Three Things to Know by Age 3

Hello to everyone. It is good that, well, when I heard that Mr. Welch was coming through, I had looked at my sermon in a week and a half or so, but I hadn't truncated it to make sure it fit to a split. So I could just elaborate a little bit and it'll fit the length. And then the thing that, probably, well, once I say this, Glenn will put two pieces together. But I'm sure nobody here caught the theme in those songs along the way, because I was going to be song leader, too, so I picked the songs. So there's a backstory to those songs, all but one, because Mr. Graham changed one. I was, you know, we get the speaking schedules that change over time, and so I will put the dates in my work calendar and then not always remove them when things change. So I had written on the bowling day that I was supposed to song lead. And you know me being goofy, if I can find a theme to be a lazy way of coming up with songs, I'll do it. So you'd have to go back and listen to them, but every song has either the word strike, spare, or frame in it. And the one he added had struck, so I guess you could say use struck pins, and that works, too. But so that's a silly way to come up with a theme, and it was in the songs you just sang. All right, I would like to start today's message by reading two scriptures that will kind of give a warning and give a perspective to what I'll be talking about today. And you'll see that there's a natural connection to what Mr. Acomo was talking about last week. If you'll please turn to 1 Corinthians 3 verses 1 through 3.

We've all been in the church for many, many years, and this is the time of year where we do a lot of reflection. We try evaluating, are we growing?

We do know that God is focusing on our growth far more than a measurement of time. He's focusing on our growth spiritually. Are we maturing? And so we see that question framed in a special way in this verse. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as the spiritual people, but as the carnal, as the babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able, for you are still carnal. For where there is envy, strife, and division among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere children? It's kind of a pointed set of words.

Could that be speaking of us? That'd be kind of sad and scary, but it could be very accurate. Turn now to Hebrews 5 verses 12 through 14. God is not going to measure our conversion based on the number of years that we spend sitting here in church, but in the maturity that we display as believers. Are we living as mature believers? Hebrews 5 and verse 12. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you needed someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are full age. That is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised the discern both good and evil. Again, could that description be how God sees us? Does God see us as spiritually needy children that only can handle milk? Or does he see us as mature spiritual adults?

It's a Passover type question. And there are a lot of parallels between raising our physical children and what God expects of us as a spiritual family. As humans, everybody is very, very unique. We grow up in school and we hear the two basic areas, nature and nurture, that are discussed. And we're born with different biological strengths. We're born with different traits. There's also countless environmental factors that influences us, that makes us all different, that makes us all unique. But what we learn by coming to church and reading the Bible is that nature and nurture are only a small part of what really shapes us, part of what influences us. And what often is factored in are spiritual forces around us that have far more to do with our conduct and our misconduct in many ways than heredity and then external influences. And as everybody who's a parent learns, parenting is a scary journey into the unknown. All you really have the ability to do is influence. And you want to influence as effectively as you can. You want to prepare the child to make the right decisions, to hopefully be successful, and Drew gives me a snarky look. But it's ultimately out of our control. It's ultimately his control, each of us as we grow up.

And God has set that up intentionally. He's given every human the power to choose.

No one can take it away. And so as a parent, we're going through a very similar journey to what God is doing. And parents, when a child is really young, they make most of the choices for their young child, right? They're really putting a protective circle around them, trying to explain why decisions are happening. But over time, that parent loses all that direct control over their child's choices. And so our goal is to guide them to make good life decisions. And we strive to help them move from immature and undisciplined children to becoming mature, disciplined, responsible adults.

Well, as we saw in the two verses, we started with God's goal for us as the same. Spiritually, he wants the same thing for us. And we also know that every human will ultimately have to stand before Jesus at the judgment and be held accountable for our decisions. And at that point, our choices are undeniable and unarguable. We're going to be held accountable to them. Well, Bob Fay gave a great Bible study lecture series several years back. And it was on child very. And I was talking with Joanna and talking with another friend. And a reference was made to those Bible study series. So I started listening to him. One of the items he pointed out to me made me think, because it made me reflect at first about raising true, but then I took it to the next point. And what Bob Fay said was this. He was pointing out the importance of the period between three months and three years of age. And what he said was that that phase is critical for every parent to get three things across to their children. Three things are critical. No, don't touch, come here. Those three things are foundational to teach a child at a young age.

