Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / God Loves Childlike Faith | Mark 10:13-16 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

Transcript

God Loves Childlike Faith | Mark 10:13-16 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:02
  We need the Holy Spirit. Amen, We need him.
• 0:07
  He is the gift of God. When the disciples who lived
• 0:11
  with Jesus, sat with Jesus, ate with Jesus, embraced Jesus,
• 0:15
  witnessed Jesus, heard Jesus. After all of that intensive
• 0:21
  exposure to the person of Jesus, the Son of God in flesh, the
• 0:26
  Lord told him before he ascended into heaven, you need to wait.
• 0:31
  You need to wait until the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon
• 0:34
  you. Education is important.
• 0:38
  Study is important. Gaining knowledge is important.
• 0:43
  Experience is important. But none of that can substitute
• 0:47
  the power of the Holy Spirit. And the true minister lives with
• 0:52
  a consistent awareness that if it's not for the Holy Spirit, he
• 0:56
  will not truly know fruit and effectiveness.
• 1:00
  And his preaching and his witness and his service is that.
• 1:04
  That's not just true for the preacher in that Upper Room.
• 1:07
  It wasn't just preachers in there.
• 1:09
  You had men and women in there who all needed the power of the
• 1:12
  Holy Spirit. And so I say that to you in the
• 1:16
  beginning of this time, so that we can seek His power together,
• 1:19
  and ask that he would clothe us with His endowment and His
• 1:24
  grace, so that this would not be an empty time.
• 1:26
  It would not be a vain time, it would be a time of great power.
• 1:31
  Lord, we ask you with all of our hearts, forsaking any confidence
• 1:37
  in anything else. We believe in the Holy Spirit,
• 1:43
  and we ask that the Holy Spirit would not be grieved, and he
• 1:47
  would not shrink from this place or this moment.
• 1:50
  We ask that He would be pleased to move freely and Lord.
• 1:56
  We ask that the Holy Spirit would help us see Jesus Christ
• 2:01
  and to glorify and honor Him. Lord, we relinquish any trust
• 2:05
  and eloquence, personality, charisma, any schemes of man,
• 2:11
  and we just ask for the pure raw power of God.
• 2:16
  This is our longing. And thank you for a place that
• 2:19
  believes that you can do amazing things through the word preached
• 2:24
  and heard. We submit this time to you
• 2:26
  asking that we would never be the same as a result of our time
• 2:32
  in Jesus name. Amen.
• 2:35
  Mark chapter 10, verse 13 to 16. Mark chapter 10, verse 13 to 16.
• 2:44
  Apart from the singing, one of my favorite sounds is the sounds
• 2:47
  that I'm hearing right now. Pages being flipped.
• 2:52
  Mark 10, verse 13, Let's read together.
• 2:58
  And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them.
• 3:04
  And the disciples rebuke them. And when Jesus saw it, he was
• 3:08
  indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me, do not
• 3:13
  hinder them, for the such belongs the Kingdom of God.
• 3:18
  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of
• 3:21
  God like a child shall not enter it.
• 3:24
  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands
• 3:28
  on them. It is no coincidence that the
• 3:32
  Holy Spirit turns our attention to Jesus ministering to
• 3:36
  children, following his strong teaching about marriage and
• 3:39
  divorce. We are all aware that the
• 3:42
  severing of a union between a man and a woman has a great
• 3:45
  price, and the greatest damage occurs to those who are the
• 3:51
  offspring of a man and a woman who have come together in that
• 3:55
  covenant. And one of the harms that come
• 3:58
  from this painful separation, at least in the life of a children,
• 4:04
  is that many of them tend to convince themselves that they
• 4:09
  are somehow the cause of their father and mother walking away
• 4:13
  from each other. The psychological confusion and
• 4:19
  destruction that comes from the unfortunate situation of divorce
• 4:26
  is just one of the many testimonies of the devastation
• 4:29
  of it and the reason why God absolutely abhors it.
• 4:33
  Now, we don't know the condition of the homes of these children
• 4:35
  who have come to Jesus, but its placement here is quite
• 4:39
  encouraging in the backdrop of what Jesus is taught about.
• 4:43
  And here's what you can take from this encounter.
• 4:46
  There's many things to learn from this, but when you look at
• 4:48
  where it's positioned, how it follows, what we just learned
• 4:52
  last week about the severity of this separation known as
• 4:56
  divorce, Jesus is the most dependable and reliable source
• 5:00
  of love. Jesus is the most dependable,
• 5:04
  reliable source of love. Your father is prone to
• 5:10
  disappoint you. And maybe for you in this place,
• 5:12
  some of you in this place, he already has.
• 5:14
  In a very significant way. It's possible for a mother to
• 5:19
  withhold the affection and the attention that a child needs.
• 5:24
  But when you look to Jesus here, you have to understand that his
• 5:27
  care for you and that his love for you is unswerving.
• 5:30
  It is absolutely certain. You may be wondering why I'm
• 5:35
  saying that to a room that's mainly comprised of adults.
• 5:38
  Because you would be amazed to know that even parents today and
• 5:41
  grandparents today are still walking with a limp because of a
• 5:46
  wound that they received from somebody who was supposed to
• 5:49
  nurture and build them. The bruise of betrayal, the
• 5:54
  sense of distrust that has come from that traumatic experience,
• 5:58
  and now it's projected on other things.
• 6:00
  And it's carried into marriages, their own marriages.
• 6:04
  What they've seen in their mother and father now is
• 6:07
  bleeding into other areas of life and even David.
