Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, March 3, 2019 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 45 in Making A Difference Sermon Series from the Gospel of Mark JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN Mark 10:13-16 (NKJV) As we continue with our series of messages from the Gospel of Mark, please open your Bibles to Mark chapter ten. And let's read verses 13-16. MARK 10:13-16 (NKJV) 13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. I N T R O D U C T I O N Illustration: Back in 1989 when I first became the minister at Wilkinson Church of Christ (Pantego, NC) we only had five kids in the Church. As the Church grew we started getting more and more young families and in about eighteen months we went from having five children to having about 30-40 children. As our number of children increased several couples stepped forward to start a Junior Church. At that time we were in our old building which had once been an old school building built back in the 1840's. The walls of that building weren't as insulated as they are now so they didn't block out noise very well.
Well one Sunday morning after Church, one of the men came up to me and complained about the noise the children were making in Junior Church. He said it distracted him from being able to worship. The funny thing was this man usually slept through every service and the noise of the children never seemed to wake him up. The following Sunday morning I stopped preaching right in the middle of the sermon. I asked the congregation to just listen. We could hear the sound of 30-40 kids singing praises to God with all their hearts. I said, Isn't that music to your ears? Needless to say we never heard another complaint from that man about the little children. I miss that sound here don't you? I miss the sound of little children laughing and singing. I miss Children's Christmas programs. You will never hear me complain about little Trey back there making noise while I preach, because I have missed the sound of little children for so long that it is like a breath of fresh air. Sadly this is what's happening in many of our Churches today. Our Churches are getting older and grayer and the number of children is growing fewer and fewer. Do you remember that song we learned in Sunday School when we were kids? Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red, and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world. That song just affirms the truth that we see in our scripture text this morning. Jesus really does love the little children. BACKGROUND INFORMATION In Jesus' day it was a Jewish tradition for parents to bring their small children to a great rabbi in order for him to bless them and to pray for them. Some Churches today have Baby Dedication Sunday or Child Dedication Sunday and the purpose is basically the same as it was in Jesus' day, to ask for God's blessings over the children.
Well on this particular day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so that He might bless them. Remember at this point in His ministry, most people did not recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, they thought of Him as a great Rabbi or Teacher. We learn in our text that Jesus' disciples weren't very thrilled about having all these little kids around. Apparently they felt as though Jesus had far more important things to do than to spend His time pronouncing His blessings on a bunch of little children. Verse 13 tells us, the disciples rebuked those who brought them. In other words they scolded the parents for wasting Jesus' time with such a trivial matter as blessing their kids. Jesus quickly rebuked His disciples for rebuking the parents. He said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Now we need to understand that Jesus was more than just a little upset with His disciples; He was angry, very angry! His disciples thought they were doing Him a big favor by chasing these parents and their little kids away, but Jesus quickly let them know they were wrong, very wrong! In essence what Jesus said to His disciples was this: Little children is what the kingdom of Heaven is all about. Now what did Jesus mean by that? Well let me share with you three lessons we need to learn from this brief passage.
First of all... I. Jesus Is Teaching Us A Valuable Lesson About SERVICE 1. Ministering to our children is one of the most important services that we have as parents and as a Church. -When parents fail to minister to the spiritual needs of their children they fall grossly short in their parental responsibilities. -When the Church fails to minister to the spiritual needs of children, the Church's future is greatly jeopardized. 2. There are three primary ways that we as parents, and as a Church can serve the spiritual needs of our children. (A) We serve our children by EVANGELIZING them. The parents in this account cared deeply about the spiritual welfare of their children; so much so they put forth the effort to bring their kids to Jesus so that He might pray for them and bless them. While these parents may not have understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior of the world, they did understand that Jesus was a holy and righteous man, and they earnestly desired His blessing upon their children. As Christian parents we must understand that it is our responsibility to bring our children to Jesus. We must do everything possible to ensure that our children are exposed to the soul-saving gospel. This means when they are little, sit them on your lap and read Bible stories to them. And kneel beside their bed at night and pray for them and with them. It also means making a firm commitment to bring our kids to Church each and every Lord's Day and to teach them by example to be in the Lord's House on Sunday.
It also means taking advantage of opportunities such as Sunday night Youth Meetings, and Vacation Bible School, and Church Camp, and Youth Conventions and other Christian based programs. Our greatest desire as Christian parents and as a Church should be to see our children come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. (B) We also serve our children by EDUCATING them. When a child is born his or her mind is like a blank tape. Every child must be taught. Every child needs to be educated. In school a child receives an education on skills they will likely use for the rest of their lives such as how to read and write, and how to spell, and how to use proper grammar, and how to do math and many other things. A child will also get a social education. He/she will learn things from their friends and from their peers and from watching the example of grown ups. And we know that some of those things they learn aren't always good. But by far the greatest education a child needs in this life is an education in the word of God! It is that education that will form the foundation for this life and for eternal life to come. And who bears the responsibility for educating your children in the word of God? You as a parent first and foremost; and secondly the Church. Moses had this in mind when he told the Israelite parents, And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV)
Basically what Moses was admonishing every Jewish parent to do was to seize every opportunity possible to teach your children the word of God and the ways of God. Be creative! Fill your home with so many reminders of the word of God that your kids will see scripture everywhere they look. When I first became a minister my dad gave me a piece of advice that I have never forgotten. He said, Reg don't ever forget your responsibility is to feed the sheep, not the giraffes. In other words, always preach the gospel in such simple way that even a little child can understand the message. I don't know that I have always succeeded in that, but I know I have tried. We serve our children by EVANGELIZING them and EDUCATING them, and we also... (C) We serve our children by ENCOURAGING them. In Ephesians 6 Paul reminds us as parents, especially us Christian dads of the importance of encouraging our children. Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the LORD. We as Christian parents, especially Christian dads, must be cautious not to rule our homes in such a rigid and heavy-handed manner that we drive our children away from the LORD rather than lead them to Him. We must encourage them spiritually and the best way to do that is to lead by our loving example. The parents in this account were SERVING THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF THEIR CHILDREN BY BRINGING THEM TO JESUS TO BE BLESSED. WE TOO, AS CHRISTIAN PARENTS AND AS A CHURCH MUST SERVE THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN.
