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"As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another"
-Proverbs 27:17 |
Sermon Archive
Never Give Up
No! God is like a parent and no good parent would ever grant every request from his or her child.
God does NOT promise to reward our stupidity, empower our selfishness, or help us do something that is not ultimately good. In some cases God will say "NO." In some cases God will say, "WAIT." God is prepared to say "YES." God likes us to ask.
So help me, Lord, to pray and keep on praying. Amen.
Never Give Up Luke 11:5-13
I began this message last week on Prayer by saying that God loves it when we:
1. When we pray CORRECTY by using Lord’s prayer as a model.
Pray to the Heavenly Father, "When you pray, say: 'Father ." (v. 2).
Pray with a Respectful Attitude."'Father, hallowed be Thy name'" (v. 2).
Pray with a Submissive Heart."'Thy kingdom come'" (v. 2).
Pray for Daily Needs. "'Give us each day our daily bread'" (v. 3).
Pray for Forgiveness."'And forgive us our sins'" (v. 3).
Pray for Protection."'Lead us not into temptation'" (v. 4).
2. When we Check your MOTIVES.
3. When we ASK HUMBLY.
4. When we pray, DON’T GIVE UP.
If you have ever prayed regularly you have struggled with the issue of unanswered prayer and how long should I ask before I just give up on a request. Sometimes we can become discouraged, as we pray and we start thinking, “What’s the use?” and we may be tempted to quit praying. We hear stories of how God answered prayer for others, but for us it just doesn’t seem to work. And sometimes we’re like boy who rings the doorbell and runs away. We don’t stick around long enough to find out if God is home and if He is going to open the door to our request. Jesus tells this story to encourage us to NOT GIVE UP as we pray.
Luke 11:5-8 "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up & give you anything.’ Jesus concludes by saying: I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs." Jesus’ point is simple: DON’T GIVE UP! In this story Jesus contrasts the reluctant neighbor with a caring father.
A Reluctant Neighbor: To understand the story of the reluctant neighbor you need to know that hospitality was very important in the Middle East. You were obligated to feed and lodge your friends.
In this case a friend got to your place late one evening. He had traveled most of the day and by the time he got to town all the restraints were closed. He was hungry but you didn’t have any frozen pizzas in the freezer.
So, even though it was very late, you go to your neighbor’s house to borrow a couple of pizzas.
In most Palestinian homes there was just one room with a dirt floor and a fire to keep warm. The whole family slept together around the fire. The door was closed for privacy and the people went to bed on the floor with mats.
When the neighbor knocked on the door, the man of the house didn’t want to get up because it would awaken the whole family. It would have been a big hassle. So, he whispered, "Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything."
But the guy wouldn’t accept no for an answer. He knocks again and again. Finally, the man inside was fully awake and probably his children as well. Reluctantly, he got up and gave the neighbor the three frozen pizza’s just to get rid of him.
Please don’t misunderstand this story. This is not suggesting that God is like the neighbor who doesn’t want to be bothered and we need to hassle him into giving us what we want or need. Not
at all! The point is that God is NOT like the man in the house.
God loves to hear our prayers. God welcomes our requests.
God desires to give us good things.
Look at what Jesus said: "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."(11:9-10)
In other words, when it came to praying, Jesus said "Go for it!"Go ahead and ask for what you need. God ahead and seek what you’re after. Go ahead and knock on the door. Does this mean that we are guaranteed to get whatever we want from God?
No! God is like a parent and no good parent would ever grant every request from his or her child.
God does NOT promise to reward our stupidity, empower our selfishness, or help us do something that is not ultimately good. In some cases God will say "NO." In some cases God will say, "WAIT." God is prepared to say "YES." God likes us to ask.
So don’t quit praying. DON’T GIVE UP! God wants to answer our prayer.
Jesus point is that God wants us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. He wants us to PERSIST in prayer. But then he makes
a sudden turn in verse 11 and shifts from the image of a reluctant neighbor to the image of a caring Father. Notice what he says.
A Caring Father: "Which of you fathers or mothers, if your son asks for a fish sandwich, will give him a rattle snake instead? Or if daughter asks for a cheese omelet, will give her a black widow spider instead? Listen to Jesus conclusion: “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE (say that with me) will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:11-13)
With few exceptions, parents want to do their best for their children. When a son or daughter asks for something, Mom or Dad doesn’t give them something bad or hurtful. Any good parent wants to give the best.
Hear Jesus logic: If parents are that good, God is a million times gooder. Luke says: “…HOW MUCH MORE will your Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask.” (v13) God DOESN’T give us bad when we ask for good. God doesn’t trick us. God doesn’t hold out on us. God gives us the best of the best.
For example, God has given the very best gift when he give us his Holy Spirit. When a person becomes a Christian, God gives the Holy Spirit to help the person faithfully live out their faith. God is very, very, very generous and really, really, really, good!
Listen again to what Jesus says in v10: "Every one who goes on asking receives; who goes on seeking finds; who goes on knocking it will be opened." God is responsive as we persist in our prayers.
So what's the point of the whole section?
The point is to show us that “persisting in prayer” - is totally OK with God.
A dad with a four-year-old son had just gone through the
bedtime routine of reading a story, listening to his prayers, answering a dozen questions, giving him a hug, and saying
good-night before slipping out of the room. Finally, after a long, hard day, dad could relax.
Dad sat down in his easy chair and it was quiet for a few
minutes before he heard, “Daddy, can I have a drink of water?”
“No, Jimmy, be quiet and go to sleep.” It was quiet for a couple of minutes then he heard again, “Daddy, can I have a drink of water?” “Jimmy, I said to be quiet and go to sleep!” There was silence again, but it didn’t last long. “Daddy, please can I have a drink of water?” The dad could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere, so he said, “Jimmy, if I hear one more sound out of that room, I’m going to come in there and spank you!” You could hear a pin drop. There was silence for about one minute. And then the silence was broken with these words: “Daddy, when you come in to spank me, would you bring me a drink of water?” Now the dad knew that Jimmy really was thirsty! Why? Because he was boldly persistent in his request.
We have a Heavenly Father who invites us to come to Him at any hour and to pray: to keep on seeking, keep on asking and keep on knocking.
Conclusion: Why should we continue praying, especially in times when it seems as if God is not even hearing us or giving a rip? (All Christians go through times like these.) In part, we pray and keep on praying out of obedience to Jesus. But remember Jesus words: If we keep on asking, we will receive. If we keep on seeking, we will find. And if we keep on knocking, the door will be opened.
PRAYER: Gracious Lord, thank you for this encouragement to pray. At times I find it hard to persist in prayer. After a few times of praying for something, I can lose heart. Honestly, it's hard to keep on praying when it seems as if you aren't even listening.
Thank you for the assurance that the one who asks and keeps on asking will receive. I realize prayer isn't a simple equation, where I get exactly what I want, I hold tightly to the truth that you will answer me when I pray.
Thank you for the assurance that the one who asks and keeps on asking will receive. I realize prayer isn't a simple equation, where I get exactly what I want, I hold tightly to the truth that you will answer me when I pray.
So help me, Lord, to pray and keep on praying. Amen.