This sermon emphasizes the importance of childlike faith and obedience, drawing parallels between the story of children coming to Jesus and the need for humility and obedience in our relationship with God. It highlights the purity and trust found in children, contrasting it with the corruption and pride that can develop as we grow older. The message stresses the significance of surrendering to Jesus, seeking forgiveness, and allowing Him to transform our hearts, leading to a new life in Him.

I first want to begin, little children, with a verse, especially for you, that's in Mark's gospel in chapter 10, if you have a bible you can look at it, if you don't have one just listen to me, Mark chapter 10 and verse 13, and we see here how mothers brought little children to Jesus. And so they just wanted Jesus to touch them. And it says here the disciples rebuked the mother saying, oh take away the children from here. And I can imagine the disciples saying, Jesus is a very important man, he doesn't have time for little children. Now where did the disciples learn that? Because in those days there were no churches, there were synagogues. This is before the Christian faith started. The Jewish people had synagogues. And the leaders of the synagogues were people called Pharisees. They were old people. And if anybody brought children to them, Pharisees said go away, we have no time for children. The disciples had seen for many, many years these Pharisees driving away children. So they got the idea that holy people don't have time for children. So when Jesus came, he was the holiest of all. So when they brought children they said, what Jesus can't have time for children. And they got so surprised with what Jesus said. Jesus said, permit the children to come to me. It says Jesus was angry with them. He was angry with the disciples for driving away the children. And he said, let the children come to me, because the kingdom of God belongs to little children. Why did Jesus say that the kingdom of God belongs to little children? Because the smaller you are, the less you have been corrupted by this world. This world is a very dirty place in God's eyes. And the purest person in this world is a little baby. And as soon as that baby starts growing up, it gets corrupted by the filth and the dirt in this world. And heaven is a place where there is absolute purity. So Jesus said, the closest to heaven that you can see on this earth is a little baby. All of you children are not little babies. You have already been spoiled by the world. Remember what Jesus said. These were not teenage children who came to Jesus. These were small children. Some babies in arms. And Jesus said that if you want to receive the kingdom of God, verse 15, you have to receive it like a child. What does that mean? See, today a lot of people think you have to be very clever to enter into God's kingdom. There are so many Bible schools and colleges where you study so much about the Bible. That's okay, but people think that you have to study all that to get into God's kingdom. That's because we think it's a matter of the head. See, what you children know in your mind is much less than the older people here. So if you have to understand a lot of things in your head before you go into God's kingdom, then you have to wait until you come to my age, 76. But you don't have to know things in your head to go into God's kingdom. The Bible says that God looks at the heart, not at the head. Not how much you have studied, not how good marks you get in school, but how good your heart is. And the heart becomes corrupt very quickly. The mind you can keep on filling with knowledge and the older you are, the older you are, you learn more and more and more and more. In the world, they don't care for little children. I mean, businessmen in their shops can't use little children. Or college professors, they can't be little children. So any big job in the world, you can't give it to little children. But heaven is the opposite of this world. In heaven, the most important people are those who got a heart like little children. Why did Jesus say the kingdom of God can be received only if you come like a child? One meaning is this, that you must value your heart more than your head. Because when you look at a little baby, how much does that baby understand? It can't even read ABCD. It does not know 2 plus 2. Its mind has got zero knowledge. You see little babies, even after they grow up, they take mud and put it in their mouth. In their mind, they are so foolish, they don't even know the difference between mud and food. They will even play with a snake, thinking it's okay. What do they know in their mind? Very little. Almost nothing. But Jesus said their heart is the purest heart in the whole world. Because if you look at a little baby, do you know that that baby has got no bitterness against anybody in the world? You know, you children, even if you are 8 or 9 years old, or many of you are more than 8 or 9 years old, you have already fought with other children. And there are some children you don't like. You are angry with some people. And you hate some people. And you won't talk to some children. You see, at such a small age, you have got so much evil in your heart. And as you grow older, it becomes more like that. Older people sit and talk evil about others. Their heart is filthy. They hate people. Hatred is something God hates. And the more you hate others, the more you become like the devil. And little children grow up, they fight, they hate, they try to become friends with one and push