Let me add my welcome to you.
My name is Sam.
I'm one of the pastoral team here at St. Paul's,
and it is really good to see a bunch of faces
that I don't know very well.
Hopefully I'll get the chance to meet some of you
over dinner at the after party after the service,
but if I don't get the chance to chat to you,
consider this a welcome,
and hopefully I will get to at some point
in the not-too-distant future.
I'm going to pray,
and then we're actually going to have a look
at that passage that Helen just read out for us.
In particular, we're going to focus on just four verses
right at the beginning of it.
And try and see if we can understand
what it is that God is saying to us.
That's what we believe the Bible is.
It's God's way of talking to us and teaching us things.
And so we're going to try and understand
just those four verses tonight
and try and think what does that mean for us individually.
So how about I pray,
and then we'll get stuck into it.
Father God, we thank you for bringing us here tonight.
We thank you for a beautiful day.
We thank you for warm weather.
We thank you for the Bible, which is your word.
And we ask that you would help us to understand it tonight
so that we might see you more clearly
and know what it means to follow you.
Amen.
I wonder if you've ever felt like you weren't welcome,
felt like you didn't belong somewhere.
A couple of weeks ago,
it's probably a little over a month ago now,
the staff team that I'm a part of here at St. Paul's
allocated a half a day to spend together
to do something fun.
Now, at my very enthusiastic recommendation,
we landed on spending the day doing lawn bowls.
Now, before you knock it,
it's actually a really fun afternoon.
But it's fair to say that for a 29-year-old
and for pretty much all of the staff,
it's a cross-cultural experience.
And when we arrived at the bowling club that we had chosen,
we eventually figured out which door
we were supposed to walk into.
We walked in, we were met by some carpet
that wasn't that dissimilar to the lovely carpet
that we're standing on now.
We were met by an almost empty room.
There was one table of slightly older men
who were sitting there drinking,
and they were, at best, disinterested,
at worst, angry that we were in the room.
And we kind of looked around,
trying to find a staff member who could help us,
but there was no one.
There was just a kind of crumpled up,
stained sign-in book that was on a table in front of us
that we were kind of supposed to use our powers of deduction
to figure out how things worked.
Eventually, we'd been in there for about 10 minutes,
and a staff member appears.
That staff member then proceeded to try and convince us
that we didn't have a booking for that day.
After producing the voucher and a receipt,
she conceded.
At which point, the kitchen staff came out
to let us know that we didn't have a booking for that day
and they weren't going to be ready to cook lunch for us.
A bit more back and forth,
and eventually they went away
and tried to figure out what they were going to give us for food.
They stood around with us for a little while,
and eventually they figured out that what needed to happen
was to give us some lawn bowls
and send us out onto the bowling green.
But even once we got out there
and we were left to our own devices,
there was still this sense that the table of men inside,
they put us on the green right in front of the window.
I'm not sure if it was a ploy or not,
but there was this sense that those men were inside
watching and laughing.
They may not have been,
but that was how it felt.
Because we're sitting there fumbling about at a sport
that most of us haven't done before,
and we're just feeling completely out of place.
We didn't have the right clothes.
We didn't know what the etiquette was.
We weren't using the correct words for the correct things.
And we just felt like outsiders,
like we didn't belong.
It's not a very fun feeling,
but the reality is that for some of us,
that might be how church feels.
It might be that this is the first time in a long time
that you've been in a church.
Maybe you've never been before
because you just weren't sure
that you would actually fit in with churchy people.
You dress different, you swear, you smoke,
you've got a tattoo,
and you've never really been keen on singing in public.
And so the idea of coming to a church,
you just kind of went,
they're just going to stare at me.
Or maybe you've even been to a church
and experienced that sense of,
everybody's looking at me like I'm strange.
There's just this feeling that I don't belong
and maybe I'm not good enough
to be in this group of people.
Now, if you've ever felt like that,
sadly, you're not alone.
I think that as long as there has been churches,
there's been people in those churches
acting as if they had the right to decide
who should be in and who should be out.
And so throughout all of history,
there's been people wandering into churches
and wandering out just as quickly
because they didn't feel like they belonged.
