You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
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Come with me this morning to Luke chapter 11, Luke 11.
This is our last week in our mini-series on prayer.
As we've been looking at this passage where Jesus himself is praying and a disciple comes to Jesus and asks him to teach them to pray.
And Jesus does that beginning with the Lord's Prayer.
We've seen over the last few weeks what he teaches them in this special prayer that we use often.
To pray, Father, that God adopts us into his family.
Invites us into his presence.
And then he shows us what our priorities are to be.
That his glory and his kingdom would be at the forefront of our minds.
And in all of life, those would shape our hearts.
And we would treasure them.
And he says, ask for daily bread.
Highlighting our relationship with God.
One of constant, communal dependence upon God.
Next, we saw that God forgives our sins and pays our debts so that we too can forgive others.
And finally, that through prayer we battle against sin and Satan by turning to our strong Father.
Leaning on that relationship.
So if you've missed the last five weeks, now you're caught up.
You got it all right there.
But before Jesus stops this lesson on prayer, he has one more thing to say.
He's going to emphasize one aspect of the Lord's prayer above all the others one more time.
Let's read at verse 5 and see what that is.
Luke 11 at verse 5.
This is God's holy word.
And he, Jesus, 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, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey,
and I have nothing to set before him.
And he will answer from within,
Do not bother me.
The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed.
I cannot get up and give you anything.
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.
And I tell 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 the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish,
will instead of a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
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?
This is God's word.
Let's ask for his help as we study it together.
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you that you teach us things that are not natural for us.
And so we pray again one more time during this season.
Lord, teach us to pray.
Not just what about it, but teach us how to pray.
Make us prayerful people.
Teach us to pray that we might know you,
and love you, and trust you more.
We ask it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Phone helplines are one of my areas of expertise.
Because of my lack of expertise on anything technological or mechanical,
I can't fix anything.
I don't know how anything works.
And so I call and ask for help a lot.
And if you do that, you'll know that sometimes you call,
and you find out that the person on the other end of the line
just doesn't really understand your problem.
That there's nothing they can do to fix it, perhaps.
Or sometimes they actually can.
They're quite capable and knowledgeable,
but you don't understand them very well.
And it's frustrating, and you think,
I can't get the help that I need,
and so you just eventually give up
and awkwardly try to get off the phone as quickly as you can.
Other times, however, you get someone who is really helpful
on the other end of the line.
I called about a late fee on my cell phone bill a couple of years ago,
and I got a guy and was talking to him,
seeing if he could take care of the late fee,
and that was all I wanted.
And while he is taking care of the late fee for me,
he says, oh, and by the way,
I see a way I can get you a better plan
where you get more data and save $10 a month.
Would you like me to put you on that plan?
Yes, absolutely.
Tell me why not.
There's no reason.
You should want it.
And what happens then?
Now all of a sudden I realize,
oh, someone is for me.
I have an advocate.
I'm not in a hurry to get off the phone.
What are all my other questions about my cell phone account
that I've always wanted to have answered
because I've found someone who can really help, right?
I want to stay and talk to him
and see how else he might be able to help me.
The character, the helpfulness
of the person we're talking to
makes all the difference, doesn't it?
The same is true with prayer.
And that's what Jesus wants us to remember one more time
before we leave the subject of prayer,
at least in sermons.
Who is it that we're praying to?
This is, remember, the most shocking part
of Jesus' whole model prayer
that we are praying to our Father.
It's what drives all the petitions he tells us to pray,
the things he tells us to ask for.
It's the fact that we're actually talking to our Father,
a Father who is infinitely good
beyond anyone we know or can imagine
and delights to help us.
That's the essence of these verses
that follow the Lord's Prayer.
They focus on the identity
and character of the one hearing our prayers.
Nothing else could motivate us to pray
more than that.
I think Jesus is going to talk about it again
because we have such a hard time
practically believing it
that we pray to our Father
and that he's infinitely good
and loves to help.
What Jesus does is he tells two brief parables,
two somewhat hypothetical stories
to emphasize God's infinitely good character.
The first one is a bit complex
because the rhetorical question is so long.
It starts in verse five.
Jesus says,
Which of you who has a friend
will go to him at midnight
and say to him,
Friend, lend me three loaves
for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey
and I have nothing to set before him.
Now this is only the first part of the question.
He's not finished with the question yet.
But what you need to understand
that this might not seem too dramatic to you
in Jesus' culture,
this is a crisis.
