All right, if you would open your Bibles to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11. Yesterday we looked at the first 13 verses where Jesus began to teach his disciples how to pray. And in looking at that, we said that we need to know how to pray. that we need to pray humbly, and that that begins with a relationship with God as our Father. But we need to be dependent on the Lord, praying specifically, and praying persistently, and praying expectantly. And I asked yesterday, because I know we have a number of new students and even some new staff, how many of you know about my purple sneakers? And it was evident that, I knew many of you do because I tell this story from time to time, but it was also evident there were a number of people who hadn't. So one more time, show of hands, how many people do not know the purple sneaker story? Okay? See, that's plenty of people to tell this story to. So I'm going to tell you about praying specifically from one experience in my own life. This is empirical evidence that what I'm talking about is not made up or exaggerated. Please notice this is a leather Converse All-Star and it is I mean, it's faded now because these are old. They're not as old as me, but they're still old. But can you see the tongue on that thing? What color is that? That is purple. You don't wonder what color that is. You're not unsure what color that is. You can take one look at that, and unless you're colorblind, you can tell that is purple. All right, let me tell you how I got these shoes. Don't let me leave that when I leave here. I have to hang on to my evidence. I know that I come across as a very bold person who never meets a stranger and so forth and so on, but that's absolutely not who I am. I'm operating outside my comfort zone 98% of the time. I am by nature a shy person. who feels very awkward in social situations, and who just really dreads. I mean, I dreaded going to the lunchroom in public school, going to the cafeteria in college, because I would either have to sit all by myself or else I had to sit with somebody. And my fear was that they really, if they let me sit with them, they were just being nice, because nobody would really want to sit with me. I didn't feel like I had friends. And I felt, I mean, I had friends. There were people who were really dear to me. I had good friends. They just never ate at the same time I did. I think they really weren't my friends. Anyway, it was this awkward thing for a host of reasons, starting undoubtedly with mistreatment by my older brother, who will have to answer to God for that. But that's all right. I was shy. I was withdrawn. And the one thing that brought me out of my shell was I didn't want people to go to hell. And so I would talk to people about Jesus. But it wasn't because it just came naturally to me to say hi to everyone. It's because I wanted people to come to know Jesus. And so I would reach out to people and talk with them. Well, along with the insecurity, and in fact one of the insecurities, was a lack of athletic prowess. I was concerned because I was sick a whole lot as a child. I had this, and then I had this, and then I had this. And I often spent even weeks in bed on heavy medication being treated by doctors in order to try and get well. And I'd get well and get something else. And I mean, I was sick a lot as a child. So other kids were out playing and learning games, and I wasn't. So then I would go out, and they would have skills, and I didn't. And so rather than get out there and participate with them, I just watched. And then, if you add to that a neurotic, perfectionistic orientation that would, for instance, make me feel absolutely like a total disaster if I threw a ball toward a hoop and it didn't go through, just not acceptable. Now, other people were able to throw the ball and miss the backboard and still keep playing, you know? Airball! And I'm just thinking, oh, no way. You know, how can you show your face? You need to move to a new county. I mean, to me, it was just horrible. And again, I think partly because my brother, when I missed a shot, told me I was a disgrace to the Wood family name. Well, he was six years older than me. And so he seemed like an impressive authority on these things. It's all his fault. Feel badly for me, won't you? And so in order to compensate for my lack of athleticism, I wanted to try as best I could, and I had very limited financial resources, but I wanted to try as best I could to have good-looking athletic gear. Because if you had good athletic gear, then it looked like, maybe, in my mind, that if you missed the shot or whatever, you were just having a bad day. I mean, we can tell he's an athlete. Look at his shoes. Okay? People's sport shoes back in my day were limited number of options, but it was very important. Kind of like now where people who don't even play sports will get into gun battles over whether or not they're going to get the latest shoe from Nike, which is insane, as are the prices. Not the price family, but the prices of the Nike shoes. So I wanted to have good-looking athletic shoes that would cause people to perceive me as somebody who at least knew a little something about sports. And in my day, before all the synthetic materials, you had canvas sneakers and you had leather sneakers. And yes, we called them sneakers, presumably because they were quiet as you sneaked