Faith Walk / William Carroll
We will be talking about the word of God and how he moved in my life as I stood on his word. His signs and wonders that I have seen during the last forty years praying for my needs and the needs of others. I hope to encourage a new generation of believers to pray the word of God and to believe that He will move on their behalf. God answers prayers!
Faith Walk / William Carroll
Ep 67 If Your not First Your Last
What does true greatness look like in God's kingdom? While the world celebrates being number one, Jesus flips this notion upside down in Matthew 18, teaching His disciples a radical lesson using the most unexpected example: a child.
Diving deep into the disciples' question about greatness, this episode examines Jesus' response that unless we're "converted" (make a complete 180-degree turn) and become like little children, we won't even enter the kingdom of heaven. This conversion requires abandoning our flesh-driven desires and becoming spiritually childlike – humble, teachable, and dependent.
But childlikeness isn't childishness. Jesus wasn't advocating for immaturity but for the beautiful qualities children naturally possess: wonder, trust, and a recognition of their need for guidance. Just as children learn to walk and talk step by step, new believers need spiritual guidance. For new Christians, starting in the Gospels (particularly John) helps ground faith in Jesus' actual words rather than theological interpretations. There's wisdom in "reading the red" – focusing on Christ's direct teachings before moving to complex doctrines.
Childlike faith also approaches God's promises with simple trust. When facing mountains in our lives – whether financial difficulties, relationship challenges, or health concerns – Jesus teaches us to speak directly to these obstacles with the same unwavering expectation a child has when promised something good. We can get too caught up in theological boxes that limit God's power, when what we really need is the bold faith that believes without overthinking.
Ready to reconsider what true greatness means in your spiritual journey? Listen now and discover why becoming humble like a child might be the most powerful position you can take.
Well, good morning, welcome to Faith Walk. This morning, on Faith Walk, we are going to stay in the book of Matthew and we're going to go to chapter 18. And in chapter 18, starting in verse 1. So get you a cup of coffee, get your Bible out and let's study the Word of God a little bit. Okay? So at the same time, the disciples. At the same time came the disciples to Jesus saying who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? They were arguing among themselves which one was the greatest. Was Peter the greatest? Was Thomas the greatest? They were arguing who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and how to be that one, that one number one.
Speaker 1:You remember that movie, ricky Bobby, talladega Nights. You know he said if you, if you're not number one, you know your last. You know there's something like that. It was a play that you know. Second place doesn't count. Third place doesn't count. Third place doesn't count. You know, if you're not number one, you're last.
Speaker 1:But anyway, let's go on. It says, and Jesus called unto him, a little child set him in the midst of them and said Verily, I say unto you, except you be converted and you become as a little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. As a little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven, and whoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He also goes on in 18 and 5, whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me, but he who offends one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck and that he was drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of the offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense come.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, I want to go back and I want to start over and just kind of talk about this a little bit in the time that we have. You know, we always want to be the one, we want to be number one. You know, we want to be first. We want to be first in everything we do and we want to be number one. You know, we want to be first. We want to be first in everything we do and we want to be seen as first, whether that's in our work, wherever it is, we want to be seen as first.
Speaker 1:But Jesus said except you be converted. Now, converted, what does that word mean? Well, if you look it up in a good Bible app, it'll mean turn around, go in the reverse direction, make a 180, 180 degree turn. You're going one way and you need to go the other way.
Speaker 1:So, unless, except you be converted and you know we need to be converted when we come to the knowledge of our sins, we need to convert our life and be converted unto Christ. We need to stop the direction we're going into following the flesh, living in sin, living in the things the flesh says is good. You know, the flesh says if it looks good, feels good, tastes good, let's do it. You know that's what the flesh says. But that's not what God says. God says we should live through. Actually, he says that we should reckon ourself dead. Paul said reckon yourself dead unto sin and alive unto Christ, and that's what we need to do.
