in Matthew, chapter 7, verses 7 through 12. I believe there's an insert in your bulletin too that has outline you can follow and blanks you can fill in and all that kind of stuff as well too. But let me ask you this, as we get started here, about childish expectations. In fact, that's what I've entitled this morning's message. We expect children to act like children don't. We tell me what are some childish expectations that we as adults, some parents, or even some of your kids that want to jump out there should have. Give me some. Audience participation. You want it to be a short sermon? You better jump in here. Childish expectations. Wonder like... I'm looking for specific examples. Okay. Yeah, I mean, most of us adults would look at this and go, oh my goodness, you'll go wash my hands. Not a kid. They're like, cool. Somebody else. Okay, mom and dad can be their protector. Good. Dinner always be provided. Good. Keep coming. Nothing bad will ever happen. Maybe I'll live forever. What? Dad will take care of it. Unlimited energy. Yeah. Let's let the grandparents, grandparents will spoil them. Yeah, I think the expectation is pretty, pretty firm. Since he's... We need more money to just go to the bank because they have plenty. They're willing to give you. Okay. My eight-year-old Reese, he's not in here now. I don't think he is. He asked me the other day if he could drive. All right, that's a legitimate expectation. I expect that for my 15-year-old now, but not my eight-year-old. So you get all kinds of expectations and kids have these kind of things. Let me ask you this. What if children don't act like children? I mean, we as parents, I'm a parent of six, many of you know. I have to constantly think, all right, what is an action that deserves some kind of consequence or correction? And what has just been childish? Because a child should be like a child, right? But what could be more troublesome? And I want to propose to you is more troublesome and far more dangerous is when a child does not act like a child. I don't know if you've ever been. I remember one of the things I saw on a 2020 episode or some of these nighttime shows years ago, showed some glimpses of insights into an abortion. No, I'm sorry, not an abortion clinic. It was an orphanage and another country. And it was one of the saddest things I ever saw is that this entire room of cribs with babies in there. And they said the thing that was most bizarre about it, you could have heard a peep. There was silence. A room full of cribs and no child was making a noise. And they zoomed in and the camera on some of them some of them were just kind of in an emotion. That is not how children are supposed to act, are they? And it was one of the most bizarre things to see children not acting like children. You knew something was wrong. Obviously neglect, obviously maybe health issues, whatever else, that's not how it's supposed to be. And as we think about things like that, I want to propose to you that this is a message. This is a part of Jesus' sermon and he is talking about being like children. He's talking about calling us as his children. You know, Daniel preached on a couple weeks ago talking about offending others and not being quick to be critical of others or judging others there. And I think one of the foundational reasons because this is the verses that follow right after that one of the foundational reasons while we do judge while we are critical of others is because we have a basic fear of not being cared for or having our needs met. So we gain self-worth by lowering the apparent worth of others around us around us. I think that's an indication of children who don't act like children and Jesus is pointing it out. Gracie's first dinner at Chick-fil-A was an interesting experience. We had first gotten an actual picture of just days after we got her. But one of the first experiences we took her was like, you know, she needs to get a Chick-fil-A. Every kid needs to get a Chick-fil-A. Right, Judd? All right. So we headed down there for her and when we got her, we thought, oh, she's going to love this, you know? She's probably had chicken but not like this. So I remember we gave her a little four-piece Chick-fil-A kids happy meal or whatever they call them. Not happy meal, sorry. So the wrong thing there. But the kids meal and we got it to her and she opened up her box. She looked at it and she was like, wow. Remember, she's only two years old from Guatemala here at this point? Days in the U.S. And we think, oh, we need a chop. These are up for her. She's two and these are kind of big pieces, maybe a little bit hot or whatever else. So we reached in there to grab them out with our fork and our knife to cut them. And as soon as we reached into the box, she grabbed her arms around the box of chicken nuggets and held it close to herself. She hadn't even tasted it yet but she knew it was food. Okay, we had to pry it from her hands because she did not understand that we weren't going to take her food from or we were going to prepare to make it better for her. She was still living like an orphan, living like a not adopted child, an unadopted child. Something was wrong with that experience and we knew it. Well, Jesus says that we should come but childish expectations to the Father. And let me read this text now as we've already talked about and set it up a little bit. Matthew 7, verses 7 through 12. This is God's Word. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you for everyone who asks receives. And he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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 good gifts to those who ask him? So in everything due to others, which you would have them to do for this sums up the law and the prophets. This is God's Word. Let me pray before we go further. God, I pray that you would let your Word come alive in our hearts here this morning that we would have come and we would have a listening hearts and seeing hearts. And God, your spirit would come and God is in the truth as you say he will. So we invite him, we welcome him and God, would you glorify yourself here by revealing your glory? Bring your kingdom, we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, three points in today's sermon that I want you to think about. Number one is there are three childish expectations that are at work and are at play here. Three childish expectations. Number one, or letter A, have your, it's numbered there history, history. You know, my parents have always taken care of me in the past. In fact, some of my mentioned in our opening here about parents taking care of providing for them. History is where it begins to set up kids' expectations. My parents have done it before in the past. Now, Grace, you didn't have that necessarily. She'd already had a biological mom. She'd already had a foster care mom. And now she's getting some other new mom and dad this time at two years of age. She didn't know the rules and didn't know the system. And she slept on a mattress but there wasn't a blanket and a pillow from the pictures we got. Very different world for her. But parents, but children who grow up with loving parents, caring parents know that they have taken care of me in the past. And history plays an important part in setting up a kid's expectations. You know what, God has always taken care of us in the past. And Jesus is trying to remind us here of this with this kind of idea of coming to the Father. Exodus 20 says this. By the way, this is right before the first commandment is given, before the first commandment. This is the verse that precedes it. I am the Lord your God who did what? My remember brought you out of Egypt out of the land of slavery. You should have no other guys before me and so on. God reminds you even before he comes and he gives the law and unveils it all. He says, look, do not forget our history that I am the God. Not somebody else, I am the God that brought you out of Egypt out of slavery. And God reminds us this morning that he is the God that has brought us from the clenches and the grasp of death and hell. Yes, the death and hell here on earth, living in a fleshly body, a sinful body. He is set us free. He has forgiven our transgressions or sins. He has promised to wipe them clean. We read before, separate our sins as far as the east is from the west. And if you get any glimpse of your sins sometimes, that is a pretty cool promise. The God could take you that far away. The God would remember our sins no more. The scripture says elsewhere. What an awesome promise. We read and we preached on just a few weeks ago, Matthew 6, 26 to 33. God says, look, I take care of the birds of the air. Okay, they don't have ulcers worrying about where is the next meal coming from. They don't have to go see a counselor or a shrink to talk about it and their anxiety. I take care of flowers by clothing them and you are worth far more than birds and flowers. I will take care of you. God encourages us to remember His history with us. Remember His faithfulness to us. Another, a second childish expectation is ability. Is ability. Ability is what we say in a child does is I believe that my parents have what I need. They have the ability to give me what I need. And I want to remind us here this morning that God has what we need. Galatians 5, 22 to 23 where God talks about the fruit of the Spirit. He says, this is what God has. He parts by His Spirit and tell me if you don't know of a single person walking the face of this planet, the 6 billion plus, that if they could have all of these, you could have them all in its fullness and really believed it was possible when it go for it. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things there is no law. I promise you your average Al-Qaeda soldier is ultimately desiring his heart of hearts for a world for himself at least or herself that would be like this. Now they're very confused and they're out of having to get there is very wrong and very different. But there I'm saying there is something made about us as human beings that desires and looks for this and will go to extremes to do it. Yes, would even become a terrorist in thinking that somehow they're a part of achieving this. And when God offers it freely by His Spirit, they completely different way. Ability is a childish expectation. A child is not going to feel secure and safe if they don't believe that their parents have the ability to provide for them. Gracie was just learning that day and Chick-fil-A. She didn't know who we were. Only been a couple of days. Number three, a third childish expectation. Generosity. You see a child must believe not only that their parents have the ability but that they are willing. They're willing to provide for them. And I just want to remind us today that God reveals to us that He is a willing father. Not just a father that owns it all. It has all the power and all the ability. And I'll be honest with you folks, I don't struggle with that that much. I'm thinking about that. I've been a seminary. I've studied God's Word. I've been a Christian a long time. I know that God has the ability. But you know what, what's hard for me sometimes is thinking does He really want to, though, for me? Is it His desire? Will He truly be generous? I know He is