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Ask, Seek and Knock: God Rewards People Who Diligently Seek Him

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Ask, Seek and Knock

God Rewards People Who Diligently Seek Him

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Ask, Seek and Knock: God Rewards People Who Diligently Seek Him

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Jesus spoke of a wide gate and a narrow gate. Only the narrow gate will lead to life in God's Kingdom.

Transcript

[Joe Dobson] Well good morning again, brethren. As I mentioned earlier, always happy to come up and see you and be able to share the Sabbath here with you. It is fabulous, as you looked at Genesis 1, 2 and 3, how that God established the Sabbath. He blessed it. He hallowed it. He set it aside as the seventh day, of course, and all of us are the ones who benefit from that. That was a brilliant design, wasn’t it? Didn’t He have the great factor of design into…? I know I have often thought about the different proofs of God existing – the Creator, life giver, Law giver, Designer, Sustainer, the One who fulfills prophecy, the One who answers prayer. Those are things that we have taught for many, many, years. Yet it appears almost that the first one of those ought to be the Designer, because, pretty sure, He put a lot of thought into…He and the Word put a lot of thought into “What are we going to do? What are we going to create?” So, it is incredible as we think about that – even as we think about the eclipse that is coming up here in a couple of days. A great deal of design was put into God’s setting the earth where it is, going around the sun, and with the moon being established to go around the earth. The fact that there even is…. I looked up last night…just frequency of eclipses…and, of course, they happen all the time in many different areas of the earth, and yet they are pretty predictable – at least, we seem to be able to write down what’s going to happen. But the incredible design that God put into this creation is just remarkable. You look out…as I drive along, I look at the trees, the grass and the leaves, all of that grows out of the earth. All of that comes from what God placed here in the dirt. Of course, He created us out of dirt, too. He knows far more about it than we do. And whether I can fully explain anything? That is totally immaterial.

I want us to look…we saw last week that we need to live by faith. In Hebrews 11, the first verse says

Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 Like we described, there may be many other descriptions of faith, and faith that needs to dominate our lives, but I want to drop down – because this whole chapter, of course, talks about faith – I want to drop down to verse 6. It says:

V-6 – Without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever would approach God must believe that He exists. Now obviously, we often take that for granted. Certainly, that is a foundation of our belief, but it says without faith it is impossible to please God, but those that approach God must believe that He exists. We do believe that – not only from many proofs, but because of faith. We go back to verse 2 and 3, and that’s what it says. We believe the world came into existence out of the invisible – out of nothing. Then in verse 6, those who approach God must believe that He exists and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now I want us to focus on that statement. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That is what the New King James says. I want to go back to a well-known section of the sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 7 to consider how it is that we diligently seek God. Here in Matthew, chapter 7 – you see a reference also in the book of Luke – you see a similar reference in Luke, chapter 11. But I’ll focus on the section here in Matthew, chapter 7, verse 7. Now, in some ways, this might seem to be an extremely simple verse.
Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.

See, there is a description that can be looked at as very easy to overlook, but Jesus says that one of the formulas for seeking God – really knowing God, really relating to God and actually an explanation of approaching God – is revealed here. Ask, seek and knock. Then in verse 8, of course, the outcome of that.

V-8 – Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. Now often that verse is read by many people who have a religious inclination. I think that applies to me. Everybody can come to God in whatever way they want. They can make God in their own image. They can do whatever seems right to them and think that is seeking God. But is this talking about everyone? Who is Jesus talking about here when He makes this very definitive statement? Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you.

 I think it is good for us to think about who Jesus is speaking to here. I am going to say that this doesn’t apply to everybody on earth today. I think it is a directive to us – a directive to those the Father draws to Jesus Christ, because clearly, as Jesus defines that in John, chapter 6, He says, “Not only does the Father draw you to Me, to understanding Me, to growing in a relationship with Me” – talking about the Father – but Jesus says, “I want you to come to Me. I want you to come to more fully know Me. Even here in chapter 7 of Matthew – we drop down to verse 13 - Jesus says:

Matthew 7:13 – “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate that is wide and the road that is easy leads to destruction for those who are taking it. But the gate that is narrow and the road that is hard – that leads to life – to eternal life – there are few who find it.”

