The Sermon Ask by David McGee
Jun 21, 2015
Ask (29:54)
Referenced Scriptures: Philippians 3:20; Luke 11:1-4; Luke 11:9-10; Matthew 15:34-39; John 9:1-7; John 15:1-8
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Philippians 3:20
20) For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord, Jesus Christ;
Luke 11:1-4
1) It happened, that when he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples."
2) He said to them, "When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, May your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come. May your desire be done on Earth, as it is in heaven.
3) Give us day by day our daily bread.
4) Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.‘"
Luke 11:9-10
9) I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
10) For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 15:34-39
34) Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
35) He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;
36) and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
37) They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
38) Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39) He sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
John 9:1-7
1) As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
2) His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3) Jesus answered, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents. But, that the works of God might be revealed in him,
4) I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
5) When I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6) When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man‘s eyes with the mud,
7) and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came seeing.
John 15:1-8
1) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
2) Every branch in me that doesn‘t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3) You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4) Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can‘t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
5) I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6) If a man doesn‘t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7) If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done to you.
8) In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.
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Well I like to speak with us speak to us about the word ask. You know it's a very simple word that's a three letter word that I'm sure we are familiar with not necessarily as a word but in what we do because we are asking questions and inquiring about things all the time. You know what's the temperature. You know what is it going to rain today. It's going to be sunny today. What time does church start again. And we ask different questions in different ways. But I thought of and I looked up the definition there are three basic definitions to the word ask and I was surprised at how these questions the answers to this were to ask are related in Scripture. So the word I asked first of all is to say or write something to someone as a way of gaining information. So we want to gain information to request an answer to a question. So that's the first one. The second is to tell someone in the form of a question that you want to be given something. So you want something so you ask for it or that you want something to happen or you're questing something to come to you. The third one is to invite someone to go somewhere or do something. OK So we've all ask questions. We've all have and hopefully we have inquiring minds and it's not just a newspaper ad that we want to know so we want to know information. And in our lives we should never stop learning. We should never stop learning because when we stop learning where we're starting to fail and we're not you know our minds and our our spirits and everything continue to decline and we get stuck in some of our sometimes. Some of our least favorite things we get stuck in. You know I was thinking of the word pride as we were setting here. I think of the word pride and then there's another word that comes along that says divine favor. And whenever we think of divine favor and how that favor the divine favor replaces pride in our life pride there is that there's a good we talked about this thing last week or the week before we spoke about pride and there is a very healthy pride that we are to have. And is proud of us and it's his creation. So that's a good type of pride. But in the in the in then sometimes whenever we take pride in a negative manner we are being both full or thinking that we are better than someone else. Well if we take that pride wants us to do away with that type of I'm better than anyone wants that to be taken away from our life. But what do we put in place of that and how do we allow ourselves in relationships to become the for the relationship to grow and become greater. Well there is a think of it I think of in the context of a divine favor the blesses us with a divine specialness a divine uniqueness that each one of us possess so that everything I think about myself as being good in my relationship with in the divine favor that I have with I see it as a way of imparting that to someone else. This pride says this is me and I'm alone in this divine favor is I am I Ming with in this and so are you. So this divine favor that wants to instill in our hearts and lives then gives us a perspective not of something that I want to share. One is how blessed we are. Do you realize how good is to us. Do you see 's hand