Title: The Faith of a Little Child
Contents: Ladies and gentlemen, we are looking at the beliefs we have. This is very important. Because we can receive God's grace through faith. Without faith, you cannot please God and you cannot receive God's blessings. Faith does not mean having knowledge of God. Faith is said to have the knowledge of God, that is, to know God. That's right. The essence of faith is to know God, to love God, and to trust Him with all your heart. Therefore, what is important is not the religious act, which is a form of faith, but the essence of faith: knowing, loving, and trusting God. If you have only the form of faith without the content that is the essence of faith, it is a fall of faith. The faith that knows, loves, and trusts God is the saved faith that the Bible speaks of. It is faith to enter the kingdom of God.
Through today's text, we would like to examine the nature of our faith. May the Holy Spirit give us all wisdom and revelation so that we may have the grace to understand our faith better. Look at the main text. Jesus was teaching a lot of people (10:1). After hearing the news of Jesus, many people gathered. I saw the words of Jesus and the power to heal the sick. The blessed parents brought the little ones to Jesus with the idea that they should let their little ones participate in the grace of Jesus as well as themselves. He brought them here with the hope that Jesus would put his hands on his children and bless them. The term ‘little children’ here refers to very young babies or infants who are breastfed by their mother. People may have been carrying it or carrying it. In verse 16, Jesus was able to hold these children.
The problem was that the disciples stopped and rebuked those who brought little children. It is not mentioned in the Bible as to why the disciples rebuked them. The important thing is that when Jesus saw it, he was angry. Verse 14. “When Jesus saw it, he was angry.” The Gospel of Mark emphasizes this fact. Indeed, in any case in Jesus' public life, it is difficult to find any mention of Jesus' anger except here. Therefore, we must not lose sight of the lesson Jesus gives us here.
Brothers and sisters, why was Jesus angry with his disciples? Mark 9:36-37. “He took a little child, put him in the midst of them, and holding him in his arms, he said to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes one such little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.” ” He told them to look at the little child and learn the heart of Jesus. Nevertheless, the disciples did not learn from seeing a child, but rather did things that were contrary to the will and thoughts of Jesus, making Jesus sick. Brothers and sisters, we do the Lord's work for the Lord, but if we do the opposite without knowing the Lord's will, we can hurt the Lord.
Being angry with his disciples, Jesus said something very important from the Bible. What did you say? Verses 14 and 15. Let's read it all together.
First, he said, “Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them.” And you told me why. It is because “the kingdom of God belongs to such people.”
Second, Jesus applies this to his disciples, us. Verse 15. “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will by no means enter it.” If we do not become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Brothers and sisters, what does the phrase ‘like a little child’ mean? What does “the kingdom of God belong to little children” mean? Does this mean that little children will go to heaven unconditionally? This will not be. We enter the kingdom of God only by faith. This is a truth that everyone acknowledges. Amen? Amen.
Following today's text is the story of a rich young man who wishes to enter the kingdom of God and obtain eternal life. This rich young man could not enter the kingdom of God because of his wealth. According to the words of Jesus in the text, this rich young man did not receive the kingdom of God like little children, so he could not enter the kingdom of God.
Through the little children, we can see that Jesus wanted his disciples to learn something related to the kingdom of God. What is it? What can we learn from the kingdom of God and the little children, the faith and the little children to enter the kingdom of God? What important secrets of faith entering the kingdom of God can little children reveal to us? What aspects of young children will reveal the mystery of faith entering the kingdom of God?
Brothers and sisters, let's look at Ephesians 4:14 before we give the answer. “This is so that we will no longer be children, so that we may not be driven and tossed by every wind of doctrine, falling into the tricks of men and the deceitful temptations of men.” Here we are admonishing you not to be like a child. Therefore, little children are not perfect. Nor is it that little children are innocent. It is something that little children have that reflects the character of our faith to enter the kingdom of God. What is it?
Young children, especially those who are breastfed by their mother, rely entirely on their parents for everything. The survival of young children depends entirely on their parents. Young children depend on and cannot trust anything else. You can't even rely on your own wisdom. They can't even rely on their own physical strength. Like a rich young man, he cannot depend on wealth. Only young children depend and trust only their parents. From start to finish, parents are everything to young children. You cannot live without your parents. It can be said that young children live entirely by faith only in their parents.
Dear brothers and sisters, the kingdom of God belongs to those who have faith who completely trust only God, like little children. The important thing here is entirely. Do young children rely a little on their parents and on what else? Nope. I totally depend on my parents. To believe in God is to be like this. The Rev. Henry Blackgarby, author of the book “Experiencing God,” says the same thing about the nature of faith.
1. We must risk our existence and love God.
2. We must submit completely to God's sovereignty.
3. We must experience God practically and personally.
4. We must be completely dependent on God.
Look. Think of young children. In order to love God, we must risk our existence and love Him. Otherwise it's not love. If we are to submit to God's rulership, we must submit completely. Otherwise, it is not submissive. Likewise, to rely on God requires total dependence. Otherwise, it is not a saving faith.
In this way, faith is total trust in the living God. In other words, you are betting your everything on God. All the people of faith in the Bible put their all on God. Not 90%, but 100% of those who bet everything on the living God. Think of Noah. Noah, who had never seen rain, told God to build an ark for the flood. Noah must have put a lot of time, effort, and materials into building the ark. It took 120 years to build the ark. Had it not rained, life would have been wasted in vain. From a human point of view, it seemed foolish. However, because he trusted God completely, he risked everything to build the ark. This is the character of faith to enter the kingdom of God that is required of us.
Dear saints, what is the state of your faith? Can you give up everything for the sake of God's kingdom? Can you trust and follow the Lord at all risk? Who could go this way? Is it difficult? Impossible? That's right. difficult and impossible. However, it is an easy path for those who have discovered the value of the kingdom of God through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It's an easy way to make a profit. Anyone who truly knows, loves, and trusts who Jesus is can go very easily. We, Adventist church members, I pray in the name of Jesus that all of you will become blessed saints who will enter the kingdom of God with this kind of faith.