Why Children Should Flee to Christ

Introduction: A Sermon for Children

0:03 Everyone who is 16 years and under, please raise his or her hand.

0:12 All right, raise it up good and high, will you please? All right, I want to know where my special congregation is this morning. I don't want to miss any of you. All right, fine, put them down.

0:22 Because some of you are clustered here and clustered there, but some of you are stuck off elsewhere, and I want to be able to look at you while I'm preaching this morning because what I want to share with you from the Word of God is directly and specifically aimed at you children, the boys and girls in our congregation today. Those of you who come here frequently will know that often I direct remarks specifically to you in the sermons, sometimes an illustration, sometimes an application of the Word of God, but of course the bulk of the preaching is aimed at what we might call the bulk of the congregation. Which would be the moms and dads in those 17, 18 years of age and older. And this is only proper since, in a very real sense, God has appointed them to be your instructors and therefore the more they understand of God's Word and His ways, the more competent they will be to instruct you. But from time to time I do like to preach directly to the children, to let you know that I'm conscious that you're here, and my purpose for preaching to you this morning is very, very simple.

1:41 And if through the years you kids have come to believe anything about your pastor, I hope it's that you believe he's honest, whatever his faults may be. One of them is not that he's got a reputation for talking out of both sides of his mouth. The reason I want to preach to you this morning is very, very simple. I want to help you on your way to heaven.

2:04 I want to help you on your way to heaven. Now, I'm assuming that most of, if not all of you kids, have some basic facts about God, about yourself, about sin, about the cross, about how to be ready for heaven. And you've picked these facts up along the way at family worship, Sunday school, in the preaching that is done in this pulpit. But what I want to do this morning is to sort of take some of the tidbits you've picked up here and there and the little bits of information there and put them in the Bible.

2:37 And I want to help you on your way to heaven. And I want to help you on your way to heaven. And I want to bring them all together in a very concentrated way so that there's absolutely no question in the mind of any one of you kids what you are in the sight of God and what you must become if you're going to be prepared to live with God forever. Now, as I address myself distinctly and particularly to the children, I hope that two other things will be accomplished in the process.

3:07 I trust that every one of you will be able to do that. I trust that every unconverted person in this place, if you're 99,

3:13 will be not only instructed, but that your conscience will be stabbed with the word of God and that you'll be moved to seek the Savior.

3:25 What a wonderful thing if God would humble some proud adult today by choosing to save you through a simple little message addressed to the kiddies. And God knows how to humble the pride of the human heart. Maybe you've come here this morning saying, well, I've heard, you know, that this preacher here that preaches in this place has a pretty good biblical ministry, and I'm going to come and I'll see if he's going to be profound, and God's going to cut your pride to the quick, my friend. You don't dictate to God how he'll minister to you.

3:59 And wouldn't it be wonderful if God took your proud heart this morning and cut it down to size by taking a simple little sermon addressed to the kiddies and making it the instrument of your conversion. I can preach in the expectation that he might. And then the other thing that I hope is accomplished is that every parent and every adult in this place will be stirred up to pray, to witness and to plead with your children and with youngsters that they might repent and believe the gospel. That you might be stirred up to true biblical child evangelism.

4:40 All right? Those are my goals. I want to help you kiddies on the way to heaven. And I hope that God will help some other unconverted sinner who's not a kid and that God will then stir us all up to biblical concern for the conversion of our children.

The Central Question: Why Children Should Flee to Christ

4:57 Now, how am I going to address myself to you kids this morning? Well, I'm going to address myself to you kids in this way. Why every child should repent and believe the gospel. Or you might want to state it this way.

5:11 Why every... Why every child, as a child, should flee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

5:20 It's a form of a question. Why should you, as a child, take the Bible words, repent and believe the gospel, seriously? Why shouldn't you just sit here and be sweet and kind so you don't get spanked for doing otherwise? And then sometime later, when you've grown up and when things are a lot more clear and when you can describe things better, why shouldn't you wait until you're grown up to repent and believe the gospel?

5:48 Why should you, as a child, why should you, right here this morning, flee from your sins and throw yourself upon the Lord Jesus Christ? Why? Well, I'm going to give you three answers to that question. There are three parts of the answer.

