A Heart that Pleases a Father
Notes
Transcript
Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 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.
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: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; Who should arise and declare them to their children:
That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments: 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.
Introduction
Introduction
One of the final challenges of first generation leaders is to develop investment in the second generation of leaders. JP Morgan was the dominant financial mind of his time. During the middle and late 1800s, he amassed power and money through strategic combinations of acquired companies. Railroads, banks, and factories were consolidated into a monetary empire. While known throughout North America and Europe then, his influence carries on today in companies named after him.
His son, JP Morgan Jr, was also a financial mogul, inheriting his father’s fortune and companies. However, in describing his legacy, Encyclopedia Brittanica online uses this statement, “Though not the dominant, masterful personality his father had been, J.P. Morgan, Jr., was still the most important American financier of his day.”
https://www.britannica.com/money/John-Pierpont-Morgan-Jr
The son was not what his father was and the difference was noticeable. What was the noticeable change? It was the way that the younger Morgan presented himself or his “personality”. We can see in the example of the Morgans that every person chooses his own way despite the steps and actions of his father.
In our passage this morning, we see the legacy of those who have gone before us. The people of Israel lived many centuries ago. But they struggled with the same challenges that we do of sin and temptation. They could choose to follow the commands of God clearly laid out in the Law or instead to create their own gods to follow. During his final sermon to the Israelites, Moses passed on the command of God to His people about His law.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The influence of the Law and the Words of God was dependent on faithful transference in the families of God’s people. There was a need for the fathers and mothers to tell the children what God had spoken. Throughout the Bible, the family is shown as the primary place of teaching the Word of God and developing character in the children. Martin Luther made this connection in the 1500s,
Family life is a school for character.
Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)
In Psalm 78, we find a pattern for the systematic development of the character of the family. Asaph, the writer of this psalm, is looking to bring forth wisdom in the next generation so that it will be made ufp of those who choose to do better than their fathers. The goal of every generation is to better the ones that come after. Thus, as one commentator explained it, we have a catechism or a memorized set of the blessings of God for teaching.
Psalms 73–150 Psalm 78
McMillion is likely accurate in describing
Declaration
Declaration
The message of Asaph is a timely one for us today. Lead the next generation to follow Him with their whole heart. Listen to the stories of God's faithfulness to His people. Learn from the mistakes of those who did not live in His Law. Three applications are given to faithful fathers.
1. Lead the Next Generation
1. Lead the Next Generation
Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 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. 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: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; Who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments: 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.
A. True Wisdom Comes through Training v. 1-4
A. True Wisdom Comes through Training v. 1-4
Asaph is writing sometime after beginning of the reign of David. Some point to the mention of a place of worship that was exalted in verse 69 as indicating that the psalm was written after the building of the Temple. Asaph is writing in a time of obedience and blessing but with a message toward seeing the full blessing of the people of God.
As he begins the psalm, Asaph echos the wisdom of Solomon with his calls to listen and his explanation of the importance of the wisdom.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; To perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; The words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The wisdom of the Word of God is passed on by the people of God and their testimony of faithfulness. There are things in the Bible that are confusing. There are things that are challenging and hard to obey. But the people of God ought to look to His Word for their wisdom and prosperity. Jesus fulfilled this passage in the Gospel of Matthew.
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
What is to be done with the next generation? Surely this question has been asked throughout the centuries. Here we find a resolve for the fathers and mothers of the people of God. Teach them and lead them to follow God.
A generation here was likely indicating a period of one’s life with their contemporaries. Some connect this to a period of 33 1/3 years while others indicate that it was about 40 years. Asaph is talking about the children of those who are living and who would have grown up together. What are we to do for the next generation?
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
The true wisdom of God comes through intentional training by the faithful. We point out praise to God, the strength of God, and the works that He has done for us. How many can you count?
B. Training Ought to Affect the Heart v. 5-8
B. Training Ought to Affect the Heart v. 5-8
There are two Divine actions found in verse 5. God has “established a testimony in Jacob” and “appointed a law in Israel.” There is a parallel thought in the way that God uses the two names for the son of Isaac. God gave the Law to the Jewish people to allow them to develop a relationship with God.
The Word of God functions as the primary method that we hear from God. He has spoken to our needs and our desires. He has promised and fulfilled the way of salvation that we required. We needed redemption or “purchasing back” from where our sin was taking us. Jesus came to give us redemption.
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
The goal that God has for these truths being passed on is that those who hear them will “set their hope in God,” in verse seven. One definition of this word is the word “fix”. We need to be established on God alone because He is the only sure refuge for us. In another passage, the Psalmist resolves his heart through this truth,
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him For the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee From the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night his song shall be with me, And my prayer unto the God of my life.
Is your heart set in God? Do you remember the works that God has done? Are you keeping the commands that you know God has given? The training of the family is made up of the diligent cultivation of hearts that are built upon the Word of God and a personal relationship with Him.
