In this sermon, Pastor Babij examines in Mark the account of those bringing children to Jesus for a blessing. Pastor Babij explains how this passage shows believers two important principles: Christians should be purposeful in bringing children to Jesus, and Christians should be attentive to the character of children as a symbol of the kingdom of God. Children are naturally helpless, dependent, and trusting. Jesus says that those who want to receive God’s blessed kingdom must also have these qualities.
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okay this morning let’s take our Bibles and turn to Mark chapter 10.
we’re continuing to study through the gospel of Mark today we’ll be looking at verses number 13 through 16 13 through 16.
let me read that 13-16 Mark chapter 10.
verse number 12 we ended up with last time the question about divorce remarriage or divorce it says in verse 12 and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man she is committing adultery and then in verse 13 it says and they were bringing children to him so that he might touch them but the disciples rebuked them but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them permit the children to come to me and do not hinder them with the kingdom of God belongs to such as these truly I say to you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all and he took them in his arms and began blessing them laying his hands on them let’s pray Lord this morning as we look at this passage of scripture I pray Lord that you bring you should bring you would bring to our minds Lord the important truths that we need to consider concerning the matter of children and I pray Lord that we would learn well from their simple character for we know Lord it has everything to do with entryway into the kingdom of God and I just ask you Lord you would guide us in these truths this morning in Christ’s name amen so right here in our Passage it follows on the heels of the topic of marriage and divorce Jesus draws our attention this Lord’s day to children see this scene is still taking place in a house as referred to back in Mark chapter 10 and verse number 10 where it says in the house the disciples began questioning him about this again so the disciples had their question answered by Jesus concerning marriage and divorce and now the people were going in and out of the house that they were in but notice in verse number 13 in our text it says and they were bringing children to him so that he might touch them now that’s interesting that it should fall on the heels of the subject of marriage the very thought of children in Jesus day children often were viewed as a liability especially until they could contribute to society we know that Herod King Herod Dishonored children in Jesus Day by killing many babies two years old and under of course in a hope that he would kill Jesus Christ himself who was considered the King of the Jews and the Romans also did not hold children in high esteem they even had trash heaps beside many homes where people could leave unwanted children if other people wanted them they could come by and take them often they were snatched up by unscrupulous people who raised them to be prostitutes Gladiators and slaves and in our day with the level of abortions being committed in our own country legally I must say that our view of children is not very high either as a nation even though individually we may have a high view of children so today from our text there are two things that we really need to consider from this passage of scripture and the first one is this that we should be purposeful to bring children to Jesus that should be on our mind as parents grandparents and as the church in general children need to be brought to Jesus so the first thing under that particular point would be that we should not ignore children but get them to Jesus if you notice in verse number 13 it says and they were bringing children to him so that he might touch them so most likely from that text mothers and fathers were bringing their children to Jesus in order for him to bless them the purpose of touching is to receive a blessing it was common for mothers to bring children to a well-known Rabbi in order to receive a blessing from them in fact the Greek word for children is the word used for young children or even infants so the blessing desired by the parents could have included and most likely included that God’s grace would be operative in that child’s heart and in that child’s life that that child would grow up to fear God to believe God’s word and then of course ultimately that that child would come to know what it means to see and enter the kingdom of God see that is that God would always be near to that child in peace and in favor and never in Wrath and judgment so in the sense that’s what blessing meant that God was near them that God would be near them for blessing and favor so we should not ignore children and the fact that they need to hear very early on in their life about the Lord and about his word and then underneath that we should not hinder children but lead them to Jesus in verse number 13 of course as uh the word got out and more people kept coming to Jesus outside of the house the disciples caught on to what was happening and in an effort to protect Jesus and because they thought that there were more serious matters to be taken care of than for Jesus to be blessing little children the scripture tells us if you notice in verse 13 the disciples rebuked them in fact that word rebuke carries the meaning of to censor them or to warn them and it even carries the thought to threaten them to threaten them so they would