Luke's Gospel

Luke chapter 11 starting from verse 1. 1 day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, 1 of his disciples said to him, Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. He said to them, when you pray, say Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us and lead us not into temptation. Then Jesus said to them, suppose you have a friend and you go to him at midnight and say, friend, lend me 3 loaves of bread. Friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have no food to offer him and suppose the 1 inside answers, they 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 open to you. For everyone who asks receives, the 1 who seeks fines, and to the 1 who knocks the door will be opened. Which of you fathers? If your son asks for a fish, will will give him a snake instead.

Or if he asks for an egg, will you 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. Good evening. My name's Paul.

I'm 1 of the elders here at Cornerstone, and it's wonderful to be continuing this series in Luke's gospel. Yes, Finn and I are both here at an evening service. How is that possible I hear you ask? Many of you have been asking. Well, we're very grateful to Chris Dryden, for looking after the boys.

They're okay. Don't worry about them. And, please do keep that passage open. Let's pray as we begin. Father god, you know each 1 of us here are better than we know ourselves.

You made us, and you speak to us telling us what we need to hear. So we pray lord that you would help us now to listen, Listen to these words of of Jesus. We pray lord that by your spirit, you would apply them to us, help us apply them, to our lives that we might bring honor to your name, amen. We'll just look down again at those words in verses 2 to 4 of chapter 11. Father hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins. For we also forgive everyone who sins against us and lead us not into temptation. I wonder what you think as you Here those words.

You may have heard them or, another version of them many times. You may have grown up reciting them at school perhaps and be able to do it from memory. Some say I think that you can tell the rough age of a person by the version of these words that they that they know. But I don't fancy trying that. Perhaps you haven't heard these words at all before.

Perhaps they aren't so familiar to you. Well, whether you know them well or not, I hope that as we look at this section of Luke's gospel. God will show us how amazing these words are. If we think honestly about our prayers, how does reading these words make us feel? About when we pray and what we pray for.

I think most of us would say things could be better. Things could be better. You know, we we we're used to perhaps to praying in times of emergency. In the wake of a terrorist attack, we we're used to hearing, prayer talked about on the news or on social media or perhaps more personally when sickness or disaster of some kind impacts your life or the lives of those that are close to you. You know, we're used to praying at those times perhaps.

We may pray in moments of great joy. That make us want to cry out to someone bigger, for to give praise or to give thanks. Too. Lots of us pray in those situations perhaps. But what are the reasons that we struggle to pray the rest of the time?

Or perhaps you don't want to bother god with your prayers. You know, he must have far more important things to deal with than you and your needs. Maybe we don't pray and ask god for things because we don't really think he can give us anything. Or that we need anything from him except for the big stuff. You know, we seem to be able to get through most days just fine by ourselves.

Perhaps after after all, we get up. Put on clothes we have bought with money we have earned. We nourish ourselves with food and drink that we have bought with money we have earned. We go out to work at a job or a place on a university course that we have secured with our own performance at interview, our own credentials. When we need more things, we travel to Kingston.

IKEA or London, and we buy them. Do we really need to pray? Perhaps another reason we don't pray or that we struggle to pray is that we we tried it in the past, but nothing seems to happen. We don't seem to get any response or not the 1 that we were hoping for. So we end up asking, what's the point in praying?

I don't seem to be getting anything out of this, or perhaps you're overwhelmed by all the things there are to pray for. You don't know where to start, so you end up not praying at all. I know that tendency in myself. Even if we're Christians, even if we're we're followers of the lord Jesus Christ, and we want to pray. It's very easy to go through hours or even days without praying.

Seem like hard work. It can seem ineffective. We can really struggle with it. Perhaps you can relate to some of those things. Well, I hope that you can see our real need to learn from Jesus about prayer here.

And the good news is we're we're not alone. It seems as though Jesus' disciples found prayer challenging too. Because in Luke chapter 11, they ask for his help, look down at verse 1. 1 day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, 1 of his disciples said to him, lord teach us to pray.