generous. But will He be generous to me? And don't shove some biography in my face saying how He's been so generous to others in the past. I don't doubt that, either. I question, will He be generous to me? Will He take care of me? Not just as He had the ability, will He choose to be generous. Children who are true children who understand that their children trust their parents in generosity. They know that their parents will be generous to share their food, to make sure they have clothes to wear, to make sure that they're in a safe setting and environment to the best of their ability. Because that's what parents do. God is willing, He says, to provide for us. He's already said, look, you're worth a lot more to me than flowers and birds. And here He's saying, look, you can come to me as your father in heaven. During my 29 minute, you know this one, a great promise, verse 11, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. And what are they? Plans to prosper you. And not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. Isaiah 38 says this, the Lord longs. Think about that. The Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion for the Lord as a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him. He longs like a father longs to bless his children. I mean, Christmas is great. And parents love to lavish gifts and their kids at Christmas time. But you know what, the other 364 days of the year are just as important to us parents. If we think that our kids feel like they don't have the food they need, they don't have the clothes they need, they're not in a safe setting, they don't have opportunities. Who cares if Christmas is a great day? Parents long for their children to know and trust their generosity. And God wants us to know and trust His as well. Although His generosity might be expressing ways that we don't always understand. I know my generosity is expressed in my kids in ways they don't understand. It's very generous for me to enforce a bedtime sometimes. Right, Michael? You know, even for my older kids who don't understand and seems like, ah, you're imposing on my freedoms. No, I'm maximizing your freedoms. Because I want your freedom to be maximized tomorrow when you wake up. Children have to learn to trust their parents' generosity. We have to learn to trust the generosity of God that might look and take a shape different than we imagine expect it to. When number one, not only their three-childish expectations that are understood in this passage here, there is one childish conclusion. Number two, there is a one-childish conclusion. If a child can trust the history, the ability and the generosity of their parents or of their father, therefore they can go confidently and expectantly through their parents. They can go confidently and expectantly. If they trust their parents' track record, if they trust their parents' ability, if they trust their parents' generosity, why would they not? What I want to remind us here today is that we, and God is setting this up in this text here. He's saying we can go confidently and expectantly to him as a father. Because what does he say here in this text? He says, look, if you then, though you were evil, this is verse 11, if you as an evil parent who is corrupted by sin, who lives in the sinful world, who is far from perfect and righteous in and of yourself, if you will do this, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? He's saying, look, compare me to your earthly father, to your earthly mother, and see how far superior I am, and how my wisdom is far broader and faster if we trust God's track record. And has he or has he not been faithful to you in the past? Has he been faithful to forgive your sin? Has he been faithful to provide for your needs?
If you can trust God's ability, do you think he can design and make this universe with spoken words? Let there be light, for example. Do you think he lacks the ability? Do you think he lacks the generosity? What do the scriptures say? If God did not spare his own son? What would he not give us that we need? He gave us his son as a sacrifice on the cross because that's how he committed he is to it. To impart his only begotten son. We can't trust God obviously. We can't trust his ability in his generosity. I remember when I was a kid growing up, my dad was the boss and own his own advertising agency. It wasn't a huge agency, but I had like 20, 30 maybe, as many as 40 people that were working at different times. One of my favorite things to do is a kid would be to come in and usually my mom would have dropped me up there and we were picking dad up from work to go to eat or something. She said, well go inside and get your dad. I would love to go inside because it was like a big office building. Open up the doors, go past the security guards, and just act like I'm in charge. I know what's going on, not act nervous or anything else because this is where my dad works. His office is in here, confidently, expectantly. Go right through there, walk through the lobby. If I had to write a elevator up, whatever the different things were. And then I would go into his office. I'd see the name on the door of the building. I can't put it associated with whatever else. I'd open it up and I'd walk right in there. And where most people walk in and have to kind of pause because there's a big receptionist table in the area and somebody is sitting behind a desk that looks official and everything else. I could just walk in and kind of just give kind of a look and just kind of keep walking because I'm the son of the boss, the king in this business. And I could just walk right past. And there was a course, his