1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,160 Welcome to the Island's Christian Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,800 Subscribe to hear a new episode every week. 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,560 Thanks for joining us. All right, we have been in this 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,000 series where we've been looking at this second of two of Jesus's 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,400 2 greatest commandments. The first one being to love the 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,040 Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. 7 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,200 And the second to be to love your neighbor as yourself. 8 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,600 And so we've been talking about how we actually love our 9 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:25,880 neighbors. We've talked about how to 10 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:27,800 identify our neighbors. That was week 1. 11 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,440 We've talked about how to shine our light through our good deeds 12 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,240 towards our neighbor neighbors. And today I want to shift our 13 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,400 focus just a little bit as we wrap up this series. 14 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,920 I want to say before we can love others well, before we can love 15 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,720 our neighbors well, which we're commanded to do, we must know 16 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,600 our true selves, that we ourselves are loved by God 17 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,640 deeply, that you are an object of great love. 18 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,440 Let me say it this way, if you take notes, God has been a 19 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,440 neighbor to you. God has been a neighbor to you. 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,840 So as he calls you to be a neighbor to others, He has been 21 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,880 a neighbor to you. He has met us in our need. 22 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:05,960 He has cared for us. He has provided for us 23 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,000 spiritually and physically like He's come through for us. 24 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,400 And because he's done that for us, we can trust him that when 25 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,080 he calls us to do the same for others, He's been a good 26 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,400 neighbor to us and we can be a good neighbor to others now. 27 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,760 So today we're going to unpack a story and some other words from 28 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,280 Luke Chapter 11. If you have your Bibles, go 29 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:26,560 there. If you have your phone, go to 30 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,800 Luke Chapter 11. Jesus teaches us in this passage 31 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,040 why we can trust God. So if you're a skeptic about 32 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,320 God, if you're questioning the whole God thing, here's a here's 33 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,960 a teaching today about why you can trust God, why you can 34 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:43,760 believe that he's trustworthy. And through his teaching on 35 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,160 prayer today, Jesus will reveal to us that our Father welcomes 36 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,960 your interruptions. He welcomes your interruptions. 37 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:52,640 He loves it when you come and interrupt him. 38 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,200 He invites you to come to him with your needs and often when 39 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,520 you come to God with your needs and you say, hey, God, here are 40 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,840 my needs here, here's what I'm dealing with, Here's what I'm 41 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,280 facing, here's what I'm going through. 42 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,840 Often what God does is he meets your needs ready through a good 43 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,680 neighbor. He comes into your life through 44 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,320 a good neighbor and meets your needs. 45 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,960 And so the so the opposite of that is true as well, that 46 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,360 there's somebody somewhere praying right now for a need to 47 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,360 be met by their heavenly Father. And you are the good neighbor 48 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,520 that will meet that need. All right. 49 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,360 I can think of many occasions in my life when I've been praying 50 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,480 through a need that my wife or my children or my family has. 51 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:34,360 And God will meet that need, but he has never met it through, you 52 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,480 know, a pigeon dropping a box in my backyard, right? 53 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:39,760 Prednisone. I'm working on it, OK. 54 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,520 He's never met it through something random or weird. 55 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,120 He's always met it through a brother or sister in Christ. 56 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:47,880 He's always met it through a neighbor. 57 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,920 He's always met through someone saying to me, hey, I have this 58 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:52,480 thing. And I can remember in a story 59 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,320 once, years ago, I was taking a pay cut here at the ministry and 60 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:58,760 we were facing some financial difficulties. 61 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:01,600 This has been many years ago. And a friend called me out of 62 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:03,440 the blue and he said, hey, man, you've been on my mind. 63 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:05,320 I, for some reason, been praying for you. 64 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:06,720 And I don't know what's going on. 65 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,240 Can you tell me what's going on? And I said, well, this is what's 66 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:10,960 going on. He said, I thought something 67 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,000 like that was going on. So I was prepared to send you a 68 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:14,520 check. And so I'm going to send you a 69 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,160 check for $5000 tomorrow and a check showed up for $5000 in our 70 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,600 bank in our check in our mail a few a couple days later. 71 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:23,440 I was praying for a need to be met. 72 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,400 I had my family had sacrificed on behalf of the ministry and 73 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,120 God provided that need like without any problem at all. 74 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,240 But he didn't provide it through a magical spell. 