Jesus, Friend of Children - Part B

When a baby dies, it goes to heaven. That child hasn't reached that level of accountability is to stand or fall on his own choices to or for a five for or against God. I believe that special mercy because a baby deserve because God is after the death of his beloved five euro daughter Christian music artist Stephen critters Chapman said in an interview believe that God, for some reason, with great grief in his own heart over evil allowed will understand someday when we see our sweet Maria to have a comfort. We do have a hold today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip encourages you with that unique comfort you have an award during tragic special place. The children have in God's heart right now to tell you about a resource that takes you on an interesting journey gives you insight into Middle East affairs. Skip with Joel Rosenberg to talk about this month's offer Joel's book, the Jerusalem assassin Joel Rosenberg releases a new book by Way to read it never disappoints.

Recently, I was able to talk with Joel about this book from his home in Jerusalem is about an American president was about to roll out his Middle East peace plan Joel Rosenberg's novels are dramatic stories from the reality of today's headlines have a savvy Israeli peace plan that will be historic Summit in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem assassin. What's amazing about that is this is a plausible scenario for Jerusalem assassin by Joel Rosenberg is our special offer. This month your hardcover copy of the Jerusalem assassin is our thinking gift you give $35 or more today to help expand this Bible teaching outreach with Skip Heitzig call now to get your copy 800-922-1888 will give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer. I hope you will order your copy of the Jerusalem assassin by Joel Rosenberg behind-the-scenes look at global events and you will be supporting. That's 809 two 288 online securely connectwithskip.com/offer Matthew chapter 19 message with the lawyer had a plaque in his office in the black red God is nowhere as little girl was in his office one day looking up this plaque. God is nowhere, and she was asserted killing time waiting for dad. She took a couple is the paper Copying that motto Copying it, but as she copied it. She made a mistake and she put a space between the last word the W and the H so it red. God is now here completely change the meaning and upset her father. That little illustration just disappoints to our kids on their own. Got I think that within their hearts and parents have to steer that away. Parents make it easy for your kids to love Jesus to come to him any kind of overture that they make that spiritual sees the moment evangelize them gospel lies them.

I remember when my little Nady is now so little is 22 and 6 foot four, but when he was just a couple years ago so small we were driving. I remember the day I remember the road we were on right appear and he had seen and also college surgeon. He was asking me about it and what it meant to come to Christ and prayed to receive Christ were driving on the street is just turning to daddy, I want to pray to receive Christ. I was on the way to an appointment.

I did not say hold that thought. I pulled the car over stopped and looked at him spent the time and I remember holding his little hands as he prayed to receive Christ sees all of those little moments. Let's look at the next couple of verses that segue from from the parents concerns Jesus personal and tender special care verse 14 but Jesus said, let the little children come to me, I bet. I bet this blue the disciples mind.

They didn't expect that sure delighted the parents. However, I do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Now this little section is a very short section really only one verse main verse, but it is so significant and so important. As I said it's mentioned in three gospel accounts.

Matthew Mark and Luke and I think it's a major statement that Jesus is making about the value and significance of children about his tender love for children and about their access to God into his kingdom. One thing you realize if you if you read to the whole of Scripture. You can't miss this God has a tender spot in his heart for children special spot a special care for children. I think you see that all the way to the Scripture.

There's a great text in Ezekiel chapter 16, where God is likening Israel to a little child is what he says.

I remember when you're born God says is a nation. Nobody Kutcher naval cord.

Nobody washed you rub salt on you as was the custom, nobody put you in swaddling cloths, but they cast you out, and they abandon you in the field and I found you and I said you and your blood live and you live in you grew up, but as you grew up you turned away from me, you rejected me. In fact, now you become idolatrous in their practices. Then God says this in Ezekiel chapter 16 verses 20 and 21. Listen to this.

Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me, says God stop there.

You have them, but you bore them to me.

God's claiming them and these you sacrifice to them, to be devoured. They were doing they were taking their little babies and placing them on, and idols arms called Molex and they would wait till that molten steel idol became red-hot and they would incinerate their babies as an offering to God Malec. So God says you sacrifice them to be devoured where your acts of harlotry, a small matter that you have slain my children and offered them up by causing them to pass through the fire you hear those words, God is laying claim to those children and is not laying claim to the children of believing Jews.

These were idolaters. He's not saying that there were his children because the parents were safe got there, my children because they exist as children remind you bore them to me in their mind special tender care. I believe that verse 14 of Matthew verse were reading.

