Sermon
Ask, Seek, and Knock!
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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So we taking a break from the Genesis
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series, we're coming back next a week to
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the Genesis series with a pastor
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Richard. But invite you to open your bibles
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date to the eleventh chapter of the gospel
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of Luke.
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And today, we're gonna be looking at this
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parable
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taught by Jesus about prayer.
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Now this parable does not teach us everything
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about the christian doctrine of prayer, and there's
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much that can be said regarding prayer
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Actually, this parable in the gospel of Luke
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comes right after Jesus
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disciples
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asked him to teach them how to pray.
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And the first 4 verses of Luke 11,
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jesus stitches their disciples to pray with a
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well known lord's prayer that we recite every
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single Lord's day.
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So following Jesus is teaching on the Lord's
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prayer, he goes on
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to tell his disciples
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parable
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about the efficacy
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about the efficiency
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about the effectiveness
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of prayer,
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and the teaching of Jesus here in this
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parable
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is to encourage you dear Christian.
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Is to encourage his followers,
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his people, his church to pray
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to pray
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boldly.
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He's encouraging us to ask
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to seek
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and knock
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Jc R comments that in this verse our
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lord jesus christ struck us about prayer.
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This subject
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of prayer is 1 which can never be
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too strongly pressed on our attention.
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Prayer lies at the very root
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of our practical
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christianity.
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It is part of the daily business of
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our religious life.
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We have reason to thank God that upon
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no point has our lord jesus Christ,
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spoken so fully and frequently as upon prayer.
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But if we if we were honest with
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ourselves, and and I was say if we
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were to make a poll of Christians,
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in all over the the place
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about and asking a question about some aspect
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of their
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Christian life
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that they would like to be more faithful
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in,
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I think if prayer not on the top
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of the list.
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I say it would be in the top
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3.
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But if we all know that we can
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be more faithful in in prayer,
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What are some of the biggest obstacles
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and struggles
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that you face in your prayer life?
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What about prayer is most difficult
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for you?
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If you are gonna make a an assessment
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of your prayer life which aspects of your
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prayer life is the most need of growth.
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What is it that motivates you to pray?
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Why is it that many times we are
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not motivated to pray.
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So we are gonna see in this passage
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here.
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Or Jesus teaching about prayer.
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This has got to be 1 of a
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Jesus most
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encouraging
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statements
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in all of the Bible
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for you dear Christian to pray.
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For his for his church to pray to
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be bold in prayer,
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to pray frequently
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expect
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confidently
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because of the truth that we have a
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a heavenly father
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who
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graciously
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and generously
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hears
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the prayer of his children.
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Heavenly father who hears your prayer, the Christian.
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So let's look into this parable today. So
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here now God's holy in word, luke 11,
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beginning in verse
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5.
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And he Jesus said to them to his
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disciples.
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Which of you who has a friend will
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go to him at midnight and say to
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him.
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Friend,
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lend me 3 loads.
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For a friend of mine has arrived on
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a journey,
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and I have nothing to set before him,
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and he will answer from within.
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Do not bother me, The door is now
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shut, and my children are with me bad.
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I cannot get up and give you anything.
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I tell you.
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Though he will not get up and give
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him anything because he's his friend,
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yet, because of his imp
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he will rise and give him whatever he
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needs.
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And I tell you, ask
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and be given to you.
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Seek
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and you will find
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knock
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and will be open to you
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for everyone who asks
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receives
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and the 1 who seeks finds
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and to the 1 who knocks,
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it will be open.
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What father among you if he's son asks
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for a fish.
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Will instead of a fish give him a
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serpent?
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Or if he asks for an egg, we'll
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give him a scorpion.
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If you then were evil,
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know how to give good gifts to your
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children
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How much more
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will the heavenly father
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give the holy spirit to those who ask
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him?
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This is the word of the Lord.
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May god imprint truths upon our hearts. So
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we're gonna be looking at this parable under
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3 headings. First, we're gonna look at the
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parable itself, the parable.
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Then we're gonna look at the promise,
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and lastly, we're gonna look at the gift.
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Almost a iterations. So P,
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the parable,
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the promise and then the gift.
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And this parable is often called the friend
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and midnight.
