4 essential elements of stewarding the next generation
I. It Begins with Our Own Ears
Psalm 78:1 - Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
A. Seek out wise teachers
Matthew 15:14 - Let [the Pharisees] alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
B. Listen to biblical wisdom
II. It Requires Us to Speak
Psalm 78:2, 4a - I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old… We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generations to come…
A. Cultivate a heart for the next generation
i. Thanksgiving for those who have gone before you
ii. Concern for those who will follow you
Titus 2:3-5 - Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
B. Speak the truth in love
i. Teach the next generation
ii. Pursue the next generation
III. What We Say Matters
Psalm 78:4 - We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
A. Our focus must be worshipping the Lord
B. Point to His strength and not our own
C. Recall all He has done
IV. What We Do Matters
Psalm 78:5-7 - For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments…
A. Is my confidence in the Lord?
B. Do I know the works of God?
C. Do I keep His commandments?
Proverbs 23:26 - My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
As you get older, one of the bittersweet realities that’s gradually revealed over time is the simple fact that each one of us is a teacher
And it’s not just when you realize this fact that it becomes a reality—it’s a truth that’s present from a very early age
When I started getting to know my wife’s family, they kept saying a phrase that I was altogether unfamiliar with: geez-o-Pete
They usually said it when you or I would say, “c’mon man!”
Come to find out, it’s an expression that’s native to Michigan and Cincinnati—and that’s basically it…
Now, did each parent in Michigan and Cincinnati sit their child down and instruct them: “when you confront a situation that’s difficult, make sure you express your frustration by saying: geez-o-Pete…”
No—what happened?
They probably heard it from their parents a billion times, said about them!
In some sense, this tendency to passively acquire knowledge and habit is a gift from the Lord—we don’t need to actively instruct children in every little thing; they pick up a lot along the way
In another sense, it can be a bit disconcerting…
Each parent recalls a time when they heard their kids say something or do something that caused them to ask, “where did that come from?”
And what happens two days later?
You catch yourself doing that very thing!
But the same goes for folks who aren’t parents: sibling pick stuff up from other siblings—whether passively or actively
Kids learn from their peers, the older generation picks things up from the younger, and so forth
What’s the idea?
We’re all teachers—from the youngest to the oldest
The question is: are we good ones, or bad ones?...
We’re continuing our emphasis this month as we discuss Stewardship of the Next Generation
We’ll be in Psalm 78 if you would turn there (p 425)
Last week, Pastor Aaron talked about stewarding our discipline out of 1 Tim 4, utilizing Paul’s example of spiritual discipline vs physical discipline
In many ways, we’ll be building off of what he talked about last week
But before we get into our topic this AM, it’d be good to rattle off the 4 factors of communication—let’s see if we can get them together without any aid…
1. God owns everything and you own nothing.
2. God entrusts you with everything you have.
3. You can increase or diminish what God has given. God wants you to increase it.
4. God can call you into account at any time.
The matter we’re going to be discussing this morning has much to do with the 2nd and 3rd factor
God has given us subsequent generations—He has entrusted them to us
And we can certainly squander the call to train them up in a manner that pleases the Lord
Graciously, the Lord doesn’t leave us to our own devices in this matter—He gives us to tools necessary to steward the next generation
Let’s turn to one of the more concentrated passages in Scripture that speaks to this end…
Text
Listen, O my people, to my instruction; 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 conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, 6 that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments,
As we look at our passage this morning, let’s view it through the lens of 4 essential elements of stewarding the next generation
First, we see that…
I. It Begins with Our Own Ears
First words are important
If your spouse starts off a sentence my saying, “honey,”—that’s typically an indication of an innocuous conversation
If they start the sentence by saying your first name, that may mean you’re in some level of hot water
“hey, you” is never good…
But how does Asaph begin this Psalm?
