1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,120 Good morning, welcome to Immanuel Eakin Church. 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:09,320 You may be seated. It's a real joy to be with you 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,200 this morning. And this season is our church is 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,920 in a season of Thanksgiving and rejoicing as we rejoice and are 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,680 thankful for God's provision for us as a church family, leading 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,800 us here to Saint Bonaventure's on Diversey Ave. 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:24,920 And really we're starting a new chapter. 8 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,800 We're starting a new season in our church's life, in our 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,880 church's ministry and outreach. Now starting here on on, as I 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:33,960 said, on diversity here at Saint Bonaventures. 11 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,120 And as I was thinking about speaking to you today under 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,840 these circumstances, I was thinking about another coach, 13 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,960 coach Vince Lombardi, who addressed his team at the start 14 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,720 of a new season. And you see, what you need to 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,120 know about this is this team. And in the name of that team is 16 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,880 not important. But this team had just made it 17 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,200 to the championship game the season before, but they had 18 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,800 lost. It was their first time. 19 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,320 And so now he gathers the team in the summer to address them 20 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,760 and everybody's wondering. The media is there, the players 21 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:03,840 are there. What is he going to say? 22 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,400 Is he going to remind them of their success? 23 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,760 Is he going to try to re instill in them that swagger of a team 24 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,760 that's a championship caliber? Is he going to remind them of 25 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,840 the bitterness of the defeat, of how disappointed they were? 26 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,480 And is he going to try to use that as motivation to encourage 27 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,920 them to just try that much harder this time? 28 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,240 We're going to finish it. And if you know this story, you 29 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,720 know that he did not do either of those things. 30 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:35,880 Instead, Coach Lombardi, he reached into his bag, pulled out 31 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,600 a ball, and he looked at this room full of professional 32 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:44,000 athletes and he said, gentlemen, this is a football. 33 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,280 And in starting his speech and starting his season in that 34 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,600 famous way, I think the coach was doing three things. 35 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,840 First of all, he was giving his team permission to make a fresh 36 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:55,320 start. He was saying all the 37 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,000 expectations, all the regrets, everything that has happened in 38 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,280 the past. We're putting that behind us. 39 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,200 We're not carrying that forward with us. 40 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,440 We're on square one. We're starting over. 41 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,600 This is a football. I think secondly, he was saying 42 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,240 you're never going to outgrow this, no matter how much you've 43 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,560 accomplished, no matter how many accolades you've received as 44 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,560 players. Success always starts at the 45 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,200 very foundation. It starts with the fundamentals. 46 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:22,920 We're going to start at the basics. 47 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,440 This is a football. But I think he was doing a third 48 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,520 thing, I think in addressing those young men, those those 49 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,480 professionals with this very basic fact. 50 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,240 He was inviting them to recall a time, maybe when they were 8 or 51 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,760 9 or 10 years of age on a school ground or in a play yard, and 52 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:43,760 they first learned what a football was. 53 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,200 And they had their very first practice and they learned how to 54 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,600 throw a football and they learned the rules. 55 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,560 And it was all before them. And it was all wondrous and, and 56 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,320 there was joy and fun and play and they fell in love with the 57 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:01,880 game of football. Today we're going to be talking 58 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,800 about the Lord's Prayer, which was read for us just a moment 59 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,680 ago by Father Samuel. These are some of the most 60 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,480 familiar words probably in the history of human language. 61 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,640 We say them every week in our service. 62 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,400 Some of you say them every day as part of your prayer and 63 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,760 devotion. And I can imagine Jesus standing 64 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,760 before us today, maybe wearing his Lombardi fedora and holding 65 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:23,920 up this text and saying this is prayer. 66 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,120 This is prayer. And in doing that, I think he's 67 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,240 inviting us to to start fresh. We can start at Ground Zero. 68 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,880 Maybe some of you need to be here today and you need a fresh 69 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,840 start, a fresh start in your relationship with God. 70 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:38,760 And he's saying, let's just start at the very beginning. 71 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,240 This is prayer. I think He wants to remind us 72 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,520 that everything we hope to accomplish in this new season of 73 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,520 ministry, in this building, it all starts on the foundation. 74 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,080 It all starts by remembering these very basic things. 