Luke Week 16 • Luke 17-18:34

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Well, good morning.

If you've got your Bibles with you, go ahead and open them up to Luke chapter 18 is where

Luke 18 · chapter mention

we're going to be this morning.

As we've been kind of working our way through the gospel of Luke since Christmas, we've been

not going through necessarily verse by verse, but making sure we're strategic and focusing

in on several passages.

And so as you, have you been navigating through this journey with us, you'll see if you kind

of look ahead into chapter 19, that next week where we're going to find ourselves is the

triumphal entry that Jesus is getting closer and closer to approaching Jerusalem, which

means the cross is more, is nearer than it was before as his ministry is culminating and

as he's heading there.

And so what we're going to notice and see is not that Jesus has been soft before because

he hasn't, but he's loosening the filter a little bit of what he's saying and the impact

and being a little bit more blunt in his teaching.

And we're going to see that in three verses that we're going to look at this morning.

Luke 18, we'll start reading at verse 15 in just a moment.

Before we do that, though, let's go to the Lord in prayer.

God, I thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to be gathered in here together.

Lord, I thank you that we have the opportunity to sing songs to you.

Lord, that we have an opportunity to open your word.

And Lord, I pray that as we study this morning, as I share, Lord, as we read, as we pray, Lord,

that you would open hearts and open minds to hear your message, Lord, and that we would

be transformed more and more into the image of Christ, Lord, and that that is who we would

radiate and what people would see and what they would come to know simply, Lord, by being

near us, by hearing the words that we speak and seeing the actions that we share.

And so, Lord, I thank you for every individual that is in here.

Lord, as we're just going to be reminded in your words and here in just a moment, Lord,

we are so grateful for our children who are gathered right now as well, worshiping you,

studying your word, offering prayers, and maybe just maybe, Lord, maybe one or few or many right

now in this moment could come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and we'll celebrate

you for it.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

What Jesus is, he's loosening that filter a little bit, speaking bold words.

What we're going to notice today is Jesus is really going to kind of go counterculture.

And Jesus is going to go counterculture, not with the Pharisees that we're kind of used

to, where we're used to the Pharisees saying or doing something, and Jesus stepping in and

going, hold up, time out, that's not what you're going to do.

But what we're going to see here this morning is that Jesus is going to do that with the

disciples.

Jesus is going to go to those who should get it, those who should know, those who've been

encountered this, go, hold up, time out, you're missing it.

Let me correct you and set you on the path that you need to understand as he's headed in

his obedience toward Jerusalem.

So let's start reading Luke 18, verse 15.

Luke 18:15

It says, now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them.

And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked him.

But Jesus called them to him saying, let the children come to me and do not hinder them

for such belongs the kingdom of God.

Verse 17, truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall

not enter it.

All right.

Now, this is the passage, these three verses, what we're going to look at this morning.

And if we're not careful, we'll only see the children as the illustration.

And now we're going to do that at the end of the message.

We're going to take like the back half and understand this illustration that Jesus is giving us.

But if we're not careful, that's the entirety of the message is the illustration.

But verse 16 is something that we also need to see as well.

And what Jesus is going to do is establish the value of children for the disciples to understand.

Now, remember, the disciples are going to be the church planners.

The disciples are going to be the ones carrying on and moving forward in the mission of God

when Jesus ascends into heaven.

They're going to be the one filling the streets of Jerusalem and going out all over Europe,

North Africa, the Middle East, and some all the way even to as far as India

and carrying and proclaiming the gospel.

And so as Jesus corrects or rebukes those disciples,

like he here establishes like, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

These are God's creation too, equally made in the image and likeness of God as you have.

And so we've got to understand the value of children.

And it's what comes out in these first two verses that we read.

Now, Jesus is a known person and people flock to him.

When people hear that Jesus is coming into town,

that for some of them he is a spectacle that they must see.

They've heard stories and they want to find out who he is for themselves,

maybe not necessarily for salvation, but for other reasons.

Jesus is a known person.

He's known as a healer.

I mean, just imagine if you've gotten word that there's this man who has brought dead people back to life,

that is called blind people to see again,

that is literally walked up to people who have been paralyzed,

who have been lame their entire life.

