 Today we're in chapter 11 in the gospel of Luke. We're going to be looking at verses 5 through 13 And so allow me to read to you beginning at verse 5 here in Luke chapter 11 I'll read to verse 10 and we'll get into our study this evening Luke chapter 11 beginning at verse 5 reading to verse 10 Luke writes he said to them which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him friend Lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him And he will answer from within and say do not trouble me. The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed I cannot rise and give to you. I say to you though He will not rise and give to him because he's his friend Yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs 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 And so as we've been looking at chapter 11, perhaps some of you some of you might remember We've been looking at prayer and in the first few verses of chapter 11 here in the gospel of Luke Jesus had laid down something that has been referred to as his model prayer Remember with me that his disciples had approached him Remember with me that they had spoken to him and they made a request of him and they had said Lord Teach us to pray even as John also taught his disciples and I didn't really mention this to you So by way of review and then moving into this parable that we're going to be seeing this parable of the friend in need When they came and spoke to him I want you to remember and you can see that if you'd like to refresh your memory by just looking at verse 1 of chapter 11 When they came and spoke to him and said Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples remembering That Jesus Christ was one of a person of prayer We consider the reason why they would approach him in that way. We know that many of his followers Came from John the Baptist ministry John's ministry as we studied in the New Testament was intended to be the one who who came before the Messiah and prepared the way for him and John made it very clear that he wasn't the Messiah but rather was sent before him to prepare people and So when people would actually come to him and think that he was more important in Jesus as is recorded for example in John chapter 3 John the Baptist would be very quick to point them towards the Lord Jesus Christ. That was his ministry His ministry was to decrease in order that the Lord Jesus Christ might increase and He came as a voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight So John never was one who took the glory to himself But always knew that he was chosen by God prepared by God to prepare the way for Messiah And so he had disciples who loved him and were extremely loyal to him There's no doubt that they appreciated his holiness his His being set apart by God to do a wonderful task and all of that and they loved him to pieces and something about him is He was one who prayed But he knew that he'd can't he had come to prepare the way for Messiah and would point his disciples to Jesus in John chapter 1 Verses 35 through 37 the Bible says John stood with two of his disciples and looking at Jesus as he walked He said behold the Lamb of God and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. That's what they were supposed to do Now these disciples that began to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ who at one time had been disciples of John Undoubtedly were aware of the fact that John had been one who taught them how to pray now Their prayer life apparently was something that had impressed Jesus's disciples and it stirred them to the point of one approaching Jesus and saying teach us to pray To approach him and say teach us to pray even as John also taught his disciples And so they actually noticed how they prayed and that they knew how to pray and they approached the Lord Jesus Christ And so there's something about John. There's something about his disciples that have stirred me it has stirred me up I've noticed that John has taught his disciples how to pray Lord and I would like you to teach us how to pray also Now there's an interesting scripture in the book of Hebrews chapter 10 verse 24 In in that passage the writer says let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works Let us consider one another. Let us watch over one another. Let us let us View each other's life to such a degree that the things within another person's life That is instructive to me the thing that is in somebody else's life That can provoke me can stir me up the thing about them that they have that that is is a wonderful Contribute well may that be something that causes me to be so stirred up that I want to emulate that and have that myself And so when they would watch John's disciples pray undoubtedly Jesus's Disciples began to wonder what is it about John and his disciples and and what is it that is wonderful about that? And so they say it's got to be the prayer life And so they came to Jesus and said teach us how to pray and so Jesus here gives to them a prayer and this again as I mentioned to you when we went through verses 1 through 4 here in chapter 11 and Jesus gave them a model of prayer he had he had earlier given them this same basic model And so he repeats it here now This was not intended to be a prayer that is mindlessly repeated Because we know that when we pray it really reveals that we depend on God It reveals that we have faith in him that we love him that we have fellowship with him And so prayer is never intended to be reduced to a ritualistic repetition But is a way of maintaining fellowship and communion with God and so Jesus