Giving Life to Starving Children
Deuteronomy 32:45-47
HFBC August, 11,2013
Introduction: I want to begin this morning by taking an informal poll of the congregation. I am going to ask you some questions and I want you to be completely honest and transparent with your answers. That means don’t kind of raise your hand half way because your answer is sometimes. Either raise your hand high or keep it down.
I will do the same and rest assured I did not chose questions that are going to make me look extra spiritual. As a matter of fact I very nearly did not preach the text we are going to look at today because it made me feel rather like a failure. But in the end I figured that was exactly why God led me to the text. I need the message and chances are so do many of the rest of you.
So here we go and remember completely honest answers.
- Raise your hand if you have eaten every day this week.
- Raise your hand if you have eaten multiple times everyday this week.
- Those of you with children. How many of you fed your children everyday this week?
- How many of you with children, even grown children would make great sacrifices to feed your children everyday?
- How many of you have only eaten 2 times this week?
- How many of you have fed your children only 2 times this week?
So it looks like everyone here is pretty well fed and is interested in seeing that their children are well fed. But now for the more difficult questions. The ones where it may be a little more tempting to fudge the truth. But just remember where you are and remember what God did to Ananias and Sapphira for lying in church.
- Raise your hand if you have read your Bible every day this week.
- Raise your hand if you have read your Bible multiple times everyday this week.
- Those with children. How many of you read the Bible with your children everyday this week?
- How many of you with grown children talked to your children about spiritual things?
Don’t raise your hands for the next couple of questions:
- How many of you have not read your Bible since the last time you were at church?
- How many of you have children that only get spiritually fed once or twice a week when you bring them to church?
The purpose of these questions is not to make light of the fact that there are those in the world who face real physical hunger.
And the point is also not to make a bunch of pretty good Christian people feel guilt or shame. Although a little guilt is not a bad thing as long as it causes us to repent and move forward in the grace of God instead of giving up and wallowing in it.
The point is to get us thinking about something that is very important. And that important thing is the seriousness and the absolute necessity of God’s Word in our lives and in the lives of our children.
The truth of the matter is that all of us want what is best for our children. We would make great sacrifices for our children. We would go to great lengths to make sure our children are fed everyday. We care about our children.
And as Christians we would all agree that the Bible is important to our spiritual health and that it is important to the spiritual health of our children. Yet many of us who rarely miss a meal of food and who would do anything to see that our children do not miss a meal of food starve ourselves and our children spiritually while multiple translations of the Bible sit on our bookshelves and coffee tables unopened.
Think about it. When our children are born and we are admiring them in the hospital what is one of the first things we do for that child? We feed it right? And then a couple of hours later we feed it again, and a couple of hours later, and a couple of hours later, and we continue feeding them until they drive off to college with cars loaded full of food and wallets full of money to buy more food. We would never even consider just celebrating that our baby was born and then never feed the child to insure that it grows.
Yet that is exactly what we do with our children’s spiritual lives. We pray for them form the time they are born that God will lead them to be His children. We pray for their salvation. We pray and we pray and we pray. And then when our prayer is answered we celebrate their new birth. We celebrate their baptism. And then we take them to church once, twice, maybe three times a week to get a spiritual meal and then starve them the rest of the time.
Folks, this is dangerous. In fact it is so dangerous that our passage today tells us that the most important thing we can do each day is feed ourselves and our children spiritually
So turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 32 verses 45-47. If you are using the pew Bible you can find it on page 147. While you are looking for it let me give you a little of the context so we can make sure we are getting the meaning of the passage as it is intended.
At the end of the book of Deuteronomy we find the people of Israel back at the edge of the promised land after their time of wandering in the wilderness due to their lack of faith. Moses knows that it is nearing the time of his death and he also knows that the people of Israel are still prone to grumbling and not trusting God.
So he gathers the people together to share with them one more sermon. He gathers them together to tell them the most important thing that they need to remember. And our scripture today is the summary of the message he shared.
So stand with me now as we honor God, the very author of the book we hold in our hands. Deuteronomy 32:45-47.
Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
Prayer: Father I pray this morning the cry of Moses, “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. Amen
In the final verse of chapter 31 it says that Moses began speaking in the hearing of ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL. He had a message from God that everyone needed to hear so he gathered them together and shared what is known in our Bibles as the song of Moses.
The Song of Moses takes up almost the entirety of chapter 32 and in it Moses takes the people of Israel on a stroll down memory lane. We don’t have the time this morning to read the entire song but in it Moses makes two basic points. He wants to remind the people that God and His ways are perfect. But he also wants to remind the children of Israel that man and his ways are a mess.
In the song Moses reminds the people that God is glorious, just, fair, upright, the most high, their protector, the creator, righteous, powerful, caring, the ultimate judge, and jealous for His own glory. In other words he reminds them that God is and should be of utmost importance to each of them and to us.
Moses then reminds the people of who they have been and of who they are, and of who we are. He reminds them that they are sinners, corrupt, perverse, deceitful, twisted, fat and unruly, those who abandoned God, those who made light of Him, those who provoked Him, those who sacrificed to other gods, children without integrity, senseless, foolish, and without understanding. But he also reminds them that they are God’s special possession and that they are the object of His affection.
