Ask, Seek, and Knock || Matthew 7:7-14 || Friends College Ministry

Instagram: @FriendsCM

Friends Church, Yorba Linda, CA

Pastor Kevin Livermore

We’ve all forgotten about the goodness of God and failed to reflect that same goodness to others.

Some of us have become like a reservoir; we retain all the water we’ve received but don’t give any of it away. But we need to be a like river; redistributing and reproducing the love we’ve received ourselves - A love that gives nourishment and makes things come alive!

Our Heavenly Father’s goodness to us is too great for us to not replicate that goodness to others.

Matthew 7:7-14

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The verbs here imply continuing to ask, seek, and knock (e.g., “keep on asking”; “keep on seeking”; “keep on knocking”). Meaning, this is something a citizen of God’s kingdom should already be doing as they are already embracing their status as a son and daughter of God their Father.

This “ask, seek, and knock” phrasing represents earnest prayer throughout the day or “walking with God”/acknowledging his presence with you during your entire day.

This is only able to be practiced by people who have been transformed by the HS, who received the HS as the greatest “good gift” from the heavenly father.

Since God has been good to us, in appreciation for God blessing us with this life and the Holy Spirit, the least we could do is to do good for others...To reproduce his goodness to others.

In order to practically apply this passage of Scripture to our lives, we must do the following:

• Receive God’s Love

• Give God’s Love

• Tend to your soul

• Let go of the baggage (Phil. 3:13-14) I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Our Heavenly Father’s goodness to us is too great for us to not replicate that goodness to others.

We are a vessel, or an instrument. We can make a beautiful sound or play bad notes and ruin and whole orchestra.

"I am a hole in a flute that Christ's breath moves through - listen to this music."

-Hafiz, the Sufi poet

"We are all in His orchestra. Uniquely and meticulously crafted. We are capable of great beauty, and at the same precise measure, capable of destroying the brilliance of the Composer's score...Your contribution impacts the entire orchestra!"

-Reg Rose

What kind of music do you want to play with your life?

In what ways are you replicating the goodness God has shown you to the people you encounter on a daily basis?