• 6:13
  David was a full grown warrior when he wrote the Psalms.
• 6:17
  And yet through the inspiration of the Spirit, he alludes to the
• 6:21
  pain that can come from disappointment, from somebody
• 6:25
  like a father or a mother. What did he say in Psalm 27,
• 6:29
  verse 10? For my father and mother have
• 6:32
  what they've forsaken me. This is a man who's gone to war.
• 6:37
  This is a man who had battle scars.
• 6:39
  This is a man who has faced giants, and yet he can attest to
• 6:44
  the severity of what it is like when a father or mother walks
• 6:48
  away, fails, does not live up to the standard that to which they
• 6:54
  were called. But David doesn't write that
• 6:56
  Psalm as just an expression of sorrow or woe, because in the
• 7:00
  same breath he gives the solution, he gives hope.
• 7:03
  For my father and mother they have yes, walked away.
• 7:05
  But the Lord will take me in, the Lord will take me in.
• 7:11
  And that's what David yes, by the Spirit, yes, God speaking
• 7:14
  through David is saying about the Lord.
• 7:15
  But the Lord himself says something to us in a text like
• 7:19
  this. And Isaiah 4915, where he asked
• 7:23
  the rhetorical question, can a woman forget her nursing child?
• 7:27
  Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no
• 7:30
  compassion on the son of her womb?
• 7:33
  Then he says, yeah, even these may forget.
• 7:35
  It's possible. It's possible even for a mother,
• 7:40
  for the baby that she's carried in her womb for nine months, to
• 7:42
  be negligent, to be selfish, to care about self, even at the
• 7:48
  expense of the well-being of that baby.
• 7:50
  Even these may forget, but it goes on to say, but the Lord
• 7:53
  will not forget you, The Lord will not forget you.
• 7:58
  You know what I take from this? Especially when you think about
• 8:00
  David's words. David is not speaking
• 8:02
  theoretically about his relationship with the Lord.
• 8:05
  When David says, yeah, my father, my mother, it's possible
• 8:09
  for them in my life and in your life to walk away, to walk away
• 8:13
  from each other, in essence, to walk away from you.
• 8:18
  And the same thing that you should expect from a mother or
• 8:22
  father, personalized affection and attention from both of them.
• 8:26
  He parallels what was missing from them.
• 8:29
  And he says, well, what I was missing in them I found in the
• 8:32
  Lord meaning when you rehearse about the love of God, the
• 8:38
  personal love he has for you, it's actually experiential.
• 8:42
  The love of a father and a mother is not theoretical.
• 8:45
  It's not just an idea. It's felt, it's known, it's
• 8:49
  tangible, it's observable, it's tasted.
• 8:53
  And he's saying what I'm missing from them, I got from the Lord.
• 8:58
  That tells me that Christ is experienced.
• 9:00
  Not just learned, not just taught.
• 9:06
  There's something that is actually impressed on your life
• 9:09
  as you walk with Him. We believe that we walk with
• 9:12
  him, He walks with us, and he transfers and deposits his love
• 9:17
  in our lives. And it's real.
• 9:19
  It's not just preaching points. It's not just lovely melodies.
• 9:23
  It's real. It's sticks.
• 9:26
  It transforms. And there's something about the
• 9:31
  Lord Jesus that these parents or relatives, we're not told
• 9:34
  explicitly that they were parents, but you're assuming
• 9:36
  that they are. There's something about the
• 9:38
  person of Jesus Christ that was clearly perceived for them to
• 9:41
  feel confident enough to bring them to the Lord and say, would
• 9:43
  you bless my child, would you touch my baby?
• 9:49
  And so they approached the Lord in this way.
• 9:51
  And you know, many crowds have come to Jesus.
• 9:53
  Many groups of people have approached Lord.
• 9:54
  We've seen many episodes of that.
• 9:56
  And most of the time, they had what questionable motives?
• 10:01
  But there's something about this group of people at this juncture
• 10:03
  that is quite exemplary. We should praise these parents
• 10:07
  for what they're doing here as they bring their babies to the
• 10:09
  Lord. You know why?
• 10:11
  It's because they believe something.
• 10:13
  This is an act of faith. You know what?
• 10:16
  They believed that their children were not too young to
• 10:18
  receive a blessing from Christ. They believe that the Lord has a
• 10:24
  heart for the young and is willing to honor the faith of
• 10:26
  those who are responsible for their children to be blessed by
• 10:29
  him. And the Lord honor that faith.
• 10:31
  How young were these children? I think they were teenagers.
• 10:35
  Think they were young adults. No.
• 10:36
  Go back to verse 16. What do you see?
• 10:38
  And he took them in his arms. They were young enough to be
• 10:39
  held in his arms. Infants to toddlers.
• 10:46
  And the scene here of Jesus scooping up these children.
• 10:51
  You know, if you're a minister, you should be relatable.
• 10:56
  If you're a minister, you should be approachable.
• 10:58
  If you're a minister, you shouldn't be sour and scary.
• 11:04
  Here's Jesus that children can feel safe in his arms, and it
• 11:09
  reminds me of this verse that's often not referred to when it
• 11:13
  comes to the discussion of children in the Word of God.
• 11:16
  I want you to see it with your own eyes in Acts 7, verse 20.
• 11:20
  Look what Stephen says about God concerning one particular baby.
• 11:26
  In Acts 7, verse 20 and this marvelous sermon that he gives
• 11:30
  to the religious leaders, he makes mention of the person, the
• 11:33
  birth, the destiny of Moses. And in Acts 720 we read at this
• 11:39
  time Moses was born and he was beautiful in God's sight.