Then Moses finishes with the words we just read. These were the words he wanted them to remember. These were the words he knew to be of the greatest importance to those who follow God.
And if these words were important enough to be Moses’ last instruction to the people of Israel then they are probably very important for us as well. So let’s take a closer look at what Moses found important enough to leave on the ears of the children of God.
And the first thing he tells them is that they must…
I. Set Your Heart on God and His Word(v. 46a)
Look with me again at verses 45-46
Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today,
The first thing we need to notice here is the use of the word ALL. It is used 5 times in verses 44-47 (all the words, all these words, all Israel, all the words, all the words).
It is important to recognize that it says ALL God’s people need to hear, learn, and pay attention to ALL of God’s Word. Moses spoke all these words to all of God’s people and God’s people need to “set their hearts” on all of God’s Word.
So the point is that everything that God had to tell Moses, which was all the Bible at that time, was important for the people to know. So that means that it is important for us to know ALL the Bible. Granted it is a little longer now but it is also a lot more grace filled and a pleasure to know.
But simply knowing what the Bible says is not enough. That is not what Moses told the people they needed. He told them that they needed to “Set their hearts” on ALL the word. The Hebrew people knew what Moses was saying. They understood because to them the heart was not just an organ pumping blood in their chests, it also was not just the seat of emotions. To the Hebrew people the heart meant the spiritual center of a person.
It meant that they needed to take the words and put them at the very center of who they were. It meant that they needed to be affected by and changed by the words that they had heard. It meant they needed to live by these words and keep God at the very center of their lives.
So what that means is that we like the Hebrew people need to both know the truth and live the truth.
If we are going to know something we have to spend time learning it. How long does it take to get a basic high school education. Enough reading, writing, and math for a person to get a working knowledge. 12 years right? And then if a person wants to specialize in a career, well that can take anywhere from another 2 years to another 10 years. And during all of the education process how often are the students spending time in their books and classes? Ideally just about everyday, right?
That means we already understand that something we want to know or something that is important to us takes time to learn. Yet so many of us spend so little time trying to learn what we are told right here in the Bible should be of primary importance and often seem not to care..
Whats more, what we don’t care to know we will not care to live. Which is why so many Christians are not living with hearts that are set on God. Instead our hearts are set on idols of this world. Success, money, pleasure, health, compliments, successful children, you fill in the blank as you know what your idols are.
So folks, if we are going to live for God, if we are going to desire Him, if we are going to want what He wants, if we are going to have hearts that are “set on Him” we have to start giving His Word priority in our lives. Now I don’t know what that looks like for you. I am not going to tell you how much Bible you should be reading everyday. I am not going to give you some plan. I am simply going to say pick it up, read some of it everyday, even if it is just a small amount and make an effort to learn something from it.
Because only then will we be able to carry out one of the most important commands we are given in Scripture. Only then will we be able to do what Moses says next. Which is…
- Set the Hearts of your Children on God (v. 46b)
Look again at verse 46
and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.
Here we find the primary reason for “setting our own hearts” on the Word of God. Here we are commanded, we are not given a suggestion, we are not left with another option, we are commanded to teach our children to be careful to observe, that is live, ALL the word of God.
Folks this is a tall order. We are commanded to teach ALL our children the Word of God . That is another ALL that is implied in this passage by the way and one that is easy to miss. Let me walk you through what I mean.
Who was Moses speaking to in this passage? All the people of Israel.
After he told them to “set their hearts on all these words” did he excuse those who were not parents? Did he excuse those whose children were grown?
No, he continued to tell all the people that they had a responsibility to teach those coming after them the word of God and to model it for them. That might look different for each of us but we are all to follow this same command. So lets look at how it might look for believers with different relationships with children.
What does this command mean for parents with….
a. Children in your home
It means that if our children are going to love God’s Word they must see that we love God’s Word when they are little. That means the Bible has to have a primary place in our home. That means that our kids need to see us reading our Bibles. They need to see us using the Words of the Bible in our lives. They need to see us seize special moments to talk about God the great creator when we see something beautiful. They need to hear us talk about God’s plan for them to be obedient to Him and to submit to Him as we discipline them and teach them how to respect and submit to authority.
That means that if we are going to teach our children and are going to have hearts set on God’s Word we must make reading it a daily priority in our home. We have to stop starving our children spiritually by only feeding them a couple of times a week when we take them to church. I am not saying the church should not play a role in our kids spiritual education, Moses instructed the entire body to have a role in the spiritual education of the kids. But he made it very clear in Deuteronomy 6, the go to scripture passage for teaching the Bible in the home, that it is primarily the responsibility of the parents to teach their children the things of God.
Do you know what this means? It means that teaching the Word of God to our kids should be just as important as and even more important than whatever it is that consumes our time with our children. I may get accused of meddling now but this is the best way to illustrate the point Scripture is making.
