It's great to see everyone that's here tonight.
I'm glad to be here. I consider it a privilege to
stand before you as I have the throughout this short series of
gospel meetings. And tonight, I'm excited about
what I'm going to preach to you. I'm excited because it's a
message from Jesus. If you're visiting with us, I
invite you to turn in the gospel of Matthew.
This inspired man wrote this down for us.
The Bible says, beginning in verse one, at that time, the
disciples came to Jesus saying, who then is the greatest in the
Kingdom of Heaven. Now, that's a big deal.
Who is the greatest? We all want to be the greatest
that we sing songs. People have songs about the
greatest. We like to think about our stars
and stripes and 50 stars are, maybe 51 now that they like to
fly. But 50 stripes are 50.
Stars represent a great nation, a powerful Nation.
The greatest army in the world people would like to say So, who
is the greatest? Do you ever wonder whether or
not? You're great.
Not if your mom or your grandma says, you're great.
That's a given take that out. I'm talking about when you look
in the mirror and you think about your life?
And you look at yourself and say am I really great?
I'm not just talking about being great at a job.
Lots of people can be great at making money, but they're not
great in life. I'm talking about being great in
the epitome of the word, a great human being a person that God
would look down on and say this is great.
That's exactly what they did. They got an answer from God, the
son. Rarely, do you have an
opportunity? Rarely, would you ever have the
opportunity to have such a conversation and yet Jesus gave
it to us. Who is the greatest?
They said, and Jesus called a little child to them, verse to a
little child to him, set him in the midst of them.
And said, assuredly I say to you unless you are converted and
become as Little Children, You Will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles
himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. And whoever receives one little
child like this, in my name, receives me.
Now you think Jesus doesn't care about children?
And I believe spiritual children to hear.
Verse 6 says, but whoever causes one of these little ones who
believe in me to sin. It would be better for him if a
millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the
depth of the sea, woe to the world because of offenses for
offenses, must come, but woe to that, man, by whom the offense
has come. I worry about people who don't
like little children. Jesus upon this occasion used a
little child to draw a wonderful, big, spiritual
principle. And tonight I want to talk to
you about becoming like a child. And there will be a clear
distinction in what I have to say tonight, there is a
difference between being child ish and like a child.
And we have to make that distinction.
Becoming a child of God. Almighty is a big deal.
It involves our choice. Becoming a spiritual child
involves our choice. I did not decide who my physical
parents were. They are Jimmy and Cindy's Smith
that DNA. Don't Lie.
The lungs are there? The look is there.
It just is there but I have a choice as to whether or not I
will make God Almighty my spiritual father.
I love prayers is our brother prayed where we address Our
Father in Heaven as almighty God because literally It is a great
thing to think of your father, as the greatest.
The greatest. You last night on the way home.
Frankie. And I were talking about family,
we're talking about love language, and he gave me the
distinct privilege of listening to a birthday.
Present, his 40th birthday present from his kids.
It's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard.
And I want to tell you and when I think about what it means to
be a good dad, when I think about what it means to be a good
father, I see a lot of men here that have been some really great
dads. you know, a lot of that sometimes is subjective We have
the greatest father on the top side of this Earth as we often
say, but that didn't really catch.
It does it? We have the greatest opportunity
to have a relationship with almighty.
God, literally to make him our father.
We created in His image as human beings.
But what he allows us to do is to have a spiritual a real
relationship where somebody like me that had a problem with a
three-letter word of sin can have a relationship with someone
that is infinitely, good and pure and holy.
And someone that literally poured out, the very Express
reflection of his love, when he had to make a choice about what
to do with me. And in order to make that
choice, it required him to shed the blood of Jesus.
Your father may have given up a lot for you.
I heard the little squeaky voices of Taylor and Tanner as
they said, Dad, I think you're the greatest.
Those are some of the sweetest words.
I have pictures of my wallet now and I hope and I pray and I beg
God, for two healthy babies and I hope that they will utter
those words. I pray that.
But I want to tell you something.
When you approach, God, and when you deal with the reality, that
God is who he said he was, he is real, he is a real being he
created this world, he is the star breather.
We're in a little cul-de-sac in this little Milky Way.
Galaxy and he created all that is seen to get my attention and
to get your attention and you're nothing but a speck of dust.
