Who is the greatest? Jesus took a child

There is nothing more glorious than God being evident in people. I don’t see how people can do things without God. Remember to always pray for the person who preaches.

The choir’s songs have been a sermon already. Has the power of the blood worked in our lives? Washed us from all stains of evil? But it doesn’t stop there, that is only the beginning. It helps us to be witnesses to the ends of the world. That is what we are called for. In the Afrikaans song we thanked God for what He has done for us, do we thank Him in truth? We would not be here today if it wasn’t for His goodness and grace. In the Zulu song they sang we are what we are because of what Jesus has done. That is what we need, we need to grow. We cannot stay little children all the time, no, we grow. May we grow in that grace, that we all become that which Christ wants us to be.

If you need to wake up, wake up! It has been years since the Lord has helped you. Do that which the Lord has called you for. Maybe you are lying down feeling sorry for yourself, that might lead to your death.

Matthew 18:1 – 5  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. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

“Who is the greatest”. I think this is an evil thought prevalent thought amongst men, I cannot speak for women. The stories the Lord put in the Bible are meant for us. Take man, this creation of God, whose heart is beyond understanding. Where could this attitude of wanting to be important have started?

This is how I saw it – Jesus came and He called three of the 12 disciples to come with Him. He left the others behind and only three were taken. Maybe those who remained wondered why they were left behind? Then He went up the mountain where he was transfigured. God’s glory was revealed to these three. When they came down, Jesus said to them, “Tell nobody what you saw and experienced. You may only speak about these things after the Son of Man has risen from the dead”. Many things go wrong when we try to understand things with our human minds. We think that if Jesus has blessed others and left you out He doesn’t love you. The Lord loves you as He loves the other three. Imagine if the remaining disciples questioned the three about where they had been and what they had experienced. They had to remember that the Lord had said to them to not tell anyone anything .

The ‘I’, the ego, always wants to to be in the forefront, experience everything that is happening, ‘I have so many talents so I must know everything’. Where do you get that from? Talents are God given, and remember, God uses the broken-hearted, the humble of spirit; those are acceptable for God’s use. Rev Stegen was not used by God because of his talents or greatness, he was a man whose will and heart were broken by the Lord. That is why God could work through him and make him great in preaching and in his obedience to God.

God can use whatever He has given you by His grace, if He wishes to do so and if the glory goes to Him alone. When we look at ourselves we can only hang our heads in shame, when we see how puffed up and proud we are. It is good to bring these things into the light. It is good for our pride. We are nothing, except for the Lord calling us to use us. How can we be proud if we remember the mire from which the Lord took us.

The disciples came to Jesus to ask this question. Maybe this was good that they asked, contrary to many of us who don’t ask and make mistakes, because we think we know. That is why it is important, mothers, to teach your children from small not to take things without asking, not to go places without first asking. Teach them to do it with respect, then they will grow in it.

I was amazed that the Lord then took a child, maybe a little boy to teach the men a lesson. Jesus has time for children. The older you get, the more you are drawn to children. However, a child is a child, not an angel, it needs to be helped and instructed, but the Lord looks at things differently to us. Possibly the disciples thought they were so important, wow, the Lord showed us such glory and He said; stop, stop in your tracks. He showed them this child and said, if you can’t become like this child, you won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

He used a practical example, which nobody could argue with. Children, listen, the Lord Jesus has lots and lots of time for you and He cares for you. When you read up about Jewish customs, children were below the ages of 13 for a boy, for a girl 12. We don’t know how old this child was, I’d like to think it was a bit younger. So, children, the Lord Jesus calls you today. He loves you, He calls you and wants to teach others how to be real Christians. This is how He taught His disciples. And I like to believe, that this child was one that was brought up by parents who taught him well, and he obeyed the rules of the home.

But the world has turned things upside down. Going against what Christ has taught, today children are in the forefront in violence, war, immorality – why? Because the devil knows this is what Christ meant and how He wants it to be.

