Faith of a Child
This morning’s message is Faith of a Child. It is a simple message, as Jesus made it simple for His disciples in our scripture this morning.
Scripture – Matthew 18:1–6
Here, Jesus was telling them plainly—you must become childlike to enter the Kingdom. He was not saying to become childish.
- Childlike means having the qualities of a child—trust, humility, openness.
- Childish means immature.
They had just asked who was the greatest in the Kingdom. Did Jesus miss the question? No. They were thinking, We’re already in—so which of us is the greatest? What do we need to do to become great?
But greatness in the Kingdom is different from greatness in the world we live in. Most of us operate according to the world’s economy.
In the world’s economy, greatness is about:
- Who is out front.
- Who is leading the pack.
- Who has the most money.
- Who has the best degrees.
- Who has the prettiest home.
- Who has the best dog or smartest children.
- Who is the leader in their field.
The disciples were applying this worldly concept of greatness to the Kingdom of God. Jesus said:
Whoa! Stop the presses. Stop everything.
Where were you when I taught the basics in the Sermon on the Mount? Pat read it this morning from Matthew 5:2–8:
Whoa! Stop the presses. Stop everything.
Where were you when I taught the basics in the Sermon on the Mount? Pat read it this morning from Matthew 5:2–8:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
When I was writing my book Parenting Greatness, this was a challenge for me: How do I show the Kingdom’s economy and its benefits in a way that will transform families?
I saw so many families spending thousands of dollars on club ball, special schools, camps, cotillion events, and all kinds of skill-based competitions. Skills for what? To get their kids ahead of all the other kids.
But greatness in the Kingdom is different—and more important.The Faith and Trust of a Child
How many of you have seen the faith of a child? When a father is in the water and says to the child, “Jump in, I’ll catch you,” the child does not analyze the depth of the water, the temperature, the statistics on drowning, or the father’s strength versus their weight.
No—they look into the eyes of their father and say, It’s Dad. I trust him. I’ll jump.
They don’t worry about the meal they will have each day, the clothes they will wear, the school they will go to, or the house they will live in. They just trust Mom and Dad.
I saw so many families spending thousands of dollars on club ball, special schools, camps, cotillion events, and all kinds of skill-based competitions. Skills for what? To get their kids ahead of all the other kids.
But greatness in the Kingdom is different—and more important.The Faith and Trust of a Child
How many of you have seen the faith of a child? When a father is in the water and says to the child, “Jump in, I’ll catch you,” the child does not analyze the depth of the water, the temperature, the statistics on drowning, or the father’s strength versus their weight.
No—they look into the eyes of their father and say, It’s Dad. I trust him. I’ll jump.
They don’t worry about the meal they will have each day, the clothes they will wear, the school they will go to, or the house they will live in. They just trust Mom and Dad.
Jesus later said in the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 6:25–30
Matthew 6:25–30
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Here’s what Jesus was trying to get His disciples to see—yet so often they turned around and asked, “Who is the greatest?”
When we first come to Jesus, we often come by faith and trust—like a child. If you have never done that, I invite you today: The doors to the Kingdom are open. You don’t have to know everything about the Bible, the Kingdom, Jesus, eternity, or theology. Just come with the faith of a child.
Like Billy Graham and Grady Wilson—just come. Follow the Holy Spirit’s call.We may start out with simple trust in Jesus, but then falter as we adopt the world’s economy. We start transferring Kingdom living into worldly thinking.
We say, Now that I am grown in my faith, I must take on more responsibility. Jesus will grade me according to how good I do on my own.
No, no, no!
We are to remain childlike in our faith—trusting God with every circumstance and every trial, just like a child trusts their parents to make it right.Illustration: My granddaughter Charlotte is in love with Christian singer Forrest Frank. My daughter and her husband—Charlotte’s parents—surprised her with tickets to a Forrest Frank concert at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, August 7th. But just two weeks before the concert, he fell and broke his back in two places (fracturing the L3 and L4 vertebrae). For several days he was on his back, but he said, “I will meet all my concert obligations—God has told me this.”
Everyone thought he was crazy. He was in a brace and advised not to stand up or move about. But he kept insisting he would be able to perform.
Then on August 2nd, he woke up and realized he had forgotten to put on his brace that night—and was pain-free. He called the doctor, they did an emergency X-ray, and the fractures had disappeared.
My daughter went to the concert in Iowa and said he was singing, dancing, and praising the Lord.My God is a God of healing.
He is a God of transformation.
He is a God of deliverance.
He is a God of wholeness.
And the greatest in the Kingdom are those who have childlike faith to trust Him.
When He says, “Jump,” He is in the middle of the water, waiting to catch and comfort you.
When we first come to Jesus, we often come by faith and trust—like a child. If you have never done that, I invite you today: The doors to the Kingdom are open. You don’t have to know everything about the Bible, the Kingdom, Jesus, eternity, or theology. Just come with the faith of a child.
Like Billy Graham and Grady Wilson—just come. Follow the Holy Spirit’s call.We may start out with simple trust in Jesus, but then falter as we adopt the world’s economy. We start transferring Kingdom living into worldly thinking.
We say, Now that I am grown in my faith, I must take on more responsibility. Jesus will grade me according to how good I do on my own.
No, no, no!
We are to remain childlike in our faith—trusting God with every circumstance and every trial, just like a child trusts their parents to make it right.Illustration: My granddaughter Charlotte is in love with Christian singer Forrest Frank. My daughter and her husband—Charlotte’s parents—surprised her with tickets to a Forrest Frank concert at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, August 7th. But just two weeks before the concert, he fell and broke his back in two places (fracturing the L3 and L4 vertebrae). For several days he was on his back, but he said, “I will meet all my concert obligations—God has told me this.”
Everyone thought he was crazy. He was in a brace and advised not to stand up or move about. But he kept insisting he would be able to perform.
Then on August 2nd, he woke up and realized he had forgotten to put on his brace that night—and was pain-free. He called the doctor, they did an emergency X-ray, and the fractures had disappeared.
My daughter went to the concert in Iowa and said he was singing, dancing, and praising the Lord.My God is a God of healing.
He is a God of transformation.
He is a God of deliverance.
He is a God of wholeness.
And the greatest in the Kingdom are those who have childlike faith to trust Him.
When He says, “Jump,” He is in the middle of the water, waiting to catch and comfort you.