If we are going to teach our children in our home the importance of knowing and observing God’s Word it has to take priority over pushing our kids to get the best grades and take the hardest classes to get into the best college to get the best job and be a success. It has to take priority over sports practice and games, band, music, or any other activity that seems to devour our time. I am not saying that to be a good Christian parent you can’t have we can’t have our kids involved in these things. But I am saying we cannot use these things and the busyness that they cause as an excuse to short our children on the teaching of the bible that we are commanded by God to provide. We must stop allowing the world to give us excuses for spiritually starving the children in our homes.
And our responsibility to the spiritual well-being of our children does not end when our children grow up and leave home. Parents are still commanded to teach their…
- Children who are grown
Again we know this first because Moses was including all the people of Israel in this command, but we also know because the Hebrew word translated here as children does not mean children in the since of little people with runny noses. It means children in the since of heirs, offspring, those whom you have been blessed with by God regardless of how young or old they may be. So empty nesters, you are not off the hook nor do you have to live in guilt wishing you had done a better job of leading your children spiritually. Your job is not done.
You still have the responsibility to speak to your grown children about spiritual things. You still have the responsibility to pray with them, not just for them. And you not only have the responsibility to continue offering spiritual guidance you also have the right.
In today’s society the idea of a Patriarch is frowned upon. Our American culture says older people have had their turn and should get out of the way for the young people to make progress but that is not what the Bible says. Throughout Scripture we see fathers and mothers speaking into the lives of their grown children right up to the time they leave this world.
And whats more grown children (myself included) we see in the Bible these adult children of the Patriarchs listening and submitting to their parent’s godly wisdom.
So speak into the spiritual life of your grown child. It may be difficult to do. It might be a little scary. And it may not even go over well right away. But it may be that your grown child is wishing to hear from you in this way. This is what former NAMB president Bob Record found a few years ago when he realized this truth and called his son.
He had been convicted by the fact that he had spent his entire life in ministry and had failed to speak spiritually into his own son’s life. He wallowed in guilt and fear for some amount of time but finally got the nerve to call his son and simply ask him if it would be okay if they began setting aside 30 minutes each week to read and talk about the Bible together. Initially there was silence on the other end of the line. And then he heard his son say, “Dad, you don’t know how long I have wanted to hear you say those words.”
Work to set the hearts of your grown children on the Word of God and also work to set the hearts of their children on the word of God…
- Grandchildren
Grandparents, you have a responsibility that is very similar to that of parents. Your grandchildren are a blessing to you and you are called to be a blessing to them. When you have time with them share God with them. Determine to give them as much spiritually as you give them materially. When you’re spending time with them point them in the direction of God and His Word.
And finally to those who are single or who don’t have children of your own, Moses did not dismiss you either. Instead it is implied that you along with parents and grandparents have a responsibility to share spiritually with…
- All children in your sphere of influence
Look for opportunities to share your faith with any children you know. Sign-up to teach children’s Sunday School, go with our senior adults to South Middle school and mentor a child, host a children’s Bible study in your home for the neighborhood kids. God has placed children in your path for a reason. And that reason is so that you can be a blessing to them and carry out His command to teach the children to observe His law.
So we can see that God has given us all a very serious set of commands. Set your heart on Him and His Word. Make Him of primary importance in your life. Teach this same Word to the children and impress on them the importance of loving God above all else. But Moses goes even further to show us just how important this command is in our lives. In fact he says..
- It is the Most Important Thing You Will Do (v. 47)
Look again with me at verse 47.
47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
First it says…
- It is not a futile thing (it is not an empty word)
If something is not futile or something is not an empty word then it is something that carries with it a great importance.
Moses is saying this is not something to be taken lightly. He is saying that it is not okay to make excuses as to why we are not doing what it is the Bible tells us to do. It is not okay to sacrifice this important task to the respectable idols of the day. Idols such as education, prosperity, career, or status. It is not okay to make excuses as to why we neglect the spiritual feeding of our children. It’s not ok to say, I am too tired, they are too hyper and won’t pay attention, I don’t have time, or I am too busy.
When something else is important to us we find a way to overcome the excuses. If we are to tired to cook we don’t let our children go hungry, we order pizza. Fit in some quick spiritual food even when you are tired. We don’t stop taking our kids to practices, games, recitals, or performances because we are too busy, we make time and work our schedules around them.
The spiritual growth of our children and that of ourselves is not something to be taken lightly. In fact Moses says…
- It IS your life
Those are serious words followed by a serious warning. It is our commitment to God and His Word that will determine the level of blessing or the lack thereof in our lives, the lives of our children and in the lives of the generations to come.
Moses tells the people that the length of time that they will live in the blessings of God is directly linked to the length of time that they live in obedience and love for Him. This is the same language that we see in the second commandment
8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Folks the spiritual future of our children is in our hands. The spiritual future of our grandchildren is in our hands, the spiritual future of the generations to come is in our hands.
It all depends on where our hearts are set. It all depends on what takes priority in our lives. It all depends on how diligent we are in feeding our children spiritually. It all depends on the sacrifices we are willing to make in order to see that we ourselves and our children are fed spiritually more than once or twice a week.
The spiritual future of our children is up to us. And while we cannot convert our children, only the Spirit of God can open their blind eyes to Jesus, we can make sure our children realize what is important to us.
Pray.
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