18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
18:3 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.
18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
18:6 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.
There are two groups of little children Jesus is teaching us about in these verses of scriptures.
LITTLE CILDREN
The first group Jesus taught about here was 'little children', the young lad Jesus took and kept among them to express what he was teching. So Jesus was saying "If you want to be great you must become as a child."
What are the characteristics of children? Even when the mother spanks the child, the child still holds on the mother. The child TOTALLY TRUST in his Dad. He believes that the daddy will always give him whatever he needs. He is not worried about food. Where the food comes from is not his to bother about. All he knows is that he'd always eat.
He's never bothered about how he'd be clothed, because before he knew himself, he was always clothed, so he just knows that he would be clothed.
The person with this "childish" mentality- before God is the greatest in the kingdom.
This is that man that has come to trust God totally. Even when he's hungry, he still knees before God. His reverence for God is most important to him. It's all about God, noting else matters. As long as i have God i have everything.
This was the mentality of Job
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
This was the mentality of David
2 Samuel 6:14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
This is the king of the greatest nation in the world as at then, but he danced with all his might before God.
I don't know what you think you have achieved, but when it comes to God, be a child before him. Forget about your degrees and ranks, this is God we are talking about.
Jesus said if you want to be be the greatest in the kingdom, you must " be converted and become as little children"
The knee that knees before God stands before men. The one that is a giant before God, would be a child before demons ( demons would deal with him), but the one that is a child before God would be a giant before demons, angels and situations of this life.
1 Samuel 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
Great men are HUMBLE
A great man, just like a child is not the one that is void of mistake , but the man that is ready to accept his mistake, but still hold on to God regardless of what he's done. His hands are always around God, his daddy.
LITTLE CHILDREN/LITTLE ONES
The second group Jesus taught about here especially in verse 5 and 6 are the 'little children' which he also called 'little ones'
Jesus said in verse 5 "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. "
Matthew 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Matthew 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
Matthew 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward...
Examine these two scriptures: Mt 18:5 and Mt 10:40
Mt 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Matthew 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
He was pointing us to spiritual authorities. These ones are 'great' before the world but they are children (as we saw above) before God. So Jesus said if you receive that "pastor" or preacher in my name, he said "you have received me.
Now let's learn how to relate with these 'little ones'
Mt18:6 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.
Jesus was saying, don't take offence in spiritual authorities. Don't ever look down on a man of God. Jesus says if you do, it were better for a stone to be hanged in your neck and for you to be drowned, why? Because you disregarded a man of God. He might be your friend, your husband, but please don't ever disregard him as a man of God. Or maybe you heard something about a man of God and for that reason, you lost respect for him. Jesus says 'DON'T!' Why? He is a child of God. Even if he gets messed up, his daddy will clean him up. It's a family matter between him and his daddy, he is my pastor and a child of God. That is how you relate with pastors, preachers and ministers of the gospel.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
So PLEASE be careful when it comes to matters that have to do with men of God. Did you ask why? Jesus already said it is better for you to be drowned in the sea, than for you to disregard a man of God.
Why did Jesus say that?
Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
The angels of these ones are not 'small' , their angels are the ones that ALWAYS behold the face of the father ( that's how they became the greatest angels). The angel of a man of God and that of someone that just got born again are not the same.
If these angels set out to frustrate you for disregarding their boss, life will be a living hell. This was why Jesus said 'it is better for you to be drowned'.
So please wherever you find yourself, don't find yourself disregarding a spiritual authority because if you do, you just signed in for angelic assault in your life. You are working but nothing is showing, it's not the devil this time around, it's an angel of God that is responsible. That's why the bible says
James 4:6 ... Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
So stay humble, childish and without offence for God or his prophet; this is how to be the greatest in the kingdom.
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