“ASK and It Will Be Given”

Bible scholar D. A. Carson and others have rightly pointed out that many people who are initially attracted to the message of the kingdom after a season of enthusiasm tend to get discouraged and fall away from the path of discipleship. Carson gives two primary reasons for this that we should take to heart.

First, those who stop following Jesus lack persistence. They quit when it gets tough and it always gets tough! We live in a world where people seek their own interests and follow after the dominant culture in an effort to find personal happiness. To follow Jesus is counter-cultural right from the start. I would suggest that if we have chosen to follow Jesus as his disciples then we need at least the persistence of a salmon swimming upstream for the current is against us.

Second, Carson suggests that the disciple who becomes discouraged and quits has forgotten the first Beatitude (Matthew 5:3). He has missed the point that God blesses the person who is “poor in spirit” and acknowledges their own spiritual bankruptcy, not the person who has it all together in their own strength and wisdom.

“Instead of seeing his own spiritual bankruptcy by the light of the Sermon on the Mount, he sees the beauty of the light itself; and therefore instead of turning to God and asking for the grace, mercy, forgiveness, acceptance, and help which his spiritually bankrupt state requires, he merely turns over a new leaf. Small wonder he is soon discouraged and defeated.”[1]

The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) is filled with challenges that will overwhelm our meager ability to live out the values of the kingdom of heaven. It is designed to humble us to depend more upon Jesus to make possible in our lives what is impossible for us to perform on our own. R. Kent Hughes comments that “In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus describes the way a man or woman prays who understands what the Sermon on the Mount is all about.”[2]

ASK God for what you lack (v. 7-8)

  “Ask, and      it will be given    to you;

  seek, and you  will find;

knock, and      it will be opened to you.

  For everyone who asks receives,

    and the one who seeks finds,

and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

While asking, seeking, and knocking are used together to convey the idea of persistence in prayer, I think there is something unique that is added by each term.

• Asking for what we don’t have and can’t have on our own. (James 1:5-6) “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”  Jesus doesn’t slap us for asking him to help us. In fact, he encourages us to keep asking…being persistent in prayer. The Sermon on the Mount should humble us and this passage tells us what to do from there.

• Seeking the One who makes a difference and who invites us to “Follow me!” (Matthew 4:19-21). It is written, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) Seeking seems to communicate a greater level of involvement than just asking and hints at the relational aspect of prayer. So why would we seek the Lord if we are unsure about how he will treat us when we find him? Let me tease this idea out a bit. When we find God will we be found to be pleasing to him? Well, what pleases God? Hebrews 11:6 gives us a place to start. It makes it clear that “Without faith, it is impossible to please God”… but what does that mean? It means that (1) We must believe that he exists. (2) We must believe that he rewards those who seek him (i.e., trust in his goodness) or we wouldn’t be motivated to seek him. In fact, this is why many don’t seek Jesus’ help, they have been conditioned to think that he gives bad things. Cultural concepts such as the lament, “only the good die young” and insurance companies that label every natural disaster an “act of God” have taken their toll.
• Knocking with confident humility (Hebrews 4:15-16). While confident humility sounds like an oxymoron or contradiction of terms, I think that it is an important nuance to embrace. Knocking humbly recognizes that we are not God, and we cannot presume to enter his presence casually or flippantly and that we need his permission to come close. Yet, we pray with confidence because in Christ we have access to the “throne of grace”—where we receive the good that we don’t deserve—because Christ deserves it. (Hebrews 4:16).

I use the acronym ASK to remind me of all three elements of a disciple’s persistent prayer—Asking, Seeking, Knocking. We need to keep on doing these things in prayer and God will certainly answer! This passage makes it very clear that there is a response to such prayer. But this verse is often ripped from its context.

• A Caution against taking this out of context. (James 4:2b-3)

“You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” We need to remember that Matthew 7:7-8 is in the context of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and should be taken as asking for spiritual growth and the ability to live out kingdom values in the midst of a fallen world…not as a genie in a lamp. But when we ask for what we need to follow Jesus, what does our heavenly Father give us?

“How Much More?” (v. 9-11)

    Or which one of you,

 if his son asks him for bread,

                          will give him a stone?

    Or if he asks for a fish,

                          will give him a serpent?

  If you then, who are evil,

     know how to give good gifts to your children,

               how much more

                          will your Father who is in heaven

                                give good things to those

         who ask him!

