Turn with me to Matthew chapter
18, if you would, this morning. Matthew chapter 18. Let's begin reading in verse
one. It says, at the same time came
the disciples unto Jesus saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? Now, this was not the only time
that this question arose among the apostles. In Mark's account,
chapter nine, verse 34, we're told that the apostles disputed
among themselves who would be the greatest. Recorded in Matthew
chapter 20, there was another time that James and John's mother
asked the Lord to grant her two sons to sit on the Lord's right
hand and on his left in his kingdom. What would lead men to ask and
desire such a thing? Could it be pride? None are excluded
from the clutches of pride. None of us are. What about self-righteousness? Each of them must have thought
that they were the greatest. In Mark's account, as I said,
they disputed who was the greatest, so they must have thought that
they were. What about covetousness? Each
one of them thought that they deserved to be the greatest or
they wouldn't have disputed about it. What about merit or reward? Each of them thought that they
had earned the right to be the greatest. How about self-worthiness? Each of them felt as though they
were worthy to be the greatest or this wouldn't have been an
issue among them. What about ignorance? That's why each of
them were asking such a question. They were ignorant. Now, I've
told you before that I'm not at all offended by the word ignorant
or being called that. I'm just not because it simply
means to be lacking knowledge. There are a lot of subjects that
I lack knowledge in, that I'm ignorant of. The disciples lack
knowledge and they lack awareness of who and what they were, first
and foremost, or they would have never disputed such an issue. They were ignorant of God and
who he was, at least to some degree, knowing that God would
not share his glory with another. By nature concerning spiritual
things, the scripture is very clear. We're all ignorant by
nature, lacking knowledge and awareness of spiritual things.
And we won't ever have any knowledge or awareness of spiritual things
unless God reveals the things of Christ to us. That's what
Paul said. He said, the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness
unto him. And they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2.14. And that simply means that natural
men and women think spiritual things are foolishness because
natural fallen men and women are ignorant. They're unaware. They lack knowledge and awareness
of spiritual things. Again, unless God and until God
reveals those things of the spirit to them. Paul, you remember talking
about his zealous friends among the Jews. He said, they have
a zeal of God but it was a misdirected zeal. It wasn't according to
what? Knowledge. Not according to knowledge. They were ignorant. The apostle
made it very clear. Paul went on to say that his
Jewish friends were ignorant of God's righteousness. How do
we know when someone is ignorant of God's righteousness? Well,
Paul tells us there in Romans chapter 10, he says, they go
about to establish their own righteousness. Anyone that does
that is ignorant of God's righteousness. And he said they don't submit
themselves unto the righteousness of God that only Christ can provide. What is man that God would be
mindful of him? What is a son of man that God
would visit them in mercy and grace? Well, I'll tell you this,
it's not anything found in them. It doesn't have anything to do
with their grace. Pride should be the thing that God's people
have the least of. After all, what do any of us
have that we did not receive? And how can we glory or take
pride in something that we received from another? That was Paul's
question, for who maketh thee to do for? What do we have that
we didn't receive? And if we received it from God,
how can we glory in it? I hear men and women say things
like, well, I worked for it. I deserved it. Well, who gave
you the air to breathe? Who gave you the hands to work?
Who provided the job that you have? Who gave you the desire
to work? Who gave you the health to do so? What do we have that
we did not receive? And if we received it, why do
we take pride and glory in what we have? The answer is ignorance,
sheer ignorance. Men and women by nature are uneducated
in the things of God. They lack knowledge in the things
of the Spirit of God. Now look at verse two. After
this question arose, Jesus called a little child unto him and set
him in the midst of them and said, verily I say unto you,
except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of God. Now it's interesting that
the Greek word for converted here means to twist around. to turn around, to reverse, to
go in the opposite direction. These are strong words by our
Lord. He said, except you be converted
and become as little children, you shall not enter into the
kingdom of God. So conversion is a very serious
matter. I would say a life and death
issue. I think it's first imperative to understand that all conversions
are not alive. All the results of conversion
are the same, but the methods that God uses are often different. All men are saved, yes, by the
preaching of Christ and Him crucified, but often men and women's conversions
are very different. If you read in the book of Acts,
the 16th chapter, you'll find three conversions recorded there. You find the conversion of Lydia,
You'll find the conversion of a demon-possessed girl, and you'll
find the conversion of the Philippian jailer. But they were all different. God dealt with them all differently.
They were all converted. They all entered into the kingdom
of God, but they all had different experiences. You know, Lydia
came to the Riverside because the town that she was in selling
her purple was too small. Wasn't enough people in the town
for there to be a synagogue there. And in the providence of God,
Paul was there and he that day preached to them. And the scriptures
say that God opened her heart and she was converted. And then
in the same chapter, Acts 16, there was a demon-possessed woman
that was following Paul and Silas around and just disrupting everything
that they were doing in their preaching. And Paul had enough,
and he cast that devil out. And her conversion was much different
than Lydia's. I picture that poor girl like
all the others that the Lord cast demons out of. I just picture
her being thrown to the ground rolling and wallowing as those
evil spirits came out of her. And then we have the Philippian
jailer a little later in that same chapter. And he was a man
that was troubled and afraid and came trembling to Paul and
Silas. You remember the story, God sent
an earthquake and all the jail cells were opened and this man
feared for his life. He was responsible for the prisoners.
And he comes to Paul and Silas asking that question, what must
I do to be saved? So we see all conversions are
not alike. And God sticks three right there
in one chapter for us to consider. The same results are always accomplished,
but God converts sinners in different ways. You know, our Lord talked
to Nicodemus about being born again. He talked to him about
a new birth, about the Holy Spirit quickening the heart without
any cooperation from the sinner. Our Lord didn't talk to the woman
at the well about the new birth. He talked to her about her sinful
life. He talked to her about her need,
her emptiness, and how he could alone fill it. And our Lord talked
to the rich young ruler about his idols and his riches. And
he told him, as we saw in the first hour, to go sell all that
he had and give it to the poor. Christ told him, take up your
cross and follow me. And that fellow went away sad,
brokenhearted. When the Lord talked to that
centurion, He talked to him about faith. He didn't talk to him
about riches, and I would dare say that that man probably had
as much money as the rich young ruler, but the Lord dealt with
him about faith. He talked to him about faith
and believing. He said, if you can believe,
all things are possible to them that believe. The Lord spoke
to that Canaanite woman. Remember her? He talked to her
about sovereignty and election. He said, I'm sent to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. It's not right to give the children's
bread to dogs. And what'd she say? Yeah, Lord,
I'm a dog. But even the dog gets the crumbs
off the master's table. So the Lord deals with sinners
in different ways. God deals with His elect at their
point of rebellion and their point of need. The Lord told
His disciples in our text, He said, except you be converted
and become as little children. Now, I want to endeavor to show
you this morning how our little ones, they're a whole lot like
God's little ones. A child is born of his father
and mother and are born in their parents' likeness. I can use
my own family as an illustration. Teresa and I have a son and two
girls. Leah, our oldest daughter, is
said to look and act a lot like me, poor girl. And of course,
Amanda, who's here this morning, is her mother made over. Leah's
got many of my mannerisms and characteristics and again Amanda
is her mother made over. Our son Andrew seems to have
some of both of us but I think you know what I'm getting at
here. Those that are born of God are born in the image of
their heavenly Father, in their Father's likeness. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. This is talking about being born
of the Spirit, born in the likeness of God, being made a new creation,
new creature in Christ, conformed to His image. Secondly, physically
and naturally speaking, a child is totally dependent on their
mother and father. Without the provisions of their
parents, a child would surely die. A child doesn't worry and
fret about where they're gonna get food, where they're gonna
get clothing, where they're gonna get shelter. They don't worry
about those things. None of my grandchildren worry
about making a house payment, worry about putting food on the
table. Their mom and daddy takes care of that. Everything is provided
for. A child doesn't work or earn
anything, and it's not expected to. Mom and dad gladly provide
for them everything they need. And spiritually speaking, friends,
it's the same for the child of God. It's the same for God's
little ones. The child of God is totally dependent
on their heavenly Father, whether they know it or not. Without
His provisions, we would surely die. And didn't our Lord say,
take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, what you
shall drink, nor for your body, or what you shall put on or be
clothed with? For your heavenly Father knoweth
that you have need of all these things. Well, seek ye first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be
added unto you. God will provide everything we
need in this life. You don't have to work or earn
these things. They're a free gift from God
Almighty. We simply cry, Abba Father, Abba
Father, you're heavenly daddy, if I can use that terminology. That's such an endearing term
to me. I still love to hear daddy. Your daddy will provide everything
you need. And we're dependent on our God
for grace and light and life. And a man can receive nothing
except it be given to him from above. Our Lord said, without
me, you can do nothing. And yet with God, all things
are possible. A child of God depends on his
father for everything. Everything they need and everything
that God requires. Thirdly, a child has no office,
no position, no authority, and no agenda. The only thing that's
required of children is that they grow in the knowledge of
their father and mother. Their father's will becomes their
will. Their father and mother's desire
becomes their desire. Don't you love how young boys
say, my daddy is stronger than your daddy? Or my daddy can whoop
your daddy? Growing up, my daddy was the
best at everything. And if you didn't believe it,
just ask me, is it not the same with God's little ones? All God
requires of us is to grow in the grace and in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus. His will becomes our will. His
desire becomes our desire. As we talked about in the first
hour, David said, this one thing I desire, all God's people desire
that one thing. And I tell you, my heavenly father
can whoop this world's father, the devil. My heavenly father
is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck me
out of my father's hand. Heavenly father, thy will be
done. Not my will, but thine be done. And a child has no self-righteousness
or pride, not a young child. They get along with other children,
red, yellow, black, white, rich or poor, doesn't matter. Children
don't have prejudice. They don't see color. They love
and get along with just about everyone. Lord, help me to be
more like our little ones. A child is ever learning and
full of questions. Daddy, why is the sky blue? Well, God made it that color.
Well, why did God make it that color? Well, because it pleased
him to do so. Well, why did it please him to
do so? And the whys go on and on. Why this? Why that? Children
are so inquisitive, but they're ever learning. And a child doesn't
have all the answers, but a child is willing and eager and anxious
to learn. That's just so, that's just so. More about Jesus would I know,
more of His grace to others show, more of His saving fullness see,
more of His love who died for me. More about Jesus let me learn,
more of His holy will discern, Spirit of God my teacher be,
showing the things of Christ to me. A child can be rebuked,
be corrected, and disagree with others, and soon get over it. Our young children don't stay
mad too long. Have you noticed that? They have
a disagreement with another child, and they cry, and they pout,
and they get angry. And before you can turn around,
they're happily playing again, as though the issue never happened. Totally forget about the conflict.
Oh, we can learn. We can learn from our children.
And friends, except we be converted and become as little children,
we shall not enter into the kingdom of God. You know, I was thinking
a child is happy and he's content with the simple things in life.
Doesn't take much to make a child happy. You parents know what
I'm talking about. You give the child an expensive
gift or a toy and they play with the box that it came in. Children
are certainly not impressed with the things that impress us. They
don't care what kind of car they ride in. They're not obsessed
with a big home and fancy things. Simple. Life is simple for a
child. The child of God is content with
whatever God has been pleased to give them. By nature, man
is never satisfied and content. When a man is converted, it's
his and her relationship with Christ that matters more than
anything else in this life. Paul said this, he said, I've
learned in whatsoever state I am to be content. Lord, teach me
that. Make me content in whatever state
I find myself in. Paul told Timothy, having food
and raiment, let us therewith be content. God provides us with
what we need. He provides all our need, not
all our greed. Paul said, be content with such
things that you have. For he hath said, I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee. Oh, having that promise from
God, should we not be content? These are the things that matter
to a child of God. You know, something else, a child
believes the word of their father. Whatever daddy says is true,
and you can't convince them otherwise. How many times have you heard
these words from a small child? My daddy said so. Children have
an implicit and absolute trust in their father. You know, a
child believes and trusts everything their father tells them. Most
of you men, once being boys, know what I mean. Well, I would
have jumped off a cliff if my daddy told me and promised that
he'd catch me. I've jumped off a house and a
building before and he caught me. I had absolute confidence
in his ability. I had complete trust in his willingness. I trusted every single word he
told me. And it's the same with God's
little ones. To be a child of God is to trust
him in everything. Everything. He is truly our all
and an all. He's faithful at promise. There's
no reason for us not to believe. We can have absolute confidence
in His ability. We can have full assurance in
His willingness. We can trust every single word
that He's promised us. Is Christ alone enough? Scott
Richardson used to say, He is if He's all you have. Truly our
heavenly Father and Christ our Savior along with the Holy Spirit
is God. and God is all we need and all
we really have when it gets right down to it. Now look at verse
four. Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom
of heaven. And we can deduct from the words
of our Lord here and discover that whosoever shall exalt themselves
shall be humbled and shall not enter into God's kingdom. Now,
again, the disciples were disputing over who was the greatest. But
those who humble themselves are the greatest in the kingdom of
God. That's what he said. Who's the greatest? Well, I've
got four grandchildren. Who of them is the greatest?
They're all great. Every one of them. All the children
in God's kingdom are great. Christ has made them so. God's
children have no ambition to be the greatest in God's family. Their greatness is in Christ,
the perfect one, the great one. There should be no jealousy.
There should be no envy, no ambition, no self-righteousness, no pride,
none, because they're all children, children of promise, children
of light, little children, he calls them. Our Lord said, fear
not, little flock, for it's your father's good pleasure to give
you the kingdom. God's children are chosen in
love. They're adopted on purpose. They're accepted in the beloved. They're heirs of God, joint heirs
with Christ. They're all under God's care
and God's grace and God's provision. You know, in God's kingdom, every
heir gets all. It's not divide this up and divide
that up, no. In God's kingdom, every heir
gets all. Christ is all in all. You see,
conversion is a change. It's a change of natures. It's
a change of masters. It's a change of motives. It's
even a change of manners. And again, children are completely
dependent upon their parent. That's what faith is. Aren't
we dependent on God? Children are modest. They're
humble. They're unassuming. Children
are sincere and honest. I remember one time getting a
new pair of tennis shoes, and I asked Abby Hibbs, who was probably
three years old at the time, and I said, what do you think
of my new tennis shoes? I wear a size 15, and these were
those big white leather type. What do you think of my tennis
shoes? And she looked at them just as serious as she could,
and she said, they looked like clown shoes. Children are honest. Children are honest. They did
look like clown shoes. Children are free of pride, and
they're free of envy. Ambition and children are quick
to forgive, aren't they? Oh, to be more like a child,
God make it so. Greatness in the kingdom of God
is the opposite of greatness in the kingdom of man. What is
highly esteemed in this world among men is an abomination in
the sight of God, Luke 16, 15. And look at verse five here,
and I'll begin to finish up. The Lord says, and whoso shall
receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Now
the Lord here is not talking about a little child like Iris
or a little boy like Leo here. They're easy to love and receive,
small child is. This is talking about loving
the unlovable. This is talking about loving
those that God has made lovable in Christ. You know how to get
on someone's good side? You love and treat their children
good. And I love those that love my children and treat them right.
I just do. You can't help but to love them.
The Lord says, whoso shall receive one such little child in my name
receives me. Look at verse six. But whoso
shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and
that he was drowned in the depth of the sea. Now, who's the Lord
talking about here? He's talking about his elect.
He's talking about one of his little ones. And he said, whosoever
shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in me. There's the key right there.
Do you believe in Christ? Do you trust in him alone? Well,
if so, then you're one of his little ones. You're one of his
children. Turn over just a few pages to Matthew 25 and I'll
finish up here. I'm going to read a few verses.
Matthew 25. And look at verse 32. Matthew 25. Verse 32. And before him shall
be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from
another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats. And
he shall set the sheep on his right hand and put the goats
on the left. And then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, come ye blessed to my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was a hungered and you gave me meat and I was thirsty
and you gave me drink and I was a stranger and you took me in.
"'Naked, and you clothed me. "'I was sick, and you visited
me. "'While I was in prison, and
you came unto me.' "'Then shall the righteous answer him, saying,
"'Lord, when saw we thee a-hungered and fed thee, "'or thirsty and
gave thee drink? "'When saw we thee a stranger
and took thee in, "'or naked and clothed thee? "'Or when saw
we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee? "'And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as
much as you have done it, until one of the least of these, my
brethren, you have done it unto me." Do you remember when our
Lord knocked Paul off his high horse on the way to Damascus?
You remember what the Lord said? He said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? Do you remember who Saul was
persecuting? He was persecuting God's children. The Lord said,
you're persecuting me if you persecute them. to persecute,
to offend one of God's little ones, being those who believe
and trust in Christ. Why, our Lord said, it'd be better
if a millstone was hung around their neck and they were drowned
in the sea. What a privilege it is to be
one of God's little ones, to be one of His little ones. What
a wondrous thought. Trust Christ as a little child,
for he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the
Son hath not life. May God be pleased to enable
us to do just that. Trust in Him, like a little child
trusts in his mother and father. Trust in Him who's blessed us
with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. That's where the blessings are
in Him.