Guarding the Affection of Great Worth, Part 4

They are stubborn and obstinate.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations But God

But God

I know not, but God knows;

Oh, blessed rest from fear!

All my unfolding days

To Him are plain and clear.

Each anxious, puzzled “Why?”

From doubt or dread that grows,

Finds answer in this thought:

I know not, but He knows.

I cannot, but God can;

Oh, balm for all my care!

The burden that I drop

His hand will lift and bear.

Though eagle pinions tire,

I walk where once I ran,

This is my strength to know

I cannot, but He can.

I see not, but God sees;

Oh, all sufficient light!

My dark and hidden way

To Him is always bright.

My strained and peering eyes

May close in restful ease,

And I in peace may sleep;

I see not, but He sees.

-Annie Johnson Flint

Faith.

A simple, childlike faith.

Even, ESPECIALLY, in the absence of answer or understanding, childlike faith thrives.

In our conclusion of guarding the affection of great worth, I want to invite us to consider such faith.

Protecting GOD as THE affection of great worth in our hearts requires us to guard with all diligence the values and affections of our lives.

Outline/Review

Big Idea: Protecting GOD as THE affection of great worth in our hearts requires us to guard with all diligence the values and affections of our lives.

Four values we must guard...

Guard the value of time: Be available to God - Matthew 21:1-5.

Guard the value of your gaze: Don’t miss the spectacular - Matthew 21:6-11.

Guard the value of your passions: Don’t value the wrong thing! - Matthew 21:12-13.

Guard the value of faith: Protect the simplicity of childlike faith Matthew 21:14-17.

Sermon Body

Big Idea: Protecting GOD as THE affection of great worth in our hearts requires us to guard with all diligence the values and affections of our lives.

Matthew 21:1-17.

Matthew 21:1–17 ESV

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” 12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

First, we need to guard the value of our time.

Second, we need to guard the value of our gaze.

Third.... we need guard the value of our passions....do not value the wrong things...

FOURTH....guard the value of faith: Protect the simplicity of a childlike faith.

Guard the value of faith: Protect the simplicity of childlike faith Matthew 21:14-17.

Praise of Children

As we begin, does someone want to read just verses 14-17?

Matthew 21:14–17 ESV

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

When studying a passage of scripture, when you see a quote from another passage, what should that prompt you to do?

Anyone know where Jesus is quoting from?

Quoted from Psalm 8:2.

Someone want to read Psalm 8 for us?

Psalm 8 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. 1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What is the focus or theme of Psalm 8?

God’s amazing concern for man.

Worship for a God who pays man so much mind.

What key concepts do you see in this passage?

Man - David is stunned by the fact that GOD, the DIVINE AND ETERNAL God is in any way mindful of man.

Dominion - (8:6) - God gave man dominion over the earth and in so doing enabled man to share in his divine image.

What verse is Jesus citing in Matthew 21?

Verse 2 - Psalm 8:2.

Psalm 8:2 ESV

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

What do you notice about the verse that Jesus cites?

They are not exact.

Matthew 21:16. - Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

Psalm 8:2. - Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength....

Jesus stopped in essence there

But the rest of the verse goes on to say...

...because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Is Jesus misquoting scripture? He is he twisting or distorting it for his own purposes?

What do you make of this difference? Why is it there?

Psalm 8 is about God’s amazing concern for and investment in men…his created thing.

It is all about praising a divine, almighty God who even deems us worthy of his attention.

Psalm 8 IS A SONG, A PRAISE.

In it, David marvels at the wonders of God and his attention to us.

He marvels at the means by which God’s glory is revealed and made known.

In this Psalm, David expresses different ways that HIS glory is revealed by how he engages with his creation, mankind.

In verse 2, it is from the mouths of infants and babes that the majesty and glory of God is established and his foes are silenced.

This is about how powerfully God proclaims HIS worth through his weakest of creatures.

Matthew Henry in his commentary noted three specific ways that this is done.

First, in that kingdom of nature. God’s provision and care for even the weakest of his creatures.

Psalm 8:1–2 (MHCWB:CUOV): 1. In the kingdom of nature. The care God takes of little children (when they first come into the world the most helpless of all animals), the special protection they are under, and the provision nature has made for them, ought to be acknowledged by every one of us, to the glory of God, as a great instance of his power and goodness, and the more sensibly because we have all had the benefit of it, for to this we owe it that we died not from the womb, that the knees then prevented us, and the breasts, that we should suck. “This is such an instance of thy goodness, as may for ever put to silence the enemies of thy glory, who say, There is no God.”