This is a classic a fortiori argument, which means, “If this [small thing] is true…then how much more will this [big thing] be true?” Jesus uses the culturally acceptable First-Century metaphor of a father giving what is good and necessary to his son as the small thing that was true. “How much more” will God do, since he is wholly good? He not only gives good things (v.11) but James 1:16-17 says,

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

 Every good    gift and

 every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights 

    with whom there is no variation

                                    or shadow due to change.

So God gives good things…in fact every good thing, but what is the best thing? The parallel passage in Luke 11:13 replaces “good things” with “the Holy Spirit” by whom all good things are supplied. The result is God with us and in us. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would “come upon” temporarily for a specific task or moment, but in the New Testament, the Spirit comes and indwells believers on an ongoing basis. As a result, he…

• Comforts us (Acts 9:31)
• Teaches us (John 14:26)
• Convicts us (John 16:8-11)
• Guides us (John 16:13)
• Empowers us (Micah 3:8; Acts 1:8)
• Reminds us that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us. (Romans 8:16)
• Intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27)

A Fresh Glimpse of the Golden Rule (v.12)

“So whatever you wish

                                that others would do to you,

                                                            do also to them,

     for this is the Law and the Prophets.

We have all heard the “Golden Rule” at one time or another, but have we ever thought about it in its context of persistent prayer? How do we want others to pray for us? That is how we should pray for them…persistently and passionately!

We can’t live kingdom lives without being persistent in prayer for ourselves and for others. The Sermon on the Mount humbles us, and, if we understand it, find that it drives us to our knees. If we end where we started, poor in spirit and mourning over sin, then we are blessed indeed.

---

[1] D.A. Carson,  Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of Matthew 5-10. [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999] 116.

[2] R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom. [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001], 233.

King of the Mountain? (Matthew 7:1-6)

In a recent sermon, Logs, Dogs, and Hogs, from Matthew 7:1-6, I referred to judgmentalism as a type of spiritual king-of-the-mountain game, where we try to climb to the top—the supposed place of God’s favor—by criticizing and judging others. At best such behavior is merely an emotional sleight-of-hand for certainly, God’s kingdom doesn’t play by such rules. I mention this here because if we are going to truly help others and work for a peace and justice that pleases God, we have to start by humbling ourselves and considering others as inferior no longer (2 Cor. 5:16) but as equals or betters (Philippians 2:3). Why can't we learn to help each other climb the sand dune of circumstances together as advocates, not adversaries?

Matthew 7:1-6 

                                     “Judge not,

             that you be not  judged.

2                 For with the judgment you pronounce

                    you will be  judged,

                  and  with the measure  you use

                        it will be   measured to you.

3                                     Why do you see the speck

                                that is in  your brother's eye,

                          but do not notice the log

                                that is in  your own       eye?

4                            Or how can you say

                                          to  your brother,

                                             ‘Let me take the speck

                                     out of your                eye,’

                               when there is the log in

                                               your own        eye?

5 You hypocrite,

                                       first take the log

                                    out of  your own        eye,

                    and then you will see clearly

                                          to take the speck

                                    out of  your brother's eye.

Mature disciples are not judgmental towards others (v.1-2)

Matthew 7:1 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. If you google it you will find that it makes most of the top-whatever lists. It is thrown at us anytime we address personal or systemic sin in our communities. “Don’t judge!” Yet the context of the passage says something very different.  Several verses in this chapter require a discerning judgement—v. 5, 6, 15, and 20. This makes it clear that contrary to popular opinion, this passage does not forbid confronting sin.

Proverbs 26 contains the classic case of a contextual paradox that will help us here.

Answer not a fool according to his folly,
    lest you be like him yourself.
Answer       a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Prov. 26:4-5)

There are times when you shouldn’t answer a fool and other times when you should. This kind of instruction frustrates us because we want clear guidelines and policies but that is not the way of the mature disciple. We actually have to discern the difference.

In the Hobbit Trilogy, the dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield, when told he has no right to enter the Lonely Mountain and disturb the dragon and possibly bring ruin on many, answered, “I have the only right!” Just because we have a log in our eye doesn't mean that we don't try to use it as a shield as well. We too think we have the only right to decide our own fate and destiny. Even if we acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the Righteous Judge, in a practical sense we set ourselves up in that high position to judge all around us: “He is stupid, she is rude, and they are crooks…” it goes on and on. And we will find ourselves held to the same standard by the One who alone sees clearly. Mature disciples are able to make clear judgments but are not judgmental.