Now, I'm not just pointing the finger
at those other churches that do that,
because the reality is,
if I'm really honest,
there are people that I meet in my life,
there are people that I see
when I'm out at the shops
or out with my friends,
and deep down,
I don't really want them
to be sitting next to me
the next Sunday in church.
For whatever reason,
there's something about them
that I don't really like,
and I just don't think
that they should be a part
of the church community.
And so if you're here this evening
and you're feeling unwelcome,
you're feeling like out of place,
I want to start by saying sorry,
because that's not how it's supposed to work.
That's not what the church is supposed to be.
I mean, in some senses,
that's how the world works.
You hang out with the people that you are like.
You hang out with the people you get on with.
So if you don't like lawn bowls,
you don't hang out at the bowling club.
If you like boats,
you hang out with people who like boats.
If you skate,
you hang out with people who skate.
If you're into philosophy,
you hang out with people
who like to talk about philosophy.
But the church is supposed to be different.
See, the church is supposed to be
a group of people
that have been gathered together by God,
and the only thing
that they've got in common
is that Jesus has saved them.
I mean, people should look at the church
and go,
it just doesn't make sense.
They should go,
how is it possible that that guy
and that girl,
who are completely different,
can have such a deep friendship.
But the sad reality is,
in churches all over the world right now,
there are still people acting like
they get to decide
who's in and who's out.
Even across Australia today,
there are people who want to know Jesus,
who want to find out more,
but feel unwelcome
to walk into a building like this,
because they're worried
that they're going to get judged
or looked down on.
And that is terrible.
But in there,
in that what is a disgusting situation,
there is a huge encouragement.
In that reality,
is the best news
that you have ever heard.
Hiding in that unwelcome environment
is the gospel.
And I want to show you why,
from the passage that Helen read out for us.
If you've got it in front of you,
that'll be helpful.
If not, you can listen
and I'll read out the key bits.
But in Mark chapter 10,
in verse 13,
this is what's going on.
It says,
people were bringing little children to Jesus
to have him touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
So you get it,
it's a pretty simple scene.
Jesus is the miracle worker.
Jesus is the impressive teacher.
And so everybody wants to,
you know,
send their kids in
so that they can maybe
catch some of the magic.
You know,
if maybe Jesus puts their hands on them,
then they'll get into
the right private school.
Or they want some of the good blessing,
the good stuff that Jesus is offering.
But the disciples
get in the way pretty quickly.
They're like,
look,
Jesus is busy.
He's got things to do.
And now,
before we nail the disciples
for being jerks,
we've got to realize
that we actually treat kids
the same way now.
Like,
we actually do the same
sort of thing.
At best,
kids are something to be survived
or tolerated.
At worst,
they're something to be avoided
or pushed to the side.
I mean,
think about it.
We have restaurants
and cinemas
and churches
where kids aren't supposed to be.
There are special places
you can pay extra
for the privilege
of being free
of the burden of children.
children.
We look down on them
and it's almost logical.
Because when you think about it,
kids don't actually
contribute anything,
do they?
They're kind of freeloaders.
I mean,
seriously,
if you're a parent,
and I am now,
I'm six months into parenthood,
and kids
don't actually offer anything.
They just take time
and energy
and resources
from hardworking adults
like you and me.
And so in one sense,
it's completely valid
that the disciples go,
these kids don't deserve
any special treatment.
They don't deserve
front row seats for Jesus.
There's more important
people around.
Now,
as I said,
I've been a father
for almost six months
and my little boy
has a pretty basic routine.
He sleeps
not as much
as we want him to.
He wakes up screaming
because he's hungry.
He eats a little bit.
He throws up a little bit.
He poos a little bit.
And then he whinges
and wriggles around
on the floor.
There's not a lot
of contribution
from him so far
in our family unit.
He doesn't help
with chores.
He doesn't pay rent.
He just takes time
and energy
from me and Sal.
Now,
we love him,
just so we're clear.
But he's not
a major contributor
in our family.
Now,
imagine with me
for a second
that my wife
wins a prize for two.
It's an all-expenses-paid,
first-class,
holiday for two
around the world,
finest hotels,
limousines,
everything.
Now,
which two members
of my family
deserve,
let me underline that,
deserve
to go on that holiday?
Now,
you might be less selfish
than me,
but if we're really honest,
it's fair to say
that me and my wife
deserve the holiday.