75 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,240 He provided it through a brother in Christ. 76 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,920 So God, when we come to him with our needs and we say, hey, these 77 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,800 are the needs I have. He meets those and he often 78 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,120 meets those needs through someone being a good neighbor to 79 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,920 us. And then when we see that he 80 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,040 meets our needs through his care and through his people, then 81 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,520 that motivates us to be the same for others. 82 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,040 Here's the thing about God is your heavenly Father, that you 83 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,640 are loved. All of us, You, you and I do not 84 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,400 have to operate on a fear mindset or a scarcity mindset. 85 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,960 In other words, I don't have to be worried about what I possess 86 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,640 and what I own and whether it's, you know, going to be enough for 87 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,000 me. I can be generous with what God 88 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,040 has given me because I have a Heavenly Father who invites me 89 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,640 into his abundance and to all that He has in the promise of 90 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,120 provision from Him. This is what's true of you. 91 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,040 You are loved by a heavenly Father and not you. 92 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,280 And I cannot love our neighbors until we know that that's our 93 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,160 identity, that I'm loved by a heavenly Father and I can trust 94 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,680 him and I can come to Him. And so today we're going to 95 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,600 unpack this passage from Luke Chapter 11 about prayer. 96 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,760 So let's just jump into this this morning and I'll give you 97 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,960 the three ideas that we'll see in this Luke Chapter 11 verse. 98 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,720 Starting with verse one, we're going to read a big chunk of 99 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,720 scripture. So hopefully you're OK with 100 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,360 that. This is what it says. 101 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,120 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. 102 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,240 When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, 103 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,200 teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. 104 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:00,200 He said to them, When you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your 105 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,040 name, your Kingdom come, give us each day Our Daily Bread, 106 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,080 forgive us our sins, and we for we also forgive everyone who 107 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,040 sins against us and lead us not into temptation. 108 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,480 Then Jesus said to them, Suppose you have a friend, and you go to 109 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,040 him at midnight and say, friend, lend ME3 loaves of bread. 110 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,720 A friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no 111 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,000 food to offer him. And suppose the one inside 112 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,800 answers don't bother me, the door is already locked and my 113 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,880 children are in bed. I can't get up and give you 114 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,640 anything. I tell you, even though the even 115 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,600 though he will not get up and give you the bread because of 116 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,800 friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will 117 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,320 surely get up and give you as much as you need. 118 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,280 Verse 9 So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, Seek 119 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:48,840 and you will find knock and the door will be open to you. 120 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:52,240 For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds the one 121 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,280 who the one who knocks the door will be open. 122 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,480 Which of your father's? If your son asks for a fish, 123 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,920 we'll give him a snake instead. Or if we ask for an egg, we'll 124 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,160 give him a scorpion. If you then, though you are 125 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,080 evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much 126 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,160 more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those 127 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,800 who ask him? So here are the three ideas if 128 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,960 you're a note taker. The three ideas from this text 129 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,920 is we pray with dependence on God, we pray with dependence on 130 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,360 God. Number one, we pray with 131 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,200 dependence on God #2 we pray with boldness, we pray with 132 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,560 boldness, and #3 we pray with expectation. 133 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,600 We pray with expectation. So first of all, verses one 134 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,320 through 4, we pray with dependence on God. 135 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,040 Luke begins by telling this sharing in this passage that 136 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:40,880 Jesus's disciples see Jesus praying. 137 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,040 They notice that he's praying. And here's what's interesting, 138 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,080 They see Jesus praying a lot. Jesus prays often. 