Judgment comes with a warning label. There is reciprocity to judgment, for “with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (A proverb Jesus used in three different contexts, v. 2; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38). This means that,

• In condemning others we bring condemnation on ourselves (Romans 2:1-8)
• In judging others we can forget that we will be judged (Romans 14:10-12)
• In judging, we may be usurping God’s position (James 4:11-12)

Mature disciples are not hypercritical (v. 3-4)

We all know the devastation that is brought to many families by drunk drivers. Those who are caught as charged with DUII (Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants). I think Jesus was getting at something similar here in this passage. That something I am calling “JUII” or  Judging Under the Influence of Intoxicants. We think we judge others fairly, but we don’t. We have a judgment that is impaired by the intoxicants of pride (self), prejudice (social biases), and perversion (sin). Right now I have to confess to being proud of that double alliteration. Please forgive me!

One of the best ways to keep from being hypercritical is by doing what Jesus said in verse 5, “First take the log out of your own eye.”  We must learn to judge ourselves first (v. 5, 1 Peter 4:17). Yet even as we seek to remove our own logs, we must have a right view of God. While being the Righteous Judge, that is not the primary way in which he relates to his children. Primarily he is the Lover of our Soul who seeks to redeem and heal his children. We must learn to respond to his love in kind. When we are confident in Christ’s love for us, we become more generous in sharing love and mercy with others. We relate lovingly as brothers and sisters in the family of God, not as competitors trying to climb and keep or place on some sandy mountain.

Mature disciples are discerning (v.6)

        “Do not give dogs what is holy,                          A

   and do not throw your pearls before pigs,                   B

                 lest they trample them underfoot                   B’

                         and turn to attack you.                       A’

This last verse involves judgment…but not one aimed at tearing down another but on survival and stewardship. In Jesus’ day dogs were unclean and vicious. Dogs rarely come across that way in our culture, so think more along the lines of the hyenas in The Lion King or red-eyed wolves in some fairy tale. They represent those who are treacherous, unclean, just want to feed their ego by tearing you apart. 

Hogs were also unclean, and also insensitive to the value of the message. Pearls are of no value to a pig who just wants something to eat. They serve only their appetites and have no spiritual aptitude.

So, how do we know who is a “dog” or a “hog”? It is usually apparent if we engage them in polite conversation, but if you really want to know… you will have to read the rest of the chapter (Matthew 7:7-29). Enjoy!

Therefore: Anxious Questions about Life

Matthew 6:25-34

Clear Water in Haiti

             “Therefore I tell you, 

                              do not be anxious about your life, 

                                                 what you will eat or

                                                 what you will drink,

                                   nor                   about your body,

                                                 what you will put on.

                                      Is not life    more than food,

                                   and the body more than clothing?

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air:

                 they neither sow

                              nor reap

                              nor gather into barns,

                    and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

                  Are you not of more value than they? 

²⁷ And which of you by being anxious

                 can add a single hour to his span of life? 

²⁸ And why are you                anxious     about clothing?

Day Lilies at Multnomah University

  Consider the lilies of the field,

                 how they grow:

                        they neither toil

                               nor spin, ²⁹ 

                  yet I tell you, 

                        even Solomon in all his glory

            was not arrayed like one of these. 

³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field,

              which today is alive and

                  tomorrow is thrown into the oven,

       will he not much more

                         clothe you, 

                                O you of little faith? 

³¹                Therefore do not be anxious, saying,

                                                  ‘What shall we eat?’ or

                                                  ‘What shall we drink?’ or

                                                  ‘What shall we wear?’ 

³² For the Gentiles seek after all these  things,

                     and your heavenly Father knows

               that you need them all. 

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God

                                     and his righteousness, 

                                     and    all these things

                                                    will be added to you.

If I was to ask you to tell me the theme of the passage you just read, what would you say? Pretty simple right? Do not be anxious! Jesus uses the word anxiety (Greek, merimnao) four times; two times showing its futility and twice commanding his disciples not to allow it to control their lives. However, giving a command to not be anxious is something like telling a little boy not to run, or a Gen-Z not to check their phone. While there are some people who don’t worry about much, for the rest of us, ever since the fall of mankind, it seems to be our very nature when faced with stressful circumstances. So how should we understand this section? Are we supposed to gut it out, willing ourselves not to worry about the pink elephant in the room? No. The context helps us immensely. Remember that this section is part of a larger discourse. Not only is it part of a larger message, but it begins with that wonderful word, “therefore”.

