This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Sermon on the Mount” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, September 16, 1990.
About this sermon
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7-12 gathers up the themes of the Sermon on the Mount, asking, seeking and giving, under the Father who gives good gifts. Jesus speaks as a preacher, not a lecturer, full of power and urgency. Jeremiah 29 promised that after the exile God would let himself be found by those who sought him. That day has come in Christ, God’s decisive act; preaching should announce what God has done, not lecture on ideas.
Sermon transcript
This morning our scripture reading is found, first of all, in the book of Jeremiah, and that before we turn over to the book of Matthew in the New Testament. So, Jeremiah chapter 29, verses 4 through 14. Let’s hear what God says. “‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon, build ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased there and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city, whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets and your diviners that be in the midst of you deceive you, neither hearken to their dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name. I have not sent them, saith the Lord. For thus saith the Lord.” that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and I will perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Then shall ye call upon me.” and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you, and ye shall seek me and find me when ye search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord. and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” Then from Matthew 7, verses 7-12, verse 8, “…ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find.” knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
For what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread will give him a stone, or if he ask a fish will give him a serpent? If he then, being evil, Know how to give good gifts unto your children. How much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?
Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.” with me now. Our hearts come to you, Lord, we present them. We would be satisfied with your word, filled with what you have for us there. And, Father, we would pray for your servants throughout this land and around the world who give forth that word today. May they be blessed mightily as they proclaim that word in truth, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be set before the congregations that belong to you and before the nations, that there might be strengthening for the saints, that there might be light and salvation for those who are lost. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Is this not the masterpiece? Is this not the masterpiece of sermons given by the one who is in fact the master preacher? It was not easy in its construction. An analysis of this sermon has occupied the Church since it was given. It has riches, depths to be mined, and the Church has been about the task of digging out the treasures of this sermon from it, from the time Jesus spoke it so many centuries ago. What a masterpiece from the Master, from the Master Preacher, Jesus himself.
What Jesus has to say now, in verses 7 through 12 of this seventh chapter in Matthew, begins his summary of things. Now, I know that in your Bibles the paragraphs might be divided differently. In the commentaries that you might consult, you might find that the commentators have divided the passage differently. But at this point, in verses 7 through 12 of that seventh chapter, Jesus begins His summary of things. In these verses, He begins to draw together many points of reference from throughout that sermon thus far.
For instance, these verses, it seems plain on the surface of things, doesn’t it? These verses have something to do with prayer. Ask, and it will be given you. But these aren’t the first remarks that Jesus has made in this sermon about prayer. You remember what he has said, for instance, in the sixth chapter, verses 5 through 14. And when you pray, etc., etc., And then, beginning with verse 9 of that sixth chapter, there is given to you what has been called the Lord’s Prayer. And Jesus has some remarks to make about that prayer in verses 14 and 15. So, you see, this is not the first instance in which Jesus has spoken about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount.
You might also note the themes of asking, seeking and giving that occur here in the verses that are before us this morning. And although each of these themes is given something of a different cast in other passages, the themes themselves are not new.
You might look at the 5th chapter, the 42nd verse. where Jesus says, give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. With regard to seeking, you have chapter 6, verse 33, that most famous of verses, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. As to the giving, in a somewhat sardonic twist of things, you have the 6th verse of that 7th chapter. Do not give what is holy to dogs. The themes are there. Whether it’s a matter of asking or seeking or giving, the themes are there, but now they’re being drawn together once more in summary fashion. Notice this also.
There is the figure, the incomparable figure in this sermon of the Father, our Father, who is in heaven. Would you not say that the figure of the Father who is in heaven clearly dominates the sermon throughout? Jesus directing the attention of his disciples to the one who is above, who reigns over all, and is kindly disposed to his own. So, the Heavenly Father is prominent in these verses as well. Verse 11. sort of the fulcrum upon which the passage itself depends.