And I would tell you that they're foundational for what God is working with us for.

You know, as a parent, we're wanting the child to learn how to be under authority, how to be safe, and not to hurt themselves. Because it can ultimately save their lives. And if it's not only life-threatening, an undisciplined person in their youth is going to have a terrible time to retrain. And they are going to learn by some of the hardest things imaginable. Well, today's message I'd like us to look at those three concepts and apply them to ourselves spiritually. Because God is wanting the same thing. And what I would argue is that every element of us becoming mature spiritually requires those three items to be foundational.

That God can only build us to be spiritually mature if we've mastered those three items. And if we haven't, we can never grow. Just like a child will never become mature if they can't figure out those three items because they play through every part of life. So with that said, let's start with the first one, and that is, no. Now, every parent has had their kid test them on whether they would obey a direction of no. And I'm sure you've all heard an exasperated child crying out, saying, why can't I have five more cookies?

You know, that sing song, that's always going to get the point across, if you get the voice up and down. And of course, in that immature child's mind, they're starting to argue this thinking, my parents are so dumb. Don't they know it'll taste great? But of course, as parents, we see other parts to that. If you'll turn to Isaiah 40 verses 10 through 15. Isaiah 40 verses 10 through 15. From time to time, God is going to tell his children no. And those aren't easy times, because we've all experienced these, right? We've all felt that confusion or that disappointment in our heart when God tells us no, when we really would like whatever we were asking him for.

But God is a spiritual authority, and we have to learn to honor and be convinced that he knows best. And you see that in these verses. Isaiah 40, starting in verse 10. See the sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arms rule from above. See his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those who have young. Who has measured the waters and the hollows of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scale and the hills in a balance? In other words, who are we to question him? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor?

Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him? And who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket, they are regarded as dust on the scales.

He weighed the islands as though they were fine dust. So when God tells us no, it's important that we remember that he is still God. And in this day and age, it's kind of sad that that phrase can get misused. The word God can be thrown around a slander or cursing or just a random fill-in word. So verse 10 kind of clarifies a point that we have to keep in mind.

And that is, he is the sovereign Lord. So when things don't turn our way, it's the way we would like. And God tells us no, we have to keep that in mind. Because otherwise our human nature is those are the times where we ask why. And then we follow up by telling God all the reasons we disagree with him. So these verses help with perspective. Verse 13, who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him?

And who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? You see, when God tells us no, he may not answer all of our questions, but he also doesn't just say, but he also doesn't just say, because I told you so.

God has made himself known personally to us through the Bible, through history.

And so we can accept his decision when we hear him tell us no. Or that's the maturity we have to come to grow to. But just like spiritual children, that takes trust and that takes time and that takes growth. And the more we know about God, and the more we know about who he is, then the less we have to ask why. Or we ask why in a different way, right? We ask why, and I trust you, God. Can you help me understand this a little bit better?

Different than the snarky young response, but it's a humble response. Because God knows more than we do. So here's a couple lessons for you that came to mind. Things to think about when God says no. First thing is, remember that God is almighty in power. God is almighty in power. If you'll turn to Psalms 147 and verse 5, I'm going to read this to you from the New Living Translation, because we could be tempted to think that God couldn't do what we ask of him to do. Well, God just wasn't able to do that thing, I ask. We can question if our problems are beyond God's ability.

Realize that when God says no, it doesn't mean that God is weak. Psalms 147 and verse 5, and again I'll read this from the New Living Translation, it says, How great is our Lord! His power is absolute. His understanding is beyond comprehension. So, when God says no, it doesn't mean that God has given up, because God is more than able. Second thing to keep in mind is that when God says no, God's response is always designed to achieve the most effective long-term benefit for us. He is always concerned in the most long-term benefit in our lives. For that, turn to Isaiah 55, and we'll read verses 8 through 11. Isaiah 55 verses 8 through 11. When God says no, it doesn't mean that God has lost control, or doesn't know what to do, because He does. God knows everything we ask for won't be good for us, just like a parent knows those five cookies aren't going to be the right thing for that child.

