As A Little Child

Transcript

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 0:00

Praise God. Praise God. We thank God this morning. Welcome, welcome, all of you to the Holy City, Spirit of Truth Ministries, bearing witness to the truth podcast. So glad for God to have spared us another day, another day to receive and enjoy his blessings. We're going to be running to the word this morning because I want to, I really want to show you a mystery this morning in the word of God, if you let me say it like that, about something so beautiful in the word of God. So let us get into the word this morning. As human beings, who can say just how many stages that we go through in life? Because we have so many stages in this life as we develop and grow towards our adulthood. No two stages in our human development are quite the same. Our adolescent stage, our teenage stages in life is nothing like midlife stage in life. Senior citizen stages in life will be nothing like preteen stages in life. There are so many different stages in life that are totally different. But the most remarkable stage to me now in our human development and existence is the one stage of which we do not stay in for very long. And this we don't stay in this stage for long at all. This stage is our infancy stage, our stage as a little child, the stage of our beginning. I'll tell you why this stage is the most remarkable stage to me that many of us may not even be aware of and may have never even fully realized. It is remarkable and amazing to me. Listen to me this morning. It is remarkable and amazing to me because it is the one stage in our life where we are the most like the kingdom of God. Now see some of you may not have heard that before, but I'm going to show you in the Word of God this morning. When we are coming to this world in our infancy stage, the first stage of our lives is when we are the most like the kingdom of God. It is the because see, this is the most purest stage of our lives before our lives come to know what sin is. This is that stage in life which is such as, as Jesus is going to tell us, is such as the kingdom of God. It is at this stage in our life as we come into this world where we will have the most innocence of our lives before this world changes us and takes the innocence as a little child away from us and replaces our innocence with a lifestyle of being guilty before God in sin. The amazement to me is at this stage in life, as infants, we are newly born and have come fresh from the presence of God. At this stage, we are as the kingdom of God, from which we were before we entered into this world. That's what we were. That's who was with. Before we are born unto our parents, we come from God. The kingdom of God, I'm gonna show you the correlation between being as a little child and the kingdom of God. It's what Jesus meant when he taught this to the people. I'm gonna read it to you in a few minutes. The kingdom of God is without wickedness and corruption. The kingdom of God is without defiled minds and hearts, and there is no yielding to the temptations of the world in the kingdom of God. The flesh are the enemy. In the kingdom of God there is no corrupt communication, evil thinking, stubbornness, lying, or the worshiping of other things. All that a little child has known at this beginning of their life is God. And the things that a little child can know from the innocence of being with God. Notice something. Notice something here. That in the innocence of a little child is that a little child has never lied before. Ain't never told his first lie. A little child has not hated before. A little child has not sinned before. A little child has not disobeyed God before. There is no deception in a little child, no guile and no hypocrisy. A little child has never known corruption or wickedness. As a little child comes into this world, the innocence of the kingdom of God is yet on them for a time. You will see this morning that this is why Jesus himself says that they are such as the kingdom of God. And we will also see why he says that we must also receive the kingdom of God as a little child, or else we will not be able to enter into the kingdom of God. In such as the kingdom of God, there is the innocence of purity and the absence of guile, no hypocrisy, but only the truthfulness of a little child's spirit. When they are innocent of the corruption and the sins of this world, such is the kingdom of God, and such is the spirit of innocency of a little child. They are so close in resemblance. Let me give you a little insight concerning how this will connect us to the kingdom of God and our eternity. As we are in the kingdom of God when we enter into this world as human infants, in the likeness of that self-same spirit, so must we be in like manner spiritually as the kingdom of God. Understand? God is not asking us to become back, start back acting like no child. That's not what he's saying. That's why we need to pay close attention when we say he said, as, as a little child, that means the spirit of, not go, don't go back to acting like no child, but that spirit that comes with a little child, that innocency, that that don't that that spirit that don't want to be a hypocrite, don't want to pretend. That spirit that is pure in a little child that you see in a little child when they first come into this world, the first few years of a child's life, you can see that on them before they start taking on the attributes and the ways of us, sinful us. Then they start picking up them bad habits, them bad ways. And slowly but surely the innocence that they come into this world with starts to disappear. But Jesus said that is the spirit that we should be striving to be like, because that is the only spirit, that innocence of spirituality, that innocence of the spirit that a childlike spirit has