It also reveals child's special access to God. I think that nowhere at no time will you see the grace of God exhibited more in a child's life, and at the time of death for Jesus says of such is the kingdom of heaven or as the NASB says the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these tone told you tone on guard tell you tone and the great words belongs to those who are like children and it also includes children themselves, and until that child reaches the condition of the age of accountability where they can discern between right and wrong and make choices and are held responsible for those choices they have that special care, and access to God when you see something I want to go back one chapter, chapter 18 of Matthew. Because you see where the thought begins chapter 18 verse one. At that time the disciples came to Jesus. These guys are really theologically inclined to ask a very heavy question who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Maybe they thought Jesus would say well Peter you are or John to get you.

Then Jesus called a little child to him and set him in the midst of them and said assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven's even an adult has succumbed to a place where they're willing, like a child to be absolutely and totally dependent upon God's grace, not their own works.

You have to become like a little child, well children as referred to in chapter 19 verse 14 children that age, little children, or infants there at an age where they're incapable of exercising saving faith there at an age where they are incapable of rebelling against God, and I think there are plenty of scriptures that indicate that if a child dies before that age, condition of accountability. They are in heaven what that age as I can tell you gas me afterwards. I'll say again, I don't know. I think it varies from child to child, but I want to show you some scriptures is write these down I'll show them to you.

Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 39 is one verse on pullout God says to the children of Israel. Moreover, your little ones your children whom you say will be a victim who today have no knowledge of good or evil. They shall go in there to them I will give it that is give the land just looked out that phrase they have no knowledge of good and evil they have no clear true understanding of what is right and what is wrong what is evil and what is good.

No sense of law at all.

No conscious rebellion against the law of God. In fact, because her little kids there even know what the law of God is not even conscious of, let alone able to rebel against it. So they are therefore not responsible moral agents. There's no culpability as I don't know what's right.

They don't know it's wrong twice and Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 34 in chapter 19 verse four. God calls little children by this term innocence their innocence. He says of their parents who are sacrificing their children.

You have filled this place with the blood of the innocents that you know what if God calls somebody in us, and guess what their innocence and toss that term around lightly.

Their innocence does that mean the children are not sinful.

Now that mean your children are not falling now and it's manifestly seen as the child grows up right every parents realization that everybody notices that bent toward evil that you want to teach child comes naturally.

It does mean that a child cannot discern God's law and they can't be held guilty for premeditated sin, because they don't have any premeditated volitional rebellion, then there is Jonah chapter 4 verse 11. Before we put it up on the screen. You know, the book of Jonah. God took Jonah to Nineveh right. He said preach to the city and then city repented.

So God withheld his judgment and what a joy to do. He got really bummed out that I was count on you destroying all these people he hated the Ninevites solicit what God says Jonah chapter 4 verse 11.

Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between the right hand, and their left Jonah you wanted to destroy the whole city that has 120,000 children and kids. What a description the same description metaphorically can't tell the right from their left is Deuteronomy chapter 1, they don't know right from wrong, good and evil.

Then there was Job. Job lost everything, including his children.

Job got so low after losing his kids losing his health. Losing everything he owned. Chapter 3 hears his despair after this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born submitted a parish in which I was born in the night in which it was said a male child is conceived, then down verse 11.

Job says why did I not die at birth. Why did I not perish when I came from the womb. Why did the knees receive me.

Why did the brass that I should nurse for now I would have lain still and been quiet.

That is if you would've been born a stillborn perinatal death. I would have been asleep.

I would have been at rest before you say will all Job demand is that it be better off dead than alive and suffering. He just meant not exist rest from existence. He did mean that Joe must've meant that to be at rest as a baby was to be in the presence of God. And here's why.

Because it was the same Job says a few chapters later. I know that my Redeemer lives, and I know that I will resurrect and in my flesh I will see God. Right. That's what he believed. So here is stating that a child when he dies goes to be at rest with Ward Enders first Kings chapter 14 and under sort of summing up a few but I want you to want to keep these write these down. Look them up using first Kings chapter 14 God pronounces judgment on the whole household of King Jeroboam because he was so wicked, God basically says, to make a clean sweep and every male of your entire household is to be destroyed. You can even bury them there to lie on the streets and the birds and dogs are going there will even have a proper burial says in verse 10 of first Kings 14. I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam I will cut off from Jeroboam. Every male in Israel. I will take away the remnant from the house of Jeroboam as one takes away rescues until it is all gone. That is, except for one little child God says in chapter 12 verses 12 and 13 first Kings 14 when your feet enter the city, the child is a little child little toddler or infant shall die, and all Israel will mourn for him and bury him watch this for he is the one Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. How can that be that something good was found inside that little child is not even old enough to discern for all the same reasons I just shared with even though this child is the son of an idolatrous father and an idolatrous family. He never knowingly rebelled against God. He is in the same category of not knowing good from evil right hand from left hand innocent as a child when the most famous passages is second Samuel chapter 12 David had sin with Bathsheba. You know the story, Bathsheba is pregnant.

