All right, Matthew 18, verse
1, At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus the Master, asking, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? This is not the first time or
only time that this question arose among these servants of
God, these disciples. On one occasion, James and John
actually asked the Lord to let them sit, one on his right hand
and the other on his left hand, in the kingdom of heaven. And their mother even entered
into this request. Why do you suppose? Whatever
possessed these men led them to request such recognition, such acclaims, such reward to
be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, to sit on
his right and left hand. Pride must have had something
to do with it. Pride which led them to think
that they were more worthy than someone else. Maybe envy or jealousy led them
to desire to be ranked and recognized above others. Maybe self-righteousness made
them feel that they should be rewarded for what they had suffered.
Peter said that to the Lord one day. He said, I've left all and
followed you. What will I have? Covetousness. Self-worship. Will-worship. That's idolatry. But I think most of it is ignorance. I think that's the chief cause
of all these other faults and failures. Pride, envy, jealousy,
self-righteousness. The cause is ignorance. Ignorance
of who we are by nature. What we are by nature. Ignorance of His mercy and grace
and to sinners such as we are. David said, Lord, when I consider
who you are, what is man that thou art even
mindful of him? Who am I that you should even
look my way, take notice of me? Who should receive all the glory
and praise? He should. David wrote, not unto
us, not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name be
glory, majesty. But oh, the wisdom of our Lord.
Look back at our text. Verse 1, At the same time came
the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? And the Lord Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in the
midst of them." Now, this was not an infant. This was a little
child, a child old enough to be called and to respond. I'd say, and I thought about
this, about six or seven years of age. And a lot of things will
fit that particular age as I go along in this message, but that's
my guess. A child old enough to be called
and old enough to respond. He called this little child,
and this is most interesting. Here are these twelve grown men,
disciples of the Master, apostles of the Lord. Peter, leader, spokesman,
rock. James and John, sons of thunder. Matthew, he was somebody. He was a tax collector, former
publican. Andrew, he was a friend of John
the Baptist. Jude, someone called him the
courageous one. Nathanael, our Lord said himself,
in whom there is no guile. Philip, Thomas. Here are these
men, and our Lord calls a child, six or seven years of age, and
puts that child right in the midst of these disciples. And
He said to them, verse 3, Now truly I say unto you, I say unto you, except unless you be converted. That word is changed, turned
about in spirit and understanding.
It's an inward word, converted, changed, turned about. And become
in spirit and heart and attitude, and become as little children
toward God, toward yourself, and toward others. You need not debate about which
one is to be the greatest. He said, you shall not even enter
into the kingdom of heaven. How powerful. How convicting. how revealing
of what this work of conversion and regeneration is. And I might add, how powerful,
how convicting, how revealing, how impossible, apart from the grace of God. One of the disciples said one
day, well, who then can be saved? He said, with men, Impossible. Impossible. But with God, all
things are possible. This work is possible. Not only
possible, but certain. Because except you be changed,
turned about, converted, you won't enter the kingdom of God.
and become as a little child. Let's see if I can show you how
God's little ones are like our little ones. And all the way
through this scripture, when he talks about little ones, he's
talking about his little ones. Those that believe on him, those
who love him, those who are converted, they are his little ones. They're
his children. And let me see if I can show
you how God's little ones are much like our little ones. That's
what Christ said, like this child. All right? First, that child
was born of a father. And that child wears that father's
name and that father's likeness. They can give a blood test and
find out who a father is. And you can give a grace test
and find out who a man's father is spiritually. They bear the
likeness of their father, the characteristics of their father.
Be ye merciful as your father is merciful. Secondly, that child is totally
dependent upon his father for everything. There's nothing as
helpless as a child. A newborn colt or deer is not
as helpless as a child. A child cannot provide for himself
what he eats, what he drinks, what he wears. That little fellow
depends on his father. Well, our Lord said, why do you
take thought for what you shall eat, drink, and wear? Your father
knows you have need of those things. We're dependent on him
for grace, for life, for light, for all things. My father My
Father. I produce nothing spiritually. It all comes from Him. Who maketh
you to differ? What do you have you didn't receive?