We're the ones
who do the cleaning,
we're the ones
who change nappies,
we're the ones
who make our own way
to the bathroom
when that needs to happen.
And so,
it's fair enough
that out of the three of us,
we are the most deserving
of that extra privilege.
Now,
it's not that we don't love
our boy,
but we're the ones
doing the work.
And we're older,
and we'll enjoy it more,
and we'll appreciate it.
It's not that
our son's not important,
it's just that
he's less important
than us.
Now,
just so we're clear again,
my boy comes first
in our family
because he needs to.
But you can understand
at least a little bit
of what's going through
the head of the disciples.
Now,
they're not saying
children are
just unimportant
and insignificant
and don't matter.
They're just saying
children are less important.
I mean,
let's just remember
who we're talking about here.
This is Jesus.
This is the miracle worker.
This is the healer.
This is the teacher.
This is the son of God.
And so they're thinking
maybe there's more
important people here
who need to get
to Jesus first.
I mean,
he's not going to be
around forever.
We're going to make
the most of his time.
There could have been
doctors or lawyers
or politicians,
you know,
really important people.
And the disciples
are doing exactly
what we would probably do.
We start sorting out
who is the most
important people,
who are the most
worthy people
and we'll give them
a shot at looking
at Jesus first.
So the children
in this passage
and children in general
don't deserve
any special treatment
from God.
They don't deserve
this free
jump to the front
of the queue pass.
And interestingly,
Jesus doesn't actually
argue the point
when he responds
to his disciples.
I don't know if you
noticed that.
Jesus doesn't turn around
and go,
disciples,
you idiots.
Children do deserve
my blessing.
They are more important
than everyone else.
Let them to the front.
Listen to what he does say
back in the passage
at verse 14.
When Jesus saw this,
he was indignant
and he said to them,
Let the little children
come to me
and do not hinder them
for the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these.
I tell you the truth,
anyone who will not
receive the kingdom of God
like a little child
will never enter it.
And he took the children
in his arms,
put his hands on them
and blessed them.
What's Jesus' response?
He says,
let them come.
He doesn't say
let them come
because they're
the most important.
He says,
let them come.
Even though they're unworthy,
even though they're unimportant,
even though they're unimpressive,
he says,
my blessing,
my kingdom,
all the stuff
that I want to give
belongs to such as these.
His kingdom belongs
to the childlike.
Now,
the amazing irony
in this passage
is that the same way
that the disciples
are looking down
on these children
and the same way
that sometimes
people in churches
look down on other people
as being unworthy
or undeserving,
that is exactly
how God sees
each and every one of us.
That is exactly
how God sees
even the disciples
in this passage.
Now,
let me say that again
because that's really important.
The way we sometimes
try and discern
between who is
more deserving
of God's love
and less deserving,
we look at other people
as less deserving.
But when God sees us,
he sees us
as undeserving.
He sees us
as unworthy.
He sees us
as having no right
whatsoever.
When God looks at you
and me
and every single one
of us,
he sees what the disciples
see in these kids,
people who don't deserve
his blessing.
So on one level,
if you're sitting
in church tonight
and you're feeling
unwelcome,
you're feeling like
maybe you don't fit here,
you're actually heading
in the right direction.
God is giving you
some insight
into how he sees you.
He's giving you
a chance to look
from his perspective
and understand
that no one
deserves to be able
to call God Father.
No one deserves
to be able to call
Jesus their Savior.
No one deserves
to be able to call
Jesus their friend.
And in this passage,
the reason the children
are unworthy
is because they're children.
All they need
is a few years
and they can deal
with that issue
but our issue
is more significant.
Our problem's
not so easily fixed.
See, we're unworthy
of God
because we spend
our lives
treating him
like he doesn't matter.
We're unworthy
because we act
like the one
who made us
and keeps us alive
is just a resource
that we can use
instead of a God
who deserves
to be obeyed.
We don't do
what he tells us to.
We do what he tells
us not to do
and the sad thing is
even if we were
to try and change now
and become better people,
even if we were
to start obeying
from this point forward,
that doesn't change
that we are
disobedient people.
That doesn't change
that up to this point
in our lives
and in reality
from here forward,
we're going to keep
ignoring him
and making choices
that we know
he doesn't want us to.
We have a habit
when we talk
about God
of thinking about
good people
and bad people.
