A Friend, a Father, and a Bucket

I. Introduction: Turn to Luke 11

- “CHOSEN”: You and I have been chosen to spread Jesus’ message, this good news (gospel) for all to hear, know, and experience. 1 Peter 2:9-12

o We’ve talked about what it means that we are chosen, the necessity of unity, that we all have an important role to play in the body of Christ, and how we do not have to live as sheep without a shepherd, because we have in Jesus the Good Shepherd who will never lead us astray. We don’t need to fret about having “bread” because we have the “bread of life”! (IF we have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to receive)

- This week and next we will be outlining the two most important aspects of living out our calling; living as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, etc. PRAYER, and the Holy Spirit

o We will never fulfill our calling to maximum effectiveness without either of these. Doesn’t matter your intelligence, strength, innovative mind, work ethic, etc. If our lives are not bathed in prayer and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we cannot be what God has called and chosen us to be. Period.

§ These can’t just be add-ons. They are essentials.

Story of the Titanic:

- Company that built the Titanic use substandard iron to save some money. While the ship hit the iceberg, the iron and the 3 million rivets used to secure the iron were not top quality. They catastrophically failed and the ship began to take on water.

Story of Tower of Pisa…

- Spiritually, if we try to carry out the mission of the gospel without prayer and the Spirit as our foundation, the church will be nothing more than a landmark that no one takes seriously. One that will always be in danger of collapsing. One that will get attention, but for the wrong reasons – not for what it was intended.

§ Today: A Friend, a Father, and a Bucket – Read Luke 11:1-13

II. The Lord’s Prayer – Luke 11:1-13

The Scene – v. 1

- One day – doesn’t tell us which day

- Jesus was praying…we aren’t told how he was praying (sitting, kneeling, etc.), how long he prayed, or even what he prayed; only that he was praying

- In a certain pace – which place? Inside or outside? At a home or the synagogue?

o We don’t know any of the above details, but what we do know is that there was somethingsignificant about Jesus’ prayer. We know the disciples were observing

§ Did Jesus pray before them on purpose, or did they just happen to see him? (I think the latter)

o The disciples observed something gripping about this that caused them to say, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples

§ Only time recorded that the disciples directly asked Jesus to teach them something

v. 2-4, The Lord’s Prayer

- This version is different than Matthew’s account, but essentially the same.

- This prayer is really about the “what” of prayer; the things we ought to pray for. Priorities:

o Worship – Father (in heaven), hallowed be your name…

o Kingdom priority – your kingdom come (on earth as it is in heaven)

o Dependency/Contentment – give us each our daily bread (prayer for day’s provision)

o Forgiveness (for us AND others) – forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us

§ No qualifiers – no “IF they apologize and promise to never do it again;” “IF they become Christians;” “IF they start believing like I believe;” etc.

o Discernment/Submission – Lead us not into temptation…; would God lead into temptation? NO It’s a realization that without Him, I am more prone to temptation

III. A Friend and a Father – v. 5-13

- After this brief prayer model, Jesus uses two stories to better illustrate prayer

v. 5-10, God the Friend

- Hospitality customs in ancient Middle East were that if a traveler arrived needing food and shelter, one was obligated to provide it. So suppose you have a friend that shows up and you have nothing to offer him. You feel bad that you have nothing to offer, but because you feel it is your duty, you reach out to a good friend to help. At midnight. While he and his entire family are asleep.

o Request enough bread to care for your travelling friend, and possibly your family too

§ Your good friend is slightly annoyed (maybe more) at this inconvenience. In this era, all the family likely slept in the same room, side by side on the floor. This interruption not only wakes up your friend, but likely his entire family.

- While the friend will initially be annoyed, Jesus says he will fulfill the need. Why? Because you’re such a good friend and he loves you? NO!!

o Not out of friendship, but because of your shameless audacity… It isn’t friendship that gets the man out of bed and throwing loaves out the window, but his friend’s boldness.

§ “Shameless audacity” – ANAIDEIA; persistence; shamelessness (word is rooted in shame/lack of shame); only time this word appears in the NT

· Other meanings: Importunity (persistence to the point of annoyance); persistence and boldness; insistence; brashness; not ashamed

- The point: if your friend will do this because of your “shameless audacity,” how much more will God meet your need?

o God is way better than a sleepy friend! So refuse to give up!

o He will not do so to shut you up. He always does so out of care, out of his love. He invites us to come to Him with shameless audacity. This is different than arrogance. This is about knowing the character of God, that you can approach him no matter what, and be received warmly. Hebrews 4:16

o When you are desperate, you don’t worry about good manners or some kind of “prayer protocol.” You don’t care about your image or what people will think. David (2 Sam 6:14)

§ It’s about motive. If your motive is to be seen or heard by others, then your motive is wrong. If you are bold and persistent out of desperation, why wouldn’t God welcome that? He is better than a good friend. He is the best of friends… (not just a Father; God is eternal and relates to us in a myriad of ways)

§ Teens: what would you do for your friend? God would do much more for you!

Ask, Seek, Knock (V. 9-10) : So I say to you…

- Ask, seek, and knock… these are imperatives, meaning they are more accurately translated as

o Ask (and keep on asking), seek (and keep on seeking), and knock (and keep on knocking)

o God is inviting you to knock, knock, knock on heaven’s door 😉

v. 11-13, God the Father

- Similarly, if God acts better than your best friend, he will also act better than earthly fathers

- If you (fathers) then, though you are evil (ouch, Jesus), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spiritto those who ask!

IV. Closing - Buckets

Applications

- There are many things to pray about and people to pray for. Regular, consistent prayer is a MUST for Christians. If you only pray in the moments of great need, there will always be something missing. But when things are urgent, important, and/or complex, there has to be a persistence to those prayers; a desperation

- The Lord’s prayer is not a loosely connected string of prayer requests. It is a model for followers of Jesus. A model of priorities, of persistence, and of peace. God gives you all the “bread” you need (Bread = Jesus)

o Breaking bread is a sign of God’s presence among us, and of what unites us – the risen Christ. It is more than just a reminder of what Jesus did on the cross, but a reminder of what He accomplished through the cross, of who He is and of who we are in Him

§ We then, are called to become like Him – with our priorities in order, focusing on bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth, on the day/task at hand, on walking in forgiveness (for self and others), trusting Him all along the way.

- Practical application

o Schedule extended time of personal prayer each week. Non-negotiable, no distractions, etc.

o Pray over decisions, not just flippantly or out of routine, but truly pray and seek God’s will

o Pray with others, not just for others. Have people that pray for you, for whom you pray, and with whom you pray together (as a church, yes, but also with a group of friends, family, etc.)

o Listen in prayer at least as much as you speak in prayer

o Don’t hold others to your prayer preferences

§ There are foundational principles, which Jesus lays out here, but a prayer life grows out of relationship. There are foundational marriage, parenting principles, but health grows out of my specific relationship with Missy and the girls

- Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to you with my empty cup, uncertain of asking for any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known you better, I would have come running with a bucket.” Don’t sell God, or yourself short. Run to God with shameless audacity, carrying as big a bucket as you can carry!