working in your life because as we see this we talk about it and the same thing that is with me he is with you. So pride says well I'm special and I don't know about you. Favre says I'm special and I know you are too. So that as children of we have this favor. As children of we have this relationship with that doesn't quit and doesn't stop teaching us. does not stop leading us. So if we find ourselves in difficulty does it mean has left us. It means that is doing something different in our lives getting our attention. Life is getting our attention and no matter where we feel no matter where we feel we are at and whether we feel it is a good or a bad situation we come back to divine favor. We come back to the idea that is at work in my life and that we are asking for wisdom and power and that we are thanking him because in Thanksgiving our perspective changes. Whenever we are thankful that is with us and that we are thankful for the situation we find ourselves in. We are then thanking for taking care of for blessing for working out what needs to be done. So we are allowing 's divine favor presence. Spirit love to continue to develop and unfold who we are. So in slipping in step two three verse twenty. Whatever we are asking a question when we're asking are asking is not the same as a non-believer. OK When we ask questions we have a relationship with that separates us and brings us to a whole different category of asking. You see when we are asking or saying something to say to someone as a way of gaining information when we are praying and asking for divine wisdom we are gaining information from a divine source that touches our life. But if in that wisdom that has given to me has given this revelation to me and in that revelation I find myself at odds with someone else and their revelation. Then I have taken it to a wrong place because even if their revelation is different still calls for me to love them and without love nothing of none of the gifts were the gift things that has put in our life are for us to take to a place where we are becoming like Jesus. You know we are becoming like him in his relation experience with people and who are we to write someone off. You know there's a conference going on this week in the last few weeks and in town and I was. I saw their buses this morning and I and I thought you know and one time one of the Scriptures one of the readings I was doing was this may be last week or this week and it said Who are you to to scratch someone off of the invitation list to the wedding. Who am I to say. No this person is not good enough for the Kingdom of and we are not allowed to scratch anybody off the list. That means every person in our life that we know that we don't know that we come in contact with whether it's the two guys escaped convict from the person who are we to scratch their name off the invitation list to come in to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. We are to pray for them we are to pray that use whatever situation it is to stop them in their tracks and for them to see in a way that changes their life from the inside out. That friends family neighbors people we don't know people we don't hear about rather than p ing judgment. We have a divine favor that says they're not beyond the reach of because I'm not beyond the reach of god so therefore they are not. I'm not in a place where I am placing condemnation upon someone who and me I'm in a place of praying that 's revelation would touch their life and where I am that would continue to lead me step by step to where I need to be. I think of it sometimes that in counseling I always used to use the house as an il ration and sometimes we're very familiar with say in our house our life we have different we have different segments of our life. We know we have the eating and we have the family we have the work we have the sleep we have the you know free time whatever we have different time periods of our life in like in that two different times of the day for our life to be lived and weekend church you know. So we don't just become holy on Sunday and forget on Monday you know. So our life then isn't you know. Like a kitchen a living room a bedroom that's ROOM a ba t an attic all those types of things. Sometimes we are very very familiar with our part of our room in the House are our room which is what we know very well what we are comfortable with with people we are comfortable with people we already ease with. That's our room might be our living room might be the kitchen you know. I know it better and so we we have that familiarity. But someone comes along and starts talking to us about the living room. They're what they're describing is a living room and what happens is we start saying well they can't be right. That doesn't belong in a kitchen that doesn't belong in my life. Then they can be right because they're describing a living room and I don't live in a living room because I live in the kitchen and you can tell that we all have it so our lives then are put in different perspectives and I often use in the grief journey that we have rooms upstairs rooms in the hallway and we have them locked and there no one can trust p into those locked rooms but you know is a person is a person and he wants to be involved in every aspect of our life including those locked up areas because in Christ nothing is hidden. So what we do then is in this hallway where we put on blinders and don't pay attention to the locked doors we then recognize there are locked doors and then some period time later we unlock them and