We think of bad people
as the people
who murder
or steal
or abuse
and good people
are the ones
who manage to avoid
those serious bad things
and those are the only
two categories we've got.
We've got good
and bad
but God has a higher
standard than good.
God is perfect
in every way.
There is nothing
bad in him
and he demands
that if we would
follow him,
if we would call him
father,
if we would be a part
of his family,
then we need to be
perfect as well.
Now you might be good
but you are not perfect.
You might be better
than everyone else
in this room,
you might be the best
person you know
but you are still
not perfect.
Which means
in God's eyes
you're not good enough.
You don't deserve
his blessing.
You don't deserve
all the good things
that he has.
Jesus is saying
something really profound
in these four verses.
The kingdom of God
he says,
the blessing of God
he says,
belongs
to such
as these.
The church
will be full
of such
as these.
Heaven
will be full
of such
as these.
But what does that mean?
What does it mean
to receive the kingdom
like a little child?
Well it's all
the things
that you spend
your life
trying to get out of.
All the habits
that you're trying
to avoid.
The dependence
of children.
The helplessness
of children.
See we live
in a society
where we value
independence.
We want our lives
to be about
what we can do.
We want to be judged
on our merits.
We want to stand
on our own two feet
and we want
what is fair
and just
for what we have done.
But Jesus is saying
if God gives you
what is fair
and just
for what you have done
then you have no chance
of getting
all the good things
that he wants
to give you.
Being a Christian
is about
recognizing
embracing
and rejoicing
in the fact
that you
need
Jesus'
help.
I'll say that again.
Being a Christian
is about
recognizing
that you need
Jesus' help
embracing
the fact
that you need
help
from something
outside yourself
and rejoicing
in the fact
that God
has provided
that help
that you need.
These children
come to Jesus
because they are
confident
that he
will love them.
Not confident
that they deserve
his love.
Not confident
that they have
some right
to his blessing.
But depending
on the fact
that he
will love
them
in spite
of how
unimpressive
they are.
They bring
nothing to
the table.
They just
come eager
and keen
empty handed
and Jesus
welcomes
them.
That is
what it means
to receive
the kingdom
like a child.
It's about
recognizing
you don't
deserve it
and asking
God to
welcome you
anyway.
the gospel
message
is a message
of unworthy
people
offered
forgiveness
and love
through the
death
and resurrection
of Jesus.
But don't
mishear me
when I say
that.
The fact
that God
has welcomed
an imperfect
person like
me and the
fact that
tonight he
might be
ready to
welcome an
imperfect
person like
you
doesn't mean
that he's
lowering his
standards.
It doesn't
mean that he
looked and
realized there
was no
perfect people
and thought
well if I
just lower
a bit and
just get
kind of the
top tier of
good people
heaven will
still be
alright.
God has
not lowered
his standards.
What it
means is he
loves you
enough to
pay the
price that
you're supposed
to pay and
instead give
you his love
and blessing.
The famous
author C.S.
Lewis calls
it the great
exchange.
Jesus comes
to earth and
in his whole
life he
is perfectly
obedient to
God in
heaven.
He does
everything that
God requires
of him and
instead of the
love and
privilege position
that he deserves
in heaven he
takes on the
punishment that
every one of
us deserves for
telling God that
he doesn't
matter.
He takes on the
judgment and
punishment that
is ours and
then instead of
receiving the
punishment that
is ours we
are given the
life and
blessing that
is his.
grace.
It is the
great exchange.
If you're
here and
you're invited
by someone
maybe you're
here because
you're curious
about God
maybe you're
here because
you were just
sick of saying
no to that
really persistent
friend.
Whatever brought
you to this
room God was
behind it.
if you're
feeling like
you don't
really belong
right now
good.
Because the
reality is
you don't
deserve to
be in God's
family.
You are
unworthy of
his love and
forgiveness
forgiveness.
But so is
everyone else
around you.
God sees
your life.
He knows
who you
are.
He knows
the deep
dark secrets
that you hope
no one ever
finds out and
he says I
love you
anyway.
He says if
you would just
stop trying to
be good enough
stop thinking
at least I'm
not as bad as
other people
and would just
like a child
depend on him
he would
welcome you
with open
arms.