75 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:53,400 We're never going to outgrow them. 76 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,880 We never go past them. We always need to remember. 77 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,200 It starts with connecting with our Father, having a 78 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,040 relationship with him. It starts with prayer, but I 79 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,000 think a third thing that's on offer for us today is to just 80 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,600 remember maybe when you were eight or nine, maybe in a church 81 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,680 basement or a Sunday school room, where you first 82 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,800 encountered that idea that the God, the Creator, the Almighty 83 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:19,200 knows who you are, cares about who you are, That you can talk 84 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:20,800 to Him, that you can bring your needs to Him. 85 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,760 Maybe it was with a little bit of fear, maybe with excitement 86 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,120 you first discovered. What is it like to enter into a 87 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,080 relationship with God through prayer? 88 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:31,600 Remember the first time you learned these words? 89 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,120 Maybe you were not a young child, maybe you were a young 90 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,000 adult. Maybe you were just recently 91 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,040 have just kind of encountered the risen Christ and are still 92 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,800 wrestling with what does this mean in my life? 93 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:46,160 Today we're going to think about the very basic facts of what is 94 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,120 prayer. So in that vein, I'm going to 95 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,640 have three points today from this text .1. 96 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:59,400 God is great .2. We need help .3 God is with us. 97 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,560 God is great. We need help, but God is with 98 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,440 us. Let's go to the text, you can 99 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,200 find it in your bulletins. This is Luke 11. 100 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,040 I'll just read the first couple verses here. 101 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,280 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he 102 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,480 finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to 103 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,720 pray as John taught his disciples. 104 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,760 And he said to them, when you pray, say Father hallowed be 105 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,360 your name, your Kingdom come Father. 106 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,200 Father is a word of title, of honor and respect in the ancient 107 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,160 world. It's a word that connotates both 108 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,640 authority but also intimacy. I think you could preach 10s of 109 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,200 sermons on the fatherhood of God. 110 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,480 But what has been standing out to me as I reflect is how God is 111 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,560 Father is the origin of our story, is the context of our 112 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,560 story and how our story and our Father's story intertwine and 113 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,240 become one story. And I'm thinking not just the 114 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,840 biological fathers, but a founding fathers. 115 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,040 We might think of our political founding fathers, Washington and 116 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,200 Jefferson. We might think here in this 117 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,160 place of the the generation that built this church, the 118 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,160 generation that first brought the cross to Diversity Ave. and 119 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,720 how their story is living on. And now we're becoming a part of 120 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,480 their story and of that story. Or for the disciples, they no 121 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,320 doubt would have thought of Father Abraham, that first great 122 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,120 patriarch, that first person who made the covenant with God, who 123 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,000 left his home for the Promised Land. 124 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,160 And the thing about God, the Father of our fathers is he knew 125 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,120 Abraham as a young boy. He knew him as a human being. 126 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,880 He was there when Abraham had his first awkward conversation 127 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:38,880 with Sarah. He knew what that relationship 128 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,520 was all about, the rhythm of that relationship. 129 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,880 He knew what it cost Abraham to leave her. 130 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,360 He knows all the friends he left behind. 131 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,520 He knows the dreams he left behind as he took that journey 132 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,960 of faith, but he also knows what that step of faith, the legacy 133 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,960 that that meant not only in his life, but for his descendants, 134 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,640 how it inspired Joseph and David and Daniel and reverberates down 135 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,280 through the generations. Or if Abraham seems a little bit 136 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:08,320 remote and distance. I've been thinking about just in 137 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,680 my own life, my own story, the ancestors and stories that have 138 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,040 formed me, how I've been formed in the faith. 139 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:15,520 And maybe you have some of these stories. 140 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,000 Maybe there are people that you can think of, parents, 141 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,040 grandparents. I think of my grandparent, my 142 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,800 grandmother Eleanor, a woman who was a mighty, godly woman, but 143 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:26,920 who died young when my father was 14. 144 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,400 I never got a chance to meet her, but the spirits, the fruits 145 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,080 of the spirit, were bright in her life and particularly the 146 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,440 stories are told of her patience and her kindness and of her 147 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,640 grace. And I got to see how those fruit 148 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,520 would bear, bring a harvest in the lives of her son and 149 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,600 daughter and how they continue to nourish her grandchildren and 150 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,120 are even now being told to her great grandchildren. 