is what's going to cause us to be able to enter into the kingdom of God. See, to regain our spiritual childlike innocence, we must leave off from and be disconnected. And we must mortify and purge ourselves from this world and its way. See, to go back and regain what we had or what we can have so that we may enter into the kingdom of God, y'all, we're gonna have to do some disconnection from the ways of this world and some of the stuff we've been doing. It's got to go. We must be purged and we must mortify the things of the flesh that we may regain our spiritual childlike innocence. There is no spiritual innocence in sin or living like the world. If we are to come to realize the fullness of the kingdom of God, we must become as a little child with a spirit of innocence and blameless, the word of God is going to tell us this morning. When it comes to the things of this world, when Jesus gets back in, y'all, he don't want to find a people that have come, have become so so much like the world that you can't tell the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil, the children of the world. So strap in this morning and get your Bibles. This morning's message as a little child. Let me just start off laying a foundation, giving you what Jesus said. So we'll know this is we're coming out the word. Now, Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote about this particular incident in the Bible. Well, I'm gonna read you what Mark said, and I might read you a little bit what the what Luke, how he put it. In the book of Mark, chapter 10, verses 13, 14, and 15. It reads, and they brought young, hold on, the Lord no God, they brought young children to him. Talk about Jesus, that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. Don't be bringing them children up here. This Jesus. Don't bring them children up here around Jesus like that. But they had no idea and they lacked understanding. But when Jesus, verse 14, but when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased with them, telling them not to bring them children up here. And said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me. Hallelujah. Let them come to me. He said, and forbid them not. In other words, don't stop them from coming to me. Now here's the correlation, and here's the spiritual side of it. Jesus himself said this. When he said, And don't forbid them not, he said, For such is the kingdom of God. Listen to what he's saying now. Now he's gonna explain that in verse 15. He said, Verily I say unto you, truly I'm saying unto you, I'm telling y'all, he said, really, and that's he said, I'm telling y'all something y'all won't even know. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Come on now. Now that's that's some strong talk right there. For Jesus says, for me to receive the kingdom of God as a little child, because this is the such as the kingdom of heaven, then you're gonna tell me, if I don't receive the kingdom of God as a little child, I won't be able to enter into your kingdom. See, we got to see why this is so important. And we got to see it so that we can get ourselves to this place. Luke put it like this in Luke 18, verse 15, 16, 17. And they brought unto him also infants that he would touch them. But when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them by bringing them children. Jesus loved children, because there's in the there's something in their spirit that is, it resembles the kingdom of God. They ain't been spoiled or tainted with our ways yet. They ain't been spoiled and tainted with sin yet. But Jesus called them unto him and said, Suffer little children to come unto me. Because I see something in them just like my father's kingdom. And forbid them not, don't stop them. For such is the kingdom of God. See how Luke and Mark, they're saying almost the same thing, exactly word for word, for Baal. He said, Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter there. That means ain't no way you can in. If he don't see the spirit of a little child, I'm talking about the innocence of the child. I said, not acting like a child, but that spirit of innocence. You innocent from doing them things in the world. You innocent because you ain't let yourself live like other people live. Because you stayed pure before God. He said, You ain't gonna get in. Okay. That was Mark. That was Luke. Like I said, Matthew also said the same thing, but I don't need to read that. I give you enough. He they say the same thing. And it's very important. If three of the gospel writers wrote the same thing, we need to pay close attention. Okay? Now, let us hear and understand what all this means. Let's get the meaning now and understand. And how it applies to our entering into the eternal kingdom of God. Because if this unless this is in our life, we ain't getting in. Now, if Jesus said you ain't getting in, you ain't getting in. So we need to understand, Lord, how I need to get myself to this place here, because I don't need the door to be shut on me. I don't need to be turned away when I'm ready to come to your kingdom. If our entrance into the kingdom of God is predicated on us receiving the kingdom of God as a little child, we most importantly must most indeed show forth a full attention and take heed to it and acquire what is needed that we may enter in. In any child's infancy is when they are the most dependent on their parents. Come on now. I mean they depend on their parents for everything that they need to develop and grow. In their innocence, they neither have worry or fear, they have no doubt, nor are they concerned, or even are they mindful of how their parents will provide for their needs, or how they will take care of them. They ain't only mind. That is not the concern of a little child. That is the concern of the parent who cares for them. Do you see the correlation? We