SO THE NEXT GENERATION WILL KNOW - Psalm 78:1-7 (Keynote Conference Sermon)
I am so excited to be with you because of our conference theme. It fits so well with the work I do every day. We are "Serving children and families in need to reach the next generation for Christ."
A few years ago, George Barna wrote a book about children. We think of him as the survey guy. But he wrote a book entitled, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions. The subtitle though is more powerful than the main title. “Children Should Be Your Church’s Number One Priority.”
I want to challenge you to make children THE number one priority of your church so the next generation will know. Let’s look at the passage.
Psalm 78 is a rather unusual Psalm. It is one of the Teaching Psalms. It is not a psalm of praise or thanksgiving. It is a psalm of instruction. The writer is Asaph, and his over-riding concern is that the next generation knows God.
Let’s look at the passage.
THE REALITY vs 1-3
The first thing Asaph says is, “Listen to me.” In other words this is very important. Friends, with regard to our children, nothing is more important than their spiritual lives. Not education, not sports, etc.
Unfortunately, most of this Psalm records the failings of the people of God. Two things. They failed to teach their children about God and they did not live godly lives before their children.
And Judges 2:10 tells us the result. There arose a generation that knew not God.
THE REALITY IS We are ONE generation away from having a FAITHLESS generation.
What are the SPIRITUAL REALITIES of the world our children are living in? Sean McDowell and Warner Wallace tell us about Generation Z.
· Leaving the church in record numbers
· Not convinced that the Bible is the Word of God
· Do not have a Christian worldview (secular)
· Do not believe that Jesus is the only way to God
The latest data for Southern Baptists show that YOUTH BAPTISMS are plummeting.
Asaph says, “Church, pay attention to these realities.”
THE REMEDY vs 4, 5
Asaph begins the section with this statement. He says, “We are not going to hide the things of God from our children.” That sounds strange to me.
But he is simply saying we cannot be silent. We must be proactive and focused on this task.
What are we going to tell them about God? He says…
· The Praiseworthy Deeds of God
· The Power of God
· The Wonders Of God
· The Statutes and Laws of God
Those cover the Old Testament. What are we going to tell them about God and His Son?
· God LOVES YOU. The ABCs From VBS. Admit, Believe, Confess
· God HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE Jeremiah 29:11
· GOD HAS LIFESTYLE STANDARDS
But we have to teach them more. We have to teach them Biblical perspectives on the issues of our day. That it is wrong to take the life of an unborn child. That God created us male and female only and you should not seek to change that. That the marriage God recognizes is the marriage of one man and one woman.
Now, WHO is supposed to be doing this teaching. The church certainly has a teaching role. But to successfully disciple our children, PARENTS must be the main teachers and the church MUST HELP TRAIN PARENTS how to teach their children
We need to understand that teaching this generation is different than teaching our generation. This is the WHY Generation. They don’t accept anything as a fact unless you can explain why they should believe it.
Not long ago one of our staff members at the Children’s Home was telling us about her 10-year-old son. She told him that he was going to be limited to 30 minutes on the internet in the evenings on school nights.
This was his response, “Mother, you’re going to have to explain why that is good for me.” I don’t know about you but that would not have been well-received by my parents. She told him that was simply the rule. Fifteen minutes later, he came back and said, “I really have to know WHY If you tell me why, maybe I can accept it better.
We need to be able to tell our children WHY we believe the Bible is the Word of God, why we believe Jesus is the only way to God.
1Peter 3:15 – “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.”
The command is clear. Parents teach your children about God.
So we need to TEACH our children about God but we need to remember that the best way to teach our children about God is to LIVE FOR GOD.
Remember the problem was two-fold. They didn’t teach their children the things of God and they were not living Godly lives.
FAMILY RESEMBLANCE is a fascinating thing. Children look like their parents. It is also true that children often grow up ACTING LIKE THEIR PARENTS.
I started making a list. It included everything from yelling at referees to bad business meetings in our churches. Having a critical spirit. Lifestyle habits.
OUR ACTIONS ARE OUR MOST POWERFUL TEACHERS. We must LIVE GODLY LIVES BEFORE OUR CHILDREN so they will know that what we say we believe is real to us.
THE RESULTS vs 6, 7
Asaph says, “If you do it, if you deliberately disciple your children and you live godly lives before them, these are the 4 results.
· They Will Know the Word of God. Hide the Word in hearts.
· They Will Put Their Trust in God. Accept Jesus as Savior
· They Will Live Godly Lives.
· They Will Tell the Next Generation about God.
If that happened, do you know what it would mean? This generation would turn their world upside down for Jesus.
In a real sense, THEIR FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS. I know they will have to make the choice. But we can put them in the position where they will have a desire for God.
Proverbs 22:6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
2 Timothy 1:5 shows us the power of teaching a generation about God. Paul says to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
WE MUST DO THIS WORK INSIDE and OUTSIDE the church. Asaph was concerned about ONE NATION. God has called us to reach ALL THE NATIONS. We can do that through VBS, outreach Bible clubs for kids, tutoring programs, and Foster Care/Adoption ministries.
If we are faithful to this task, we will see God do something incredible. This generation and the Next Generation WILL KNOW.
What commitment do you need to make for that to become a reality? DO IT and the Lord will use you to reach this generation for Jesus.