This can seen even in Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26.

Matthew 6:26 ESV

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

One way that the mouths of infants and babes produce praise in the tender care God showers upon them and the care he provides for them in their parents.

Frankly, going back one step, the very miracle of life, from conception, to birth, growth, maturity, etc. The way God ordained it all to be, how the mother’s body is fit to preserve that little life and nurture it for years to come.

This ALL give praise and glory, acknowledgment and worth to God.

Secondly, God’s uses children in his government of this lower world.

Psalm 8:1–2 (MHCWB:CUOV): 2. In the kingdom of Providence. In the government of this lower world he makes use of the children of men, some that know him and others that do not (Isa. 45:4), and these such as have been babes and sucklings; nay, sometimes he is pleased to serve his own purposes by the ministry of such as are still, in wisdom and strength, little better than babes and sucklings.

How many children can you point to in scripture that God uses for his kingdom?

And how many times were they chosen before their birth?

How many were used for his purposes and did not even worship him?

God makes use of children for HIS purposes in the plan he is unfolding in the world. Jacob, chosen IN THE WOMB, before they born, to be used by God for His purposes.

God works his plan out in peoples lives from even before their birth at times.

And it is not requires that they know or fear God for God to use them.

Consider Isaiah 45:1-7.

Isaiah 45:1–7 ESV

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Cyrus was Gods instrument even though he did not know it.

This verse also points out that it is not even required that they know God or obey him. God will use them for his purpose anyway he sees fit.

Pharoah - Exodus 9:16.

Judas - Is 53:12 speaks of Christ being numbered amongst the transgressors. Judas, a betrayer, none of it is mentioned, but consider, this…Jesus knew from the beginning WHO would betray him. It was necessary to get him to an illegal trial, and to get him to the cross. Judas was used by God, from even before his birth his future was set, to accomplish the work of the kingdom.

And these are just two

They were not children by the time we see them

Others might include..

Isaac

Hosea and Gomer - use their children (specifically their names) to make a point to the nation of Israel

Moses

Samson

David

Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishel.

Mary

How many other names from scripture can we point that God used from childhood or youth for his amazing work?

Thirdly, The apostles in many ways, were viewed as children, uneducated, ignorant men (Acts 4:13). God glories in using men such as these because then it becomes about HIM and not then men used.

Psalm 8:1–2 (MHCWB:CUOV): 3. In the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of the Messiah. It is here foretold that by the apostles, who were looked upon but as babes, unlearned and ignorant men (Acts 4:13), mean and despicable, and by the foolishness of their preaching, the devil’s kingdom should be thrown down as Jericho’s walls were by the sound of rams’ horns.

Acts 4:13 ESV

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

While not technically children....they were often thought of as no better than children because they were uneducated, unlearned men.

Look with me at Matthew 11:7-18.

Matthew 11:7–18 ESV

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

Jesus spoke of John and his role as the herald and spoke of the greatness God produced in Him.

He tells them, if you will hear/heed him, you will be blessed for He is a man sent of God, blessed of God, to do the work of God.

There has never been any greater than he

He is a modern day Elijah

He was sent by God to prepare the way for me…heed him.

HOWEVER, do whom do I compare this generation?

Children who do what they want and ignore the call or wisdom of truth. They ignore the plain and obvious.

They refuse to cooperate, they do what they want.

They do not listen, do not see.

They are stubborn and obsinate.

Here he uses CHILDREN to depict immaturity.

Then in verse 20 he goes on...

Matthew 11:20-24.

Matthew 11:20–24 ESV

20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

He rebukes them for they had sign after sign after sign, and yet still chose to reject it.

With the the signs that they had, if Tyre and Sidon had had them, they would repented. That is what Jesus says.

Yet they still reject it.

SO, Jesus has been rebuking them people.

NOW note…

THEN Note Matthew 11:25-28.

Matthew 11:25–28 ESV

25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus his father that he had hidden things from the wise and given it to “children.”

A very different “child” than just a few verses earlier.

Here, children is used to depict the humble in heart.

Note also Matthew 18:1-6.

Matthew 18:1–6 ESV

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

God is looking for the humble, the receptive. The faith like that of a child.