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I'm not sure if you have 1 of
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those friends that shows up at your door
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midnight, but notice how Jesus begins
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he's parable. In verse 5,
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and he said to them
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which
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of you?
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Which of you.
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Now
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reform comment and pastor Philip Graham Reich and
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he says, commenting on this beginning of this
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bear. But he says this is story is
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meant to be absurd.
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Whenever Jesus introduces a parable with a statement
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or a phrase like each of you and
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we see that in luke 12 and 14,
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We know that he's about to describe something
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that would never happen.
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The question is a signal that the answer
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is no 1 which of you, no 1.
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No self respecting member of the covenant community
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would refuse to help a neighbor
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in need.
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And it is well known in in biblical
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times that 1 of the values that was
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esteem the most was the social duty of
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showing
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hospitality.
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And back then as people travel from town
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to town, many times they were the mercy
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of people to show them
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hospitality.
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And you was unheard off,
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not to host someone who shows up at
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your door.
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Even if it is uni unrelated,
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Someone who just shows up at your door,
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it was unheard of not even to prepare
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a meal for them.
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Much less if that someone who shows up
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is a friend
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of yours.
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Now it was very common for folks to
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travel at night because of the heat in
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the Middle East,
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We're all too familiar. You know, with the
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he here. Pastor Richardson said they even walking
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from from the admin building to here. He
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was already you know, a sweating. We're all
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familiar with the. So it's very common for
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folks to to travel at night.
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So we... Here we have this person
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that arrives at his friends,
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home at midnight,
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but the host does not have any food
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to offer.
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And that is a problem. That is a
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no knowing in that culture.
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So he has a few options under the
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circumstances,
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he can just say no.
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Right? I, I'm not gonna serve him any
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food but. Like I said, no 1 does
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that back then.
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The other option is since he has no
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bread
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he's probably gonna go to his neighbor's house
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or someone close by to see if they
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have any bread because his hospitality his
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The value of showing hospitality was a stake
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here. So the host boldly
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goes to his friend at midnight.
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Possibly his next door neighbor. He says in
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verse 5. Again,
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friend,
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Lend loves
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for a friend of mine has arrived on
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a journey,
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and I have nothing to set
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before him.
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So then after verse 6, the narrative
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shifts to the friend of midnight. Right? The
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man
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who is awake in I midnight. Let's call
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this man this sleeping neighbor.
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K? So the narrative now shifts to the
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sleeping neighbor and look what Jesus says in
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verse 7.
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And he the sleeping neighbor
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will answer from within.
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Do not bother me. The door is now
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shut and my children are with me in
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bed.
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I cannot get up and give you
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anything.
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And think about what would you do Somebody
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knocks on your door at midnight.
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Right? Nowadays, we might still be watching sports
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midnight.
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Or scrolling through the phone or
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watching a movie or or a series or
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something even in our day, we have a,
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some of us have tends to be night
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house.
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Would still be weird first... It would still
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be weird for someone to knock on your
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door midnight. Right? But back then, what would
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people do, you know?
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Parents, you know how hard that is. As
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soon as you put your children too bed,
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do you wanna wake them up?
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No you don't. Right?
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But you can always... If they wake them
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up what can you do. You can tuck
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them back into bed, but it's not easy.
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So their friend is now happy that he
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has been awake in a minute. And he
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starts giving all these excuses. Right? He's like,
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the door is closed. If I open the
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door, he's gonna make a lot of noise
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back then, the houses were like this wooden
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with his strong beams that you'd have to
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get up and walk, they live in small
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rooms. They have to get up and walk
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probably through the children and open the door.
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Start preparing a meal, that's gonna make a
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lot of noise is gonna wake everybody up.
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The doors shop is late them night. I
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cannot get up and help.
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So the issue was not that the man
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could not help, but that he would not.
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It was not a matter of inability,
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but of un unwillingness.
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Right? He was not willing to do this.
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So we don't know if the neighbor kept
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insisting kept banging on the door,
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but the friend eventually gets up to help.
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Jesus says that in verse 8.
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Eventually, he does.
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Look what Jesus says in verse 8, I
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tell you,
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though he'll will not get up and giving
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me anything because he's his friend
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Yet because of his imp,
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he will rise and give him whatever
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he needs.
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Now here in Verse aid, there's a a
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difficulty
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to interpret the the the phrase that we
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look at it again in aid
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Because of his imp,
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he will rise and give him whatever he
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needs.