And Jesus says, get up and go.

And they stand themselves up,

not with weak legs anymore,

but with the full strength that an adult would have.

And immediately they begin to walk.

You'd be like, man, I need to check that out.

Like, he's coming to town.

Like, he can do things that normal people can't do,

even if you don't think he's the Messiah.

There's some things about him.

You're like, I got to check this out.

So people flock to him.

Also, Jesus is a teacher that's different than the norm.

All right?

Now, every so often, I feel like, politically speaking,

what kind of happens in our country,

regardless of what side that you may fall on,

is that there's someone who comes out in your political party

who kind of goes a little bit counter against

and maybe speaks into an area that you're like,

oh, I like that.

I want to hear some more about that.

And so we dive into that.

Like, the first time that I can remember that happening,

I don't know if you remember this,

was when the Ross Perot thing happened, right?

And so Ross Perot came and people were like,

whoa, that's some things that I like.

Let's go find this out and hear more of what he has to say.

Well, there's kind of been that movement within Christ as well.

In Jesus' ministry, he's a teacher

that's going a little bit different than the norm.

And so people hear he's coming into town, right?

Like, they can't get on YouTube and watch him.

He's here.

Let me go find out what he has to say.

He's also done some things that are different

that would have caused specifically different groups of people

to feel like, man, that's someone I can approach.

One of the things that maybe we don't emphasize enough,

but we need to,

is Jesus not just including,

but Jesus welcoming and valuing women.

And it's been the case throughout Scripture

of what God does and how God works and God moves

as men and women both made in the image of God

in the Imago Dei.

And so Jesus' teaching is like,

no, no, I know before this was only like for guys,

but ladies, like you can come forward too.

And we see in his ministry and those that are surrounding him

that his inner circle is not just men,

but his inner circle is women as well.

And then on a whole other side,

the group of people, both men and women,

who have been excluded,

you got to think there's people who are sinners,

who have been culturally established,

that they're not the norm and they can't come.

And Jesus says, no, no, no, no, I welcome you.

So as Jesus walks into these towns

until he says things that makes people mad

and causes them to scramble,

a lot of these people are like,

no, he heals dead people, he welcomes sinners,

he welcomes women, he's going counterculture.

Man, I wanna hear what he has to say.

He's kind of got like this phenomenon

that is following him.

And so what we see here is that as Jesus enters

into this town, as he's teaching,

there are people who are hearing this buzz about who he is.

And so they're like, let's bring our babies to him, right?

Let's get close to him.

And literally what they're doing is as Jesus passes by,

when Jesus sits down to teach,

they're like, hey, hold my baby.

Hold him.

That by you holding and touching my child,

that my child might be blessed.

Now, not because he's the savior, right?

That's not their motive,

but because of what they may believe him to be,

whether he is that or not.

And the disciples see this happening.

And the disciples are like, no, we got an agenda.

We got things to do.

We got people of importance.

We got people of value, right?

The disciples are more maybe used to the ladies coming forward

and the sinners coming forward,

but babies, what is this?

And so if the movement for them,

if this movement is gonna happen, right?

Like it won't be because of toddlers and babies, Jesus.

Let's clear these out from where you are.

But look back at verse 16.

But Jesus called to him saying,

let the children come to me.

Do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Now, at this point, Jesus isn't giving us the illustration.

Jesus is placing value on kids right there in that moment.

So the illustration is gonna come in the next breath.

But right now, who are you to stop a child from coming to me?

In fact, clear the way, bring on the babies, right?

This is Jesus's ministry.

This is his life.

This is who he is.

And so a couple of things before we kind of dive

into the illustration of this,

I want us to understand that children need to come to Jesus.

And as a church, as adults,

as men and women who say we're mature in our faith,

we need to make sure that we understand that

and that we implement that and that we don't fall.

Parents, listen to me,

children's ministry workers,

or those of you who are hearing this

who should be serving in children's ministry,

but you're not, right?

Listen to this, okay?

The Bible is not just for good moral teaching

so that our kids will behave.

It's not that for you.

It's not that for them.