the others away. But a little baby lying in the cot doesn't do all that. It doesn't get angry with you. Supposing you are a naughty boy and go and pinch that baby and make it pain. Tomorrow you go and see that baby, that baby will smile at you. He doesn't even remember that you pinched him yesterday and made him pain. But you go and pinch an older person, he will remember it for many, many years. That's why little children are what heaven is like. And as we grow older, we become worse and worse and worse. That's how it is. Until we say, what hope is there for me now? And Jesus says, you can be born again. Do you know that verse in John chapter 3? John's gospel chapter 3. There was an old man who came to see Jesus. He was not just an old man, he was a bishop. That means he was like a chief priest and pastor. He was Nicodemus, his name. Maybe 60 years old. And you know I told you, Nicodemus when he was born as a baby, his heart was good. But by the time he is 60 years old, his heart is filthy. And don't think that the heart becomes clean just because you become a bishop or a priest or a pastor. It's filthy. Whether you are a bishop or a priest or an atheist, the heart is filthy. The only thing religious people cover it up nicely so that people don't see what's inside. So here was a man whose heart was filthy for 60 years he lived in the world. But he would pray, read the bible and preach all that in the synagogue. But when he came to Jesus, the very first thing that Jesus said to him, see he tried to praise Jesus and say, oh you are a teacher come from God because you do so many miracles. Verse 2. And Jesus said, I don't want to hear all that. Don't try to praise me, I am not impressed with all that. You Nicodemus, you are 60 years old, you need to become like a little child again. Imagine Jesus told a 60 year old church leader, synagogue leader, you must become like a little child again. You must be born once again. What does that mean? It means you got to become like that child you were 60 years ago when you were born into the world. That's what he said in Mark 10 also, you got to become like a child to enter God's kingdom. So Nicodemus couldn't understand that. He said, how can an old man like me go into my mother's womb a second time and be born again? Verse 4. And Jesus said, it's not that. If you are born again from your mother's womb, even 25 times, you cannot go to heaven. Born again does not mean you go inside your mother's womb again. But in our heart, we have to be born like a little child. And that is how we enter into God's kingdom. That doesn't matter whether you are 10 years old or 100 years old. Jesus said, if you don't have that birth in your heart, you cannot enter God's kingdom. That means you got to once again become like a little child. So it's not by getting some water sprinkled on your head in a church that you become a child of God. It's not by going to church every Sunday that you become a child of God. Something has to happen inside your heart where a new, like a little baby is born in your heart. You become a new person inside. Outside you are still the same. But inside, something changes. That's called a change of nature. And only God can do that. You cannot change yourself. We can change ourselves on the outside. We can behave a little better. And our parents can teach us to say thank you. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Good manners, like say please can I do this. See, that is all on the outside. There is a difference between the outside and the inside. Outside is what people see of us. Inside is what God sees. So I want to show you another verse. In the Old Testament, 1 Samuel chapter 16. This is a beautiful story in 1 Samuel chapter 16. Are you children listening? I'm going to ask you a question. So you better listen. 1 Samuel 16. There was a prophet called Samuel. God told him to go to the house of a man called Jesse and make one of his children the new king of Israel. So Samuel went to the house of Jesse. And Jesse brought all his sons to him. And he said, which of these is going to be the king? And he said, which of these sons is going to be the king? 1 Samuel 16 verse 6. First comes the first smart boy. And Samuel looked at him, smart, young, good looking young man. And said, surely this is the king. Because he looked so smart. He looked so clever. And the Lord said to Samuel, no. Verse 7. Don't look at his face. Don't look at his height. Don't see how smart he is on the outside. God has rejected him. Does God reject smart, clever, good looking young people? He did it here. Because he gave a reason. Listen to this. This is very important for all of you children to understand. This is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament. You children, you must remember this. Listen to this. God does not see like man sees. God does not see like man sees. Can you repeat that in Dutch? Children, can you say it with him? God does not see as man sees. Can you say it? Say it together with him. Let's repeat it. God does not see you like your parents see you. God does not see you like other people see you. They only see you on the outside. You're very good looking. You're very clever. God says, I don't care for all that. Because, the reason, man looks in the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. So, that's the second thing I want you to repeat. Say it after him in Dutch. One by one. Man looks at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart. Have you understood that? And if you've got a little better memory, 1 Samuel 16 verse 7. Never