is teaching them how to pray in order to Emphasize prayer and the need for strong faith when we pray he gives to them now this parable before us that we find in verse 5 Following and he's emphasizing to them that this is something that that they ought to do They ought to pray with persistence and he's pointing out that God does answer prayer And so when you pray pray with faith and when you pray pray persistently and when you pray be patient as you await The answer that God will give to you, you know in in Mark chapter 11 verse 24 Jesus there said I say unto you whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them You will have them and so Jesus wants to teach us something about prayer And that's why we have this parable this parable of the friend who is in need And so as we look at this we'll be taking it apart and we're going to be looking for the heart of it What is it that he intends to communicate and so notice what he says in verses 5 and 6 again? He says to them which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him friend lend me three loaves For a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him And so Jesus begins to speak in and and gives to them a Parable that appeals to their context their history their their background in order for us to understand this We need to know that during this time people generally traveled only during the day because of danger Now sometimes they would travel in the early evening for short distances that they might escape the heat of the sun But if they hadn't arrived at their destination by nightfall they would seek lodging in an inn in This particular parable that we're looking at this traveler has pushed on through and arrived at midnight, and he's exhausted This is a person who is hungry by the time he arrives at his friend's home Now in order to contextualize this we need to remember that in the Middle East Hospitality then as it is today is regarded as a sacred duty As a matter of fact the Bible very often would speak concerning Being willing to be hospitable for example in in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2 it says do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing so some of unwittingly entertained angels and With that memory of how God had had visited Abraham and how Abraham had ministered actually ministered to the Lord himself That is a reminder that when people show up at our door We ought to be hospitable to them, and that's what this parable is speaking about you see his friend would naturally desire to provide this visitor with lodging and food and The problem is is he doesn't have any bread in his house normally during this time bread would be baked and eaten during the day and Whatever supply they made for that day was eaten that day You didn't keep it overnight because it grew stale and people don't like to eat stale bread But it's midnight now and the bread and the family the bread that the family had baked has already been eaten And so what is happening here is the host? Is incapable of meeting this need But he has a friend that he believes can meet the need and that's why he goes to see him and notice what he says to him He goes to his friend and he says to him lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey And I have nothing to set before him Slightly stale bread is better than no bread at all so he goes to see his friend But the problem is is his friend is in bed and doesn't want to be disturbed And so what happens as he's there verse 7 says his friend answers from within and says do not trouble me The door is now shut my children are with me in bed. I cannot Rise and give to you Well during the day during that time the door normally was open And so people who would enter into the village would walk up to the door and the door would be open And that was a sign of welcome But at night they would close that door because that was a way of security plus privacy And so that's the point that Jesus is making he's saying the door is now closed in other words You're not welcome. You're not being welcome to this door here because he wants his security He wants his privacy and during that time if the door was closed You wouldn't walk up to and start banging on the door that would have been a rude thing to do But this person obviously sees the need to be so great that he he intends to do that He tries to wake him up, but the man responds by saying do not trouble me. I'm in bed I don't want to disturb my sleeping children now again. There aren't beds like we know them You go to your house, and you have your beds your bunk beds or whatever they didn't have beds like that what they had a sleeping mats and the sleeping mats would be all around the stove and The stove would still be generating heat and that's how they would keep warm And so what they would do is they would sleep close to one another for warmth and all But what he's saying here is for me to get up requires all of us to be disturbed So I don't want you to bother me leave me alone And so what you have is you have an individual who goes to somebody's house and says give me something for a friend Who has arrived it is a height of rudeness for me not to be able to care for him So he goes to the friend who he knows has extra bread But his friend is saying listen I don't want to be disturbed by you and that's the picture that Jesus Jesus is giving But notice here in verse 8 how he says so I say to you though He will not rise and give to him because he is his friend Yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs It's not the need of the hungry traveler, but the persistence