there's a some period of time later we open them up and take a peek inside and then it sometimes here is sometimes some period of time later we'll let the door open. You know you have those rooms that you close off when company's coming. You don't have them OK. I won't tell you. Or ours are but so what happens is when we let those doors open to the things that we have locked up we allow to help us go in and pick one thing up and bring it out and deal with it. Then another time we go allow him to pick something up and deal with it you see Divine favor is there is nothing coming between us and no memory no event no locked rooms so in Philippians I don't know where I'm going. has a way. has a way of allowing us. I prepare lots of stuff. Brian I gave him about ten sets not ten. Maybe five or six at the scripture and I probably have another four or five to go with it and I haven't got to the first one yet. And I still got twelve you know we started ten I finish at twelve. Brian Where's my clock. Jose said I was a always has a countdown clock you know so I know how many minutes I've been speaking. How long have I been speaking not a long time ago and that's a long time pastor. OK To tell we're sweating here. PHILOCLEON say after three but there's far more to life for us. First of all let's recognize where we are at is not where we're supposed to end up. There is far more for us to do to become and arrive at the this isn't it. It's not over. Life isn't over because you're where you're at. wants to take us another step at a time he wants to take us in our development. He wants to take us onward in this relationship that we have with him. So there is more for us. Then there's more for life to live more for us to live our life for however we want to say it and we want to know this. Don't forget to live today. Don't forget to live for this moment knowing that we have an eternity with we are safe in this moment and we can live to the next knowing that is going to direct our steps. Now we criticize. Oh sorry let's not criticize. We're citizens of high heaven. We're waiting the arrival of the Savior the Master Jesus Christ who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. Now we know that when the trump of still sounded and in Christ shall rise and we were alive and remain shall be caught up to meet him in the air. This body this mortal must take on immortality. Now that same spirit that raised Christ in the dead is alive in each one of us and there is a transformation that will take place at some time in the future that will take us transform us to heaven heavenly bodies but this body in mind that we have right now. OK this body in mind that we have right now is one that is being transformed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working in us and it hasn't yet appeared what we shall be but we shall be like him. So there is a transform ation. There is a transformation that is doing in our lives and that he is at work helping us in all of this so he'll and what he will here do he'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skills by which he is putting everything as it should be. So with the same skills that is making everything as it should be in our lives. The. When it will be with those same skills that he will change us. When the trump of shall sound when we go to heaven a new body a new earth you know New have a new or will do this. So this very same thing that is working at work in us now is going to be at work in us in the end so we're not just waiting to get out of here. We are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us to change us from glory to glory. You see where we're at if where we're at is not a place of glory. Well he must take it if is at work in my life how can this not be a place of growth and development and glory because we are faithful forward. Let's go on. So make us beautiful and whole powerful skill powerful skilled by which he is putting everything as it should be under and around him are asking is putting everything as it should be our asking him if you don't ask for it you don't get it. The spirit divides the gifts to our life several e as He wills. What are we asking for. You see we ask differently than a non-believer and you see if we are asking from a position of divine favor. This is my dad is my dad got he's my dad he's my father. How many of you have you don't have to raise your hands how many of you have children grandchildren. And they ask you for something and you are just bubbling over to give it to them. OK for the rest of you need help but. Now we want to get now of course within reason you know but the idea is loves to give to us because we are His children and we are under His divine favor. He will give to us according to His will. Now in Luke Chapter eleven. Oh I was I was story before we go to Luke eleven. There was a man he died in poverty. He was a popper always life he died in poverty and his family went to his apartment to clean out the garbage and they took most of the stuff through in a dumpster. And he had a painting on his wall and the family took the painting to a yard sale sold it for three bucks or something and the person who bought it took it to an art gallery the Art Gallery gave him three million dollars at auction for the painting it because it was done by historic artist. And you hang on this man's wall and he was in poverty all his life. And the reason of the story is what he had. He was a millionaire but he didn't realize what he possessed. And in our lives in this position of relationship with wants to give to us open up the doors of his understanding into our understanding so that we can use the gifts things that we have so we can use the gift things that we have. I don't have time for that story another story but what is this. But I have an idea. RENCH it's a dead branch. Why is it dead. Because it's been disconnected from its tree trunk. It's pruned. You see sometimes I look at it this way. There is life in this branch and till it decided to I decided to cut it off. But in our life when we decide to cut ourselves off from our relationship with Jesus Christ we will die. How long does it take to die. Well for this it's about it's about a week now but it was green for the first few days. There are people's lives that have been disconnected from They're still green but they're not connected and they're And when prunes things from your life they will die. But that doesn't mean you are dead because you're not this because whenever we are connected to Jesus Christ I am the vine you are the branches. Whenever we are connected to Jesus Jesus is at work in us and the sap that is needed to keep this tree alive has been cut off. And when we allowed to be part of our life we are knowing what we are to ask for the apple tree that I have in my yard I pruned some of those trees some of those lambs There's apples on them those apples are going to die on the vine because I'm never going to chance to mature. There are things that we possess that are going to die inside of us if we don't allow to speak to our hearts and our lives and that not be caught up with the pruning but to be caught up with the life that has given us. Pruning is not pruning is about future growth. When prune something from our life it's gone. It's going to die. You know some relationships in our life need to die. Some relationships in our life need to die because they're no longer part of us but there are relationships in our life that is connected directly connected to our life in Christ and those things need to be pruned and made alive and allowing the fruit and the power of the spirit to flow into our lives. And Jesus asked this verse. Chapter fifteen of Matthew you know Stu's me Luke Chapter eleven and ask for what you need and would go to the Lord's Prayer. He says in verse two so he says when you pray say now I want to I want to read the definition of ask one to say or write something to someone as a way of gaining information. To request an answer to a question OK to tell someone in the form of a question that you want to be given something or that you want something to happen to request and the third one is to invite someone to go somewhere or do something. The Message Bible for the Lord's Prayer father that's an address addressing someone father reveal who you are. Reveal who you are. That's a question asking to gain information. Set the world right. Ask to do something you want to do something. Keep us alive with three square meals. We're asking to give us something keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. We're asking to do something inside of us. Keep us keep us forgiving with you and with others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. It's a request for to do something. Prayer is multi-faceted. And then down to verse nine. Here's what I'm saying. Aspx and you'll get seek and you'll find knock and the door will be opened. Don't bargain with . Be direct and ask for what you need. Ask for what you need ask for what you need. Pride says I don't want to have too much. This is he's talking to what he what are you going to ask him for this too much. Well I don't want to be appear to be too prideful this know your heart does know your heart of course he does. So in our asking we are removing the pride and seeing ourselves as the beneficiary of divine favor where favor cut says to you never leave you nor forsake you. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. My gracious sufficient for you in everything give thanks for this is the will of in Christ Jesus concerning you. So we have I mean the favor of is upon our lives and pride does not originate from the Holy Spirit but the evil one will tempt us with pride to get us to stop asking for what wants to do in our life because we have a wrong understanding of pride. Now if in our sins we are saying to you all me it's not it. But we have a divine presence. Divine relationship the god has ins uted. has initiated. has brought into our life where we are connected not pruned not cut off. So here we are if if we are connected to the vine the vine will bring life back to the fruit back to the Lamb. And is it wrong for the lamb. If it's an apple tree to say I need more apples I need to bear fruit. And in the fruit how do we know what the fruit is. How do we know what the fruit of the Spirit is in our life. wants to do something fruitful in your life. What do we need to have to make that fruit continue to grow. Ask ask him you know what if it's. If you're asking amiss wrongly you're going to feel it in your heart not the temptation to be prideful. Throw that out the window that's not speaking to you. wants us to ask ask and it shall be given to you knock. It will be opened you see. Asking the very point of asking is saying we're not rightful because Pride says not going to ask anybody. I can do this on my own. Grace and Mercy wisdom and power belong to us because we belong to him the same spirit to reside in US resides in He will open our hearts and minds and we shall receive the blessings of the fruit of the spirit the gifts of the Spirit. He will empower us enable us he will make give us strength he will as your day. So show your strength be a man a stand up. So if pride is gone. Relationship isn't present. Relationship is in position. What do we need to ask for. What do we need to ask for. What stands in the way of us stepping forward in relationship with people and going and doing in all those things what stands in the way. Take pride throw it out the window throw it wherever it is. Step on it and allow the divine favor Divine Presence of to initiate the request in your heart. Nothing is off the table because what gives to you you're going to share what puts in your heart in your life and puts into your life. You're going to end up sharing it because that's what love does. Father thank You for the gift you have given us for the many miracles of stand in front of you today. The miraculous people that can change the world are right here in your presence. We can make a difference in the world around us just by a smile and a hand shake sometimes by the words we say sometimes by the deeds we do. It's all open before you Lord flow through us flow through us flow through us oh let us be receptive anough to us and as we ask we shall receive Amen. Ask Well I like to speak with us speak to us about the word ask. You know it's a very simple word that's a three letter word that I'm sure we are familiar with not necessarily as a word but in what we do because we are asking questions and inquiring about things all the time. You know what's the temperature. You know what is it going to rain today. It's going to be sunny today. What time does church start again. And we ask different questions in different ways. But I thought of and I looked up the definition there are three basic definitions to the word ask and I was surprised at how these questions the answers to this were to ask are related in Scripture. So the word I asked first of all is to say or write something to someone as a way of gaining information. So we want to gain information to request an answer to a question. So that's the first one. The second is to tell someone in the form of a question that you want to be given something. So you want something so you ask for it or that you want something to happen or you're questing something to come to you. The third one is to invite someone to go somewhere or do something. OK So we've all ask questions. We've all have and hopefully we have inquiring minds and it's not just a newspaper ad that we want to know so we want to know information. And in our lives we should never stop learning. We should never stop learning because when we stop learning where we're starting to fail and we're not you know our minds and our our spirits and everything continue to decline and we get stuck in some of our sometimes. Some of our least favorite things we get stuck in. You know I was thinking of the word pride as we were setting here. I think of the word pride and then there's another word that comes along that says divine favor. And whenever we think of divine favor and how that favor the divine favor replaces pride in our life pride there is that there's a good we talked about this thing last week or the week before we spoke about pride and there is a very healthy pride that we are to have. And is proud of us and it's his creation. So that's a good type of pride. But in the in the in then sometimes whenever we take pride in a negative manner we are being both full or thinking that we are better than someone else. Well if we take that pride wants us to do away with that type of I'm better than anyone wants that to be taken away from our life. But what do we put in place of that and how do we allow ourselves in relationships to become the for the relationship to grow and become greater. Well there is a think of it I think of in the context of a divine favor the blesses us with a divine specialness a divine uniqueness that each one of us possess so that everything I think about myself as being good in my relationship with in the divine favor that I have with I see it as a way of imparting that to someone else. This pride says this is me and I'm alone in this divine favor is I am I Ming with in this and so are you. So this divine favor that wants to instill in our hearts and lives then gives us a perspective not of something that I want to share. One is how blessed we are. Do you realize how good is to us. Do you see 's hand working in your life because as we see this we talk about it and the same thing that is with me he is with you. So pride says well I'm special and I don't know about you. Favre says I'm special and I know you are too. So that as children of we have this favor. As children of we have this relationship with that doesn't quit and doesn't stop teaching us. does not stop leading us. So if we find ourselves in difficulty does it mean has left us. It means that is doing something different in our lives getting our attention. Life is getting our attention and no matter where we feel no matter where we feel we are at and whether we feel it is a good or a bad situation we come back to divine favor. We come back to the idea that is at work in my life and that we are asking for wisdom and power and that we are thanking him because in Thanksgiving our perspective changes. Whenever we are thankful that is with us and that we are thankful for the situation we find ourselves in. We are then thanking for taking care of for blessing for working out what needs to be done. So we are allowing 's divine favor presence. Spirit love to continue to develop and unfold who we are. So in slipping in step two three verse twenty. Whatever we are asking a question when we're asking are asking is not the same as a non-believer. OK When we ask questions we have a relationship with that separates us and brings us to a whole different category of asking. You see when we are asking or saying something to say to someone as a way of gaining information when we are praying and asking for divine wisdom we are gaining information from a divine source that touches our life. But if in that wisdom that has given to me has given this revelation to me and in that revelation I find myself at odds with someone else and their revelation. Then I have taken it to a wrong place because even if their revelation is different still calls for me to love them and without love nothing of none of the gifts were the gift things that has put in our life are for us to take to a place where we are becoming like Jesus. You know we are becoming like him in his relation experience with people and who are we to write someone off. You know there's a conference going on this week in the last few weeks and in town and I was. I saw their buses this morning and I and I thought you know and one time one of the Scriptures one of the readings I was doing was this may be last week or this week and it said Who are you to to scratch someone off of the invitation list to the wedding. Who am I to say. No this person is not good enough for the Kingdom of and we are not allowed to scratch anybody off the list. That means every person in our life that we know that we don't know that we come in contact with whether it's the two guys escaped convict from the person who are we to scratch their name off the invitation list to come in to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. We are to pray for them we are to pray that use whatever situation it is to stop them in their tracks and for them to see in a way that changes their life from the inside out. That friends family neighbors people we don't know people we don't hear about rather than p ing judgment. We have a divine favor that says they're not beyond the reach of because I'm not beyond the reach of god so therefore they are not. I'm not in a place where I am placing condemnation upon someone who and me I'm in a place of praying that 's revelation would touch their life and where I am that would continue to lead me step by step to where I need to be. I think of it sometimes that in counseling I always used to use the house as an il ration and sometimes we're very familiar with say in our house our life we have different we have different segments of our life. We know we have the eating and we have the family we have the work we have the sleep we have the you know free time whatever we have different time periods of our life in like in that two different times of the day for our life to be lived and weekend church you know. So we don't just become holy on Sunday and forget on Monday you know. So our life then isn't you know. Like a kitchen a living room a bedroom that's ROOM a ba t an attic all those types of things. Sometimes we are very very familiar with our part of our room in the House are our room which is what we know very well what we are comfortable with with people we are comfortable with people we already ease with. That's our room might be our living room might be the kitchen you know. I know it better and so we we have that familiarity. But someone comes along and starts talking to us about the living room. They're what they're describing is a living room and what happens is we start saying well they can't be right. That doesn't belong in a kitchen that doesn't belong in my life. Then they can be right because they're describing a living room and I don't live in a living room because I live in the kitchen and you can tell that we all have it so our lives then are put in different perspectives and I often use in the grief journey that we have rooms upstairs rooms in the hallway and we have them locked and there no one can trust p into those locked rooms but you know is a person is a person and he wants to be involved in every aspect of our life including those locked up areas because in Christ nothing is hidden. So what we do then is in this hallway where we put on blinders and don't pay attention to the locked doors we then recognize there are locked doors and then some period time later we unlock them and there's a some period of time later we open them up and take a peek inside and then it sometimes here is sometimes some period of time later we'll let the door open. You know you have those rooms that you close off when company's coming. You don't have them OK. I won't tell you. Or ours are but so what happens is when we let those doors open to the things that we have locked up we allow to help us go in and pick one thing up and bring it out and deal with it. Then another time we go allow him to pick something up and deal with it you see Divine favor is there is nothing coming between us and no memory no event no locked rooms so in Philippians I don't know where I'm going. has a way. has a way of allowing us. I prepare lots of stuff. Brian I gave him about ten sets not ten. Maybe five or six at the scripture and I probably have another four or five to go with it and I haven't got to the first one yet. And I still got twelve you know we started ten I finish at twelve. Brian Where's my clock. Jose said I was a always has a countdown clock you know so I know how many minutes I've been speaking. How long have I been speaking not a long time ago and that's a long time pastor. OK To tell we're sweating here. PHILOCLEON say after three but there's far more to life for us. First of all let's recognize where we are at is not where we're supposed to end up. There is far more for us to do to become and arrive at the this isn't it. It's not over. Life isn't over because you're where you're at. wants to take us another step at a time he wants to take us in our development. He wants to take us onward in this relationship that we have with him. So there is more for us. Then there's more for life to live more for us to live our life for however we want to say it and we want to know this. Don't forget to live today. Don't forget to live for this moment knowing that we have an eternity with we are safe in this moment and we can live to the next knowing that is going to direct our steps. Now we criticize. Oh sorry let's not criticize. We're citizens of high heaven. We're waiting the arrival of the Savior the Master Jesus Christ who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. Now we know that when the trump of still sounded and in Christ shall rise and we were alive and remain shall be caught up to meet him in the air. This body this mortal must take on immortality. Now that same spirit that raised Christ in the dead is alive in each one of us and there is a transformation that will take place at some time in the future that will take us transform us to heaven heavenly bodies but this body in mind that we have right now. OK this body in mind that we have right now is one that is being transformed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working in us and it hasn't yet appeared what we shall be but we shall be like him. So there is a transform ation. There is a transformation that is doing in our lives and that he is at work helping us in all of this so he'll and what he will here do he'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skills by which he is putting everything as it should be. So with the same skills that is making everything as it should be in our lives. The. When it will be with those same skills that he will change us. When the trump of shall sound when we go to heaven a new body a new earth you know New have a new or will do this. So this very same thing that is working at work in us now is going to be at work in us in the end so we're not just waiting to get out of here. We are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us to change us from glory to glory. You see where we're at if where we're at is not a place of glory. Well he must take it if is at work in my life how can this not be a place of growth and development and glory because we are faithful forward. Let's go on. So make us beautiful and whole powerful skill powerful skilled by which he is putting everything as it should be under and around him are asking is putting everything as it should be our asking him if you don't ask for it you don't get it. The spirit divides the gifts to our life several e as He wills. What are we asking for. You see we ask differently than a non-believer and you see if we are asking from a position of divine favor. This is my dad is my dad got he's my dad he's my father. How many of you have you don't have to raise your hands how many of you have children grandchildren. And they ask you for something and you are just bubbling over to give it to them. OK for the rest of you need help but. Now we want to get now of course within reason you know but the idea is loves to give to us because we are His children and we are under His divine favor. He will give to us according to His will. Now in Luke Chapter eleven. Oh I was I was story before we go to Luke eleven. There was a man he died in poverty. He was a popper always life he died in poverty and his family went to his apartment to clean out the garbage and they took most of the stuff through in a dumpster. And he had a painting on his wall and the family took the painting to a yard sale sold it for three bucks or something and the person who bought it took it to an art gallery the Art Gallery gave him three million dollars at auction for the painting it because it was done by historic artist. And you hang on this man's wall and he was in poverty all his life. And the reason of the story is what he had. He was a millionaire but he didn't realize what he possessed. And in our lives in this position of relationship with wants to give to us open up the doors of his understanding into our understanding so that we can use the gifts things that we have so we can use the gift things that we have. I don't have time for that story another story but what is this. But I have an idea. RENCH it's a dead branch. Why is it dead. Because it's been disconnected from its tree trunk. It's pruned. You see sometimes I look at it this way. There is life in this branch and till it decided to I decided to cut it off. But in our life when we decide to cut ourselves off from our relationship with Jesus Christ we will die. How long does it take to die. Well for this it's about it's about a week now but it was green for the first few days. There are people's lives that have been disconnected from They're still green but they're not connected and they're And when prunes things from your life they will die. But that doesn't mean you are dead because you're not this because whenever we are connected to Jesus Christ I am the vine you are the branches. Whenever we are connected to Jesus Jesus is at work in us and the sap that is needed to keep this tree alive has been cut off. And when we allowed to be part of our life we are knowing what we