I'm in the final few chapters of Matthew in my personal daily study of the Bible. I'm amazed, still, even though this isn't my first time reading it, that Jesus was so wise, so caring, and so loving. I'm amazed at His works, and His purpose in all He did. I'm amazed, even more, at His teaching, and at how practical, yet frightening it all is. In Matthew 7:7, for example, Jesus says: "“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." It's a straight forward message, not given to Parable. And we see it played out over and again in this life time: what people ask for, they usually receive, what people seek, they usually find, and what doors people knock at are usually opened to them. Yet, if we examine that section of Scripture (Matthew 5-7 is called the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus isn't telling us the worldly and demonic message of "Follow your heart." He's saying "Ask of God, Seek His will, and Knock on His doors." He's saying that if we're seeking God, we'll find exactly what we seek. Too often, though, we've let worldly teachings come in to the Church: "God wants you to be happy, God wants you to follow your dreams, God wants you to do you." This can't be further from the truth, and yet, because our ears itch (as Paul said to Timothy), we amass teachers for ourselves that suit our desires, as opposed to Asking what is God's will, seeking God's Glory, and Knocking to seek entry in to His Kingdom. We're not promised any easy road; by Jesus' own words, and indeed His life, culminating to the cross, we see He shows us that persecution is for all who seek to live in Righteousness.
So I have to ask, then: what are you seeking? Are you seeking comfort, wealth, plenty, happiness? Be warned: everyone gets what they seek, but the searching has eternal consequences. Those who seek THIS life will lose it! I pray you'll join me in seeking after the blessed words: "Well done, my good and Faithful Servant." I pray that you're seeking His will and His approval. I pray that you're asking Him to change your heart, and I pray that you're knocking on the gate of His Kingdom, seeking it to come on earth as it is in heaven. This is what matters. Matthew 7:7-27 “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. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 1Or 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!
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
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