A man can receive nothing except it be given him from above. And
we little ones know that. Thirdly, that child is obedient
to his parents. That little child, his will is
his Father's will. His will is his Father's will. Thy will be done. That's what
our Savior said. They that do the will of my Father
shall enter the kingdom of heaven. And then that child has no office,
no position to elevate him above other children. The only thing he has to glory
in is his Father. And that's what boys wag on,
is their fathers. Girls, they're mothers. Paul
the Apostle said, God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of my Lord. That child doesn't have any accomplishments. He hasn't been anywhere or done
anything, but his father has. In fact, he says, my father can
whip your father. And I know my heavenly father
can whip the world's father, which is the devil. That's our
glory in our Father. Then that child, you've never
known a child to have a self-righteous spirit at that age. They don't
feel holier or righteous or better or different from other children. They don't notice any difference. They play with and get along
with the high and the low and the rich and the poor and the
black and the white and whomever it might be. He doesn't feel
that he's better than that other child. And then a child is a
learner. A six-year-old doesn't know everything.
He's not an authority on every subject. He's full of questions.
Well, full of questions. He wants to know why, and who,
and where, and what, all the time asking questions. A learner. And so eager to learn. So eager to learn. So willing
to learn. Like one of our children came
in from first day in school. And I said to him, what did you
do today? We learned our colors. Tomorrow
we're going to learn to read. He was so anxious to get back.
He's going to learn to read tomorrow. So anxious. A child can be rebuked
and get over it. You've had to scold your children.
You've had to spank them. You've had to take things away
from them and rebuke them. They don't stay mad very long,
do they? No, they don't. They get over
it so quickly. And they kiss the hand that disciplined
them. A child can have a spat with
other children and be back playing the next day. but not grown folks. A child is happy and content
with the simple things of life. It doesn't take much to make
him happy. You might give him a priceless gift and he'll wind
up playing with the box. He's happy with simple things.
He's not impressed by things that impress us. A child believes the word of
his father. A child believes the word of
his father. My dad said so, and I'll bank
on that. When such a conversion, except you be converted and straightened
out inside and turned about and become that way, in reference
to the Heavenly Father. You're not into the Kingdom of
Heaven. Such a conversion is only by the grace of God. I know
that. Only by the grace of God. Such a conversion is found only
in seeing Christ. That's where he that heareth
my word believeth on him that sent me, and seeth the Son. I
see him as my all in all, see Him as my sacrifice and sin offering,
see Him as my advocate and high priest, see Him as my sustainer
and provider and my portion, see Christ as all in all, all
I need. One of our preacher friends said
recently, a sure cure for covetousness is to realize that in Christ
we have all. We don't need anything else.
We have Him. He's everything. He's my riches,
my happiness, my life. These that have left us in the
last few days have not lost anything. They've gained everything. Not
lost a thing. Such a conversion is essential
now. And people can make salvation
believing a doctrine, or salvation adopting a church standard, or
salvation making a walk to the front, or salvation in sacraments,
and ordinances, and baptisms, and creeds, and catechisms, and
put it in whatever you want to, but salvation is in Christ. And
it's by His grace to become a new creature. And I mean new. Old things passed away and all
things become new, changed. So he says in verse 4, whosoever
therefore shall humble himself, he that humbles himself shall
be exalted. He that exalted himself shall
be humbled. And whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, that's the one that's
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Because they're all great. All
those little ones are great. We have a family of three, four,
five, six children. And even they get married. And
their husbands come in, sons-in-laws, daughters-in-law, and then grandchildren
are born, and here you are with your quiver full. Children and
grandchildren. Who's the greatest? Who's loved the most? They all
love the same. Who's the greatest? Who's the
most important? None of them. They're all the same. They all
adored and loved and love each other. And there's no ambition. And what's mine's yours, and
what's yours is mine. Isn't that it? That's God's family. That's God's family. Jealousy
and envy and ambition and striving and pouting and it's just not
God's family. You humble yourself. There wasn't
anybody as proud as Saul of Tarsus. Arrogant. He said, I'm a Hebrew
of Hebrews. I was born of the tribe of Benjamin,
I exceeded many my equals concerning the law, I was blameless concerning
zeal, I was a Pharisee, just name him, that's me," he said.