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And these are the difficulty here.
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Who is the man that is being described
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as imp?
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Is it the
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man who goes and knocks at the door
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midnight or is it the sleeping neighbor?
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Right? We don't know. It's like, okay. Which
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1 it is? The other difficulty has to
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do with the translation of the Greek word
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right, and at day end, which is strongly
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as imp in your Sv
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bibles.
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And to be imp is to be imp.
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It is to be shameless presumption Is to
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be audacious.
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Someone who is audacious, not the person feels
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ashamed by someone who, like
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audacious. Right?
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You can also see a footnote if you
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have a yes bible that says that this
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word can be translated
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as persistent.
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So the King, James actually,
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they go with a ra. They translate
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this greek word as
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opportunity
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which means making persistent
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or pressing requests.
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Right? The Hiv translates the word as shameless
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audacity.
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And this is actually literally what the word
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means. It means shameless.
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Now another year shame, you know, when you
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feel guilt or she know. It means like,
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a
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I like what wound coming Theater. Like he
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said, it's like, a san
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audacity.
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Like, I think you're a bold that your
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approach God. Your you approach his throne with
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confidence
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with his audacity with this bold.
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Right? Just like a father, like, like, children
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have that, you know, that bonus just to
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walk into the parents room anytime
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and go to their parents.
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Right? So what Jesus teaching here this parable.
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Right?
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Listen to the this words actually before moving
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on to that, Arc pro he comments here
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in re re with respect to the Greek
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word, Right, which is only only used here
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in the new testament.
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The word literally means shameless.
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But the sensing thing that by Jesus is
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unclear. Obviously, the point is that Our
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friendship is not enough to make this sleepy
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neighbor rise and provide bread for his friend's
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unexpected guest.
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Something else will motivate the neighbor.
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Either the friends. Right? This is 1 interpretation.
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Either the friends
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shameless,
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boldly making a spectacle of himself a midnight
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or or the other interpretation, which is the
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sleeping neighbors
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desire to avoid the social stigma of denying
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his friend the wherewithal of
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offer hospitality to the Target traveler. In other
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words, the sleepy neighbor is trying to say
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face.
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He's he doesn't wanna
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receive the shame that would come. What? You
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you had bread and you didn't give bread.
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You we know what we do here in
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our culture. We gotta practice hospitality.
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So is it the sleeping neighbor who is
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shameless
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or he's gonna feel shame or he is
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it that word
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to the friend who goes them midnight. I
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believe that the correct interpretation given what Jesus
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is teaching here in this passage
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is that
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It is the first 1. It is... This
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word is related to the friend who goes
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and knocks midnight. He's being bold. He's being
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audacious. It's a san
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audacity.
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And what Jesus is teaching during this parable
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is that just like this friend and midnight
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who goes
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and midnight that we should come to guiding
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prayer with the same type of bold
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and perseverance.
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Listen to this words of reform comment and
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pastor Philip Graham Reich and he says.
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This then is how we should pray.
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Not timid dropping god hints
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about what we need.
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The boldly
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even shameless
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presenting our petitions before God
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and then continue to pray about them until
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we get an answer.
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Until we get an answer, but having said
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that,
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we need to be careful here. Look what
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else he he comments, right and he says,
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We need to be careful here.
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Because if we've pressed the details of the
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parable too far,
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we will end up making serious errors.
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Jesus is not saying that god gets annoyed
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when we bother him in midnight
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or that he has to be a jo
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into giving us what we need or that
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we should never take no for an answer.
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In fact, God is not
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like demanding bed at all.
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Jesus is making a contrast to show that
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god is ready and willing to help us.
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If even the t of neighbors can be
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persuaded to help us in the middle of
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the night
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then how much more
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will our father in heaven hear us
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when we pray.
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Right? So
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what is this parable
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not
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teaching?
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Right?
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It does not teach that God is like
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the sleeping neighbor that doesn't wanna get up.
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Right? It does not teach that God does
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not wanna be disturbed.
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Think about this.
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There's no midnight for god.
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There's no midnight for god. There is for
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us.
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But there's no midnight for god.
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He's beyond time.
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She's eternal.
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He transcend time
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Right. So there's no midnight for God.