Think about it, who did God give truth to? The disciples.

Were they children? No.

They were uneducated, unlearned men. BUT what did they do with it? They accepted it.

Jesus, here, is likening the disciples, those who accepted, as children, whose childlike like (not childish) faith received and accept the truth.

And it is THIS childlike faith that bring praise and glory to God. It is this childlike faith that Psalm 8 refers to and that Jesus cites in Matthew 21

The glory and wonder of God is seen in that God glories to use the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. 1 Cor 1:27-28.

1 Corinthians 1:27–28 ESV

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

God flips everything on its head. Instead of coming to the trained, religious elites, the educated, the ones whom, by human reckoning, would make the most sense to come to, he comes to the shepherds in a field, to fishermen in boats, to tax collectors, to prostitutes, to the sick and invalid.

He comes to children and those with child like faith.

Why does God do this?

Psalm 8:2.

Psalm 8:2 ESV

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

To still the mouths, objections, and opposition of the enemies.

Acts 4:14; 6:10.

Acts 4:14 ESV

14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

Acts 6:10 ESV

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

In the face of such faith, there is no response. Only removal. A stamping of it out.

AND this bring us back to Psalm 8 and the connection to Matthew 21.

Understanding this, what is the connection between Psalm 8:2 and Matthew 21:16?

Jesus is declaring in Matthew 21:16, to the faces of the religious elite, that THEY are the adversaries, the opposition, the enemies, and it is TO THE CHILDREN, the infants and sucklings that the PRAISE OF GOD WILL COME.

And yes, he is declaring in this statement that he has every right to receive the praise of God.

God calls us a childlike faith.

For even from the infants and babes, from the children and youth, for the uneducated, unlearned....flow faith, humility, and reception to the glory of God.

We are called to this childlike faith.

Through such faith, the glory of God is made manifest in the face of opposition. The mouths of adversaries are silenced (or they seek to silence the truth).

Let me summarize with Matthew Henry....

Psalm 8:1–2 (MHCWB:CUOV): The gospel is called the arm of the Lord and the rod of his strength; this was ordained to work wonders, not out of the mouth of philosophers or orators, politicians or statesmen, but of a company of poor fishermen, who lay under the greatest external disadvantages; yea, we hear children crying, Hosanna to the Son of David, when the chief priests and Pharisees owned him not, but despised and rejected him; to that therefore our Saviour applied this (Mt. 21:16) and by it stilled the enemy. Sometimes the grace of God appears wonderfully in young children, and he teaches those knowledge, and makes those to understand doctrine, who are but newly weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts, Isa. 28:9. Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by very weak and unlikely instruments, and confounds the noble, wise, and mighty, by the base, and weak, and foolish things of the world, that no flesh may glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power may the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man, 1 Co. 1:27, 28. This he does because of his enemies, because they are insolent and haughty, that he may still them, may put them to silence, and put them to shame, and so be justly avenged on the avengers; see Acts 4:14; 6:10. The devil is the great enemy and avenger, and by the preaching of the gospel he was in a great measure stilled, his oracles were silenced, the advocates of his cause were confounded, and unclean spirits themselves were not suffered to speak.

In singing this let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of which the exalted Redeemer rides forth conquering and to conquer, and ought to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best wishes. Praise is perfected (that is, God is in the highest degree glorified) when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.

You want to protect GOD as THE affection of great worth in your hearts? Then guard will all diligence the value and affection of a childlike faith.

But what exactly is that?

A child like Faith

What does a “child like faith” mean? What is a childlike faith characterized by?

I want to borrow 5 characteristics from Barnabas Piper in answer to this.

Children Ask Honest Questions

By honest questions I mean questions that do not challenge or subvert or undermine. They simply want to know truth. Yes, children are sinful and do challenge authority, but think of their curious questions, their eager questions, their innocent question. Each one has a single motive: teach me. They simply want to know truth.

We forget this as adults because we encounter (or ask) so many loaded questions – questions with ulterior motives, meant to challenge, designed to undermine or embarrass. We become passive aggressive with our questions or just confrontational. Children are not like this. They are just eager to know truth.

Is your faith interested in truth?

Do you want to learn?

Are you teachable?

Is your faith that of a child?

What is a loaded question?

A loaded question is a form of complex question that contains a controversial assumption (e.g., a presumption of guilt).[1]

Thus, a loaded question is one that contains assumptions or is a leading questions.

