Title: By childlike faith eternity is ours!
Text: Matt. 18:1-11
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
We celebrate this weekend the feast of St. Michael and all Angels. Michael is called the great prince in our Old Testament reading and in Revelation Michael and his Angels fight against the dragon and his angels also know as that ancient serpent, the devil, and Satan saying:
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Is it human nature to want to know who is the greatest?
Or, maybe you want to know your standing compared to your fellow man? At least you and I can be sure that it is a true sign of the motivation of the sinful nature. If you like me grew up or were around in the 1960's and 70's you remember Muhammad Ali or Cassius Clay as was his given name and his statement:
“I am the greatest!”
He said this and then went about proving it on the word boxing stage. In his later years he became an old man that struggled with Parkinson’s disease passing away at 74 years of age a non factor in boxing or any other sport for that matter.
But the disciples come to Jesus with this question of “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And our Lord answers in reply in a very visual way as He brings a small child and places this child in their midst.
2 … “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
It brings to mind our Children here at Peace and the looks, wonder, answers and faith that these children exhibit by God’s working in them in Sunday school or the corporate praying of the Lord’s Prayer as they did with us last week in church. The weight of the world has not quite torn them down and replaced this childlike faith with the cynicism of the world and the reason that drives our lives and our motives at times.
Jesus continues:
4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus goes on to reveal the blessing and curse in his object lesson for the disciples and also your benefit.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”
In other words, to receive theses precious gifts of God requires the same humility and childlike faith that is given to you by the Holy Spirit. With this faith you are given access to the blessings of Christ and are connected to all that He has merited for you.
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
Wow! This takes on a whole different character doesn’t it? How do you cause one of these little one to sin? Are children ever drawn into an illicit activity? Are they ever used for illegal gain?
Ill.
In one incident in Philadelphia show this to be the case. Police are looking for a woman who used a young child to steal someone’s wallet inside a nail salon after the entire theft was caught on tape.
The suspect tells the child to slide the purse over to where she was sitting, and then she reaches into the pocketbook.
The video shows the child taking out a small wallet and handing it to the suspect. The child then slides the purse back over near the victim before the suspect and the child walk out of the store.
Police hope that the video will help to bring the woman to justice.
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/06/18/video-woman-uses-child-to-steal-wallet-inside-kensington-nail-salon/
Jesus tells of the consequence of sin involving a child when He says:
It would be better for him or in this case her to have a great millstone fastened around his/her neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
What about your child and mine? Having been given faith by the Holy Spirit in their baptisms, have they been nourished or have they been spiritually starved, left without the word of God to strengthen and build their faith?
The truth is that sin can be committed; the sin of commission or it can be a result of things not done, the sin of omission. Teaching your child the ways of Christ and bringing them up, as Paul writes to the Ephesian Church in his letter when he says:
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph 6:4)
I take a special note that he writes to fathers because you and I as dads have a special responsibility and are also specially called and gifted by God to do what he calls us to do.
Jesus calls out, “Woe to the world for temptation to sin!” and we who are of the world to understand the consequence of sin and the temptation that leads up to it. Jesus knows that in the brokenness of this life you will have tribulation ... surgery and cancer diagnosis come to light, so I can attest to the struggles of this life. But Jesus says that:
… it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
And He talks about some severe medicine:
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
Jesus in talking to the disciple brings them comfort in the storms of life as He tells them to not despise one of these little ones, but welcome them and the faith that they posses by God’s Spirit in them.
Christ is speaking His truth, from His mouth, to the disciple’s ears. You too hear the word of Christ Jesus our Lord preached to you from this pulpit but it is still God’s word and it is still His comfort just the same.
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Rom 10:14)
Christ Jesus is the gift of life and the savior of the world. His virgin birth, sinless life, death in your place at the cross, burial and glorious resurrection and ascension to heaven above was accomplished just for you. This childlike faith is given by his glorious gospel bringing you to this childlike faith by God’s word and sacraments. Baptism is called the liquid gospel because it bring with God’s word of promised connected to this water life from death, connecting you as a precious child to His life, death, burial and resurrection.
In Him the power of Satan is destroyed and you triumph over the devil with this same childlike faith given to you as a gift of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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