Mark 10:13-16 * October 18, 2009 * Pentecost 20 * Pastor Leyrer
Dear
Friends in Christ,
This
past summer we devoted ourselves to a sermon series entitled “A Great Cloud of
Witnesses.” That theme is an actual
phrase used at the beginning of Hebrews chapter 12. It brings to a conclusion
Hebrews chapter 11, sometimes referred to as the great Faith Hall of Fame
chapter of the Bible because of all the Old Testament heroes of faith it
mentions.
Based
on that theme we spent our summer looking at some of them. We considered great Bible figures like Noah
and Jacob and Samuel and David and focused on God’s blessings to them as well
as God’s blessings through them. And
although many of them had their personal highs and lows in their walk with God,
each of them completed their own spiritual “body of work” and in one way or
another presented us with a faith to imitate.
It
is interesting to note that when our Lord Jesus talks about exemplary faith in
our text for today He goes in a different direction – at least
chronologically. The models he holds
before us are not named as individuals, nor are they singled out because of
some great accomplishments recorded for us in the pages of Scripture. In fact they are rather unassuming and maybe
even unaware of what Jesus says they have to offer us.
Yet
there is much we can learn from them.
So on the basis of the Word of God we have before us let’s explore who
they are, because Jesus tells us they present us with a
A FAITH TO
IMITATE
1. Its qualities and
2. Its blessings
“People were bringing little
children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.” If you took a walk through the hallways and the various
rooms of our school you’d see them hanging on the walls. They also adorn the walls of many Christian
homes. In the world of Christian art are
many, many pictures of Jesus with little children.
The
Gospels make this abundantly clear: Jesus
dearly loved little children. He held
them up as examples of faith, as He does in our text for today. He watched them at play and drew lessons from
them. And He gave a stern warning to
anyone who might cause them spiritual harm.
You may recall this pronouncement from last week’s Gospel lesson: “If anyone causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea
with a large millstone tied around his neck.”
Yes,
Jesus loved the little children.
Perceiving this, parents would bring their children to Jesus so that, as
we are told in our text, He might touch them
– meaning that He might favor them with a special prayer or blessing.
But
the disciples apparently didn’t see it this way. When the parents come with their children in
tow (by the way, the Greek word used in the corresponding account in the Gospel
of Luke indicates that among them were the very
young, or infants), the disciples shooed them away. As they saw it, Jesus was a first century VIP
and they didn’t want themselves or the Savior bothered with such unimportant or
trivial matters.
However,
Jesus viewed things quite differently.
We are told that He became indignant.
That’s
a pretty strong term. It clearly conveys
that Jesus was angry and upset with the behavior of His disciples. And the reason He became justifiably angry
(or as we sometimes say, “righteously indignant”) was because, in a sense, they
had mistreated the little ones He loves so much.
What
the disciples considered a nuisance Jesus clearly considered an
infraction. So in response to their
actions: “He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder
them, for the
His
point: The faith of a child – the kind
of faith that takes Jesus at His word and believes the message of salvation and
all the other promises of God without a hint of hesitation – that is what our
Lord holds up as a faith to imitate. Let’s
talk about this kind of faith on the basis of these three descriptions: Simple… Humble… Trusting…
A
child-like faith is first of all SIMPLE.
As you observe the faith of a child you’ll find this to be true. Ask one of our lower level Sunday School or
And
you will also learn quite quickly not to mistake a simple faith for a shallow
faith. Shallow faith is often a mile
wide but an inch deep. Simple faith is
just the opposite.
What
I mean is this: Neither a young child
raised in a Christian home nor the devout resident of
But
what they do know is this: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible
tells me so.
What
they do know is that long ago on a hill outside of a city they’ve never been to
named Jerusalem Jesus died on a cross to take awake all their sins. And they know why: So they would be clean and pure in the eyes
of God and someday live with Him forever in heaven.
What
they also know is that Jesus didn’t stay dead, but that He rose from the
grave. And they know Him to be their
invisible but living friend who listens intently to them when they talk to Him
in their prayers.
Those
are the elementary, rudimentary truths of Scripture. Nothing complicated or complex about
them. The child Jesus holds up as an
example simply takes at face value the truths God tells us in His Word. A child-like faith is SIMPLE.
Likewise,
A child-like faith is HUMBLE. When
problems come it looks upward rather than inward for solutions. We live in a world which instructs us to look
deeply “inside ourselves” for answers to our difficulties. And certainly we do have a responsibility to
apply the Word of God we’ve been taught to our various situations in life.
But
those with a child-like faith know that the power to change things comes not
from within, but from without. Not from
inside us, but from above us.
Our
16th president, Abraham Lincoln governed our country during the
Civil War. This was an extremely
difficult time for him personally. He is
reported to have made the remark that the war often “forced him to his
knees.”
Children
don’t let things go that far. Child-like
faith humbly approaches the throne of grace well before the crisis point,
recognizing that God is good and God is great and God is ever-present to help
us in every situation. A child-like
faith is HUMBLE.
Finally,
a child-like faith is TRUSTING. Think
once more of a child, this time at prayer.
Hands folded, head bowed, eyes purposely shut. This is a picture of trust, because that is
what they do. They trust that the Lord
will hear them and that He is capable of doing everything they ask of Him.
Simple…
humble… trusting. These are the elements
of a child like faith. These are the
components Jesus holds up before us when He speaks about the “little ones who believe in me.” In this same child-like way Jesus invites,
counsels and asks us to trust Him,
His Word, His promises and His offer of salvation.
And
we say, yes, we really ought to do that.
But we say it more in the wistful terms of a wish or a dream, as if it
would be nice, but it’s really not possible.
Too simplistic, we may think.
Trust Jesus and everything will work out. Sounds great, but life is bit too complicated
to reduce handling it in such an uncomplicated way…
And
that, friends, is our biggest mistake.
It is the mistake of not taking Jesus at His Word. Because when it gets right down to it, taking
Him at His Word is what Jesus means by “child-like faith.”
Let
me give you a Scriptural example of this. At the very outset of this sermon we mentioned
the name of King David as one of the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” we looked at
this summer...
Well,
if anyone can lay claim to having a complicated life, it would be him. As the ruler of Old Testament Israel in its
golden age of power and influence, every decision, problem and concern
eventually came to roost at his doorstep.
Nonetheless, listen to the inspired words this man wrote in Psalm
131. It’s only three verses long, but the
child-like attitude of this hero of faith is one we’d do well to imitate.
1 My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O
both now and forevermore.
These are the words of a man who did not question the Lord; a man who came before the Lord in humility, confidence and trustfulness. They are words for us all.
So,
do we find ourselves worried? Are we
anxious about life? Are we scared of
what that great unknown we call the future might bring? If and when we are, our primary problem is
probably this: we’re acting altogether too much like adults.
Jesus
says when it comes to matters of faith, be a child. Trust.
Believe. Then relax in the confidence
that no matter how things may look or how things may go, God has them under
control.
In
working through this text I came across a poem that provides a fitting
conclusion for what we’ve been talking about today. It’s actually a prayer, so in simple, humble
and trusting faith I’d ask that you bow your heads and fold your hands. We pray:
In self, possessing nothing In Thee, possessing all.
O Savior, make me small once more That downward I may grow
And in this heart of mine restore The faith of long ago.
With Thee may I be crucified No longer I that lives
O Savior, crush my sinful pride By grace, which pardon gives.
Make me, O Lord, a child again Obedient to Thy call;
In self, possessing nothing, In Thee, possessing all. Amen.