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Be Childlike, not Childish · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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Good morning. As we begin this morning, I just
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got a quote Peter when he was on the Mount of transfiguration,
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when he said it is good for us to be here.
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It is just been an absolute blessing to be here.
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The men that have led us in worship so far, I've done.
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So just so, so ably and I'm feeling like beer ice Barney.
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When Andy and Barney were in charge of making sure the gold
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truck, you know, safely and quietly got through Mayberry and
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Barney already. Let the cat out of the bag and
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and he says we're going to do, okay?
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And Bruce. I'm afraid we're going to blow
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it. I hope.
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I hope I just don't blow it. It's been going so.
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Well up until this point, brother Pete.
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Just thank you for that. Beautiful prayer.
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Reading us leading Us in some scripture reading before that
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and Everett just beautiful song selection and I tell you when I
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Survey the Wondrous Cross. Is there a more beautifully
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worded song? There.
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Maybe there are some that rival it but just a beautiful song to
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help. Prepare your minds for taking
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the Lord's supper and then your other song selections were
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wonderful. Cory's was as well.
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And Adam brother. Thank you so much for the
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powerful way that you've prepared.
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Our minds for taking both of the Lord's supper, and for the
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offering just just beautifully done.
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And and Jay, just a member of the Bowtie Brotherhood.
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I think he outclassed this all and in his presentation this
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morning. It looks great and just did a
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great job with the scripture reading.
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It's just been an absolute blessing to be here.
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Some of you have asked me what it is like being a Granddad and
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I think my answer has been the same.
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For everybody. It has exceeded all of the hype.
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Belarus is Norma Jean. Are y'all in agreeance with that
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Alicia? You're going to learn in a few
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weeks. It is going to exceed all of the
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hype. I you know, I've had
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grandparents come up to me countless times and and I know
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you've heard the line. If I knew how great grandkids
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were, I would have had them first, you know, you've heard
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all those kinds of things and and wow, it has been absolutely
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amazing and And I think there are multiple reasons for that.
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For those of you that have experienced becoming a
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grandparent. I think, for me personally.
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One of the things is when when I became a dad for the first time,
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yes, I was excited. I was overjoyed.
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I was in love with with Aiden rookie soon as they came into
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the world, but I was also terrified when Aiden came into
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the world. In particular Wendy had just
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gone through a 23 and a half hour horrific labor.
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Delivering a non lb 9 oz 23-inch boy, without an epidural.
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And I remember the one of the most Vivid memories I have of
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that day because it was a full day is at one point going out
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into the waiting room, to the family of was there.
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And saying, I don't know if my wife is going to make it.
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I was scared to death. I was watching her go through
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all of this and when 8 and finally gets here after three
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and a half of those 23 and a half hours, were just the
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pushing part. And when he finally got here and
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The Who ever offered for me to hold Aiden for the first time I
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said, I think I'll hold him tomorrow.
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I mean I was I actually said that I was so I think I was
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having like PTSD I was traumatized and that's just me.
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I Wendy's whether that went through it.
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And I it was just so always emotions that you have in and
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maybe there's some moms and dads you this morning where it was a
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similar collection of emotions. When you became a parent for the
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first time. Yes, you fall.
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Immediately in love with that, that little baby, that has just
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come into the world and your overjoyed and you're excited.
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But there's there's a part of you.
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That's also terrified. How am I going to afford feeding
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this child? How am I going to to balance
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work and life and And and my marriage and this new child, and
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you've got all these emotions, but then, when you become a
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grandparent for for a lot of us, it's it's like the terror and
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the trauma, and all of that, you don't have to deal with those.
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Now. It's just pure joy and you just
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get to Relish in the moment, you know, with Brookie.
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I with covid, I wasn't even allowed at the hospital, so I
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didn't even get to see, you know, brookies exasperated,
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exhausted face, you know. After the babies came into the
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world. And it's when I got to see him
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for the first time, you know, a brookey had showered and then
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the babies have been cleaned up and it was just immediate fun
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time. And so I think for a lot of
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grandparents for us, it's we don't have to have some of those
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other emotions that naturally are a part of having children as
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so. It is just a bless, you just get
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to to Relish in the joy, Relish in the beauty.
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A of this, this little baby and just, just have a ball.
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Just have an absolute ball, you know, in First Corinthians
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chapter 13 verse 11. Paul says that, you know, when I
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was a child, I thought as a child, I spoke as a child.
