WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:04.080 You know, we're not very good at waiting for things. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:05.519 I think we all know that. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:14.160 We live in a world where if the website takes longer than five seconds to load, we start wondering what's wrong with the internet. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:20.719 If our food takes too long at a drive-thru, we start looking around thinking they forgot about us. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:24.719 We've gotten used to getting things quickly. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:31.920 And sometimes, without even realizing it, we bring that same expectation into our prayer life. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:38.719 We pray about something on Monday, and by Friday, we're wondering why God hasn't done anything yet. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:48.399 We pray for weeks, maybe even a few months or even years, and we start wondering: is God even listening to us? 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.439 Maybe this isn't going to happen. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.039 Maybe I should just give up and stop asking. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:08.560 Well, again, for the past several weeks, we've been looking at Jesus' teaching on the Lord's Prayer, and after he teaches his disciples what to pray for in the Lord's Prayer, he immediately teaches them something about how they should pray for it. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:15.359 We've all had things, prayer requests that we've prayed for and given up on. 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:22.000 Things that we've brought to God that in our minds he took too long to answer, so we give up. 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:27.439 Well, in our passage this morning, Jesus is teaching us not to give up. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:33.439 He is showing us that boldness and persistency is important in prayer. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:39.599 And that maybe we are better served by not easily giving up on those prayers. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:49.280 As we look at this passage, what I want to do is I want to point out three things that I believe Jesus is showing us about prayer, or better yet, how to pray. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:50.400 And they are these. 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:54.560 Number one, that God hears persistent prayers. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.799 Number two, that God answers persistent prayers. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.560 And number three, that God's answers are not always what we think. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:07.280 Let's look at that first one. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.159 God hears persistent prayers. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:11.759 Looking back at verse 5. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:17.680 And he said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves? 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:21.840 For a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.639 And he will answer from within, Do not bother me. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:27.520 The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:29.680 I cannot get up and give you anything. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:39.520 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:46.639 In ancient times, hospitality was often viewed as a moral responsibility. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:54.960 So when a friend or a traveler came to your home, it was expected that you would provide food and lodging for them as they traveled. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:02.560 So this parable that Jesus sets before, or that he's telling the disciples, would have been something they would be very familiar with. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:09.360 He's having them imagine a friend coming to their home when they had nothing to offer him. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:15.280 The disciples would have heard this and would have hated to even think of such a possibility. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.319 Well, that is the case for this man in the story. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.719 He has a friend that has come to his home, but he has nothing to set before him. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:28.800 So he goes to his friend or his neighbor and asks if he could borrow three loaves of bread. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:31.759 Not an unreasonable request on its own. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:36.240 However, the request just happens to be at midnight. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:48.479 Whether it's the dog's barking or the spouse barking, no one likes to be woken up in the middle of the night. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:53.120 So it's understandable that the man says, Do not bother me. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:59.520 He he tells him, the door is shut, his children are in bed, I cannot get up and give you anything. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:02.080 But the friend refuses to leave. 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.599 He keeps asking for the bread that he needs for his guests. 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:12.240 And as Jesus says, because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:19.519 Now scholars have had a difficult time translating this word that is used for impudence from the original language. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:24.480 The NASB translates this word as persistence. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:37.519 The King James uses the word importunity, but I like the NIV because it gives us a word that we can relate to or a definition that we can relate to in our day. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:41.360 It says it is shameless audacity. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:47.040 Have you ever had a friend with shameless audacity? 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:51.279 I think we've all had that one friend or family member who has no shame. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:57.360 You know that one person who will say anything and ask anybody anything. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.000 Well, that's how this man who needed bread was acting. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:06.240 He had the nerve, if you will, to keep asking after his friend had told him no. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:08.639 Now, why do we think that's shameless? 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.199 Why do we think it's shameless when people do things like this? 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:16.079 Why do we say, wow, he or she has some kind of nerve? 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:18.879 Because it's not normal. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:24.000 It's not normal for someone to keep asking after being told no. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.079 Most people, when they hear no, they give up. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:29.680 But not this man. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.199 This man was determined to receive something. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:46.480 He wasn't leaving until his friend opened that door because he knew that his friend not only had what he needed, but there was really nothing hindering him from giving him what he needed. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.560 So what if it was late? 