Matthew 18:3 ,4 - The Faith of a Child.
Matthew 18:3, 4 (KJV) And said, Verily I say
unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3, 4 (AMP) And said, Truly I say
to you, unless you repent (change, turn about)
and become like little children [trusting,
lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the
kingdom of heaven [at all]. Whoever will humble
himself therefore and become like this little child
[trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.
WORD STUDY
Become As Little Children. This is how Jesus
characterized conversion. Like the Beatitudes, it pictures
faith as the simple, helpless, trusting dependence
of those who have no resources of their own.
Like children, they have no achievements and no
accomplishments to offer or commend themselves with.
[MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]
INTRODUCTION
Before Honor Is Humility; Mat. 18:1-5
Very tenderly, yet with solemn emphasis,
Jesus tried to correct the evil. He showed what is
the principle that bears sway in the kingdom of
heaven, and in what true greatness consists, as
estimated by the standard of the courts above.
Before honor is humility. To fill a high
place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who,
like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before
God. The most childlike disciple is the most
efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences
can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to
exalt self, but to save souls.
But when men exalt themselves, feeling
that they are a necessity for the success of
God's great plan, the Lord causes them to be set
aside.
It was not enough for the disciples of
Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of His
kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart that
would bring them into harmony with its
principles. The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and
the confiding love of a little child are the
attributes that Heaven values. These are the
characteristics of real greatness
The sincere, contrite soul is precious in
the sight of God. He places His own signet upon
men, not by their rank, not by their wealth, not
by their intellectual greatness, but by their
oneness with Christ. {DA 436, 7}
COMMENTARY PEARL
The Way Back To God
A man will not find God until he finds
the way back to God.
The way back to God is not an
intellectual way. It is not a moral way. You cannot think
your way back to God because human thought-life
will not coordinate with divine thought-life, for
the carnal mind is at enmity with God. You
cannot worship your way back to God because man is
a spiritual rebel from God's presence. You
cannot moralize your way back to God because
character is flawed with sin.
The natural questions come to you - What
shall I do? Where shall I start? Where do I begin?
What is my road back to God? There is only one
way back to God. It is significant that Jesus
did not tell the little children to become as
His disciples, but His disciples to become as
little children. By childlike faith, everyone has a
chance, from the feebleminded to intellectuals.
Thus, Jesus demanded a conversion. This is how to
begin! This is where it starts! You must be
converted and come to Him as a little child.
What is one way that your faith is like
that of a little child? [Peace for Each Day by
Billy Graham]
COMMENTARY
Jesus loved kids. The Bible doesn't speak
much about His interactions with them except in a
few verses, but it's enough to recognize His
kind and loving nature and understand He
treasured children. He urges us to do the same. I
believe Jesus's admonition went well beyond our
posterity. He clearly wants us to become childlike in
our faith in Him. Young children are innocent
and pure. In much the same way, God sees us as
"innocent" and "pure" once we have accepted Christ, Who
forgives our sins. Jesus wants us to become childlike
in our faith, pure and trusting. Young children
don't question what Mom or Dad tell them to do;
Jesus wants us to have that kind of obedience.
Think about the qualities of young
children. They are honest, some brutally so. They
believe what they see and hear and even read. They
also trust their caregivers to provide everything
they need. Aren't all those the qualities the
Lord wants us to have? Jesus wants us to be like
"little children" when it comes to following Him and
obeying His Word. That's why He calls us His
"children" and loves us like His own. by Carol Mackey
Faith Step: Jesus wants us to have
childlike faith - to depend on Him to provide for us,
to protect us, and to trust Him. Today, do
something that makes you feel like a kid again!
[Mornings With Jesus 2019 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
Have you ever listened to children pray?
Their prayers are great - so honest, so sincere
and innocent. I love hearing the things kids are
thankful for: puppies, hamburgers, stuffed animals,
their Disney karaoke machines, and their invisible
friends. Children's prayers remind adults to keep it
real when we come before God.
Kids revel in reflecting their view of
the world around them and sharing it with God in
their prayers, and we should do the same. And like
a parent basking in the joy of their child's
latest finger-painted masterpiece, God loves us
with the same intensity and compassionate
kindness. We're his creation, made in his image, his
sons and daughters as heirs through Christ.
Sometimes we lose our perspective on
prayer because we pray the same way about the same
things over and over again. If you sense your
prayer life gelling in a rut, then find some way to
be creative and child-like again. Singing,
writing poetry, journaling, walking in nature,
drawing - there are all kinds of unique ways to
enhance your alone time with God.
