A Little Child Shall Lead Them - Kevin Presley

I want to invite your attention to the 11th chapter of Isaiah.

I'm going to read the first six verses as our introductory

reading Isaiah 11, the first six verses, the scripture says, and

there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a

branch shall grow out of his roots and the spirit of the Lord

shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding the

spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the

fear of the Lord and shall make him of quick, understanding in

the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the

sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his

ears, but with righteousness, shall he judge the poor and

reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

And he shall Smite the Earth with the rod of his mouth, and

with the breath of his lips, shall he slay, the wicked and

righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and

faithfulness. The girdle of his reins the wolf

also shall dwell with the lamb. And the leopard shall lie down

with the kid and the calf, and the Young Lion, and the fatling

together, and a little child, shall lead them, that will be

our reading for this morning. Before we take up an examination

of this passage, we're going to approach our father in prayer.

This. Beautiful prophecy was fulfilled

in the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah.

Jesus would Usher in an age of peace with the types of the Old

Testament. Fulfilled no longer would God's

people be constituted by a physical nation that would take

up Swords against other nations, rather, the spiritual Kingdom,

of Israel would carry the message of the Prince of Peace

to the world today. The Church of the Lord does not

conquer. Its Ettore and claim subjects by

violent Force, as an Earthly Nation.

Does rather the kingdom of Christ seeks entrance into the

hearts of men by the diplomacy of the Gospel are sword.

Is that of the spirit or the word of God as the Apostle Paul

Illustrated in Ephesians the sixth chapter, our weapons are

not carnal, they're not physical, but they are

spiritual, and they are Mighty, and our message is one of peace

and in treaty to the Yawns, who would turn their hearts unto

God? That's what Jesus meant.

When he said in the great Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the

peacemakers. Now the Beatitudes as we refer

to them are not merely a set of happy expressions or sayings

that are. Merely meant to be crocheted on

some piece of artwork and displayed somewhere.

They are great doctrinal affirmations concerning the

kingdom of Christ constraineth. Concerning the coming age, the

age of redemption, the age of the gospel.

And when Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers he's talking

about this process of making peace between God and men and

thus between God's people. And that peace comes by the

entrance of the Gospel into men's Hearts.

Now, that's why Isaiah pictures. The New Testament age here in

Isaiah 11 as an age of peace and Tranquility, that piece is Joy

between God and men and thus between Mutual Believers when

forgiveness of sins is obtained by the gospel but the phrase

Isaiah used in verse 6 to describe the kingdom of Christ

is the one that I want us to focus upon for a little while

today. He says a little child shall

lead them. That's a beautiful thought and

it's one that is packed with incredible meaning.

And I believe it's a gem of truth that our world.

Today desperately needs to hear, you know, God intended that we

all were work to train and channel the lives of our

children, their minds and their hearts are like pliable clay,

within our hands that can be shaped.

And molded, in fact, a parent faces, a very grave

responsibility when God places an innocent child and his or her

arms, because they're lays at Eternal Soul that will be shaped

and directed by the teaching that we instill.

And the example that we said, in fact, my friend, if you're a

parent, And you've never been faced with that reality.

If you've never allowed that to settle upon you that you now are

responsible for an eternal Soul. You have brought a soul into

this world and that soul is going to live forever somewhere

someplace. And where it lives forever in

large part will be determined by the actions.

The attitudes, the words, the type of training that you

display before them. If you've never faced that

Reality. Then you're woefully unprepared

for the great and Monumental task of Parenthood.

Solomon, said, train up a child in the way he should go.

And when he is old, he will not depart from it, Proverbs 22, and

verse 6. And so, it's our job to teach

our children. But today, there are a lot of

lessons in our children can teach us and I believe those

lessons are, some of the most fundamental principles of the

Christian Life. And when we think of a child, we

of course, think of innocence and Purity.

It's unfathomable to me how people can bring children into

the world and not immediately. Love them.