Just as John taught his disciples. Well, the first thing we see here is that Jesus prays. In fact, if you read through the book of Luke up to this point, up to chapter 11, you'll see that Jesus prays frequently. His public ministry is punctuated by prayer. He prayed at his baptism in chapter 3.

He fasted in the wilderness when he was tested by Satan, and the implication there is that he he relied heavily on god in prayer. In chapter 6, He went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to god. He gave thanks to god before the the feeding of the 5000 in chapter 9. And later, he took John and James up onto a mountain to pray before the transfiguration we were hearing about that a few weeks ago. In chapter 10, he spoke to his father openly praising god for blessing, his disciples, when he sent them out to speak about the kingdom of god.

Often, Jesus prays in a solitary place or in private, but his disciples seem to be aware of it They've both observed and experienced Jesus praying frequently during his ministry. And now they pluck up the courage to ask him Lord teach us to pray. Help us pray. And it's a great request from the disciples. And we get to benefit from from Jesus Jesus's answer to them here as it's recorded by Luke.

I don't know how you're feeling about prayer. But let's listen to what Jesus says about prayer here. I think it I think it could change our minds and our hearts when it comes to praying. I hope it really encourages us to pray to pray lots. Jesus teaches us here What to pray for?

He teaches us to keep going with prayer, not to give up praying. But what I think we see most vividly from what Jesus says is is a wonderful portrait of who it is that we pray to. It's there throughout these verses. But particularly at the beginning and the end, let's let's look at who we pray to, part 1, who we pray to, part 1. Look at verse 1.

In response to the disciples plea, lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples, He said to them, when you pray, say, father. When you pray, say, father. And then look down to verse 13. Jesus says, 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?

Jesus is teaching his disciples and us to address god in the same way he does. When we pray we're to call god father. Now it's hard for us to to realize how radical this was at that time. Up until Jesus had come. No 1 had addressed God's father.

No 1 had that privilege. No 1 had that status. Mean, think about it. My my 2 boys, Isaac and Elijah are the only people in the world, the only people in the world who get to call me dad. No 1 else has the status of being my child.

Jesus can call godfather because he's the son of god. We can't go all godfather. Our sin has broken our relationship with him. We've turned our backs on god. Our rebellion means we deserve nothing but punishment and separation from him.

But Jesus says we can call godfather because he's made it possible. His death and his resurrection mean that we can come into relationship with god. And the relationship is intimate. It's family. It's children and their heavenly father.

We've we've been singing about it. He's teaching his disciples here to address god as father because He knows he's on the way to the cross. He's going to the cross to die and take upon himself the wrath of god for sin, making it possible for them and us to enjoy a father child relationship with god. When Jesus meets Mary Magdalen after he's risen from the dead, he says, do not hold on to me for I have not yet ascended to the father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them I am ascending to my father and your father.

To my god and your god. My father and your father Hebrews chapter 2 verse 11 says, both the 1 who makes people holy That's god through Jesus. And those who are made holy are of the same family. That's what Jesus came to do to die and rise again so that we could become children of god, part of god's family with Jesus. He came to be like us, the son of god, became a human being, fully god, fully man so he could represent us and take our punishment so that we could be like him.

Sons and daughters of God. He came to be like us, so we could be like him. If we're trusting in what Jesus has done for us in washing us clean of our sin and opening up the waiter god, we can address god as father. When we pray. The relationship is 1 of children praying to their heavenly father.

That's that's who we pray to, our father in heaven. And as in any relationship, knowing who it is you're speaking to affects the words you say. And next, Jesus teaches us what's to pray for. Jesus gives us a prayer to pray. It's not a long prayer.

