WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:06.360 Hey, thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. 2 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:09.240 We are so glad that you found us today. I've 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.439 got a question for you. Are you feeling stuck, like 4 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:16.879 maybe you've hit a wall and just nothing's moving forward. Well, 5 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:20.719 you're not alone and you're not without hope. You know, 6 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.079 the Bible is full of people who faced impossible situations 7 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:30.239 like Mary, Noah, Job, even the apostle Paul, and they 8 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:35.840 all experienced one thing that changed everything, a breakthrough from God. 9 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:41.079 So today Pastor Rick continues his series called Seeking God 10 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.399 for a Breakthrough. Rick's going to walk us through biblical 11 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:49.479 accounts of faith, prayer, and perseverance, reminding us that God 12 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:53.640 still moves in powerful ways whether you're in a season 13 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.200 of waiting or searching for hope. 14 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:57.840 This series offers. 15 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:01.600 Encouragement and biblical truth to help you keep going and 16 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:05.519 get the breakthrough you need. Okay, now here's Rick with 17 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:09.560 part one of a message called Talking to Your Heavenly Father. 18 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:11.480 Now. 19 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:14.200 I defined a couple weeks ago the word breakthrough as 20 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:20.879 when God does a miracle, when He miraculously solves an 21 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.319 unsolvable problem in your life that you have no control over. 22 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:27.599 There's some problems you can pray for, but you could 23 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.640 really have some input. You could use your own ingenuity 24 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:36.359 to solve those problems. But when God solves something that's unmanageable, uncontrollable, 25 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:38.040 you have nothing to do with it. 26 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.000 That's called a breakthrough. 27 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.000 And we all have different breakthroughs in different areas of 28 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.200 our lives. Now, I just want to say this at 29 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:48.959 the start. God did not bring you here during this 30 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.480 particular season when we're studying how to have a breakthrough 31 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:53.879 in your life by seeking God. 32 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:54.920 He didn't bring you. 33 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:57.400 Here to watch everybody else have their prayer be answered. 34 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.560 God brought you here because He wants to answer your prayer. 35 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:09.879 God wants to do a breakthrough in your life. If 36 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:11.280 He didn't want to do a breakthrough in your life, 37 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:15.000 believe me, you wouldn't be here. But God wants to 38 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:17.319 answer your prayer. He wants to have a breakthrough in 39 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:21.159 your life. Now, you know, when you look at the 40 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.919 life of Jesus, he chose twelve men to be his 41 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:28.759 interns or disciples or followers, and they followed him for 42 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.280 three and a half years. They saw Jesus do all 43 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:35.759 kinds of amazing things. He healed people, he did flat 44 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:40.919 out miracles, He calmed storms, He fed the five thousand 45 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.120 with a single launch. He did all kinds of miracles, 46 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.039 all kinds of healings. He raised people back to life, 47 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:51.680 people who died they saw this happen. He preached great sermons. 48 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.560 He was an amazing man of miracles because he was 49 00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:01.080 obviously God in flesh. But when the disciples went to Jesus, 50 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.080 they never asked him, Lord, teach us how to preach. 51 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:06.759 We want to preach like you do. They never said 52 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:10.120 teach us how to teach. Never once in the Bible 53 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:14.199 of the Disciples. These interns of Jesus say, teach us 54 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.080 how to do miracles, teach us how to heal people, 55 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.360 teach us how to do the spectacular things in life, 56 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:24.159 teach us how to see you do great, great things. 57 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.879 But instead, the one thing they asked Jesus to teach 58 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:29.479 them was this. 59 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:32.879 Lord, teach us to pray. 60 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.120 Why, of all the things they could have asked Jesus 61 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:37.639 to teach them, after watching him for three and a 62 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.080 half years, they said, Lord, teach us to pray. Because 63 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:44.199 they realized that prayer was the secret power behind the healings, 64 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.639 behind the miracles, behind the spectacular behind the great teachings 65 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:51.960 behind the way he handled processes of life. If you 66 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:54.120 teach us Lord how to pray like you do. This 67 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.400 guy obviously prays in a very different way than we do, 68 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.159 then we're going to have the power of Jesus. You've 69 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:04.120 heard me say this many times. Much prayer, much power. 