151 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:54,440 One of them bears her name. You see, if God is our Father, 152 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,600 God knows us. He knows our struggle and he can 153 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,280 form fruit in our lives, and he can connect us to a story of 154 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,280 redemption that's an eternal story. 155 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:06,320 The same God that talked to Abraham is the God that talked 156 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,320 to us. The same God that worked in the 157 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,120 life of my grandmother, the same God who worked in the lives of 158 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,320 your grandparents and your father's and mothers you have 159 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,640 access to. And the legacy that they left in 160 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,440 this world is a legacy that we can also participate in. 161 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,800 And God knows how the fruit that he's forming in US is going to 162 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,400 bring a harvest, maybe, and people will never meet. 163 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,600 Maybe we'll reverberate down through the generations. 164 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,360 Hallowed be your name. The name of God is elevated, is 165 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,440 separate, is different than all the false idols of the world, 166 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,159 all the things our hearts long for but never really satisfy the 167 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:43,400 power, the pleasure, the wealth, the security. 168 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,040 God's name is apart from that. One thing. 169 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,960 As I get older, we're all getting older, right, is 170 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,200 noticing how language just changes. 171 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,080 So you notice this like how words come and go in fashion. 172 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,920 And lately the word I'm hearing a lot is the word wholesome. 173 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:57,440 Has anybody heard this word wholesome? 174 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,040 So like a movie can be described as wholesome or an Internet meme 175 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,480 can be described as wholesome or even sometimes people are said 176 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,040 to be wholesome. And the Internet tells me that 177 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:13,440 wholesome means kind and gentle. It means encouraging or 178 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,400 inspiring. It means pure, and I don't think 179 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,120 the word wholesome means exactly what the biblical word holy 180 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,160 means. I think holy is even going a 181 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,080 little bit beyond that. But they're pointing in a 182 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,440 similar direction. And I think they're reminding 183 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,120 us. You're speaking to this longing 184 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,720 we have to escape from the pollution, the ickiness of so 185 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,640 much of the world, you know, where you always have to be on 186 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:36,960 guard. Is this a scam? 187 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:38,680 How are you trying to manipulate me? 188 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,520 What's going on here? I always have to have my guard 189 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,240 up. Don't we long to just be in the 190 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,200 presence of somebody who's truly kind and gentle, where we can be 191 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,440 safe, where it's good, where there's rest. 192 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,080 See, our God, He lets us escape the crass self-interest of this 193 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,640 world, the exploitation of this world, the crude, mean 194 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,520 debasement of this world. He's pure, he's beautiful. 195 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,400 He's going to outlast all of the things of this world, Your 196 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:11,480 Kingdom come. Finally, the orientation of this 197 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,280 prayer. We're not oriented backwards. 198 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,640 We're not remembering. I guess I said like backwards. 199 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,640 We're not remembering the great things God has done in the past. 200 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,320 This isn't like, oh, recall all the great works of God. 201 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,560 No, we're looking forward. We're looking to the things God 202 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:27,760 is going to do. It's God is not like that 90's 203 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,760 rock man that's still touring and playing 30 year old hits. 204 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,000 He's still writing new music. And in fact, the greatest hits 205 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,440 are the hits that are still going to come. 206 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,200 Like if you thought the Exodus and the resurrection were cool, 207 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,360 wait till you see the new heavens and the new earth. 208 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,800 Wait till you see him reconcile all things. 209 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,760 Our God is still advancing, His Kingdom is still moving. 210 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,280 He's alive and active. Our God is elevated and 211 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,720 different than the things of this world and he satisfies in a 212 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,080 way that the things of this world do not satisfy. 213 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,080 Our God knows your our story. He's invested in our story. 214 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,120 He can connect us to a life of significance and purpose. 215 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:07,120 Our God is great. Second point we we need help. 216 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,640 Let's go back to the text Luke 3/3 through or Luke 11 verses 3 217 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,040 through 8. Give us each day Our Daily Bread 218 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:21,680 and forgive us our sins and for we ourselves and forgive us our 219 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,200 sins for we ourselves. Forgive everyone who is indebted 220 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,680 to us, and lead us not into temptation. 221 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,680 And Jesus said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to 222 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:34,240 him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend ME3 loaves. 223 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,400 For a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing 224 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,080 to set before him, and he will answer from within. 