Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be personal about God being our Father.

And there are other names that are more powerful. But there's nothing more personal than God our Father. And here's a passage of Scripture that I'm afraid I've taught wrong over the years or missed at least the entire purpose of it. And so we're going to begin there. Luke chapter 11, look at verse 1. And it came to pass, I've got a mint in my mouth. Let me take that out.

Or it's going to come out while I don't want it to come out, alright? Look at verse 1. And it came to pass that as He was praying in a certain place when He ceased. One of His disciples said unto Him, now here's the setting. Jesus was praying. And the disciples always saw Jesus praying differently than they prayed.

The disciples always saw that Jesus was able to get in touch and communicate with God the Father in a way that they just couldn't. And it created a desire inside of them. And let me share this with you this morning. There ought to be things in your life and my life when it comes to our relationship with God our Father.

That should make other people want that. An unsaved world should want the relationship that you and I so richly enjoy by the fact that we are God's child. We have now been adopted into the family of God. Notice if you would that as He prayed His disciples came to Him and they said unto Him, Lord teach us to pray. As John also taught His disciples. And He said unto them, okay when ye pray. So the disciples see something and they notice that Jesus just could pray different than us. The disciples all had seen different religious figures in their life pray. And it was very stringent and very impersonal at the temple when priests and different things.

And they were just kind of such tradition following the law. But when Jesus prayed there was something personal about it. And they said, Lord would you teach us to pray like that? And so He answered. He said when ye pray, and notice what He said first. He said say our what? Our Father.

Let me read it to you. Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in heaven.

So in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Now in verse 5, and He said unto them, Which of you? He begins a different story.

But it's all part of His answer. So may I draw your attention quickly just verses 1 through 4. We see first the prayer to the Father. The disciples said, Jesus we want to know how to pray.

And so He kind of gives them an illustration. And He says, okay well when you pray, pray like this. And the first thing was our Father. He said it's very important for you to pray like Me. That you need to acknowledge first that God is your Father.

Then we see first the prayer to the Father. Now in verse 5 I want you to see He introduces another part of His answer and this is what we call the persistence of the Friend. Notice this in verse 5, 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, and for a friend of mine in his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within, or the individual inside the house, the neighbor inside the house, 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. 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 his many as he needeth.

This word importunity means persistence. And here's the picture that this man needs bread. He comes to his neighbor, his family's in the house with him and as he knocks and knocks and knocks it's late in the middle of the night and the man comes to the door and he says, Hey I need three loaves of bread. I got somebody showed up unexpectedly. I've got to be hospitable to him. And the Bible says that the neighbor inside said, Hey you know don't trouble me.

Don't bother me with that. My family's inside in bed. It's late. And the door's shut. We find from cross reference in the New Testament that literally shut the door and the guy kept knocking and here's what Jesus said to his disciples. He said, Although that man would not rise and give him bread because he was his friend, but he did rise and give him bread because he was persistent. He just kept knocking and literally it finally agitated him enough that he just gave him bread. Now Jesus has part number three for his answer.

He's all worked together. Hold on. Notice number three we see the provision for the faithful. Look at verse nine. 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. In other words Jesus is saying the man that is faithful enough to ask he will be answered. The man that is faithful enough to seek me. He will find me. The man that is faithful enough to knock I will open the door. There is provision to those that are faithful. That's one principle.

Notice last there's the promise to the family. This is all part of Jesus' answer. His lesson as the disciples are basically students sitting listening to the professor teach us to pray and he said okay I will.

Look at this last part. Look at verse 11. Jesus said if a son asks bread of any of you that is a father will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg will he offer him a scorpion?

Now what's the whole context here? Jesus says those of you that are dads. Those of you that are a father. If your son comes and asks you for bread are you going to give him a rock? If he asks you for fish would you give him a serpent?

Of course not. He's your son. You love him.

You would give him anything he desires. Now notice what Jesus says in verse 13. If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children.

Listen to this. How much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Listen to these guys that are earthly fathers.

