Luke 11:5-13 - The Ultimately Good Father

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Come with me this morning to Luke chapter 11, Luke 11.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

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