This Earth is nothing, but a speck of dust in the great
telescopes that magnify all of this wonderful universe and
those things were breathe out of his mouth.
And when he saw a need in me and a need in you and a need and
every man on the face of the Earth, he allowed his only
begotten son to walk down the stair, e, The Starry staircase
of Heaven. And die, a cruel and awful death
for us. And so, when I say that it
involves a choice, it involves me making a choice as to whether
or not. I want to be a child of God.
Yeah, I can say that. And it's true.
But it is a no brainer. It's a no-brainer.
Are absolutely shutter sometimes thinking about people's lives
and what must be going through their head.
When I know, they know and they say I'm not interested in God.
I'm not interested in anything to do with God.
We talk to a guy yesterday that has some serious physical
problems. Nice guy greeted both Frank it
just nice. But when you invite somebody,
what do you do? You have a relationship with
God? He says you know I'm not really,
I'm not really, I'm not really into that.
I said what do you mean? You're not into that?
He was a very nice guy, just had a conversation with him.
What do you mean? You're not into?
They say you know, I just never been into that.
I don't know. I can't explain it, I'm just not
Well, I want to tell you, I don't know.
It was a great way to explain that because I can't imagine it
literally violates my mindset almost to conceive of the
privilege and the honor of being a child of God and then know
that it's an invitation to everybody.
And then someone say, I'm just not that into that.
I'm just not that into that. Becoming a child of God involves
my choice. It involves my choice of saying,
yes, to the great Almighty creator of the universe.
Who made a way for me to have a relationship with him?
In John 1 verse 12, notice what the Bible says, but as many as
received him to them, he gave the right to become children of
God. Who did they have to receive?
Who are they going to have to receive, who's everyone going to
have to receive? They're going to have to receive
Jesus Christ. There is no salvation in any
other. Acts 4:12 says there is no other
name given among men whereby we must be saved.
So if I'm to be a child of God and it absolutely must be
through Jesus Jesus clarified it.
When he said I am the way, the truth and the life.
No man cometh unto the father. But by me That's a big deal.
That's a big deal. He went on to say, who were born
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man. But of God.
Now I want to trace this really quickly.
I am not in the physical bloodline today.
I'm not a Jew back way back there in Genesis chapter 12,
about chapter 17 and 18, a few other places, God bless this guy
named Abraham and he told Abraham.
Hey, I'm going to bless you and out of your seat out of your
bloodline, all the nations of the Earth are going to be
blessed through you. That's a big deal.
And I'm going to come back to how this relates to it.
How this is involved in it. He said though, we are born not
of the will of the flesh. We are not born of physical
blood lines. Per se were born of spiritual
Bloodlines so you can imagine as we get closer to this passage
how it is that the blood of Jesus Christ, relates to me
being a child. And I intend to tie that in I
want to invite your attention to John chapter 3 in John chapter
3. There's a great case this guy
named Nicodemus. Now some people, some people
don't think this guy was scared, but here's what the Bible says,
there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews. Now, what you need to know about
the Jews, give you some cliff notes of what's going on in the
Bible. Here, the Jews were not
particularly crazy about Jesus. He stole their Thunder.
They got real upset about it. They were just Plus, they were
envious and they ended up delivering him to pilate to kill
him because they were envious. Have you ever heard the term
Green With Envy? They were Green With Envy, they
hated him and that's in that internal sin had.
So captured, their mind, they threw off all the Miracles.
They did not even regard the reality that he could raise the
dead, they just hated his guts. So dick, adiemus comes and says
This man came to Jesus by night and said to him.
Rabbi we know you are a teacher. Come from God for no one.
Can do these signs or Miracles that you do unless God is with
him. And let me just make a little
aside here and I'll challenge you to this.
You may think that those guys on TV, n are performing miracles on
stages across the country. If you believe that you've been
deceived, I'm here to tell you tonight, I'll Stand in 2010 and
tell you you've been deceived. You believe the one of the
greatest lies and one of the greatest facades on the face of
the Earth. let me tell you about a miracle, a miracle was when
you literally had instantaneous healing Instantaneous.
You would go in and someone had never walked before.
They literally had never taken steps.
Have you ever seen Benny Hinn? Do that?
When I watch these guys on TV, they'll go up and in some great
spectacle, hit people on the forehead and they fall back in
some form of ecstasy. And let me tell you, the
difference in that the difference in that.