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your own children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give that which is good to those who ask him? A marvelous summary statement as things are now being drawn together by Jesus. The Father in heaven throughout the sermon is to be the pattern for believers’ life. You remember how Jesus puts it at the end of chapter 5, verse 48? Therefore, you ought to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
And as we move, then, from that eleventh to the twelfth verse in chapter seven, consideration of the Father in heaven in verse eleven, on to what is called the golden rule in verse twelve. Is it not the pattern that is found in the Heavenly Father that determines our behavior towards others? Likewise, Jesus’ remarks about the Heavenly Father are foundational, too, fundamental to the spirit of His whole message, in that our consideration of our Father above, our Father who is in heaven, is meant to inspire in us confidence. meant to ease our fears, we being His children, meant to stop our worry, to call to a halt our anxiety. Jesus says this with respect to the Father in heaven.
Chapter 6, verse 26, look at the birds of the air. that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” Don’t be anxious. Why? Because you have a Father in heaven. Who cares for you?
And now that spirit that has been at work throughout the sermon to this point is asserting itself and asserting itself in a summary fashion, conclusively and so powerfully. One other item that drives us to the conclusion that Jesus now has begun his conclusion in this sermon is what is said at the end of that twelfth verse. We know that verse as the golden rule. Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them.
But Jesus concludes this way, for this is the law and the prophets. The mention of the law and the prophets rings a bell, for with that phrase are we not taken back to the fifth chapter, the seventeenth verse? Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
So Jesus now is drawing all of these matters by making reference to particular points throughout the sermon. He is bringing to a conclusion his remarks. Here begins his summary, his push on to the end. Listen to him carefully as he speaks summarily. There’s something else here. as we make our way with respect to the text and as we gain an appreciation of the sermon and the preacher. For we will note as Jesus begins his conclusion, as this summary is put in place now and commences, We are faced with comments that are so remarkably fresh and exhilarating.
It’s almost as if you’re hardly on the downward swing, hardly involved in a descent. Rather, it’s almost as if you’re on ascent. Things are building. And as you hear Jesus speak here, your pulse quickens and you’re drawn in. So, if you have been paying attention to this point throughout the sermon, you will be all the more intent now as Jesus begins to speak in the fashion in which He does. The freshness of it, the remarkable, exhilarating character, how it bursts out to you and from the page, Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
The text shouts at us, even if Jesus didn’t. There is nothing stale here. There is nothing pedantic. There is nothing formal or wooden about his style or his approach or his vocabulary. There is no mere rehash here. Nor is there anything that smacks of quaintness or banality. There is nothing of the lecturer in Jesus. For Jesus is the preacher. And as such, he is brimming over, overflowing with power and urgency and appeal. Ask. Seek. Knock.
I’m sorry to say that we, for the most part, are robbed of this perspective on preaching in our time. Much of what we witness in Jesus the preacher is gone out of preaching presently. A great deal of preaching in our time has become conversational. It’s almost as if the preacher were standing beside a fireplace and merely chatting with us. Sermons for all too many have become talks. with ministers trained in the art of cool communication, subtle persuasion, if not out-and-out manipulation. Preachers nowadays do in fact chat with us calmly, evenly, rationally. It’s not that a number of them don’t do this well, they do it very well. In fact, they have become quite professional at it. And tragically, many Christians have come to prefer this tame and civilized approach.
None of this business of men clothed in camel hair, strapped together with a leather belt, eating honey and locusts. None of this wild-eyed prophet stuff. Please excuse me!” And although many would not admit it or even recognize it, their tastes have gone over to what might be called the religious discourse, if not lecture. but hardly, hardly preaching. Preaching is not faring well. And you might say, well, it’s the fault of the preachers, or it’s the fault of the seminaries. Well, I think that that could be said, But you see, it’s also your fault because you stand for it. You tolerate it. And in some cases, even prefer it.
Well, what’s the difference? You don’t like the confrontational approach of preaching? You don’t like its hot and direct address form? Let me ask you, what is the difference between the professional conversationalist, the religious lecturer, and the preacher? What’s the difference? Do you know? Is it just because the preacher gets excited and the lecturer doesn’t? The lecturer is automatically and invariably dull? That’s not true.
