Matthew Ch18v1-14 - Greatness in the Kingdom

Jason, do you want to come up?

Come a bit closer and you'll just have to speak up.

Hopefully he'll get there.

Sounds good.

Well, just to give you all a warm welcome again,

it's great to have you with us today.

And if you're visiting, a special welcome

and a reminder to all of our tea and coffee time afterwards

where we can catch up with one another.

Two visitors we have today is Jason and Krista who's here.

So I'm just going to ask a little bit.

Jason's going to be preaching this morning

and he comes from the U.S.

and he's part of a partner church in Minnesota.

So Jason, you're here with Krista.

Tell us a little bit about your family back home.

Yeah, so Krista, my wife, and then myself.

And then we have two little ones right now.

A three-year-old who's a lot of fun

and then a one-and-a-half-year-old that's wandering around

and super smiley.

And then we're expecting a third in September.

And that one's a boy.

So I have two girls and there's a boy coming.

We're getting ready.

Good.

So tell us, how did you become a follower of Christ?

Did you grow up in a home where you were taught

or was it through some other means?

Yep, I grew up in a home where my parents were believers.

And so I heard the gospel.

And actually my dad was in ministry.

He worked for a camp.

And so I actually heard the gospel from speakers,

all sorts of different kinds of speakers coming in,

preaching the gospel.

And it was through that.

I didn't believe until I was probably 13

that I placed my faith in Jesus.

But it was primarily through my parents.

Okay.

And now we'll find out a bit more about what you do.

But you're now working in Redeemer Bible Church in Minnesota.

It's a little bit different than this, but it's the same.

So what's different and what's the same?

Yeah, well, very like-minded.

You know, our services would be very similar.

The songs we sing would be the same songs.

In fact, I was just talking to Jonathan.

The gospel project is what we use for our Sunday school as well.

And so it would be very similar.

Our difference would mainly probably be that we have a building.

And that's mainly the only difference, probably.

That's good.

So you're followers of Jesus Christ.

Yes.

That's good to know.

Yeah.

And like-minded, yes, followers of Jesus Christ.

Like-minded, expository preaching.

We'd be preaching through Exodus right now.

Okay.

Very good.

And what do you do at Redeemer?

What's your role?

Yeah, so I'm a pastor.

That's my role.

Okay.

And in any particular area?

You said that I shouldn't talk about my role.

You can keep going.

I'm a pastor.

No.

Yeah, I serve primarily with youth, so teens.

And then I'm the pastor.

I oversee administration for the whole church.

And a lot of that I delegate.

Okay.

Yeah.

Thanks.

So Jason will be speaking in just a moment.

Before he comes to do that, we're going to read from Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 18, following

on in our series together.

So Matthew, Chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

And we're going to read the first 14 verses of Matthew 18.

Amen.

Gouge it out and throw it away.

It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

It's happier than the one sheep and about the 99 that did not wander off.

In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

I'm going to pray and then Jason is going to come and speak.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father God, we thank you for the gathering of this church here.

And we thank you for our partner church at Redeemer as they gather later on today.

As we pray for your blessing and your Holy Spirit to be at work among us, we pray the same for our brothers and sisters there in Redeemer.

Amen.

And we ask for your special help to Jason and to us that we may learn from your word and may come to love Jesus more.

So teach us, Father, be gracious to us, build us up and bless.

For it's in your name we pray all these things.

Amen.

Well, it has been great to be with you.

And we've had a wonderful time since coming in on Wednesday and going to home group, Krista visiting Polo,

and then the time with the Senior Rock and Rooted on Friday night was glorious.

And then I've enjoyed all the conversations, meeting many of you and having a chance to fellowship in the gospel.

And our hearts are full.

And I want to thank Johnny and the other elders for giving me the opportunity to open God's word with you from Matthew 18.

Matthew 18.

I remember hearing a conversation of a son with his dad.

And the conversation led to a question where the son asked the dad,

when did you realize you were normal and wouldn't do anything great?

Well, first I thought, man, I can't wait for the day that my kids ask me those great questions.

But also the son makes assumptions that often we have also about greatness.