It is a hospitality crisis,
a culture crisis
at the level of wearing seersucker
after Labor Day.
Showing up at a tailgate party
and there's no food.
Like that's the,
there's something really wrong here.
Something needs to be addressed.
That's what's happening
in this culture.
Of course you would go
if you didn't have food
to a friend nearby
to help you.
What Jesus is saying
is actually the end of the question.
Let's finish it.
Which of you has someone
that the situation will be
that he'll answer from within,
Don't bother me.
The door's shut
and my children are with me in bed.
I can't get up and give you anything.
Nothing.
The answer to that question is
none of us.
No one has a situation like that.
Because,
though he will not get up
and give him anything
because he's his friend,
because of his impudence,
he will rise
and give him whatever he needs.
That's the answer
to Jesus' rhetorical question.
No.
This would never happen.
Nobody would ever sit
and not answer the door.
Not just because
you're such a good friend
and everyone always helps you out,
but because it would be disgraceful
for your neighbor
to decline to help you.
His shame in the neighborhood,
in the town,
would be even greater than yours
for not having food
that he had
and did not help you.
That word translated impudence
here in the last line.
It's a difficult word
to translate it.
It means shamelessness
because you haven't used
impudence recently, right?
It means shamelessness
or wanting to avoid disgrace
or dishonor.
Trying to protect one's honor.
And while it's true
of the one looking for help
in this parable,
I believe the emphasis
is actually not on the impudence
of the one looking for help,
but rather on the desire
to avoid dishonor
and disgrace
of the one who's asleep in bed
being asked for help.
He will do it
to protect his honor.
Of course all your neighbors
would help,
Jesus is saying.
That reading fits
with the point of the easier
to understand parable
at the end.
Verse 11.
Jesus says,
What father among you
if his son asks for a fish
will instead of a fish
give him a serpent?
Or if he asks for an egg
will give him a scorpion?
Or birthday cake
would give him broccoli?
He would have included that.
Ran out of room.
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?
One of the reasons
this one's easy to understand
is Jesus tells us the point, right?
If you then who are evil,
you evil parents,
sermon on total depravity
saved for another day,
if you give good gifts,
how much more
will your heavenly Father,
your infinitely good,
perfect heavenly Father
give good gifts?
See, that's what he's saying
in the first story too, right?
If any of your neighbors
would get up and help you,
God would too.
If they would defend their honor
and help their neighbor
in crisis,
how much more
would God defend his honor
and help you in crisis?
The point Jesus is making
is about God's character.
God is good all the time.
All the time.
God is good.
He's a loving Father
who gives good help,
who loves to answer prayer.
God is good,
gracious,
merciful,
faithful,
never failing,
unchanging.
His character is spoken of that way
over and over
in the Scriptures.
And in particular,
it's demonstrated
as he answers
the prayers of his people.
The Bible doesn't just assert
that God is this way,
it shows him being this way
to his people.
And I've just picked a few
this morning,
thinking back of God's answers
to prayers of his people
in the Bible.
Think all the way back
to Abraham
who needs a ram
in the thicket
when his son Isaac
is about to be sacrificed
and God provides.
And Abraham prays
that God would heal
Abimelech
and his household
and God heals them.
The people of God
later are in Egypt
and they cry out
for deliverance
and God answers
their prayers
and then later gives them
water and manna
in the wilderness
for 40 years.
God answers the prayers
of Moses.
Many times it's to
forgive this people
and not wipe them
off the face of the earth
as they deserve.
Samson,
who's become a blind judge,
prays for strength
one more time
that he might testify
to God's glory
and God answers.
The woman,
Hannah,
cries out
praying before God
over and over
in the temple
and God answers
her prayer
and gives her
a child,
Samuel.
Elijah prays to God
and in one situation
a young boy
is raised
from the dead.
In another,
God pours down
fire from heaven
in response
to Elijah's prayers
and to show
his greatness
compared to the
prophets of Baal.
You can think of
Hezekiah and
Jehoshaphat
and other kings
who pray for
military deliverance
and God provides.
Daniel is a man
of prayer
and in response
to his prayer
God gives him
interpretation
of dreams.
He gives him
visions of the future
even to comfort him
and assure him
in great difficulty.
In the New Testament
the apostles
in the early church
pray
and a child
is raised
from the dead again.
The members
of the church
gather and pray
and apostles
are released
from prison
miraculously
delivered into
their midst.