around. Yes So anyway, if you if you really wanted the best shoes you got leather leather athletic shoes really not a great idea, but at the time that was what you did and so I got a pair of leather sport shoes, leather athletic shoes that I could wear, not only to play tennis, which was the one sport I had learned, because other kids my age didn't know that sport either. So I could get out and learn with them, and I learned, and I actually became, once upon a time, fairly good in tennis. Not anymore. But I got these athletic shoes. I wore them through my first two years of college. Can you imagine having a pair of sport shoes that you could make last two years. I mean, my kids' sport shoes lasted a few months, and then they were out of them, which I presume was because my kids were a lot more active than I was. But I was making these shoes last, because these were my only tennis shoes. And I had to take, I transferred from the College of North Carolina, it was a two-year school, I transferred up to Gordon College in Massachusetts, and I had to take physical education in order to graduate. Just as at Montreat, it was a required series of courses, at Gordon College, it was a required series of courses. You had, they were determined that we would all be fit. And so we had to learn some sports that we could have as lifetime sports, things like tennis, for example. I came in from physical education class one day and went to take my shoe off and I did a lazy, slovenly thing. Don't do this. Rather than untying my shoe and loosening the laces and removing the shoe, which is the way you're supposed to remove a lace-up shoe, I just lifted my leg like this and pulled on the heel of it in order to pull it off without untying it. That really doesn't save any time because you're going to have to untie it later in order to put your foot back in it. So you're going to use the time on one end or the other unless you leave your Lace is really loose and sloppy, in which case it'll hinder your athletic performance, just so you know. But I went to pull this shoe off without untying it, and when I did, the bottom separated from the top. I mean, it just ripped off like, you know, we give up. And so I went to pull the other one off, and it did the same thing. Both my shoes had gotten through physical education class, back to the dorm, up to my room, and then just gave up their souls. So I've now got two dead tennis shoes. And I mean, you can't wear them again after they're separated like that, because flip-flops with lace-up tops are not... Not good for playing sports. And so I knew I had to have a new pair of athletic shoes by the next week. I was going to have to get some over the weekend. So I prayed. Because as I've told you before, God is my daddy. He's my father. I know he loves me. I know I can count on him. He's promised to meet my every need. That's not something that he did just for me. It's for all his children. And so when I prayed to him, I prayed with confidence and I said, Father, you know that I have to have athletic shoes in order to take this class. And I have to take this class in order to graduate from this college. And so I know that you will provide me with a pair of sneakers because you've promised to meet all my needs. But Lord, they have those horrible, crummy, imported shoes in a bin in the bookstore. And I don't want those. You had to see these shoes. They were terrible. They were not just canvas tops, but the bottoms on them. They were made in China back before imports from China were really popular. Gordon College bookstore led the way. And the bottoms on these things apparently had been injected, it was a plastic bottom as opposed to a soft, resilient rubber bottom. It was like a plastic bottom, so they looked like sneakers, but they weren't really. It was like walking around with Frisbees taped onto your foot. You know, it's like, terrible, terrible. They looked mad, and everybody would be able to look and see that that's just one of those cheap pairs of shoes from the bookstore. He must not only be non-athletic, he must be poor, too. That's two slams on you when you're in college. How in the world do we ever get a wife? So, can't play sports, and he's broke. I'd probably have to pay for the pizza if I went out with him. So I really wanted better shoes. And so I said, Father, I know I don't need the best shoes out there. But it would mean so much to me if I could have a pair of leather Converse All-Stars. That was the shoe. It was the premier, ultimate, best shoe out there. And so I said, Lord, I know you love to give good gifts to your children. So even though I know you're going to provide me with a pair of sneakers, it would mean so much to me if they were Leather Converse All-Stars. Please, Father, I'm going to praise you no matter what, but I would be so grateful if you would get me a pair of Leather Converse All-Stars. And I thought about what it would involve. They cost 20-something dollars, and they were available at the mall. I would have to get somebody to give me a ride to the mall, and I didn't have $20. They were over $20. They were like $24, $27, something like that. And I had like $18 in my account. That's all. $18 in my account. I only had $18 in my account, and I worked for that money. But anyway, I said, Lord, I don't have enough money to buy them, but I know that you can provide. I've seen you