forget this. All your life. Man looks on the outside. God looks on the inside. God doesn't care whether you're short or tall. He doesn't care whether you're thin or muscular. He doesn't care whether you came first in your class or last in your class. Because, all that is a matter of cleverness. In the world, they appreciate cleverness. God doesn't care for it. You know, when Jesus chose his disciples, he didn't go to the big universities and choose his disciples. He chose fishermen, who never went even beyond a certain class in school. You've heard of Simon Peter. All the other scholars in Israel called him an uneducated man. Maybe he studied only up to 5th or 6th grade. Why did Jesus choose such people? Because clever people usually are very proud. And God reveals his truth to humble people. So, what is he looking for in the heart? A clean heart. And a baby has the best of that. No bitterness. No pride. Do you think when a little baby, 2 months old, is lying in a cradle, what do you think that baby is thinking in his head? Does he think, oh, I'm so good looking. I'm so smart. Everybody's looking at me. There's no such thought in it. It doesn't even value money. If you put a 50 euro bill in a baby's hand, it doesn't hold on to it. It just throws it away. It doesn't value the things on earth. It has got purity in its heart. We have to learn something from babies. I spent many, many hours meditating on babies. Because I want to enter God's kingdom. And I want to be useful in God's kingdom. And I learned many things. Never have a grudge against anybody in the world. See, I told you, your children are only 12, 13, but already you have some bitterness against somebody. You are angry with your parents for something. Your heart has already become dirty. You need to be born again. You need to get a new heart. That's one of the wonderful things Jesus does. I got a new heart only when I was 19 and a half years old. And even after that, I didn't always keep it clean. After getting a clean heart, I again got it dirty. And I had to keep going to Jesus and say, Lord Jesus, please forgive me and clean my heart again. And now I do that every day. Just like we go and take a shower every day. Why do we take a shower every day? Not because we are putting dirt on our body. Even if you don't put any dirt on your body. If you just live in this world, there is so much dust and filth in the air. And so much of perspiration that comes out of our body, that even if you do nothing, your body gets dirty. So we need a shower. That teaches us just to live in this world is enough to make you dirty. You don't have to do any dirty work. You just become dirty. Because the world is a dirty place. So your parents tell you, go and take a shower. That's what we need in our heart also. What do you do when you go and take a shower? I think all of you use some soap. Maybe some liquid soap. And rub it all over so that every dirt is washed away. And your parents probably told you, you must wash behind your ears, because sometimes we forget to wash behind our ears. There are some parts, you got to be very careful, because that's where dirt accumulates. Why are we so careful? Because you know, if dirt will accumulate there or somewhere, after some time you can get a cut there. You can get a cut, an injury. So you must always wash carefully every part of your body. In the same way, our heart is also getting dirty every day. You may say, I don't feel it. You can live a whole day and say, I don't feel dirty. But your body is dirty. You don't feel it, but it's dirty. So you may say, I don't feel that my heart is dirty. But it is dirty. That's why you have to go to Jesus every day. I do that. I've known Jesus as my friend for 57 years. And He's the best friend you can have. So how can we be born again? I'll show you a verse. John chapter 1. See, this is the first step in the Christian life. And your children can do it also. Whatever your age, 6 years old or 60 years old like Nicodemus, you must be born again. You have to have another birth. You have to become a child of God. How to become a child of God? It's a beautiful verse here. It talks about Jesus. He came into the world. A lot of people didn't want Him. But read John chapter 1 verse 12. John 1 verse 12. As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. To whom did Jesus give the right to become children of God? In other words, how did they become born again? We are born the first time we are children of your parents. When you are born again, you become a child of God. First time you were born, you were born with your body came out of your mother's womb. Born again is a change of nature inside your heart, where this bad nature God takes it away and replaces it with a new nature. That is called being born again. So how to do that? We can't do it. Jesus has to do something in us. But He will not force His way. What does it say? As many as received Him, He made them children of God. So how to be a child of God? You have to receive Jesus Christ into your heart. And we can receive Him because He is living. You all know the story of how He came to earth and He died on the cross. You all know the story of how He came to earth and He died on the cross. And the world thought this is the end of Him. They buried Him. And the most wonderful truth in the Bible about our salvation is that Jesus came out from the grave. Three days after He died, He came out of the grave and He lived on earth for 40 days after that. And then while His disciples were watching Him, He went up. Slowly He went up to heaven. And