If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 7.
Luke chapter 7.
Jesus loved children, and he lived in a day and in a society where children were best
not seen or heard, was the thought.
And Jesus wanted to see them.
And Jesus wanted to hear them.
And he wanted them to hear him.
He said in Matthew 19, verse 13, it says,
Then children were brought to him, that he may lay his hands on them and pray, and the
disciples rebuke the people.
But Jesus said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs
the kingdom of heaven.
And he laid his hands on them and went away.
Jesus is serious, not just talking about it.
He's serious about receiving children, treating them right, and leading them toward Christ.
And we need to do all we can as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ to welcome and nurture and
to care for and to teach and to love children of the Lord.
On that note, did you know we had sign-ups for Awana in the foyer?
I think we have availability in the fall for children's Sunday school.
And thank God we always have an ever-growing need for a willingness to help with child care.
So if you care about children, you don't only say amen, and you don't only applaud, or you don't
only go along with what's being said but are willing to help, text R.C., Jeff, or Jennifer,
because they'd love to have it.
And I'm not just preaching, folks.
I'm telling the truth.
We put our feet into action.
We do it.
Another time when he was with the disciples, they asked him who the greatest in the kingdom
was because they were vying to be that person, that greatest in the kingdom.
And in Matthew 18, he responded and he said,
Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you'll never enter the kingdom
of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it'd be better for
him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the
sea.
Jesus doesn't play, folks.
He's clear.
It is important that we set a Christian example before those that are placed in front of us.
And he's telling us to be childlike.
Now listen, there's a difference in being childlike and being childish.
And today in our passage, he shares a parable about being childish.
He is referring to the Pharisees who are the church folk.
They're the religious leaders.
They're the proponents of the law.
And the scribes called here lawyers, but they are those who interpret the law.
They take the law that God established in the Old Testament and they interpret those laws
and they made new rules on top of those and pretended as if those rules were just as important
as God's law that was in Scripture.
They thought their interpretations were just as important, if not more so, than what Scripture said.
And it was in that misunderstanding that they often had conflict with Christ.
They also didn't like his popularity because it took the emphasis off of them and put it on him.
And so they had a tendency to stand in the back of the crowd and question, to look for some kind of hot point
where they could point out something and somehow criticize.
And Jesus knew their heart.
He knew what they were up to.
And so he spoke to them about it.
He speaks to the religious upper crust.
And he says, you're acting like children.
Look at what he says.
He says, it's in Luke chapter 7, verse 31, 32, it says this.
To what then shall I compare the people of this generation?
And what are they like?
They're like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
we play the flute for you and you didn't dance.
We sang a dirge and you didn't weep.
Folks, it's one thing to be childlike.
It's another thing to be childish.
But yet that is what God calls the people of that generation.
He calls them childish by saying they are like children that cannot play together well.
They're like children that are never satisfied.
And he goes on to explain how some people are never satisfied.
See, Jesus and John the Baptist came with two different approaches,
but they came for the same cause.
Yet most folks rejected both of them.
He goes on to say in verse 33,
for John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine.
And you say, he has a demon.
And the son of man has come eating and drinking.
And you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.
Now, John was quite a character.
He was ministering and preaching on the outer skirts of town.
His garments were those that reminded folks of a prophet.
When scripture says he wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt,
they're not exactly talking about our idea of a camel hair coat, okay?
As we would think of today.
Instead, he was wild-eyed, wild-haired, eating bugs and honey,
looking like he just came from Woodstock.
And if that personally offends some of you, well, sorry.
Man, he was drawing a crowd, though.
And he was telling them to repent of their sins.
He was telling them to be baptized.
And he was effective at it.
People were coming.
Lives were changing.
And the Pharisees and the Sadducees came out to see what was up.
And when he saw them, he called them the offspring of snakes
and told them to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
He pulled no punches.
And he said that if they didn't change,
that God would chop them down like a tree in Matthew chapter 3.
Now, that may influence people, but it sure doesn't win friends.
And they didn't like him.
They didn't like him.
He also proclaimed a coming Messiah
and ushered in the way that Christ would come.
And when Christ came, John the Baptist got out of the way.
Now, it's interesting, a little side note here.
He was later imprisoned for his faith
and was soon to be beheaded because of his boldness.
And he asked his followers during that time of imprisonment
to go to Jesus and ask if he was really the Messiah.
What in the world does that mean?
Because he came to prepare the way of the Lord.
And he was so strong in his testimony.
