[0:00] Please turn with me to Luke chapter 11. Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.
[0:23] And he said to them, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom, come, give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation.
[0:43] And he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.
[0:58] And he will answer from within, do not bother me, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.
[1:09] I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
[1:21] And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks will be opened.
[1:37] What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish, give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
[1:51] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?
[2:01] This is God's word. Thanks be to God. The Lord's prayer is so well known.
[2:15] This version of it, though, is a little different. Probably caught you off guard. In my study time this week, I actually was catching myself putting things in there that Luke left out.
[2:31] That Matthew included. Just by habit. And I think I want to unpack that a little bit in a minute. But one of the most unsettling aspects of being a Christian is being a Christian within a group of Christians.
[2:47] And the pastor asks you to pray. It's the opt-out. You kind of want to play the opt-out card. Like, listen, you don't want me to pray.
[2:59] I don't know what I'm going to say. And we turn prayer into a performance, don't we? You got to say some big, fluffy words that really grab and outdo the person who prayed before us.
[3:14] Man, this is like church problems, isn't it? Isn't it funny, though, how prayer can sometimes become a performance? But it was never meant to be a performance.
[3:29] We've created it to be a performance. What prayer was intended to be the Lord's prayer that we're so familiar with Matthew, we're wondering what Luke's doing here.
[3:44] Prayer is meant to be a practice of staying in tune with the Father. Prayer is meant to be a practice of staying in tune with the Lord's prayer.
[4:18] Playing the French horn in the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra. I hated it back then. But I cherish those times now.
[4:28] I wish I would have actually applied myself in many facets of life, if you know my testimony. But it was worth sitting there. And the dead silence, you can hear the crowd start to, the crowd noise start to lower, kind of like a wave subsiding.
[4:48] And the conductor will go up. And it was Dr. Gage at the time. He passed away not long ago. And comes up before every practice, every rehearsal, every concert.
[5:01] He would lift his hands. And before anyone played a single note, the oboe would let out the pure A for everyone to hear.
[5:17] Then pausing. And then letting it out again. And then the whole orchestra. Violins. You've got horns, brass, wind instruments.
[5:30] We don't talk about those woodwinds. They're a different breed. But the brass. You know, I'd be sitting there like a fumbling idiot with my horn.
[5:44] Slides going in and out. Trying to get things tuned up. Because that oboe's got the note. We've got to tune ourselves to that note. And so I'm checking the hand position, the bell.
[5:55] My posture even. And breathing is very important. And the concert hadn't even begun yet. But everything depends on that note.
[6:08] Everything depends on that note. To make sure that we get in tune right with that note. The melody would only make sense if we got that right.
[6:21] Could you imagine Abby playing her guitar out of tune? She's playing the chord shapes, how they're supposed to be played. But her guitar is completely out of tune. Now that's a worship show.
[6:32] I didn't have a worship show. Welcome. Tip us at the door. You know, that's a worship set. Right? Just dissonant chords throughout the whole time.
[6:44] This would be the outflow of not tuning to that perfect day. And Jesus does this in Luke chapter 11.
[6:54] Just as an oboe does for an orchestra. And even just as a tuning fork. If you know what a tuning fork looks like. Tuning fork does for a choir.
[7:07] I tried to get a tuning fork this morning. But all my instrumentalists and musicians didn't have a tuning fork. Literally looks like a fork. It has two prongs. And you hit it.
[7:18] And it rings out this perfect tone. Perfect pitch. Better than an oboe. And the disciples heard this pitch.
[7:30] When they turned to the Lord. After hearing him pray throughout their lives. They heard something. Something that was so pure.
[7:42] Something that was so united. With God the Father. And they heard that tuning fork. And they said. Teach us. Teach us to pray.
[7:54] I want that to be my pitch. I want to adjust my life to that. Instead of giving them a prayer to recite.
[8:06] We're fallen. We don't do things the right way. We act like this is some performance and formula. For blessings and all this. He didn't give us a prayer to recite.
[8:18] He gave the disciples and us today. A tuning fork for our souls. Something to look to that is pure. That can be heard.
[8:29] That we can adjust to. Rather than adjust his prayer to us. It's the perfect pitch of Heaven's A.