Whether it's assumptions about status or accomplishments or self-reliance or power or wealth.

Yet greatness is something we all desire.

And in the eyes of the world, there are very few that actually find it.

Our text this morning lays out something of a roundabout,

which the big roundabouts here still scare me to death when we go around them.

But it's something of a 180 or a reversal on what we would instinctively think

in our natural selves about greatness.

Jesus doesn't rebuke the disciples for their desire for greatness.

But instead, what he does is he redirects it by picturing what kingdom life is like.

Or what true greatness before God actually is.

And so that's what I want to consider this morning.

An upside down kingdom.

An upside down from what the world out there assumes about greatness.

Jesus is going to correct that.

He's going to correct kind of the son's assumption in his question to his dad.

And assumptions that we often think.

So I think everyone's there.

Matthew 18.

If you're not there, I invite you to find it again in your Bibles.

We're going to look at the first 14 verses.

So let's read verse 1 again and then consider the context.

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked,

Who then is the greatest in the kingdom?

So here we have Jesus and what we would probably think is the 12, the 12 disciples,

asking about kingdom greatness.

What is it like?

Who is the greatest?

And I think it's important for us to consider first,

how do we think about this question in its context?

We know from parallel Gospels, other Gospels,

that Jesus has addressed this in some form before.

If you remember Mark 9,

he overhears the disciples arguing amongst themselves.

And he asks them,

What are you arguing about?

And like any good children, they don't say anything.

They're silent.

And then he goes on to teach about what greatness is in the kingdom.

Now, in our passage, I don't think this question comes out of nowhere.

And I think it flows out of the context.

So if you flip over a page or so to Matthew 16,

and then you look down at verses 13 through 16.

So let's read those.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,

he asked the disciples,

Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

They replied,

Some say John the Baptist,

others say Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

But what about you?

He asked.

Who do you say that I am?

And Simon Peter answered,

You are the Messiah,

the Son of the living God.

So here we have Peter's confession,

which I think you looked at last week.

Peter represents the disciples' emerging understanding about who Jesus is,

but they're not quite there.

In fact, Acts 1, 6,

even after Jesus rose from the dead,

they still have a little bit of confusion about the kingdom.

They ask,

Lord, at this time,

are you going to restore the kingdom?

So in their minds,

they're thinking more political

than necessarily the spiritual aspect of the kingdom

that we are in today.

So they're still emerging into that idea.

And Jesus' prediction of his death confuses them,

both in chapter 16 and in chapter 17.

The next few verses are going to seem to put Peter

in kind of an elevated place.

Look at what he says in verse 17 and 18.

He says,

Jesus replied,

Blessed are you,

Simon, son of Jonah,

for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,

but by my Father in heaven.

And I tell you, Peter,

you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church.

The gates of Hades will not overcome it.

So you can understand the question.

Who do you think is the greatest in the kingdom?

If here he is addressing Peter in this way,

it seems to think Peter is the greatest.

And at the beginning of chapter 17,

we have the transfiguration,

which takes up three disciples,

which maybe perhaps is the inner ring.

Look there, it says,

Jesus took with him, verse 1,

Peter, James, and John,

the brother of James.

And so there seems to be this inner ring

that Jesus takes on,

this great experience,

on the mountain,

the transfiguration.

So then you come back to our passage,

and that's where we have the question,

who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

So what I want us to see this morning

is how Jesus answers this question.

But before we do that,

we should consider what he does

in verses 2 and 3.

And that is,

verse 2,

he called,

so our chapter again,

Matthew 18,

Matthew 18:2

verse 2,

he called a little child to him.

You can kind of picture it,

and he placed the child among them,

in the middle of all of them.

So Jesus places this child,

and then he says something

that is truly unexpected,

verse 3.

And he said,

truly I tell you,

unless you change

and become like this little child,

you will never enter

the kingdom of heaven.

See what Jesus does?

He says,

this is really important

for you to get.

Consider what I'm going to say.

And Jesus starts with entering,

with the beginning.

It's almost as if he says,

you're thinking about the kingdom

as entirely wrong,

you haven't got it yet.

To even enter the kingdom,

you need to humble yourself,

become like a child.