Today pray like a kid again, knowing that
God loves you as his precious child.
Thank you, Father, for the way you love
me as your child. I want to keep my heart open
to you, sharing honestly and sincerely. Thank
you for reminding me of your unconditional love.
[Daily Power by Craig Groeschel]
ILLUSTRATIONS
Like Little Children
At his home Rob goes to Sunday school -
he's in the Frog class, a roomful of jump-happy,
make-a-joyful-noise, three-year-olds. But on his first solo
weekend visiting us, we decided to stick together.
There we were, Nana, Granddad, and a squirmy Rob,
sandwiched tightly in the middle of the pew in the
middle of the crowded sanctuary. I prayed for lots
of singing and a short sermon.
Our pastor is a wonderful shepherd, but
not a dynamic speaker. No forceful voice or
fancy words. He makes his point by repetition.
Simple words repeated often.
That day the sermon came from Romans
8:14. Pastor David read it twice: "For all who are
led by the Spirit of God are children of God."
Then, leaning out over the pulpit, he asked, ''Are
you a child of God?"
Rob stopped fiddling with Granddad's tie
clasp, turned to the pulpit, and thrust his hand
into the air.
During the course of his sermon, Pastor
David sent those words out into the congregation
again and again: ''Are you a child of God?" Each
time, Rob stretched his hand high above Granddad's
shoulder and smiled his one-dimple grin. People
behind us were chuckling, then the giggles spread
across the aisle. Every time Rob answered the
pastor's question by raising his hand, the laughter
grew louder.
With his flock now grinning from aisle to
aisle, Pastor David finally saw the reason.
Pointing his finger and smiling at Rob, he said, "Now
that child of God gets the idea!"
"Become like little children." It is
harder than it sounds. It does not take a big voice
or fancy words. It takes courage to raise our
hands for the Lord for everyone to see. -Kathleen
Brown
Help us become like little children,
Lord, loving you joyfully, trusting you
completely, serving you faithfully. Amen. [The One Year
Devotional of Joy and Laughter by Mary Hollingsworth]
A Better Boy
Luke, my firstborn grandchild, was barely
three when his sister, Sarah, came along. He had
been the happy recipient of all the attention for
three years straight, so having a sister was a
major adjustment in his little life.
When Sarah was only a month old, she
caught a cold, so we stopped by the drugstore on
the way home from picking Luke up from the
church day care. I was giving baby Sarah more
attention than Luke because of her illness and did not
want her to become fussy during the long wait at
the pharmacy. Luke did not appreciate that one
little bit! He proceeded to put on a one-boy show
for all those in line with us, while stretching
his mother's already paper-thin patience.
Finally, meds in hand and heading to the
car, Christy, my daughter, very sternly scolded
Luke for his misbehavior. "You were not a good
boy in the store! I think you need to pray to
Jesus that you can be a better boy."
After buckling both children in the
backseat, Christy and I settled into the front seats
of the car. I glanced back at Luke, ready to
assure him of my love and soothe his tiny ego.
There he sat, head bowed, eyes closed, hands
clasped in prayer, earnestly pleading, "Dear Jesus,
please make me a better boy."
How sweet, and how touching. Luke melted
our hearts, and although we tried to keep from
laughing, we couldn't keep from crying. I think
sometimes Father God longs to hear such earnest,
childlike prayers from his grown-up children too.
-Shari Gunter
Dear God, please help me to be the best
me I can be, and let me do it not for me but
for your glory and praise. I want to be like
you, Lord. Amen. [The One Year Devotional of Joy
and Laughter by Mary Hollingsworth]
My son Gilbert was eight years old and
had been in Cub Scouts only a short time. During
one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of
paper, a block of wood and four tires and told to
return home and give all to "dad". That was not an
easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not
receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert
tried. Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea
of making a pine wood derby car with his young,
eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as
the weeks passed.
Finally, mom stepped in to see if I could
figure this all out. The project began. Having no
carpentry skills, I decided it would be best if I
simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the
work. And he did. I read aloud the measurements,
the rules of what we could do and what we
couldn't do. Within days, his block of wood was
turning into a pinewood derby car. A little
lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes
of mom). Gilbert had not seen any of the other
kids' cars and was feeling pretty proud of his
"Blue Lightning", the pride that comes with
knowing you did something on your own. Then the big
night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his
hand and pride in his heart, we headed to the big
race. Once there, my little one's pride turned to
humility. Gilbert's car was obviously the only car
made entirely on his own. All the other cars were
a father-son partnership, with cool paint jobs
and sleek body styles made for speed. A few of
the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert's
lopsided, wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the
humility, Gilbert was the only boy without a man at
his side. A couple of the boys who were from
single parent homes at least had an uncle or
grandfather by their side, Gilbert had "mom".
As the race began, it was done in
elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were
the winner. One by one the cars raced down the
ramp. Finally it was between Gilbert and the
sleekest, fastest looking car there. As the last race
was about to begin, my wide-eyed, shy
eight-year-old asked if they could stop the race for a
minute, because he wanted to pray. The race stopped.
Gilbert hit his knees clutching his funny looking
block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled
brow, he set to converse with his father. He
prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a
half. Then he stood, smile on his face and
announced, "Okay, I am ready." As the crowd cheered, a
boy named Tommy stood with his father as their
car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his
Father within his heart and watched his block of
wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly great
speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction
of a second before Tommy's car.
Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud
"Thank you" as the crowd roared in approval. The
Scout Master came up to Gilbert with microphone in
hand and asked the obvious question, "So you
prayed to win, huh, Gilbert?" To which my young son
answered, "Oh, no, sir. That wouldn't be fair to ask
God to help you beat someone else. I just asked
Him to make it so I don't cry when I lose."
Children seem to have a wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert
didn't ask God to win the race, he didn't ask God
to fix the outcome, Gilbert asked God to give
him strength in the outcome. When Gilbert first
saw the other cars, he didn't cry out to God,
"No fair, they had a father's help" No, he went
to his Father for strength. Perhaps we spend
too much of our prayer time asking God to rig
the race, to make us number one, or too much
time asking God to remove us from the struggle,
when we should be seeking God's strength to get
through the struggle.
"I can do everything through Him who
gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13). Gilbert's
simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that
night. He never doubted that God would indeed
answer his request. He didn't pray to win, thus
hurt someone else, he prayed that God supply the
grace to lose with dignity. Gilbert, by his
stopping the race to speak to his Father also showed
the crowd that he wasn't there without a "dad",
but His Father was most definitely there with
him. Yes, Gilbert walked away a winner that
night, with his Father at his side. [source
unknown]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Continuous conversion
These words of Our Lord are true of our
initial conversion, but we have to be continuously
converted all the days of our lives, continually to
turn to God as children. If we trust to our wits
instead of to God, we produce consequences for which
God will hold us responsible. Immediately our
bodies are brought into new conditions by the
providence of God, we have to see our natural life
obeys the dictates of the Spirit of God. Because
we have done it once is no proof that we shall
do it again. The relation of the natural to the
spiritual is one of continuous conversion, and it is
the one thing we object to. In every setting in
which we are put, the Spirit of God remains
unchanged and His salvation unaltered but we have to
put on the new man. God holds us responsible
every time we refuse to convert ourselves, our
reason for refusing is willful obstinacy. Our
natural life must not rule, God must rule in us.
The hindrance in our spiritual life is
that we will not be continually converted, there
are wadges of obstinacy where our pride
spits at the throne of God and says"I
wont. We deify independence and willfulness and
call them by the wrong name. What God looks on as
obstinate weakness, we call strength. There are whole
tracts of our lives which have not yet been brought
into subjection, and it can only be done by this
continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim
the whole territory for the Spirit of God. [My
Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Keep returning your focus to Me! I am
always thinking about you and watching everything
that concerns you. You, however, are only human,
and you will lose sight of Me at times. I know
how hard it is for you to stay focused on Me,
especially when you are feeling weak or weary. So give
yourself grace whenever you realize your mind and
heart have wandered from Me. And waste no time in
returning to Me by praising Me in thought, word, or
song. Even whispering My Name - reverently,
lovingly - can be worship.
Let Me have all your worries and cares.
This may sound easy, but it is not; you are
accustomed to worry - thoughts roaming freely in your
brain. So you must train yourself to bring all your
cares into My Presence, trusting Me to help you.
Remember that you are never alone in your struggles:
I am always aware of you and your
circumstances. I can help you because I have all authority
in heaven and on earth. As you come into My
Presence, let go of your worries and cares - so you
can cling to Me in childlike trust. (1Pe. 5:7;
Mat. 28:18; 18:1-4) [Jesus Today by Sarah Young]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
Matthew 18:3 ,4 - The Faith of a Child.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2007/20071011-2253.html
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