KIX—Kid Tested, Mother Approved

A Sermon By Jim Hammond

(1 Corinthians 6:11; Matthew 18:3)

Intro: Thanks Mom!

My mother taught me about the FOOD GROUPS - "If you put one foot outside that door, you're not getting any home-made bread."

My mother taught me CONTORTIONS - "Have you seen the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me to STAND FIRM - "You'll sit there 'till all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER - "Looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me PHYSICS PROBLEMS - "What if I yelled because I saw a meteor coming down toward you; would you jump then?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY - "If I've told you once I've told you a million times - Don't Exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE - "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR PROGRAMMING - "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY - "There are millions of less fortunate children who don't have parents like you!"[1]

A cartoon in the Saturday Evening Post showed a young boy about five or six years old talking on the telephone, saying, "Mom is in the hospital, the twins and Roxie and Billie and Sally and the dog and me and Dad are all home alone." [2]

A fifteen-year-old boy came bounding into the house and found his mom in bed. He asked if she were sick or something. He was truly concerned. Mom replied that, as a matter of fact, she didn't feel too well. The son replied, "Well, don't worry a bit about dinner. I'll be happy to carry you down to the stove." [3]

My mom is so wonderful she works so hard, she slaves over the microwave 8 minutes everyday.

Mother approved behavior is safe.

A mother was concerned about her only son going off to college. She wrote the following letter to the college president:

"Dear Sir: My son has been accepted for admission to your college and soon he will be leaving me. I am writing to ask that you give your personal attention to the selection of his roommate. I want to be sure that his roommate is not the kind of person who uses foul language, or tells off-color jokes, smokes, drinks, or chases after girls. I hope you will understand why I am appealing to you directly. You see, this is the first time my son will be away from home, except for his three years in the Marine Corps." [4]

KIX (1 Corinthians 6:11)

(1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV) "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

K (Kurios) Lord

I (Iesous) Jesus

X (Xristos) Christ

Christ is not Jesus’ last name, and Lord isn’t a title like “Mr.” Let’s pause a minute and learn a bit about this title that is used of Jesus just this way, “Lord Jesus Christ”, 60 times in the New Testament.

K Lord (Kurios)

Kyrios occurs over 9,000 times in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the OT made around 200 BC. Of those 9,000 occurrences 190 times it refers to men, as lord, as one responsible or head of a group. There were other uses of the term for commander, owner, etc. But the overwhelming majority of the cases where this term is used, (6,156 times) kyrios replaces the Heb. Proper name of God, the tetragrammaton YHWH, Yaweh, or Jehovah. The LXX thus strengthened the Jewish tendency to avoid the utterance of the name of God.

In the New Testament it was part of the earliest confession.

Kurios—Lord

(John 20:28 NIV) "Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!""

(Romans 10:9 NIV) "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

(1 Corinthians 12:3 NIV) "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."

(Philippians 2:11 NIV) "and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

“The Lord Jesus Christ” (60 times NIV)

“I” Jesus (Iesous)

(Matthew 1:21 NIV) "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.""

This name is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew name Joshua. Do you remember how Joshua got his name. Moses changed his name. It used to be Hoshea (which means salvation) to that name was attatched the Covenant personal name of God Yahweh, so he was called Joshua (Yahweh is salvation). Now it becomes so clear just how Yahweh saves, through the son of God, whose name is Jesus (Yahweh saves). Why was he given this name? Because he will save his people from their sins. Have you been saved from your sins?

Let’s look at the context of the verse we started with 1 Corinthians 6:11

(1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV) "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV) "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral (those who mess around with sex before marriage) nor idolaters (those who devote themselves to anything other than God) nor adulterers (those who are unfaithful to there spouses) nor male prostitutes (horrible sexual practices of Corinth) nor homosexual offenders {10} nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

This is just a quick representative list for the Corinthians to consider.

The simple fact is that the Bible teaches that,

Unless it is washed away by the blood of Christ (any sin will send its perpetrator to an eternal destiny apart from God for eternity (described by Jesus in the most graphic terms as the flames of hell)

No sin is so little that it won’t send you to hell if unwashed by the Blood of Christ.