If you love your children enough to give them good gifts imagine how much more your heavenly father will give you a promise to the family. Now if I can let me illustrate what you and I have often heard and what I have shared and I don't think it's necessarily just ripping the passage apart and teaching it wrong but we're missing the whole point. In other words as we normally understand this story that inside the house would be the picture of God our father and he has bread and he has the supplies and you and I need bread and you and I are the ones that have need and so we come up and we knock on the door and it's as if we can't get him. It's as if he won't answer. And so we just have to keep knocking and keep knocking and finally he opens the door and when he does then he says trouble me not I'm busy. It's as if we're bothering God to come to him.

It's as if he's putting us through a test. We say God I need bread I don't have bread and you have to give me and according to this passage we've always been taught it's as if God says well no don't trouble me I've got other people I'm taking care of right now and God shuts the door. And so we have to just stand there and keep knocking and keep knocking and keep knocking and the Bible says although that neighbor wouldn't give bread because he was his friend he will if he's persistent enough. So in other words the picture of God our father is that if we just agitate him enough he might open the door and give us bread. We become like the man with the bare cupboards in the parable whose friend drops in on him unexpectedly.

Now please listen to this. Frantically we run to God but in seeking him we feel only the chilly aloneness of a deserted door. We come to the heavens door but it seems bolted from the inside. We knock but we feel we are rousing God from his sleep. We call out to God for help and all we hear is the muffle of refusal. So we knock harder and call louder and when the door finally opens we feel as if God has come to our aid begrudgingly. Now if you all can help me a little bit this morning is that not along the lines that we have always seen this passage?

You all there today? Have we not been told well you tell you what we've got to do we've got to come up to God's door and we've got to knock and we've got to knock and we've got to be persistent. He might not answer right now and he might not give you the bread right now but we've just got to prove to God that we're faithful. We've got to prove to God that we're not going anywhere else but his door. And so you've got to knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and it's as if God is being bothered and God says hey come back later. Hey we'll deal with this later but we knock and knock and knock. And finally the passage says he gave him bread and so if we agitate God enough and we call out louder and we try harder then God will finally give us bread. My issue with that as I have come to grips with the fact I was wrong is that you can't find that anywhere in the Bible. You can't find anywhere in the Bible that when you come to God he just keeps the door shut for a while to see if you're going to knock a little longer. Now I've missed this story entirely and maybe so have you.

So we've got to look at this story a little bit and so we have some components. Now we know that there's a door in this story. So if I can I need my dad and my children that are in bed. My two sons here. Not my two sons.

Aren't these good looking young men? So now these boys are going to be getting in bed because the passage says that when the man came and knocked on the door that the man that answered the door said hey my children are in bed with me. So here we have a dad and here we have children inside and the Bible says that literally here's the picture and we believe as you and I that we need bread and we have a need of something and so we come to the house that has the supplies and so we knock. And I'm waiting for dad to answer. Finally he opens the door and hey listen I need some bread. I don't have any bread. Somebody's shown up and what does dad say?

He's like don't trouble me. I've got my kids in bed. The door's shut. Business is closed and he shuts the door. So I guess what I'm supposed to do is God's child. Now I'm supposed to keep knocking and keep knocking again. Finally he opens the door again. The Bible says that he just finally I don't want to wake up my kids and all this stuff so finally he just says listen I'll just give the guy bread. It's not because he wanted to but if this will kind of make him shut up I'll give him bread. Close this door dad if you will.

Look at me. I want you to get this and get this clear. We'll never be right in any of our relationships. Our husband, our wife, our children, anybody unless we know the truth of this relationship. Look at me in Luke chapter 11 you and I we are not the man on the outside knocking on the door to get bread. Look at me because in the story that man was not this man's father. Look at me in this story we're not the guy on the outside knocking to get in.

