I'd like to talk to you on the subject give and it shall be given.

We're familiar with Jesus' words, ask and you shall receive.

And that is sort of a beginner's lesson.

Prayer is asking. and Jesus did say ask and he shall receive but then there were other times when he makes it quite clear that we can't possibly receive everything we ask.

He didn't, Paul didn't, remember Paul asked the Lord three times to take away that thorn or that sharp pain and it was not taken away

Only the word was given to him my grace is sufficient for you and Jesus said if you ask bread you won't get a stone.

He didn't go on to say what would happen if we asked for a stone.

And I think the truth is that very often our prayers are stones and God is not going to give us those

prayers, those stones. We think it's bread, it's something that looks to us like bread, but God knows it's a stone and it'll

choke us. And so there's a deadlock because he will not give us anything but bread and we are

insisting that we want stones. anything but then there's a much more advanced lesson in the spiritual life more advanced

than ask and it shall be given and that is give

and it shall be given.

Press down running over.

And this follows along with what we were talking about this morning, the life of the cross, the sign of the cross in our lives.

The message of the cross is self-giving love. It was there that Jesus Christ laid down his life and he said no man takes it from me. I lay it

down of myself. He poured out his soul unto death, it says in Isaiah 53.

Pored out his soul unto death.

Lilius Trotter in that beautiful little book,

Parables of the Cross, has an exquisite painting.

She was a very fine artist trained under John Ruskin probably could have made quite a name for

itself in Europe but instead went to North Africa as a missionary. She was the founder of the Al Giers Mission Band, which has now

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