Word of Jesus Part 34

Luk 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luk 11:5 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;
Luk 11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7 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.
Luk 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.

Importunity means:
Pressing solicitation; urgent request; application for a claim or favor, which is urged with troublesome frequency or pertinacity. Men are sometimes overcome by the importunity of their wives or children.

The man was persistent and for that reason his friend would help him in his need but help wasn't coming because the man was a friend of his. He got an answer because he persisted in nagging his friend for help. He wouldn't give up. Jesus was telling us that if a person on this earth would answer a need by persistent asking, how much more would our heavenly Father who loves us more than any earthly person, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask.  Another opinion is that the man helped his friend because he saw the great need of the friend.  God sees our need and will give when we ask.

Luk 11:9 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.
Luk 11:10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luk 11:11 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?
Luk 11:12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13 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?

We see here the savior giving us a good lesson on prayer. Our focus should never be on asking for selfish reasons or to gain materially. Notice that the person who went to his friend was asking for bread for a visitor and was in need of help. He could expect help not because the guy was a friend of his but because he was a person in need

God does not promise to give us everything but He does promise to give to us things we need and the emphasis here is on the Holy Spirit. We are to always seek to be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given when Jesus went back to heaven to await the time when He will return to us again. In the mean time God did not leave us alone. We can have the presence of the Holy Spirit abiding within us forever. We must ask, and be expectant in prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit and never give up and think that He is not for us today.

Sometimes prayer is not answered when it is a selfish prayer.

Example
James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jam 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jam 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

We must get out of our heads the thought that we can just covet a new house, car, and other wealth and expect to get it by saying the name of Jesus. The scriptures that tell us to ask, seek and knock primarily deal with spiritual things necessary for the salvation of not only ourselves but others. God will always provide for the necessary material benefits we need to live in today's world if we trust Him continually but material things should not be our main concern.

He says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then we can trust Him to supply the other necessary things as we need them. We are not to seek riches of this world and glory in abundance. It will become a snare to us. Remember what happened to Solomon who was the world's wisest man. God rewarded him with riches because he did not desire or ask for them but later those riches plus his many wives caused him to depart from God and serve idols. Please, let us not fall for the deceptive health and wealth gospel. Let us just simply trust in God to take care of us but seek the spiritual things instead. The true blessings of God is spiritual. Material blessings come to the saved and the unsaved also. There are many rich men who are not spiritual and live far apart from God or God's word. We cannot assume that just because one is rich that he or she is great in the sight of God. God gives rain to the just and the unjust. We need to seek to be rich in the things of God. True riches are the things given to us by God being salvation from sin, being born again by His spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Those things bring true joy and peace. Those things are things thieves cannot steal, fire cannot burn up and they will see us through to eternity.

Verses here are skipped because the same subject is discussed in the notes on Matthew.

Luke 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Recently there has been a renewed interest even among non-Catholics in Mary worship. We must be reminded here of the words of Jesus concerning his earthly mother. As great as she was and a woman that should be called blessed to have been chosen to bring the Christ child into the world to save us from sin, she was never to be worshipped for she herself was a handmaiden and a vessel to bring Christ into the world.

Luk 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Luk 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Luk 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Jesus reminds us that those that keep the word of God is blessed just as much as His own mother. Mary was not to be considered greater than any believer but was to be considered blessed or happy to be able to have been used of God in the way she was.
We should be considered blessed to be used of God to spread the gospel to the entire world.

We are never to pray to Mary and exalt her or any other person above other believers. Never. All are saints who believe in Jesus, not just a chosen few made saints by any church.

Matthew 12:46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
Mat 12:47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
Mat 12:48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
Mat 12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Those that do the will of the Father in heaven is equal to the natural family of Jesus. Mary had other children besides Jesus. These were children naturally born of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. She was not a virgin as some teach after the birth of Jesus but only before His birth. I am not degrading Mary in any way. There is nothing wrong with marriage and having children. She is to be commended for that not made into an immaculate virgin that we worship. She would not want us to do that.

There is no Mary worship taught in the word of God. She is to be respected and loved as we would respect and love all fellow believers but not worshipped. To God be all the glory. No matter how good a person may be, we are not to exalt them above another believer.  We have nothing that we did not receive.

There is no mediator besides Jesus Christ.

1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Luke 11:37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
Luke11:38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
Luke11:39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Luke 11:40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

Outward religion does not save the soul or make clean from sin. It has been a temptation for ages to get away from what really is necessary for salvation and start doing outward religious acts to save the soul.
Washing before we eat is good for health reasons but that is all. It has nothing to do with salvation and eternal life.

Luk 11:41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

Jesus may have seen something in these people that if they started giving alms it would show true repentance and love toward others and that would make them clean spiritually. He called them wicked. Our outward actions usually show what is in our hearts if we don't do them for show or praise of men.

Luk 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

While we should give, it should never be emphasized over judgment, love and mercy. Too much outward religious show will sometimes cover up the truth and keep the message of salvation from being understood. Outward religious acts may dangerously be substituted for repentance and inner change needed to save the soul from sin.

Luke 11:43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
Luke 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

Again the danger of just having an outward show of religion does not mean that a person is holy. Some desired to be seen as religious but had evil in the heart. Not only was this common among the Pharisees but down through church history popes, priests, and others who claimed to be holy men of God were evil. Read of the tortures, adultery, thefts and murder commanded in the name of Christ by popes, bishops and so-called church leaders. It is appalling. We can't just accuse the Jews who persecuted Jesus and early believers. Look at the church when it came to power in Rome. The apostate church of Rome put to death more people than the Jews or Muslims did. They were worse in that they did these things in the name of Jesus Christ. They killed thinking they did God a service just like other religions did.

John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
John 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

The disciples in the early church were persecuted by the Jews yes, but years later after Constantine gave the church power, the apostate church turned around and became more corrupt and put more people to death than Jews and Muslims.

Luke 11:45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
Luke 11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

These probably were not what we think of as lawyers although some of them are corrupt also, but scribes of the law of God.

Luk 11:47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

The fathers of the Jewish people, Pharisees and scribes killed prophets that told them the truth. Even today those that are faithful to preach the truth of God's word is rejected and sometimes persecuted. Its okay to preach a watered down message that makes everyone happy but if we preach repentance and turning from sin, we are called legalistic and Pharisees by the modern church.
Pharisees were for outward religion, they were not for repenting of sin and living holy before God. Their so-called holiness was outward religious rituals and acts. There was not love, compassion or change in the heart.  It is not legalistic to preach living a holy life by the standards set forth in the New Testament.

The prophets warned the people when they departed from the law not because they kept the law. The law was good and instructed people how to live in righteousness. To call someone legalistic for preaching righteousness is more being a Pharisee than someone to lives holy and teaches holiness.

It is true that if we stress outward religious acts instead of inner change, that we could become a legalistic Pharisee but warning against sin is not being legalistic. That is what the prophets were put to death for.

Luke11:48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
Luke 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luke 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luke 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Another example that purely outward rituals and show covers up the true meaning of God's word. People tend to trust in what they see instead of repenting and seeking God for salvation from sin.  The kingdom of God is within us, not outward show.

Luke 11:53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
Luke 11:54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

Speaking the truth does not win us any popularity contest. They were desiring a king who would give earthy victory over the Romans, not a savior from sin.

We have to preach repentance from sin when we preach salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, or else we have people coming to Christ who live any way they desire with no change. Christ came to save us from sin and that is badly neglected in today's gospel message. Repent means to turn around and change. Repent means to change one's mind. The gospel is to repent and turn to Christ forsaking our old ways and becoming a new born creature in Christ.

Words of Jesus 35