Reason 1: As a Child, You Are Lost and Need to Be Saved

6:05 And here's what they are. You should repent and believe the gospel. Reason number one, because as a child, you are lost and you need to be saved. Secondly, because as a child, you can be saved.

The Threefold Nature of a Child's Sinfulness

6:23 And thirdly, because as a child, it is the best time to be saved. And I want you mommies and daddies to get the outline back from your kids at the supper table today, or dinner table, whatever you call it. Why should you, as a kid, why should you, as a child, flee to Christ? Reason number one, because as a child, as a child, you are a sinner and you need to be saved.

Sin by Representation: Adam's Sin

6:50 Now, the Bible says you're a sinner in three ways. Every one of you kids is a sinner in three ways, every one without exception. And I hope some of you adults listen in.

7:03 You're a sinner, first of all, and I've got to use a big word because I can't find a smaller one, but I'll explain it. You are a sinner, first of all, by representation. Now, that's a big word, but you know what it means. You say, I do?

7:17 Yes, you do. And I'm going to show that you know what it means. The Bible says in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12 that by one man, sin entered into the world and death passed upon all men for that all sinned in that one man. In Romans 5.19, Paul says, through one man's disobedience, condemnation came upon all the many were constituted, you're made sinners. When you pick up your Bible and you read in Genesis that in the beginning God made them male and female and that he took that man Adam with his wife Eve and put them down in the garden, as far as the account in Genesis is concerned, all we see is God, one man Adam and one woman Eve, and then one creature, the tempter, who comes in the form of that subtle serpent and tempts Eve and she in turn, passes on that forbidden fruit to Adam. All we see when we look in the garden

8:21 is one man, one woman, and one God. But Paul tells us, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that there was more than just Adam and Eve in that garden. When Adam and Eve were in that garden, you know who else was there? You were there.

8:40 Oh, you say, come off it, bastard. I wasn't even born yet. I was thousands and thousands of years. I just remember even being born.

8:49 How can I be there? I'll tell you how you were there. You were there in your representative, Adam. God said, I will make Adam to be the representative, the one who will stand in the place of every man, woman, boy, or girl that ever shall be created except the man of Christ Jesus.

9:15 And so Adam was put there as the representative, the one who stood in our place so that if Adam had obeyed and passed whatever time of trial God had ordained, the whole human race, as far as we know, would have been a race filled with nothing but holy men and women, fellows and girls. There'd never been a spat on the playground. There'd never been a brother or sister to get your dander up. There'd never been anything happen between you and your brother.

9:48 There'd never been anything happen between you and your brother. There'd never been anything happen between you and your brother. There'd never been anything happen between you and your brother. There'd never been anything happen between you and your brother.

9:49 There's never been anything happen between you and your daddy that was anything other than lovely and pure and holy and good. All of that would have been our portion if Adam had stood. And the representative, if he stood, would have secured all these blessings for all men and women, fellows and girls, who would flow out of him. But the reverse is true.

10:13 Adam stands in such a relationship that if he sins as the representative, The whole human race sins in Him and because of Him. That's why the Bible says, In Adam all die. And so you are a sinner. And you need to be saved because you're a sinner by representation.

10:40 You and I stand condemned from the moment we are born.

10:47 Don't you listen to anybody that says, Well, you're sort of half innocent until some time of accountability. We were accountable in Adam, children. When Adam sinned, we sinned. When he came under condemnation, we came under condemnation.

11:05 That's why the Bible says we are by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest. That's why you need to be saved. The idea that you need to come to a certain age and commit certain sins before you're really, No, no. The sentence guilty has already come forth.

11:24 It hangs over your head in the delivery room in the hospital.

Sin by Nature: An Inward Corruption

11:31 Yes, we are sinners by representation. But secondly, the Bible says we're sinners by nature.

11:40 You ever go out to a barnyard and ask yourself, Why in the world does a pig love what he loves?

11:49 You ever ask yourself that? What in the world is in that pig that makes him love what he loves? On the other hand, when you see that little cat perched by the fireside, constantly licking, licking, clinging, See, what makes that cat so fastidious? Tracking down every little bit of soil and her fur?

12:16 Why?

12:18 What makes the birds so happy up in the sky?

