Matthew 18:3 Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Oh Friends, let’s do as 3 Canal says nuh: ‘Chant a chant and welcome the morning. It’s so good to be alive. Praise Jah!’ And I am in wholehearted agreement with that mih people, because it’s really so good to be alive, plus I’m just coming home from a party…Yes Friends, the ole fella actually went out partying, don’t know since when, but it sure was good. Then on the way home, after hearing 3 Canal, B.B Winans struck up the soulful choir, avidly declaring; ‘Oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.’ And wasn’t that a most joyful day mih breddren! The only one better than that will be when He comes again to take us home, to receive us in glory unto His kingly self. Wow! That’s why I have to look at our Bit and say, Lord forbid that we should not enter heaven. What a disastrous, in fact the most disastrous fate that could ever befall us! But it certainly is possible for those who do not accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and live according to His will. Before we get into that though, let’s look at what caused Jesus to utter those scary but definitive words. It all sprang from man’s selfish, egotistical nature and worldly desires. The disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Ah my people, why are we always so concerned with greatness eh? It’s not really of that much importance, for like beauty, it’s often only in the mind of the beholder. We all don’t agree on who’s great and who’s not, it’s mostly a matter of conjecture and opinion, and those surely differ, which relegates greatness to the lower reaches of the totem pole. And as Jesus later declared: ‘But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.’ (Mat.19:30) That clearly shows those we consider great on earth won’t necessarily have the same stature in heaven. It’s very possible for them to be of little or no importance there. So please Friends, let’s lose the worldly preoccupation to become great nuh, which these days means some silly celebrity with no real substance, because that sort of thing means absolutely nothing where it counts most, in heaven, and in the eyes of Jesus. When we get to heaven, we’ll notice that many of those we considered great on earth will be missing from our ranks, while numerous others considered of no effect or important status will not only be enjoying its pleasures but in important posts too. Isn’t Jesus wonderful! And that’s my take on greatness. (smile) But seriously my people, let’s look at Jesus’ response to the question of who’s the greatest in 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.’ (Mat. 18:2-3) Now that must have been a real shocker for the disciples and their egos, for possibly in the backs of their minds they were already considering their roles and positions in heaven, who’d be important and otherwise. But Jesus, as He was wont to do, just calmly deflated their bubbling egos by emphasizing that to enter heaven, we must first be converted and become child-like in our thinking. And as we’ve been saying the last couple days, to be converted means becoming a totally different person, a new person whose life is completely turned over to God, living the way He wants; surrendering our free will to His unerring and merciful guidance. And all of this is likened to the way children are innocently accepting of adult guidance, without fuss or question. That’s how we have to become in Jesus’ eyes; innocent, child-like, accepting that He knows what’s best for us. He doesn’t mean we should become robots, with no minds of our own, but we do need to live within His guidelines, if we want to be considered His worthy followers. And Jesus further explains: ‘Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Mat.18:4) Yes Friends, entrance to heaven depends on our belief in Jesus, but important positions there will depend on humility; our willingness to forgive and humble ourselves, to deflate our egos, so that we’re not overly important in our own eyes. Oh we’re all important somebody’s, but we must not let that go to our heads and cause us to behave proud and arrogant. Remember, the Lord despises a proud, arrogant fool more than most other faults because it sends the message that we have no use for Him. Oh my people, truly following Jesus is such an intense and uplifting exercise that for some it can be mind boggling and scary. The scholars describe it thus: ‘It is far more than mental acknowled-gement of the truth or intellectual assent to certain ideas. To become as little children means to be born again (converted) as a newborn spiritual child, characterized by faith and humility. ‘ Wow! That all goes against the sinful, selfish nature of man, so it’s something we need to be constantly aware of and constantly work on, if we truly want to be transformed into the image of Jesus and live the way He wants us to. But don’t worry Friends, Jesus knows it’s a tall order and He doesn’t expect it to happen overnight, but He does expect us to begin that childlike transformation right away. In ending, let’s look at one more verse describing Jesus’ take on the situation. ‘And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.’ (Mat.18:5) Oh Friends, doesn’t Jesus just speak in wonderful figures of speech! Here He’s referring to the new convert, the young believer. If we receive one of them with open arms, then we’re receiving, welcoming Jesus Himself, showing the true basis of Christian fellowship. Jesus was so into children, their innocence and undeniable trust that once when children were brought to Him for blessing and the disciples turned them away, He rebuked the disciples. ‘But Jesus said, Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.’ (Mat.19:14-15) Yes mih people, that’s the stature assigned to humble, innocent, child-like, trusting, surrendering behaviour by our Leader and Saviour Jesus. Please, let’s try and aspire to and acquire those traits, so that we can better show the true nature of our Christian heritage and faith. It’s very important that we do so, if furthering the kingdom is our goal. Much LOVE!…the true LOVE of Jesus is shown…in our humility…our forgiveness…our kind and merciful actions…
