[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on June 22, 2014.]
Today we’ll be looking at the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 10, verses 13 through 16:
13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.--Mark 10:13-16 (NASB)
Let us pray... Father, we pray that for a few moments we might be as children, fascinated by the story of Your Son, Jesus, listening to each word You speak so that we might learn more. Use me, Lord, to deliver Your message and may Your Holy Spirit touch each one of us today. In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer we pray. Amen.
A little boy asked his father, “Dad, did God make you?” “Yes, of course”, his father replied. “And did He make me?” the son continued. “Yes,” his father answered with a smile, “he sure did.” The boy thought for a moment then said, “Well, I think He’s doing better work lately, don’t you?”
Out of the mouths of babes…
Watching our kids in Vacation Bible School this week has truly been an uplifting experience, and it makes me appreciate the better work God is doing. The children played and had a good time, sure. But they also listened and learned. They picked up on the ideas and concepts presented to them by their teachers and leaders. They went into this week with a childlike innocence and glee, not knowing exactly what to expect but having faith that the people in charge would do wonderful things for them.
This is the simple, unassuming, unquestioning faith of a child. A quality we seem to lose as we age, as life beats us down. The kids know what we’ve forgotten… Even when we’re feeling left out, Jesus loves us. Even when we’re different, even when we don’t understand, even though we sometimes do wrong, even when we’re afraid, Jesus still loves us. This is what Jesus wants us to remember, what He is trying to tell us.
David understood this, long before Jesus even spoke the words. Hear how he describes himself in his 131st Psalm…
Out of the mouths of babes…
Watching our kids in Vacation Bible School this week has truly been an uplifting experience, and it makes me appreciate the better work God is doing. The children played and had a good time, sure. But they also listened and learned. They picked up on the ideas and concepts presented to them by their teachers and leaders. They went into this week with a childlike innocence and glee, not knowing exactly what to expect but having faith that the people in charge would do wonderful things for them.
This is the simple, unassuming, unquestioning faith of a child. A quality we seem to lose as we age, as life beats us down. The kids know what we’ve forgotten… Even when we’re feeling left out, Jesus loves us. Even when we’re different, even when we don’t understand, even though we sometimes do wrong, even when we’re afraid, Jesus still loves us. This is what Jesus wants us to remember, what He is trying to tell us.
David understood this, long before Jesus even spoke the words. Hear how he describes himself in his 131st Psalm…
1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;--Psalm 131 (NASB)
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Hope in the Lord, David tells us; trust in the Lord. Don’t be proud or haughty. Don’t get all involved in matters that are too great or too difficult. Instead, be composed and quiet, like a child resting in its mother’s embrace. We should be childlike and trusting.
You may have heard the story of an old man walking along a deserted beach after a terrible storm. He notices starfish, hundreds of them, washed up on shore from the violence of the storm-tossed waves. Then he sees a little girl. He watches as she bends down, picks up a starfish, and tosses it back into the now calm sea. She does this over and over, barely pausing long enough to make sure the little creature lands in the water. Walking over to her, the old man asks the girl, “Why are you doing this? “ The little girl answers, “Because they will die in the sun if they are out of the water too long.” Incredulous, the old man huffs, “But there are thousands of them, far too many for you to save them all! You’re wasting your time! This won’t make a bit of difference. It won’t matter at all.” The little girl tosses yet another starfish into the water before replying, “It matters to that one.”
That little girl had faith, didn’t she? Faith that even a simple act, one that most of us might think insane, can make a difference.
Now, having a childlike faith does not necessarily mean we have to be like children. The Apostle Paul, in the 4th chapter of his letter to the church in Ephesus, verses 11 through 15, talks about maturing in our faith just as we mature as individuals…
You may have heard the story of an old man walking along a deserted beach after a terrible storm. He notices starfish, hundreds of them, washed up on shore from the violence of the storm-tossed waves. Then he sees a little girl. He watches as she bends down, picks up a starfish, and tosses it back into the now calm sea. She does this over and over, barely pausing long enough to make sure the little creature lands in the water. Walking over to her, the old man asks the girl, “Why are you doing this? “ The little girl answers, “Because they will die in the sun if they are out of the water too long.” Incredulous, the old man huffs, “But there are thousands of them, far too many for you to save them all! You’re wasting your time! This won’t make a bit of difference. It won’t matter at all.” The little girl tosses yet another starfish into the water before replying, “It matters to that one.”
That little girl had faith, didn’t she? Faith that even a simple act, one that most of us might think insane, can make a difference.
Now, having a childlike faith does not necessarily mean we have to be like children. The Apostle Paul, in the 4th chapter of his letter to the church in Ephesus, verses 11 through 15, talks about maturing in our faith just as we mature as individuals…
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.
--Ephesians 4:11-15 (NASB)
Paul says that just as we grow and mature in our bodies, we also grow and mature in our faith, until someday we become mature in our faith, or as Paul puts it, “to the measure of stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ”. We are to “grow up in all aspects into … Christ”. But Paul himself acknowledges in chapter 3 of Philippians that this is a level of perfection we won’t achieve until our resurrection.
