Unless You Become As Little Children
February 14, 2010
Introduction
In Mat 18:1-4, we find these words, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" {2} Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, {3} and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. {4} "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Little children! How do you think of them? In our bedroom, we have a picture of our oldest grandson, Will. He was probably about two at the time. He was standing in a field of Blue Bonnets. You could tell he was happy and excited as he raised his hands in celebration and was smiling with a great big smile. As I looked at Will and thought of his joy and excitement, I had to think of the verses we just read.
As we begin our study, we need to point out that we are studying “little children.” The NKJV is correct in translating this as “little children.” The original Greek word means little children. Some of the qualities that we are mentioning this morning are sometimes lost as children grow older.
Body
I. The quality that Jesus underlined was humility
A. To be humble is to be submissive.
(1 Pet 5:5-6 NKJV) Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." {6} Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
B. If we are humble, we are teachable.
1. Little children have a quest for knowledge.
As our oldest son, Tim, learned to talk, he soon learned two words which became an import part of his early learning, “What’s that?”
a. As Christians, we need the meek and teachable spirit.
b. We need to take advantage of the opportunities we have to study and learn more of the Word of God and His Will for our lives.
2. As we grow older, so often Tim’s “What’s that?” changes to our “I know!” and learning has stopped at the moment.
3. We need the humility of the little child who is open to learning and excited about learning.
C. If we are humble, we are not pretentious or proud.
1. We are submissive to God.
2. We are aware of our own weaknesses and shortcoming.
3. We are gracious and forgiving.
II. Little children have a tremendous amount of faith and trust in their parents and those who are close to them.
A. When our oldest grandson was about two, he sometimes said to his parents, “I wanna go to Papa’s house, and he would stay all day completely content.
B. When I was young, I remember never having a care about where my next meal was coming from.
1. We need this kind of faith in our heavenly Father.
(Mat 6:24-26 NKJV) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mam-mon. {25} "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? {26} "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
III. Little children have a tremendous love for their parents.
A. They are unashamed to show their love with their hugs and kisses.
B. They are content to curl up in your lap and just be held close to you.
1. Do we love God?
(Mat 22:35-39 NKJV) Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, {36} "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" {37} Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' {38} "This is the first and great commandment. {39} "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
2. Little children feel secure in the presence of their parents and want to be with them. Only later do they sometimes become ashamed of them.
(Mark 8:38 NKJV) "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
3. Little children love to be close to their parents –
a. Do we love being close to God?
b. Do we make an effort to be close to God?
(1) By worshipping God together as often as we can.
(2) With our private prayers and Bible study
IV. Little children are totally forgiving.
A. They not only forgive, they basically forget.
B. Jesus said we must be forgiving if we are to be forgiven.
(Mat 6:14-15 NKJV) "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
C. When little children are disciplined for wrong doing, they do not hold resentment toward their parents, but are even sweeter if anything.
Conclusion
Matthew 18:2, “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, {3} and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. {4} "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This morning we’ve looked at being like children with respect to:
Being humble and teachable
Having faith and trust in their parents
Having a great love and affection for their parents
Little children are extremely forgiving.
Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.