[8:40] That calls our distracted. Our discordant lives. And our souls back to the Father. To adjust to his will.
[8:53] Maybe that's what some of us need this morning. That's what I need. That's what I needed this week. And I can't be the only one.
[9:04] Maybe we've been playing the right notes. We've been playing the perfect chord shapes. That Abby does wonderfully.
[9:16] But we've just been out of tune. We've been serving. We've been playing. We've been showing up. We're in every group that the church has to offer. But we've lost the tune.
[9:31] Or maybe we've just drifted sharp in pride. Or maybe flat in discouragement. Well, Jesus will call us all to start here today.
[9:46] To start here where he is. And to the inquiry of the disciples. He's going to tell us to strike this note. So my prayer is that we allow the Lord to tune our hearts again.
[10:01] And what I believe we'll see unfold for us by the end of our time. It's just the main point. Is that prayer is the tuning fork that aligns our hearts.
[10:15] With the Father's will. The sermon title today. Is in tune with the Father. In tune with the Father.
[10:28] And I'm going to break this up into three different sections. And keeping that illustration in your minds this morning.
[10:39] In three different sections. And I'd like to pray before I go any further. Let's pray. Lord, we ask you to let us hear you.
[10:55] Let us hear the perfect pitch. That is our striving. We will never be able to reach that perfect pitch. But it is our mark.
[11:06] It is our perspective. It is our trajectory. Help us to fix our eyes and our ears and our hearts upon that pitch. So that our lives might be transformed and aligned with yours.
[11:20] That we might conform to your word. Our marriages would be restored. Because we're retuning to your will.
[11:33] That our lives would be useful to you. Because we need retuned. Help us to be tuned this morning. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. The first section, we see a pattern here.
[11:47] And this is sort of that mark. Like I already kind of alluded to. And this is odd, obviously.
[11:58] I stumbled through the Lord's Prayer this week. Like I said. Inputting the stuff that's common to me. Our Father who art in heaven.
[12:08] Hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. And on. Right? And so like all these things. But like Luke doesn't include some of that stuff. And you might be like. Brother this week said like.
[12:23] What if like Peter like interrupted them. And like Luke was trying to write it. And you know Peter talking or something like that. And I don't think that's the case. I think if you're disgruntled over Luke's shorter account here.
[12:36] We could probably appreciate that in his writing. It assumes all the things within Matthew's account. The longer version. So like if you think about it.
[12:49] When we say your kingdom come. It's implying that his will will be done. Your kingdom come. Right. Your will is done.
[12:59] Okay. So Luke is honing that in. And he's trying to show us a pattern. And we also could say the same for. As Jesus says. You know.
[13:10] Lead us not into temptation. Where Mark says deliver us from evil. Well to lead us not into temptation. Is to deliver us from evil.
[13:21] So there's like implication kind of at play here. And so it's not necessarily this rigid thing. We have to remember that this prayer is to serve us as a pattern.
[13:32] Not to say what to say. But how to say what we want to say. And so. How tragic it would have been. You know the account when Peter got asked to come out of the boat by Jesus.
[13:47] I mean. What if he took this literally? He steps out on the water. And he's like. Our father who art in heaven. How it be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will. You know. Like. It's a. Pattern.
[13:59] Right. His first words in the midst of trouble. Was help. A pattern church. And so let's look at the pattern in the language that's used.
[14:12] Before we. Dissect of every phrase. We have to remember Jesus isn't giving us this prayer to like parrot. Right. And so. He's giving us this. This pulse.
[14:22] To follow. And so. If you look in your Bible. We can take it line by line. You know. He begins. Here. Father.
[14:37] Look at that. Father. Think about that. With like. Jewish culture. And the Old Testament language. Father was.
[14:48] Often a reference. To the nation. Corporately. Like the father of the nation. Of Israel. It was. It would be very bizarre. To have.
[14:58] There be like this. Personal connotation. To the usage. Of father. And so. This turns our attention. Vertical. But like. With vertical intimacy.
[15:11] Father. Abba. Father. It could be translated. As dearest Lord. A term of endearment. Father. And the first utterance.