Why?

Because without this humility,

you will never enter it.

Which is a very negative way to say it.

He uses a strong,

the strongest way,

never enter the kingdom.

He says,

only the humble find their way

into the kingdom.

You see,

the disciples wanted to be

the greatest in the kingdom.

Jesus,

on the other hand,

wants them to consider

if they're in the kingdom

at all.

It's like,

you know,

in a sport,

you wondering

if you made the all-star team.

And the coach is really concerned

whether or not

you're even on the team,

you made the team at all.

That's what Jesus does here.

And he says,

consider this

unless you change.

Now,

the word change

has the idea

of turning away.

Maybe not the way

that we think about change,

but turn.

And it's the essence

of what it means

to be a Christian.

Every Christian

has experienced

this change.

It's repentance.

That is what turning means.

And the word is passive,

so we could translate it,

unless you are changed,

you will never enter

the kingdom.

So we repent

and God changes

our hearts

and we become

like a child

and we trust

in the Father.

So unless you

experience

this gospel

producing

change,

you will not

enter the kingdom.

and this means

that we must

admit

that we are lost

first.

That we're lost

sinners

and we deserve,

we have offended

a holy God,

we deserve death.

So if you're here

and you're not a believer,

if you're being honest,

this is one of the things

that catches us up.

our hesitancy

to embrace Christ

because

we still think

deep down

we have something

to offer.

We're not quite

desperate enough.

But when you finally

see that you cannot

save yourself,

you are dead

in your sins,

you are helpless,

you are a beggar,

there's nothing

you can do

to approach God.

you are humbled.

That's what Jesus

is getting at.

The surest mark

commentator said

on this

of conversion,

of belonging

to Jesus

is this humility.

The Christian faith

is humbling.

I heard a song

that goes

something like this,

there is a mountain

that only the lame

can climb.

There is a table

that only the hungry

find.

Only the beggar

will have the currency

when need

is all

you need.

The precondition,

the thing that you get

before you come

to Jesus,

the realization

you come to

is that you are

helpless

and in need

of a Savior.

And that's what

Jesus says

here

for the disciples.

Unless you become

like this child,

unless you realize

your helplessness,

you will never

enter the kingdom.

Of course,

they need to believe

in Jesus.

Of course,

they need to embrace

the gospel

of the death

and resurrection

of Jesus.

But he's saying

there's a state

in which

you must come to,

grips with who you are,

that's truly humbling

before you turn

and trust this Jesus.

Now that's all

introduction.

So this is,

now we jump into

what Jesus,

I think,

is going to start

teaching the disciples.

And it's this,

that the criteria

before you come

into the kingdom

is the same criteria

for greatness

within the kingdom.

And that is

humility.

So that's what

our section,

the rest of these verses

are going to give us.

And I think as people

of God's kingdom,

so we've been talking

about the kingdom

and now we're coming

to life in the kingdom,

so people,

Christians,

believers,

as people of the kingdom,

we walk in gospel humility.

And there's going to be

three points

that I want to draw out

from what Jesus says

this morning.

Three characteristics

you could say

of humility.

Number one,

childlike dependence.

Number two,

radical devotion.

And number three,

heavenly delight.

So I'll repeat those,

but let's look

at number one.

Childlike dependence.

So gospel humility,

the humility

that you had to have

before coming

and becoming a Christian

and now a humility

that should characterize

all believers,

it's characterized

by childlike dependence,

marked by that.

Verses four and five,

let's read them.

Therefore,

whoever takes

the lowly position

of this child

is the greatest

in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever welcomes

one such child

in my name

welcomes me.

So what is Jesus

getting at?

What is he saying

to us?

Well, he's not saying

that you should be childish.

You know,

like how my daughters

are very quick

to lose focus

on something

and quickly jump

to another thing.

No, he's not saying

Christians should be

absent-minded

like children.

We're not called

to be like children

in every way,

but rather Jesus

is calling the attention

of the dependence

of a child.

So again,

the criteria for

the need,

the dependence

of a child

is a criteria

before you enter

the kingdom

and here it is,

also the way

of the kingdom.

