Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Mark 10:13-16
We are beginning a new series this morning. The sermon and series are based on the show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Now, let me give you some background. In the show they ask adults questions that they would have learned in fifth grade or before. Some examples:
1. In what month do we observe Columbus Day? October
2. A heptagon is a shape with how many sides? Seven
3. In what state is Mount Rushmore located? South Dakota
4. How many teaspoons are in 5 tablespoons? (3 teaspoons in a tablespoon)
As the contestants end up losing, which they all do, they are asked to look at the camera and state emphatically, “My name is ____________ and I am NOT smarter than a fifth grader.”
Well, I was watching that show and it struck me how appropriate it would be for a sermon series, because, as I look through the Bible, I see so many areas where people should know better, they should have learned by that point in their life, and yet they continue to stumble, continue to fail, continue to get it wrong. And the thought that kept coming back to me is, I’m no better than that. I do the same things.
And so we are going to look at five areas over the next five weeks. Next Sunday we will talk about, “Are you smarter than a Disciple? (they continually struggled to get what Jesus was trying to do – are we any better). Following that we will address, “Are you smarter than a Rich Fool?” (talk about falling into the traps of short term thinking). Then, “Are you smarter than a Pharisee?” (looking at pride and legalism). We will wrap up with “Are you smarter than a Sheep?” (In that sermon we will see how sheep listen and respond to the masters commands – we don’t always do that.)
That’s what is coming up. But this morning we are taking the topic, “Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader?” and we are looking at the concept of childlike faith.
It was a faith that Jesus called us to, a faith that he elevated, a faith that most of us once had, but at some point people tend to grow out of that child like faith, and that’s not a good thing.
And most of us are definitely not smarter than a fifth grader when it comes to our understanding, our belief and our trust, in our heavenly father.
If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Mark 10:13-16
ILLUS - Even though I didn’t grow up in the church, one of my early, fond memories, is of reading Bible story books that could often be found in doctor and dentist offices. They were the hardback, blue, full sized books that had lots of wonderful pictures in them. I was fascinated by these books. There was Daniel in the Lions Den, Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath, and so many more great stories.
And when I was little it seemed easy to believe and be inspired by those stories. Why has that changed? Why, as we grow older, do we become more cynical? Why does our faith become more difficult?
Is it because when we’re small we are more gullible? Or… is it because we have not been cluttered with decades of influence and false teachings and the harshness of life?
And the question becomes, how did we lose our childhood faith and optimism in God? And can we reclaim that?
Our text in Mark 10:13-16 says, People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Jesus was teaching his disciples that it was people who have faith like a child that are going to inherit the kingdom of God! He held up a child and he basically said, “Learn from this child.”
Now there are many things that children teach us.
ILLUS - I remember receiving an email that talked about things I’ve learned from my children. It said, “My children have taught me many things”:
My children taught me that If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing underwear and a Superman cape.
My children taught me that when using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit.
My children taught me that when you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh," it’s already too late.
My children taught me that Lego’s will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old but Duplos will not.
That play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
That garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
And my children taught me that you probably do not want to know what that odor is.
Well, there are many things we learn from children. And that’s the truth. Some things they teach us, just by being born.
ILLUS - I never understood and appreciated the unconditional love of God until I held my daughter in my arms, moments after she was born. She had done nothing to earn my love. As a matter of fact, all she had done up to that point was cause my wife pain, which in turn, caused me pain. But in that moment, I knew I would die for this child, and that opened up a new understanding of God’s love for me.
When my second child was born, she taught me how God can love us equally. I now had two daughters and my love was not divided, it was multiplied to cover both. I didn’t understand that, I actually had wondered if I had enough love to love two children the way I loved the one. But I did, and I had a new dose when my son was born. My kids taught me that. We learn from them.
And Jesus says, we also learn from children the type of faith that the father desires for us to possess.
If we are going to fulfill God’s expectations from us in the area of faith, then we need to have faith like a little child. What does that mean exactly? What is faith like a child?
And there are a number of areas that come to mind.
First of all, children believe whole-heartedly that God is real, and that He can do anything he desires.