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It doesn't teach that God has gone to
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bed
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So there's a sharp contrast between the sleepy
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neighbor and god who the scripture says that
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he neither slumber
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nor sleeps.
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Unlike the sleeping neighbor, god is not
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reluctant to answer your prayer dear christian.
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He's not bothered by your prayers.
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He willingly
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welcomes them. Look at his scripture versus Proverbs
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15 8
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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination
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to the Lord,
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but the prayer of the upright is his
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delight.
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Mean, is that an encouraging
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verse
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that your prayers dear christian?
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Is of delight to god.
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It's a delight to him to your heavenly
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father,
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Look First Peter 03:12 says for the eyes
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of the lord are on the righteous,
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and his ears are open
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to their prayer.
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But the face of the lord is against
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those who do evil.
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For the eyes of the lord are on
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you,
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dear Christian
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and his ears are open to your prayers.
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So now that we have a looked at
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this parable, and what this parable is saying
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and what this parable was not saying. Let's
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look at the promise of prayer. And like
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I said before, this is probably 1 of
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Jesus most
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encouraging
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is statements
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in all of the bible
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for you dear Christian to pray.
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For his church to pray. For God's people
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to pray. Let's look at the promise in
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versus 9 and 10. And I tell you
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ask
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and will be given to you,
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seek,
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and you will find
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knock and will be open to you. For
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everyone who asks
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receives
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and the 1 who seeks
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finds
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And to the 1 who knocks,
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it will
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be open. So let's focus on these 3
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words, ask
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seek and knock.
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What does the ask mean? It simply means
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to petition
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to to request something
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It implies that you that you have a
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needy, you realize that you have a lack
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and you
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ask for help. You know, the word some
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comment containers says that also suggests humility when
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you we ask,
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because it's... This word is used when someone
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is the asking,
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something to a superior, and in this case
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is is is God.
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That's what asking. So seek, denote asking
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but he actually adds action.
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This word means to pursue
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to endeavor to retain something
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The idea is not just to express our
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need, and the idea is not just to
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ask,
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but it is to pursue what we ask.
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It is doing endeavor to a retain what
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we ask.
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It involves effort. So let me give a
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a very, clear example. Let's say in your
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own personal prayer life,
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you're asking for forgot to give you a
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deeper knowledge of the bible.
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Right? You wanna I have more knowledge of
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the Bible.
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That's your ask. You ask. Lord, I want
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more knowledge of the Bible.
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What does the seeking entails
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with this petition that you want more knowledge.
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The seeking means that you come to church
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on Sundays.
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Then you come to church every large day,
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that you go to Sunday school
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that you can join a City group in
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the fall,
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all these many avenues of this disciples ship
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that the church
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gives
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so that we can have a deeper
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knowledge of the Bible.
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So now what about the knocking?
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The knocking includes the asking,
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plus the acting
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plus the per,
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you keep on knocking until the door is
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open.
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You keep on coming to church.
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You keep on
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searching the scriptures. And reading the scriptures
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persistent. You keep on studying the Bible. That's
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what the knocking
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implies here.
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So these 3 imperative verbs
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indicating, like, an ascending
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intensity.
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The tax... The text actually reads, keep on
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asking
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it's gonna be given to you. Keep on
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seeking
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and you will find. Keep on knocking in
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the door will be open to you. It's
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a 3 foot
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rotation with a 3 threefold promise.
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Look at these words, again, from comment Peter
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Reich, and he says in these verses,
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Jesus assures us that God will answer our
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prayers.
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He offers these assurance not just once or
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twice, but 6 times.
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3 verse 9 in 3 verse 10. In
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verse 9 Jesus says, ask, and will be
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given to you, see can you find now,
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and it will be open to you?
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Are asking,
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seeking
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and knocking the Christian, it's not gonna be
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vain.
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God will give
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God will reveal god will open.
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In case we have any doubt about this,
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Jesus goes on to say for everyone who
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asks, receives
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and the 1 who seeks finds
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and to the 1 who knocks who will
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be open. Jesus repeats himself to give us
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extra assurance
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that our prayers
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will be answered.
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Now like we said, what does this parable
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does not mean?
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What does this parable
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Do mean what are this versus actually nothing
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saying first? What are this versus nothing saying?