12:22 What makes the fish so happy in the ocean or in the pond? Well, you see, one thing is true of all of those questions. I've asked. Why does the pig love his mud?

12:35 Because it's his nature to love the mud. Why does the cat constantly preen itself and clean it? Because it's the nature of the cat to do it. The cat's just being a cat, that's all.

12:50 And why does the bird love the freeness of the air? Because the bird is made to love the freeness of the air. And it's the bird's nature to like the bird's heaven and the freedom of the sky. And it's the nature of the fish to like to swim in the little pond or to swim in the ocean if it's a saltwater fish.

13:12 You see, it's the nature of every one of those animals that makes them do what they do and makes them love what they do when they do it. Now, the Bible teaches that you and I are sinners by nature. We're born with a nature that loves to sin. And feels at home in sin and moves in the direction of sin.

13:40 That's why you need to be saved as a child. Because as a child, you're a sinner by nature.

13:48 That's what David meant when he said in Psalm 51.5, Behold God, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. He says when I was just a little seed way back there in my mother's, tummy's tummy, I was already a sinner. The nature that was formed in my mummy was a sinful nature.

14:16 That's why the Bible says they go astray from the womb speaking lies. Why is it it's so easy to lie? I mean, some of you got to the place where, man, you can lie as easy as you can breathe. Why is it so easy to lie and so hard to tell the truth?

14:36 Why is it so easy to be mean? Why is it so easy to lie and so hard to tell the truth? Why is it so easy to be mean? Why is it so easy to be mean?

14:39 Why is it so easy to lie and so hard to tell the truth? Why is it so easy to lie and so hard to be sweet? Why is it so easy when mum and dad ask you to do something, they'll sulk and pout and pull a big long face and so hard to say, sure, mum, be glad to do it. Why is it so easy?

14:57 You ever ask yourself that? How about it, you kids? Do you ever ask yourself, why is it so easy for me to do what's wrong and so hard to do what's good? I remember as a kid, that question used to plague me.

15:11 Seems that everything goes wrong. Everything God says I ought to do, I don't find any fun in doing it. And everything He says I shouldn't do, I really enjoy doing. What's the problem?

15:24 The problem is you're a sinner by nature. You've got a nature that's sinful. To use the language of the Bible, you have a heart that is sinful. Listen to Jesus' words.

15:36 I quote from Mark 7 now, 21 to 23. For from within, out of the heart of man proceed, and then listen to the things that He lists that come out of the human heart. Mark chapter 7, verses 21 to 23. For from within, out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, evil thoughts, thoughts of suspicion, thoughts of bitterness, thoughts of pride, thoughts of meanness, fornication, uncleanness, theft, murder, hatred, adultery, coveting, wanting what somebody else has, wickedness, deceit, telling lies, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, using your tongue to bash somebody else down, abusing people with your mouth, pride, foolishness. These things proceed from within. Why does the pig go to the mud and love it? Because from within itself it is a pig nature that is expressing itself through that pig's actions.

16:58 Why is it that we find it so easy to lie, to fight, to be selfish, to pout, to cheat, to tease, to cheat, to be lazy? Why is it? It's because we're sinners by nature. We have a nature that can produce only sin and always sin and nothing but sin unless God changes it.

17:19 Now listen to me very carefully. You know the only difference between a five-year-old who seems to be a sweet little child but who's not been saved and a fifty-year-old man who's full of cursing and drunkenness and abominable wickedness? You know the only difference? Forty-five years of letting what's within come out.

17:42 That's all. But it's all there in the five-year-old. It's all there. And every one of you children has a heart.

17:49 It's all there in the five-year-old. It's all there. It's a heart that is capable of leading you to the worst sins that have ever been committed on the face of the earth. It's all there.

18:01 You're a sinner by nature. A sinner by nature. That's why we need a new nature, or what the Bible calls a new heart, or what the Bible says why we need to be made a new creature. Why again, to use the words of the Bible, we need to be born again.

Sin by Choice and Practice: Active Rebellion

18:20 We need to have God turn the Bible. Turn the pig into the cat that wants to be clean. And only God can do that work. But then in the third place, you ought to repent and to believe because you're a sinner not only by representation, we sinned in Adam, a sinner by nature, but the Bible teaches you are a sinner by choice and by practice.