He said, I am going to come back. And when I come back, just like I went up, one day He will come back. You know what we are all waiting for? One of these days, listen to me, you will hear a loud trumpet. I am waiting for that. You will hear a loud trumpet. Even if you are asleep, you will hear it. In the heavens and in the clouds, with a shout of angels, Jesus will come back. And everybody will see Him. And that will be the day when He will gather His people to Himself. And our bodies will be changed. We will get a body which can never become sick. I won't wear glasses anymore. I will have black hair on my head. You won't even recognize me. We are all going to be young and healthy. You children will suddenly become like a 33 year old young man or woman. And all the old fathers and grandfathers will also become like 33 year old young men and women. It will happen in a moment. Those who are buried in the ground, who died, grandfathers, great grandmothers, all. If they had received Jesus into their heart before they died, not everybody. Only those who received Jesus into their heart and died. When Jesus comes with the trumpet and the shout of the angels, the tombstones will burst open. And those dead bones which have become dust, suddenly flesh will come over them. And they will be all like 33 year old young men and women. And they will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. And that is to welcome Him to the circle. Just like if your daddy has gone away for a long time to another country. And he is coming back after one year. And you don't know when he is coming. All the children will run out of the house and welcome him on the road. And say, come, welcome home daddy. And bring him home. That is what we are going to do. When Jesus comes back, those who died and received Christ, and those who are living and received Christ, suddenly our bodies will be changed. And we will say, welcome home Lord Jesus. And we will come down with him. And Jesus will reign on the earth as a king. Do you want to be ready for that? Not everybody will be ready. Many people will be judged in that day. Because they were not born again. It is the most important thing. It is not to know the Bible. It is good to know the Bible, but that is not most important. Many people in my country, in India, cannot read or write. We have many churches in India. The little children go to school and they can read and write. But some of the older ladies, they cannot read one word. They have never been to school. They don't know ABCD. But they are born again. They cannot read the Bible, but they can hear and understand. In their younger days, they worshipped idols. They belonged to some other religion. But when they heard the gospel, that Jesus died for their sins, and sometimes Jesus does a miracle in their home, healing their sicknesses, and they say, boy, Jesus is living. Then they say, wow, this Jesus is living. And they see that there is power in the name of Jesus. And they believe in Jesus Christ. When they see the sick healed, when they see the demon possessed person cast out, the demon cast out, just like you read in the Bible. Then they realize, hey, it is not only in the Bible, Jesus is living even today. Because the things he did in the Bible, he is doing today. And they believe in Jesus. And many of them cannot read or write, but they can hear. And now, because of technology, you can have the whole Bible on your smartphone. So that is a wonderful thing for these people who cannot read or write. We have people who listen to the Bible on the phone every day. Because they cannot read or write. Wonderful. They have a love to know what God's word says. You children are so lucky that you can read and write. You can read. You must read the Bible every day. Even if you cannot understand much of it, just read a little bit. Read the gospels. If you have a picture Bible, you can read the Old Testament stories. Some of them are very interesting. So once you ask Jesus to come into your heart, you are born again. And you become a child of God. And then you can start talking to Jesus every day. That is very, very important. You know how little babies, when they are born initially, they don't know how to talk? But what a wonderful day it is when the baby can say, mama or papa. And there is a close relationship between that baby and his mother and father. That is how all of you were and that is how we were. And that is how Jesus wants to be with you. God wants to be your father. You can call him papa, daddy. And you can talk to him everything. You can be closer to God as your father than even to your earthly parents. And you know, reading God's word is like eating food. If you don't eat food, you won't be strong. That's why if you read God's word, you will be strong. And if you know something about the Bible, you know the Bible speaks about a devil. I have 15 grandchildren. Lovely children. The oldest is about 10 years old. I love talking to my little grandchildren. One day, one of my grandchildren, the oldest of them, he was about 8 years old, and he had read this picture Bible. And he read there about Jesus and about the devil and all that. So, he asked me one day, he says, grandpa, why does God allow the devil to exist? Why doesn't God kill him? Because he is so bad. I said, that's a very good question. Even some older people don't know the reason for that. I said, I'll use an example. If you only eat food, that's good, but you won't be strong. You need something more than food for your body to be strong. You have to do some exercise. That's