So many times when we sit down with our kids,

we just want to take the Bible

and help our kids be more respectful.

Not that it's a bad thing.

It's a good thing.

There are these lessons that we can take from

and that we can learn.

But the root of all of this, right,

is the proclamation of the gospel.

Jesus says,

let them come to me,

for such belongs the kingdom of God.

That is what Jesus wants to focus in on,

is that as they come to me,

here's what they can gain.

Not right behavior,

but the kingdom of God.

And so for us,

if we value children the way that we say

that we value children,

the importance of what we need to do

is sit down and proclaim the kingdom of God.

I had a parent call me a few weeks ago.

So on a weeknight,

and my phone started to ring,

and I was sitting down to eat some dinner.

And answered,

and he said,

hey, but I just want to tell you something

that happened in kids' ministry this week.

I'm like, all right.

He said,

my daughter on the ride home

says to me,

daddy,

do you know who Jesus is?

And he said,

yeah.

Who do you think Jesus is?

And his younger than preschool age daughter

begins to lay out an explanation of the gospel.

Of who Jesus is,

of what Jesus came to do,

of what Jesus did,

of what Jesus asked from us,

and what it looks like

when a life is repented before God.

And his statement to me at the end of that

was thank you for not babysitting my kids,

but thank you for sharing the gospel with them.

Children should come to Jesus,

and we need to push that through.

But also the second thing,

church,

don't be like the disciples here.

Don't hinder children

from coming to Jesus.

Don't dismiss the value,

the truth,

of what children

and children's ministry means

in the engagement

of the body of Christ.

Because Jesus says,

for to such

belongs

the kingdom.

So as important

as this is right now,

as important

as this is

what we're doing,

right?

As that

fifth grade

small group leader

sits down

with that group of kids

and imparts

the gospel,

it's of equal value

that's there.

And we

as a group of people,

we as the body

of Christ

should engage

in that.

And so my concern

for us this week

is that we would just

slide through

verse 15

and verse 16

and land on

verse 17

but miss

what Jesus

is laying out

in here

as the value

of children,

the continual

proclamation

of the gospel.

But let's jump now

and look back

at verse 17.

The illustration

that Jesus

is going to give.

Jesus says,

truly I say to you,

whoever does not

receive the kingdom

of God

like a child

shall not

enter it.

Now,

we've got to pause

here for a second

because Jesus

gives us a qualifier.

Jesus says,

hey,

look at yourself

here for a moment.

Look at the people

who say they want

to be a part of this.

Here's what it needs

to look like.

Whoever does not

receive the kingdom

of God

like a child

shall not

enter it.

Not might not

enter it

but shall not.

Jesus speaks

to a definite

motive here

of what he is

seeking for them

to understand.

There's got to be

a faith

like a child,

a response

like a child

and what will even

look like continual

fruit like a child

in order to enter

into the kingdom

of God.

Now,

the difficulty

for you and I

in this world

is there's going

to be sinful

tendencies

that you and I

face on a day-in,

day-out basis

that prevent us

from being childlike.

Right?

Now,

there are sinful

tendencies that cause

us to be childlike

but there's also

sinful tendencies

that prevent us

from being childlike

and this is what

we're going to look

at in here.

Three things

that I believe

that we can draw

from this

and begin to understand

of what it means

to have the faith

like the child

so that verse 17

rings true for us

and the first

is this,

wonder like a child.

Wonder like a child.

Have you ever played

peek-a-boo

with a baby?

You ever done that?

You ever played

peek-a-boo

with an adult?

Right?

Two different reactions.

If you don't believe me,

next time you're in line

at a grocery store

and there's a baby,

play peek-a-boo.

Next time you're in line

at the grocery store

and there's not a baby

and there's a person

standing in front of you,

play peek-a-boo.

Right?

See what reactions

you get.

Now,

if you're a mom

or you're a dad

and you're standing there

with your baby

and you come up

and play peek-a-boo

with them,

just understand

you are now engaged

for the next three hours.

Right?

Because the moment you stop,

that child begins to cry

and that parent's

going to be on you.

So, all right,

you're going home with them.