Instead of us being thankful and drawing closer to God, I think some of us, some of the times we can ask for things that, upon reflection, or if we let them play out, will actually separate us from God, will actually result in His judgment. And God realizes that. And so God shows His grace by saying no. But that's maturity, just like a kid has to be taught that. Isaiah 55 and verse 8. I'll read this from the NIV. It says, So even when God says no, His word is still powerful. It's still effective.

And this says it will accomplish what He desires. And when God says no, it doesn't mean that God is being unfair, because God wants to reward us. He wants to give us good things. However, sometimes what we ask for is not what's good for us. And He knows that better than we do. There's a lady named Barbara Kirby who wrote a humorous caption from her life. And she was describing her first experience of driving. I haven't taken Drew yet, but we were talking about that on the way over, because it's coming imminently for him. Danger to all of you, he now has his permit. But I guess in this situation, Barbara's father was taking her for her first driving lessons in a school parking lot. And for this particular lesson, I guess her three-year-old sister was riding in the backseat. Well, Barbara was trying to negotiate a turn and kind of didn't do it real well. So she hit a curb. And all of a sudden from the backseat, she heard this little small three-year-old voice saying, God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. And so she pulled over and stopped, and she said, What are you talking about? And her little sister replied, Your driving is scaring me, and that's the only prayer I know.

The context of that one. The point is that there are times where we start to pray to God, and we have no idea what to pray about. Right? I've been there.

But we can rest assured that God understands us, and He understands what we need. And we can be sure that He is going to answer our prayers in the way that's absolutely best for us in the long term.

Do you ever question whether God answers prayers?

That's a point of maturity. A young person will say, I don't know if God answers my prayers.

A more mature person realizes that absolutely there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. Because we can all get it when God says yes. Oh, woohoo! That one we can get.

And there are also times when God replies by saying, wait.

And there are times where God says no. But those are all answers. If you'll turn next to 2 Corinthians 12, verses 7 through 10.

2 Corinthians 12, verses 7 through 10. Well, I'd like us to look at an example and learn from a time where God told one of His strong pillars, no. Because God is very fair telling all of us no to help shape us. In this situation, what we're reading is an example of Paul. 2 Corinthians 12, verses 7. Or starting in verse 7. It says, It says, It says, That pleading, probably knowing Paul was three days of fasting and all sorts of other things along the way, that he was not a man of faith.

But it seems that this thorn in the flesh, which there's all sorts of speculations of what it is, but it stayed with him until his death.

Now, why would God want someone to suffer from some kind of an ailment that impacted him that much? Why would God intentionally allow someone to endure pain the way Paul was? Verse 9.

That's a mature spiritual perspective. And I think there's a couple things that we can learn about God from what Paul said.

Silly analogy. What if you called your central Illinois electrical company because your power had gone off, and they responded, saying, My grace is sufficient for you. Woo! That would be confusing.

What is this supposed to mean?

God is telling Paul that he doesn't need to worry about this thorn in the flesh because God's grace has enabled his eternal destiny.

He's pointing him to something more important. God is reminding Paul that while there are good things, or there are going to be things on this earth that will cause us to deal with physical pain, we can still know that God has given us his Son to take away our spiritual pain. That's maturity.

That's the different perspective between somebody wanting five cookies now versus sickness an hour from now. That's the big picture.

And so God says, No, I'm not going to remove this physical ailment because life isn't supposed to be free of pain. But you can rely on me to relieve your spiritual pain. It's maturity. That's the perspective we learn as we approach this Passover season. God says, No, to keep our perspective, to keep our priorities on the right things. Notice also, God says his power is perfected in weakness. There's another weird phrase.

So is God saying that we're going to be stronger than the most powerful fighter or martial artist or weightlifter? Not exactly.