Oh Friends, let’s do as 3 Canal says nuh: ‘Chant a chant and welcome the morning. It’s so good to be alive. Praise Jah!’ And I am in wholehearted agreement with that mih people, because it’s really so good to be alive, plus I’m just coming home from a party…Yes Friends, the ole fella actually went out partying, don’t know since when, but it sure was good. Then on the way home, after hearing 3 Canal, B.B Winans struck up the soulful choir, avidly declaring; ‘Oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.’ And wasn’t that a most joyful day mih breddren! The only one better than that will be when He comes again to take us home, to receive us in glory unto His kingly self. Wow! That’s why I have to look at our Bit and say, Lord forbid that we should not enter heaven. What a disastrous, in fact the most disastrous fate that could ever befall us! But it certainly is possible for those who do not accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and live according to His will. Before we get into that though, let’s look at what caused Jesus to utter those scary but definitive words. It all sprang from man’s selfish, egotistical nature and worldly desires. The disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Ah my people, why are we always so concerned with greatness eh? It’s not really of that much importance, for like beauty, it’s often only in the mind of the beholder. We all don’t agree on who’s great and who’s not, it’s mostly a matter of conjecture and opinion, and those surely differ, which relegates greatness to the lower reaches of the totem pole. And as Jesus later declared: ‘But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.’ (Mat.19:30) That clearly shows those we consider great on earth won’t necessarily have the same stature in heaven. It’s very possible for them to be of little or no importance there. So please Friends, let’s lose the worldly preoccupation to become great nuh, which these days means some silly celebrity with no real substance, because that sort of thing means absolutely nothing where it counts most, in heaven, and in the eyes of Jesus. When we get to heaven, we’ll notice that many of those we considered great on earth will be missing from our ranks, while numerous others considered of no effect or important status will not only be enjoying its pleasures but in important posts too. Isn’t Jesus wonderful! And that’s my take on greatness. (smile) But seriously my people, let’s look at Jesus’ response to the question of who’s the greatest in 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.’ (Mat. 18:2-3) Now that must have been a real shocker for the disciples and their egos, for possibly in the backs of their minds they were already considering their roles and positions in heaven, who’d be important and otherwise. But Jesus, as He was wont to do, just calmly deflated their bubbling egos by emphasizing that to enter heaven, we must first be converted and become child-like in our thinking. And as we’ve been saying the last couple days, to be converted means becoming a totally different person, a new person whose life is completely turned over to God, living the way He wants; surrendering our free will to His unerring and merciful guidance. And all of this is likened to the way children are innocently accepting of adult guidance, without fuss or question. That’s how we have to become in Jesus’ eyes; innocent, child-like, accepting that He knows what’s best for us. He doesn’t mean we should become robots, with no minds of our own, but we do need to live within His guidelines, if we want to be considered His worthy followers. And Jesus further explains: ‘Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Mat.18:4) Yes Friends, entrance to heaven depends on our belief in Jesus, but important positions there will depend on humility; our willingness to forgive and humble ourselves, to deflate our egos, so that we’re not overly important in our own eyes. Oh we’re all important somebody’s, but we must not let that go to our heads and cause us to behave proud and arrogant. Remember, the Lord despises a proud, arrogant fool more than most other faults because it sends the message that we have no use for Him. Oh my people, truly following Jesus is such an intense and uplifting exercise that for some it can be mind boggling and scary. The scholars describe it thus: ‘It is far more than mental acknowled-gement of the truth or intellectual assent to certain ideas. To become as little children means to be born again (converted) as a newborn spiritual child, characterized by faith and humility. ‘ Wow! That all goes against the sinful, selfish nature of man, so it’s something we need to be constantly aware of and constantly work on, if we truly want to be transformed into the image of Jesus and live the way He wants us to. But don’t worry Friends, Jesus knows it’s a tall order and He doesn’t expect it to happen overnight, but He does expect us to begin that childlike transformation right away. In ending, let’s look at one more verse describing Jesus’ take on the situation. ‘And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.’ (Mat.18:5) Oh Friends, doesn’t Jesus just speak in wonderful figures of speech! Here He’s referring to the new convert, the young believer. If we receive one of them with open arms, then we’re receiving, welcoming Jesus Himself, showing the true basis of Christian fellowship. Jesus was so into children, their innocence and undeniable trust that once when children were brought to Him for blessing and the disciples turned them away, He rebuked the disciples. ‘But Jesus said, Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.’ (Mat.19:14-15) Yes mih people, that’s the stature assigned to humble, innocent, child-like, trusting, surrendering behaviour by our Leader and Saviour Jesus. Please, let’s try and aspire to and acquire those traits, so that we can better show the true nature of our Christian heritage and faith. It’s very important that we do so, if furthering the kingdom is our goal. Much LOVE!…the true LOVE of Jesus is shown…in our humility…our forgiveness…our kind and merciful actions…
SCRIP-BITS 