No Sin Is So Large that It Cannot Be Washed Away by the Blood of Christ

What about the unforgivable sin? The unforgivable sin, is a the ultimate rejection of Christ. For that there is no forgiveness. If you want to be forgiven, you can be forgiven.

If there is hope for the corrupt Corinthian, there is hope for the corrupt American!

X Christ (Xristos)

(Matthew 16:16-17 NIV) "Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." {17} Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."

(Daniel 9:25-26 NIV) ""Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One (Messiah [NASB]), the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. {26} After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One (Messiah [NASB]), will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

(John 1:41 NASB) "He found^ first his own brother Simon, and said^ to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ)."

(John 4:25-26 NIV) "The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." {26} Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he.""

Kid Tested (Matthew 18:3)

(Matthew 18:3 NIV) "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

I say these truths are Kid Tested because only those who become like children test these truths to see if they are so. Only children of the Kingdom will find them Sweet, Fun, and experience their pleasures now in the immediate pay off of our faith.

Sweet

(1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV) "And that is what some of you were. [past tense here is so sweet!] But you were washed, [our sins are washed away] you were sanctified, [we were set apart for special use] you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." [we have been made right with God ]

Fun:

Life is fun when your free. Your outlook changes. It seems the sky is bluer, relationships are more joyful, you can laugh more readily. Notice, I’m not saying life is more fun for every Christian. Some Christians are miserable because they are living with guilt and they know better. Get free. Get clean. Get set apart for a purpose. It’s the way life is meant to be lived.

Immediate Pay Off

Christians, don’t look to your faith as something for your future only. As if all you need is heaven. The kingdom of God, his rule over people has immediate implications. It makes a difference now. Jesus brings us Life as it is meant to be lived

(John 10:10 NIV) "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Remind yourself the next time you are tempted that this is true. He is not trying to take joy away from you, he is trying to protect you and give you great joy. You won’t find it till you begin to trust God’s judgment, God’s will for your life.

The children’s song, Jesus Loves me, shows you how Kid Tested Jesus really is.

Jesus’ loves Me:

(John 14:21 NIV) "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.""

(John 15:9 NIV) ""As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

(Romans 8:39 NIV) "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This I Know:

(1 John 5:13 NIV) "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

For the Bible Tells Me So:

(John 3:16 NIV) ""For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Little Ones to Him belong:

(Matthew 18:10-14 NIV) ""See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. {11} {12} "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? {13} And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. {14} In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

They are weak but He is strong:

Are you struggling this morning?

(2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Yes Jesus Loves me:

Yes Jesus Loves me…the Bible Tells Me So.

Mother Approved

Wholesome: 1 Corinthians 6:11

Nutritional

Are there some in this room who are starving for soul food? Are there some in this room who only eat spiritual food only once a week or even less?

Listen to George Mueller’s testimony about his quiet time with God.

“While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost, though now . . . more than forty years have since passed away.

The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. . . .

Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as a habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed in the morning. NOW I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating my heart might be brought into experimental, communion with the Lord. I began therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning.

The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not , as it were , give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer.

When thus I have been for awhile making confession, or intercession, or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it; but still continually keeping before me, that food for my own soul is the object of my dedication. The result of this is, that there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me that which, very soon after, I have found to become food for other believers, though it was not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word that I gave myself to meditation, but for the profit of my own inner man.

The difference between my former practice and my present one is this. Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer. . .But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour on my knees, before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often after having suffered much from wandering of mind for the first ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to pray.

I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experimental fellowship with God, I speak to my Father, and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it!) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.

It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this. In no book did I ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man.

As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow. Now what is the food for the inner man: not prayer, but the Word of God: and here again not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts…

I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace thorough deeper trials in various ways than I had ever had before; and after having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, comment it. How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials and the temptations of the day come upon one![5]

Eternal Pay Off

Have you tried KIX?

(Matthew 18:3 NIV) "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

[1] Compiled and told by LaughALot@editors.crosswalk.com

[2] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 376.

[3] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 378.

[4] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 376.

[5] Desiring God, by John Piper, p. 132f.