Well, as to that difference, here it is. At the heart of things, The conversationalist, the religious lecturer, is interested in ideas. He is interested in ideas. They may be very orthodox ideas, quite rational, quite wonderfully conveyed. They may even be animated by illustrations, annotated with cute, clever, even incisive inquiries into the human personality. But in the end, the heart of things is the idea. The mind.
Preaching, however, has a different focus. and there is something else altogether at its heart. You see, preaching is proclamation of an event. Preaching is electrified by and centered upon the activity of God. his concrete action. God has done something. And now, what he has done is announced and explained by the preacher to the healer. As the church moves away from the proclamation character of preaching, she loses her true power and urgency.
Not that there hasn’t been effectiveness in the present all-too-common method to which we are subjected, Not that we aren’t witnessing its great success. Have you visited a megachurch? Not that the people under its spell aren’t becoming, what we might call in worldly terms, better people, exalting the ethical. Thank you, Immanuel Kant.
More restrained, more comfortable, even more civilized. that even though that is true, the preaching and the people are out of step with Jesus, his method and his message, regardless of their piety and religious posture. So I have said to you this morning that Jesus is bringing together this remarkable sermon, and He is proving to be the preacher to the end. And that being the case, as the preacher, his interests are not to communicate to you some abiding principle. for better moral health. Nor is His purpose to communicate to you some eternally valid idea about God and His relationship to humanity. As if when he said, ask and it shall be given to you, he had in mind the notion that humanity must grasp the fact that Deity, the Divine Father, is eternally open and accessible to everyone.
His message then being nearly that we must get that idea straight in our thinking. Actually, you see, Jesus’ words are conditioned by the fact that something has happened. God is at work, and in his action he is, in fact, discriminating between his own and those who are not. between his disciples and those who are not. His action makes sense against the background of what we know from the prophets.
For as we read in Jeremiah this morning, It becomes clear to us that there was envisioned a coming day when God would respond to His own. He would respond to those who called upon Him, who asked of Him, who sought Him out. He would answer them, and that conclusively, unmistakably, and infallibly. You can read the verses again for yourself, Jeremiah 29, verses 12 and 13.
The captivity will come to an end and it will inaugurate an era in which God will turn his ear to his people and he will allow himself to be found by them. So therefore, you see, What is at the center of Jesus’ preaching, even here in verse 7 of chapter 7, is an event, an unprecedented event. God has acted afresh.
And now, whereby formerly it may have been that you felt you had no access, or there was no access, the day of access has arrived. And you can walk right into the midst of heaven and make request of your Father there. There has never been a day like this before in the history of the world. And the beautiful thing about it is that day hasn’t ended. You’re still in it.
What of your confidence then? Why are you so fearful? Why do you doubt when you approach the throne? Don’t you know that your Heavenly Father wants to give you all the good things of the kingdom? Isn’t it plain to you and that predicated upon the fact that God has acted so to prove it to you?
The very one who speaks proves it. For he is, after all, that final, conclusive, summary, action of God. Ideas may change, they may come and go, But the event is fixed. You cannot make it not so. You cannot undo it. God has come. It is fixed. And now your faith is fixed. And so is your access in the kingdom. Do you believe it? Do you believe it? Right now, are you conscious of your access to heaven because of what Jesus Christ has done?
Do you know you have a hearing? and that your Father delights in giving you the things that you ask for in his kingdom. Well, Jesus puts it this way in John’s Gospel. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything, he will give it to you in my name. Until now, you see there’s the event character of it all, until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be made full. Jesus the preacher then. Here, wonderfully drawing his message to a conclusion, but not losing his grip on preaching’s true and proper focus, the activity of God. That God who now in his Son has made himself accessible as never before.
Come. Come, won’t you? Don’t you venture on Christ? Come to the waters. You who have no money, come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Come. Ask. We are bold, our God, to venture on you, for you have come to us. You have come to us in Jesus Christ, our Savior. and in him you have inaugurated a new day of access unto you. We thank you and pray that we might venture upon the activity which you have performed for us and upon the promises that are laid within that activity. Surely you will not turn us away, but delight in giving us the things of the kingdom of heaven.
The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.