"What Is Expected of New Members - Be A Warrior" - Joshua 6:1-21

How many of you have military experience? I appreciate your service so very much! How many of you would want to go back and do it again? I saw this letter written the other day and thought it was pretty funny.

 

I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than 42 to join the military. They've got the whole thing backwards. Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit until you're at least 35.

For starters: everybody knows that all young men think about is young women. Old guys only think about women a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.

Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. 'My back hurts! I can't sleep, I'm tired and hungry.' We are impatient and maybe letting us kill some jerk that desperately deserves it will make us feel better and shut us up for a while.

An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10 a.m and old guys always get up early anyway so why not? Besides, like I said, 'I'm tired and can't sleep,' and since I'm already up, I may as well be up killing some fanatic.

If captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.

Boot camp would be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at and we're used to soft food. We've also developed an appreciation for guns. We've been using them for years as an excuse to get out of the house, away from the screaming and yelling.

They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall with a rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training. Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy, too. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.

An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to start up a conversation with a pretty girl. He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to shade his eyes, not the back of his head.

These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off into harm's way.

Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The last thing an enemy would want to see is a couple of million ticked off old dudes with attitudes and automatic weapons who know that their best years are already behind them.

If nothing else, put us on border patrol....we will have it secured the first night!

　

Now, I don't know if that's good military strategy or not but it's an interesting take. And it's probably not the craziest military strategy ever used either. In fact, and this is true, if you Google "crazy military strategy", do you know who's picture comes up? Kim Jong Un, the young dictator of North Korea who keeps threatening the United States with nuclear war. Not very smart. But that's still not the most radical departure from normal in military strategy.

 

What kind of military commander would see that the enemy has 20 men camped out on top of a hill and so he sends one man with his armor bearer to kill all of them? That happened in I Samuel 14. What kind of military commander would say, "Now Gideon, you are way outnumbered so I want you to cull out about 30,000 of your men until you only have about 300 and then I want you to attack"? That happened in Judges 7. Or what kind of army general would send out the smallest boy with the least effective weapon and no armor to do battle against the biggest, baddest giant in the land? Look at 1 Samuel 17 to see that favorite story.

 

Yes, the Bible is full of crazy military strategy. And honestly, I hope our best and brightest young men at Westpoint are not studying the Bible in their Military Strategy class. I hope they are studying it elsewhere but not there. But I hope you are studying it for military strategy because we know that our battle is not against flesh and blood and the truth is that we are called to be warriors.

 

Now we have had so many people lately to join our young church that I want to spend 3 Sundays letting people know what is expected of new members at our church. We joke a lot about how we don't have any rules around here and that's pretty much true but there are some expectations. And as a new member, you probably want to know what will be expected of you. And for those who have been around a while, this will hopefully be a good reminder and also informative.

 

For the next 3 Sundays we will see what is expected and we will see that new members and really all of us are expected to be warriors. We are expected to be holy. And we are expected to be biblical. Those will be the next 3 sermons. But for today I just want us to look at how God wants us to be warriors by looking at the book of Joshua.

 

When was the last time you read anything in Joshua? I went back over my notes from sermons and saw that I first started preaching about Joshua crossing over into the Promised Land in June of 2011 while we were still in Runaway Bay. We didn't know what God had planned for us but we wanted to be ready to cross our own Jordan River when God asked us to.

 

And then, just before we moved from Runaway Bay to Lake Bridgeport, I preached a couple of times on chapter 3, verse 5 where it says that Joshua told them to consecrate themselves because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. And the next day, God allowed them to cross the Jordan River into the land that He had intended for them.

 

And some of you know a similar feeling. Those of you that were here back in September of last year and heard me preach on that know the feeling of consecrating yourselves, of setting yourselves apart, of making yourselves holy and available for use by God. And you know that the Lord has done amazing things among us in this church. We have crossed over into the land that God intended for us and He has done an amazing work in Lake Bridgeport. We have not only seen new members but we have seen people accept Jesus and we have seen lives changed, marriages made better, finances improved and bodies healed. And while God never promises any of that specifically, He has done all that and more amazing things among us.

