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This is God's word. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? I'm also going to read the last two verses of Ephesians that David read. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Father as we come to your word open our hearts and minds. Help us to understand what it is that you have for us today and that we will be changed. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes this, what comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. Several years ago a theater manager in Seoul, Korea found that the sound of music was too long so he shortened it by cutting out all the songs. The point of the movie was there, all the needed information was there but it lacked that something special, the Rogers and Hammerstein score. But what it lacked is the point of a musical. Whether it's this one or any other one, the point of the musical is the score. It's as if the story is just there for a break between the songs. What makes your heart soar? What gives you goosebumps? What brings your tear to your eyes is the music. Now what's the point? What Jesus is emphasizing in these verses is something that he's talked about throughout the entire Sermon on the Mount. Is that God is our Father. That God is our Father. And then Paul as well is communicating at the end of the third chapter of Ephesians is not only information, not just the facts, but the very music, emotion and sensation of what it means to have God as your Father. For this reason he says, I bow my knees before the Father. Before that he says I ask you to not lose heart over what I am suffering for you. So he bows his knees before the Father. One of my favorite Christmas hymns has a line that says, fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices. Philippians chapter 2 says that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven on earth and on the earth and under the earth. The idea that God is our Father is what should be the music in our heart and our soul is what makes should make us sing and make our heart soar. And Jesus is telling us that if we seek we will find if we knock it will be opened. If we pray to God he will answer. If we ask it will be given. Now some of you, some of us, sometimes myself, we wonder can God really do this? After all things go wrong in our life we pray, we ask and bad stuff still happens. So we might ask the question is God really able to do this? Paul says now to him who is able to do exceedingly beyond all that we ask or think. The Bible teaches a concept that theologians call omnipotence. It means all powerful or almighty. A.W. Tozer in that same book describes it this way. He says God can do anything as easily as he can do anything else. God can do anything as easily as he can do anything else. For instance I can lift this service folder so beautifully done by Emily. I can lift this service folder easier than I can lift the Bible. The Bible is still pretty easy and I can lift either of them easier than I could lift this table here. But with God there is no diminution of his power. If anybody here took an eyedropper down to the Bedford basin and they stuck the eyedropper into the Atlantic Ocean and they took one drop, the Atlantic Ocean would be diminished. It would have less water. Nobody would notice. But with God that's not possible because whatever power God exerts there's just as much power remaining. God can do anything as easily as he can do anything else. Now a long time ago, it's getting further and further in the distance, I was at university and I was in a physics class. I shared this with you a few years ago but I'm going to do it again because I love this illustration. My physics professor, I had to take physics to have a science and a math class or two sciences or two math classes in order to graduate. I had already taken geology so I took physics. You might think well physics, that's a little difficult. Well it was for physics for non-math majors so it wasn't quite as hard as normal physics. But I took this class and the opening of the class he had a grapefruit. I know this isn't a grapefruit but it's about the size of a grapefruit. And he put it, I'm going to put it right here, you can't see it but it's right here on the edge. It's going to roll off so I won't do that. And he had a grain of salt about where this salt shaker is. There is a grain of salt there but I didn't figure you could see it so I put the salt shaker there. And he said, tell me on this scale if this is the sun and that is earth, that's about the size difference, where would Pluto be? That was back when Pluto was a planet. Where would Pluto be? I was thinking in your mind what would be your guess. Well the answer is half a kilometer. Half a kilometer away would be where Pluto is. Now he said Alpha Centauri is the closest star to us. I'm going to give this to Tracy because I don't want to hold it the whole time. Alpha Centauri is the closest star to us. It's two and a half light years away. Two and a half light years away. That's 299,000 kilometers per second which would allow seven times around the world and fortress back and forth to Edmonton from here, two round trips and still enough left over for a Florida vacation. That fast in one second. Go all that distance in one second and going that fast for two and a half years it would take to get to the closest star. Now on that scale with the grapefruit or the bowling ball being here and the salt being there, where do you think the next closest star is on that scale? It's in Florida which of course is where you can get a grapefruit but Florida, there's that much space on that scale between us and the nearest star. So think about this. When Isaiah says lift up your eyes on high and see who's created the stars. The one who leads to forth their host by number, he calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing. Think of that. He calls them all by name. There are trillions of stars. When God says in Genesis chapter one, he made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, the lesser light to govern the night, referring to the sun and the moon. He made the stars also. It was as if he said a few trillion of these would look good and there they were. Just as easily as I could say I had a cup of coffee this morning. He made the stars also. He's able, he's powerful, immortal, invisible, God only wise. Now if God is able to do that, what else is he able to do? He's able to forgive your sin. No matter what you've done, no matter what you have done, God is able to forgive your sin. There's a passage in the Gospel of Matthew chapter nine. It says, behold they're bringing to him a paralytic, verse two, lying on a bed. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, take courage my son, your sins are forgiven. And behold some of the scribes said to themselves, this fellow blasphemes. Jesus knowing their thoughts, why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk. But in order that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, rise, take up your bed and go home. And he rose and he went home. But when the multitude saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men. So let me ask you, which is easier to do to heal a paralytic or to forgive sin? Most of us would say, you know, I can forgive sin, but I could never heal a paralytic. Jesus healed the paralytic and he asked the question, which is easier to forgive sin or to heal this man? And the answer is, it's easier to heal the man. He's able to render your sin powerless only through his death on the cross. And then through the power of his resurrection, he's given new life to all of his children, to all of us who believe he's able to forgive your sin and my sin and to heal your broken relationships. But it's easier for him to heal a paralytic than to forgive sin. Forgiving sin is costly. It costs Jesus his life. It costs the father his son. But he can forgive our sin. But you know what else he's able to do? He's able to build his church. He's able to bring people from all over the world. Now when our church is full because not everybody's on vacation, we've had people here from Nigeria, from Iraq, from Vietnam, from Brazil, from Ukraine, from China, many other places, some of which I'm probably forgetting. Even people from Ontario and the United States. He's able to give you and me courage to talk to our friends and neighbors about the gospel or at least invite them to church or Bible study. I think I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but the older I get and the nearer I come to the end of my life, the less I care about worrying if people are going to reject me if I talk to them about the gospel. So I started asking everybody to come to church. I get my hair cut. I ask the receptionist. You can ask Tracy when we go out to a restaurant. I talk to the waitress and ask her to come. I ask everybody. Not many show up, but if all of us are doing that, some will. But if I'm the only one doing that or you're the only one doing that, the law of large numbers work against us. So God is able. He's able to speak stars into existence. He's able to create the minutest little thing as well. It's not just the big things. As I've told you before, I love watching the nature channels. I'm not going to ask you to speak out, but if you've heard of a nicotine membrane, raise your hand. Of course, the bird watcher. Don would know. A nicotine membrane is a second eyelid that birds and some animals have so that when they're going through cats and dogs as well, so that when they're going through a forest or some weeds or something, the nicotine membrane will close so that their eye is not damaged. So when a hawk is flying through the woods and he's chasing something or she is chasing something, the nicotine membrane will come across the eyelid. It's a second. Now evolutionist will say, well, you know, because of the propensity to injure their eyes, they developed this nicotine membrane. No, they didn't. God gave it to them. That's what happened. God is able to do the smallest thing and the biggest thing. So you might ask or you might say, okay, I'm convinced God is willing. He's loaded with ability. Not him who's able. But you might ask the question, is he willing? Is he willing? I mean, that's what Jesus is saying. Ask it'll be given to you. Seek and you'll find. Knock it'll be open to you. He sounds like he's willing, but that's a legitimate question. After all, there are many people who were able to give me a million dollars, but so far nobody's volunteered yet anyway. Isn't that the question? Sure, God can. He is able, but willy. But questioning God's willingness is an affront to God. It's actually a sin because of his attack on his character. It's an attack on his goodness. What we're saying is I'm better than God because I would have done it differently than him. When something happens in your life that you don't like, that you don't approve of, that you are hurt by, you think I wouldn't have done it that way. But what we're saying is that we know more than God, we're better than God, we have more insight than God, we don't trust him with our lives. But Jesus is assuring us all through the Sermon on the Mount that God is our Father and we can trust him, trust him with our lives. In the passage in the Gospel it says, what man is there among you when his son asks him for a loaf will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish he will not give him a snake will he if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him. Now I remember the first Christmas that we had any children, our oldest John. Well the first Christmas he was nine months old so he really didn't know anything about it, he wasn't expecting anything, he was too young. But the second Christmas now, he's 21 months old, Tracy is six months pregnant with David and we went shopping for a Christmas presents at a store called Toys R Us, now I don't even know if that exists anymore. We went to Toys R Us and because she was six months pregnant we found a bench and I said you sit here while I do the shopping. And I went through Toys R Us and I came back with a shopping cart full of toys, I mean to the top. Tracy looked at me she said are you crazy? Are you, yes I was crazy in love with my little boy and I wanted to give him everything that I could, I wanted to give it all to him. If you then who are evil know how to give what is good to your children how much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. I am a sinful person according to Jesus here compared to God, compared to the father I am nothing but evil and I know how to give what is good to my son. I want, I desire to give what is good to my children. Then he says how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him. How much more? Not only is he able he is willing, think about it he already gave us his son to forgive our sin. So there is no lack of ability, there is no lack of willingness. He did not spare his own son but delivered enough for us all how will he not also with him freely give us all things. He is not only able but he is willing. So the third question I kind of reverse this the saying goes ready willing and able we are going able willing and ready and the question is are you ready? Are you ready? I know people here have prayed for things over and over again and it seems like you never get the answer. You get an answer it is yes, no or wait. Sometimes you are asking what isn't good for you. I remember when Dave was about 8 years old he asked me if he could drive the car. Now am I able to let him drive the car? Yes. Am I willing that he drive our car? Yes. Is he ready to drive the car? No. And I would have been a bad father if I gave him the car keys and said go ahead. I don't know if you have noticed but you are going to notice now this side of