Latest / The Daily Word / October 5 – Childlike Faith, Not Self-Sufficiency
Transcript
- Robert Rosales: Hey friends, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Welcome to the Daily Word Podcast. I'm Robert Rosales, and along with my wife Yolanda, I have the privilege of serving as the campus pastor for our Gastonia location. If we've never had the opportunity to meet, hey there, glad to meet you. Y'all to come and visit us in our Gastonia campus one Sunday morning. I want to start by thanking you for investing some time with me. To jump in the daily word with us. Whether you're listening on your morning commute or you're enjoying a cup of coffee or just beginning your day with the Lord, my heart is that this time encourages you and draws you closer to Jesus. Just as a reminder, each day as a church, we're reading through the Bible together and we're using the life journal reading plan. If you don't have a life journal, come on, let me encourage you, grab one at the campus you attend. One of the things that I've learned over the years is that we can hear God speak the clearest when we've got quiet moments with Him. We slow down, we listen, we push back on the noise and the distraction. Got a Bible, we got a journal, we got a pen. If we use a computer, that's totally okay. I want to also remind you that we're using the SOAP method, S O A P scripture, observation. Application and prayer. It is a simple framework or a tool, and it really helps us to move God's word from the page into our everyday lives. All right. Before I read to you or share with you my journal entry, let's ask the Lord to speak to us. Let me pray. Come on, agree with me. Father, thank you for this new day and for the privilege of opening your word. Quiet the distractions around us and the noise within us. Give us hearts that are teachable, minds that are attentive, and lives that are ready to obey whatever you reveal. Holy Spirit, illuminate the scriptures and help us not only understand them, but help us to live them out today. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Everybody said, Amen. Okay, friends. Today's passage for October 5th is Luke 18. And I did something completely different today. And I don't encourage you to do this if you're just starting out doing Bible reading and journaling. I've been doing this for a while. So I'm gonna give us a personal overview, a personal commentary on the whole chapter, because the whole chapter is a masterclass. It weaves some spiritual principles together that we want to pull them together so that we can just extract the most from what Jesus is teaching us here in this chapter. So Luke chapter 18, read through it on your own. But let me give you the title. It's a long title, but it pulls everything together. Here's the title for my journal entry: Prayer, Pride, Self-Sufficiency. And childlike faith. Prayer, pride, self-sufficiency, and childlike faith. Let me give you my commentary, my observation. You ready? The chapter pulls together a master class in turning spiritual expectations upside down, where the paths we naturally assume lead to God's favor actually lead away from it. While the paths we instinctively avoid turn out to be the ones that really matter the most. The opening parable establishes prayer as man's lifeline to divine justice. Prayer connects us to God and heaven's resources when we suffer injustice in a cruel, decaying world. But notice what happens next. Jesus pivots sharply to expose what isn't Really prayer at all. The Pharisee prays to God while actually talking about himself and identifying his superiority over others. He weaponizes prayer for public recognition rather than genuine spiritual communion with God. Meanwhile, the tax collector stands apart, unable to even lift his gaze or his face, his eyes to God. Simply begging for mercy. And this becomes a model authentic prayer that we can emulate. Not necessarily always begging, but notice his humility. Notice the contrast. The Pharisee believes God accepts him based on his performance and obedience. His pride rests on self-sufficiency. The conviction that his fasting, tithing, and moral superiority have earned divine approval. Yet Jesus declares the broken tax collector justified instead, establishing that exaltation flows only through humility. And here's the lesson: pride rooted in self-sufficiency. Excludes God. Now the chapter's closing emphasis completes the reversal. Think about it. In that culture, according to historians and scholars, children occupy the lowest social position, making Jesus's embrace of them a radical statement. He calls for childlikeness, not naivety, but humility, faith. And dependence, an unspoiled childlike faith. Wow. Entrance into God's kingdom requires receiving it as a child would, with complete openness and trust. The Pharisee's fatal mistake wasn't his disciplines or his spiritual practices, it was assuming that those practices. Could substitute for the radical vulnerability that childlike faith demands. Friend, I hope you caught something out of all of that. Like I said, go back and read Luke 18 on your own. It's so powerful. Here's how this applies to my life. See if it resonates with you. This is what I wrote down. As a follower of Jesus, I will remember that my relationship with God is by grace through faith in Christ. Not by my works or my efforts. This will help me approach God in prayer with humility, trust in his sufficiency, and a childlike faith. Jesus said, I must have childlike faith to receive the kingdom of God. I don't want anything keeping me from experiencing God, his kingdom power, and all that he has for me as his son. I will push back against. The fleshly temptation to rest in pride, self-sufficiency, and anything less than a childlike faith-filled posture toward my God. Pray with me. Father God, thank you for speaking to us today through your word. Holy Spirit, help me to live this out daily. Help me to walk in humility, God's sufficiency, and a childlike faith. I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, Lake Shore family. As you go about your day, my prayer is that you'll keep growing in your love for Jesus and his word. As you invest time with him, may He give you fresh insight, revelation, strengthen your faith, and guide your steps. Thanks for joining me today on the Daily Word podcast. I pray you've been encouraged to stay in God's Word and walk closely with the Holy Spirit. God bless you. And we'll catch you again tomorrow.