stop the flow of parents bringing children to be blessed by Jesus now that was the the thought in their mind and that’s the disciples actually seemed it to be logical this is the best way to handle this matter now how did Jesus respond to that particular course of action well if you notice in verse 14 if you put your eyes on verse number 14 you’ll find that when Jesus saw this he was indignant you know you’re not going to get a stronger word than that word in the Greek that word right there shows us a very and displaced to us a very strong emotion of disapproval from Jesus that Jesus resents the disciples rebuke of those who are bringing the children to him for blessing in fact it’s recorded in the gospel of Matthew on the same passage it says this then some children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray and the disciples rebuked them two imperatives expressed the tone of Jesus indignation one is positive the other is negative but both mean are connected to each other and he says in verse number 14 but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them what does he say to them let them come in other words permit the children to come to me don’t stop them all right and then of course stop hindering them don’t get in the way of them coming to me in other words that we should never ever hinder children but lead them to God lead them to Jesus Christ so we should take this to heart this morning that and not underestimate the importance children were to Jesus Christ and to prevent children from being brought to Jesus brings a very strong rebuke and indignation from the Lord himself so Jesus Takes deep interest in children in fact in scripture you find that Jesus was very popular with children wherever he go they would gravitate to him now some use this passage of scripture to support infant baptism however infant baptism has nothing to do with the text it’s nowhere near this particular text neither do I believe that the Bible teaches infant baptism so it’s interesting when one reads the word of God how the presence of children are mentioned over and over again in fact if you go back to the book of Deuteronomy you’ll find in Deuteronomy that children were to be shown what is right before the Lord when the congregation met together it says this in Deuteronomy 12 verse 25 it says you shall not eat it so that it may be well with you and your sons after you for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord it was important for the people to make sure the children knew what was right before the Lord so they would be present and then it says in verse 28 be careful to listen to all these words which I command you so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God so again children were to be taught by the elders in the congregation and the parents while they were present what was right to do before the eyes of the Lord and then I’d like you to turn here in Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 10 through 13 because again when God makes a covenant with his people the Lord wants the children to be present he wants them to be active in what is being involved and how God is interacting with his people and if you notice in verse 10 excuse me verse number 10 of of Deuteronomy chapter 29 it says this you stand today all of you before the Lord your God your Chiefs your tribes your elders your officers even all the men of Israel then notice verse number 11. your little ones your wives and the alien who is within your camps from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water and then it says in verse 13 in order that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God just as he spoke to you and he swore to your fathers to Abraham to Isaac and Jacob so in making that Covenant it was important that the children were there the little ones were there to see and observe what was going on and then you go to Chronicles and you have the same kind of thing in Chronicles it says all Judah standing before the Lord with their infants their wives and their children and then again in Joel it says blow the trumpet in Zion and consecrate a fast proclaim a solemn assembly gather the people sanctify the congregation assemble the elders and gather the children and the nursing infants so all through scripture you may kind of miss it when you’re reading through it all through scripture there is this important fact that God wanted the little children in the middle of things he wanted them to see to experience at a very young age what it meant to do right before God what it meant when God made a covenant with his people what it meant when the congregation was assembled together with all the elders and the tribes and the leaders and the priests that God wanted those infant children there so each in each of these passages of scripture it includes the little Sons and Daughters to be present in order to expose them to the word of God and to the will of the Lord so what we glean from what Jesus was doing with his disciples and from these passages of scriptures is this we should not delay religious and biblical instruction to children but really we should expose them to the truth of God’s word regularly by word and by action instilling early biblical truths in the minds and the hearts of little children when we come to the New Testament parents are urged by the Apostle to consider seriously the great responsibility to be Guardians and custodians of their children’s Souls see parents are to put thoughts to give attention to provide time especially the time needed in order to bring them up as it says in Ephesians in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord so the training of children always includes the element of Education of discipline of the example of the parents and of the of those people in the church and the phrase in Ephesians of the Lord places actually Christian parents in an entirely different category from all other parents for this reason this appeal to Christian parents is not simply to exhort them to bring up their children in terms of General morality or good manners or commendable behavior in general Christian parents should be concerned of course about good manners about good behavior about the avoidance of evil they should teach their children to be honest to be dutiful to be respectful and things like these however the Apostle Paul is going One Step Beyond these things when he says that the children of Christian parents are to be brought up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord then that is a different category uh or a level of teaching is on the spiritual level in fact Martin Pastor Martin Lloyd Jones gives some helpful insight on this particular point where he said and I quote in the Forefront of the minds of Christian parents must be the thought that children are to be brought up in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord this is the particular task to which Christian parents alone are called this is not only their Supreme task their greatest desire and ambition for their children should be that they should come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and as their lord so the question that we must ask ourselves is that our main ambition when it comes to children not only as parents but as a church that they may come to know the Savior that they may follow him as the Lord as the scripture tells us and this is eternal life that they may know him the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent so the training of our children has not changed much from the Old Testament to the New Testament in fact in the Old Testament parents were encouraged to apply constant vigilance to point their children to God they were given guidelines for helping to cultivate their children’s awareness and their children’s understanding of who God is in fact these guidelines in Scripture are clearly found in what the Old Testament calls the Shema the Shema in which in fact if you went to Israel today you would find men walking down the street with these boxes on their head strapped to their head phylacteries and in those boxes would be a specific passage of scripture and that would be Deuteronomy chapter six because Deuteronomy chapter 6 was the pivotal and central point of all Old Testament Theology and not only that for our theology in the New Testament that that verse provides really doable principles to be taught by parents to their children in fact there’s five particular principles that are brought to life in that passage if you care to turn there Deuteronomy chapter 6 and notice verse four through eight I’ll just quickly mention them because that’s not where I’m going to stay this morning but if you notice in Deuteronomy 6 4 the first thing the parents were to do is they were to teach their children to acknowledge God and it says here here o Israel Deuteronomy 6 4 The Lord Is Our God the Lord is one so beginning to establish in the children’s mind that number one there is a God all right make no mistake there is a God and that God is one God right so therefore there’s going to be a multitude of gods that the other nations are worshiping but remember this they are worshiping in ignorance you are not worshiping in ignorance you are worshiping the true and the Living God so that was the first thing the second thing they were to teach them in verse 5 is they were teach to teach them to love God it says you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might they were taught to love the Lord with everything they had children were taught this and the examples would be their parents and then in verse verse number six and seven the third principle is they were to teach their children to obey God it says these words in verse 6 which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up see and the operative word there in this text is diligently it’s not just a one-time thing it’s a day in day out thing it’s a life thing that we’re teaching our kids through youth uh when they become teens and then when they grow older to leave the house we’re still being the example it’s just that our roles May shift around there from being the one who gives all the discipline and teaches them to the one who becomes a counselor later on in their life when they should have left the house with the knowledge to acknowledge God to love God to obey God and then to follow even their parents instruction the fourth principle in verse 6 7 and 8 it says to teach your children to follow your example you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down when you rise up in verse 8 and shall bind them as a sign to your hand and you shall they shall be frontlets to your forehead that’s where the the Jews get the phylacteries they put the verse on their forehead and they also have phylacteries on their hand and you see them walking around actually you can go in the marketplace and buy them for yourself but in those little boxes uh they have scripture and that scripture is to be remind them the reason why they put it on their head is to remind them every day about what God commands in the word of God the very practical principles of every person that every person needs to know to live their life and then of course verse number eight and nine the fifth principle would be to repeat it it’s it’s ongoing repetition