A child of God Mat. 11:16 to 30 Sun 3rd July 2005
SLIDE 1 while Bible passage is read
In today’s passage Matthew 11, Jesus grumbles at the people for being like children, and yet in the same passage tells them to be like children!
May be you think, “What? We should be like a child and not like a child at the same time!”
Yes, it is a paradox, a situation in which something seems both true and false at the same time.
Jesus is grumbling at the people for being CHILDISH, and yet, telling them that they should be CHILDLIKE.
SLIDE 2 - Childish
At the beginning of today’s reading Jesus is complaining about the people behaving like children playing games about weddings and funerals.
Maybe Jesus should have shouted, “Stop it, just stop it. Don’t be so childish. You are playing at religion like children playing in the street.” SLIDE 3
To the Christians of today, he would say – Some of you think that as a Christian you should be enjoying life ALL the time as if you are at a wedding. Sermons should tell of all the blessings God as in store for you, for just believing Jesus rose from the dead.
Services should always lift you heavenward and always leave you full of the spirit, and joy. There should never be any challenge or sadness, …. just blessing after blessing.
SLIDE 3a - Funeral
Other Christians think life should be treated as a continual funeral. You are a sinner, confess, confess, and confess again. Weep for your sin and come to God in sorrow and penitence.
SLIDE 3a Fades (no need to press)
I remember one Maundy Thursday service in Carlisle. We used a form of communion service in which we confessed our sins, confessed them again and then said, “The Lord’s prayer”, all before communion.
At the second confession I felt anxious because I couldn’t think of anything unconfessed in my life. By the time I got to the communion table I felt a terrible sinner, because I didn’t know of any unconfessed sin in my life.
I felt I was, ”She who says she has no sin”, so in truth I reasoned, I was the worse sinner of all.
I kneeled at the communion table, closed my eyes, received the bread, and a voice said out loud, “Thank you Pam for helping, me”. I opened my eyes, thinking it was Duncan and was going to mime “Ssh, someone will hear you”, but there was no one in front of me.
I closed my eyes thinking –It couldn’t have been God, could it. Then I received the wine, and still kneeling at the altar God audibly said, “Thank you, Pam, for loving me”.
Lent. Good Friday, the time we remember our sin, yes. But Jesus paid for our sin on the Cross, on Good Friday. That is why it is called, ‘good’. I had confessed my sin, I was therefore made righteous by Jesus’ blood. I believe God was trying to tell me, “Pam, you have been made righteous and now are my friend.”
You shouldn’t feel like you need to confess your sin, all the time, nor should you expect to feel happy, all the time.
SLIDE 4 (Mt 11:16 NLT)
“"How shall I describe this generation? These people are like a group of children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends ‘We played wedding songs, and you weren’t happy, so we played funeral songs, but you weren’t sad.’”
SLIDE 4a
“Don’t get caught up in the religious games of your day”, Jesus is saying to each generation. For this generation, it is often a game of how we should or shouldn’t feel. Feeling a failure is the certain winner of this game because in this life there will always be tears. . . . . .
SLIDE 5
Children, especially little children get their facts missed up. Here are a few of the things children thought were in the Bible:-
SLIDE 5a click
· Moses went to the top of Mt. Cyanide to get the 10 commandments.
· The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
· The fifth commandment is to humour thy father and mother.
· The seventh commandment is "thou shalt not admit adultery."
· The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still, and he obeyed him.
· Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
· The people who followed the Lord Jesus were called the 12 decibels.
· The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
· A Christian should have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
We can laugh but we get our understanding of the Bible wrong too! May be because of a preconceived idea or partial learning.
SLIDE 6 Childish Knowledge
Say to a toddler, “If I give you ten sweets and then take four of them off you. How many will you have”, he won’t know. In fact he may burst into tears at the thought of some sweets being taken off him. Ask him many, easy, general knowledge questions and he won’t know most of the answers.
As a child grows his knowledge and wisdom grows.
