Ask, Seek, Knock Part 2

Knocking & Seeking

Memory Verse: Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 6:30-33 “Seek the Kingdom of God[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Luke 12:31 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 7:7-8 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Luke 11:9-10 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

What is the definition of seek? (Seek – carefully look for, find, search out diligently)

Last week we discussed asking God for His forgiveness, mercy, and timing. We discussed asking God (prayer) for wisdom, guidance, help, comfort. We discussed a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

This week we are going to discuss seeking and knocking. If you are looking for something you have lost, you will search everywhere for it – even places that wouldn’t have a chance of having that item there.

Luke 2:43-46 “After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.”

Jesus’ parents searched everywhere for Him. They left no stone unturned in their efforts to find Him.

Luke 15:3-4 So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?"

The shepherd left his flock to search for one sheep that was lost. God is searching for you so you can join His flock.

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Are you happy when you find something you lost? God is very happy when one of His sheep (you) is found and comes home to Him.

We have lost a relationship with God. When Adam and Eve sinned they broke the relationship with God. Sin entered the world and man began to make his own decisions as to what was right or wrong instead of seeking God’s will for it. Most of the Old Testament shows how one nation would seek God and then abandon Him until they got in trouble and then they would repent of their sins and seek God again.

God reestablished the reality of a personal relationship with Him when Jesus died and rose from the dead. Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for you and me reestablished the connection with God that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned. It is available for everyone on the earth as a free gift from God. It is not automatically given, it is offered. You have to take it and make it your own personal relationship with God.

When you see someone you might like to get to know, what do you do? (Seek them out, find out about them from others, go and introduce yourself to them, establish a relationship with them)

We do this with God also. Sometimes it takes circumstances in our lives to get to the point where we will look for God and the help He can give us. We find out about Him, we read His book, we seek him in prayer, introducing ourselves to Him and then we establish a relationship with Him. Reading about Jesus is a good way to find out about God and how He thinks, what He wants of us and how much He loves us. God wants to have a relationship with you. Seek for Him

Matthew 13:45-46 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"

When we establish a relationship with God – let Him find us and bring us home to Him – that relationship is precious to us. We treasure it and protect it and value it.

After we find God we ask of Him. We discussed last week that sometimes God says “yes”, sometimes “no”, and sometimes “wait”.

When God says “wait”. What do you do? (Keep praying, keep asking). We keep knocking on His door until He answers. Like the woman and the unjust judge, we keep knocking until we get an answer.

What does it mean to knock? (Knock – make yourself heard, make yourself known, request to be let in)

Luke 11:5-10 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The man had unexpected company and not enough food so he went to his friend in the middle of the night and kept on knocking until his friend answered. Are you knocking on God’s door until He answers?

God will answer. He always answers. Sometimes you just have to keep knocking to get an answer.

Why would God want you to keep on knocking before answering? (maybe to see just how much you want it, maybe to give you time to see that you really don’t want what you are asking for, maybe to teach you patience or compassion or empathy) God always has a reason for what He does, but we do not always understand why because we have limited vision. He sees the whole picture – we see only part of it – the part that is right in front of us at any given moment.

Trust God. Ask of Him. Seek Him. Keep knocking. He loves you and knows what is best for you. He will answer.

Rev 3:20-21 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

God is looking for you. Are you looking for Him too?

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