In a Cynical World a Childlike Faith 1988

I'd like to begin by reading the first four verses of Matthew 18, and by the way, this is where we are, actually, on Wednesday nights, we read these on Wednesday, but it kind of just fit in with what we're talking about now, and if you have questions about anything that I say, you don't get a chance on Sunday morning, then you'll just have to come back on Wednesday night and raise them, because we feel the questions, and, you know, anybody wants to raise, or any comments anybody would like to raise on Wednesday nights, and actually, you know, I welcome, and any of us who do any preaching here, welcome input from people. If you don't agree with us, or if you have a question about something we say, never hesitate to let us know about that. Matthew 18, 1. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Sometimes we feel as if we're living in two worlds. We come in here, and we talk about Jesus, and we listen to his gracious words, and we renew our grip on his wonderful promises.

We feed on his body and blood. We thank God for his forgiveness, and then we go out into a world which is not only indifferent to these things, but contemptuous of them, hostile toward them, despises them. This is complicated by the fact that many people who claim to be followers of Jesus are out there using the name of Jesus to exploit others, to rake in the money, to build some kind of political power base, to become some kind of media celebrity, and so the cynicism and the contempt for anything that has to do with Jesus, church, Christianity, increases.

The climate out there is not sympathetic. It's hostile, and it's anti-Christ, and that's the world in which we have to live and work and raise our children. It's an atmosphere we breathe day and night.

Now, we could survive in that atmosphere. In fact, we could thrive and conquer even in that anti-Christ atmosphere out there if it were not for a problem we have in here. The real problem is that even in this, what we could call, island of faith, where we come together to worship God and encourage each other, the anti-Christ is at work.

There is a cloud of unbelief that hovers even over the gathered assembly, and this problem of unbelief is not something that just cropped up in modern times, as so many Christians seem to think, as if ever since Einstein came along or, you know, the 20th century or whatever, suddenly people began having doubts. The problem of unbelief has been around since the beginning. Reading from Matthew 8, verse 23, And when Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

And, behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, Saint Lord, we're perishing.

And he said to them, Why are you afraid, O men of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obeyed him? And remember, these were men who were around Jesus all the time, saw him heal, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead. They felt and saw changes in their own lives that were absolutely miraculous.

And yet, every time another crisis came along, they were overwhelmed with unbelief. Their problem was not that they were living in a cynical, unbelieving world. Their problem was that they had cynical, hard hearts.

And so we read in Matthew 17, 14. And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before him said, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers terribly, for often he falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.

And Jesus answered, O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to put up with you? Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast it out? He said to them, Because of your little faith.

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move hence to yonder place, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you. In the boat, the disciples weren't praising God and singing hymns. In the boat, when the storm come up, you know, they're panicking, they're falling apart, they're losing faith.

And now when Jesus says, O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I going to put up with you? He's not talking to the hypocrites in Jerusalem. He's talking to his own disciples. How long do I have to bear with you? Now, the beautiful thing is that these men, these hard-headed fellows, did become men of faith.

And even though Jesus rebuked them more than once, he knew that it was going to happen. He expected it to happen. He was waiting for it.

He was encouraging it. He could see that in these men, there was something childlike. And that was the thing that really blessed him.

That was really the thing that he chose. This is why these people stayed with him when everybody else started falling away. Because they had a childlike, a kernel of childlikeness about them.

And so, Jesus says, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast sent these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes, and these babes are his disciples. Yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. What a wonderful thing.

You know, what a comfort. Now, if he could bring those hard-heads to faith, and he did, then he could bring us to faith too. And he's doing it.

He can do it. But the thing we have to get hold of is that our problem is not that we are living in a hard, cynical world, which we are. That's not our problem.

Our problem is our own proud hearts. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

With these words, Jesus opens up a discourse which climaxes with a promise to these men. Whatever you bind on earth is going to be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth is going to be loosed in heaven.

If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. But this kind of faith which can move heaven and earth is given only to those who become like children. Childlike faith in the midst of a cynical world, in the midst of a cynical professing church.

That's what Jesus is calling for. And he promises that if we take the trouble, that's all we have to do, to get that childlike faith, and when we have it, take the trouble to hang on to it, then we will move heaven as he moved heaven. And we will open the door of heaven for others as he did and still does.

Now this childlike faith is within the reach of each one of us. It's not beyond our reach, it's within our reach. And the Lord himself shows us the way by his word and his example.

To have a childlike faith, first thing we need to do is turn and become children before God. And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Only, the only way into the kingdom of heaven is to become a child. And the only way to greatness as far as the kingdom is concerned is to become a child. And a child, a child doesn't have to become a big shot.

I mean, as far as the little child is concerned, it's already a big shot. I mean, all it needs is the affection of its mother or its father. And it's already there, it's not, it doesn't have that big ego problem, it's got what it wants.