The church
is built up
through the prayers
of God's people
over and over
and over.
This is what
our Father is like,
right?
We don't stop
to think
how he's shown
himself to be
this kind of God
but he loves
to give good gifts
to his children.
You've seen it
personally in your life.
We've seen it
corporately
as a church.
When you think
about this reality
it's really remarkable
either way
you think about this
either to think
that our Father
is infinitely good
is amazing
or to think
that the one
out of all people
who is infinitely
good
is our Father.
It's equally
remarkable.
It's incredible
but it's true.
This is who God is.
This is his
great character
over and over
and how he acts
toward us
and so we pray.
That's to be
the result.
And so we pray
tucked between
these two stories
highlighting the
character of God
is the intended
result
in our lives.
Jesus says
because we pray
to an infinitely
good Father
we must pray
desperately
persistently
and expectantly.
Look at verse 9.
I tell 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 the one
who seeks
finds
and to the one
who knocks
it will be
opened.
This is
praying, right?
Asking,
seeking,
knocking
in this context
is prayer.
There are three
things at least
we learn about
how we must
pray
because of
the one
to whom
we pray.
Because of
who God is
first
we pray
desperately.
Ask,
seek,
and knock
have a
progression
to them
as though
the one
asking
is getting
needier
and needier
by the moment.
Like the host
in the first story
who's seeking
where to find
bread,
begging,
pleading,
please help me,
I'm in a crisis
in dire need.
That's who we are,
right?
Desperately
dependent upon
God,
helpless,
apart from
Him.
We should pray
like that
because that's
who we are.
We should believe
it's true
because it is
true.
We're helpless
apart from
Him.
I was praying
just this week
and I said
the word,
Father,
we really need
You in this
situation.
And I just
stopped and
chuckled
and said,
Father,
we really
need You
all the time.
It's just
right now
we really
are aware
of how much
we need You.
We really
need Him
all the time,
right,
for every breath
that we take.
Isn't that
the truth?
We always
are crisis level
needy for God,
dependent on Him
and because
He's the good
Father who provides,
we must remember
our need
for Him.
Secondly,
we must pray
persistently.
Ask,
seek,
and knock
are present
tense verbs
with the idea
that we would
not just pray
one time
but that we
would continue
to pray
repeatedly
over and
over,
constantly.
Of course,
we're told
in the Bible
to pray
without ceasing
and we all
do that,
right?
You're always
praying.
People think
you're talking
to yourself
sometimes.
Now,
what's going
on there?
What is it?
The implication
of this
is that
God is good
and will
give the good
gift
but when
or how
He does
that may
be unclear.
We don't
just pray
once and
say that,
did it?
We are
to keep
praying.
We could
say we
must pray
and we
must not
quit
praying
and if
we have
stopped
we must
start
praying
again.
That's
what Jesus
means,
ask,
seek,
and knock.
The passage
is clear
that the
one who's
listening
is infinitely
good.
So let
that encourage
us to
pray and
to keep
praying even
when it
feels like
and looks
like He's
not answering
it.
Even when
it feels
your prayers
are hitting
the ceiling
and bouncing
back like
no one
cares,
Jesus says
He does.
He will
act.
He does
love you.
God
we have
to remember
that the
heart of
prayer
is not
getting
things we
want.
It's our
relationship
with God,
right?
We've said
this every
week.
It's praying
without ceasing.
Constantly
talking to
God,
living dependent
upon Him
moment by
moment.
I'd suggest
you think of
it like that
friend that
you text
throughout the
day.
You have a
friend like
that.
You just
text them
several times
through the
course of
the day,
something pops
in your
head,
you text
it to
them,
you send
them a
question,
you tell
them what
you're up
to,
you ask
them for
something that
you need,
can they help
out with
something,
you just are
naturally
comfortable
talking with
them.
That's the
kind of
relationship
that we are
to have
with God,
praying
without
ceasing
all the
time.
So how
do you
get there?
How do
you develop
that kind
of
relationship
you have
with your
friend?
My guess
is that if
you have
a friend
like that
at some
point in
time,
you spent
meaningful
time together,
set aside
some time
and just
got to
know each
other,
right?
You sat
down and
were together
regularly,
got to
know about
each other
and committed
that time
to that
so that
eventually you
can flow
naturally in
and out of
conversation
without anxiety
because you've
got to know
each other
and you've
connected.