[15:22] Of these prayers. Ought to be viewed. As a miracle. Shouldn't that? The father of the nations. Is.
[15:34] Every Christian's. Father. Father. That is a. Massive. Miracle. Brought to us.
[15:48] Only by the blood of Christ. Father. We are authorized. Through Christ. Through Christ's sacrifice.
[15:59] To share. His sonship. And to pray. With childlike. Familiarity. Childlike. Trust. We see it continue.
[16:13] One word in. Father. Hallowed. Be your name. Hallowed. A lot of things. Hallowing. And. Halloweening. Month. Of.
[16:24] October. Right? It has nothing to do with. Halloweening. And bags full of. Candy. Hallowing. Hallowing. Is. Is to. Revere. God.
[16:35] So. Much. So. That our lips. Match. Our lives. That our entire. Being. Reveres. The name. Of the Lord. Names.
[16:48] Reveal character. We choose baby names. Kind of like. Hopeful. Expectations. Of what their future might be. I don't know what my parents were thinking of. When they called me.
[16:58] Brenton. I don't know. Anything about that. Other than. It's not. My dad's name. John. Where I would be. John the third. But.
[17:11] We all name names. They have significance. And. Jesus is saying. Pray like this. Father. Hallowed. Be your name. Let your name be revered.
[17:23] With my lips. And my life. Life. And so. This is all. Very vertical. Isn't it? Very vertical. And then. It begins to touch. Down.
[17:34] Here. Where he says. Your kingdom. Come. And this. Word here. This. Verb. Here. Looks to a. Promised. Future.
[17:44] Kingdom. Of Christ's return. Of this. Future. Kingdom. Not. Here. And now. But this. Future. Kingdom. That's promised. And in so doing. It.
[17:55] Shifts. From. Vertical. Just straight. Upward. Off. To the horizon. And it. Shifts. Our perspective. Off. Of what we see.
[18:06] To something. That we're hoping. For. In the future. That's called. Faith. This.
[18:17] Prayer. The pattern. Of our lives. Is to be a. Faith. Filled. Proclamation. Looking again.
[18:28] To the future. You see it. Continue. Give us. Each day. Our daily. Bread. And if you have. An ESV. Bible. You'll probably see.
[18:38] A little. Note there. That says. At the bottom. Or our bread. For tomorrow. That's significant. Because this is. This is actually. Deeper than just. Giving us something.
[18:49] To eat now. Now. This is. Deep. It's a request. That has. A depth. That. We can't. Really. Translate. In our language.
[18:59] That they have to add. A footnote. At the bottom. To understand. And try to. Communicate that. This word. Daily. In Greek. Roots us. In such a request. That.
[19:11] Of our. Sustenance. Not. In the immediate need. But there's a future tense. That will be fulfilled. Future needs. That our final.
[19:23] Provision. Is found in. Jesus Christ. In the day. Where he mediates. Formally. For us.
[19:34] On the day of judgment. Future. Forgive us. He says. Forgive us. Our sins.
[19:45] For we. Ourselves. Forgive. Everyone. Who is. Indebted. To us. So there's like. A parallelism. That he makes.
[19:55] Sure here. And this even. Has some depth. As well. It's almost. As if. There's parallelism. That. If. If we are to.
[20:06] Ask. If we are to. Ask. For forgiveness. We're. We better. Be ready. To bestow. Forgiveness. And Augustine. Actually called this. The terrible petition.
[20:18] Because if. Our prayers. Are asking. God. To forgive us. Our sins. But there. Is. Like the existence. Of an unwillingness. To forgive.
[20:29] Others. This would be. Quite a pickle. For us. It would be. As if we're asking. God to. Curse us. And not. Forgive us.
[20:40] Because we're not. Forgiving. Others. Thomas Watson. Commented on this. Passage. And a man can. Can. Well. Go to hell. For not forgiving. Others.
[20:50] As for not. Believing. Spurgeon. Also comments on here. Unless you have. Forgiven others. You read your own. Death warrants. When you repeat. The Lord's Prayer. Woo.
[21:06] Warning. To us. Warning. To others. A pattern though. And temptation. He ends with.