18:47 Romans 8, 7 says, the carnal mind, the mind we have by nature, is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. All we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned every one to his own way. Let me ask you a question this morning.

19:08 The last time you lied, who made you do it? Did the devil come along or one of his imps and lasso your tongue and with like strings that you have on a puppet, make your tongue say the words that lied? Anybody force your tongue to lie? Does that make you a sinner?

19:29 Did somebody come up at the back of your head and hold a gun and say, now lie or I'm going to blow your brains out? Come on now, what about it kids, what about it? The last time you lied, who made you lie? You lied because you wanted to.

19:41 You chose to lie, didn't you? The last time you sassed your mom and dad, who forced you to do it? Was somebody crouched behind the couch with a 30-06 rifle saying, you lie or I'm going to knock your head off? No, no.

19:58 Why did you do it? Because you wanted to. Your conscience told you it was wrong. There was that little voice that said, uh-uh, and you said, I want to do it.

20:10 It's to my advantage to do it. You see, we are sinners not only by nature and by representation, but we are sinners by choice and by practice. Paul describes it this way in Romans 6 and verse 19. He uses an illustration.

20:27 He said, you are sinners by choice and practice in the way that a servant obeys his master. This is what he says. He says, you presented the members of your body, servants to sin and unrighteousness. And this is what Paul is doing.

20:46 He's using what we call a figure of speech. Here's a man who owns a lot of servants and he says to one, Henry. Henry comes running right up in front of this. Yes, master.

20:57 He says, Henry, I want you to go out there and take the garbage cans out. Yes, sir. Henry bows. Henry empties the garbage.

21:02 20 minutes later, he says. Yes, sir. 20 minutes later, the master says, Henry. Henry comes running right up.

21:06 Yes, sir. And he bows. And he says, now, I want you to go out here and do this. Yes, sir.

21:12 And Henry runs. 20 minutes later. Henry. And he comes running back in.

21:16 Yes, sir. See? What is he doing? Everything the master says, he presents himself unto obedience.

21:23 Now Paul says to the Romans, he says, before you were saved, all the members of your body, your hands, your fingers, your eyes, your ears. Yes, sir. Your feet, your mind, your tongue. He said, you presented your members, servants, unto sin and unto unrighteousness.

21:46 He says, you were sinners by choice and by practice. And this is how it works, kids. Sin says, give me your tongue to speak a lie. And what do you say?

21:57 You say, all right, sin, here's my tongue. I'll tell the lie. And so your tongue becomes a servant to unrighteousness. See?

22:06 Sin says, give me your ears to listen to that dirty story the boys are passing around at the bathroom at school. And you say, all right, sin, here's my ears. And you give your ears to listen to that garbage. Sin says, give me your feet to go down some path that mom and dad said you should not go there.

22:29 And when sin said, give me your feet, you said, all right, sin, very well, you gave sin your feet. You see, you're a sinner by choice, and there's not a child here who, if he's listening at all this morning, will not say, Pastor, you're right. That's true. The Bible's describing me, a sinner by choice.

22:51 Now, how does God look upon you in that condition? A sinner by representation in Adam? We all sin. A sinner by nature?

God's View of Children's Sin: Wrath and Judgment

23:04 The heart deceitful above all things? A sinner by choice and by practice? How does God look upon us? What would God do if he met you in this condition?

23:15 Is he going to be lenient with you simply because you're a child? Well, let's ask the question by looking in the history of the Bible. What did God do in the past when he entered into judgment with children who were sinners? Well, let's look at a couple of examples.

23:34 The Bible tells us in the sixth chapter of Genesis that God looked upon you in that condition. The Bible tells us in the sixth chapter of Genesis that God looked down upon the earth, men, women, boys and girls, and he saw that the imaginations of the thoughts of the hearts of men was only evil continually. And God says, I'm going to blot them all out. And you know the story.

23:56 There's one family that found grace in the eyes of the Lord, Noah and his family. Now, follow me. Noah and his family were shut up in the ark. The waters began to come down from above and from the fountains beneath until the scripture says not one living thing was left upon the face of the earth.

