The Lord’s Love for Children
Luke 18:15-17
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church – Sept. 21, 2008
*The tune was first written as a marching song for the Union Army, during the Civil War: “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching.” Later this tune became one of the all-time favorite Christian songs for children. You have sung it many times:
-Jesus loves the little children,
-All the children of the world.
-Red and yellow, black and white,
-They are precious in His sight.
-Jesus loves the little children of the world. (1)
1. Jesus loves children, so He wants us to bring them to Him.
*The parents in vs. 15 are a great example for us, because they brought their children to Jesus, and the Lord wants us to do everything we can to bring children to Him. One reason why is because children are His creation. Psalm 127 tells us that they are a special gift from God. The Lord also wants us to bring children to Him is because they are teachable and reachable. Children are almost always open to spiritual truth. We can help them come to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. We can help them grow into devoted followers of the Lord.
2. Jesus loves children, so He wants us to bring them to Him, and He wants to touch them.
*Vs. 15 tells us that the parents wanted Jesus to touch their children. But the wonderful truth is that Jesus also wanted to touch those children! Matt 19:15 tells us that Jesus “laid His hands on them.” Mark 10:16 tells us that “He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.”
*Here is a wonderful truth for you: The God of the whole universe is close enough to touch you, and He wants to touch you. He wants to pick you up when you fall down. He wants to carry you safely all the way home to Heaven.
*In Isaiah 46:3-4 the Lord says, “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
*Zig Ziglar once talked to his adult children about good things they remembered from their childhood. Two unexpected things stood out. One was that Dad let them order from the adult menu in restaurants. The other thing was that Dad would wake them up every morning by gently stroking their cheeks. (2)
*They never forgot the love and affection of that touch. But we can have an infinitely better touch from the Lord.
3. Jesus loves children, so He wants to touch them, and He rebukes those who keep children away from Him.
*In vs. 15 the disciples rebuked the parents who brought their children to Jesus. But in vs. 16 Jesus rebuked His disciples. He called those children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:14 tells us that Jesus was greatly displeased with His disciples.
*Why in the world did the disciples try to block these parents from getting their children to Jesus? One problem was that they were extremely busy. Mark tells us that some days they didn’t even have enough time to eat, so they didn’t want to be interrupted. But maybe the disciples could also see the strain of the cross beginning to wear on Jesus. This was only a few weeks before Jesus died on the cross, and maybe the disciples were trying to watch out for the Lord. But there is never a good reason to keep children away from Jesus! He is never too burdened or busy for them. And, by the way, He is never too busy for you!
*The Lord was greatly upset with His disciples when they tried to keep these children from Him. Don’t ever think you have a good reason from keeping children from the Lord. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
4. Jesus loves children, so He rebukes those who try to keep them away, and He calls children to come to Him.
*Vs. 16 tells us that Jesus called these children to Him, and He is still calling children to Him. Some of the most famous Christians in history were saved when they were very young. Church father, Polycarp was 9. Matthew Henry was 11. Jonathan Edwards was 7. Richard Baxter was 6. Isaac Watts was 9. Corrie ten Boom received Jesus at age 5. Count Nicholaus Zinzendorf, one of the fathers of modern missions, was 4!
*The great missionary Stanley Jones was moved to be a missionary when he was 8-years-old. He saw a picture of a big tiger standing beside a little boy from India. And underneath was the caption, “Who will tell me about Jesus?” Eight-year-old Stanley Jones said, “I will.”
*W. A. Criswell was one of the greatest pastors of the 20th century. He was saved when he was 10, but he felt God calling him into ministry even earlier. Criswell stated, “I had been thinking about being a preacher for years -- since I was 6. I knew I hadn’t been saved, but I knew God wanted me to be a preacher.” (3)
*The next W.A. Criswell or Corrie ten Boom may be crying in the nursery right now! We need to help them know that Jesus is calling for them. And by the way, Jesus is calling for you too. In Isaiah 45:21-22, He says, “There is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
*In Matt 11:28-30 Jesus calls, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
5. Jesus loves children, so He calls them to Him, and He warns us to be like them.
*Jesus made this crucial point in vs. 17, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Here, the Lord used children as a model for salvation, and He was most emphatic. The only way to get to heaven is to become like a little child -- but what did the Lord mean?
*First, Jesus meant that we must be spiritually born into the Family of God. There is no spiritual life in us, -- unless it flows out of His life. And the only way for us to receive this life is to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We have to trust in Him; trust in His love and forgiveness; trust in His cross. Then, like a little child, we should trust in our Heavenly Father’s care. We should love Him, learn from Him, and be disciplined by Him, knowing that we can always count on the love of Jesus Christ.
*Pastor Thomas Long tells the story of Confirmation Sunday at a friend’s church. All the young students stood before the congregation and recited a Bible passage they had memorized. For this particular Sunday, the students memorized a passage from Romans 8. The teacher would start out by asking each child, "What shall separate you from the love of God?" And each child would then proudly recite, "I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate me from the love of God in Jesus Christ."
*Each child recited the passage perfectly, but the church was holding its breath for the last child, Rachel. Rachel was a beautiful Down Syndrome child. Would she face embarrassment when her turn came? Finally, the teacher got to the end of the line and asked, "Rachel, what shall separate you from the love of God?" Rachel stood and boldly said, "Nothing!" (4)
*This is the love that Jesus has for all the little children of the world. This is the love that He has for me and you. Trust Him, love Him, serve Him, worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
(1) http://www.allaboutgod.com/jesus-loves-the-little-children.htm
(2) Found in SermonCentral sermon “Creating a Great Home Climate” by Joey Nelson - 1 John 4:11
(3) Adapted from Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes
(4) Thomas Long in Ten Great Preachers, edited by Bill Turpie (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), pp. 90-91. Found in ChristianGlobe.com sermon “Children of Dust or Children of God?” by King Duncan - Eph 1:1-14