[21:17] Lead us not. Into temptation. Period. Unquote. This is often. Misunderstood. As like. Asking for a trial.
[21:28] Free life. I don't want any. Hardships. Others. But instead. The pattern. That Jesus. Is showing. His disciples. Is the endurance.
[21:40] That. Caused them. To breathe. Their last breath. On account. Of their faith. In Christ. To lead them.
[21:51] Not into temptation. To doubt. God. As they're. As Peter's. Hanging upside. Down. Upon. The cross. For his faith. In Christ. This is asking.
[22:06] For strength. When trials. Inevitably. Come. And mature. Believers. Those who have. Been believers. Who are. Growing. In. In grace.
[22:18] Know. That. We are. So. We. And we pray. Accordingly. From our weakness.
[22:31] You see. Something. Happening here. There's a vertical. Pattern. A. Like. Horizontal. Like. On the horizon. Pattern. And there's actually.
[22:43] Little. To say. About. The condition. Here. And now. In the present. But maybe. That's the point. Because maybe. We are.
[22:55] Sustained. Today. Because we are. Sustained. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Is secure. So. What do we have. To worry. About.
[23:05] Today. This is. Huge. Church. You see. The tuning fork. That Jesus. Gives. The disciples. Was given.
[23:16] To root. Their prayers. In faith. And dependence. Upon God. Jesus. Was in tune. He was in tune.
[23:29] All throughout. Luke's writings. Luke. Went out of his way. Many times. To actually note. That. Jesus. Was praying. At his baptism. In Luke chapter 3.
[23:40] That. Jesus. Was praying. In chapter 5. When he needed to get away. From people. When he was choosing. The 12. Jesus. Was praying. In chapter 6. He was praying.
[23:51] In private. In chapter 9. He was praying. At the transfiguration. Prayed. For thanksgiving. For the. Sending the 70 out. And them returning. In chapter 10.
[24:04] And soon. He'll be praying. For Peter. In chapter 22. He'll be praying. In the garden. Jesus will be praying. At the cross. And guess what? At his final breath. Is a prayer. Jesus was in tune.
[24:16] With the father. How far. We can fall. From the rhythm. Of communion. With God. How often.
[24:29] We forget. That we are sons. And daughters. Constantly. We hallow.
[24:40] Our name. We build our kingdom. We live. In sinful. Excess. Of materials. We want forgiveness.
[24:53] But hold grudges. To others. We want the safest road. Possible. Am I preaching. To anyone. Here.
[25:03] Today. This is us. This is. Me. Me. Maybe. Maybe we've been tuning. To the wrong.
[25:15] Tuning fork. We've been tuning. To a sound. Maybe the sound. Of culture. Maybe the sound. Of. Familiarity. With traditions.
[25:27] Customs. Or maybe the sound. Of familial. Things. In that regard. But if we've. Turned the Lord's prayer. Into. Carmen's prayer.
[25:40] Brent's prayer. Harry's prayer. Prayer. Using. Holy words. To serve. Selfish. Interests. Church. Our next step.
[25:51] Is to repent. We. Have. To. Repent. And. Turn. The other direction. Never.
[26:02] To go back. May our hearts. Be brought back. To the Lord. As we hear. The pitch.
[26:13] Of Christ. Here. And repent. Let's retune. Today. Church. And in efforts. I think. Of Jesus.
[26:23] To seal the. The deal. With the confidence. Of the disciples. He unpacks. Two parables. That follow. And we see. The first one.
[26:34] With a disgruntled. Neighbor. Where we see. The persistence. Keep knocking. Until you're in key. See what I did there?
[26:47] Music. Key. Notes. All right. There. Just as it was read. This morning. We saw persistence. We saw persistence. Come from the.
[26:58] Persistent. Neighbor. And. This was. A man. Who. Came to. His neighbor friend. In the middle of the night. And.
[27:09] Starts knocking. Because. This neighbor's got a friend. Who came in from out of town. And. He ain't got bread. He needs provision. Just simple provision. And so.
[27:21] That's how the story. Unfolds here. And so. We need to understand. A couple things. Regarding. Cultures. And centuries. And differences. So. Back in this day. If you heard a knock.