The version here in Lucas is actually shorter than the 1 Jesus taught, in the sermon on the Mount in Matthews's Gospel. So this seems to be something that Jesus is taught on on a few different occasions as a as a pattern for praying. We don't have to use these exact words every time we pray. But following this pattern, as it set out here by Jesus, is gonna help us when we pray. It shows us what our priorities should be when we pray.

Look at verse 2. He said to them, when you pray, say, father hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Helloowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Jesus is saying that when we when we pray to our heavenly father, the first thing on our minds and the first words out of our mouths should be praise of his name. Father hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name means may your name be honored? May all that you are? Your character, your your being, your words, your deeds, everything about you be be honored and respected.

God is our father, but he's not the same as an earthly dad. He's our heavenly father. He's in heaven. He's holy and sovereign. Creator and ruler of the universe.

We're asking when we pray this prayer that that these things about god would be seen and known across the world. Would the name of the lord be honored and respected throughout the world with god's with god's name be honored here at Cornerstone? As we read his word now as as I speak, as we speak of him to 1 another and the people outside. Would nothing we say or do? Prevent god's name from being seen as holy?

Would we be children that reflect god's goodness to others? Would he receive all the praise and glory that is due to him? Would we not damage his reputation in any way? When we come to pray, we're to have in mind who we're praying to. Our heavenly father, the holy and sovereign king, of creation, and we're to pray for him to be given honor and glory.

Father hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. That next line, your your kingdom come. Is a plea that the kingdom of god would grow to completion. And there are 2 2 sides to this.

Firstly, we're asking that god's kingdom would be extended here and now across the world. As more people turn from sin and rebellion, to repentance and faith. As more people are saved, and more hearts and lives are submitted to his perfect rule. So when we pray to god, and we're asking for people we know, family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, those that live here on Camry Park Road, To be saved, we're asking for god's kingdom to grow here and now. Secondly, we're we're looking forward to the day when god's kingdom will be fully established as Jesus returns to gather god's people to be with him.

Forever. As we look out at this world and see the conflict and the unrest, As we see and experience the damaging effects of sin on lives and relationships, we're asking that God's kingdom where peace and righteousness reign would come quickly, but he would set the world right. We're anticipating the return of King Jesus, the day when every knee shall bow before him, and the powers of darkness will finally be destroyed. We're asking for that day soon. We're echoing those words of John at the end of end of the Bible.

Come lord Jesus. Your kingdom come. So we're children of god, praying to him as our heavenly father. And notice Jesus teaches us to pray about God and his purposes before our own needs. It's only after we've asked for his name to be hallowed and his kingdom to grow that we go on and pray for our own needs.

It's as though our hearts and our minds need to be tuned. It's a bit like the the band here. Before they rehearse, before the service. The first 1 of the first things they'll do is is tune their instruments to 1 another. Particularly the guitars, I think I'm writing the same thing, will go flat if they're left for a period of time without being played.

When the musicians come together, they need to tune, make sure they're in tune with 1 another. And it's it's similar when we come to pray. We can we can be flat or we we are flat. We can't see beyond ourselves often. We're small minded and selfish.

We're not thinking about the bigger picture. But if we begin our prayers the way Jesus teaches here, our hearts and our minds are tuned up brought up to pitch with god's plans and purposes, with who he is, with the things he's working towards, with his honor and glory, and his kingdom work. What Jesus teaches us to pray next reminds us that we're needy, sinful, and weak people who must depend on our heavenly father. As we live in this world waiting for the day when Jesus returns, we need god's help in 3 fundamental ways. When, Dan Green preached here a few months ago.

He spoke briefly about this prayer and and summed up these 3 fundamental needs like this. Provision, pardon, and protection. Provision, pardon, and protection. Look at verse 3. Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us, and lead us not into temptation. Firstly, We're to ask god to provide what we need to keep going. To keep living. Day by day. Give us each day our daily bread.

He made us. He knows us. He knows exactly what we need. When Jesus teaches about prayer in in the sermon on the mountain, Matthews's gospel, he says that your father knows what you need before you ask him. Your father knows what you need before you ask him.