They contain ulterior motives and are meant to challenge, undermine, or embarrass.

Give an example of how our questions are “loaded?”

Some sample questions....Ask if anyone has any. if need be, give these examples.

Why do you feel that our firm is the best employer in America?

Why are our hamburgers the best?

Did you vote for that terrible authoritarian ____ ?

Do you still drive that ugly car?

Which of your bad habits is the worst?

How often do you say things just to hurt people's feelings?

When did you decide to sabotage our project?

Do you regret all your bad decisions?

What causes us to switch from open questions intent on learning to such loaded questions?

Pride.

Selfish motives

Hidden agendas and bias

Lack of educating about they are leading questions.

How do we learn to reclaim the childlike joy of honest questions with the intent to learn?

Repent of our selfish desires

Repent of our need for control

Pray for the Spirit to give us teachable spirits

Invite others to offer observations to help you grow

Spend more time learning, studying, and growing.

Children ask openly.

Unlike adults, children do not fear for their reputation or image and do not care who is around when they ask a question. This can create some awkward situations when they wonder “why is that lady wearing that” or get curious in the feminine care aisle at Target. But they simply want to know and think nothing at all of who knows they have a question. There is no shame and no embarrassment until we teach them to be embarrassed.

Children also focus only on the one they are asking with complete trust that an answer will be forthcoming. This is part of the reason they ask so openly; they are only thinking of one person, the one who can provide their answer. Imagine if we prayed like this and were so singly focused on God that what others thought or who else might know of our questions, ignorance, worries, or doubts would be of no consequence.

Is your faith controlled by the fear of man or fear of God?

Is your faith larger than your self image? Your reputation? Is your faith focused on something greater than yourself?

What is the fear of man? What is the fear of God? How do they relate to one another?

Fear refers both to terror and awe.

Fear of man is when we allow man’s power, opinion, or influence to be more important to us than God’s.

Fear of God is when God’s will, authority, and opinions means more and we conform our desires, thoughts, and actions to conform with him.

Whatever we fear most will control us. Fear of God will defeat fear of man because when we fear God more, it does not matter what man thinks or what man will do, we will strive to please God.

How do you think a greater fear of God, a greater childlike faith impact our prayer life?

More persistent

More vulnerable and open.

More willing to hear and receive answers, even ones we do not want to hear

Bigger prayers, more urgent prayers, more passionate.

More often

Etc

In what way(s) does would our faith strengthen and grow if we were singly focused on Christ?

We would no be swayed, deterred, or hindered by outward obstacles of men. We would be more free to keep pressing on.

If we were not distracted by the things of this life, we would be more able to get to know Christ and serve him more openly and freely.

Less weight to slow us down

Children ask from a place of vulnerability with the expectation of an answer.

When they are little, children see parents as omniscient. They expect parents to know everything, but over time are forced to come to grips with all the things parents don’t know. Children instinctively know that their knowledge is limited, even if they can’t articulate it; that’s why they ask so many blasted questions. So to find out dad and mom can’t answer all their questions takes a position of vulnerability and makes it feel uncertain and tenuous. They start with total trust then grow out of it.

We don’t have to grow out of vulnerability and total trust in God, though. We can grow in it. Unlike parents, God does know everything, including so much that is beyond our capacity to ask or understand. We can be utterly dependent, or rather admit our dependence. We can be completely vulnerable, honest, and open with our questions and we can expect that God will answer us with precisely what we need. Child like faith is that which knows we don’t know, knows He does, and asks with the expectation that the answer He gives will be the right one.

Is your faith that of James 1:4-8? You ask, knowing you lack and instead TRUSTING GOD who supply for that lack, AND trusting that will give you the wisdom you need to live rightly before him?

Do you ask in faith believing and trusting in God?

Does your faith ask from a place of vulnerability with the expectation of an answer from God?

Why do we often fail to believe that God will answer our questions when we ask?

Lack of faith… :)

Past experiences of “silence” from God.

Guilt we are feeling due to our own sin.

Poor examples of God seen in others of his followers.

Lack of teaching and discipleship

Lack of intimacy with God

In what way(s) do we fail to ask in the right way or for the right reason?

We allow our fleshly desires to creep in and pollute our motives and requests

We lie to ourselves and convinces ourselves that our motive is something other than it should be.