 

And just like the Israelites who crossed that Jordan River, we have a lot for which to be thankful and a lot for which to celebrate. We know we didn't do it; we know that God is the one Who did the amazing things and we just want to celebrate, and we should. There is a time for that. Just like there is a time to be still and know He is God.

 

You know, I'm quite sure that when the Israelites crossed that big river there was a huge celebration. I'm sure they were grateful and wanted to worship. You know that feeling, right? And I also have an idea that there were a bunch of them that just wanted to start building homes and businesses right there on the banks. "We made it. We don't have to go any farther.  Mission accomplished!"

 

How many of you have ever heard God tell you, “Good job!  Now just relax for a while.  Mission accomplished.”?  None of you have ever heard that because you are still alive.  He may tell you to be still; that He’s got this, but the mission is never accomplished until He takes us home to be with Him and it wasn’t for the Israelites.

 

Let’s read what they had to do as soon as they crossed over the Jordan in Joshua 6:1-21.  They barely had time to catch their breath and the very next thing they had to do was conquer Jericho.  And as we read I want you to think about how you would have reacted if God revealed this military strategy to you.

Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹ The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰ But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.¹² Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹ They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

Now, that’s some crazy military strategy!  Like you, I have heard this story over and over since I was a little kid and I think the older I get, the more incredible it becomes to me.  I will say that it had to be pretty intimidating for the city of Jericho.  They had 2-3 million people walking around their city, basically the size of Lake Bridgeport, for 7 seven days without saying a word!  That would be pretty spooky.

But I want to focus on the people of Israel.  I want to see what they did and what they didn’t do.  It’s real easy to see just 2 points here but it is vital that we understand them.  The Israelites:

1)    believed the Word God gave and

2)      finished the job God gave.

And the thing about it is that if they had not done the first one, they would not have done the second one and then the end of the story would have been completely different.  So let’s see how we know they believed the Word God gave.

We have to admit that the Israelites did not have the best “faith track record”.  Over and over again, God would do some amazing thing among them and 30 minutes later they were complaining and crying about “What’s God done for us lately?  We’re gonna die out here.  All we have to eat is this miraculous manna and we wash it down with water that comes out of a rock.  Boo hoo hoo!”

But evidently that walk across dry land where the flooded Jordan River had just been stuck with them at least long enough for them to believe God when He revealed His crazy military strategy for taking Jericho.  They didn’t question God.  They didn’t murmur.  They didn’t complain.  Read verse 8 again.  ⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward…

 

They just “went forward”!  All of my life I have heard my dad say, “Just act like you know what you are doing.”  When I was a little boy, we got back stage at the circus.  Do you know how?  By just acting like we knew what we were doing.  When President Gerald Ford spoke at the SBC we got to meet his Secret Service detail and talk to them and see their guns.  Know how?  By just acting like we knew what we were doing.  That motto has served me well all of my life.  I’m pretty sure it’s how I’m standing here today!  You think I’m kidding!  See, when I was little, my dad would say that and I just assumed he knew what he was doing and so I followed him.  What I didn’t learn for several years was that he didn’t know what we were doing either.  He was just acting like it.  But it worked.

With God, we serve one who knows what He is doing.  In Proverbs chapter 8, it says the Lord brought forth wisdom as the first of His works, before His deeds of old.  He invented wisdom!  He’s not just wise.  He invented it and so we know that God knows what He is doing, we believe the Word He has given us and so we trust Him and when He says to, we just go forward.

I want more than anything for it to be said of me when I am dead and gone that Todd went forward when God said to.  He wasn’t smart, rich or good-looking but when God told him something, he went forward with what he knew to do.  What’s the word God is giving you today?  Is He telling you to teach a class or lead a Bible study?  That would be crazy, wouldn’t it?  That doesn’t make any sense.  Surely He’s not saying that.

Maybe He is telling you to start some kind of ministry or to give your time and resources to some ministry here in the church.  Are you the one whose heart He is laying it on to expand the food pantry or to reach the youth in the area or to minister to battered women?  Surely He’s not giving you that word, is He?  That would be crazy.  You don’t have the time or the money or the knowledge or the blah, blah, blah…tell it to the Israelites!