provide before. And God had provided for me amazingly. I had wonderful Vosk hiking boots, which were also at that time considered the best there were. And God had provided exactly what I needed to get those Vosk hiking boots. I mean, it was amazing. I'll go ahead and tell you that story, too, and we'll come back to the sneakers. When I was about to go off to Gordon College, I knew I was going to need some good, warm boots for up there in the snow. And I thought it'd be good if they were good hiking boots, because I like to hike. And so I got a price for the Vosk hiking boots. And I said, Lord, I've only got this much time before I go back to school. Would you please provide me with a job where I can earn the money? to buy those boots. I believe, if I recall correctly, the boots were $58 at that time. They're now like $320 for that kind. I mean, they're really good boots. And I said, please, Lord, if you would please provide me with a job. I'm willing to work to get the money. I'm not asking you just to drop it out of the sky. But if you would please provide me with a job during this short period between the end of my summer job and the beginning of my school term in Massachusetts, I need $58. I went to the largest employer in town, the Assembly Inn in Montreat, and I asked the lady who was in charge of personnel there if there was anything that I could do in the week and a half or so before I went back to school to earn the money. I didn't tell her how much I needed. I just said I need to make some more money before I go back to school. And she said, well, we're going to have a couple of conferences in here on several different days, and I could use some help as a bellboy and running the elevator. And I said, I'd be delighted to do both. And she said, okay. And I said, how many hours? She said, it wouldn't be, you know, a straight number of hours, because people are going to be coming in and going out on different days. And that's when I'll need you. So I said, well, which days will it be? And how many hours? And how much per hour? And what does that add up to after you take out the taxes? And she sat there. It would be $58. Now, is that cool? Okay, so I knew God answers prayer, provides opportunities, even takes care of people with regard to footwear. The Israelites, when they were in the wilderness, 40 years, their sandals didn't wear out. 40 years, they walked around with the same pair of shoes on because God made them last. Wonderful. I knew God could do that. I knew God had done that in my life. I knew God could do that again. So I said, Lord, I don't have enough money to buy these shoes, but I know that you can provide. So if you would please provide me with a pair of leather Converse All-Stars, I will be careful to always give you the prize. That was my prayer. And that's the promise I'm keeping this morning. So I went to supper, came back to my room, did my homework, went to bed, got up the next morning, went over to the mail room to check and see if somehow before the mail had come in, I might have a piece of mail. It sounds stupid, but this kind of thing you do when you're in love with a girl who lives a long way away and who writes to you. You're thinking, well, maybe they misplaced one yesterday and it'll be there this morning, because I'm just dying to hear from her. I go there to check my mailbox, and while I'm looking this way, checking my mailbox, I hear a voice behind me say, look at that, Converse All-Stars for sale. You know, well, what had I been praying for? And one of the guys said, oh, size eight and a half D, that's not my size. And they go walking off. Several guys had been standing right behind me looking at the bulletin board where there was a new handmade sign that said, leather Converse All-Stars for sale. Brand new, only worn one half hour. Leather, color purple. Size 8 and a half D. Well, everything about that, oh, and it was $9. $9 for brand new leather Converse All-Stars. A shoe that retails for over $20. It could be mine or nine. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it. But I was troubled by the fact that it had that one word on there that just didn't seem right. Purple. How could they possibly be purple? I'd never seen purple sneakers before. And I'll just tell you, in the 1970s, in the early 1970s, this would have been 1974. In 1974, as a matter of fact, it was autumn of 73. In 1973, White guys did not wear purple sneakers. Okay. It just didn't happen. I mean, if you were a person of color, you could pull it off. Okay. Just like today, there are some things that black people can wear and look really styling. And if a white guy does that, it just looked crazy. Okay. I mean, you got to have a certain level of built in panache. in order to be able to wear certain things. Well, purple footwear on a white guy was definitely not acceptable in the early 1970s. And there I was looking at this sign. They were Leather Converse All-Stars in my size at a price I could afford. I couldn't pass it up. So I put a note. It said, if interested, put a note in box such and such. So I wrote a note, and I said, I'm interested in your shoes. And put my name and box number and put it in that person's box. And I got a note back later that day. And it said, the shoes are yours. Come to Shepherd Hall. which is a girl's dorm, and ask for Joe Snook. Okay, now this whole thing is not sounding right. First