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:50.480 The man was now awake. 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:53.519 If he wasn't awake already, he is now. 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:55.519 So what if the door was shut? 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.199 He could have just opened it. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.839 So what if his children were in bed? 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.079 It's not like they couldn't go back to bed. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:11.199 This man knew that his friend had the bread that he needed, but he also knew that it wasn't impossible for him to give it to him. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:18.639 Sure, there were a few obstacles to overcome, but nothing that this man couldn't overcome on his own. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:19.680 It wasn't impossible. 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:24.639 Jesus is saying, when you pray like this, God will hear you. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:29.360 When you bring these requests to God in this way, you will have his ear. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.480 Not that God gets tired of hearing you. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.120 We don't want to read too much into this parable. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:43.439 Jesus is not saying that God of the Father is like that irritated parent who buys their kid ice cream just to shut them up. 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.079 That's not what Jesus is trying to get across. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.879 The point is the Father hears bold and persistent prayers. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:07:00.240 I think we're often prone to give up a little too soon on some of our prayers. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:05.279 We often pray for a season, but when we don't see things happening, we quickly move on. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:09.920 We say, well, God isn't answering this prayer, so I'm going to stop praying for it. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:14.879 Now, in his sovereignty, there might be requests he refuses to give us. 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:21.759 Maybe out of his will, maybe they're not in his will, maybe they're being withheld for our good or for our perseverance. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:22.800 We just don't know. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.360 Those secret things belong to the Lord. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.800 But those things which have been revealed to us belong to us. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:32.720 And what has been revealed to us is that God wants us to pray. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:37.120 And he wants us to pray with boldness and persistency. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:44.240 He wants us to pray shamelessly, refusing to give up simply because the answer has not come yet. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:49.279 Will we ultimately receive that exact thing that we're praying for? 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:50.160 That's up to God. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:55.120 But what's up to us is to pray and to keep on praying. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:04.079 Persistent prayer isn't twisting God's arm, it is boldly continuing to come to God because we know his character. 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:19.439 Augustine says, if a man awakened from sleep is forced to give unwillingly in answer to a request, God who does not sleep but awakens us from sleep that we might ask, gives much more graciously. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.360 That's his character. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:27.519 You know, some of you have probably been praying for something or things for a very long time. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:37.600 He wants you to prolong in your asking. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.759 He wants you to stretch your pleading and your imploring. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:49.039 Because though it might not seem like your prayer is getting answered, it is doing something in and through you. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:53.360 It is showing you and teaching you something about God. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:06.159 You're learning that God is like this man who had his friend, this man who knew his friend, that he has what you need. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.080 And that is why you're asking him. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.159 Because he has everything you need. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:16.559 You know that there's really nothing also capable of stopping God from giving him what you need. 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.320 If he wanted to, he would give it to you. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:28.879 Your persistency shows that you truly believe that God is sufficient for everything, and that he is sovereign above all. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:41.279 Psalm 50, verse 10 tells us, for every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills, I know all the birds of the hills, and all the moose in the field is mine. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:46.559 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:50.960 In other words, God has no reason to tell you he's hungry to give him something. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.159 He doesn't need anything. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:53.279 Everything is his. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:10:00.639 We are the ones who need everything from him, and he has everything in his right hand to give. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.960 There is nothing that we need that God cannot provide. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.039 The question is not, is he sufficient? 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.159 The question is, do we believe in his sufficiency? 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:18.799 Do we truly believe that he has everything that we need, that we need not go anywhere else, because everything that we need is found in him. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:23.279 If we truly believe that, then we aren't going to give up asking so easily. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:30.240 Because not only do we believe that he has it, we also believe that he can give it to us if he wills. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:31.840 There is nothing stopping him. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:33.919 His will cannot be thwarted. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.919 He is sovereign over all. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:44.159 Job 42, too tells us, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.600 The question for us is do we pray like this? 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:56.240 Do we pray like God not only has the provision, but he also has the power? 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.240 You say, Well, what does that look like? 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:02.240 Well, it looks like this man knocking at the door in the middle of the night. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:05.200 It looks like a refusal to stop praying. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:10.559 It looks like you lingering in prayer when nothing seems to be happening. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:16.159 It looks like weeks and months or even years of crying out to the Lord, imploring him to answer you. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.960 It looks like long nights pleading with God over the same thing. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:26.159 These are the prayers that others might even ridicule you for. 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:30.799 They'll say, look at him or look at her, praying for that same thing. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.039 Doesn't he or she know that God isn't listening? 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.879 Don't they get the point that God is not hearing them? 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.519 Don't they understand that God is saying no? 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.480 Some might even call you shameless. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:48.080 Some might even say, What nerve? 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:56.879 This is when we remember the only voice we're concerned about is the voice on the other side of that door we're knocking on. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:58.879 It is God's. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:14.080 And Jesus is showing us in this parable that that voice on the other side of the door is listening when we pray bold and audacious prayers with persistency. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:15.279 Next. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:19.519 God answers persistent prayers. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.759 He not only hears them, he also answers them. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.919 Verse 9 tells us, and I tell you, ask and it will be given to you. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:27.200 Seek and you will find. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:29.120 Knock and it will be open to you. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:35.200 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, it will be opened. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:41.919 The Greek verbs that Jesus uses here for ask, seek, and knock convey continuous action. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.840 It's not asking once or seeking once or even knocking once. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.519 It's continuing to ask and seek and knock. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:54.240 Jesus is now explaining the meaning of the parable. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:13:01.519 It's this we need not abandon our prayers simply because the answer hasn't come quickly. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:08.879 What would have happened if the man who knocked on his friend's door walked away after hearing the first no? 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.559 Well, he wouldn't have happened, he wouldn't have received anything. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.759 He would have had nothing to offer his friend to eat. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.159 He would have failed to be hospitable. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:23.360 Word would have gotten around the town that he didn't have food for his traveling friend and he would have been shamed. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:25.519 But he didn't give up. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.840 He didn't give up after hearing the first no. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.480 He kept asking and seeking and knocking. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.759 He was persistent. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.120 And then he received what he asked for. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:42.000 Jesus is not only teaching us something about ourselves and how to pray, but he's also teaching us something about God. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.840 That God answers prayers. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.240 And I think there are times when that's easier said than believed. 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.879 Because we've all had prayers that seem to go unanswered. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:03.759 We've all been through seasons of drought where it seems like God is even hearing our prayers, much more listening to them or answering them. 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:11.919 And, you know, in those times, our our faith can be tested a little bit. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:17.360 And our confidence in our prayers might start to waver. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:19.360 Or we still might pray. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:30.559 And you know, our prayers might be those prayers where we're just kind of going through the motions, but we really don't believe that God will answer us or that he does answer prayers at all. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:35.360 And our prayers start to become faithless and they become vain. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:38.000 And that's when we have to be careful. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:46.720 We need to be reminded often that God is still in the business of answering prayers. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:59.279 You know, sometimes you'll hear a sermon on prayer, and I've heard these and I've preached these, where we say the most important thing about prayer is how it draws our hearts to the Lord. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:08.080 And that the more we pray and the more we come to God, our will is conformed to his will, and our desires start to become his desires. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:19.759 And I believe that, I believe that the biggest change that comes by the way of prayer is the change that comes in our own hearts and our desires, as our desires are shaped by his. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.279 Prayer draws us closer to God. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:29.840 Prayer is one of the ways we commune with God and have fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:40.480 The greatest benefit that we receive in prayer is the work that God is doing in our lives as we pray in our hearts and our minds and our wills as we pray. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:49.519 However, it is also in God's character to answer prayer requests that are brought to him. 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.679 It's why we bring him to bring them to him in the first place. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.240 Because we know what kind of God he is, that he's a God who answers him. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:00.960 Why ask if he never answers? 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.120 This is what Jesus is showing us. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:11.840 That we will receive answers when we ask, and we will find when we seek, and doors will be open when we knock. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.840 He's encouraging us to ask and keep asking. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:17.840 Because we will find answers. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.000 The scripture is a great reminder of this. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:22.559 Here are a few psalms that speak to this. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.240 Psalm 34, 17. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:28.960 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.840 Psalm 62, 65, 2. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.559 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:38.320 Psalm 86 7. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.960 In the day of my trouble I will call upon you, for you answer me. 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:53.840 We can also turn to other scriptures in the Bible where we read and find God hearing and answering the prayers of his people. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:58.960 When the Israelites were in bondage in the land of Egypt, they cried out to God. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:00.080 And what did God do? 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:01.279 God hurt them. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.600 Exodus 3, verse 7. 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:10.720 Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:21.519 I know their sufferings, and I've come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.200 God heard the cries of the Israelites when they were in Egypt. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:26.160 They cried to him. 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:28.319 He heard and he did something about it. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:33.200 In 1 Samuel we read about a woman named Hannah, who was barren for many years. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.759 So she cried out to the Lord in deep distress, asking for a child. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.079 And we read this in 1 Samuel 1 20. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:50.319 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, I have asked for him from the Lord. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:52.160 I could keep going. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:54.319 And I can mention others that you know of. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:00.319 King Hezekiah, who was given a few more years to live after he turned to the wall and prayed. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:05.440 Or Elijah, who prayed and saw God demonstrate his power over the prophets of Baal. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:13.200 Or Peter being released from prison and then showing up at the same home where people were praying for his release. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:21.119 On and on, the Bible gives us these remarkable stories of people praying and God answering. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:23.200 What does that do? 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:28.960 It reveals his character, it reveals the heart that God has for his people. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.680 I just gave you a few examples. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.559 Again, we can find more in Scripture. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:44.160 And it's good to read them, and it's good to remind ourselves about how God answers prayers and how God is faithful. 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:49.039 But I believe many of us have our own examples that we can point to. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:57.599 If we were to look back at some of our prayers, we can point out many that were answered. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:04.880 We can remember the desperation and the long nights and the tears and the cries. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.599 But we can also remember how God came through during those times. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.160 We can remember how we didn't think or know how we would make it. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:15.359 We wouldn't think we would make it. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:17.119 We didn't know how we were going to make it. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:19.680 We didn't know how we were going to last through the night. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:24.480 But God in his faithfulness showed up with new mercies in the morning. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:36.799 And we're pro to forget the times when God heard those prayers or when God heard those cries, when he attended to those tears, when he listened to those pleas, and when he came to us in our distress. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:45.279 I believe each and every one of us can look back at some point in our life, at some prayer in our life, and say, that had to be God. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.240 There's no other explanation for that. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:53.759 Don't let the silence of today make you forget God's voice of yesterday. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:20:00.240 One thing that the Bible shows us is that He doesn't stay silent forever. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:06.160 He doesn't ignore the persistent, bold prayers of his people. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.599 The question for us is are we going to be persistent? 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:13.759 Are we going to be bold? 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:15.359 Will we keep asking? 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:16.799 Will we keep seeking? 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:18.400 Will we keep knocking? 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.640 Jesus is teaching us that there's something for us if we do. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:27.519 Pray and ask God, because he answers prayers. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.000 And that brings me to my last point. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.720 God's answers are not or may not always be what we think. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:36.160 Verse 11. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:45.119 What father among you, of his son ask for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asked for an egg, will give him a scorpion. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:54.480 If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:04.000 Jesus shows us that God's heart is not just to give us things, but to give us things that are good. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:10.000 And consequently, to keep us from things that are bad or not for our good. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:16.400 As he shows us in this analogy of this son who's asking the father for a fish. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:20.319 Every father wants to give their children good things. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:24.000 No father wants to give their children things that will harm them. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:28.079 Who would give their son a serpent instead of a fish? 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.240 Or a scorpion instead of an egg? 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:31.599 It's a rhetorical question. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.200 The answer is no one. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:38.480 Well, neither will our heavenly father give us things that will harm us. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:47.119 And here's the thing, though, here's the hard thing for us is that we don't always know what will harm us. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:49.119 We don't always know what that is. 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:58.799 There are many things that God will keep from us for our good, so that they would not harm us. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.720 We're prone to think that we can handle anything. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:12.160 Have you ever noticed that the news is always giving us these stories of people who win the lottery and then they make a train wreck of their lives? 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:15.680 Or they lose their that money in just a few short years. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:19.519 And when we hear those stories, we often think, how can they do that? 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:23.680 Man, if that was me, I would do this and I would do that. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:29.200 We're always thinking, I would never do what they did. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:42.000 Or we hear these stories about these successful movie stars and these musicians who whose lives are now in shambles, and many of them losing wealth and they lose their family, and some even losing their life. 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.240 And again, we think, how can they do that? 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:48.720 I mean, if I had that, if God blessed me with that type of fame, I would I wouldn't do that. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:50.799 I wouldn't know how to take care of that. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:53.920 I wouldn't know how to steward that well. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:00.000 We truly believe that if we were in their position, we would handle it so much better. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.079 That's because we put a lot of confidence in the flesh. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:12.079 We believe that we can master things when time and time again we've only proven that things can master us. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:22.559 The Apostle Paul had a good handle of what our flesh is capable of in Romans 7.18, where he says, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:28.400 For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:34.799 Paul is giving us some insight into the heart of men. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:38.400 It's deceitful, as we read in Jeremiah 17, 9. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:39.519 We can't trust it. 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:44.799 It's prone to wander off, it's prone to lead us into many snares of the devil. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:47.839 And you know who knows that better than we do? 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.359 God does. 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:52.480 He certainly knows what we can handle. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:54.880 And he certainly knows what we can handle. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.440 He knows where some of those things that we ask for might lead us. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:03.680 He knows how some of those things can turn into a burden rather than a gift. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:09.519 So in his sovereignty, he will keep the serpent and the scorpion away from us. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.640 We don't see clear in our fallenness. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:16.400 We don't see that scorpion for what it is or that serpent for what it is. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:20.240 So sometimes we need God to keep it from us. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.119 And we wonder why he's not giving us these things. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.000 Well, again, for our good. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:30.960 We get disappointed, we don't understand. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.640 God, why not? 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:34.720 They seem so good. 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:43.440 Why would you not give me this one thing when you know how much I need it, or you know how much joy it will bring to me? 00:24:44.720 --> 00:25:06.480 Well, have you ever considered that God, the creator of heaven and earth, all-wise, all-knowing, all-sovereign, whose wisdom and majesty and glory and knowledge transcends man and whose thoughts surpass ours, might know a little something better than we do. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.839 Have you ever considered that? 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:16.400 And look, I'm not saying that we're gonna understand that all the time. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:21.920 And we're gonna understand completely what's going on there, God. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.079 Why aren't you answering here? 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:30.000 I don't have answers to why God keeps some seemingly good things away. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:43.039 I don't have answers to why God would allow someone to pass away when we prayed for their healing, or why someone was harmed when we prayed for their safety, or why that marriage fell apart when we prayed for it not to. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:49.519 Some of it, in fact, much of it we can attribute directly to sin and to a fallen world. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:58.400 But there are some things that we can say, God, I don't know what you're doing, and I don't know what you're up to. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:01.359 But I trust your word. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.160 And I trust your character. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.480 And I trust that you're a good father. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:18.160 And I trust that you must have some reason for why you did not answer this prayer the way I thought you would, or the way I expected you to. 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.200 I don't know, but this I do know. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:28.640 Father, I know that you would never harm me. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:38.160 And even when I go through trials, and even when I go through the fires of this world, you're gonna keep me from being consumed. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:50.480 I might not ever know why you kept it from me here, but I look forward to that day when I can sit across the table from you in glory, and I can hear all about it. 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:56.079 There's one last thing to point out about how God answers our prayers. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:02.400 Notice that Jesus, how Jesus ends his analogy, with a bit of a revelation. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.440 He contrasts earthly fathers with the heavenly father. 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:23.920 As he says, if you earthly fathers who are evil, thank you for that reminder, Jesus, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:26.640 That's interesting, isn't it? 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:31.519 He doesn't say, I mean, the natural reading would read a little differently. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:35.759 He doesn't say, how much more will the heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him? 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:41.279 If you earthly fathers know how to give good gifts, how much more does the heavenly father give good gifts? 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:42.480 He doesn't say that. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:47.759 Instead, he says, How much more will the Holy Spirit? 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.319 Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:58.960 He doesn't say how much more good gifts, but how he would give the Holy Spirit. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.000 Again, that doesn't mean he doesn't give good gifts. 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:03.920 We've already seen he does. 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:06.640 But this is what Jesus is pointing to. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.799 The Holy Spirit is the best gift you could ask for. 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:21.839 And here's his promise for us he will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for it. 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:27.119 Now, if you're a Christian, the Holy Spirit has already been given to you. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.680 You have the Spirit living in you. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:33.359 He is the one who keeps you spiritually alive. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:39.279 He's the one who, as Ephesians 4.30 says, seals you until the day of redemption. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:43.599 There's not a second baptism of the Holy Spirit that you need to be looking for. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:49.519 You were baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit at salvation. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:56.160 However, the Bible does speak of being filled with the Spirit. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:57.920 Ephesians 5.18. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:01.039 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:04.160 But be filled with the Spirit. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:07.279 It also speaks of having the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:08.640 Romans 15, 13. 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:16.960 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so by the power of the Holy Spirit you might abound in hope. 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:19.920 And it also speaks of walking in the Holy Spirit. 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:21.359 Galatians 5, 16. 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:27.119 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:50.079 So notice what the Holy Spirit does, according to just these three verses, there's more out there, but according to these three that I just read to you, He fills you so that you can be sober, so that you're not like a drunkard wandering around recklessly and aimlessly through life, but you are aware and you're sober-minded and you're aware of the devil's snares and schemes. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:59.599 He fills you with joy and peace, even when you're facing trials and hardships that come from living in this sad world. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:02.400 He strengthens you during those times. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:10.559 And he helps you believe and trust in God's word over the devil and his word and his circumstances. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.200 And he guides you so that you might walk in his ways rather than your own. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:19.680 Rather than gratifying the flesh through your sin, he is able to keep you. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:26.559 The Holy Spirit is able to keep you from sin and have you walk in his paths of righteousness. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:31.519 Simply put, the Holy Spirit is who helps you live a Christian life. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:35.279 He is who makes you aware of your sin and temptation. 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:41.599 He is who empowers you with supernatural joy and peace when you're going through storms. 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:51.039 What good would it be if you had these great gifts but lacked the greatest gift? 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:54.799 This is what Jesus is pointing out. 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:58.079 Do you see why the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift? 00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:06.319 What good would it that healing be if in good health you gratified your flesh? 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:15.039 What good would any gift be if it pulled your heart away from the Lord? 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:23.359 The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that we rarely ask for, but He is the gift that we truly need. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:26.000 Remember the context here. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:36.319 Jesus is teaching about bold and persistent prayers right after he teaches us what to pray for in the Lord's Prayer. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:44.000 In other words, how can we truly grab a hold, lay claim of these petitions? 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:48.480 How can we truly hollow and honor the Father's name? 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:52.079 Through the knowledge that comes by the Spirit? 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:56.559 How can his kingdom come and rule our hearts and be advanced in the world? 00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:58.319 Through the work of the Spirit? 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:05.359 How can our faith and trusting that he'll supply our daily bread when it seems like we don't know where our meal is going to come from? 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:06.240 How do we have faith? 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:08.480 Where do we get this strength to believe? 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:10.640 Through the power of the Spirit. 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:24.160 How can we be assured that our sins are forgiven when the devil, who is always telling us and condemning us and lying to us that we're not forgiven, how can we be assured that our sins are forgiven? 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:26.640 Through the support of the Holy Spirit. 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:30.960 How can we be kept from falling into various sins and temptations? 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.440 Lord, lead me not into temptation. 00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:41.119 How can we be led the right path down the right path through the leading and the guidance of the Holy Spirit? 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:50.559 Jesus is saying that when you petition for these things, they will be given to you by the aid and through the aid of the Holy Spirit. 00:32:50.799 --> 00:33:03.200 When you petition for his name to be hollowed and his kingdom to come, your daily bread to be given, your sins to be forgiven, and not to fall into temptation, they will come by the work and the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:08.960 The Spirit is the bow that ties all of these petitions together. 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:14.799 These things that we pray for in the Lord's Prayer are wrapped in the Spirit's power. 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:17.759 This is why it's important to pray for that. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:21.920 And as we close, I have a question for you. 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:26.880 Does your prayer list include the Holy Spirit? 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:35.200 When you're asking for various things, Lord, help my marriage. 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:37.839 Lord, let me get that job. 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:42.640 Lord, save my kids. 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:45.519 Great things to petition to the Lord for. 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:49.680 But on that list, where is the Holy Spirit? 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.640 Is the Holy Spirit on that list? 00:33:54.960 --> 00:34:02.480 Look, God is not unconcerned about your temporal and physical needs. 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:05.599 He truly does care about those things. 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:09.679 He truly cares how you're gonna eat. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:11.599 He cares where you're gonna live. 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:13.360 He cares about your marriage. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:16.079