The kind of power God is concerned about, God is reminding us that we should be more concerned with our spiritual health, with our spiritual strength, than whatever physically is ailing us, our physical well-being. What God wants us to focus on is his spiritual power, and he is showing that that power is perfected when we're weak. And that's actually a very logical thing if you separate yourself from it and just think about what you've seen around you in life. When do we pray the most? Do we pray a lot more when we're happy and all things are going our way?

I don't see that happening. Instead, we pray more when we're suffering. When we're facing major problems, and when we don't know what to do. And so God is telling Paul and us today that when we're weakened in life, that's when we're our strongest, because that's when we begin to truly rely on him. When we rely on our Lord, and that's when we begin to pray earnestly to him.

How many stories have you heard in your life where someone is saying, your life is going great! So I've decided to pray more.

Maybe occasionally. I don't know if I've ever heard one like that.

And I don't think that God teaches us through the countless stories that you have heard of people whose lives were in shambles, and they decided to turn to God, and when they did, everything changed. You've all heard that story.

And it doesn't mean that they were miraculously healed. It doesn't mean they were completely freed from their physical circumstances, but they knew that God was in control, and they began to rely on him. They learned the big pictures in life. So what should our response be when we say no, or when God says no? I think we find it clearly an example from Christ's life. So if you'll turn to Luke 22, verses 39 through 43. Luke 22, verses 39 through 43. What we're going to read is a situation where God the Father told his son no. And Jesus is anybody who knew what was about to happen to him, prayed that God would in some way take away that suffering. But God said no. And I think there are two important things for us to notice about this interaction. First of all, we need to look at how this prayer was prayed. Luke 22, verses 39. It says, Coming out, he went to the Mount of Olive, as he was accustomed, and his disciples also followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. I love that phrase. That's the proper response. If God tells you no. And that's the perspective that we need to keep in mind. If we hear no, God, not my will but yours be done. How often when we're praying do we actually use those words? Usually it's something more like, God, I need this. And I need it now. Right? We have a tendency to see God not as someone we bring our requests to, but rather like we see a restaurant where we go to the counter, we order what we need, and then we get agitated if it doesn't come and come quickly. Babes, spiritual adults, it's trying to gain that perspective of approaching God.

Because that's not the way prayer works. We should expect God to be at, or we should say we shouldn't respect God, or expect God to be at our beck and call, because it's about perspective. God isn't there to fix whatever we have a problem with in this life. God is there to fix us for what we can do in the next life as spiritual beings. He's the creator of this world, and he's going to allow things to progress as he sees fit, not as I demand. So if God says no to you, remember the proper response should be, not my will, but yours be done. Secondly, let's look closely at how God, before we go on to the next point, actually, is recognized. There's one other thing we can take from this point. Look at how God answered the prayer, because you see it in verse 43. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven and strengthened him. So God did answer his prayer. Yes, God said no to Jesus, but God helped in a different way. Jesus wanted to be freed from the inevitable suffering that he was going to face, but I think the lesson for us to keep in mind is to realize that God knows more than we do. And a lot of times, I think we come to God thinking, you know, I know what's best for God. So let me just talk to you. And we don't know how things play out. We don't know either what's shaping in our lives or in someone else's lives. Think for a moment about what might have happened if God had granted Jesus' request. And if you ever played that thought through it. Say God says, ah, he's probably right. Well, first of all, you wouldn't be here in church today.

There would be no sacrifice of the Lamb of God. There would be no forgiveness of sin. The Holy Spirit wouldn't have been offered to believers. Without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we would be lost.

God knew a greater point. So the point is that God is going to deny our request from time to time. But we have to realize that there's a reason behind it. And whether it's because it will make us stronger or because the path we were going down would hurt us, something we can't foresee, God knows more. Knows more. And we must approach Him humbly. And we must remember that prayer doesn't get man's will done in heaven, but God's will is done on earth. We're praying for what God wants us to see. And that's a hard—that's a maturity point. That's one of those areas that I know I approach God a lot of times, saying, but God, I really want this. All right. Help me to be used as you wish. Pardon maturity. Let's go on to the next point. The second point that Mr. Fay pointed out is don't touch. Don't touch.

And I know this is going to be huge shock to you, so just breathe a little bit.