We fail to have the right goals and thus our requests and attitudes are often wrong when we ask.

How do we learn to ask the right questions with the right motive?

Love God.

Get to know God, His will, and goals.

Guard our influences

Spend time with the body

Be discipled, mentored, encouraged, and built up by Godly members of the body of Christ

How do we learn to recognize the answer when it comes?

Same as above question.

Children do not know what is best for them most of the time, but they trust their parents.

Parents generally know what is best for kids, or at least they know better than kids do. No Candy for breakfast, don’t play in the street, don’t eat that glue, don’t poke the cat, eat your veggies, do your homework, don’t hit your sister. Children get frustrated with these commands even though they are for their good just like we get frustrated with how God knows what is best for us and commands us accordingly.

Children don’t always understand why parents say “no” or “do this.” Often the reason is simply beyond their maturity or capacity for understanding. And despite griping and moaning, if parents are loving and generally stable, kids trust them. Kids have an incredible capacity for trust.

We understand even less about God’s reasons because of the depth and breadth of His wisdom and in the infinity of His mind. And we certainly gripe and moan and outright rebel against Him and occasionally throw a tantrum too. But because of His Word, His character, His promises, and all the ways He has shown His love we can absolutely trust Him.

Do you trust God to do what is best for you, even if you don’t understand HOW it is best for you?

Do you trust God when it does not align with YOUR desire or understanding?

Do you trust the PERSON of God AT ALL TIMES and IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES?

Why is God trustworthy?

Because he is without sin, without impurity.

He is all knowing, all powerful, and good.

In what way(s) do you fail to trust him?

We reflect man’s failings and sins onto His person and believe he is the same and will disappoint us.

We fail to understand his goals and desires and thus when life does not go as we think or want it to, we fail to trust God believing HE is the one to have made a mistake.

How do we learn to trust despite not knowing or understanding everything?

Spend time in his word

Deepen intimacy with God.

Children trust and find satisfaction with parents.

Even if children are frustrated or confused by parents, so long as the parents show love the children will trust them deeply and take pleasure in their presence. Kids are home with parents. Several years ago my family moved from Illinois to Tennessee. At the time my daughters were seven and four, and the move was pretty smooth for them. They were happy throughout the process with just a couple exceptions. That’s because they were with their parents. They were safe and loved and secure. Imagine if we had handed them each a duffel bag and a bus ticket and sent them to Tennessee. It would have killed them, maybe literally.

How much more should we take pleasure in God’s presence even when we cannot understand His reasons or His plan. We know His love, shown for us in Jesus that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. We know His promises: I will never leave you or forsake you, I will be with you always, nothing can separate you from the love of Christ, fear not for I am with you. God is the answer to our questions and doubts and the soothing for our anxieties. His presence and love is what we need, always.

Children get this. They understand so little yet they are so much more right than we are. We have grown out of faith in so ways.

Is your faith satisfied merely being the presence of God?

Is your faith comfortable there even when you do not possess all the answers?

How do you learn to be content and satisfied WITH GOD alone?

Get to know him.

Guard our lives from values and affections that would lure us away.

In what way(s) does your faith lack childlike humility, simplicity, and hunger to grow?

These are what constitute this CHILD LIKE FAITH that we are being called to.

Conclusion

Big Idea: Protecting GOD as THE affection of great worth in our hearts requires us to guard with all diligence the values and affections of our lives.

Four values we must guard...

Guard the value of time: Be available to God - Matthew 21:1-5.

Guard the value of your gaze: Don’t miss the spectacular - Matthew 21:6-11.

Guard the value of your passions: Don’t value the wrong thing! - Matthew 21:12-13.

Guard the value of faith: Protect the simplicity of childlike faith Matthew 21:14-17.

“The ultimate good of the gospel is seeing and savoring the beauty and value of God. God’s wrath and our sin obstruct that vision and that pleasure. You can’t see and savor God as supremely satisfying while you are full of rebellion against Him and He is full of wrath against you. The removal of this wrath and this rebellion is what the gospel is for. The ultimate aim of the gospel is the display of God’s glory and the removal of every obstacle to our seeing it and savoring it as our highest treasure. “Behold Your God!” is the most gracious command and the best gift of the gospel. If we do not see Him and savor Him as our greatest fortune, we have not obeyed or believed the gospel.” ― John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself