V RaptureChrist Newsletter
January 1, 2013

Matthew 18:1-14
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Yeshua, saying,  Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?  2 And Yeshua called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them,  3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me.  66 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to fall into a trap, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 "Woe to the world because of its traps or snares. For it is inevitable that traps or snares come; but woe to that man through whom the trap or snare comes! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.  9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.  10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.  11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.  12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray?  13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.  14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

There is real horror in causing sin.  Anyone who causes a Christian who manifests this childlike attitude to sin, or who places anything in his way to impede his faithfulness, would be better off being weighted down and thrown to his death into the sea.  It would be better for him to die before committing such sin.   The word "converted" means to change or turn. Specifically, it means to change from one's way of life or set of beliefs to another.  Sometimes it means "regeneration" - beginning to live a new spiritual life.  Jesus tells the disciples that their attitudes of ambition are wrong, and they must change or have no part in His Kingdom. To do this, they must be like small or young children, who, for the most part, lack arrogance and pride.  Children are characteristically humble and teachable.

Christ regards injuring or causing a weak Christian to sin as a very serious offence. We are all human, so offences will happen, but our Savior pronounces woe on the person who offends and causes others to sin.  Anyone who leads others into sin bears great guilt. Only a deep-seated wickedness attempts to confuse and destroy another's potential.  A Christian's potential is so fabulous that he must do whatever he can to ensure it.  No matter how important they are to us, we must abandon any worldly attachments, friendships, and employments that will lead us into sin, or we will receive eternal judgment.  Of course, Jesus' illustrations of cutting off a limb or plucking out an eye are not literal, but He wants us to understand the stakes.  It is far better to attain to eternal life without enjoying the pleasures of sin, than to enjoy them here in this life and be lost.  Thus, Yeshua emphasizes that we must remove temptation and avoid sin at all costs.

First, God's angels watch over and aid His followers.  Some of the universe's highest and noblest beings, who enjoy the favor and fellowship of God, minister to even the most obscure Christians!  They are that precious to God. 

Second, Christ Himself came to save the weak.  He came in search of the weak and base that were lost, found them, and redeemed them, according to God's great purpose.  They may be obscure and little in the eyes of the world, but they cannot be objects of contempt if Christ sought them and died to save them.  To demonstrate further the reason why we should not despise weaker Christians, Yeshua illustrates the joy one feels when a lost possession is found.  A shepherd rejoices over the recovery of one of his flock that had wandered away more than over all that stayed with him.  Similarly, God rejoices when a person who has gone astray from His truth turns back to His way of life.  In like manner, we rejoice most in our health when we recover from a serious disease. We rejoice more over a child rescued from danger than over those who were never at risk. We rejoice more when property is saved from fire or flood than when all was well and we took it for granted.  Certainly, God's desires all to have salvation according to His joyful plan. He takes the most joy, however, from those who seem to defy the odds to grow and overcome more than others who are more naturally strong.  The strong must "bear with" the weak, Romans 15:1, and together they will glorify God!

The Kingdom of Heaven is offered to those who are converted (change their ways to God's ways, have a humble heart as little children, and follow the commands of Yeshua/Jesus.)

Matthew 18:1-4:　
1Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2And Yeshua called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them,

4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.　

Whenever I testify for Jesus/Yeshua, I reiterate that in the kingdom of heaven people will be surrounded by people like themselves. Let us look at what the Bible says.

Luke 13:28
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

I don't tell people that they are going to heaven or hell. Instead I tell them, "you are going to a place with people just like you." This message is always received with joy by those that have a good heart, but those that are evil reply with obscene language. Why? Is it that the thought of being surrounded by evil people like themselves scares them? I think so; I think that all people, deep inside, know what they are, and know where they are going. Evil people fear the consequences of their actions, whereas good people jump for joy at the thought of being surrounded by more good people.

Matthew 12:35
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

Therefore, not only we need to change and become as little children, but we need to beware of not offending other Christians. What did Jesus mean by "woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" or what did He mean by "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."

We have to realize that we Christians are a "work in progress;" the same as little children have to progress in their learning of the world and how to interact with other human beings, we Christians have to learn how to interact with other Christians. That attitude of superiority and self-sufficiency that many Christian leaders have towards their flock and towards other denominations belonging to the Christian faith needs to change. We are all trying to do the work of God. Look at the example Jesus gives us. 

Luke 9:49-50
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he follows not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

This shows that we should not look down on other Christians just because they do not belong to our organization. How many churches have I visited that tell their fellow parishioners that they are the true church and all other denominations are wrong and are going to hell? This is unacceptable; this is not the way that Jesus told us to treat other Christians. That is what Jesus referred to when He said:

Matthew 18
10Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray?
13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

It is not the will of the Father that any one that calls on the name of the Lord Yeshua should perish. He wants to save all the people that call upon His name. So why are so many denominations falling into this trend of rejecting every other Christian that does not belong to "their" congregation? That happens because there is no love in their hearts. They just want a huge following to pump up their egos and their wallets. This is not a Christian attitude. Remember, we must be humble as little children.

Therefore, I am calling on all Christians in whatever church they are a part of, to humble themselves and repent of this sin.　　
We do not want to become a stumbling block to other Christians that are just beginning to walk on the narrow path, are we?　

Matthew 18:6-7
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to fall into a trap, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 "Woe to the world because of its traps or snares. For it is inevitable that traps or snares come; but woe to that man through whom the trap or snare comes!