In chapter 18, Matthew chapter
18, I don't have a message about a
bunch of frivolous New Year's resolutions. You can do that
on your own. But I have something the Lord has given me that's
a very serious matter for every individual heart, for me and
for you. Matthew chapter 18, verse 1, at the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And 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 heaven. Whosoever therefore
shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such
little child in my name receiveth me. But who so 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 were
drowned in the depth of the sea. That's reading down through verse
six. I don't read this last verse, the sixth verse. I don't read
this verse looking for ammunition. to shoot at those who've offended
me. And there's been a few through
the years, but I read it in fear, knowing that I've been guilty
of many offenses in my life. I cannot read this verse and
plead justice, and neither can you. I read it and plead mercy. I pity the person, and there
seems to be a lot of them, I pity the person who thinks they're
going to stand before the Lord someday and say, I am like I
am because of him or her, what he did or what she did. I lived
the way I did because of what he did or she did. It won't be
like that. No excuse will do. The privilege
we've had, the providence, the protection, the Lord has been
so good and gracious to us all. And He's been so faithful. And
none of us have any excuse for not overcoming in every trial
and every storm for His glory, for His namesake. Now in verse
3, The Lord says to his own disciples, except you be converted. And that'll be the title of the
message today, except you be converted. He's not talking about
being born again. He's not talking about being
regenerated. He's not talking about making the decision. He's
not talking about walking down the aisle or signing a card.
He's talking about a work in the heart, except you be converted. Had they made a profession? They
had. They'd left their homes and are following Him. Were they
not followers of Him? Yes, they were. But the Lord
says, there's a problem with you, boys, except you be converted. What's He talking about? Well,
I want us to back up into chapter 17 and get the picture here. what's going on in chapter 17
and verse 24, we read these words. And when they were come to Capernaum,
they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, does
not your master pay tribute? This tribute money spoken of
in this verse is not a governmental tax, not a political issue, but
it's a religious matter. It's the temple tax to be given
to the Lord. It was to be done along with
the numbering, the census. It was a half shekel temple tax. And it came from back in the
book of Exodus chapter 30. I want to turn back there. If you want to turn with me,
Exodus chapter 30. And read this. Started a long time ago. Kind
of like nowadays, they never do stop any tax. They always
just start another one. So Exodus 30 verse 11, And the
Lord spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the
children of Israel after their number, then shall they give
every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest
them, that there be no plague among them when thou numberest
them. This they shall give every one that passes among them that
are numbered. half a shekel after the shekel
of the sanctuary. A shekel is 20 giras, and half
shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Everyone that passeth
among them that are numbered from 20 years old and above shall
give an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more,
and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel. When they
give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your
souls. So it's a Haifa shekel. And this
had continued until Christ's day. And they came to Peter,
not to the Lord, and said, Does not your master pay tribute? It's interesting how many times
religious folks came to the disciples about something Jesus did or
didn't do instead of going to him. And this is one of those
times. And so they say to Peter, don't
your master pay tribute, that is, the token of honor to God? And Peter, of course, didn't
even think about it. And he said, why, yes, sure he
does. Of course he does. He wouldn't
ignore a thing like that. Not at all. Now, verse 25, he saith, Yes. When
he was come into the house, he was fixing to tell the Lord about
it. But the next statement is, Jesus
prevented him. That is, he stopped him from
saying a word. The Lord already knew all about
it. This is an example of Christ's
omniscience. He wasn't out there where this
took place, but he knew the question Peter had been asked. He knew
the answer Peter had given. You see, this whole setting is
not something unexpected that our Lord has to respond to. No. He's the sovereign. He's the
one who created the setting in order to say what he's about
to say and give the lesson he's about to give. So he don't let
Peter come in and tell him anything. He just starts up with the subject
and he says to him here, what thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth
take custom or tribute? See, there's that same word.
Of whom do the kings of the earth take customer tribute? Of their
own children or of strangers. Well, now the king's children
didn't pay taxes. They live of the tax money. The
royal family is exempt. And of course, in the religious
order, The priest didn't pay the tribute. He and his family
lived off the tribute money. So he's asking Peter, does a
king's child pay tribute? Or is it strangers, ordinary
citizens? And Peter said, it's the ordinary
citizens. Jesus saith unto him, verse 26,
then are the children free. You're agreeing with me. that
the king's son is exempt. What the Lord is saying, without
really saying it here, is that this tribute money is given to
God, and I'm his son, and I'm exempt. I don't need to pay my father
a half a shekel in order to please him. I do always those things
that please Him. I and my Father are one. I am
not just a subject in His kingdom. I'm the King. I'm God in flesh. He said all this without saying
it. He didn't say all this to Peter
audibly. He then says, verse 27, notwithstanding. However, nevertheless, lest we should offend them, go
thou to the sea, cast a hook, take up the fish that first cometh
up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a
piece of money. That take and give unto them
for me and thee. I'm always amazed at this verse
of Scripture and this miracle. Only God knows how that coin
got dropped in the sea in the first place. And it is the work of a sovereign
God who caused a specific fish to pick up the coin in its mouth. And then when Peter goes fishing,
it's this specific fish that's the first one he catches. That's
just too much for coincidence. Notice the Lord never said if
you catch any, he's going to catch fish. He says the first
one you catch, open its mouth and you'll find the coin. the
shekel. The tribute was half a shekel.
This was enough for two people. And the Lord told Peter, you
take it and give it unto them for me and for thee, for you
and me. Notice he didn't say give it
unto God. That's who it's supposed to be given to. Christ knew the
score. He said give it unto them. This
is such a great miracle. Really, there's two miracles
here. The disciples are seeing that Christ has a kingdom of
his own. They're seeing that he rules
and reigns in all of nature. He's exercising a little of the
power of his kingdom. I said there's two miracles. The first one was he knew about
the question Peter had been asked and the answer Peter had given.
He knew it without being told. And then this second miracle,
the coin from the fish's mouth. And with such authority, he never
told Peter to check the mouths of all the fish
you catch, if you catch any. No, it wasn't like that. See
if you can find a coin in one of them's mouths. No. He said, you'll catch fish, and
the very first one you catch will have a coin in his mouth.
Now these disciples, they're seeing something here. And they get to talking among
themselves about how great this kingdom must be. And they say, we're his friends.
We'll have a place in his kingdom. Some of us will have great positions. I wonder which one of us will
be the greatest. That's the discussion. That's the subject. They're really saying let's put
his greatness aside for now and talk about which one of us will
be the greatest. In the Gospel of Mark chapter
9 verse 34 says they disputed among themselves who should be
the greatest. It's not just a discussion, it's
a dispute. See? Getting a little bit elevated. In Luke's Gospel chapter 9 verse
46 they reasoned which of them should be the greatest. So it's
getting pretty serious with them now. It's a discussion. It's
a disputing. It's a reasoning. And they're
certain of some things. It's got to be one of us. We're
his main men. It's understood he'll be president. He'll be the king. It's understood
that. We're not excited about that.
One of us will be vice president. That's the thing we're excited
about. And which one of us will be the greatest? Well, look at these 12 men. Sinful, prideful mindset that
they would dispute and reason among themselves. who should
be the greatest. They all had a claim, and we
all do. I think of Andrew. Andrew was
the very first one named who followed Jesus away from the
Jordan River that day after he's baptized. Well, Andrew's claim
could be seniority. I've been with him. I've been
here from day one. And then there's Simon Peter,
always the spokesman for the Twelve. You know that. And his
claim could be superiority. And he really believed it. He
boasted that he'd be faithful to the Lord after the rest of
them scattered and forsook him. He really believed himself to
be somewhat superior to the others. really believe he was a notch
above Judas Iscariot, the treasure, his claim could be most trusted.
If you read on over toward the end of the Gospels, near to the
crucifixion and the betrayal, none of the disciples believed
it was going to be Judas Iscariot. They all said, Lord, is it I?
He's the most trusted Surely he'll be the greatest in Christ's
kingdom. And then there was the other
Simon, and there was Jude, the half-brothers of the Lord. We're
family. Surely we'll be greater and higher
in the kingdom than anybody else. And then there was John, called
the Beloved. leaned on Jesus' breast, that
disciple whom Jesus loved. Surely he's the greatest. So
they all had their claims. They all had their mindset, their
prejudices, their hang-ups, and they disputed and they reasoned
among themselves who should be greatest. Now look what Christ did. This
is how he answered their question. Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? Verse 2. Here's what he did. Jesus called a little child unto him, set him in the midst
of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted,
Become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Say, well, I've been in church
all my life. These boys is in church every
day. And the Lord said, you got a problem. except you be converted, except
you have a genuine change of mind and heart, except you have
a major attitude adjustment, which you cannot do for yourselves,
by the way. But except that happen, except
your thinking be a lot different than it is now, Not only will
you not be the greatest, you won't even enter into the kingdom. I'd say that got the attention.
Now verse 4, Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. You put a group of toddlers out
here somewhere in a room by themselves, playing with a few toys, a few
blocks, cars and trucks, and maybe dolls for the little girls. They'll play together. It don't matter to them if one
or two is black, one or two white. It don't matter. Don't pay any attention. If one or two is dressed nicely, two or three is dressed in rags,
don't pay attention to that. Not little toddlers don't. If one is clean, beautiful, another or two not
so attractive and dirty, Don't make any difference. It's not
an issue. They play together. Why? They hadn't been taught
that one is superior and another was inferior. They hadn't been
taught that. None of that stuff mattered.
But it takes grown-ups who think that some way, somehow,
I'm a little better than somebody else. And I'm willing to fight over
it. I'm willing to dispute. I'm willing to reason out and
explain to you why I'm in a little better shape with God than you
are. No, it takes hypocritical adults to do that stuff. That's where all the trouble
is. I deserve a position higher than you. I think I should be
greatest in the kingdom. That's where all the trouble
is. And the Lord pointed to the little child with no claim of
superiority, no jealousy, no ill feeling, no competitive spirit. And the Lord said, this one's
the greatest. Here's the answer to your question. He could have told him, your
only entrance into the kingdom, period, is the door labeled least,
not greatest. You remember the prophet Samuel
was sent by the Lord to Jesse's house to adorn a king. You read this back in the book
of 1 Samuel. He's sent not to select a king. God had already
done that. He told Samuel before he went,
I have provided me a king. Past tense. Of the sons of Jesse. I've already picked him out.
I've provided me a king. Now you know when he got there,
we know Jesse had eight sons. And seven of them were in the
running. Seven of them are campaigning for this appointment, this anointing. But number eight was the baby.
He was out tending the sheep. He wasn't campaigning. He wasn't
even a consideration among the sons. And I suppose the seven, at least
in their minds, were disputing this one and that one, why it
should be me, why I should be the greatest. But you know the
story, the one God had chosen was not occupied in his mind
and heart with being great, not at all. He was content as content could
be occupying the place where Providence
had put him, taking care of his father's sheep. He's just a shepherd
boy. And in his heart, it's all right
if that's all he ever is, is a shepherd boy. But he means
to be the best shepherd boy in all of Israel. That's what makes people great.
is being the best they can be where they are, instead of trying
to beat somebody out of a higher position. I want to give you two verses.
Turn back with me to the Psalms. Psalm 75. Psalm 75. I want you children to get this.
Y'all got your Bibles? All right. Psalm 75. And we all need this as children,
okay? Psalm 75. I want to give you
a couple of verses here. And this is about promotion.
We're all pretty interested in that, aren't we? Promotion. I want your children to get these
two verses, and this is something you can talk about in your class.
We all need to be settled on this. Look in Psalm 75. verses 6 and 7. The Lord says,
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west,
nor from the south. But God is the judge. He putteth
down one, and setteth up another. Boy, I want to tell you, to get
a hold of that, would put a stop to a whole lot of bickering and
jealousy and envy and politicking of adults on the job and in the
church and everywhere else to want to try to get ahead and
just believe God's Word that it's Him that gives anybody a
promotion. And it's Him that sets one up
and knocks another out. I could tell you stories that
I've heard. I could give you examples in my own life where
God has worked things to my benefit beyond anything I ever imagined.
And I praise Him for it this morning. Imagine how Christ felt on the
cross when they said, Save thyself! If thou be the Son of God, do
something about the situation you're in. Now if our Lord had
wanted to answer those mockers, which He didn't, He could have
said, I am doing something. I'm here in perfect obedience
to my Father. I'm doing exactly what I came
into this world to do. Oh yes. You see, he wasn't like
the disciples or us, disputing about who's the greatest. He
was the greatest and he knew it, but he never proved it by
trying to convince the world that he is the greatest. He proved
it by becoming the least, the servant, obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Oh, we try to get ahead pulling
in the wrong direction. In the upper room, the night
of his betrayal, John chapter 13, if you want to turn with
me a moment, John 13, these same disciples now, Peter the spokesman, John leaning
on his breast, John 13, verse 4. He riseth from supper, and laid
aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into
a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe
them with the towel wherewith he was girded, hold your place
right there now. This was the most menial task
of the lowest servant. Everybody knew that. But he never
asked one of them to do it. They wouldn't have understood.
They never understood that doing this never identified the least
among them. but it identified the greatest
among them. And then he asked him a question,
on down in verse 12. So after he had washed their
feet and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said
unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Do you understand
what I've just done? You call me Master and Lord,
and you say, well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master,
have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet."
Now he's not instituting a church ordinance here. He's teaching
a principle. For I have given you an example
that you should do as I have done. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that
is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things,
happy are ye if you do them. You want to be the greatest?
I've just shown you how. Practice being the least and
you'll be the greatest. Back in the book of Judges, there's
a story of a man, an humble man of the tribe of Manasseh named
Gideon. I love the story of Gideon. You
ought to read it pretty often. And his testimony was, I'm a
nobody. My family is poor in Manasseh. And not only that, I'm the least
in my father's house. I'm in a poor tribe. I'm in a
tribe in Israel that's not worth much. I'm in a poor family and
I'm the least in my family. I'm nothing. That's what he felt
in his heart. But he's doing his job one day,
threshing wheat. And the angel of the Lord appeared
to him and said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of
valor. I can imagine old Gideon looking
behind him to see who he's talking to. Thou mighty man of valor! Who, me? God made Gideon great by making
him small. He used him to deliver Israel
from the Midianites. In the New Testament, God would
say to the Apostle Paul when they called you Saul of Tarsus. When everybody thought you were
something great, a Pharisee, persecuting Christians, you was
really getting the job done. You was well on your way up the
ladder in the Jews' religion. Saul. When everybody thought
you was something, you were really nothing. But when I gave you a new heart,
when I showed you the truth, when I made you small and started
calling you Paul, which means small one, when I gave you an
attitude adjustment, a new heart, a new mind, attitude, that's
when I made you great. That's when I made you something.
And Christ our Lord taught this lesson often. In Luke 14, He
gave a parable, and He said to them, He said, now when you're
invited to a wedding feast, I mean, this is just little simple lessons
of courtesy that a parent would teach a child. You know, when
you're invited somewhere, you behave. And the Lord said, when
you're invited to a wedding feast, don't go stomping in. down the
front and take the best seat in the house, the most honorable
seat, right up by the bridegroom, said, no, take the lowest seat,
sit down in the back, and that'll work out better. Because he said
if you try to promote yourself and make a claim to being something
great and important, you're liable to be embarrassed. Bridegroom's liable to come down
and whisper to you and say, this seat is taken. It's reserved. You'll have to move back. That'd
be very embarrassing. But he said, you come in and
start in the low spot. This is Luke 14, by the way.
And he said, if you do that, he might come The bridegroom
might enter and come back all the way back through the crowd,
back to where you are and whisper in your ear and say, I don't
want you way back here. I want you up closer to me. Come
on up. Come on up toward the front.
That would be very honoring. Very honoring. You see, it's amazing. It's really sad. Most of us don't learn how to
live till it's about time to die. But I believe the Lord has sent
us this message and we can learn these things. Dr. Caldwell used
to say the way up is down. The way to live is to die. The way to amount to something
is to understand that in yourself you're nothing. The way to be rich in grace is
to be poor in spirit. That first beatitude, Matthew
5.3, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the bankrupt
in spirit. Blessed are those who realize
they have no righteousness. Blessed are those who have absolutely
nothing with which to recommend themselves to God. Would that
be you today? Blessed are they which have absolutely
nothing with which to represent themselves to God. No righteousness. Blessed are
the poor in spirit. Blessed is such a person. And
Christ continued, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Who is greatest? in the kingdom
of heaven. Except you be converted and become
as this little child, you will not only be the greatest, you
will not even enter in at all. Thank you for your attention.