Jesus, certainly love children. And he used them often in his

ministry to teach some of the outstanding principles of his

kingdom. There was the time for example,

when some people brought a group of little children to the Lord

for him to lay hands on them and to pray for them, and the

disciples thought of that. As a, rather trivial and bother

something and rebuked, the parents who brought them, But

Jesus looked at it differently, he took time for them.

He said, suffer little children, and forbid them, not to come

unto me for of such is the kingdom of heaven, and he won't

even bother to say, verily. I say unto you whosoever shall

not receive the kingdom of God as a little child.

He shall not enter therein and he took them up in his arms and

he put his hands upon them and blessed them.

According to the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Mark.

Well, what a wonderful picture that is.

And our ridiculous. Does that make the calvinist

doctrine of total hereditary depravity appeared.

You know, I can hardly conceive of a Doctrine today that teaches

that babies are born in sin and depraved from their mother's

womb. A lot of churches, teach that a

lot of churches, teach that every human being from the

moment, they're conceived and enter into this world, they do.

So in a sinful, a depraved and a loss condition.

If that be the case, why did Jesus say in Matthew, 18 and 3,

Except you be converted and become as little children, ye

shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Now, the idea of converted or the word converted means to

turn. Again, Jesus says that you need

to turn again and become like a child in order to be saved.

Well, if a child is depraved and a child is lost, if a child is

in a sinful state. Then what sense would it make

for Jesus to tell a sinful and lost and condemned?

Man, you've got to turn again to the state of a child.

In order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Surely Jesus statement refutes, such a Doctrine, how can a child

lead us in righteousness, if that child is sinful and

depraved as John Calvin and his disciples suggest.

Well, the Bible just doesn't teach such an unthinkable

doctorate, the Bible teaches, the children are our pattern in

righteousness as I Say a said, a child shall lead them.

And actually this presents a bit of a paradox.

The New Testament scriptures are written to make us perfect.

In Christ in the word. Perfect means, complete or

mature. The goal of the objective of

Christianity is to become a mature being and a mature person

puts away, childish. Things.

According to First Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11, but yet

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

at the same time, the Bible teaches that we are to be like

children in other words to grow up.

Up in Christ, we have to take on the characteristics of the

child. Well, that doesn't mean childish

behavior, it doesn't mean remaining in childish ignorance,

but it does mean that we should have the heart and the spirit

and possess the righteousness of a child.

If we were to ever understand and embrace the great principles

of the church. So let's talk about some of

those principles today. You know, first of all, a little

child sets a wonderful example unnecessary.

Sample of humility. The Bible tells us in Matthew

18, and for whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself

as this little child, the same as the greatest in the Kingdom

of Heaven. Now, if you had to select from

all of the people of the earth, one whom you thought to be the

epitome of submission and humility, Wouldn't It generally

speaking be a child, you know, a child is typically loving a

child gets to light out of pleasing others.

A child is teachable. Oh, and a child is correctable,

but those things can't be said for a lot of people today.

Because man, as he grows, older becomes controlled by something

called Pride, he's dominated by his pride and there is not a

greater Pitfall for the human race than the vice and the sin

of Pride, it said that a very young Benjamin Franklin.

Once made the Statesmen, not the preacher that he wants, made a

list of the 12 virtues that he thought would lead.

The success in any life and he tried to select the Cardinal

principles that he thought would lead to Greatness.

And when he finished his article, he had an older

gentleman glanced over it. And the man took one look, and

he said, why bin you left out the most important thing of all

and that is humility. Well, he hadn't thought of that.

And he grabbed it, and he took his pen, and he quickly more to

satisfy the Old Gentleman than anything.

He jotted it down at the end of his list.

It was an afterthought. To him that day.

Now, you know, unfortunately, I'm afraid that it's an

afterthought to many of us. We all say that we admire

someone who possesses humility, we all acknowledge that humility

is a virtue. We would deny the Bible if we

denied such a fact but then we turn around and we fail to

recognize Pride within our own lives.

