Ask, Seek, and Knock Matthew 7:7-12 Dr. Joseph Chang 4/19/2015 BOLGPC

Matthew 7:7-12 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

Matthew 7:7-12 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

I. “Active” is the emphasis. He encourages us to Ask, and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.

Testimonies見證 Howard Chen 陳家豪Testimony Darren Yu 游端陽Testimony:  Albert Lin 林信恒Testimony:

1 Samuel 17:43-47 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Samuel 17:43-47 46This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

14然而，人未曾信他，怎能求他呢？未曾聽見他，怎能信他呢？沒有傳道的，怎能聽見呢？【羅 10:14】 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 【Rom 10:14】

II. “Persistence” is the spirit.

III. God will respond with Grace & Love 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 【Matt 7:9~11】

Aurora, Goddess of Dawn+Tithonus

Conclusion 17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 【Matt 5:17】 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 【Matt 7:12】

Conclusion 結論 孔子說, “己所不欲, 勿施於人!” Confucius, “Do not do to others what you would not like others do to you.” 耶穌說, “你們願意人怎樣帶你們, 你們也要怎樣待人” Jesus, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”