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So these 3 threefold rotation
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with this threefold promise
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is not a blank check, meaning that God
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is gonna give you everything that you ask.
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Right? Because we can pray for wrong things
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as James teaches us. In James chapter 4.
James 4 chapter mention
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He says,
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You do not have because you do not
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ask. Actually, many times we don't ask, We
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don't have because we don't ask.
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But sometimes when we do ask,
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We do not receive why because you asked
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wrongly
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to spend it on your passions.
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So we can prefer wrong things and guy
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I can say, no. So this is not
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a blank check.
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So this verse is saying that this is
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not a blank check. This verse is also
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saying that we might also not be praying,
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right,
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according to God's wording he's revealed will,
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the word of God. Right? When we pray,
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the word of God
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should be the guide of our prayer life.
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Everything that we do, the way that we
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worship,
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way that we pray,
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the way that we work the way that
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we do ministry everything should be guided
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by the word of God. It's the same
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with our prayer
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life.
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So what is this verse actually sing here?
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Look at the pastor can cues what he
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says?
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Those who ask
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seek and knock
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are people who believe God will answer.
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Their prayers are not works,
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but acts of faith,
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not ritual, but reliance.
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Ask seek knock is the hidden fire of
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the heart
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that believes God will answer and values what
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he gives.
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But this is the hard thing about this
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verse.
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About this parable or about prayer,
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is that many times, we have to wait
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a long time for our prayers to be
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answered.
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Right? 1 of the challenges
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when Christians pray is delayed
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is delaying getting our prayers answered That many
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times
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when we pray, we're gonna have to be
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patient and persistent in our waiting,
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But what Jesus is saying here is keep
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on asking.
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Keep on seeking,
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keep on knocking.
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Because you know why? Delay
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does not mean that god is indifferent to
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your needs.
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Delay does not mean that god is indifferent
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to our problems to her
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situation, or in ind to the needs of
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his covenant people. But looking at the testimony
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scriptures, delaying answer to prayer delaying God's promises
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realized is a reality. How long did the
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Abraham had wait for the center of the
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problem isaac?
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25 years.
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How long did King David had wait from
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the time that he was anointed
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to the time that he became second in
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commanding need egypt. Sorry. So the time that
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he was anointed for the time that became
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king.
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Decades.
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What about Joseph?
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From the time that he received the prophetic
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revelations when he was 17 years old. So
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the time that he became Himself coma commander
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in Egypt to see that promise realized
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He had to wait
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13 years.
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But the delay does not meaning difference or
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what God will not fulfill what he has
-
promised. And that's actually what Peter, the Apostle
-
Peter was writing. Said, hey, eu Talk a
-
lot about that 1 day crisis is going
-
to come back.
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And they're actually, you know,
-
making fun of of a peter in of
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Krishna. Where is this coming?
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I mean, you just promised how long ago
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2000 years ago, Luca peter says in second
-
Peter 3.
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But do not overlook these 1 fact, beloved
-
that with the Lord 1 day is as
-
a thousand years.
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And a thousand years as 1 day.
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The Lord is not slow to fulfill his
-
promise as some count slowness.
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But it's patient toward you not wishing that
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should perish,
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but that all should reach
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repentance.
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Now. There's a story about George Mueller,
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Mueller that, James boys.
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He he tells me his commentary. In George
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Mueller, he was the the founder of the
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gray. He Christian Orphanage in, in England in
-
the nineteenth century, and he was a man
-
of deep prayer.
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And
-
from the the beginning of his you know,
-
ministry in his life. He started praying to
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2 of his friends
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who did not know the lord.
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Right? That he they they he wanted to
-
pray that friends would be converted.
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So he prayed to every them every day
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for them. Do you know for how long?
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60 years.
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6 0.
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60 years,
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1 of the men
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actually got converted possibly on the last sermon
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the George Mueller gave. The last service that
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he held,
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the man came to faith.
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His other friend got converted a year before
-
he died?
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Have you been praying that long for someone?
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I love it 1?
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A parent,
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a brother,
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sister,
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I have
-
I have.
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Now, I don't know. I want that person
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to come to faith.
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Want to desire to that for that person,
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or wherever that person you're praying for to
-
get to know the lord that we know.
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But we live it up to god,
-
but what we do, we jesus, keep on
-
asking.
