A Prayerful Christmas Season (Pt. 3)

A Prayerful Christmas Season (pt. 3)

Luke 10:38-11:13

-What we know / think abut someone or something directly affects how we that person or thing.

*The way you and I approach God directly results from what we believe and know to be true about Him.

-Jesus urges us to seek God in 3 ways (Luke 11:9-10):

1. Be Asking
2. Be Seeking
3. Be Knocking

2 things you need to realize:

1. When you ask of the Lord, you receive, when you seek the Lord, you find Him, and when you knock, He opens the door.

2. These commands are in the tense–be continuing to ask, be continuing to seek, be continuing to knock…don’t stop approaching God!

-Way too often we live our lives moment by moment rarely, if ever, acknowledging the presence and activity of God in our lives.

-Prov. 3:5-7, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

-I’m afraid that too often we are so wrapped up in life that we trust in with all our heart, definitely lean to our own understanding, in hardly any ways acknowledge Him and then wonder why we can’t see Him directing our paths.

3 truths about God that help us to run to Him and trust Him on a moment by moment basis in this life.

I. God is Always (Luke 11:5-7)

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

-Jesus uses a here to paint a clearer picture of God’s character.

-Unlike the man in this illustration who is reluctant to get out of bed and come to the door, God is always accessible.

-If you are a believer of Jesus Christ, you’ll never get a busy signal from God, your prayer will never go to voicemail, and you’ll never have to leave a message with a secretary.

-God will never say, “Trouble me not” to one of His children!

-In fact, Scripture paints a drastically different picture of God in other verses:

-Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

-Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

-Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

-Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

-Romans 5:1-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

*This is a truth that will cause you to when you’re tempted to despair.

     -It will lead you to keep taking the next step when you want to give up.

     -It will comfort you when you feel isolated and alone.

*God almighty is always accessible to His children.

II. God is Always (Luke 11:8)

I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

-Again, Jesus is using contrast to highlight the character of God.

-This guy in the illustration reluctantly got up to help his friend.

-How much more will our GOOD GOD be willing to help us in our time of need!

-2 Peter 3:9 The LORD … is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

-Exodus 3:7-8 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;

-Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

-John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto (always at work), and I work.

-Psalm 27:13-14 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

-There is no doubt that God wants to do great things in your life and just in case you’re not so sure about that, just take a look at the !

III. God Always (Luke 11:11-13)

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

-Jesus wants to appeal to our logic here for a moment: if sinful earthly fathers know how to be good providers to their children, how infinitely better is God at providing for HIS children.

-God is our Provider in of life!

-Colossians 1:17, And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

-Genesis 22:14, Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)

-1 Cor. 10:13, God provides a way out of temptations and trials

-Ps. 34:10 says that those who seek the Lord lack NO good thing!

*God always provides!

-So our today and everyday as believers in Christ is to Be asking, Be Seeking, and Be knocking.

*Everyone that asketh receiveth…he that seeketh findeth…to him that knocketh it shall be opened.