24:16 Now, my question is this. Were there any children living in that place? Yes, there were. Two-year-olds, seven-year-olds, fourteen-year-olds.

24:30 Did God exempt them from his judgment upon that world? No, my friend. The screams of little rebel children. Mingled with the screams of hardened adults, all of whom had turned their back upon the warnings of God through Noah.

24:50 This idea that children are suspended in some kind of a state of semi-condemnation until they're twelve or thirteen or some other age of accountability is entirely unfounded on the word of God. That's why I plead with you children this morning. Why should you repent and believe as children? Because as children right now, your sins provoke God's anger.

25:18 Your sins call for God's wrath and God's judgment. Look at Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham prays, O God, if there are but ten righteous people, will you hold back the judgment? God says, if there are but ten.

25:36 And there weren't ten. There were hundreds, if not thousands of children in Sodom and Gomorrah. The scripture says, when the fire of God fell, the fire and brimstone, it consumed all that were there in those cities. Little children, little children, dinners, consumed by God's wrath.

26:03 I want you to look at a very interesting passage and I hope it'll strike holy dread to the heart of some of you children this morning. It's found in 2 Kings chapter 2. Here's some kids who went out one day and said, hey, vacation time, gonna have a little fun. No school today, no homework.

26:24 What should we do for a little fun? All of a sudden, the local preacher was coming down the street. And they said, well, let's have some fun. How should we have fun with it?

26:36 And as they noticed his bald head shining under the sun, they said, well, let's call him old Baldy B. Let's just have a little fun, make fun of him. Well, let's see what happened. 2 Kings chapter 2, verse 23.

26:54 And he went up from thence unto Bethel, and as he was going up by the way, there came forth, now notice what it says, young lads. They weren't old men. They weren't even men. They were young lads out of the city, and they mocked him and said unto him, God, thou baldy bean, thou bald head.

27:18 They figured they'd have a little fun. They'd make mockery of the prophet. Hey, old baldy headed preacher. That's innocent enough, isn't it?

27:28 I mean, boys will be boys, won't they? I mean, come on now, let's not be ridiculous. I mean, boys will be boys. They're going to make fun of something.

27:39 So they mock the prophet, call him old baldy bean. How does God look upon it? Well, look what happened. And he looked behind him and saw them and cursed them in the name of the Lord.

27:52 And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood and tear forty and two lads of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel and from thence he returned to Samaria. You try to tell one of those sobbing parents who looks down upon the torn flesh of his little lad that there's such a thing as innocent sin because he happens to be just a lad. You console some parent who sees the torn flesh of his own son.

28:27 I tell you the lesson came home with power to every one of those parents. Sin is a serious thing even in a young lad. And the sin that lies behind this seems to be the sin of making light of the word of God which in those days came through the prophet of God. And God says you make light of my word and I'll show you.

28:56 That I don't make light of your mockery. Oh dear children I'm not standing here today trying to frighten you with concepts that are not biblical. That's why I deliberately haven't told you stories. I deliberately am not appealing to your emotions because that would not be fair to you children.

29:17 But I'm appealing to the word of God to under God get you to see that your sin as a child is not something that God takes lightly. God takes it seriously. God says to you as a child that he hates sin and that his anger burns against those that go on in their sins and go on in their unbelief and go on in their impenitence. Why should you as a child repent and believe the gospel because you're a sinner and you need to be saved.

Reason 2: As a Child, You Can Be Saved

29:56 But then secondly you ought to repent and believe the gospel because as a child you can be saved. Now listen closely you adults for a moment. This is where most of the children's movements go wrong. They say that we ought to be after the salvation of children because the ability of the child to be saved lies primarily in the child's condition.

30:23 He's not a hardened sinner. He's not too bad off. Or as one man said giving quote the biblical basis for child evangelism in an adult it takes a miracle of grace to give them new life. But in a child there is already the seeds of faith and all this other business.

30:42 You see the whole focus is let's evangelize children because children don't need the same qualitative work of grace that an adult does. Oh my friend listen. Listen. Children you ought to be saved as children not only because you need to be saved but because as children you can be saved and you can be saved not because you're not bad sinners but thank God but because Jesus is a great savior.

31:12 That's why you can be saved. Jesus is a great savior. He's able to save you children. The Bible says thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save you.