So why later did he question that or have them question it?
And there are two possible reasons for that.
One was that after he had been so strong
and such a powerful testimony and then been imprisoned
and now his death was looming,
could be that he struggled some with that.
Could be that he wondered.
But it also could be as well
that he was taking his disciples
and turning them over to Jesus.
So in other words, what he was saying was,
and I believe this was the point,
he was telling them,
go ask Jesus who he is.
Go find out for yourself who Jesus is.
And it was in that kind of context
with the pressure of the Pharisees and the Sadducees
and their followers bearing down on Christ too,
which was just the Pharisees and the Sadducees,
just two political parties within the church.
Just two different mindsets,
some different theology,
but both of them power mongers
and both of them in the decision rooms of the church.
And they were bearing down on Christ
and that's when Christ speaks the passage
that I read this morning.
Basically what he's saying is this,
God sent two men.
One, he sent a prophet and a paver of the way for Christ.
You didn't like him.
Then he sends his only son
and you don't like him.
One is bold and brash and forceful.
One is gentle, lowly and humble.
And you want to do the opposite of either one of them,
but yet their approaches are very different.
But both are of God.
In other words, Christ is telling us
we ought to become childlike,
but instead so often we become childish.
It's like children at play.
Children often when they play
like to mimic life when they play.
Little boys play with cars
hoping one day to be able to drive.
And little girls put towels on their head
as if it was a veil
looking forward to the day
when they can be a bride.
Or they play with dolls
wanting to be like mommy.
Or the kids play house
and they pick different roles.
And as they get older,
they play school during the summer
when they're out of school.
They mimic what they see.
And the two big ceremonies
in the first century
were funerals and weddings.
And so that's what children saw.
And so that's what they played.
And Jesus speaks of children
mimicking those things when they saw.
They sang sad songs at funerals.
Or they play a flute
like the music of a wedding dance.
However, sometimes children
don't play along.
And Jesus is saying,
John took one approach
and I took another approach
and this generation
has accepted neither.
And if you accept neither,
you miss the message
of the Lord.
I wish it was just that generation.
The reality is
there's a lot of good church people
like us
that are not receptive
to the movement of God today.
We can be a lot like the world
when it comes to that sometimes.
We can be spiritually childish.
Why are we prone
to be childish?
And if you're sitting out there thinking,
I'm not childish.
Well, there you go.
Why are we prone to be childish?
One is,
it could be the expectation
that we have.
We expected something different.
I mean, sometimes people
just want it their way.
And it's not that there's
really anything wrong
with how something is happening.
It's just not acceptable
because it's not what I expected.
I didn't think
it was going to go this way.
They didn't think
John was going to continue
to go after everyone's sin.
That was his message.
And he did it boldly
and he kept on
going after people's sin.
We don't mind
when you go after
somebody else's sin.
You know?
I mean, you pounce
on somebody else's sin.
Woo-hoo!
Go at it, preacher.
You get them.
Get them.
But when you start
messing with my sin,
that's when it changes.
John's message
was to prepare
the way of Christ
by helping people
see the need of Christ
in the midst of a culture
that did not see the need
for a coming Savior.
So he was the shock jock
that came
to wake everybody up
to their need of God.
John came
to show them the dirt.
Dirt.
Jesus came
to show that
God will accept you
dirt and all.
People didn't expect
that either.
The thought was
that people need
to clean up.
You clean up your life,
then you can come to Christ.
But the message of Christ
is that you cannot
clean yourself up.
You don't have
the innate ability
to do that.
Thank God today,
I can say without reservation,
you can come to Christ
just as you are
and he will change you.
He'll empower you
for change.
He'll make the difference
in your life.
Come to Christ
as you are.
Christ will clean you up
and some people,
some good religious people,
they don't like that.
I mean,
they just don't like it.
If Christ accepts people
as they are
and changes them,
then that means
that we're supposed
to help folks
that are not like us.
And we said
we wanted to serve the Lord,
but that's not
what we had in mind.
We had an idea
about what we want to do.
And then God
puts people in our paths
that's not exactly
what we expect.
And I've learned
many times over
that when you do
what the Lord
calls you to do,
it's not always
following your expectations.
it's not always
going to pan out
like you thought it was.
God may do
a much different work
than the way
you anticipated
it to be done.
And some folks
would rather
trust their anticipation,
let's just be honest,
they'd rather trust
their anticipation
than they would
the movement of the Lord.