that results in an answer Because the one asking recognizes the need of the guest. I want you to notice he continues asking and So here we have the heart of this and this is one I want to share with you a little bit about tonight as we look at this prayer because this is a picture of prayer One the first thing that we need to note is that Jesus is not teaching that God is unwilling to meet genuine needs He is not teaching that God is unwilling to meet genuine needs It could appear that way because the person in the house is saying don't bother me And so you might be thinking that's exactly how I feel when I pray I feel like I'm bothering the Lord He's too busy running the universe to be concerned for me. Well, that's not what Jesus is teaching The Bible makes it very clear if I call unto him He will he will hear me and he will answer my prayer You can see that throughout the scripture call unto me and I will answer the and show the great and mighty things Which thou know us not Jeremiah 33 says we have we have a psalm of 34 verse 15 Where the Bible says the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous his ears are open to their to their cry Psalm 34 17 the righteous cry out the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles We know that our God is willing to hear as we cry out to him The Bible is very clear from Genesis to Revelation that what he wants us to do is to cry out to him So one Jesus is not saying that God is too busy to be bothered by our prayers What this shows here in this persistence is an understanding of the nature of God It's an understanding of God's loving nature It's a demonstration of a sincere longing faith and a loving father who is willing to hear us and to answer our cry Later on when we get to chapter 18 in about two years in Luke chapter 18 verses 1 through 6 Luke writes he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart Saying there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man There was a widow in that city and she came to him saying get justice for me for my Adversary and he would not for a while but afterward he said within himself though I do not fear God nor regard man yet because of this would this widow troubles me I will avenge her lest by her continual coming She weary me and the Lord said hear what the unjust judge said in other words This is an unjust man who is willing to be bent by someone's continual need and cry And the point God makes and we'll see that when we get into chapter 18 is that God is good And God is more than willing to respond to us when we cry You see one of the reasons that I remain persistent in prayers because I know that God will answer and Yet there's this there's this What's the word there's this this passion in prayer? There's there are times when there is a an Extreme sense of crying out to the Lord with with tears sometimes when necessary Because it just reveals that I'm going to the one who has the ability to answer that request It's been said prayers that are not felt are seldom heard And that may have some truth to it the Psalmist in Psalm 27 13 says I would have lost heart Unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I knew that God is good I was about to faint. I was so tired. I was crying out But I knew that God is there and that God will answer my prayer So I'm 102 verse 17 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute and shall not despise their prayer And so there's this picture of God in Scripture that he is more than willing to listen to us well in Prayers when we cry out to the Lord sometimes some some prayers take longer to answer than others it seems that there may be times when you might just cry out and and It seems like he instantly answers that prayer and and then there are other times that you might pray for Weeks or or months and some some have prayed for years continually crying out to the Lord over some issue or some person some need and you just don't let up and and You think it is I know this is what God desires. I know I'm praying according to his will I I know that I'm not trying to heap this onto my own lust. I'm asking you Lord in faith God hear my cry and and the Lord will give you time sometimes It may take a long time until that prayer is answered and I've discovered that that's this time Actually sifts our faith and and purifies it It reminds me of that demonized boy in Mark chapter 9 Where the Bible in Mark 9 verses 16 through 18 says that Jesus asked the scribes as they were arguing with his disciples What are you discussing with them and and one of the crowd answered and said teacher? I I brought you my son who has a mute spirit and Wherever it seizes him it throws him down. He foams at the mouth nashes his teeth becomes rigid I spoke to your disciples that they should cast it out, but they could not and And so Jesus is speaking to this this father and and all in and he has to minister to him and at one point Jesus says if you can believe all things are possible to him who believes and immediately the father of the child cries out and says with Tears Lord, I believe how my unbelief there are times that that I have to have my My my heart sifted by time there are times that that I might be lifting up a request of the Lord And it feels like it's forever and and it seems like I could cry out how long oh Lord How long are you going to ignore my petition forever Lord? You know my desire and I'm trying to be sifted here. I wanted I want to be there at your at your I want my prayer to be there in your ear and I want you to respond to me, but Lord It seems like you're distant It seems like the the ceiling is brass and my words are just lead and and I speak forth these words And they fall from my lips never even reaching heaven and it appears that your ear is deafened to me at this moment There are times when you might be praying and praying and praying and saying God Please hear my cry and it seems like like like the Lord is ignoring you Jesus is teaching us that that there are times that you make your request to the Lord with a persistence I want you to notice how he puts it here in verse 8 He says I say unto you though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend yet because of his Persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs So again is he saying that persistence in prayer forces God to give in tomorrow our requests will obviously know There may be times that he allows us to reap the consequences of asking for something There are times that I might ask the Lord something that's not in his will and he may allow me to have it one of the more Interesting scriptures that points that out as Psalm 106 verse 15 a very powerful scripture He gave them their request, but sent leanness to their soul There are times that you might ask of the Lord of something and continue to persist until he says I'm gonna allow you to have this so you can reap the consequences and what happens is rather than being so happy that you got What you asked for you actually realize that it was something you had no need of and there are lessons that you can learn in that way I know of some people who have said listen if you want something find a scripture in the Bible that says that God will Give it to you and then just just keep pounding him just keep begging him just keep pounding heaven until you get that and Me I'm I'm one who realizes that that if it's not of the will of the Lord for me to have it Then it's not good for me to have it I learned that as a as an evil father will be looking at that in just a moment how the Lord speaks in that way But I learned that as an evil father There are times that my kids when they were small could make requests of me that they knew that was in my power to help them to Give they knew it You know dad dad I want some ice cream and I'd say well who doesn't know dad I would like some ice cream now and say yes. I understand that but you're not gonna get it dad I know you've got money in your wallet. How do you know I've got money in my well because I've been in your wallet recently dad and I saw those presidents just looking back at me and and they could say that I mean dad You have the resources you have the funds. You're able to do that So I'm simply saying you need to do that I demand that you do that and and it just doesn't work that way It just doesn't work that way and and as a father I'd say I do have the resources and I and I do have the will I'd like to be able to bless you with the Request that you're making but your attitude is wrong or you're not ready for it It's not something that I can give to you with good conscience and therefore I'm not going to give it to you So Jesus isn't saying that persistence is just you know finding something and then just demanding it from him Because there are times that the Lord may allow us to have something we are that that is really not the best for us And and we do have it, but the leanest does come What he's trying to teach us if we would listen is this he's saying you have a father who is loving and and this loving father Will care for you and and you can passionately a barrage heaven with your prayers You can ask you can seek and you can knock Because you're trusting in the goodness of the Lord notice first time he says I say into you ask it will be given to you Seek you will find knock it will be open unto you for everyone who asks to receives He who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened the word ask seek and knock are in a Greek tense That means continually do so persist in doing so Ask and ask seek and seek knock and knock Be persistent as you're trusting in the goodness of the Lord Again, this is something you find throughout scripture Colossians chapter 4 verse 2 Continue earnestly in prayer being vigilant in it with Thanksgiving first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 pray without ceasing Galatians chapter 6 verse 9 let us not grow worry while doing good for in due season We shall reap if we do not lose heart. There is a holding on to the Lord in his promises And when God will place it in your heart This is something for you that you simply hold on to and you pray and you seek the Lord And you don't let go some prayers You'll see answered in your lifetime and some you may not see Answered in your lifetime you may be praying for a mom a dad You may be praying for a child a friend a family member and you may go go home to be with the Lord and never see them Commit themselves to Christ and yet at the funeral your funeral an Invitation is given and that person that you had been praying for commits their heart to Jesus Christ I have given invitations at funerals on many times and there are people there at the funeral Who are listening to the message that undoubtedly the the saint who went home to be with the Lord had been praying for And and they never saw him come to Christ. They never did in their lifetime They went home to be with the Lord and at their own funeral This person commits their heart to Jesus Christ You just hold on and allow the Lord to work and know that he's good Know that he's loving know that he is kind know that he's compassionate And you persistently hold on with that knowledge You pray constantly you seek persistently you pray urgently God answers and the reason he answers is not because he gets tired of you Bugging him. He answers because he's good No genuine child of God should ever think that he will give Only bad to you or not give any good to you The one thing that I keep in my mind about the Lord that God constantly is training me about Is that he's good and he's loving and so one thing I need to be Focused on constantly And so Jesus illustrates this in verse 11 when he says if a son asks for bread from any father among you Will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish Will he give him a serpent instead of a fish If he asks for an egg Will he offer him a scorpion If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him? You know some kids when you're growing up had that game Where you would tell someone to Close their eyes and open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise Anybody ever do that or am I the only old person in here? Yeah, there's some Open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise Then you're wondering what they're going to throw in your mouth Because it's not always a good thing I had a friend of mine years ago when I was A teenager so it's been a long time Who said, you know that to me, you know, open your mouth and close your eyes You'll get a big surprise. I said there's no way I'm going to do that. I said, why not? I said, I don't trust you. I don't know what you're going to put in my mouth You know because I didn't trust me because I knew what I had to put in their mouth, you know I'll put a snail in there or something, you know, you don't want to do that But you don't want to know something sometimes we have that attitude with the lord You know, the lord isn't going to put something in your mouth that is going to harm you That's what jesus is talking about here. I want you to notice something here If you ask for bread, will he give him a stone? Well, when you go to israel, you see the kind of bread the bread looks like stones And so jesus is speaking about things that can actually look alike Looks similar, but one is good for you and the other is bad If you ask for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? A scorpion that would be curled up in your hand that could look like an egg Will he do that? Well, I obviously know A good father is never going to harm their child A good father is never going to hurt them. My grandson was with me just today and as he's Seated next to me because he missed his papa so much and papa I have to tell you I missed him terribly And so I hadn't seen him. I saw him today We arrived this morning at in LA at about 5 a.m. And I hadn't seen him since we had gone and all and I missed my grandson and and so we were here And I was working and and my wife marie brings the baby in and he comes running into my room And he's sitting there on my couch and I come and hold him and I'm loving him up as papa's doing all But you know marie also brought me some lunch and and he wanted to eat it You know and so I have some yogurt and he likes yogurt And before you know it, you know, I'm feeding him my yogurt and and you know what, you know As I would take that spoon and he's a big boy. He can feed himself He doesn't need me to do that, but there's just a joy in doing that I enjoy that and I'm feeding him like he's a little baby and he's just enjoying himself eating that You know, I didn't look around for something bad to put into that spoon and stuff in his mouth just to watch But I have seen people do that I have seen people do that and what you do is you teach that child not to trust you It may seem funny at that moment to do that But what you're doing is you're training that baby that that they cannot trust the person that they should trust the most in the whole world They ought to be able to trust me. They ought to be able to trust you. We know that as parents Sometimes we may think oh, it's kind of funny, you know We'll give them something that that it looks like one thing, but in reality is another it looks sweet But in reality it's sour and we might do that think it's funny But when you do that to children, I promise you it does more harm than good because they stop trusting you They will stop trusting you. That's just the way it is and and then later on you want to give them something good But you've been giving them things that are bad for so long They don't trust that you want to give them something good and that's the truth It works that way and with the lord he does not give us anything that is bad That is something we need to know god never gives us anything that harms us And and what he wants is he wants us to have only the best and that's why the best out of his hand That's why he says and notice verse 13 if you then be an evil know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your heavenly father give him the holy or give the holy spirit to those who ask him If I being an evil father now, what are you talking about jesus? Why you have to call me evil? I didn't appreciate that I mean i'm trying hard But the bottom line is is of course i'm evil my my nature is sinful. There's no doubt about that But god isn't it's an intended contrast I am an evil man But I will give good gifts to my grandson my babies my wife I'm an evil man, but I have the capacity to give good gifts to them So evil sometimes can do good If you then being evil know how to give good gifts Well, how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who would ask So what are you saying jesus? I am saying this I am saying That god has no