225 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,960 Do not bother me. The door is now shut, my 226 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,200 children are in bed. I cannot get up and give you 227 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,600 anything. I tell you though, he will not 228 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,520 get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet 229 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,000 because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever 230 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:59,120 he needs. So something that's really hard 231 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:01,200 for me, and I don't know, maybe some of you can relate to this, 232 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,280 but I just, I hate asking for help. 233 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,160 I don't know if that's like a male thing or a Midwestern thing 234 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,320 or just just a personal issue. But I'm the one who's in the box 235 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,600 store and I'm wandering around and just clearly clueless and 236 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,240 the person comes up in their little vest and excuse me, Sir, 237 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:16,760 can I help you? And then I'm always like, no, 238 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:18,000 I'm fine. I, I'll get it. 239 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:23,520 And I, I'm not fine or my, my wife who's here, who every time 240 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,400 she goes to the store, she texts me like, Hey, do you need 241 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:27,320 anything? And she's so consistent about 242 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,440 that. And I always, always want to 243 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,280 respond, no, I'm good, I'm good. You see, The thing is, I do not 244 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,040 want to be the person with needs. 245 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,400 I'd love to imagine that I'm the one who helps solve problems, 246 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,080 not that needy person who's always coming. 247 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,120 I always, I need help. I need you to do this. 248 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,560 I need you to do that. But as you read the Bible, you 249 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,200 know who are the people Jesus especially seems to love? 250 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:54,160 He loves needy people. He loves people who just come to 251 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,160 him and start off. Lord, I'm blind, have mercy on 252 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,880 me. Lord, our friend is paralyzed 253 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:01,360 here. Help fix. 254 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,760 Lord, my servant is sick. Lord, my daughter has died. 255 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,880 And God's heart responds and he responds with grace and 256 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:12,480 compassion to people who just call out and need to him. 257 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,600 But the people who want to show off and like, you know, kind of 258 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,400 leave with their credentials, not their need. 259 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,240 Like, did you know Jesus that I've kept every law since I was 260 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,760 a kid? Or the people who want to engage 261 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,960 and like show off how smart and clever they are, Like, hey, 262 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,200 Jesus, what do you think about taxes? 263 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,000 You know, I got some theories, but what, what do you think? 264 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:33,280 That's a pretty tricky one, right? 265 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,640 Or the the people who want a nitpick like, ah, the miracles. 266 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,080 Like that's cool. But but hand washing, man, like 267 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:40,880 you're doing it all wrong. You don't know. 268 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,360 I'm going to send you a podcast on hand washing. 269 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:47,280 You can learn some stuff like Jesus calls those people to 270 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,240 repent. See, I think the Bible wants us 271 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,440 to know that if you're in a room with Jesus, it's better to be 272 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,640 the neediest person in the room than the smartest person in the 273 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,080 room. It's better to be the neediest 274 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,960 person in the room and then the most polished, put together 275 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,360 person. God responds when we share our 276 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:05,960 needs with Him. And what are the needs? 277 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,680 In this passage, I think we see three kind of basic and 278 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:13,000 universal needs. First of all, we have physical 279 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,240 bodies that have tangible needs. We need food. 280 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,000 We need air to breathe, we need water to drink. 281 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,960 We need a place to rest. We need our bodies to fight off 282 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,360 the diseases and viruses of this world. 283 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,680 And we don't just need that today, we're going to need it 284 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,080 tomorrow and we're going to need it the day after that. 285 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,240 And God said don't be ashamed. Don't feel embarrassed. 286 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,040 Just come and ask me for your needs, for your daily bread 287 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,960 every single day. Something else we need is we 288 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,040 need people to love us and we need to love other people. 289 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,680 We need family, whether that's biological family or found 290 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,600 family or church family. We need to connect with people. 291 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,720 But here's the thing about community, we're not very good 292 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,040 at it. Like inevitably we get 293 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,560 distracted and we start to focus on my own thing. 294 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,320 And I, I fail to show up for somebody, even though they may 295 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,600 be, I may be implied that I would, or even I just get 296 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,680 jealous and envious. Like, why are they getting all 297 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,040 the attention? Well, you know, actually 298 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:11,960 something about them that's not so great. 