139 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,000 If you read the Gospels, Jesus is always wandering off by 140 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,840 himself and praying. Prayer seems to be a key 141 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,240 component of his life. And so this one disciples, after 142 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,520 seeing Jesus pray, he says, Lord teach us to pray. 143 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,280 And they knew something was powerful in Jesus and they knew 144 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:03,320 that something was distinct and different from him. 145 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:05,760 And John, now John they're referring to as John the 146 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,080 Baptist, who was kind of a forerunner of Jesus, kind of 147 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,680 like a prophet who came before Jesus and was teaching people 148 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,920 and gathering a following, announcing that Jesus the 149 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,320 Messiah was coming. And he obviously had taught his 150 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,200 followers to pray. But Jesus's followers realized 151 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,160 that there was something unique about Jesus, that that Jesus was 152 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:22,680 unique. And they had seen Jesus already 153 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:24,880 do miracles. Actually, earlier in Chapter 9, 154 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,560 we have Peter saying, oh, yeah, we believe that you are the Son 155 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,280 of God, the Messiah who has been sent to the world. 156 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:33,640 And so they knew that Jesus and John were distinct and 157 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,760 different. They believed that Jesus was the 158 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,480 Son of God in flesh, that he was God on earth in flesh. 159 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,840 They knew that. And yeah, what's interesting is 160 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,760 this God, he had a, this Jesus had a unique connection with his 161 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:48,320 heavenly Father. He prayed, he prayed to his 162 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,680 heavenly Father. They saw that unique connection 163 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,600 and they wanted it. Now think about this, This is 164 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,400 just quick. If Jesus is God in the flesh, 165 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,920 he's walking on the earth and he constantly prays. 166 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,240 He he constantly prays. If he, Jesus needed to pray that 167 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,560 much, how much more do we who are not God in the flesh need to 168 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:15,960 pray? If Jesus, God in the flesh, 169 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:21,440 talks to his heavenly Father and is dependent upon him, he, he's 170 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,640 acknowledging out of that dependence. 171 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,280 Father, I need you to be able to do this ministry. 172 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,520 The the assumption is that we pray because we are dependent 173 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,120 too. If Jesus, the Son of God on 174 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,640 earth, is praying out of a place of dependence, then you and I 175 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,520 who are not God in the flesh are called to pray out of a place of 176 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,720 dependence. Now, in this prayer, Jesus 177 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:46,560 teaches them. It's often referred to as the 178 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:48,080 Lord's Prayer. But you notice Jesus doesn't 179 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,000 call it the Lord's Prayer. We have given it that title. 180 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:56,160 In that prayer, dependence shows up in every single line. 181 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,720 If you look at your text in that prayer, dependence shows up in 182 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:04,240 every single line. He says, first of all, he says 183 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,920 Father. He says, Father, how it would be 184 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:09,960 your name, in other words, Father, how it would be your 185 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:11,760 name? What how how is dependent 186 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,000 showing up in that? Well, Father, you are distinct 187 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,880 from us. Your name is different from us. 188 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:17,640 We are different. We're not the same. 189 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,560 We are flesh and blood. You are spirit and so you are 190 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:23,440 distinct and different. We are dependent upon you 191 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,840 Father, how it would be your name and then your Kingdom come 192 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,600 like Father, if there's anything that's going to be done on this 193 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,360 earth, if if it's anything that's going to happen, we can't 194 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,120 bring about any of the good works. 195 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:37,720 We can't bring about any of the the stuff that needs to happen. 196 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,240 Only you could do this. Give us each day Our Daily 197 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,360 Bread. Father, we depend on you for 198 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,680 provision. Our Daily Bread. 199 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,720 We need you for provision. Forgive us our sins. 200 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,400 You and I depend on God for mercy. 201 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:54,440 Have you ever sinned and made a mistake? 202 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,960 I have and we depend on God for mercy. 203 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:01,720 And then he says, as we forgive those who have have have hurt 204 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,280 us, as we forgive others, do you think you need God's help to 205 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,560 forgive others? Yeah. 206 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:14,760 So in every line is dependence. And then the last he says, lead 207 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:19,480 us not into temptation. We need God to, to to protect 208 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,280 us. We depend on him to protect us 209 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,680 from temptation and from destruction and the laws of 210 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,480 Satan and the laws of idols. In other words, every part of 211 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,880 this prayer reminds us that you need God for everything, that I 212 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:33,640 need my heavenly Father for everything. 213 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:36,040 Now I do want to point out something here. 214 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:40,480 I want you to notice this, that how Jesus prays. 215 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,320 He doesn't say give me my daily bread. 216 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,280 He doesn't say forgive me my sins. 217 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,240 He doesn't say protect me from temptation. 218 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,000 Do you notice that? What does he say? 219 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,400 He says us. He says, give us Our Daily 220 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,000 Bread, forgive us our sins, lead us not into temptation. 