Luke 9:46-48

There is a simplicity with God. A child’s nature is like the kingdom of Heaven. Precious, innocent and without worry. It’s not in a child’s nature to hold a grudge, to hate, or not to forgive. A child simply responds to the Lord’s caring voice.

Heaven in just one step.
It is this and this is still just one step to be accepting of the Lord, accepting of the Lord.
What do I mean by that to be have having your arms wide open to Him to be able to say to God, you know what God, you’re in control and I want what you want in my life.
Now, I warn you, you say that and you might get a phone call from somebody but try it yield to him.
Watch what happens for a service this morning after first service, A young man, I don’t know, somewhere around maybe 30 years of age, um walked into this church this morning, heard the message and just fell to his knees, wept and accepted Christ because he said, you know what?
I have been in charge of my life. I’m crashing my life and I don’t want to steer anymore.
I don’t want to be in charge anymore.
And he gave up and he prayed and he yielded and he says, he wants God to lead in his life.
That’s exactly the heart that Jesus is talking about.
But when we get to be adult like we begin to say things like I got it, God and I’ll do this and we just consult ourselves, not the word of God.
And we need to be careful and we need to be open, listen regarding this verse watch and Jesus said to them, whoever receives this little child in my name receives me and whoever receives me receives him, who sent me a reference to his father.
Now watch this in Matthew 18 verse four. There is the verse that connects to that.
It’s Matthew’s view of the same event, whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child.
The same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
There you go to humble yourself as a little child.
Jesus is saying, well, that would mean first of all that I need to understand that God is simple toward me.
Church, listen, friends. God is simple towards us by accepting the fact that there is a simplicity to God that is altogether beautiful.
Jesus said, whoever receives this little child, can you not do that? You see?
Of course, I can’t, but this is what Jesus is saying. This little child.
When you look at his nature, when you look at her eyes, when you watch their lives, Jesus is saying that is a living breathing picture of me, of my father.
If you can accept this child, listen, because of the things that you find beautiful and precious and innocent, glorious in this child.
Jesus is saying, I’m telling you that is the aspect, the nature of God.
The kid is not God, but what the kid lives like stands for. It’s simple.
You guys, you and I, I saw it this week a mom is walking the little kid.
I don’t know how big but li little tiny, the mother is walking, you know, with big strides and the little kid about every few often, the kid’s foot would touch the ground.
I mean, this kid looked like it was a windy day.
I mean it was just like hanging on, blink, blink, the mother had some place to go and, and for every step she took, he had to take four steps.
When you slow down, Children are so precious because you know what kids have a natural propensity to believe and trust in God, we mess them up.
Children are are just they see God big and when you tell a little kid that those, where did the butterfly come from?
Daddy? God made the butterfly and all the whole process and he’s got a little butterfly family somewhere and they got all this butterfly world they live in God did that.
They just go wow, they don’t go with stuff like but how does that cope with the Darwinian theory?
You’ve got to talk God out of them.
You’ve got to remove that preciousness that they yield to God. It’s natural.
Listen, I hope I don’t freak you out with this but follow it through mom and dad.
When the kids are little, they look at you and I like, they’re God like we’re God, we can say something and it’s like, ok, they don’t know about God just yet.
But when daddy says, can you bring me my book? Right?
Don’t you think in the family that God who made family kind of engineers it that way that when they grow up a little bit enough to know, hey, daddy’s not God, he’s my hero but God is God.
I see. That’s what don’t you think the Bible is the connection? Jesus said, call God in heaven. Your father?
It’s beautiful. It’s tender, simple. Listen, it’s not a child’s nature to hold a grudge.
Jesus had become like a child. Why? Because little Children don’t hold a grudge.
Have you ever seen a kid out of the backyard? Sharping an ax.
That guy, man. I can’t believe it.
I’m gonna go, I’ll never forgive him, which leads me to the other thing.
A child’s nature is never to withhold forgiveness. You ever seen little kids when they think they’ve upset you?
Have you ever said? You know what you heard daddy’s feelings? Have you seen what they do?
They cry with you? They start, oh, I’m just kidding. I was just kidding. They feel with you.
They don’t hold a grudge. Will you forgive mommy or daddy? Yep. What do we do?
We grow up? We’re not supposed to grow up somebody will say at your age. No.
Listen, act my age. Wait, our God’s eternal. I’m going to heaven.
If I’m gonna act my age, I need to act eternal. You need to grow up.
That’s the problem with the world. It’s wound too tight. It’s grown up.
Jesus said you want to make it to heaven. You got to become like a child.
Don’t hold a grudge. Kids don’t hold grudges, they issue forgiveness. Children don’t hate. You gotta teach them hate.
I’m gonna tell you something right now. You’re not gonna believe me. I saw it.
Heard it own eyes this week in Washington, you’re not going to believe it.
You and I, every one of us we’ve all paid, we are paying money to the United Nations.
Follow the track, we pay our taxes.
This amount of money goes to the United Nations to produce textbooks, textbooks, authorized textbooks.
They’re printed in Europe by the way.
And they are given to the Palestinian Children, little Children in Gaza and the West Bank.
You see what’s wrong with that?