why you play games. You run, or do something where your muscles are being pushed against something. See, when you run, your foot muscles are being pressed, and that's why they become strong. Or, when you throw a ball or hit a bat, you're exercising your muscles and become strong. If you only eat, and sleep, and eat, and sleep, and eat, and sleep, you'll be fat. There's a lot of difference between being fat and strong. And spiritually, it's the same. This is what I told my little boy. Read the Bible, that's like eating food. Then you need some exercise. You must face pressure. Somebody must resist you, and you must push against them. So, if the devil pushes against us, and we push back against him, we become strong inwardly. So, I said, that's why God has allowed the devil to exist. To come and push against you, not to make you fall down. God will be with you to push back against Satan. And what will happen? Your heart will become strong. And just like a little baby grows up as a strong boy or girl, we can grow up to become so strong inwardly, that all the problems in the world we can overcome. I've known Jesus as my friend for 57 years. And you can imagine, in my life, there must have been so many problems I faced in my life. I want to tell you the truth. Every single problem, Jesus has been with me. He has helped me to overcome them. I couldn't do it on my own, but he helped me. Satan has come against me, and I resist him, and I become strong. That's how I can tell you something this morning. If I had not fought against Satan for 57 years, I would have nothing to tell you this morning. So, that's why God allows Satan to tempt you. What does Satan tempt you, first of all, to do? Do you know what it is? Children, are you listening? What's the answer? What is the first thing Satan tells you to do? It is to disobey your parents. And you can start disobeying even when you are one year old. Do you think a one-year-old understands when the parent says, no, don't do that? Yes. I had a one-year-old grandchild, and I saw that grandchild crawling up near the staircase. And the father said, no. Why? Because it's not strong enough to climb, it will fall down. Only one year old. The father said, no. It didn't go. It turned around. The next day, I saw that child going again near the staircase, and looking around to see. Why? Because it knows it should not go. How did it know that? It remembered, yesterday daddy told me, no, it can't speak yet. Before it learned to speak, it learned how to disobey daddy. And to do it secretly, to see if daddy is watching. That is the evil nature of us. To disobey parents is the first temptation the devil brings to you. Do you know God gave older people ten commandments? Do you know how many commandments he gave little children? One. Ephesians chapter 6. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Honor your father and mother. Because that is the first commandment God gave, which has a promise attached to it. The other commandments, there is no promise. Don't kill, don't steal, there is no promise attached to it. What is the promise? Two things. Verse 3, it will go well with you, you will live long on the earth. So children, if you want it to go well with you in your life, before you start obeying God, obey your daddy and mommy. They are not telling you things to harm you. Your parents are telling you things to protect you from evil. Very, very important. Do you want it to go well with you? Obey your parents. And I want to say this to parents. Do you want it to go well with your children? Don't just teach them to eat with a fork and a spoon. That is good. Teach them how to say please and sorry and thank you. Okay. But more than anything else, teach them to respect you. Teach them always to speak respectfully to you. My oldest son is 46 years old. He won't speak disrespectfully to me, even now. Because my wife and I taught them from childhood, speak respectfully to your parents. Not only to parents. We taught them to speak respectfully to every older person. Even if it's a poor beggar on the street. Speak respectfully. I'll tell you why I taught them that. Because I want it to go well with them. And it has gone well with all my four sons. That's God doing it, because God says it will go well with you if you honor your father and mother. Parents, in the world today, most young people are growing up without learning how to speak respectfully to older people. It's your job to make sure your children don't grow up like that. Don't you want it to go well with your children as they grow up? My children left home to go to college when they were 18 years old. I had them at home only for 18 years. After that, they're out in the world. And if I have not taught them the values of God's word in those 18 years, I've lost them forever. So, it's very important to use every one of those days of those 18 years to teach them God's word. When we sat around the table for dinner, I would ask them questions. Not about mathematics and science. There's another time for that. But about God's word. I would ask them, because I had given them a little picture story book of the Bible to read. And I would ask them little questions. Who was Jesus' mother? Mary. What was her husband's name? Then I would go to little more difficult questions. Who was Moses' mother? That even some older people don't know. And they would say, okay, I won't ask you today. Tomorrow I'm going to ask you this question. So, they go quickly to their Bible and the next day they answer. And after some time, they tried to catch