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I understood as a child. And when I became a man, I put
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away childish things and I think we need to confine to Paul.
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I believe what was intended by what he was saying.
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There's a huge difference between And childish and being
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childlike. And I think when you look at
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what he said and what he said immediately before and what he
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says after you get the point of why Paul makes this statement
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that really does not have anything to do with everything
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that he said right before and it doesn't seem to have much to do
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with what he immediately says. After right before he makes that
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statement, you remember, he says we know in part and we prophesy
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in part. And right before he said that,
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you remember, he said, concerning tongues and knowledge
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and prophecies they will. Will either Ceaser vanish away.
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And so what Paul was saying is he understood that they were
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still receiving Divine knowledge and instruction from the Holy
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Spirit, the word that we have and it's completed form.
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They were were living in real time.
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They were living as it was being revealed.
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And so, they did not have the full picture.
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Paul had a lot of knowledge have been giving a lot of
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Revelations, but he didn't have the start to finish bull picture
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that we have in the completed Revelation that Blessed with
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today. So Paul understood, there was
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there was an incompleteness to what he and everyone else knew
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at this particular point in time.
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They knew enough, but they didn't know it all.
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And then he goes on to say, after making this statement
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about putting away childish things.
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He says, it's as if right now, we are looking at a dimly-lit
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reflection. Where we can see enough, but we
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can't see the full picture. And then he talks about when the
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time comes, when that Perfection.
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And I think there's maybe a couple of things are being
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discussed. You've probably heard in a
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discussion of, what does Paul mean about when that which is
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perfect is come? Then that which is in part,
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shall be done away. And I think a part of that is,
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yes, that when we have the complete perfect Revelation,
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then our partial understanding will be done away with when the
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knowledge could finish has its Revelation to the Or two Riders,
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and it's not just a partial knowledge, but a complete
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knowledge, then then we'll have the perfect law.
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But I believe also, Paul is looking into the future.
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He sang, as long as we're in the flesh, as long as we're here,
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even though we have the completed revelation.
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We can't fully understand what God's intention for us is.
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And he says, at towards the end of 1st Corinthians, 13, we will
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eventually there's going to be a time is coming where we will
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know as we have been known. That's a very interesting
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statement that Paul makes. In other words, we'll get to see
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ourselves when that which is perfect is come.
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And I think also, yes, we're talking about a completed
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Revelation, but I think in part also, Paul is talking about
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looking to that time where We get to be in the presence of God
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and it's no longer a dimly-lit reflection of ourselves.
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We're getting to see ourselves as he has been seeing us all
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along. And what he has been seeing all
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along is this beautiful childlike attitude demeanor
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disposition that. I believe he will return all of
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the save to when we get to heaven.
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There's a huge difference between being childish and being
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childlike. So I think in part basically
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what Paul is saying is I had limited spiritual knowledge in
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my beginning stages of my relationship with Christ.
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And and I am growing, and I maturing is Peter said in First,
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Peter, chapter 2 and verse 2, as newborn babes desire, the
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sincere milk of the word that you may grow.
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Thereby. You remember the Hebrew writer
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and Hebrews chapter 5, he starts talking about Christ's
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priesthood being after the order of Melchizedek around in verses
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9 and 10, I think around in verse 11, he says and I really
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wanted to but he sing this through inspiration.
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Ation, the Hebrew writer really want to be able to write to you
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more about this, very meaty subject.
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This relationship between Christ's priesthood and the
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priesthood after the order of melchisedec, but he says, but
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you've become dull of hearing, you have need that, someone
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provides you with spiritual milk.
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You should be mature enough to be a teacher of the word and
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have another understanding that, that I could lay out to you,
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everything that I want to lay out to you concerning this very
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meaty topic, but you become dull of And have need that one, teach
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you again some of those first principles.
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Jesus in John chapter 16. Excuse Me. 2 verse 12.
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He's getting near the end of that.
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Long recorded conversation. The last one that he has before
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he goes into the garden and then is betrayed into the hands of
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Sinners. And he says, there's much more I
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want to say to you, but you cannot bear it.
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Now. In other words, you don't have
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the, the level of maturity. You don't have the level of
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understanding to be able to digest to be able to understand
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many of the things that I would like to be able to tell you, in
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addition to what I've already said.
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And so part of what Paul is talking about, is this maturity
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that we all should go through as Christians, where we grow and
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mature, we move from the milk of the word, to the meat of the
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word. And we have this better
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understanding. We were able to live our
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Christian Life In accordance with knowledge and wisdom and an
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application of all those things that we've learned.
