"But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or, if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
Good Morning beloved,
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful privilege it is to gather together in the name of our Lord. Whether it's your first time or you are a faithful member of our family in Christ, I give thanks and praise God for each one of you who have been moved to join us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website, and social media platforms with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People all around the world are responding to God's Word, with more and more coming to Christ. As we continue to face increasing adversity in the days ahead, we humbly ask you would pray that God will continue to give those of us who teach the Word of God the courage and boldness to speak the Truth. Its amazing what God accomplishes through the faithfulness of His people!
It's easy to feel confused in the fast paced, ever-changing world we live in today. You cannot turn on the television, the radio or browsing through social media platforms, we are met with a relentless barrage of news filled with one crisis after another. This never ending bombardment can foster feelings of being overwhelmed, discouraged, or disheartened, as we struggle to reconcile the current events with a gracious and loving God. Difficult times, can begin to cause us question if God is even listening to our prayers, let alone, if He cares. There's nothing as important as Truth, nothing is as valuable as God's Word, especially when we don’t know the final outcome and God appears to be silent. In our text today God's has graciously provided us with a much needed encouraging portion of Scripture, regarding God's faithfulness in answering our persistent prayers, even though His response isn't always immediate or what we expect, we can trust it's always good and aligned with His perfect will. I can't help but to think of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, when he went up to the top of Mount Carmel to pray, that the same God Who sends the fire, also sends the rain.
I'm also reminded of my son, who was just a little over a year ago, was struggling with End Stage Renal Failure, and was trying to reconcile all the difficulties he faced in his health with a loving God, Who cares, as I attempted to assure him of God's faithfulness, even when we don’t understand what He's doing. We can always trust that when He does move, nothing or no one will stand in the His way. It was just a few months later, that against all odds, in spite of being told that he had 5 to 8 more years to wait for a kidney, a month later, we received the call, "We have a kidney! How quickly can you get here?" God never allows us to experience pain or suffering unless he has a divine eternal purpose for it. Nothing happens to us except God has allowed it to happen, and if God has allowed it, He has a good purpose for it. Oh beloved, believe me when I say, God has a plan for you and your family, never underestimate the power of God!
Psalm 100:1-5, reminds us to "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations."
There have been efforts made by preachers and teachers to try to explain the divine mysteries found in Scripture, things that we can never comprehend, and nearly all of them have do with essentially the nature of God. One of the reasons I’m glad I’m a pastor is because from time to time, I get to focus on one area of God's Word long enough for you get the whole picture of what God is saying. There seems to be a significant number of pastors today, who approach the Scriptures with urgency, like a marathon, a race to be run, a competition focusing on speed, where the goal is to cross the finish line in the shortest amount of time possible rather than a walk, with the desire to explore and allowing ample time to linger, reflecting on the beauty of the journey itself, to ponder insights the Holy Spirit is illuminating that might otherwise be overlooked, which I believe are essential for truly understanding the text, and incorporating application to reach the intended purpose; a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't study the Scripture just so we can memorize and quote Bible verses, although there are certainly times where that is beneficial, however, our faith extends beyond the mere retention of biblical verses. We study the Scripture to know Christ, to enhance our spiritual growth and personal transformation to embody His love, and reflect His character, to become more Christ-like, the One with Whom we’re going to live forever in His Kingdom, which I believe is at the heart of everything we do. As Christians, we don't study the Scripture to fill our lives with passing things, superficial achievements, we study the Scripture to know Christ, and to know Him more intimately. However, the single greatest error in the church today, is its fellowship with the world. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost our direction, gradually reverting back to some kind of primitive paganism, to become more like the world, where there is confusion dissatisfaction, unfulfillment, that has overshadowed the commitment of being faithful to God’s Word and turning our attention away from the One Who alone is the source of all of our sufficiency, namely Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 3:7-11, Paul wrote this powerful Truth, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
The true church, the invisible church and the world are diametrically opposed to each other, because we are not of this world, we've been called out of the world, our decisions, activities, and our behavior must align with biblical principles and not the world. Jesus said in John 15, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also." In John 18, Jesus says, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here."
