Find || Keep On! #3

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matthew 7:7-8

This passage talks about what God will give to you. If you continue to ask, then you’ll receive. If you continue to search, then you’ll find it. If you continue to knock, the door will open. It’s a verse that sounds straightforward but has a deeper meaning. This passage led me to create our latest series, “Keep On.”

This series will examine what it means to ask and receive, seek and find, and knock and open. I will explain the concepts through word studies and then go into scriptures that use these words to help us build upon the context of what Jesus is teaching us. My goal for this series is to help you keep going to God in prayer for anything you need.

In this blog, we are wrapping up our “seek and find” study by looking at what it means to find. Let’s get into it.

To find is the Greek verb heuriskó (hyoo-ris’-ko), which means to find, learn, and discover.

2 Corinthians 12:20-21

20          For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.

21          Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.

Paul was afraid to find that Corinth’s wicked practices had invaded the congregation. He wrote sternly, hoping they would straighten themselves out before he arrived. To connect with this series’s last blog, Paul hopes to find that the people of Corinth looked within themselves (seek internally) and realized what they were doing was wrong. Paul wanted to find them repenting of their old ways.

We need to live differently as Christians. We should not be seeking the ways of the world for the rules of how to treat each other. We can find the godly ways of doing that within the Bible. The Bible teaches us ways to do that are upside-down to how the world teaches. Love your enemies. Give above and beyond. Treat others how you want to be treated. General society doesn’t teach that often. They focus on the “me-first” mentality. Love yourself and screw your enemies. Hold on to everything you have, even if you don’t need it, AND get more. Treat others how they treat you. Do not let culture influence your behavior or invade your practices.

2 Corinthians 2:1-4

1            So I decided that I wouldn’t bring you grief with another painful visit.

2            For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved.

3            That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very one who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful.

4            I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to give you, but I want to let you know how much love I have for you?

Paul had returned to deal with the church, which had been attacking his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ, thus confusing other behaviors. Paul did not enjoy reprimanding his friends. Still, he cared enough about the Corinthians to confront them with their wrongdoing. Paul did not like finding his friends and other Christians doing wrong and attacking his character. He had to seek God and seek within himself to communicate his concerns and reprimands in a loving and caring way.

Sometimes, our friends make choices that we know are wrong. We aren’t showing them love if we find them making those choices and ignoring them. We show them love by seeking them out and sharing our concerns because we find value in them and want to seek them and do their very best for God. When we don’t make any move to help them, we find ourselves being more concerned about seeking value in the world by focusing on us rather than seeking care for what could happen to them.

Philippians 3:6

6            I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

Agreeing with the leaders of the religious establishments, Paul found that Christianity was heretical and blasphemous. Now, let me put that in everyday English. Paul found that Christianity was skeptical and disrespectful. He believed this because when he sought Jesus, Jesus didn’t meet his expectations about what the coming Messiah would be like. Paul assumed that Jesus’ claims were false – and therefore wicked. Paul saw Christianity as a political disturbance because it threatened to disrupt the fragile harmony.

So, Paul found that his belief structure supersedes what others saw in Jesus. Paul was so set in his own findings that he would do anything to force people to seek his ways, regardless of how morally or ethically correct they were. This feels very similar to much of society. Each of us has our own beliefs about how to act, and when someone acts or believes something that is either different or contradicts us, we look at them as either wrong or the enemy. We attempt to “convince” others to believe what we do or view them as someone to hate. We rarely seek common ground immediately but instead find ourselves in a war with each other.

Acts 22:3-4

3            Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.

4            And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.

By saying that, at one time, he was as zealous for God as any of his listeners, Paul was acknowledging their sincere motives behind their desire to kill him, pointing out that he had done the same to Christians a few years earlier. Paul always tried to establish common ground with his audience before launching into a full-scale defense of Christianity.

Paul saw that his old ways weren’t leading to what his life was meant for. Paul found himself torturing and killing Christians for their own beliefs. So Jesus found him on the road to Damascus and caused Paul to not see anymore. This period of blindness allowed Paul to gain new sight, seek the glory of God, and find ways to plant churches and share the Good News with all people willing to listen. Paul even went out of his way to find common ground with his audience before teaching the Gospel. When you share the Good News with your community, find that common ground. They will be more likely to listen and retain what you share if they find a common bond with you.

Paul shares sound reasoning as to why we need to seek common ground.

Galatians 1:3-5

3            May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

4            Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

5            All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

God planned from the beginning to save us through Jesus’ death. We’ve been rescued from the power of our world, ruled by evil spirits through cruelty, tragedy, temptation, exploitation, and deception. Being rescued doesn’t mean that we are removed from evil but are no longer enslaved to it. We have found our way out from the evil spirits the world is chained to. All we need to do is seek the teachings and beliefs of God through Jesus. It’s seeking the Holy Spirit and leaning on its guidance to find the right words and actions to please God. What will you do?