March
21st Luke
11 Jesus teaches – Prayer
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. 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.
3: Give us day by day our daily bread. 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. 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; 6: For a friend of
mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before
him? 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. 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. 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. 10: For every one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened. 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? 12: Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him
a scorpion? 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?
Jesus
and Beelzebub
14:
And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass,
when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
15: But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub
the chief of the devils. 16: And others, tempting him, sought of him
a sign from heaven. 17: But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto
them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;
and a house divided against a house falleth. 18: If Satan also be
divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say
that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19: And if I by Beelzebub
cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall
they be your judges. 20: But if I with the finger of God cast out
devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21: When a
strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22: But
when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he
taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his
spoils. 23: He that is not with me is against me: and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth. 24: When the unclean spirit is gone
out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and
finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came
out. 25: And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26:
Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of
that man is worse than the first.
After
Christ had been praying the disciples asked him to teach then how to
pray. Some people think that Christ ten taught them a new prayer but
in fact Christ took them to the last prayer prayed in a Jewish man
life. It was in fact a funeral prayer called the Kaddish. However
Christ did something remarkable, he extended the prayer. The history
and focus of the Prayer is Messianic, Prophetic and Jewish. Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. The first phrase is
a prayer that a time might come when the name of the Father will be
revered among men. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven,
so in earth. This part of the prayer is focused on the Messianic
Kingdom and it is a prayer that the Kingdom might come. This
Messianic Kingdom is described by John in Rev 20. Clearly it is
future and it will be a time when the will of God will be done on
earth in the same universal manner that Gods will is done in heaven.
Then Christ adds a number of phrases that will be very practical and
essential during the coming days of the Great Tribulation. In that
time the righteous will not be able to buy or sell and so they will
pray, Give us day by day our daily bread. At that time God will
supernaturally provide bread for his people. The next phrase is
important too and is in contrast to the teachings of Grace. Christ
says pray, forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is
indebted to us. This is a relationship the righteous have under law.
Under Law the Jew finds that forgiveness is given by God to those who
forgive. In contrast under Grace God gives forgiveness to the
unforgiving and then expects them to learn to forgive. We love him
because he first loves us. Lastly the Lord says, lead us not into
temptation; but deliver us from (the) evil. This lat phrase describes
the testing and temptation of the righteous in the Great Tribulation.
They will be tempted to forsake the lord and take the mark of the
beast and then they will be overcome by evil. Christ goes on to say
that this prayer will be answered by those who persist in prayer. How
different to us in the church who have prayers answered according to
the Grace of God. At this time the Religious leaders blaspheme the
Holy Spirits work in the Life of Christ by attributing Christ’s
Messianic signs to satanic power. This sin will never be forgiven.
All other sin can be forgiven. Christ in response speaks of the
foolishness and wickedness of their blaspheme and of the danger to
their immortal souls of their blaspheme.
- Why did the disciples ask to be taught to pray?
- What did Jesus teach them about prayer?
- In what way did the religious leaders blaspheme the Holy Spirit in those days?
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