• 11:46
  He was beautiful in God's sight and he was brought up for three
• 11:49
  months in his father's house. What does it mean that he was
• 11:53
  beautiful in God's sight? Was he a cute baby?
• 11:56
  Maybe. Was the adorable?
• 11:58
  Sure. But it's deeper than that.
• 12:01
  Because notice he says at this time.
• 12:02
  What time? Well, he says right before this,
• 12:05
  reminding the history of the nation of Israel that they were
• 12:07
  slaughtered, the Hebrew children, when they were under
• 12:10
  captivity in Egypt, they were slaughtered.
• 12:13
  There was a massacre of these Hebrew boys.
• 12:16
  And in the backdrop of such a darkness and evil and vileness,
• 12:20
  there was the birth of a baby Moses.
• 12:24
  And that sight, I'm sure, was delightful to the Lord.
• 12:28
  And not only was it delightful for the simple fact that this is
• 12:31
  his gift into the world, this is an expression of his design and
• 12:33
  his will. But this was an expression of a
• 12:35
  faith, of a faith that came from Moses parents who were not
• 12:39
  afraid of the King's edict. And so they said, you know what?
• 12:41
  No matter what the king says, we're going to have a baby.
• 12:45
  And so Moses comes on the scene, and I'm sure that this pleased
• 12:48
  the Lord as well. And moreover, as you know about
• 12:51
  Moses, there was a destiny connected to this baby, one that
• 12:54
  would bring glory to the God of Israel and that would liberate
• 12:57
  the people of God. All in all, you know what
• 13:00
  Stephen is saying? Stephen is saying that we serve
• 13:02
  a God who looks favorably upon children.
• 13:05
  He looks upon a child like Moses as an example, and he does not
• 13:08
  consider their existence, even at this stage of life, to be
• 13:12
  unimportant. Insignificant.
• 13:16
  No. Even though they're helpless and
• 13:18
  vulnerable, it's a beautiful sight to God.
• 13:22
  It's a beautiful thing. And this is not the only place
• 13:24
  where Moses is called beautiful. So you're in Acts.
• 13:27
  Go to Hebrews and look at Hebrews 11 verse 23.
• 13:30
  Now we're being told about the faith of Moses's parents.
• 13:33
  There's an interesting connection between Acts 720 and
• 13:38
  Hebrews 11/23 and Hebrews 11/23. We're told by faith.
• 13:46
  Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
• 13:49
  parents because they saw that the child was beautiful.
• 13:53
  Hold on. Axe says that he was beautiful
• 13:55
  in the sight of God. It's a beautiful sound, right?
• 14:02
  We're told in Axe that it was a beautiful sight to God.
• 14:05
  Now we come to Hebrews and we're told it was not just a beautiful
• 14:08
  sight to God, it was a beautiful sight to the parents of Moses.
• 14:12
  It's the same Greek word, by the way.
• 14:14
  It's a very interesting word. Doesn't this excite you saying,
• 14:21
  what do we make of this? Any parent sees their baby and
• 14:24
  sees that it's beautiful, but it's a deeper thing, especially
• 14:26
  when you connect with Acts. Here's what I take from this
• 14:29
  Moses's parents saw Moses the same way God did.
• 14:35
  They were in one mind with God. And the reason why this excites
• 14:41
  me is because it shows that it's possible to perceive, it's
• 14:44
  possible to interpret events and people the way God does.
• 14:49
  You see what's beautiful, the way God sees it as beautiful.
• 14:53
  You see what's ugly, the way God sees it, that's ugly.
• 14:55
  And you say, well, that's a nice thought.
• 14:56
  It's not a nice thought. It's necessary.
• 14:59
  It's a necessary thought. You're saying, why?
• 15:01
  Notice the wording of Hebrews 11/23 by faith.
• 15:04
  Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
• 15:07
  parents. That's a death sentence.
• 15:09
  You're you're going against the King's edict.
• 15:11
  You're supposed to surrender those babies, and they're
• 15:13
  supposed to be thrown into the Nile.
• 15:15
  But they chose to secure this child and risk their lives for
• 15:18
  this child. Why?
• 15:19
  What's the connection? Because because they saw that
• 15:24
  the child was beautiful again, Not just because it was an
• 15:27
  adorable baby. Because they saw something
• 15:30
  deeper than that. They saw what God saw.
• 15:34
  When you see as God sees, it will determine so much.
• 15:38
  The way you decide, the way you move, the way you react, the way
• 15:43
  you engage, the way you do, anything you see as God sees.
• 15:46
  Because that's how they did it. They saw as God saw, and that's
• 15:49
  what made their decision to risk their lives and faith.
• 15:53
  If you see your wife the way God sees your wife, your marriage
• 15:57
  would be different. If you see your husband the way
• 15:59
  your God sees your husband, your marriage will look different.
• 16:03
  If you see this church the way God sees this church and the
• 16:06
  church at large, your attitude towards the church will be
• 16:08
  different. If you see money the way God
• 16:11
  sees money, your attitude towards money will be different.
• 16:14
  Any aspect of life, any facet of life.
• 16:16
  If you just see it the way God sees it, you will know ultimate
• 16:20
  blessing from it, because God is perfect.
• 16:24
  And that includes the way you and I see children, because
• 16:30
  Jesus saw children far more differently than the disciples.
• 16:33
  Did you come back to Mark 10, And what do you read?
