03-10-24 A Friend At Midnight

In this episode of Disciples Ignited, the focus is on studying Jesus' parables about prayer. The first parable discussed is the Friend at Midnight. The story is about a man who goes to his friend's house in the middle of the night to ask for bread. The friend inside initially refuses to help because it is inconvenient. However, because of the man's persistence, the friend eventually gives him what he needs. This parable highlights the importance of persistence in prayer and contrasts the selfishness of humans with the compassion of God. Alright, this is a Disciples Ignited as we are studying His Name is Jesus, the Life and Power in the Master's Ministry. So today we are going to get into Lesson 8. We're going to start at what page are we on? We're on page 91. Okay, and we're going to be in Luke 11 and Luke 18, Luke 11 in the beginning. We'll see how far we get but this is supposed to be Jesus' two parables about prayer, the Friend at Midnight, which is Luke 11, and the Widow and the Judge, Luke 18, and then also His teaching on prayer, the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. We'll see how far we get, but we're going to start with Luke 11. I believe that what we will do today is we'll go through the first two parables and then leave the Lord's Prayer for next week because there is just so much in the Lord's Prayer that I don't want us to feel rushed that we've got to finish all these three that would literally end that segment. So let's get into the first parable of today and that is the Friend at Midnight. The book tells us to read Luke 11, 5-13 and the following. What is the situation of the arriving friend and why doesn't the person inside want to answer the request? So that's what we're looking for. That's what we want to concentrate on. So who wants to look up Luke 11 and read verses 5-13? In fact, that's kind of long, so you're going to read that for us Jerry? Okay, so why don't you read 5-10 and then we'll have somebody end it up. Luke 11, 5. Then Jesus said to them, suppose you have a friend and you go to him at midnight and say, friend lend me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have no food to offer him. And suppose the one inside answers, don't bother me, the door is already locked and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. The one who seeks, finds. And the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Alright. Now, so, let's go with these questions that were presented to us. What is the situation of an arriving friend? What's the situation? The arriving friend must be hungry. Okay, so what's he asking for? Bread. Alright, what is bread? Bread is a staple of life. That was, that's not an extravagance, that's not a luxury, that's a staple. Alright, so he's not asking for anything really out of the ordinary. Alright, so that's the situation. He doesn't have bread. Now, if he didn't have bread, what does that mean? It's pretty bad. He's, in fact, we had a missionary friend that was a missionary to Liberia and she said that if you ever heard one of the people in the village say, you know, we have no food. It might not be talking about that they had no food, but they're saying, we don't have any rice. And that's, you know, that's serious. You know, if we have no rice, we have nothing, you know, to eat. So, that was the situation. The man has, he doesn't have the basic necessities that he needs. Why doesn't the person inside want to help him? Because he went to bed already. Okay, what's behind that? Inconvenience. That is the first word. Inconvenience. He doesn't want to be bothered. He doesn't want to be bothered. It's inconvenience. How many people have a Christianity that is based on convenience? Let me ask that again. How many have a Christianity that is based on convenience? They serve Jesus when it's convenient. Probably a good number of people. How many go to church only when it's convenient? Probably a good number of people. How many people pray only when it's convenient? When there's a need. A lot of people. Alright, so, we can't say that this man is any different than maybe what we're like sometimes. But I want you to notice in this account that Jesus says that the man says the door is already locked. That's his first excuse. My children and I are in bed. Now, back in those days, the children, oftentimes, if they didn't sleep in the same bed with the mother and father, they slept in the same room. They all just rolled out their mats in the room and slept. So, he said, everybody's gone to bed. The door's locked. So, leave us alone. I can't. Now, he says, I can't. Is that true? I can't get up and give you anything. Is that true? No. Why? Because he can't. He can't. What's stopping him? Okay, so, what's the deal? Inconvenience. Inconvenience. He doesn't want to. He just doesn't want to, I think. Doesn't want to. Alright, so, Jesus is painting the picture here. This man that is asking for a basic need is coming up to somebody that doesn't want to help