office was using the back somewhere and there's all kinds of offices I'd walk by. Doors would be open, I could glance in, kind of give a little nod at shake and hand. These are all important people in the office. And there's the art director and everything else. I could just walk by everybody and people say, hey, it's guys, it was, you know, and I'm just walking through confidently and expectantly. And you know what, my dad's office door was shut. What do you think I did? I opened it and I just went right on in because I am the son of Kent Puckett. And I'm here in his office and he's my dad. And oftentimes he'd be on the phone or looking at the computer or doing something. And you think I'd come in and just kind of close the door back and stepped out. No, I wouldn't close the door back and step back. I'd come in, he has a little basketball hoop and a little Nerf ball and I'd come in and sit in there and shoot some hoops while he's on the phone. He also has a little candy stash in the drawer. He pretended like it was for me and my brother but it was kind of for him and me and my brother. So I'd go over to the candy drawer and get out some candy while he's on the phone. I mean, I was totally at ease, totally at comfort because I'm in the presence of my father and I'm his child. I can be confident and I can be expectant. God wants us to be confident, to be expected and trust his bodily provision. He invites us to come with that kind of an attitude. You know, when I think about this, I want to unpack a little bit more about how he reveals this and how he sets it up in this verse. He says, ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find knock and the door will be open to you. And I want you to think about that as a childhood to their parents. Think about asking first. I know from my children, I'm using this as an example here and there's always the ask of, can I have something to eat in our house going on? Connor and Michael, am I right? Can I have something to eat? And that question is often asked. The kitchen is the most popular room in our house. It's not even the biggest room. I can tell you that. And so that is the question that's constantly coming up. Children wanting, hey, can I have something to eat? Can I have snack? Can I have this? Can I have that? But it doesn't stop there, does it? Those of you who are parents and know that because if they don't get a response initially to the question, if we're not in the room and don't hear the question, what do they do next? What do they do next? Next. You can say it out loud, it's all right. What do they do next? They seek, don't they? They come looking for you. Okay, assuming our house, we have rules. You can't just eat anything you want, you have to go. If they ask and there's a delay in response or some hesitation, it's unclear, they will come seeking and they do. They come looking and figuring out where are we, where are we outside, working in the yard, are we back in the bedroom, some were talking, are we on the phone in another room? They come seeking because that's what children do. And when they know they need something, they know where to go. And now do they stop with just seeking? Did they just try it for 10, 12 seconds and they can't find us, give up? Do they, parents? No, they don't, what do they do next? They will knock. And if the bedroom door is shut, they will knock, surely, okay? And I'm telling you, they'll even open up the door and come on in. Won't you wait for an answer? They will continue, they will pursue. And God, as we were looking here and saying, they said, look, children do this kind of stuff. They ask, they seek, they knock. Because they know of their father's ability, generosity, and history. And they will pursue and they will come. You know, we as parents though, let me flip the coin here or looking back on it from parents. We as parents will purposely keep things out of their reach. You know, I thought about taking a picture and showing you a picture of our pantry. And my kids would probably like that too, so you guys could like, you know, come and feel compassion on it, because they feel like it's never full enough. But you know, the things that are on the first few shelves are not the things that Davis wants to eat, my two-year-old. Like cooking oil. That's a good thing to put on the first and second shelf where Davis can reach. Baking flour. That's not a bad thing, either. It has a secure top to put there on the first or second shelf. But the little cookies, the chips, the things that Davis will get in all by himself, I guarantee you are one of the top two shelves in pantry that he can't reach. Now, is that because we don't want to give him those things? No. It's because we want to manage how we give him those things. We want to maximize his experience of satisfying his physical needs food-wise. And we want to make sure he has enough food for not just lunch, but dinner too. So we're not going to give it all to him at lunchtime. We want to maximize it. And, guys, guys, our Father in Heaven will do similar things. He will do things that will be perceived to us as that he's not meeting our needs. Because we're asking, where's it coming from? We're seeking and where he is. We're knocking on what's happening and going on. He will manage his generosity in such a way that has our best interest in mind. And it maximizes what we ultimately were designed to do. And that was to bring him the glory. The thing that will make us happiest because that's what we're created to do. He'll make sure he does with that. You know, the key is to not go for the provision, the key is to go for the provider. Jesus is