But my son Drew has a defiant side. I know. Shocking. He's had it his whole life.

When I was thinking about this point, I remembered a story when he was about one. Just, you know, never knowing what is going to be—what the child will turn into. It's just an indicative part of who he is and his strengths when he redirects it along the ways he grows and matures. But we were sitting there in our little family room. Renee was beside me or watching TV. Drew was playing on the floor, and he started getting close to the TV screen. And so we said, Drew, do not touch the screen. And he looked at the screen, and he looked at us, and he held at his finger, and he looked, and he touched the screen. Now, he was suddenly very shocked when we came over and slapped his hand and took him away from all the toys he'd been playing with and separated him for everything that was fun in his life at that point.

But as parents, we are trying to set boundaries, right? Most parents have told their kids not to touch something hot.

And then all of a sudden hear this horrendous scream. Have the child run into our arms for comfort because they suddenly realized why they weren't supposed to touch that hot stove. I think that's probably every parent at one time or another that has had something like that take place.

Every child ultimately has to learn that life lesson that they'll either be rewarded for obedience or they're going to be punished for disobedience. That's life. That's what I'm trying to help Drew realize along the way is he grows up. Because we're all under authority. And the same lesson is being taught to us by God. And it's been taught from the beginning, right? Garden of Eden.

Basically, God told Adam and Eve, don't touch. And just like them, they didn't—or just like us, Adam and Eve didn't listen.

It's something I think every human struggles with. It's part of our maturing process. One man told of a time in his company that a box came into a factory, and it had this ominous label on top that said, Danger. Do not touch. So the employees told their bosses, and the bosses told the bosses' bosses, and everybody told them to stay away. And finally, the foreman came over and he had protective glasses and gloves. He very carefully opened the box. Inside the box was 25 signs that each read, Danger. Do not touch. Turn to Exodus 3 in verse 5. Exodus 3 in verse 5.

Moses was a shepherd. He was taking care of his father-in-law's sheep. I'm going to grab my water here.

So I'm abbreviating the context of what you're about to start reading.

He was out taking care of his sheep. One of the areas that apparently had good pasture was in the shadow of Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. And it was there that Moses looked up and he happened to see up the hill an unusual sight. There was a tree that was on fire, but it wasn't burning up. And that intrigued him. So he decided to investigate and ultimately heard God speaking to him through the bush. There's the fast-forward version. Exodus 3 in verse 5. Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing as holy ground.

Another way of saying what that is is saying, Danger. Do not touch. This is holy ground.

Nearly a year later, God brought Moses and the people of Israel back to that same mountain. And when they arrived, God challenged them to make a lifetime commitment to him.

In preparation, he told them to take a couple days to sanctify themselves, to cleanse themselves. They were told to wash their clothes to focus on the mountain. And to drive home that point, God had them put a limit around the mountain.

They were to fence it off. And anyone who crossed that line and touched the mountain was to die.

God essentially told them the same thing that he told Moses a year or so before. He said, Danger. Do not touch. This is holy ground.

Now, I think there are a few lessons for us from this story. First, when you deal with God, you need to understand that there are boundaries. Just like when we use that concept with the child, it's to teach them there are boundaries. Turn to Ephesians 4, verses 17-23. Ephesians 4, verses 17-23.

There are things you don't do. There are places you don't go. There are things you don't say. All of us as parents have tried to teach that to our child.

Paul is writing about this to the Ephesians. Ephesians 4, verse 17. It says, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts, who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all in cleanliness with greediness. But you have not so learned from Christ, if indeed you have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Remember? Spiritual babes, spiritual maturity. In a sense, that's what he's pointing out here. And essentially, he's telling the Ephesians, don't touch these things. You're holy people. Stay away from that Gentile stuff.