You're going to help them

do the groceries

and peek-a-boo

the whole time.

Right?

Well, here's what I'm getting to.

When you play peek-a-boo

with a baby,

it amazes me, right?

They are always surprised.

You know what a child

never does?

A baby never says,

nah, I knew that was coming.

Right?

Like, you're going to do that.

You're going to wait

and peek-a-boo

and they're going to lose it

every single time.

They always laugh

every time

and they never want it to end.

They're continually amazed

with the fact

that a grown adult

will put their hands

over their face,

pretend like they're not

in the room

and then whether you wait

a second or a minute,

throw your hands back

and say those magical words

or that magical word,

peek-a-boo.

They're amazed

every single time.

And what we see in Scripture

is that when mature men

and women of faith

encounter God,

they're amazed

and struck into wonder

every single time.

And so there's a lot

to be learned

as a believer in Christ

from watching an adult

play a silly game

of peek-a-boo

with a child.

That as that child

is amazed

and captivated,

so too does the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords

that every time

you open up His Word

wants you to be captivated

by who He is.

That every time

that we fall on our knees

in prayer,

there's a desperation

in the moment

because He hears us

and is with us.

That every time

that we gather

together in a room

or we're sitting

in our car

on the way to work

and that song comes on

and we begin

a reckless abandonment

of singing

in the car

or in here

because the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords

is listening to us,

there's a part of us

that's there

that we are like the child

who's there

with a peek-a-boo

caught in the amazement

of God.

But the Bible describes

that there's an internal struggle

that you and I have

and what prevents this

and what moves this

from us

and it's because

we're fascinated

with the beauty of new.

We're fascinated

with wanting to move

from the next thing

to the next thing

to the next thing

and we very rarely

just want to stop

and kind of dig

in the moment

with where we are.

That at our core,

we're not satisfied

and so what

that projects to

is unless there's

something that's

brand new,

we just want to

move on.

Over time,

we become bored

with what we know

and we think

will only be satisfied

with that

which we don't have

and it's sinful

and it's where

we find ourselves

with God

and instead of

digging in,

right,

we just want

to move out.

The hardest battle

that I've walked through

with people

and as they seek

to grow in their faith

comes around

the two-year mark.

Someone new

comes to Christ

or maybe you've

walked away

and you're now

re-engaging back

in your relationship

with Him,

re-engaging with the church

and there's about

a two-year

of what I've seen

about a time frame

and over those

first two years

what you're getting

a lot of

is you're new

in Christ,

you're young

in Christ,

you're immature

in Christ

and so you show up

and you're like a child

and you're like feed me

and we're like great,

I'll feed you

and I'll feed you

and I'll feed you

and I'll feed you

and your small group

leader's like we'll feed you,

we'll feed you,

we'll feed you

but then at some point

in time we go

well and now

there's a moment

that you gotta grab

the spoon

and you gotta dip it

in yourself

and in God's word

and you gotta feed yourself.

You gotta dig in here

for just a moment

and in those moments

when the difficult

point comes

of digging in

and feeding yourself

around that two year mark

is where most people go

well nah,

I'm out.

I'm out,

this is too hard

and instead of digging down

our tendency

is to quit

and we quit

in a couple different ways.

I want you to picture

someone who's digging a hole.

Jesus uses digging a hole

and a foundation

all the time

about what it means

to walk in relationship

with him

and I've seen this

in my life

at different points

and times and seasons

and in the life

of so many others

that we walk along beside

as they seek to grow

in their relationship

with Christ

that when it comes time

when they kind of hit

that two year mark

and they begin to dig down

and dig down

and dig down

and then all of a sudden

that they hit a spot

that's a little rough

that's a little hard

and they don't know

what to do.

The first thing

that often times

people do

is they set

the shovel down

and they just sit there.

I'm not gonna dig anymore.

I'm gonna wait

until someone else

can do this for me.

I've tried

and it's too hard.

You know I've had

a quiet time

for about three days

and I'm not really

understanding a lot of it.

I've really tried to pray

but God's really not

answering my prayers

in the way that I think

that he should

or I don't know

what to say.