But God did something for him. He said, I count all that but
lost, but dumb. And now regarding his office,
he said, I'm not worthy to be an apostle. And regarding his
righteousness, he said, he died for sinners of whom I'm chief.
And regarding other believers, he says, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. And regarding personal holiness,
he said, the things I would do, I don't do, and the things I
wouldn't do, I do. Oh, wretched man that I am. And regarding his works, he said,
I labored more abundantly than all of them. Yet not I, but Christ
in me. Regarding his knowledge, oh,
that I may know him. and the power of his resurrection.
Regarding his reward, he said, there's laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, and not for me only, but for
all them that love him. And he said, my reward is to
see you in his presence. You see, greatness in the kingdom
of heaven is the opposite of greatness in the kingdom of men.
Just take whatever is opposite. Whatever is highly esteemed among
men is an abomination to God. That's what Christ said. Whatever
is highly esteemed and sought after and acclaimed among men
is an abomination to God. Now watch the next verse, and
I've got the verse 5, move along. And whoso shall receive one such
little child in my name receives me. And you're not talking about
this little fellow. They're easy to receive. You
know, I mean, nothing is as sweet as a child, or as compelling,
or as heart-moving. But he's talking about receiving
his little ones. Whoso receives his little ones,
you see, They're children of God. I can apply this to you
and to me. Those who love my children are
special to me. And those who love your children
are special to you. And he says, when you do it to
one of my children, you do it to me. When you receive one of
my little ones in Christ, who is loved by the Father and one
with the Son, those who receive them receive me. Those who love them love Me.
Matthew 25. Turn over here a moment. Matthew
25, verse 34. Then shall the king say to them
on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Boy, I was hungry,
and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked,
and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.
I was in prison, and you came to me. And then shall the righteous
answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When did we see you a stranger, and took you in? Or naked, and
clothed you? When did we ever see you sick,
and in prison, and came to thee? And the king shall answer and
say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it
to me." And that's what he's saying here in verse 5 of Matthew
18. You receive one such little one,
believer, child of God, in my name, you receive me. When Saul was on the road to
Damascus and our Lord stopped him, arrested him, he said, Saul,
why do you persecute me? Who was Saul persecuting? His
children. He said, you're persecuting me. And that's what he says in verse
6 now of Matthew 18. And whosoever shall offend one
of these little ones, which believe in me. It tells
us who he's talking about. This little child, six or seven
years of age, a child in physical form, he's
not talking about, he's talking about his children who believe
on him. You convert and you become as
his little one. And if you offend one of these
little ones, it was better for you that a millstone were hanged
there about your neck and you were drowned in the depths of
the sea. You say, that's harsh language.
Well, I've seen some of you when somebody offended one of your
little ones. Ooh, I saw the Irish come up. That's right. And God has some Irish when you
deal with His little ones. Offenses must come. Look at verse
7. I know that. We're going to have,
in the world, you'll have tribulation woe unto the world because of
offenses. There's going to be troubles,
and it must needs be that offenses come, and God's children are
going to have to suffer for the sake of the gospel. But woe unto that man by whom
the offense cometh. Oh, woe unto the person who deliberately
hurts God's children. So verse 8 and 9, many of you
might have had trouble with that. Years gone by, but just stay
on the subject. Wherefore, if your hand or your
foot causes you to offend, cut them off and cast them from
thee. It is better for thee to enter into life, halt, or remain,
rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into hell,
everlasting fire. God doesn't teach mutilation
of the body. That wouldn't help a fellow anyway.