So, in the same breath – certainly, it would appear in the same sermon, in the same message, where He talks about ask and seek and knock – He says there is a wide way that most people are going to follow, and there is going to be a narrow gate that He says is the hard path. Even if we drop down to verse 21…down in verse 21, He says:

V-21 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven – or the Kingdom of God – but only the ones who do the will of My Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to Me in that day ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? Have we not cast out demons in Your name, and done many deeds of power in Your name?’”

So, it might be that the name of Jesus is not be used properly, or appropriately, many, many  times. I think all of us would understand that – having come out of – most of us – coming out of some form of a religion that at least talked about Jesus. I was glad they did. That is an emphasis that needs to be very clear. But I know, as I grew up, and growing up in a Protestant church, and being taught a little bit about Jesus, at least I had some idea of who that was. Yet, I clearly realized, “I don’t know anything about…He and the Father…I don’t know anything about the Bible or the purpose of life,” until God started revealing that.

In the same breath here – of what we read in chapter 7, verse 13 – about a straight and hard path – a narrow path we need to be on – and, in verse 21, He talks about – in verse 23:

V-23 – I declare to you I never knew you” – those who claim to know the Lord – “I never knew you. Go away from Me, you evil doers.”

See, He says, “I don’t know you.” That is a category many people fall into, whether they know that or not. I think all of us could say there was certainly a time when “I did not know the Lord.” But you see, according to the mercy of the God, He has drawn us to be able to relate to Him, not only through the power of the Holy Spirit that He has blessed us with, but also with an understanding of His Word – an understanding of the word that is going to give us life. As Peter said, whenever Jesus asked them, “Are all of you going to leave, too?” “Where would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” You are the One that I need to relate to – that we need to figure out…. They were yet to do a lot of learning, even when Jesus was alive. They were going to learn a lot more even after He was dead and resurrected. But see, the emphasis…let’s go back to chapter 7, verse 7 – ask, and seek, and knock – a formula to truly relate to God. Let’s read the whole thing – verse 8:

Matthew 7:8 – For everyone who asks, receives, and everyone who searches finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Or is there any among you, who, if your child asks for bread, will give him a rock? You know, if your children want an Oreo cookie, you don’t give them a rock, but you might give them something else that you think is better for them. You’d think of giving them a good gift. If a child asks for a fish you don’t give him a snake. If you, then are able to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him.

Now that is the point I want to make today. I want to examine this very simple….as I was thinking about it coming over here today…I thought that the little topic, which is the title for the sermon today – Ask, and Seek and Knock…. Actually, what is that? You could say, “Well, it’s some kind of slogan, it’s some kind of a biblical statement, it might be a motto – could be a motto of some kind. I think it is really a description of the children of God – a description of those of us that have been blessed with the calling of God and who want to do what God says – we simply want to follow the instructions, because Jesus makes it pretty clear. And so, let’s ask, “Do all these words mean the same thing?” They all seem similar – ask, seek and knock. And yet, I think you’ll see that they are quite different. Yet I will point out that I believe that this is for those that the Father is wanting to relate to. He wants – he wants – to give us good gifts. He wants to give us His blessing. He wants to give us encouragement. He wants to give us comfort. He wants to give us things that are right for us. And of course, you have the section in Hebrews, chapter 12, that I won’t go to, where He talks about, you know, “Do you despise the  discipline of the Lord?”  Don’t do that, because the Lord knows what the children need, and He gives them what they need. And He says, “If you didn’t have that discipline and direction, then you are illegitimate.” If you’ve had that, then you are the children of God. So that is what we are doing. We are exercising, I think, pretty well…we do ask, we do seek and we do knock. But I want to emphasize that here in the sermon today.

I want to say, “The first part of this – asking – that’s a pretty incredible thing – that we can ask Him for what we need. So ultimately, this begins with God working in our lives to help us understand that we need help. Every single one of us came to a belief in God by coming to see that “I need help.” I need an understanding of sin – or, as I came to the understanding of sin – I realize I am guilty. What I need is Jesus Christ. What I need is forgiveness. What I need is hope.” So, in essence, this asking is really requesting God’s help.