And since you're just a book away, go ahead, and I'll reference, so you can turn to Galatians 5, verses 17 through 25. Because Paul taught the Galatians that there's two ways of living. There's God's way, and then there's the world's way. If you live God's way, if you allow the spirit of God to control your life, then what you see in Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23 will happen in your life. Galatians 5, 22 and 23 talk about love, and joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Ah! But just like in the mountain, if you cross that line, if you allow yourself to breach the wall that separates yourself from the world, then you'll find your life controlled by the things that are in verse 19 through 21. And you'll find sexual immorality, impurity, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfishness, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

We don't want to go there. You don't want your kid to go in the wrong area when they're told not to touch. We're not to cross that line. Now, those who crossed the line in Moses' day died.

Those who crossed the line mentioned in Galatians 5 have even a worse faith, because you can see in verse 22, it says, I warn you, as I did before, that those who live life like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. So the point is, there are boundaries in this life that we're told not to cross. There are boundaries we don't want to cross with God. Or He will say, don't touch. We serve a holy God who calls us to be holy people, and we should not ignore the boundaries, or there will be apparel. Turn back now to Exodus 19, verses 12 through 13. I should have had you keep your finger there, my apology. Exodus 19, verses 12 through 13. So we're going back to that story before the Exodus, or I should say before the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai. The second thing I realized about the boundary was something that I learned when I read another man's sermon that he'd given on this topic. And here's a question for you. If a person or an animal was to cross that line and go to the mountain, remember, even animals weren't to go up there, and I guess it was good feeding ground, how were they to die? Exodus 19, verse 12. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be stoned or shot with arrows. Not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live. Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast, may they approach the mountain. So think about this. This is God's mountain. So think about this. This is God's mountain. Right? Why isn't he punishing those who overstep the line?

Why isn't he dealing with those people who violated?

Because he expects his people to enforce God's boundaries. That's maturity. That's showing that his rules are our rules. We suddenly start getting it. Right? That's one of the areas you hope, as you teach your child not to touch, that they understand why they don't touch, so they teach their children not to touch.

That means they're getting it.

And in this situation, they'd come into the glorious presence of God, and God was telling them that it was their job to protect God's glory. It was their job to protect God's holiness, which in this case was the mountain.

So similarly, I was thinking, so what's the proper response if God tells us, don't touch?

Now, Bill and Drew will cringe at this concept. One of my favorite movies is Princess Bride. I know the two of them don't like the movie Princess Bride, but I think God would like us to sincerely say the phrase from the movie, as you wish.

That would be the proper response. And as I look closely at this passage in Exodus 19, something else occurred to me.

You notice that there is no record of any person or any animal being stoned or shot with arrows.

You ever notice that? How come?

What I think of is if I knew that I was going to be responsible to punish people crossing the line, and I saw someone I loved going toward that mountain, starting to get close to that boundary, what would you do? I know what I would do. I would run over there, but I'd put my arm around them, and I'd pull them back.

And I think that's a major function of the church, and that's a major element of spiritual maturity, right? We are to be there for each other. We're to be so committed to each other that when we see a fellow Christian or a brother or sister walking too close to the edge of something that they shouldn't do, or pushing the boundaries of holiness, that we would rush to their side. We would have their back.

Our purpose of spiritually mature Christians is to know where God's boundaries are, and to help each other avoid crossing the lines. That's maturity. That's what we're working toward. We're to learn that when God says, don't touch, we should say, as you wish. Let's go on to the third point. Third point that little kids should learn. Third point that we as spiritual children of God should learn, and that is, come here. Come here. We've all heard the exasperated parent saying, John, what's wrong with you? Haven't you heard me the last five times saying, come here?

A classic example of that happened. There's a couple I could go to, but what's wrong with you? I remember one that Renee told me about when Drew was about five, and was in a... It wasn't a grocery store, because I remember there was toys there, but it was a mall-type store, and they'd finished what they were going to do, and she said it was time to go. Rather than comply, he started to get defiant and throw a tantrum. Renee warned him one last time, and then she left.