as God's little children. God is our father, our parent. He's the one that takes care of us. And we should have our minds fixed and know that he is the one that takes care of us and we should be totally dependent on him. A little child's innocence is a result of them coming out from God, the Father. And they are conditioned to depend on him to care for them. See, this spirit is yet resting upon children as they come into the world. As God gives them to us, on them is still the spirit being as the kingdom of God. That's all they know. As little children, our children are in our household, which is our household kingdom in a sense. They come into our world, into our kingdom, our human kingdom. So are we to be as a little child because we should see ourselves in God's kingdom in the same way and see that he will take care of us as his little children. Do you see the correlation of the two? And how that they relate to one another? If we can see the natural innocence in a little child, you will be able to see how we are to be spiritually innocent in order to enter into the kingdom of God. In a child's infancy, they simply make known what they are in need of by their cries of dependence unto their parents. As the parents hear these cries because of the needs of their children, they, as parents, are able to supply the needs of their little children. We, as the children of God, must also have this spiritual innocence in depending on God and trusting in Him for our everything. What happens is that we grow out of depending on God as we develop in this sinful world and start thinking we don't need God. Start thinking we can do this stuff. See, we some somewhere we lost our spiritual innocence, and it results in our losing our spiritual connection with God. Our developing according to the ways of this world will cause us to lose our spiritual innocence, and in essence, losing out on the benefits of the kingdom of our God. Because we have become over time no more as a little child. When we lose our spiritual innocence, we lose our childlike connection which we had, which was like the kingdom of God. Now, the only way to get it back is through Christ Jesus, who is yet saying, see, Jesus is yet saying, suffer the little children to come unto me. And don't stop them from coming to me, for such is the kingdom of God, our Father. He's yet calling us children. He's yet wanting us to come to him as a little child. He's yet willing to suffer us as little children to come to him. Because what they need is in him. And in him, we will stay connected to our spiritual innocence. We will stay connected to the Father, and we will stay connected to the kingdom of our God. See, through Christ, hallelujah. The Father yet sees us as his little children. He will never stop seeing that. We the ones just have got out of our place of where he wanted us to be, where he placed us from the beginning, that first stage in our life. And he is saying that he suffers us to come unto him. When we lose our spiritual innocence, we also lose our submissiveness and our humbleness before God. We now, because of being deceived by the enemy who is not our true Father, we think that we can do this thing called life for ourselves. We think we can do it all by ourselves. Be not deceived. Let me tell you this morning, be not deceived and do not deceive yourself into thinking this way. We think that, hallelujah. We think that we have the power to take care of our own selves and think that we can handle supplying our own needs. And we can't, y'all. We can't do this without God. When we lose our spiritual innocence, we become spiritually ignorant of the kingdom of God and lose out on many righteous and holy blessings and benefits that God will have us bestowed upon us. Let me tell you something that Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6 and verse 7. He says, Peter says this, this is what we've got to get back to. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. He knows when the time is. You'll stay humble. You'll stay in a childlike spirit. Verse 7, he said, casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you. Let's get all to him. Get all to the father. Then what the children do, they'll tell you what to want. Mama home. Mama needs this, mama own that. Dad I don't want this. Daddy this, daddy. They cast all, we cast all our cares on our parents. God wants us to even more so cast all our cares upon him. When we are abiding in our spiritual innocence, all our cares should be upon God to care for us by faith and believing by faith. We depend on him. I know I do. Lord knows. I've got to depend on him. We trust in him and we totally rely on him because he cares for us. Humility will have us submitting ourselves under the mighty hand of God. You'll stay humble. Just stay humble. Because as his little children, this is what we will do. If you're really the child of God, you're gonna know to do this. Just stay humble under the mighty hand of God. And stay in your childlike place and trust God to stay in his father place. See, on myself, As a little child, let me speak of myself. As a little child, striving to be as the kingdom of God would have me be, I have learned many things, y'all, along this way. But this one thing is true to me, to staying in my spiritual innocence as a little child before God. I'm gonna share something with you. I know and have learned this because of my father's word. That is, when I read that, I one day I read, he will perfect those things which concerneth me. I've learned this also by the life which King David lived before God. In the book of Psalms, Psalms 138, verse 8. This one verse stays with me, especially when I'm going through some. He says this, Psalms 138 and 8. The Lord will, he will, y'all, perfect that which concerneth me. Hallelujah. Do you understand what that