This morning we'll consider verses 15 through 17. Luke chapter 18, verses 15 through 17. Hear the word of the Lord. Now they were bringing even infants to him, that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we thank you for your tenderness and your compassion toward us as your people. God, you demonstrate the heart of a father toward us who are, by adoption, your children. And God, we pray that you would make us, in more ways than one, childlike. And especially in this sense that we would not think of ourselves as anything or as being able to offer anything to you. but God, simply receiving the blessings and the love and the kindness that you freely offer to us. And God, like children, may we receive these things with open hands and grateful hearts. We pray all of this in Christ's name, amen. I'm convinced that how a person interacts with children is a test of their character. On one extreme, you know there are people who feel that children are better seen than heard. And children are, for such people, an inconvenience or an annoyance. The neediness and the noisiness of kids bothers them. For the record, I'm not one of those people. Our culture has, without a doubt, though, trended in this direction for some time. Birth rates have plummeted as more and more couples are deciding to forego having children or to have fewer children. In many cases, this is, I mean, sometimes this can't be avoided. There are many parents who wish to have children. And it's a heartbreaking reality, childlessness. But for others, it's a choice. And for many, it's increasingly so. It's motivated by a desire to avoid the financial strain or the social limitations that children burden us with. And I'll admit, especially when Laura and I were the only ones in our family who had young children, and we would go on a family vacation or something, and my sister and brother-in-law would just go out without children, just go out and stay out late. There's a little jealousy there. We were calling it an evening early. I mean, there are social limitations. There are financial strains that children place upon a family. The more children you have, this can increase, of course, and so for many people, this is a reason not to have kids. For a culture that is increasingly guided by self-interest, children are a distraction from things they'd rather be doing or from people they'd rather be around. Again, not all. There are many reasons why people don't have children. But we have to think about the heart, the motivation, and for some it's because children are a bother. They're an inconvenience, an annoyance. And in church, these are people who cringe or frown whenever a baby's cry interrupts the service. It's no real interruption. It's a blessing, I think, to hear those noises and be reminded that God is blessing us with these little ones. I talked to her beforehand, told her I needed an illustration. She said, I got you. But there are other people who rightly see children as a blessing from the Lord, and who notice them, speak to them, play their games, and show interest in their world. And I think this is a mark of high moral character. It reveals something about, because, and here's the reason, I think this is part of the point, this gets to the heart of our text this morning, is because children really, they don't offer you anything. I mean, you may think, well, of course they offer me. They offer me joy. Well, that's wonderful. I agree with you. But for many people, they don't see it that way. They see that children don't offer you anything. They can't do anything for you. When they talk, they don't understand the world. And they can't have an intelligent conversation about adult things or current events. And so you have to bring yourself down to their level. They're not coming up to your level, characteristically. You're coming down to their level. You have to get in their world. And so unlike many relationships that we have with adults that are sort of reciprocal, I can talk to you and show interest in you, but also I know that you're going to show interest in me. And so there's this reciprocal mutuality between adult relationships. There's a give, but there's also a get. That's not always true with children. And so I think that if we ask ourselves, what is it exactly that such kindness towards children reveals about a person's character? Humility, selflessness, tenderness and compassion, a heart that considers others, even the lowly, as more significant and that is willing to associate with the lowly, all characteristics of the Savior. And so really this manifests, I think, Christ-likeness when you see someone And this is something I love about this church is I'm really kind of preaching to the choir on this. From the time we've gotten here, our children have had not just grandparents or great-grandparents. I don't know where the grandparents are. Keep a nursery. But many grandparents and great-grandparents and aunts and uncles. And I see the way that you deal with not only my children but other children and show such patience and such kindness. But it's because of Christ's likeness that's You're characterized by Christ's likeness, and I think, by and large, that's true of our church. These are all characteristics of the Savior. And in our text this morning, we find the Savior in the midst of children. And His interaction with them reveals not only His character, but the true character of all who would be His disciples. And so first, I want you to consider with me, Jesus has been preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We know that that's sort of the message of Christ, is a gospel of the kingdom. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of God is here. And in the person of the king, the kingdom is present as Jesus preaches in the context of his earthly ministry. But there's a lot of questions that this raises. Questions about the kingdom. Questions like who is invited to be a part? Who does Jesus welcome in? So first I want you to consider with me the invitation to Christ's kingdom. We might assume that Jesus is concerned to fill the kingdom with leading men, Bible experts, proven religious leaders, because that's what we would do. If I want to see, for example, if I want to see our church grow in one area, Maybe it's our men's ministry. I've been thinking about this and talking to certain people about this. I want to see our monthly men's breakfast meet more consistently. and have a more consistent and higher quality of teaching and for us to do more in terms of our projects, to do work around the church and to go out and help our widows and shut-ins and members of our community. If we want to do this, what I'll begin by doing is I'll say, you know what, who are the men that show the greatest initiative? who are here the most, who are willing to serve, who are sort of constantly asking me what can I do to help my church. I'm going to take those men who have the most interest and can do the most and have the most learning and skills and experiences and discipline and work ethic and I'm going to take those men and make them the nucleus and the leaders of some burgeoning men's ministry that we would like to see get off the ground. That's just natural and normal the way that we think about anything that we want to do, any kind of movement that we're seeking to begin. And the disciples obviously have got that impression that that's what Jesus needs, that's what the kingdom of Christ requires. Leading men, Bible experts, proven, experienced religious leaders, they see a rich ruler. line. There's crowds. People are coming to see Jesus and there's this rich ruler in queue. We'll come to him in the coming weeks when we are here again in Luke. the rich ruler, starting in verse 18, the next passage. They see this man. He's a man with a reputation. He's got a sterling reputation. He's got a reputation that's beyond reproach, and he's careful to do all that the law of God requires. It's the kind of guy you need. You want to be a part of your ministry, and of course it doesn't hurt that he's also wealthy. And perhaps this says something about the man's intelligence, his discipline, his skills, valuable relationships that he maintains, people who are wealthy, who are successful in life. Not always, but oftentimes are that way. They've gotten to that place in life because of positive and desirable characteristics that they manifest. And so these are the kinds of people that you want. But this important man, who would be great to have as part of the kingdom, he's in line behind a bunch of kids. People are bringing their kids to see Jesus. The man's in queue. He's up next. He's next week in terms of the sermon series. But there's a bunch of kids here and undoubtedly they're acting like kids because that's just what kids do, which is worse. It's embarrassing for the disciples. It's highly inconvenient. So they try to hurry the kids along or shoo them off. But when Jesus sees this, he is indignant. That comes out more so in some of the parallel passages in the other Gospels, Jesus is incensed that they would do this. They're misunderstanding something fundamental about the kingdom of God by shooing off, sending away children because they're eager to have the man who seems to be desirable. This is going to be, this could be disciple number 13, Jesus. This is a guy who is really a shoo-in, not someone to be Shoot away. Why is Jesus so angry about this? I mean, don't the disciples have a point? What can children offer this burgeoning religious movement? Some of the adults, though, could really leverage their resources and abilities for the cause of Christ. Jesus will have none of it. Mark 10.45 tells us that the Son of Man came not to be served. but to serve. And the sooner that you get this, the better. That Jesus doesn't need you. He doesn't need me. We really need to take this to heart because this is fundamental to being a disciple of Christ. In fact, your usefulness in the cause of Christ, I think, requires you to acknowledge at the outset that He may use me, but He doesn't need me. And he's not privileged to have me. I'm privileged to have him. I am highly blessed and highly favored that Jesus should bless me, that he should take note of me, that it would be his will to grant me faith and draw me into the kingdom and extend an invitation to someone so unworthy as me. But I'm not blessing him. It's not to his advantage, it's to mine. that I enter into the kingdom, we need to understand this and take this lesson to heart, Jesus doesn't need us. And for some of you this will be, we respond in different ways to this, and this is again telling of our character I think, for some this will be a hard pill to swallow. that Jesus has not invited us into his kingdom because he needed us. I thought I was a real blessing and I was an advantage to this church and a blessing and a benefit and everything. And you're telling me that Christ really doesn't need me? That ultimately the church would be fine without me? Yes. I mean, if you lost me as your pastor, you'd be fine. And you think, well, we don't want to lose you as our pastor. Well, I don't want you to lose me either as your pastor. But I don't doubt that Christ could easily replace me. The church would go on. It's not like the church of Jesus Christ would be devastated to lose me as a minister of the gospel. This is Christ's thing. He can cause the stones to cry out. He doesn't need any of us. He doesn't owe us anything and we've not put him in our favor. And so some people are gonna be shocked to hear this, or they're gonna be bothered, this isn't gonna sit well with them, they thought they were more important than that, it's a hard pill to swallow, but for others, this will come as a welcome relief. Because, think about this. How relieving is it to know that Christ doesn't need me. That's not the reason why he's welcomed me into his kingdom. Not because of the things that I've done for him or the things that I might do for him. But it's sheer grace. It's totally gratuitous. We've not earned it. We cannot earn it. In fact, when we've offered the best that we could possibly offer and leveraged all of our resources and given all to Him, we are