Nothing’s wrong with it so far until you open the textbook and it says in the textbook that the first chance you get little junior strap a bomb on you and blow yourself up in a gathering of a bunch of Jews in the textbook.
You say, I don’t believe it. That’s your problem. I saw it.
How do you, how can you convince a child to hate? Unbelievable?
Jesus said, if you offend the least of these Children, it would have been better for you to have never been born.
Children. Don’t hate by nature and then worry. You ever see kids worry.
And first of all, a child should never worry.
But have you ever seen a three year old walking around? How are we gonna make the mortgage?
How is it going to come together? Dad? What are you doing?
Mom? Get out there work two jobs. What do you need me to do?
I’ll push them more. What do you need in my mind?
I see this little kid in diapers with a cigar. How do we make this come together?
He’s got a little, you know, bookie thing on his head.
They don’t worry, they’re not supposed to worry.
Jesus said you need to be like that is God God or what?
Well, why is my life so messed up because you’ve been driving the thing God wants to be in control simplicity.
And then comparison by accepting the Lord and accepting of the comparison of God. What Jesus does?
He says, whoever receives this little child and my name receives me.
That’s amazing comparison to such a powerful word here when you receive a child.
That is when you open your arms. That’s what that word means.
When you open your arms wide to a child, open your arms wide to me. Can you do that?
He said, well, Jack, it’s Sunday morning. We’ve all done that. I just want to be safe and sure.
Have you opened, can you say this morning?
I’ve opened my arms to Jesus like that, you say, well, Pastor, I’m, I’m a member of my church.
Uh It’s not what I asked and it’s not what Jesus said. He’s not gonna ask you.
And what, what membership did you have? Where, that’s not what he’s gonna be asked.
There’s nowhere in the book he’s gonna ask you. Did you open up your arms wide to my son?
It’s one step into the kingdom to see me? God will say no step.
Did you accept my son? Hm.
Not only by comparison but by fullness by accepting and being accepted of is the fullness of God.
Whoever receives me receives him, who sent me? It’s a strong word.
Jesus is saying, can’t accept me unless you accept my father and you have no understanding of accepting a child.
Unless you understand that you’re listening to real life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series. Just go to Jack Hibbs dot com.
That’s Jack Hibbs dot com. And for now, let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s pastor Jack.
So step one was to be open to the ways of God.
Step one is to be accepting to the Lord and step one here is in verse 48 to be responsive to the Lord for he who is least among you all will be great.
Mark’s Gospel. Mark chapter nine verse 36 is that Jesus took a child and set him in the midst of the disciples and we had taken up him into his arms.
He said to them, is that beautiful? You got Jesus holding a little child.
So we know this, whatever that word means in the age frame of age, they’re small enough for Jesus to pick them up and he’s talking to the disciples.
Look at this. My kids are humble and we fight this.
Well, you know, come on, I mean, you know, I know we’re funny position.
Power plays on us to the point that we make it acceptable and normal, we’ll justify it.
Jesus says you got to become like a child, be believing again and be trusting again.
Said, well, Jack, you know what, I’d love to do that.
But um and I’d love to be responsive to the Lord.
But the fact is uh I’ve been hurt. Has anybody not been hurt?
Oh, I gotta tell you something.
And some of the guys that I was with this week, they’re beautiful dynamic black pastors from the east Coast.
One of them was known in the NFL as the praying tailback.
His name was Herb Lusk, played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now he’s passing a great church on the east coast.
And I tell you these guys were, these guys were I say preaching, I mean, they were just going for it.
And he told a story his first day in the NFL, first play in the NFL.
He was scared to death. He said these guys were Giants first play.
They’re all out there and you hear all this stuff going on, they come back to the huddle and he said this big, huge offensive guard goes oh, oh my hand.
And he said his middle finger was completely busted and just laying back against the palm of his hand.
And her Blust said, he looked at that and he said, my God, what am I doing here?
He said, that guy grabbed his finger and went and he goes, what do you think when we went to the sidelines?
What do you think that big guy said?
He said, wouldn’t you think he’d gone to the and said, give me a doctor.
I need a doctor. He didn’t say that I need a nurse. He didn’t say a nurse.
He said, give me some duct tape.
I need duct tape and somebody came and they duct taped his hand up.
And he said the next play, we went out there and he said that guy was clubbing people with that broken hand to his.
He used what he had as a believer, man.
I can just get all sideways about. Oh God, can you use me?
Some of us need duct tape in our lives.
We need to get wrapped up and get you Yeah, but I’m hurt, I’m broken. What happened?
The pastor hurt my feelings. Oh, yeah. When did that happen? 30 years ago? Grow up?
Get off the sidelines. Get back in the game. Get duct tape on.
You don’t, don’t, first of all, don’t let anybody have that much power in your life to keep you sidelined.
Number two, you’ve played right into the hands of the enemy who’s kept you sterile from affecting others for good.
Get back in there. I don’t know. I don’t know.
I just don’t feel, you know what hurt get in the game.
Why? Because Jesus’s words look are kind instructions to us.
They’re kind, he says for he who is least among you all will be great.