So I'm just gonna wait

and let someone else

do that for me

and instead of being amazed

by the wonder of God

and being able to understand

that we've gotta just

kind of dig down

and dig down

and dig down

or the second thing

what I think

is even more troubling

is we just drop the shovel

and walk away.

So you know what?

This ain't worth it.

The life that I had before

was a little bit easier.

The life that I had before

wasn't as complicated.

The life that I had before

didn't cost me as much.

I'm sitting here

and my arms are strained,

my back's wore out

and so I'm just gonna drop it

and walk away.

Jesus calls us

to something different.

He calls us like a child

and to be fascinated

at every moment

and at every part

with who he is.

So man, yeah,

sometimes it's like

digging a hole

at my house.

Man, we have 345 feet

of sand at my house, right?

And you just dig

and dig

and dig

and dig

and dig

and then I go

to my parents' house

in North Augusta

and they have about

this much topsoil, right?

And about 345 feet

of clay

and so digging

at their house

is like,

oh, I just removed

the grass

and now I broke

my shovel, right?

And so regardless

of wherever we are

with every scoop,

no matter how much

comes out,

as we dig in,

as we press down into,

there's the wonder

and the amazement

of the child of,

I didn't know

what was next.

I didn't know

what was there.

It was like a child

with peekaboo.

I don't care

how many times

you stand there

and do it,

it amazes

and I don't care

how many times

that we stand there

and read another word

or read another page

or offer up a prayer

or engage in a song

or hear a story,

there's the amazement

and the wonder

about who God is

and what God has done

and what God is doing.

The wonder of a child.

The second thing

that I want us to see

what scripture supports

is to be dependent

like a child, right?

Now, in order

for a child

or an infant

maybe specifically

to get what they need,

they are dependent

on people

who care for them, right?

Like whether you have kids

or not,

like you know this.

You know that in order

for a child

to get things,

they need you.

I'm understanding

that more and more

even as my kids

are entering

into their teenage years

because I'm getting

a lot of daddy I need,

daddy I need,

daddy I need,

and we're walking

through,

do you need,

do you want,

like where are we at,

how many pairs of shoes

do we need, right?

But it's what we're

going through,

they're dependent

on me.

Like Emma and Grayson,

they've never made

a mortgage payment,

right?

I'm stoked

when they cook

Kraft macaroni

and cheese for lunch

on a Saturday,

right?

Like this is where

we're going,

they're dependent

on us

and God says

that he wants

his children,

that God wants

his people

to be the same way.

Think about the

illustrations,

the pictures

that God paints

of who he is

to his people,

right?

He's God the Father.

Jesus over and over

and over again

says that he's

the good shepherd

all the way back

into the Old Testament

where we continually

hear and get

the picture

of the shepherd.

That God is his shepherd

and the people

are his sheep.

And I love that.

And here's why

I love that picture

so much.

Because no matter

how old

a sheep gets,

no matter how many

years they've been

with the shepherd,

no matter how well

they know the rest

of the flock,

no matter how many

times they've grazed

in the field,

the sheep

are dependent

on the shepherd

for everything.

Right?

The shepherd

protects them,

the shepherd

sustains them,

the shepherd

disciplines them,

the shepherd

guides them.

Now here's

what's hard

for us

as Jesus

puts this

into counterculture

for us

a little bit

for then

and for today.

If we look

at how we

raise up children

and this is

a good thing,

I'm not preaching

against this.

I'm trying

to push

forward

with my

children

in this.

Alright?

So here's

a good thing

in our world

that we do.

As my kids

mature,

where I'm hoping

they go to

in relationship

with me

is more

and more

independence,

not dependent.

So at a young age

as a baby,

they were really

dependent on me.

And as they

grew older,

they became

more and more

dependent on me.

So now

we're at the

point where

one of our

kids comes

and asks me

a question

about what

they need

to do

and I know

an answer

that I'd like

to give them

but the answer

that I give

them is

what do you

think?

What do you

think you

should do?

Because in

five years

and before that

but in five

like when you're

out of the house

and you're

on your own

and you're

in that apartment

or that college

dorm room

like you gotta

make your decision

then in that

moment.

