Part 2: Keep Knocking On The Door 

Synopsis of 09/08/24 Sermon

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Matthew 7:7-8 
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

I.          INTRODUCTION

1. One thing essential to a Christian Life is faith and pray. Hebrews 11:6 NKJV says 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2. When faith is present, we have to have the determination to believe God will deliver what we pray for. It demonstrates our position to keep knocking until the door is open.
3. This word today is about prayer, faith, persistence. Keep praying until the door opens. Just because it takes a while, doesn’t mean God won’t come.
   1. This deals with seeking and knocking.
4. This text was written by Matthew referred to as Levi was a Tax Collector and Tax collectors weren’t normally liked. They were somewhat considered corrupt.
5. Jesus passed by Levi’s booth and asked him to follow Him. Levi dropped everything to follow him.
6. Jesus was showing us how to take the outcast and bring them into leadership. No matter where you are in life, God has the power to change you.
7. Matthew writes under the backdrop of hospitality. God is not one to leave you in the cold. God will make what you requested available.
8. Matthew 5,6, & 7 are a group of teachings that take place on the mount, hence the sermon on the mount. After chapter 4, he brings the disciples together and teaches them things that they needed in order to minister.
9. Chapter 5 is called the Beatitudes, because we have to focus on who we are, before we go out and do ministry. We must be who called us to be, before we do to what He told us to do.
   1. We have to ask God to help us be better, before we do better.
10. Back in this day and time, they would teach from the Torah. They felt the the Torah was an ongoing journey of teachings.
11. Jesus says here, “If you ask it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door would be open”.
12. It starts like this:

II.          PRAY HIS PROMISE

• You can’t just ask God for anything, and he do it for you. It is about alignment and

A.  Believe What His Word Says

1. When I pray, my prayer is rooted in faith. I know by faith, when I pray, it will be available to me. I don’t have to see it first.
2. When I pray God’s word, that means that I know His word.
3. When I pray, I know:
   1. I have access to it.
   2. This also means that I know God can perform it.
   3. This means I can ask without apology.
4. Praying is like having an app to a restaurant. When you download the app, you can order in the app, even though you are not at the restaurant. When you download the Word into your life, you know you have access to it. You don’t have to be in a particular location to receive it.

B.  Declare His Word Back To Him In Prayer

1. Because God’s word is in alignment with His will, I can ask for what’s on the menu. Therefore, I can’t pray for anything that is outside His will
   1. You can ask for ribs at chick filet, but you won’t get it, because you can only order what’s on the menu. In like manner, you can only pray for what’s on the menu. The 66 books in the bible is the menu. What you pray for must be on the menu.
   2. If the menu is in you, you can declare it, and when you get where you’re going, God will already have your blessing prepared for you.
2. Ask what God’s word is. If you don’t know what God’s word is, then you don’t know what to pray for.
3. Always seek God’s will for your life.

III.          PURSUE HIS PLAN

• When pursuing God’s plan, we have to ask, “Is this the door you want me to go through?” or “Is this the lane that you want for me?”
• Just because it looks good on paper, doesn’t mean it’s God’s will for you.

A.  Ask God To Reveal His Plans

1. Jeremiah 29:11NKJV says 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
2. Three ways God reveals his plans
3. By Scripture – Psalm 119:105 NKJV says ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
4. The Holy Spirit – John 16:13 NKJV says ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. – The Holy Spirit is intelligent. He is your sixth sense. He tries to lead you and guide you.
5. Circumstances – Romans 8:28 NKJV says ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His – God will use life events. You know that it was a lesson in it and a blessing in it.
6. It is not about how big the opportunity is. It is about what is up the road. He knows our end before our beginning. Make sure it is His will for your life before you do it.
7. God never gives us something for our right now. It’s for our not yet.

B.  Align Your Plans With His

1. Whatever your plans are, they must submit to God’s plans. Sometimes you will have plans, and God will disrupt them.
2. You have to come to a place where it is about God’s will and not your own.
3. It is about:
   1. Focus – Colossians 3:2 NKJV says 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. – What you are focusing on my not be God’s will for your life right now.
   2. Faith – Hebrews 11:6 NKJV says 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Even if I don’t see his hands, I still know that its whats best for me.
   3. Flexibility –Proverbs 19:21 NKJV says 21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand. – I’m willing to yield my plans to God’s plans. Always be flexible for what God wants to do in your life.