He seems to contradict Jesus a little, doesn’t he? Jesus says we are to be “such as these”, the children, but Paul says that as we mature we are no longer children, tossed about by the world, carried away by any and every deceit and trickery. But then again, we haven’t gotten to that level of maturity yet. And Satan is the master of deception. So in some regards we are still childlike, still untouched by the world at least to some degree.
Maybe we can use what Paul says in his first letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 14, verse 20, to clear this up a bit…
20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.--1 Corinthians 14:20 (NASB)
When it comes to being evil, to doing evil things, we should be like infants, like babies. When it comes to the evilness that so inhabits and controls this world, we need to be as innocent as children, not partners in crime. But in our thinking, in how we interact with and react to the world and its influences, we need to be more mature. We still need to be trusting of our fellow man, to show one another love as Jesus commands us, but we also need to be constantly alert to the trickery, the snares, the stumbling blocks that Satan will use to trap us. We must be on guard, not niaïve to the ways of the world, not too easily sucked into Satan’s grasp.
In today’s text, Jesus pointed to the children gathering around Him and said, “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”. To such as these… To those who look at God and heaven with a bright-eyed innocence. To those who love unconditionally. To those who do not question…
I’m willing to bet there is not a single parent in here who hasn’t experienced this little scenario: You tell your child to do something. They balk and cry “Why?” In frustration, you blurt out, “Because I said so!”
As parents, we have the responsibility of seeing to the well-being of our children. And when it comes down to it, our children have to blindly accept and follow what we tell them to do. They have faith in us as their parent that we have their best interests at heart, that we won’t steer them wrong. They trust us.
This is the kind of faith we need. We need to accept what God tells us because He has our best interests in all His plans. He knows that where we are going is so wonderful we will surely want to be there.
We have to truly understand that even if the world makes us feel left out, even when we’re different from everyone else around us, even if we don’t fully understand what is happening to us, even when we do something wrong (and we will, because we’re human), even when we’re so afraid we don’t know which way to turn… God loves us, Jesus loves us. He will work everything to our good if we just trust Him, put all our faith and hope in Him.
And then, in our last verse today, Jesus paints such a beautiful picture of God’s love. Look at the front cover of your bulletin. He takes the little children in His arms and blesses them. This is what God does for us, this is the love He has for His children.
Come to God as a child, and receive His kingdom.
Amen.
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, You have adopted us – we are Your children. Thank You so much for allowing us to come to You any time we need to or want to. Thank You for that greatest gift of Your Son to show us the way. May we always be as children in your eyes, wary of the world but innocent in our faith. Please Father, help us avoid the pitfalls the enemy would use to trap us. Help us keep our childlike faith while we still mature and grow more and more into the image of Christ Your Son. Help us put all our trust and hope in You as we step into tomorrow, unhindered as we approach Jesus. We pray to You, Father, in that blessed name - Jesus - our Lord and Master. Amen.
In today’s text, Jesus pointed to the children gathering around Him and said, “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”. To such as these… To those who look at God and heaven with a bright-eyed innocence. To those who love unconditionally. To those who do not question…
I’m willing to bet there is not a single parent in here who hasn’t experienced this little scenario: You tell your child to do something. They balk and cry “Why?” In frustration, you blurt out, “Because I said so!”
As parents, we have the responsibility of seeing to the well-being of our children. And when it comes down to it, our children have to blindly accept and follow what we tell them to do. They have faith in us as their parent that we have their best interests at heart, that we won’t steer them wrong. They trust us.
This is the kind of faith we need. We need to accept what God tells us because He has our best interests in all His plans. He knows that where we are going is so wonderful we will surely want to be there.
We have to truly understand that even if the world makes us feel left out, even when we’re different from everyone else around us, even if we don’t fully understand what is happening to us, even when we do something wrong (and we will, because we’re human), even when we’re so afraid we don’t know which way to turn… God loves us, Jesus loves us. He will work everything to our good if we just trust Him, put all our faith and hope in Him.
And then, in our last verse today, Jesus paints such a beautiful picture of God’s love. Look at the front cover of your bulletin. He takes the little children in His arms and blesses them. This is what God does for us, this is the love He has for His children.
Come to God as a child, and receive His kingdom.
Amen.
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, You have adopted us – we are Your children. Thank You so much for allowing us to come to You any time we need to or want to. Thank You for that greatest gift of Your Son to show us the way. May we always be as children in your eyes, wary of the world but innocent in our faith. Please Father, help us avoid the pitfalls the enemy would use to trap us. Help us keep our childlike faith while we still mature and grow more and more into the image of Christ Your Son. Help us put all our trust and hope in You as we step into tomorrow, unhindered as we approach Jesus. We pray to You, Father, in that blessed name - Jesus - our Lord and Master. Amen.
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