R1640 A Heart of a Child

Today we go to the heart of the matter with our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton, and his message on the heart of a child. Let's study the Bible together.

This is The Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton, well-known seminary professor, author, pastor, and today as he opened God's Word together with us, we'll gain some insight on not only what it means to have childlike faith, but to have the heart of a child. As we study the Word, know that we're available for you connecting online right now at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org.

Today everyone's talking about praying for our nation, and we'd love to get you more information on what it's like to be praying for our nation together. That resource and so many more are on our website www.tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word devotional from Dr. Don.

It's at www.tewonline.org. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. Please open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 18. I want you to look at something in Matthew chapter 18. I'd like to read to you just the first five verses of Matthew and chapter 18 as we worship the Lord through studying his Word and hearing the Word of the living God together. At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? So Jesus called a little child and had that child stand with him.

Could I just say this to you folks? You know the passage where Jesus said, suffer the little children to come to me? He was holding a baby. This is a child. Babies don't stand by the way.

Just want to clarify that. This is a child. This is Camp Voyager here. He called a little child, had him stand among them. Watch what Jesus said and this is what he said. I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Can I put a modern name? You will never strut your way into heaven. You'll never give your way into heaven. You'll never serve your way into heaven. You'll never church your way. You'll never preach your way into heaven. Unless you become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And look at verse 5.

Had to include this. This is a long passage and whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. May the Lord Jesus give us an understanding today as I invite you to give your life to Christ and become a witness for Christ and listen to what the Lord Jesus had to say. So what did Jesus do here?

Three things. He responded to a question. He's just responding to a question. It's my question. It's your question.

It's coming from a Christian person, Christian man, a Christian lady, someone who follows that's made abundantly clear. Second, he illustrated his response and get this, with the child. He didn't just say let me tell you, he said let me show you. I want you to just check this video out for a minute. He said, Jesus said, he said if you would just all hold on a minute right here in this field at the Sea of Galilee, let's pop a video in.

I want you to just see our children at Camp Voyager. That's what Jesus did. He said let the children come in.

Let's just look at them. And the third thing he did was he applied, using the heart of a child, he applied this most incredible gospel truth America. He settled the issue of the war that goes on, of this massive pursuit after rightness from the heart of people-ness. He leveled the playing field.

If there was any time at which Jesus said it like it is, and it sort of makes me think about little children. Do you know that I can go home most evenings. I go home, I walk in, make myself a cup of tea. I can do anything I want to do. I love it. Make a peanut butter sandwich. I go out, stand on the deck, sing to myself and think I'm impressing Steve Skinner.

I can do anything I like. But not last week. I got home every day and it was, Chief! It was just little children and what joy. And my son and daughter-in-law drove up on Thursday and when they drove out on Thursday evening, it's like all of a sudden the reality of this world left my house.

Not in a negative way. But Jesus wanted us to see something. Jesus wanted us to know what our problem is.

Jesus was looking at the people and saying, why don't you stop all this? Why don't you get off your boat? Why don't you understand the great love of God in Christ Jesus?

Why don't you get down to basics? Why don't you just lay this all aside and understand the depth of my love for you and what it means to know me and what it is that I, Jesus, can do for you. It's time, isn't it? Some of you right now, you're listening and you're right on the edge and you're waiting and you're saying, I need Jesus. Do it now.

Give your life to Christ now. He's listening. He's watching.

You're standing right there. He said, you need to change like a little child, which means you need to have a sense of total abandonment. Your heart needs to be right because your heart has become so clogged. You're watching the media and you're caught up in your politics and you're worried about COVID and you're concerned about what's next and Jesus was not saying, I don't understand these things. He was saying, let me give you a clear understanding of what I can do and if you want to know it, just look at the heart of a child.

So how did he respond? What did Jesus want us to see? Well, there are many things because this passage is replete with deep theological issues, but I've just singled out four of them for you to understand. Why did Jesus bring this child in to illustrate his point? What was he saying to us? Well, first of all, I submit that he wanted us to see his ultimate creation.

Jesus wanted us to take a hard look at the beauty of his ultimate creation. You know, one of the things we love about little children, they're just so beautiful. They're so unmarred, unscarred. They're so trusting. They're so willing. It's so giving. It's so desiring.

So they just open. Jesus was saying, this is the beauty of my creation. Yes, even in that child's lostness, that sin, because we are created, we are conceived in sin because of the sin of Adam. That's how we're born and when we're born in this condition, this creation, Bible says God created male and female. He created them.

He saw that it was good. The older you and I become, the harder we get. I'm being very personal. Please, there is somebody here today.

You've been listening to this for years, but your heart is damaged, isn't it? It's just hard. You're not a hard person. You're not a ugly person. You're not a bad person. You're not a, but in spiritually, you just got a hard heart. You know better, don't you? Nobody's gonna tell you.