And what Jesus did is when people when Jesus touched
people, they stood up, They didn't fall down.
That right there is a huge deal. That's a big deal.
Jesus could raise the dead if you ever seen anybody, empty out
some graveyards. If you could start with Paul
supposed gray, please. Raise people from the dead.
That's what Jesus would do. Have you ever seen them cure
some inexplicable disease? Know, you'll find let me tell
you something, these great shows like Dateline who catch more
than predators and MSNBC and all these guys will do shows and
they send people undercover and you come in and you act like
you're down and out and everything else and you're
hobbling, I need some help. I need him to heal him, guess
what? They won't deal with you.
You can get on YouTube tonight and you can find people right
now. I'll tell you this right now.
You can find a clip on there where a man is acting like the
Lord's revealing to me that God said to say to you and there is
an earpiece in his mouth and it got caught over radio channel
and they recorded it and they expose the man and it shut his
church down. When Nicodemus said we know,
Thou Art the ruler come from God.
He knew without it beyond a shadow of any doubt, these
things were not done in the corner.
Jesus did not play favorites. He went in every city and
Village healed people that had problems that no one else has
been able to heal. Doctors had worked on them for
years. A woman with an issue of blood
for years. He healed But it been mutilated
by doctors, literally, and the great physician in the form of
Jesus comes, she touches his garments made whole Nicodemus
new this. Now let's move on.
Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you.
Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
He can't see the kingdom of God. Well, Nicodemus was no man's
fool. How's that going to happen?
He knew the natural order of reproduction.
How's a person? Going to be born again.
Notice what he says, Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be
born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into
his mother's womb and be born? So Jesus clarified it and so he
said in verse 5 most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of
water. And of the spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God water, and of the spirit.
So if I'm to become a child of God and it's through Jesus, I
have to be born again. And Jesus said, I have to do it
by water and the spirit, now, what does that sound like to
you? Give an example go into all the
world preach the gospel to every creature?
He who believes and is baptized, what is baptism?
It's in water. It's a burial, he who believes
and is baptized shall be saved. So, I know Jesus said, I've got
to be born of water and of the spirit, but yet Jesus gave the
marching orders of go and preach faith and preach, baptism those
who believe and are baptized, that's in water are saved.
And Jesus told Nicodemus, that's what has to happen in order for
you to see the kingdom of God. God wanted us to find out about
the New Birth through his word, the gospel, it's good news.
You've got to find out about it Nicodemus, wanted to find out
about it, so he came and asked about it.
And so tonight, if you wanted to know how to be a child of God,
this is where it's at. It's in the word of God.
It's not my plan. It's no other man's plan.
It is God's plan. In First Peter chapter 1 and
verse 22. wrote this, since you have purified, your souls Since
you have purified your souls, he said in obeying the truth
through the spirit in sincere. Love of the Brethren.
Love one. Another fervently with a pure
Harper's 23 having been born again not of corruptible seed
but Incorruptible through the word of God which lives and
abides forever. Now, The Incorruptible word not
corruptible seed. It'll die.
It'll Fade Away Incorruptible seed.
When Jesus gave his great parable of the soils.
He talked about the Wayside, the rocky, the thorny, and the good
Grant. And he said, the seed is the
word of God. Peter said, the seed, the word
of God is Incorruptible. And when you obey it, you purify
your souls. Now, that gives me some insight
into what James said, he said receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Now, the actual Edwards itself. Is that what you're saying?
Preacher? I'm talking about the
outpouring, the Revelation, the will of the Father in heaven.
And When God says your savior saved, if I tell you, you're
safe, that doesn't mean anything.
If God tells you you're saved, let me tell you, you're saved.
That's where the powers that. When Paul said I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God and the
Salvation. It was not in Paul to save it
was in the message of the death burial and resurrection of
Jesus. And I want to ask you tonight.
If you read your Bible, have you ever heard the word of God,
preached that if you over obeyed, what you read in the
Bible? Lots of men will tell you, lots
of different things. I think we've already
established, Liars are present in religion tonight.
But there is only one standard of truth that will make you
free, as Jesus said, in John, 18, verse 32.
If we accept the word of God, we're privileged to be the child
of God, I promise to come back to this illustration of Abraham.
And I'm going to do that right now.
If you have your Bibles, please open.
