Bible Text: Matthew 7:7-11<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. Why do some people…<\/p>\n
1. Succeed in having their prayers answered?<\/p>\n
2. Have a greater understanding of the Bible?<\/p>\n
3. Reach more souls for Christ?<\/p>\n
4. Is it skill, genius, or luck?<\/p>\n
B. The answer is suggested by Calvin Coolidge: “Press on! Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.”<\/p>\n
C. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus talked about the virtue of perseverance…<\/p>\n
1. Especially in its relevance to prayer<\/p>\n
2. Giving us motivation to persevere in our service to God<\/p>\n
D. Our text is Matthew 7:7-11, in which we find Jesus teaching about…<\/p>\n
A. THE PRINCIPLE OF “PERSEVERANCE”<\/p>\n
1. Matthew 7:7-8<\/p>\n
2. Perseverance is implied in these verses …<\/p>\n
a. By the tense of the Greek<\/p>\n
1) It is the present tense, which most often stresses “continuous action”<\/p>\n
2) Literally, then, Jesus is saying:<\/p>\n
a) “keep on asking,” and it will be given to you<\/p>\n
b) “keep on seeking,” and you will find<\/p>\n
c) “keep on knocking,” and it will be opened to you<\/p>\n
b. By the progression of the terms themselves<\/p>\n
1) “asking” is one level of inquiry<\/p>\n
2) “seeking” suggests a step up, as one goes about to find what they ask (asking plus action)<\/p>\n
3) “knocking” is another step up, as one persists in finding that which they seek (asking plus action plus persevering)<\/p>\n
3. Perseverance is particularly relevant:<\/p>\n
a. To the matter of “prayer”<\/p>\n
1) As later implied in Matthew 7:11<\/p>\n
2) Jesus often stressed persistence in teaching on prayer<\/p>\n
a) In the parable of “The Persistent Friend” – Luke 11:5-8<\/p>\n
b) In the parable of “The Persistent Widow” – Luke 18:1-8<\/p>\n
b. To the matter of “Bible study”<\/p>\n
1) Many people give up too soon in their Bible studies<\/p>\n
2) But those who persevere in their studies are the ones who benefit from the blessings God’s Word provides<\/p>\n
a) Psalm 1:1-3<\/p>\n
b) Psalm 119:97-104<\/p>\n
c. To the matter of “evangelism”<\/p>\n
1) Many do not bear fruit because they give up too soon<\/p>\n
2) But we reap what we sow; the more persistent we are in sowing, the more we will eventually reap<\/p>\n
d. If we desire success in any venture, but especially in prayer, Bible study, and evangelism, then we must adopt – “The Virtue Of Perseverance.”<\/p>\n
4. To encourage us to do so, Jesus goes on to provide<\/p>\n
B. A MOTIVE FOR PERSEVERANCE<\/p>\n
1. Matthew 7:9-11<\/p>\n
2. God delights to give good things to His children…<\/p>\n
a. To illustrate, Jesus gives a simple argument (from the lesser to the greater)<\/p>\n
1) That is, men give good gifts to their children who ask<\/p>\n
2) How much more so, will our Father in heaven!<\/p>\n
b. Jesus stressed this Fatherly attribute of God in His sermon<\/p>\n
1) In regards to our physical necessities – Matthew 6:31-32<\/p>\n
2) And now in regards to things that are good for us – Matthew 7:11<\/p>\n
2. This is especially true in regards to prayer!<\/p>\n
a. As Jesus promised to His disciples – John 15:7<\/p>\n
1) Conditioned upon our abiding in Him<\/p>\n
2) Conditioned upon His words abiding in us<\/p>\n
b. As the apostle John wrote – 1 John 5:14-15<\/p>\n
1) Conditioned upon our asking according to His will<\/p>\n
2) Which assumes we know His will for us (i.e., His word is abiding in us)<\/p>\n
c. And as James wrote – James 4:3<\/p>\n
1) Presuming we are not asking for personal and selfish gain<\/p>\n
2) But many do not enjoy God’s favor, simply because they do not ask!<\/p>\n
A. To persevere, then, is a noble virtue, especially in regards to prayer…<\/p>\n
1. We have a Father in heaven who is not untouched by the persistent pleas of His children<\/p>\n
2. Providing we do not ask amiss, persistent prayers will not go unanswered!<\/p>\n
B. If we desire to receive, find, and have doors opened to us, then let us…<\/p>\n
1. Keep on asking<\/p>\n
2. Keep on seeking<\/p>\n
3. Keep on knocking …not only in regards to prayer, but in all ventures worthy of Christians (e.g., Bible study, evangelism)!<\/p>\n
C. Have you asked, sought, or knocked today…?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ask Seek Knock Sermon Bible Text: Matthew 7:7-11 INTRODUCTION: A. Why do some people… 1. Succeed in having their prayers answered? 2. Have a greater understanding of the Bible? 3. Reach more souls for Christ? 4. Is it skill, genius, or luck? B. The answer is suggested by Calvin Coolidge: “Press on! Nothing in the … Continue reading “The Virtue of Perseverance – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43752\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}