The next thing we notice in this brief passage is that... II. Jesus Is Teaching Us A Valuable Lesson About SALVATION Look once again at what Jesus says in verse 14... Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 1. The fact that Jesus invited the little children to come to Him implies that children need a Savior too. This is a beautiful portrait of grace. The little children come to Jesus just as they are. They have no merits and no credentials. They have no status in society, no great achievements, no great or noble deeds, no wealth. They have nothing to offer to Jesus that would make them deserving to come into His presence. The invitation to come into His presence was entirely an act of Christ's mercy and grace. Do you see the point? Do you grasp this great truth? One must come to Christ on the basis of His grace and mercy, and not upon any merits of his own. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9 NKJV) 2. There is another beautiful truth about salvation we learn here and that is this: When do most people come to Christ? When they are children, right? I came to know Christ as my Savior almost 55 years ago when I was just nine years old. I dare say that many, perhaps even most of you also accepted Christ when you were a child or teenager. 3. We have all probably heard ministers and Sunday School teachers talk about the age of accountability. What is the age of accountability? That is the age when a child understands that he or she is a sinner and needs a Savior. Well what is that age of accountability? The Bible does not tell us. There is no verse of scripture that says when a child reaches such and such an age they are accountable for their sins.
4. You see there is a period of innocence in the life of every child. Early on in life a child begins to learn the difference between right and wrong and the difference between good behavior and bad behavior. But at that age they don't understand they are a sinner in need of a Savior. In those early years of innocence there is no willful and deliberate rebellion against God. But if a child is taught the word of God in the home and if that child is brought to Church on a regular basis and is taught the word of God through preaching and teaching, there will come a time when that child begins to understand what sin is, and will come to realize he/she is a sinner, and that Christ died to save them from their sins, and the Holy Spirit will convict that young person of his or her sins and they will have the desire to come to Christ for salvation. That is the age of accountability. Some reach the age of accountability when they are six years old...some seven... some eight or nine or ten...and some by their early teen years. 5. Here is the point I want to make, please listen carefully! The days of our youth are the prime years to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those are the years when our hearts are the most fertile, and the most receptive, and the most responsive to Christ. 6. There are actually statistics that bear out this truth: According to a Gallup Poll: Nineteen out of twenty people who became Christians did so before the age of twenty-five. * At age 25, one in 10,000 will become believers. * At age 35, one in 50,000 will become believers. * At age 45, only one in 200,000 will become believers. * At age 55, only one in 300,000 will become believers. * And at age 75, only one in 700,000 will become believers. When I look back through my Ministerial Record Book over these past 42 years I see this truth. Most of the people I have baptized have been young people under the age of twenty one. In fact in these past 42 years I have only baptized one person over the age of seventy...only one!
7. What does this tell us? It tells us that as one gets older his/her heart tend to grow more and more worldly and less responsive and receptive to spiritual things. It also tells us just how critically important it is to accept Christ when one is young. 8. Do you understand now why Jesus was angry when His disciples tried to turn the children away? Listen again to Jesus response and I think you will see it in a whole different light. Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. 9. Many who are in the kingdom of God which is another way of saying many who are saved accepted Christ when they were young children. III. Jesus Is Teaching Us A Valuable Lesson About The SAVIOR 1. Remember back in Mark 9 when Jesus' disciples had been arguing over which of them would be the greatest in the Lord's kingdom, Jesus called a little child over to illustrate what true greatness is. In that message I told you that in the Jewish society of Jesus' day people viewed children as being at the very bottom of the social ladder. Children were treated as nothing more than a possession and were largely ignored by Jewish adults. 2. That isn't how Jesus viewed children. Jesus valued children! Jesus paid attention to children. Jesus loved little children! Jesus wanted to be near little children! Jesus elevated children to a level of importance! Jesus had a special place in His heart for children.
3. If Jesus were here in bodily form this morning, I think He would probably want to sit towards the back and hold little Trey on His lap. If Jesus were here in bodily form I believe He would probably prefer to worship with little children in Junior Worship rather than sit with the adults in big Church. If Jesus were here in bodily form I think it would bring Him great joy to work in the Church nursery. 4. The disciples thought they were doing Jesus a big favor by sending the little children away when in reality they were depriving Jesus of something that brought great joy and gladness to His heart. 5. Yes, Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world; red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. C O N C L U S I O N As we come to our time of decision today I want to remind you that whether you are young or old, whether you are lost or saved, JESUS LOVES YOU! He loves you so much that He willingly laid down His life on the cross to save you from your sins. Regardless of whether you are young or old, if you have never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you need to come to Jesus today! COME to the Savior, make no delay, Here in his word he s shown us the way; Herein our midst he s standing today, Tenderly saying: Come! Come to the Savior! O hear his voice! Let every heart leap forth and rejoice, And let us freely make him our choice; Do not delay, but come. My friend, the Savior is waiting for you; what are you waiting for? COME!!!