299 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,240 And we tend to undermine our social connections. 300 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,720 And God says if you need to heal your broken communities, you 301 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:19,400 need to come and ask for forgiveness. 302 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,200 You need to step forward, not hide behind the relational 303 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,920 armor, but become vulnerable, ask for forgiveness. 304 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:27,720 And you need to give other people forgiveness. 305 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,960 You need to forgive and show mercy if we're gonna have true 306 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,080 community. And then a third thing we need, 307 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,560 and this can be hard to admit, but we all need spiritual 308 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,360 protection. The Bible teaches that we have 309 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,320 an enemy who's like a roaring, prowling lion looking for 310 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:45,760 someone to devour. And although we like to tell 311 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,800 ourselves, like, we are immune from spiritual disaster, like, 312 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,920 yeah, we feel pretty rooted and secure, none of us can take on 313 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,120 this foe by ourselves. It's only when we put on the 314 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,400 armor of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of 315 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,480 salvation, the shield of faith, it's only then that we can stand 316 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,840 against our spiritual enemies. God, Christ says don't, don't 317 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:07,320 fake it. Don't pretend. 318 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,360 Acknowledge that you need my help. 319 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,440 Ask for my help. Pray that you can be, that you 320 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:18,440 are not taken to temptation. And how do we ask? 321 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,840 And this is where I think the next parable comes into play. 322 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:22,760 He illustrates this right. You might say, well, how what do 323 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:24,440 we come to do? We come and ask like the 324 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:26,800 customer, do you know the customer? 325 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,680 That's the person who's always right. 326 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,840 That's the person who gets all the attention because they have 327 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:33,600 the money. And it's, it's just like the 328 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,720 natural way I think we tend to show up in spaces is we tend to 329 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,760 show up like we're a customer. And Jesus says you're, you're 330 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:41,800 not the customer. You're not coming to my store 331 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:43,480 kind of asking what kind of bread I have today. 332 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:44,960 And maybe you're going to go somewhere else. 333 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,000 Now you're the lousy neighbor. You need to come and ask like 334 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,400 the lousy neighbor who wasn't prepared, who's pounding on the 335 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,920 door. This is not a no negotiation. 336 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,160 This is not a quid pro quo. He's not like, hey, I'll mow 337 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,200 your lawn tomorrow if you give me some bread tonight. 338 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,520 He's just like, hey, I need the bread and and the person in the 339 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,839 house, he's not going to help him because he thinks it's going 340 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:08,720 to gain him social capital or he thinks that, you know, maybe he 341 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,200 is somehow indebted him. No, he's like, I just don't want 342 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,079 my kids to wake up, man. Like I don't want to deal with 343 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,800 that. So I'm going to deal with you so 344 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,319 that we can just get some rest God. 345 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,640 So just come, don't come with pretense. 346 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,079 In the book of Matthew, it says unless you become like a little 347 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:26,400 child, you will have no part of the Kingdom of God. 348 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:29,120 Little children, they can ask. There's a certain ferocity to a 349 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:31,760 little child's request, right? They're just demanding. 350 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,640 I just need help. I'm not going to pay for it. 351 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,840 I'm not going to try to figure out a way where this can be a 352 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,160 win win situation. I'm just here to ask. 353 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,760 I just want to receive. We asked like Jesus asked. 354 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,680 We come as needy people. We lead with our needs. 355 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:53,640 We ask Him to meet those needs, needs for physical needs, needs 356 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,560 for healing of our communities and our family, and finally 357 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,360 needs for our spiritual protection and spiritual growth. 358 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,360 God is great. We need help. 359 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,680 Finally, God is with us. Luke 9, Luke 11, verses 9 360 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:15,080 through 13. And I tell you, ask, and it will 361 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,440 be given to you. Seek, and you will find knock, 362 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,800 and the door will be open to you, for everyone who asks 363 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,920 receives. And the one who seeks finds, and 364 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:26,840 the one who knocks, it will be open. 365 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,760 What Father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will 366 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,560 instead of a fish, give him a serpent? 367 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,600 Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion? 368 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,360 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your 369 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:41,800 children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy 370 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:47,160 Spirit to those who ask him? Here we are told that even 371 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,280 though we might be in the position of lousy neighbors, God 372 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,960 is a good father. God's a father who's attentive 373 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,400 to the request of his children, who longs to give good gifts to 374 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,760 his children. And how often have we received, 375 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,280 maybe without even really fully noticing the blessings of God? 376 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,080 You know the old song, count your blessings. 