• 16:36
  We read in verse 13. And they were bringing children
• 16:38
  to him, that he might touch them.
• 16:39
  And the disciples rebuke them, rebuke the parents.
• 16:45
  So here you have these toddlers and these babies approaching the
• 16:48
  Lord. And these disciples saw them as
• 16:52
  an interruption. They saw them as a hindrance.
• 16:57
  And we're not told for the unnecessary rebuke why this
• 16:59
  happened, but we can assume we can guess that they had.
• 17:02
  They had a good reason for it. At least they thought so.
• 17:06
  Their intention was pure. They wanted to protect their
• 17:08
  Lord. They realized that their Lord
• 17:11
  was already invested in so much diseases and demon possessed
• 17:15
  souls and sermons. And so they saw these children
• 17:19
  coming as as just an unnecessary time of ministry.
• 17:24
  This is not priority. And so they began to shoo the
• 17:26
  parents away. And you can imagine what they
• 17:30
  said. Look, the Master is very busy.
• 17:33
  He has so much on his plate. We're running a short amount of
• 17:36
  time here. And as much as your children are
• 17:39
  adorable, they're beautiful, but they're not.
• 17:40
  They're not the most important thing at this time.
• 17:43
  And so just please walk away. There's there's not enough time
• 17:47
  for this, this whole ordeal. Oh, how they were wrong.
• 17:52
  You know, I read this. I mean, these are the disciples
• 17:56
  of Jesus. Like, these are the closest
• 17:59
  representatives. These are the ones who are
• 18:00
  supposed to be trained to be apostles and lay the foundation
• 18:03
  of the doctrine of the church. And you know what you and I take
• 18:05
  from this little incident here? It's very, it's very encouraging
• 18:09
  because you're going to encourage, you're going to
• 18:10
  encounter this at one point or another.
• 18:13
  Often times, the disciples of Christ don't represent Christ
• 18:16
  faithfully. And you see this exemplified
• 18:23
  over and over again in the Gospels, right?
• 18:26
  The disciples who represent Christ, they didn't do it so
• 18:31
  accurately and faithfully at times.
• 18:34
  Why is that shown to us over and over again?
• 18:36
  I think one of the reasons to prepare you to also know
• 18:38
  disappointment from those who represent Christ, and for it not
• 18:42
  to cause your heart to disregard the person of Jesus Christ.
• 18:47
  How many today are not in church because they've been hurt by the
• 18:49
  church? They're not obeying the Lord
• 18:52
  because of the failure of those who claim to know the Lord.
• 18:56
  OK, You have the disciples here who shunned away parents to
• 18:58
  receive blessing from Jesus. Did they turn their backs on
• 19:01
  Jesus? And.
• 19:04
  But more than that, more than just looking at the disciples
• 19:06
  and saying, yeah, I know some Christians like that.
• 19:08
  Yeah, yeah, Let's look to our own selves and let's look at
• 19:11
  this and use this as an example to say, Lord, I don't want to do
• 19:13
  this. It's easy to look at Other
• 19:16
  Christians say, yeah, I know some Christians who are like
• 19:18
  that. Yeah, Lord, I look at these
• 19:21
  disciples, and they had good motives.
• 19:23
  They were trying to protect you, guard you, keep you.
• 19:27
  And they were wrong. They missed the mark.
• 19:32
  And I found myself thinking this, thought, reading this over
• 19:35
  and over. Lord, I don't want to rebuke
• 19:37
  what you receive. And I don't want to accept what
• 19:41
  you reject. I want to be as closely and
• 19:47
  nearly to your thinking as possible.
• 19:50
  Please help me. I don't want to miss it like
• 19:53
  these disciples missed it. And you know how you and I can
• 19:56
  be assured that we have the mind of Christ.
• 19:58
  You renew that mind of yours with the word of God, and you
• 20:04
  allow this word to conform you and change you and challenge you
• 20:07
  and mold you so that you can see as Christ sees.
• 20:14
  And people get into legalism and people get into lawlessness
• 20:17
  because of that very failure to not make this the supreme filter
• 20:21
  of their lives and the determiner of their decisions
• 20:24
  and convictions. And here are these disciples who
• 20:27
  have who have turned away people that Christ wanted to come to
• 20:31
  him. And just look how different the
• 20:35
  thinking of Christ is in comparison to his own.
• 20:37
  Look at verse 14. But when Jesus saw it, so Jesus
• 20:41
  saw the disciples pushing these parents, these mothers and
• 20:44
  fathers and uncles away. When Jesus saw it, he was
• 20:47
  indignant. That is a very, very strong
• 20:52
  word. It's the same word that was used
• 20:55
  of the Pharisees. When they saw and heard the the
• 20:59
  sounds of the children in the temple receiving Jesus with
• 21:02
  Hosannas, they were very much displeased.
• 21:05
  It's the same word. And listen to this.
• 21:09
  This is the strongest word attributed to Jesus and how he
• 21:15
  felt about his disciples and all the Gospels.
• 21:18
  The strongest emotion which tells me how much this means to
• 21:23
  the Lord. This is a very important thing
• 21:26
  to Christ. For him to feel this way, to to
• 21:28
  have that righteous anger toward his own followers concerning
• 21:33
  children, says something about how he feels about children.
• 21:39
  It's the only place in the Gospels where such strong
• 21:41
  emotion from Jesus was directed towards his followers.
• 21:44
  And here's the mind of Christ concerning these babies.
• 21:47
  They are not insignificant to him at all.