Do you know what they would say?  Believe the word God has given you and just move forward.  And then…finish the job God gave you.  Now, this can be tricky for us.  See, it’s sometimes difficult to know what all the job entails.  Sometimes we don’t do enough and sometimes we try to do too much.  It’s the tension between “being still and knowing He is God” and doing what young David did when he saw Goliath.  He didn’t wait.  He wasn’t still.  He saw the need and picked up a few rocks and ran toward Goliath and finished the job.

God told the Israelites to march around the city.  He told them to blow the horns.  He told them to take the Ark of the Covenant.  He told them to shout on the last day.  He didn’t tell them to try to sneak in or around or over the wall.  The wall was God’s job.  In 1 Samuel 14, the Israelites didn’t even have to do the killing.  It says that God put the Philistines in such confusion that they turned their swords on each other.

So, for you new members, that is what this church does and we expect that from you as well.  Not long ago, someone realized that the nursery needed a lot of work so they went after it.  Do you know how many babies we had at the time?  Zero.  But they knew God was asking them to be obedient and so they went forward and did the job.

There are some here this morning ready to teach a children’s Sunday School class or one for young kids.  Do you know how many kids we typically run in this church?  Zero.  I had somebody in the church come up to me a couple of weeks ago and tell me they felt the need to give some money to a fund that didn’t exist at the time.  They didn’t know why and it didn’t really make any sense to me but it almost immediately was the exact amount somebody else desperately needed.

It’s up to you to witness to your neighbor.  It’s not up to you to save him.  It’s up to you to support the church. It’s not up to you to build it.  It’s up to you to be close enough to God to know what He is asking you to do and it is up to you to believe Him and it is up to you to finish the job He sets before you.  It’s not up to you to know the best way to do it.  Believe the word God gives you and then just finish the job He gives you.  That’s all He is asking.  What is He telling you today?

“Preach This Message” Matthew 10:5-16

Pop quiz:  On a scale of one to five, with five being the most and one being least, how important is it that we are comfortable in church?  How important is it that the church grounds look inviting?  How important is it that the pastor be ruggedly handsome?  How important is it that the pastor speaks truth?  How important is it that the church reaches out to a lost and dying world?

I think we can all agree that there a few things more important than reaching a sin-soaked world with the truth of Jesus Christ.  And I think we would all agree that is something our church should support and that we would all agree that we should be praying to that end.  Would you agree?

How we do those things is up for debate.  Where we go, who we reach, how we reach them and who is in charge of that effort are all things we can discuss and debate and try to figure out the best way of doing.  But we all are in favor of reaching the lost for Jesus, correct?

Would you say that the world needs that?  Of course.  Would you say that Texas needs that?  Not as much as California or New York , but sure.  No, I’m kidding.  Texas needs the truth of Jesus.  Would you say that Wise County needs it?  Would you say that Lake Bridgeport needs that?  Would you say the fields are ripe?  Would you say that there are people all around us who are lost and dying in their sins?  Would you say we have the answer to that problem?  Would you say, “Here am I.  Send me, Lord, to the harvest field?”  Whoa!  Be careful now.

Don’t say something you don’t mean.  I have an idea that some of you agreed to that last part about being sent to the harvest because everybody else was saying it.  See, the problem with agreeing that the fields are ripe and praying that God will send workers is that so many times God allows you to be the answer to your own prayer.  Some of you will never pray for anything ever again now.  I hope not because while we can all see that the fields around us are ripe, we are all called to be workers in those fields.

At the end of Matthew chapter 9, Jesus tells His disciples to pray that God would send workers to the harvest fields.  And we are going to see this morning that the very next thing Jesus does in the first part of chapter 10 is to send those men out as missionaries.