Psalm 78:1 – Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Not “speak,” not “do,” but LISTEN
To be a good teacher, you must be a good listener
Nelson Mandela was an iconic figure—and not just in South Africa, where he fought to see the end of disparate treatment of racial groups
He was known to the whole world up until his death in 2013
But those who tuned in during the memorial service—which was broadcast worldwide—typically remember one controversial aspect of the ceremony:
The sign language translator
Does anyone remember what was unique about him?
He was a fake!!
As men and women came up to speak, he was waving his hands and arms about incoherently
Now, what made him an awful translator for those who are hearing impaired and require his service?
He never took the time to learn how to sign!
Would you say that’s an important step?
That’s why Asaph begins here—to steward the next generation, we must first…
A. Seek out wise teachers
Now imagine someone teaching the next generation how to live in a way pleasing to God, without first learning what it means to live in such a way themselves!
Jesus speaks of this dynamic in Matthew 15 when He says:
Matthew 15:14 – Let [the Pharisees] alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
Far worse than a false sign language translator is a teacher who hasn’t taken the time to LISTEN
And as we’ve already established—each one of us is a teacher
So do we sit by and wait to be taught by the right instructor?
NO—we are to actively seek them out!
Our passage says, “incline your ears to the words of my mouth…”
If you were to act out that gesture, what would it look like? (*exemplify)
What God is calling us to metaphorically do in His Word, we are to actively do in our lives!
And WHO we listen to matters—Asaph doesn’t broadly declare that we are to listen to any old teacher—he calls us to his instruction and the words of his mouth
Far from relativism, where your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth, Asaph is calling us to…
B. Listen to biblical wisdom
He appeals to something far more foundational than opinions and loose platitudes
Surveying the text, he calls us to incline our ears to “instruction,” “parables,” “dark sayings of old” (more on this in a bit), “the teaching of the fathers,” “a testimony in Jacob,” “a law in Israel,” and “commandments to our fathers…”
What could he possibly be talking about?
God’s Word
As you’re actively seeking out wise teachers, make sure they’re biblically sound—rooted in the Word of God
Because guess what—just as each one of us is a teacher, we are all… students!
We’re all learning from someone or something—but is it biblically sound?
Stewardship of the next generation begins with our own ears as we seek out biblically faithful teachers to train us on how to live
(*action steps—mentor/point man/small group/FCI/coffee/etc.)
Far from the fake sign language translator, we must steward the discipline of growing in godliness, which enables us to learn what it means to live like Jesus, for His glory
But stewardship of the next generation only BEGINS here—because then…
II. It Requires Us to Speak
Have you ever considered the utter futility of education?
You read, and you learn, and you think, and you listen, and you wrestle with difficult concepts, you grow through hardship, you’re shaped through suffering, you fill your life and mind with wisdom, and then one day… you die
What happens to all that learning?
You can’t download all the information in your head into another person—not yet at least
Despite all efforts, your brain can’t be cryogenically frozen for another generation to extract its wisdom—plus, not many of our brains would be worth the trouble anyhow…
What makes it all worthwhile?
Psalm 78:2, 4a — I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old… We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generations to come…
Only when we IMPART that which the Lord has given us, does it have any lasting meaning
So what if you’ve read every book on biblical parenting
So what if you’ve heard every sermon Piper ever preached
So what if you’ve read the Bible 200 times—the unrepentant serial killer on death row can accomplish that feat—it all counts for nothing if you don’t LIVE it and TEACH it
But the latter won’t happen if you don’t first…
A. Cultivate a heart for the next generation
We see this implicitly in our text
How does Asaph speak of the generations that came before him?
There seems to be…
i. thanksgiving for those who have gone before you
Our passage has a tone of gratitude directed towards the “fathers”—a thanksgiving for the men and women who had taken the time to pour into them
If you have nothing but bitter contempt for the generation that came before you, what are you sure to display?
Contempt for the generations to follow you
AND, what are you, O teacher, instilling in the next generation?
Suicidal scorn (*explain?)