You and I are the children in bed. Because he's our father. The point of this story was not to teach you and I persistence in prayer. The point of this story was for you and I to understand our relationship to God the father. You say well preacher why is it that when they asked they said Jesus would you teach us to pray where did they start? He started first thing said alright our father. Then he goes to this story and he says here's a man in bed and his children are with him and somebody else needs bread and comes and knocks on the door. Look at me if you're saved you don't have to knock on the door. Look at me. The point of this story was not to show you and I that we need to be persistent to finally get a hold of God.

The point of this story is this for us to understand that if God will get up and give bread to somebody that's not even his family imagine what he'll do for you as his child. Look at me this is not you and me. You know why?

What did he say? Well when you pray say God our father give us he said in this passage day by day our. Guess what? You don't need bread. It's already there. You and I do not have to keep banging and screaming louder and be persistent. God let me in. God finally I need bread come give me bread look at me. We don't have to knock on the door.

We're already in the house. We have as much bread as we need the cupboards are already full. It's full of drink. It's full of food. We have access to it all.

I don't think you're getting it. Look at me. You and I don't have to scurry when we have a need in our life. We don't have to scurry out of our house. Oh I've got to find God's house. There it is. Alright I've got to find God. God will finally give me bread this time. Dear friend that is not God the father.

What did he say? He said ask and it shall be given. Look at me.

We don't have to go find God's door somewhere. God I need bread. Are you looking at me? When you and I need bread all we've got to do is we're already in bed with him.

The passage says this man was in bed with his children. Look at me. We don't have to scream. We don't have to knock on the door. We don't knock. God I have a need.

Look at me. All we've got to do is this. God I need some help today. We're not on the outside trying to get in. He's our father. We're already safely in the house. We're already covered up.

We're already warm. We have the peace of God that passes understanding. We're sleeping while God goes and takes care of everything else. We don't have to get up and answer the door. We don't have to worry who's going to get in if anybody's going to hurt us. We have been sealed under the day of redemption.

We can safely peacefully lay down and sleep because every need's been met already. Look at me. Now get this. Preacher Wise is so important. When you say you're starting this series on relationships from husband and wife relationships to father son and mom daughter and parent relationships.

Why is this so important? Look at me. If you don't see God the father for who he is. If you don't see that you're already in bed. That you're already in the house. That God's right there with you. That you don't have to scream and get his attention. You don't have to show persistence to get a hold of God.

All you have to do is want to get a hold of him. And he's there. He's ready.

He's anxious. Why? Because if an earthly father can't wait to give his child something how much more shall your heavenly father give you that ask him.

Look at me. I want you to get this. Preacher Wise is so important. Because if you don't understand that God's already met my needs. That I'm already in the house. That I don't have to go through some kind of rigmarole to get a hold of God.

God's right there ready to give me whatever I need. Look at me. If you don't believe that then you're going to look at your husband or your wife. And think they should meet your needs. If you don't believe that you're going to look at a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a date or somebody like that needs to meet my needs. I have these needs and I need that. No you don't. Look at me.

You don't have any needs. You are in the house of God. You've been adopted into his family. If God will get up and give bread to somebody that isn't his family imagine what he'll do for you. You know what the Bible says? The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust.

God does things for people that aren't even his family. And if he'll do that imagine what he'll do for you. You're going to start looking to your mom or your dad or your children or your job or your paycheck. And you're going to say that's how my needs are going to be met. You're going to have to give me bread.

You're going to have to meet this need. Look at me. You don't have to bang on the door. You don't even have to go to the door.

You're already inside the door. You're in bed. God the Father is right there with you. It just means because God's my Father I can lay here and trust.

Look at me. That when I wake up there's going to be food in the cupboards. When I wake up there's going to be bread. When I wake up there's going to be something to drink.

When I get tired I'm going to have a bed to lay down in. Because I didn't build this house God did. And I didn't birth this family God did. Dear friend look at me. I want you to get this. You and I are not on the outside trying to get in.

I've taught that wrong for years. We just didn't realize what character in the story we were. If he's our father then why in the world would we be knocking to get in? We're already in.

We're already there. The disciples said Jesus would you teach us to pray? Jesus said okay I'll teach you. How did he start off in verse 2?