This is a great passage. It's in Galatians, chapter 3, in
Galatians Chapter 3, The Apostle Paul was helping these Gentiles
realize who they were and what they were in Christ.
And so he says this in verse 26, For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have as
were baptized into Christ. Have put on Christ, there is
neither Jew, nor Greek. There is neither slave, nor
free. There is neither male nor female
for you are all one in Christ Jesus, and I'm going to come
back to verse 29 in just a minute.
I want to make a big splash about this and just bear with
me. Here's the splash.
I was raised in Northwest Arkansas transplanted there by
preacher and his wife. I'm not perfect.
I was raised in their home by their Rules, by their
guidelines. That's where I came from.
Where did you come from? You may have come from some
far-flung place. You may have come from across
the water or across the border are you may have come from a
home that didn't love you or care for you at all.
I didn't have one of those homes.
I want to apologize for that but I also will tell you at this
point in the game, really, it doesn't matter that much.
Because here's the reality in Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ. We Are All One.
In other words, God doesn't look at you any different than he
looks at you or you or you, or you or anybody else in here.
You know, parents can make a mistake and play favorites.
They sure can. Listen to some of the horror
stories of in-laws and outlaws and step this and step that and
some Wicked Witch of the West. They're all kind of stories.
You never find a story in the word of God, where God cares
about one particular race or one particular group more than he
cares about another and that ought to appeal to you.
Because listen, we're all Gentiles, and the Jews hated the
Gentiles and Paul a Jew was saying get over it.
Doesn't matter if your slave or free or male or female.
Let me tell you this to women in here.
You know what the Jews would say about women?
I thank God that I'm not as a Samaritan, a woman or a dog.
You think Jesus didn't do something for women's rights?
He did more for women than any government has ever done on the
face of God's green earth. Jesus made it where it doesn't
matter if you're male or female, you're not a second-class
citizen. You're not a person that God
choose Men first over. He doesn't think like that.
That's not who God is. God wants you to recognize that
as a child, you're a child. Now the word of God sometimes
we'll say sons of God, it's not making a gender preference
there. It's making a statement of
familiar relationship as a child.
Now. Remember back over there in
Galatians, are rather in Genesis where God told Abraham.
I'm going to bless you. Abraham had one son. and,
Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Jacob down the line had 12 boys.
They made up the 12 tribes of Israel.
Jacob's name was changed to Israel so therefore they're
getting they get called The Twelve Tribes of Israel.
God protected the bloodline over hundreds and thousands of years,
literally that brought it about a pure bloodline of the Jews and
all of a sudden we get down, how is it that?
I am going to be benefit from a relationship with God.
How is And I get to benefit from Abraham's blood lot.
How do I get to do that? Listen Cohen Smith, I'm raised
in Timbuktu, compared it to Jerusalem.
I don't have a bloodline, I can't go to the temple and get
out the roles and say, who's your Daddy, I can't do any of
that. And that's why John's going to
say. We're not born of the will of
the flesh nor of man because you know what?
The Jews did they would sit up there and say I've got Abraham's
blood in my veins and they didn't care about God.
Verse 29 says. And if you are, Christ's then
are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
I love that. You didn't deserve it and I
didn't deserve it but it still is available and God made sure
that you understood how important Jesus was and how
important his blood is because Jesus literally physically was
he came in the flesh and lived in the lineage of that promise.
And when he died on the cross ones, blood greater than Abraham
now blesses all mankind. And now it was no longer about
the blood of one man. It was about the blood of the
very Son of God. And that's why John literally
would say, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of
the world. That's a big deal. at the point
of being born again, we decide to turn our life over to the
father's will. And when I write these steps on
the board of how you're going to be saved, I know this is a big
deal for a lot of people because lots of preachers say, lots of
different things. So I'm going to say just what
Jesus said and if you leave here and you think you know, I'm not
sure about that. I hope you talk to me because
I'm going to open up the Bible. In fact I'm not even going to
quote it, I'm going to flip their right now in John 8 and
verse 24. I want to read this.
Quickly sometimes, when we quote, somebody thinks where'd
he get that from? Well I'm going to read it to
you. Therefore, I said to you, that
you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I
am, he you will die in your sins.
So in other words, absolutely the foundational step is we must
believe we must have faith in Jesus Christ.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ tonight?
If you believe in Jesus Christ, That's a big deal, but you're on
your way. That's the foundation of
everything. If you don't believe in, Jesus
Christ, whatever. I'm about to say now, doesn't
mean anything? That's why it's always listed
first. Just so, you know, if you don't
believe in God, why in the world, would you be here?
Why would you be moved to go and worship him and sing praises to
Him and listen to a prayer to him?
Why would you be compelled to do that?
So obviously, I'm going to take it that pretty much you're here
because you believe in God, and I'm also going to take it that
most people that are in our assemblies.
Many times believe in Jesus Christ.
But I'm here to tell you that in John 8, verse 24, Jesus said.
If you don't believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
The next thing I'll say is Jesus wanted us to change our lives
and that word is repentance. I promise to read it so I'll
read it in Luke 13:3. Here's what Jesus said.
I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish. That's Luke, 13 and 3.
The next thing I'll tell you and repentance is change.
Will go over that in a second. The next thing I'll tell you is
the idea of confession. Jesus taught this in Matthew
chapter, 10 verses, 32 and 33. We've already gone over John 3
and 5 on baptism. We absolutely know that's
essential. But in Matthew, 10, 32 and 33.
This is a very Telltale Passage And let's do it very, very
carefully here, Jesus expresses Our obligation to confession.
He says therefore whoever confesses me before men him
will. I also confess before my father,
who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men him will I
also deny before my father, who is in heaven, when Jesus comes
back, he's going to say this is your child father.
Why? How because we confess the sweet
name of Jesus. Peter confessed, Thou Art the
Christ, the son of the Living God and Jesus said, blessed art
thou Simon bar-jonah for Flesh and Blood hath.
Not revealed it unto thee but my Father which art in Heaven.
That is the confession. We all must make and here's what
I'm going to tell you. If you don't believe in Jesus
Christ commit to change your life and confess him as the Son
of God and be born of water. And of the spirit, you cannot
enter the kingdom of God. I didn't say that.
Jesus said that.
And tonight I want to plead with you on behalf of the Son of God
to re-evaluate, perhaps what religious experience you may
have had in your life. What you think about how it is?
You're going to be a child of God, reflect upon that and be
moved by what the word of God says, not by what I said, all of
these things. Jesus said, I'm asking you, I'm
pleading choose to be a child of God.
It's the greatest thing you'll ever do, in.
Mar in Romans 6:17, Paul said, but God be That ye were the
Servants of sin. But you have obeyed from the
heart that form of Doctrine, which was delivered.
You being then made free from sin.
Ye became the Servants of righteousness, man, comes up
with all kinds of plans, Jesus had only one.
Secondly, Jesus wanted change to happen before.
And after being born again, he said, go therefore and Make
Disciples of all Nations, baptizing them in the name of
the father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
And teaching them to observe all things whatsoever.
I have commanded you a child. A safe person.
Is a one is one, that is learning.
Learning. What are we learning?
We're learning all things that were revealed from God, through
Christ to us. Where do we get all of that?
Where do we get all of this? The very calling card, the very
basis of who we are the very basis of what we do is in the
word of God. That's it.
That's where it is. I've got to hurry along, Paul
top plainly the Corinthians but God has revealed them to us
through the spirit that helps me understand passages, like Romans
8:14 for as many as are led by the spirit of God.
These are the sons of God in Ephesians. 5:18 Paul said, be
filled with the spirit in Colossians, 3:16 a sister
passed. The chief said, let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly. And I want to tell you, if you
want to fill yourself up and be led by the Holy Spirit, listen
and write the word of God on your heart.
David did that? David meditated in the word of
God day and night, Psalms 1 and 2, and he hid it in his heart to
avoid sin, Psalms 119 11, he called it the word as a lamp and
a light in Psalms 119, 105 and John wrote that we should walk
in it. The very light in 1st John 1 and
verse 7. When we keep it, we know God, if
we don't keep it, we don't know. God.
The word of God Reveals His character and Ephesians 5 in 1.
Paul wrote therefore be imitators of God as dear
children. Peter would say as God is Holy,
so be ye holy Do you know the funny part about children?
A lot of times they do this? Oh, he acts just like his dad.
That's what happens in it. Now, I'm tell you.
You can tell by the tone of my voice that wasn't necessarily
the complimentary time. That wasn't the happy birthday
time. Frank.
That's the time. Where things aren't great, isn't
it? Yeah, sure it is.
Oh, he's just like his mom. Those things happen, don't we?