[27:32] On your door. You don't hide behind the couch. So. There's that. So. Introverts. Yeah. You go to the door. And you open it.
[27:47] And so. That's kind of lost in our day. I think the Jehovah's Witnesses. Have like traumatized us. In first century. Palestinian. In Palestinian culture.
[28:00] Hospitality. Hospitality. Was not an option. Hospitality. Was sacred. It was something sacred. It was expected. No matter what the hour was.
[28:13] And within these houses. You might say. Why is this guy sleeping with his kids? Um. Well. This was normal. Family. Animals. Family members.
[28:24] Children. And even guests. Would sleep together on mats. In the same room. These were one room homes. And so. Even the door.
[28:35] Opening the door. Was a task. It was a huge. Wooden plank. It had a timber. To kind of. Keep it secure. And so. When Jesus says. That. This guy said. To the knocking neighbor.
[28:46] In the middle of the night. That. The door is shut. My kids are in bed with me. This was a fairly legitimate excuse. Why he shouldn't have to. Open the door.
[28:58] And so. We see that. It's. It's a pretty big ordeal. And so. The crowd listening in to Jesus. That day. Probably would have chuckled. Like. That's not an option.
[29:10] To not open the door. Like. What's Jesus getting at? Could you imagine them? In a culture. Where hospitality. Is required. And sacred.
[29:21] He can't hide behind the couch. With his request. And saying. You know. You're an inconvenience. You see the oddity.
[29:32] That. That would be unheard of. They would chuckle. And so. Refusing. To help anyone. If this neighbor was concerned.
[29:45] He. He would bring shame upon his entire village. Absolute shame. And then. Jesus says. I tell you. These are good words.
[29:57] When Jesus says. I tell you. Though he will not. Get up. And give him anything. Because he is his friend. Yet because of his. Shamelessness.
[30:08] The knocker. Because the. The knocker. Is not ashamed. To knock at. The worst hour. Of time. The neighbor will rise. And give him whatever he needs.
[30:19] And so. Now. Thinking to our modern day. If. If a neighbor comes knocking at our door. Say at two o'clock in the morning. I mean.
[30:30] Assuming that he's still alive. Some of you. You guys are crazy. I would never knock on your door. At two a.m. Assuming that he's still breathing. You would probably be.
[30:41] Bewildered. But I can. I can be certain. That you would address the need. If you looked around the room.
[30:53] At anyone knocking on your door. At two a.m. Yeah. It would. Be an inconvenience. But. It would also be. A time where we would serve each other's needs.
[31:07] And that's the point. Even reluctant friends. Help each other. Even reluctant friends. Even inconvenient times. Friends will help each other. And so Jesus says.
[31:18] If a grumpy neighbor. Gets up for friendship. Or maybe just to save face. So that he has to abide by cultural customs. How much more will your good father respond to your requests?
[31:31] Our requests are to be given. To be given persistent as children.
[31:44] Our requests are supposed to be persistent as children. Parents. You know childlike persistence.
[31:54] Don't you? Parents. If you got a baby in the oven. It's your first one. You better buckle up. They are persistent. Some have grown adult children.
[32:05] And they're like. They're still persistent. Even our children's ministry workers. They know persistence. And Jesus is saying to pray like that.
[32:20] Persistent. Personally. Although my kids have faithful persistence in me. My obliging to their persistence isn't because they wear me down.
[32:36] It's not because they wear me down. But because I like to give my kids good things. I like to bestow good things to them.
[32:48] I really pray and hope that I can give each one of my kids a car just to get them ahead. Help pay for their college. This is precisely the spirit of the parable.
[33:06] Persistence. It's persistence that you hear. I had the Catholic radio on this morning on my way to church. I just said that out loud. And I was so flabbergasted by the persistence of Hail Mary.
[33:23] You know. Over and over. And I'm like. Man. The Catholics are persistent. Persistence. It's the same thing over and over again.
[33:35] But where it gets off key is when they're asking Mary to forgive. So that's the line in the sand, you would say. But persistence that is built and rooted on Jesus Christ.
[33:47] You can have empty persistence. Right? Or it can be informed persistence. And Jesus is building sort of like a rhythm. It's an escalating rhythm.