A young man is set apart to be a missionary. After a special commissioning service his pastor reminds him that he now must act like a missionary. The young man is troubled and asks the pastor, "You know I have a girl friend. Will it be alright for me to give her a kiss good-bye at the airport?" The pastor considers this and says, "I'll tell you what, you can kiss her if you kiss her the same way you kiss your mother." The young man thinks for a moment and then asks, "Can I warn my mother first?"

The good news is that you don’t even have to kiss anybody good bye.  We are told to be preachers, “as we go” through our daily lives.  It’s the same word used in the Great Commision as it is in this passage.  Let’s look at Matthew chapter 10, verses 5-16.  I know the bulletin says verses 1-10 but let’s start with verse 5.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel . ⁷ As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. ⁹ “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— ¹⁰ no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹² As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. ¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

So, as missionaries, we all now have the power to heal the sick and raise the dead, right?  Well, no.  Of course there is that power through prayer.  God still has that kind of power but Jesus gave that power to His disciples for a certain time and a certain place.  He also told them not to take any gold, silver or copper in their belts.  I’m sure if you want to take copper in your belt today as you go that would be fine.  And we will have more opportunity to talk about that stuff tonight at 6 when we discuss this again in a more casual setting but this morning I want to concentrate on the one part that does apply to us.  I want to look further at the sentence in verse 7 that says, “The kingdom of heaven is near.”

How many of you believe that the kingdom of heaven is near?  How many of you believe that because the Bible says so but you would be honest and say you don’t really know what it means exactly?  I don’t blame you.  It is kind of vague.  Do you remember how we defined “ kingdom of God ” or kingdom of heaven” last week?  I told you that there are lots of whole books written on the definition of this and so my explanation will not do it justice but it is a phrase that is a huge, all-encompassing phrase that includes the time since we first met Jesus and believed in Him to be the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no man comes to the Father but through Him.

It includes our walk with Jesus every day that we live here on earth but would also include the coming rapture and the time we spend in eternity with God as joint heirs of that kingdom with Jesus.  All of that is under the umbrella of the phrase “kingdom of heaven” or “ kingdom of God ” (and those can be used interchangeably).  The question before us today is how is the kingdom near? 

Think about this scene that we just read.  Jesus is not preaching the commissioning sermon for a group of missionaries.  He is not giving the commencement address at the seminary.  He is telling a bunch of fisherman and tax collectors that they are to preach about the kingdom.  He is telling average guys who probably have had very little education and no formal training that they are now preachers.  The term “preacher” just means to proclaim or to herald but for these men, I can imagine they had to be scared to death.

Jesus tells them to pray about workers for the field and I’m sure they said, “Sure, we’ll pray about that.”  But then Jesus starts telling them where to preach and what to take and what not to take and what to do if this happens and how to respond because He is sending them out as sheep among wolves.  Can’t you just picture them?  Some were making notes.  Some weren’t sure what He was talking about.  And then Jesus says to “Go.”

I’m sure they all just scattered and one of them started walking and realized what he was told to do and then thought better of it.  “Hey, now, wait.  Jesus?  Peter?  What am I supposed to say?  Where am I going?  Hello?!”  Does that sound like you?  These guys didn’t even have the knowledge about Jesus that we have today.  They didn’t have the New Testament.  They didn’t even have the Holy Spirit at this point, at least not all the time like we do as believers.  All they knew was the little bit that had been revealed to them and their relationship with Jesus.

And that was enough.  That was enough!  They had a relationship with Jesus and that was enough.  They had lots of questions.  There was a lot they didn’t understand.  They couldn’t explain what heaven was going to be like.  They didn’t know the difference between pre-millennial and post-millennial.  I got asked this past week at the little store, “Pastor, why weren’t dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?”  I said, “I don’t know, Melissa, but I do know that Jesus loved you so much he died for you.”  I’m not qualified to answer questions about dinosaurs but I am qualified to talk about the love of Jesus because I have a relationship with Him and I have seen His love evidenced in my life.

I am qualified to talk about God’s forgiveness.  I’m qualified to talk about God’s grace and mercy.  Not because I have been to school but because it is as real to me as this podium is.  I have lived it.  It has been poured out to me, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  It is near to me and it can be near to you.  I have seen God’s healing hand and have felt His comforting Spirit and I want you to as well.  The kingdom of heaven is near and all you have to do is believe it and accept it.

