June 30, 2019
Morning Service

To have the faith of a child may seem like an easy thing for us right? We have all experienced being a child and we should be able to do childlike things easily since we have graduated this phase of life, correct? Well from my life and from the witness of other’s lives, I have found that returning to childlike behaviors of the purest quality is a very difficult thing for adults to accomplish. It seems like the more worldly wisdom we acquire, the less spiritual wisdom we obtain. Jesus calls us to put off worldly things and become transformed into a new creature! This is not to say that having wisdom is a bad thing in any way, in fact the bible tells us this about wisdom.

1 Corinthians 2:5  that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness”

Job 28:28  And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.'

The concept of man’s understanding of greatness is vastly different than that of God’s understanding. God calls us to be like children to enter His kingdom and man calls us to be all that we can be in the world. These ideas are exact opposites and in conflict with one another at their core. We generally think of greatness by the accomplishments done in the flesh, like being an excellent author, an artist, a craftsman, or a philosopher, but the bible tells us about greatness in this manner.

Matthew 18:1  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 

Matthew 18:2  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 

Matthew 18:3  and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 18:4  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 18:5  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Qualities of character that are pleasing to God are qualities not of what a person does, has, or is, but what he has done for others and the church, not seeking selfish desires. Spreading the Word of God to non-believers and helping the “lost” to become found by acknowledging their need for a Savior. Some of the childlike qualities that Jesus taught us to have to enter into His kingdom include the following. Children are meek and humble (dependent), they are teachable and moldable, they are inquisitive and open-minded, they are in a rapid state of growth, they are pure in heart and mind, and finally they are imaginative, but still think concretely. These qualities of character are not easy to execute on our own as adults, we are taught from a young age to start the growing up process and almost immediately begin to erase the childlike mannerisms that is what God demands. The world is such today that we instruct our children not to trust and with good reasoning behind the instruction. We teach them to learn to become independent and do things on their own without help. We direct them to have faith in themselves and their abilities to forge and construct their future from their own efforts and activities. God wants our trust in Him, He wants us to be dependent on Him, and He wants us to ask Him for guidance in our lives and to pray to Him in our daily walk. Jesus wants a personal relationship with us one on one and He is our Lord and Savior, but also our friend. Jesus purchased our souls with the spilling of His blood on the cross and yet He desires us to love Him from a free will. He will not force us to follow Him, He simply gives us the choice to enter into His Grace and come to Him as a child with childlike faith.

1 John 3:1  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 

1 John 3:2  Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 

1 John 3:3  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Webster defines a disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. We can all be disciples of Christ by just sharing the Good News when the opportunity presents itself. As a disciple of Christ, we should be humble, teachable, moldable, and not being a “know it all” but a learner of the Lord’s Way! A disciple should be a good listener and also inquisitive, seeking to understand with an open posture and in unity. A disciple will grow as he learns, practicing abstinence of the fleshly ways and instead imitate what Christ has done and follow where He leads. A disciple should not be afraid to imagine God doing the impossible; God’s business is the impossible. A disciple should be filled with wonder and faith trusting our Lord Jesus for everything, expressing eagerness and enthusiasm for things to come. When we pray to God, we must believe the impossible can become possible through Him. Shortly after Jesus had cursed the fig tree, the apostles were amazed at how quickly the tree withered away.

Matthew 21:21  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. 

Matthew 21:22  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." 

Prayer is a very powerful tool in the hands of a believer in Christ Jesus. Prayer is not to be used for selfish gain, but to bring glory to God’s kingdom. This is where the childlike faith comes into the character Jesus taught us to have, when we ask we are to believe, when we witness we are to believe, when we walk our daily walk we are to believe the only reason we have a walk, breath, or anything is because Jesus has provided our needs. With this understanding of where our help comes from, we are to humble ourselves before the Lord acknowledging Him for all things. Jesus had come to know His Father the way a son does, not by reading books about Him, but listening to Him and living in His presence. He would listen for His Fathers voice and learn from Him the way an apprentice would learn from a master, watching and imitating Him as we should also learn. Children have awareness and appreciation for things the way they are and they have gratitude for them. When we have Jesus in our lives, we should be happy and joyful that our lives are not as they once were, that we have been born again and will enter Heaven as Gods children. We should be like little children when they forgive a friend, they may quarrel, but they forgive quickly and move on not letting the difference become a wedge between them and certainly not holding a grudge. In the book of Matthew Jesus taught this concerning our trespasses and the forgiveness of them.

Matthew 6:14  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 

Matthew 6:15  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

This is where the old adage of “if you want to be forgiven you must forgive” comes from. It is straight from the mouth of Jesus when he walked the earth teaching through his words and mostly actions of how our conduct should reflect His love shown for us sinners. Another old saying is “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” This saying was attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but no proof exists to confirm. However, the meaning of this saying is well noted, our actions can preach the Gospel much more than our words ever could. Living a life excited about the free gift of Grace from Jesus’ DB & R is something people will pick up on long before a word is ever uttered. Yet another adage is “more is caught than what is taught” comes to mind. This is how children will learn from the examples shown them in their everyday lives. It behooves us to instruct our children in the way that leads to life rather than the way that leads to destruction. We must come to Jesus as repenting, believing, humbling, simple and natural like a child and Jesus will restore to us the characteristics of a child that give our lives meaning, excitement, and appreciation and thrill that we have lost as adults without Christ.

Matthew 19:13  Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 

Matthew 19:14  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Matthew 19:15  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. 

Matthew 19:30  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 23:12  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

To the world, a thing spiritual in nature is foolishness and they cannot understand the love of God when their thoughts are so elevated of themselves!

 

Lord we ask that you humble our spirits to be like that of a simple natural child with a faith a child has to believe in Christ Jesus and the sacrifice made on Calvary for our souls!