70 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:07.960 Little prayer in your life, little power. No prayer in 71 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:11.360 your life, no power. And so they said, Lord, teach 72 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:15.520 us how to pray. Now, the truth is, if we 73 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:17.920 were honest, if you're honest, if I'm most of us, 74 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:22.879 we're not very confident about prayer. In fact, prayer is 75 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.600 confusing to most of us. I talk to a lot 76 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:27.480 of men who got I don't know how to pray, 77 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.399 and we find prayer to be very confusing, and we're 78 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:34.000 not confident in it. We say, I don't know what 79 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.240 to say, I don't know who to say it to, 80 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:38.279 I don't know how to say it. I don't know 81 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.319 what to pray. I don't even know if this thing works. 82 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:43.920 I'm filled with doubt. I'm filled with confusion, you know, 83 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.519 I'm filled with insecurities. I don't know how long to 84 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:48.199 keep praying. 85 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:50.519 And so most of us, when we come to the 86 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:52.000 idea of prayer. I don't get it. 87 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:54.879 I know I'm supposed to pray, but I don't get it, 88 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:58.160 and I don't I don't enjoy it. I don't understand it. 89 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:00.720 What I want to do for just a couple minutes 90 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:02.680 in this service is take. 91 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:04.319 The worry out of prayer for you. 92 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.959 When you leave here at the end of the service, 93 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:11.120 I want you to be able to go. I am 94 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:15.240 confident I know how and what to pray, and you 95 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:17.240 won't have that worry. You won't have that lack of 96 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:18.759 confidence in your life. 97 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:19.600 Now. 98 00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:22.759 In Luke chapter eleven, they're on the beginning of your notes. 99 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:27.839 Jesus' followers said, Lord, teach us to pray. And then 100 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.680 Jesus said, well, here's where he starts. When you pray, 101 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:37.800 begin by saying our Father, begin by saying our Father 102 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:43.399 in Heaven. Now we don't realize how shocking that statement was, 103 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:49.120 because up to this time in history, nobody called God Father. 104 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.240 They called him a lot of other things. But Jesus said, 105 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.360 I'm here to tell you that when you pray, you 106 00:05:56.439 --> 00:06:00.399 were to call God Father. And he says, if you 107 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:03.279 understand this, it's gonna change the way you pray. You're 108 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.560 gonna pray much more confidently. You're not gonna worry. You're 109 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:06.959 not gonna be so insecure about it. 110 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:12.720 What Jesus is saying is, prayer is not about words. 111 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:14.839 Listen to me. 112 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.160 It doesn't matter what words you say. You don't have 113 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.319 to be eloquent a guy who doesn't speak much to 114 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:26.240 anybody else. God's not expecting you to be very eloquent 115 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:30.399 to him. Jesus says, prayer is not about your words. 116 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.720 It's about a relationship. And it's a very special kind 117 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:38.360 of relationship. Like a father to a child. It's to 118 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.600 be intimate, it's to be loving, it's to be casual, 119 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.920 it's to be no barriers. A little child doesn't walk 120 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:49.439 into the presence of her father and wonder about how 121 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.879 do I say this? A little child just walks in 122 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.399 and says it in the best language they've got at 123 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:59.040 that particular age and stage of life. And God is 124 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.120 saying here, prayer is not about words. It's about a relationship. 125 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:06.160 So he says, when you start, you start with our Father. 