Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
It’s Time to Kiss the Baby
Mark 10:13-16, "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."
This is a familiar passage of scripture for all of us.
Contained in these few short verses is the key to what it takes to enter in and be a part of the Kingdom of God.
Most of the time we hear sermons that emphasize the fact that we are to be more like little children when it comes to believing in and trusting in Jesus.
Everyone has had some experience with little children, from newborn babies until they reach the perfect, all knowing, all seeing, wise, enlightened age of a teenager. All through these years we see the changes in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual state of these kids.
They start out life so innocently, but it isn’t long until the Adamic Nature of Sin begins to surface. If you have had any experience at all with what we call the “Terrible Two’s”, you already know that the innocence is soon replace with greed, jealousy and self-centeredness.
Illustration:
10 Laws of Property for Toddlers
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you were playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.
The trouble with children is that when they are not being a lump in your throat, they are being a pain in your neck.
It doesn’t take us long to begin to wonder if that “Little Cherub” that was born only a few months before has not turned into a “Little Demon”. God certainly has a sense of humor when it comes to children.
There are no perfect children, just as there are no perfect adults. In the next verses, Jesus says, Mark 10:18b, "...there is none good but one, that is, God. "
There are some things about children that we should take lessons from them and try to be more like them like:
1)Open minded toward new things (as newborn babes in Christ we start out with an open mind, then, over time, we get calloused and our mind shuts out any changes in our beliefs. We become a know it all, heard it all, done it all and seen it all, type of Christian who is nearly impossible to touch with the Word of God.)
2)Eagerness to learn new things and to follow those who know more (soon enough we begin to think that I don’t need to follow anyone. I can figure this out for myself and I know just as much, if not more than the Pastor does.)
3)Reliance on Parents (God) to meet every need without worry (Most people become too self sufficient. We rely on jobs, money, and our wits and forget God days without number. We become like self proclaimed orphans because we forget that we even have a heavenly Father who care about us and we no longer seek after His will.)
4)Absolute Trust and total Love for their parents (If you tell a small child to jump into your arms, they do so without any thought of whether you will catch them. They trust you and believe your words without question. But, as the children of God, we are instructed to take a step of faith and all we do is start to question God. Why do I need to do that, where are you going to send me, are you going to hold me from falling, will you really catch me or when do you want me to step out. We need to learn to trust our Father again.)
It is amazing to read that the disciples rebuked those who brought little children to Jesus. We must never get into the mindset that kids aren’t important. We must minister to them for they are the church of today and tomorrow.
Let us never develop the attitude that God doesn’t have time for them. Let us never develop the attitude that WE don’t have time for them.
These are valid and important points of discussion within these scriptures; there is something else that I want to look at. Perhaps a little different perspective than what we have been accustomed to.
I want us to look at these scriptures from the perspective of how we actually “receive little children” and not how “little children receive” from us.
Have you ever been involved in the birth of a baby into this world?
I believe that Jesus was trying to tell us that:
If we are to enter into the Kingdom of God then we must learn to receive the Kingdom of God even as we would receive a newborn baby or a small child.
As we are awaiting the arrival of that little bundle of joy, there are a number of mixed feelings that we face.
We are anxious, excited, and impatient as the time begins to draw near. The mother, with the aid of the doctor has seen to it that the very best care is given to ensure a healthy baby is born.
I believe that it is only those who are excited, anxiously waiting and impatient for the Coming of the Lord and the Rapture of the Church that will be able to take part in those great events.
Unless we stay excited through total involvement; unless we are anxious because we really love Jesus and want to see Him; unless we are impatient, waiting for Him to return for his Bride (the church), then we won’t be of much use to the Kingdom of God. God cannot use an apathetic, lukewarm, uncommitted and uninvolved Christian.
Even as it is with a natural birth of a baby, we are somewhat fearful and concerned that the birth will go smoothly.