David kills her previous husband marries her. It's all a simple episode. The child was born.

The child gets sick for one week. David fast and the appraisal God save this child. The child dies in a week soon as the child was that David washes himself and eats food and his servants go. What's up with you.

David is a strange behavior is a look I can do anything now. He was alive. A guy could at least pray that God would spare his life, but now it's too late, and this is how David comforted him self. He said I shall go to the child but the child cannot return to me.

David certainly believed and wrote about heaven on a few different occasions.

The way David comforted himself as well.

I guess I'm in the dying go to the grave his way comforted himself is one day I will go to be with my child in God's presence he can never return, so Jesus takes the little ones in his arms, lays his hands on them praise for them and says the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. When a baby dies, it goes to heaven.

That child hasn't reached that level of accountability were asked to stand or fall on his own choices to or for file for or against God.

I believe that there is special mercy because a baby deserves, because God is merciful. The kingdom of heaven belongs to children because children belong to God. He claims that's for the whole idea of limbo erupted from. I was raised with the idea of limbo. No limbo was invented in the 13th century. Tell how long it took to figure that out. It was concocted because the Roman Catholic Church that we have a problem. We have a conundrum. What we do what we say about babies who die before we can baptize them because they believe in baptismal regeneration are not saved lesser baptize, we can say they go to hell. He didn't know anything wrong. We can put them in purgatory because they were never bad enough so let's create limbo and they did until two years ago than the sort of threw it out and so while it's possible the baby could go to heaven top possible.

It's absolutely certain that when a child dies a child is in God's presence.

Not only that look more carefully the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, including children, but also such as these. I think that includes the mentally handicapped there at a level they haven't grown beyond infancy yet and that mental deficiency makes them incapable of faith or of rebellion, not just want you to think of this is because if you were to think of all of the miscarriages that we began with giving you the statistic.

All of the prenatal neonatal perinatal death.

If you are then to add to that the infant mortality rate that is very high-end impoverished nations around the world. Think of it this way. It's possible.

Many theologians believe that heaven will be more populated with children who went there at death than adults. It's an interesting thought the beautiful thought John Newton who wrote amazing Grace said the number of infants in heaven so greatly exceeds the aggregate of adult believers that comparatively speaking, the kingdom may be said to consist of little children then there's text like Revelation chapter 7 which picture pictures people from every nation, every tribe, every people standing before the throne of God will we know that there are some tribes and people were there are no on.

There are no believers. Believers from every conceivable corner answer their children who die graciously placed in God's presence. But we don't own our children do. We don't own the there entrusted to us there under your care and your training for 18 to 20 years.

These days, 35, 40 years can get rid of them.

But there just their year stewards of them, and God may decide at any time since he gave them or entrusted them to say I want them and I'll take care of them and I'll surround them with my special love and special mercy much more than you could ever provide an even Joe recognize after he lost all of his kids.

The Lord gives and the Lord what takes away and then he said, blessed be the name of the Lord Charles Spurgeon 1861 preach a sermon to his church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, and among his words were these that I close with his speaking about likening the death of a child to a fine rose being taken. Suppose you're a gardener employed by another.

It's not your garden, which are called upon to tended you have your wages paid you. You have taken great care with a certain number of roses you've trained them up and there they are blooming in their beauty.

You pride yourself upon them to come one morning into the garden, you find that the best rose has been taken away. You are angry you go to your fellow servants and you charge them with having taken the rose they will declare that they had nothing at all to do with it. And then one says I saw the master walking here this morning. I think he took it is the gardener angry.

Then know at once. He says I am happy that my rose should've been so fair as to attract the attention of the master. It is his own.

He had taken it, let him do what seems good to him. If God for bid that should ever happen to you and II pray it won't pray that your children grow up healthy and happy and wonderful this week as we long for that. So we anticipate but if in God's sovereignty. That doesn't happen. Know that your child will be for ever cared for until you go to him or her.

I would say you can only go to him or her.

If you go the same way they went by God's grace years ago by God's grace.

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