where it says in verse number eight you shall bind them as signs on your hand and they shall be as fruntlets on your forehead you shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates in other words wherever you go what do they confront it with they’re confronted with the word of God they’re confronted with scripture they’re confronted with the thought there is a God he’s a God to be loved he’s a God to be obeyed he’s a God to follow the whole of your life not just as children but all of your life so that means that Christian parents are really to give a true impression that Christ is the head of their home and that all these principles are a reality by their own conduct and by their own behavior in which they live out daily in an atmosphere of course in order and care and love so for children to be born again you want to be sure to plant The Good Seed of the pure word of God in their mind and in their heart you also need to ensure that you stay away from the pollutants that will cause false conversions that Christian parents need to be familiar with the biblical reality of true and false conversions in fact the next passage of scripture we’re going to look at is the Rich Young Ruler and we’re going to find here he thought he was in the kingdom when he found that at the end of discussing it with Jesus he wasn’t in the Kingdom as he loved his money more than he loved God so he thought he was see again that must be made clear to parents that we can’t assume anything when it comes to what our kids know and don’t know and the reason for that is because children are particularly vulnerable when it comes to false conversions they’ll believe anything and yes it is natural for Christian parents to desire their children’s salvation however some parents become so desperate to believe that their children are saved they will grasp at anything they will grasp at a profession of Faith made at a young age even when they get older and that when they’re not living for the Lord they’ll grasp at the signs of the person just having a good attitude and being kind of a a good person or a righteous person at least as it is viewed with their other peers that even when a child openly denies faith and engages in a habitual pattern of sin and displays no desire for the things of God the parent will cling to false hopes that they are saved because they gave their heart to Jesus at a young age instead of facing the reality that their children their child may be on their Road to Hell instead of Heaven see that that must be in our minds because we understand the word of God we we really actually must rid our children of the idea that their own righteousness will save them we must teach them that they must be saved by the righteousness of another and his name is Jesus Christ we are only saved by his righteousness how can we do this how can we actually help our kids not depend on their own goodness and their own righteousness well we can start by teaching our kids the law yes the Ten Commandments I mean if you just consider the Ten Commandments all of them show us the common sense that all youth will do number nine the sin of lying commandment number eight the sin of petty theft commandment number five the sin of Disobedience to parents you know they took a survey in a couple of years ago it was recorded one of the books I was reading that uh they asked high school students uh if they ever lied to their parents and after they got done with the study they came out with the percentage that 82 percent of all high school students admitted that they have lied to their parents in the last month and often do it on a regular basis so see in other words we shouldn’t stick our head in the sand as parents to think our kids are angels they have a sinful heart and that sinful heart is going to sin all right and you know what some kids know how to mask it well but the Commandments of God show us that listens commandment number five is the sin of Disobedience of parents I mean who has not been a child who’s been disobedient to a parent right you you would be lying to yourself if you said I never disobeyed my parents right we do that why do we do that is because we are sinners that’s why the sin of not giving the Lord one day in seven of worship commandment number four the sin of cursing commandment number three so these those are just five of The Ten Commandments and all of them all of them expose the heart so see children need to be taught that all sin is an affront before a holy God not just before other people or parents but before God so the moral law of God will not save your children it was never designed to do that what it will do is it will show them the sin that is in their own heart and it will show them the just condemnation that a holy God places upon their sin and then it will lead them to the one who can’t save them and who can say them Jesus Christ right for it says in Galatians therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ that we may be justified by faith see that is the key Ray comfort in his way of the master a great evangelist Ray comfort wrote in a small book how to bring children to Christ as parents if you haven’t read that you need to read that book because he talks actually he goes through each of the Ten Commandments and he applies them to Children right he said this he heard in that about a woman who was in a serious car accident and as she Lay Dying in her Hospital she called her mother she took her mother by the hand and says mom you taught me how to sow you taught me how to cook you taught me how to keep the house you taught me everything about living but you never taught me about dying you