If you get too sold
on your anticipation,
you don't want to
follow along
with the Lord
and what He's doing.
And so we become childish
because we thought
it would be different.
Another reason
we tend to act childish
toward Christ,
excuse me,
they tend to act childish
before Christ.
It could be
the personal problems
that we endure.
For instance,
children do not
play good together
when they're tired.
we don't either.
And sometimes
we just get tired.
Sometimes we just get tired.
It's not that we're
not doing a good work.
Let me give you an example.
Elijah was like that.
Man, Elijah was
a miracle worker of God.
Did wonderful things.
And then
Elijah got tired.
He got so tired
he wanted to die
and he laid down to die
but God said,
get up.
And he gave him
exactly what he needed.
And I'm so thankful today
that he'll do the same
for us.
Say, preacher,
I'm tired.
Well, yeah.
We all get tired sometimes.
And he invites us
to come to him.
Come to me,
all you who are
weak and heavy laden.
I will give you
rest.
You'll find rest
in the Lord.
He'll take care of you.
Not only that,
children don't play good
when they're hungry.
And when they're too young
to tell us they're hungry,
they still have a way
of letting us know
they're hungry,
don't they?
Sometimes we get childish
because we're hungry.
That usually happens
to y'all about 1155.
Excuse me,
we started earlier
than that,
didn't we?
That just scared
the wooly out
of a lot of you,
didn't it?
Folks,
when we get hungry
for the things
of the world,
we're not satisfied
because the appetite
for the things
of the world
will never satisfy.
It's like eating air.
It's not going to satisfy.
And unsatisfied people
do not always go along
with what God wants to do
because they're unsatisfied.
And so sometimes
we get childish
because we like it our way.
And these kids
in this parable
did not get invited
to play a game
they wanted
so they didn't go along.
And sometimes
the course that God
has for us
is different
than our way.
it's not exactly
what we anticipated.
It's not exactly
what we feel like.
And we get childish
about it.
Another reason
people act childish
toward God
it could be
the message
that we hear.
And I want to be clear
about this
and I'll close.
The gospel
is a two-sided
message
and you better
proclaim
both sides
of that message
or you'll have
half the message
filled with
half truths.
One side
of the gospel message
is that
every one of us
are sinners.
Romans 3.23
says
for all
have sinned
and fall short
of the glory
of God.
Now
I want you
to notice
something.
It says
for all
have sinned
and fall
short
that verb
is in a different
tense
and fall
short
of the glory
of God.
The glory
of God
is that
revealing
of God.
It's when
he shows
himself
and God
has made
us to be
in relationship
with him
and to
amplify
and be a
light of
his message
and his
truth.
And the
reality is
that every
one of us
have sinned
and therefore
failed to
live up
to what
God made
us for.
We've all
messed up.
Now you don't
like to hear
that.
I don't like
to hear that.
I don't like
people pointing
out the things
I do wrong
but the reality
is it's there.
We're all
in the same
boat.
Without Christ
we're hopeless.
And that
is the
message of
John the
Baptist.
That's what
he said.
However,
many others
did not
like it.
It was a
funeral dirge
and they
didn't want
to play
funeral.
They didn't
want to hear
about the
death that
comes from
our sin.
I'm thankful
today there's
another side of
the gospel
message because
if there wasn't
I wouldn't
be here.
There'd be
no need
for me to
tell you
that you're
doomed.
Go home.
You have
no hope.
Nobody wants
to hear that.
You have
to understand
that to
get the
second half
of the
message.
And sometimes
you have to
preach that
and proclaim
that and show
that with
more emphasis
than you do
the second
half.
But you
can't preach
half the
truth.
You've
got to
preach the
whole truth.
Second
half of
the truth
is that
the wages
or the
cost or
the penalty
of our
sin is
death.
And in
the New
Testament when
it speaks
of death
it's not
talking about
the heart
stopping and
the brain
stop functioning.
It's talking
about the
separation that
comes from
death.
I lost
my dear
godly
grandmother
years ago
and when
she died
I was
sad.
Why was
I sad?
Because she
was going
to heaven
and her
faith had
become sight
and everything
that she had
looked for
now she was
being fulfilled
before her.
No, not at
all.
I was sad
because I was
going to be
separated her
for as long
as I live
on this
earth.
It was the
separation
that was
so difficult.
It was not
the destination
of the one
that believes
in Christ.
It was the
separation.
So when he
says the cost
or the
penalty
or the
wage
of sin
is death.