Speaker 1:So we need to be converted and we need to become as little children, or you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. So we're converted, we get converted and then we have to become as little children. Well, what does little children do? Well, they need to learn, they need to walk, they need to learn to walk, they need to learn to talk, they need to learn to understand that when a parent says no, it means no. When they say yes, it means yes. If we say it's hot, you know they go. Oh, it's hot. You know a child has to learn everything and he needs a schoolmaster or he needs people to help him learn. Well, when we become converted and we become children of God, well, we do have a teacher, the Holy Spirit, that is to teach us. But we also need the Word, the schoolmaster of the Word of God. See, the Word says that the schoolmaster before the New Testament was the law that brought us to faith in the New Testament. Well, we need a schoolmaster to teach us, to lead us, to guide us. So we need to get in the Word of God. We need to.
Speaker 1:If we're a born-again Christian, then we don't need to start in Genesis. I'm going to tell you that's going to be a hard go for you unless the Lord leads you. If the Lord leads you, then do it. But actually you should start in the Gospels. You know, I like to tell people start in John, the Gospel of John, then go back and read Matthew, you know Mark and Luke, and then you can read the epistles you know Acts and Romans and all the epistles, but start out in the Gospels. You know, learn what Jesus said. You know.
Speaker 1:Too many times I think that we don't read the red or pray for power. And we need to read the red and pray for power. We need to read the red because that's what Jesus said. You know, a lot of times we hear more talked about Paul than we do about Christ. Well, christ spoke to us and I just believe that. You know we need to get back to the Gospels, we need to get back to reading the red. So we need to believe, like a child.
Speaker 1:Is what he says? We need to say, okay, lord, if your word says it, that settles it in my heart. If you say that I can speak to the mountain in my life and say be removed and cast in the sea, that it should be done. That's what the word of God says, for nothing is impossible with God Then I need to believe that I need to take whatever the mountain is in my life, whatever it is, you know, and I need to lay it at the feet of Jesus and I need to begin to speak to that mountain. See, the word of God says speak to the mountain and say remove and be cast into the sea.
Speaker 1:So if you've got a lot of bills, pile them up in front of you and start speaking to those bills. You know I can't pay those. You're yelling at me, pay me. I can't pay them, but I speak to you. Be removed and cast into the sea. Lord, show me how to pay these bills. Show me, lord, how to start to pay them off and to get them paid off. You know, and that's just an example, I mean it can be needing a new job, it can be seeking a husband or seeking a wife. You know you got to believe the word, just like a child you have to believe. You know, if you tell a child, tomorrow we'll go get a milkshake, you know, tomorrow that child I don't care if they're four years old they're going to say milkshake, milkshake, daddy, milkshake, daddy. You know and see, we need to believe the Word of God like that. And listen, we don't.
Speaker 1:He talked about offending the children and you know that's also offendingending Christian, born-again believers, young people. It's talking about offending kids. It'd be better that a millstone was tied around your neck. Now listen, I agree with that. I believe that woe unto the world because of these offenses. You know, woe to that man who offends the children. Not need, we do not need to offend baby Christians because they're learning to walk so many times.
Speaker 1:Older Christians, you know, they kind of get a little puffed up, I guess, and they see a younger Christian, oh he's not a Christian. Well, he's learning. He's where you were a long time ago. He's making mistakes. He was just in the world. Now he's born again. Now he's a baby. Now he needs to learn to walk. Now he needs to learn to talk. Now he needs to learn to be a Christian and walk out the Christian faith.
Speaker 1:And so I'm just saying that, you know, let's be childlike in our faith. You know, a lot of times I need to do that. I need to go back and just kind of sit back and say you know, I'm kind of overthinking this. I'm kind of thinking, you know, from a theology standpoint, I'm kind of thinking about this in a way that really doesn't take God out of the box, that I put Him in, because so many times religious teachings can put Jesus in the box for us. Put God in the box and we can leave Him in there and we can say this is how he is. Well, god, you know, any box is too small to keep Jesus in. Well, listen, I hope you've enjoyed this and we'll go on and we'll do a few more of these out of Matthew, probably chapter 18, as I get to studying and looking at it. But I thank you for turning in. Hit the like button, hit the share button, hit the follow button. Listen to me on buzzsproutcom, faithwalkbuzzsproutcom or anywhere you get your podcast. Even Alexa knows.