221 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:58,760 And what's interesting about that is a lot of times in 222 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,880 Christianity in the in the American West now, you know, 223 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,760 like in the Western Hemisphere, Christianity is primarily a 224 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,360 personal thing. You don't really take your 225 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:08,080 Christianity outside of this room. 226 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:09,920 You kind of just have it and it's kind of personal. 227 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,440 It's between you and God and you just live your life and people 228 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,160 might know you're a Christian, might know you're might not know 229 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,560 you're a Christian. But Jesus is depicting prayer, 230 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:18,560 not as individual here, but as communal. 231 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,040 Now that I think that's on purpose. 232 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,160 I think he's doing that on purpose. 233 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:27,360 And This is why I think Jesus is teaching us that dependence on 234 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:29,560 God. Listen carefully. 235 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:34,040 Dependence on God also creates interdependence on each other. 236 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:39,520 Dependence on God automatically creates interdependence on one 237 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,640 another. God provide me with my daily 238 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,920 bread. How might He provide you with 239 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:46,240 your daily bread? We talked about this at the 240 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,440 beginning of the talk through a another person to another human. 241 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:52,920 And so I'm dependent upon God. God, I need you to move. 242 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,840 But that dependence, God protect me from temptation. 243 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,720 How might he protect me from temptation? 244 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,480 What might it be through an accountability partner, a 245 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,760 brother in the Lord or a sister in the Lord who helps me with 246 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,240 the temptation I'm facing. Lord help me forgive others. 247 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:08,720 How might he help me forgive others? 248 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,120 Might it be through being a part of a church that teaches 249 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:12,760 forgiveness that walks me through that. 250 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:14,640 In other words, dependence on God. 251 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,280 The communal nature of prayer is that I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm 252 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,360 dependent upon God, but that means I'm interdependent on each 253 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,200 other. So when I'm praying for my daily 254 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,800 bread, I'm also praying for you. When I ask God to deliver me 255 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,200 from temptation, I'm also asking him to protect all of us from 256 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:35,000 the laws of Satan. That means that while I'm 257 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,440 looking to God to meet my needs, I'm also mindful of the fact 258 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,400 that I'm a part of community, that I'm called to meet the 259 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,200 needs of inside of that community. 260 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:50,160 Does that make sense that we are praying this prayer together? 261 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,560 It's this communal element. So it's not just that I'm 262 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,320 dependent upon God. We are dependent upon God and we 263 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,240 are interdependent upon each other. 264 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:01,960 And there's this beautiful picture that the church is a 265 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,200 place that is all looking to God for all the provision and all 266 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,360 the protection, but seeing the hand of God come through each 267 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,320 other for one another like this is the beautiful picture of the 268 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,160 local church. So when you pray dependently 269 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,120 upon God and you say God, I depend on you. 270 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,560 When you pray that way this week and you're praying for the 271 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,080 people in your circle, like maybe there's a Co worker who's 272 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:28,720 struggling or a neighbor who's dealing with an addiction, or 273 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:30,800 maybe there's a friend who's lonely and who's hurting. 274 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,880 You pray for them and you pray dependently upon God. 275 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,280 And you say, God, there is no hope for this person unless you 276 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,040 move. But at the same time, you're 277 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:47,280 intimately aware that God might move through you because you and 278 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,520 that person are now interdependent together. 279 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,400 So first of all, our prayers when we come to God who loves us 280 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,320 and he's for us, He's a good neighbor to us. 281 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:00,320 Our prayers are marked with dependence upon him. 282 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:05,520 They're marked with dependence upon him #2 and our prayers are 283 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:07,360 bold. We we are called to pray with 284 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,200 boldness. Verses 5 through 8, we're called 285 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,040 to pray with boldness after teaching the the prayer, 286 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,600 teaching them some words of prayer and dependence on God. 287 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,000 Jesus tells a story about a man who goes to a friend's house at 288 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,760 midnight. I love that Luke shares little 289 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,400 details like midnight and three loaves. 290 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,000 The Bible is important when you look at little details like 291 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,680 that. It's just important. 292 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:29,800 Goes at midnight and he asks for three loaves. 293 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,480 Why are three loaves important? Well, because 3 loaves is a lot. 294 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,160 It's a lot of bread. It's, it's like me coming to 295 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,800 your house in middle of the night and being like, hey, can I 296 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,560 have a, you know, a big pack of rib eyes or can I have, you 297 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,040 know, $1000? I mean, it's, it's a lot. 298 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,640 It's a lot that I'm asking for. So it's not just like, hey, I'm 299 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:48,400 in a bond. Can I get a gallon of gas so I 300 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:49,720 can get home at midnight? Yeah, sure. 301 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,640 Let me help you out. No, I've come to your house at 302 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,680 midnight and I've asked you for something expensive. 303 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,680 You know, I've asked you for something large. 304 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,200 And so the I think we miss that when we read this story because 305 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,200 it's like 03 loaves. I mean, we go to the grocery 306 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,040 store, pick up 3 loaves of bread, like bada Bing, bada 307 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:03,720 Bing. No problem. 308 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:05,560 You know, they're 3 bucks apiece, whatever. 309 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,920 But what when the story is being told, this is an extravagant 310 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,000 ask, OK? And it's at a most inconvenient 311 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,720 time. You got to see that. 312 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:16,560 It's an extravagant ask in a most inconvenient time. 313 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,360 Everyone's in bed. And he says my children are 314 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:20,800 already in bed. That's another detail that Luke 315 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,000 shares. Because the way children slept 316 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,040 then is when in the house, the mother and father might have had 317 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,760 a larger mat that they slept on, but all the children would have 318 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,760 been in the room with them on mats on the floor. 319 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,800 And the often times you would have to wake up all the children 320 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,000 in order to go and answer the door to give bread to this man 321 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,560 who's come at midnight. And I can tell you having raised 322 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,120 children, when my children were young and they were asleep, you 323 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,480 don't wake a sleeping baby, right, Mama? 324 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,520 You don't wake a sleeping baby ever, no matter what. 325 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:49,800 There is one rule where you can wake a sleeping baby. 326 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,960 But I don't have time to tell you that I got in trouble one 327 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,960 time because I had one of the twins asleep and one of the 328 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,040 twins awake. And that's a big no no when you 329 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,640 have a, a twins, by the way. So if you need help with those 330 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:00,920 rules, if you ever have twins, let me know. 331 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:05,640 We can help you. So the friend is, is coming to, 332 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,320 he comes to his friend's house. He knocks on the door and says 333 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,680 at midnight he's asking for three loaves of bread and 334 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:11,240 everyone's in bed and the door is locked. 335 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,800 And, and what does the, what does the guy inside the house 336 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,960 basically say? He doesn't basically say it. 337 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:19,120 He says it. He says 3 words don't bother me. 338 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,280 Don't bother me. I mean that that's like if you 339 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,360 came and asked me for something and I went hey, hey, hey, hey, 340 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,440 don't bother me. That's like officially a no, all 341 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,200 right, Like if you need to know, like that's officially no, I'm 342 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,040 not helping you don't bother me. But Jesus said something 343 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,040 fascinating, OK, He said something fascinating in verse 344 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,880 8. He says, I tell you, even though 345 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,240 he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, 346 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:51,040 yet because of your shameless audacity, your your tenacity, he 347 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,120 will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 348 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,520 Now what is Jesus doing with this story? 349 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,400 He's a master storyteller. What is he doing here? 350 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,080 Jesus is painting a contrast with this story. 351 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,640 What's the contrast between who and who? 352 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,680 What's the comparison? The contrast? 353 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:12,359 Well, the contrast is between the, the, the friend in the 354 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:16,440 house who says, don't bother me, all right, contrasted with a 355 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,640 heavenly Father who loves you. And he's saying these two people 356 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,240 are not the same. And now what we tend to think is 357 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,359 that God is like our friend in the house. 358 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,280 We tend to think this is how God might respond to us. 359 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:28,880 I hear people tell me this all the time. 360 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,760 I mean, God's too busy for me to pray to him about this thing. 361 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,320 God's God. I don't want to inconvenience 362 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,000 God with something as small as my bills. 363 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:36,960 I don't want to inconvenience. It's got to be something. 364 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:38,360 Have you guys ever had this attitude? 365 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,640 I've got to have something big before I go and talk to God. 366 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,080 I don't want to bother him with something small. 