my face doesn't quite work right. When I smile this side doesn't go up as much as that side. The reason is I have had something called Bell's palsy five or six times. The first time I got it it went away in two weeks. My face started to freeze up. It is paralysis I think of the seventh cranial nerve. They think it is related to the virus that causes chicken pox. Anyway it causes the nerve and the nerve canal to swell up and get pinched and cause paralysis. First time I had it I didn't know what was going on I went to the doctor. Doctor looked at me and said you have Bell's palsy. I said okay what is that and he explained it. And I said what do I do? He said nothing it will go away in two weeks. Okay. Then he said or it won't. I said what do you mean? He said well to some people it never goes away. So in two weeks to the day I could feel it start going away and by the end of the day it was completely gone and my face was back to normal. About three years later I got it again only this time it didn't go away. My face was drooping. I couldn't pronounce P's or F's because my lips didn't work. Which was really tough because Tracy and I lived in Kento Ohio and our favorite restaurant was a restored train car and it was called the puffer belly. Try to say that if you can't say P's or F's. So I prayed and prayed and God didn't take it away but during that course of time I became more compassionate for other people. People I didn't notice before who maybe they were on crutches permanently had cerebral palsy or they were there we were on a college campus and there were people who were going to class. The only thing they could move was their finger on the lever that pushed their wheelchair. That's all they could move. So it's easy to feel sorry for yourself when you're in a vacuum but when you see something like that you think even if I stay like this I'm otherwise healthy I have a wife who loves me I don't think she'll leave me because of my face. I started growing a beard to hide it a little bit. I remember after I had the beard a long time and Jessica was about three years old and I decided one time to shave it off and she saw me and she said what did you do what happened. I said I shaved my beard off she said well shave it back on. She didn't like that at all. God had things to teach me I wasn't ready but eventually he took it away and he just left me sort of like Jacob with a limp in my face. The point though is if I am who if I who am evil know how to give what is good to my children how much more will my father in heaven give what is good. In Chronicles 16 says the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. So God is able he's willing and ready to do what exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that is at work within us. What is that exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think I don't know I can't think it and he's still able to give it. You cannot comprehend the love of Christ apart from the body of Christ. An individual cannot know God alone. It's not just you and Jesus. John Calvin said God is your father and the church is your mother. One of the most popular sayings regarding spirituality or religion is to say I am a religious person. I'm not a religious person but I'm a spiritual person. But you have to be willing to be in community with other believers to know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God which is exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. Jesus is emphasizing this over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount that you have a father a heavenly father who knows what you need who's willing to give it to you who loves you beyond your comprehension who's perfect in every way. J.I. Packer says until you know what it means to have God as your father you don't really understand Christianity. So what does it mean when Paul says exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. I'm going to tell you another story about when John was a kid a little kid maybe a little younger than Winston and Tracy and I were missionaries to college students. We didn't have a lot of money. We had two children and a third on the way. And so I had to figure out ways to entertain our three year old son four year old son. So you know what I did. I took him to the pet store. It was like going to the zoo for free. What he really loved was the fish. You know those aquariums they look so enticing there. They've had the beautiful rocks and the plants and the colorful fish swimming around. And I used to take him and hold him and he would look at him and point at him. And I said to him one day I said would you like to take a couple of fish home. He went like this he went. That was exceeding abundantly beyond anything he could ask or think the thought had never entered into his mind that these fish could be anywhere other than the pet store. So I said do you want to take some home. Yeah. So we bought a little bowl some rocks to go in the bottom and two goldfish Fred and Barney. And we brought him home and they put him in a little plastic bag with the water all the way home. He wanted to pet him. I had to explain to him you can't do that fish. They're not that kind of pet. So we got him home but he it was exceeding abundantly beyond all that he could ask or think you know first Corinthians 2 9 says that God will give us beyond all our imagination. You see when I gave John those fish I loved it. I loved giving that to him. I loved seeing the look on his face. I loved that it was exceeding abundantly beyond all that he could ask or think. And if I who am evil know how to give good gifts to my children how much more will your father in heaven give what is good to you. Paul says exceedingly abundant beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that worked within us. What is that power. It's the power that spoke the stars into existence. Son Pluto Florida. It's the power of the resurrection from the dead in us. If we are his. To what end. To him. Be the glory in the church in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. These things are true for you if you are his. And if you are his you're invited to this table that will celebrate in a moment. You're invited to participate in this sacrament in the Lord's Supper. If you're a Christian if you come to the point where you put your trust in Jesus Christ and him alone for your salvation then you are invited to this table. If for some reason you're here and you haven't done that then we ask you to refrain and instead read one of the prayers or some of the scripture passages that are in your service folder. To him be the glory in the church in Christ generation Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. I'm in. Father in heaven as we prepare our hearts. For. The Lord's Supper we pray that you would. Help us. See. Taste. And feel. Your gospel. Preach to us again. In the bread and the cup. In Jesus name. Amen.