1/12/25 A.M. Psalms 78:1-8
Have you ever heard the phrase Nature vs. Nurture? How much of WHO YOU ARE is due to NATURE, your GENETICS and how how is due to NURTURE, your SURROUNDINGS, the way you were RAISED?
ILLUS: I saw a program the other day about a couple who were not doing very well financially. They were barely making ends meet when the woman became pregnant. She was totally deaf and when she went to the doctor she found out she was going to have not one, not two but three babies. Triplets. I really don’t understand this but they decided to keep one of them and put the other two up for adoption. And that’s what they did. Two of the girls were adopted as twins and the one stayed with the birth mom and dad. And so when they were 11 years old they met for the for the first time since they had been born. Now this is the interesting part. They were very similar in some ways. Of course they looked a lot alike. But they also had some of the same mannerisms. And yet, they also were very different. And so RESEARCHERS have discovered that both NATURE and NURTURE make us who we are.
I am ME because of GENETICS but also because of WHO raised me and HOW they raised me. So if you don’t like me it’s NOT my fault. You can blame GOD and my mom and dad. So this morning I want to read out of the Psalms. Chapter 78. This was written by Asaph, a Levite, who was David’s song leader.
So let’s go ahead and read Verses 1-8.
“Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.”
This morning I want to look at the BLESSINGS of NATURE and the IMPORTANCE of NURTURE. But before we do let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother _____, would you lead us?
I. The first thing I want you to see as we look at this passage is the Blessing of God’s Nature. Look at the very first part of Verse 1. “Give ear, O my people, to my law”
Do you know why these people were HEARING the Law of God? Do you know why they had this OPPORTUNITY? Because they were God’s people!!!
Not everyone at this time had heard the Law of God.
Not everyone had been given the opportunities that they had been given.
Not everyone had heard Brother Asaph OPEN his mouth in a parable or utter dark sayings of old like it tells us in Verse 2.
So why? Why were these people HEARING these things? Because they had been born into the Lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were the CHOSEN PEOPLE of GOD. They were the Nation of Israel. They had been born at the RIGHT TIME and in the RIGHT PLACE.
Can I tell you something? They had absolutely NO CHOICE about this. They didn’t get to decide WHO they would be born to. WHEN they would be born. WHERE they would be born. This was just the Blessing of God. GOD’S NATURE. Their DNA was determined by HIM. This had NOTHING to do with any CHOICES or DECISIONS that they had made.
ILLUS: Now the Hindus believe this NOT to be true. They believe in Reincarnation. How good you act here in this life will determine HOW and WHERE you’re born in your next life.
So listen, some of you all better straighten up or you’re gonna wind up being born as a BUG the next time around!!! Ah, I’m just kidding.
Listen, the whole idea of REINCARNATION is silly and totally against what the Word of God tells us.
And so, just as those born during the REIGN of David and those born into the Nation of Israel had NO CHOICE about where, when or how they would be born, you and I are no different.
None of us got to choose WHO our parents would be. Whether they were BELIEVERS in the Lord Jesus Christ or CRACK HEADS. It wasn’t up to any of us.
We didn’t get to choose WHERE in the world we would be born. The United States of America or the Jungles of Africa.
(Of course if Trump gets his way it might be the United States of America, Greenland, Canada, Mexico and who knows where else.)
And listen, we didn’t get to choose WHEN we would be born either. Whether we would be born in the 100 B.C. or 2025 A.D.
It was God’s decision. It was God’s Nature.
But yet WHEREVER, WHENEVER, to WHOEVER you were born doesn’t really matter because you have been CALLED to be a Child of God. Jesus DRAWS ALL MEN to HIMSELF.
John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
And listen, even NATURE, GOD’S NATURE, draws us to Him.
Romans 1:19 and 20 “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
We look around and we see the COMPLEXITY of GOD’S NATURE.
Something so SMALL as a SNOW FLAKE and something so LARGE as a MOUNTAIN RANGE. They scream out to us that there is a GOD.
Something so TINY as a HUMAN CELL and something so LARGE as the Human Body scream out to us today that there is a God.
All of these things from where we were born, when we were born, to whom we were born, have nothing to do with HOW WE ARE RAISED. They have NOTHING to do with NURTURE.
And yet we all still have the OPPORTUNITY to serve God. He still draws us to Himself in different ways. No matter who you are He still longs to be your Father. To have that personal relationship with Him. And He gives everyone a choice.
THAT’S GOD’S NATURE.
II. And then as we look back at Psalms 78, we see the NURTURE that ASAPH called for.
A. In Verse 4 he says, “We will not hide them from their children”
The things of God are NOT something that the Nation of Israel should hide from their children. It wasn’t something that they should figure out on their own.
The CHILDREN needed to HEAR MOM and DAD, GRANDMA and GRANDPA PRAISE GOD.
The GENERATIONS to come NEEDED to HEAR about HOW STRONG the God of Israel really was.
The GENERATIONS to come NEEDED to HEAR about the wonderful works that He had done.
B. And look at Verse 5. The GENERATIONS to come needed to HEAR about the LAW that God had established. This LAW was what they were to live by. This LAW brought LIFE.
Deuteronomy 5:32 and 33, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
THIS WAS NURTURE. This was God commanding the Nation of Israel to TEACH their children. This had NOTHING to do with their DNA but everything to do with GODLY INFLUENCE in their lives.
C. And looking on down there to Verse 6. This NURTURE was PERPETUAL. Let’s read it again.
“That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:”
Listen, if it was done and done correctly it would continue on. This generation would teach the next generation and they would teach the next generation and so on. It would continue on from generation to generation. I think of it kind of like a CHAIN.