So what do you

think?

So we want

our children

to gain

independence.

Get a job.

Find your own

way.

Figure out who

you are.

Buy a home.

Start a family.

Begin within

yourself to

cultivate a life

that God

has for you.

And so here's

the hard part

of it.

As they

mature,

we want them

to gain

independence

but the gospel

calls us

that as we

mature in

Christ,

we gain

more and

more dependence

on him.

The more

mature I

am in

Christ

causes me

the more

and more

to realize

how dependent

I am

on him.

So when I

was young

in my faith,

when I was

immature in the

things that I

would do,

I would be

the sheep

that says

I want to

wander off

and go find

out what

this pasture

is like.

But I want

to wander

off and figure

out the path

for my own.

But I want

to do these

things and God

says no,

no,

no,

no,

you're

like a

child,

you're

like a

child,

you're

like a

child,

you've

got to

be

dependent

on me.

And so

that in

everything

that you

do,

in every

decision

that you

make,

that is

run through

and filtered

through the

gospel,

everything,

everything.

So saved

at 22,

I'll turn

42 next

week,

20 years

of salvation

and here's

what I

understand

more today

than I did

when I got

saved,

that I need

God more,

that I need

God more,

and that I

need God

more and

that I'm

not capable

in and of

myself to do

anything in

my dependency

on him.

So every

decision I

make, I want

it bathed in

scripture and

in light of the

gospel that is

in me and who

I am so that

God leads me on

the path and on

the process of

who he is and

that's what being

dependent on God

looks like.

And that's hard

for us because

somewhere along the

way we've taken the

earthly standard of

maturity and we've

applied that to our

spiritual life.

I don't need to

pray about that.

I know what God

wants.

I know what we

need to do.

James says in his

letter in James

James 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, he

says do not be the

person that says I'm

going to make a plan

and go to this town

and this town and

this town and make a

certain amount of

money and then go

and leave but instead

bring all things

before the Lord.

Be dependent on

him with everything

with who you are,

with everything that

you're about.

Oh but I got work

stuff, bring it

before the Lord.

Be dependent on

him.

And then lastly

what I want us to

see and we'll close

on this point is not

only do we need to

wonder like a child

and be dependent like

a child but we need

to be desperate like

a child.

Now there's not a

creature in this

world more desperate

than a baby.

Here's what a baby

can do.

Thought a lot about

this.

I got a little bit

of experience.

A baby can sleep.

A baby can cry.

A baby can eat.

A baby can have

bodily functions,

right?

And last and probably

the most important

thing, a baby can

look cute.

I can't really think

of anything else that

a baby can do.

That's what babies

do.

They cry.

They sleep.

They eat.

They go to the

bathroom.

They throw up.

They look cute.

Now only two of these

five do they do

correctly, right?

Like no one has to

teach a baby how to

cry.

They don't like

something.

They let you know by

raising their hand and

say, mom, dad, excuse

me for a second.

I don't like.

No, they cry, right?

They know how to do

that.

They do that well.

Babies know how to

look cute.

They're just born

without ability,

right?

They can just sit

there and look at

you and you're like,

I'm done, right?

Like I'm in this

moment, right?

They can do that.

But everything else,

right, we gotta train

them up.

We gotta teach them.

We gotta work through

this, right?

The hardest thing for us

and we finally achieved

this at like year six

was teaching our kids

to sleep, right?

Like they couldn't get

it.

They couldn't move in

that.

And so we were all,

we were a family of

sleep deprived individuals

till like seven years

ago, right?

Like we even gotta teach

them how to go to the

bathroom correctly, you

know?

Like no, no, no, no.

Not on yourself.

Like that's a bad idea.

Like here's what you need

to do.

And they fight against

that.

Like kids and who they

are, like they know they

need to eat but yet

they're like, but I can't

figure this out.

Like I can't move my

thumbs and I can't do

what I need to do and I

don't even have the

strength for us.

That doesn't amaze

you.

Like they don't have the

strength for the spoon

but all of a sudden a

baby can go ninja on you

in a minute, right?

And like catch you in

the nose and you're done.

I don't understand it,

right?

