Pursuing the Spirit

[B-A-C]

Luke 11:5; Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luke 11:6; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
Luke 11:7; and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'
Luke 11:8; "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
Luke 11:9; "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.
Luke 11:10; "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
Luke 11:11; "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
Luke 11:12; "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
Luke 11:13; "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?"

Jesus starts this passage off with saying "Suppose you have a friend... and you go to him at midnight".
I suppose he would have to be a pretty good friend for me to go knocking on his door at midnight.
Not only am I waking him up at midnight... I'm also asking him for some loaves of bread.
(hey, what are friends for??)

But your friend says... "Really?" My and my family are already in bed. The TV is off and I don't want to
get up and give you anything. You're really asking a lot here. ( I would probably be that kind of friend )

So then what does Jesus say here? Does He say.. give up and go home?
No.... He says if you are "persistent" this person will eventually get up and answer the door.

Jesus goes on to say.... "ask" Ask... sometimes we don't ask because we are proud, or it's too much trouble,
or we think it won't do any good anyway. But Jesus says... "ask". Then.... (only after you ask) it will be given
to you.

He says.. "seek". Seeking, searching.. looking for something requires effort. Jesus says.. "seek" and you will
find it. The obvious implication here is.. if you don't look for it... you won't find it.

Finally (verse 9) Jesus says... "knock".... knock on the door.. and keep knocking.... (even if it's midnight) until you
get an answer.

Asking... seeking... and knocking are action words that require effort on your part.

Verse 10 says... if you ask.. you will receive. If you seek... you will find. If you knock... the door will be opened.
But what if you never ask? What if you never search? What if you never knock?

There could be something waiting for you.... just on the other side of the door. You just need to knock..
you just need to ask for it.

Now Jesus makes it a little closer to home. He says... "suppose one of you fathers.... is asked by his children..."
He says... you fathers know how to give your children what is good for them.

He ends this passage with the punchline here..... How much more.... will your heavenly Father....
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. The secret here is... you have to ask. You have to search... you have to knock.

- * - * - * - * -

Acts 17:26; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
Acts 17:27; that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Heb 11:6; And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Jer 29:13; 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Are you searching? Are you knocking? Are you..... asking?

 

[B-A-C]

Luke 18:4; "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
Luke 18:5; yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'"
Luke 18:6; And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge *said;
Luke 18:7; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?

Sometimes God wants us ask.... sometimes He wants us to be persistent about it. Just keep swimming... ummmm knocking.

 

[Lanolin]

Are we allowed to nag God?

I dont know about other people but sometimes we may think we shouldnt pray about something cos He must be busy dealing with ten billion other prayer requests.

So we might nag someone else about it, who obviously cant do what GOd can do. When that happens I just say well have you asked God about it? Lets ask Him right now.

Some people do complain God doesnt answer their prayers right away. But maybe they just asked him the wrong question.

I had a widow ring me at 9ish and I was already in bed asking a favour and I did not want to think about anything at that time, it was to give her a ride somewhere and she needed to know or have an answer right away and that was annoying! But Im sure she asked someone else when I couldnt do it, but the thing is God doesnt sleep so why doesnt she call Him first.

 

[B-A-C]

the thing is God doesnt sleep so why doesnt she call Him first.

I think that's the whole point in both of these passages. Jesus is using the "unrighteous" judge as a metaphor of our heavenly
Father. (God isn't unrighteous, but Jesus is saying if an unrighteousness person will do this... how much more will God (who
is righteous) do it. (answer prayer requests in the middle of the night)

The same with the first passage. If an earthly father (being evil) knows what to give his children, how much more does
God (who is righteous) know what to give us?

 

[Wired 4 Fishen]

Sometimes God wants us ask.... sometimes He wants us to be persistent about it. Just keep swimming... ummmm knocking.

Sometimes our enemy is fighting back and thus our Faith is being tested.
Do we give up or do we stay the same consistent or constantly the same standing on His Word unwavering?

 

[Wired 4 Fishen]

So then what does Jesus say here? Does He say.. give up and go home?
No.... He says if you are "persistent" this person will eventually get up and answer the door.

Sometimes God wants us ask.... sometimes He wants us to be persistent about it. Just keep swimming... ummmm knocking.

Greetings @B-A-C ,
I used to believe this was in reference to keep asking, asking over and over as in how much do you really want it. I was taught this in several churches.
Then some time back I was led to some eye opening teachings on Faith and it is has made the difference from Receiving and continue asking with no real results.

Let's look at a couple other Scriptures.

1. Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

2. 2Corinthians1:20
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

3. Mark11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

1John5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

With these scriptures we can begin to see a pattern or set directions for Faith to be Activated with the Power to bring forth or into a manifestation of a desired result.

Now if I tell you that I will do something for you. If you believe me then you won't keep asking me because you know I will do it.

It's the same here to. If we believe the scriptures we just read then we know that we have.

When we keep on asking over and over it is as we don't BELIEVE. We are trying to convince God to do it. We are almost begging God and there is No Faith what so ever in that.

Hebrew6:12
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

How does Patience Work With Faith?
Let's look at the Word patience.
The definition has gotten sloppy these days.
Putting up with or dealing with is how people see it today.

However let's look at a biblical view of Faith Patience.
Your Faith MUST remain the SAME CONSTANTLY AND CONSECUTIVELY THE SAME in all things.

No wavering. No swaying back and forth. Not moved by anything other then what the Word of God Says.
Always the same Trusting, Joyful Believing Faith. It remains calm and does not panic.

James1:3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

So this so called knocking time is really a standing strong time.
For the most part, we don't always see instant manifestation of a desired result.

This is when our enemy, giant, doubt, unbelief and more will work to keep you from getting your desired result.

It's not the time to quit or give in.
It's Ephesians6:13 Time
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

This means fighting the good fight of faith.
This means not being moved from your Faith.
Keep on knocking now means
1 stand without wavering
2 Believing
3 Speaking God's Word
4 Speaking the desired results confidently.
5 Thanksgiving, Praise

Resistance does NOT MEAN A LOCKED DOOR.
yet because of his persistence he will getup and give him as much as he needs.

Hebrews 11:1
Follow through With Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith Don't Beg, plead, or barter- it sees and it believes and it receives

Blessings to you and your family
Wired