, not complicated, simple, just ask, just seek, just knock, I love to hear Christians pray who maybe have been Christians for years but have not been accustomed, have not nurtured the custom of praying in public or praying allowing, or I love to hear people who have never been Christians before when they pray, right at the beginning of their Christian life, they're not verbose, no eloquent high church language but just simple, look at the great prayers of Scripture, look at Abraham as he prays for Sodom that God would spare that great city for the sake of a few righteous that might live there, it was a simple prayer, father would you spare if there are 50 righteous there, would you spare, just simple, remember the prayer that Jesus prayed in Geseminate, very simple, father, can you remove this cup from me, just ask it, just seek it, remember the prayer that Jesus talks about in Luke 18 of the sinner that goes to the temple to pray, he's a thief, he knows it, the prayer simple God, be merciful to me, a sinner, what stands in your way of praying, do you say you don't know how, do you not know how to ask, Jesus is saying you don't need to be a great theologian to pray, you don't need to have a detailed knowledge of Bible history to pray, you don't need to be a Sunday school teacher to pray, it was a Sunday school class for five year olds, the lesson had been taught and it was time for animal crackers, remember that, and the teacher asked your way to pray and give thanks for the animal crackers, enjoy, pray, father, thank you for daddy and mama, thank you for sister, thank you for my grandfather, thank you for my Sunday school teacher and thank you for the animal crackers, and there was a long pause and everybody peaked and the teacher peaked and when he saw the teacher peaked, he got up and he went across the room and he whispered in the ear and he said are we going to have anything to drink and she shook her head and he went back and he finished his prayer and that's all in Jesus name, Amen. We smile but the boy got it right, he was saying thank you in a simple way in a very specific way. You might say well John, all this is well and good but I know that God sometimes chads his people because they don't grow spiritually and they don't become more mature and that's true, we're to grow out of the prayers of our childhood to prayers that show more maturity and wisdom and understanding of the Father. I certainly don't want my children when they are 24 years old talking to me like they were three. That's how we must sound to God sometimes. Some of us are still using now I lay me down to sleep and we've been Christians for 30 years, that should not be, but by simplicity, by simplicity, we mean that we're real before God. Whether we have been a Christian for that or whether we have been a Christian for a hundred years, it doesn't change it's still that simple, we're still asking, we're still thinking and we're still knocking, that doesn't change and it is that simple. Three ministers were talking about prayer in the proper posture for prayer. They were visiting in one of the ministers' offices and there was a telephone repairman there that couldn't help hearing what they were saying and one man said that when he prayed he had to admit that he folded his hands like he did when he was a child and the fingers were pointed upward as an act of worship. Next man said he really couldn't pray until he kneeled.
Another third minister said that's not enough. He said I have to get down on my face before God to pray. The telephone repairman couldn't contain himself any longer and he said may I say something and they said now what is this man going to tell us about prayer that we don't know? And he said I'll tell you the most powerful prayer I ever made, it was while I was dangling upside down 50 feet in the air by my heels on a power pole. He got it right. It's just that simple and we can get lost in all the debate about the exterior is asking it is seeking, it is knocking.
I love the simple observation made by James. It's in James chapter 4 verse 2 and if you don't know this verse you ought to memorize it. It reads you want something but don't get it. You kill and covet to get but you cannot have what you want. You crawl and fight to obtain. You do not have simply because you do not ask God. You don't have because you don't ask. It's simple facts. There was a lady who was a neighbor of Albert Einstein. She had a daughter that was 10 years old. She was always very, very careful because the great Albert Einstein was internationally known and people would come and go and she was always very careful to protect his privacy and she stayed out of his way. She barely knew the man even though she was his neighbor. So you can imagine how surprised she was one day when she saw her 10 year old daughter walking out of Albert Einstein's house and they seemed friendly and they seemed like they had been talking to each other for a long time. And she went over and she and and she used to her daughter came and asked if you must have disturbed Dr. Einstein. He's a busy man and he doesn't have time for 10 years. What were you doing over there? I needed help with my math. What do you mean you needed help with your math? Well, for the past few months whenever I had a problem I didn't know. I heard that he was good at math. And I went over one day and knocked on his door and asked him to help me. People,
if you had Albert Einstein living in your house with you and you had a math problem would you go to your mama for help? That's how foolish we are. Albert Einstein is an ignorant peon compared to our father. He says come and ask and we're busy running everywhere else, making it so complicated. The simplicity of prayer. Look at second man want you to see the necessity of prayer. Let's return to verse 7. Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open.
