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[0:00] And chapter 7 and verse 7, Matthew 7, 7. Ask, and it shall be given you.

[0:17] Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. I'll read the next verse as well. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

[0:39] We will note, first of all, that this was spoken or preached in a sermon of sermons.

[0:53] None other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God. Yet closed in a body like unto her own, yet without sin.

[1:07] And he came on this earth and preached. And we see, therefore, also the difference. He preached with authority.

[1:18] He preached with a power. That was the power of God. And if in some humble measure, the Lord's servants are helped by the Spirit, even that is only a shadow of the power and glory that was in this wonderful sermon.

[1:43] We might think, how wonderful to live in those days. To hear the Lord Jesus Christ preaching those wonderful truths.

[1:54] We live in a very different day. As you all well know. A day when there's few desires to hear of these things and to know them.

[2:07] And a day when in measure there's a withholding of the Spirit. But not entirely. Blessed be God.

[2:18] There is still a few, still a remnant. That know these things. Seek these things. Desire these things.

[2:29] Pray for these things. And, you see where we come to the sermon. The very words of Jesus Christ. There's no lie in it. Oh, we know this, you say, but let's consider it.

[2:46] These words stand today. Although he's in heaven. They are written and penned by the Holy Spirit.

[2:58] They are those words in this wonderful form that is given to us in this backsliding nation.

[3:12] And they're still preached today. What a mercy with a measure of power. Now, to come to the text. You say, well, come to the text. Ask. Ask. Now, that's the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:28] And the encouraging thing is this. That the following verse gives a wonderful assurance.

[3:43] That any who really ask will not ask in vain. Now, that's the Lord's word.

[3:55] I have been used to quote it from his written word. And which is recorded as the very words left his sacred lips on this earth.

[4:10] What a sermon. Ask. Ask. Ask. And I was thinking. I had a little confirmation with a friend's prayer in the vestry.

[4:21] Because I had a text to bring which dissolved. And a theme which dissolved and had to start all again. And I thought the prayer.

[4:34] Did give me some confirmation that perhaps, after all, it was God's will. This might be his will. That I should bring this word. Well known.

[4:46] Often quoted. Learn it and repeat it like a parrot. Ask. Ask. Oh, but we want to look at the depth of it. Ask. Now, we may be helped to ask for many things.

[5:02] And in the context, you see. There is the right things to ask for. And the things not to ask for.

[5:15] Therefore, take no thought, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all, all these things are gentiles.

[5:28] Now, it says that. Your heavenly father knoweth. That ye have need of these things. So, therefore, it's a question of priorities.

[5:43] To get one's priorities straight. To ask for those things that are spiritual. Now, I do not believe for one moment.

[5:57] That God never uses. The things of providence. To bring his people to the. The footstool of his mercy.

[6:09] In the old days. He used those things in providence. In very remarkable ways. And if at first. They were used in providence only.

[6:20] The Lord then. Increased his work. And instead of asking for the bread of life. They asked for the bread of heaven.

[6:32] So, the work was increased. They asked for those things that. That do not rust. Where the moth cannot get at them.

[6:45] What a wonderful mercy. To be given this. Wisdom from above. To ask those things. Which may seem to be invisible.

[6:57] Those things which are of the heart. And the Holy Spirit. And the things that will never rust.

[7:10] Or never diminish. Ask. And it shall be given you. It all sounds so simple. Doesn't it? In the real truth and essence of it.

[7:24] It is. But there is a secret. It's got to be the work of the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost.

[7:35] Will give those things. In the heart. Those inquiries. In the heart. Those prayers. In the heart. Indicted by the Spirit.

[7:48] Because. This is most essential. It's the Lord's will. To bring his children. To his footstool. And what a place.

[8:03] Ask. Ask at the throne of grace. Ask the Lord. Now. What do we ask for? And there is more than one way of asking.

[8:14] There is only one right way. We can ask. Because. We have a desire for those things. That may be of ourselves.

[8:28] Ask for those things. So that we can feed. Shall we say. Dissards on those things. That are. Temporal. And the Lord may even.