For those of you who have been paying attention, I’ve been preaching for years, trying to distinguish the difference between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, so I won’t drag you through all of it. Simply stated, Satan and his kingdom of darkness are at war with God, at war with Christ, therefore, throughout the entire history of the church, Christians, true Christians, are the most hated and the most persecuted people in the world, because Satan dominates the world kingdom. Satan is a liar. Christians are citizens of heaven, we are the most loved people by God, we tell the truth because the Bible tells the truth about everything. We tell the truth because we know no one can be saved apart from the truth of God. It's truly amazing how God chose a people for Himself, unfortunately, many of those sitting in the pews have absolutely no clue what that means. Consequently, because we tell the truth, we are beginning to experience what Christians through the history of the church have experienced. Persecution. Persecution. Now, we shouldn’t be surprised by this because Jesus accurately predicted it. This is precisely what our Lord said would happen, and just like every other thing that He said would happen it is going to happen. We should be more surprised if we're not facing persecution. That’s why Jesus said before you become a Christian, you'd better count the cost, because the time is going to come when people kill you and think they’re offering service to God.
In recent years, our nation has experienced a dramatic shift, which has become increasingly evident. This shift has brought to light the rejection, the persecution from the children of disobedience, who are under the influence and control of Satan, who is the present ruler of this world. The world looks at us, and they hate everything about us, leading to heightened tensions and increasing hostility toward the children of God, particularly those of us who uphold traditional Christian values and beliefs. And in a natural sense, they don't even necessarily understand why.
That’s not going to change anytime soon, in fact, it's going to get worse and worse as we move toward the end of the age, as clearly prophesied in the eschatological teachings of Revelation, though we may experience a brief reprieve from time to time, because of the strong influence of Christianity since the foundation of our nation. Historically, Christianity has played a pivotal role in shaping our society, serving as a beacon of hope, a cornerstone of compassion, through charitable acts inspired by our Christian principals, as found in Luke 6:27, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." Now, there’s a significant amount of news being put out today about the church, and awful lot of it's not positive. As we navigate these tumultuous times, it is essential to not only recognize and appreciate the significant contributions for which Christianity has been instrumental in the past, but to persist in doing the good works for which we have been saved, without growing weary, even as we endure the challenging days that lie ahead. In doing so, we not only honor the rich legacy of the many precious saints who have gone before us, but glorify the Great God Whom we faithfully serve.
First, let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we are thankful for Your Word, as our hearts are encouraged by these Truths, make us faithful students of Your precious Word, that we might hear it, study it, fight for it, learn to love it, and honor it to the point of obedience. Lord, I humbly thank You for all those precious souls whom You have gathered with us from around the world. We rejoice for each one of them today. Pour out Your grace upon grace, mercy upon mercy on these people, through the increased worship of those of us who are the blessed recipients of that transformative power of grace and mercy, showing our gratitude for the effects of these blessings in their lives, as it resounds to Your glory. May we encourage others to seek the same gifts of Your generosity, divine grace granted to unworthy sinners. Whether in heaven or on earth, Lord, we thank You for the love that granted us such great and precious promises which are already ours. In Christ's Name, we offer our humble thanks. Amen.
Today's Message: The Believer's Assurance in Persistent Prayer
I trust that you have your Bibles with you, so that you can open them to Luke 11:11-13, and follow along with me as I read this very remarkable passage in Scripture before us today, emphasizing God's response. His response isn't always immediate, but you can be sure that it is always good and aligned with His perfect will. "But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or, if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
It is inconceivable to me, that there is a plethora false teachers, who are experiencing a tremendous amount of financial success by promoting a false Gospel to people who are not interested in eternal rewards but rather instant gratification. False teachers are driven by selfish motives, such as greed, pride, or a desire for power. In Jude 1:16, he says they are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts and their mouths arrogantly speak flattering words for their own benefit. Believers are called to be concerned for the purity of the church. Any discerning believer who is armed with the Word of God will be able to identify false teachers and will lovingly confront them, as Christ commands. Nowhere in Scripture is the church called to be tolerant of sin and false teaching, in fact quite the opposite. In Revelation 2, Christ, in His letter to the church at Pergamum, "But I have a few things against you, that you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. But if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth." And, to Thyatira He says, "But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality." Satan knew that if he wanted to put out the flames of true Christianity, to stop the church’s boldness in proclaiming the Truth, he needed to infiltrate the church, to get at the very base of the fire, and that's exactly what he's done. We know that there are hypocrites in the church, it always has been. God never leaves the truth out, even though it’s painful and ugly.