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Keep on seeking,
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keep on.
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So now that we have looked at the
-
parable,
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and we'll we have looked at the promise.
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Let's finish by looking at the gift.
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Because Jesus follows up this incredible promise
-
with a principle that is very common in
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Jewish life of reasoning from the lesser
-
to the greater. So we're gonna see the
-
gift now verses 11 to 13. So let's
-
read it. So what farther among you
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if she's son asks for a fish,
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will instead of a fish giving a serpent.
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Or if he asked for an ag, will
-
give him us scorpion.
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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?
-
So once again, in this parable,
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Remember when Jesus began, each of you.
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He's like, no 1.
-
Right? Jesus starts the session by asking a
-
question that seems absurd.
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Right parents,
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fathers,
-
mothers. If your son asks you for a
-
fish,
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are you going to give him a serpent?
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Of course not.
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If he asked for an egg, are you
-
going to give him a scorpion?
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Of course not.
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And then Jesus says in verse 13 13.
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Again, if you then who are evil,
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know how to give good gifts to your
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children,
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Now let's remember the context. Jesus is teaching
-
his disciples.
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And he's telling his disciples
-
if you are evil,
-
but you still are able to give good
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guess to your children. What Jesus star
-
about here is the reality of sin.
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The reality of total, d gravity. Right? It
-
might seem harsh, but he's speaking the truth
-
that all of us are born with a
-
simple nature, even redeemed christians
-
have to fight against the flesh about against
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the sinful nature.
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And the reality is that our sinful nature
-
is just as likely to harm
-
our families, our relationships, right? To affect our
-
relationships.
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Having said that, cancun use
-
pastor king qc he comments. We
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sinful short coming in all, go to great
-
lengths
-
to give good gifts to our children.
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Right? Isn't that true,
-
dear Christian.
-
Remember that Jesus is the arguing here from
-
the lesser
-
to the greater and he's saying if he
-
even knew disciples. He's talking to his disciples.
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You give good gifts to your children, how
-
much more is this true
-
of our heavenly father.
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Our heavenly father who is holy,
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who is perfectly righteous.
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His wisdom is the infinite
-
who loves his children perfectly,
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who knows what his children needs.
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The Romans 08:32.
-
Says he got the father,
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who did not spare his own son, the
-
Lord jesus Christ,
-
but gave him up for us all
-
how will he not also with him graciously
-
gives us all things?
-
How much more?
-
Look, again, the the end of verse 13
-
how much more
-
will the heavenly father give the holy spirit
-
to those who asked him. So first,
-
Is that how you know God?
-
Do you know God as your heavenly
-
father?
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There's only 1 way
-
to become God's son.
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There's only 1 way
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to be able
-
to call
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godfather and it is through the lord jesus
-
Christ.
-
Listen to what the apostle John Rising in
-
John 1 versus 12, but to all who
-
did receive him, who receive christ,
-
who believed in his name in the name
-
of christ, he gave the right to become
-
children of God,
-
who were born, not of blood, nor of
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the will of the flesh,
-
nor the will of men but of god.
-
Then in first, John 3 1, we see
-
see what kind of love the father has
-
given to us
-
that we should be called children of god.
-
And so we are.
-
If you are in Christ, you have repent
-
of your sins and you have trusted in
-
him alone for your salvation, God is your
-
heavenly father?
-
How does that reality impact you?
-
How does that reality transform you,
-
change
-
you?
-
Knowing in knowing God
-
J packer he writes.
-
If you want to judge how well a
-
person understands christianity,
-
Find out how much he makes of the
-
thought of Being God's child
-
and having Goddess his father.
-
If this is not,
-
the thought that prompts
-
and controls his worship and prayers
-
And his whole outlook on life.
-
It means that he does not understand
-
christianity very well at all.
-
The knowledge, the creation of the fathers
-
of God's
-
father love should be the thought that prompts
-
that controls our worship,
-
our prayers,
-
you should completely change our whole outlook
-
on life.
-
It should transform our attitude and approach
-
toward prayer.
-
Because Look what Jesus says again in the
-
verb in the end 13, how much more
-
will
-
d heavenly father, your heavenly father give the
-
holy spirit
-
to those who ask him.
-
I think about the greatest gift that you
-
have ever received in your life.
