October 31, 2021
Morning Service

Along our journey with Jesus, last week another miracle was seen by the Peter, James and John as Jesus was transfigured before their eyes shining like the sun in His full glory.  Elijah and Moses were also seen with Him talking and Peter rashly proposes building three memorials to these three icons of the faith.  From a bright cloud the voice of God the Father made it crystal clear that Jesus was the single voice and authority we are to listen to and follow.  “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!”  On Sunday evening, we discussed the disciples lack of ability to cast out a demon from a young child.  This frustrated Jesus into saying; “Oh faithless and perverse generation how long shall I be with you!”  If He was frustrated with them, how much more is He frustrated with our “faithless and perverse generation?”  It was the disciples’ unbelief that hindered them from casting out the demon, so we reviewed the definition of faith, its importance, and how to build it greater.  The underlying theme of the messages over the last month has been building our faith that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and making that the solid foundation that we stand upon.  Today Jesus gives us an example of what our faith should look like; and it originates from a rather odd question from the disciples and I want to also look at Mark’s account as well.

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

 

Mar 9:33-35 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  (34)  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  (35)  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."

            The disciples were still very young in their faith and it seems that it was a constant selfish struggle among themselves to answer this question.  Much later we will see John and James’ mother ask Jesus for her two boys to sit on His right and left hand in His coming kingdom as a symbol of their achievement over the other disciples.  Mark records that the disciples were hesitant to share their conversation perhaps because they were embarrassed by their selfishness.  It is sometimes extremely difficult to stand before our Lord and admit that our motives for success are based upon pride more than obedience.  It is not wrong to be industrious and ambitious, but when pride overcomes obedience and we are striving for the wrong reasons it becomes sin in our lives.  In our society, we are all prone to comparing ourselves with others by many criteria.  What we wear, drive, live in, our toys, our careers, and even our experiences are used to judge ourselves against others.  It is that “big new truck” that shows that I am a success and stand above all the others or whatever it may be.  We compare what we have with others and wrongfully base our “value” upon that fact.  Living with a motive to be better than or more successful than someone else is destructive along our path of following Jesus.

 This is human nature as we see here that the disciples too are trying to place a value on their contribution to the kingdom Jesus is building.  Jesus now teaches us the proper perspective that we need to be taking and it is the exact opposite of our inner nature.  Jesus tells them “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”  That changes the idea of being one who “achieves greatness” to one who strives to please God by serving others.  We need to quench the human nature mentality that says “look at me” and replace it with one that says “look at Him.”  Our value and identity come from Him, not from our comparison of those around us.  The journey begins with brokenness as we don’t brag on how great we are to God, but come to Him admitting our failures in humble repentance.  We are sinners who have been redeemed, or given value, only by the blood of Jesus.  It is with that attitude that we achieve true greatness.  All my achievements point to His greatness, not mine.  I am but a humble servant whom Jesus has chosen to follow Him and He has blessed me with all that I have which is much more than I deserve.  Jesus explains this further in Matthew’s account.

 

Mat 18:2-4Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, (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.  (4)  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  

            Jesus is instructing us not to be “childish” as the disciples are here arguing over petty things, but to be “child-like” with humble and sincere hearts.  Children are trusting by nature and they fully believe almost anything a trusted adult tells them.  He again gives us an example we understand to help us comprehend this deep spiritual truth.  Jesus is calling us to have the faith of a child, believing all that the scriptures tell us allowing the Holy Spirit to mold us into being the followers He desires us to be.  Just as a child accepts what you tell them as truth, we too must read and believe all that we are given as the very Words of God.  God said it, I believe it and that settles it; to be great in the kingdom of God we much have the faith of a child.  Jesus now also reveals out for us the responsibility we all carry for children.

 

Mat 18:5-6 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  (6)  "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

            Our children are our future and it is vital that we place a great priority to not only tell them about Jesus at a younger age, but live a life in front of them that displays what that looks like.  Children imitate what they see in their parents’ life.  Be aware that your child is basing what marriage looks like by how you act and react; their future marriage will look a lot like yours (good or bad).  The marriage relationship was designed to be an example of Jesus’ relationship to the church; so the struggle is a spiritual one.  Again the key to success is building on the solid foundation that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.  Parents your greatest ministry is performed within the walls of your home.  Do your children feel loved and accepted despite their faults as we do as the children of God?  Is following Jesus a priority in your home so strong that your kids see it clearly?  Take the role of being a father or mother as being your primary responsibility.  Jesus said “whoever receives one little child like this in My Name receives Me.”  Parenting is an act of worship, as you invest in them, you place God first in your life as well.  “Do not become weary in well doing.”  Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even neighbors we too hold a responsibility to be a part of these children’s lives investing in them and pointing them to Jesus as their Savior.  We have a wonderful group of teachers here who invest in our children’s ministry and we try to give them all they need to be successful.  It is important for us to get our kids to accept Jesus as their Savior at an early age because in all truthfulness it gets much more difficult as they get older.  We are better together. 

            Today we face a tougher challenge than any other generation to date.  Our enemy is seeking our children and is using our phones, computers and in some instances our school’s curriculum to do it.  Many of the videos our children watch are planting seeds in their minds that are contrary to the foundation we as Jesus followers are trying to build.  Know what your kids are watching and what they are learning.  There are schools who are teaching things such as “Critical Race Theory” and “intersectionality” which segregate our kids into social groups in which they are judged by.  There is also a push to “sexualize” our children at an age that they are not ready for that kind of information.  These are the topics we are going to try to cover with our David Jeremiah series on Sunday nights.  We must be involved in every aspect of our children’s lives and protect them from our enemy who is seeking destroy them. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for these teachings which opens our eyes to the many challenges we face as we seek to place You first in our lives.  Empower the Holy Spirit within us to see clearly the path You would have us to walk.

 

In summary today we learned to be great in the kingdom of God we must strive to be a humble servant.  Our identity comes through our relationship with Jesus, not our earthly achievements.  We are to strive to have the faith of a child, fully believing that the words we read in our Bible are God breathed and meant for each of us.  Finally, we were made aware of the responsibility we all carry to invest in our children.  Together as a community of believers we can raise the next generation to also build upon the solid foundation that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God!