Nobody's gonna, I mean, this is the way it is, right? Because you've decided. Jesus said, just look at a child. Behold the person, that tenderhearted, fresh face. Lest you change like a little child.

You know, you and I look at each other and say, man, it's the last thing I'm gonna do. Jesus is not asking you to start babbling or crying like a baby or a child or behaving like a child. He's still at your heart and he wants to come in. What was Jesus, what did he want? He wanted us perhaps to see a way he made us, his intention. Number two, he wanted us to feel his warm embrace.

I think he brought a little child in there because he wanted us to feel his warm embrace. Forgive the interruption as we celebrate God's warm embrace. Perhaps you need someone to pray with you and for you. We stand ready to do that. That's why Dr. Dine insists I interrupt to let you know that 866-899-WORD will connect with one of us, happy to talk and listen and pray with you right now. That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org where you'll find wonderful resources like this. Are you spiritually dressed for today's battles? As Christians, the Word of God equips us on how to prepare and fight spiritual battles.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6-12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, spiritual forces of evil and heavenly places. Join Dr. Wilton as he unpacks Fortified, a powerful four message series to help you understand the spiritual battle we are in and teach you how to put your spiritual armor on. Plus, to further equip you, you will receive the bonus book, The Strategies of Satan, how to detect and defeat him by Warren Wiersbe. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and request Fortified and The Strategies of Satan for a gift of $25. Thank you for supporting The Encouraging Word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. I do hope you'll grab your copy but don't forget the number 866-899-WORD. It's not just for great resources, it's also to pray any time, day or night, 24 hours a day. As Dr. Don would say, we'd be happy to be your 2 a.m. friend.

At 866-899-9673, now back to today's message. We don't have any difficulty when we bring children in to see and to feel a warm embrace. Everybody loves it.

I love it. I love children, man. Love being around them. It just, there's a warm embrace there.

I mean there's just, there's just no substitute. You get around your children, your grandkids, you just want to pick them up and hold hands with them and love on them, you know, kiss them in the neck here and on the cheek and you know there's a, there's just a warmth there and you and I become big people. Now hearts get hard and we don't even see Jesus' warm embrace anymore. Friend, listen to me. You are hurt.

Some of you have been abused, assaulted, you've been maligned, badly treated. You've got things that go back many, many years. Karen and I went out to some incredible friends last night.

We had just the most wonderful, wonderful evening last night with two of our most precious friends. We were, we were chatting together and we were swapping some stories, even about some hurts, you know, that go way back. I've got hurts.

I was talking about boarding school, you know, and I'm one of those who went to boarding school in Africa. You think I have to have any hurts? I've got memories that, just deep, deep things. A lot of stuff I've never talked about, never talked about and here I am a man today but you know, you become hurt by life and then those hurts get into your soul spirit and they begin to govern the way in which you relate and accept the warm embrace of Jesus. Jesus wanted us to see and feel his warm embrace. He already showed us when he said suffer the little children. I'll guarantee you Jesus didn't just say, boy stand there. No, not Jesus. I think Jesus probably had 17 cuddles before he asked the boy if he would just stand there.

We all know that. I, to a fault, I, we all like, I find it hard to walk by children and not get down, want to crawl around and and I, you know, actually folks, I, here's the truth, I don't mind getting, you know, a little bit silly and you know bubbly hubbly with some children down there on the ground. You know adults don't mind that. They love it and what's happened, here's what's happened to you because it happens to all of us.

We grow up, we go to school, we get left out of the team, we get abused and maligned and then we go and we don't make it this and then this person doesn't like us and then we get married and maybe our marriage breaks up and, and you suddenly left you once you knew this beautiful love. You, you had such a love affair and then just this came into your marriage and just ripped you apart and it left you with this terrible hardness in you. You just got this hardness and Jesus said, take a look at this child. I want you to, what, what was he saying here? I, I want you to feel my warm embrace.

I want you to see my ultimate creation. I want you to feel my warm embrace but thirdly, perhaps what Jesus was doing with this child as he was illustrating and answering this question was that he wanted us to understand his complete protection. That's a deep theological thing.

Jesus was trying to show us, listen, you become my child, I got you man. So last week, Ducky, who is Karen in my house, who the grandkids love, she's out somewhere and I get back home and the kids are with me and it's like six o'clock in the evening and I say Ducky's coming back in a minute. Charge out the front door, up to the front driveway. We have a neighbor who's just precious as anything. She sees this, comes over with, have you ever seen these colored crayons that they give to kids that they mess up your driveway and draw pictures all over? My driveway is now a Picasso and they sitting there and they right up on the driveway and here's the street and I'm in the house. Do you know what I did? I mean is this not the silliest thing in the world? I mean my grandkids are like, how old are they now?