In Philippians chapter 3 Paul, who was the greatest missionary and the greatest preacher of all time, lists all of his credentials.  He went to the best schools, learned from the great teachers and had all the right degrees.  He made the best grades in his class and was the best student and the most religious graduate.  And then he says…all that is rubbish!  He considered that a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of just having a relationship with the Lord.  All he wanted was to know Christ.

Well, we can do that.  And because we can do that we are able to tell people about what that means in our lives.  We can tell them that the kingdom of God is near to us and can be near to them by telling them about what God has done in our own lives.  They can’t really argue with that.  Oh, they will try.  They will try to argue by asking you questions about dinosaurs and whether Satan has a last name and how old the earth is.  That’s fine.  Just lead them right back to Jesus.  Tell them you don’t know the answer to that question and then tell them what you do know.

You know that you can have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22)  You know that you can have a full and abundant life. (John 10:10)  You know that you can do all things through Him who gives you strength. (Phil. 4:13)  You know that His grace is sufficient for you even if your prayers are not answered as you had wished.  (2 Cor. 12:9)  You know that you are a new creation, that the old one has gone and the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)

Do I need to go on?  I could do this all day.  You know that there is no temptation that is beyond what you can bear. (1 Cor. 10:13)  You know that in all things God works for your good. (Rom. 8:28)  You know that because the Son has set you free that you are free indeed! (John 8:36)  And you know that those who marry will face many troubles in this life. (1 Cor. 7:28)

Ha-ha!  I just had to put that last one in there.  I’m just having fun.  But it does bring up another aspect of the kingdom that is near that you need to tell about.  There is trouble to be had.  In this same discourse with the disciples in verse 22 that we didn’t read, Jesus tells them that “all men will hate you because of me.” Job, one of the godliest men in the Bible said in Job 14:1, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” 

A man was shopping in a grocery store.  His young son followed closely behind, carrying a large basket.  The father loaded the basket with one thing after another until another customer began to feel sorry for the boy.  She said, “That’s a pretty heavy load for a young fellow like you, isn’t it?”  The boy turned to the woman and said, “Oh, don’t worry.  My dad knows how much I can carry.”  In the same way, this life will have trials and burdens but our Father knows how much we can carry.

There is one more aspect of the kingdom being near that we need to share as we go.  As we go and preach about the kingdom being near for us and how it can be near for others we also need to mention that it is only entered into through repentance.  And this is not my idea.  I didn’t just make this up so I could throw it in at the end.  In fact, this is not the first time that Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven being near and Jesus was not the first to mention it either. 

Turn to Matthew 3:1-2.  In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Ooh, did you catch that?  Hang on, let me get you another one.  This time it’s Jesus in Matthew 4:17.   From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Repentance is not what people want to hear.  People want to hear all about the peace and the joy and the power and the abundant life but nobody likes to hear that they need to repent.  They don’t like it because repentance means changing.  The word actually means to change your mind or to think differently about something.   It means to turn from sin and toward God.  Everybody likes to hear about forgiveness and healing but listen to what God says has to happen before that.

II Chronicles 7:14  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Repentance means to be walking one way and then turn around because you have had a change of mind.  I have told you my testimony before about how I started my walk with Jesus as a youngster but spent some time away from God.  And I knew I was doing wrong.  I knew the Holy Spirit was working on me and so several times I would decide that I was going to do better.  I was going to turn over a new leaf and be a better man.  That’s what I was going to do.  And then 30 minutes later I was back to doing that old foolish stuff.

That’s not repentance.  That’s just feeling bad because you’re a fool.  I was trying to turn from my old ways but I wasn’t turning to God.  I was just veering off a little bit, not making a 180 degree turn.  God says we are to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face.  Is that always easy to do?  No.