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So in that way, he saying I've put away childish things.
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But oh, let's not put away. Child like things.
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So, I want to spend a few moments together, just talking
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about some of those childlike attributes that God wants us to
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cling to into adulthood. Jesus had so many wonderful
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things to say about little children.
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Matthew 11:25 after Jesus had pronounced woes until the onto
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the impenitent cities, Capernaum, bethsaida chorazin.
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He says in verse 25. I praise thee, O Father, Lord of
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Heaven and Earth that you did hide these things from the wise
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and intelligent and did reveal them to babes.
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In other words. What Jesus is saying is he's
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thinking God that those who have that, simple childlike, faith
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that trust. And what they were hearing that
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attachment to Jesus while he was in the flesh and that desire to
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learn from him to follow him. Jesus is saying, Lord.
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I Thank you that those are the kinds of folks that are
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receptive. To my teaching into your will
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are those that have this childlike way about them.
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This humble. Just tell me what I need to do.
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Tell me what I need to know. Tell me where I need to go and
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I'll do it. Matthew chapter 21 verse 16,
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Jesus in the temple. There are some young children
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that are Giving Him worship and praise saying Hosanna to the son
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of David. And you may remember there are
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some Chief priests and scribes who began to Grumble about these
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As children basically acknowledging, Jesus is the
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Messiah and they said, Jesus rebuked.
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Those children. Tell them to stop saying that.
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And then Jesus says to them. Have you never read and he
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quotes Psalm 82 out of the mouths of babes and nursing
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infants. You have perfected, praise. if
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you want to hear a perfectly song song, Listen to a young
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child singing. Jesus loves me.
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If you want to hear a perfectly said prayer, listen to a young
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child, say his prayers before bedtime.
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You want to hear something? That is perfect in the eyes of
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God. You listen to a young innocent
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child offer that praise. That's what Jesus was saying.
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Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants.
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You have perfected, praise. Matthew chapter 18.
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Jesus asked a question that for some reason he was asked a
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number of times there was an obsession that even some of his
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disciples had with who's going to be greatest in the kingdom.
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And he's again, been asked that question.
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Matthew chapter 18 and verse 1 and Jesus draws a child unto him
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and places the child, in the midst of the crowd.
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And I love that Matthew included that detail.
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In other words. Jesus is using this child as a
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visual aid as an object lesson. For everyone who is there and
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overheard this question asked, and then Jesus gives the answer
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unless you were converted and become like this little child,
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you shall by no means enter the kingdom of it.
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You will know who the greatest is in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Look. He's not talking about the age
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of the child. He's talking about those
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childlike attributes that this little child possessed that he's
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expecting for all those who desire eternal life to be able
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to maintain and keep into adulthood.
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Matthew chapter 19 and verse 14. There are some who've been
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trying to get little children to Jesus so that he might lay his
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hands on them and bless them the disciples for some reason, don't
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think that that is needful at the time and necessary.
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They start trying to rebuke those that are trying to do so
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and remove the children from the Lord.
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And Jesus says, permit it to be. So, Or such is the kingdom of
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heaven. And he draws the children to
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him. Lays his hands on them and
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blesses them Benjamin. We were talking just a few weeks
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ago about that and vision made a statement.
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I said, I'm a file that one away that that is fantastic.
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We were talking about this special relationship that we see
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in Scripture that Jesus had with children.
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And and Benjamin said it's like innocence was attracting
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innocence. Jesus saw the innocence in those
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children, those children saw the innocence in Christ.
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It was like these two things being drawn together.
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I thought that was a beautiful description of who Jesus was and
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what his relationship with little children was like.
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So we could spend all day talking about childlike
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attributes that God wants us to maintain in our adult life.
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We've picked just a few for us to consider for a few moments
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together. This morning.
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Number one, those precious little children are uncorrupted
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by the world. Isn't that one of the joys
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there's no Regina in rural area of just looking at that
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grandchild. These are that little mouth is
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never said, a bad word. Those little hands have never
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done a bad thing. Those eyes have never looked at
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a Bad Thing, totally uncorrupted by the world, unblemished
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children are so precious because of that, innocence James 1:27,
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pure and undefiled religion, is this to visit the fatherless and
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the widows in their Affliction. And let's not forget the second
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part to keep oneself unspotted depending on the translation.