him. That could help him, but doesn't want to help him. Why wouldn't he want to help him? He's already gone to bed. It's inconvenient. So, it's inconvenient. It's not that he didn't want to. Well, I look at it as the same thing. If you don't want to do it, you're going to look for an excuse. An inconvenience. If I was up, and I was in the bathroom, and everybody was sleeping, and the door would knock, I'd answer. Right. But what if you weren't? I know you, even if you were in bed, you'd get up and answer the door. You'd get up, and it is inconvenient. You have to admit that. It's inconvenient. It's not that I didn't want to. I mean, if you were in bed already, and the door was locked and everything, and somebody was banging on your door at midnight, I've had that. a good friend, you wouldn't want to do that. You really wouldn't want to open up the door. Well, you know, I'm from the country, and I remember as a little girl, I remember there were times when strangers, not even people you knew, but there were times when at late hours of the night, because when I was a little girl, that was like in the 60s going into the 70s, late hours of the night, people would be like passing through. And sometimes in the late hours of the night, people would knock on the door, and they would, you know, be hungry. They want something to eat. They get up, open the door, go in the kitchen, cook full meal. A full meal? Cook, take stuff out the refrigerator, cook, put the food on the table, serve the people, and send them on their way. Isn't that something? Times have changed, haven't they? Yeah. Southern hospitality. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, that's a Southern hospitality even I haven't seen. No, I can't see your parents getting up at midnight to cook a meal for somebody at midnight. I think that what Jesus is painting a picture of, there's a need. And this is not an extravagant need. This is a basic necessity. And this is serious. For him to have no bread, this is serious. So serious that he has been willing to go out at night and ask somebody for bread. A friend. This is supposed to be a friend. A friend. But that would be embarrassing. I mean, if you were the person that somebody showed up to stay the night with you that you weren't expecting, you didn't have bread, it would be embarrassing for you to go out in the middle of the night knocking this person's door even as a friend. Okay, so we have this man with a need, a basic need. But then we have this other man that has the resources, the ability to meet that need, and he makes all these excuses that it just boils down to, which we all agree, he just doesn't want to. He doesn't want to. So that's the picture that Jesus is painting here. And so I'll look at this man as selfish. I'll look at this man as all totally self-concerned. He's just looking out after himself. But then we have this other man that is really needy. He needs the basics of life. And so we see this great contrast. Now, who is Jesus making this man that has a need, who is he likening that man to? Or who is he liking us to? Are we like the man that has the need met, or are we like the man that has the need? The need. Yeah, we are the people. He's speaking to the audience, and he's painting the picture, like you have a need, and your need is basic. You're coming and you're so serious that you're willing to even suffer humiliation for coming at night, embarrassing yourself. Even saying that you have a need sometimes is embarrassing to people. Right, that's true. But who is the man that has the resources really he's about to compare him to God. Now, does that mean that God doesn't want to be inconvenient? Is he saying that God is uncaring? He further goes into it as we get into it. Alright. You're right, it's a good contrast. He makes this man seem so ruthless, so self-concerned, that he's going to see, we're going to see night and day difference between him and God, who is loving, who is kind, who is compassionate, that welcomes us at any time of day, 24-7. And Jesus is making this strong difference to point this out. If this man who is so selfish and self-concerned is willing to finally relive and meet this need, how much more will God, how much more are God who is eager to invite your presence and to hear your need, how much more will God answer? But oh, there's so much more. Verse 8, it says, why does the man finally answer the request? Verse 8, but I tell you this, though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, you're going to get up and get whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. You're going to embarrass that man to where he has to get up and help you. I'm not going away until I get my answer. Okay, Carol, could you read that in the New Living Translation? That's what I did. Oh, you did? This is the NLT. Okay, then let me read it in the NIV. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. That's what that word means. Okay, we're going to get into that. Audacity. Audacious. Bold risks. Somebody will take bold risks. And even to the point where you have a lack of respect, you're going to push it. All right, that's in our word will. Why don't you read that now in the book to a center of persistence. Persistence. Oh, what's that? Anodeia. Anodeia literally means shamelessly impurity. Impurity. Impurity or overboldness. Oh, I love that. Overboldness. Like extreme boldness. Yes, overboldness. And it's done without shame. Shamelessness. Overboldness. No shame at all. Yeah. It describes a type of... Brassiness. It describes a type of brassiness. It isn't the brassiness of a smart aleck making demands, but the forwardness of a person who is so taken with an awareness of need that he abandons normal protocol. Jesus is saying your first barren isn't God. Your first barrier. Your first barrier isn't God. It's your own hesitance for acting freely. Your need to learn the kind of boldness that isn't afraid to ask whatever the need or the circumstance. So Jesus is encouraging us to even step beyond what is socially acceptable in our brain. To have a boldness that goes beyond protocol. And not to allow social protocols to hold us back. Yeah, to be persistent in asking. What were you going to say Jerry? I'm coming across this. This particular... I'm glad this is... I had to get... It's at the condo. It's at the building. They changed... It's a whole story. Anyway, they got rid of all the locks. We have no more locks. No more keys. No more keys. Everything is biometric. Face. And fingerprint. And faces. We're registered for my face. You look into a camera and endorse it. Right. Okay. It's a waste of money. I don't even want to get into that. This is the point I'm making with this. This is very good for me. When you come off the beach... One of the gates is fingerprint. And your fingers become... You know, there's sand on it. Or they crinkle it. It's not working. Ah. Right. So... None of the brains ever thought of this. So now you need a fob. A key fob. Just for the fingerprints. I guess you put the key fob on it. So now I go to the office. It's 3.30 in the afternoon. And they have a new woman there. And I said, I'd like a key fob. Oh, it's 3.30. You can't have one now. You know, we only do it for... Come back tomorrow morning. Now... I could have been persistent. I could have gotten. I could have. But I didn't. I didn't go back the next day. I'm not going back till tomorrow. But I could have been persistent. She was nasty. Right. She said it in a nasty... It's 3.30. Now, you know, we ended it. You can't have it today. Right. Right. This is very good. God bless you, Jesus. Well, I think that the Lord is telling us... That's right. That the Lord is not going to be put off by our persistence. In fact, I believe that the Lord sometimes presents a need to us that is going to require persistence. And he has put us in that need to bring us to a point that we will be persistent. I think of Hannah. Who made her barren? It says that the Lord made her barren. Why? Because he had a special plan. And did it take prayer? Did it take a lot of praying? Oh, yeah. Did it take a lot of tearful praying? Oh, yeah. Did it take a lot of persistence? Yes. And that was what the Lord was after. He wanted Samuel to be born out of persistent prayer. Look at God. Yeah, so there are some things that aren't going to be answered just lickety-split. They are going to be answered, but it's only after you have grown in this persistence where you did not give up, where you did not give in to just whatever. And you just said forget it. No, you just persist because you know that you are talking to not a man that is selfish as this man was, but to a God who is good. And that if he's not answering, then he's got his reasons. But that doesn't mean that you're to stop praying. You're just to continue to persist. All right. Here, why don't you read that next statement. Jesus follows this somewhat humorous parable. Jesus follows this somewhat humorous parable about importunity with direct instructions on what is involved. Verses 9 and 10. I'll read that. So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Well, that was one of my favorite verses as a kid and a young person. Seek and you will find. It's a famous verse. All right. Let me give you some pointers about the Greek on this. In the Greek, Greek has, in verbs, it has different tenses showing us like the duration of the action. If it's aorist, in aorist tense, it just means that it's something that was done. It's not talking about how long it took. It's just that it was done. He put the cup on the table. Aorist. Okay. If it is in the present tense, it is like a continuous action. It's not talking about a beginning or an ending. It is just talking about this is a long duration. It's not just a, I put the cup on the table, but I'm constantly bringing water to the table. You know. All right. So, ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. These are actually all three are in present tense. So, it's saying ask and