Now we talked, a couple weeks ago, about being instant in prayer. That is still, I think, a very good thing to keep in mind. I think, when we read Matthew 7, it almost implies that God expects us to be asking. He expects us…you see, God is willing to give good gifts, but He wants us to realize we need Him. He wants us to realize how much we need Him – how much we need His involvement in our lives. In 1 Corinthians 12, you have an entire chapter that kind of talks about the gifts of the Spirit. And you can read many different verses here, that I won’t take the time to read very many of, but I’ll read a couple. It says in verse 1:

1 Corinthians 12:1 – Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. “I don’t want you to be uninformed.”So, Paul is writing about spiritual gifts. He is writing about how God gives different gifts to different members of the body. Not all of us have the same gifts. They vary. And he says, down in verse 14:

V-14 – For indeed, the body is not consist of one member, but many. See, all of us need to be working together within the framework of the body. And over in verse 18, he says:

V-18 – As it is, God has arranged the members of the body, each one of them as He chose. So, are we just haphazardly here as part of the Church of God? Sometimes, we might think that, but I think verse 18 has, maybe, more significance that we might commonly think about. And yet, you see Paul to continuing to discuss different gifts and even roles – down in verse 28 – appointing apostles and prophets and teachers. God is the one who is the author of that.

But the verse I want to focus on is verse 31, but I will start in verse 30.

V-30 – Does everyone possess the gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Does everyone interpret? But, he says, in verse 31, I want you to strive for the greater gifts. Here, he actually tells us something that we need to be asking for. We need to ask, we need to request that God would strengthen and empower us with gifts from His Spirit. We need to ask. He goes ahead to conclude this by saying, I am going to show you a more excellent way. And of course, the whole of chapter 13 is a description of the most excellent way – of the way of the love of God.

So, what is it we should ask for? Well, we ought to ask for the gifts from God, but we ought to ask that He will give us an understanding of His love and an understanding of how that love needs to emanate from us – that needs to reflected in us. In James, chapter 5, you read a verse that, again, we are familiar with. James, chapter 5, verse 13 says:

James 5:13 – Is any among you suffering? They should pray. They should ask. Are any cheerful? They should sing psalms. Are anyone among you – verse 14 – sick? So, what does it tell us if we are sick? What can we do? We should call after the elders of the church and have them pray over us, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up. And anyone who has committed sins, they will be forgiven.  Therefore – in verse 16 – Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. Ask – request of God – for the help, for the healing, the comfort, the encouragement, the forgiveness for one another. He finishes this, in verse 16, with a statement that the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. The prayer of a righteous man is meaningful.

So, whenever I say, “We want to ask” – and Jesus says – “I want you to ask and understand the value of asking.” See, it’s obvious that God already knows what we need. That’s one of the statements Jesus also makes. He knows what you need. Too many times we may forget to ask, or we, being as limited as we are, we might not focus on “what I need to ask for.” And yet, asking is an important part of Christian development. Requesting God’s help is an important part of our growth.

Now, do we have everything that we ask for? No, we realize sometimes we wait for that. Sometimes the answer is, “No.” Sometimes, we may have things to learn. But, the act of asking is extremely important.

You can read verses – several different ones – that Jesus says to ask “in My name.” Ask in the authority of Jesus – by His direction. In 1 Kings 3, you see something that was actually a description of what Solomon did. As we know and we have been studying in Ecclesiastes here, for some weeks, Solomon had a lot of wise things to write. That wasn’t because of Solomon being so brilliant himself. That was wisdom that God had given him. That was wisdom that God gave so he could write it down. And whether he fully implemented that, we don’t know. Certainly he made a lot of mistakes and we don’t know how well he recovered. But see, here in 1 Kings, chapter 3, what is it that Solomon asked for? Verse 5:

1 Kings 3:5-6 – …the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said “Ask what I should give you!” Solomon said, “You have shown great love to Your servant, my father David ….” And verse 8:

V-8-12 – “Now Your servant is in the midst of these people, whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.” And yet, he says in verse 9, “Give Your servant, therefore, an understanding heart” – or an understanding mind. What did Solomon ask for? He asked for understanding. “Give Your servant an understanding heart to govern Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who can govern this great people of Yours?” That is what Solomon asked for. Do we ask for that? Do we ask for understanding? Do we ask for an understanding mind – an understanding heart? Well – verse 10 – It pleased the Lord that Solomon asked for this. God said, “Because you have asked for this and have not asked for yourself long life or for riches or for the life of your enemy, but you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now am going to do that. I am going to do according to your word. Indeed, I am going to give you a wise and discerning mind, and no one like you has been before, and no one like you shall arise after you. That is clearly a positive. From everything we read about Solomon, this is one of the most positive things. He rightly asked for something that God truly wanted to give. And perhaps He wanted to give it far more than Solomon even knew, because He was going to have Solomon write down so many proverbs and directives and sayings and give so much wisdom – not only for Solomon and those people of that time, but for the people throughout the last three thousand years, down through our day today. We have written information about what God inspired Solomon to write. But see, Solomon asked for understanding.

In Philippians 4 – Philippians, chapter 4 – we see Paul’s guidance to the church there. We often read this, or at least this should be something we read. Philippians 4, and kind of concluding this book, and he says in verse 4:

Philippians 4:4-7 – Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Verse 6 – Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your – asking – let your requests, be known to God. And he says, “And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your minds in Jesus Christ. The God of peace will give you a peace that passes all understanding. I seek that. I want that. I need that. I think everyone of us would like to be at peace. We often are dealing with difficulties, or struggles, trauma, problems, our own limitations, our own sins. God says to ask – request. Make requests of God and the God of peace will give us what we need.

1 John, chapter 5, you see John again concluding this short epistle, by saying that, if we properly ask, not only will we receive, but he says that gives us a great deal of stability and a great deal of confidence. 1 John 5, and he says in verse 13:

1 John 5:13-15 – I am writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. So he says, “I am writing to you who have been called by God, and have been given the Holy Spirit, and who do what God says. Ask and seek and knock and you can have a great deal of confidence when you do that.” He says, This is – in verse 14 – the boldness that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, and what we ask, we know that we will have obtained the requests made of Him. Wouldn’t it be great to believe in things so strongly that we have a confidence that God is going to help us?

Now asking is one of the first three things we wanted to focus on. There are a lot of things to ask.

The second thing is seeking. It says, if we seek, we shall find. Again, we can say that sounds like something that I am doing, or that sounds like something that is pretty simple. Is it as simple as that? You see statements in the Bible talking about people who are groping in the dark, who are searching for God. See, we have been “found” by God, but He still wants us to seek Him. It is not a matter of “I am on a log, and I am on the river, and I am probably going to fall off.” It is a matter that “I need to seek God.” We need to search the scriptures. We need to study God’s word. Clearly – Matthew 6:33 – what does He tell us?

Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God. Is that a focus that I have every day of my life? Seek first the kingdom of God and seek first the righteousness of God. The primary focus of seeking…. See, I don’t have, and neither do you, the Kingdom of God yet, because we are still here. We’re still sitting here. We’re still flesh and blood. It says, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” We have not yet achieved the goal. Eternal life and being a part of the Kingdom of God, that is yet to be. So here, He tells us, “You need to seek the Kingdom. You need to seek the divine nature”.

Mr. Barnette sent out a news feed this morning – actually, a very nice one, as many things that were quite applicable to what is happening today. One of them was focusing on how much we need Galatians 5 – I think it was verse 23 – as our values. See, that is talking about the fruit of the divine nature – the fruit of love and joy and peace and longsuffering and goodness and faith and meekness and temperance. See, I want those values. I find them lacking in my life. I get distracted more easily than I wish. Sometimes, I am not just distracted, sometimes, I’m just my “empty box” – you know, just blank. That’s not going forward. That’s just kind of in neutral. But see, we are told to seek the divine nature.

In Philippians 4, Paul describes something that he had that I think all of us want. Philippians, chapter 4 – this is a little further on in chapter 4 of Philippians. He says in verse 10:

Philippians 4:10-13 – I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were concerned for me but you had not opportunity to show it. And he says in verse 11: Not that I am referring to being in need. See, he was telling the congregation there, “I know you love me and you are concerned about me. You have supported me on and off, and even revived that support and interest in the work that God is doing in me.” But he says, “…not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned….” See, in verse 11, it appears that he didn’t have this particular quality early, and he probably labored with it, and probably went through so much, as far as distress over it, but he says, “I have learned how to be content.” “I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I have learned contentment.” That is something that, I think, all of us want. As we heard described, there are going to be people who continue to be upset, and agitated, and at each other’s throat, and probably worse over the next few days and then beyond. You can’t imagine the confusion, the distress, the frustration that people suffer. But brethren, this is something that Paul says we ought to seek. He says, “I have been given contentment from God. I know what it is to have little and I know what it is to have plenty. Floating on a plank in the Mediterranean is having little – maybe having some hope – hope that we are going to be able to paddle ashore. But, if you are shipwrecked…I don’t really want to go on a cruise. I’m not interested in cruises. I guess riding on a boat can be of interest to some people… But see, Paul had some mishaps – shipwrecked in a rough sea in the Mediterranean. He says, “I have figured it out God is still with me, even if I have nothing. I don’t have any water, I don’t have any food. Or maybe I can find some food on the plank over here – something from the ship.” He says, “I know what it is to have little and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.” He makes the statement, of course, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.” He understood that contentment came from not stuff. It comes from God. It comes from relating to God. It comes from seeking that from God. I implore us to seek God.

Some of us deal with illnesses that we can’t fully explain. We don’t know how they start or what the outcome is. We can still be content and we need to seek that contentment. We read verses…as we focused on...I am thinking about the Feast of Tabernacles…focused on what is going to happen when Christ is establishing a Kingdom. You read verses in Isaiah and in Micah about all the nations coming to Jerusalem. Why? To just get a little instruction – to make them aware of the law. That will be a big step in the right direction. But then, it says, “To learn the ways of God,” instead of what didn’t work. And that is what we are going to be looking at over the next few years as we await Christ’s return. People are going to continue to need the stability that comes from seeking the ways of God – Micah 4:2 – I’m not going to read that, but those ways are what everybody is going to embrace.

We talked about Solomon a little. And he was given understanding and a discerning heart and mind. So he was given wisdom from God. In James 3, verses 13-17, we’re told…. James 3:13-17 says that we need to seek wisdom from above.

There are different types of wisdom. There are some people who may be more wise than others in this world – certainly, many different levels of understanding of wisdom. Some things deal with physical stuff. I don’t think any of you would want me to wire your house. I’m just pretty sure that would not be a good move, because you would probably have had a flaming inferno. You don’t want me to remove a tree in your front yard – like I have one that doesn’t look very good. I don’t want to be knocking it down on the roof. There are people who know how to do that. There are people who have a certain level of wisdom in even physical things that not all of us have. So we’re supposed to seek wisdom from above. That wisdom is based on humility, but it is going to create peace and righteousness. Again, I won’t read all of these verses.

Now it is interesting to see that even Jesus followed His own words – where He sought the help of the Father. We are familiar with the account of Jesus praying with His disciples – kind of watching, but then dozing off. Matthew 26, verse 39-42. What was Jesus doing? Was Jesus praying in order to somehow change the word of, the Father? I don’t think so. I think He is praying – seeking – will of the Father, and He mentions in verse 41:

V-41 – ...the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. He understood, “I have a limitation right now. I need help. I seek Your will – not My will, but I seek Your will.”

So, when we are asking for things from God, sometimes our prayers can end up just being all ask. But that should change as we grow to understand that our prayer ought to be honoring God, praising God, thanking God – asking for things, as He tells us to do, but we should also seek the will of God, even as Jesus did.

The third of the things I have mentioned is to knock. This might seem a little unusual, but it tells us there, in Matthew 7, to knock and the door will be opened. I wonder what it is that I don’t know yet. Wonder what it is that I need to know and I don’t know, but God clearly knows what it is. This activity involves, as I said, requesting of God for His help – seeking, or being motivated toward, what He says is my goal. Then knocking involves desiring the Kingdom of God – being willing to put forth some effort in knocking. I would say, you could kind of think about this as accepting the invitation that God has given us – accepting the invitation. It seems to be directed toward us as knocking and the door will be opened – something that we are seeking, asking for and desiring – but pursuing the effort of knowing God the Father and knowing God the Son. That is what we’ve got to be pursuing. We’ve got to be seeking that, but we’ve got to desire that. I’ve got to desire that.  John 17, verse 3 says:

John 17:3 – Eternal life is this that you may know the One true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. So, knocking, I think, could involve pursuing in earnest knowing God the Father and Jesus His Son. That is what we need to know.

