I sure appreciate the multi-media our programming team did for the service this morning for our moms. Were going to be talking about a subject I think moms can relate to really well today. Weve watched on our televisions the different ad campaigns for the military through the years, effective ones. Some of the best commercials on TV have to do with the military. Have you noticed that? Some of the best special effects, some of the commercials that get you the most charged up and make you want to go out there and conquer the hill, are those commercials. I think of the Army of One, Army-Tough, Army-Strong, A Few Good Men, slogans of the Marines-before they became a Hollywood movie. The Few, the Proud, the Marines [was another]. As we assemble our elite military, our defense, were looking for the best. Were looking for the strongest, the most courageous. The job of the military is to try to bring that out of you. We received a mailing this week from the Marines. It was a very expensive mailing. [It read], Never fail with some striking images and photography. It was encouraging you to be all you can be. That is effective. We appeal to that strength. We are going to look this morning at a time when Jesus was recruiting a team around Himself, an army, that He was sending out. We see that Jesus ministry began to change. It was once Him doing all of the teaching, all of the praying, all of the healing; and then, at a certain point, Peter affirms that He (Jesus) is the Christ, the Messiah-the Son of God. Jesus affirms Peters answer; and then from that point on, He began to tell them that he was going to have to be betrayed, that He would suffer, that He would be crucified and would die, and three days later would rise again. From that point on, we see Jesus ministry take a distinctive turn. He now begins to send out His Disciples. Were going to see Him sending the 12 out in Luke 9. Well talk about that next week. He sends out even more in Luke 10 to do the very things Hes been doing. They will preach; they will pray; they will heal. What are the criteria? Who will be the poster boy for this ad campaign for this all-out blitz to try to recruit this faithful army to go out and disseminate the Word of God? Whats Jesus looking for? We know our government is looking for the few, the proud. What is Jesus looking for? The poster boy for his campaign is somebody you would not expect, and it still is. Lets turn to the Book of Luke 9. Remember what is going on in the Gospels. We talked last week about From the Mountain to the Valley. They had a mountaintop experience with the transfiguration, and then [they had] a valley experience encountering the man and his possessed boy. Then they had a valley experience as the boy went through deliverance and was set free. Then, as everybody was celebrating and was astonished, what happens is Jesus reminds them again that the valley is coming. In Verse 44 (page 1027 of pew Bibles), He says, Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it. When Luke says they didnt understand, what he means is not that they didnt understand the words Jesus spoke. Obviously, they understood the words; they understood the what; they understood that Jesus was saying He was going to die. What they didnt understand, and what was escaping their grasp, was the why: the theological ramifications, the theological implications, what the cross would mean, why the cross was necessary, and the significance of the Resurrection. So they understood the words; they just didnt understand the impact spiritually that those words would have, the significance of those words. Those words were the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah. They didnt understand the full scope of the words. They understood the words themselves. Thats why Peter says, This should never happen to you. He gets all upset. He understood full well what Jesus was saying, but he didnt understand the why. Thats why the next verse takes place. Thats why the argument we are about to read in Verse 46 [takes place]. An argument started among the Disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. The argument starts right after Jesus announces His death. What do you think motivated that argument? What the Disciples are doing, friends, is they are grappling for position. They are jockeying for position. If Jesus is going to be gone, were going to need a successor. Were going to need somebody to take over what has begun. [They were thinking], So who among us, since Jesus has not designated and we dont know if He ever will, but who do we think among us is the greatest? Who is the most effective leader? Who has the most courage? Who has the most faith? So they start to debate amongst themselves as to who was the greatest. Its an oxymoron in the Kingdom. Thats like having an argument with somebody about who is the most humble. It doesnt work out. So Jesus confronts them on this hypocrisy. In Verse 47, it says, [Jesus,] knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside Him. Now, this is going to be the poster boy. Jesus is saying if you want to follow Me, if you want to be like Me, you want to be a part of My team-a part of My army, here is what I am looking for. He doesnt find the most courageous, brave Disciple. He finds a little child. Jesus loved children and was always esteeming children and the characteristics that children had. [What] He was saying [to the Disciples was], You need to be like this little fellow right here, this little girl right here. He takes a little child in front of them and says, Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For he who is least among you all-he is the greatest. He was totally taking the worlds idea of greatness and turning it upside down. [He was giving] an entirely new definition of what greatness would mean. Now, in Matthew 18, we find this same story. If you read in Matthew what just happened in 17, the transfiguration, the mountaintop experience and then the healing of the demon-possessed boy, what follows that is this discussion. This is the same event, but Matthew gives us some dialogue that Luke doesnt give us that is significant. Verse 1 [of Matthew 18, page 974 of pew Bibles], At that time the Disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said, I tell you the truth, unless you change… or turn, change your way of thinking, … and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Thats pretty important, right? If Jesus says, This will prohibit you-if you dont do this, it will prohibit you from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, you and I should be all ears because how many of you want to go into the Kingdom of Heaven? So, we want to go to the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus says, Unless you have this, youre not going to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. You and I would do well to pay attention to what Hes about to say. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child… If you become like this child, youre on the right path. You are the kind of person I can use in the army that I am building. Were going to talk this morning about the characteristics of a child. Jesus unique ad campaign, as He assembles His team: the few, the humble, the child-like. Its a very different ad campaign. I dont think the Marines would do well with that one, but for Jesus, it worked, and it still does. First of all, when I think of a child, I think of a child being carefree. Im going to speak to our adults this morning. This is an acrostic, by the way, if you are taking notes. Each letter is going to stand for something significant, a characteristic of a child. There was a time in your life when you were Carefree [which is the C in child]. There was a time in your life when you didnt worry about bills and gasoline. You didnt worry about the economy. You didnt worry about how you were going to pay for retirement, all those kinds of things. You simply trusted that your parents, or your guardians, were going to take care of you. Thats the child-like faith Jesus wants us to have. He is always saying, Dont worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself. Your heavenly Father knows you need these things, but seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. In another place, He says, It is the Fathers good pleasure to give you His Kingdom, so do not fear, little flock. [In yet] another place, He says, Come unto Me all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Many times, He would say, Do not fear. Peter writes, Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. Jesus wants you and I to have a carefree spirit that we are entrusting our lives, our futures, into His hands. The second is an H, and that stands for Humility. That teachable spirit, that willing spirit, that humble spirit that the Lord says is teachable, moldable and able to be shaped. God wants us to have that kind of a heart. We spent some time looking for an example of humility. We came across a lady who demonstrates a service heart. You may want to get some Kleenexes out when you listen to her. Shes a bell ringer for the Salvation Army. Lets go ahead and listen to this humble servant of God. (It is titled A Servants Heart, and you can view it here: www.sermonspice.com.) Dont be like her. It was an example of being a servant; I just forgot to tell you it was a bad example of servanthood. Doing what you do to be seen, doing what you do for notoriety and praise… A humble, teachable spirit is what Christ is looking for. The I stands for Innocence. I listened to a tape recording of myself years ago. I didnt even know anything like this existed, but I was like four years old. I was doing a funny joke. There was a group called the Ink Spots, apparently, and I would make ink spots on my hand and hold my palm up to somebodys ears. Id say, Youre now listening to the sound of the ink spots. I thought that was hilarious. I was listening to myself on this tape, and its me, but I dont recognize that its me. I dont remember ever sounding like that. I was just roaring. I was busting a gut at my own joke. That laughterâ€"that uncontrollable, unbridled laughter: did you know that there was a time of innocence in your life when you would laugh uncontrollably? There was a time when you didnt hold back your emotions. There was a time when you were going high in that swing, and your face would just light up. When theyd bring that birthday cake out or that ice-cream sundae with the candle in it, youd do this (Pastor is clapping his hands). I dont know if you still do this or not. Janet (Bales, the music and arts minister) still does this. Just having that exuberance, that innocence, is special. That laughter… I wonder if you could watch yourself interact with other children at that age. You see pictures of yourself, but what if you could listen to your voice again? What if you could watch yourself at school in your classroom with your classmates or with your siblings and your parents? Look at how you looked at life with a sense of wonder the first time you heard a thunderstorm or saw lightening; the first time you went to a zoo and saw the animals you seen in books come alive-that expression of joy on your face; the first time you heard some of the stories in the Bible; the first time you heard about Christs sufferings. How did that impact you? How did you respond to that? There is an innocence in life that you and I lose because the world taints us. The world teaches us things that are not good. Im going to date myself here, but back in the day when our country had gone through so much hardship with losing the Kennedy brothers and losing Dr. King, there were some songs that came out in that time. Abraham, Martin and John: you might remember that, Has Anybody Seen My Old Friend John? sang by Dion. Then there was another song: Bert Bacharach and a man named Tom Clay also recorded called, What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet, Love. Do you remember that song? There was a little dialogue at the beginning, and that same dialogue repeated at the end of that song. Do you remember that dialogue? There was a man asking questions to little children. He would