A lot of us are like Benjamin Franklin, humility becomes an

afterthought. A lot of us paid lip service to

humility. And in fact Let Me Tell Who's

that? That's one of the first virtues,

in fact, it should really be the top of our list and not at the

end of our list. I'm afraid that some of us get

into a mentality if we're not careful and I don't want you to

misunderstand what I'm about to say because in saying this, I'm

not minimizing anything on the list, it's all important.

But sometimes I think we get into the mentality.

That's a long as we're members of the right church and so long

as we have the table set the right way, and so long as we

sing the right way and so long as we don't do this, and we

don't do that and we don't do the other.

Well, that's what's really important.

And, you know, when we get into all of these Christian virtues,

when we get down to all of these things like humility and

controlling our tongue, and our attitude, and things like that.

Well, all of that's icing on the cake, all of that.

You know those are just signs of Christian growth.

Once we reach a particular point, we need to get all of

that other down and then we can work on that through the course

of time. But what I submit to you today

is that humility is a Nation not an afterthought.

It's not something that we arise to or that we attain.

It's the foundation of everything else because the

Bible tells us that pride is something that God absolutely

resist and rejects and pride will hinder a man from ever

really accepting and embracing the truth as God intends for him

to Dad David prayed, long ago, that the sacrifices that God,

accepts are those of a broken and a contrite spirit?

Spirit. Now friends that doesn't mean

the Salah is a person goes around and his self abasing

about everything that it doesn't matter how he lives and I

worshipped and so on. And that's not what I'm saying.

But I am saying that a man is never going to get everything

else right in his life until he establishes the foundation and

the premise of humility, the great Sermon on the Mount begins

with humility. Matthew 5 and 3 records, the

beginning of the Lord's. Sermon, as he said, blessed are

the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And simply put a man cannot serve God, so long as he served

so long as he serves himself. Jesus said the first requirement

for any candidate for discipleship is the denial of

self, Luke chapter 9 and verse 23 and the Very nature of

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Christianity demands such self-abasement.

The Bible tells us that God resists the proud, but he giveth

Grace unto the humble, James, 4, and verse 16, Solomon wants me

to list of six things that God hates.

Listen. Now, God hates these things.

And he says seven are Abominations or things

detestable in his sight and the very first thing on that list,

what do you suppose it was? Do you suppose that it was

murder? Do you suppose the first thing

that Solomon could think of when he was led by God's spirit to

say there are seven things that are Abomination to God and the

first one is hands that shed innocent blood of our session.

For example do you suppose the first thing God hates is

adultery or fornication or lying We'll all of those things are

enveloped and things that are Abominations to God.

Most certainly. But the very first thing that

Solomon says that God hates is a proud.

Look. Solomon's Pearls of Wisdom known

as the Proverbs renounce, the pride of man over and over

again. He says seest, Thou a man wise

and his own conceit. There is more hope of a fool

than of him. Proverbs 26, and verse 12.

Proverbs 16 and 18 says, Pride goeth Before, Destruction and a

haughty spirit. Before a fall, he says a man's

Pride shall bring him low. But honor shall uphold the

humble in spirit, Proverbs 29 and verse 23.

And on and on and on we could go.

God detest pride. And Jesus says, we will never

enter his kingdom as long as the love and exaltation of self

rules are higher. Why is that?

What does it mean to be proud? And why is it so antithetical to

God and to a life for him? Well Pride keeps people from

looking Beyond themselves. Most importantly Pride will keep

a person from seeing God and that's ultimately what pride is

or what it leads a person to do pride is the exaltation of the

creature above the Creator. And when a person is filled with

pride, they don't listen to what God says, they do what they want

to do. They subconsciously convince

themselves that they know more about it than God.

Does. They know what's best for their

life? And why should they let the

Bible interfere with what they want?

It takes humility. You see to give up the things.

We want to have or that we want to do in order to be what God

wants us to be and to do what God wants us to do.

Pride causes a person to put his own best interests before the

welfare of others. But the life of a Christian is

the opposite of that. The life of the Christian is a

life of sacrificing for and giving to the needs of others.