[8:38] In measure. Bless some of these prayers. I know. The thing in the asking. The secret is this. Ask. For those treasures.

[8:51] That are above. You see. They are stored up in heaven. And they are of God. The Father.

[9:01] Son. And Holy Ghost. To dispense. To give. To supply. To clothe. And we have.

[9:13] Very. Wonderful hymn. That we sung. And now. For example. Shall we go through this. Coupled with the text. Show me some token.

[9:25] When did you last ask. Don't expect it. If you don't ask. You know.

[9:36] The Lord will be inquired of. For these things. He will be inquired of. It gives him honour. And it gives him glory. To find his children.

[9:48] Where? By faith. On their knees. At their footstool. Of mercy. Begging. And pleading. And asking. You might say.

[9:59] Is it as hard as that? Can't you find. A more simple way? I'll just give. One or two instances. There are times. When.

[10:11] And are special times. A soul. Is given. Wonderful access. At the Lord's feet. When their heart.

[10:23] Is enlarged. Their prayers. As it were. Enlarged. When. As I sometimes. Put it. It's like this. It's like. A ship. On the sea.

[10:35] Perhaps. When the soul. Has been. In the doldrums. Which is a state. Of the sea. When there. Never a breeze. And they wonder. Whether it ever. Will be a breeze.

[10:45] In the old. Sailing ship days. And the time. Seems so long. And the movement. Is not anywhere. No progress. Now.

[10:57] Some poor soul. In asking. Might come to that place. They can't feel. As they feel. The wind. Of the spirit. Moving them. They're asking.

[11:11] May seem. To be in vain. Now. There's nothing. That escapes. In the eye of God. He sees. Where they are. And presently.

[11:23] He will send. A breeze. From the Holy Spirit. A breeze. That will help them. And fill their sails.

[11:37] And I sometimes. Say this. When you feel. This. Heavenly breeze. Fill in your sails. Set every sails.

[11:50] And ask. Everything. That you feel. Laid on your heart for. But I feel this. You ask.

[12:01] Mostly. For the things. Concerning the soul. All. And the things. Concerning heaven. For where your treasure is.

[12:14] There will your heart be also. So you know. Your treasure is in heaven. And the Holy Spirit. Comes. And gives one. A special time.

[12:26] In prayer. Now I say. Get as far. As you can. Because. Presently. The breeze.

[12:36] Will disappear. But. That great God. In heaven. Knoweth. And he gives.

[12:47] A very. Wonderful. Encouragement. When you feel. This access. In prayer. That nearness. The enlarging. Of your heart.

[12:58] Are you the same. Every time you pray. Or are there times. When you can feel. An enlargement. In heart. You think. Well now is the time.

[13:09] To ask. For those things. That I feel. Are right. And why do you feel. Them right. Just think a moment.

[13:21] Why do you feel. Them right. Because I put more. In your pocket. It may be.

[13:31] If the Lord's will. That he should. Pray for this. And it's his will. Well. But that's only for time. Won't be long. Before the moth. Gets in the pocket. Will it? Pray for a new car.

[13:45] Long before the rust. Gets in. No. That's not. That's not. That's not the right things. Ask for those treasures. That will remain.

[13:58] That's the point. And leave all these other things. In the Lord's hands. I sometimes look around.

[14:09] And I think. Well I could do with this. I could do with that. I could do with that. And many things. I think I could do with. But. I must admit this. So far.

[14:22] I haven't been. Feeling able. To ask for them. You say. Well then. Perhaps that's where you don't get them.

[14:33] You see. We sometimes ask. For the things we want. But the Lord knows. The things we need. And the vast difference.

[14:46] I know. Try and get back. To the text. Ask. Now. I. Now. I ask. Excuse me. Using the same word again. I ask. Some of you down there.

[14:57] Now. What did you ask for? And immediately. You should better. Answer yourself. You might.

[15:09] Almost. Answer me. Inwardly. I don't want you to tell me. Do we know good? It's between you. And the Lord. Now. What have you asked for?

[15:22] And how did you feel. When you asked for it? I just come back. You might have felt. Well. You're in the doldrums. You don't get very far. Can't feel much of the help of the spirit.