IV.          PERSISTENT IN YOUR PETITION

• This is about Knocking doesn’t get on God’s nerve.
• There are two types of times:
  • Chronos time – This kind of time deals with days, months, and minutes. This is what we deal in from day to day.
  • Kairos time – This is not about minutes. It is about moments. It is about Gods timing.
    • For example, if you go to a train station, you will see the map. It may be complicated, but it is a map about getting you somewhere you need to be, at a time you need to be there.
    • When the train shows up, just because it shows at a certain time doesn’t mean everyone will board it at the same time. We are concerned about when we are getting aboard. It was Job that said, “I will wait until my change comes”. When God shows up, it is in his time, not ours, but when he shows up, it will be on time!
  • God shows up in His time, which is always on time.
• It is about Perfect Timing.

A.  Remember God’s Timing Is Not Ours

1. Creation didn’t happen the way we see time today. Remember that a 1000 yrs in our time is as one day for God. Understanding this, know that everything God did, He did so for what was about to happen next.
   1. Day 1 – God made light. We needed light for things to live.
   2. Day 2- God made the sky, waters, and the air. God knew that this would be necessary to grow things.
   3. Day 3 – God made the land, seas, and vegetation, such as grass and trees. God knew this would be necessary to feed something that would be coming soon.
   4. Day 4 – God made the sun, the moon, and the stars. God knew the celestial bodies would regulate the seasons.
   5. Day 5 – God then made the sea creatures and bird. He knew that these creatures would provide food for people that only ate certain things.
   6. Day 6 – God made the land animals and humans. God knew ahead of time we needed the vegetation to eat and animals to provide meet for us to eat.
      1. God did all of this in order, because he was preparing for something that was coming later. Sometimes, we want to skip steps or take shortcuts, but when we do, we miss out on things that we will need to sustain us.
   7. God is putting things in order for a reason. For example, when God says “Be fruitful and multiply”, he wants us to achieve the fruitful part, before multiplying, otherwise, we produce other stuff that isn’t fruitful. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV says 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
   8. Move in sequence. Allow things to come in the order and season that God plans for them to come. This allows us to have:
      1. Patience and Trust – James 1:3-4 NKJV says 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.– The things that God allows to come your way is just building you up.
      2. Preparation and growth – Preparation allows us to move in a situation and grow from it.
      3. Understanding delays and denials – We have to understand that delays and denials are for our good. It is not meant to tear us down, but instead allow us to end up were we are supposed to be.
      4. Trust in God’s sovereignty – Trust that God knows what He is doing, and He knows what’s best for us.

B.  Keep Praying And Don’t Give Up

1. Don’t stop trusting God. Whatever he says He will do, He will do. Don’t give up!

V.          PRAISE HIM FOR WHAT HE PERFORMS

• Knock and the door shall be open.

A.  God Will Do What He Said He Would Do

1. Performers have to become something different than what they are to perform. It’s like you have to become something different to be successful. For example, one might use a stage name. God doesn’t have to become anything, because He already is all that we could ever need.
2. God will do what He said He would do
   1. Numbers 23:19 NKJV says ¹⁹ “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
3. 1 John 5:14-15 NKJV says 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. – God hears you!

B.    Testify To What You’ve Seen Yourself

1. You’ve seen God open doors. God has you on the right service today.
2. God wouldn’t send this word, if He wasn’t going to make good on what He
3. Story:
   1. Bishop ends by telling the story about his Ring Camera. He had a friend that wanted to borrow something out of his house, but Bishop was not at home. Bishop and his friend had talked on the phone, so Bishop knew his friend was on the way over his house.
   2. With the Ring camera, Bishop can not only hear him and see him, he also can unlock his door. When he heard his friend coming, he unlocked his door remotely, so that his friend could go in and get what he needed.
   3. Here’s the point. What Bishop’s friend needs is in the house. Bishop didn’t have to be present to open the door. Bishop’s friend just needed to be in position, at the right time in order to access the house and get what he needed.
   4. Just like this story, God can unlock doors for you and He doesn’t have to be present when He does it. He can do it from anywhere at any time! Keep knocking on the door!