Post by sosmatt on Apr 13, 2013 11:40:07 GMT -8
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In the last Bible Study by S.O.S Brandon gave references to
the greatest question ever asked. It is such an important question for all
mankind. I think to fully comprehend that question is something one must do
fully on their own: to be dead to the punishment of sin, to be able to be with
God. Could we fully comprehend being in Jesus’ presence? Being in the greatest
Kingdom of all time?
How can we not be in shock by just the concept as human beings? Yet, we tend to question if we have to do more. The answer is actually No. We have to have that 100% faith in our heart. There are clear writings in the Bible to the type of faith/mindset we MUST have. Remember, this is something we would want to know and follow through with.
Our opening verse in this Bible Study is going to come in
Matthew 18.
18 At that time the disciples
came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to
him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless
you change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly
position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in
my name welcomes me.
Jesus is talking about two different things at the same
time. He speaks about it in John 3:1-5:
We see the importance of giving our life over to God, to give Him complete control and ask Jesus to be your savior for that baptism of the Holy Spirit; which comes by asking.
It also talks about being like little children and become lowly. Think of like this, children trust in their parents at a young age to provide for them fully. They believe in everything they say. They see them as their protector, their teacher and their disciplinary. Children have a mind set to have full faith and do not care about science’s theory. Let us think about Christmas. They have an idea that if you are good all year, not perfect and believe that you will be rewarded by a person that is unseen. They receive free gifts just for believing in the concept of a Santa Claus. They do not sit there and analyze time, chimney issues, the flying reindeer, etc. No! They let their heart and mind trust in something. They listen to their parents (in most cases) because they see them as the authority figure and fear the concept of correction. They are overly excited about the coming of Santa Claus.
They do not fear it because they know he came to make things better in their life. Do children know they are not perfect? Do they know that “Santa Claus” will still deliver if they messed up during the year? Yes. That is the mindset we must have as we grow. We must know that we are offered a free gift. Not because we deserve it by actions but rather because God knows we are not perfect and He loves us. Why are we continually analyzing the concept of science vs. God? How can we say that our Creator has the same powers as us? Does a rocket ship have more power than its human creator? Does it not take someone to build and hit the launch button? It may look impressive but without its creator doing something it’s just a decoration. How can we question a donkey talking, the walls of Jericho falling, an Ark surviving a flood, chains falling off for Paul, the 10 signs
Moses gave to the Pharaoh in Egypt? Yes, we can duplicate some of those “powers” as the Egyptians did with Moses and Aaron. However, we their ignorance was shown, God showed His even greater power.
We can choose to continue to analyze everything or we
can see that there is something greater than all of us and put that trust in
Him as we do when we are children to our parents.
It is not going to be easy by any means. People will try to destroy your beliefs and use scientific facts to prove you wrong. They may even say “Hey he/she thinks she is better than us,” or yell at you and say
you will never be perfect. That is when you must remind yourself of John 15:18-19:
Romans 12:1-2 pretty much says the
same thing. Paul urges them in the letter to offer their bodies as a sacrifice,
to be a servant. He goes on to state that they should not conform to the world
and to overcome the tests. Would you rather conform to the dangers of the world
or actually know that God has chosen you to help Him reach out to others. He chose
you to watch over His sheep until his return. That means you do not remain
quiet about the Good News. That means you get up and help find those lost
sheep. Think of an awesome coupon you read about in a newspaper. You share it
with your friends about the amazing deal that the company is offering. You know
it serves you both well. Now, here is a coupon from God saying all you have to
do is have faith as a child and everything will be okay. Are you going to hold
that inside or are you going to reach out to family, friends and even strangers
to tell them? You could possibly save a soul from hell. A real place. You can
actually bring someone to God. How amazing is that concept?
Once we choose to become like little
children in our faith we cannot bring anyone else to stumble who may have also
decided to walk with God. Mark 10:14
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…"
We know the difference between wrong
and right. We should not do anything that would hurt what path they are trying
to walk. If we purposely make them jealous, doubt their faith, etc, what good
are we doing to them and ourselves? We are causing them to stumble and have
doubt.
Being a child does not mean we are
immature. 1 Corinthians 13:11 talks about that clearly:
11 When I was a child,
I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
became a man, I put away childish things.
It is easily referencing the milk to meat concept. Yes, we have faith as a child but we must grow in the meanings of the Bible. We must continue to learn. The Bible is filled with 66 books of wisdom and knowledge to help us understand everything. There is such a greater relationship with God when reading and learning the Scriptures. To become mature spiritually is the transformation into becoming an adult spiritually.
In closing, how do we know that the
little children reference is just not an age thing? The answer can be found
throughout the Old Testament but also in the New Testament as well. 1 John 2:1
has written:
2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Look at the first three words: “My
little children”. Clearly, speaking to those who are growing still in faith and maturity in spirituality.
We also see it with Jesus as well. What did Jesus call his disciples? Let us check in John 13:33:
Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You willseek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you…
We see the little children reference again. Remember at this time, they still had doubts somewhat. They needed to grow. Jesus needed to die at Calvary for that Holy Spirit to come and guide them and help them grow. That is exactly where we are. It is up to us to pray for that wisdom, understanding and knowledge. It is up to us to prioritize our methods of growth.