Even though I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, I understood, even as a child, that there was a God and that he could do anything. I just knew that as a child.
Children know that God is powerful. And while they may not comprehend why they know it, they just do. Now, unlike some childish concepts, this one is grounded in truth.
Jeremiah 32:17 says there is nothing too difficult for God.
And child like faith takes that at face value, but for some reason we begin to question that truth as we grow older.
Now we have no problem believing the big things of life – we believe that God can make the trees grow, the rain fall, the sun to shine, but for some reason we waver when it comes to the every day things of life. Can God really help me with raising my kids, or dealing with my boss, or overcoming this illness? Is he powerful enough? And child-like faith, and the Bible, and experience says, “Without reservation, yes, yes he can!!!”
But do we really believe that? As we grow older, we seem to waver. Listen, we need that childlike view of God. God has power that we cannot even dream about. We see it from the first chapter of the Bible. When God created the earth, he didn’t labor and labor and labor, he did one thing, he spoke. He spoke a word and it was done.
He said let there be light and there was light. Let there be land and there was land. Let there be vegetables and animals and mankind, and there were vegetables and animals and mankind. And he did it with a word.
That is awesome power. Wouldn’t you like to have that power? Of course you would. To speak things into being, or to look at something and be able to recreate it? Some of you would look at your old car and say, “Let there be Hummer.” Or you would look at yourself in the mirror and say, “Let there be figure.” Or you would look at your husband…
But folks it isn’t going to happen. Because there is only one being with that kind of power. He is Almighty God.
God’s power cannot be denied. Listen to these words from ROMANS 1:20, ”For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
What that means is all you have to do is go home tonight and watch the sunset, look at the trees, and take in creation. And when you do you are going to be reminded of the existence and power of God.
Everything around us points to an awesome creator. Let it remind you of that child-like faith that believes in an all-powerful God.
Well, not only does child-like faith believe that God
can do anything, but it also believes that God knows everything.
It’s a child’s understanding that you can’t hide anything from God. And once again, it’s grounded in truth.
Hebrews 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Now when the Bible says that God is all-knowing, it’s not saying that he’s pretty smart. It’s not saying that he would do really well on “Are you Smarter than a 5th grader.” To say that God is all-knowing is to say that there is nothing in this world, nothing in the past, nothing in the future that he does not know.
Psalm 147:5 says that the understanding of God has NO limits. None. There is nothing he does not comprehend.
1 John 3:20 says simply "He knows everything." Does that describe you? Do you know everything? I’ve known people that thought they did.
ILLUS - It’s kind of like the little boy that asked his mom, he said "momma, how come the idiots only come out when daddy’s driving."
And the answer is because daddy thinks he knows it all and everybody else is an idiot. I’ve known people like that. I’ve been people like that. And some people really do think they know it all. They think it all centers around them.
ILLUS - It’s like the woodpecker that was pecking away at a tree. Suddenly lighting hit the tree and split it right in half. The woodpecker flew off saying, “Look what I did!”
Or the true Survey – Guys were asked to rate themselves in intellectual ability. Here’s the thing, 90% of guys rate themselves in the top 50%, and roughly 40% put themselves in the top 5% of all guys when it comes to intelligence. We really do think we know it all.
But you know what, there’s only one person that really does know it all, one person that it all does center around, and that’s God. God knows everything.
God can see my past, present, and future. He sees it all at the same time. And kids know that, but for some reason, that understanding fades as we grow older. And that’s too bad.
And I’ll tell you why it’s too bad. It’s too bad because when we grasp his infinite knowledge, when we glimpse the magnitude of his understanding, and then realize that in that infinite realm of knowledge, he cares personally about me, that’s almost overwhelming.
King David is writing in the 139th Psalm and he’s talking about this knowledge of God. And he says, "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out, and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely O Lord."
And then David sums it up in verse five by basically saying, “even though you know all about me, you still care.” You know about Bathsheba and Uriah, you know about the troubles with my son, you know all my secrets and yet you still care about me.
They say a good friend is one who knows all about you and loves you anyway. I want to tell you this morning, God knows all about you, every thought, every deed, every sin, everything. And he loves you anyway. Children know that. Children believe that. We need to rediscover that.