[33:58] In verse 9. He says. I tell you again. The first I tell you was explaining the parable. Now. I tell you. Ask. And it will be given to you.
[34:08] Seek. And you will find. Knock. And it will be opened to you. This isn't the pattern of the Lord. Bringing somebody to come to Christ. As if God's just standing there waiting for you to open the door.
[34:22] No. This is for Christians. Who are seeking God in prayer. Christians. Each verb sort of advances persistence.
[34:34] It's like. Ask. Okay. That's the first step. Acknowledge your need. The three steps of prayer. Ask. Acknowledge your need. Seek.
[34:46] Meaning. Like. Move your feet. So. A little bit of escalation. And then. Not only moving. Once you get. To what you believe. You need to be.
[34:58] Says. Knock. Don't stop when the door doesn't open. Right away. Knock. Knock. And knock again.
[35:08] This is a picture of growing confidence. Escalating confidence. Because you know.
[35:21] The God who is on the other side of that door. Bestows good gifts to his church. This is childlike audacity that keeps us returning to the Father.
[35:32] Because we know he is good. He is good. I have the opposite problem of persistence.
[35:44] I find myself. Looking to. My. Looking to my prayer life. As sending like a one. One letter to God. And just. Not disturbing him anymore on that.
[35:57] And there's. There's a personal sense of pride in that. Like I'm disturbing God. Like that doesn't make any sense. And so there's repentance that. Needs to be done in my own heart.
[36:07] In my prayer life. But this is not a one letter. This is. An ongoing conversation. And Jesus.
[36:19] Concludes this. Parable saying. For everyone who asks. Receives. And the one who seeks. Finds. And to the one who knocks. It will be opened. And this isn't saying about.
[36:31] Earning an answer. Because of our endurance. It's not about the squeaky wheel. I hate that illustration. The squeaky wheel. Getting the grace. It's not about that.
[36:45] Persistence is simply. The echo. Of faith. You know who's on the other side of that door. And you're going to knock. The heart condition that says.
[36:58] Father. I know you hear me. And I will not stop asking. Until I receive. What aligns with your will. We must separate prayerful persistence.
[37:12] From the spoiled kid. In the grocery aisle. We have to separate that. That's not the picture. That Jesus is giving here. We also have to realize.
[37:24] That it's also the mark of. Saints who believe. The father's hand. Is opening. And always willing to open. And willing.
[37:35] So if the cranky neighbor. Gives in at midnight. Comes to the door. How much more the father. Whose door is never locked. And whose lights are never out. Meet the needs of his children. We see this.
[37:46] Again. Emphasized in the next parable. And we see that. Let me get off the thermostat. We see that in section three.
[37:58] Of the promise. So you have the pattern. Persistence. Now the promise. The father who keeps us. In harmony. And definitely emphasizing that word.
[38:09] Keep. A keep. I'm sorry. Section three. The promise. The father who keeps us. In harmony.
[38:22] And we see this here. Did I not have that last slide up? Okay. Okay. Okay. So. He says. He goes on to say.
[38:33] What father among you. If he asks for a fish. Will instead of a fish. Give him a serpent. Or if he asks for an egg. I guess that's a thing. Will give him a scorpion. Then.
[38:44] If you then. Who are evil. Know how to give. Good gifts to your children. How much more. Will the heavenly father. Give the holy spirit. To those. Who ask him. And I love the dad logic of this.
[38:55] I love being a dad. I love dad jokes. And I love being the cringy dad. And we might compare. Compare it to Jesus saying. Simply dads. If.
[39:06] If one of my kids. Asked me for lunch. I'm not going to. I'm not going to put together. A snake salad. Sandwich. Unless it's culturally appropriate.
[39:18] Not in Ohio. We don't do that. Right. I mean. That's absurd. Something so far out. In left field. And that's.
[39:30] That's probably the point. Even the worst dads. Wouldn't do that. And then Jesus grounds it. Once again. How much more. Will the heavenly father give.
[39:41] This means that if. God gave his son. For salvation. His. Only. Begotten son. For salvation. And his. Spirit. For sanctification.
