Then He says: simply ask, seek and knock - be clear. So the first part of His sermon He says: don't get what you need by judging. This is directly tied to how you treat other people. The second thing He says is: don't get what you need from others by manipulation. This is directly tied to how you treat other people. Third thing He says is: when you need something from someone, just simply ask, seek and knock; in other words be clear. Just, if you need help - just ask. There's a big difference between saying: sweetie, I really need help with the dishes, would you mind helping me? And: I wish SOMEONE would help me around here! Those are two different things - one is manipulation, one is clearly asking, seeking and knocking.
Then He says: be aware of how your God-concept affects how you treat others. Essentially He says: when you ask your heavenly Father for a piece of bread, does He give you a rock? No, God doesn't play those games. Essentially the point He's making, is that it's very important that we become aware of how our God-concept affects how we treat other people. Jesus' disciples dealt with this.
There's this story in Luke 9, where Jesus sends His disciples to the next city to prepare the way, while He finished up in one city; and then as He was going there, they meet Him on the way out. He says: what happened? They said: well unfortunately, these people won't accept You. Would You like us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them now? And it says that Jesus rebuked them for their heart attitude. In other words, it would be a horrible thing if followers of Jesus ever thought Jesus' goal was to destroy people who don't accept Him. The Jesus I read about forgives His enemies. He turns the other cheek. He even prays, and blesses, and forgives people who nailed Him to a cross, and beat Him half to death on the way there. That's the kind of Jesus I serve; but if I believe that Jesus wants to destroy people, then that's how I'll come across. It will affect how I talk to other people. He says: be aware of this - be aware. If God tortures people, then you're going to think its okay for you to torture people - and by the way, in the 1860s, the church condoned the beatings of black people, because they were less human in America. I'm sure that didn't happen here. I'm sure there's no racism in New Zealand right? No, that doesn't happen here. If God's a racist, then it's okay for you to be a racist. If God does things then it's okay, see?
It says: don't get what you want by judging. Don't get what you want by manipulation, that's how you treat others. Simply ask, seek and knock - how you treat others. Be aware of how your God concept affects how you treat others. And then He says: broad is the road that leads to destruction; narrow is the way that leads to life. Does it stand to reason, that it might be talking about how you treat others, considering that everything before that is talking about how you treat others? But it keeps going, gets better. Then He says: don't follow teachers whose teachings destroy your life. If it isn't working dump it. Essentially He says: if what someone's teaching you, is leading your life to a bad place, then dump it. If it isn't working, don't keep doing it. It's Jesus being a First-Century, Middle-Eastern, hippie Dr Phil! Then He says: many will say to me in that day - Lord, Lord; and I'll say - I just don't know you. So Jesus then indicates, that at the end of the day, there's a lot of people who think they're in - but they're actually out!
Then He gets really scary, because He goes on to describe Pentecostal leaders. He says: these are people who've called Me Lord; they cast out devils; they perform miracles; and they prophesied. These are the people who are in trouble. Eeesh! Sounds like me, sounds like you, sounds like Pentecostal leaders. I mean honestly, Baptists from Cleveland, they're safe right? He says: many will say to me in that day - Lord, Lord; and I'll say: I just don't know you.
The problem is, there's only one scripture in the whole Bible that defines what it means to know God, and that is Jeremiah 22:16. It says: he took care of the poor and the afflicted, so it will go well for him. Is this not what it means to know Me, declares the Lord your God? So once again, knowing God was directly tied to how you treated other people. In the New Testament it's the same. 1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. So knowing God in the New Testament was directly tied to how you treated other people.