Our what? Father. How did he end the lesson in verse 13? Ask him. You want to know how to pray? Our Father.

Ask him. And you have your bread. Could it be that sometimes you and I do not realize how good we have it? Could it be that you and I have a distorted view of God and who he is to us? We think that God is this individual that's in a different place.

That we have to work hard to get access to. And I'm here to tell you we don't have to knock to get in. The Bible says that Jesus stands at our door and knocks to get in.

Once you let him in the Bible says he comes in. We sup with him. He sup's with us. We're part of the family. Now we're in bed. Warm. Cupboards full.

We just had a full meal. We can sleep while everyone else is running to get bread. While everyone else every time something unexpected happens like this man showing up at his house. Every time something unexpected happens we're scurrying around trying to get a hold of God to meet that need. Look at me. We don't have to do that. We're in the house.

Our Father. Years ago I was at a youth camp in well kind of near Cody Wyoming. And we were at this youth camp. The church I believe had that youth camp or had their kids and my dad was going to be speaking at this youth camp.

I think of junior camp or whatever. And so just for that day for some reason I had gone up to that camp. I think I had gone with someone else. As far as I knew my dad wasn't there.

Or my mom. We were up at this camp. And I was running around like little kids do. I think I was about either cadence age six or I was just under. But I remember it like it was yesterday. And whoever I was with I was kind of following them around this camp ground and there were cabins down in there where they stayed and there was a big pavilion.

The cafeteria area where they did all this stuff. And we were running around and I was following these people and I don't know what I was doing but somehow I was running on that path from a cabin to cabin. And there was some root in the ground. And I tend to be very bottom weighted. I appreciate you laughing. Anyway. But I was running full blast all two miles an hour.

You know how that goes. But somehow my foot hit that root. And I realized when I ate dirt I got blood everywhere. And at that age you know it's like life's over. And I just started losing it. Man I was crying. And if you can somehow try to remember back when you were near that age of how when you would cry you need mom.

You need dad. And in my little young brain at that time this tragedy had just happened to me. And I knew that my mom or my dad were hours from there. And it wasn't just pain. But I remember the fear, the panic of this has happened and I know my mom and dad aren't here.

And I'll never forget that. And as I was laying on that ground I just can't explain how desperate and hopeless I felt. And would you believe, unbeknownst to me, that my dad had finished some work at the church that morning and just decided to go up to that camp. Because he knew I was there. And he had already been there a little bit but I didn't know I was at different areas of the camp.

And you know when I tripped and I hit that ground I was laying there bleeding. And just about that time my dad was just looking for me. And came down this one path and here I am on the ground and dad when he came around he said Daniel. And I wasn't expecting to see dad.

But when I saw him I just can't describe the relief. And I'm afraid sometimes you and I we think we're out here and we don't expect to see him. We think that oh I'm gonna have to go and I'm just gonna have to ask God to forgive me for everything from the last 15 years. Or he's not gonna listen to my prayer and I've blown it and I've messed up and I just don't think. And dear friend I'm here to tell you our view of God the Father is twisted.

We're already in the house. And if God will give bread to somebody that lives outside the house how much more will he give to his children that ask. Lord I love you today and I thank you for all that you've done.

Where I am. My position as your child. The whole point of all this of prayer of everything is to see you as father. And to understand what that means.

Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. Dear friend if you're here today and you do not know that he's your father we would love to show you how you can know for sure you're on your way to heaven. It's not a Baptist thing.

I'll let you know that right now. It's a Bible thing. Being a Baptist doesn't save you.

Being any other denomination doesn't save you. It's a Bible thing. How could you not want to be his child? How could you wish to remain outside the house? When there are so many blessings in the house. Outside the house there are needs that we won't have filled and we've got to get somewhere to find them but when he's your father they're already met.

Maybe today you're in the house but you didn't realize how good you had it. Why don't you find a place at the altar today and say God thank you for being my father. Thank you for having me. Thank you for already having these needs met that I can just lay down at night in peace and not worry about it. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. you