evil And that when god gives it is always going to turn out to be good And what he wants me to have is spiritual in nature And so it is his spirit that he wants to dwell within me so that I have relationship with god Through jesus christ now, of course this passage in luke is prior to pentacos It's prior to the baptism of the holy spirit is prior to the spirit of god coming and residing within the believer But what it is is a picture of what is to take place in the future how that the holy spirit will end dwell us The holy spirit Is what makes christianity different than all world religions guys. You can mark this in your heart. Please do Recently somebody was writing in Our local newspaper. Perhaps some of you read his letter to the editor in which he basically Was speaking out against christians Contributing scripture quotes in letters to the editor and believes very strongly at least at that writing that That scripture the bible really belongs In in a church or amongst people who want to hear it, but please he was in essence saying please Don't be bringing your scriptural quotations into a public forum where they're not appreciated And I wrote a response to that because I believe that that's an incorrect way to look at things And one of the things I wanted to point out in my letter in response Which did get published was simply this that we as christians have a relationship with a living god We have a relationship with a god who actually has relationship with us that makes us different than world religions World religions may have a concept of that which they call god But they have no power in terms of a relationship with him to do the good that he may demand from them In essence, it's as if the god that they worship says in order to be righteous climb this mountain But as you look at the mountain, you're not equipped to do it There's no way that you can do that. It's beyond your ability And so it's a hopeless task and that's why so many people get into the ascetic kind of things Where they beat their body into subjection. They don't eat certain foods They get into rigorous ritual and certain prayer legalistic prayer routines and a variety of things like that because what they're trying to do Is they're trying to work their way into a relationship with a god who is not willing to really hear what they have to say That's basically what is taking place It's interesting to note that god doesn't tell us to climb the mountain But he does equip us to do so and we can in him and beyond that There are times when we may be We'll say scaling that mountain that he says you're going to be scaling And we we don't have any strength. We can't do it. And so what does he do? He carries us And that's the difference between christianity and world religions We have a relationship with god Where we become the temple of the spirit of god and god's spirit dwells within us And that's where a lot of people are having a lot of problems in the christianity Because they have the will to do but they don't have the power or the ability to perform that which they wish to do And so they end up frustrated what we need to do is rely on the lord He says jesus said he will give the holy spirit to those who would ask and so my response is god fill me with your spirit Lord i don't want to lie therefore give me a tongue that speaks truth Lord i don't want to be an individual who's filled with hate therefore Break that hatred in me and give me a spirit of forgiveness and compassion lord as i recognize That jesus died on a cross to forgive me of my sins and therefore if he has forgiven me lord Give me by your powerful spirit the ability to to forgive those who have hurt me Lord help me to have patience because you know now impatient. I truly am lord convert me Transform me make me brand new you see i can't do it on my own and and a lot of people unfortunately don't get that They don't understand it I see this all the time the frustration in people that that don't understand that that it's it's jesus is insane Have monumental faith have incredible faith. He says have faith of a mustard seed All you need to do is have a small amount and trust me and watch what i can do in your life Just watch But what kind of god do i worship? What kind of god do i speak to what kind of god do i pray to Is he distant is he far away is he is he a cruel kind of master who is expecting me to do all kinds of Painful things before he answers or is he a loving father jesus says he's a loving father I have a very dear brother-in-law whom i happen to love very much And many years ago he and i were having a conversation and And as we're speaking He was telling me how he Really respected at this time. He really respected These people who during Easter will crucify themselves or will take whips and flagulate themselves opening their backup and bleeding profusely and And uh, and he said that he saw that as a sign of of true faith and and and this is many years ago now And i remember speaking to him saying You think that's faith you think it's faith to go and and and be crucified He says oh, yeah, absolutely. It requires tremendous faith to do that It said really i said you think it requires faith For somebody to take a whip and open their backup so that it's bleeding and and the pain is in oh, yes That takes an awful lot of faith. And so i asked the question of him. I said let me ask you this I said Do you love your dad? Which he loves a dad with all of his heart. I said you love your dad. He says you know i do I said here Why don't you go out into the front yard? and take a belt Take your shirt off And start