So what's the point in asking you might say? Well, it's a relationship, isn't it? Father child, father son, father daughter relationship. I think Jesus is teaching us to ask God, for what we need, trusting that he knows best. What is best for us?

We're to express our utter dependence. On god to supply our physical needs, to sustain us, to keep us alive. And we're to do it every day. We're to depend on god continually day by day for what we need. Otherwise, we'll forget that we're dependent.

We'll think we're in control. Or think we supply our own needs. I remember we're we're praying this after we've prayed for god's name to be hallowed, and his kingdom to come. We should be asking god to give us each day what we need so that his name might be honored through us, and so we can go about his kingdom work. It's in light of those things.

Next, we're to ask god to forgive us our sins. Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. We're to confess our sin and ask for forgiveness. We sin against other people. Ultimately, we sin against god.

We break his law. We fall short of his perfect standard of righteousness. Any relationship can only continue if there's forgiveness. We know that. If I've sinned against you, I can't expect to carry on in our friendship as though nothing has happened.

There's something in the way. Something I've done that needs to be dealt with. I need to apologize. I need to say I'm sorry and ask for your forgiveness. The same is true when we sin against god.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us, Now when we read this verse, it can sound a little bit like, forgive us our sins because we forgive everyone who sins against us. But that's not what he's saying. We can't earn god's forgiveness for ourselves by forgiving others. We receive his forgiveness by grace alone.

It's it's a gift given to us at great cost to god. Because Jesus has died for us. So if we know god's forgiveness for ourselves, we should be forgiving others. If we've understood just how much it is that god has forgiven us, we should be seeking to show that same forgiveness. To those that sin against us.

If I'm asking god to forgive me, but I'm not willing to forgive others, I'm a hypocrite. He knows our hearts. Are we asking for his forgiveness without forgiving other people? So we need god's provision. We need god's pardon.

And at the end of the prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask for god's protection. Foregive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us and lead us not into temptation. Lead us not into temptation. The lord knows our needs before we ask him, and he's showing us here exactly what we need to pray about. Lead us not into temptation.

It's so easy to sin, isn't it? We even enjoy it. But a gossip here, sexual fantasy there, giving someone a piece of our mind can feel good. We're so prone to it. We can be deep in prayer 1 minute and sinning the next.

We can be hearing the word of god 1 minute and sinning the next. We need god's protection from temptation. We need him to keep us away from and help us stay away from. Situations where we'll be strongly tempted to sin. We need him to keep us safe from the pull of this world.

And all it wants to entice us with. We need him to keep us safe from ourselves, our own sinful natures and selfish desires. And we need him to keep us safe from the devil and his lies. Until the day, when we'll be enabled not to sin again. We need god's strength to resist temptation.

He is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before his glorious presence without fault. And with great joy. He is able to keep us from stumbling. We need to ask for his help. Well, temptation is a is a slippery slope, the beginning of a slippery slope that could potentially lead to us turning our backs on god.

And missing out on an eternity with him. We need his grace and power to keep us. From that path, we we need him. We need his protection. So we've seen in this prayer.

Who it is that we pray to? Were children speaking to our father? We've seen what we're to pray for. The honor of his name. God's kingdom to grow to completion.

His provision, pardon, and protection for us. Next, we see that Witter keep praying. We're not to give up praying. We're to boldly persist in praying. That's what we learned from the short parable Jesus gives us next.

Let's read from verse 5. Then Jesus said to them, suppose you have a friend And you go to him at midnight and say, friend, lend me 3 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 1 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 Jesus tells a story. He puts us in the story as someone with a pressing need.

Interesting, isn't it? In the same way he's taught us to pray as people in great need. He puts us in the story. As someone with a pressing need. A friend has arrived at your house at midnight unexpectedly.