me. Okay, daddy, we want to ask you a question. Who was the general of David's army? I said, Joab. I got that right. But the next one was difficult. How was Joab related to David? I said, boy, I don't know that one. I said, daddy, we'll tell you. Joab was David's sister's son. Really? I said, we'll show you. So, they were so happy they caught their dad not knowing something. That they got more interested in reading the Bible. I was very happy they caught me. Because then they began to ask me so many other things. Another day, one of my children told me, dad, do you know the story of how when Korah rebelled against Moses, the whole earth opened up and they all got buried into hell? I said, yes, I know that story. They asked me, what happened to Korah's sons? I said, they got swallowed up. And they said, no, daddy, you're wrong. I said, it says in Numbers 16 that the earth opened up. And they said, dad, but you got to read also Numbers 26. I said, what does it say in Numbers 26? It says in Numbers 26 verse 11, the sons of Korah did not die. They walked away at the last minute and stood with Moses. And they wrote Psalm 46 and some other Psalms. Or their descendants wrote it. I learned things from my children. Encourage your children to study the Bible. And they will grow up to preach the word of God one day. My four sons are all preaching God's word. That's what I wanted. I used to pray, Lord, these little children, they must grow up to be my brothers in Christ. I was traveling a lot. So really, my children were brought up by my wife. People ask me, how did you bring up your children? I said, go and ask my wife. Timothy's mother put faith into her son's heart. By the time he was 20 years old, he became fit to be a co-worker of Paul. That's for parents. Now for the children again. What is the most important commandment for you? Obey your father and mother. Why is that important? Because that will protect you from many dangers. Okay, now I'm going to tell you a story. Are you going to listen? Have you seen little mice? We have a lot of them in India. There was a family of mice that lived under a tree. And they lived near a house. And the mother mouse told the little mice, don't ever go to that house. Because they've got a rat trap. Have you seen a rat trap? It's a little box with a spring. I don't know how you have it here. This is how we have it in India. It's a little box with some bars so that you can see inside. It's a wooden box. And there's a little spring there. And at the end of the spring you put a little food. Cheese or something like that which mice like. So as soon as the mouse comes and eats that cheese, the spring will be released and the door will shut. And the mouse is trapped inside. And when you hear the sound, you're going, oh, the mouse is gone. Then you take it in. And there are different things that people do with it. I think in some countries they eat it. But we don't eat it in India. And some kind people will take it in their car to a forest and release it there. But most people in India don't have cars. So they put it in a bucket of water and kill it. So that it doesn't come back again. So the mother mouse told these little mice, don't go to that house. They've got a rat trap. But like some of you children, this mouse decided to disobey. So one day when the mother and daddy were not watching, this little mouse went into the house, came there, and there was a man there. And he smiled at the mouse. And the mouse came running back to the house and said, mommy, that's not a bad man. He's a very nice man. He saw me and he smiled at me. Oh, the mommy said, be careful. They smile at you, but they want to catch you. So the next day, when the mommy was not watching, the mouse again went to the house. And this time the man was not there. There was this little box with food inside. And the mouse thought, oh, this kind man has put some food for me today. And he's made a little room for me to go inside and eat food. So it went inside this nice piece of cheese there. Those mice couldn't get cheese where they were staying. It went inside and bit the cheese. And bang, the door shut behind it, of that rat trap. Oh, this man does not want me to be disturbed. So he shut the door so I can eat peacefully. That's such a nice man. He wants me to eat peacefully without being disturbed. And after some time, the man came. And he looked at the mouse and smiled at it. And the mouse smiled back. So what a nice man he is. And the man picked up this rat trap and went through the rooms. And the mouse said, what a nice man, he's showing me the whole house now. And then he took him outside. And there was a bucket of water. And the mouse thought he's going to bathe him. Dead. Dead. What's the lesson you learn from that story? When your mommy and daddy tell you something, be careful of those people. Be careful about those bad friends in school. Be careful about Satan. Be careful about people who lead you astray from God's word. They may give you something that looks so nice and sweet. You know, in the world today they give bad drugs to young children. And it tastes very nice. Because they mix it up with sugar and all that. And it traps young children and their lives are destroyed. So your parents will tell you, don't ever take even a sweet or a candy from strangers. See, in India there are so many poor children that are kidnapped by people. That means one of them will come to the school and say to the child, your daddy is waiting over there. He's asked me to come and take you there. And we have to tell our children, never, never