Understanding of Matthew 7

Understanding of Matthew 7

1.
Effective prayer is when you, keep on asking, keep on looking and keep on knocking. If you are to do this, you will be given what you ask for, you will find and the door will be opened. (paraphrase of Matt 7:7)

This reminds me of what Suzanne shared with me before, “Keep on pounding on the door, keep on asking for an answer.”

When you keep on ASKING, trusting and knowing that your Father in Heaven only wants what is best for you, (Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you, … plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”) he will GIVE and you will FIND that DOOR that will be OPENED.

2.
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act (outward action), just as you can identify a tree by its fruit… … A healthy tree produces good fruit and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit… Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.” --- Matthew 7: 15-17, 20

The outward action of a person is the way to identify him as a disciple or not. Like the analogy above, a person who is not a disciple of Christ is not able to obey the Father, to abide in Him.

However, be warned in your life that while you might be producing the ‘right’ kind of fruit in your life, what is the motive behind it, obedience in God? Check out the subsequent verses that follow:

Verse 21
“Not all people who sound religious are really godly… the decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven”

Jesus even goes on to say that those who do such ‘godly things’ are evildoers (NIV), unlawful, unauthorized!

Oh boy, so how?

I’ve come to learnt that as much as the Word warns us things to look out for, it never leaves us hanging. Read on in Matthew 7 and you will see that the solution to being a good tree is clearly stated.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise…But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish…”

And I know that the Holy Spirit in us will teach us the teachings, show us what God is saying to us. Our part? Obedience. =)