-
What is the greatest gift
-
that you have received?
-
No know, for birthday for Christmas? I don't
-
know. Think about it.
-
Think about the greatest gift that you can
-
receive
-
or that you have received. Listen to Jc
-
R comments.
-
The holy period
-
is beyond doubt.
-
The greatest gift which god can be stolen
-
upon man.
-
Having this gift, we have all things,
-
life,
-
light,
-
hope, and heaven.
-
Having this gift, we have God the father's
-
boundless love.
-
God sons of turning blood and full comm
-
with all 3 persons of the blessed trinity.
-
Having this gift, we have grace and keys
-
in the world than now is
-
glory and honor
-
in the world to come?
-
Why is this the greatest gift?
-
Great question. I'm glad you asked.
-
Because of the what this period is gonna
-
doing us,
-
Listen to these words again from R And
-
look at what the promise of what this
-
period is gonna do yin mule dear Christian.
-
What will spirit doing us? He will review
-
the truth God through the teaching of scripture,
-
which he himself first revealed.
-
He will give us the conviction of sin
-
granting us the gift or repentance.
-
He will purse aid of the truth of
-
the gospel
-
working in as the gift of faith.
-
By faith, he will unite us to Jesus
-
Christ.
-
So it is only through this period. We
-
received the blessings of salvation,
-
justification, san justification and adoption.
-
That is not all.
-
It's only the beginning.
-
This spirit will win us the victory of
-
our sin.
-
This spirit will equip us we give so
-
firm ministry.
-
This spirit will grow in us the fruit
-
of god.
-
This spirit will assure us that we are
-
the children of God
-
And 1 day, this spirit will raise us
-
from the dead
-
just as he raised Jesus from the dead.
-
And by his transforming grace,
-
he will change us into glory.
-
Isn't this the greatest gift.
-
Isn't this the greatest gift
-
that you dear Christian
-
can receive
-
from God.
-
If you call God your father because you
-
have repent of your sins
-
and trusted in Jesus Christ, as lord and
-
savior for your salvation, you have the gift
-
of the holy spirit.
-
The holy spirit ind dwell you.
-
And these promises that we read are for
-
you dear Christian.
-
So remember that
-
in this passage, we are seeing 1 of
-
Jesus most
-
encouraging
-
statements in all of the bible why we
-
should pray.
-
Why we should be bold prayer,
-
with a san audacity,
-
to pray frequently to pray confidently to pray
-
expect,
-
knowing that the the work what the spirit
-
is gonna do in our lives. Knowing that
-
we have a a heavenly father
-
who graciously and generously
-
answers the prayer of his people.
-
And I finish with just 1 final rotation
-
from Jc c R.
-
The time and weighing in which our prayers
-
shall be answered are matters which we must
-
live entirely to god.
-
It's his counsel
-
see his wisdom.
-
It's his sovereignty.
-
But that every petition which we offer in
-
faith shall certainly be answered we need not
-
doubt.
-
Let us lay our matters before God, again
-
and again,
-
day after day
-
week after week, month after month year after
-
year.
-
The answer may be long coming as it
-
was in the cases of Hannah in Z.
-
But Though terry,
-
let us pray on and wait for it.
-
At the right time,
-
it will surely come
-
and not tar.
-
Man I'm gonna finish with something now
-
very profound.
-
So pay attention,
-
very profound.
-
Do you know what you have to do
-
if you have stop praying.
-
You know what you have to do is
-
you have stop praying,
-
start again.
-
Start again.
-
Keep asking.
-
Keep seeking.
-
Keep knocking.
-
Amen, let us pray.
-
Father, we thank you that
-
the prayer of your people is your delight.
-
It's truly incredible to hear this words that
-
that your prayer our prayers is your delight.
-
We think you that your ears are open
-
to our prayers,
-
As Jesus said, I and I tell you
-
ask, and you'll be given to you, seek,
-
and you will find
-
knock
-
and it will be open to you for
-
everyone who asks receives
-
and the 1 who seeks finds
-
into the 1 who knocks.
-
It will be open.
-
May we run near
-
to your throne of grace
-
with bold,
-
with confidence
-
so that we may receive mercy
-
and find grace to help in time of
-
need.
-
We pray out the things in christ's name.
-
Amen.