God's Real People
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Focus: Children are part of Christ’s mission to the least, the mission to announce to them and all who were powerless, the coming of the Kingdome of God.
Function: The kingdom of God is at hand – and we must seek God to enter it, but we must not neglect the little ones on our way.
1. First explain that Jesus came to serve the “Least”.
1. First explain that Jesus came to serve the “Least”.
I mentioned the other day that when I was growing we were poor – this is where you are supposed to say –
How poor were you?
We were so poor that the mice living in our house had to go next door for their meals.
Seriously, we were poor. But I didn’t really know that until I was a teenager. 50-60 years ago lots of people were poor. But growing up, despite being poor, I had a great life and I had 5 brothers and sisters to share it with.
When Jesus read one day, in the Synagogue in Nazareth, that He read from the book of Isaiah – these words:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
And that is exactly what Jesus did. So did Martin Luther – over 500 years ago, and John Wesley 250 years ago, and William Booth 150 years ago. Jesus’s mission was to the poor, and to the captive, the blind and to the oppressed. No wonder Jesus would declare, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” ().
One of the least – the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed.
Today we might say that in the book of Isaiah, Jesus found His mission statement. But it is not meant to be exclusive. As we read in the Gospels, we see that the least also includes; lepers and tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. Jesus ministered to everyone who occupied the low places in society.
Let’s face it, that is not our first inclination. James even writes to the Church, warning us, “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (). And then he gives an example of a rich man and a poor man showing up at church one day.
Of course James could have compared an athlete and blind man, or an ex-con and lawyer. James’ point is that we gravitate to the rich, the healthy, the educated, and the gifted – and while we are called to love them too – our mission is to the marginalized.
2. establish that children, despite our love for them, are often thought of as unimportant.
In the early 80s – that would be the 1980s – my corps officer was telling me about a friend who went to a large church a few miles down the road. The friend told him that his church had once had a large bus ministry. In fact, they had five buses that would go out every Sunday morning and pick up children and bring them to church.
He told my corps officer, my pastor, that one day the leaders of the church got together and decided to cancel the bus ministry. He explained that they had examined the results of the ministry, and though they were picking up as many as 200 children on most Sundays – they were not getting the parents.
Apparently the parents were the goal of church’s bus ministry – the children on the other hand were just a way to get to the parents. 200 children did not seem successful enough.
I remember nodding my approval of their actions – after all my corps officer and I had been talking about how we could stimulate growth. But you know what I forgot? Someone picked me up for church three or more times a week—for 3-4 years—and my mom rarely came to church. I’m glad someone didn’t say— “If Clay’s mom doesn’t start coming, we’ll have to stop picking him up.”
Now this isn’t a sermon about picking children up for church, but I do want to go on record as believing whole-heartedly in the practice. But it is important, as we talk about the least, the poor, the captive, the oppressed – that we understand what it was about them that made them the “least”. And that is that they were powerless.
For instance, the Synagogue official in , walks right up to Jesus and asks for help, but Blind Bartemaus sits on the roadside shouting for Jesus and people just told him to be quiet.
The thing is, children are also powerless. It’s not like they can drive themselves to church. For the most part they don’t tithe – though I’ve noticed one youngster who does. They aren’t involved in leadership, they don’t make decisions, or bring food to the pot luck. Let’s face it, if we aren’t getting to their parents, what’s the point?
Demographically, they are part of the “least” that Jesus came to save. When my wife and I were DYSs, that is, officers who served the division by encouraging youth work, and people used to complain about kids whose parents didn’t come to church – my response was simply, “Children have eternal souls too.”
3. Move to the Bible Story.
[Open bible and read ] (ESV)
Let the Children Come to Me
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Obviously the disciples held a low opinion of children even with their parents.
It reminds of the quip that says, As parents we spend two years teaching our kids to walk and talk – and then we spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and be quiet.
Parents were bringing their little ones to Jesus – the word translated as children in most translations (NIV says “Little Children), is the Greek word for young child. And we are told their parents just wanted Jesus to touch their young child.
But the disciples were acting as gatekeepers. They had already given way to the blind, the sick, the demon-possessed, the poor, and the hungry – surely it was safe to keep the children away, right? Wrong.
But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Children didn’t suddenly become more powerful, they didn’t suddenly get to drive or learn to tithe, and they didn’t suddenly start bringing food to the pot lucks. But Jesus not only establishes that they too are a part of His mission, He uses them as the standard for how we receive the Kingdom of God.
And then He takes them in His arms and blesses them.
4. Receiving the Kingdom of God
As Jesus takes them in His arms to bless them, they represent all who are considered the last and the least. It is the powerless, the poor, the blind, the oppressed, including children, who are welcomed into the Kingdom of God.
Kent Brower writes, “Children brought to Jesus are included in the Kingdom, the people of God, independent of anything they do or understand” (P270). I have heard people say they don’t think the 4 yr old who accepted Christ is really saved – because they don’t understand what they are doing. Perhaps those people ought to talk to Jesus.