of all, why would a guy named Joe be living in the girl's dorm? Said J-O-E Snook. Secondly, the whole idea of, how many of you have heard of somebody getting snookered? OK? I mean, this is somebody must have eavesdropped on my prayer, and they're playing a prank on me. Because, I mean, surely there's not a guy named Snook living in the girl's dorm at Gordon College. And I'd never been in the girl's dorm, mind you. I was in love with a girl who was 1,000 miles away. So, you know, there you go. And I was shy. But I thought, I'm going to go into that dorm, and somebody behind the desk, I assumed there was a desk with somebody behind it, somebody behind the desk is going to say, may I help you? And I'm going to say, yes, I'm looking for Joe Snook. And everybody's going to howl with laughter. Say, ah, here he is. He's the guy. There is no Joe Snook. What are you, an idiot? You wanted to buy purple shoes, right? Yeah, right. I mean, I'm picturing how this is going to go very wrong. And I'm going to be so humiliated. But I was like a moth to the flame. I couldn't stay away. I was drawn inexorably toward this place. I had to find out. So I go into the lobby of the dorm. And nobody said, may I help you, which is real life. And so I said, excuse me, I'm looking for Joe Snook. And they went, yeah, sure, OK, and got on the phone. intercom system and called Joe Ellen snook j o e for Ellen snook to come down because she had a guest. And here came Joe Ellen about my size. And, and, and if I had ever gone to see the women's basketball team, I would have known her name. Because she was one of our star players, and very good, in fact. But I didn't know that because I didn't go to sporting events. Because not only was I not athletic, but who would I sit with? So anyway, remember, I'm shy. This girl comes toward me, and I said, hi, I'm Jim Wood. I was the guy who was interested in the Leather Converse All-Stars. She said, oh, sure. I'll be right back. So she goes upstairs, and she comes back down. She's got a brand new box, and she opens it up. And let me just tell you, have you ever seen one of those scenes in a movie or television show when something opens, and all of a sudden, there's music? Well, this music said, purple! Okay, I mean it was unbelievable. I had hoped that maybe they'd be kind of like, kind of navy color, because I could wear navy, you know. I mean, navy's okay. Navy's not the most popular color, but navy would be okay. And maybe these were kind of where they could patent. These were purple shoes. These were absolutely, undeniably, unmistakably, unforgettably purple shoes. So I looked at them, and sure enough, it was exactly what I'd prayed for. except I forgot to specify the color. God had provided me with a pair of leather Converse All-Stars, which is what I'd asked him for. They were my size. They were a price I could afford. They were available on campus. I didn't have to get a ride to the mall. I just forgot to specify, not purple, please. Probably would have given me pink. I knew they were my shoes. I said, Joellen, why are you selling these shoes? She said, oh, well, they don't fit me. And I said, well, did somebody give you the shoes as a gift? She said, no, I bought them last year. They've just been sitting in my closet. And she said, yesterday, I, um, was doing my algebra when all of a sudden the thought popped into my head, you need to sell those shoes. And so I made a sign. And when I went over for supper, I put it on the bulletin board. I said, so when did this thought pop into your head? She said, right before supper. Well, that's right when I was praying. Right when I was praying. See, God had given her those shoes the previous spring. She'd held on to them all summer long. She'd held on to them into the fall until the day that the appropriate owner of the shoes prayed to his father, please give me a pair. God said, I've got a pair for you. I have a pair that's been waiting for you since last spring. I've got people who work at Converse who came up with the idea of purple because I put it in their heads. These shoes are for you, my son. And I said, well, if they're the wrong size, Joellen, why did you buy them? She said, I don't know. I said, did you just like the color? She said, no, I've always hated the color. She said, I don't know why I bought them. It was just on impulse. She said, I bought them, and I tried to wear them for half an hour, and they weren't my size. So I just put them in my closet, and I've had them ever since. Those are my shoes. I knew they were my shoes. I hated that they were my shoes. But I knew they were my shoes. So I said, well, my only reluctance about buying them, I said, they're my size, but my only reluctance about buying them is I really don't like the color. And she said, well, I'll knock it down to $8 for you. Wow. Wow. I had $18 in the bank. I would still have $10. If I'd been smart, I would have said, that's enough to buy you a pizza. But I didn't do that. I was intimidated. And I was in love with a girl 1,000 miles away. So I bought the shoes. And I wore the shoes. And I want you to know that every day that I ever wore those shoes, every day that I ever wore those shoes, at least one person, often more than one, but at least one person every day I wore them would say to me, Wow, where'd you get those shoes? Or, wow, what's with the purple shoes? Or, what's the