Jesus of course set the perfect example of self-abasement for

the betterment of others. The scripture tells us in that

beautiful passage in the book of Philippians that Jesus, in

coming to this earth, he emptied himself of all of the riches and

privileges of Heaven, to come here and live as a man and die

as a sacrifice for us, he emptied himself.

That's one of the greatest theological statements ever

made. The Bible says, in that context,

he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but he took on

the form of man, the form of a servant.

He emptied himself. And when that when the Bible

says, when Paul says, he thought it not robbery to be equal with

God. God really what he's saying?

There it is. He thought it not robbery

though, he was equal with God. to leave all of that behind and

because of your live as a man, Jesus, the object of worship and

adoration. Jesus Heavens, Jewel, Jesus,

before whom Angels bow. Left all of that behind to come

and be thrown amongst the sinful race of men who would hate him,

who would despise him, who it ridicule him?

Who was spit upon him, who ultimately would put nails

through his hands and feet and suspending upon a Roman cross.

He emptied himself. The Bible says and he thus

became our example that type of humility is what mischaracterize

any person who would be a disciple of his and Who would

follow him? He calls upon anyone who would

follow him to give up their own lives.

For the sake of his kingdom pride is what keeps people from

doing that pride is what keeps people from accepting the

teachings of the Bible. Some folks just can't admit that

they're wrong and they'll stubbornly persistent error

because they can't bring themselves to admit.

That what they believe what they've done in the past.

But it's sinful is wrong. Listen to Isaiah and the 66

chapter verses 1 and 2. Thus said, the Lord, the heaven

is my throne and the Earth is my footstool, Where is the House

that you build on the me and where is the place of my rest

for all those things have mine handmade.

And all those things have been saith the Lord.

But to this man, will I look even to him that his poor and of

a contrite spirit and who tremble?

If that my word That's the kind of person who finds favor in

God's eyes. The man or woman, who could

admit a mistake, who can confess they've been wrong, who

respects, the word of God enough to crucify their own willful

pride and simply accept and follow the Bible's teaches.

It was Pride that caused Adam to blame Eve in the garden for

their sin. It was Pride that drove came to

kill his brother Abel out of jealousy.

After God rejected his sacrifice, it was Pride that

cause Saul the first king of Israel to disobey God's order.

Has when God told him to go and destroy the amalekites, it was

Pride that caused him to blame the people under his leadership,

for his own sin. It was Pride that cause David to

cover his sin by murdering Uriah, and stealing Bathsheba it

was the, it was Pride that cause real Bowen to divide the Kingdom

of Israel. It was Pride that cause Peter to

deny Jesus and Judas to betray him, it was Pride, that led the

Jews to crucify him. It was Pride that led Dimas to

forsake the Lord for the world, friends pride is the greatest.

Entertained in the house and the soul of man and God detests, it

and demands. And to be cast out before he can

dwell in our hearts, Jesus said whosoever shall exalt himself

shall be abased, but he that shall humble himself shall be

exalted, Matthew 23, and verse 12, friends of child leads us in

humility and God, help us to have the spirit in the heart of

a child when it comes to that. Now second of all a little child

sets, a wonderful example of sincerity.

I don't know how you could find a better example of genuineness

that by looking at a child, Now with the child, what you see is

what you get and any of us who are parents know that all too.

Well, in fact a child is often so sincere and a child is so

genuine and open with what he thinks that he'll embarrass you

from time to time. Like the old story that you

probably heard along the way of the, of the parents who had

invited the preacher over for lunch on Sunday.

And after the service was over, the family walked by the back

door, where the preacher was standing.

And that little boy looked up at the preacher and he said, I'm

sure glad you're coming to our house for dinner today, moms

fixing chicken and she looked, and she said, well, I am not.

Where did you get that idea? She said well, I heard you tell

Dad I might as well have the old bird and get it over with.

Well the fact of the matter is children will sometimes be so

Frank and so honest that they'll embarrass you.