31:23 He shall save his people from their sins whether they're young and old and everything in between. He's able to save you because he's God. He's able to save you because he died upon the cross to turn away the father's wrath. He's able to save you because he lives right now.

31:44 Able to give you a new heart blot out your sins and make you fit to dwell with God now and in the world to come. Oh children listen to me this morning what sin have you committed that is so deeply stained that the blood of Jesus can't cleanse it? Some of you have committed some pretty serious sins. Deliberate lies covered up by another lie and another and another until there's a mountain of lies covering up other lies.

32:17 The Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanses us from all sin. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool. Oh dear children what sin have you committed that is bigger and more powerful than the blood of Jesus?

32:41 Which of you children has a heart so hard that Jesus cannot break it and melt it? Which of you has a will so stubborn that King Jesus cannot conquer it and subdue it? Oh dear children you ought to repent and believe and be saved not only because you're a sinner and need to be saved but because as a child you can be saved and you can be saved because Jesus is able to save you but secondly because Jesus is willing to save you. Not only able but willing.

33:19 Suppose you're out riding your bike tomorrow and you hit a bump and you flop over and I remember this happened to me as a kid and you get yourself caught so that your leg is twisted in with a handle bar and you're bleeding at the knees and you can't get yourself out and along comes some big strapping guy 6 feet 2, 220 pounds well able to take care of you and you look at him and you say well he's able but you look up and say Mister would you please help me? Small comfort if he says sorry sonny I'd like to help you but I gotta catch the 803 and I've only got 22 seconds see you later. Doesn't do you any good if he's able if he's not willing you see but thank God the Lord Jesus is not only able but the Bible says he is willing to save us you say how can I know that? well listen listen to the word of God in 1st Timothy 1.15 this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners that's what he came to do he didn't come to walk down the street and see kids wrapped up in their bicycles and say sorry I gotta catch the 803 he's out looking for kids wrapped up in their bicycles that he might get them untangled and on their way again he's come in his own words to seek and to save that which is lost ah but some of you say Pastor is there some passage

34:46 where we actually see him receiving children to himself? yes there is Mark chapter 10 and verse 23 beautiful passage showing us that the Lord Jesus is not only able but he's willing to save children listen to his words Mark 10 sorry not Mark 10.23 verse 13 and they were bringing unto him little children the word there in the original is infants that he should touch them but the disciples rebuked them but when Jesus saw it he was moved with indignation or anger and said unto them suffer the little children to come unto me forbid them not for to such belongeth the kingdom of God verily I say unto you whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein and he took them in his arms and blessed them having laid his hands upon them now notice this passage does not say that children are already in the kingdom he says let them come to me that they might enter the kingdom that I might give them inwardly and spiritually what they have naturally and externally as children

36:15 he says of such is the kingdom of heaven in other words what does a child have naturally and externally well he has the characteristics of teachableness he has the characteristic of lack of ambition personal ambition covetousness and these things and Jesus said all whom I bring into my kingdom I give them those qualities inwardly and spiritually the qualities evidenced in a child naturally and externally the passage does not say kids are already in the kingdom nor does it say though it's been pressed to say this that they're ushered into the kingdom by baptism and of all things this passage is pressed into the service of defending the matter of infant baptism there's nothing in this passage whatsoever about baptism nothing whatsoever but what the passage does say is that the disciples were hindering infants in arms to older ones from being brought to the Lord Jesus for his blessing and what Jesus says is interesting he does not say suffer the little children to be brought to me he says suffer the children to come to me see it he says don't you stand in the way of any child coming to me don't stand in the way let them come to me and I will give them inwardly and spiritually

37:43 those characteristics without which no man enters the kingdom of heaven those characteristics which they have naturally and externally because they are children I will give them inwardly and spiritually as new children as born again ones so Jesus says to the children amongst us today come to me I'm willing to save you I am able to save you all you kids listen this morning have you gone beyond mom and dad and their Christ to where he's become your Christ have you gone to Jesus and said Lord Jesus I'm not content that mommy and daddy pray for me anymore Lord Jesus I'm going to pray for myself I'm not content Lord Jesus that mommy and daddy pray that I might be saved Lord Jesus I'm going to pray for myself that I might be saved Lord Jesus save me have you children gone beyond mommy and daddy's dealings with Christ and had direct dealings with Jesus yourself he's willing to receive you you need not be afraid of him when I was a kid if I had to meet some important person I always felt much more comfortable if my father was alongside to sort of introduce me I felt I needed a go between

