Entrusting Jesus with Your Children - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Apr 19
- 4 min read
Entrusting Jesus with Your Children
Luke 18
· 15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
· 16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
· 17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Intro: This story is also found in Matthew 19 and in Mark 10.
Notice:
A. The Commendable Request – vs. 15 - they wanted Jesus to bless their children.
B. The Confusing Rebuke – vs. 15 “…but the disciples rebuked them.”
C. The Comforting Reality – vs. 16 “…forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God …”
You Can Trust Jesus with Your Children because…
I. He Designed Them
Psalm 139
· 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
· 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
· 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
· 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
I love little babies. I could just look at them for hours.
They are precious and they are perfect.
But then they start to grow up, and they become a mystery.
How many times have we as parents said, “Why in the world would you do that?!”
Or, “What in the world were you thinking!??” (they weren’t!)
Story: Man with 4 boys that jumped off the house with umbrellas after watching Mary Poppins.
One of the greatest mistakes a parent can make is to think they understand their children better than God!
God created them!
He knows their thoughts afar off.
He knows the weaknesses, frailties, failures and tendencies of your children because He is their Creator!
As parents, we struggle sometimes to understand our children.
But God doesn’t.
· Ecclesiastes 11:5 As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
The only instruction manual that we have for our children is God’s Word.
God knows their heart.
God knows their desires.
His Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Making the decision to trust Jesus with your children is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make as a parent.
You Can Trust Jesus with Your Children because…
II. He Desires Them
Choosing to raise your children apart from Jesus Christ is one of the worst decisions you’ll make as a parent.
Depriving your child of the unspeakable blessings of the touch of God is unthinkable.
It should be your goal as a parent to get them close enough to God for His touch to radically change their life.
Nothing that God touches will ever be the same.
God wants to touch your children while they are young…
· So they will never know the scars of the world.
· So they will never know the bondage of Satan’s traps.
· So they will never experience the suffering and shame of the hog pen.
· They will never have to deal with the guilt and destruction of the consequences of sin.
The best way to keep your children safe from sin and the world is to ENTRUST JESUS WITH THEM.
Get them to where God is!
Get them near where God is working and moving.
Get them to the place where God is changing lives, touching lives, transforming people.
You Can Trust Jesus with Your Children because…
III. He Died for Them
16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Paul wrote to Timothy about the impact of salvation on him as a child.
· 2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Not only can children be saved, but nobody can be saved unless they come to Jesus as a child.
Why would Jesus say that?
Because children are easier to convince.
Children are less likely to try and debate and argue with God.
David said it like this in Psalm 131:
· 1 LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
· 2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
The greatest testimony is not a person that was saved OUT of a life of sin, but a person that was spared and saved FROM a life of sin.
Bring your children to Jesus EARLY!
Get them under the sound of the Gospel before they learn how to debate and dispute with God.
Get them under the preaching before they get old enough to deny the reliability of the Bible.
Get them under the sound of the truth before they learn to stop up their ears and harden their hearts.
You can trust Jesus with your children because He died for them!
And he died for you!
Conclusion: Notice the text again in verse 17:
· Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Not only can you entrust Jesus with your children, but you can entrust Him with your eternal destiny.
And unless you come to Him as a little child, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
