Text: James 4:3; Isaiah 55:1; Luke 11:9–10; James 4:8–10
God invites us to pursue Him with undivided hearts, purified motives, humble repentance, and desperate longing.
To awaken a deeper pursuit of God that transforms daily living through wholehearted asking, seeking, and knocking.
Jesus’ words in Luke 11:9–10 are an invitation, not to formulaic religion, but to deep personal pursuit:
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
But many ask and receive nothing. Many seek and find only emptiness. Why? James 4:3 answers plainly:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
This is a heart issue—not a problem with God’s promises, but with our posture toward Him. So today, we explore the six movements of spiritual pursuit: asking, seeking, thirsting, knocking, lamenting, and humbling.
1. Purify the Motive of Your Asking – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3)
A. Ask according to God’s will, not personal gain.
Asking “amiss” means we pray with self at the center. But God hears those who pray for His kingdom and glory (John 14:13).
B. Let your prayers be shaped by the cross, not by comfort.
When Jesus asked, “Let this cup pass from Me,” He ended with, “Yet not My will, but Yours.” That is how we must ask.
C. Desiring self-fulfillment more than God leads to spiritual dryness.
When we are full of self, there is no room left for God. The more we chase our own satisfaction, the less we desire Him.
2. Focus the Direction of Your Seeking – “…seek, and you will find…” (Matthew 7:7)
A. Make God your first and daily pursuit.
We are told to seek first the kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Many seek peace, blessings, or clarity—but do we seek God Himself?
B. Wholehearted seeking excludes distraction and divided loyalty.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
C. Feeble cries during crisis are not the same as focused pursuit.
We often “seek” God when life breaks us—but real seeking is consistent, intentional, and devotional, not reactive.
3. Discern the Nature of Your Thirst – “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1)
A. Are you truly thirsty—or simply curious or complacent?
This call is to the thirsty, not the content. A self-satisfied heart will never press deeper into God.
B. Experience is a doorway, not a destination.
Past spiritual experiences can encourage us—but they must not become idols. Faith built only on feelings will falter.
C. Create holy hunger by drawing near daily.
Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Thirst drives action, not passive religion.
4. Knock with Repentant Intensity -“Knock, and it will be opened…” (Luke 11:9)
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners…” (James 4:8)
A. Knocking means there’s a door between us and God—and we want in.
But the door doesn’t open for those who won’t be cleansed or confronted.
B. The knock reveals who we are.
As we knock, we find dirt on our hands and sin in our hearts. Repentance becomes unavoidable.
C. Desperation purifies intention.
When we truly want God more than anything else, we’ll knock again and again. Jesus told of a man who knocked at midnight with persistence (Luke 11:5–8)—so must we.
5. Lament Over the True Condition of Your Soul – “Lament and mourn and weep!” (James 4:9)
A. Lamenting is different from wallowing.
This isn’t self-pity. It’s brokenness before God about how far we’ve drifted.
B. Godly sorrow leads to repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:10: “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.”
C. The more we see His holiness, the more we lament our sin.
Isaiah said, “Woe is me! For I am undone…” (Isaiah 6:5). Have we ever wept over our spiritual condition?
6. Humble Yourself Before the Lord – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
A. Humility is the final key that opens the door.
God does not lift the proud. He resists them (1 Peter 5:5), but welcomes the lowly.
B. You must knock with the crucified thief.
Humility means joining the criminal who said, “Remember me…” and heard, “Today you will be with Me…” (Luke 23:42–43).
C. God opens the door, not because we earned it, but because we humbled ourselves to ask rightly, seek truly, and knock desperately.
Conclusion: How Then Should We Live? This sermon isn’t just about posture in prayer—it’s about a pattern of life. Here’s how we should live as Christ followers in light of this teaching:
- Ask with purified motives.
Begin and end each prayer with surrender—“Not my will, but Yours.” - Seek God above all else.
Prioritize time with Him. Read His Word not just to learn, but to know Him. - Stay spiritually thirsty.
Never let satisfaction in this world replace hunger for the Living Water. - Knock with repentance and urgency.
Confess sin quickly. Don’t wait. Knock with clean hands and a contrite heart. - Lament sin deeply.
Don’t gloss over your condition. Sit in godly sorrow until it gives birth to new obedience. - Walk in humility.
Reject self-exaltation. Lift high the name of Jesus, not yourself. Be content to kneel at the door and let Him open it in His way and time.
Benediction
“To him who knocks, it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
May your life become a rhythm of asking rightly, seeking relentlessly, and knocking humbly—until He opens heaven’s door, not only in the life to come, but here and now, in daily communion with Him.
The Door Is Not Far
I asked for things and got silence.
I asked again, but I wanted only ease.
I did not know I was asking for myself,
Not for God, not for His will,
And the silence was mercy.
I tried to seek but I was full.
Full of comfort, full of distraction.
I did not thirst for what was true.
But when the ache came, I turned,
And found Him near.
I knocked with clean hands, I thought.
But the knock revealed the dirt,
The pride I had wrapped in good deeds,
The shame I had buried with noise.
He heard, even then.
I sat with my sorrow and did not run.
I let the tears come without defense.
No excuses, no explanations—just the truth.
I saw myself, and I saw grace.
The door began to open.
I knelt with the thief, empty and small.
I asked nothing but to be remembered.
No demands, just need.
He did not shame me.
He lifted me.
Now I ask with peace,
Seek with hunger,
Knock with hope,
Live with joy.
The door is not far.