never taught me about that see there’s there’s many things that we can teach our children that really have no Eternal value uh all kinds of sports that we get involved with all kinds of hobbies and crafts and skills and abilities and often these things Trump things that are eternal temporal things trumping things that are Eternal and you know what parents when you decide on the Lord’s day to attend one of these events and absence yourself from attending the worship of God and the hearing of the word of God you are actually shooting yourself in the foot because you’re saying that something out there in the world is more important than God and the worship of the Lord and the hearing of his word we should be very careful that we do not place the Lord second into those kind of temporal events that have no Eternal value at all and then go and teach the children that wait a minute I guess God’s not important as I thought he once was these other things are important and believe me the world does everything now on Sunday at one time they did it on Saturday now they do it on Sunday they do that on Sunday so see the truth is that for any child or adult to be saved there must be an understanding of the nature of sin a child must turn from his sin and trust in Jesus to save him I know you heard this before but you know the thing about scripture is we need to hear it again because eternal life comes not from saying a prayer or making a decision in youth and then not following the Lord the rest of your life it comes from repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then living your life every day for the Lord yes and perfectly but every day the movement of your life is to serve God so individuals who come to Christ in true conversion must first be convinced that they are sinners and the best ones to convince children that they are sinners is parents and the church they go together they they’re vitally connected together because what it does the law awakens the conscience it makes it sensitive and then It prepares the soil of the heart for the life-giving seed of the Gospel that’s what it does that’s why children at a young age are so very important to the Lord because that’s the place where it all starts that’s where the place where the mind is molded and the the conscience is formed and the truth is embedded in their mind because when they get out in the world they get no truth anymore they just get the false Impressions and truths or of the world and those some time Trump What God Says in the word of God all right saying all that let’s get back to the gospel of Mark chapter 10.
so take your Bibles and turn back there because see that first point is that we should be purposeful to bring children to Jesus we need to not forget that but the second thing that I want you to consider this morning is this what the text actually says the second thing we need to consider in our text is that we should be attentive to the character of children concerning the kingdom of God in other words the children become our teachers as adults and what is that look at Mark chapter 10 verse 14.
it says but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them permit the children to come to me and do not hinder them but then notice at the end of verse 14 what he adds for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these so he was moving Jesus was moving the focus off those bringing children and the children themselves and pointing the readers and the disciples attention in our attention on the qualities that typify children on the character that typifies children and he goes on to say without these qualities no one could belong to the kingdom of God that’s an incredible absolute statement that we need to actually reconsider when we when we think about our own lives because what are they what are adults to learn from Little Children what are the qualities that typify children as such well the first quality is this the quality of being helpless and yet receptive look at verse number 14 at verse number 15. it says truly I say to you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all see a child actually uh we have to notice that the child is the model and not the adult person that children have a receptive nature to them do they not they haven’t developed a conscious resistance to Christ’s Rule and the work of Grace yet children are simple-minded they’re sincere they have not learned yet the Crooked policies of the world they’re open-minded they are they are humble and that they have not yet learned to think in terms of Pride or self-importance young children have not yet learned to nourish bitterness and hold grudges as of yet that will come very soon but this is something adults need to learn listen if you want to make it into the kingdom of God you need to come with uh actually a very helpless and a receptive spirit now what happens is that when we become adults when we join the adult community everything gets complicated the reason why is because we’re pulling all this baggage into our with our adult life right all the sin all the the bad teaching all the the stuff that we learned that is really not profitable at all we’re dragging that all into our life all the you know dysfunctional family stuff and all that stuff is coming in so what happened is clouding our ability to see the truth we’ve developed philosophies we developed World Views that are contrary to scripture the Bible says listen you’ve got to come as a child that is helpless that they can’t help themselves but they’re receptive to the truth come like that and then secondly the second quality that typified children is that of dependence see