Well, moving on to our last point. Not only does child-like faith believe that God is all powerful and that He can know everything, but child-like faith also believe that God is everywhere.
Children believe that. They understand that God literally is everywhere. Wherever you are God is. Wherever you aren’t God is. They know that simple yet impacting fact.
Listen to what David said in that 139th Psalm. He said, If I go up to the heavens you are there. If I make my bed in the depths you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn. If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will hand will guide me.
Up, down, near, far, he says God your there.
Kids know that and we need reminded of that. It’s important to understand that God is everywhere. It’s important because it holds some ramifications for my life.
#1 - It means that he’s with me in the bad times –
When you’re going through that trial, and you don’t think anyone is there with you, you need reminded that God is there. And that should touch us all. The old saying is that “There is a broken heart in every pew.” I’ve found that to be true. And it may be health, or finances, or relationships, or addictions, and while you think no one else knows or cares, the truth is that God does. And not only does he know, but he’s there with you through the ordeal.
Psalm 56:8 says “You know my wanderings: you put my tears into a bottle: you record them in your book?”
I’ve always been fascinated by that verse. You put my tears into a bottle. The significance of that is that in the old days when a man went off to war, his wife or mother would take a bottle and tell him I will cry for you every night, and that bottle was a record of those tears and a testimony that someone was caring.
In similar fashion, God says, I’m saving your tears, I want you to know that I took note, I didn’t miss them. I was there.
And life is tough and tragic and sometimes very unfair, but God is with me in my sorrow, and he will use them to work things for the good.
Do I understand how? No. Will I someday? Maybe, maybe not. But childlike faith trusts him to know my pain and to carry me through.
#2 - Secondly, He’s with me in my victories as well.
Nothing is hidden from God. He knows my successes. He knows my victories. He knows my sacrificial acts that nobody sees. He records them. He takes them into account.
And I’ve got to tell you, from a human standpoint, maybe at least from a guys standpoint, we like that. It’s nice to be recognized. Let’s just admit it, we’re weak in that area.
Guys you know what I mean – my wife does 80% of the work around the house but when I do something I want to be recognized. “Honey, I picked up my socks. Did you notice that?" We like to be noticed – that’s human nature.
ILLUS - Remember when you were a kid and you were goofing around and you made that half-court shot….what did you do? You looked around to see if anyone noticed.
Whatever achievement it may be, a part of us wants, and maybe it’s a human, and a weak part, but a part of us wants to know, did anybody see my shining moment.
And the truth is, God did. He was there, because he’s everywhere, and he sees every one of those victories. He sees that cup of cold water you share. He sees that time you didn’t pass along the gossip. He sees that time you spent seventeen straight months working in the church nursery.
And Jesus tells us that God sees what you do in secret and he will reward you for it.
Well, let me begin to wrap up. While childlike faith understands and believes in a God who can do anything, see anything, and be everywhere, unfortunately, as we grow older we tend to forget those simple facts.
And we need to get back to that pure understanding of God. Let’s see God for who he is. He is a God who is with me every where I go. He is a God who sees and cares about every facet of my life. He is a God who knew the sin in my life and where it was taking me and so he is a God who provided a way of salvation through Jesus Christ.
But let’s also remember that he is a God who won’t make us take that way out. He gives us freedom to choose and if we choose to reject him, and to reject Christ, then he will let us suffer the consequences of our failures.
ILLUS - We’re like the little boy that brought home a terrible report card. The next day he came back into class with a warning for the teacher. He said, "Mrs. Smith, my dad says if my grades don’t improve, somebody’s gonna get a spanking."
Well, we need to understand whose gonna take the punishment. And while children believe in the reality of heaven, they also understand the reality of hell. And God doesn’t make us go there, he’s done everything he can to provide a way out through Jesus Christ, but if we refuse that, then the judgment is on us.
Children know that. Children have a faith that trusts in Jesus Christ, trusts in an all powerful, all knowing, ever present God. That is a pure faith that we need to rediscover.
Listen, my name is ________________, and I am not smarter than a fifth grader when it comes to faith in God. But I’m learning. How about you?
Would you pray with me?