Because as genetic Heritage is passed on.
WE bear some traits of our parents.
That's not a bad thing. Hate it for you?
Used to think I'd never be like my dad, how many times have I
heard it in this meeting? You sound just like Jimmy Smith.
Haven't heard Turner burn in years.
That's what I grew up on. I want to ask you this, do you
have a relationship with God where you want to be like him?
If you don't, something's wrong. If you evaluate your life and
you look in the mirror, does your life as a child of God,
reflect the character and the image of God, how do I know what
his character and image is? I know it because it's revealed
in the word of God and it was expressed in the image and
person of Jesus Christ. He said, if you've seen me,
you've seen the father And I know if I'm mean and nasty and
rude and unkind and unforgiving, and full of envy and jealousy,
those are none of the things that Jesus Christ was there for.
I'm not acting like God, I'm not acting like him.
When Jesus addressed this made this statement In this passage
in Matthew 18, some of very small points.
I want to cover in closing. Are Jesus wanted humility of a
child to be the goal of every Christian.
Are you a humble person or a proud person?
Proud people sometimes have ego problems.
Now we can ride it off and weep we can begin to rationalize it
as well. He's just an unsecure or
insecure. He's insecure.
That's a big cover for pride. Prides, a big deal.
In First Peter five and five likewise ye younger submit
yourselves unto, the Elder. Yea, all of you be subject to
one another, and be clothed with humility for God, resisteth, the
proud, and giveth grace, to the humble.
Psalms tending, for says, the wicked in, his proud countenance
will does not seek God, God is in none of his thoughts.
Pride is one of those sins that comes from the heart and mind
and defiles the man, not what you eat.
It's what comes out of you. Why did Jesus take a child and
tell them to be humble? Like a little child beautiful
thing? About two and three year olds.
Now sometimes they get possessive.
But I have never seen a child come up and say, you know what?
Look at this, she right here. This you cost $159.
That shoe is amazing, isn't it? It's got this marking on it and
that market on. It's amazing but that's what we
do. Sometimes we make status symbol
statements with our clothing and we like to look good.
And sometimes people worry about the little Insignia up on their
shirt. Let me tell you, if you're
trusting in people to think well of you, because of the Insignia
upon your shirt, grow up, But that's how it is, isn't it?
I mean I was fine with Walmart shoes up until like fourth grade
and it wasn't cool anymore. And my parents couldn't get it.
Well mainly because they couldn't get it because they
didn't want to pay for the upgrades.
But that's what we do, isn't it? We get proud, We want to wear
nice things. We want to fit in.
We want to be keeping up with the Joneses so to speak.
As a child of God, please care more about what the father
thinks than what anybody else thinks and that's a big deal to.
There's a little girl back home or name is Julianne her daddy's
Brad and Julianne is like I've never seen a kid like her one
day. I was visiting with him and she
wanted something. We were at a store and I'll
reach them out, my pocket, and gave her a dollar.
And her daddy said, give it back.
She gave it back like without even a thought.
I said, no, no, no you go on go on most kids I'm thinking about
self would say. All right, Take it and run, she
didn't she would have nothing to do with my dollar bill.
Because do you know the voice in her head?
That was the most important, her daddy's.
It was the most important voice in her head and if the most
important voice in our head says, get ahead and be this
great person based off what society and culture wants you to
be, we're not acting like a child of the god of God, we're
acting like a child of the world.
And the father of this world, and that's not a compliment.
Humility is a big deal for God. Secondly growth is another
quality of a little child when we reach stages of life we want
to grow. I remember my sister-in-law when
all of my sister-in-law's you would ask how is your first
checkup for the baby? And they would all say oh well,
he's in the 75th percentile and then you'd hear somebody say
cohesive the 95th percentile. What is that?
Some doctor gets ahead and ends. Well, he's not even percentile
for height. But 30th percentile for weight.
I'm going to have to fatten him up.
There are charts. These doctors will go in.
They'll measure them. They'll get their hide, they'll
get their weight and they'll say, your child really should be
on this plan. They really should be here.
And that's not a bad thing. They put those things in place.
So if you have a problem with your child, they can catch it
early and deal with it. Perhaps with modern medicine,
whatever it may be, God, put some controls in place to so you
can check yourself up if you're not growing spiritually, because
guess what? You can live and be an old
person and be spiritually immature.