still, at best, unworthy servants. And Jesus has, here in Luke's Gospel, in recent chapters, as we've considered, He's taught us to think this way, that we're unworthy servants at best. And so we need to understand that His invitation is given to those who could not earn it and have nothing to offer. I think that's really the purpose of Jesus using these children as illustrations. On the surface of this, Jesus just loves children, and as should we. Our character is revealed. It's a test of character that we care for children, that we welcome children into our church, that we call children to come to the Savior because he cares about them. And He would have them put their faith in Him. And so we should not be too high on our horse or self-important or adult-centric that we don't take time to notice and to speak to children. And we see that, obviously, that Jesus is taking delight in these children, these infants even, being brought to Him for a blessing. But then he kind of expands from children to people who are in some way like children. You see this in verse 16. And he's expanding this beyond just literal children. He's saying to people who are like children. in some important way. So we might assume that he's talking about children are immature, not in a negative sense, but just in a matter-of-fact sense. They're immature physically. They're down here, stature-wise. They're immature mentally, and that's not a slight. I mean, children have to grow into mature thinking. They lack wisdom, and it becomes obvious when you parent them. how much they lack in wisdom at times and why God has given us authority over them for their good. It's not that immaturity and not that we had to revert back to a childlike way of thinking or acting that Jesus is commending because there's other places where we're told that we need to move beyond. the things that children eat and the way that children act, and we need to remember that even spiritually speaking we're to grow up into full manhood and to be Christ-like with full maturity in Christ. It's not that, but I think the key is found in context here. He says, let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. And then in verse 17, we see, truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall never enter it. So what's commendable about these children is the way that they receive things. And he's saying, well, you need to receive the kingdom like these children if you're to enter it. And how does a children receive things? Gratuitously. My children don't come with, what would they come with? They would come with arts and crafts. They never stop with arts and crafts. Pictures and things that are glued together and pipe cleaners and drawings and you've been the recipient of many of these gifts I'm sure over time. They go and they distribute their artwork to people in our church. They don't come to us and say, Mom, I'd like to eat lunch. You know, here's what I have to offer in exchange for a meal. They just know that they're children and we're going to provide for them and that they're going to receive what they need gratuitously. It's going to be just a gift. And in the same way, we receive what we need spiritually, gratuitously, as a gift of God's grace, not by earning it. We see that this story is sandwiched between a couple of other stories. One that we've just considered, this parable that Jesus told. There were two men who went up into the temple to pray. There was a Pharisee and a tax collector. And the one thought that he had a lot to offer God. You see this? in his prayer in verse 11. The Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus, God I thank you that I'm not like other men. And then he says in verse 12, I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. Whatever he's expecting for God as an answer to his prayer, he's expecting it also as sort of, it's transactional. God, think about all that I've given you, all that I have to offer and have freely offered. And then he offers his prayer to God. In the passage that comes after ours, the rich ruler. comes and he comes bringing this self-confidence and this self-righteousness that if what it means to inherit eternal life is to be perfectly righteous, he's confident that he's got what it takes. And so this mindset is, I may receive eternal life, but I receive it as, not as a gift of grace, but as something that is earned. Again, it's transactional. Now, between the Pharisee and the rich ruler, we have this tax collector who beats his chest. He has nothing to offer except to just lay himself bare before the Lord and confess his sin and his unworthiness, and we have children. What is it about children that's commendable? It's this. They have nothing to offer. And I know that there's some of you who take great offense to that, because you value children so much, and I think that's wonderful. Please don't harass me afterwards about this. Our former pianist, Mary Lee, would always, I'd call my kids pagans or something, and she would fuss at me so much. But you have to especially think of this from the mindset of a first century Jewish person who is hearing Jesus in context here, they didn't value children the way that sometimes we value children and we even can, you know, I know that there's one extreme that children are seen and not heard and that they're an inconvenience or an annoyance, but there's another extreme and it's not We love children, we get down on their level and play with them and enter into their world, take notice. The other extreme is that we idolize them. And everything is, our whole life as a family is surrounded, is based upon their participation in travel ball and sports and their friendships and their activities. And the children are just everything, they're idolized. And that's also not, that's not healthy or biblical. But for them, that was not a temptation. In the first century, there was no idolization of children. Children were definitely seen and not heard. And so you have this, I think we see it reflected in the response the disciples give. They rebuked the parents of the children who were bringing their