• 21:51
  They are worthy to be ministered to with spiritual emphasis and
• 21:56
  great priority. Look at these precious words
• 22:01
  again. But when Jesus saw it, he was
• 22:04
  indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me.
• 22:09
  Let them come to me. Now why would the Lord say this
• 22:15
  if he did not believe that there was the ability for blessing to
• 22:19
  be transferred from him to these children?
• 22:23
  Why would he say something like this?
• 22:24
  Unless blessing would occur when children are exposed to the
• 22:27
  reality of Christ, let the children come to me.
• 22:30
  Something can happen to these children as they come to me.
• 22:33
  And one might say, well, yeah, that's obvious because this is
• 22:37
  the physical Christ on earth. This is a special segment of
• 22:40
  human history. And so no wonder there was a
• 22:43
  unique access to God in the flesh.
• 22:45
  No wonder they would be blessed. But the Bible is very much in
• 22:49
  favor of the possibility that they can still be blessed today
• 22:55
  as they are exposed to the reality of the person and truth
• 22:57
  of Jesus Christ. You know, one of my favorite
• 22:59
  examples of this is in a text that doesn't really directly
• 23:02
  teach that, but it infers that and and it's a text that deals
• 23:07
  with actually marriage and divorce.
• 23:09
  And so when you go there, you'll see it.
• 23:10
  I'm sure you'll see it now. And 1st Corinthians 7.
• 23:12
  Very important teaching about marriage.
• 23:14
  Very important teaching about divorce.
• 23:17
  And tucked in, there is an instruction to believers who've
• 23:20
  been saved in their marriage, and their spouse is an
• 23:24
  unbeliever. What is a believer supposed to
• 23:26
  do if they've come to Christ in their marriage and the
• 23:29
  unbelieving spouse refuses to accept Christ?
• 23:32
  You know what Paul tells that unbelieving spouse stay in your
• 23:35
  marriage because the temptation. The temptation would have been,
• 23:41
  well, there's no compatibility here.
• 23:43
  This is a challenge here, This is difficult here.
• 23:46
  And it's even possible for the Corinthians to have heard from
• 23:49
  other Christians that if you as a Christian, remain married to
• 23:51
  this unbelieving spouse, you're going to be defiled.
• 23:54
  You're going to be contaminated. And so Paul is hearing this
• 23:57
  right. Corinthians is a response to
• 23:59
  many questions and inquiries, and he's giving answers to these
• 24:02
  things. And one of the things he says is
• 24:03
  if you are an unbelieving spouse and you're married to somebody
• 24:07
  who is a believer, rather, if you're a believer married to
• 24:09
  unbelieving spouse, stay put. Now, if they want to leave
• 24:13
  because of your faith, then be at peace.
• 24:16
  But as long as they're willing to remain with you, stay.
• 24:19
  And what's his motive? What's his reason?
• 24:22
  Verse 14 of Chapter 7 For the unbelieving husband is made holy
• 24:27
  because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy
• 24:33
  because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be
• 24:37
  unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• 24:43
  You need to stay. Why?
• 24:45
  Because your husband, your wife would be made holy and even your
• 24:50
  children, they would be made holy.
• 24:52
  Holy in what sense? Not in a salvific sense.
• 24:55
  Paul's not saying that if you are a wife who is a believer
• 24:58
  that your salvation is transferred automatically to
• 25:00
  your husband just by mere association.
• 25:04
  He's talking about a sanctifying holiness.
• 25:05
  He's talking about an influence and a protection that would come
• 25:10
  from your presence. You being in close proximity.
• 25:13
  You living your day-to-day in one same household offers
• 25:17
  something, some spiritual blessing to those who are
• 25:20
  associated with you. That's what he's speaking about.
• 25:24
  There's something to be projected or something that
• 25:26
  would radiate from your life as a believer who's walking with
• 25:28
  the Lord. There's a supply and a shield of
• 25:30
  grace that would be removed if you were to willfully walk away
• 25:36
  from that unbelieving home. And so it says something about
• 25:40
  the power of your walk with the Lord, that others are directly
• 25:46
  and indirectly blessed by it, somehow blessed by it.
• 25:51
  And notice how Paul includes children as recipients of the
• 25:53
  blessing of a believer's presence, meaning children are
• 25:57
  capable of collecting the spiritual benefits of a parent
• 26:01
  of a relative who is walking with God.
• 26:05
  And even if it's just one doesn't have to be both.
• 26:07
  Let that inspire you. For you who are struggling for
• 26:11
  you, who are wrestling because you don't have a father who
• 26:14
  loves the Lord for your daughter, for your son,
• 26:16
  understand that Paul doesn't speak about both parents being
• 26:18
  believers, Just one. Just one can make that spouse
• 26:22
  holy, can make the children holy.
• 26:25
  The wisdom that you walk in because you're a Christian, the
• 26:29
  grace that you walk in, the counsel that you offer, the
• 26:31
  prayers that you pray, the inspiration of your walk with
• 26:34
  God will not be void of impact. Paul saying there is impact,
• 26:40
  there is some effect, there is some reward to be known for the
• 26:43
  person who does not believe the God that you believe.
• 26:47
  And though salvation is not assured, the proximity of a St.
• 26:51
  can even lead to salvation. In what sense?
• 26:54
  We'll think about it from the child's perspective, as they see
• 26:56
  the life of a believing mother and an unbelieving father, or
• 27:00
  vice versa. And over time, as they they're
• 27:03
  able to register and understand things, reactions, actions.
• 27:06
  All these things that take place can eventually Paul's saying to
• 27:09
  some sense, some sense inspire that child.