That's how
I'd encourage
you to think
about developing
your prayer
life.
The goal
is that
moment by
moment,
comfortable,
dependent
relationship
with God,
with your
Father,
that you can
tell Him
about anything,
talk to Him
anytime about
whatever is
on your
heart.
So the goal
is not
setting aside
five or
15 or even
60 minutes
every morning
to say
I prayed
and now
I can
check it
off my
list
and get
on with
my day.
That's
not the
goal.
But in
my experience
that's a
good place
to start.
If you
don't have
that kind
of relationship,
if you
feel like
you don't
know a
father you
could talk
to like
that,
start by
setting aside
that time,
even if it
just be a
little bit,
to get
to know
Him.
If you
don't feel
like you
have a
daily
relationship
with God,
a lifestyle
of prayer,
let me
encourage you
not to leave
six weeks
of sermons
on prayer
and just
carry on
like that.
Oh,
I talk about
a relationship
with God
but honestly
I don't even
know what
that would
mean.
I'd encourage
you not just
to be satisfied
and leave it
there.
Your father
wants to
hear from
you.
I'd suggest
just picking
one small
step.
Perhaps
set time
aside
to pray
through
the prayer
guide
each week.
We send
these out
for that
reason.
They're here
but you
get it
in email
every Friday
morning.
There's a
reminder to
pray,
right?
Maybe
commit to
praying
through this.
Or you
could join
us at
830 on
Sunday
mornings
to pray
together
if it
helps you
to have
other people
with you.
We love
to pray
with you.
You can
take this
bulletin
home.
You didn't
get an
outline this
morning,
mostly because
I was behind.
But also,
so I could
give you
this tool.
It's just
some of the
questions we've
been talking
about each
week.
There are
five sections
that we've
talked to
of the
Lord's
prayer.
You could
take that
home and
just five
minutes each
morning,
Monday through
Friday,
take one of
these and
let these
questions spark
your prayers
to your
Father and
just start
getting to
know Him
and learning
to talk
with Him.
He's so
good.
He's so
eager to
give.
How could
we not be
asking
persistently?
Finally,
we must
pray
expectantly.
Look back
at verse
10.
For
everyone who
asks
receives.
The one
who seeks
finds.
And to
the one
who knocks,
it will
be opened.
No strings
attached.
No
disclaimers.
Just God
answers
prayers.
Right?
I don't
want to
soften the
glory of
that,
lessen the
goodness and
the promise
of that.
I'm not
going to
explain it
away.
Briefly,
of course,
it's not
just name
it and
claim it
theology.
It's not,
oh,
that's cool.
God,
I'd like a
new car,
a million
dollars,
and for my
team to
win the
game.
And it's
going to
happen.
Just like
that.
That's not
what it
means.
That's a
transaction
rather than a
relationship.
That's God
as the
magic lamp
whom you
control as
you wish.
In context
here of a
relationship,
this is the
things we're
asking for,
seeking for,
knocking for,
being the
things Jesus
has told us
to ask in
the Lord's
prayer,
right?
We are
dependent
there,
and God
is the
one in
control,
not the
other way
around.
The problem
with name it
and claim it
theology is it
focuses on the
one asking
thing.
If you
don't get
what you
asked for,
where's the
problem?
It's with
you.
You don't
have enough
faith.
You haven't
asked hard
enough or
long enough.
This says
the focus
is on the
one hearing
the prayer,
on the
prayer hearing
answering
God.
God answers
because of
who He is
as the
infinitely good
Father,
so we pray
expectantly.
Remember how
we talked
with the kids
earlier about
even human
parents?
We are
far from
infinitely
good,
but we
do
sometimes
give them
something even
better than
what they
ask for.
They may
ask for
another piece
of birthday
cake for
the fifth
time,
and their
father may
know that
there's
actually
something
better
for them.
I love
the way
John Calvin
explains this
about God's
ultimate
goodness.
Even when
it doesn't
seem like
He answers
our prayers
that He
is still
saying yes
to these
prayers.
God grants
our prayer
He says
even if He
does not
always respond
to the
exact form
of our
request.
It may not
look exactly
like what you
expected but
God answers
and Tim Keller
says it this
way,
God will
either give
us what we
ask or
give us what
we would have
asked if we
knew everything
He knew.
If we were
omniscient and
perfectly good,
this is what we
would have been
asking for.
That's so
helpful.
I could only
find one other
guy who said
it better.