[15:33] You haven't got much faith. Think you're stopping the same place all the time. Now. This is where. The authority. And the blessedness.

[15:46] Of that wonderful sermon comes in. It's with authority. For everyone that asketh. Receiveth.

[15:57] Everyone. So. The secret is asking. And the secret of asking. Is the work of the Holy Spirit.

[16:09] So you see. It's all God's work. Now. Another thing is this. You ask also.

[16:22] For another reason. And do you know what that reason is. Not to boost yourself up. Not to fill your pocket.

[16:33] Not to fill your larder. You ask. That so and so might come to pass. For the honour and glory of God.

[16:46] What a wonderful motive. For his honour and glory. So that when you've been.

[16:57] Able to ask. By the spirit's work. And felt that the Lord. Heard your prayer. Then you're looking for something else.

[17:11] And I'll tell you what you're looking for. You're looking. For something. That you handled.

[17:21] And tasted. And felt. There's not a theory. But a reality. So that you can go to those. Those who believe. Believe in these things.

[17:34] And you can say. Look. What the Lord has done. For me. The first thing.

[17:45] One might say. What's he done? He's answered my prayer. And here is the result. And you'll want to.

[17:58] Take that news. Because we live in a day. When there's so little. This kind of thing. Spoken about. You want to take that news.

[18:09] You want to say. Come and rejoice with me. Just like the prodigal son. Come and rejoice. There's something to sing about. And what are you going to sing?

[18:23] Very different to the general din. That goes on these days. Isn't it? Oh yes. You're going to sing his praises. Come and see.

[18:36] Come and hear. Come and look. Come and taste. Join in. Because I've got something to tell. First.

[18:46] First. The Lord made me ask. The Lord helped me ask. The Lord heard my prayer. And he came and he answered.

[19:00] You've got something to talk about. Haven't you? It's no good having an empty notion of religion. That's worse than having nothing.

[19:13] You might just as well be out in the street. With those out that make no profession. The reason is it can be more deceiving.

[19:25] They're not deceived. They know where they are. They know what they want. And maybe they don't realize where they're going. They know on heaven.

[19:35] There's not a wilderness to them. You take it. But you take one. Now be very careful. Who's got a smattering of religion.

[19:50] That doesn't stand in the power of the spirit. See. Don't ask for that. I'll tell you what a good thing to ask for.

[20:02] Besides the wonderful things in this hymn. And in asking. Do you sometimes ask as you're singing a hymn? As you sing.

[20:16] Perhaps you think. I want that. What we're singing. I want that. I want a token. I want a visit. When you're singing.

[20:28] The Lord answers these kind of prayers. You know. You haven't got to get in a pulpit to pray. You haven't got to go always on your knees. Literally to pray.

[20:40] You can pray. Standing. Singing. In a congregation. And I wonder. If anybody in this place.

[20:51] Has ever. Asked. This. As they sung a hymn. I asked the Lord. That I might grow. In faith and love.

[21:03] And every grace. Might more of his salvation know. And seek more earnestly his faith. But who did he answer? I hope that in some favoured hour.

[21:17] At once. Did answer my request. And so on. I've got a poor memory I'm afraid. But oh it was in such a way.

[21:31] As almost drove me to despair. He answered didn't he? He answered. You see. So he doesn't always answer.

[21:43] The way you think. Does he? Now everyone that asks. Will have times of temptation.

[21:55] Because Satan. Satan hates. To hear the Lord's people. Asking. Nothing.

[22:07] Would please him more. Than to stifle your prayer. He hates. The Lord's people. Going to the Savior.

[22:18] On their knees. On his foot's to the mercy. He hates it. And he will do everything. You stop them. Ask.

[22:29] He's saying. You'll never get that answered. You'll never get that answered. Oh I go through these things sometimes. Trying to pray for something.

[22:42] Something special. I won't tell you what it is. Yes. And. Very often. I put this special thing.

[22:53] Almost last. And then I thought. No. That's wrong. I should put this. Perhaps first. For a change. But oh. Sometimes. As Satan.