say, What is segregation? The child would say, I dont know what segregation is. How many remember that? Two people, great. Then they would say, Do you know what bigotry is? The child would say, I dont know what bigery is. You could tell from the recording that it was authentic; it was real. They werent just saying lines in a script. Do you know what hatred is? A little girl says, I dont know what that is. He says, Do you know what prejudice is? She pauses and she says, I think thats when somebody is sick. How powerful of a statement is that? Then it goes into the song, What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet, Love. The world has a tendency to make you and I jaded, make us cynics, skeptical and hard. Jesus wants you and me to recapture that innocence. [He wants us to] take that stuff and say, Lord, Im just going to bring this to the cross. Im just going to bring this bitterness [to the cross]. Speaking of that, the next one is loving. L in child stands for Loving. Do you notice how children can be trying to kill each other one moment and the next moment, those same two are the best of friends? They dont hold grudges. God has called us to be like that, to be like those children, to be loving. Hes called us to be devoted, loyal to Him. That child will follow you, and that child will be loyal to you and love you. I remember seeing a child that was struck down by, Im assuming, the mother in traffic one day. The mother was relentlessly wailing on this little kid until I lost my cool and shouted at her from the inside of my car. I couldnt take it anymore. She was hitting this kid, and this kid the whole time would just be putting up his arms. Every time the mom would strike the kid, the kid would reach up to the mom. It was just a loyal love, a relentless love. Jesus has called us to be loving and devoted. When I first began my ministry, I was the youth pastor and the childrens pastor full time at Faith Center in Rockford for Pastor Lyon, whom you met a couple weeks ago. I would start off with the childrens ministry in the morning. There were these three little boys: Archie, Deon, and Jermaine. They had grown up in poverty, and one of the ladies in our church took them in because they had no mother or father. She began to raise them, take them to church and provide a home for them. I really began to bond with these little boys. They were the friendliest little boys. Theyd come to church just grinning ear to ear. They were the happiest little boys. They were always excited to hear about Jesus, the stories from the Bible. They would fight to carry my equipment. I had a servants heart. Id bring in my speaker, my filmstrip projector and all of the things that I had to bring. Now, I just bring myself, but back in those days I had to carry all kinds of stuff in and set it up. They would just fight to help me. Theyd all try to be me after the Childrens Church service was done. Theyd take turns preaching behind the pulpit. I would take them out for pizza. Id take them to the lake. Id take them on trips occasionally because they really didnt have a father-figure in their lives, so Id try to provide that kind of significance for them. Many years passed. I left Rockford and came to Wisconsin. Id been here for awhile, and they had now grown up. I received the bad news that Jermaine, the oldest boy, had been killed in a gang-related accident. Archie and Deon were in the gang as well. I went to the funeral, and I saw Archie and Deon for the first time. They were no longer little boys; [they were] now young men. Part of me was expecting those same little guys. I was expecting a big smile and probably a hug. The boys I saw were different boys. They talked to me; they werent rude to me, but the world had jaded them. The world had changed them. They didnt have that same childlike enthusiasm, exuberance or that trust. They had become tainted from what they had seen and heard. At Monterey, we encounter every weekend children that become jaded much too soon, much too young in life. The world robs us of that. Jesus says, I want My followers to be forever young. I want my followers to have an exuberance, a joy, and a zeal. The fountain of youth is here. Theres no physical fountain of youth, but theres a spiritual fountain of youth. Paul said, Though an outward man is being decayed, our inward man is being renewed day by day. We cant stop it. We are all getting older here. I had a very traumatic experience this weekend. This is the first time this has ever happened to me in my life. This is the first time these words were ever spoken of me in my life. Its going to take me a while to recover. Id been playing basketball at the Athletic Club on Saturday. I thought I played pretty good. I felt pretty good. My turn was done, and it was time to take off the sneakers, stretch out and go home. There was a young man, probably 17 or 18 years old. It was his first time there; Id never seen him before. I was sitting by myself, stretching out, and somebody said, Who is in the next game? He said, I am, he is, he is and he is (as he was pointing), and that old man. He pointed in my direction. I was looking around, Old man? I was the only one there. He didnt even know I was listening to him. He wasnt joking around. Old man? I wanted to say, Ill show you old man. Ill show you old man. Ill put my sneakers back on right now, and Ill show you old man, boy! Whipper snapper! But it happens to all of us. We get old. Jesus says, I dont want you to get old in matters of spirituality. I dont want you to get old in matters of faith! I want you to come to the Father with that same reckless abandonment, that joy, that exuberance, that enthusiasm for the things of God. When you hear the promises of God, you greet that at the end of your days with the same wonder and awe that you did when you first started your walk. He said, This is what I want for you. I want my children to be children. I want my followers to be like this little guy right here. How do we know if we pass the test, if thats going on with us, if we accept that or not? Do you know what the