But you know, the fact of the matter is what you see.

Is what you get. That's just the way a child is.

Now there's no pretense with a child.

We learned that trait as we get older, few things are more

genuine and sincere than a child and his or her relationship to

others. But especially God now it may

not be the most eloquent but you'll never hear a more worthy

and heartfelt prayer than what falls from the lips of a small

child. They tend to express the real

contents of their little hearts. They pray for everything.

And they pray for everybody that they can possibly think of.

You don't just hear an endless stream of cliches, and guide

guard, and direct us. When a child, praise.

He pours out his heart to God. And, you know, that's the type

of genuineness that God expects us to have with him in our

relationship with him. The word sincere comes from two

Latin words that means without wax.

Now, we only use the word to talk about somebody's character

or disposition, but originally it had a much broader meaning.

I'm told that Woodworkers and other skilled Craftsmen use the

term to refer to their craft. And if a carpenter used wax or

something like it to cover up flaws in the wood, then that

would could no longer be referred to as sincere, if a

sculptor was creating an image and he used some agent to hide

or repair some mistake within his work of art.

Well then again that could not be called sincere.

Well today, the word essentially means the same thing but in a

moral seats Yeah. If something it refers to

something that is without wax or something in which there is no

cover-up, Nothing Is concealed or made to look differently than

what it really is. Now that's the way it is with

the child but how one true it is with us often times.

You know most adults are surrounded by a cloud of

pretense whether we want to admit it or not.

I briefly touched on the idea last night that we're very

careful to project a particular image of ourselves.

And that's all well and good. If that image is the reality.

But a lot of times we work very hard to project an image to

those around us perhaps our brethren in the Church of

something that we are something we claim to be.

When we're really not that at all.

We may come to church where the pious look on our face.

We may come. And so reverently sit and act,

as though we're also devout and so Pious and so devoted, and

then our lives be something, totally different as soon as we

need the Church. Building adults tend to be

surrounded by preteens. Well, you know, we never fool

God. God sees us for what we really

are. God sees the life.

We live every day and every moment of the day and beyond

that God is able to peel back the veneer and look inside our

heart, and he knows what we're thinking, he knows how we really

feel. He knows what type of attitudes

we have about things and about other people, and he judges us

according to that, God expects us to be sincere in everything

we do and everything. We say, for example, our love

for the Lord and for one another is to be according to Romans 12

and verse 9. Without dissimulation or

hypocrisy, you know what that means?

That means loving my brother doesn't just mean that I hug his

neck at the back. Door of the church building once

in a while and tell him. I love you brother.

It goes much farther than that. Loving my brother means.

I behaved like I love my brother.

I conduct myself in a way that shows I love my brother.

I genuinely love my brother to the point that I would do

anything for him and lay my life down for him, sacrifice for Him.

I love my brother. I have a genuine concern for him

and for his soul and I act out of that motive.

That's what love is love, is action, not just words And Paul

says our love is to be sincere. We're not just supposed to say.

We love God you tell God. You love him all day long.

God wants you to show that you love him.

God wants to see a life that's live for him.

Joshua told the children of Israel, long ago to choose once

and for all whom they would serve as the either the idol

gods of their past or the god, Jehovah.

And he told them to serve the Lord in sincerity and Truth.

According to Joshua, 24, and verse 14.

In other words, stop paying lip service to God, and give him

your heart, but that's exactly what they had been doing.

They've been paying lip service to the god of Heaven.

They were fickle. They were so easily distracted.

They were even given to idolatry and Joshua says listen in his

time now to be what you claim to me, it is time to either step up

and be what you claim to be or give it up, altogether, serve

the Lord, he says in sincerity and in truth God demands the

same thing of us today that was why Jesus soda tested.

The religion of the Pharisees. It was not and don't let anybody

ever tell you or bullying. Into believing that Jesus

condemned the Pharisees because of their claim to adhere to the

law of God. That was not the Lord's

complaint. The Lord never encouraged

anybody to disobey or violate the law of God.