39:09 oh dear children you don't need a go between Jesus is willing and able to save you and he bids you come he says come to me and you see what he says to moms and dads and adults he says don't you stand in the way of the children from getting to me don't hinder them by a wrong theology it says they must be 18 or 20 before they can have a deep enough understanding of depravity and grace to be saved God have mercy on us if we hinder our children from coming by a wrong theology God help us if we hinder them from coming because of a bad example many a child has been driven from Jesus by the cursed example of a father and a mother who profess to know him don't hinder them by carelessness in instructing your children they'll come to Jesus only as they know him through the word the spirit reveals him through the word and oh may God have mercy on some of you parents who are hindering your children because you're not instructing them no family worship no personal instruction too busy too busy alright too busy

Reason 3: As a Child, It Is the Best Time to Be Saved

40:35 but you're helping the devil to blind them and damn them don't hinder them by wrong views of the covenant relationship between parents and children and God I've seen many a kid hindered from coming to Christ because the moment his conscience got awakened and he began to get convicted and disturbed and began to speak his mind to his mom and dad and said no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no we gave you to God in baptism and put the seal of the covenant upon you and God gave you life somewhere along the line and that life has been nurtured and cultivated you don't need to be converted and they stifle the work of the Holy Ghost I've seen this happen till I could weep don't you hinder them from coming by a false view of a covenantal relationship based upon blood and genes and not upon grace and the work of the Holy Ghost oh dear children you ought to come to Christ because he's not only willing but he's able to save and now I close with these brief thoughts you ought to repent and believe as a child because now is the best time to be saved you say what do you mean pastor now is the best time to be saved

42:03 well let me explain first of all because now is the only time of certainty the Bible says don't boast about tomorrow for you know not what tomorrow may bring forth I was talking with Mrs. Martin yesterday or last night about this do you know in 11 years of ministry though been one or two deaths shortly after birth we've not had one child funeral in 11 years in this place not one child suddenly cut off being hit by a car or a bicycle suddenly seized with pneumonia or some other disease 11 years not one child God be gracious and we can begin to think that death somehow is immune or we're immune to death because we're young oh listen to me dear children dear children and I'm preaching now the way I would preach if I knew I had to look into your lifeless form in a coffin tomorrow do any of you have any assurance you're going to see the light of another day did God come and knock on any one of your doors this morning and say hey I've got news for you you're going to live for another six months that's why you ought to be saved now

43:29 because now is the only time of certainty you know what God said to a man who didn't seize his day of certainty God called him a fool in Luke chapter 12 the man said I've got plenty of time for other things out there right now I'm going to be concerned with my present needs and so he built his barns and all the rest and said soul take it easy God said thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee now is the best time to be saved because now is the only time of certainty but secondly now is the time of probability what do I mean by that simply this the Bible teaches and history confirms that wherever the gospel has come and been there for a while generally speaking if a person's to be saved he'll be saved in his youth why because God works by means and you read and some of you mummies and daddies take this passage down Ecclesiastes 11 9 through 12 1 in which God says remember thy creator in the days of thy youth before the evil days come when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them you see children life is relatively simple for you now and when the burden of making ends meet and making a living

44:56 and all of these things begin to press in upon you it's so easy to put eternity and heaven and hell out of your mind if you can slip through the week in week out instruction at home and the preaching in this church and come to mature adulthood still unconverted I say it's a terrible foreboding of an awful judgment from God that may fall upon your head thank God as long as we have the example of the dying thief we know that a man can be saved in the last hour but as Bishop Ryle says there is but one deathbed conversion there is one that none may despair but only one that none may presume oh dear children now is the best time to be saved not only because now is the only time of certainty now is the time of probability and I close with this word now is the time of God's authority the Bible says in Acts 17 30 God commands all men everywhere to repent this is His commandment that we should believe on His Son suppose in the midst of my preaching in the next 30 seconds all of a sudden a thundering voice a thousand times louder than my own

