ON BEING CHILD-LIKE
LUKE 18:15-17

Download audio file (Jan2_2011.mp3 )

I wonder what your outlook is on this second day of a brand new year? Is it hopeful and optimistic or are you feeling indifferent or even fearful and uncertain? Last Sunday I challenged you to do three things:

1. First, look beyond the manger and see Christ as the Savior of the World.

2. Secondly, to intentionally look for the Glory of God as you face this New Year, and

3. Third, to become a joyful teller to others of what Christ’s saving grace and glory have meant in your life.

But perhaps what you are looking for this morning is something specific, something that you can start practicing as soon as you walk out the door? I know whenever I’ve taken a golf lesson I usually find myself frustrated and overwhelmed by trying to remember the 10 or 15 things my instructor wants me to put into practice. I can manage one, two, or maybe three things but beyond that I get so caught up in the details that the instruction feels more like destruction when it comes to actually playing my game better. So this morning let’s simplify our focus and look at just three verses from Luke’s Gospel that have one simple theme.

It wwas the custom in Palestine for mothers to bring their children to some distinguished Rabbi on their first birthday that he might bless them. That is apparently what these mothers wanted for their children from Jesus. Now it is interesting that this same story is also found in both Matthew and Mark’s Gospel. The fact that three of the four Gospel writers recorded this incident tells me that we are meant to take the message behind this incident very seriously. So let’s do some mining here and dig out some gems of truth:

Now it is also worth noting here that the children that were brought to Jesus were “babies or infants.” They were so young that their parents had to bring them — they couldn’t come themselves. This tells me that none are too little or too young, to be brought to Christ. This is why our Church has a nursery and a Sunday School for our infants and children. We take this command of Jesus seriously as a church family and want those of you who are parents or grandparents to feel a deep sense of responsibility when it comes to bringing your children or grandchildren into contact with Jesus too.

2. A second lesson that this story teaches us is that TRYING TO BRING OUR CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN TO CHRIST MAY SOMETIMES INVOLVE DISCOURAGEMENT FROM SURPRISING SOURCES — even from those who we would think would be most in favor of this. Notice that it was the disciples themselves who tried to stop the parents from bringing their babies to Jesus. Now in their defense we need to remember that they thought they were protecting Jesus from an unnecessary and unimportant drain on His time and energy. They knew that He was on His way to Jerusalem and even though they didn’t understand what He had said to them about dying on the cross they at least recognized that whatever He would face there was taking a real toll on Him. So it was their love for their Master that prompted their interference so He wouldn’t be bothered. It is one of the loveliest things in all the gospel story that Jesus had time for the children when He was on the way to Jerusalem to die. Likewise you may have friends or family who think your desire to have your children or grandchildren regularly involved in a Church that lifts up Christ is putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on them or that it takes away from “family time.” If so, don’t be surprised. Simply remind yourself that Jesus warned you that this might happen.

Now in verses 16 & 17 Jesus introduces an idea that some find problematic. JESUS COMMENDS THE QUALITY OF CHILDLIKENESS. This does not mean childishness, or even innocence. Children are not more virtuous than adults. They’re as selfish and self-centered as the rest of us — indeed sometimes much more so. But in their best moments they are usually guileless and uncomplicated. They are straightforward about their needs, their wishes and their appreciation. When my brother was in third grade our Uncle Bill took him out to breakfast at a Pancake Restaurant. He handed Jon the menu and told him to order whatever he wanted. Jon had just started getting an allowance and to him the value of money was beginning to make an impression. So after looking at the prices on the menu for a moment Jon turned to my Uncle and said, “Wow, we must be pretty good friends if you are going to pay this much for my breakfast. Thank you Uncle.”