But do you know that every single person that has ever lived will at one time do it?  Everybody is going to do it.  The question is just, “When?”  Do you want to do it now while the kingdom of heaven is near and you can enter into that peace and joy and forgiveness?  Or do you want to wait until you are standing before the great white throne where it says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.  But then it’s too late.  Oh, sure, you will have changed your mind.  You will repent of what you have done and you will regret being a fool.

But God says that today is the day of salvation.  Repent today for the kingdom of heaven is near.

"Like A Child" - Mark 10:13-16

Most of the time if we know we have a member of the church with a birthday, we like to acknowledge that unless it is going to embarrass somebody too bad and I would like to point out a couple of them right now. Tomorrow is Anthony’s birthday. #19. Most of you know Trey Pittman. Tuesday was his 14^th birthday. And his dad, Troy , is having his birthday on the 14^th of this month. I don’t know how old he is but it’s considerably more than 14. I’m not going to say that Troy is old but I know that he took Trey to the movies for his birthday and Troy hadn’t been in so long that he was startled when the characters on the screen actually talked.

Last Thursday was also my great-niece’s birthday. I call her Toodles but her name is Kennedy and she turned 5 Thursday. She was treated to a special day with my niece Blair. Blair is grown and took Kennedy all over the place having a special day just with her. I texted Blair and told her to call me so I could wish Kennedy a happy birthday. So Kennedy calls me and I said, “Hey Kennedy, I just wanted to wish you a happy…” I got about that far and Kennedy said,” It’s Toodles! Untle Todd, it’s Toodles!”

But Blair and Toodles had a great day. Both of them are princesses and so they started at Starbucks and then went to the nail salon for manis and pedis. Then Blair asked her what she wanted to eat and Toodles said, “Lobster.” So they went to Red Lobster. Then Blair had arranged for a girlfriend of hers to do a photo-shoot with Kennedy. Oh my. That was the hit of the day. She loved it and Blair said she acted like she had been a model for 20 years; posing and changing her expressions and changing outfits like a pro.

I appreciate Blair spending her day with Kennedy and I called her later to get the story. Blair said Kennedy was so excited! Everywhere they went Kennedy wanted everybody to know it was her birthday. Blair said that Kennedy never asked how much something cost. She knew that Blair would get her whatever she wanted and so she asked and then asked for more. At Starbucks, she didn’t just want a drink. She wanted the cupcake too. She didn’t know the lady taking pictures but when they told her what they were going to do, Kennedy immediately said she wanted to dress like a princess for the pictures. No questions asked.

She wasn’t afraid to ask or afraid to receive. Kennedy trusted Blair and relied on her to get everything done and Blair was more than happy to do it. And so it was a great day for both girls. I just can’t wait to see all the pictures. I may be a little biased but Toodles is quite photogenic.

My question for you today is, when was the last time you were like Toodles? Do you know that God wants us to act like that? Seriously. In the book of Mark, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me.” And while He said that literally at this point, that is how he wants us to come to Him even today. Let’s look at Mark, chapter 10, verse 13-16.

While you are turning there, I want to tell you why I chose this passage today. We just got through with the biggest day of the year in Christian life. Easter was last Sunday and it was an incredible day for us as a church and it was an incredible day that we celebrate; the day Jesus arose from the grave, never more to die. But you need to realize that was not the end of the ministry of Jesus on this earth. It was the culmination of everything He was sent to do but it was not the end.

Last week we saw that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene but then He also appeared to all of His disciples and continued being with them off and on for 40 days. In fact, I want to read a passage in Acts that tells us about this. In Acts chapter 1 there is a couple of verses that can easily be overlooked if you’re not careful but I find them fascinating. Acts 1:3 says, “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

He spoke about the kingdom of God . The kingdom of God . I read that and realized that it must be pretty important if Jesus was going to spend the last few days of His earthly ministry talking about that one thing. So if He spent His last 40 days talking about the kingdom of God , I thought it would be appropriate for us to spend a little time talking about it as well.

The good thing is that we as a church have already been talking about it quite a bit in Sunday School as we have studied the parables of Jesus. So often in those parables, He starts by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”or “the kingdom of God is like…” and so we have learned a lot about it that way. And if you are not in SS you are missing out but let’s see right now what Jesus says about it in Mark 10:13-16.

