Like Little Children
Matthew 18
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
“Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.
3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!
14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
- Disciples Do Not Dismiss, Despise, or Devalue Children
Mark 10
13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.
15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
- In our present day, in this culture, the specific assault on the innocence of children is demonic.
- The fear and perversity being foisted on kids is from the pit of Hell.
Innocent, simple faith is to be continually, consistently encouraged, fostered, or cultivated.
Receiving the Kingdom like a child
- Isn’t there “worrisome” or scary teaching from the Bible?
- No; It’s not scary or worrisome to kids.
- Folks inside and outside the church often see or protest that Scriptures are damaging to kids, stories that will give them nightmares or worse - convictions.
- In reality, it’s the adults don’t want to deal with the straight reading of the Bible.
- We at New Song have always looked for innovation and consistency in presenting the Gospel to kids.
We want to obey Jesus:
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”Voddie Baucham says
“Our children are not the missionaries; they are the mission field.”
Matthew 18
6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
- Are you raising a citizen of Heaven or a citizen of California, in the USA?
- How much time is spent by you as the parents shaping your kid’s mind, heart, and soul to know Jesus?
- How much time is spent praying over your kid?
Are you leading them into the presence of Christ even 10 minutes a day?
Are you certain that you are not placing your kids in the way of temptation?
- The Bible says that as believers, our kids are set apart for holiness to God.
- Am I doing for my kids what God intended?
1 Corinthians 7
14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.
- Your kids are set apart by God as holy.
- Because you are a believer, you bring the Holy Spirit living in you into your home and that makes the presence of God in the Holy Spirit living in your home with you.
So your kids have a front row seat to see your redemption lived out, a front row seat to see Jesus making you more like him, to see God working in you giving you the desire and power to do what pleases him.
Or - you can both go to work to make more money and send your kid for 8 hours a day to a school where they will be taught new, imaginary pronouns.
- Read books about how to have homosexual sex, taught how to masturbate, learn how to put a condom on a cucumber.
- Your kid has to learn to live under constant fear and oppression at school.
- Is that what God intended when he said ‘your children are holy’?
- You cannot be surprised when you send your kid to a school for 8 hours a day where they’re taught how to speak a foreign language and be surprised when you hear an accent and then they eventually have a different word for everything.
- Are your convictions convincing you, or have you settled for less than the truth?
Look at Matthew 18.10:
“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.”
(Look down = despise, hold in lower estate/esteem)
- Innocence must be preserved and our kids must be set at Jesus’ feet no matter what the cost.
Colossians 3
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.
Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.
7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.
8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.
9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
- Verse 10: how much time is spent ‘learning to know your Creator and be like him’?
- Are they doing that 8 hours a day in ANY school; Charter School or otherwise in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District? Or ANY school in the CA Dept of Education?
- How will you answer Jesus when he asks ‘are you leading them to me or into temptation’?
Matthew 18
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!
14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