Being truly childlike means we can receive God’s unconditional love and say, “Thank You” without suspicion, doubt, or looking to see what the “catch” is. It was not an accident that Luke records this incident in Jesus’ ministry right after the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee, you remember, was convinced he had earned the right to expect God’s favor because of his good deeds, but the tax gatherer knew better. He had no doubts that the only thing he merited was condemnation. And it was this willing and grateful acceptance of the gift of God’s undeserved favor that marks the essence of “childlikeness.”

So how should we cultivate a spirit of childlikeness in this new year? This is more than just a rhetorical question because of what Jesus says in verse 17 : “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” What are the essential qualities of childlikeness?

Now you probably are thinking, “I thought you said this was going to be something simple and easy to practice. But you’ve just given me five things I need to start doing. Five! Develop a sense of wonder, become more teachable, be sensitive to love, increase my ability to trust, and cultivate a more forgiving spirit. That’s a lot to ask!” And I agree with you. Anyone of these qualities could take an entire year to develop. So why not pick out one right now before you forget and ask God to help you make that a priority for this new year? Wonder, teachableness, trust, a forgiving spirit, or a greater capacity to love. Go ahead and choose right now. Then start praying ever day about that one thing. Look up some verses about that one thing and memorize them. Tell someone you trust which one you are trying to work on and have them check up with you now and then on how you are doing.

For so many of us worship seems like hard work. We have to set aside time to worship on Sunday mornings when we would love to sleep in or do what we don’t have time for during the week. But I would like to suggest to you that worship at it’s best and finest is rather like play. It is the most non-utilitarian of all human activities. A Christian writer, Romano Guardini has written: “Worship is in the highest sense, the life of a child, in which everything is picture, melody, and song. It is a kind of holy play in which the soul, with utter abandon, learns how to waste time for the sake of God.” You can come to worship to do something, to learn something, to take some notes. And all of those things are wonderful and something I would encourage you to do. Or, you can come as a child to celebrate the God who loves you and wants to make you a partner with Him in redeeming the world. And perhaps with the grimness of life at this present moment in history, perhaps with the increasing burdens that the years impose on us with the loss of the effortless ability to do what we use to be able to do without a second thoughts, we need to bring to worship in this new year the heart of a child. To come excited, trusting that God has something good and wonderful for you each and every Sunday — and indeed each and every day. To come and celebrate who He is, what He has done, and what you are confident He will do in this year ahead. Let’s be more child-like in our walk with Him for indeed “Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Almost all parents are at times unjust to their children. We demand from them a standard of obedience, of good manners, of diligence which we seldom satisfy ourselves. Time and again we scold them for doing the very things we do ourselves. If other people treated us in the same way we treat our children we would find it very hard to forgive them. But a child forgives and mostly forgets without difficulty or effort. It is this wonderful quality that Jesus encourages us to emulate when He tells us “for of such is the kingdom of God.” When we are young we never doubt where the next meal is to come from, or if we will have sufficient cloths to wear. We go to school certain that our home will be there when we return. When we travel with our parents we have no doubts that our fare will be paid, or if we will arrive safely. A child’s trust in his parents is absolute — as our should be in our Great God. . Long explanations, detailed background information may not get far with a child but there is an immediate response when a child is loved. We all have seen how a child who has been loved by his parents will instinctively let that love flow through him to others, and in that mutual loving exchange there is joy and satisfaction. So it is with God’s kingdom, “…for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God.” . His mind is alert with questions. For most children their world is still an undiscovered universe that hasn’t become limited by what they think they already know about everything. Watch the wide eyes of a child as he or she looks up at their mother or father who is explaining to them something they want to know. This is a beautiful picture of what we need to cultivate for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. If we simply will have an openness of mind and heart to receive from God the living truths which the complacent and conceited can never understand we will discover the infinite wisdom of God in which His truth sets us free indeed!. For a child the world has not become humdrum and common, and nothing seems impossible. A child will listen with fascination to every story that has a triumphant ending. A child lives in a world with a sheen on it, a world in which God is always near. If we become child-like in our relationship with Christ then this sense of the wonder and heavenly meaning can break through the drabness of our lives. The poet William Wordworth has written: “If we keep the childlike spirit, the earth and every common sight, can be appareled in celestial light.” At the most basic level of this incident, Jesus is telling us that ONE OF WISEST AND FINEST THINGS WE CAN DO IS TO DESIRE TO HAVE NOT ONLY OUR OWN CHILDREN BUT THE CHILDREN OF OTHERS ENTER INTO THE BLESSING OF KNOWING CHRIST. This is one of the chief motivating factors for our starting a Christ based school right here in our facilities this coming September. We believe that bringing children into contact with Jesus Christ is a vital and essential ministry. So here’s what you can do. Put Meadowlark Academy on your prayer list today and keep it there throughout the year! Pray for God to bring the right families and the right children to our school. Pray for the right teachers to teach here and for God’s favor as we go through the licensing process and all the administrative red tape to get the school up and running.

