Ask God for Help - March 22nd, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A girl calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and help me.  I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get it started."  Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"  The girl says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a tiger."  Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.  She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.  He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger."  He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax.  Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then" he sighed, "And then, let's put all these Frosted Flakes back in the box".

Well, at least she asked for help.  That’s more than most of us would be willing to do.  Some of us would have tried to cope with the problem or live with the problem.  Most of us would attempt to solve the problem on our own.  Now, I’m not talking about boxes of cereal or broken cars and rusty bolts.  I’m talking about spiritual things in our lives that keep us separated from God.  We know things in our life need to change if we want a closer walk with God.  But where can we find the help we need to change?  Do we need to wrestle with these things on our own?

The Sermon on the Mount is a lesson for the believer on how to develop a closer walk with God; on how we are to grow and mature as a Christian.  However, some of these lessons can be quite difficult.  It can be quite difficult to choose humility and meekness over power and position.  It is unnatural to turn the other cheek when offended and attacked.  It is very hard to forgive those who have hurt us or see the value in those who have taken advantage of us.  Trusting God to provide our basic needs is very, very difficult; not to mention taking a blind step of faith when our minds tell us it is impossible.  As we read these scriptures, our hearts convict us about that one thing which keeps us from walking closely with God, but where do we turn for help?  Is it up to us to change?  Yes, we want to walk more closely with God, but does Jesus know how hard it is for us to let go of our worries?  Does He understand just how difficult it is to fight our instinct?

I think Christ knew just how difficult these lessons truly are, especially in light of what He says close to the end.  Listen to these encouraging words.  “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” (Matthew 7:7-11).

The words “ask, seek”, and “knock” are active verbs, which means it is to be a continual action.  The New Living Translation has accurately added the words ‘Keep on”.  Keep on asking.  Keep on seeking.  Keep on knocking.  Our Lord’s lesson is that we are never to stop asking God for the help we need.  It’s Christ’s way of reminding us that to walk more closely with God, we are going to need God’s help.

This passage of scripture is not a lesson in getting what we want.  It is a lesson on God’s compassion and love.  The Father desires to walk closely with us.  God also realizes just how difficult it is for us to change.  He understands how embarrassing it must be for us to admit we have a problem.  So Jesus reminds us that if we desire to walk more closely with God – if we are willing to admit we have a problem – God will give us what we need to help us change.

Do you want to know what I hear Jesus saying here?  He is reminding us that God does not grow weary of our constant knocking.  He never becomes impatient with our continued asking.  James says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5).  What all of this means is that if we desire to walk more closely with God, all we need to do is ask for God’s help.  When we learn about something in our life that is keeping us from drawing close to God, we need only ask the Lord to help us remove that thing from our life.  If we need more patience, we need only ask for more.  If we need more humility or meekness, we need only ask for more.  The same can be said about love for others or faith in God.  Ask, Seek, and Knock; the Father will give you what you need.  However, let me clue you in on how God accomplishes this.

I wish, with all my heart I wish, that God would supernaturally infuse me with the ability to be patient.  Bibbidy, bobbidy, boo, I am suddenly able to be patient.  I wish God would grant me the supernatural ability to be patient.  But that’s not quite how God works.  Instead of merely changing my behavior, God desires to change my character.  James says that God trains us; that he allows us to experience things that transform us (James 1:2-4).  If I let Him, God will transform me into a patient person instead of simply a person who has learned that Christians are supposed to be patient.  Trust me; there is a big difference.  In the example I’m using here, if I simply know that I am to be patient, all is well until I am caught off guard.  When I am suddenly faced with a situation that tries my patience, I find myself losing my patience.  Why?  It’s because I have not become a patient person, I have simply learned that I am to be patient and have tried to accomplish this on my own.

Jesus warns us about this at the end of His sermon.  He says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

Whatever might be keeping you from walking closely with God – whatever thing you need to change in your life – keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.  Keep asking God to help you overcome this issue in your life.  Whatever it might be – loving, forgiving, patience, compassion, peacefulness, meekness, humility, faith - ask Him to change you, and in His mercy, God will help change you into the kind of person you need to be.

If you know what needs to change in your life, come to God asking, seeking, and knocking. “Please help me.  I have a problem in my life that I cannot solve”.  The wise person asks God for help.  Then when the floods come, and you are caught off guard, you will find the ability to forgive or love or show compassion.  You will find that you have changed.  And the changed person is the one who walks more closely with God.

In our study of the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps we learned something about ourselves that is keeping us from waking closely with God.  If you discovered something about yourself, you’re in good company.  Truthfully, any godly person you know has learned things about themselves as well.  It’s what walking closely with God will do.  It will cause a person to see things in their life that do not belong.  These godly people keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking so that God might help them deal with issues in their life.

If you talk with one of these godly people, they will deny being very godly – very holy.  They’ve seen more sin in themselves than you can imagine.  Yet, with God’s help, they have been changed.  So when we look at one of these pillars of faith, we are seeing the fruit of a life spent walking closely with God.  The same thing can happen to you if you keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking as well.