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That you're reading from unstained uncorrupted from the
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world, to do, all we can to maintain that childlike
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Incorruptible uncorrupted state. Second Peter 3 and verse 14.
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Therefore, beloved since you look for these things, the new
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Heaven and new earth that had just talked about in the
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preceding verses. Since you look for these things,
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this Dwelling Place With God, be diligent to be found by him.
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How in peace spotless and blameless?
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What is a childlike trait that we need to carry on into our
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adult life? Let's be to the best of our
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ability uncorrupted, by the war. But you may say, but I've done
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bad things. I've seen bad things.
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How am I going to Do this. How is that possible?
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I spent some period of my life looking at things.
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I shouldn't have doing things that that I shouldn't have
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saying things that I shouldn't have.
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How in the world can can I be unspotted from the world?
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Paul provides us with a lot of Hope and Ephesians chapter 4
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beginning in verse 21, when he says if indeed you have heard
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him and have been taught by him. As the truth is in Jesus that
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you put off concerning your former conduct.
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So Paul is talking about that very scenario.
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Those of you who spent a portion of your life, maybe your entire
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adult life, living a corrupted life saying things, you
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shouldn't doing things, you shouldn't going places that you
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shouldn't. That's your former conduct the
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old man, which grows corrupt. According to the deceitful
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lusts, verse 23, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
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Paul is not telling us something that is impossible.
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He's telling us something that is attainable.
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It's a it's possible for a mental renewal.
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It's possible that we can move from being corrupted to this
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unspotted state that God Longs for us to be here, renewed in
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the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man, which was
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created according to God, the new man, which was created
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according to God. Doing what we can to get back to
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the way that we were when he brought us into the world that
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precious uncorrupted little baby spiritually.
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Speaking returning to that state, you put on the new man,
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which created according to God in true righteousness and
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holiness. The word of God is powerful.
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It has a transformative component to it and it can help
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us. Even if we spent years living a
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corrupted, life through a mental renewal through a rededication
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in a submission to Christ as our King, as our Lord allowing his
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light to light. Our Pathway to direct our steps,
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we can have this sense of spiritual renewal and move more
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closely to. We're never going to be perfect.
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We're trying to get back to as close as we can be to this
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spotless uncorrupted blameless, state, that little children.
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Enjoy. Number two with childlike and
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it's related to the first attribute that we need to try to
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keep into adulthood. Is that attribute of innocence?
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And I know that's a lot of similarity between not being
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corrupted and being innocent First, Peter chapter 3 and verse
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17. Peter says, if you should suffer
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suffer for doing what is right? Don't suffer for doing things
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that are wrong. Basically don't don't bring
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things upon yourself. That were avoidable because of
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bad decisions and bad choices. If you have to suffer suffer for
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doing what is right, Matthew chapter 10, and verse 16, Jesus
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getting ready to send his Apostles out.
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I think for the first time on their own to do some
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evangelizing, some teaching. And he says be wise as serpents
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and harmless depending on the translation you're reading from
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or innocent as doves be harmless.
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Don't don't cause any harm to anybody that you encounter.
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As you go out, representing me, Philippians chapter 2 verses, 14
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and 15, do all things without complaining and disputing that
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you may become blameless and harmless children of God without
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fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among
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whom you shine. As lights in the world.
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Let's try to the best of our ability to hold on to that state
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of Innocence that children. Enjoy.
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And let's be to the best of our ability and our adult life,
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those that are causing no harm, those that are innocent, those
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that are serving as a blameless example.
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In a crooked and perverse generation.
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One of the things that is so enjoyable about real little
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children. Is basically what they are
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saying. If they could say, is when they
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see you, as you are enough, you are enough when y'all start
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getting the facial interactions back.
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I mean, I know your experience this, you know, with a
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millionaire and but you get to relive all those things over
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again. And little babies, you know,
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when they start giving you the facial return for what you're
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giving to them. Dave.
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I know you're experiencing this, when you come home from work,
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it's their face lights up. They hadn't seen.
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Dave all day. Dave, doesn't have to come home
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with Zaxby's for Weston's room. He has to come home at Zaxby's
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for Brookie before he gets, you know, the time of day for hurry.
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He doesn't have to come home with Zaxby's for them.
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He doesn't have to have a toy to put in their hand.
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He doesn't have to have any surprises or treat.
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He was enough. And then he just shows up their
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face lights up, man. Dad's home.