at Meadowlark Community Church on May15, 2011

IN THE UPPER ROOM WITH JESUS

LUKE 22:24-30

They were hand picked and intensively trained. They had been exposed to a superb, a perfect role model for three years. They were accustomed to spending time in each others company and had shared many meals together. And now their leader had just introduced a radical new way of worshiping God. What more in the way of ideal preparation for serving God and each other could you ask for? Now listen to verse 24: “A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.” And there you have it. Real life. Worship, fellowship, friendly small talk and then inexplicably, outright hostility as the subject of who deserved to occupy the places of honor in Christ’s coming kingdom. Imagine it. Men who had been specially selected and trained by Christ, to lead His church, and they were fighting over who was going to be the superstars in that new Kingdom!

Now lets be sure that we get a clear picture of the facts:

-This did not take place at a business or committee meeting, it happened at a social event.

-This was not connected with a local sports team losing to a visiting rival.

- This was not a reality TV show with randomly selected teams competing against each other.

This was a private setting that had taken place immediately following a worship Service! These were the bright and shining lights of the Christian Church and these spiritual giants were fighting over who was going to be the greatest among them!

Does this surprise or disappoint you? I’d like to suggest that perhaps this should give us all hope! Why? Because it is a wonderful reminder that none of us is a finished product. None of us has arrived completely. God still has lots of work to do in each of our lives. Maybe along with membership in the church we should each be given a small button with the letters PBPGINFWMY — Please Be Patient God is Not Finished With Me Yet. My dear church family, the Church is not an honor society — it is a reform school. When we see or hear about disagreements among Christians we ought stop shaking our heads in judgement and instead remember the disciples arguing with each other in the very presence of Christ Himself and let that cause us to drop to our knees in prayer.

The sad truth of the matter is that STRIFE AND SEEKING FOR RECOGNITION AND POWER ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR FALLEN HUMAN CONDITION.

So let me ask you this morning: HOW DO YOU HANDLE DISAGREEMENTS WITH OTHERS AND YOUR OWN LONGING FOR RECOGNITION AND POSITION? This is not just an academic question I’m raising. The way we deal with this issue may be one of the best ways we can evaluate just how successful we are in practically applying our faith in Jesus Christ to real life issues.

To start this process let’s begin looking for some guidelines from the example Jesus set in this very situation. In verses 25 and 26 He applies an unexpected approach that contrasts the practices in the world with the practices He wants us to follow as members of the Kingdom of God. “Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Jesus starts by pointing His disciples to one of the current leaders in Israel — King Herod. This man was one of the most bitterly hated rulers the people of Israel had ever suffered under. He had appended the title “Benefactor” to his name when in reality he had done more to oppress the people of his nation than any ten other rulers. His approach to leadership would find traction with many world leaders today because he was adept at employing an aggressive “P.R.” approach that used every opportunity possible to present himself to his people as a benefactor by lavish public works projects — projects that were in reality being paid for through the excessive taxes he leaved on them. This attempt to put on a positive “PR mask” fooled no one in the long run and eventually backfired on him. Instead of earning the respect of his people he became a cautionary figure who was ridiculed for his very attempt to appear as a “benefactor.”Yet how often we adopt this same approach and wear masks with each other. We try to appear to be something we are not! So why not learn something from Herod’s mistake and save yourself a lot of grief. It is clear that this is precisely what Jesus is doing here with His disciples.