are to ask for the apple tree that I have in my yard I pruned some of those trees some of those lambs There's apples on them those apples are going to die on the vine because I'm never going to chance to mature. There are things that we possess that are going to die inside of us if we don't allow to speak to our hearts and our lives and that not be caught up with the pruning but to be caught up with the life that has given us. Pruning is not pruning is about future growth. When prune something from our life it's gone. It's going to die. You know some relationships in our life need to die. Some relationships in our life need to die because they're no longer part of us but there are relationships in our life that is connected directly connected to our life in Christ and those things need to be pruned and made alive and allowing the fruit and the power of the spirit to flow into our lives. And Jesus asked this verse. Chapter fifteen of Matthew you know Stu's me Luke Chapter eleven and ask for what you need and would go to the Lord's Prayer. He says in verse two so he says when you pray say now I want to I want to read the definition of ask one to say or write something to someone as a way of gaining information. To request an answer to a question OK to tell someone in the form of a question that you want to be given something or that you want something to happen to request and the third one is to invite someone to go somewhere or do something. The Message Bible for the Lord's Prayer father that's an address addressing someone father reveal who you are. Reveal who you are. That's a question asking to gain information. Set the world right. Ask to do something you want to do something. Keep us alive with three square meals. We're asking to give us something keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. We're asking to do something inside of us. Keep us keep us forgiving with you and with others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. It's a request for to do something. Prayer is multi-faceted. And then down to verse nine. Here's what I'm saying. Aspx and you'll get seek and you'll find knock and the door will be opened. Don't bargain with . Be direct and ask for what you need. Ask for what you need ask for what you need. Pride says I don't want to have too much. This is he's talking to what he what are you going to ask him for this too much. Well I don't want to be appear to be too prideful this know your heart does know your heart of course he does. So in our asking we are removing the pride and seeing ourselves as the beneficiary of divine favor where favor cut says to you never leave you nor forsake you. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. My gracious sufficient for you in everything give thanks for this is the will of in Christ Jesus concerning you. So we have I mean the favor of is upon our lives and pride does not originate from the Holy Spirit but the evil one will tempt us with pride to get us to stop asking for what wants to do in our life because we have a wrong understanding of pride. Now if in our sins we are saying to you all me it's not it. But we have a divine presence. Divine relationship the god has ins uted. has initiated. has brought into our life where we are connected not pruned not cut off. So here we are if if we are connected to the vine the vine will bring life back to the fruit back to the Lamb. And is it wrong for the lamb. If it's an apple tree to say I need more apples I need to bear fruit. And in the fruit how do we know what the fruit is. How do we know what the fruit of the Spirit is in our life. wants to do something fruitful in your life. What do we need to have to make that fruit continue to grow. Ask ask him you know what if it's. If you're asking amiss wrongly you're going to feel it in your heart not the temptation to be prideful. Throw that out the window that's not speaking to you. wants us to ask ask and it shall be given to you knock. It will be opened you see. Asking the very point of asking is saying we're not rightful because Pride says not going to ask anybody. I can do this on my own. Grace and Mercy wisdom and power belong to us because we belong to him the same spirit to reside in US resides in He will open our hearts and minds and we shall receive the blessings of the fruit of the spirit the gifts of the Spirit. He will empower us enable us he will make give us strength he will as your day. So show your strength be a man a stand up. So if pride is gone. Relationship isn't present. Relationship is in position. What do we need to ask for. What do we need to ask for. What stands in the way of us stepping forward in relationship with people and going and doing in all those things what stands in the way. Take pride throw it out the window throw it wherever it is. Step on it and allow the divine favor Divine Presence of to initiate the request in your heart. Nothing is off the table because what gives to you you're going to share what puts in your heart in your life and puts into your life. You're going to end up sharing it because that's what love does. Father thank You for the gift you have given us for the many miracles of stand in front of you today. The miraculous people that can change the world are right here in your presence. We can make a difference in the world around us just by a smile and a hand shake sometimes by the words we say sometimes by the deeds we do. It's all open before you Lord flow through us flow through us flow through us oh let us be receptive anough to us and as we ask we shall receive Amen. Ask