126 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:10.279 He's saying, to be confident in prayer, you got to 127 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.519 have the right relationship idea in your mind. God is 128 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.680 not some impersonal force. May the force be with you. 129 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:24.040 God is not some psychological or philosophical term, the unmoved, 130 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.920 mover the ground of all of our beings, all of 131 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:33.639 these phrases, the omnipotent, omniscient, unfeeling power, impersonal force. Now, 132 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.040 he says, to pray, you got to realize God is 133 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:40.279 your father. Now, if you're going to be confident in 134 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:43.519 your prayer, listen to me. You got to use the 135 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:47.279 name that God has chosen for himself. And God chose 136 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:51.759 the name Father. You have a right to choose what 137 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.759 you're called by. You were given a name by your parents, 138 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.959 but when you grew up, if you wanted to shorten 139 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.920 it or change it or whatever you could. You have 140 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.079 the right to be called by what you want to 141 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:04.120 be called by. So, for instance, if your name is Laurie, 142 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:06.879 you don't like it as somebody calls you. 143 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:12.319 Laura or Lauren or Laura or Loretta. That's not your name. 144 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:16.199 Your name is Laurie. And God says, I want you 145 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:19.639 to call me Father, not mother. 146 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.199 By the way, not mother. God is not your mother. 147 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:25.920 God says, I am your father. Now we know. God 148 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.680 tells us in the Bible that God has both male 149 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:32.200 and female qualities and The reason why there are two 150 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:35.759 sexes on earth, male and female, is because God has 151 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.320 both male and female qualities, and we were made in 152 00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:40.720 His image, and no one. 153 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.200 Person has all the image of God. 154 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.000 And the Bible says women need men and men need women, 155 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:48.120 and that we need each other because together we project 156 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:49.360 what God is really like. 157 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.360 So God is a spirit. He's neither male nor female. 158 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:56.159 But God has said I want you to call me father, 159 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:59.080 and he has a right to say you call me by. 160 00:08:58.879 --> 00:08:59.840 What I want you to call me. 161 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:05.080 And actually Jesus even takes it further as he goes 162 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.879 into explaining this, he says, I want you to call 163 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:12.840 God abba Abba. Now that's not the Swedish rock group. 164 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.840 It's an air make term. Every child who's born in 165 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:21.840 the Middle East, the first word they learn is Ahba. 166 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:28.000 It means Papa, dad, Dad, It's like mama, something very 167 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.039 easy to say. And what abba means is not even father. 168 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:37.080 It means daddy. It's a term of endearment. It's a 169 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.120 term of love. And God says, when you pray, the 170 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.399 first thing you got to get right is the relationship. 171 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:45.200 You got to realize I'm not some CEO sitting up 172 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.320 there in the sky waiting to judge your prayer. 173 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:51.000 I'm your Abba, I'm your daddy, and. 174 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.960 You can come to me in a loving, gentle, trusting, 175 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:58.240 intimate relationship, like a little child, come to. 176 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.240 God and say, Daddy, that's what he says to do. 177 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.240 Now, I realize that this is a problem for some people, 178 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:09.960 because father is a negative term for some people. Maybe 179 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.120 your dad was distant, maybe your dad was demanding, Maybe 180 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:18.399 your dad was demoralizing. Maybe your dad was abusive. Maybe 181 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.759 your dad was absent in your life. And you have 182 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:24.919 a lot of bad memories about that term father. So 183 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:27.519 when you say, well, if God is like my father, no, 184 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:32.879 thanks God our father in heaven. But God, your heavenly father, 185 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:38.399 is unlike any father on earth. Now, there are good 186 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:40.639 fathers on earth. I had a good father. I hope 187 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:44.879 maybe you had a good dad. But every dad, including 188 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.360 me and those of you who are dads, we're flawed, 189 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:51.080 we're imperfect, we make mistakes. Your father in heaven is 190 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:56.399 absolutely perfect. He never loves you conditionally. He never loves 191 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.919 you one day and not the next. He's not inconsistent. 192 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:02.440 Some of you grew up with dad. She said, I 193 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:03.919 don't know if he's gonna hug me one day or 194 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:07.519 slug me on another day. But God is not like 195 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:12.720 your dad. God is unlike any father on earth. He's perfect. 