Preached October 17, 1999 at Faith Baptist Church
By Pastor Steven E. Mays

Babies

1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Introduction.

Kids are so cute, you gotta love Babies, nothing better than praying with or listening to Babes when they are dealing with Spiritual things.. I love IT!
Psalms 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Matthew 21:16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Mark it down, the judgement of God is on America and we are seeing it manifest in the following way..
Isaiah 3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Let me say babies are a wonderful heritage from God... Psm 110:

When you get a baby around you want to show it off.. We love and are proud of our babies

Let me say no one in this building was born a Christian. No one. You have to get born again, to be a Christian. Take Some Time Right here.

I. Attitudes of Babies

1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
Babies are concerned about one thing.. you know what that is? Their self!

1. They want attention..

and they don't like it anyone else or anything else is getting their attention..
1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying

2. Babies have very sensitive Feelings -

Look at them wrong and they'll cry or Pout..
Psm 119:165 -- Great Peace have they that Love thy Law and Nothing Shall offend them..

Babies will get up and leave when they are being corrected if they can get away with it

"I don't have to listen to this.."

3. They don't like to Share.

Want everything for their self ---
1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
A baby when it's brand new, gets a lot of attention.. Why? Because it needs it. But after a while, unless it's an only child (honestly we'd have to have 10 folks or less around here to keep some folks) it finds out that it doesn't. It's got to grow up. It's got to begin taking responsibility for others in the family.

4. They have have their own schedule --

They want to get up when they plan on getting up.. You mess with that schedule, they may get up but they sure won't be happy about it. Mary and Martha - at the death of Lazarus.. they illustrate this beautifully.
1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife

5. They only want attention from certain ones at Certain times

1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions Vr. 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Babies don't want you to bother their bad habits..

How many have got a child who sucks a finger or a thumb or a toe or something.. They don't want you to mess with that.. You can tolerate that for a while, but eventually it stands in the way of them having respect.

1. Some of you need to quit you cigarette smoking.. you're teaching you kids a bad habit.. you're destroying your testimony.. Grow up.

2. Some of you need to quit using your little foul words... Grow up.

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

II. Abilities of Babies

Can't handle anything more than milk

Babes can only handle milk -- Why? No maturity.. need Teeth to handle anything else..
1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Nothing wrong with Milk by the way, there is a time and a place for it..
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Babies don't teach anybody else..

Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Babies cannot Reproduce..

Somebody said, Preacher I don't know how to win anyone to Christ.. That's fine for a while, but friend their comes a time when you should know how to..

III. Assistance For Babies

Babies require a lot of it..

A. Somebody to change their diapers -- After a while they need to quit messing their britches

B. Somebody to teach them to walk and to carry them at first -- A new convert needs somebody to help them to get to Church.

C. Somebody to burp them. Their digestive system needs some developing.. somebody needs to give them that little pat on the Back.

D. Feed and Grow.. Feed and Grow.. They need to eat often when they are babies

E. Can't help themselves when they are sick -- Do You want a baby getting into the medicine cabinet

F. Help them Understand Some Things.. The world doesn't revolve around you. I stand amazed at how many parents never teach their kids this. When they are babies they bite everyone in the nursery and Momma blames that on the nursery worker.. when they go to school they get in trouble or make bad grades and momma blames that on the teacher.. They get a job and won't work hard and so they get fired, and they blame the boss or the company. They get married and have no backbone or character so the marriage falls apart and they blame it on the other person.

BABIES ARE NEVER TO BLAME.. JUST ASK THEM!

Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

IV. Advice for Babies

Babies need someone to make them grow up..

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
57 TIMES IN THE NT WE READ ABOUT PERFECTING OR BECOMING PERFECT. 2677 katartismov complete furnishing, equipping, IN ESSESNCE TO MATURE..

God didn't call us to stay babies..

AS A PASTOR THIS IS MY JOB.. EPH. 4:11-13

Ephesians 4: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

You can't send Babies out to War..

God wants Soldiers..

Let me say this again, No one in this building was born a Christian. No one. You have to get born again, to be a Christian. You are not a baby Christian by birth.. You are baby Christian by new birth..





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