But at any rate, they are like whatever and whatever. So the little one is like still four, that's Gabby, okay. So Chief, I look out the window and I suddenly realize that they sitting on top of the driveway drawing, having a wonderful time, but what do I see? What do you think I saw? I saw motor cars coming. I saw Ducky, grandmother, and there's a whole lot of trees here. I saw Ducky arriving back just so excited and coming around the corner and not seeing two of her little grandkids playing there. Can you see what I'm trying not to see?

Anyone? Can you see what I'm trying not to see? I can't conceive that folks.

I can't conceive it. So what is my response? Charge out the front door, go and stand there next to them and admire their paintings for the next 20 minutes until Ducky comes.

I don't leave their side. Let me tell you something, the President of the United States could have called me right then and said, Don, I want to fly you privately on Air Force One to spend an entire week in Hawaii at the expense of the taxpayers and the White House. I would have turned him down on the spot. Do you know why? Well we know why because this grandpa would do anything to protect my grandchildren.

Do you know that that's what Jesus wanted us to see when he answered that question? He said, When you become mine you're totally secure. Nobody's going to pluck you out of my hand. I got you. That's why you can be anxious for nothing.

That's why. That's why you can have the peace of God. What did Jesus want us to see? He wanted us to seize ultimate creation. He wanted us to feel his warm embrace. He wanted us to understand his complete protection, but he also wanted us to realize his designated responsibility.

I think Jesus brought that child in to show that disciple, See this child? Your responsibility. You know we grapple with that because only God can save. Who saves? Only God.

Who convicts? Only the Spirit. So therefore, let my kids go and play in the traffic.

Not one minute. I mean even the rich man and Lazarus, when Lazarus looked at Abram and said, Please send someone back from the dead to go to my five brothers. Jesus said, No, no. I've designated my responsibility.

I got Moses and the prophets. I had a great friend even this week who told me he asked his grandson, Would you give your heart to Jesus? That's responsibility. See folks, I'm just about to tell you something. Children, what do children do? They feel when we love them.

That's what Jesus was showing. They listen when we pray. We're the designated responsibility. They listen when we pray. They grow when we teach. They respond when we listen to them. They follow when we lead.

They go when we place. I've yet to find a child who will ever come and sit in a worship service unless their parents bring them. So where are your children today? They go when we place, when we place them in worship, when we place them in camp, when we place them on mission, when we place them in the middle of our giving. Are your children watching you give financially, tithing, giving to your church?

Are they watching you? When we place our children in the middle of our serving, they serve. Your children, Jesus was saying, Look, I'm putting this child in here.

Are you trying to ask me this question? I want you to understand something. I want you to realize Jesus said my designated responsibility. Don't just see the child.

You've got to see yourself. We're facing a crisis in America because our young people are facing a crisis. The greatest thing we can do is take care of our designated responsibility. Place your children, bring them, teach them, love them, lead them. That's what Jesus was trying to show us in this passage. So what must we do about this?

How do we respond to this? I think we've got to check our own hearts first. I have to check my own heart. You know, when I studied this passage, I'm telling you the Lord really challenged me. The Lord challenged me on like on two fronts.

First of all with me, am I really acting responsibly when it comes to children, young people? But on the second front, what God did to me was he asked me to check my own hands, my own feet, my own life. I found myself revisiting God's, the beauty of God's ultimate creation. He created us in his image. What a powerful message from the Word of God, the Bible itself, with Dr. Don Wilson, and now as he steps into the studio, I pray you'd hear this message from his heart.

Well, hello again my friends. Are you ready to give your life to Christ? You know, you've been listening like this and God has been speaking like this, hasn't he?

And he's speaking to your heart. I'd love to help you give your life to Christ right now. Why don't you pray this prayer, make this your prayer, because you know that God not only hears our prayer, but he answers our prayer too. Pray this prayer with me. Dear God, I know that you love me very much.

I believe Jesus came and died on a cross just for me, and that he gave his life for me. Right now, I confess my sin to you, and by faith I receive you into my heart and into my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Well, if you've prayed that prayer right now, in just a moment we're going to send you some information.

I want you to listen real carefully, because you can take note of that. We've got the means by which we can connect together, and I want to connect with you, because you're part of my family. You're part of the family of God. You are my brother, my sister in Christ. God bless you today.

As God is moving, perhaps you just prayed with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Christ, to rededicate your life. Let us know. Let us give you free resources at 866-899-WORD. Jot the number down, 866-899-9673, or online at www.tewonline.org. Dr. Don wants you to have these free resources. I hope you'll connect with us this week. Again, that's online at www.tewonline.org. Thank you so much for your prayerful and financial support of the Ministry of the Encouraging Lord.