crawling around the tree Hitting yourself with it until you're bleeding and all along say Daddy i love you Why don't you do that? He says why would i do that? I said well, why don't you do that? Do you love your dad? Yes, why don't you do that? He said that wouldn't be right I said why wouldn't that be right would it bring shame to your father for you to do that? Yes It would bring shame to your earthly father for you to beat yourself up in front of the neighbors and you scream You know daddy i love you But it doesn't bring shame to god almighty when people do that in his name. How's that work? What kind of god do you worship? What kind of god do you think runs this universe? If you think it's a god that demands a pound of flesh you don't have a relationship with the living god Because there's nothing i can do that is going to cause my god to look favorably at me So he did it on my behalf He did it through sending his son jesus christ to pay the penalty that i could not pay In order that i might have faith in the one who was able to do those things that are pleasing to the father And so what i am called by god to do is simply trust him and to appreciate him and to understand what a loving and kind and gracious and Merciful father i truly have one that i can come to and i can say lord I know that you have the ability to to answer this prayer and therefore i ask you in jesus name lord I ask you for my mom to be healed i ask you for my my sister to be saved i ask you for my brother to know christ I ask you for my children to serve you i ask you and i'll ask you and ask you and i'll ask you until i go home To be with you because i know you're a god who cares i know you're a god who listens I know you're a god who loves and i know that you have the power and ability to do so In jesus name i ask you and there's nothing wrong with that because i know that god is a loving merciful father And i also know that he wants what is best for me But if i don't have a relationship with god if his holy spirit is not dwelling within me then i'm going to have a Misunderstanding of his character and his nature i'm not going to know who he is and so jesus says listen If you're an evil father And you are Still you would never give a stone to a child to break his teeth when he thinks it's bread You would never give a serpent to a child when he thinks it's efficient You would never give a scorpion to a child If he thought it was an egg you're evil you are an evil person yet You would never harm the one you love how can you think that god would not give to you his spirit? He will You ask him And god i ask I do ask the lord Lord help me to see you clearly for what you really are You're a loving and kind and gracious father And you love me And it's your holy spirit dwelling within me That makes me a christian In romans chapter 8 verses 15 and 16 Paul said you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear But you received the spirit of adoption By whom we cry out abba father The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit That we are children of god And so lord As we speak to him we say lord you are my father And because you are my father And because you're good and gracious i'm taking my request to you And because i have a relationship with you By your holy spirit I know that i can pray according to you will because i have your word And i have your holy spirit who leads me as i pray And so you are good So what is jesus teaching us in this parable? Is he teaching us that that god isn't good and therefore we have to continually ask continually seek continually knock because Eventually he's going to just get fed up with our persistence and say just get it and shut up Or is he saying Your god is good and gracious loving and merciful Even evil people respond to real needs of others You do friends do But how much more so would your father who loves you Respond immediately to any needs that you have Because even before you ask He knows what you have need of Even before you say lord help me I want us as a church To grow in one understanding and and I don't know if i'm going to succeed ever to be able to be Faithful in this one thing this is my heart and i'll close with this And that is this guys As long as we're together and as long as i'm Pastoring a church this church It's my prayer for us Every time we gather together to walk out knowing one thing one thing That we have a father Who loves us is compassionate and merciful who is gracious and kind Who is righteous and just But is good towards us who forgives us when we ask him And does intent for us to live lives that bring honor to him So that when we walk out of this room like tonight We can walk out saying God I just want to serve you with more of a complete heart. That's all I just want to know you better I just want to be a better witness and testimony of your grace and your goodness I just Want people to know you therefore may your spirit dwell within me so powerfully That you transform me so completely that people will look at me and say something's different about you What is it which will give me opportunity to be able to say It's the lord working in me changing my life forgiving me transforming me That's what I want for us That we might know god loves us that you can go home tonight And you can make a prayer to god knowing that he hears what you have to say And will answer you according to his will and he will teach you things Through the things you go through that will enable you to have a deeper more knowledgeable relationship with him And that's what my prayer is for us as a christian church