By the phrase “The Kingdom of God” Jesus is not talking about heaven. He is talking about being part of the real people of God. Of course the Jews thought they were the real people of God. They thought it came by birthright. When John the Baptist was being confronted by some Pharisees, he told them, “do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
Their birthright didn’t cut it, the Kingdom is the real people of God, Jesus said you can only receive it, when you do it like a child. Or a humbled tax-collector, or a repentant prostitute, or a hopeless leper, or a persistent beggar. Here’s another great quote from Brower:
“All of us enter the people of God as infants. There is no other way than utter dependence upon the unmerited love of God and His gracious acceptance of us.”
The disciples, God love them, seemed to always get it wrong. So if you struggle to understand something, or if you feel like you might be disappointing God – give yourself a break. The disciples were trying to protect Jesus—they hadn’t yet realized that Jesus could take care of Himself. But I’m confident that they eventually got it.
5. Conclusion – becoming the real people of God
In the early days of The Salvation Army, before we were even known by that name, our leaders didn’t much care for children either. They were trying to reach the drunk, the prostitute, the desperately poor—they were evangelists. But as we evolved, we fell in love with ministry to children.
And so the Army opened orphanages. Did you know that the Beatles song, Strawberry Fields Forever, is about a Salvation Army orphanage in Liverpool? The orphanage opened in 1935 and only closed its doors a few years ago – in 2005. John Lennon as a lad, used to climb the fence and play in the yard when the girls were inside, and he and other boys used to sit on a large tree branch and try to get the girls’ attention when they were outside.
And just in the US, we have some 50/60 summer camps for children and hundreds of Day Camps, dozens – maybe hundreds of youth centers. We have our own scouting programs, and youth groups. We have after-school and tutoring programs and here - as you will see next week - we have youth music instruction.
All of that because we believe that if given the chance, children will receive the Kingdom of God, they will become real people of God.
And we have homeless shelters and rehab centers and soup kitchens and food pantries – because we believe that if given the chance, the poor, the indigent, the homeless – will receive the Kingdom of God, they will become real people of God.
And we have churches in 129 countries world-wide, because we believe – if given the chance you will receive the Kingdom of God, you will become the real people of God.
says,
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (ESV).
Jesus was asking the Galileans to become real people of God. Praise God, many did. and down through the centuries lots and lots of others have heard the message and decided to become real people of God.
And now you are becoming the real people of God. The Kingdom of God is at hand in this very place. In our hearts and lives.
If you have heard the message and decided to accept God’s invitation to be His People - follow Him!! But along the way, don’t hinder the little children, don’t be a gatekeeper! Rather – welcome them on this holy journey with Jesus, as real people of God – they are that already. They aren’t just our future, they are part of us now. And if one is having trouble – take him or her in your arms, and carry them—until they learn to walk with God on their own.
Function: The kingdom of God is at hand – and we must seek God to enter it, but we must not neglect the little ones on our way.
1. First explain that Jesus came to serve the “Least”.
I mentioned the other day that when I was growing we were poor – this is where you are supposed to say –
How poor were you?
We were so poor that the mice living in our house had to go next door for their meals.
Seriously, we were poor. But I didn’t really know that until I was a teenager. 50-60 years ago lots of people were poor. But growing up, despite being poor, I had a great life and I had 5 brothers and sisters to share it with.
When Jesus read in the Synagogue in Nazareth, that He read from the book of Isaiah – these words:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
And that is exactly what Jesus did. So did Martin Luther – over 500 years ago, and John Wesley 250 years ago, and William Booth 150 years ago. Jesus’s mission was to the poor, and to the captive, the blind and to the oppressed. No wonder Jesus would declare, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” ().
One of the least – the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed.
Today we might say that in the book of Isaiah, Jesus found His mission statement. But it is not meant to be exclusive. As we read in the Gospels, we see that the least also includes; lepers and tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. Jesus ministered to everyone who occupied the low places in society.
Let’s face it, that is not our first inclination. James even writes to the Church, warning us, “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (). And then he gives an example of a rich man and a poor man showing up at church one day.
Of course James could have compared an athlete and blind man, or an ex-con and lawyer. James’ point is that we gravitate to the rich, the healthy, the educated, and the gifted – and while we are called to love them too – our mission is to the marginalized.
2. establish that children, despite our love for them, are often thought of as unimportant.
In the early 80s – that would be the 1980s – my corps officer was telling me about a friend who went to a large church a few miles down the road. The friend told him that his church had once had a large bus ministry. In fact, they had five buses that would go out every Sunday morning and pick up children and bring them to church.
He told my corps officer, my pastor, that one day the leaders of the church got together and decided to cancel the bus ministry. He explained that they had examined the results of the ministry, and though they were picking up as many as 200 children on most Sundays – they were not getting the parents.
Apparently the parents were the goal of church’s bus ministry – the children on the other hand were just a way to get to the parents. 200 children did not seem successful enough.
I remember nodding my approval of their actions – after all my corps officer and I had been talking about how we could stimulate growth. But you know what I forgot? Someone picked me up for church three or more times a week—for 3-4 years—and my mom rarely came to church. I’m glad someone didn’t say— “If Clay’s mom doesn’t start coming, we’ll have to stop picking him up.”