what is the implication here? Ask and keep on. Asking. Seek and keep on. Seeking. Knock and keep on knocking. So, he doesn't expect. There are times that he, when he hears the first knock, he's just going to wait. Where do you see that best continual? It's the verb. It's the Greek verb. Where do you see that verb at? In the Greek. How is it going to study the Greek and learn it? I'm telling you. The New Testament was written in Greek. Okay. Well, that's not going to help you. No, no, no. Well, I mean, when I want to study, when I want to study at home. I'm sure you could find a study Bible. I'll talk to you. There's all different books that you can get that will help you. Okay. And you don't even have to. Doesn't the Strong's, the original Strong's and Concordance have those kind of things? The Young's did. Okay. But there are, I'll talk to you after we have this Bible study. And so there's things. But just to let you know, so ask. That is, it is actually a present active imperative. So this is a command. He's not suggesting. It's a command. Ask. So he's saying, you've got to ask. But what doesn't, isn't related in English is this. Sandra, I'm expecting you to keep on asking. So when do you quit asking? And a continual action. When do you quit asking, Jerry? You don't. You don't. Right. Actually, you did. Oh, really? When he answers that, you stop answering that, but you ask something else. Yes. When the prayer is answered. Right. Now, there are some people that have taught, well, if you ask God again, then that means that you never asked in faith. Yes, I've heard that many times. Okay. The Lord, Jesus, is snipping that right in the bud. Because he expects, he is teaching what he personally does here. Jesus never asks us or tells us to do something that he himself doesn't do. So that tells us that Jesus, many times, would have to persist in something. Not because the Father didn't want to give it to him, but the Father was building in Jesus what? Persistence. Persistence. I'm not giving up for nothing until that is granted. Ask, keep on asking, and it will be given to you. So it's given to you. Then you're presented with something else to ask for. Sometimes those are instantly given. Sometimes they require persistence. But I would say that more and more, oh, more and more, as you walk with Jesus, the Lord is going to begin to give you prayer assignments that are not going to be instantaneously granted. He can give those prayer requests to babies, and they can take care of that. But he'll give you an assignment of something that is going to require what? Persistence. Persistence. Somebody that's not going to give up. Alright. So ask and keep on asking. So for everyone who asks and keeps on asking, they're the ones that always receive. Alright. Okay, as you know, the second part as well. Oh, but wait. I have one more thing. Okay, sorry. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking, they're the ones that receive and keep on receiving because that is in presence also. You're constantly receiving. Why? Because you're constantly asking. You're constantly finding. Why? Because you've constantly been seeking. You're constantly having doors open. Why? You're constantly having doors open. Why? Because you've constantly been knocking. Y'all, that is the Christian life in a nutshell. Asking, seeking, knocking. Alright. Okay, we're in that same sentence. As well as a reminder of the willing nature of the father we are addressing. Verses 11 through 13. Can you read 11 through 13, Jerry, please? Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, would give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? I think it's interesting that he says the Holy Spirit. He doesn't say anything about things. Did you know that in the other Gospels, in the Synoptic Gospels, Luke is the only one that mentions the Holy Spirit. Oh, really? What are the other sentences? Let's go through that. Okay. Because I think the real goal is that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit. And if a person is asking, seeking, knocking, you know, you're searching for the Lord, you're going to get the Holy Spirit. Yeah. In a greater measure, I think. But it's interesting. Luke's the only one that says that. Well, I'm making sure. Okay. Good gifts. Okay. I wish I had a Thompson chain, because it would tell me the other places right away. Okay. Okay. Then look at Matthew. Matthew 17 is the other one that mentions this teaching, asking and knocking. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a steak? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? Okay. Where was it, Matthew 1? That was Matthew 7. Verses 7 through 11. So Matthew says good gifts. Luke is the one that says he will give you the Holy Spirit. What is the implication on that? There's a strong implication. Well, if you take the Holy Spirit here, you could say, if he's going to give good gifts to those who ask him, he could be talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, too. That could be an implication. I think another implication is, if you have the Holy Spirit, you have all that you need. Amen. The Father has given you what you need in giving us the Holy Spirit. And it also tells us what the Holy Spirit is. What? He is a good gift. Amen. It seems like when the Lord has his parables, he always has a higher purpose than what we think. We think, well, I have the need of my mortgage being paid, or I have the need of having food on my table. But he always does that at these parables. He's talking about that. Will he find faith on the earth? He'll give you the Holy Spirit if you ask. You know what I mean? He's always looking at a higher purpose than what we do. We're more down here on earth in our temporal needs, you know. You know, I think Jesus is really, if we look at it this way, Jesus always has a heavenly perspective. Oh, that's good. That's good, yeah. And he is teaching us how to always seek from that heavenly perspective. Because then, in doing so, then we'll look at things so differently. We have an earthly and he has the heavenly. You've got to come up to the heavenly. Jesus was a man just like us. He suffered just like we do. Yeah. But he kept that heavenly perspective. Yeah. What was that heavenly perspective that enabled him to finally say, Father, not my will but yours be done. What was the heavenly perspective? Salvation for mankind. Yes, salvation for mankind. His earthly perspective is, I'm about to suffer like nobody's ever suffered. I'm about to be separated from you and I don't want that to ever happen. So, Father, if there's another way, please. But the Father says, no. What was the Father's perspective? You are my answer to the salvation of all mankind. Isn't that so? That's a perfect example of what we're talking about. He, at that moment, was looking at the earthly, natural, Jesus the man perspective. But the Father always has that heavenly perspective and he had to shift to the, obey his Father's heavenly perspective. So, how should this affect our prayer life when the Father seems to be silent? Have you ever prayed and the Father is silent? Oh, yeah. So, how should this affect us? You tell me, because right now, in my life, I'm getting ready to turn 70 here. And I'm thinking, God, there are so many things that I have been praying about for years and I still haven't seen them come to pass. Okay, let me ask you. At my age, it's hard for me to continue having that positive perspective, that persistence, and the faith. And yet, I know that that's critical. I mean, those things are critical. Okay, well, that's what we're talking about today. Thank you for using yourself as an example. So, you're going to be how old? I'm going to be 70. 70, okay. And how old is, how many years has it been since Jesus was resurrected? How many years has it been since Jesus was resurrected? 3,000 years. 2,000? 2,000 years. And what has he been doing during those 2,000 years? What has he been doing? What has he been doing? What has he been doing? Yeah, what's he been doing? What's his assignment from the Father? He's been interceding for us. He's been praying. Are you telling me that all of his prayers have been answered? No. So, what does he keep on doing? He keeps on praying. Persistence. He's persistent. He's persistent. He's persistent. Persistent. He's persistent. He's been praying. So, Jesus is always... Faith, faith. He's going to come back to faith again. He's always our example. Do you know that it's been about 2,020 years since Jesus rose from the dead? Right. 2,020 years. Now it's over 2,020 years. So, he's praying. Mm-hmm. And he never gives up. Have we, personally, have we ever given Jesus reason... Oh, yeah. ...to give up? Yeah. Okay. Okay, so he doesn't. Why is that? What's the reason? In my rebellion. In my... Lack of faith. ...knowing what to do and not doing it. Mm-hmm. Doing what I want to do instead of doing what he wants me to do. And here he is, Father, Father, please. He doesn't... Father, please forgive him for he knows not what he does. Mm-hmm. You know, but he keeps on praying for me. You know. I remember... I'll share this. I was going through a really rough time in my life. I was in Tulsa. And I was sitting in church and feeling sorry for myself. And the Lord spoke to me really clear and said, David, I'm praying for you. Oh. And I thought, man, Lord, if you're praying for me, I'm going to get through this. And I did. I did. But Jesus is praying for each and every one of us. By name. Amen. Because he loves us. And he persists. All right. Let's get back. So the word wealth. So we talked about persistence. Yeah, but we didn't talk about... But there's also another word wealth. Yeah, but we didn't... We skipped a couple things. What? No. What is Jesus' instruction? Oh, what is... I'm sorry. You're right. What is Jesus' instruction? Can you read verse 9, Sandra, please? Verse 9. Mm-hmm. And I say unto you... Verse 9. Verse 9. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek... I thought we did that. Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. Okay. Ask, and I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Okay, so his instruction is to... Ask, seek, and knock, and keep on... Ask, seek, and knock, and keep on doing so. Because we're all in presence. He says, what must we understand in order to ask, seek, and knock effectively? Verse 10. You want to read that, Sandra? For everyone that asketh, receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Okay, and remember that the... that which God does is also in the present. Mm-hmm. He tells us to do what we're supposed to do continuously, and he reciprocates by continuously doing what he does. Amen, amen. All right, so word wealth. Athene, which is the Greek word for to ask, refers to the act of praying where the will is earnestly fixed on the answering of the prayer. So otherwise, you're focused. You know what you're asking for. I need bread. And so you're very focused. So the desire is not merely a vague or half-hearted one. Athene is another Greek word that means to seek with the object of finding or obtaining. So this includes faithful prayer and all other exertion directed towards the purpose of obtaining the things for which the prayer is offered. While confidently awaiting God's answer, the one who prays must also, from his side, do everything that is necessary. Kareem, to knock, refers... Okay, so these are the words, like to ask, to seek, and to knock. Kareem, to knock, refers to the urgent sincerity, exercise in praying and seeking. All three verbs refer to the continuous, uninterrupted act. Asking, seeking, knocking. And so I appreciate this because so often we look at these as three different separate things. You go from asking, you go to seeking. You go from seeking, you go to knocking. And that's not what the Lord's saying. The Lord's saying that these are all part of the same thing of persistent prayer. Continuous, uninterrupted. Love it, love it. Okay. Jerry, why don't you read the next sentence after that? It has a bunch of scriptures that we'll look at. What more can be learned? Where are we? Matthew 18? We're at the bottom of page 92. The last paragraph. What more can be learned about asking? From Matthew 18, 18 to 20, 20, 21, 22, John 14, 12 to 14. Ephesians 3, 20 to 21. Okay, let's look at this. Why don't you look up, Jerry, you look up Ephesians chapter 3, verses 20 and 21. Sandra, you get John chapter 14, verses 12 through 14. Carol, you look up Matthew 20, 21 and 22. And I'll start with Matthew 18. Okay, we know already, I'll read mine. Okay, Matthew 18, 18 through 20 says, Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven, for where two or three gather in my name, there I am in the midst. Boy, that's a whole thing, too easy. Okay, truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth. Okay, that's interesting, this is an heiress. Okay, tell us what that means. Binding and loosing. It's just, it's a matter of fact. It's done, you do it. But it's not emphasizing duration, it's just, you do it. You bind something or loose something. Right, okay, and then the prayer of agreement. Whatever you loose on earth, I believe that's going to be also, that is also an heiress. Truly I tell you, if two of you agree on anything they ask for, let's see what that is. That's interesting, that's an heiress. So that's a one time deal, too? Yeah, so if you agree and you ask, it's going to be done. So, the Lord isn't always looking to put you on a prayer summit that's going to be required persistence. Sometimes, he should say, do it. Ask for this, and you ask for it. And that's it. Okay, mine is Matthew 20, 21 and 22. What is it you want, he asked. And he said, grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? We can, they answered. Sometimes we ask for something that we shouldn't. You don't know what you're asking. That word asking, you're not going to believe this, is in present. Is it present? Present tense. So apparently, this woman has been bugging Jesus. Over and over and over. Yeah, bugging Jesus about putting her sons at the top of the list. Isn't that something? You don't know what you're persisting for. Okay. Boy, that's interesting. Because when he was asked the question, they said, we can. So, James and John. It was James and John, right? Yeah, James and John. Mama of James and John. Sounds like a mama, doesn't it? Yes, but sometimes our prayers are not full of wisdom. No, no. But sometimes we ask for stuff we shouldn't be asking for. Alright, who has John chapter 14, verses 20? I do. Barely, barely, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also. And greater works than these shall he do. Because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Okay, now, when he says, whoever believes in me, this is in present. So, it's not like a one-time deal. It is continuous. You're continuously believing. And this word believe is so full of a wealth of meaning. It means to lean on, to hold to, to rely upon. So, somebody that is really living so close to Jesus is constantly leaning on him, relying upon him. Otherwise, Jesus, you said, without you I can't do anything. That's so true. I'm leaning on you. It's interesting though that it says, the Lord's going to answer so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. So, whatever we ask, it's got to be something that's going to bring glory to the Father and the Son. That's a good point. It can't just be whatever we want. Okay, read that verse. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. And that just shows us, where is the Father glorified? Whoa! In Jesus. Y'all, that's wealthy. Jesus is the vessel that glorifies the Father. So, the Father is glorified in Jesus. So, that's why the Father always wants Jesus to be lifted up. He receives his glory in that. Yeah. So, we need to focus on Jesus. Hallelujah. Focus on Jesus. Hallelujah. That's very interesting. Hallelujah. And then Jerry, I believe... Yeah, well, there's time you think about God, but you don't think about Jesus. Yeah. Well, look at it this way, Jerry. The Father's always, throughout the New Testament, the Father was always pointing our attention to Jesus. He said, this is my Son. In whom I'm wealthy. Yeah, this is my Son. And Jesus pointed out, who does the Holy Spirit always point our attention to? Jesus. Jesus. He will take my teachings and bring them to you. So, if the Father is always pointing us to Jesus, if the Spirit is always pointing us to Jesus, what is it that we don't get? Jesus is where we're supposed to have our focus. He's the man. He's our focus. Because where do we see the Father? In Jesus. In Jesus. If you see Jesus, you see the Father. Right. Where do we see the Spirit? In Jesus. In Jesus. He had the fullness of the Spirit. He had the fullness. He had the fullness. And so, we always focus on Jesus. I'm just telling you, as people, you know, continue to come and preach in all different things, if they ever mention anything about, well, causing to dismiss Jesus, you get up and you run. Because the Father always lifted up Jesus. Yes. The Spirit only speaks about Jesus. And so, we need to... That's our safety. Keep your eyes on Jesus. All right. So, Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 20 and 21. You got that, Jerry? Yes. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Amen. And I know that y'all can just imagine what when He says to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask. What is that ask? Prayer? Prayer. It's prayer and it's impressive. Continuously ask. Okay. So, the Lord really is after persistence. And imagine is also impressive. So, He just wants us to be full of asking, imagining. And now the second part says, what more can be learned about seeking? We need to look at some more scriptures here. It's Matthew 6.33, John 5.30, and Colossians 3.1. Okay. Carol, you take 6.33. Sandra, you take John 5.30. And could you take Colossians 3.1, Jerry? Yes. Okay. Carol? Matthew 6.33. Okay. Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and He will give you everything you need. So, if you seek Him first, He's going to take care of you. Right. Okay. John 5.30. I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. So, what does that have to do with our praying? Well, let me ask it this way. When we pray, we usually come with an agenda. We have things that we want God to do. Where do we get that agenda? That's what we really need to ask first. Where did I get this agenda? Did this agenda come because God showed me what He wants? Or did I get this agenda because of what I want Him to do? I think these both verses say that it's about His agenda. It's His agenda. Seeking Him, submitting to Him in our praying. How does that work? Okay. Well, okay. Let me explain it this way. There are some times that we... Okay. We make a list. And we bring that list to God, and we are asking Him to do this list. Bless this list. Do this. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. I'm not saying that that's wrong. And I'm not saying that that is definitely not the best. Because what if one of those things on the list isn't what He wants? And so what we need to do is bring that list to Him. And maybe they're all needs. Maybe they're all really legitimate needs. But instead of approaching it, Lord, I just want You to do this. Say, Lord, I want Your will to be done in meeting these needs. So show me how to pray so that Your will would be done. I can give a practical example right now. We're having elections in November. Okay. Some Christians that lean toward the Democrat Party, they would start praying, God, let Biden win. Let Biden win. Let Biden win. And then some of the Christians in the Republican Party that lean toward Trump would say, Lord, let Trump win. Lord, let Trump win. But what do we need to do? Lord, who do You want to be president? May the person of Your choosing. You know, even my sister-in-law, when she was here, she had her daughter in big Trump fans. And I said, but what does God want? I said, did