Listen to verses 26 and 27: “But you are not to be like that. Instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Now as I listen to these words of instruction I keep waiting for Christ to rebuke His disciples for their inexcusable behavior. But instead Jesus simply points to His own example among them in the second part of verse 27: “But I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus shapes the character of His disciples by His example, not by scolding or blaming.

Now watch what He says next in verses 28-30: “You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

To me this is both incredible and completely wonderful. Christ does not dwell on the negatives. He praises the feeblest good deed, the smallest act of generosity, and the simplest instance of service. In fact He moves quickly from correction to praise. “You are those who have stood by me in my trials.” Notice what it is that He praises them for in verse 28. He praises them for staying with Him through all His trials. Now this was no small thing.

-They had shared His sorrows, His sufferings, and the frequent rejections.

-They had been willing to stand by Him and be called His fololowers.

It is as if He says to the disciples, “Yes, you still don’t understand what I am trying to do. You are arguing with each other over who is the greatest and by that you have fallen short once again. But do not loose your will to keep trying. I have not forgotten or overlooked your efforts to obey and please me, so keep on keeping on.”

It makes me wonder: Are we as willing to move from criticism, judgement, and complaint to justifiable praise? We dwell on the negative so often don’t we? We think the way to fix things is to voice our criticism to those we think are failing. To judge them. To air our “quote — unquote concerns” with others about them. This is not the way Jesus deals with those disciples! And praise God, it is not the way He deals with us either! Instead He calmly tells them what His Father in Heaven has in store for them.

-First, FULLNESS OF JOY. The image He uses here is the promise that they will “eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”-Second, A SPECIAL PLACE OF HONOR AND RECOGNITION. They will “sit on thrones.”-And Third, they will be given OPPORTUNITIES TO EXERCISE GREAT AND ABIDING POSITIONS OF POWER. “You will rule over Kingdoms.”My friends inscribe this truth in your hearts and minds: GOD NEVER FORGETS OR OVERLOOKS THE GOOD WE DO. Even a cup of cold water offered in His name will be rewarded. The only thing God forgets is our sins because of the cross of Christ!There is a majestic confidence about Christ’s response to His bickering followers. Notice Who it is Who is calmly giving away kingdoms and thrones?

-Not a ruling emperor.

-Not a conquering general.

-Just a homeless civilian, a prophet with the shadow of the cross lying across His path. A man with a death sentence on His head. This is the One Who makes this royal offer!

How do we demonstrate our faithful service? What should be the benchmark of our loyalty?

True greatness in life comes in our service to each other and to the poorest of the poor. If you think about it you will recognize a very interesting fact that the business world knows this truth very well.

-The company that succeeds is the company that offers the best service, most often.

-Yet often when it comes to the Kingdom of God, there are more arguments about ones place in the structure than anywhere else.

It is no accident that one of the two Great Commandments is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Only the person who consents to serve will truly succeed. In most companies, the person who puts in the longest hours and works the hardest is the one who rises highest. Now I will grant you that the motives for this kind of more dedicated service are miles apart from what Christ is talking about here, but the principle is the same. SERVICE LEADS TO GREATNESS. GREATNESS CANNOT BE DEMANDED, AWARDED, OR CONFERRED.

Jesus wants us to understand, just as He wanted His disciples to understand, that building our lives around giving ourselves to others is the only sure path — not only to greatness — but to happiness and joy. If we focus on getting we will miss both the thanks and friendship of others and the rewards that God wants to bestow on us.