a child is dependent upon others for what they need they have not yet learned Independence that we adults cherish so much in which we conclude that we do not need anyone anymore we can do it on our own I don’t need God people conclude that the world concludes that there’s no guy there’s no God there’s no standard I can do what I want I’m independent I got a free will it’s my body it’s my life my time no it’s not see that’s why if a child knows there’s a God they’re starting on the premise of Truth and they’re building on that if you’re sharing and living the word of God before your children they’re soaking it in and they’re getting more than you think they’re getting and you’re giving it to them because they are helpless but they’re receptive they they’re like sponges but they’re dependent on you they’re dependent on you for truth they’re depending on you too which way should I go they’re depending on you about the very important things of life see they they have the ability to take care of themselves yet they’re dependent and then a third quality would be they they’re just trusting child a child instinctively accepts Authority and trusts the one who is bigger than him and knows more than him a child has a confidence in other people and does not expect any person to be bad that’s why children could talk to strangers and they don’t they can’t perceive is this person going to do me harm they think of all people as good all right they have not yet learned to suspect other persons now all this means in our text and according to our text that no one shall enter the kingdom of God unless he or she receives it as a little child a little child will come helpless and receptive a little child will come dependent a little child will come trusting so see the decisive point leads to the emphatic phrase as a little child truly I say to you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all see it is assuming the humility and the unquestioning truthfulness of the child that makes in a pattern for all adults the humility and the truthfulness when they are directed towards Jesus Christ become the very essence of saving faith see all adults must receive the kingdom of God with the attitude of a child the attitude of receptiveness the attitude of willingness to be dependent upon another for what they need and they need salvation and of course the attitude of trusting Faith simple faith uncluttered faith willing to throw out the philosophy willing to throw out the old religious systems willing to throw out everything that would prevent them from arguing against the truth see the kingdom of God must then be received as a gift it’s never gained by gain buy or on the basis of human Merit so then the kingdom of God is if the kingdom of God is not received as a gift of God in simple trusting Faith as a little child it cannot be entered however all who come with these attitudes and receive the Gospel of the Kingdom as a little child may enter entry into the kingdom of God was never predicated on the prerequisite of human righteousness we have no amount of human righteousness to equal the righteousness of God himself the kingdom of God is not a matter of human effort it’s not a matter of what I do it’s a matter that I come to Jesus Christ as a little child vulnerable dependent and trusting in fact it is and to remember right from the gospel of Mark it’s answered only by repentance and believing in the good news from God and what the father is doing in the world in and through Jesus Christ the human obligation was to hear the gospel and Obey two imperatives and from Mark chapter one those imperatives were clear it’s still clear the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe the gospel that’s it those are the imperatives repent to turn from something believed to turn to something or someone in this case it’s to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ so repentance really includes a redirection of our thinking about God in other words all our thinking has been about ourselves it’s it’s been about our desires our passions our Pleasures our Pursuits we begin to realize that we really don’t spend a lot of time thinking about God who he is and what he requires and what he’s done so see repentance is really a change of mind it’s an afterthought in other words that one the second thought shows that the first thought about God was wrong and how wrong we’ve been about God we don’t realize that till we come to scripture how much we’ve neglected the Lord how much we have misrepresented the Lord how much we have offended the Lord and how much we have fallen short of a standard a truly childlike repentant heart comes to the Lord with nothing in their hands nothing in their hands they cling to for an adult his standard is perfect holiness sin is any want of Conformity to the law and to the character of God so judge yourself by your fellow man and you look pretty good in turn if you judge yourself by the perfect Holiness of God you must realize you don’t look good at all matter of fact you deserve judgment so this there there’s no true repentance until our Judgment of self is formed by the comparison with The Divine character see repentance includes also a redirection of our heart towards Jesus believing the gospel means to obey the message concerning our Lord Jesus Christ that he is the son of God that he is God’s Own Way of Salvation that God sent Jesus to the cross that God put all our sin on him and punished them in him see then the question would be do you believe that a little child would say yes an adult with a little child’s faith will say yes I believe that I believe that is the only way in fact