means? Whatever's going on in your life, whatever is a concern of yours, God gonna perfect that thing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord. Listen to Dendures forever. Forsake not the works of thine own hand. Perfect, Lord, perfect that which those things that God in my life doesn't concern the mind. I can't perfect them, but I know you can. So I'm looking to you. I'm looking to you, Father, that you will perfect that thing which concerns me. Whatever it is, because I know, Lord, thy mercy upon my life, it endures forever. In other words, you're gonna always be there for me. And I can trust that. But while I'm waiting, hallelujah. While I'm waiting on my change to come, I know you're gonna perfect it. I know you're gonna make it right. Because I'm your child, and you are very much concerned with what concerns me and my life before you. See, most of us have forgotten just how to be as a little child. Since it was our first stage in life so, so long ago. We have very, very little memory of it. See, we have long since forgotten the innocent nature we once had. We now have spirits totally dependent in our own selves, living according to our own ways, have totally lost our innocency, our spiritual innocency. See, many of us are no more spiritual children in the sight of God. We have become rebellious, hard-headed, disobedient, and stiff-necked. A people guilty of trusting and leaning to our own understanding instead of trusting in the Father with all our hearts, as we once did when we were his spiritual little children. We once did. But we got to get back to that. We have also forgotten and paid no never mind to what Jesus said, that if we receive not the kingdom of God as a little child, we shall not enter into the kingdom of God. You're not gonna get in. If that spirit of that little child has, that spiritual innocent has not returned, and you have not repented and strived to get back to what you were supposed to be. We won't have what we need to enter into the kingdom of God. See, he's referring to the kingdom that is yet to come for us to abide in. See, that's a that's still an ultimate kingdom, y'all, that God wants us to be a part of. But there's rules and regulations, there are guidelines. There is certain things that are fixed and they cannot be changed as far as us entering into the kingdom of God. There are certain things got to be in place in our lives in order that we may attain. And he's referring to those things. He's referring to the kingdom that is yet to come for us to abide in. Many will never make it or even see it. And there will be many which shall not enter therein, because they did not receive it as a little child. Solomon says this in Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5, just one verse. It's where we got to get back to trusting in the Lord with all thy heart. This is what we said. And lean not unto thine own understanding. See, the childlike spirit trust in their parents. We've already trust in God, y'all. Not being dug out to the phone, we think we're so grown now. We can figure this thing out. See, we have done so much leaning on our own understanding and ways that the lean has us totally leaning away from our trust and dependency in the kingdom of God. We've done lean so far. Where are God's little children? What are they at? Tell them to come back and lean this way and reconnect to the innocence of the kingdom of God. God, through Christ Jesus, can reconnect us back to our spiritual innocence. And we can become once again as a little child. Spiritually, I'm talking. Are we willing to ask him to restore us back to this place which is connected to his kingdom? Luke, let me say something else, Luke said in Luke that at the 11th chapter of Luke. Luke 11, verse 11 and verse 12. It's Jesus talking again to a crowd of people saying, He said, This nigga. He said, if a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, would he give him a stone? You know, if your child acts from bread, you don't give him no rock. If he asked a fish, would he give him for a fish, give him a serpent? No, you ain't gonna give your child no steak and he asked for a piece of fish. He said, or if he shall ask the aid, will he offer him a scorpion? No, no, that ain't what we do. God don't play like that. See, we see, we do not play games when it comes to caring for our little children. Do we think that God does any less? Since he has been our father? For his many children, he's been a father for his many children long before we were even else. See, the kingdom of God is such as a little child. And we must be found in the spirit of this spiritual understanding and receive it. As God's little children, we must become fully persuaded that whatsoever our Father has promised, that He is able to provide it for us as His little children, doubting nothing, and we must wait patiently for it to come to pass. In the book of Romans, Paul was writing about Abraham, and he wrote this in the book of Romans, chapter 4, verses 20, 21, 22. He said, Paul says this about Abraham. He said, He staggered not at the promise of God, hallelujah, through unbelief. See, Abraham didn't let no unbelief creep into his head to make him want to adopt his father, his parent. But the Bible says this, but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. When we stand to be strong in our faith, this brings glory to God in the house. He said, and being fully persuaded, his mind was completely made up, fully persuaded. What he had promised. In other words, Abraham was fully persuaded that whatever God had promised, whatever his word said, he was able to perform. I know my father can do. Because ain't nothing too hard for my God. I'm fully persuaded that this he's gonna do. And because Abraham did this, this is what verse 22 said. And therefore it was imputed to him. That means