[23:04] Says this to me. You might. Just as well. Pack up. You might. Just as well. Finish. Because you ask. In vain. Ask.

[23:17] So he tries to stifle your prayer. Doesn't he? He tries to smother you in your faith. He wants to knock the life out of you. Doesn't he?

[23:29] Ask. Ask. You see. These are the very things. That sometimes are in the pathway.

[23:41] That are so hard. Ask. But I. I did say. That there's a special time. When you can lay it all before. Before his feet. Now.

[23:52] Again. I'll tell you a little bit. Asking in prayer. And. My wife. Might know. She might have heard this. Never mind. Because others haven't. You take your case.

[24:08] Your spiritual case. Whatever it is. To the Lord Jesus Christ. You take it. And you lay it before him.

[24:19] And you see. And you bring it away again. Don't you? Oh. This special thing with me. I take it. I try to lay it before the Lord.

[24:30] And what do I do? I'll bring it away again. Because I've not been given the access. To believe.

[24:42] Or to feel. That the Lord has taken it. To. So you go. To and fro. To and fro.

[24:52] The same thing. The same case. Over and over again. To and fro. Until you think. What's the good of asking? This is a great trial of faith.

[25:04] But it's part of the pathway. And sometimes it can be very hard work. Until you think.

[25:16] I won't pray anymore. See. And you in your mind. Might look at a certain situation.

[25:28] That concerns your case. And you say. Well of course. That's impossible. Isn't it? It's absolutely impossible. What kind of a God.

[25:38] Do we sometimes. Try to believe in? Impossible. And yet. Another part. Knows that it's not. Impossible. Oh. You see.

[25:51] This is. Where we give place. To the devil. Where we give place. To his will. Men. Ought.

[26:02] Always. To pray. And not. To fight. Oh. Are there any. Fighters here? You fight.

[26:14] Oh. The fighters. I'm pretty good at. Fainting. Not naturally. I'm pretty good at. Fainting in these things.

[26:26] You've got a poor one. In a pulpit today. Is often faint. Yes. I'm not. I'm not one. Who can puff out his chest. With great faith.

[26:36] And go. And forward. Like that. No. No. Oh. My poor prayers. Now. Another point. It need not be. A long prayer.

[26:51] But bearing in mind. What I said. When the spirit blows you. Set every sail. That's a special time. You might try this again.

[27:04] And set every sail. You can't set your own sails. You might set them. You can't send. I should put it right. You can't send. The wafting wind. Of the spirit. Take this figure.

[27:17] You set yourself. There's nothing moves. Right. You can't feel access. You can't really feel. You've got the Lord's ear.

[27:30] Your prayer. Doesn't really leave your heart. Like you want it to. You've got to press through these things. Ask.

[27:42] Ask. Still ask. Still not. Persevere. And there shall not God. Avenge his own elect.

[27:57] That cry unto him day and night. I say yes. He will avenge them speedily. Yes. When we say speedily.

[28:09] We might think the next day. God works. With eternity in mind. Which is very different to the days.

[28:22] Nights. And years. And months that we know. With eternity in mind. You see. When one asks. And when to them.

[28:34] It might seem like a long time. With God in eternity. It's already present. The answer's there. The blessing's coming.

[28:46] But the poor soul. Sometimes kept waiting. Oh yes. Ask. Now then. Can we go a little step further?

[28:58] And it shall be given you. What? What? That that you so want. From heaven. I wonder what we really pray for.

[29:14] Do you want to know him more? As we might say. In a humble measure. That he might be made knowable in measure.

[29:27] To his poor children. Because he's so great. He's so holy. He's such a one. He's such a one. We cannot really conceive. His greatness. When I said in prayer. We're worms.

[29:37] We are. Blessed worms. In his great sight. Yet there's mercy for these. You ask a poor worm to ask.

[29:48] Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Makes a poor worm to beg for mercy. Makes a poor worm. As you might say. To creep the throne of grace.

[29:59] With a petition. And what is your petition? What's the main thing? Now the main thing really. Is this. Well. I don't know which is really the most important.

[30:13] There's many that are important. In the first place. That you're born of God. Many profess to be born again. And where's the humility?

