Kingdom Wisdom Part 4

At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Wisdom,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

We are continuing our Kingdom Wisdom series this weekend. Last week, Jesus gave us a remarkably simple invitation: Ask. Seek. Knock. When we do not know what to do, we do not have to figure everything out ourselves. We can come to the Father. But underneath that invitation is another question—maybe an even deeper one: Can I trust the Father?

Matthew 7:9–11 (NIV)
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!

Asking is difficult when you are not sure about the person you are asking. Seeking is difficult when you are not sure the person you are seeking wants to be found. Knocking is difficult when you are not sure who is going to answer the door. So Jesus does not stop with “Ask. Seek. Knock.” He tells us something about the One we are asking.

In Matthew 7:9–11, Jesus gives us a simple picture. A child comes to his father and asks for bread. What loving father would hand his hungry child a stone instead? Or if the child asks for a fish, what father would give him a snake? We would not do that because we love our children and want what is good for them.

That does not mean our children always receive exactly what they ask for. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is not yet. Sometimes we know something they do not know, and we have something different in mind. But even then, the response of a loving parent is shaped by love. Jesus says, “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

This matters because our view of God shapes the way we pray. If we imagine God primarily as disappointed, distant, angry, or reluctant, prayer can become an attempt to convince Him to care about us. But throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been giving us a very different picture. Your Father sees. Your Father knows. Your Father feeds the birds. Your Father clothes the flowers. Your Father knows what you need before you ask. And your Father gives good gifts.

Kingdom wisdom is not simply learning what to do. It is learning to live in daily dependence upon a Father we can trust.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.