the Lord speak to you who the president's supposed to be? I said, I can honestly say that whoever the Lord tells me to vote for, I'm going to vote for. She says, well, do you want blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Biden? I said, if God tells me to vote for Biden, I'll vote for Biden. If He tells me to vote for Trump, I'll vote for Trump. It doesn't matter what we want. I said, the Lord has His agenda. Amen. That you can't use your own reasoning. You know, you really have to hear from the Lord. Or you could be praying the wrong thing. But if God doesn't want Biden to be president, you're praying that he becomes. Or Trump to be president, you're praying that he becomes. You're praying against the very will of God. You know, the Lord says in His word that He raises up leaders and He puts leaders down. Yes, yes. And, you know, it's so much bigger than just the way that we see things. Our earthly view is just so... Have you ever seen those horses that have the blinders on? And that's how we are. But God sees a bigger picture. If the Lord told you, as Carol mentioned that, If the Lord told you to vote for somebody that is just totally against your convictions and everything, but you know you heard from God to vote for that person. And you know if that person gets into office that it is going to be the dismantling of America. But God told you to vote for him or her. Whatever. And that might mean that the Lord is ready to bring judgment. Let me give you a really good example. There was this lady. She was a prophet. And really not well known unless you were in circles that talked about these things. But she literally was used by the Lord. The Lord sent her all over the world to minister. We're talking about to kings, to prime ministers, to people where they had courts. She would minister to people that you'd never be able to get to them. Because they were just so far beyond reach. But she became even so personable to these people that she would sometimes be invited into their home. Anyway, so this person that was aware of her ministry and everything knew that she had often these audiences with Haile Selassie in Ethiopia. And they said, well you just need to tell him, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And she just listened, you know, politely. But she said, a person that says something like that has absolutely no understanding of the call of a prophet. You don't go tell them what you think are your own agendas or your own political strategies. You are sent only as a messenger of the Lord. And so while you might want to talk about this and this and this and this, the Lord might send you there just to talk about something entirely different, not even involved in politics. You're just there as a messenger. And so we're really here not as representatives of a political system or of a denomination or of our own agenda wanting to get our thing done. But we are here representing Jesus. And a good bit of what we are called to do then is going to take place in prayer. Okay, did we read, did you read Colossians 3? Yeah, please. Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourself of all things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Okay, I think that's good. That's good. Okay, so we have been raised with Christ. And what is he doing? What is Jesus doing right now? He's at the right hand of the Father, yeah. Praying. And we have been raised with him. Again, this is that heavenly versus earthly perspective that's telling us that we need to have a heavenly perspective. Like, God help us. God help us. Yeah, we live so much in this world, don't we? Yes. Okay, now what do we learn then from Luke 11, 11 through 13? Let me read that. So what do we learn from this? Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? And you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts, which Luke says, the Holy Spirit to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give? Oh, give the Holy Spirit to those who are with him. That's Luke, I'm sorry. So what do we learn about the fatherhood of God to help us pray? That he's a good father. And he has, what has he given us to help us pray? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Okay. Alright, we were going to, for sure, we were going to go to the widow and the judge. However, we have been going for an hour and I think that, unless y'all want to continue, do y'all want to continue? Or do y'all want to? We didn't do Matthew 7, 9 through 11, did we? No, but that was the same parable where he says the Father will give good gifts. So do y'all want to continue or do y'all want to, not continue. Let's save that one. Okay, we'll save that one because we've been going an hour. What's that, the widow and the judge? The widow and the judge. Yeah, that's a really good one and it kind of gives a different perspective than this particular. They're both parables. Alright, so everybody say goodbye to Edwina. Goodbye. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.