Two Year Gospel Study Week 34

Luke 11:5-13, John 7:38. When asked about prayer, Jesus told his listeners to ask God boldly - even "audaciously" - for the fulfillment of His promises. In this parable, The Friend at Midnight," Jesus takes a humorous story and converts it into a dramatic promise and powerful pledge. Because the friend at midnight, knocking on a neighbor's door asking for food, would not relent until the friend finally got up and gave him all that he had need of. This parable is not just a funny story.... It's a promise and pledge from God to give the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "If anyone believes in me, out of his innermost being will flow streams of living water." We are told in the gospel of John chapter 7 that when Jesus said that he was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes like streams of living water flow out of every believer. It is a promise and a pledge not just to a select few, but to all, because Jesus is the one who brings abundant blessings into the lives of all those who know Him, trust Him, and follow Him. Jesus says that if a friend will do something he doesn't really want to get up to do, but does so because the one at his door keeps asking and knocking, just think how much more the Father in Heaven will offer to His children because they asked and kept on asking, were seeking and kept on seeking, were knocking and kept on knocking. He promises to listen and He will respond. What God yearns for is that you and I experience all that He desires to bring into our lives. It is a joy to be guided by the Spirit of God. It is a joy to hear the Lord speaking to us in His Word, and whispering in our soul as He brings to light the teachings of Jesus and brings to mind the ways that you and I may serve and glorify Him. That's what Jesus is offering, and he tells a funny story to get to a profound point. So for each of us the question is: will we heed His voice? Will we listen to Him? Will we keep on asking? Will we keep on seeking? Will we keep on knocking? That is not a burden. That is not something that we say, "Ah yeh, I guess I've got to do this." Instead it is the privilege of every individual who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb, redeemed by the sacrifice on the cross, renewed in hope by His resurrection from the grave, and filled with the promise of the Father for the Holy Spirit. It is not simply for believers 2000 years ago. It is for us today. Dear friends, if ever in our nation's history there was a time when we needed a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit this is the time. In my lifetime I've seen dramatic changes in the face of our nation and in our culture. So have you. Those of you who are older you've seen a lot, but those of you who are young you've seen much as well. It's become almost a weekly phenomenon. We are shocked by what is taking place. Many people are saying, "What in the world is going on?" It has caused great debate, but at the heart is that we have wandered from the living God in this land. In a nation that formerly was built on the values of the Bible, we have upended everything. We have chased God out of our schools. We've chased Him out of the public square. We have determined that those things which have been true for generations, for thousands of years, are now subject to the whim of the day and we can discard what God said in the very beginning. We have watched as families disintegrate, as moms are desperately trying to raise kids on their own while juggling a couple of jobs, abandoned by the one who gave them that child. We see young men who are basically floating on the water with every wind of teaching and belief, looking for meaning, but finding little that matters. We see a society that is filled with violent video and pornography that is simply oozing out of the woodwork and we wonder, "Why is all of this coming undone? "What can be done?" The answer is found when people listen to the living God. It changes their attitudes, it changes their culture, and it changes even a nation. I believe we need to be asking God like never before. I believe we need to be seeking God like never before. I believe we need to be knocking like never before. The Scripture is very clear when it says that judgment begins with the household of God, and unless and until the people of God are humble and repentant before Him, seeking the fullness of His Holy Spirit, the rest of the world will never listen. Jesus is telling us through a humorous story, but through a powerful promise, that if ever there were a day when we need to be asking and seeking and knocking, THIS IS THE DAY! We do not look to our culture and our country for that change. We look up instead and say, "Only in the living God is there deliverance from the hell that we are making. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit is there the supernatural resource to truly change." That is what Jesus offers. I believe that's what we ought to be seeking, because His desire is clearly stated in Scripture, He wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Our God is a God who yearns and longs to bless, and to bring joy, and He does that at an incredible personal cost. The cost of His own Son. It is the Son who says to you and me, "Ask, seek, knock." Our God desires to pour out His Holy Spirit in power!! The Father desires to pour out the fullness of the Holy Spirit. THIS IS THE DAY TO ASK! SEEK! AND KNOCK!! https://www.awakeusnow.com The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus' parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world. This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.