367 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,440 Have you ever felt this way before? 368 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,240 I have talked to people this way who felt this way like I don't 369 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,200 want to take anything, you know, too small. 370 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,800 I don't want to bother God. But what Jesus is doing is he's 371 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,080 contrasting and he's saying our heavenly Father is not like this 372 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,080 man. He never says don't bother me. 373 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,560 He's never too inconvenient. He he never rolls his eyes. 374 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,600 He never sleeps. No, he's constantly anticipating 375 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,800 your interruption. He wants you to come. 376 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:06,720 He would never say to you, don't bother me. 377 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,920 Instead, he welcomes your interruption. 378 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:15,000 The tired friend in Jesus story whose children are all asleep is 379 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,440 a contrast, a foil to our loving God, which is why Jesus tells 380 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,360 the story the way he does. Here's the point. 381 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,960 If persistence and audacity works with a tired, cranky 382 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:33,560 neighbor, how much more should you expect from a loving father 383 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,240 who wants to hear from his children? 384 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,640 How much more? Robert Stein, who's a New 385 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,560 Testament scholar. He wrote this in a commentary. 386 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:48,960 He put it this way when one wonders if it is really 387 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,200 worthwhile to pray, when it seems the prayer goes 388 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,160 unanswered, when the believer walks to the valley of the 389 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:59,480 shadow and heaven seems deaf. The believer nonetheless 390 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,480 persists in prayer due to the character and the promises of 391 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:10,560 the one they call ABBA Father. In other words, what gives you 392 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,840 boldness is not the urgency of your need. 393 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,880 It's not that you need 3 loaves in the middle of the night. 394 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:17,640 That's not what you gives you boldness. 395 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,840 What gives you boldness is the character and the nature and the 396 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,920 goodness of God, and that you have the faith to believe that 397 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:28,560 about this God, that you know this God is faithful. 398 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,720 You know this God is good, you know his character is 399 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:32,920 trustworthy. And that gives you boldness to 400 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,520 come to His door in the middle of the night in the most 401 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,400 inopportune time. We prayed boldly because our 402 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:42,240 Father is the type of Father who is sitting up waiting on us to 403 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:47,840 knock on the door. And something happens when you 404 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,440 pray boldly, when you pray boldly, when you go to God and 405 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,440 you say, this is crazy. I'm asking you for this, but I'm 406 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,520 going to ask you anyway. Prayer doesn't just change or 407 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:04,640 move your circumstances, and it can, but more often, going to 408 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,960 God with something bold shapes and changes you. 409 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:15,640 It shapes and changes you. When we pray boldly, whether 410 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,520 it's for ourselves or for our neighbors, our hearts began to 411 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,120 be molded and shaped to reflect our God's heart. 412 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:23,880 We start to think like He thinks. 413 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:28,040 We start to care like He cares. So bold prayers align who you 414 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,680 are with God. So whether you're praying for 415 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,800 your own situation or someone else's, pray boldly. 416 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:38,280 Keep knocking, keep asking. God hears you and He's forming 417 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,320 you through your prayers into someone who thinks like He does, 418 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,640 who loves like He does. Let me say it as simply as I 419 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:49,240 can. When you pray boldly, when we 420 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,440 pray boldly, we are saying to our own hearts, We're saying 421 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,840 heart, listen, heart. Pray boldly to this Father 422 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,840 because this is the type of God we have, one who loves us, who 423 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,680 welcomes our interruption and responds to our bold prayers. 424 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,840 This is who our God is. So this morning we pray with 425 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,800 dependents. Secondly, we pray with boldness 426 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,080 because we have a loving Father who welcomes our interruption. 427 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,440 And lastly, this morning we pray with expectation. 428 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,840 Verses 9 through 13, we pray with expectation. 429 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:24,800 Let's look again at verses 9 through 10. 430 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,080 This is what Jesus is saying. He says, So I say to you, ask 431 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:31,600 and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock 432 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:32,880 and the door will be open to you. 433 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,320 For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to 434 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:37,880 the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 435 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,720 Now what is Jesus inviting you into here? 436 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,960 He's inviting you into a particular type of relationship. 437 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,280 He's inviting you into a asking and receiving type of 438 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,400 relationship with your Heavenly Father, not unlike that between 439 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,800 a child and a parent. Jesus is inviting us into this 440 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:59,280 ongoing expectant relationship with our Heavenly Father, The 441 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,720 one like a kid, where a kid would ask me boldly and ask me 442 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,920 freely and then trust me fully. Ask me boldly, ask me freely, 443 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,680 and then trust me fully. Now he drives home his point 444 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,760 that this is the type of relationship you're being 445 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:15,880 invited into. One is like a child talking to 446 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,880 his father. He drives this home by the next 447 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,280 example he uses in verse 11 through 13. 448 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,120 Listen to verses 11 through 13. He says, which of you fathers? 449 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:27,320 So it's a group of men standing there. 450 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,760 Which of you fathers, if you're a dad in the room here, this 451 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,200 here, this is being spoken to you, Which of you fathers? 452 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,560 If your son asks for a fish, we'll give him a snake instead. 453 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,920 Hey, Dad, can I have a fish? Oh, no, no, but I'll give you a 454 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,360 snake, buddy. Which of your father's would do 455 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:44,560 that? Verse 12 or if he asks for an 456 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,440 egg, we'll give him a scorpion. These questions are these 457 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,600 questions are rhetorical. Like every father standing there 458 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:53,280 is like no, of course not. Verse 13 If you then though you 459 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:58,560 are what's that say yeah, I love that Jesus doesn't preach seeker 460 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,800 sensitive sermons right. It's like if you then though you 461 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,360 are evil like he doesn't hold back. 462 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,760 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good 463 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:15,240 gifts to your children, you, you are, you are not God, you're not 464 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:19,000 holy, righteous, perfect God. You are actually evil and you 465 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,160 know how to give good gifts to your children. 466 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,200 How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit 467 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,800 to those who ask Him? In the Matthew version of this 468 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,160 it says how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts 469 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,640 to those who ask him? The point being is that the type 470 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,120 of relationship you're invited into is a relationship of 471 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:38,360 expectation with my heavenly Father. 472 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,080 The point is simple, your God is a good Father who knows how to 473 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,360 give good gifts. He will only give you what's 474 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,600 good for you. He will only give you what's 475 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,000 good for you. And he will always refrain from 476 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,000 granting to you that which is not good for you or not part of 477 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,520 His plan for this world. This is that's I just laid a big 478 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,480 just like heavy thing down. I'm going to say it all again so 479 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,320 you can hear it. God is a good Father and He 480 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:15,080 knows how to give good gifts #1 He will only ever give you that 481 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,480 which is good for you. If you ask for something that is 482 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,280 bad for you, He will not give it to you. 483 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,840 You know, when the lottery hit 1.6 million billion dollars or 484 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,640 whatever, Like if I don't even I don't play the lottery, but if I 485 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,280 wouldn't bought a ticket and I said Lord, please let me win 486 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,880 $1.6 million. Do you think God and his wisdom 487 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:35,360 would say that's probably good for Steven? 488 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,680 Like he would be like, you know, this guy's never really had that 489 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,040 much money in the bank. Let's just give him $1.6 490 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,600 billion. This probably won't go bad. 491 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,160 He will never grant to us that which would be bad for us even 492 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,320 if I asked for it. But he also will never grant to 493 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,040 me that which I asked for. That will be outside of outside 494 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:11,320 of his plan for me or the world. Here's the tension and I feel 495 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,280 and you feel not everything that we ask for is given to us the 496 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:21,760 way we expect. It's just not just like a loving 497 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:25,880 parent says doesn't just like a loving parent doesn't say yes to 498 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,880 every request. That would be crazy. 499 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,760 God's no or not yet is still a loving answer. 500 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:38,120 It's still from a place of love. We're not called to understand 501 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:43,000 or even know what's best for us. This is hard because who do you 502 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,600 think knows? How do you typically think knows 503 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,640 what's best for you? You. 504 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,280 The Scripture teaches that you and I don't actually know what's 505 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,320 best for you. I don't know what's best for me, 506 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:53,520 and you don't know what's best for you. 507 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,080 I'm not the best captain of my ship. 508 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,800 The assumption is in prayer is that I am not the best person to 509 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,280 know what's best for me. That's God's job. 510 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:06,840 My father can see what I can't see. 511 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:08,680 Your father can see what you cannot see. 512 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,800 He always knows what's good for you. 513 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,000 So when Jesus tells you to seek, to ask, and to knock, he is 514 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,400 inviting you into a particular type of relationship. 515 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:24,600 A type of relationship like a child has with his parent. 516 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,880 He's inviting us to come to Him like children, where we ask and 517 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,640 we seek and we knock with open, honest, and trusting dialogue. 518 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,920 We don't pray expecting God to give us exactly what we asked 519 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,280 for. We pray knowing that He will 520 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,480 always give us exactly what's good for us. 521 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,640 You always give us exactly what's good for us. 522 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,880 And every time we bring our desires to Him, we can trust 523 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,680 that His answer will always be what's best for us and what also 524 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,800 fits His perfect plan for the world. 525 00:26:57,120 --> 00:26:59,280 Tim Keller once said this and I love this quote. 526 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:06,320 He says if we knew what God knows, we would ask exactly for 527 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:13,480 what He gives. I read that sometimes I think I 528 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,320 don't know if that I don't know, brother, I don't know Tim, if I 529 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:22,000 got that much faith. Expectant prayer does not mean 530 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,480 assuming God will do exactly what we want. 531 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,560 It means believing that whatever He does is right. 532 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,240 I pray expectantly, become like a child. 533 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:36,920 I expect him to move and what do I expect? 534 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,880 I expect him to move exactly in the right way. 535 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,640 So when you pray for your neighbors, whether it's or you 536 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,680 pray for your own needs, we can do so with confidence that God 537 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,800 hears us, that God loves us, that he's always working for our 538 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,080 good. He's not distant or indifferent. 539 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,840 He's a Father who delights to always have your best interest 540 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,200 in mind. He always has your best interest 541 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,840 in mind. And Jesus shows us that we have 542 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,800 a Father who loves us deeply, and he calls us to approach him, 543 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:16,520 to interrupt him, and to approach him boldly and to trust 544 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,680 him expectantly, to depend on him fully. 545 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:25,360 And every prayer that you pray, friend, reminds you that you are 546 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,600 not alone, that you have a Father who's faithful. 547 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,640 He may not always answer you the way you expect, but He always 548 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,360 will answer you in love. And one day I'm convinced, or 549 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:39,760 with all of my heart, I'm convinced. 550 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:44,640 One day I will look back and you will look back on the plains of 551 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,800 time, on the life that you lived, and you will see how 552 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:53,320 every yes and every no and every not yet or wait was part of His 553 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:57,480 perfect plan for you and part of His perfect plan for the world. 554 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,280 And This is why we love our neighbors. 555 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,040 This is why we love our neighbors next door. 556 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:10,120 Because God first loved you. We pray for them because God 557 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:15,280 hears us when we pray. We serve them because our good 558 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:21,400 neighbor served us. We forgive them because our good 559 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:28,480 neighbor forgives us. God's love towards us isn't 560 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,680 meant to stop with us. It's meant to be received to 561 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:38,120 flow through us, out of our heart into those around us. 562 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:41,920 We are. We are received as a good 563 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,080 neighbor to Him and we are receive good neighbors around 564 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,040 us. And friend, when you live that 565 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:53,560 way, depending on Him, praying boldly, trusting fully, you will 566 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,040 become the answer to someone's prayer that they're praying this 567 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,480 week. You will become the answer to 568 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:05,360 someone's prayer. So, friend, will you stand with 569 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:07,280 me as I pray our benediction over us. 570 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:23,760 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, as you go from this 571 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:32,720 place, remember, remember, you are loved by a good father. 572 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:38,280 Depend on him daily. Pray to Him boldly, we trust Him 573 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:43,000 expectantly, and as you do, let His love throw you. 574 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:47,480 Let His love flow through you to your neighbors so that they too 575 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,440 may see His goodness and glorify His name. 576 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:57,760 Now you go in peace and love your neighbor in the strength of 577 00:30:57,760 --> 00:30:59,320 Christ our Lord. Amen. 578 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:01,280 Love you guys. See you back here next week. 579 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:04,800 If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe so you 580 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:08,520 hear a new episode every week. You can also worship with us in 581 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:12,640 person in Savannah, GA or watch our live stream on Facebook and 582 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,240 YouTube every Sunday at 9:15. Have a great week.