Notice the repetition. He did not just use the word ask but then he said seek and then he said knock. He could have just said simply ask and he didn't go on. He didn't. He said seek. Whenever he said knock whenever the Bible repeats something it's saying pay special attention here. He's saying persist in these things. These Greek words are in the temps that could be translated. Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. Here's the biblical principle. When it comes to pray, when it comes to praying persistence is a characteristic of faith. Turn with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. I want you to see this. It's important. We usually just pray and then go on. He says be persistent. It's a sign of faith. If you pray and you're not persistent God's going to say you don't have faith. Look at Luke 18 verse 1. Then Jesus told his disciples of parable to show them they should always pray and not give up. Don't stop praying. This is the point of the whole parable and here's the parable. He said in a certain town there was a judge. I love this description who need their fear God nor cared about men. We know judges like that and there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea. Grant me justice against my adversary and for some time he refused but finally he said to himself even though I don't fear God or care about men yet because this widow keeps bothering me I will see that she gets justice so she won't eventually wear me out with her coming and the Lord said listen to what the unjust judge says and will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who crowd the m. day and night will he keep putting them off. There's two points. The widow shows real and sincere urgency in her heart as she came back day after day after day. She was really asking and then Jesus says not only that but if the unjust judge if the judge is unjust and sinful and evil if he's willing to help her how much more will the good God and father who gave his own son Christ how much more will he help his people. Huck Finn prayed. I prayed for fishing lures once. Didn't get any so I quit praying it doesn't work.
Never tells us in scripture to pray just once. He keeps saying you ask. Don't just ask. See. Don't just see. No. He says keep on and keep on and keep on. If one of my children or if my children mentioned something to me that they want one time and they say it no more I am not impressed with their desire or for their evaluation that they really need this thing.
But if they keep coming back and keep returning and making the same request with reasonable arguments then I'm impressed I say you know you're really asking. When we pray for something one time and walk away saying that's it I prayed for it that's nothing more than impossibly presenting a wish list to God that's not what prayer is we come to God and ask once he doesn't grant it we walk away we say God why didn't you why didn't you answer my why didn't you give me what I wanted he said you didn't ask you really didn't ask George Mueller wasn't I was a knows a great man of prayer was an evangelist at one point in his life George Mueller began to pray for five friends who are not Christians he prayed for five years and one of the five began the Christian he prayed for after ten years of his prayers two more of the five came after 25 years of prayer the fourth man came he prayed for that last man for the rest of his life but when Mueller died in 1898 that man was still not a Christian a few months after Mueller's death that last man's heart was changed and he became a follower of Christ and Mueller had prayed 52 years for that man he understood persistence is a sign of faith the simplicity of prayer the necessity of persistence thirdly the certainty of response look at verse 8 for everyone who asks receives and he who sees does find and in him knocks the door will be open what's he saying he's saying there will be a response you receive because you ask that all will be open because you knock you're fine because you seek do you believe God answers prayer I think most people don't I think we give lip search to it but most people really don't think God answers prayer we came to do something I mentioned there several years ago in one of our college and career sessions and one of our college and career people that is now almost out of college where it came up to me after the service at 830 and he said you know I did what you suggested years ago he said I started doing it he said I still can't believe it when I do it it's amazing what was my suggestion how did I challenge them I said start a prayer journal start a prayer journal you say man that sounds super special sounds like you're getting super spiritual start now just do it just start a prayer journal and in the journal write down what you pray for and when you pray for it and leave the page the opposite page blank and then write down what the answer is and when God answered it I want to tell you something you'll never have a blank page and you're saying how your kid do it you'll never have a blank sometimes you were right down that in some way in fashion God said no but you'll never have a blank space God will answer sometimes we say God did not answer well it was only when we only came and prayed once and go to God and said why didn't you answer he didn't ask not really we talked about that already sometimes we say God did not answer and what we really mean is God did not give me what I wanted he found through scripture where God said he's going to give you what you want every time but he'll respond he will answer sometimes he will say no sometimes he will say wait Mrs. Billy Graham taught Janet's Sunday school class at Monterey Anderson College when Janet attended that college in Black Mountain North Carolina several times and when Ruth Graham could not be there when she was traveling or had to be away she would get her husband Dr. Graham to come down and be her substitute that's a pretty good substitute Sunday school teacher I read a quote from Mrs. Graham this week she said God has not always said yes to my prayers if he had I would have been married to the wrong man several times she understood our parents did not give us all that we asked for some of