And never grow. You be stunted.
That happens to people. And let me tell you how that
happens. The Bible says, lay apart all
filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with
meekness the engrafted word. If you keep sitting in your
life, you'll never grow. That's why you gotta get rid of
it. It's like poison.
If you put grass killer, or you put some kind of a weed B gon or
Roundup, in with fertilizer, you're in for it.
Your grass is going to die. Well, God wants us to grow
spiritually when we're born again, we need food.
Peter said, laying aside all malice, all deceit, all
hypocrisy envy and all evil. Speaking as newborn babes
desire, the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow.
Thereby, I want to tell you something, I can't help you
with. I'm going to write it down the
board. You're going to see it right
here. It's something I can't help you
with, I can't fix this. I can't do it for you.
Nobody else can. Nobody can do it for you.
This is you. And You and you alone.
This is between you and God. Let me tell you what it is.
It's this little word called desire.
Desire. Have you ever heard the old
illustration? You can take a horse to water
but you can't make him drink and I know that's old adage.
I know that's a little cheesy. But that's true.
You can't make somebody grow spiritually and if you don't
want to give up your sin and you don't want to change your life
and you don't want to grow into the person and do all the things
you need to be and grow to the person.
You need to be, you won't You won't.
Peter said again. Beloved.
Since you that know this beforehand, beware lest you also
fall from your own steadfastness being led away with the error of
the wicked, but grow in Grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior. Jesus Christ, second, Peter 3,
17 and 18, what'd he say, they're don't fall away.
You know, what happens to a lot of children of God, they fall in
love again with the sin of the old life, and they go do it
again. What's the answer to that?
Grow grow for all you're worth and if you're growing, that's
huge, that's great. Paul said to the Ephesian
Elders, he said take heed unto the fuck over which the Holy
Ghost? Hath made you overseers to feed
the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
Why? Because there's going to be
Grievous wolves, that, enter in among you not sparing.
The flock also of your own selves.
Men shall arise speaking perverse, or distorted things to
draw away. Disciples after themselves.
What did Paul say? He said you feed them the word
of God. What happens when you feed
people? The word of God, they grow?
Now let me ask you a little self-help question.
Are you a better person than you were last year?
Are you nicer? You better husband a better
wife, you better friend? All those are all the questions
you can get on a pop psychology exam or whatever it may be.
What about this? What about the word of God?
What truths have you been able to internalize?
What have you been able to break through and break over?
What have you been able to overcome?
I know some men right now, they could cuss like Sailors when
they first came to Christ and their veins would split and
they'd go off here there. And Ian their faces would get
beat red. Lips would tremble and you would
tremble because they literally could go off But then, over
time, they begin to grow out of that.
That's what the sons of thunder. Did you ever heard cuss like a
sailor? The apostles were sailors.
They changed. They changed.
They grew a salty, West, Texas, and they mock Howard.
Good friend of mine. Kenneth, some of some in this
audience told me one time. He was quoting.
His uncle benny. Who many of, you know, he said
the two most important questions you'll ever answer in your whole
life are two simple questions. Are you saved?
And are you growing Because there is no holding your own.
There is no well I'm doing all right.
This is not a country song, we're talking about growing
succeeding conquering living the life or we're talking about
Meandering around falling back, fading away walking away.
We have to feed ourselves. You take one meal away from a
child and you're going to have a screaming fit on your hands.
Because they're hungry. The third thing I want to close
with is children trust their parents.
I was up in Manteca at Labor Day and Kip Lee was telling me about
his boy. That they built a tree house
back in Rick's yard and doesn't have really a rail around it yet
and he had been jumping off to him and he said he somehow
climbed up there and he was walking by and all of a sudden
he reached and caught him. And so this kid has been playing
where he jumped off and he just knew his that he was going to
catch him. So what'd he do climbed up and
ran and jumped off in full confidence?
Do you trust God with your life? Paul trusted him with his soul
and his life. He would say, for me to die is
gain for me to live is Christ. It was all for God.
Now, you may look at that and you may say that's a bum deal, I
don't know about that. What about me?
Let me tell you something.
You'll never have more blessings.
You'll never have more joy. You'll never be more happy and
have more peace in your life for you for me than when you give
yourself to God. That is called and inherit
blessing. It's not one of those things you
can pick up at Walmart, its inherent, you do the right
things, you live the right way, you literally do your best to
become, like, God, Like Jesus. And when you do all the sudden,
you have joy and peace, that is beyond comprehension.
