“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
(Matthew 7:7–8 NIV)
Do you believe it?
Recently we spoke about how life around you shapes how you live, and I also pointed out that your beliefs is the anchor for your values… and your values can be read through your actions.
– Beliefs are the foundation of your Values
– Values drives your actions
– Your actions tells the world what you believe…
(Matt 7:16 _“By their fruit you will recognize them”_)
So a serious question:
Do you believe God is a miracle working God that answers prayer?
Yes?
Now. Do you believe God is this for you, or more for other people?
Conversely… How do you measure God’s Love?
Do you measure God’s love for you through what He provides?
If His provision is a measure of His love, what do you measure?
- Do you measure the tangibles? Food, car, house, clothes?
Or
- Intangibles? Air? Life? (waking up today), Joy? etc…
What about relationships? Not just the love of your life but the relationships that shapes you, and moulds you, and painfully chips away bits and pieces… with you ending up better? What about difficulty and challenges?
What do we believe about God? Is He “over there” or “Right Here”?
I don’t think Jesus is talking so much about provision here as much as He is explaining God’s character.
Do we understand WHO God is? The creator of the universe? Completely Just, and ultimately loving?
Do we believe it?
Do we accept it?
Have you ever looked up at the stars when out in the bush? Away from the city lights, it’s like the sky exploded into sparks of light!
Can you imagine what the disciples looked up to every night?
Isaiah says:
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”
(Isaiah 40:26 NIV)
Isaiah reminds the Israelites who God is.
In verse 12 he asks
“…who measures the oceans of the world in the hollow of His hand?”
Have you ever watched someone like Neil DeGrass Tyson talk about the absolute vastness of the universe? It is inconceivable huge, and Isaiah says that God used the breadth of His hand to measure out the heavens! (Is 40:12)
So the question we come back to again, is… Do you believe it?
Because only if you believe it, will you believe when Isaiah says:
“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”(Isaiah 40:11 NIV)
… and …
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
(Isaiah 40:29–31 NIV)
So… back to Matthew.
Jesus is maybe not telling us to ASK for more as much as He is reminding us about God’s character, WHO GOD THE FATHER is:
A provider and carer. But One who loves us like a father loves their child. And that is the distinction that Jesus is showing us. God is a Father and NOT a caregiver. A Caregiver makes sure you are ok and provided for, but a father will give his life for yours. You are the responsibility of a caregiver, but you belong to the Father. A caregiver will make sure you have, but the Father will ensure you have the Right thing.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?”
(Matthew 7:9–10 NIV)
This is who God is. This is who our Father is.
Yes, Jesus uses this to teach His followers to do Good to One another:
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matthew 7:12 NIV)
But his own disciples got it… go back to the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) and look. This is what God is all about and always has been about.
This is the Character of God: Not just a provider of stuff, but a caring Father.
I think that this understanding really hits home once you are a Father with your own children. (Or a mother for that matter) which makes me wonder if this is not why the world is working so hard to undermine the role of parents and the place of the family?
If we are convinced that a family doesn’t need a father, do we need God the Father?
Homework: Sit down somewhere with a coffee and a rusk and think… what do I believe?
