Let the Children Come.
Luke 18: 9 – 17.
Introduction.
Today is a special Sunday for several reasons. First, today is Fathers’ Day. Second, today is the day before the beginning of
On most Fathers’ Days, I find that I am preaching to at least two different congregations. I am preaching to the fathers in our church, and I am preaching to the people who are not fathers. On most Sundays before VBS, I have to preach to at least two different congregations. I preach to the people who will be involved in VBS in one way or another, and I preach to the people who are not involved in VBS.
Since today is both Fathers’ Day and the Sunday before VBS, I have to figure out a way to preach one sermon to many different congregations…And I have to make sure that sermon isn’t too long.
In honor of our fathers today, let read one of my favorite descriptions of fatherhood. You will recognize it as one of my favorites, because I have read it to you before. These are the words of one of
Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was seven years old and walked twenty three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer he worked for had no buckets, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest milk can. All this for 5 cents a month…And I never got my fifty cents. But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, “Well, let’s see how much money Granddad has for his wonderful kids.” And the minute they take the money out of his hands, I call them over to me and snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money.
Cosby also describes the difference between Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day:
Mothers’ Day is a bigger deal than Fathers’ Day, because mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children, “Now, here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father.” For Fathers’ Day, I give each of my 5 kids $20 (a total of $100) so they can go buy me a present. They go to the store and buy 2 packages of underwear for $5 a package. They open the packages of underwear and each kid wraps up one pair, giving any extra to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Fathers’ Day, I am walking around with five new pairs of underwear and my kids are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets.
Have you ever thought about the connection between the church and the family? In the beginning, God created everything that is. The heavens and the earth and the things under the earth. In the process, God also created two “institutions.” God created the family, and God created the church. I believe God has given the same responsibilities to both institutions.
In the past several months, you have heard me talk a lot about the five purposes (or five functions) of the church: Worship, Evangelism, Discipleship, Missions and Fellowship. These are our responsibilities as a church. They are also the responsibilities of Christian fathers and mothers.
If you read the weekly church newsletter, I think it is obvious that
In our Scripture for today, Jesus told his disciples…Let the children come to me…
Read Luke 18: 9 – 17
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
(NIV)
This Scripture contains two parables. One parable was a spoken parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who arrived at church one day at the same time. The second parable is a visual parable that Jesus demonstrated in front of their eyes by holding the children in his lap, close to his heart.
I find it very interesting that Luke introduced these parables with a description of the audience. Of course, he did not call anyone by name, but he did describe the ones Jesus wanted to understand the parable. Luke 18: 9, "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: (NIV) ."
Who was Jesus speaking to? Obviously he was speaking to the Pharisees…They trusted in themselves, thinking that their own good works could save them…The Pharisees also thought of themselves as being Righteous, that no one could surpass them in how they served God…The Pharisees also looked down on other people with contempt, thinking that no one could measure up to their own high personal standards…
But, who else was Jesus speaking to? Watch what happened to the disciples.
Jesus described the difference between exalting oneself and humbling oneself. He went on to say that it is better to be humble, and let God exalt you at the right time, than it is to try to act like you are better than other people. And the disciples did NOT understand.
I know they did not understand because of what they did next. They exalted themselves over the little children.
I can just imagine the thoughts running through their heads… “You know, Jesus has just predicted that he will be crucified once we get to
So, the disciples tried to prevent the children from taking up too much of Jesus’ time…They tried to do the right thing, “Now you children need to run along. Jesus is very busy. He doesn’t need the distraction. He doesn’t need to be disturbed.”
Then Jesus surprised everyone. He taught the disciples that these children were just as important as the disciples. Can you imagine that? A child who is not even mentioned by name in the Bible is just as important to Jesus as Peter and James and John.
Matthew told the story just a little differently than Luke. In Matthew 18, we read about Jesus and the disciples walking along the road one day, when suddenly the disciples get into a kind of argument over which one of them is the greatest disciple. And which one would be considered the greatest in the
You Must Become Like a Child (Spoken about Us).