the more and more you study scripture the more and more you are convinced that Jesus Christ is the only way there is no other way there’s no other religion that presents the sacrifice of sin of a perfect lamb like Jesus Christ no other religion presents that and if even a religion comes close to it they Cloud it over with all kinds of other stuff that just messes up the message and makes it unable to be understood so believing the gospel means that you stop all self-justification you stop every Reliance upon all your good deeds because you have none all your own efforts you normally don’t have anything to offer God for the Bible says I did not come to call the righteous The Good the just I’ve come to call the sinners so either you’re depending on your own righteousness or God’s righteousness so we must repent and believe because these two are never divorced from one another so then the terms of entryway into the kingdom of God is repentance and faith you can’t think of repentance and faith as a hinge on which the door of Salvation turns the hinge has two plates one that is screwed to the door and the other that is screwed to the jam they are held together by a pin and on that hinge the door turns that Christ is that door but none entered through that door who does not repent and believe so in other words no one could enter the kingdom of God without print repentance without fleeing from sin and putting in Trust In Christ Alone it can’t happen so in all those things as we consider what it is that a little children a little child will come in helplessness and yet receptive to the truth of the gospel and believe it a little child will come dependent on what is what God has done and not what they have done a little child will simply come trusting in the Lord without any kind of baggage connected to that and then also a last thing is a little children will come and they will receive the blessing notice in verse number 16 of Mark chapter 10 it says in our last verse take notice of two significant actions taken by our Lord Jesus Christ which really should bring great comfort to our soul it says in verse 16 and he took them that’s the children in his arms and he began blessing them laying his hands on them now jesus takes up the children into his own arms and he puts his hands upon the children to bestow a blessing see the significance is that all who come with these attitudes the attitude of receptive receptiveness as a little child to to the gospel the attitude of willingness to be dependent as a little child Upon Jesus for what they need Eternal salvation and the attitude of trusting Faith as a little child in Jesus are then received by Jesus embraced by Jesus blessed by Jesus and promised that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these and that’s the only way to enter so people who have all their arguments on why not to believe Jesus Christ will never come as a child and those of us with all our baggage who finally lay them aside and say I’m going to come to Jesus as a little child dependent helpless trusting because I want the to receive the blessing that comes to all those who believe simply by faith in Christ because I want to be in the kingdom of God see that is the person that receives the blessing so the Lord is really setting up the context the scripture setting up the context for the for the story of the Rich Young Ruler which will pick up next week but I just pray this morning that you will be aware of what is said in the scripture and that it would become a reality to you and that as parents and as grandparents and as people as a church to have influence over little children that we would never ignore them we would never set them aside and think they are unimportant those little kids are soaking up everything that’s going on and I pray that if we put God we have a high view of God and we then believe that the scripture is the final rule of Authority for life and godliness and then that would lead us to understand the true nature of man that they are depraved Sinner and they need the Salvation that Jesus Christ offers a child will learn that they will get that message and they will in turn when they hear the message pray that they would obey God and come in simple childlike face faith to believe in Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior and there is nothing there’s no greater blessing for a parent than to know their children are walking with the Lord and and following the Lord there’s there’s no Greater Joy than that so those children that are not walking with the Lord uh there is a level of grief that comes with that but that’s where we have to pray for them and we have to uh continue to be a witness to them because I know one thing that even if a children even if children do not follow the lord after knowing the truth one thing they can’t argue with they can’t argue with that their mom and dad believe it and live it they can’t argue with that and you know deep in their heart they know it’s the truth because the truth has a ring to it that nothing else has people who hear the truth know they’re hearing the truth they know it even if they can’t actually communicate why they know it they know it because truth has a ring that nothing else has and when you come to the word of God that’s what you find you find truth and that becomes the draw and that becomes the desire for us to know what God wants for us and then be able to live it in our life so I just prayed that for you and I that the children would have ample amount of information from the word of God to be in their heart and mind when it comes time for them to receive the Gospel amen amen let’s pray