Cut his arm off, or pluck his eye out. But what is he saying? If you're an offensive person,
if you hurt people, God's people especially, and wound them, stop. Cease. No matter how dear something
is to you, be done with it rather than offend God's children and
God's gospel. Whatever. Whatever is causes you to offend,
no matter how much a part of you it is, get rid of it. No
matter how important it is, get rid of it. You see, a right hand
is so important, or an eye is so important, but not important
enough to perish. And we may have a vocation that
is so important to us, It's not important enough to die, to perish
for it. We may have a circle of friends. We may have a hobby. We may have
a personality or whatever that causes us to offend and be offensive
to the gospel, to God's children, to God's church. Nothing is that important, whatever it is. Nothing is that important. There's
nothing as important as a right relationship with God, with Christ. I've had people tell me, you
know, I just have to stay where I am
because I've got to make a living. No. No, you don't either. You've got to die and meet God. Whatever in life is just, like
the man said, I've got a farm, I've got to go work it. I can't
follow you. I've done this. I've got to do
this. Well, that's what he's saying
here. Offenses come, these things,
but don't be one of them. seems like to you that you can't
do without, yet causes you to have a bad relationship with
the gospel, with Christ, with His people. Be done with it. Cut it out. And verse 10, watch
this, "...take heed that you despise not one of these little
ones." You see, their gospel is a part of them. Their gospel. their Christ, their Bible, their
worship. I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven. We have angels, guardian angels. The scripture says that the angels
are sent to be ministries to those who are heirs of salvation.
And He'll give His angels charge over thee, lest thou dash thy
foot against a stone. The angels of God protect the
people of God from principalities and powers and things against
which we wrestle, not flesh and blood, but principalities and
powers and dominions and rulers of the darkness. The angels defend
us, and they're constantly before our Heavenly Father. And if such
an excellent creature as an angel of God, who is always before
the face of God, are ministers and guardians of these little
ones, who am I to offend them? Who am I to be their enemy? And hurt them? Take heed now
that you don't despise these believers, Be careful. Be careful that you don't despise
their gospel and despise them and say hurtful things, speaking
against the gospel of God's grace. Be careful. Their angels do always
behold the face of my Father. Verse 11, For the Son of Man
came into this world to save those little ones. That's why
He came. and perfectly obeyed the law and went to the cross,
enabling God to be just and justify these little ones. That's why
He came. Because His sheep was lost. And that's when He said, how
think ye? Think ye a man have a hundred sheep and one of them's
gone astray? One of these little ones, how
long would you hunt a child? You say, well, I've got five
others. Hold on here now. If one of them's lost, I can't think of anything that
would be more heartbreaking than a child lost. And He says He
leaves the 99 and goes into the mountains, and goes into the
wilderness, and goes to the cross, and goes wherever He has to go
to seek Him, if so be that He find it. And He will. I say unto
you, there's rejoicing More of that lost sheep than of 99 that
went not astray. Even so, now watch this. It's not the will of your Father
in heaven that one of these little ones perish. It's not the will. I know the will of my Father.
This is the will of my Father that sent me, that of all He
had given me, I'll lose nothing. Not a one. that raise him up
at the last day. And God is long-suffering to
usward, His sheep, His little ones, not willing that any should
perish, but all should come to repentance, and they will, every
one of them. It is not the will. Isn't this
comforting? Doesn't this strengthen your
heart regarding yourselves and one
another? And those to whom we said farewell,
it's not the will of your Father in heaven that one of them perish. He'll gather his loved ones home,
all of them. That's a promise. By His grace, my desire, and
for you and for me, is that we might dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. I'll be satisfied when I wake
with His likeness." What a comfort. All right, 268. How firm a foundation. You saints
of the Lord is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.