Now here’s the SAD PART about this Verse. It didn’t happen. Setting here today, 3000 years since these words were written, somebody dropped the ball. Some generation along the way didn’t NURTURE the next generation like they were supposed to. We can look through the book of Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Ezekiel and all of the BOOKS written after this Psalm and we see that there was a BREAK in the CHAIN.
Maybe it was not just one generation but several generations along the way. One generation failed a little bit and each generation after that slipped a little more. There was not enough NURTURE GIVEN. Not enough an EXAMPLE of GIVING PRAISE to God. Not enough TEACHING on the LAW of GOD. And eventually we see the entire Nation of Israel turned their back on God.
A. Folks, I don’t know if I can stress to you enough the IMPORTANCE of NURTURE. Folks sometimes get NURTURE mixed up with CODDLE. Listen, NURTURE doesn’t mean CODDLE.
Nurture means-the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.
Coddle means to INDULGE. Give in to someones WANTS or DESIRES.
Listen, whether you are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, mentors. WHOEVER you are, God has placed you in someone’s life and now you have a choice on what kind of INFLUENCE you will be. You have a CHOICE whether you will show the Generations to come the PRAISES of the LORD.
B. You have a CHOICE whether you will TESTIFY of the WONDERFUL WORKS that He has done in your life.
C. You have a CHOICE whether you will LIVE OUT the LAW of GOD in your own life as an example to others.
D. And you have a CHOICE whether you will NURTURE THOSE THAT GOD HAS PLACED IN YOUR LIFE.
Ephesians 6:4 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
So many times we MISTAKE CODDLING our CHILDREN for NURTURING our CHILDREN. Listen ... WE MUST NURTURE THEM. And sometimes that means talking straight and NOT GIVING IN.
E. And we all have a choice whether we will keep this going or let it fall by the wayside. If you’re a believer setting here today, it’s VERY LIKELY that someone NURTURED YOU, INFLUENCED YOU, to be a follower of Jesus. Maybe your MAMA and DADDY or maybe just a FRIEND. It doesn’t matter who. Someone pointed you to Jesus.
ILLUS: My mama had an old Great Uncle named Hiram. Hiram Payne. He never had any biological children of his own but he was the first one to take the time to really talk to my mama about the IMPORTANCE of serving the Lord Jesus Christ. When she was around 16 he gave her a Bible and my mama CHERISHED that Bible until the day she died. And back around three years ago when she stepped into Heaven, I betcha Uncle Hiram was there waiting on her.
LISTEN TO ME!!! You have a choice to PASS IT ON or LET IT DIE. It’s up to you.
III. I want to close with Verse 7.
“That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments”
So why was it so important for the PEOPLE of GOD to PRAISE THEIR GOD?
Why did the Generations to come need to hear about the STRENGTH of God? About His wonderful works? Why did they need to hear about the LAW that God had established?
So that they may SET THEIR HOPE IN GOD. So that they would learn to TRUST in HIM.
You see, this GOD of their FATHERS needed to become THEIR GOD. And Asaph believed that when GOD became personal to them, when they knew about and BELIEVED in HIS WORKS, then they would keep His commandments.
ILLUS: The Free Will Baptists of Oklahoma have a fellow who is our State Director. His name James Coffelt. He’s a very nice guy and he’s been to this church a couple of times. Anyway, the last time he was here he mentioned something that kind of astounded me. He said that the Free Will Baptist Denomination as a whole has a better track record of keeping their young people in church than any other mainline denomination. More of our young people stay in church, continue to serve God, after they get out on their own, than any other denomination.
In fact, he said there have been other denominations that have come in and looked at the way that we do church so that they can find out why. And the reason that most people believe this to be true is
#1, Our churches are more RURAL than most other denomination besides the Amish. The more RURAL a church is, the more family oriented a church is.
But the #2 reason he said they discovered was that as a whole, the Free Will Baptists INVOLVE their young people in church. And when you involve a young person in a BIBLE BELIEVING, BIBLE PREACHING CHURCH, the God of their PARENTS becomes their GOD. They SEE the move of God upon people’s hearts. They SEE for themselves LIVES that are CHANGED by the Power of God. They FEEL for themselves as the Holy Spirit moves in His church. And it makes a difference in their lives.
Listen, I’m NOT against Children’s Church. But I am against Children’s Church for older kids. I think once a kid turns 11 or 12, they can learn to set in church. I don’t preach a long sermon and with the POWER of the Holy Ghost, Jesus can become their Savior.
“That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments”
Folks I’m done. But I truly believe God will give each and everyone of us an opportunity to help someone along their way.
We can be the example for them to come to know Jesus. There’s no higher calling. And what we do today, the way we act, the decisions we make will affect our families and our nation for generations to come.
Not all of us are called to be preachers. We’re not all called to be deacons or SS teachers. But we’re ALL CALLED to lead others to Jesus. And whether we like it or not, people are watching us and people are following us.
ILLUS: I only have one Uncle whose still alive. My mom’s younger brother. But several years ago he worked for Pet Memorial Gardens. A cemetery for animals. Not people. It’s out here on North Yale. You can see it from Highway 75 between 106th street North and 116th street North. But .... as many of you all know there’s an actual Cemetery just up North Yale one mile called Green Acres. Anyway, one day my uncle was there at Pet Memorial Gardens working and he heard a car pulling in. He looked up and here came a HEARSE. And behind the hearse was a long line of cars. A funeral procession. They pulled in and made a circle through the PET CEMETERY and pulled back out onto North Yale and went to the real cemetery just up the road. That’s kind of funny IF you’re not the fellow driving the hearse but this is where I’m going.
If you are going to lead people you better know where you’re going. And God has called us to lead the next generation. Let’s lead them to Jesus.
Let’s Pray