[30:29] And where is the changing of their ways? And what are they asking for mostly? The things of this life.

[30:42] The prosperity in the things of this life. You get so called pop stars. Born again. What do you think about that? Think.

[30:53] You take a poor child of God. And when I say a child of God. I mean a child of God. Sometimes he. Has to ask again and again.

[31:08] Lord show me I'm born again. Show me that I'm born of God. Lord. Show me Lord. That I'm born of God. He doesn't have it put in the paper. He doesn't.

[31:19] He or she doesn't want no photo in. To say look at a newborn Christian. No. He fears. Lest he may not. Or she may not be born again.

[31:29] They got many fears. Show me some token of thy special love. Show me that I'm born of God. Show me Lord.

[31:40] Why do you want so much convincing poor soul? You want me to tell you don't you? Number one.

[31:54] Because of all your sins. All your failings. All your filth.

[32:04] It's not the outward appearance. It's the heart. All the mistakes in your life. There's so much isn't there?

[32:18] That you want to know. There's so much that seems against you. Show me that I'm born of God. So much that seems against you. Very different to the ones I spoke of isn't it?

[32:30] They're so sure they can brag about it. Poor child of God. They're like this. They think if only I knew. If only I knew I was born of God.

[32:43] I'm sure I should feel more peace. No. No you won't. If you're born of God you'll feel a warfare.

[32:57] If you're born of God you'll be like Job. Who couldn't understand as you might say what was going on with some of these things.

[33:08] And the reason was this. Poor Job. A born again. Blessed character.

[33:19] Child of God. You know what was going on don't you? A tussle between God and the devil. In his poor heart.

[33:30] And Job was the battleground. No wonder it tore him. No wonder all this. Hest thou considered thy servant Job.

[33:42] He doesn't have to stop with Job. You can take these things to die. You take a child of God that's asked to be born again.

[33:57] And God has granted it. And they are born again. Now pick them up there. Long come Satan. And you know he goes to this great God.

[34:12] And there's dealings between God and Satan. Don't think there isn't. You'll find it in the Bible. And the devil goes along in the day in which we live.

[34:26] We don't know do we? God doesn't tell us. And the devil says. Now have you considered that one? And what about that one?

[34:41] And what about that one? They think they're born again. Amen. They think you'll lead them to me for a little while.

[34:52] Yes. And you know the Lord permits it. In that wonderful hymn he shows them the evils of their, the hidden evils of their heart.

[35:06] Their heart. Shows them things they never thought were in their heart. Shows them what their heart is. So they think born of God. Who cannot be born of God with all this lot?

[35:17] Ask. Ask. This is one of the things that very much point that you are born of God, poor soul.

[35:28] Because that's where the battle goes on within your breast. I remember when I hoped years ago. The Lord, I hope, called me by his grace.

[35:43] In a way which was sovereign to him. And was for his will and purpose, honour and glory. But so mysterious.

[35:56] And I had had such a love for the cinema. And you know, when I knew that was forbidden, it was just as if the temptation was so intense that I did not want to miss one opportunity entering those doors.

[36:24] I had never known a temptation like it before because of course I went. But when, when God says no, they know the temptation. Now some go through these temptations in a very different way.

[36:37] That may not be your temptation. It may be something else. And Satan is permitted to put the pressure on.

[36:50] And the poor soul says, shall I be able to resist this terrible temptation? Will you fall?

[37:02] Will you fall? See? That's a battle going on in the breast. Oh, the temptations. Ask. You don't ask for temptations.

[37:14] There. You might ask for temptation. You might ask for temptation. You might ask for temptation. You might ask for temptation. You might ask for temptation. Or kept from temptation. But remember this.

[37:29] Ask. And now I'm thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask that you might grow. more like him.

[37:39] He was led of the spirit into the wilderness. The express purpose of being tempted of the devil.

[37:49] And do you think you'll escape? No. So, you see, there's no sin in the temptation.

[38:02] There's no sin in Christ. Get that straight. There's no sin in being tempted. The sin is when we fall.

[38:16] Yes. That's where the sin is. When we fail, our Savior. Whether it be in word. Or deed.