As all expositors will tell you, when you see the word “Therefore” in the text you need to ask the question, “What is it there for?”

Therefore serves as a logical and literary connection to the previous section 6:19-24 (See my previous post “Don’t you Be Hound-dogging!”) and to all of this great sermon up to this point.

I love D. A. Carson’s summary of the connection between this section on “do not be anxious” and the previous one about serving only one master.

Because transient earthly treasures do not satisfy and do not last (6:19-21),

Because moral and spiritual vision is easily distorted and darkened (6:22-23),

Because a choice must be made between God and Money (6:24),

Because the kingdom of God demands unswerving allegiance to its values (6:19-24),

Therefore do not worry, and in particular do not worry about mere things. (D.A. Carson,  Sermon on the Mount, 87)

Do Not Be Anxious about your life…

What is it we value most? What captures our attention? The previous paragraph warns us that we can only serve one master—so who will it be?

In his teaching Jesus began to ask a number of rhetorical questions that if not rhetorical might ironically produce some test anxiety! But this teaching by asking questions was normal within the rabbinic tradition. Let’s walk through his question-and-answer argument against anxiety.

Jesus asks some “anxious questions”, not because he was worried, but because we tend to be. These questions are quite philosophical, theological, and practical.

1) Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (v.25)

Jesus is teaching his disciples that we are more than what we consume. We are not merely creatures of consumption. Likewise, Our body is more than our appearance in the eyes of others. If as Carson pointed out, we belong to the kingdom of heaven then we must not allow worldly things to control or enslave our lives.

2) Are you not of more value than they? (v.26)

Do we realize that we are more valuable than birds? The value is in the price that God in Christ was willing to pay for us. Do we live as though we believe what Jesus and the kingdom of heaven say about us?

3) And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (v.27)

The word translated “life” in this verse can refer to the length of one’s life or to their physical height. Carson translates it in light of both meanings like this, “Who of you by worrying can add to the pathway of his life a single cubit?” (Carson, Sermon on the Mount, 97).

4)  And why are you anxious about clothing? (v.28)

While clothing was counted in your net worth in the time of Christ, it had been so since at least the time of the conquest under Joshua when Achan stole the Babylonian garment that resulted in the defeat at Ai (Joshua 7). Jesus is the true source of our covering and our attractiveness. He covers our nakedness and cleanses our impurities. Jesus uses the wildflowers of Israel as an example. After a rain the valleys bloom quickly with color but soon they are burned by the heat of the sun. So…

5) But if God so clothes the grass… will he not much more clothe you? 

Flowers are beautiful…but only for a moment. This is a literary device arguing from the lesser to the greater. Flowers are clothed in splendor beyond any way we might try to “array” ourselves. But God will clothe us more gloriously if we will trust him to do so. Is this not applied meekness? We like to look good in front of our peers, but will we allow God to clothe us? It is appropriate that Jesus addresses this passage to, “O you of little faith.” I think that means it is for us!

Two Conclusions: Therefore…

Do not be anxious in your attitude or your speech … [“for out of the heart the mouth speaks” Luke 6:45] Do we sound like fearful people who are always in a panic at the latest news, chattering rapid-fire, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ or are we people of peace—not because of ideal circumstances but because of an ideal Lord? The beatitudes point us in the direction of the kingdom of heaven and here Jesus gives two reasons why we should be filled with peace rather than anxiety.

1. The Gentiles seek these things. In other words, the people without knowledge that they have a heavenly Father chase around focused on these things. You are to be different.
2. Your Heavenly Father knows what you need. And we can trust Him to take care of us. We are to work and be responsible to steward wisely our money and our lives, all the while trusting in a Heavenly Father who loves us and calls us to peace in the midst of an anxious world. We are people who are to be known for our hope.

Ultimately, the “therefore” gives us the key to living free from anxiety. The key to avoiding anxiety is to put our first love first. (v.33)

                                                                                                  But seek first the kingdom of God [present imperative= command, unceasing quest]

                          and his righteousness, [committed to finding & doing God’s will]

                           and all these things     [material needs]

                             will be added to you.

Do not be anxious about your outlook for tomorrow

Why? Tomorrow will be anxious for itself. You can only be faithful in the moment. You only need to overcome the "right now". Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (v.34). Hope for tomorrow, trust for today…

³⁴              “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,

                                                                for tomorrow

                                      will be anxious for itself.

                         Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

“Don’t You be Hound-dogging!”