• 27:12
  To say, I want the God of my mother, I want the Lord of my
• 27:17
  father, and this situation is specific, but the principle can
• 27:23
  be broadened. Children can acquire Christ
• 27:27
  centered, spirit inspired blessing.
• 27:32
  They can be recipients of it, they can absorb it, they can
• 27:35
  register it, they can receive it, you know.
• 27:37
  So what does that mean for you and I?
• 27:39
  Very simple. Let us actively believe and
• 27:42
  engage in faith to seek the touch of Christ for our little
• 27:45
  ones. What you teach, what you model,
• 27:50
  what you exemplify, what you posture your children to be
• 27:53
  exposed to, can produce reward, can produce work.
• 27:59
  Is it any? Think about it like Satan is
• 28:02
  recruiting them as young as possible.
• 28:03
  Why do you think? Because they're able.
• 28:06
  They're able to be influenced. They're able to conform.
• 28:08
  They're able to submit themselves to a system of
• 28:12
  belief. One of my favorite examples of
• 28:15
  this possibility or this inspiration about how children
• 28:19
  can be exposed to the light through your life and mine
• 28:23
  through your decision to be faithful enough to say, Lord, I
• 28:26
  believe that my child as young as possible, just like these
• 28:28
  believers here, or these people rather coming to the Lord Jesus
• 28:32
  with their children. You can believe the same for
• 28:34
  your own. I've mentioned this before, so
• 28:37
  forgive me if I'm bringing it up again, but we can be stirred up
• 28:39
  by way of reminder. There's the scene that never
• 28:41
  fails to move me in the book of Acts.
• 28:44
  It always stirs my heart. It's a scene where Paul comes
• 28:47
  and visits a group of believers and they're convincing him
• 28:50
  please don't go to Jerusalem because the Spirit revealed that
• 28:53
  if he goes, he's going to get in trouble.
• 28:54
  And Paul says, look, don't make this difficult for me.
• 28:56
  I'm going. Paul was that kind of a leader.
• 29:00
  He was, I set my face toward there, I'm going and they stop
• 29:06
  fighting about it. And I said, fine, if you're
• 29:09
  going to go, let's at least lead you to your final departure.
• 29:16
  And so as they make way for Paul and his missionary team to
• 29:19
  leave, you get this beautiful picture of this farewell.
• 29:24
  In Acts 21. In Acts 21, verse 5, Luke near
• 29:31
  rates, he says When our days there were ended, we departed
• 29:39
  and went on our journey. And they all so the believers
• 29:43
  that they met with, right? They all with wives.
• 29:48
  And who children did they leave? The kids at home with wives and
• 29:56
  children accompanied us until we were outside the city and
• 30:00
  kneeling down on the beach. We prayed.
• 30:04
  Can you imagine it? What these believers did as Paul
• 30:09
  prepared to make way to Jerusalem is that they brought
• 30:11
  their children with them. Was that intentional?
• 30:14
  You better believe it. And here's what I believe that
• 30:20
  moment did. These children were exposed to
• 30:23
  their parents and other disciples, honoring a man of
• 30:26
  God. These children witnessed the
• 30:30
  unashamed public testifying of their faith.
• 30:33
  Where were they? They were at a beach and they
• 30:36
  knelt on that beach. They were not ashamed of their
• 30:39
  God. They were not ashamed of their
• 30:41
  Jesus. And here are these children
• 30:44
  witnessing their parents Teach your children before you eat
• 30:48
  when you go out for lunch. Today we're going to pray for
• 30:51
  our food. Don't be ashamed.
• 30:55
  They witness their parents unashamedly declaring their
• 30:59
  faith in Christ. Not only that, they're learning.
• 31:03
  Saying how are they learning? Or they're learning in the power
• 31:06
  of prayer, are they not? They're seeing that you can
• 31:10
  commit a person, you can commit a journey, you can commit the
• 31:13
  future to God on behalf of somebody else.
• 31:21
  So here are these children standing in the presence of
• 31:24
  parents and relatives living out their faith.
• 31:29
  Don't underestimate how important it is to expose your
• 31:32
  children to these things, everything that was just said.
• 31:37
  Jesus himself gives the qualifying reason for why these
• 31:40
  children should not be hindered from coming to him.
• 31:41
  And it's back in Mark chapter 10 and as an extension why they
• 31:45
  should not be neglected by us and cherished by us.
• 31:49
  Instead, he says let the children come to me in verse 14.
• 31:53
  Do not hinder them for to such. Here's the reason for to such
• 31:57
  belongs the Kingdom of God. What does that mean?
• 32:05
  But as such belongs the Kingdom of God.
• 32:08
  Well, one can make the case that Jesus is saying that heaven is
• 32:12
  filled with subjects who are children, meaning there's a
• 32:17
  special grace that is laid upon the life of a child, a special
• 32:22
  condition that's placed upon the lives of young ones.
• 32:26
  What do you mean by that? Well, they have a special
• 32:29
  reception in heaven if they were to die at a certain point in
• 32:34
  their lives where they cannot comprehend the difference
• 32:36
  between good and evil, where they can't make the distinction
• 32:39
  between right and wrong. In a sense, Jesus is saying here
• 32:45
  that for a child to have an early departure from the earth
• 32:49
  will be seen as innocent and will be accepted into the arms
• 32:53
  of God. And that truth has about
• 32:55
  tremendous comfort for those who've experienced tragedy in
• 32:57
  the loss of their babies or their toddlers or the little
• 32:59
  ones. And that truth is not difficult
• 33:03
  to see throughout the Bible. There are so many examples
• 33:07
  throughout the scriptures that teach this concept that there is
• 33:11
  a point of accountability and that there is a line that is
• 33:15
  drawn in the life of a person where before that line, they are
• 33:17
  not held accountable for their inability to choose or make the
• 33:21
  difference or discern between right and wrong.