She made sure to catch the eye of the teller, she went behind a wall, and stayed there. So the teller knew there wasn't a child abandoning a child. Drew went from tantrum to pure fear. After a while, he realized his mom was gone, and he ran out of the building trying to find her, and then she got the lesson across to him. Drew will remember in the last year or two that same thing happened, and he walked home from the mall. But it's a lesson that we all have to learn along the way. As parents, we strive to teach our kids to listen and to obey the first time, to cultivate the habit of paying attention to what people say. And there's a lot of reasons. I mean, part of the reason is we're trying to teach our children to obey what they're told to do. But there's also, I mean, every parent has this area of trust that if there is a peril that's coming, and you say, come here, the child's going to come, so that they don't suddenly have a terrible thing happen to them. God wants the same thing from us.

And I don't know if you ever thought about it, but if you look at it from that lens in the Bible, there are a whole lot of times, a lot of examples of God saying, come throughout Scripture. Turn to Matthew 11 and verse 28. I'm just going to give you a few, but you could truly take the whole sermon, finding examples of it. One of them, I'm not going to have you turn to you, but you can think about what were the words that were used when Christ called each of His disciples. He said, follow me. Come here, follow me.

Matthew 11 verse 28 gives another one. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It's a wonderful invitation. God is calling us to Him for relief, helping us with our burdens, helping us with our cares. Now, move forward to John 6 and verse 37. John 6 and verse 37.

Just as a parent has loving intentions when they call their child to them, I think the next verse tells us how much Christ will take care of those who come to Him. John 6 verse 37. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. It's a wonderful promise.

Turn forward now to Revelation 3 and verse 20, and we'll find another one. Now, in this next verse, we find a very personal invitation that's extended to us.

But along with it is this clarity that there is an obligation on our part with this invitation. Revelation 3 and verse 20 says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me.

It's a powerful analogy. Jesus is knocking. He's being polite. He wants to help us. He badly wants to come in. But it requires us listening and obeying His direction. Same thing as with a young child, same thing with us spiritually. He's not going to come in until we open the door. Until we invite Him into our lives. But He's standing outside and He wants us to obey.

Turn finally to Isaiah 1 verse 18. Isaiah 1 and verse 18. Like I said, we could easily go through and take the entire sermon, looking up the words, either come or follow. It's an interesting study. Many, many examples of God asking for His followers to do that. But ultimately, the most important area God is inviting us to is forgiveness and obedience.

Jesus gave His life to make that possible. But we have to come to Him in repentance and in allegiance.

The analogy plays. We can never be anything more than spiritual babes if we don't do that. Isaiah 1 verse 18. 1 Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

It's an offer that's amazing.

It's an offer that needs acceptance. But that's up to us. Because there's an inevitable word that every human is going to face, and that word is death. And we can approach God, and every human can ask why, and God will say, because of sin, our personal sin.

But there is a beautiful word that removes the penalty of sin, and that word is forgiveness.

For that to be possible, we have to listen to the simple call of God to come. Come, though your sins be as scarlet, though they be red like crimson. It's a simple direction to comply, but it requires action. And I think a lot of the reasons, that's what makes it just struck me when I heard Mr. Faye mention that, because the concept is so true to us as humans. I mean, as adults, as spiritual people trying to grow as part of his family, even a child can understand the concept of come. Now, that doesn't mean they always do it. That's majority. But God has an invitation that's easy, and he has made it that way so that the young as well as the old can understand it. So, what should be our response when God says come? Well, on that one, there's a song that probably you haven't heard before, but it's a spiritual song that's on my track of songs that the lyrics go like this. Yes, Lord. Yes, my Lord. Yes, it is. The lyrics go like this. Yes, Lord. Yes, my Lord. Yes, is the answer. What's your question going to be? And I think that's probably the response that God would want us to say. Yes, my Lord. Yes, is the answer. Now, what's your question going to be? I read a story about a high-speed train that was rushing over the rails, speeding fast toward its destination. And so a passenger asked the porter. He says, this is a train stop at the next town. And the porter said, no, sir. It doesn't even hesitate. Well, I think similarly, God is calling people to make a decision for him, but he wants us to make it without hesitating. And if we put off coming to God when he calls us, then we may pass up our pardon forever. I hope today has given you some things to think about with the Passover, but concepts that all of us have had to live with. And that is very simple parallels within our own life. For us to be spiritually mature, God expects us to obey him when he says, no, don't touch, and come here.