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What a beautiful thing. It is about little children
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where you get you just feel so special when they're just
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smiling at you just because you're smiling at them.
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They give you this. This look of man.
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You were awesome and you've not done anything.
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He's not giving them anything. You're just there.
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You're enough. Oh man, Adam your comment and
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brother Danny, your comment in the Bible class.
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I was thinking those are so spot-on with regard to this this
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particular point. Yeah, brother.
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Danny was talking about there was a place that he attended
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years ago where there was an influential family that had come
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to visit. And there were some people in
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the congregation at home and we need to get them because they're
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people of influence and and they're people of wealth.
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And they'll be really really good for us here basing their
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level of interest in them on what they're bringing to the
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table. Brother.
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Adam was talking about some of the conversions, they had.
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One of you is Missouri, Illinois.
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I knew that I don't know why. The state just told me some of
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the inversion conversion stories.
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They had in the four years that they were there and it was those
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that were in hard times difficult situations down on
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their luck. They didn't have really that
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much at that particular time of their life to bring to the
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table, because they were just trying to keep their head above
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water. But that congregation and Adam,
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they reached out to these people and converted them, brought them
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to Christ. They weren't measuring their
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worthiness, for sharing the gospel with them based on.
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Okay. What do you have to give us in
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return? We need to maintain that
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childlike attitude with everybody that we know, and
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especially showering on our Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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that you're enough. Man, let's get excited when we
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see each other. How are you doing?
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You know with just great to see is there any?
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There's nothing being exchanged. As far as goods and services is
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just wow, you're enough. It is great to see you.
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How have you been? James chapter 2 beginning in
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verse 1, my brethren, do not hold the Faith of Our Lord.
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Jesus Christ, the lord of Glory with partiality for, if there
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should come into your assembly, a man with gold rings and fine
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apparel and there should also come in a poor man.
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And filthy clothes, you pay, you pay attention to the one wearing
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the fine clothes and say to him. You sit here in a good place and
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say to the poor man, you stand there or sit here at my
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footstool. Have you not showing partiality
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among yourselves? Become judges with evil
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thoughts. Listen, my beloved brethren.
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Has God not chosen. The poor of this world to be
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rich in faith and Heirs of the Kingdom, which he promised to
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those who love him. Holy Spirit through James is
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Essence in essence is saying to the first century church when
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somebody comes into your midst, you don't worry about what
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they're bringing to the table because he or she is simply
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enough. That's what brother.
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Danny said in his comment. We have to remind ourselves that
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everybody possesses a soul that is worth more than the whole
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world. It's enough.
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Doesn't matter what skill set, they provide, what money, they
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have, what influence? They have, how it can help your
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reputation as a church. No, you are enough.
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Second Peter. Chapter 3 and verse 9.
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God is not willing that any should perish, but that all
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should come to repentance. God sees the value in every
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single human being that exists in the face of the Earth or
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every single human being he or she in God's eyes, is enough is
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worth sending his son. For we should look at one
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another. The same way Luke chapter, 14
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and verse 23, the parable of the great supper and the founder of
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the feast to send a service out, let everybody know.
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The feast is ready. And you remember several, the
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ones that they invited upfront. Declined, for various reasons,
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they come back and they said, Some are here but a lot of seats
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are available. He sends them back out.
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A second time. They come back again.
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You still got plenty of room. He says will.
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Then you go to the highways and the hedges.
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In other words you go to society's Castaways.
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Those people that are invisible. To so many around them and you
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invite them because my supper table is going to be full.
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My house is going to be full. Nobody was exempt from an
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invitation. A childlike trait that we need
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to continue into adulthood is the childhood trade of
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forgiveness. Many of you I should say
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probably all of you have not heard a conversation like this
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between two five-year-olds where a five-year-old comes up to
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another five-year-old, say hey, you want to play and the other
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five year old says, I remember when I was three and three
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quarters years old. You called me a peanut head and
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I vowed on that day. Never to play with you again.
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So, we're done. You know what most little
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children do that. They may have some kind of
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conversation with each other that says, I'm never speaking to
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you again. As long as I live.
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Apparently their lifespan was only about five more minutes
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because they started speaking again to that person that they
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had just vowed. Never speaking to you again.
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You are not my friend anymore. I'm not talking to you.
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And then five minutes later, they're back.
