Who Do You Emulate?




I Want My Daddy

Matthew 18:1-6  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said,  Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me.   

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

 

The sermon at Open Door Church, was a bit longer but this is a digested message to fit on one page.

Pastor Allan was in the motion of putting his guitar down when his young 5 year old daughter escaped from the baby sitter and ran down the Church aisle calling for her dad.

 

He took her tiny hands in his and prayed with her to have a good lesson in children’s church and kissed her on the top of her head.

He mused; a child’s will and desire is only thinking about themselves. 

The driving force to see her dad sent her running to meet Him.  Although this was an awkward time for Pastor, he acted as a gentleman like unto our Father God.

With God there is NO inconvenient time for us to run to Him.  God has a tender heart and is always a gentleman and does not force His will upon us. 

Children emulate their parents.  Who are you emulating? 

Realize we are children of the living God and we are precious in His sight.  May all doubt and fear be stripped away as we willing run to the Father God.  Do you realize that God is in you even in your brokenness?  A respectful yet humble person can get things done for the kingdom.

As the Pharisee was praying, he was bragging about how good he was.  He was proud and his heart was hard.  How is your heart?  Is it hard or soft?

At times we get caught up on what we can’t do, and fail to recognize what God is doing for us and for those around us.  He never stops loving you, no matter what.

The more we praise God and desire Him, He will show up.

This is important, that we learn to forgive and to accept forgiveness.  May we earnestly desire to serve God out of Love, and not out of obligation.

Press in because you want to love and worship Him.  The bent over woman pressed in and touched the hem of His garment and was immediately made well.

If we just do enough to get by – that is not pressing in.  Let’s not do average anymore, but press toward the mark of the High Calling.  No low bars, but let us raise the standard.

What was Christ’s standard of living?  He walked in the dust, but He spent many nights alone with God in prayer. 

Allow Jesus to take away all that is ugly and nasty in our lives and to reflect in our spirit and in our faces the joy of the Lord.  Be still and let God be God.

Un-forgiveness prevents us from loving people.

Sometimes it is difficult to forgive; someone stole our innocence, someone abused us, they cheated us, they stole from us.

When you hate and judge, you are judged.  When you fail to forgive it hurts you worse than it does them.

We are searching for acceptance, like a little child who is desiring to be welcome and to find a place.

No matter how long you have served our Lord, you are still a work in progress, so keep pressing in and keep running to the open arms of the Father.