because of the way he believed, because of the way he saw the Father, God imputed that to him for righteousness. In other words, God considered that to be a righteousness in him to see his God in this matter. And this is how we should see our God. See, before I let you go, before I let you go, because I want y'all to really think about this. Before I let you go, allow me to nail down even more of this understanding and a wordness concerning our entering into the kingdom of God as a little child. The understanding is for us to strive while living in a sinful world. Now, this is gonna be the test. Because once you see, to have lost our spiritual innocence and to have and to try to get it back can be gonna be a hard fight for some of us. Because some of us have our innocence been gone for a long time, for decades. But this is the test, and you're gonna do it. Well, see, you're not gonna be trusting in your strength to do it, you're gonna be trusting in the strength of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because through him we can have it back. See? Because see, the fight is because you're gonna have to maintain your innocence while living and being surrounded in a world full of sin, in a world full of wickedness. But see, it is possible through God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It can be done. But our minds are gonna have to be like Abraham become fully persuaded, fully made up. See, a fully persuaded mind leaves no area in your mind for nothing else to come in. Because you're fully made up in your mind because of the full persuasion, and you're fully convinced that God is God and you are his little child. This is gonna be the test for us to become as a little child, to maintain and hold on to our spiritual innocency while living in a sinful world, to be blameless and innocent of committing those things which shall prevent us from entering into the kingdom of God when we see Jesus. You go see when you see Jesus, trust me on that, you're gonna want to go back with him. You're gonna want to enter the kingdom, but you're gonna have to have your ducks in the room, you're gonna have to have your life in order. Paul said this to the church in Philippi, Philippians chapter 2, that one verse, verse 15, Philippians 2 and 15, he says, listen to this. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke. That's innocent. You ain't nothing in your life that God can blame you. Ain't nothing in your life where he can say you did nothing, no harm to nobody and nothing because there's an innocence in your life. A little child ain't done no wrong to nobody. It's people that do wrong to little children. Because little child still got innocent. They can't do nothing. They're helpless because they're dependent on their parents. And we must be blameless in a sense, spiritually, sense, and harmless, the sons of God. That's what the Bible tells us. Without rebuke, we mean without nothing in your life that God can get on to you about that you ain't doing like a little child. That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke. In the midst, see, you got to live in this world. Because see, in the midst of, see, we're in the midst of the simple nation. He said, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Y'all see it all around us. But you got to maintain this and you got to hold on to it. And see, what we got coming to us in the kingdom of God, we got to consider it worth fighting for, worth holding on to, and worth standing and being accountable, blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. See, we're in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we shine as light. See, as long as we stay innocent, spiritually innocent, and as long as we stay as a little child, the light of our Lord and Savior will shine through us in the dark world. It may be dark because we're in the midst of a crooked nation, which is darkness. But the light in our lives is Jesus. See, we might be walking around here amongst the darkness, but we carry the light as little children. We carry the light of the kingdom of God in us, and we must maintain. Don't let them put your light out. Don't let them put your light out, and don't you do nothing to put your light out. My brothers, my sisters, we cannot allow the darkness and the deception of this world to rob us of what the Lord has in store for us. We must maintain our spiritual innocence and be blameless and continue to shine as light among the darkness and among a faithless and perverse generation. As a little child, our world views and values must not be like the world views and values of this world. We cannot be like the world, y'all. Stop thinking that you can have one foot in and one foot out. This is not the hokey pokey. We must be connected and stay connected to our Lord Jesus Christ and his word if we are to be partakers of his ultimate kingdom. Peter says this in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace without spot and blame. When Jesus gets back in y'all, we better hope we meet him in peace. Because when we have not lived according to his word, if we have not become as a little child, there will be no peace for us without spot and blameness. Paul told the church of Thessalonica this in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23. And the very God of peace, yes, Lord, sanctify you wholly. That means completely. W-H-O-L-L-Y, completely. Let God sanctify you completely. He said, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved. Blameless. Innocent until the coming, until Jesus comes. Until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stay that way till Jesus gets here. Stay as a child. Stay as a little child till Jesus gets here. That we may be able to enter in the ultimate kingdom of God and go back with Him when He comes. God bless you. God bless you.