Good morning. It’s a joy again to come together this morning. I’m sure you can understand when I say that I indeed look forward each week to this day, a day where I can meet real people alright face to face. So I’m so glad this morning to see some in the hall in person. And of course, it is also a joy now even though unable to see the others now to gather in spirit to worship the one and the only true God to unite our hearts to sing praises to Him, to come together, and to pay attention to what the almighty God has to say to us.

We know that the way that God has ordained that we should hear Him this day is through His revealed Word, and we are thankful that through the ages He has preserved the Holy Scripture for us that we might know Him and to know His will. So this morning once again, we want to open our Bible and to study the Word of God. So this morning, can you please turn with me to the gospel of Luke and chapter 11? The gospel of Luke and chapter 11. So our text this morning is from verse 5 through verse 13 of Luke chapter 11. So let me again first read this text. Luke chapter 11, beginning in verse 5.

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”” Now, let us pray.

“Our dear Father in heaven, we pray as we open up Your Word, we pray that You will teach us. We pray that You would grant us understanding, for we desire to know You and to know Your will for us. We desire that You’ll speak to us that we might be obedient to You and live a life that is pleasing to You. So help us, Lord, for we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Now, so you might remember that we are now doing a series on the parables. And in the first parable that we studied (that is in Luke chapter 8), a parable about the seed sower or more particularly about the soil. And from that parable, we learned something about the Word of God. We learned that we must listen carefully to the Word of God. Now this morning in this parable, we are going to learn something about prayer. Now remember these two things are so very important in our Christian life. So if you have forgotten about the Word and you have forgotten about prayer, then may the Lord help us alright to remember that these are the means of grace. These are the ways that God have ordained that we might grow in our Christian life.

If you so desire to grow in your Christian life, then these are the things that we must learn alright well. And so this morning, we’re going to touch on a parable that deals with prayer- that deals with prayer. And we all, remember, need to learn about prayer. None of us are, I suppose, experts in this. I think you have a long way to go to learn about prayer. Even the disciples themselves realised that. Now you might then see that the occasion or the reason why our Lord Jesus told this parable is for exactly that reason. Now you take a look at the very first verse of this chapter. Now it begins this way: “Now it came to pass, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray””.

Now that is the thing. The disciples realised that they had so much to learn about prayer, especially from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And so they pleaded with the Lord to teach them to pray. And it is in that context that the Lord told this parable. He told this parable to teach the disciples about prayer. And so we’re going to learn. We’re going to look this parable and learn about prayer. Now look again at this passage from verse 5 through verse 13 of Luke chapter 11. You see that from verses 5 through 8 is the parable itself, and then verse 9 onwards is the application alright. So the parable is from verse 5 through verse 8, and then from verse 9 through verse 13 is the application.

And that’s why in verse 9 begins this way: “So I say to you (or in the ESV it says: “Then, and I tell you”)”. So here’s the application: So or therefore I say to you, do this alright. Ask, seek, knock. Now you see, we see a similar pattern in the previous parable that we studied in Luke chapter 8. Now you flip over to Luke chapter 8; there we have the parable of the seed sower. And we see the same thing alright from verse 5 onwards is the parable where the Lord told the parable. And then the Lord ends the parable in verse 18. And in verse 18 is the application alright. So there is a parable, and then there is the application. So what is the application in verse 18? Therefore or so I say to you, take heed or take care how you hear.

So there, these many soils, they don’t hear very properly. So here’s the application: Take heed or take care how you hear. And so that is the pattern alright of the passage. So come back again to Luke chapter 11 as we consider this parable on prayer. Now the way to understand this parable is, first of all, to see that this parable revolves around a dilemma or around a problem alright. There’s a problem, and the problem is mentioned in verse 6: “for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him”. So there is a dilemma here or a problem that this man has that he’s unable to provide for his guest who has arrived in his house according to verse 5 at midnight alright.

Now the situation here is probably that this friend was probably travelling and from afar. And that’s why you know he has to find somewhere to lodge at midnight. He couldn’t travel anymore. It’s late. I’m not sure what that midnight means. It could be 12 a.m., 1 a.m., 2 a.m.. And so, he has to find a place. And also the picture here seems to be that this person who has been travelling, finding a place to stay has also not been able to find food to eat. And so he’s hungry and he comes to this man’s house and knocked on his door. And this man sees his situation and wanting to be a good host to provide for his need. And so there is a dilemma. Now to understand the dilemma further is to see what a big problem this is.

So from as it were the appearance of it as it were, it might not seem to be a big problem. But actually, this was a big problem. And that’s why Jesus raised this up or mentioned this. And the people in the days of our Lord Jesus Christ could see what a big problem that is. Now the problem is huge because as I said on the one hand that this man is now arriving at midnight. He probably hasn’t eaten throughout the day in his travel. So, he needed something. He’s hungry. He’s hungry. Now when a person comes to you and he’s in need, he’s hungry, he said I haven’t eaten my lunch and haven’t eaten my dinner. But now it’s midnight. There’s no store open; it’s all closed. Do you have anything to offer me?

And he looks around his house and he says: Nothing, not even a small piece of biscuit alright. No more Maggi mee. Nothing. Nothing left in this house alright, and this man is hungry. So there is this obligation to meet his need. You cannot just let him sleep you know go to bed hungry. I think more to that is the culture of hospitality. And when this friend comes to you and it seems that this is not just a stranger but a friend. He said a friend of mine came. And you see in that culture and I think in many cultures today is the same. Hospitality is very important. In fact, in those days it is a sacred duty to provide something or to give something to your friend when they visit your house.

I think I grew up in that kind of culture. I remember you know when friends suddenly or relatives come to our house and we have nothing to serve our guests, it’s really very shameful alright. And I can remember you know at some times we got kind of this kind of situation, and my mother will be you know frantic you know. She’ll be trying to find something, maybe just some tea will do alright. But you have to serve something to your friend. And we see that that is probably the case here that because hospitality is so very important in that culture. I say it is like a sacred duty. So it just will not do to have nothing to serve your friend- will not do to have nothing to serve your friend.

Maybe I’ll give you an analogy. I’ll give you an example to press home this, to help you see what an enormous problem this is. Now, imagine that you have a wedding and then you threw a wedding banquet alright. And there the people come and arrange you know to decorate the place (the hall, the banquet hall) with flowers, and everything is so nice alright. And then you see your guests arriving alright and then so on. And you have actually engaged a caterer, and the caterer was not there. No food! And then you looked at your clock, now twelve o’clock, one o’ clock. Now twelve o’clock is supposed to be serving the food, but now it’s already one o’clock and two o’clock. No food! What an embarrassment.

This is a huge problem when all your guests have arrived to you know for your wedding banquet or wedding reception and you have nothing to serve your friend. Can you imagine the embarrassment, the difficulty, the problem that now this host has? Now, so that is the first thing to see, to grasp alright, or to understand. If you were to understand this parable here, a huge problem now exists. So it revolves around the dilemma as mentioned in verse 6. Now the second thing to see in this parable is the way that this man solves his problem. He has to solve this problem. Now that’s the point. He has to solve this problem, but how did he solve his problem?

And so we see that in this parable we are told that he went to his friend in verse 5 alright: “So which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves.’”. So he will go to his neighbour (as he appears here), somewhere nearby, and to plead with his neighbour for something or for some food or something to serve his friend, his guest who is now in his house. And so that is what he did, Jesus tells us, to solve his problem. Now go to your neighbour at midnight, knock on the door, and to get help. Now again you must understand alright the scenario, the picture here.

The scene here, what Jesus is talking about, what it means for this man who is now in trouble (he has nothing to serve his friend), what it means for him to go to the neighbour at midnight, knock on the door, and to ask for some food or ask for help. Now what does it mean here? Now, this is what it means. Now, remember that houses in those days have no rooms, not like our houses. Now we have three rooms, four rooms, five rooms. And so we have mom and dad in one room, we have the brother in one room, the sister in one room, and then the another brother in another room. And that is common in our days. But remember, if we think of the houses in those days as today, then we don’t understand the problem.

So there were no rooms in the house, and that means what? That means the family slept together. Now look at verse 7: “he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed’”. Oh, I’m familiar with that you know mom, dad. I remember the time when I was sleeping between my mom and dad, and then my sister on the other side, my brother on the other side. We all slept together, not just in one room. Sometimes in one bed alright one huge bed, and then we all sleep on the floor. So that is the picture here. That’s the scene here. And this man (his neighbour) is sound asleep with his children. I don’t know how many children.

In those days, you can expect many children. Maybe five of them alright, do re mi fa so alright. There’s one-year old, two-year old, three-year old, four-year old alright, and they all slept together and they’re all sound asleep. And therefore the implication of obliging alright or trying to help this other neighbour is this. He says that now it’s midnight. We are all sound asleep, and you want to trouble me is bad enough. And the door is shut. And for me to wake up and to step over dead bodies as it were, it will not do. So to this man, it will not do because I’m surely going to disturb my children. You know I took so long to get them to sleep, and now you want me to wake them up again? I’m going to spend another two hours to get them to sleep again alright.

So he said it just will not do. So, please. Please like, leave me alone alright- leave me alone. Now that is the meaning. That is the implication. That is what it means for this man in trouble to go and disturb his friend. I’m sure he knows all that. He knows all that because if his friend will come to him, he knows that time well you know, it will be a very difficult situation for me to disturb my whole family, go to the, you know somewhere and get some biscuits or bread and open the door. It’s just too troublesome. Now that is the scenario, and that’s why I say alright in verse 7, this friend says: Please don’t trouble me alright. It’s just too troublesome to help you. I’m going to disturb everybody in order to just help you, give you three loaves of bread.

Now, remember this whole parable is actually one question. Alright you look at the whole parable from verse 5 onwards alright through verse 7 is one question. It is what we might call a rhetorical question because people know the answer. Alright that’s a rhetorical question. The answer is obvious. That’s why Jesus begins alright, He’s just asking one question and in telling this parable. So He begins this way: “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves’”. Which of you will do that? Now that is what Jesus is saying. So this whole parable is cast as it were in the form of a rhetorical question, meaning to say the answer where these people will say: Of course nobody will do that alright. Of course, nobody will do that.

Will you do a thing like this? And so that is the question. So in other words, Jesus is actually implying that here in this parable this friend did that. He did nobody else would do. No one else would do a thing like this, but this man did it. This man actually went to the friend’s house at midnight, disturbed the whole family to get three loaves of bread. He actually did it. And so in this parable, Jesus wants us to think about this man’s action. So he draws our attention. He said let us think about this man’s action. How would you describe his action? What would you say about this man? How would you describe his action? What would you say? Do you have a word to describe him, this man?

Actually, Jesus has a word to describe him, and the word is in verse 8 alright look at verse 8. And Jesus said: “I say to you, though his neighbour will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”. Take lah, you know. This man, you see, is so persistent that this neighbour who is disturbed. Yeah, it is, I’m going to go through a lot of trouble to help this friend, and yet he will go through all the trouble of unlocking this door, stepping on his children, going to the cupboard, take and everybody wake up, and his baby is crying there, and so on and so forth. He’ll go through all the trouble in order to meet the needs of this friend or this neighbour.

He will do that. Why? Because of this man who is now in trouble, because of his persistence. Now that is an important word to note in this parable, the word ‘persistence’ in the New King James Version. Now this is a very difficult word to translate into English. And for that reason if you are reading other translations, you’ll find that they use, they translate this word into other English words. For example, if you are using the NASB (although now some NASBs translate this word as ‘shameless’). This man is shameless to go to the neighbour, disturb the whole family, and to get three loaves of bread. Or NASB also translates it as ‘persistent’, but there’s a footnote saying that actually, it means shameless. Now if you are using the ESV, now this word is translated as ‘impudence’. Impudence alright.

All those of you who are using ESV, you see the word ‘impudence’ there. Now, what is the meaning of impudence? What are the synonyms of impudence? What does impudence mean? Now it means this. It just means this man has the cheek. Shameless. Now that’s the meaning of impudence. Or audacity, that’s the synonym of impudence. He has the audacity to do a thing like that or he has the nerve. Now, these are the various words to translate this word, and that is what Jesus is saying. Or if you’re using the NIV, it translates this word as ‘boldness’. It’s such courage. Wah, I know sometimes people do something like that. Wah, you dare to just go in the prime minister’s house or the Agong’s house and just ask for bread ah? Wah, you know, so courageous ah? So bold.

Now that kind of boldness. You know those shameless kind of boldness. You don’t even know what you are doing. Now that’s what we are trying to tell people when we use this word ‘impudence’ alright or ‘bold’ or ‘shameless’ or ‘persistent’ and things like that. Now that is the word that Jesus uses here to describe the action of this man. Look at what he did. He said he did something so bold. Or sometimes you use the word he’s so ‘daring’ ah. Wah, you’re so daring ah, you can do ah? You dare to do a thing like that ah? Disturb the principal just to rush into his office ah?

You see, that is the meaning of this word. So I believe I think the word ‘impudence’ is probably the most accurate word to capture what Jesus is trying to say here rather than persistence. Persistence don’t give you the idea of some people doing something that is normally they don’t dare to do you know. Normal time you know, situation. Ordinarily you don’t dare to do it alright, but you are daring alright. You are daring to do. Now if I give you one example to illustrate, you might see this again now maybe better.

Now you perhaps think of Amos alright. He might drive all the way and he go to Putra Heights and he knocked on Zongxu’s door. He’ll ring the bell, he doesn’t wake up at midnight. And remember, 2 a.m. alright. And then he will bang the gate and there you see Zongxu finally wakes up and he comes down. He opens up, he has this different level of doors alright. He opens up the back lock, he opens up the gate, he goes to the front gate. The various stages he goes through, and he sees Amos standing outside alright. And he said: What do you want? It’s 2:30 a.m. alright. And Amos says: I need, do you have a bottle of chili sauce ah? I cannot eat Maggi mee without it.

And Zongxu will say: Come on. You have to cheek, you know, to wake me up you know. And then my mother also woke up, my father also woke up. They are staring at me you know. My sister there is so angry you know, staring at me, and you just ask for one bottle of chili sauce at 2 a.m. in the morning? What? How daring you know, how bold you are you know to do that! How shameless you are! Now that is what Jesus is saying about this man’s action. Look at this man, He said, how daring he is, how bold he is, how unashamed he is, how impudent is this man to do a thing like this. And so what is Jesus trying to teach us? What is Jesus trying to teach us? As I said, then He makes the application from verse 9 onwards.

So in verse 9, therefore or so I say to you. So He makes the application. This is the conclusion: “I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”. Why are you not doing that? He is making here an application concerning our prayer life. That is what we ought to do like this man to come to God to seek, to knock, and to ask. Verse 10: “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened to him.”. Can you not say this about your prayer life that if you would only be like this man dare to come before God and ask, you will get it?

Then He says: “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?”. It’s ridiculous. God wouldn’t do that. Why aren’t you bold enough to come and ask from God? Or in the words of the writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews 4:16. Now, this is what Jesus is saying in this parable. Hebrews 4:16- “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace”. Now that is the application of the parable. Let us come, and “let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”.

That is my sermon title this morning: “Come Boldly To The Throne Of Grace”. That is what this parable is about- come. Jesus is inviting us. The disciples turned to Jesus, said: Lord, teach us to pray. You see, the disciples weren’t thinking so much about teach us how to, you know, how to say our prayers. That many, maybe many of us know what to say in our prayers. But what the disciples were asking is this, that we are not praying as often as they saw the Lord praying because the question they asked was occasioned by them seeing Jesus praying. They observed that our Lord is always praying, but we are not.

It’s amazing that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself saw the need to pray more than the disciples. I can tell you this that our Lord while He was on earth, He prayed I believe more than any one of us. We are not praying as much as we ought. And so Jesus told this parable to the disciples, and now to us. Why aren’t you praying? Why aren’t you all praying? Be bold. Come boldly to the throne of grace. So let me now answer that question: Why aren’t so many Christians praying, coming constantly to the throne of grace, and plead for mercy in time of need? Why so few Christians do that? I believe from this parable we can see two reasons why people are not coming boldly unto the throne of grace to ask for help in time of need.

Now the two reasons are these, I think it is implied in this parable here. Now number one, because many people are not desperate enough. Many people are not desperate enough. This man in the parable, he was desperate. A friend came at midnight. He hasn’t eaten for perhaps for the whole day, and it is his sacred duty to serve him something. He is desperate. He has nothing to serve. Many people are not praying because we are not desperate enough. This man is desperate. Very often you see we are shy to ask like when you are lost. Now you are going to Taipan alright and you’re looking for Maybank. You know where’s Maybank (although there are two Maybank’s in Taipan alright). And then you’re looking around, maybe with your wife alright. Now maybe you’re driving, and you say: Where is Maybank? Which road is it?

And you see someone passing by you know. And you are thinking maybe we should ask this guy now where is Maybank alright. Have you noted the tendency you know for the man to tell the wife: Wind down the window and ask alright. You see, we’re shy to ask, but not when we are desperate. Today there are many desperate people. And because they are desperate, they are not shy to raise their white flag so that food may arrive to feed his family. My baby has no milk powder- no milk powder for my baby. I’m desperate. I put up the white flag and ask for help. The white flag tells us that these people are desperate, and I said this man is desperate. This man is desperate. There are many examples of desperate people in the Bible. We think for example in Luke 8:40. Luke 8:40.

And verse 40 says: “So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a (rich man. He was the) ruler of the synagogue.”. An important man, but yet he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come. He was not ashamed as a noble man, as a VIP, an important man. He was not ashamed to bow before Jesus and begged Jesus for help. Why? Because we are told in verse 42: “for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying”. He desperately needed help. His one and only daughter is dying. She is dying, and he knows that Jesus can help. Now that is a picture of a desperate man.

When you think of Jacob in the Old Testament when he wrestled with God and he told Him that I will not let You go unless You bless me. And that is the cry of a desperate man. God, I have to have answers. I need help. I will not let You go. I will plead and plead and plead until You help me. Now that is what desperation means. Is there something that you want badly? Three loaves of bread? Is there something that you want badly? Maybe your health. Maybe you’re failing in your health and you want back your health. Maybe your child’s health; your child is sick like Jairus. My child is sick and dying. God, I need help. Or maybe your family situation is in dire state. You need help to fix your family problem.

Or maybe your own spiritual life that needs help. Or maybe the salvation of your loved ones. Maybe your children or your child. Your children, you know that they have not professed faith. You want to see them saved. Or the salvation of a wife or a husband. Is there something that you want desperately? That is the question. Then Jesus says: Ask. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. You see, the first reason why many people are not bold enough or to not come boldly unto the throne of grace is because they are not desperate enough, because they are so self-sufficient, no sense of need.

But there is a second reason why people are not bold enough to come unto the throne of grace, and that is many think that it makes no difference. It’s amazing despite the fact that the Bible has so much to tell us about prayer makes a difference. Again and again in the Scripture, you can see that the Bible impressed upon us that prayer makes a difference. Now you perhaps think that prayer makes no difference. Perhaps you think that it makes no difference because you have been praying for something and nothing happened. And so you think it makes no difference. Whether I attend the prayer meeting or not, whether I prayed myself or not, it makes no difference. Turn with me for a little while to First Samuel chapter 1.

First Samuel chapter 1, and look at this woman here in First Samuel chapter 1 beginning in verse 5. We are told that Hannah: “But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for her husband loved her, although the LORD had closed her womb. And her rival also provoked her severely (verse 6), to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.”. That was a huge problem for this woman here. She has this dilemma and her problem is that she could not bear children. And to make things worse, she was being ridiculed by others. And then we read: “So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.”.

I think the picture here is this that every year she would go to the house of the LORD, she would plead before the LORD to solve her problem because every year she’s been provoked, she’s been ridiculed, being made fun of. Every year she’s reminded of the fact that she could not bear. But note the phrase there: “year by year”, meaning to say one year she prayed, no answer. Two years she prayed, no answer. Three years she prayed, no answer. But she never gives up. There are people who gives up just because they prayed one time or two times and the Lord doesn’t seem to answer. But not this woman. She was desperate. She prayed year after year after year. And in verse 10: “she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.”. It seems that she’s weeping every year.

Verse 15: “But Hannah answered and said to the priest, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.””. That’s what she did. That is what Jesus is saying here. This is a woman who believes that prayer makes a difference. And that’s why she go persistently year after year before the LORD and pray. That’s what also James tells us alright. James also tells us in James 4:2. Listen to this verse here, verse 2 of James 4: “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.”. You do not have because you do not ask. And that’s what Jesus is saying here in this parable. Ask, seek, knock.

And then he tells us two things about God to encourage us or to show us that prayer makes a difference. To any one of you here this morning who thinks that it makes no difference, it’s pointless to attend prayer meeting, it’s pointless to bring these things before God, it’s pointless to pray, listen to Jesus here. Now He is now telling us two truths about God that conspired together as it comes together to show us that it makes a difference. Verse 11 of Luke chapter 11, where Jesus said: “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?”. It’s kind of a rhetorical question again.

Do you think a father will give stone to the child who asked for bread, or give a serpent to the child who asked for fish, or give a scorpion to the child who asked for egg? You think the father will do that? You see, they all know the answer- of course not! Of course not! Now, what is Jesus saying here? See, that is God. See, that is God. God, if evil people like you know how to give good things to people, how much more God? So Jesus is making an argument from the lesser to the greater. If you evil people know how to do good to other people, how much more God would do good to people? It is in God’s nature. That’s His first argument. It is God’s character. It is in God’s nature to do good.

Why don’t you come to Him then? Because you do not know Him. You do not realise that God in His very nature is predisposed to doing good to people. For example what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:45. Now listen to what Jesus says here in Matthew 5:45- “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He (that is God) makes His sun to rise on both the evil and the good”. You see, God is blessing this world. People of this world do not realise that that God has been so good not just to us in the church but to everyone. He’s been giving us life and fresh air, food.

God is good. The Sun rises on both the evil and the good. The rains falls on the ground on both the evil farmer and the good farmer because God by His very nature does good to people. Or the way James put it in James 1:17. Listen to what James says here. James 1:17- “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above”. All the good things we have in life come from the good God. And then he says: “that comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning”. Note the phrase there: “that comes down”. The phrase “comes down” there in the original means that God’s good and perfect gift pours down like the waterfall.

Now that is the picture-word there. That is how gracious, how good is our God. Every day in our life we experience the goodness of God, just that we are not thankful so very often. But every day in our life, we must learn to count our blessings, to be reminded that God is good. So there is this encouragement, Jesus said, to come to God to ask, to seek, to knock because God is such a God. He loves to do good to us. Therefore, come. It makes a difference. And secondly, the second thing he tells us about God is that God is not only good, that it’s His very nature to want to do good other people.

But secondly, He tells us in verse 13 of Luke 11. Verse 13 of Luke chapter 11, and He says this: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more”. Then He reminds us how much more. He didn’t say how much more God, but He said how much more will your heavenly father. Now in the church, we ought to remember this, that God is not only good but God is our Father. In other words, He’s not only good but He has a good reason to do good to us. God is not only good but He has a good and special reason to do good to us because we are His children. It makes a difference.

All children know that it makes a difference whether you come to your dad to ask or not. They know that my dad will give me. If you don’t give it to me, I will go and ask my dad. If you don’t give me money to study, I will ask my dad. If you don’t buy me ice cream, I will ask my dad. My dad will do it. And that’s what Jesus is saying: Do you know God as your Father? Are you a child of God? If you are, remember God is our good Father. He is the perfect Father. He is a father more than any other fathers in the world who would do good to His children. And therefore, it makes a difference. It makes a difference to come and to come boldly unto the throne of grace.

Let me end by asking you: Is there something in your heart, maybe a desire or maybe a crisis brewing in your life or maybe your friend? Is there something about your friend? Maybe you know someone in pain, in need. Now this man has a friend in need, and he dared to disturb his neighbour to ask for help. Are you in need? Do you have a friend in need? Do you dare? Are you bold enough to come to the throne of grace? Let us pray.

“Our dear Father in heaven, we know that in Your Word You have again and again urged us and encouraged us to come to You. And Jesus says until now have you asked nothing in My name. Ask, that you might receive, that your joy may be full. Lord, help us. Help us to learn the lesson that is here this morning that we ought to be people who would come boldly unto Your throne because Your throne is a throne of grace. Not because we deserve it, but because of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who had brought us with His blood and make us part of Your family.

Oh God, we thank You. And we thank You that You are a good God. We thank You that You are a perfect Father. Grant us, O Lord, that encouragement, and help us to learn to come to You. For these, we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.