And the child is willing and satisfied, content to depend on its mother and father for provision, protection, guidance. Little child's not ashamed to admit that it's ignorant, that it doesn't know a thousand things. So it asks, and it learns, and it's teachable, it will receive.

What a glorious thing. Blessed are the poor in spirit, says Jesus, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And that's what he's talking about.

Unless you turn and become like children, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. It's a change in the attitude that we have. It's a repentance from this arrogance, this superiority, this impatience with God and man.

The repenting of our pretenses. And being willing to confess to God that I'm, I don't know how to do it, but I'm willing to try to be a child. To confess to Jesus, I'm willing to be numbered among those whom you call babes.

That's the first step into the kingdom. Into a life of faith. To have a childlike faith.

The second thing we need to do is determine with an active will that we are going to practice childlike trust in Jesus. We're going to work on that. Now a child trusts his father, even when it doesn't understand what's going on.

And here's the example of Abraham and Isaac. Marvelous example from Genesis 22, verse 6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.

And they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father. And he said, here am I, my son.

He said, behold, the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son. And so they went both of them together.

Now, Isaac was old enough to carry the wood, but he had the heart of a child. He did not know what was going on. It wasn't all figured out.

Abraham didn't sit down and explain to him. Now, the Lord showed me I'm supposed to kill you. All he knew was that his father was upset.

No explanation as Abraham builds this altar. Silence as Abraham lays the wood out on the altar. No explanation as Abraham starts wrapping the rope around his son Isaac, the joy of his life.

And picks up the boy and lays him on top. No explanation as he pulls up his hand with a knife. Isaac doesn't run away.

Doesn't even cry. Doesn't even wince. Because somehow he knows his father loves him.

He trusts him. He's a child. And when finally the angel of the Lord intervenes.

Isaac gets up from the altar with no hard feelings. No fear. During all this, Abraham was trusting the heavenly father in the same way.

He didn't know what was going on. Couldn't understand it, but he knew that somehow the father, his father would take care of him. And then we come to Jesus.

Matthew 26, 36. Then Jesus went with him to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go yonder and pray.

And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death.

Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed. My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will. This is the epitome of childlike trust. Father, if there's somebody out of this, let me off.

Nevertheless, not my will, your will. Not my will, father, your will. Now, we're being called to have the same kind of trust in Jesus that he has toward the father.

Childlike trust. Lord, I don't know what's going on here. I don't know how this is going to work out, but I, I trust that you are with me in this.

And I believe that this is the step that you're calling me to take. And so I take it. Not knowing where it's going to lead me.

And I trust you. What an awesome thing. That's what we're called to do.

I trust you, Lord. The Psalms are extremely helpful in learning to trust. You know, we need to steep ourselves in the Psalms.

That's why God gave them to us. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Soak yourself in the Psalms.

Read a couple of Psalms in the morning. And then think before God as a child. And then pray before God as a child.

And then go out and walk before God as a child. Trusting that he will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. He will guide you with his eye, who is Jesus.

And he will. To have childlike faith, the final thing we need to do. Is to turn from this, who is the greatest, syndrome.

And look to our Father. For his approval. At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And called to him a child.

He put him in the midst of them and said, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, You'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. Who is the greatest? A little child who never even thinks that way. It's satisfied.

You know, if it's getting some attention from its mother or from its father. Jesus tells us that it's this, who is the greatest syndrome, Which has afflicted our minds and spirits, That robs us of our faith. How can you believe, says in John 5, How can you believe who receive honor one from another And seek not the honor which comes from God only? And it's true.

That's what we are. All of us are like this. It's ingrained in us to seek honor from one another.

This desire, this compulsion to have approval And some respect and some praise and flowers Or whatever it is that we're after. That's ingrained in us by the time we're 12 years old. All of us.

One way or another we're going to figure out a way to get it. But now the Lord is saying, Unlearn that. Humble yourself.

Repent of that. And learn to trust like a child. Learn to do that.

And I'll help you. Learn to look just to the Father. And so he gives us the Lord's Prayer, Which is the doorway to childlike faith.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That's the doorway to childlike faith. Because it delivers us from this, You know, all this worry about myself. If I really soak myself in that, And causes me to look to my Father, And trust Him, and honor Him, And praise Him, and rejoice in Him, And as I do that, I become free.

I experience freedom. God will help us. The fact that we are living In a hard, cynical, anti-Christ world Is nothing new.

It has always been that way. We can live in this cynical world, And we can bring many from darkness to light, And from the power of Satan to God, If we will live by faith. Childlike faith.

And we will have that childlike faith. We will. If we will keep working on this, Turn and become children before God.

Turn and deliberately practice Trust in Jesus like children. And to turn from this disease of Who is the greatest? And keep looking to the Father. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Calling to Him a child, He put Him in the midst of them and 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, He is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Let's just wait upon the Lord in silence. Let us speak to our hearts.