kids to Jesus for a blessing. They rebuked them. Our rabbi is too important. You can't just be bringing your kids to him. Look who's next in line, this ruler, this wealthy man who is an authority figure, a leader, a ruler of the people. This is the mindset. So the first thing we notice here is simply this. who Jesus invites, who he welcomes into his kingdom. So this is for, the application of this goes out to all of the children in the room. If you're a child, hear me this morning say that the kingdom of God is open to you. That if you'll have faith in Jesus Christ, that he will welcome you in. He doesn't look at you. Even though you may think, well I'm not very big, I'm not very smart, I don't have a job, I'm a little person in more ways than one. But Jesus shows a value of children and he welcomes them in. And so you need to consider this invitation very carefully and respond in faith, trust in the Savior. Have God for your heavenly Father. And believers, we need to remember this, that those who come with nothing to offer, whether they be children, whether they be people who are down on their luck, who are not the kinds of people that we think we need. Our church needs that kind of person. Just people who have nothing to offer. Far be it from us to overlook those people or to ignore them or to prioritize those that we think could really further the cause of Christ. Because, remember, Christ doesn't ultimately need us. He didn't come to be served by us. He came to serve us, and we ought to look for those that we can serve, not those who can join us in serving. So there's the invitation to Christ's kingdom. And more briefly, we see the possession of Christ's kingdom. In verse 16, Jesus says, to such belongs the kingdom of God. It's not just that Jesus invites or welcomes in those who have nothing to offer. It's that in a real sense, He only invites those who have nothing to offer. And this is what it means to possess Christ's kingdom. Only those who come with this kind of child-likeness receive the kingdom, to such belong the kingdom. If you don't have this kind of mindset when it comes to Christ, this sort of faith in Him that is open-handed, that receives the kingdom as a gift, then you don't have Christ's kingdom at all. You don't belong to it. And it doesn't belong to you. And so maybe this morning there's an opportunity for you to reflect on the nature of your relationship with the Lord. And your relationship to his kingdom. Because if you think that you entered in when you offered your services to him. Or you considered yourself to be, you know what, I was tired of being in the world. I realized I'm a better person than that. It's time for me to go be among my people. Morally upstanding, people who actually honor the Lord. And so your whole mindset is coming into the church. You think you've entered into Christ's kingdom because you've made a change and you've done something for the Lord. And so lurking behind that kind of attitude is a heart that considers itself to be doing God a favor. Then perhaps you need to consider that you don't belong to the kingdom of Christ at all. It doesn't belong to you. Only those who receive the kingdom of God, like a child, shall enter it. We see there's actually really a positive and negative here. It's two sides of one coin. There's the possession of Christ's kingdom that we see in verse 16. To such belongs the kingdom of God, but we also see the exclusion from Christ's kingdom in verse 17, that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. So by this affirmation and this denial, he makes the matter absolutely clear that it's only those who receive Christ with this open-handed, childlike manner. Only such will receive it. And no one who comes to Christ in any other way, mixing faith with works, grace with merit, no such people have a place in Christ's kingdom. And so I would call on you this morning to consider where you stand in relation to the Lord. Have you received him like a child? How do you think about yourself? Are you filled, is your heart filled with a sense of self-righteousness, self-importance, Christ needs me, this church needs me, they're blessed to have me? Or the humility of the tax collector? Would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Or are you such a one, as Jesus commends here, these children who receive what they have in a childlike way as a gift of grace. Come to him this morning. Receive the blessings of salvation. Receive the kingdom of God, which is yours if you will put your faith in Christ. And in him alone, bringing nothing to him, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, is the hymn. And that it perfectly expresses what it means to come to him like a child. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we thank you that you have given us this powerful illustration of what it means to have true faith, to receive the blessings of salvation like a child receives the things that they need. We need you, God. We need salvation. We need more than that, even. Not just the grace of salvation, but we need all of the grace by which we stand and persevere and we pray that you would give it to us because we have not earned it, could not merit it, but simply on the basis of Christ and his righteousness, God, we pray, be merciful to us, show favor to us, bless us for Jesus' sake. God, we pray that we would not hinder those from coming into the kingdom who come with childlikeness. Children or even adults who come with nothing to offer. God, many of us were children when we were first believers. We thank you that you have not hindered children from coming to you, but your spirit has been at work in the lives of children, in our hearts, many of us, in the lives of children here among us today. We pray that you would bring more of our children to faith in Christ, and that we would, so far from being a hindrance, being a real help to them by our own examples, by our kindness towards them and our words, our gracious words. God, we pray that you would help us to honor you give you all the glory. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.