That’s a picture of the church as we face that great day that is approaching. We worry about the condition of our heart at the time of His coming and we are fearful for those who will not listen or hear the Gospel message.
The coming of the Lord into our heart in salvation works much in the same fashion.
Every one of us will only receive that great Salvation only by anxiously waiting before God.
As the Holy Spirit comes, we are greatly affected by His Awesome Power and all of the doubts and fear of what it would be like to be born again are gone. They are replaced by a feeling of guiltlessness, like a heavy load has been lifted. Jesus takes our burdens and gives us freedom in the Spirit.
When the Word of God comes, the Spirit of God comes and the New Birth takes place we are excited and feel wonderful. The feeling of being born again and washed from sin in the Blood of the Lamb is the greatest feeling in the world.
When the Baby is born, the mother does all she can to feed and nourish the new baby. She is careful to keep it safe from injury and keep it warm.
If we would only stay in the Word of God, pray regularly and guard over the Holy Spirit as He moves into our heart, we would not see so many who go back into the world so quickly.
We need to caress the Word of God, pay close attention to what the Spirit is saying to us, and Feed the Spiritual Man, nurturing it until it can become stronger than the natural man. We must watch every move we make, every work we say, everything we do so that we can begin to emulate Christ in our lives.
Your newborn heart needs a lot of attention and must be fed with the things of the Spirit on a regular basis or your spiritual growth will be stunted.
Remember, you are both a natural man and a spiritual man at the same time. Whichever side of your nature you feed the most and give the most attention to, will be the one that becomes the strongest and controls your life. Feed the spiritual man through prayer, fasting, involvement in the church and study of the Bible and you will be a strong Christian much faster.
The mother of the baby will watch its every move and notice every change that comes with growth.
Every one of us has to go through a growth process where we allow the Word of God to change us into the image of Christ.
Illustration:
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones has come up with a way to tell his entire life history in 15 seconds or less. He says, “I am not what I used to be, I am not what I shall be, but, by the Grace of God and through the Blood of the Lamb, I shall become what I am supposed to be.”
Just as we are always kissing, hugging or carrying the baby around, we must also hold the Word of God and the Kingdom of God close to our heart. We should carry the Word in our Heart, meditate upon it, digest it and memorize it until the Word begins to grow within us and we have developed a relationship with God that nothing can replace.
The Last thing that any mother should want to do is hinder the growth of their child.
Any loving mother will feed her child, keep that child clean and make sure that the child has everything necessary for growth.
CAN WE DO ANY LESS FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS IT COMES TO US?
Finally, over a very short period of time, we wonder how we ever enjoyed life before the baby came.
As love for the child grows, we forget about the pain, the sleepless nights, the constant worry and all the work involved in bringing the baby into the world. Love erases the negative memories.
Likewise, we must allow our relationship with God to develop into one of pure love. We must develop love for His Word, love for His Spirit, love for His church, love for His people and love for His coming again.
Only after we have received the Kingdom of God into our hearts and treated it with tender loving care will we really enter into His Kingdom.
Without that nurturing, anxious awaiting, maintaining an attitude of respecting His awesome power, listening for His voice, changing into His image, constantly embracing the Word and the Spirit, and letting our love for God to grow, we will never be able to enter into the Kingdom of God.
We must allow the Kingdom of God to come to us, allow it to grow, change us into the image of Jesus Christ and be watching and waiting for His Coming, before we can expect to enter into the Kingdom of God.
Not only should we be like little children in our behavior, trust, love and dependence upon God with absolute humility before Him, we must also learn to accept the Kingdom of God into our heart and treat it as we would treat that little child.
Where you fit into this message?
Are you anxiously waiting for the Lord, or anxiously waiting to leave for dinner?
Are you excited about the Kingdom of God or about the kingdom of this world?
Are you impatient for the coming of Jesus and learning more about Him, or impatient for this message to end so you can leave and go about your own business as usual?
Which man are you feeding the most, the NATURAL MAN or the SPIRITUAL MAN?