It doesn't
matter what
other people
say to you
no one else
gets to decide
whether or not
you're good
enough for
heaven.
Jesus is
saying now
you're not
but I want to
welcome you
anyway.
If you call
yourself a
Christian if
you're sitting
in this room
and you've
been following
Jesus for a
while I just
want to be
clear that here
is what you're
saying according
to Jesus.
You're saying
that God
loves me even
though there is
nothing in me
that makes me
worthy of it.
That's what a
Christian is.
Someone who
recognizes they
don't deserve
God's love but
gets it anyway.
And so if
that's you maybe
you need to be
reminded that you
are never in a
position to look
at someone else
as being less
deserving of God's
love than you
are.
If you look at
someone and see
them as unworthy
that's right,
that's what the
Bible says but
you've got to see
yourself right
alongside them
because that's
what the gospel
says.
You don't deserve
God's love but
you get it because
God loves you.
You get it because
he chooses to
love you.
God loves you.
And maybe he is
challenging some of
us tonight to
maybe be a little
bit more humble in
the way that we
follow him.
To maybe be a
little bit more
welcoming.
To make this a
place that anyone
would feel comfortable
to walk into
regardless of what
they're wearing or
how they talk or
how strange this
all seems.
we started off
tonight lamenting
the fact that
churches are often
unwelcoming places,
that they're often
exclusive and I
said that hiding in
that reality was
good news.
The fact that the
church is full of
people like that,
people who make
others feel
unwelcome, it's not
a good thing but
at very least it's
proof that
everyone sitting
in church is just
as unworthy as
you.
If you have ever
been made to feel
unwelcome in a
church, if you have
ever been told by
Christians that you
don't deserve God's
love, that you
don't deserve to be a
part of their
community, I think
that's actually
evidence that they
don't deserve it
either.
And that's the
proof that it's
all about God
and it's all about
what God has
done.
Plus, you feeling
that unworthiness is
actually a necessary
starting point.
If you're going to
be able to receive
it like a child,
you've got to
recognise that you've
got nothing to
offer, that it
doesn't matter how
good you're going
to be from now on,
it doesn't matter
how good you've
been until now,
you've got to
recognise it is all
about God's love
for you.
It is all about
the fact that he
sent Jesus to die
for you and it is
all about the fact
that Jesus rose
again for you.
It is not and it
will not ever be
about what you
have or haven't
done.
Lastly, you being
in this room now
is good news
because if God
can welcome me,
even though I'm
imperfect, and if
God can welcome
you, even though
you're imperfect,
and even though
we are completely
different people
with different
lives and different
experiences, maybe
somebody else will
walk into this
room one time and
see if God can
forgive that guy
and that girl,
then maybe he can
forgive me as well.
Jesus rebukes his
disciples in this
passage because they
block the way for
children that he had
already chosen to
love, that he had
already chosen to
welcome.
There is nothing
and no one that
God will let get in
the way of you
coming to him.
Nothing you have
done and no other
person's opinion of
you can block how
much God loves you.
The challenge for you
tonight is, are you
ready like a child?
Are you ready to
admit that you have
nothing to offer to
him?
To recognize that
more than that, you
are undeserving of
his love, but you
are actually deserving
of his punishment, and
yet still he wants to
welcome you.
He wants to offer you
something better.
The question for you
tonight is, will you
accept his love with
open hands like a
child?
will you receive the
blessing that he wants
to give you?
Let's pray.
Father God, we want
to acknowledge that
there is so much in
our lives that is not
worthy of you.
That every single one
of us in this room
spends time acting like
we're in charge, acting
like we get to make
our own decisions and
you don't matter.
And God, we want to
thank you that even
though we are so
disobedient, you still
love us.
We want to thank you
for being willing to
send Jesus to take our
punishment.
We want to thank you
that it's not about
what other people think
of us, it's about your
love which you have
shown us in Jesus.
God, I want to pray
that if there are
people sitting in this
room right now who
don't yet know what
it is to be welcomed
by you, to be forgiven
by you, to be loved
by you, who don't yet
know what it is to
call you Father, who
don't know what it is
to be sure that you
have reserved a place
for them in heaven,
Lord, I pray that
tonight you would
remove the barriers
and you would welcome
them.
God, we thank you so
much for your love
and for sending
Jesus.
Amen.