[39:53] We can trust him. With everything else. In between. So. Is God to be viewed. As a spiritual vending machine. You just put the quarter in.
[40:06] And get your blessing. Cry out your Hail Marys. And you. Earn that forgiveness. Is God to be viewed.
[40:17] As a spiritual vending machine. Of course not. Of course not. Sometimes we. Ask for a relationship.
[40:27] And God says no. Because that boy's a snake. I'm going to tell him. All my girls. It's a snake. Sometimes we pray for comfort.
[40:39] And God gives us. Conviction. Because the Holy Spirit. Is usually working something deeper.
[40:50] Than what we want. To receive. Deeper than our healing. That we wish we can. Have. Or relief from our situation. In our lives.
[41:01] Sometimes. Sometimes the Holy Spirit. Is working about something deeper. And so. He may not give.
[41:13] What we want. But he will always give. What we need. And what. Would that need. Be. Well you'd have to look at the Bible.
[41:25] What we need most. Is his spirit. Is his spirit. Is his spirit. How much more. Will the heavenly father. Give the. Holy Spirit. To those. Who ask him.
[41:39] What we need. Is the Holy Spirit. Alive. In us. Guiding us. Through our. Disorientation. Comforting us.
[41:50] In our despair. Being the well of joy. As we see. God working out. All things. According to his.
[42:01] Sovereign. Will. And decree. What an incredible. Realization. For us today. What a great. Tuning fork. He's. Telling his disciples.
[42:13] Pray like this. Here's the pattern. Our greatest need. Is the Holy Spirit. The answer to every prayer. When we seek for. When we ask for bread.
[42:24] When we. Seek the kingdom. When we knock for direction. He gives us the spirit. In all three. The spirit is the daily. Bread.
[42:35] The forgiving. Grace. And the guarding. Presence of the father. In us. Intimately. Vertical. Has come. Down. And so. God's generosity.
[42:46] Is not measured. By the size. Of our requests. But by the nature. Of his gift. The Holy Spirit. Seals. Believers. Secures. Believers. And all through this life.
[43:00] And the life to come. If the Lord's prayer. Is heaven's tuning fork. Then the gospel. Is the sound. That keeps on ringing. You hear the reverberation.
[43:10] Of that ring. Filling our lives. And. I pray that we all hear that. And that the gospel. That's centered on Christ's work.
[43:23] On this earth. His death. Resurrection. Ascension. And his return. That we hear that ringing. And we pick up on it.
[43:34] To bring us back. To retune. God is our. Father. Father. He didn't stay. Behind closed doors.
[43:44] He came down. In Jesus Christ. Who is both God. And man. To meet us. In the midnight. Of darkness. When our cupboards.
[43:57] Were empty. We had nothing to give. And our hearts. Were hollow. And what did Jesus Christ. Bring? He didn't bring. Three loaves of bread. He brought.
[44:07] Himself. The bread of life. He brought. Himself. Living water. That will never run dry. And he gave us. What we can never earn. And he gave it. Not because.
[44:18] We were persistent. But he gave it to us. Because he's good. Now Jesus Christ. Risen. And reigning. He has poured out.
[44:29] His spirits. And even the faintest. Whisper. Of. Father. God hears. The note. Of his son. Our prayers.
[44:41] May. Sound flat. Or faint. At times. Or. Or what not. But the spirit. Tunes. All of our prayers. In this perfect pitch. Of grace.
[44:51] That's found in. What Jesus Christ has done. Church. Pray like a child. Who knows. The father's will.
[45:03] Who knows. The father's love. Trust like a friend. Who knows. His requests. Are heard. Not only that.
[45:15] Rest. Church. Rest. Like the one. Who knows. The father's door. Is never locked. And his heart. Is never. Out of tune.
[45:29] Because in Christ. The music of heaven. Is already playing. And we have been invited. Merely invited. To join the harmony. Will you.
[45:41] Receive that invitation. Today. Receive it. By faith. Alone. Rest. Rest. In his promise. Allow your prayer.
[45:54] Your next prayer. To be the tuning fork. That aligns. Your heart. With the father's. Will. And may that be true. Of all of us. Who are in Christ. Pray.
[46:04] And may that be true.