UNLESS YOU CHANGE AND BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN , YOU WILL NEVER ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
**********************************************************************************************
OUTLINE : CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHILDLIKE HEART
**********************************************
1. HUMILITY
2. FAITH
3. INNOCENCE
4. VICTORY
5. REVELATION
6. TRANSFORMATION
7. HUNGER
THE MESSAGE
UNLESS YOU CHANGE AND BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN , YOU WILL NEVER ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
**********************************************************************************************
1.HUMILITY
A childlike heart is a heart of humility. A child sees no differences of race , class , colour , status etc. Children are friendly among themselves without noticing their differences. The Lord wants us to become humble like children. He wants us to stop comparing ourselves with others and to stop competing with others for greatness and superiority . Instead He wants us to become humble like little children and relate with everyone without distinctions . Then we will be considered the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
Matthew 18:1-6
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a little child and had him stand among them.
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. "
2.FAITH
A childlike heart is a heart of faith. A child’s heart is simple and trusting . A child is not filled with doubt and suspicion . A child’s faith is a simple faith. It is not filled with with arguments and questions. A child is not cynical and skeptical . The Lord wants us to have such a simple childlike faith in Him and His promises. With this child like faith we can receive great blesssings from God. The Lord warns us that without this childlike faith , we will not enter the Kingdom of God. A child like heart is quick to repent . A child like heart will accept forgiveness easily and be restored to fellowship immediately . It will not bear long grudges and seperation. The Lord wants us to have such a childlike heart and repent and receive His forgiveness and be restored to fellowship with Him.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
Luke 18:15-17
" People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
I John 2: 1,12
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
I write to you, dear children,because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. "
3.INNOCENCE
A child like heart is a heart of innocence . A child’s heart is a heart of love . A child’s heart is not filled with evil and malice and wickedness . It is a pure and innocent heart. The Lord wants us to have such a childlike heart of innocence and purity and true love. Our hearts must never be involved in plotting evil and planning harm to anyone. We must be filled with a true love for God and our fellowmen. However the Lord wants us to be wise and prudent and be mature in our thinking and decisions . We must not be childish but childlike in our hearts.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
I Corinthians 14:20
"Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. "
I John 3:18
" Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
I Peter 1:22
" Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart "
I Corinthians 13:11
" When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. "
4.VICTORY
A child like heart is a heart of victory over the enemy. The Lord delights in using a child like heart to defeat all the wiles and forces of the enemy. A child with God can defeat the enemy because greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world . The Lord uses the praises from the mouth of babes to silence the enemy. When we praise the Lord with a child like heart , we will experience victory in our battles.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
I John 4:4
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
Psalm 8:2 :
" From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Matthew 21:16
"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " ’From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?"
5. REVELATION
A child like heart is a heart which receives revelations from the Lord. A child like heart is teachable . A child is always eager to learn new things. The Lord reveals His secrets to those who have a childlike heart . Those who consider themselves very wise and knowledgeable will be not be eager and humble enough to learn from the Lord and they will not receive revelations from God. But those who have a child like heart will be blessed by the Lord by His divine revelations. We must must be teachable and hungry like a child for the revelations from the Lord.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
Matthew 11:25-26
"At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. "
6. TRANSFORMATION
A child like heart is a heart which can be transformed . It is easy to train and mould and shape a child. Therefore the Lord wants us to have a child like heart so that He can mould us and transform us into the image of Christ. If we do not become child like in our hearts, it would be very difficult for the Lord to transform our lives , as we would have become set and rigid in our ways. Therefore we must have a chidllike heart which is pliable so that we can experience transformation in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
Galatians 4:19
" My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, "
Proverbs 22:6
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
7. HUNGER
A child like heart is a heart which is hungry for spiritual nourishment. Just as a new born babe craves for milk , a childlike heart will crave for the spiritual milk which is the word of God. Hunger is a sign of good health . If we have lost our spiritual hunger , it is a sure sign of a spiritual malady in our lives . However the Lord also wants us to grow up and learn to take solid food and strong meat. We should not always live on milk , but we must progress and grow into taking strong meat which are the deep truths of the word of God .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
*********************
I Peter 2:1-2
" Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
Hebrews 5:12-14
" In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
***************************************************************************