Jesus kept the law of God. Jesus problem with the varices

was, they were living under this pretense, but they were keeping

the law of God and urging others to do.

So, when they really weren't keeping the law of God, they

were keeping the traditions of their elders.

They were keeping the Traditions that had evolved in Modern Times

And they were imposing those upon others as they were the law

of God. And Jesus, he didn't look upon

these men's Hearts saw people who tried to project themselves

as being Pious devoted, and close to God.

But yet, he saw that their hearts were Rockin.

He saw that, they were not sincere, they love the

attention. They loved all of the trappings

that went along with religion and their position within the

religious system of That day, but their hearts were not

devoted to God. They didn't really love God, and

they really didn't love the law. God, they were ignorant of the

law of God. They were Hypocrites and Jesus

had no greater enemies. Jesus, to tested that, more than

need to tested anything else and he detest it today when he sees

it in religious people's lives, you see people today who try to

put on a good face when it comes to religion, they show up to

church maybe on Easter Sunday or when it's convenient.

They make an appearance once in a while, they dress dress up in

their best, they put on a big show for others to see how much

they love the Lord. Question is, where are they?

The rest of the time? What are they doing?

The rest of the year? That kind of shallow and worldly

religion, doesn't impress, the Lord, it turns his stomach.

Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Matthew Chapter 5 and verse 8. He's not talking about moral

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Purity there. He's talking about sincerity and

genuineness and only the person with a heart that wants God and

His truth above. Everything else is eligible for

the kingdom of heaven and our children lead us into the

kingdom of heaven. By their example of sincerity

thirdly a child can lead us in the paths of forgiveness.

Paul said in First Corinthians chapter, 14 and 20 Brethren, be

not children in understanding how be it in Malice, be ye

children, listen to that again. Be not children and

understanding Howbeit in Malice, be ye children.

That's Paul's way of telling us that we need to imitate the

spirit of a small child in dealing with one another.

That just observe notice how forgiving and long-suffering of

child is Kids don't normally hold grudges and if they do it

won't last for long. Children can be playing

somewhere and they get into a fight of some sort and then they

argue and they may call one another names.

They may get mad and they may wrestle one another they may

stomp away they may stop speaking to one another for a

little while but it usually doesn't take more than a few

hours or days at best. Usually it's just a few minutes

and the whole thing is blown over and things are back like

they used to be There are times when we parents have to

discipline our kids, that's not a pleasant thing.

Your child May resent the spanking, they get or the

scolding, they received the punishment that you meet out,

that's natural for them to do so.

But, you know, good and well, it doesn't take very long and it's

all over, and they're all smiles again. and they want you to know

that everything is right now contrast that with the average

person in the church, You just see how far that goes in the

church today. You let some older person be

rebuked for some wrongdoing. You let someone be wronged in

some way by somebody have their feelings hurt by someone over

something and they'll hold a grudge sometimes for years.

I know people that will all the sudden, stop speaking to people

in the church because somebody said something or somebody look

at them the wrong way and they'll go for months and

hardly, utter a word to somebody in the congregation and you

don't even know what it's all about.

You don't even know what you did to upset them or offend them.

Listen, I don't care how goody-two-shoes you are and how

righteous you think you are, if that's your attitude and your

conduct toward other people, you don't have the heart of a child

and you don't have the kind of heart that God expects of you.

As his follower sometimes people Harbor resentment and Malice for

the rest of their lives. I've seen that over and over

again. Some people when they're rebuke,

all they can think to do is pull out their microscope and go

looking for the faults of everyone else, to turn the

attention away from them. Well, that's where a child sets,

a wonderful and much-needed example.

Jesus, not only forgave, he taught us to forgive also.

In fact, he went so far as to say in Matthew 6 and verse 14,

for if you forgive not men their trespasses, Neither, will your

father, forgive your trespasses? Let me tell you something,

folks. That's serious and Jesus meant

that every bit as much as he meant, he that believeth and is

baptized shall be saved. Jesus said, if you don't forgive

others, their trespasses, you can forget about being forgiven

by your father in Heaven. That's deadly, serious.