asset test is going to be? [It will be] how we interact with the world, especially with those who dont agree with us. Were going to see if the Disciples pass this test. They get this wonderful lecture, this object lesson, and lets see in Luke 9 what they do. Verse 51 (page 1027), As the time approached for Him to be taken up to Heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him; but the people there did not welcome Him because He was heading for Jerusalem. There was a prejudice there. It was both religious and racial. The Samaritans were half Jew and half Gentile. So the Jews looked upon the Samaritans as sort of second class. They werent pure like they were. The Samaritans had offered to help the Jews rebuild the temple. The Jews rejected them, Youre not good enough to help us. So now they were in turn rejecting the Jews. Whats more, the Samaritans had kind of a high bread religion. They had the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, but they rejected the rest. Then they took on other religions as well, so there was this high-bred. The Jews said, Youre not pure in your faith like we are. So there was mutual distain between the two groups of people. What are the followers of Christ supposed to be like? What are they supposed to do when somebody rejects them or criticizes them, disagrees with them? How are they to respond? Well, they dont pass the test very well. It says, When the Disciples James and John saw this, they asked, Lord, do You want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them? They were mad! They thought they were doing this good thing, right? Thats not the way it is! Jesus is almost in exasperation! He was thinking, Did you not hear what I just said? The Bible says he turned and rebuked them. That word turned there, thats the same word we read in Matthew 18, when he says, Unless you change and become like a child, that same word that is translated change in Matthew 18 I found when I studied it was the same word used here when he says, When he turned and looked at them. You dont know what spirit youre of. Notice the footnote at the bottom of your Bibles here. Some manuscripts in Luke have this in them, and some do not: Jesus says, And you do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy mens lives but to save them. Youre not grasping. Youre not understanding this mission. We are not going to change the world through force. We are not going to overcome our enemies by obliterating them. Were going to overcome them with love. I sometimes get embarrassed when I hear of Christians attacking those who reject Christianity, the church or reject Jesus Christ. They begin to say bad things about organized religion or church. Im not that big of a fan of organized religion either. Im a fan of Jesus. We happen to just come together, and we have to have some structure, but were really not about the structure. Were really about Jesus. Structure is just something we have to have. A building is something we have to have, so we can assemble together, but its not what were about. The Bible says when somebody misunderstands you or rejects you, it says, In meekness correcting those who oppose. Youre not going to win them over with fire and brimstone. Youre going to win them over through love. I better never hear about you guys engaged in a dialogue and turning somebody off of Christianity. When you finish your discussion, when you finish your dialogue, they should think more of Christians and not less. They should be more drawn and go, Maybe I have it wrong. Maybe I need to check this out, because there are some crazy wild ideas out there about what Christianity is about, what Jesus taught. Ive heard them; youve heard them. Dont overreact. Meet them where theyre at. Gently take them where they need to be. Thats part of the demeanor that Christ wants us to have. The Disciples failed that test. God has called you and me to be forever young. He has called you and me to have that child-like spirit, care-free spirit, that is trusting Him as our Heavenly Father. [He calls us to have] a humble heart that is teachable and willing to be led, an innocence where we take the junk of this world that has gotten inside of us and we renounce and repent of it. We bring it to the cross and say, Lord, as much as possible, help me to recapture my innocence and remain loving and devoted to Him, forgiving and being forgiven and having that child-like faith and zeal for life- the things of God until the day we die. Thats what Hes called us to; thats the army Hes looking for. I hope thats the one you want to sign up for today. Lets stand together as we close our service in prayer: Father, the example that You gave of what it would mean to be a follower of the kingdom was not the example they were expecting. Its not the example that would be effective in the world, but to have a child-like faith is something Youve called us to do. These attributes of being carefree, because we have entrusted our care into Your hands, of being humble, of being teachable, of seeking to reclaim some of the innocence that the world has stolen from us, of rejecting the lies, the prejudice and the hatred of this world, of being people who are loving and have a tender hearts toward You and toward the things of God and the people of this world, of people who are devoted to our cause-loyal no matter how many times we are struck down, will keep reaching out. We could be as excited about our faith, as in love with You, as joyful about the things of God, at the end of our days as when we first started the walk. I pray that would be the prayer of our hearts today. I pray that if there are any here, Lord, who want to talk about this some more, some things they want to bring to the cross, that after service this morning, theyll come forward and theyll meet those up in front here to pray about the challenges, about the struggles that they have. Thank you this morning for our moms and what they mean to us and have meant to us. I pray that this day would be a day of celebration and rest. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.