story? So I've told this story more than a few times, as you might imagine. Because as you can see from those shoes, I've worn them a lot. But every time that people ask me about the shoes, I got to tell people that my father is the ruler of the universe. And he meets his children's needs, even if what they need is to be humbled. You see, what I wanted was a pair of shoes that would make me look cool. And what God gave me was a pair of shoes that made me look crazy. And that's OK, because that's what I needed. And when I wore those shoes, I did pass physical education, by the way. When I wore those shoes, I was able to tell people that purple is the color of royalty. It is, even in the Bible. Purple's the color of royalty and I am a child of the king. And these shoes are a token of his love for me and the fact that he has a great sense of humor. Because he does. He's got a tremendous sense of humor. So, would I have been better off if God had given me a pair of black leather Converse All-Stars, or white leather Converse All-Stars, or burgundy leather Converse All-Stars? No, I wouldn't be standing here telling you this story in all likelihood, and I certainly wouldn't still have the shoes. It would have been worn out like the Vosk hiking boots. I still remember the story. I still give God the praise. But it's not near as much fun as having a pair of purple sneakers, because hardly anybody else has a pair like those. Is that clear? Now, why would I tell you that story? Well, because I want you to understand what we talked about yesterday. Jesus said, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. God wants us to depend on Him. When we pray for daily bread, we're making it clear that we know what we need comes from God. Pray that God will give you what you need. And you can be assured that he will if you're his child. I had a guy who came to my door during those same years at Gordon College, and he said, Jim, I'm worried. I said, what's the matter? He said, I'm thinking maybe I'm not really saved. I said, why would you say that? He said, because Psalm 23, I was just meditating on it, and it says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. And there's all kinds of stuff that I want. There's lots of stuff that I want and I don't have it. So does that mean that the Lord isn't my shepherd? Well, if it said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be dumb, then I would have doubted his salvation along with it. But instead, I explained to him, and I want to explain to you, that what it's talking about in Psalm 23 is you're not going to be in want. You're not going to lack what you need. Do you know the difference between I want and I need? There's a whole lot of stuff that we want that we don't need. Amen? And so to lack what we want is not the same thing as lacking what we need. What we need is the Lord himself. Look at the promise that he makes here in verse 11 and following. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give what? The Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. He'll give the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? It's God Himself. If you've got God, You got everything you need. You got everything you need. Jesus was able to take a little boy's lunch and feed 5,000 men plus women and children. Jesus is able to meet your need. Whatever it is, whatever it is, don't ever doubt His compassion, and His wisdom? Because sometimes by not giving us what we are asking for, He is saving us from great difficulty. Remember the Apostle Paul, who said he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn in the flesh that tormented him. It wasn't something that just made him uncomfortable, it tormented him. He was tormented, made miserable by this painful affliction. And three times, he didn't just say, Lord, if you don't mind, please take this. He says, I pleaded with the Lord on three separate occasions. I pleaded with the Lord to take this from me. And he said, but the Lord told me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. You see, there was something worse than that thorn in the flesh that could have come to Paul. He said, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in the flesh. Which would be worse? To have chronic physical torment or to be conceited. Really, I'd rather not have either of those problems. But personally, I think I'd rather be conceited. Well, that's why you don't get to choose. Because we don't always know what's best for us. And the fact of the matter is, to be conceited is to be spiritually sick, and it's deadly. Much better. to have a chronic physical torment than to be spiritually sick with conceit. So pray humbly, specifically, persistently, and expectantly, knowing that God knows best and he will give himself to his children. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the privilege of sharing again a testimony that you authored. It was your idea to give me purple sneakers, and it was a good one. And I've laughed, and I've been amazed at your faithfulness. And I pray that whatever these dear folks are facing, whatever challenges lie ahead, whatever they're going through right now, they would depend upon you for daily bread, for forgiveness, for everything we need. I pray that you would pour out your blessings upon your children and that you would bring glory to the name of Jesus For it's in His name we pray, amen.