And there's two words

that Jesus gives us.

First, he gives us,

oh, I forgot to hit this.

There you go.

The first word he gives us

is lowly, lowly,

and that's in verse 4.

He says,

whoever takes the lowly

position of this child,

so whoever humbles himself

or herself like a child

is the greatest.

Jesus says something similar

in Mark 9, 35.

Anyone who wants

to be first

must be the very last

and the servant of all.

The lowest position,

lows of lows.

And to illustrate this point,

Jesus points to the child

before them.

So more so than today,

society in Jesus' day

would have not

highly esteemed children.

Maybe our society

is catching up a little bit,

but scholars say

that in that day,

children didn't have

a high place.

They had a lower status.

And you find that,

remember,

we're going to find it

in chapter 19,

when the disciples

rebuke people

for bringing who

to Jesus?

Or, sorry,

Jesus rebukes

the disciples

for bringing children

to Him.

He says,

let the little children

come to Me.

Do not hinder them.

So they were hindering them.

For the Kingdom of Heaven

belongs to such as these.

The one biblical scholar

wrote this,

Jesus celebrates

the humility

that comes

from the child's weakness,

defenselessness,

and vulnerability.

The child can really do

nothing for himself

or herself

and will die

if left alone.

It is this kind

of humility

that Jesus uses

as this visual aid.

You see,

we don't,

we,

Krista and I

came over here,

we didn't just

leave our kids

in our house.

You know,

nobody's,

one of the first questions

is, you know,

who's watching

after your kids?

If we said,

oh, no one,

they're fine.

They're just

cooking their own meals.

No, you wouldn't,

you know that

they're defenseless,

they're helpless.

That's what Jesus

is getting at.

They're in a lowly position.

He says,

anyone who wants

to be great

must humble themselves

like a child.

Those who know

they are helpless

are actually

the greatest

in the Kingdom.

So take again

my daughter Lily,

for example.

She does not care.

about power

or prestige

right now.

Meaning,

if someone came up

to her

and started listing

all their accomplishments

about all the great things

they've done

in their life,

or if she met

a prime minister

or president

or whoever,

met someone,

she wouldn't know

who they are.

She wouldn't be

in awe

of their greatness.

No,

she would,

unless it's Disney

or something like that,

I suppose,

maybe perhaps,

but she would be

impartial.

She would not be moved

by these great accomplishments.

Or think of it

in terms of

who she would play with.

If you want to play

with my daughter

and you're willing

to go play with her,

she's more than willing

to play with you.

There isn't much

she's going to look at

as far as your status.

Or think in terms

of children

when it comes to

believing

what their parents say.

Kids,

little ones,

trust their parents

implicitly.

That's

whatever mom says

must be true.

No,

I think that's what

Jesus is getting at here.

A lowliness of a child.

That's what he's talking about.

Childlike dependence

on one's parents,

on adults.

Now,

you say,

well,

I'm here

and I don't need

to be reminded

about how low I am

because I am low.

the Lord

over

the last few weeks

or whatever

maybe perhaps

has brought you

to a low point.

I want to encourage you

that lowliness

is a path

to a particular

kind of joy.

And it's all

throughout the scriptures.

I heard the song

that says

valleys fill first.

And that's what it is.

I talked with the students

on Friday night

about how

sometimes

when we humble ourselves

it leads to

an emptiness.

An emptiness

that Christ

can fill.

Think about

what James says.

James says

God gives more grace.

Therefore,

it says

God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

It says

humble yourselves

before the Lord

and he will exalt you.

So there's a

taking the position

of a child

is a humbling

of oneself.

You think what it says

in Philippians 2.

It's Jesus' ministry.

Though he was

in the form of God

didn't he

account equality

with God

as something to be grasped

but emptied himself

by taking the form

of a servant.

A low position.

Being born in the likeness

of men

being found

in human form

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient

to the point of death

even death

on the cross.

And we know

that Jesus'

lowly position

on earth

led to his exaltation

which is where

Paul in that passage

goes to.

So the point

the truly great

are those

who are lowly.

That's the first word

lowly.

Second

is welcome.

Welcome.