Conversely, when we cultivate genuine gratitude for those who have sacrificially instilled biblical teaching into our hearts, our focus will naturally turn to do the same
Our thanksgiving for the previous generation will result in…
ii. concern for those who will follow you
This takes sacrificial humility—the kind that isn’t natural to us
Here’s a controversial litmus test: how do you feel about the role of a mother whose primary concern is staying home to raise her children?
In a passage that could have been our foundation for this morning, Paul instructs Titus that…
Titus 2:3-5 – Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
If that passage causes you to squirm in your seat, ask yourself: WHY?
Looking just at my own life, in a given day, what’s more eternally important: my day in the office spent answering emails and staring into the void (the life of a pastor), or Alexandra sacrificially caring for the kiddos?
My point isn’t to argue that every woman should be a stay-at-home mom and every man should work in the widget factory—each person and each family must do what’s pleasing to Christ according to God’s Word
My purpose is to expose the obvious: our culture has a severe devaluation of the subsequent generations
The only reason we would undervalue the role of those who are training up the next generation, is if we see it as a lesser duty in our own hearts
We must have a burning concern for the next generation that results in action
Thus, when we open our mouths to speak, we must…
B. Speak the truth in love
It’s easy to say easy things (“we’re having cake for dinner!”)
It’s hard to say hard things (“we’re no longer having cake for dinner…”)
Regarding more serious matters, it’s even more difficult to say hard things in a loving manner…
I doubt I’ve struck the perfect balance in this message, alone!
But that trepidation shouldn’t stop us from…
i. teach the next generation
They will be learning—ensure it’s TRUTH they’re learning
Necessary to “speaking the truth in love” as Ephesians 4:15 phrases it, we must SPEAK!
That’s how truth is imparted to the next generation
Let me ask you: do you speak truth to the next generation?
If so, what evidence would you give to this end?
Would anyone point to you as being biblically influential in their life?
“I love Jesus more because of her…” “He taught me how to live like Christ…” “She led me to the Lord four years ago…”
And if the answer is “no,” is it too late for you?
Certainly not—but DON’T WAIT!!
Imagine a fisherman out on his boat, waiting for a rock bass to hop into his boat
What would you say to that man?
Grab your pole, and get to casting!!...
ii. pursue the next generation
With your ears attentive towards biblical knowledge and your cultivated heart for those who would follow, lovingly engage with them!
Teach God’s Word, and do it in a loving manner—because as our text makes clear…
III. What We Say Matters
Verse four says it all:
Psalm 78:4 – We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
There are three main points that Asaph draws out—let’s walk through these points sequentially:
A. Our focus must be worshipping the Lord
What good is it if you’ve taught your child how to be a faithful steward of his or her finances, time, abilities, intellect, and so forth—but you’ve never connected the dots back to the gospel?
Anyone can teach a college student not to spend their stipend on lotto tickets and nightly take-out
But do they know WHY?
Everything comes back to God’s glory and our role as BRINGERS of His glory
So why, O teacher, should the college student not spend all his or her money on lotto tickets and nightly takeout?
Because foolish and frivolous spending will not… bring God glory
The gospel has implications for all aspects of life—it’s our goal to connect the dots for the generations to follow
Why should I speak in a respectful manner?
Because Christ paid a high price for my wayward tongue—He wasn’t crushed on the cross so I could berate my coworkers
He bought my freedom so I could glorify God with my tongue
For whatever the situation, our central focus must be “the praises of the Lord,” as our text phrases it
And this isn’t accomplished through white-knuckled labor—we must…
B. Point to His strength and not our own
Remember that this is a Psalm of Asaph—one of the most common examples that the Psalmists use when talking about God’s strength is… what?
His mighty strength against the Egyptian oppression
How were the Israelites removed from enslavement to the Egyptians?
Did they form a labor union and demand better working conditions?
Did they reason with Pharaoh, and he eventually came around to their side of things?
Did they rise up and kill the slavedrivers?
No—God had to send Moses to begin freeing them against their will
His strength redeems, His strength sanctifies, His strength sustains
But whose strength do we point to when training the next generation?