He says
that it's
separating us
from God.
But the
free gift
of God
how many
of you
like a
free gift?
You know
no strings
attached
you know
the free
gift of
God
is eternal
life through
Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Now the
reality is
if it's a
gift
you can't
earn it.
Just a
gift.
It's not a
payback.
That's something
different.
It's just
a gift.
Romans goes
on to tell
us that
God shows
his love
for us
that while
we were yet
sinners Christ
died for us.
Listen I
don't want to
know everything
you've done.
I'm not going
to tell you
everything I've
done.
Okay.
I mean look
if our sins
in life
were like
stones
and the
little sins
and by the
way we judge
how big the
sins are not
God because
they all
separate us
from God.
Okay.
But we have
a way of
saying what
sins big
and what
sins not.
If I
asked you
to list
what's a
big sin
and what's
a small
sin we
could all
know what
that was.
We understand
that culturally
what that
means.
But even
the little
bitty ones
sent Christ
to the
cross.
You
understand
that don't
you?
So there's
not really
a difference.
It all
separates us
from God.
But let's
just say that
the little
ones are
little stones
and that
the big
ones are
big boulders
and we
all have
a bag.
I'm going
to tell you
if you're
half my age
your bag's
too big
to fit in
this room.
We're in a
mess.
And nobody
wants to
know all
that about
you.
But God
does know
it all.
He knows
the thoughts.
He knows
the things
that you
wanted to
say.
He knows
the things
you said.
He knows
the things
that you
wanted to
do.
He knows
the things
you did.
He knows
the places
you wanted
to go.
He knows
the places
that you
went.
And He
knew all
of that.
And He
shows His
love for
us.
That even
though He
knows all
of that,
He died
for you.
He died
in your
place.
So you
would have
hope.
And not
spend eternity
apart from
God.
And the
last part
of that
second half
of the
gospel truth
is that
if you
confess
with your
mouth
that Jesus
is Lord
and believe
in your
heart that
God raised
Him from
the dead,
you will
be saved.
Now let
me explain
what that
means.
Confess
is not
just meeting
with the
preacher in
his office
and confessing
that I've
sinned before.
confession is
not just
telling somebody
else that
you know,
I believe
in Jesus.
I mean,
I'm not
going to
live it out,
I'm not
going to make
a big deal
out of it
and that
kind of
stuff.
But I
mean,
I believe,
I believe.
I'll tell
you what I
believe Paul's
talking about
because the
context of
when he
says Jesus
is Lord.
Lord.
There was
a ceremony
in the
Roman Empire
where people
would pledge
their allegiance
to the
empire.
They would
burn incense,
they would
kneel before
some icon
of Caesar
and they
would say,
Caesar is
Lord.
And when
they proclaimed
their allegiance
to the empire,
they continued
to keep their
rights and
would continue
to live and
Rome was proud
of their rights.
They were proud
of their citizenship
and they were
able to keep
that.
But when
Christians were
put on the
spot and they
burned that
incense and got
to that point,
they would say,
Kyrios Christos,
which is Greek
for Christ is
Lord.
And when they
stood in that
crucible and
said that,
they would lose
their citizenship.
They would be
imprisoned.
They would be
exiled like John
was when he wrote
the Revelation.
Nero would
take the bodies
of professed
Christians,
impale them,
dip them in
tar, and
light his
garden with
them.
The
confession of
Christ is not
a quiet,
private,
just between
you and me
matter.
It's an
open confession.
It's living
out our life
for the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And belief
is not just a
belief in a
historic Jesus
that did good
things and died
and rose again.
It is instead
a commitment
to live your
life for his
cause and for
his kingdom.
I don't know
about you,
but because he's
changed my life,
that's music to
my ears.
but some
don't like to
dance to
that tune.
So may I
ask,
to the ways
and the will
of God for
your life
today,
are you
childish?
Or are you
childlike?
are you
stubborn?
Are you
humble?
Are you
rejecting
what God's
telling you?
Are you
receiving it?
Are you
withdrawing in
your faith?
It's just
between me and
God.
Are you
outreaching?
Being a
light of the
world?
Being a
salt that
flavors the
society in
which God
has placed
us in.
And believe
me,
he knew
the status
and the
circumstances
of the
society that
he placed
us in
before we
ever got
here,
and yet
caused us
to be
salt and
light in
the midst
of it.
Jesus
wants us
to become
like children,
not act
like children,
but instead
to be
dependent,
to be
yielding,
and to
be open
to whatever
he wants
us to
do.