• 33:22
  And then after being responsible for your actions and your
• 33:25
  decisions. So here's some rapid fire
• 33:28
  references. OK, so put on your seat belt.
• 33:30
  Take out the pen #1 Deuteronomy 139 Deuteronomy 139, where the
• 33:36
  Lord speaks to that generation who have not believed in God
• 33:40
  concerning the promised land, and He assured them that your
• 33:43
  little ones who do not know the difference between good and
• 33:46
  evil, they will enter into it. Notice God did not hold the
• 33:50
  little ones accountable for unbelief for the same mistake
• 33:55
  that the parents made who clearly had the ability and the
• 33:58
  understanding that this is right and this is wrong.
• 34:00
  God is a just judge. Your children will not be held
• 34:03
  accountable for this because they don't know the difference
• 34:06
  between right and wrong. One of the most famous ones in
• 34:08
  Second Samuel 12 verse 23 where dated, fasted and prayed for the
• 34:11
  life of that baby that he and Bathsheba had together and the
• 34:16
  baby died. He gets up he washed himself.
• 34:19
  He anoints himself and he sits at the the table and he feasts
• 34:21
  and the the the people in his Kingdom were confused the
• 34:25
  administrators and his service. How are you doing this?
• 34:27
  And he could confidently say I will go to him, but he will not
• 34:32
  return to me. I will see him again.
• 34:36
  I can't have him back. I pray that I fasten he's not
• 34:38
  coming back. But I know one day I'm going to
• 34:40
  see him. And I mentioned this many times
• 34:42
  in Bible study before. Notice that when his son Absalom
• 34:45
  died, he was a full grown adult. He did not have the same
• 34:47
  confidence, did he? What did he do?
• 34:50
  Oh, Absalom. Absalom.
• 34:52
  Oh, Absalom Absalom. I wish it was me.
• 34:57
  Why would he react that way? Perhaps because David understood
• 35:02
  that Absalom was not in the same place as the baby was.
• 35:08
  Isaiah 7, verse 16. After that famous prophecy
• 35:11
  concerning the virgin who would have a son, we're told.
• 35:16
  We're told there about this child that there would be a time
• 35:19
  before he would know the choice, the difference between the good
• 35:22
  and the evil. So you have just three texts.
• 35:24
  There you have Deuteronomy 139, Second Samuel 1223, Isaiah 716,
• 35:29
  if you want another one, Ezekiel 16.
• 35:30
  In that chapter, we're told about these children who are
• 35:33
  sacrificed to Molech, who are suffering in the sizzling hands
• 35:36
  of an idol. And God says they are my
• 35:39
  children, they are my children, They belong to me.
• 35:45
  So that's a comforting truth, is it not?
• 35:48
  That's a comforting truth, but that's not the primary thing
• 35:50
  that Jesus is communicating here.
• 35:52
  That's that's not the main drive here of what he is saying by
• 35:55
  saying for the such belongs the Kingdom of God.
• 35:58
  What Jesus is alluding to here is that there are some features
• 36:02
  of a child. There are characteristics that
• 36:04
  are unique to a little one that should be and must be shared for
• 36:09
  those who would inherit heaven, and some would say OK for the
• 36:14
  such to such such like these belongs the Kingdom of God.
• 36:18
  So maybe it's the innocence of a child.
• 36:21
  Innocence. It's tough to make a conclusion
• 36:26
  based on innocence. They're not always innocent, are
• 36:30
  they? No.
• 36:32
  And if there is any innocence, as you just heard, it's out of
• 36:34
  ignorance. And that's not to say that
• 36:38
  children are born morally neutral without a sin nature.
• 36:42
  It's just that God has a grace for those who cannot formulate
• 36:45
  or understand the difference between right and wrong.
• 36:48
  Maybe it's purity, the purity of a child, Right?
• 36:51
  It's it's about the cleanliness of their hearts and how they
• 36:55
  they have more of a blank canvas.
• 36:57
  And others who have walked in this world long enough and have
• 36:59
  been splattered with sin and all these other things that have
• 37:02
  corrupted the mind and polluted the soul.
• 37:06
  It doesn't seem like that's what Jesus is stressing either,
• 37:09
  because again, this is a certain kind of child he is referring
• 37:14
  to. Again, in verse 16, he scooped
• 37:16
  up these, these children in their arms.
• 37:19
  So when you look at the context and when you look at the type of
• 37:20
  children Jesus is referring to, the thing that makes the most
• 37:24
  sense is that he is referring to helplessness, helplessness.
• 37:30
  This sermon is really getting assistance from babies that I
• 37:32
  don't know why. You're just hearing them over
• 37:33
  and over, which I'm not disturbed.
• 37:35
  I'm so happy that they're here. Helplessness as they're being
• 37:42
  held by the arms of the Savior depended on him, needy of him.
• 37:49
  A child can't feed himself, a child can't change himself, a
• 37:55
  child can't provide for himself. A child simply lives empty
• 38:01
  handed and totally dependent and Jesus says for the such belongs
• 38:08
  the Kingdom. In the same way, a child can't
• 38:11
  do a lot. If you want to enter into my
• 38:14
  presence forever, you also have to be able to say I can't do it.