Now this isn’t a sermon about picking children up for church, but I do want to go on record as believing whole-heartedly in the practice. But it is important, as we talk about the least, the poor, the captive, the oppressed – that we understand what it was about them that made them the “least”. And that is that they were powerless.
For instance, the Synagogue official in , walks right up to Jesus and asks for help, but Blind Bartemaus sits on the roadside shouting for Jesus and people just told him to be quiet.
The thing is, children are also powerless. It’s not like they can drive themselves to church. For the most part they don’t tithe – though I’ve noticed one youngster who does. They aren’t involved in leadership, they don’t make decisions, or bring food to the pot luck. Let’s face it, if we aren’t getting to their parents, what’s the point?
Demographically, they are part of the “least” that Jesus came to save. When my wife and I were DYSs, that is, officers who served the division by encouraging youth work, and people used to complain about kids whose parents didn’t come to church – my response was simply, “Children have eternal souls too.”
3. Move to the Bible Story.
[Open bible and read ] (ESV)
Let the Children Come to Me
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Obviously the disciples held a low opinion of children even with their parents.
It reminds of the quip that says, As parents we spend two years teaching our kids to walk and talk – and then we spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and be quiet.
Parents were bringing their little ones to Jesus – the word translated as children in most translations (NIV says “Little Children), is the Greek word for young child. And we are told their parents just wanted Jesus to touch their young child.
But the disciples were acting as gatekeepers. They had already given way to the blind, the sick, the demon-possessed, the poor, and the hungry – surely it was safe to keep the children away, right? Wrong.
But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (ESV)
hem, they represent all who are considered the last and the least. It is the powerless, the poor, the blind, the oppressed, who are welcomed into the Kingdom of God.
Children didn’t suddenly become more powerful, they didn’t suddenly get to drive or learn to tithe, and they didn’t suddenly start bringing food to the pot lucks. But Jesus not only establishes that they too are a part of His mission, He uses them as the standard for how we receive the Kingdom of God.
And then He takes them in His arms and blesses them.
4. Receiving the Kingdom of God
As Jesus takes them in His arms to bless them, they represent all who are considered the last and the least. It is the powerless, the poor, the blind, the oppressed, who are welcomed into the Kingdom of God.
Kent Brower writes, “Children brought to Jesus are included in the Kingdom, the people of God, independent of anything they do or understand” (P270). I have heard people say they don’t think the 4 yr old who accepted Christ is really saved – because they don’t understand what they are doing. Perhaps those people ought to talk to Jesus.
By the phrase “The Kingdom of God” Jesus is not talking about heaven. He is talking about being part of the real people of God. Of course the Jews thought they were the real people of God. They thought it came by birthright. When John the Baptist was being confronted by some Pharisees, he told them, “do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
Their birthright didn’t cut it, the Kingdom is the real people of God, Jesus said you can only receive it, when you do it like a child. Or a humbled tax-collector, or a repentant prostitute, or a hopeless leper, or a persistent beggar. Here’s another great quote from Brower:
ey with Jesus, as real people of God – and if they have trouble – take them in your arms, and carry them—until they learn to walk.
All of us enter the people of God as infants. There is no other way than utter dependence upon the unmerited love of God and His gracious acceptance of us.
The disciples, God love them, seemed to always get it wrong. So if you struggle to understand something, or if you feel like you might be disappointing God – give yourself a break. The disciples were trying to protect Jesus—they hadn’t yet realized that Jesus could take care of Himself. But I’m confident that they eventually got it.
5. Conclusion – becoming the real people of God
In the early days of The Salvation Army, before we were even known by that name, our leaders didn’t much care for children either. They were trying to reach the drunk, the prostitute, the desperately poor—they were evangelists. But as we evolved, we fell in love with ministry to children.
And so the Army opened orphanages. Did you know that the Beatles song, Strawberry Fields Forever, is about a Salvation Army orphanage in Liverpool? The orphanage opened in 1935 and only closed its doors a few years ago – in 2005. John Lennon as a lad, used to climb the fence and play in the yard, and he and other lads used to sit on a large tree branch and try to get the girls’ attention.
And just in the US, we have some 50 summer camps for children and hundreds of Day Camps, dozens – maybe hundreds of youth centers. We have our own scouting programs, and youth groups. We have after-school and tutoring programs.
All of that because we believe that if given the chance, children will receive the Kingdom of God, they will become the real people of God.
And we have homeless shelters and rehab centers and soup kitchens and food pantries – because we believe that if given the chance, the poor, the indigent, the homeless – will receive the Kingdom of God, they will become the real people of God.
And we have churches in 129 countries world-wide, because we believe – if given the chance you will receive the Kingdom of God, you will become the real people of God.
says,
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (ESV).
you are becoming the real people of God.
But along the way, don’t hinder the little children, rather – welcome them on this holy journey with Jesus, as real people of God – and if they have trouble – take them in your arms, and carry them—until they learn to walk.