196 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.840 He always loves you. He always knows everything about you. 197 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.840 He always understands you. My dad didn't always understand me. 198 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.840 Your dad didn't always understand you. I didn't always understand 199 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.759 my kids. But God knows what you think more than 200 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:29.440 you know what you think. And so we know that. 201 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:33.679 God says we're to call him father. What kind of 202 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.399 father is God? This is really important. If you understand this, 203 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.519 then prayer becomes very easy for you. God is a 204 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:44.080 caring father. He will never stop loving you. He doesn't 205 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:47.519 have bad days or good days. He is unconditionally loving 206 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:52.720 towards you. God is a caring father, is a close father. 207 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:55.320 Some of you had distant dads and you didn't see 208 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:57.519 if God is with you all the time, He's paying 209 00:11:57.559 --> 00:11:59.519 attention to you all the time. He has the ability 210 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.039 to watch every move in your life. He knows every 211 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:04.360 hair on your head. The Bible says they're numbered by God. 212 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:12.360 He's caring, he's close, he's consistent. He's consistent. He's always 213 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:14.519 the same. He's not one way, this way and another 214 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:15.320 way another. 215 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:16.399 He is capable. 216 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:18.919 When I was a little kid, I used to say, 217 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:20.759 my daddy can do anything. When I grew up, I 218 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.720 realized he couldn't do everything. And when my kids were little, 219 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.240 they used to think I could do everything, and then 220 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:27.919 they grew up and realized that I couldn't. 221 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.320 I'm not capable in every area. But God is your. 222 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.039 Heavenly Father, is capable, and he's close, and he's consistent, 223 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:38.399 and he's committed, and he's competent, and he's caring. Now, 224 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.679 Jesus has a lot to say about prayer this morning. 225 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:45.039 I want us to just look at one set of 226 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:48.639 verses by Jesus, just five verses in the Sermon on 227 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:53.039 the Mountain. And in this five verses, Jesus gives us 228 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.679 five reasons, five reasons that you can always pray with 229 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.720 confidence no matter who you are. Did you hear that 230 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.360 no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, 231 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:05.639 no matter what your religious background is. Jesus in this 232 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.000 passage gives you the five reasons you can stop worrying about. 233 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.639 I don't know how to pray and how you can 234 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:15.399 pray with confidence all the time, So you need to 235 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:19.519 write this down. This will change your life. It'll change 236 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.799 the whole way you look about prayer if you'll do 237 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.639 it the way Jesus said. Now in Matthew chapter seven, 238 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.320 verses seven to twelve. This is in Jesus' famous sermon 239 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.000 the Mountain. He says this up here on the screen, 240 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:34.320 Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and 241 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:38.799 you will find. Knock and the door will be open 242 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:39.080 to you. 243 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:39.759 This is a promise. 244 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:42.519 Now, by the way the verbs there, ask, seek, and knock, 245 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:46.000 they're actually present participles. Jesus is actually staying there. Keep 246 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.080 on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. No, just 247 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:51.840 knock one time. If I told you go over to 248 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:54.200 that house and knock on the door, and when you 249 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:56.200 open it up, when the door opens, they're going to 250 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:58.000 give you a million dollars, you wouldn't walk up and 251 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:02.159 go and walk away. No, if you knew a million 252 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:04.600 dollars behind that, you'd start knocking, and you'd keep knocking, 253 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.919 and you'd keep knocking until the door opened. So God says, 254 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.720 keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Be 255 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:15.679 persistent in your prayer, for anyone who asks will receive. 256 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:16.519 That's a promise. 257 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:21.639 Anyone who seeks will find, and everyone who knocks the 258 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:26.360 door will be opened. And then Jesus says this, For example, 259 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:29.120 if your child ask you for some bread to eat, 260 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:32.919 would any of you fathers give her a stone? And said, obviously, 261 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.159 the answer is no, of course not. Or if your 262 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:38.600 child asked you for some fish, would you put a 263 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:39.639 snake on their plate? 