Sermon Study Guide

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Ask, Seek, Knock Dr Henry Schorr September 21, 22 2013 The Main Thing: Many people today see prayer as a kind of spiritual fire extinguisher, something to use only in emergencies or when everything else has been tried. Others see prayer as a blank cheque from God. There is no greater resource available to us than the power of prayer. As Wesley Duewel wrote, ‘Without God we cannot, without prayer God will not.’ Prayer is not just a PART of the Christian life, it IS CENTRAL to the Christian life.

PURSUE RELATIONSHIP: Opportunities to connect and pray as a group 1. What is an unexpected answer to prayer that you have received? 2. When have you used prayer as a ‘fire extinguisher’ or as a ‘blank cheque’?

PURSUE GOD: Time that is devoted to the Word of God Observation and Reflection 1. Pastor Henry outlined three principles on prayer (see outline). Which of the three is the most challenging for you? 2. What image of God’s character is expressed in these principles? Compare God to the ‘judge’ in the parable of Luke 18:1-8. What characteristics do you observe in the widow? 3. Pastor Henry gave five reasons why God does not respond the way we want (see outline). Read the New Testament verses on the sidebar and match the verses with one or more of the reasons. (Additional Old Testament verses include: Proverbs 21:13; Malachi 2:3) 4. Describe the characteristics of the person who is seeking God in prayer? (Is 59:2; 2 Chron 16:9)

Application 1. Who is the audience hearing the parable in Luke 18:1-8? Why did Jesus tell this story? What does this mean for us in the Kingdom of God? 2. Examine your heart in light of Question 4 (above). How is God speaking to you about your prayer life? What step will you take this week?

THE WORD (NIV) 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. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” 2 Cor 12:7-9 7 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I Peter 3:7 7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. James 4:3 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 5:16 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective

ASK--SEEK--KNOCK, Pastor Schorr Sept 21/22, 2013 In His Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5,6) Jesus paints a picture showing God's plan for the people of His Kingdom. They are to seek Him first, to be salt and light so that His will be done on earth for the lost, the sick, those in bondage and the more unfortunate. As God's Kingdom people, we need the Holy Spirit to work in our character, attitudes, priorities and lifestyle. In Matthew 7, Jesus invites us to 'ASK, SEEK and KNOCK' in prayer for His help to do for others what we would have them do for us. God wants us to pray about everything. KEY PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER 1. Our Heavenly Father is delighted when we come to Him in prayer. Mt 7:9 describes a son asking his father for bread and receiving it. So also God loves to hear us call to Him; He gives us His full attention; nothing else is more important to Him. Jesus invites us to pray boldly and freely about anything and everything, not to treat prayer as a last resort in a major crisis or a blank cheque. 2. Our Heavenly Father wants to bless us. We are His beloved children; He is interested in us. God is not indifferent or vindictive or too busy as the judge in Lk 18:1-7. Our prayers make a difference. Even when God seems not to care, we should “always pray and never give up”. (Lk 18:1). When we work, WE WORK; when we pray, GOD WORKS so we should keep on praying. (Jas 4:2-3) God chooses to involve us in accomplishing His redemptive work through our witness, acts of service and prayers. 3. Our Heavenly Father wants to bless us with GOOD gifts. (Mt 7:11) God is wise, knowing what is 'good'. OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED THE WAY WE WANT BECAUSE... 1. There is a problem with our requests. (Mt 7:11) As a good parent, God chooses wisely and may answer “NO” for our own good. (2 Cor 12.7-9, Mt 20:20-23) God may say “WAIT, NOT YET” (Is 55:8) Ruth Graham said that God had not always answered her prayers; if He had, she would have married the wrong man, several times. 2. There is a problem with our motives. We may be asking for selfish, temporary pleasures not for what we need. (Jas 4:2-3) 3. There is an idol in our lives that takes the place of God—a child, career, ministry, bank account or friend. (Ezek 14:3) God empowers, blesses and answers us when He is the ONE we love most. 4. We fail to be generous. (Pr 21:13) This means to be passionate about the mission God has called us to—introducing people to Jesus, helping them become His disciples, and having a passionate concern for the less fortunate. God desires that we reflect His character, to be generous as He is. 5. We mistreat our spouse. (1 Pet 3:7) Instead, be considerate, be faithful, show respect and meet their needs. None of us is perfect, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but if we continue to have a rebellious, disobedient heart, God will not answer our prayers. (Is 59:2) When we sin and the Spirit pinpoints it, we can acknowledge it, admit it was wrong, confess it to God and turn around in the other direction. Then all is well between us and God—He hears our prayers. Matthew 7 shows that our Heavenly Father loves to hear our voices. Like a loving earthly father, He wants to bless us with good gifts. We can trust Him for He has our best interests at heart. When our prayers are not answered, it is not because He is vindictive. His answer may be “NO” or “WAIT”. Sometimes the problem is with our heart, our self-sufficiency, our love of counterfeit gods, or our selfishness and rebellion. So, when God looks at our heart what does He see? The greatest litmus test of our 'heart condition' is our prayer life, because prayer is about talking to God, listening to God, interacting with Him all day long. Prayer isn’t just PART of the Christian life-- it IS the Christian life.