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. 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. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

This is a well-known and well-loved passage that tells us not only about the kingdom of Heaven but something of Jesus Himself. Jesus was headed to Jerusalem . The very next chapter in Mark tells of the triumphal entry that we looked at 2 weeks ago. (We are going sort of chronologically backward right now.) So Jesus is that close to being crucified. He knows what is about to happen. I can’t imagine what all must be on His mind and yet He makes time for little kids.

These might have been kids from infants to 6-8 year olds even and one of the things about Jesus that I love is how He never asked, “What’s in it for me?” These people and these kids especially couldn’t do anything for Jesus. They’re not going to give Him money or fame or anything else. And with all that has to be on His mind, He still takes time to be with them and bless them.

The disciples had heard Jesus talk about what was going to happen when they got to Jerusalem and they just wanted to protect His time and privacy. I don’t think they were ogres who didn’t like children. They were just trying to help out. But Jesus knows how important it is to take time for children and so He does. And as He does, He makes it into a teachable moment for His disciples and anybody else within earshot.

And I want to focus on that one phrase where Jesus says, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” We first need to define “ kingdom of God ” and then we will see how to get there. I did some research on what “ kingdom of God ” means and was overwhelmed by the wordiness of the commentators. Whole books have been written on what is included in this definition so you can be sure that my definitions will not do it justice. But for the sake of brevity just know that the “kingdom of God ”or the “ kingdom of Heaven ”(and they can be used interchangeably) is an all-encompassing term that includes everything from our salvation experience to the place of Heaven itself.

It is what is meant when we say, “salvation” or our relationship with Jesus or we talk about our unearned ability to go to Heaven and includes the “city limits”,if you will, of the New Jerusalem with its streets of gold. And Jesus says that unless we receive it like a little child, we will never enter it. I don’t know about you but I think most people need to grow up but Jesus says we are to be like kids.

I remember one time in kindergarten (and, yes, Mom, this is a true story) I watched as a bunch of the little boys were playing chase with the little girls. They looked like they were having a good time so I thought I would join in. I didn’t know who to ask about the rules. It all looked pretty chaotic to me but I quickly developed a plan. I ran and caught the first girl way too easy and then took her by the arm to the nearest big tree. I put her up against the tree and told her to stay right there. My plan was to round up all the girls and then I figured I would be the winner. And if she was any indication, I figured I could do this pretty quick. So I left her there and went to grab another girl but when I let go of the first girl she just ran off giggling. I quickly realized that there were no rules and that this game was just a bunch of running around giggling and who needs that? I just quit right then. Of course hardly anybody even noticed I was playing much less quitting.

But Jesus says that we are to accept the gift of the kingdom like little kids. Does that mean we are to run around giggling like brain-dead rug rats? Of course not. But how does a child accept a gift? There are at least 3 ways that kids accept gifts but I want to look at just 3.

They accept gifts in faith. They accept gifts with excitement. And then they want more! Right?

First, they accept gifts in faith. When Blair took Toodles out to eat, what do you think would have happened if Blair had said to the waiter, “Uh, 2 checks please. I’m only paying for my lobster. Not hers.”? Or what if Blair had finished her Starbucks first and told Kennedy, “I’ll see ya at the nail salon. Hope you get a ride.”? Or when they got to the photo-shoot, what would Kennedy do if the photographer said, “I hope you brought your own camera.”?

That’s ridiculous! And do you think Kennedy ever thought about those possibilities? Of course not. But do you know what is even more ridiculous than expecting a child to pay their own way or drive their own car? Thinking that there is some way you can pay your own way to Heaven or drive yourself to see Jesus. We want to make it harder than it is because it just makes sense to us that we have to do something to earn our way to Heaven.

It is as soon as we start to grow out of our childish bodies that we are indoctrinated to the fact that we have to work for what we want and nobody is going to give us anything for free. There are no free lunches at least not here on earth. But that’s the thing! We are not talking about the natural way of doing things. Salvation is not natural. It is supernatural. And God says in His Word in Ephesians 2:8-9, “⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.”