Verse 5

and we'll look at this quickly.

Whoever welcomes

one such child

in my name

welcomes me.

This is humility.

It's a humility

that welcomes

all those

who have been

humbled to.

The word welcome

is one of hospitality

of accepting

loving

receiving

the lowly.

Now certainly

I've had a great example

Kristen and I

have had a great example

of this

this past week.

It's really

accepting people

into your homes

like you have

us

as one

as family.

It's like

a new teammate

that fits

right in

with the team.

Now

I want you to notice

that we

who we are

to welcome

one such child.

Now it's interesting

I think what

Jesus is doing here

and I could be wrong

but I think what

Jesus is doing

is he's actually

starting to broaden

the terms

a little bit.

So he's using

a little different

language

and he's going to

use little ones

in the next verse

but one such child

in this verse

I think

is beginning

to point us

to fellow believers

not just

children per se

although I think

we should consider

what he says

towards children too.

Which makes sense

though

given that he

has this child

in front of them

and all believers

who enter the kingdom

will humble themselves

like this child

then the association

with the child

and a fellow believer

is a good association.

So what I'm saying

I think this is

children

and spiritual children

and then that's

when he jumps

verse 6

as we'll see

to little ones

is really

he's talking

little ones

is fellow

Christians

perhaps fellow

weak believers

but I think

just broadly

fellow Christians.

Either way

the point to draw

from this

is

since

Jesus is connected

united to his followers

then to welcome

and show mercy

to another believer

is to welcome

and show mercy

or to welcome

to Christ.

That should be

one of

our response

should be

one of amazement.

I mean the world

looks to welcome

the popular

the good looking

the celebrity

but we don't

just welcome

the celebrity

we welcome

the nobody.

We treat

the nobody

like they are

the red carpet

for someone

who is lowly.

This should

certainly

obliterate

any idea

that there are

divisions of status

in the body

of Christ.

Now we know

this but recently

I sat down

with one of our

church members

and

he said to me

I don't

fit anywhere

including church.

In my mind

it went immediately

to this text

because I was

studying it.

As believers

we should be

welcoming those

who feel like

they don't

fit anywhere.

here

in this place

with these

people

they fit

their home.

The church

is a place

that all can

come

all can

find a welcome

and those

of every tribe

tongue

nation

people group

doesn't matter

they all

have a home

here.

The other

aspect of this

is do we

have this

kind of view

of children

in our

churches?

Are we

welcoming

children?

Do they

and their

parents know

we value

them and

appreciate them?

One of the

beauties of

polo is

just this.

It's an

opportunity to

welcome and

to value

children

because we

know that

children matter.

They matter

to God.

God loves

kids.

And we

dare not

find them

a nuisance

insignificant

or unimportant

because children

matter to God

and they are

to have

our welcome.

So mature

believers have

childlike

dependence shown

by two words

lowly and

welcome.

That's number

one.

Number two

you have

childlike

dependence

then you

have radical

devotion.

Radical

devotion.

That's

verses 6

and 9.

So one

of the

clearest

signs of

this

humility

that Jesus

is talking

about is

found in

two

perspectives.

On one

side devoted

Christians

committed

Christians

watch out

for others

and on the

other side

they watch

out for

themselves.

That's what

Jesus is

going to

get at

here.

So they

watch out

for others

verses 6

and 7

look down

at verse

6.

If anyone

causes one

of these

little ones

those who

believe in

me.

So I

think he's

talking about

fellow

believers.

If anyone

causes one

of these

fellow

believers

to stumble

it would

be better

for them

to have

a large

millstone

hung around

their neck

and be

drowned

in the

depths

of the

sea.

As believers

Jesus calls

us to have

a responsibility

to protect

and watch

over other

believers.

believers.

We're not

solo

Christians

just in

it for

ourselves

on

individual

journeys.

No,

we are

in this

whether we

like it

or not

sometimes.

We are

in this

together.

And Jesus

gives a

warning to

anyone who

causes the

lowly or

weaker

disciple to

stumble.

Now to

stumble

is a

word that

maybe we

think immediately

of to

sin,

just broadly

to sin

or offend.