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Playing that board game again. Children are quick to forgive,
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shouldn't we be as well? Colossians chapter 3 verses 12
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through 14. Therefore as the elect of God,
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holy and beloved put on Tender Mercies kindness, humility
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meekness. Long-suffering that's a whole
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list of childlike traits that we need to maintain into adulthood
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bearing with one another forgiving one.
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Another, if anyone has a complaint against another even
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as Christ forgave you. So you also must do Let's be
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quick to forgive. the way that children are, And maintain that
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childlike trade into adulthood, just a couple of more this
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morning. Let's continue to be amazed as
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adults at God's wonders, the way that we were, as little
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children. I know, one of the things that
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so fun, when you're a parent or grandparent of little children
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is is the all the amazement they see in just the little things,
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you know, we may not pay one bit of attention to that butterfly
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that just flew by, but they do We may not notice that Rolie
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Polie in the dirt. We're out there in the yard with
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them, but they do and man. They're Amazed by it.
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It's awesome. Let's spend some time.
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Looking at it. I remember being a little kid
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and I could just spend an hour over an ant bed, not always
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doing the nicest things to the ants, but still being very
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interested in what was going on with that ant bed.
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My wife is really good at this at.
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You. Got to come out and see this
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Sunset. We've got a neighbor in the
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neighborhood. Rob matter.
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We were talking about it just last night.
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Every night. She goes and takes a picture of
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the sunset. Never loses that sense of
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appreciation, that sense of Wonder, Man, the things that God
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does for us a daily basis. That sometimes as adults we get
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busy, we get distracted. We get maybe two used to it.
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And we lose that sense of wonder, we lose that sense of
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Amazement at the wonderful things.
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God does for us. Every day.
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He brings the Sun up every morning.
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He has it set every night and how often do we just go for days
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without I'd even pay any attention to that particular,
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wonderful aspect of God's creation.
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With our homeschool Chapel that we started last week.
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We're working through a documentary that's called the
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God of Wonders and the people that did this documentary just
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do a fantastic job of just revealing some of those.
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I know AP is put out some excellent material on this as
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well. Just these amazing things all
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around us that are part of God's creation and this particular
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part of the documentary that we watch this.
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Past week, dealt a lot with the sun and the planets and outer
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space. And we were just talking about
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the fact that God creates this son, that is 93 million miles
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from Earth. And yet on an August day, you
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can walk out and start feeling the effects of that star.
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That's 93 Million Miles Away, within seconds.
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You don't have to stay out very long with your skin exposed to
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it and get burnt by it. It's 93 million miles away and
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it's been burning since God, put it there.
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And it's not burned up and it provides heat for us to sustain
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life here. It is so huge.
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I didn't know this until watching the video.
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The first time I watched it, the sun is so massive.
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That and we talked about this in the chapel that if you can
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imagine the sun just to for a to-scale illustration.
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Imagine the Sun as a gumball machine and imagine planet Earth
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as a gumball. How many planet Earth's can fit
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inside of the planet son? A million planet, Earth's can
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fit inside the volume of the Sun and then they started talking
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about but the sun is relatively small.
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When you look at some of the other stars in just in our solar
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system and they started talking about some of the others and
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Betelgeuse is one that they mentioned that I don't even
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remember how many billions of miles.
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It is away from planet Earth on certain nights.
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You can see it with the naked eye and it is its radius as 30
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times that of the Sun. Meaning I'm not a math major,
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but what is that? 30 million?
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Planet Earth's are fitting inside a Betelgeuse sized,
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gumball machine. And we see the wonders of God's
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creation all around us. Children notice those things.
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Maybe we as adults we lose sight and we lose appreciation.
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Psalm 66 and verse 5 come and see the works of God who is
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awesome in his deeds among men, what got us in.
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Never stop being Amazed by what I have done.
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Just look around you and as Paul said, in Romans 1:20, use your
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common sense. And observe the invisible
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attributes of God. Better all around us.
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Psalm 119 verse 1, the heavens declare, the glory of God, and
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the firmament shows his handiwork.
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He wants us to observe these things and just being all of
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him. He wants us to look at these
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things regularly and just thank him for them.
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My grandson's have had enough. One is bailing on me right now.
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I don't know which one I don't want to know because I want to
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show partiality. Want to see it in later.
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One more that I want to share. Then we'll bring the lesson to a
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close. Let's not lose childlike,
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enthusiasm. Children get excited over
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sometimes, even the smallest thing. when I was bouncing, some
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of these things off of me, and she she mentioned this, when she
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said, I remember being a little kid.
