Matthew 7:7-14, Luke 11:9-13, 6:31 and 13:23-24 (God's Answering of Prayers) (The Golden Rule) (The Two Ways)

Rachel Workman:

Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
(God's Answering of Prayers) 7 “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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. These are actually pretty tricky verses. I don't think that's what Jesus intended when he spoke them. Keep on praying for what you want. What if you have and the answer still seems to be no. Are we praying for forgiveness? Are we seeking God's will? Are we knocking hoping to enter that narrow gate? He said it right when he said it in verse 11. You sinful people. We are sinful people in need of a wonderful Savior. We need to pray for his forgiveness for our sins and we need to seek HIS will and not our own will. That's where we make the mistake of thinking these verses mean whatever we want we just keep asking for and we'll get it. And I'm not saying you won't get the things you ask for. But there are times that our prayers and wants do not align with God's will. Being a Christian does not mean God will give you all of your hearts desire. Believe it or not it's not all about us. It's all about Him. And I know at times I forget that. (The Golden Rule) 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (The Two Ways) 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.		(God's Answering of Prayers) 9 “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. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (The Golden Rule) 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you. (The Two Ways) 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. There is heaven or hell and we do make the choice. The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way. There are a lot of religions that claim to be the right religion or the right way. Just because a lot of people claim it to be right doesn't make it right. Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross is the only way. The fact that “everybody does it” is no proof that what they are doing is right. Be very careful with religious fads. God’s people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world. The reason is not difficult to understand. The way of life is narrow, lonely, and costly. We can walk on the broad way and keep our “baggage” of sin and worldliness. But if we enter the narrow way, we must give up those things. Here is the first test. Did your profession of faith in Christ cost you anything? If not, then it was not a true profession. Many people who “trust” Jesus Christ never leave the broad road with its appetites and associations. They have an easy Christianity that makes no demands on them. Yet Jesus said that the narrow way was hard. We cannot walk on two roads, in two different directions, at the same time. The two trees These show that true faith in Christ changes the life and produces fruit for God’s glory. Everything in nature reproduces after its kind, and this is also true in the spiritual realm. Good fruit comes from a good tree, but bad fruit comes from a bad tree. The tree that produces rotten fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “Wherefore, by their fruits you shall know them”

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John Burnett: 

Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
(God's Answering of Prayers) 7 “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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  This passage is often misrepresented by the WOF preachers to support their health and wealth gospel.  We are to seek God’s face, wisdom, and will. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more (exponentially more) will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. (The Golden Rule) 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.  This applies when they are doing the opposite to you. (The Two Ways) 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.		(God's Answering of Prayers) 9 “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. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”  (The Golden Rule) 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you. (The Two Ways) 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.  Many will try implies that you have to do something on your own.  I requires repentance and faith.  The narrow door or gate will keep many out who think they are getting in.  The gospel of repentance is not being preached thus few will enter the gate.

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Mike Grimm: 

Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
(God's Answering of Prayers) 7 “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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. This verse really hit home today. Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. Knowing God takes faith, focus and follow-through, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded. Don’t give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding. He will give them to you when He feels that you are ready. We must never forget that it is always God’s will and not our will, which will be done. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! Sometimes God knows that we are praying for “snakes” and does not give us what we ask for, even though we are persistent in our prayers. As we learn to know God better as a loving Father, we learn to ask for what is good for us, and then He grants it. 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. God is not selfish, begrudging, or stingy and we don’t have to beg or grovel as we come with our requests. He is a loving Father who understands, cares, and comforts. (The Golden Rule) 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. This is commonly known as the Golden Rule. It is not very hard to refrain from harming others; it is much more difficult to take initiative in doing something good for them. The Golden Rule as Jesus formulated it is the foundation of active goodness and mercy – the kind of love God shows to us every day. (The Two Ways) 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. The gate that leads to eternal life (John 10:7-9) is called “narrow.” This does not mean that it is difficult to become a Christian, but that there is only one way to live eternally with God and only a few that decide to walk that road. Believing in Jesus is the only way to heaven, because He alone died for our sins and made us right before God. Living His way may not be popular, but it is true and right.		(God's Answering of Prayers) 9 “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. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Even though good fathers make mistakes, they treat their children well. How much better our perfect heavenly Father treats His children! The most important gift He could ever give us is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), whom He promised to give all believers after His death, resurrection, and return to heaven (John 15:26). (The Golden Rule) 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you. In other religions this is stated negatively: “Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.” Jesus stated it positively: “Do to others” which makes it more significant. This actually makes us aware how we must treat others, whereas, “Don’t do to others” may lead us to believe that we don’t need to act at all. If I’m ignoring someone than I’m not hurting them. (The Two Ways) 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. Finding salvation requires more concentrated effort than most people are willing to put forth. Obviously we cannot save ourselves – there is no way we can work ourselves into God’s favor. The effort we must put out “to enter through the narrow door” is earnestly desiring to know Jesus and diligently striving to follow Him whatever the cost. We dare not put off making this decision because the door will not stay open forever.