SLIDE 7
As we mature in Christ, Peter says we should, “grow in the special favour and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
Ask a brand new Christian if the book of ‘Philemon’ is in the old or new testament and he will probably say, “I don’t know”. That’s fine for a baby Christian. The problem comes, when that ignorance, that childish understanding only, is still there years later. That’s why the Hebrew writer told his readers -
SLIDE 8 (Hebrews 5:12).
“You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food.”
SLIDE 9 Stubbornness
Little children can be stubborn. They go through phases when they say “No” to everything.
“Eat your vegetables”. “No!”
“Don’t eat any more sweets”. “No. Want too.”
“Time for bed”. ”No”.
“Pick up your toys”. Well they are more likely to be thrown everywhere.
Stubborn little children do wear your patience don’t they. You may love them but they just don’t accept authority.
SLIDE 9a (trolley)
Have you come across a dad who sometimes shops at Morrision’s, with his toddler sitting in the trolley seat?
Imagine this… The child is screaming most of the time. Up and down each aisle dad walks, and all the time his child is screaming, and trying to grab things off the shelf.
Dad keeps saying over and over, “Don’t yell, Robbie. Take a deep breath and hold it. Calm down. Don’t get worked up. Calm down”.
A woman says to him, sympathetically, “Robbie, doesn’t seem to be taking any notice”.
And Dad replies…, “I’m Robbie and I am!”
SLIDE 10
When you read the Old Testament prophets the people are always moaning and complaining. No wonder God says, “For these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay any attention to the LORD's instructions.” (Isaiah 30:9 NLT)
Unfortunately our culture today is breeding people who don’t accept authority and responsibility. Certainly God, the Bible, and the church can’t tell them what to do.
Yet isn’t John right when he tells us -
SLIDE 11
Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn't difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. (1 John 5:3-4 NLT)
With childish stubbornness, and lack of respect for authority comes a mixed up sense of values.
SLIDE 12 Sense of Value
We gave our 22 month old toddler, Clara, an expensive present in a large box for Christmas. She opened it with joy, took out the contents examined them, and then spent hours playing with, the box. (SLIDE 12a)
In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Esau traded his birthright as the oldest son with his bother, Jacob for a single meal. He wasn’t starving, just hungry. He gave away his inheritance and the blessings that came with it for a bowl of stew. Jacob must have been amazed as his brother’s stupidity.
SLIDE 13
Do you know what it costs, on average, for a wedding these days? (SLIDE 13a…wait) £12,000… for the wedding that lasts for a few hours.. and a honeymoon that last for a few days.
I’m not thinking of those who may have money problems through no fault of their own, but those who have spent thoughtlessly. Many people have loan and credit card debts through purchasing non essentials. Now they regret it as they struggle to repay the debt, working long hours with less time for God and other relationships.
Don’t trade your spiritual blessings for the things in the world which may seem, at the moment, to be attractive and valuable, but which are really of far less value than spiritual blessings.
SLIDE 14 Selfishness
This can seem to be the toddler’s list of “Rules of Ownership":
A toddler’s world centres around himself.
“I want it and I want it now!” (Stamp feet)
There is something wrong when you find Christians who ought to be mature in the faith acting in the same selfish way within a church. We must grow up and get away from being self centred and become Christ centred.
SLIDE 15
Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. …Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too…
(Philippians 2:3 NLT)
SLIDE 16 Childlike Qualities of a Child We Should Have
Childlike behaviour is very different from this childish behaviour.
SLIDE 16 a
Jesus said, "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
SLIDE 17
So what are the Childlike qualities we should have?
Childlike qualities meaning - Innocent, pure, naive, humble, uncomplicated, trusting, forgiving, teachable.
Let us look at a few in more detail.
SLIDE 18 Purity
A new born baby has committed no sin. That’s why Jesus
SLIDE 18a
Said, “Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14 NLT)
So at the time of birth babies are innocent and pure.
After baptism, and other times of fully confessing sin, we are pure and guiltless, but we must maintain that purity. Hence the need for continual repentance. But not usually three times in one service.
We often say people who haven’t lost their ‘innocence’ in some area are ‘naïve’. It can be said as criticism but I’m not convinced Christian’s should think that way.
