“The Blessing of Children“
Psalm 127:1-5 – Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
The Holy Spirit reminded me that children are God’s gift to us. This passage from Psalm 127 powerfully illustrates to us us the blessing of children: as God’s gift and reward to us; and their great prophetic potential in the kingdom! The context for this truth is found in the opening verse; hence our laboring to build the house and guard the city, will always be in vain, if we fail to understand the importance of reaching the children. Children are to be trained up and equipped in the way they should go, and then launched toward their target. Children have a purpose in the kingdom of God- NOW!
Mark 10:13-16 - And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
As we prepare for our outreach to the children and families of this community next week (July 11th – 15th), please join us in prayerful agreement and in your serving, to see that many children are “permitted to come to Jesus” without any hindrance. Jesus clearly tells us that the kingdom of God belongs to children, just as it does to any adult, and in fact we ourselves (as adults) must learn to come with childlike trust and faith, in order to enter the kingdom.
Children have an amazing level of faith and trust; therefore they easily believe God, and have a natural attraction to His love and power! We must see the potential in our children and make sure we are in no way hindering them from receiving every good thing that God has in store for them. God has a purpose for children in the kingdom of God. Children are the very arrows in the hands of God’s warriors in the advancement of His kingdom. We are believing that Freedom Gate’s VBS is going to be fun, informative, and life changing for many children and their families. Stand with us in believing that many children will participate, and that they will go back to their homes, neighborhoods, apartment communities, and schools – as God’s arrows of purpose and destiny!
Each evening we will be feeding the children, having fun with them, teaching them about Jesus…as well as permitting them to have encounters with the love and power of Jesus, by His Spirit. We need laborers to rise up and help us serve this outreach, so that many children will have a life changing experience! If you’ll volunteer to serve… it will most certainly change your life as well! Consider helping out a parent, by offering to pick up and transport their children to VBS. Also, please help us in getting the word out to not only our immediate community, but to any of your friends and co-workers who have children. ALL children are welcome to join us!
His harvest is ready! And we must go out and get it! The Lord is drawing His children; let’s permit them to come to Him, and prepare the way, by removing all hindrances. As you serve in this outreach, remember, the children He brings to us are our inheritance and reward; God’s gift to us!
Blessings,
Pastor Rick
Thanks to the Freedom Gate church family! You guys were awesome on Saturday… the Family Fun Day started a little slow… but really picked up and ended up being fabulous! Truly, the best is yet to come! VBS this week is gonna be great! Can’t wait to see all the new children … and their families flowing into FGC!
11.07.2011, 4:24 pmAmen! A pure heart and HUGE EYES of faith!
“Help us take off all the limitations we may have placed upon You Lord! We believe that NOTHING is impossible for You!”
06.07.2011, 7:19 amI love children! I’m learning to be child-like, I want to see God through a pure heart and huge eyes of faith like children do.
05.07.2011, 1:33 pm