This week we spent time thinking through Matthew 6:19-24,

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

          where             moth and rust destroy and

          where thieves            break in and steal,

²⁰        but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

          where neither moth nor rust destroys and

          where thieves do not break in and steal.

²¹ For where             your           treasure is,

           there             your           heart will be also.

²²      “The eye is the lamp of the body.

So, if your eye is healthy,

         your whole body will be full of light, ²³ but

      if your eye is bad,

         your whole body will be full of darkness.

      If then the light in you             is darkness,

                              how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters,

             for either he will hate                the one       and love the other,

              or           he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

       You cannot serve God and money.

“Don’t you be hound-dogging here this summer!” the folksy mechanic exhorted me. I had just turned 20 and was working on the summer staff for a large Christian conference center in the mountains of California. The staff mechanic took the opportunity early on to warn me of the pitfalls of hound-dogging. Honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about.

Squirrel Squeak Toys

“I see you young guys coming up here to serve the Lord in the camps and pretty soon you start thinking more about finding a girlfriend than about why you’re supposed to be here. You can’t chase after two things at the same time” he explained. If the “hound dog” is chasing two squirrels he can do it as long as they are going in the same direction, but when they split up he has to make a decision…which one does he want to follow more. His concern for me was that I be fully available to listen to the Lord and to do my work wholeheartedly and not allow my focus and my fervor to wander during those weeks of summer. It was really good advice that I might not have followed as carefully as he would have liked.

This week’s passage from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19-24) is really talking about the same thing. It is filled with twos: two treasures, two storehouses, two eyes, two masters, two loves, and two destinies—all to make one point. No literally the point is “One.” We can only have one treasure so pick the kind that lasts forever. There is nothing wrong with having storehouses (Joseph built lots of them in Genesis 41) the problem is the purpose for our storehouse (See Luke 12:13-21). Is it for ourselves or a part of God’s plan to bless and preserve others?

Our two eyes only work correctly when they have a single focus. The metaphor of the good/healthy eye most likely refers not to generosity but to having one true focus or source of light so we should pick the one filled with the light of heaven to dispel the dark around us. If we are full of light that means that we not only have light within ourselves but become a source of light for others.

Jesus says that we can only serve one master, so whom will we love? One of my first jobs was working in a buffet restaurant had two managers—a father and a son—who wanted things done very differently. So whom do you please? Usually neither.

Those of us in Western Christianity are good at compartmentalizing our lives. We are addicted to multi-tasking…and we think that it makes us get more done when studies show that it doesn’t. We do the same thing when it comes to our devotion. We think we can hound-dog after the world’s values with this part of our lives while we follow after Jesus with that other part of our life that we too often put on autopilot (to mix a dangerous metaphor). Jesus talked instead about our “whole body” and how it will either be either “full” of light or darkness.

Lots of twos, to make one point. What is our treasure? To whom do we look? Who will we love and serve?

Forks in the road will force the choice if we haven’t made it already. The pressure points of alluring opportunities and of tragic circumstances will reveal what is in us as a result of that choice. It may be shocking to us when we see our devotion for what it is.

 Colossians 3:1-2 points us in the right direction,

        If then you have been raised with Christ,

               seek the things that are above,

                                                   where Christ is,

                    seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above,

                   not on things that are on earth

In Matthew 19:16-22 Jesus had an encounter with someone claiming full devotion to God, but who was holding something back. Jesus addresses the area of his life that was not surrendered.

v. 20-22 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Do we find ourselves trying to justify ourselves before the Lord and others? If so then perhaps the Spirit asks us the same question today that Jesus asked that young man on the road, “If you would be perfect…”. This “perfect” didn’t mean perfection in a divine way, or even an O/C perfectionistic kind of life, but perfect in the holistic sense of completeness, maturity, and an “all-in” kind of relational commitment. Jesus was testing his righteousness for the “greater than” that we have seen to be indicative of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20). Would he love money and what it brings, or Jesus and what he brings? He could only follow one. He “went away sorrowful.” Let us not continue to make the same mistake, but rather accept Jesus’ invitation.

When we examine ourselves as we collectively come before the Lord to partake of Holy Communion, let us consider the focus of our devotion and repent together.

“Intellectual belief is one thing, devotion is another. Love is an attitude at the core of being. To love and not be willing to sacrifice for those one loves is a contradiction in terms. Love is always a willing surrender of autonomy. As Christ observed: “Greater love has no one than this, than he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).”[1] 

---

[1] Jim Forest, The Ladder of the Beatitudes, 147, emphasis mine.