I'm sorry,
I just,
I couldn't
resist this
slide.
It's the
Presbyterian
trifecta
where I'm
standing in
for C.S.
Lewis.
Our infinitely
good Father
answers prayers
infinitely better
than we ask
them.
That's the
heart of what's
happening here
because He's
so good.
We pray
expectantly.
Not hedging
our bets.
I need to
grow so much
in this area.
We're so
conditioned to
expect only
what we can
control or
explain,
aren't we?
Never expect
anything else.
Just what we
could reasonably
be in control
of or explain
how it happened
some other way.
And God
says,
no,
that's not in
here.
Ask.
I answer.
The answer
may not look
good to you
but you can
trust me.
So ask me
and then
trust me.
I've got even
better than you
can imagine
in store
for you.
In fact,
one last look
at verse 13.
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?
The Holy
Spirit?
Is that the
only thing
you've ever
asked for?
You pray
for the
Holy
Spirit?
Why?
God doesn't
promise merely
good gifts
here as he
does elsewhere
but the
Holy Spirit.
In Luke,
we've seen
the Holy
Spirit a lot.
When God
says he will
give the
Holy Spirit,
that means
his presence
with us.
It means
his promises
we can trust
and rely on,
all of them.
And it means
his very
person,
the one
who is
himself,
the ultimate
good.
God always
gives himself
to those
who ask.
That's why
prayer is about
relationship.
It's about
getting God
our Father
himself.
I can't
think of
anything more
important to
tell you about
prayer.
And apparently
Jesus doesn't
either.
He wants you
to know you
can have
God
himself
when you
ask.
Sometimes
instead of
calling a
helpline,
I call a
friend here
in town while
I'm working
on a project
under the
sink.
And sometimes
instead of
just giving me
advice on what
to do next,
he shows up
at my front
door,
rings the
doorbell,
says,
hand over
the tools,
let me
handle this
for you.
He shows
up in my
mess,
wallowing
under the
sink,
knee deep
in water,
and says,
let me take
care of this
for you.
That's a
good friend,
right?
Our Father
is infinitely
good.
So God
gives
himself
to us.
It's the
essence of
this table,
isn't it,
that we
come to
this morning.
That God
gave himself
to us.
First in
the person
of his
son who
came in
the flesh
and laid
down his
life for
us.
And then
God gives
himself to
us in
his Holy
Spirit to
live in
us and
dwell with
us.
us so
that finally
and forever
God the
Father gives
himself to
us in
relationship
forever where
he is the
lamp of the
eternal city
and we
celebrate that
relationship with
him forever that
we already
experience now
that we sit
and stop
with him.
We are in
fellowship
with him.
At this
table we
celebrate that
God always
gives us
himself.
if God
did not
withhold his
own son
from us
how will
he not
graciously
along with
him give
us all
things as
we pray
desperately
persistently
and expectantly
to our
infinitely
good
Father.
Take a
moment
consider the
goodness of
our Father
as we
prepare to
come to
this family
dinner to
his table.
Paul writes
I receive
from the
Lord what I
also delivered
to you that
the Lord Jesus
on the night
when he was
betrayed took
bread and when
he'd given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me
in the same way also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood
do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink
the cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes this table is not a southwood table
or presbyterian table it is the lord's table and our good father sets the feast before us
and invites all who are his children by faith in jesus christ to come and to feast we're going to
do something a little different this morning as we celebrate together as you come up the elder who
is serving you is going to pray with you and then serve you the elements so for sake of time and
instead of coming up one or two at a time we're going to have about 10 gather around together
as we take communion and it's going to remind us of two really important things
the first is that we come together to our father connected to everyone else who comes to god by
faith we're in a family together and it's going to remind us of that and then it's going to remind
us that we come to him and to this table completely utterly dependent upon our infinitely good father
and his provision for us we're going to rejoice in that as we celebrate let's pray and we'll come to
the table father for your goodness we are grateful and for these gifts we give you thanks
and ask that you would use them for a sacred purpose in our hearts that we might know you and trust you
more in jesus name amen our lord jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread and broke it
and gave it to his disciples as i'm ministering in his name give this bread to you he said take
eat this is my body broken for you do this in remembrance of me and in the same way after supper he took the cup
and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood shed for many for the forgiveness of sins drink from it
all of you our host team will usher you to tables forward or back come together in groups and we will
celebrate together for more information visit us online at southwood.org
you