Perhaps they've traveled from abroad. Maybe they've been on the road all day. And they need something to eat. It's it's your responsibility to be hospitable to look after them and give them something to eat. They're famished.

But you go to the fridge you look in the freezer, you check the cupboards, and you have no bread. You've nothing substantial for them to eat. You've nothing you've no meal to offer them. The shops are closed. You've been caught short.

So what are you gonna do? Well, you've a friend that lives down the road whom you're sure will be able to help you out. It's the middle of the night, but you know they'll be in, and they always seem to have plenty of food in the house. But when you knock on their door and explain your predicament through the intercom and then start shouting through the letterbox perhaps, there's a grumpy response from inside. Don't bother me.

Go away. We've gone to bed. Everything's locked and I've set the alarm. What are you waking me up for? If I if I get up to give you food, I'm gonna disturb everybody in the house.

But you're not going anywhere. You're desperate to feed your friend and you know there's food behind that door. So you keep asking. You're shouting now and hammering on the door. And in the end, because of your shameless audacity, Jesus, says, your boldness and persistence potentially threatening your friend's good reputation with his neighbors and friends.

You've started putting uh-uh requests on the group WhatsApp as well. They get up and give you as much as you need. So what is Jesus teaching through this story? What's he teaching us here? That we're to be like nagging children so that eventually god just relents and gives us what we want.

Oh, alright. You can have it. Now go away. No. It's a how much more parable.

If even a grumpy friend, will give you as much as you need when you ask them boldly. How much more your heavenly father? Who is kind, who is generous, and knows your needs before you even ask him better than you do yourself. Look down at verses 9 and 10. So I say to you, Jesus says, ask and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find, knock, and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives the 1 who seeks finds, and to the 1 who knocks, the door will be opened. There's wonderful certainty here, isn't there? We will be given what we need if we ask. We will find god if we seek him.

We will know about his ways if we seek him. He will open the door to us. If we knock, but we have to be asking. We have to be seeking him. We have to be knocking.

It's a relationship. Our direction must be towards god. We have to be crying out to our heavenly father expressing our need for him to help us, knowing he is loving and patient and kind. Not grumpy and selfish like we are. We're to keep going in prayer.

To continue to pray. If nothing seems to happen or we don't get an answer straight away, to be committed to praying. About our needs. At all times of day, on all occasions, says Paul in Ephesians chapter 6. So I was thinking instead of eat sleep work repeat, how about ask seek knock repeat?

Ask seek, not repeat. That's what we should be doing, asking, seeking, and knocking. Because we have a gracious heavenly father, Who knows exactly what we need and will give it to us? The question is, do we see our need to be asking him? Do we see our need to be seeking his will, his ways.

Do we see y'all need to be knocking? Now a wise father doesn't always give his children what they think they need. A wise father doesn't always give his children what they want. And he doesn't always give them things immediately. Remember, we're praying under the umbrella of god's name being hallowed.

His kingdom being built and him knowing our real needs better than we do. And so we almost certainly won't always get what we ask for. But we know that he is kind and good, and we will receive what he knows we need. We will find him if we're truly seeking him, and the door will be open to us when we knock. As I said at the start, Jesus frames his teaching on prayer here with the wonderful truth about who it is that we pray to.

So this is who we pray to part 2. Look at verses 11 to 13. Which of you fathers If your son asks for a fish, we'll give him a snake instead. Or if he asks for an egg, we'll 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? We pray to our heavenly father who knows exactly which good gifts we need and can give them to us. Even human fathers says Jesus who are evil who have sinful hearts Don't trick their children and give them harmful things. No father gives his children a snake or a scorpion. Instead of a fish or an egg.

If earthly fathers who are evil don't seek to poison or hurt their children. How much more will our heavenly father who is perfectly good? How much more will you give us good gifts when we ask? And what is the greatest gift he can give us? What's the greatest gift we could ever have?