So a baby has to be

trained in what to do.

And if they face a

problem, their answer is

to cry.

They can't fix it.

They can't do anything

in and of themselves.

If a baby is hungry,

they can't fix that

themselves.

They need it to be done

for them.

Whatever is natural for a

baby at the very beginning,

right, still leads them in

their points of desperation.

Let's prove it to you.

All you moms and dads out

here with babies, next week

we're just going to have the

nursery open.

Just going to need you just

to drop them off.

Nobody's going to be in

there, right?

You're like, well, then I

guess I know that I'm not

coming back here ever again,

right?

No.

No, we wouldn't do that.

Why?

Because they're desperate.

They need someone to clean up

what they've done.

They need someone to take care

of what they can't take care

of.

If you leave a baby alone to

figure things out, here's what

happens.

They die.

They come into this world

blind, helpless, afraid, weak,

and unless someone steps in,

every child that is ever born

is headed toward instant death.

Every one of them.

There ain't a baby in this world

who survives on their own.

So go back into this setting

with Jesus.

He's there and mamas are

handing their babies over to a

man that they've never seen

before.

There's a crowd and people were

pushing and trying to fight to

get to where he is.

The babies are there and

they're being handed and pushed

back and forth as the disciples

say no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And I would have a feeling,

scripture doesn't say this,

but I've been around enough

babies to know, right, that

there begins to be a noise

that happens and the babies

begin to cry.

And Jesus says, unless you're like

that, you can't enter the kingdom

of God, right?

Unless you're as desperate as they

are, then you can't enter in.

The Bible teaches that you and I,

apart from Christ, that we are like a

baby, that we are blind, we are

helpless, that we are afraid, that

we are weak, and that we are headed

for instant and eternal death.

Unless Jesus steps in and saves us.

As we close this week, I want to ask

you the question, do you have the

wonder and amazement for God?

Are you dependent on him to guide

you and to lead you?

But I think the most important thing

that we see, and that we're going

to close with this, is have you

understood and do you understand

understand that you and I cannot

bring ourselves life?

The law won't bring it.

The people around us won't bring.

The only one that can bring life

is Jesus.

And are you desperate for him?

Would you pray with me?

Lord, we come to you this morning.

Lord, thanking you for who you are.

Lord, for what you've done.

And for what life looks like with you.

Lord, I pray that we would have the

faith of a child.

Lord, that we would be in wonder of

your word.

In wonder of our relationship with you.

In wonder of what you've done,

what you're doing, and what you will

do.

Lord, that we would be captivated and

amazed by the work of your hand.

In the miracle and in the ordinary.

Lord, I pray that we would be dependent

on you.

Not for our way or what we think needs

to be done.

Lord, but that we would understand that a

desperation for maturity is not found in

our independence from you, but in our

dependence from you.

So, Lord, with everything, with who we are,

may we bring it before you.

May every decision that we have to make

be poured over and may your will be

sought out.

And, Lord, lastly,

as a child is desperate to be saved,

may we be desperate for you.

A child who cannot defend themselves,

a child who cannot sustain themselves,

a child who cannot give themselves life,

a child who is laying there,

stuck in the mess that they've created for

themselves, blinded by their sin,

afraid of what tomorrow holds,

helpless, weak, wounded,

and crying.

Lord, may we understand that that's who we are.

And while a child cries for

anyone to save them,

Lord, may we be desperate and cry out to you.

It's not religion that saves us,

it's not the law that saves us,

but it is Christ and Christ alone.

Faith by grace.

And so, Lord, I pray,

if there's anyone here this morning

who does not know you,

Lord, that today will be the day

in their moment

where they become desperate

for the King of kings

and the Lord of lords

to save them.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to go into a worship set.

Two more songs.

I want you to respond

like a child this morning.

All right?

I want you to respond

in the wonder

of who God is.

I want you to respond

in the dependence

of how you need Him

for the next breath

that you take.

Without Him,

it will fail you.

And I want you to respond

in the desperation

that you have

to every day

to be saved from yourself.

So would you join me

as we stand

and respond to Him?

Thanks again for listening

to the Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed

listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more

about who we are

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