46:23 would shake this building and all of us would be blanched white and grab on to our pews and the voice said preacher be still by the living God what would happen if you heard words like that all of us would be riveted to our seats waiting in expectation then suppose that word said every boy every girl every child every young person in the world every young person in this building repent and believe the gospel now for I the Lord God of heaven and earth have spoken and then deathly silence impressive thing that would be all the same God is speaking justice certainly and surely in His word saying to every boy or girl in this place repent and believe the gospel now turn from your sins and flee to Christ now that's why it's the best time to be saved because it's the only time that you can bow to the authority of God's word now as we close our study this morning I'm going to read from a letter

A Letter from C.H. Spurgeon and Final Exhortation

47:50 that I then want to have put in the hands of all of you children as you leave this is a letter from Charles Spurgeon the great preacher of another generation and Mr. Spurgeon had been at a prayer meeting where people were praying for the salvation of the children and when he came home from that prayer meeting he sat down and wrote a letter to a young boy who was son of one of the members of his congregation and this is the letter that he wrote to him and what I've done is I've had it mimeographed and left a blank and I want every one of you fellows and girls to consider this as a personal letter from your pastor and I want you to fill in your own name and I've written little instructions at the top to the parents for the benefit of children who can't yet read and I want you to listen to this letter and I want you to listen as though I were writing it to you Dear and you put your name in there you are highly privileged in having parents who pray for you your name is known in the courts of heaven your case has been laid before the throne of God do you not pray for yourself if other people value your soul can it be right for you to neglect it all the pleadings and wrestlings of your father and pastor

49:15 will not save you if you never seek the Lord for yourself you know this you do not intend to cause grief to dear mother and father but you do so long as you're not saved they can never rest however obedient and sweet you are how sweet and kind you may be they'll never feel happy about you until you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and find everlasting salvation think of this remember how much you've already sinned and none can wash you but Jesus when you grow up you may become very sinful and none can change your heart and make you holy but the Lord Jesus through his spirit you need what father and mother seek for you and you need it now why not seek it at once I heard a father pray Lord save our children and save them young it's never too soon to be safe never too soon to be happy never too soon to be holy Jesus loves to receive very young ones see the three things children never too soon to be safe never too soon to be happy never too soon to be holy you're never safe until you're holy and you'll never be happy until you're holy you cannot save yourself but the great Lord Jesus can save you

50:42 ask him to do it he that asketh receive it then trust in Jesus to save you he can do it for he died and rose again that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life come and tell Jesus you've sinned seek forgiveness trust him for it and be sure you are saved then imitate our Lord be at your home what Jesus was at the home in Nazareth yours will be a happy home and your dear father and mother will feel that the dearest wish of their hearts has been granted them I pray you to think of heaven and hell for in one of those places you will live forever meet me in heaven meet me at the mercy seat run upstairs and pray to the great father through Jesus Christ yours very lovingly Pastor C.H. Spurgeon oh dear children meet me at the mercy seat this day meet me at the mercy seat is there any reason why you cannot take time this afternoon on this Lord's day to slip into your bedroom if you share that bedroom with one of your brothers or sisters ask mommy and daddy if you can use their bedroom there upon your knees

52:10 cry to the dear Lord Jesus and say Lord Jesus I'm the sinner the pastor told us about from the word I've sinned in Adam Lord I've got a sinful nature Lord I've sinned by choice and practice Lord I need to be saved and I believe what the pastor told us from your word that you're able to save me that you're willing to save me and Lord I believe now is the best time to be saved Lord Jesus save me give me a new heart make me a child of God oh dear children with all my heart I trust you'll meet me at the mercy seat even today seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he's near and to you adults who are strangers to grace you've got to come the same humbling way you don't come parading into the presence of God and tell him I'm the person you are you go down on your face saying oh God I bring nothing nothing nothing but the rags of my own righteousness the emptiness of my own heart Lord Jesus have mercy upon me may God be pleased to give us the desire and prayer of our hearts that you may be saved why should you as a child repent and believe

Concluding Summary of Reasons

53:40 because you're a sinner you need to be saved because you can be saved because now is the best time to be saved let us pray