saying that we should go to God boldly with expectations here. You know, what does 1 Corinthians 2.9 tell us? It says, it is written, no, I have seen, no, ear has heard, no, mine has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. God is saying he has a wealth of blessings in generosity that he's waiting to pour out and reveal to us. And we think it's like, oh, bigger paycheck, bigger house, you know, better reputation at school. Starting position on the sports team. We think it has all these other things. He's like, ah, you're thinking way too small. I got things that will matter in that angel's long to see. That people will talk about free eternity. Much better than you can ever imagine. And he plans to reveal those to us at the right time. Well, number one, not only should we understand the childish expectations. Number two, one childish conclusion. You can come from those. But three, there is one fatherly provision. Earthly fathers give good gifts to their children. And the heavenly father gives good gifts to his children. In fact, he gives us the best gift of all. His word tells us, you know, we look at a parallel passage in the Gospel of Luke to this one. Another account of the same message that Jesus is giving. It tells us this. It gives us a little different perspective, a little more information. Jesus says in that example, he says, if you then, though you were evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? From Luke gives us a different perspective. He said, oh yeah, by the way, he told you what the good gift was. He said it was this Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the good gift. You know, and if we think about it, and we're honest, and we were to take off our little Christian and religious hat sometime and put it on the counter. And we were willing to be honest here right now. We would say, no, that's kind of a rip-off, God. When I'm thinking about good provision and good needs for me as my father in heaven, I didn't necessarily count on the Holy Spirit being at the top of my list. And I think the Holy Spirit is important. He's, I know he's part of who you are, you're the Trinity, whatever that means, God. But what I really want is happiness. Can we add that into the mix? Can we kind of put that above the Holy Spirit? How about security? All right, God, am I asking to be a millionaire necessarily? But how about being able to pay the bills and have a little bit of extra to put into the retirement account? Or for, you know, about just one, maybe two vacations a year, God. Somewhere a little bit nice. What about successfulness, God? Successfulness sounds kind of good. Oh, I know, I don't need to be the most successful out there. But how can I just kind of keep moving up the ladder just a little bit each year? So I feel a little bit better about who I am. God, how about money for the toys that I want? Whether you're a kid or whether you're an adult. There'd be some other things that'd be kind of fun to have. God, how about friends who are cool? You see, because, you know, when you have friends that are cool, and people think you're cool, and so God, could you give me some friends that are cool, or God, how about a reputation, or God, how about good health? Because after all, if I have better health, I can serve you more and better. We don't even negotiate with God. God, what about comfortfulness? You know, just don't make things too messy and too uncomfortable because then I'm going to get distracted and, you know, and I can't be all that I think you want me to be. God, what about significance, or God, how about just an attractive boyfriend or girlfriend, or attractive spouse, or something down the road? That would be kind of cool, too. But if we're honest, the Holy Spirit is not, unless we understand what that means, the Holy Spirit is not the top of our list. You know, it's like a parent trying to tell a kid that, hey, look, look, trust me. Let's pass on the Oreos, okay? Let's just not do the Oreo thing. The kids are like, hold on a second. Oreos are good. Are Oreos good? Tell me. Are Oreos good or not? Thumbs up, Oreos. Oreos will work. Thank you. Thank you guys. Okay. But listen, if you've got a choice between Oreos, okay, are going to Dear Delhi, down at Downtown Disney, or let's just say going to two Jays for the dessert menu, let's say I'm going to Marvel Slab and some of the other choices are out there. I mean, Oreos aren't bad, but if you've got the chance, why not go for something bigger and more glorious? And God's saying, look, I've got something much better than the things you're listing here. And he's called my Holy Spirit. And at first glance, you may not understand that, but in his spirit, he is restoring us into the divine image in glory barriers, glory barriers of who God is. And we look at that and we think, gosh, I'm looking for something a little bit more God. Let me tell you, you're not. I'm not. Because listen, the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit, the scripture say, is a helper and a counselor. Jesus said, look, hey, it's better for me, and he said this. It's better for me to go to heaven to be with the Father because the Holy Spirit will come. And if you're like me, I'm thinking, look, Jesus, it's kind of cool having you around, because you know, if somebody gets sick, if somebody gets in trouble, we can have you come and raise somebody from the dead. Come heal somebody. Come do something. Jesus said, no, you're missing it. It's better for me to go, because my spirit's going to come. He's going to be a helper. He's going to be a counselor. And when Jesus has a physical body going to be in one place