What what is the best thing we could ever ask for? Well, it's him. It's knowing him. Through his Holy Spirit, it's his presence in us. Helping us, pointing us to him, helping us cry out to him, pointing us to the sun.

Pointing us to the lord Jesus through whom we have access to the father, helping us to hallow his name, helping us to go about his kingdom work, helping us to cry out to him for help and for the things we need. Helping us remember we're a loved child of god. I had it pointed out to me that, back in Luke chapter 10. You could just turn back to it actually on the previous page. Back in Luke chapter 10, Jesus says to the 72 follow-uh followers he sent out to speak about the kingdom of god.

This is, verse 19 of chapter 10. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. So Jesus uses snakes and scorpions to represent the things of Satan, his power at work. You might remember the time we looked at Luke chapter 4 where Jesus is tested in the wilderness. The devil challenges him to turn a stone into bread so he can feed himself.

If you look back at verse 11 of Luke chapter 11, you'll see there's a a footnote, which adds another line to what Jesus says in his teaching on prayer. Which of you fathers, it says, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a snake instead. So we're seeing a wonderful contrast between what the devil offers and what god gives us. 1 is the father of lies.

He can only give snakes, scorpions, and stones to poison, sting, and crushes. The other is our father in heaven. He gives us the bread of life. He gives us his son. He'll give us his holy spirit.

So do you want to call godfather? Do you see your need? For a father like him. Have you asked him? If you've never asked Jesus to be your savior, Then as things stand, god isn't your father.

But you can ask today. Jesus has made a way for god to be your father. Right now, you could admit to god that you're a sinner who needs to be forgiven, that you want Jesus to be your lord and your savior. So you can be forgiven. Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find, knock, and the door will be open to you. If you struggle to pray, why not use this prayer here in Luke? I've been trying to do that over the last couple of weeks. And it's been brilliant because it focuses the heart and the mind on god first, not us. Addressing god as father means we acknowledge that we are children.

Humbly depending on him. We don't know everything. We're not in control. Often we don't really understand what we need, but he does. If we don't pray, we're proud.

We're self sufficient. You, looking back at your life, you may see times where you realize that god has brought some kind of difficulty or trial into your life so that you were humble so that you cried out to him for help. And it's as easy as talking. Did you notice Jesus' words in verse 2? He said to them, when you pray, say When you pray, say.

That's it. We don't have to do anything else. We don't have to use a special voice. We don't have to dress in special clothes. We don't have to be in a particular place or a certain position or face in a certain direction.

We just have to speak to our heavenly father, trusting in what his son has done for us. We were hearing this morning, weren't we about the canaanite woman? And she is a wonderful example to us. In the context of what what we're seeing here. She was humble.

She knew who she was. She knew her need, her great need. She knew who Jesus was. She knew he was the 1 true god. The lord.

The 1 who could supply her need, who could bring life. She was persistent. She didn't go off in a huff when the conversation didn't go as she had perhaps hoped or thought it would. So will you have a go? Will you keep going?

Are you convinced that god has what we need? Cause if we are convinced, we won't stop asking him. You're gonna need to think about how to how to do this. You're gonna need to create time to pray. You're gonna need to think about your your daily routine, your your Working week.

You're gonna need to help yourself remember things perhaps. Write them down. Use the prayer diary. Use the the prayer mate app. Use these things that help us develop a habit of praying daily.

Let's pray because we know who god is, and we know who we are and how much we need him. And I'd love us to do it now. I'd love us to pray now on our tables. So we're gonna have a a 5 minute slot. Where, you could talk about these verses and what you've heard.

You might wanna share something that affected you and pray You might just wanna take a line in that prayer there and pray it. Prey that god's name would be hallowed here at Cornerstone in we say and what we do. You might wanna share some personal needs and pray for those. You might wanna commit to being persistent in prayer for 1 another this week. So let's have 5 minutes on our tables just to talk about these things and pray.

Put this into practice. And then Ben will lead us through the next part of the service.