My son as a teenager would come across the latest swear words at school. He would then use them at home as though they were just the latest slang, as a practical joke. Until eventually, I used the words myself. At this point he would fall about laughing, and then explain the meaning. I didn’t think this was funny, as it might have been very embarrassing for ‘naïve’ me.
One day I told a group of ladies about my son’s game. “What were the words”, I was asked. Surprised, I answered quietly, as if that makes them less naughty. Two of them stared at me, and said, with a look of genuine, childlike innocence on their faces, “I didn’t know that was swearing”.
They may be “in the world” but as far as some ‘language’ is concerned they are not “of the world”. They have remained as innocent as little children.
As Christians, don’t ever outgrow the childlike trait of purity.
SLIDE 19 Humility
A little child isn’t bothered that you can run faster than him, have more money than him, can read better than him.
He knows that you know more than he does. He knows you are more competent than him at everything. He makes no pretence of being someone important.
And guess what, he hasn’t got the pride that makes him jealous. He is still humble.
A child can be corrected and not feel useless. Tell a child they aren’t doing something quite right. “Let me help you get that right”, and they will be pleased. Say that to an adult and he may feel insulted, and annoyed, or useless and give up.
The disciples were arguing over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ answer
SLIDE 20
"Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:4 NLT)
Part of this humility means a child is teachable.
SLIDE 21 Teachable
A child wants to and does learn. He doesn’t try to hide his lack of knowledge through embarrassment or because he doesn’t care.
“Mum, if milk comes from cows, does that mean that “milk chocolate” comes from, brown cows?”
“Where does rain come from?” “How does it get into the sky?”
They are so inquisitive aren’t they. Then there is that question, “Why?” To which after a while you might feel like asking, “Why, do you keep asking ‘why’?”
Home computers. Have you noticed how the children often know more about them than their parents? Some older people admit they just can’t be bothered to learn about them.
Learning about equipment may, or may not be, essential, but as Christians we must remain receptive to God’s teaching. Not like the people Jesus talks about in Mat13.15
SLIDE 22
Their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes--so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.' (Matthew 13:15 NLT)
Be like a child, teachable, and learn more about God and his plan for your life.
SLIDE 23 Trusting
Trust. Small children of loving parents don’t worry about where the next meal will come from, or paying for the heating bills or mortgage. They trust their parents will sort all that out.
When I was about three or four I had a nasty fright. I was in town with my mum. I had been led around various shops holding my mums hand and had gone into a day dream.
We crossed roads, went to different places, but I wasn’t really aware of what was going on. I trusted that my mum would let no harm come to me.
So I didn’t notice my mum letting go of my hand, or was it me, that let go of her hand. When mum stopped, I just kept on walking. Then I heard my mum screaming hysterically and woke up. I was in the middle of the road with cars zooming either side of me.
Don’t let go of God’s hand, either deliberately or carelessly. Keep that childlike trust in him.
As it says in Romans 8.28
SLIDE 24
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)
And in Hebrews 13:5 "For he himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Let us have a childlike faith and trust!
SLIDE 25 Forgiveness.
Small children playing together occasionally have quarrels, some even ending in injury. Then they run home to mum and say something like,
“I hate Jody and I’m never going to play with her again.” But all it takes if for Jody to say later,
“Do you want to come and play”.
Often not even a, “I’m sorry”. And they are best friends again, as if there had never been a quarrel.
Little children can be really cruel. Real bullies. They can single out others and be really nasty to them. It can be the other child’s looks, abilities, or belongings. Anything.
Yet often it just takes just a small offer of friendship from the bully, and all is forgiven.
Yet adults, even Christians, often bear grudges against others until death. And often, it’s against family members.
What has happened to that childlike ability to forgive?
SLIDE 26 Conclusion
Life as a Christian is a relationship between you and God. He is a good father who will help and encourage you to become more like him. On your part you must choose to behave more childlike and less childishly. Ask him to show you ways in which you should become less childish and more childlike.
SLIDE 26a Can you all stand please.
Amen.