at one time, my spirit can be everywhere. He guides us into truth, the scripture say. Are people looking for truth? People are desperate to find answers. God says, I'll give you the guide to guide you into all truth, my Holy Spirit. He produces fruit in our lives. You already read about the fruit. We read about the fruit that people are living and fighting for and trying to find every way they can, like love. Listen, you can't listen to the radio more than 10 minutes about hearing some kind of concept about love and the pursuit of it, or the distortion of some of us think they found it. God says, it comes from, it's a fruit of my Holy Spirit. You're not going to find it anywhere else. He gives us gifts from ministry. We talked about this business, business of this past week, is we're going through this shape evaluation, understanding, what is your spiritual gift? The Holy Spirit has gifted you to do things. Things that don't come naturally by your natural, the way you were created, that will only come by the Holy Spirit. For me, I believe that leadership was one that came totally naturally by the Holy Spirit. I know some people are kind of born natural leaders. I can see that more in some of my six children than the others, but that wasn't me. I was the quiet kid in the corner that kind of just, you know, didn't do anything. And I've got old youth directors that would love to tell you stories about, oh yeah. Let me tell you this story about Scott. You know, we go on the youth group camping trip and everybody's in different tents and they're Scott and his own individual pup tent all by himself. But you know what? As a spirit got involved in my heart and my life, he imparted a gift of leadership and administration that would not have been there to myself. You realize the Holy Spirit has unique gifting for you that will only come as you grow in your relationship with God and you'll never discover or know it if you don't follow him. He powers us to be who he has designed us to be and to do what he's called us to do. And scripture also says this. He says, you know, he's the down payment. He's the down payment of what's to come. He's just a promise of the glory that's to be revealed. It's amazing. Let me just have a few concluding comments here this morning. Remember my story about Gracie? In her first Chick-fil-A experience. Let me tell you about her last Chick-fil-A experience. Just last week, okay. We go to Chick-fil-A, we go to the drive-through because we're going to Reese's first soccer game of the year and she gets those nuggets again. She loves those chicken nuggets. Okay. In this time in the car, we're handing out the car because I'm driving and I was like, all right, everybody just start eating and she got her nuggets. She's eating some of the back and you know, we get to the soccer field. We get out of the field and she hasn't finished all her nuggets and stuff. I'm like, hey, wait a minute. Hang on to those four of you. She's like, oh yeah, sure, Dad. You know, so I stick him in the stroller. We go to the soccer thing and you know, about every 15-20 minutes from during the soccer game, she comes over and gets a chicken nugget. I asked her, hey, can I have one of your chicken nuggets? She goes, you know, can't have those go to waste or anything. And she's like, sure, Dad. And you know, she's not worried about chicken nuggets anymore. She trusts her father's provision, his generosity, his ability. She has a history. God, eat with us sometimes. She'll let you have a chicken nugget? Walk confidently with God. Trusting his provision because you're his child. He is the king. You're his child. Do not forget it. And if you don't think there's an enemy that wants you to forget it, you're selling the steak and the enemy's already halfway got you beat. There is spiritual forces that do not want you to believe this. Do not want you to feel this. But it's true. Your father is the king and your is child. Let me ask you this morning. What are your expectations of God this morning? Are they big enough? Don't tell me I need a job. You might need a job. But God's plans for you are so much bigger than you finding a job. Don't tell me I need help in my relationship. Well that's fine. You might. Tell me how you think God might resurrect that relationship to turn it for his glory and honor. And imagine it ten years from now what he could be doing through that by his power that raised Jesus from the dead. Are you thinking big enough about who your God is that you serve? Are your expectations God's size?
Are your expectations that of a child? Jesus tells you to come and he tells you that your father is waiting. Let's pray. God will you continue to remind us of the truths that we are so quickly forget that we are loved, adopted children who he told us to come and ask and he told us to seek and he told us to knock and your promise is those who ask receive, those who seek find, those who knock the door will be open because you are a perfect father in heaven providing perfectly for the children that you love, who you created, who you redeemed and who you have saved. So God will you continue to remind us of those truths this morning and you continue to remind us of what it costs as we prepare our hearts to come to your table this morning. God will you come and set us free by your power and by your grace and by your mercy and God will you come set us free to live and to walk as children, not children who have perfect lives because we know we never will at this side of heaven but as children who have a perfect father and a perfect father who is there and who cares. Let me pray this all in Christ's name. Amen.