I've
always lived
away from
family.
Always have.
I've always
had family
that lived
a long
way away.
My daddy
was in the
Air Force
and he
retired in
the upper
peninsula of
Michigan.
You can't
get in Ohio
and the
United States
before you
hit Canada.
When he
retired, we
moved to
Greenville.
New Orleans
and
my grandmother
lived in
Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
And so on
occasion,
vacations were
commonly to
go up there
and see her.
When we
lived in the
UP, if we
had a
vacation, it
was to
come to
South Carolina
and see my
other
grandmother.
We moved
to South
Carolina.
I grew
up.
God called
me to go
to New
Orleans
Seminary.
I married
a Mississippi
girl.
Okay?
Pastored
in Mississippi,
traveled to
South Carolina.
to see my
family.
Moved to
South Carolina.
Traveled to
Mississippi to
see family.
Lived in
Mississippi.
Traveled to
South Carolina
to see family.
Now, hey, I
left a daughter
in Mississippi,
so I think I'll
probably be
traveling to
Mississippi.
But when I
was a child,
I never
questioned,
where are
we were
going?
I mean, I
might have
asked them,
but it
didn't really
matter.
I didn't
really have
a choice.
When that
68 or that
76 Buick was
full, it's
time to get
in the back.
No seat
belt, back
window down.
I threw a
G.I.
Joe out the
back window.
Greatest sin I
ever committed
as a child was
throwing a G.I.
Joe out the
back window.
But we got
him back, and
he was a war
veteran after
that, you
know?
So, I
just got in
the car and
went where my
parents were
going.
It's time for
Christians to
just get in a
place.
Quit
questioning
everything that
God stirs in
our hearts to
do.
Just go.
Hey, I
don't know
where we're
going in this
life.
I know where
I'm going when
I leave this
life.
I don't know
what God's got
in store for
us tomorrow,
but I know
I'm biting
at the bit to
be exactly where
he wants me to
be today and
tomorrow.
Let's just go
with God.
Let's quit
trying to figure
it out and
go with God.
With every
head bowed and
every eye
closed.
Maybe you're
here today and
the reality is
your sin has
separated you
from God and
you've never
surrendered your
life to follow
the Lord Jesus
Christ.
You never ask
him to come into
your life and to
change you.
There is no
personal commitment
to Christ.
You don't have a
relationship with
Christ.
You may have a
relationship with
the church.
You may have a
relationship with
good godly people,
but there's never
been a time in
your life when
you've committed
your life to
follow Christ.
I want you to
know that this
time, we'll stand
in just a moment
and we'll sing,
and this time is
created for you to
have that opportunity
to respond to
Christ.
It's not the only
time you can
respond, but what a
great time it is.
The spirit of God
is leading you to
do that.
I encourage you to
be obedient and
follow his lead.
Maybe you're here
and you are a
Christian, but the
reality is you know
that God is drawing
you to be a part of
this congregation.
We've been blessed
in recent days.
Many have come
along the way
because they've
told me, I
believe God is
calling us to
join in the
journey with this
body of believers
and to follow his
will.
If God's leading
you to do that,
you come.
We'll help you
in that process.
Maybe you're here
and you have made
a private decision
for the Lord, but
you've never made
that public.
Jesus, by example
and by teaching,
shared with us
that we make
that public
first by baptism.
We'll be baptizing
in a couple of
weeks.
If you're here
today and have
accepted the Lord
before but never
been baptized
since that time,
I encourage you
to come.
Take advantage
of that opportunity.
Or maybe you're
here and you are
a Christian and you
know that, but you
know there's some
childish things in
your life.
Sometimes you buck
in the back seat.
You're not happy
with exactly what's
going on.
And you don't
exactly do what
God wants you to
do.
Will today, will you
surrender that to
God?
Lord, I don't know
what I'm to do and I
don't know where we're
going, but I want to
get in on what you
want to do and I want
to follow your lead
today.
You can do that at
these steps and make
it a makeshift altar.
You can do it where
you are.
I'll never ask you to
do anything more or
anything less than what
God would have you to
do, but please don't
satisfy yourself with
less because you'll
never be satisfied.
Just obey God as he
speaks to your heart
and life.
Lord Jesus, I love
you.
I thank you for the
opportunity that you
give us through Christ
and I pray that you'll
help us to respond in
obedience today as you
speak to our heart and
life.
In Jesus' precious name,
amen.
Amen.