But multiple

scholars point

out the fact

that the

severity of

the warning

probably means

that this

word has

a more

significant

meaning.

That is

that it

means to

lead someone

to fall

away from

Jesus,

to apostatize.

So just

like a

false prophet

or TV

preacher or

something,

they get

on and

they preach

a false

gospel and

they lead

a believer

to stray

away.

So would

be someone

in the

world who

leads this

person to

fall away.

This judgment

is what

Jesus is

talking about.

Judgment

on that

person.

And it's

really an

argument from

the lesser

to the

greater.

So a

millstone was

this, and

I've seen

them in

Israel,

these large

stones that

would be

pulled by

a donkey.

And that

millstone was

hung around

the neck as

a means of

execution.

This was a

frequent

execution in

Jesus'

day and

it's terrible.

obviously

horrible

drowning,

we can

imagine

would be

a terrible

way to

die.

And

Jesus'

point is

not to

say this

is what

they're

going to

get.

His

point is

to say

the punishment

in our

text is

better than

the punishment

that they'll

be dished out

to those

who lead

them astray.

Terrible

punishment of

being drowned

would be a

mercy compared

to what's in

store for

those who

turn little

ones away

from Christ.

Christ.

So broadly

I think our

response should

be a

warning,

certainly,

to be

careful on

how we

lead our

brothers and

sisters.

We don't

be a means

by which they

turn away.

And then

verse 7

adds more,

woe to the

world because

of the things

that cause

people to

stumble.

Such things

must come,

but woe to

the person

through whom

they come.

So according

to God's

word,

we expect

temptation.

We're going

to expect

seeing temptation

is inevitable.

Still,

the inevitability

of it doesn't

excuse the

one through

whom it

comes.

And so

we're responsible

for other

believers,

for their

walk with

Christ,

and how we

interact with

them to not

be a

stumbling

block for

them.

And we're

culpable if

we lead them

to stumble.

And of

course,

this is

talking

somewhat

about the

world,

too,

which is

interesting to

think through

that them

leading

believers

astray,

the world,

there will

be a

judgment on

them.

And this

is a

warning to

them as

well,

to say,

do not

lead

believers

astray.

So I

hope you

see this.

The point

I'm drawing

out is

mainly that

you and

I have a

responsibility

for one

another.

Are we

concerned for

our brothers

and sisters

holiness,

or are we

really just

focused so

much on

just ourselves

and what

we want?

It's a

particular thing

that we

should wrestle

with in

light of what

Jesus says

here,

that we

would not

want to

lead anyone

astray.

So watch

out for

others.

And then

he,

in verses

8 and

9,

he says,

watch out

for

yourself.

Watch

out for

yourself.

Look at

what Jesus

continues and

says,

if your

hand or

foot causes

you to

stumble,

cut it

off and

throw it

away.

It is

better that

you enter

life maimed

or crippled

than to

have two

hands or

two feet

and be

thrown into

eternal

fire.

And if

your eye

causes you

to stumble,

gouge it

out and

throw it

away.

It is

better for

you to

enter life

with one

eye than

to have

two eyes

and be

thrown in

the fire

of hell.

So this

is where

I am

getting the

idea that

it is

radical

devotion.

I mean,

this is

radical,

what Jesus

is talking

about.

And you

would have

heard it

before because

he says

something similar

in Matthew

5 where he

applies it

directly to

lust and

he says,

if your eye

causes you

to sin,

gouge it

out.

But if

you're

watch out

for yourselves,

he gets

to talking

about what

1 Timothy 4

16 says,

watch your

life and

your doctrine

closely.

So deal

with your

own sins.

Turn away

from the

thing that's

causing you

to stumble.

And so

how are we

to take

Christ's

words?

Well,

we take

them, I

think,

figuratively.

He's using

figurative

language.

I think it

becomes clear

when you

think about

what he's

actually dealing

with.

To cut

off a limb

doesn't deal

with the

real problem.

Our

hearts.

So the

root of

sin lies

in our

hearts.

Actual

mutilation

of the

flesh would

not make

sense because

you can

look and

lust after

something with

one eye

just as

much as

you can

with two.