If we fail to forgive, we won't be forgiven.

Heaven has a mercy bank and how much we withdraw depends on how

much we deposited. And by the way, forgiveness is

not just saying that we forgive someone and then talk about it.

To everyone, we meet or holding their past offense, over their

head for years to come or treating them like a

second-class. Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven

for the rest of their life. Forgiveness is instant and it is

complete or it is not forgiveness.

And if you want to see what kind of heart God wants us to have in

that regard toward others. As watch how children forgive.

And lastly, a child leads the righteous in a confiding faith

and trust in our children, teach us some very important lessons

in faith. Kids, don't really worry much.

They don't worry much because they leave the things that bring

worry to us their parents. Children, don't typically worry

about where their next meal is coming from.

Kids don't typically worry about whether they'll have something

to wear tomorrow. Small children, don't worry

about having a place to sleep. They're not worried about making

the mortgage payment. They understand that Mom and Dad

are going to make that paper. And they don't understand

sometimes. When money runs tight, the

budget is thin, they don't understand when someone loses a

job or when some other catastrophe comes along, they

just have faith in mom and dad that their needs are going to be

mad. And in fact, they think that Mom

and Dad are an endless supply of resources.

You go to the store and walk them through the Toya Toya, all

if you dare do so and they want everything that they see that

they desire and they don't understand the value.

Fact that you first of all, don't have the money to pay for

that expensive toy and that you don't need it.

On top of that, they think that money grows on trees.

They think that you got all the money in the world, they think

that Mom and Dad can do anything.

And, you know, Jesus said that that's the way we should be.

Jesus told his disciples to take note of the limits of the field

and how God takes care of them. He then reminded them.

Doesn't God care even more about you.

Well, that's the kind of faith. We need to have in our heavenly

father, a child thinks his or her Daddy has the street and the

power to do anything. They think their mother can heal

all of their hurts. When they fall off the swing,

when they fall out of the tree house or they fall off their

bike and they scrape their knee and blood is running everywhere.

They don't come running in the house and say call 911.

They run in the house and say where's mom?

Because they know if they can get to Mama that?

She'll patch it all up. She'll make it right.

All will be well, well, do you know God wants to be that kind

of parent to us. Paul said, let us therefore come

boldly unto. The throne of grace that we may

obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need, Hebrews 4

and verse 16. Do you have that type of

confidence in God? Do you have that kind of faith

in him? Do you trust him in all of life

circumstances? Do you trust his word enough to

unbeli obey it regardless of what it costs or where it leads

you to follow? Do you have Supreme confidence

in the promises of God that he will do what he said he would

do? So that you completely healed

your life and you're all to him. No wonder.

Jesus said of such, is the Kingdom of Heaven.

You know? Children often try to be like

their parents They try to talk like them, they try to walk like

them. They go raid the closet and try

to dress like them. And in many ways, they imitate

us. But the question for us today is

are we trying to be like our child and that reminds me of two

prayers that were prayed Once Upon a Time.

The child had gotten into some sort of mischief and the father

had to punish the child. And he said last night, my

little boy confessed to me some Childish wrong and kneeling at

my knee, he prayed with tears. Dear God.

Make me a man like, Daddy, wise and strong.

Then while he slept I note beside his bed confessed my sins

and prayed with low bow. The head oh God make me a child

like my child here pure guileless trusting thee with

faith sincere. and while your little boy, or a little girl is

trying to be just like you May God help you to be just like him

or her. In the Heavenly qualities, that

God gave your child. Can you imagine what a wonderful

thing the kingdom of God will be at every place that is planted

if we had the heart of children? That's what Isaiah said, long

ago, this wonderful age were, the gospel would be bring peace

between men and peace between God and men would be an age

where even a little child would lead them.

We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

would like any additional information or you would like to

receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.

Please email us at info at True Church of Christ

Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays

at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our

honored guest.