go with a stranger. Because little children are simple. They think these are nice people. And we have to tell our children, don't eat these sweets and candies that people give you. Remember the story of the mousetrap. That there are evil people in the world. And plenty of them today. Who want to take you away from Jesus. Spoil your life. Give you some bad habit where your mind will be destroyed, your body will be destroyed. And as you grow up, boys and girls, your mommy and daddy will say, be careful, don't get too close to, if you're a boy, don't get too close to a girl. Then your parents will say, be careful, don't get too close to a girl or a boy. You know, when you're 13 or 14 years old, you're attracted to the opposite sex. That's natural. But you have to be careful. Because there are many dangers that you don't understand when you're 13 or 14 years old. That's why your parents are there to protect you. And you must not do what all the other children do in school. They get so friendly, they go out together and they fall into sin. And that poor innocent girl has ruined her whole life. In five minutes. Her whole life. Remember the story of the mouse trap. When your mommy, daddy warn you against something, it is for your good. What happened to that mouse? That little mouse thought, I'm cleverer than mommy. And some of you think, you're cleverer than mommy and daddy. Oh, they're unnecessarily telling me, don't go out with that person, don't go out with this person. You tell your mommy, daddy, no, he's a nice person. She's a nice girl. But your mommy and daddy know better. That mouse looked at that man and thought, he's a nice man. A lot of people who look very nice, they've got bad intentions towards you. So, let's take the example of Jesus. We begin with seeing Jesus on the cross. That's how all of you children must begin your Christian life. Jesus hanging on the cross, nailed, beaten, crown of thorns. He never did one wrong thing in his life. Why was he hanging there? For the wrong things you did in your life. For the wrong things I did in my life. He took the punishment, so that I need never take that punishment. That's why he died. And he rose again. And because he's living today, I can receive him into my life. I can ask Jesus, come in. And his Holy Spirit will come in. And one of the things I had a doubt in my life. I don't know whether you have this problem. Many times in a meeting, I would say, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Nothing happened. I don't know, has he come or not? So, next meeting, again I would say, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Nothing. It went on like that in my life for many, many years. I don't know, some of you may be like that. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. And you're not sure whether he's come. Then one day, I read a verse in the Bible. The promise of Jesus Christ. Do you remember the first verse I told you? 1 Samuel 16, verse 7. Good. What's that? God does not see as man sees. Man looks on the outside, God looks in the heart. Here is a second verse you can remember. John chapter 6. If you've got a Bible, just turn there. John chapter 6. God gave me, not God gave me, I read this verse 57 years ago. And it changed my life. That's why I give it to other people. It's a wonderful promise. John 6, 37. Jesus says, in the middle of that verse, the one who comes to me, I will never cast out. Jesus says, the one who comes to me, I will never cast out. You come to Jesus, he will not reject you. Even if you're the worst sinner in the world. Let me tell you a story. There was a little boy, who grew up to be a very, very bad boy. He got friendly with evil people. And he became a murderer. He killed people. He went around with a dagger and killed people. And he went steal from people's houses. He killed so many people and stole from so many people. And finally, the police caught him. And charged him in the court with all these crimes he had committed. And the judge said, putting him in prison is not good enough. He must be killed. And this happened nearly 2000 years ago. In the days of the Romans. And the Romans said, the only way to kill this murderer is to crucify him. So they took him out to crucify him, on the same day that they took Jesus out to be crucified. And there was another thief also like that. So when Jesus was put on the cross, they crucified these other two thieves and murderers on either side. Very, very bad people. Very, very bad people. But one of those murderers, he looked at Jesus and said, I'm guilty. Whenever you come into your kingdom Lord, please remember me. He recognized Jesus as King of Heaven. He said, please remember me. He didn't say, I'm a good man. He said, I'm guilty. That means, I'm wrong. What these people are killing me, I deserve it. Do you know what Jesus told him? Do you know what Jesus told him? Today, you will be with me in paradise. So Jesus died. A couple of hours later, that man also died. Their body was on the cross. But their soul had left. And immediately, in paradise, in heaven, Jesus and that man were walking together. He didn't take a long time. He just received Jesus as his Lord. And Jesus said, as many as come to me, I will never cast out. That was the first person who walked with Jesus in heaven. Was he a good man? Very bad man. Even bad people. If they come to Jesus, he will accept them. And it doesn't matter whether you are good or bad. If you come to Jesus, he will accept you. And he will forgive you, clean you, and make you a good person. So that's where we begin. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. John 6, 37. I will never reject anyone who comes to me. So you must believe that he has accepted you. Then what is the next thing you must do? Now you must look at Jesus as a little baby. How he grew up. Let me show you in Luke's gospel, chapter 2. Luke chapter 2. When Jesus was a little child, in verse 40, he continued to grow and became strong. And he increased in wisdom. The grace of God was upon him. So, as a little child, God's blessing was upon him. And you can have God's blessing upon you. And then, by the time he was 12 years old, he knew so much of the Bible. He didn't have a Bible at home. In those days, nobody had a Bible at home. How did he learn the Bible? I think from the age of five, he would go to the synagogue every day. And the pastor there was called a rabbi. He said, Rabbi, can you please read something from the Bible for me? And the rabbi was so happy. This five year old child wants to know the Bible. And he would read a little bit. He would go back home. Next day, after he finished school, Jesus would again come. Rabbi, can you read the next chapter for me? For seven years, he went like that every day to the synagogue. And by the time he was 12 years old, he knew the whole Old Testament. And then, even though he knew so much, he knew more than his mother. He knew more than Joseph, his earthly father. But we read, when he went to their house in Nazareth, this is a very important verse for children to remember. Luke chapter 2, verse 51. Jesus went down with Joseph and Mary, his parents, to Nazareth. And he continued in subjection to them. Jesus, 12 years old, he listened to his mother and father. Not like that mouse. He listened. And how did God bless him because he listened? Listen to this, verse 52. Jesus kept on increasing in wisdom and kept on increasing in favor with God. God's blessing was upon his life because he obeyed his earthly father and mother. When he was 12 years old, when he was 13 years old, 14, 15, 16, he obeyed his father and mother. And when he was 18 and 19, when people become 17, 18, 19, they think they know more than their parents. Don't some of you think you know more than your parents? When they become 17, 18, they think, oh, these parents are all old-fashioned, they don't know. And the 17, 18 year old becomes foolish, they don't listen to their parents, they become like that mouse. And that's the age the devil catches them. 16, 17, 18, 19, very dangerous ages. They think they know better than their father and mother. And like that little mouse, the devil catches them. But Jesus listened. 20, 25, do 25 year old young people listen to their parents? Jesus listened. And he kept on increasing in wisdom and the blessing of God. And when he was 30 years old, God said, I have watched you, Jesus, all these 30 years. You have obeyed your earthly parents. I am very pleased with you. And God anointed him with the mightiest ministry anybody has ever had on this earth. Why was God pleased with him? Because he obeyed his parents all those 30 years. Some of you, when you are 16 and 17, you think you know so much. Humble yourself. Never speak evil about your parents. If you see something wrong in your parents, don't talk about it. Let it be buried in your mind. Honor your parents. Don't speak evil of them. God will honor you. Jesus is coming back soon. We must be ready for his coming. Thank you, children. You have really listened patiently for more than one hour. You are wonderful children. I hope you will follow Jesus all your life. I am so happy that I gave my life to Jesus when I was 19. I have only one regret. I wish I had given my life to Jesus when I was 5. Why did I waste 19 years? Anyway, thank God I didn't wait until I was 40 or 50. Before I got married, before I went around with boyfriends or girlfriends or any such thing, Jesus came in and he became my friend. It is a wonderful thing to have Jesus as your friend, because I could talk to him all the time. If I lost something, Lord, please help me. He will help you all the time. When you go to school examinations, Lord Jesus, please help me to do well. God will help you in every situation in your life. We are going to pray now. Children, please close your eyes and bow your heads. We close our eyes so that we are not distracted. We bow our heads because we respect God. I want you to join with me in this prayer. Say it silently in your heart. Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I have done so many wrong things, but I believe you died for all my sins. You rose again. You are living today. I want to give up all my bad life. Lord Jesus, come into my heart now. You said if anyone comes to me, you will not reject him. I believe right now that you have accepted me. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me. Thank you for forgiving my sin. Please cleanse all my sin in your precious blood. Make me a new person today. I will be born again today and become a child of God. Now, Lord, please give me your power so that I can obey my parents and respect older people and read the Bible and grow spiritually. I want to be useful for you in the future. I want to be an example to my younger brothers and sisters. I want to be an example in my school to the other children. Help me, Lord. I believe you will help me. Thank you for hearing me. In Jesus' name. Lord, bless these dear children who have prayed today. Please give them an assurance that they will become your children. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, children. I really appreciate it.