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Luke Chapter 11
- Luke 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.
Jesus set the example and they wanted to
follow. "Lord, teach us to pray." How many of us sometimes wonder
how to reach the lost, how to pray or how to understand the word and
immediately we think, "I must go to a certain seminar or enter
bible college."
There may not be anything wrong with that approach but we may miss
something. Why can't we just say to the Lord, "Lord, please teach me
how to .........?" I don't believe for one moment that the Lord will
let us down.
- Luke 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.
Start out our prayers recognizing the king
of kings and lord of Lords in His splendor and greatness, giving
glory to Him for His works and being thankful for His mercy toward
us.
- Luke 11:3 Give us day by day
our daily bread.
We don't have to worry about food but trust
God for necessary supplies. Also even greater is to ask God for our
daily bread, meaning spiritual bread or food for the soul. The word
of God.
- Luke 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.
If we want our sins forgiven, we must
forgive others who have sinned against us. We cannot be forgiven if
we don't. Ask God's help in times of temptation because we can't go
through it on our own.
- Luke 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;
- 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.
This person was helped because of his need,
not because he was a friend to the supplier.
- Luke 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.
- 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?
So many use these verses to justify the name
it and claim it doctrine. They say that whatever you ask, shall be
given. This is not what Jesus is saying. He is talking mostly of
spiritual things and necessary things for our existence while on
earth. He is talking of the Holy Spirit that is given to those who
believe. He also said at one time, "Seek first the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."
Here is what Jesus says as recorded in
Matthrew:
- Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what
ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body
than raiment?
- 26 Behold the
fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye
not much better than they?
- 27 Which of you
by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
- 28
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
- 29 And yet I
say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
- 30 Wherefore,
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to
morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith?
- 31 Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
- 32 (For after
all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
- 33 But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.
Seek the holy things and the good things and
all necessary needs will be supplied to us.
When I use to go to the altar to pray as a
child, I never dreamed of asking for a new sled or a bike, it was
always for the things of the spirit. We somehow got away from this
and that is why we are having so many problems with sin. We need the
power of God in our lives to overcome temptation that leads to sin.
- Luke 11:14 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.
Either we are for God or against Him. How
can one cast out devils and be doing it for the devil? A house
cannot be divided. Let us be careful not to be an accuser of the
brethren in spiritual matters. If someone is doing great works of
God, let us not accuse them of operating by the power of the devil.
That is so dangerous. If they are out of God's will, He will take
care of it. We must pray continually for these things but not be
accusers. Yes we must correct false doctrine but not attribute works
of God to the devil. If we are not sure, leave it to God rather than
be a false accuser.
- Luke 11:21 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 armor 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.
The state of a backslider is worse if he
forsakes God than before He came to know God.
- 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.
- 28 But he said, Yea
rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep
it.
One of the most important verses in the
bible is, "Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it."
We must not just hear but read the word,
study the bible and do what it says.
- Luke 11:29 And when the people
were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil
generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given
it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
- 30 For as Jonah was a
sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this
generation.
- 31 The queen of the
south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this
generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts
of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a
greater than Solomon is here.
- 32 The men of Nineveh
shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and,
behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
All the judgments in the Old Testament
against evil cities will not be anything compared to the judgment
against a city that rejects the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. Had
Sodom, Nineveh, and others heard what we have heard, they would have
repented. We are responsible to do well with what we have received.
So many have not yet heard. We must be thankful and take advantage
of every opportunity to live how God wants us to live. We have heard
of Jesus, we have read the word, we have access to the fullness of
God. It is us that hold back, not Him.
- Luke 11:33 No man, when he hath
lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a
bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see
the light.
- 34 The light of the body
is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body
also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also
is full of darkness.
If we are living and walking in the spirit,
our light will shine. We cannot hide love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and
temperance.
- Luke 11:35 Take heed therefore
that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
Make sure we are walking in truth and not
just have a religion with no life, compassion or truth. Cast aside
tradition and walk in truth. To find this truth, read the bible.
- Luke 11:36 If thy whole body
therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall
be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth
give thee light.
That light is Jesus Christ. Those without
Christ are in darkness.
- 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.
- 38 And when the Pharisee
saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner.
- 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.
Outward cleanliness has its place but it is
not the gospel. These things are good but they are not important
compared to the spiritual things. The gospel is not an outward
religion of works such as washing, or ceremonies; the gospel is a
changed life in the inner soul and spirit of mankind. We become
cleansed by the Spirit of God and "born again."
- Luke 11:40 Ye fools, did not he
that made that which is without make that which is within also?
- 41 But rather give alms
of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean
unto you.
- 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.
Outward religion rears its head again.
Ceremonies, rituals, candles, sacrifices etc., is not the gospel.
Judgment, love, mercy, compassion, faith and truth is the gospel. It
is inner not outer.
- Luke 11:43 Woe unto you,
Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues,
and greetings in the markets.
- 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.
- 45 Then answered one of
the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
- 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.
This is teaching others but not living it
ourselves.
- Luke 11:47 Woe unto you! for ye
build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed
them.
Their hearts were exactly like their fathers
but outwardly they appear to be religious. They would have and did
do the very same things.
- Luke 11:48 Truly ye bear
witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed
killed them, and ye build their sepulchers.
- 49 Therefore also said
the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and
some of them they shall slay and persecute:
- 50 That the blood of all
the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world,
may be required of this generation;
- 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.
This is because that generation had the very
Son of God which was greater than any before Him. There is no
excuse. God sent prophets, teachers, and preachers to turn them from
sin. They rejected them all. At last He sent His own Son. They
rejected Him too so they are without excuse.
- 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.
The biggest woe is to those who not only
refuse to believe in Jesus Christ but forbid others to hear Him
also. I fear for those in the countries which do not allow the
mention of Jesus Christ, prayer or the bible reading.
- 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:
- 54 Laying wait for him,
and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might
accuse him.
Let us not be as these. Do we love to hear
the word of God or do we like to try to trip up those that speak?
They did this to Jesus. They found fault with the one that
came to take away their sins, heal their sicknesses and deliver them
from bondage. Jesus came to give, yet they found fault. DC
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