377 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,800 There's, there's, there's wisdom in sitting back and just 378 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,080 thinking, how has God provided for me? 379 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,000 But as I get to this text and I read it, I struggle with this a 380 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,200 little bit here and maybe some of you do this, this set second 381 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,760 parable, It can raise as many questions as answers. 382 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,440 You see, I know that some of you have. 383 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,520 I know that I have what I call the daily prayer list. 384 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,240 These are people in my life. These are circumstances, maybe a 385 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,880 temptation or an addiction. And I prayed for it. 386 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,160 And I pray every day for a week for a month. 387 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,960 I pray for a year, I pray for two years. 388 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,960 At some point, I realized I'm going to be praying just every 389 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,400 day for the rest of my life. I am going to be in prayer for 390 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,000 this. And you feel like I'm knocking, 391 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,000 knocking, knocking, knocking. Why isn't it being open? 392 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:55,760 Why isn't there an answer? And so if you are there, if you 393 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,120 have these questions, I just want you to know I have some of 394 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:00,720 these questions and I have been wrestling with this and thinking 395 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,440 about it and I want to just provide. 396 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,360 Share a little bit of what I'm thinking and there's some 397 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:08,120 examples that I've been thinking about see as I look at this text 398 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,200 I think what's interesting is if you look in verse 13, what is 399 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,280 really being promised. It's not eggs and eggs and fish 400 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,960 it's the Father will give you the Holy Spirit. 401 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,640 What does that mean to give the Holy Spirit? 402 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,760 It means that we are going to be connected with the good peer, 403 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,400 the the God of the universe, the eternal one, the one who's going 404 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,000 to outlast all of our circumstances, that we're going 405 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,840 to be have a relationship with a God, a God of power, a God of 406 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,080 love. I mean, this is the Pearl of 407 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,000 great price, right? In the Gospels, this is what you 408 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,760 sell everything for. Sell everything for this, for 409 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:42,200 Jesus. This is the one thing that 410 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,080 matters, that you're connected to the Holy Spirit. 411 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,680 So then I got thinking about some examples of times when 412 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:52,040 people in the Bible prayed out to God and God showed up, and 413 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,800 what did that look like and what a difference did it make? 414 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,240 And the first example is from Luke 8. 415 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,800 I call this boat Jesus. You might know the story. 416 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,040 Everybody's in the boat. The storm is raging, Jesus is 417 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,320 napping, and the disciples are freaking out. 418 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,040 Like, don't you care? We're all going to die. 419 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,480 Like this is horrible. And Jesus wakes up and in 420 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,320 response to their prayer, God shows up. 421 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,240 Boom storm is gone, waves are gone. 422 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:18,840 It's quiet. We freaked out again. 423 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:20,600 Like what? What just happened? 424 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,360 Sometimes we ain't call out to God. 425 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,080 God shows up and things are just different. 426 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,320 The bonds are broken. I can remember a time in my life 427 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,160 when I was 28 years old and I'm going to details, but on a 428 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,840 Friday morning in Champaign, IL, it's one of the lowest moments 429 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,360 of my life. I was a completely spent and God 430 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,480 showed up and things changed. I know some of you have stories 431 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,440 of being in physical peril or spiritual peril and you called 432 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,920 out to God and he showed up and he rescued you and he provided 433 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:50,680 completely changed the circumstances. 434 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,040 That's sometimes how God the Holy Spirit shows up. 435 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,640 But there are other examples. The second one I call fire 436 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,800 Jesus. This is from Daniel chapter 3. 437 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,440 And some of you know this story, 3 young men, they're told to 438 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,560 worship the Pagan king, but they're followers of God. 439 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:06,840 They refuse. We will not worship you Pagan 440 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,240 king. The king gets mad. 441 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,040 He says, all right, I'm going to throw you in the furnace. 442 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,320 And they pray, and I'm sure they hope that somehow the king would 443 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,760 have a change of heart. The pilot light would go out, 444 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,920 something would happen, and they would be spared. 445 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,040 But they weren't. The guards come, they bundle 446 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,920 them up. They bring them to the furnace. 