our requests were extremely unwise and mine more than most children no matter how attractive something was to us no matter how persistent our parents just refused and said no and we've done the same with our children hopefully we have so foolish parrot who gives his child anything the child wants I read a story from an older man this week and said when he was young he used to pray that God would give him the amazing gift that his uncle had and he prayed and he prayed and he prayed but he never got the amazing gift you know what it was that he could take his teeth out at night and put him in a glass when he got older he was thankful God didn't say yes the God will answer in some fashion two weeks ago I told you of a personal situation for which I began to pray it was in a real personal situation several months ago now I've been away from prayer and I hadn't been about it like I shouldn't it it was just very obvious and I had to set things straight and I started praying I started praying in this situation that four specific things would happen it was like God said okay John you've been trying it your way for several months now I'm going to show you what I can do and in just a few days he knocked down all four things he said just like he said okay here here here and here see what I can do it it doesn't always do that but I'm convinced that the reason we don't see more of that type of thing is that we don't pray we don't pray we pray and call that prayer we worry and call that prayer we lay awake at mind and call that prayer we're possessed by concern and we call that prayer let me tell you those things aren't prayer and God never says in scripture I'll answer worry he never says I'll answer your fretting he never says I'll answer your staying awake all night he says I answer prayer the simplicity of prayer the necessity of persistence the certainty of response and finally I want you to see the generosity of a father I love these verses look at verses nine to eleven which of you to be son asked for bread will give him a stone or if he asked for a fish will give him a snake if you then though you're evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him if you don't have children yet you know what's going to change your mind about your parents having children it changed my mind right away about my parents but it will really change your mind about your parents when your children get to be junior highs and senior highs in college students anybody that tells you that they know how to raise junior highs senior highs in college students the minute they say that you put your hand over your ears and walk away there's nobody then knows how to do that when my children if you've got a three-year-old and you got problems they're going to bury you when they're in junior high school
you get on a I call my mother and dad one day right out of the blue I couldn't help it one afternoon right in the middle of one of my struggles in this thing with junior highs and senior highs and former dad had Alzheimer's and died and I called and they both answered the phone and I didn't say how I I just said you guys were bluffing and they said what I said you were bluffing I said I'm just realized my children are looking at me and they think I know what I'm doing and I said that's just how I wasn't your house I knew what you were doing I said I'm 40 years old and I've just figured out you didn't know what you were doing you just like me I'll tell you something else I learned about my parents and learned about parents after I became a parent I always thought that my parents loved to say no I hesitate to think they get up in the morning say how many times can we say no to John the bad and you know that's not what they did they didn't say no a lot to me because I was so foolish and thankful they did but my parents loved to say yes and I discovered that when my children were very young and right on up I you want to say yes you want to spend the money you want to do that you want for your children you want to say yes and Jesus understood that and he said you know how much you love to say yes to your children your son comes and give me some bread daddy said you don't give him a stone if the effort is made you don't give him a snake I don't know they're junior high as you might they said no no the parent won't do that more he said if you have a sinful nature and you love to say yes to your children how much more does your perfect heavenly father who gave his own son to die for you how much more does he want to say yes to you and why does he say yes because we don't ask is the most absurd day
I was reading a story this week about one of the meetings of J Wilbert Chapman he was an internationally known Presbyterian evangelist who died in 1918 and one particular meeting I man stood up and he told his story he said this he said that as a young man he had failed he went out his own he failed miserably and his life was just spiling downward and he was ashamed to go back home pride would not let him so for years he he spiled downward and it wasn't so bad at first then he bottomed out and he was just a beggar a tramp on the streets and he ended up at Pennsylvania station he had been out there for 18 years and for a year he stayed around Pennsylvania station and begged and one day he walked up and he tapped a man on shoulder and asked for a dime and the man turned around and that tramp that beggar recognized his own father and he just just believed he stepped back and he said on your son don't you recognize me and the father was overwhelmed he grabbed that beggar grabbed his son and he hugged him and he started lacking and crying all at the same time you ever done both you can and he laughed and he cried at this same time and he laughed and he said you asked me for a dime I've been looking for you for 18 years to give you everything to have that's a great story but it really is quite pitiful if you think about it and the product on the beggar was asking a dime from his wealthy father he's willing to die the father would have given him the whole estate we go in our prayers and so often we ask for a dime and he would give us the whole estate if we ask it so I ask you and I ask me do you pray do you do you pray why not why not