A Childlike Faith

Introduction

10,000 Sermon Illustrations The Cliff

The Cliff

A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. The following conversation ensued:

“Is anyone up there?”

“I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hang on much longer.”

“That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch.”

A moment of pause, then: “Is anyone else up there?”

Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, p. 3

Isn’t this how we treat faith and our relationship to God at times?

We say we believe, but when push comes to shove, we do not act like we believe, like we trust, like we have faith.

What does it mean then, to have a childlike faith, the kind of faith that God calls us to?

Outline

Big Idea: A childlike faith asks honest, open, and vulnerable questions; trusting God to answer and being satisfied with the person of God.

What childlike faith is NOT

What childlike faith IS

Children ask Honest Questions

Children ask Openly

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

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

Children trust and find satisfaction with parents.

Sermon Body

What childlike Faith is NOT

What would childlike faith NOT be like?

Not Blind - Romans 1:20-23.

Romans 1:20–23 ESV

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Not uninformed - 2 Peter 1:3.

2 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

Not naive - James 1:5.

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

So what exactly is it?

How would you define a childlike faith?

What Childlike Faith IS

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?

What is the definition of “stupid,” of “stupidity?”

Proverbs 9:9.

Proverbs 9:9 ESV

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 12:1.

Proverbs 12:1 ESV

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

You want to know the definition of stupidity....an unteachable spirit.

You are only stupid if you refuse to learn and grow, refuse to be corrected and challenged.

We may make unwise choices but we are not stupid unless you refuse to learn in any and all methods that it may come, including rebuke.

Is your faith that of a child?

Do you ask HONEST questions with an intent to learn and grow, to change and be made in the likeness of Christ?

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.

This is a fear question. What do we fear?

Man, how they view us

or

God, his will and worth

Who or what is the singular focus of our lives and attention?

For a child, their focus is on the one person they are asking the question of, regardless of whether they should be embarrassed or not. They want to learn and they are trusting the one they are asking to help them do so. And they are not embarrassed or ashamed of their asking.

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

Do you care more about what God thinks, about God’s person and answer than about how men would perceive or view your question?

Do you ask openly of God with the expectation of an answer?

James 1:5 - we will come back to and talk about this in a moment...

You know what peer pressure is?

Fear of man

You know what intimidation is?

Fear of man

You know what codependency is?

Fear of man.

You know what people pleasing is?

Fear of man.

You know what the cure for it all is?

Fear of God.

Ed Welch describes fear of man as follows:

Many of the people I’ve talked to also had an awakening when they saw the controlling power of other people. They awoke to an epidemic of the soul called, in biblical language, “the fear of man.” Although they were avowed worshippers of the true God, below the surface they feared other people. That is not to say that they were terrified by or afraid of others (although sometimes they were). “Fear” in the biblical sense is a much broader word. It includes being afraid of someone, but it extends to holding someone in awe, being controlled or mastered by people, worshipping other people, putting your trust in people, or needing people.

Fear of man is when we replace God with people.

John 12:37-43.

John 12:37–43 ESV

37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Though he, Jesus…had so many signs…they still refused to believe. AND some who did, refused to confess it for fear of what?

Man

Ed Welch makes this sobering, humbling statement

Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more.

Children have not yet learned this. They are often unconcerned with the opinions and impressions of others.

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

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

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 1:5-8?

James 1:5–8 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Is your faith such that if you ask with all genuine authenticity, you believe, truly believe God will answer you?

Or do you ask not really believing God will answer you or even cares?

Or do you ask wrongly?

James 4 will later go on to explain why at times we do not receive what we ask for or why we miss his answer. We are asking wrongly, asking for the wrong reason, and looking for the wrong answer.

Do you believe that God hears and answers the cry of his children?

The Spirit drew to recollection for me, Psalm 34.

Psalm 34:4–7 ESV

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Psalm 34:15–18 ESV

15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:19–22 ESV

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

God HEARS and RESPONDS to this children.

Do 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/response 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.

Why do children trust their parents?

They care for them

They have not given them reason not to, hopefully, generally.

Do you believe that God is faithful and trustworthy at all times?

Look at Psalm 89.

This is a Psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite.

He begins....

Psalm 89:1–4 ESV

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah

Verse 5- continue the praise of God, extolling his might and power, his wonder and majesty

He speak of his attributes.

His righteousness.

His love

His faithfulness (trustworthiness)

Psalm 89:19–37 ESV

19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, 21 so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him. 23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. 26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens. 30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules, 31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, 32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, 33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. 36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. 37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

God affirms HIS faithfulness....even if he must disciple and rebuke, HE AFFIRMS HE IS FAITHFUL AND TRUSTWORTHY!

Do you believe this?

Do you believe He is good FOREVER?

Do you trust HIS LOVE?

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?

A childlike faith WILL BECAUSE God has proven it and we depend upon it.

God has NEVER given us a reason NOT to trust Him.

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...

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.

Where do we find the promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us?

Joshua 1:5.

Hebrews 13:5.

Do you believe and trust this promise?

Does it comfort your soul that you cannot be separated from the love of God?

Romans 8:31-38.

Is your faith satisfied merely being the presence of God?

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

Psalm 84 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Childlike faith is content without all the answer, without all the abundance of physical prosperity. Childlike faith is CONTENT with the PERSON of God.

Can you say, “a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere?”

Can you say, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness?”

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: A childlike faith asks honest, open, and vulnerable questions; trusting God to answer and being satisfied with the person of God.

What childlike faith is NOT

What childlike faith IS

Children ask Honest Questions

Children ask Openly

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

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

Children trust and find satisfaction with parents.

What underlines and girds these characteristics up?

Trust in God.

Relationship to God.

Children as honest, open, and vulnerable questions BECAUSE they trust the one whom they ask and believe they have their best interests in mind to help them grow. There is a trust and satisfaction in the person they are asking.

The same should be true of faith in God.

The crux of the human problem, according to Israel’s faith, is not the fact of suffering but the character of man’s relationship to God. Outside the relationship for which man was created, suffering drives men to despair or to the easy solutions of popular religion. Within the relationship of faith, suffering may be faced in the confidence that man’s times are in God’s hands and that “in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Bernard Anderson

I pray that together, church, we are growing in childlike faith and becoming more like Jesus for the glory of God.