447 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,040 They toss them into the furnace. But then Jesus shows up. 448 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,960 God shows up in the furnace. He walks with them in the fire. 449 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,480 He's present with them. The Pagan king looks and is 450 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:38,080 amazed, like whoa, there's four people in there and praises the 451 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,400 God of reality, the God of the world. 452 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,880 See, God sometimes shows up with us not before we face the storm. 453 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,320 He doesn't get rid of the storm, but he's with us in the storm, 454 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,520 He's with us in the fire, and he walks with us in the fire. 455 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,600 That our testimony can be, can go forth to the Pagan kings who 456 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,040 are watching us in this world. He can show us that his people 457 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,200 can endure even the fires of this world. 458 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,000 And, and he not only walked with those men in the fire, he led 459 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,280 them out of the fire to a future that they could not imagine. 460 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:09,960 I'm sure as they were going to that furnace, they thought this 461 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,360 is the end, this is it. But God was there. 462 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:16,360 He met them in the fire and he got them to the other side of 463 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,760 the fire. So I think sometimes when we 464 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,960 call out to God, we might call out hoping for rescue, but God 465 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,120 might choose to show up to be with us in the struggle. 466 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,040 But then there's a third, third, and final example I want to 467 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,240 think about. And this is Jesus in the garden. 468 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:37,440 And you know this story as well. This is Jesus with only hours 469 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,760 left to live. His death is right there. 470 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,800 He's now all alone. The disciples have all abandoned 471 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,440 him, and he's calling out to God. 472 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,560 He's praying to God in agony. You can find this in Luke 22. 473 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:52,560 And he's saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup 474 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,560 from me, he's fine. He's like the disciples in the 475 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,240 boat. God, can we get rid of this 476 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,240 storm? And the Bible says that an Angel 477 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,640 showed up and ministered to him. An Angel is a messenger of God, 478 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,760 right? So God's presence comes to Jesus 479 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,880 in this moment, but he doesn't take the cup away. 480 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,680 And in fact, as you read in Luke 22, I'll just read for a minute, 481 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,240 And there appeared to him an Angel from heaven strengthening 482 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,600 him. And being in agony, he prayed 483 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,720 more earnestly and his sweat became like drops of blood 484 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,680 falling to the ground. The Angel doesn't even remove 485 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,840 the agony, the agony and drops the blood or after the Angel. 486 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,880 What the Angel does is he gives him the strength to be faithful 487 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,480 all the way to the end, the strength to love his enemies all 488 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,240 the way to the end, the strength to follow God all the way to the 489 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,640 end. So that on the other side of the 490 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,240 cross he can participate in the victory that was read about in 491 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,560 our our gospel or our epistles passage. 492 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,800 That triumph over the rulers and authorities, that victory over 493 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,160 darkness. He can defeat death by going 494 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,480 through the cross. So I think sometimes when we 495 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,560 pray out to God and we ask for God for help, he doesn't take 496 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:07,120 the cross out of our path. He gives us the strength and the 497 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:10,440 stamina to move towards the cross. 498 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:14,200 He might show us that the road we are called to travel is a 499 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,280 harder Rd. than any road we could have thought of before. 500 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:21,400 This is harder than I anticipated, but it's the future 501 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,080 is better than we could have imagined. 502 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:27,200 That is, we participate in the cross of Christ, we get to 503 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,440 participate in the victory of Christ. 504 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,320 And as we know the cost, we know the joy and we know the 505 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,760 resurrected life, and we can be with God forever. 506 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,960 So as I'm learning to pray and thinking about this passage, do 507 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,480 I still pray for rescue? Yes, yes I do. 508 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,640 Let's let this storm out of the way, but I'm also praying, God, 509 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,560 show me what it would be like to show up in this circumstance. 510 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:55,960 Like where are you ministering me? 511 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,200 How are you walking with me through this and looking for 512 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,360 God's presence and finding God to be there? 513 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:03,960 And I'm, I'm asking in faith, God, give me the faith to 514 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,960 believe that even if I'm going to do something that seems so 515 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,920 hard, seems beyond me that you can give me the strength to 516 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,200 finish it, to go through with it. 517 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,080 And on the other side of this trial is going to be a future 518 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:22,480 beyond what I could imagine. You see, our God is great. 519 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:28,800 We, we need help, but God, God is with us. 520 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,720 This, this is prayer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy 521 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:34,960 Spirit, Amen.