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And when I found out that I was invited over to a friend's
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house, that had a swimming pool. When he said, I could not eat, I
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could not sleep. I could not wait for the
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opportunity to go to this friend's house.
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Just so excited. So enthused childlike.
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Enthusiasm is so wonderful and the Lord does not want us to
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lose it. In our adulthood.
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Titus Chapter 2 and verse 14 says, who gave himself for us.
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That he might redeem us from every Lawless deed and purify
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for himself. His own special, people zealous
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for good works. What is a synonym for Zeal for
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zealousness, enthusiasm. It's being excited.
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Romans 12:11, we're told to be fervent in spirit enthusiastic
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in our spirit and our mindset relationship to 10 verse 14,
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Paul, and talking about the what motivated him to persecute the
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church before coming to a knowledge of Christ talked about
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his his Zeal, his enthusiasm. He said I advanced in Judaism
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Beyond many of my contemporaries in my own Nation being more
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exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my father's.
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In one occasion when Paul is recounting, the kind of person
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that he was before his conversion.
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He said concerning persecution. He was, I think the original
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King James uses the word injury has, I had no idea what that
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word meant. So I had to go to the Greg, try
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to figure out and basically what that word means is that not only
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did Paul persecute the church, but he persecuted the church
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enthusiastically. He got a lot of fulfillment out
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of persecuting the church because he thought he was
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honoring God in the what he thought was the correct
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traditions of the fathers. So Paul thought in his zela
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service to God, I'm going to show you how zealous I am by
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persecuting the church. So he enthusiastically engaged
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in this persecution to show to the Lord how dedicated he was.
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I am going to do all I can to stamp out this group of rebels
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that are now saying that the traditions of our fathers are of
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no effect have been done away. Lord new concerning, Paul.
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If I can get this kind of enthusiasm, this kind of zeal
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pointed in the right direction. There's no stopping this guy.
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And so Paul got turned around. And spiritually started.
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Journeying the opposite way that he had been.
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But he never lost his enthusiasm.
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He never lost his zeal. He maintained that enthusiasm
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that Zeal until his dying breath.
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Matthew 19:14 permit it to be. So Jesus concerning the little
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children. or if such is the Kingdom of Heaven, one
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commentator said, They who would enter, Christ's Kingdom must be
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pure. Simple.
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Obedient as little children. That is why he says of such not
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of these intimating. That is not to the age, but to
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the disposition of character to which he refers.
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God is calling on us to look to those precious children.
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The way that he used a little child in Matthew 18 is an object
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lesson as a visual aid. Unless you were converted become
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like this little child. Like him have his disposition,
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have his attitude, his demeanor have his humility, have his
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quick ability to forgive have his urine enough mentality.
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Had his enthusiasm and his you. Have his innocence.
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Have his uncorrupted nature. Let's keep those childlike,
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traits, as best as we can. As long as we live.
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Maybe there's somewhere here this morning.
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You're not a child of God. You've not enjoy the blessings.
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That come from forgiveness. What does God say about the
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journey that he wants us to travel?
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So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
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Romans 10 verse 17. That's where faith is born is
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hearing the word of God. Once we've heard it.
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He calls on us to believe what we have heard.
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Unless you believe John Eaton first 24 Jesus says that I am,
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you shall die in your sins. If we believe that Jesus is The
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Great. I Am that he was God, in human
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form, who came lived. I'd lived a perfect life,
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offered his body as a sacrifice for the sins.
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Then what is he calling us to do the same thing that Peter said
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to the multitude on the day of Pentecost when they were cut to
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the heart where they came to this realization and
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understanding on my, the one that we crucified is both Lord
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and God. What do we need to do repent and
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be baptized for the remission of your sins?
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And receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Repent. Turn your back on that old Way.
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Start walking in that new Direction, being guided and
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directed by The Lure going down in those Waters of baptism.
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Coming out. Is Paul says in Romans chapter 6
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verses, 1 through 4 New Creation, ready to walk in
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newness of Life. You've not done that.
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Please do. So this morning.
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You've done that but You've been LED back through circumstances,
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through Temptation, whatever it is.
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Back to those old ways. What did Paul say you can come
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back. Again?
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Renewing, Your Mind. The Lord is willing ready and
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able to forgive to restore to renew you to give you an
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opportunity to start again in a relationship with him.
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If we can help in any way, please come as Together, We
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Stand and sing.