Matthew 19:13 to 14, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
One of the most important invitations of the church is for children to come and hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The coming Vacation Bible School in our church on the 19th of November, presents an opportunity for our children and other unsaved children from without to hear the Gospel. Children are by no means lesser than the adolescents and the grown-ups, when it comes to having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 19, after Jesus had taught the multitudes about the lesson of marriage and divorce, He turned His attention to children that were brought to Him by their parents. The parents were rebuked by the disciples who felt that the Lord’s time was too precious to be wasted on little children. Jesus rebuked His disciples saying, “Suffer little children and forbid them not to come to me for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” There is something about children and the Saviour’s invitation to little children that we can learn from.
1. Responsibility in evangelism to all children.
In Deuteronomy chapter 6, is “Shema” by Moses instructing parents to teach their children to love the Lord from an early age, is restated by Paul in Ephesians 6 to parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Today in the church, worship services, prayer meetings, Sunday schools, children camps and VBS are the means for the building of children in their faith towards God.
2. Responsibility in teaching our own children.
Is your child saved in the Lord Jesus Christ? To have the desire for your child to know the Saviour early will reflect your own faith in Christ. To open the Bible on a regular basis with your child is to reflect your own consistency as a child of God desiring to know His Word. The pastor can preach and the Sunday School teacher teach but the main responsibility for evangelizing your child rests on your shoulders. Like the parents who brought their children to Jesus, you are telling your child that you see something special in Jesus when you bring your child to Jesus.
3. Responsibility in encouraging our children.
When the parents brought their children to Jesus, they were also encouraging them to approach Him, to accept Him and to trust in Him as well. We are to encourage our children to seek after God’s things, to pray at an early age and to love God’s word. And the greatest motivation for them to love God is when they see your consistent devotion in your prayer life and your consistent mediation in God’s Word at home as well as your commitment and dedication in the work of the Lord in the church.
a) To all children in our midst, have you come to a point in your life to know that you are a sinner and there is hell’s punishment because of your sins? You need to be saved and you need to come to the Saviour!
b) To parents, your children may be young but that does not mean that they do not need to be saved. Tell them the wonderful saving grace of Christ because they too stand a need to be saved. Do you ask your child, “What is it to be saved and how can sin be forgiven?” Are you praying, talking to them and monitoring when you see any sign of readiness on their part to receive Christ to point them to Christ and that they may go to Him by faith? If you have not started, do it soon for it is not safe to leave it to another day, for God’s Word has reminded us in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
While we are praying for our own children to be saved, pray also for others who may not be of our flesh and bones to trust in Christ.
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14
The VBS will be a great opportunity for them to hear the gospel for salvation.
Elder Douglas Ho
Amazing Grace
John Newton was born in London in the year 1725. His father was a sea captain. His mother was a devout Christian woman who, realizing that an illness she had would take her life within a short time, taught her son to know the Bible at an early age.
When John was seven, his mother died. He went to sea with his father when he was eleven; and by the time he was seventeen, he was in the British Royal Navy on a man-of-war ship.
During this time, John drifted far from the teachings of his mother. With each passing year, he sank deeper into the pit of sin. First, he was a sailor on a slave ship. Eventually, he was a captain, transporting slaves from Africa to ports where they could be sold for the best prices. Finally, one stormy night on a waterlogged ship in 1748, with the main mast broken in two, John Newton came face to face with the God of his childhood Bible learning. Then and there, John was saved from his darkest sins.
John’s life was changed forever. He abandoned the sea, settled in Liverpool and married Mary Catlett. Soon, John felt God’s call on his life to preach; and preach he did, securing an appointment to the parish church at Olney, England. To add a special touch to his messages, John would close with poetic verse that he would compose. On a Sunday morning, in 1779, Pastor Newton closed his heart-warming message with an original poem about God’s grace or as John called it, “His Amazing Grace.”
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.
(Adapted from www.songtime.com/template.php3?file=hymn/hymn0502.htm)