264 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.360 The answer is obviously no. He's using this. 265 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.759 Metaphor, this image of prayers, like a father and a 266 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:51.639 child talking together, and he says this, Now, since even you, 267 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.840 as sinful imperfect parents, I'm an imperfect parent. I don't 268 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.320 always get it right. You're an imperfect parent. As a 269 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.720 sinful imperfect parents, I know how to give good gifts 270 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.440 to your children. Even though I'm often selfish, I'm off 271 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.200 in self centered, I'm not perfect. I know how to 272 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:08.840 give good gifts to my kids, and so do you. 273 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:09.559 He says. 274 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:11.960 Even if you're an imperfect parent and you know how 275 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.480 to give good gifts to your children, how much more 276 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:20.879 does your good and perfect father in Heaven give only 277 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:25.679 gifts that are good to those who ask him. There's 278 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.720 that image of parent and child, and then he says, 279 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:34.279 so he concludes, in every situation, always due to others, 280 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.559 what you would want them to do to you. You're 281 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.159 familiar with this. This is called the Golden rule. Doing 282 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:41.879 to others as you would have them doing to you. 283 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:44.200 Most of you didn't know that. It's in the context 284 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:48.440 of prayer. He's talking about prayer. In every situation. Always 285 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:51.039 do to others what you would want them to do 286 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:55.320 to you. Because this sums up all the commands and 287 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:57.200 all the teachings in the Bible, all the law and 288 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:58.600 the provinces is summed up in this. 289 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.960 Treat other people the way you'd like to be treated. 290 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:06.919 Now, in that passage there, he gives us five reasons. 291 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:08.960 You don't have to worry when you pray. You don't 292 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.720 have to worry about what you say, where you say it, 293 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:13.200 how you say it, how long you pray. You don't 294 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.000 have to worry. You could be confident. Would you write 295 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.159 these down? Number one? 296 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.200 These will change your life. Number one. 297 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.720 The first thing God teaches us in this passage is 298 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:27.480 that God promises to answer if I keep asking. God 299 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:32.240 promises to answer if I keep asking. He says, keep 300 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.159 on asking and you'll be given what you ask for. 301 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.879 Keep on looking seeking and you'll find Keep on knocking 302 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.159 and the door will be open for Anyone who asks 303 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.000 will receive, anyone who seeks will find, and everyone who 304 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.720 asks knocks. 305 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:46.320 The door will be open. 306 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:52.159 Now, what's the difference between asking, seeking, and knocking. It's 307 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.759 just three ways of say in the same thing. If 308 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:58.679 you take in English the letter first letter of each word, ask, seek, 309 00:16:58.960 --> 00:16:59.399 and knock. 310 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.919 What does that's pat well? Ask? 311 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.559 Yeah, he's just saying ask three different ways. But what 312 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.680 he's me saying here is proximity to your heavenly Father 313 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.799 makes a difference. Write this down. I'm not going to 314 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:14.440 go into detail on it, but let me explain it 315 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:18.240 to you. When I'm close to my father, I just ask. 316 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:21.880 When I'm close to my father, I just ask. In 317 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:24.160 other words, if I'm a little kid and I'm at 318 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.160 home and my dad's sitting there in the living room 319 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.960 and I have something I need from him, I don't 320 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.759 write him a letter. I don't send him an email, 321 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:35.440 I don't call him on the phone. If I'm close 322 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.400 to my father, I just go, hey, Dad, I need 323 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:42.720 and then I ask. And when you're close to God, 324 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:45.640 then all you need to do is just ask, like 325 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:50.200 a child asks the father God, I need this, Daddy, Abbah, 326 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:53.319 I need this. When you're close to God, you just ask. 327 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:58.119 But sometimes I'm not close to my father, and sometimes 328 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:01.599 you're not close to God. And sometimes I have something 329 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.000 I want to ask my dad, And as a little kid, 330 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:05.759 I go, well, he's not here in the living room, 331 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.319 so I have to go seek him. I go look 332 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:10.079 in the backyard. His dad in the backyard. I want 333 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:11.519 to ask a questions. Now he's not there. I want 334 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.039 to go to the garage. His dad in the garage. 335 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:13.799 No he's not there. 336 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:14.839 Is he? 337 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.839 Is he in his little study area, his office at home? 338 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:20.079 No he's not there. Is he at work? 339 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:21.480 If he's at work, I might have to call him. 340 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:23.880 And when when I'm distant from God, I have to 341 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:24.799 do a little bit more than. 342 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.039 Seeking I ask him. I have to seek him. 343 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:30.759 I have to seek him when I'm distant from God, 344 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.519 when I'm when he's not close. And then sometimes my 345 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:38.640 dad is behind a wall and I have to knock. 346 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:41.680 And when a wall keeps me from seeing my father, 347 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:45.680 I knock. When I when he's in the room with me, 348 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.880 I just ask. When I don't know where God is, 349 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.960 when I'm distant from God, I seek. And when there's 350 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.839 a barrier between me and God, I knock. I knock, 351 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:57.359 and so I want to ask as a little kid, 352 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.720 my dad's something, and I look for him and I 353 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.119 find now he's in his office, but the door is shut. 354 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.240 What do I do do I just give up? No, 355 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:05.960 I just go up and knock on the door, and 356 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:11.079 Dad goes, who is this? It's me, Dad, Come on in, No, 357 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:12.880 no problem, no hassle, I just knock. 358 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.039 Is it okay for me to come in? 359 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.000 Yeah, come on in, Come on in. And So what 360 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:21.960 is he saying by this? Listen very closely. It doesn't 361 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.799 matter how close you are to God or how far 362 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:26.960 away you are to God. 363 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:33.160 God still wants you to ask. Listen to this. Some 364 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:35.359 of you think I'm not worthy to ask God. I'm 365 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:37.359 too far away from God. Right now? God says, no, 366 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.039 you can ask. You can see if you can knock. 367 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.480 Doesn't matter what the distance is, doesn't matter whether you're 368 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:42.319 closer or far away. 369 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:44.839 The very act of you asking is going to bring 370 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:45.480 you closer. 371 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.640 So it's not like you got to clean up your 372 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.960 life and then you can start asking God, he says, 373 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:53.839 just ask, no matter whether you're really close to Me 374 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.599 or you're trying to find me. Some of you are seekers. 375 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:00.640 You're trying to find God, or you're there's a barrier 376 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:01.160 between you. 377 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.119 And God and you know it. 378 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.599 God says it doesn't matter. You can still ask that 379 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.599 will give you confidence. That'll give you a confidence regardless 380 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:12.119 of how close and far away you are. 381 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:14.400 You can ask for anything in prayer. 382 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:22.839 I am so grateful for that message by Rick, and 383 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:25.480 I hope you are too. And now here's Rick to 384 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.200 tell you how you can partner with Daily Hope to 385 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:30.359 take the word of God to the world. 386 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:31.039 Today. 387 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.039 I'd like to read a testimony that really blessed me. 388 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:37.480 It shows how even when you make mistakes, God's faithful 389 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:40.079 to forgive you, and that He's always working in your 390 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:44.119 life to bring about everything together for good in your life. 391 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:46.759 Not everything is good in your life, but God works 392 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:49.640 at all for good in your life. Now, this is 393 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:52.160 from a man who says he's a recovering addict, and 394 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:55.640 this is part of his story that starts when he 395 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.079 listened to a Daily Hope podcast. Here's why he wrote 396 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.240 Paster Rick. A couple months ago, I started a twelve 397 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.279 step program. In working the steps and in turning my 398 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:09.519 addiction over to God, I searched out many sources for 399 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:15.599 Daily inspirational daily devotionals, daily meditations to help me reconnect 400 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.400 with the Lord as a support for the progress in 401 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:22.519