God wants to give you a gift. It is the gift of eternal life, the gift of salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life today, the gift of His kingdom forever and all you have to do is take it by faith, trusting that God loves you and wants you to have good things but ultimately loves you so much that He wants you to have things that are eternal not necessarily the things of this world. So, believe Him and trust Him and accept that gift like a child would, in faith.

The next characteristic of a child receiving a gift that we should emulate is that they receive gifts with excitement. David says in Psalm 40 and so many other places that we are to rejoice and be glad in God. He says that we are to shout to the Lord in our joy. Now, look. I know what you’re thinking. #1, as a good Baptist there ain’t no way you’re gonna shout. And #2, you have a lot going on in your life and not all of it is good. I completely understand that. I really do.

You will be glad to know that I am not going to ask you to shout this morning. I’m not going to try to force you to gin up some fake enthusiasm. And while I don’t normally ask for a response in the middle of a sermon, I want 3 people to tell me what there is about your relationship with Jesus that excites you. It may be just a word or a sentence. What is exciting about your journey to the kingdom of God ?

Have you ever seen a kid get excited over a Christmas present? To that kid, there is nothing else going on in the world. WWIII might be on the doorstep but it doesn’t matter if he just got a Thomas the Train. His leg could be dangling from his body but if he just got Star Wars Legos, who cares? He knows his parents are going to take care of him and so he is excited about the things he should get excited about. That’s how we are to be when it comes to the kingdom of God . I know you have problems. Being a Christian is absolutely not a guarantee you won’t have problems. You may have more. But we know our Father is going to take care of us and give us what we need and so we get excited about Heaven and peace and even God’s sovereignty.

Lastly, when a child receives a gift, what always happens? He has opened 47 wallet-busting, ear-splitting, clam shell packaged toys wrapped in 4 tons of gift paper and what does he ask? “Is that all?” Is that all??? We’re going to have to add on a room to hold it all. Toys R Us just called our house and placed an order. Is that all? The kid’s excitement has been on overload for so long that he wants more.

He doesn’t have to worry about how to pay for it or where it came from because he accepts those gifts in faith. And he is so excited to get it and now he wants more. And for a Christian we don’t have to worry about paying our own way to Heaven. We just accept the price Jesus paid in faith. And we are excited about all the things God has done for us in the past and is going to do in the future. And now we want more of God. We want to be more like Jesus. We want God to work in our lives more and to affect more and more people through us.

We have seen how He works and how He has proven Himself faithful in the past and now we just want more! And I know how that sounds when it comes from a kid talking about toys. It sounds selfish. But when we are talking about getting more of God in your life, do you know what God says about that? Ephesians 3:20 says He is able to do more than all we ask or imagine. And Jeremiah 29:13 says that You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. And He says in Matthew 6:33that when we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, all these things will be given to you as well.

Seek more of Him. Seek to be more like Him. Seek more of His church, more of His power in your life, more of His grace and mercy flowing through you and into others, seek more of His kingdom and you will have more than you can ever imagine. That’s what God wants to do in your life.

He never says you won’t have problems. He says He wants to give you more peace in the midst of your problems. He never says you will be healthy or wealthy. He says this life is a wisp of smoke and that you will be joint heirs with Jesus to His everlasting kingdom. He says to accept that gift on faith and so we do. And that makes us excited to know what He is doing in our lives. And because He has been faithful to us, we want more of Him. Just like little kids.

I want to close with this quick word. Do you know how hard a kid has to try to be trusting and to be excited about good things and how hard he has to try to want more? He doesn’t. He doesn’t have to try to be that way. It just comes from being a kid. And I’m not telling you to try real hard to have faith or to try to be excited. You can’t fake wanting more with God. Do you know where that comes from? It comes from snuggling up so close to Jesus that you begin to think like He thinks. You start to act like He does and through that relationship with Him, you just naturally start to act like a kid getting a gift. And that is what God wants from you.