In the first church I served as pastor, I had a woman speak to me about her grown children. They were both in their 30’s and she was very concerned about their salvation. She was concerned that it was too late for her children to become Christians, because neither had made a profession of faith. She cited this verse from the King James Version, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
Jesus is not telling us that you have to make a profession of faith before you turn 18, or else it will be too late. Jesus is saying that everyone who becomes a Christian must become like a little child first. Innocent…Humble…Trusting…Dependent… Helpless… You must be willing to humble yourself…And you must let go of those natural tendencies to exalt yourself and to look down on others if you want to be in the
Living a life totally dependant on someone else…Dependent on Jesus… Obedient…Just as a child has the natural instinct to obey parents, so you should naturally obey your Heavenly Father…
We can take this a step farther. In our world today, children are the church members who are most likely to “bring a friend” to church. If church is a normal and natural part of their lives, children want their friends to be involved in church. We would all be better off if we were a little more childlike—innocently wanting the important people in our lives to be involved in our church.
Let the Children Come (Spoken about Children).
Children are important to Jesus…Since they are important to him, they should be important to us…Therefore, we need to give them as many opportunities as possible to respond to the Gospel.
Does this mean to force the Gospel on them before they are ready? Or to make them feel guilty?…Of course not…We need to present the Gospel in age appropriate ways…Telling stories…Using visual images…And living as Good Witnesses…We need to be patient and wait for a child to develop intellectually and psychologically to the point where he or she can make that decision on their own…
Many people wonder about what Baptists have traditionally called “the age of accountability”…This is a form of the question, “When is a child ready to make his or her own decision for Christ?”…I heard a child development expert say this one time, and I believe this is the truth…It all depends on the child’s ability to understand what SIN is…
You have heard the statistic published by the George Barna Group…64% of all Christians today became Christians before the age of 18…13% became Christians between the ages of 18 – 21…Only 24% of all Christians accepted Christ as adults.[1]
Still another way to state that is to look at our church…How much money do we invest annually to minister and evangelize people under the age of 18? Is it 76%? Or have we reversed the equation? Are we trying to spend the majority of our financial resources on an age group that is less responsive to the Gospel? What about our church facilities? What about our church staff?
Still another way to state that is to look at our church…How much money do we invest annually to minister and evangelize people under the age of 18? Is it 85%? Or have we reversed the equation? Are we trying to spend the majority of our financial resources on an age group that is less responsive to the Gospel?
What percentage of our church facilities is dedicated to children and youth under the age of 18?
What would this church look like in 10 years if our buildings were filled with children and their parents today? What would this church look like in 10 years if we do not reach the children?
Do Not Hinder the Children (Spoken about Children).
Beginning in the Second Century, the Catholic Church started using this verse as a way to justify the practice of infant baptism—as if Jesus had said, “Do not hinder the children from being baptized.” But I do not think this is about baptism.
I believe Jesus is teaching us, “Do not hinder the children from spending time in the presence of Jesus.” Stop doing things that stand in the way. It is hard enough for a person to “come to Jesus.” We do them much more harm than we realize when we place obstacles in their paths.
One obvious obstacle is when parents choose not to attend church…It is bad enough that adults are not here to read and study the Bible and to worship God, but when parents do not come they are actually placing an obstacle in the path of their own children…
By not attending church, parents actually prevent their children from hearing the Gospel presented…
By not attending church, parents also demonstrate (or model) the kind of behavior children will imitate as they grow older…Do you want your children to be strong Christians, actively involved in church as adults? Then you MUST demonstrate those same characteristics for them while they are young.
Give the children every opportunity to learn about Jesus and to experience Jesus and to receive the Gospel message about Jesus. Do not keep children away from Jesus. Do not put obstacles in between children and Jesus.
Modern day obstacles:
Parents who do not share their faith with their children.
Parents who do not bring their children to church.
Parents who drop their children off at church, teaching them that they will one day outgrow the need for discipleship and spiritual growth.
Parents who take their children to church but gripe about the sermon, the music, the church leadership, the hypocrites at church…teaching their children that church is a miserable place.
Television, Internet, schools and friends who do a better job at defining the worldview and priorities for our children. Our children will never learn about Jesus from television, Internet, school or friends.
Conclusion.
In the 21st Century, children are faced with many different kinds of obstacles that keep them from coming to know Jesus. As a church, it is our responsibility to remove those obstacles and follow the words of Jesus…Do not hinder the children…
Again, what will happen to this church if we do not reach the children?
It is sad but true…In the world we live in parents do not bring their children to church, but children will bring their parents. If we reach the children, we can reach their parents!
Let the children come…
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