But you have to trust God and his plan to do that in Matthew
6. Jesus slapped the
self-sufficient attitude down and he slapped it down hard
about how awesome God is, and how he attends to our needs, and
we should trust him. He would say, things, like, seek
first, the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, And all these
things will be added unto you. God never promised you to be
rich, but he promised to take care of your physical needs.
The problem is what we consider to be.
Our needs are really a whole lot of wants.
Trust is Central. It's Central to all life.
For example today, if you go to the doctor, generally your the
name of that doctor, you won't be able to pronounce.
He'll have degrees on the wall that you've never verified.
If you ever call him verified his degrees on the wall.
He gives you a prescription, you can't read about 17 cylinders
long, this long hardly can make a label to fit it on there.
You take it to the pharmacist that you've never seen before.
He gives you a chemical compound.
You do not understand. Do you go home and take the pill
exactly? Like he tells you to and guess
what magically you get better. Don't you?
That's how it works. God revealed himself, he's shown
himself. It's all on the table, it's all
out there. There's no hidden agenda,
there's no hidden progress. No hidden anything God saying
here I am here's my son here's what I'm offering you live for
me. I'm going to make you happier
than you've ever been and I'm going to give you Joy, you can
imagine and I want to take away all your sins and not only that
you get to live with me forever more.
Now, listen if you can't trust, God based off all the evidence
you've been given. I want to tell you, I feel Sorry
for you. Don't trust in God like the
story of a man one time who stumbled From the Path over the
edge of a cliff and as he was falling down he grabbed hold of
a small branch of a tree that grew out of the side of the
Rocks instantly. He began to scream.
Is anyone there? A voice came from the top.
That said, yes, I'm here. The man asks, who is that the
voice came back? The Lord.
Do you trust me? The man responded.
Oh thank you. Lord!
Yes I trust you completely the Lord responded.
Let go of the branch. The man said what the Lord said,
let go of the branch. There's a long pause for just a
moment. And the man yelled back up
again. Is anyone else up there?
That's how we are sometimes. That's how we are the Lord is a
person that caught our very image of distrust.
He was a person. He is the person that we can
trust and he attacked our distrust.
He attacked our anxieties James would say, but let him ask in
faith with no doubting. That's a difficult thing to do.
How many times have you gotten up?
When you got a call from some horrible disease?
That struck someone and pray to God.
Please help them. Please intervene.
Get up off your knees and say they're as good as dead.
God changes things, he hears and answers our prayers.
One writer said having no doubt God can deliver another said no
man can believe too much. Good about God.
And I want to tell you, you need to trust God when you're
tempted. And you need to know that
whatever it is. That's coming your way.
God will make sure it is not too much that you cannot still be
his child and still lived a life.
It may be difficult, it may be more than you've ever
anticipated. Family problems.
Addictions. Issues in your life.
You may even go to prison for things.
You did not do. Trust in God.
And live for him. No matter what?
Because I want to tell you something, he is in control of
what the world and men and evil men and circumstances cannot
touch. He is in control of your soul.
On the fifth floor of a burning building.
Everyone W is a little nine-year-old, girl.
Clung to the edge. They had erected a huge balloon
thing for her to fall into at the bottom.
She was trembling hanging to the side of the ledge.
She happened to be blind. They could not coax her to jump
from the ledge. They would try over and over in
the Flames, kept leaping closer and closer to her.
The building was engulfed. Finally her father frantically
arrived on the scene. He was granted a bullhorn and as
it seemed as if life would certainly be lost.
He screamed in that bullhorn as loud as he could jump.
Now, And at the sound of his voice.
She turned loose and jumped to safety.
Tonight, I'm begging you not to listen to my voice.
But to listen to the voice of the Almighty.
Through these feeble vocal cords that I have.
Please. Come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden. I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
When you're a child of God, You have special Provisions in
special protections, you have prayer, but most of all, you
know, that your father will take care of your soul.
Tonight, if you're trying to take care of your own soul, you
haven't done very well. Let God.
Let God allow you the privilege of saying yes to him.
And you being added to the very family of God almighty.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information or you would like to
receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.
Please email us at info at True Church of Christ
Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays
at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
honored guest.