Now, I don’t know how you read that, but you need to read the Bible all the way through.
You could read for he who is least among you all and stop right there.
Well, I guess that’s me or, well, I guess according to the Bible, I’ll just never have any influence at all.
Keep reading. We’ll be great, but the definition is great. God’s way, not your way, not my way.
Great God’s way. And believe me, his way is way better than your way in my way.
The word least here is the word to be seemingly without greatness considered of no apparent value.
Didn’t Isaiah 53 2 say that the Messiah Jesus Christ would come and he would have no form or comeliness that we should desire him.
Did you know that I know we’ve seen little watercolor paintings of Jesus and he looks so kind of Newport beach surf like with his hair blowing along the shore of the Galilee.
He looks rather handsome. The Bible says in Isaiah, he’s not comely or beautiful that you would even desire him.
When Jesus came, you looked very common.
He didn’t walk two ft off the ground and some kind of hovering thing. That’s amazing to think.
But it’s true. What is our excuse? There’s no excuse at all.
Well, I’m too young, I’m too old. Timothy was too young. Moses was too old.
There’s no excuse. Duct tape. The holy spirit will duct tape us back onto the field.
We’ll be great. There’s no pride in this. There’s no arrogance. We need to hear this.
Jesus said to get into the kingdom. We need to humble ourselves as a child.
I tell you guys too much about my private life. This week.
I told you I was in Washington DC. I’m supposed to have a tourist. I got to the airport.
I have a, you know what a tourist is. I’m not a tourist. I don’t believe in it.
Drive it, the car Ford to supposed to be at the, at the rental car place there at the airport.
We don’t have your car, we get a car, your car company. I have a reservation.
You gotta give me a car. We have a, a Yairo gyro. What is that thing?
It’s like this bag. My arms are bigger than the car.
I said I can’t drive that car. I’m going downtown Washington.
I’m gonna meet Senators. You can’t give me an M and M to drive around and then they’re great here.
The keys tap and we have a blue one.
I said I can’t do it. That’s ok. I’ll go to Hertz.
They’re right next door. No, no, it’s ok.
We have, we can, we can get you into a town car.
A what? A Lincoln town car.
You know how big that car is here and this is how much we need to be humble like a little child.
I’m thinking, what is that thing? And she’s right out there. It looked like the US S Reagan.
All right, I’ll take it. I’m in this thing.
It’s like, mm mm Wow. Everything, man.
And I’m driving, it’s like, whoa, turn will you turn? It’s huge.
And I’m driving this thing and then once I get the hang of it, I go to Lincoln And then I started looking around because now I got it.
I got it. I know you turn about a mile before you need to turn. I got it.
And then I started looking at people that have Lincoln town cars on the freeway.
They’re like 90 years old. I went from total dependency upon God.
How do you drive this thing to, hey, look at me. I’m driving a turn car. What a nut.
I need to be humble. Like a child. We get some money in our pocket.
Hey, you know, hey, what? We’re nothing without him.
He can take it away in a second. It’s so funny.
We get this stuff and it’s like, well, you, well, you know, I’m in Washington with a town car.
God, the angels are up there just probably going. What an absolute mess this guy is.
He has a caring voice. His voice is caring.
He says the least among you all will be great church.
It means that we serve one another to serve each other. Children are so much like that. Mommy.
What can I do for you? Mommy’s not feeling good when you’re sitting, they come in the little mommy.
What can I do? They’re servants. Are we not as Christian to be servants?
Didn’t Jesus say in the gospels when he washed their feet? He said, do you know what I’ve done?
And I’m thinking what you washed their feet.
He said, I’ve given you an example from here on out. Wash one another’s feet.
Christians did you know that in all the religious groups and all of the world did you know that is the stellar peace.
Everybody else is in it for themselves. What does Jesus say to the Christian? Serve one another?
Minister each other? Hey, it’s mother’s Day. Go out and serve your mom today.
Go out and serve mom today every day. I thought moms will serve us.
Hey, I’m the head of the house. I’m the husband. I’m the man. That’s right.
You are the head of the house. You are the husband. Serve the wife. What? Wash her feet.
I can feel, look, I can feel the tension right now. I can feel it.
And then I’m gonna, you’re gonna tell me in the 48. I wanna hear it.
Well, you know, if we had a better marriage, I’d think about it.
You want a better marriage, wash your feet, serve your wife.
Pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real life radio with his message called heaven in just one easy step.
Thank you for taking the time to be with us today.
This message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke A series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Everybody. It’s time at this.
Still the new part of the New Year. We’re still into it.
It’s great for us to stop right now and just, just get realigned in prayer.
And I just want to pray this for you, for us, Lord Jesus.
I pray that by the power of your holy spirit, you would lead and guide our real life radio audience, Father God that you’d give us vision passion and Lord that we would experience more and more that separation from this world while we’re in it, cause us Lord to be so filled with the commitment of heaven that we might be on this earth, spiritually beneficial God, that we would be active and busy about our Father’s business.
So lord, we pray that you would move in our lives.
We come to you right now and we just offer up again, this rededication to be completely used by you.
And however in whatever area you’d have us to be used in Jesus name.
And all of God’s people said amen.