• 38:21
  I can't do it for myself. I need it to be given to me.
• 38:28
  I need this to be a gift. I need this to be extended to me
• 38:33
  by God's mercy. That's what Jesus is saying.
• 38:37
  And this would be a blow to those Pharisees who lived and
• 38:42
  taught this work based salvation.
• 38:45
  Jesus saying if you want citizenship in my world for all
• 38:49
  of eternity, you need to see yourself as helpless just like
• 38:53
  this child. And he builds on that does he
• 38:56
  not? He builds on end in verse 15.
• 38:59
  Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God
• 39:03
  like a child shall not enter it. So he says to such belongs the
• 39:08
  King. Now, he says, you got to receive
• 39:10
  it like a child. How does a child receive things?
• 39:17
  Our nieces and nephew from Canada were here a couple
• 39:19
  weekends ago. And because we're not going to
• 39:21
  see them for Christmas, we got them gifts early.
• 39:24
  And on the final night they were here before the Sunday service
• 39:27
  and before they left after the service, we had a chance to open
• 39:30
  up those gifts. And when the uncles extended
• 39:35
  those gifts to the nieces, especially, you know what didn't
• 39:39
  happen? They didn't open the gifts and
• 39:41
  say, well this is fantastic ammo, I appreciate it.
• 39:46
  Thank you for the thoughtfulness of this gift.
• 39:48
  But you know, I've realized in the past few months I've been
• 39:51
  saving up for this gift, the very same toy, and I plan to
• 39:55
  purchase this gift for myself. I realized that there is a self
• 39:59
  satisfaction that comes from earning something for yourself.
• 40:02
  So I appreciate the gift, but this year it's on me.
• 40:05
  One that would be extremely strange and probably
• 40:09
  frightening. You know, they didn't negotiate
• 40:15
  with us, you know, Thank you so much.
• 40:18
  I'll pay for half of it. Or, you know, I'll pay you back
• 40:22
  eventually. Kids don't do that.
• 40:24
  They don't talk like that. You know what happened?
• 40:28
  With silent smiles, lit up faces, extended arms, and simple
• 40:33
  acceptance. They received, they received.
• 40:40
  That's how Jesus wants you to receive his salvation.
• 40:46
  He doesn't want you to give terms.
• 40:49
  He doesn't want you to try to earn it or earn it in part.
• 40:53
  Receive it like a child. So Jesus, don't reject these
• 40:58
  children. You know why?
• 40:59
  Disciples? Because they are the ideal
• 41:01
  illustration of what it means to belong to me and how to respond
• 41:04
  to my gospel. And if a child, in his neediness
• 41:12
  and his helplessness and his humility and simplicity, is an
• 41:17
  example of how we are to receive Christ, and perhaps verse 16 is
• 41:21
  an illustration of how Christ responds to the one who extends
• 41:25
  childlike trust. Look at verse 16.
• 41:29
  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands
• 41:35
  on them. Do you know what's waiting for
• 41:39
  you as you simply give him childlike faith?
• 41:43
  Embrace, embrace. This is not a contract.
• 41:50
  It's not a legal thing. As much as our salvation
• 41:52
  includes legal procedure, Jesus, he does more than just touch
• 41:58
  these children. He picks them up and he embraces
• 42:04
  them and he blesses them. If you were to receive Christ
• 42:10
  today, there is an embrace from the Son of God waiting for you.
• 42:17
  That's what he's after. That's what he loves more than
• 42:19
  anything else. Not your performance, not your
• 42:23
  professionalism, spiritually speaking, not the depth of your
• 42:27
  knowledge. You just simply saying I need
• 42:31
  you. I need you.
• 42:36
  I can't do it on my own. I can't save myself.
• 42:40
  I failed over and over again. I keep getting myself messy.
• 42:45
  I'm thirsty. I'm hungry.
• 42:49
  Please receive me. I've heard many gospel
• 42:56
  presentations in my life. I'm sure you have as well.
• 42:58
  Maybe you have heard this. Maybe you haven't.
• 43:01
  I personally can't recall a time where I've heard a gospel
• 43:04
  invitation that included receive Jesus like a child, receive him
• 43:12
  like a child, come wobbling to him, stuffy.
• 43:23
  Maybe not understanding much in life, but understanding like
• 43:27
  what a child should understand for their mother or father.
• 43:31
  Mom feeds me. Dad protects me.
• 43:36
  No hesitation going to them as a reflex, realizing that you can't
• 43:41
  do it without them. Do you believe that about Jesus
• 43:44
  Christ? Does that offend you?
• 43:48
  Good. This gospel is offensive.
• 43:50
  Surely I must do something. It's as ridiculous as my niece
• 43:53
  telling me all that I just told you earlier and receiving a
• 43:56
  gift. Just come.
• 44:02
  Just receive it. Submit yourself, crucify your
• 44:07
  pride, nail yourself righteousness, die to yourself
• 44:13
  and come to Christ like a child. And he said what?
• 44:18
  That's not it. The words of Jesus so shrink,
• 44:26
  would you today, but he's after more than anything else, is a
• 44:31
  heart that realizes I can't do it on my own.
• 44:35
  I need you. Well, we thank you that as we
• 44:43
  prepare to eat at this table, you have reminded us of our
• 44:47
  helpless state and the love that you have for us.
• 44:54
  And we pray that our hearts would be prepared to partake of
• 44:58
  this wonderful ordinance that displays the beauty of the
• 45:04
  gospel in Jesus name. Amen.