There are several other verses we might read in connection with this. Actually, you go over to Revelation 3, and you really see it, even in connection with…. This actually seems to be turned around backwards, but you see, in Revelation 3, in dealing with the church of Laodicea, we can clearly see as a lukewarm church, and needs to not be lukewarm, but be on fire. And Jesus says to this church, in Revelation 3, starting in verse… (Revelation is somewhere here…it’s in the last part of the book, I think!) (Laughter) …Revelation 3, verse 17, he says, “You say – talking about the church in Laodicea – that it is lukewarm, that it is indifferent to what God has offered – to the invitation that has been extended.” He says;

Revelation 3:17-20 – For you say, “I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” and know not that you are wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked. Therefore, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire that you may become rich; and white robes to clothe you and that the shame of your nakedness may not be seen. Verse 19: I reprove and discipline those whom I love. “I want you to be on fire for the word of God, for the work of God, for the purpose of God in your life.” I want that, I seek that. And He says in verse 20: I am standing at the door and knocking. If you hear My voice, and open the door, I’ll come into you and eat with you, and you with Me. Now again, that seems to be kind of backward from what we read earlier. It still involves embracing desire to be in close communion with the Father and with the Son.

We actually see, in the book of Acts, when Peter preached the first inspired sermon after the day of Pentecost, or on the day of Pentecost, after they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, he preached and told them, “You just killed the Son of God. You just killed the author of life. You just put to death the One God sent to save you.” What happened to those people? Well, in verse 37 of Acts 2 – Acts, chapter 2, and verse 37:

Acts 2:27 – When they heard this, they were cut to the heart. It wasn’t just that they realized, “We need help.” “We are going to knock! And we are going to ask Peter, ‘What do we have to do?’” It says, “When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter, ‘What do we do? What do we need to do?’” Of course, he summarized:

V-28 – Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

He summarized in telling them what they needed to do, and over in chapter 3, we find him saying a similar thing, where people are actually honoring Peter for healing someone. And he says, “Look, it wasn’t me. It was God.” God was the one who healed. And he says in verse 17 of chapter 3:

Acts 3:17 – And now, friends, I know that you have acted in ignorance…when you killed Jesus, the Holy One and righteous One, the author of life. Friends, I know that you did that ignorantly, as did your rulers. But in this way, God fulfilled what He had foretold through the prophets that Messiah would suffer.

So, he says that they actually fulfilled God’s prophecy of what was to happen to the Messiah. In verse 19, he says:

V-19 – “What you need to do is repent and to turn to God. Be converted that your sins may be blotted out and the times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord, and He will send the Messiah appointed for you – that is, Jesus who must remain in heaven until the times of restitution of all things. Here he was telling them the answer. He was telling them the Kingdom of God is the gospel. He was telling them, “What God is going to do is so remarkably incredible it requires you to repent – to turn and be converted. And so, you need to be born again.” That is what he was telling them.

The way John writes it, you need to be born – in chapter 3 – born from above. And that, of course, is an entirely other huge topic – of what that is, to be truly born as the children of God. But see, knocking involves some action. It involves a desire or an intent to truly draw close to God. And so I hope that whenever we read the statement that Jesus makes in Matthew 7, verse 7, that we don’t overlook it, and we think about, “Well, am I requesting – am I asking God –requesting His help? Am I seeking His Kingdom and all the other things He tells me I need? Am I knocking and desiring to pursue – being motivated to pursue – the calling that God has given me? And so, I’m going to do whatever is required. I want to do whatever I need to, to fulfill that desire of truly knowing the great God and knowing that Son of God, Jesus Christ. I think in many ways, there is more to our relationship with God than we know. That is why we need to knock. We need to grow in a closer walk with God. Of course, that is a process, It’s an ongoing process – one that we simply want to be engaged in.

So, we’ll read, in Matthew 7, the conclusion to the matter – where Jesus says, “Ask, seek and knock.” Verse 8:

Matthew 7:8 – Everyone who asks will receive, and everyone who seeks will find, and everyone who knocks, the door will be open. I think it is up to us, brethren, to ask, and to seek, and to knock.