So it

doesn't take

care of

the problem.

I think

that means

that he's

talking

figuratively

saying we

should take

sin

seriously

and take

measures

to fight,

not go

around flirting

with sin,

but instead

don't act

like you're

untouchable,

but act like

you need to

resist

temptation.

A famous

line from

John Owen,

if you've

heard it

before,

be killing

sin or

sin will

be killing

you.

It's a

realization

that we

should turn

and throw

it away,

get rid

of it,

kill sin

or anything

that leads

us to

sin.

We should

expel

it,

deny it.

So I

don't know

what it is

for you,

but I

think what

he's getting

at is

something where

it's the

thing that

you know

that leads

you to

sin.

An example

would be a

smartphone at

night,

looking at

your smartphone

at night.

Leads you

to sin.

We're

watching certain

movies,

social media,

sports,

doing certain

activities,

busyness,

where you're

just so

busy that

you're always

upset with

the kids,

lack of

sleep where

you're just

irritated all

the time.

It's the

condition that's

maybe not

necessarily

sinful,

but it

leads you

to be

tempted to

sin.

And he

says,

cut it

out.

It is

worth

killing it

than to

slide adrift

into judgment,

which is what

he's getting

at,

eternal hell

and a

lake of

fire,

or a

fire of

hell.

So it's

just a

consideration

for all

of us

to consider

what are

the things

that are

leading us

to be

tempted?

And can

we get

rid of

them?

We find

alternatives.

So I

think of

if you

have a

friend,

so both

of these

together,

if you

have a

friend who's

trying to

stop drinking

soda,

or pop

as we

call it,

and it's

not sinful,

I'm not

saying that

at all,

but that

friend just

decides they

want to

make a

change,

and you

go out

and you

buy them

a soda,

you're not

watching out

for that

friend at

all.

And so

that's what

Jesus is

saying

spiritually.

Same

would be

true.

If you

have a

friend that

has admitted

to you,

I've

struggled

with gossip,

the last

thing you'd

want to

do with

him or

her is

talk about

some other

people in

the church

in a way

that maybe

lead them

to begin

gossiping.

I think that's

where he's

talking about

with leading

people to

stumble.

And this is

radical devotion

with our own

life,

being willing

to take

things out

that are not

necessarily

evil,

evil,

but that

lead us

to struggle

with sin.

So,

first one

is childlike

dependence.

I think

there's a

humility that

has childlike

dependence on

God.

We're

desperate.

And then

the second

one is

radical

devotion.

And then

the third

one is

heavenly

delight.

So this

humility is

marked by

heavenly

delight.

And what

I mean

is that

we're to

have the

same heart

as the

Father has.

So we're

to reflect

his heart,

his heavenly

delight,

delight in

the same

things.

And that

we discover

in verses

10-14.

So let's

take each

verse in

turn.

Verse 10.

See that

you do not

despise one

of these

little ones.

For I

tell you

that their

angels in

heaven always

see the

face of

my Father

in heaven.

So he

tells us

again not

to despise

little ones.

The third

time he's

used that

phrase.

And the

least among

us,

and we

shouldn't look

down on

them with

contempt,

instead we

should love

them, care

for them,

and treat

them, and

look out for

their holiness.

But what is

Jesus getting

at?

He brings

up angels.

Maybe not

what we were

expecting as

we're reading

through.

Oh, angels.

Oh, that's

interesting.

But we

believe in

angels.

Right?

Yes.

We believe

in angels.

And who are

these angels?

Well, they're

creatures,

specifically God's

agents.

They're

messengers,

the word

meaning there.

And the

Bible calls

them ministering

spirits.

So they're

those spirits

who minister

to believers.

They're real,

not mythical.

And the

Father, they

serve our

God in

various ways,

we see in

the Bible.

God.

Some people

take this

passage to

mean that

each one

of us

have

individual

guardian

angels.

But what

we don't

see,

actually,

the Bible,

although it

doesn't say

a lot about

that,

it doesn't

ever say

there's a

one-to-one.

So we

know that

there are

angels that

are guarding

us.

But what he's

not saying

here is

necessarily

that,

like,

in,