Pastor Frank spoke about the body of Christ and each person's value in the Kingdom of God.
His text was Matthew 18:10-15-"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
and if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
Even so it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
The purpose of the church is to keep you; not to save you, although we have an atmosphere where people get saved every Sunday. In this day of uncertainty and pressure, we need to take in more than a Sunday morning service, in order to be fed in a way that will keep us. We need to take initiative and plug into the venues and opportunities that the church offers in order to help ourselves grow. As we are growing, our cup opens up for more and more of God and we add great value to those around us. (I'd like to add here, that we need to be connected with Christ in our private world as well. We need to feed ourselves and saturate ourselves with His Word and His presence. Out of the overflow of abundance in our hearts, we will refresh others with the life of God within our spirits. This will happen naturally as we love God and receive His love and righteousness.)
God spoke, and creation-the trees, plants, animals, light, dark, etc. came into being. But Adam, He formed carefully from the dust of the earth, and Eve, he formed carefully from Adam.
God is carefully forming another body-the body of Christ in the earth. He takes great care with this creation and puts things exactly where He wants them. He didn't speak Adam into being, nor does He speak the church into being. He carefully forms and fits every part of the body together and everyone is just as valuable as the next person, just as in a physical body, every part is important in order to make the body function properly.
We must be like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What is a child like? A child is dependent, hungry, needy, loving, open...
We can't imagine two four year olds talking to each other about their friends in a negative way.
That is childish behavior when adults do it.
Children fight and make up and go on.
Our value to the Kingdom depends on our ability to be child-like.
We need to understand this in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
One of the most immature statements one can hear in the church is this: "This is the way I am."
Meaning, "You're gonna have to get used to it because this is the way I am."
"I AM" is used three times in the Word of God and not one time does it describe you.
(I think this is similar to the excuse of grouchiness or tiredness. "I'm grouchy because....and you had better beware and behave because of it." It especially troubling when this type of intimidation is used on a child or on someone "under" the authority of the grouchy person.)
When the 99 were safely in the fold, the Shepherd went up into the mountains to seek the one who strayed. According to this illustration, the most important one in the kingdom is the one who has wandered off.
It is easy to fellowship with those who are easy to fellowship with.
There are those that stray for one reason or another.
The 99 have one another. It is impossible to take one of them out without taking out all of them. The roaring lion seeks the sheep who has isolated himself.
We need to help the Shepherd seek and save that one that is lost.
We jealously protect and guard our children.
We know where they are and what they are doing.
We let others know that they had better not mess with our children.
(Philip began to laugh here and leaned over and said, "Yes, Sir, Mr. P~~~~~, Sir." He was reminded about what happened when a fresh young man said something to a pastor's daughter.)
According to Matthew 18:10, the angels of the little ones are always beholding the face of Our Father in heaven. There is a warning to not despise the little ones, because their angels are always in God's presence.
My Bible notes say this:"We are not to despise childlike believers for they are honored in heaven. Their angels are likely guardian angels of the highest rank: they always see the face of My Father. The term little ones is also linked with the "lost" and the "astray"...calling for concern toward members of the community who have fallen away. "
I find it interesting that this scripture about the lost sheep is preceded about verses regarding offending a little one. Woe to you who cause offenses...and then the scripture about the lost sheep. Perhaps he is lost because he's been offended. Then, the lost sheep scripture is followed by the teaching of reconciling a brother who has sinned. The brother who has sinned is also a lost sheep.
The altar call invited those who are burdened for a "lost sheep"
to come forward and pray for them to be found.
It also came with a challenge.
We should pray that the Shepherd will find this lost sheep
but also, we should pursue that sheep as well,
with God's Spirit leading us and preparing the way.
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Flesh of my flesh
wept for my flesh and blood this morning at the altar.
This is not the first time, nor the second time
that this has happened.
From a young age, he has carried this burden.
Surely, the Father will hear his prayers.
Surely, he will see him in Heaven some day.
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