Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
Most Christians truly desire to have a thriving, growing prayer life. We want to pray and we hope to pray well.
If were honest, though, most Christians also admit that while we want to pray well we often do not pray effectively at all. We are not experiencing true growth and power in our prayers. The desire is to pray is real, but, the practical growth is non-existent. What can we do?
Jesus instructs us in prayer in this verse once again. May we heed His words and apply them to our prayer times. Listen to these practical instructions and pray well my friend.
Jesus commands us to pray fervently. When we pray, may we pray with a sense of urgency. Too often our prayers lack urgency and strength. We say our prayers perfunctorily and half-heartedly. No wonder we do not have power in prayer.
As you pray, pray believing that God can. He might not do everything you want, but, continue praying knowing that “with God all things are possible.” (Luke 1:37)
Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
1 Samuel 11:1-4
This passage of Scripture is a case study on human sinfulness and how temptation works. David was a good and Godly man and yet, he succumbed to temptation and committed adultery and later murder (see 1 Samuel 11:5-27 for the sordid tale). If it can happen to him, then, it can happen to any of us. What can we learn from this story? How can we learn to overcome temptation?
First, don’t entertain temptation. Avoid it all cost. When it tries to seize you, run away from it. (1 Corinthians 6:8) David saw the bathing woman, Bathsheba. But, instead of turning away, he gazed and entertained the thoughts of temptation. Do not dwell on temptation. Run from it!
Also, guard your eyes. David saw and gazed and then began to lust after her. In our day and time, our eyes are now exposed to some of the most provocative images any generation has had to endure. Images of filth and depravity are all around us. May we covenant with God to guard our eyes and not look upon those things that are displeasing to God. (Job 31:1) Just remember, looking leads to longing which leads to lusting.
Finally, pray and study God’s Word. Pray for strength to endure and to resist temptation. Fill your mind with the things of God and His Word. (Philippians 4:8-9) Remember that sin has is it consequence and that we reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7-8) May we take God’s command seriously to “Be holy, for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:16)
Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Matthew 7:6
Finally, we are to be guardians of the truth. Do not allow the holy things to be treated as cheap and unholy. May we protect the truth at all cost.
Essentially, there is a right time and a wrong time to share and help. If someone is not willing to be helped, perhaps it’s better to wait. If someone is not ready to receive truth and help, perhaps trying to help them in that condition can do more harm than good.
We have been entrusted with a precious truth. May we protect it and share it carefully.
Ultimately, Matthew 7:1-6 teaches us the following principle; don’t be a hypocrite. Deal with your own sin, shortcomings, and hang-ups before you try to help others.
Pray for your own authenticity. Examine yourself often as hypocrisy often creeps up on us without us noticing it. Hold to the truth and share it as God leads and provides opportunity.
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:5
Jesus took particular offense to hypocrisy in the Scriptures. Our Savior specifically called out those who pretended to be something they are not. All of us are vulnerable to adopting a “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. What are we to do?
Later in the chapter, we see the antidote to hypocrisy. Be authentic! Deal with your own issues. Don’t seek to help others when you have open sinfulness in your life. Don’t pretend you are something you are not but repent, confess, be forgiven, and seek to follow Christ.
When we are honest about our struggles, we gain credibility with those around us. Also, true genuineness will help us earn an audience with those who need the gospel message and with fellow Christians.
When we have dealt with our own issues, we are then better equipped to point others to the truth. We are to love others enough to tell them the truth. Let’s not let anything get in the way of being loving truth bearers in our age of confusion, especially our own hypocrisy.
Behold the three offices of Jesus as given to us by Scripture:
*Jesus is Prophet
22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”
Acts 3:22-23
*Jesus is Priest
5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:5-6
*Jesus is King
They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
Matthew 7:3-4
Here is the heart of the matter about this passage in Matthew 7. Jesus’ main point is characterized in these two verses. His main point is don’t be a hypocrite.
We must deal with our own issues before we can help others. We must remove the plank (hyperbole) from our own eye before we can remove the speck from the eye of others.
Hypocrisy (pretending to be something you are not) is very offensive to Jesus. It was one of Christ’s main criticisms of the religious leaders of His day. Very little seemed to raise the ire of Christ more than hypocrisy.
“Lord, help us to be authentic and gracious in our dealings with all. Help us to discern with purity and righteousness. Grant us the wisdom to be who you have created us to be in Christ Jesus!”
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
2 Peter 2:1-3
False teaching is a constant danger that Christians face in our day. Often times, the false preacher sounds right and orthodox and his message can be very appealing. Nevertheless, once the student of the Bible digs deeper into the teaching of certain “teachers” they find that the doctrine of these false prophets is wrong and filled with error.
How can we know who to trust in times like these? Peter gives two signs to watch for that often mark the teaching of false prophets.
**False teachers deny the divinity and power of Jesus. False teaching often portrays Jesus as merely a prophet or teacher. However, He is the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, the Messiah, and our only Hope and Savior. To teach anything less than the robust proclamation of Jesus found in Scripture is to teach a false Jesus.
**False prophets deny and disbelieve the Bible. They will ignore certain Scriptural teachings or even have the temerity to claim that what the Bible plainly says is not true. False teachers often have their own statements, books, and writings as their authority and not the Holy Bible.
Be careful, dear Christian. Study the Word of God so you will know the truth. Know the Bible so you can refute the error that pervades our society.
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Matthew 7:2
The directive of our Savior is—be careful how you judge. Christians ought to make judgements based on the truth of God’s Word and not by their opinions. Believers should also examine themselves and remove any hypocrisy from their evaluations.
Let’s reiterate what Jesus is teaching. If we judge, we will be judged in return. When we judge, we will be judged by the same standard that we use for others.
Careful examination of ourselves is needed to help others. This careful evaluation reminds us to be cautious about judging the motives of the hearts and minds of others. When we judge, we will be judged in return.
mrtonyfrench 