In Deuteronomy 28, God promises that those who are obedient to Him will be blessed. So today, I want to focus on God's response to our persistent prayer. If we know anything about God, it's that He is loving, merciful, gracious, compassionate, forgiving, approachable, available, and generous, willing to answer the prayer requests of His children, even if it requires persistent asking. This holy boldness is not about manipulating God to get what we want, but about demonstrating our faith and trusting in His goodness, pleading His own promises. God desires to care for His children, to give generously to His children. In Romans 8:32, Paul writes, "He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" When we pray with boldness and confidence, we're simply saying, "God, You made the promise, I just need You to act." There's no need to feel embarrassed, even our simplest prayer is not insignificant to God. The key to this simple illustration, is persistence; Not giving up. Keeping our prayer requests before Him, even coming to Him in the middle of the night, believing that He will answer us, trusting in His timing, as we continue to live for Him day by day.
Let's look at the powerful truth found in verse 11, "But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?" Generally speaking, human fathers want to do good for their children. I can assure you that my children do not hesitate to ask me for what they need. Because they understand the relationship that we have is one of love, and care. The expectation is they know if they need it, they will receive it. The point that Jesus is making here, is if a friend will respond to your bold requests, in the middle of the night, giving you the three loaves of bread that you need, how much more will a father who loves you do? If you will recall from verse 1, He's talking to His disciples, instructing them in how to pray, asking God for what they need. Many of them were fishermen, they knew that fish was kind of the staple meat, so it's interesting how He lays this whole thing out, painting a picture of a father's love. "What father among you, if your son is hungry and he comes to you asking for a fish to eat, will give him a snake instead of a fish?" I believe the best way to see this is, if your son comes to you hungry, and he asks for a fish, you're not going to mock your son’s hunger, by giving him something he can't eat.
By the way, persistent faith is a reoccurring theme reflected throughout Luke's Gospel, collectively reinforced by the stories of the woman with the issue of blood, the persistent pleas of the blind beggar, the persistent disciples asking for more faith. Scripture is clear, God does love His children, He does not delight in our struggles, but He does, however, use them to refine and strengthen our faith and deepen our dependence on Him. If Christianity is to impact the world, it must be carried by people who have an overwhelming faith, and a consuming desire to tell others about Jesus Christ, Who completely changed their lives. It appears to me that many in Christianity today are content to have a Savior Who doesn’t disrupt their life style, Who doesn't interrupt their plans, He's just sort of there, if and when they need Him, waiting to "Save the day" if you will, not the soul. And, if we encounter someone who is consumed with passion about the Gospel, we think them to be sort of strange. It's not the "norm." Contemporary Christianity could easily be described as a "cold shower" for every Christian with a "fiery heart," reflecting a decline in spiritual passion and authenticity within the faith. The early church had a passion, a heart on fire, driven by a overwhelming burning desire to tell the world about the One Who changed their life. I believe we have to ask ourselves the question: Where has our passion to tell others about Christ gone? How has the church settled for a superficial, self-indulgent kind of Christianity that makes of the church nothing more than exclusive social club? I'd sad to say that we seem to have transitioned from Christians on fire with unwavering faith to a lukewarm Christianity, that has lost it's inflammatory power, with concupiscence desires that are unholy, wrongly bent, which the Lord detests. In Revelation 3:15-19, He warns about, "‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent."
Verse 12, "Or, if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" There are different kinds of scorpions, but according to historians, the scorpions in those days were of a sort of yellow in color, and they would curl up into a little ball, they looked very similar to a small egg. The point is that fathers take care of their children, they are not going to give their children something to eat that could kill them. God's response to persistent prayer isn't always the answer we expect. Sometimes, it's a "no" that is protecting us from danger, or a "not now" that allows time for greater spiritual growth, or it can be a "yes" that comes in a completely unexpected way. The key is to maintain faith, to continue seeking His face, and to trust in His perfect plan, remembering God has a divine purpose in everything that He allows. James 1:2-4, tells us to "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Then, in Romans 8:28, Paul reminds us "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."
We'll close with the words of Paul from Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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