This begins with a humble admission of our utter inability to free ourselves from the slavery of sin
When someone relies on their own strength for salvation, it is one slave telling the other about how to attain freedom, it’s the blind leading the blind, it a false sign language translator
Each person must first admit their own inability to be made right with God on their own strength (*invitation)
But then, our conversations need to be infused with HIS strength—that looks like inviting men and women to embrace this gospel: especially those who are still seeking to live life on their OWN strength
And while bringing glory to Him and existing on His strength…
C. Recall all He has done
This one’s incredibly simple to measure and very easy to do
How often do you open the Word of God with anyone—literally or metaphorically?
You can’t recall “His wondrous works that He has done” with the next generation unless you… recall His wonderous works that He has done…
It’s never enough to simply know a lot about God
That must translate into what we SAY and DO, because…
IV. What We Do Matters
Let’s briefly catch up to where we find ourselves…
In order to steward the next generation, we must first
(1) incline our ears towards biblical teaching
Once we’re filled up with God’s Word and living it out, we then…
(2) Open our mouths to train the next generation
This requires a heart that values those who are going to come after us as MORE IMPORTANT than ourselves
As we train the next generation, we’re reminded that…
(3) what we say matters
We aren’t called to teach fuzzy platitudes, but (a) the praises of the Lord, (b) His strength, and (c) His wonderous works that He has done
This all leads us to the conclusion of our passage for this morning
Asaph makes the PURPOSE of God’s law clear:
Psalm 78:5-7 – For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments
He can hardly over-emphasize the essential purpose of teaching God’s character and His Word to the next generation
To no surprise, this requires ACTION—complacency leads to capitulation
In other words, when we don’t apply any effort towards stewarding the next generation, we open them up to other teaching
And since this world is filled with teachers, any other person seems pleased to fill that role
This last section serves as a self-assessment: we can’t presume to be teachers of the next generation (or argue that we care about them) if we don’t LIVE in a way consistent with the calling
The saying goes—more is caught than taught
God’s Word is arguing that we should do both: teach by modeling godliness, and teach by peaching godliness
Since we’ve already talked about the latter, let’s look to modeling godliness based off Asaph’s final charge in our passage for this morning (v 7)
First…
A. Is my confidence in the Lord?
Each of us know where the Lord chooses to test this in us: the crucible of TRIAL
How I respond to difficulty shows where my confidence is placed
If my life is overwhelmingly characterized by anger or anxiety—where is my confidence?
It has to be in myself or something other than God, because why would I be perpetually angry unless things aren’t going MY DESIRED WAY, or why would I be constantly worried unless I can’t see MY DESIRED OUTCOME?
But if your confidence is in the Lord, you trust in His sovereign control over your life
The next generation will see your confidence placed in Him, and know that He’s worthy of their confidence
How bout his second point…
B. Do I know the works of God?
Asaph warns about our forgetful tendency here—we are to teach others to “not forget the works of God”
Quick—what did you have for dinner last night?
Though it was only 18 hours ago, it takes a minute for most of us to remember something so simple
God’s Word is always reminding us of foundational truths
Thanksgiving is coming up—the time when many of us will see extended family that we don’t get to see that often
And what’s gonna happen?
Uncle Fred is gonna share that same story, of that one time, when that one thing happened—and everyone around the table is gonna groan because…
they’ve heard it every Thanksgiving leading up to this one!
Why does God repeat basic truths over and over again—is he a divine version of your uncle Fred?
He doesn’t do it because HE forgets—He does it because WE forget
But there’s another factor at play: you can’t forget that which you never knew
If you can’t recall God’s works, it may be because you haven’t taken the time to learn them for yourself
Incline your ear to solid teaching and make sure you are filled with His Word
But this last point really hits home…
C. Do I keep His commandments?
As you learn, do you do?
The very truths you’re instilling in the next generation—do you walk in them?
Nothing undermines teaching quite like hypocrisy
When stewarding the next generation, how important are actions?
The author of Proverbs said it well…
Proverbs 23:26 – My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
Authors