[38:29] Or thought. Or desire. What are you tempted with? Ask. Ask. Ask that you might be delivered from these.

[38:42] As so considered my servant Job. Oh, yes. The Lord says. We might say to a poor soul. I've got to do it so that we can understand it.

[38:53] With his great God. Oh, yes. I know all about them. The devil has a wonderful knowledge. He knows when you're caught by grace, you know.

[39:03] Don't think that's hidden from him. The Lord permits him a wonderful knowledge of what goes on. He sees the Lord gathering his people. He knows everyone.

[39:14] And he can. And he knows them. Surprising the knowledge he's got. And he knows just where to go. Just how to boil them over.

[39:25] Just how to get them. Just how to poison them. If possible. Just how to deal with them. Yes. Ask. You don't ask for that, do you? Oh, yes, you do.

[39:39] You say, what do you mean? I'll explain it. You ask this. For all those temptations. You ask for that battlefield.

[39:52] When you ask the Lord that you might grow. When you ask the Lord that you might know him more. When you ask the Lord that you might seek more honestly his face.

[40:06] You're asking for these things. But you don't think. You ask. Exactly. If I might put it in those words.

[40:17] In other words. A soul that's born again. They ask for a pathway. It's very hard.

[40:29] It's very rugged. It's very mysterious. They ask for this. They ask that they might enter in at a straight gate.

[40:41] Because wide is the gate. That leadeth to destruction. And many go in there at. They ask that they might enter in at a straight gate.

[40:52] For straight is the gate. And narrow is the way. That leadeth unto life. They ask for this. And if they knew.

[41:04] The pathway. They might never have asked. But the Lord knows the pathway. And the Lord knows them by their name.

[41:17] From the beginning of eternity. In the beginning of eternity. Rather not in the beginning. There's no beginning. In eternity. Before the world was formed. He knew everyone's name. Written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

[41:29] And when the time comes. And they're born again. And the prayers are put in. Their heart. To ask for those treasures that are above. They will come.

[41:42] In a very painful pathway. They will come. In a very narrow way. That leadeth unto life.

[41:54] And they will be. So much and part of their life. It's completely separate. From the life of any worldling.

[42:06] Completely separate. They wouldn't understand your path. They wouldn't understand your language. They wouldn't understand anything at all. It's like.

[42:17] I'll finish with this. Two young men. We're in a certain chapel. A few years ago. I was preaching. And they're very honest. I've never seen them before. And after the service. One said.

[42:30] What did you make of that? And he said. Well it's a foreign language to me. He was honest. He couldn't understand a language. Now I liken it like this.

[42:41] If I were to go to Germany. To France. I can only speak English. Poorly. If I go to there. I can't speak their language. There's nothing wrong with the language. Nothing wrong with their language.

[42:54] I can't speak it. I don't know it. And that's how it is. With the child of God. You know. You know your language. You know the language.

[43:04] And your prayers. You know the language. Don't you? And it's a different country. It's a different. Different atmosphere. It's altogether different.

[43:16] And you see the worldling. They know nothing of this. They want to know nothing. What a mercy when some are brought in. And they can then say.

[43:26] Well there's something here. There's some secret. There's something here secret. There's something I want to know. Ask. And it shall be given you.

[43:37] Seek. And you shall find. Knock. And it shall be opened. Mostly. It's been this morning. Ask. And it shall be given you. Don't give up.

[43:48] Poor soul. Ask. Ask. Once more. And it may be. The devil said. This is the last time you're going to ask. Ask. Just once more.

[44:00] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[44:10] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hymn 63, tune 163.

[44:41] There's not a sparrow nor a worm, but found in God's decrees. He raises monarchs to their thrones and sinks them, if he please.

[44:52] Hymn 63, tune 163. Hymn 63,uy. Amen.ven and sins will be weary.

[45:34] If-i-r sa experienced your foes, fire, these eternal iceあの things, And in his head, my nuestra care, in our quest live, my tears, When He reveals the world of life And with our people's name And with our people's name

[46:39]  All in the world All in the world Now may the grace, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And the last one