God cares for the children. I don’t think we can understand the depth of what He really meant.  I heard recently that once Rev Stegen called a mother and said that she should go home and teach her children how to live because they were so naughty. We realise that the standard is higher than you and I can think. Just stop what you are doing and go home and teach your children. There is so much a person could say, but this maybe suffices....

He was teaching His disciples, implying that they had argued, there was disunity, who of us is the greatest; one often is shocked at the Christian world. The Lord says, if you don’t change, and be like a child, He says you will never make it. In the Zulu Bible it says, if you don’t repent and become like a little child. Maybe that is why God’s word doesn’t work in and through us, because we are too adult. These were interesting and hard words which we cannot ignore. Has Christ changed your life? We have often heard it, but has He changed your life? His blood washes every stain whiter than snow.

There is a lot we can say about children. Children listen and then ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart. Ask Him to help you to live as you should. And then I want to ask, parent, do you encourage that? Do you nurture that? Do you raise your child according to this Word?

The first is – a child is dependent upon the parent. They trust the mother to make them  food to eat. These days I read that mothers are like buttons, they hold everything together. A true mother sees to the clothing, safety, and practically everything, like a fledgling bird in a nest is cared for. It opens its mouth and the mother and father just feed it. If they don’t do it the chick will die. A child should also not go out of their home alone and without permission from their parents. The Lord Jesus teaches us that we should be totally dependent on Him. Recently I read of a man of God who said that he does nothing except when Christ tells him to do it. That is what Christ loves.  I think that we pray for things and expect Christ to answer in a certain way, but we don’t even see this is God moulding our lives if it works out differently to what we expected. Let us learn from Job, he saw and experienced God in an extraordinarily terrible way. But when we experience things, we don’t see God, we see humans, the devil and what else.

Children are powerless. They are very susceptible and vulnerable in society. A child can’t really look after itself, it is not ready for it. That’s why they have parents who should care for them, and the Lord says that we believers should be like that towards Him.

Jewish people love their children, but the children had no rights, however, their parents love them and  care for them. The parents were instructed exactly what to do with their children, It is unbelievable how from when the child starts to speak, some of the first words they are taught are prayers which they recite. How do we bring up our children?

Are the first things they learn from mom and dad is the gossip at table?  Some time ago I visited a family. We all sat around the table, old and young, and then we started talking. When we were children, there was a book we read with the main character being Noddy, another character was Big Ears. Now children, when Mom and Dad talk, are you Big Ears? If you listen to conversations of adults, often poison enters your heart. Dad and Mom should not talk about others in your presence, that is not right. That poisonous stuff enters the children’s hearts, sometimes just one word about someone else and little Big Ears thinks, oh so that person is like that? The children won’t tell you, but they have already formed their idea of that person. Brethren tell me if I say things that are wrong, but if I’m right, repent and change.

I’ve just come back from Europe, there you are taught to be independent. Often that independence, where you are encouraged not to ask advice or depend on others, is the cause of many problems which can cause spiritual death.

That is what the Lord Jesus said to Martha; Martha, become like a little child, sit there like your sister is sitting here, but no, she was too busy for that; it is not wrong to be busy, but the Lord tried to teach her how to do things, not the way she thought it should be. Beware of your mind, when you think you know and you’re an adult, that is where the danger lurks. So a child is completely dependent on those who care for him. In the same way we should be completely dependent on the Lord, try it, go on your knees and pray, “Lord Jesus, I want to be completely dependent on you”.

Jesus focused His attention on this ambitious group, what influence did His response have on them? To refer to a child is referring to humility and sincere obedience. That is what Christ expects of a child. Do you hear that children? Don’t always murmur and then start crying and complain by claiming: ‘Mom, I am so busy, my back is sore, can I try it later?’ Just ask the Lord Jesus to help you to obey.

If you want to be the greatest then humble yourself, that is the way it works in God’s Kingdom and you will see things completely differently. It brings a change of mind which Christ creates (that is what repentance means – a change of mind).

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Fill your mind with Scripture and things from above, and you will find that God’s word will penetrate and take over everything, your desires, heart and mind. However, we are so bombarded by the things of this world, wherever we go we are attacked by these things, only Christ can change our mind, and when the devil comes you, you can say, No! Many people struggle, and you wonder, why? The blood of Christ has the power to overcome sin and temptation, just allow it to do its work, just believe what Christ can do, accept it and live accordingly. Maybe you are like Martha, you hear it and your mind is already somewhere else; you are up and down, you don’t find time to be restful and just to sit and think, absorb it, pray and think about what you have read or heard.

Have you how a child reacts when you speak to it, I love those eyes as they look at you, absorbing what you say and believing it. That is wonderful.

Recently we visited somewhere. We preached and then we left the service. Then there was a great noise amongst the people who were all talking animatedly. Now Jesus doesn’t like a noise and one realised that the congregation did not get quiet and absorb what had been said. The chatter drowned it all. Give Christ time to speak to you personally, be quiet.

Another trait of a child is honesty. A child speaks the truth. What the child says is child-like, and then we adults are inclined to rebuke them; no, listen, maybe the child is right. A child after God’s heart, it is one that speaks the straight truth and is so different to some of us adults, we avoid speaking the truth, we beat about the bush and don’t get to the point regarding our real problems. You who have such battles, are you like a child? A child speaks the truth, a child does not hide things in their heart, but you hide and think nobody sees. That is why you don’t come right, why you don’t grow, let the blood of the Lord Jesus reach that spot that troubles you.

A child is innocent. Now the Lord Jesus asks, are you like that? When you are 21 or 22, you think you are so intelligent, you know everything. The innocence of a child is worth much more. We with all the dirt that dwells in our minds, we will never enter heaven.

A child trusts Christ, it trusts its parents. Once there was a child that went to a parent and asked, ‘what does it mean to trust?’ The father said, ‘come I will teach you’. He took the child and put him on top of a cupboard, then the father said, ‘now jump!’ and the child jumped. The father caught it. And then the father said, ‘Why did you jump, it is dangerous’. The child said; ‘But father, I knew you would catch me’. That is a topic on its own, how we trust our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we treat Him? Is He everything to us, we may say that, but our life doesn’t show it.

When I speak about humility, I remembered my own brother. And I said in my heart, that man was ready to go to meet our Lord when he passed away. Why? He learnt humility, he learnt to bow under all circumstances. And today I say, Lord that is why you took him, he was ready. You saw from heaven that he is ready; he has learnt what I wanted to teach him. He has set an example for all of us who are left behind.

The Lord cares and looks after His children. In His Word He says, you are the apple of my eye. When we grew up, I remember how God spoke to us about the apple of His eye, how can we neglect so great a salvation? Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of a child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, and whoever welcomes one such child in My Name, welcomes Me. I agree with this word, I don’t know if you agree, we are all His little children. That is the other meaning of this word, we are His little children. Let us take courage and hold on to that. As His little children, He won’t let us down. He won’t let us be given over to the enemy, because He cares for us, He loves us, He wants the best for our lives.

If anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me, to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. The Lord Jesus is very, very clear. If a person is My little one, and if you attack that person, say a word against that person, the Lord’s judgement is quick. Do you see how the Lord fights for His children. He will never give them over to His enemy, except you indulge in your sin, you go back to your sin and love it, then remember the Lord cannot be united with evil and will turn His back on you.

So let us take heart, knowing this that nothing will happen to us that does not pass by the hand of Christ. And if we believe and live that, then the Bible says you can ask whatever you want and it shall be given to you, but it has this condition. May God help me, may He help you to take these child-like words, try it out with the Lord. Children, now you have heard today what the Lord Jesus expects of you, in your innermost being. Now pray that the Lord Jesus makes you like that. You are only a child once in your life.

And if you are not a child anymore, pray, ’Lord I want to be your little child so that my life is an example to others.