In verse 8, Asaph brings in a description of those who had gone before him and his contemporaries. The “fathers” or the generation before were those who were a “stubborn and rebellious generation”. This was the characteristics of the those who did not allow the truth of God to involve their heart. A choice to disobey the teachings of God’s Word was a set decision in the heart of the person. Nothing was going to change the person from their chosen wayward course.
But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
The message of Asaph for this passage is simple: do something with what you have been given. Lead the next generation through teaching them and capturing their heart. Until we seek to reach the hearts of people, there will never be a revival to the Word of God in our families.
2. Listen to the Wonders of God
2. Listen to the Wonders of God
Ps 78:9-54
The examples that Asaph gives here are from the history of Israel. However, we can make application to passing on the record of the times that God did something in our lives. God stands as our foundation even today. One commentary was careful to match this psalm with chapter 32 of Deuteronomy. Together, they record what God had done for His people. That chapter contains this verse,
He is the Rock, his work is perfect: For all his ways are judgment: A God of truth and without iniquity, Just and right is he.
We see in verse 9-11 an example that summarizes the rest of the psalm. The people are called Ephraim. This was a prophetic way to refer to Israel when they were unfaithful or idolatrous. We see it used this way in both Hosea and Jeremiah. The basis of the failure of Ephraim was a stubbornness to go their own way instead of the way that God had commanded.
They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;
A. Wonders in Egypt and the Wilderness show us God’s Provision v. 12-42
A. Wonders in Egypt and the Wilderness show us God’s Provision v. 12-42
In verses 12-42, we see an outline of the many occurrences of tests that took place in the wilderness. God was looking to see if the people would be faithful when He provided water for them. What would they do when He provided food for them?
What do we do when God gives things to us? Do we take it for granted? The example of the Prodigal Son was one of ingratitude. He was not thankful for what his father had provided until it was too late. In our natural state, our bent is to take for granted the blessings of God. Paul recorded the reaction of those who refuse to look up to God for all that He has done.
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: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. Verse 22 tells us that the people missed the key part of salvation, belief. Do you believe that God can do something in you? Verse 32 shows us that despite the continued works of God, there was still no belief. The part that God is looking at is the heart, verse 37.
What is the result of missing the wonders of God? There will be things that God cannot do because of the unbelief. Jesus could not do great works in Nazareth because of the unbelief of the people.
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
B. Wonders in Egypt and the Exodus show us God’s Protection v. 43-54
B. Wonders in Egypt and the Exodus show us God’s Protection v. 43-54
In verses 43-54, the subject changes to the works of God in the land of Egypt, specifically the Plagues, and the leaving of Egypt by Israel. Only God could bring them out of their bondage. There was a series of tests by God for a change in the heart of Pharaoh. Yet, each time, he hardened his heart. How many times has God tried to get our attention and we simply ignored clear indicators?
The work of God was to punish the sin of Egypt and bring out the people to Mt Sinai. God protected His people like a flock. He does the same today. The idea of people as sheep in a flock is found throughout the Bible. God is looking to lead and provide for His chosen people.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Are you listening to the wonders of God? He speaks out of the pages of the Old Testament that He can give what we need to eat and drink. He can give salvation to those who are willing to believe. The family ought to listen to the Word of God and its record of the wonders of God.
3. Learn from the Mistakes
3. Learn from the Mistakes
He cast out the heathen also before them, And divided them an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, And kept not his testimonies: But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this, he was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel: So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent which he placed among men; And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the enemy’s hand. He gave his people over also unto the sword; And was wroth with his inheritance. The fire consumed their young men; And their maidens were not given to marriage. Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, And like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim: But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, Like the earth which he hath established for ever. He chose David also his servant, And took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him To feed Jacob his people, And Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
A. Our Hearts Consciously Turn v. 55-66
A. Our Hearts Consciously Turn v. 55-66
The final section of the psalm is a listing of the ways that the people rebelled in the land of Promise. God brought them into Canaan by a miraculous division of the Jordan River. Victory followed victory against the people in the land. Yet, the record of the book of Judges is a constant cycle of idol worship and unthankfulness.
The hearts of the people turned against the worship of God. When there should have been a sacrifice to Jehovah, they instead offered to Baal. When there should have been a separation from the world, there was a marriage with the people in the land. Verse 57 tells us that they turned like a bow. The result of the abandonment of God was the removal of His Presence. The loss of the ark of the covenant was a sign of the removal of God from Israel.
And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
Is your life being lived without the Presence of God? There will be a lack of conviction for sin. There will be a missing desire to worship Him. The family needs to care for the heart and its direction.
Our hearts consciously turn
or
B. Our Hearts Shew Forth Integrity v. 67-72
B. Our Hearts Shew Forth Integrity v. 67-72
In contrast to the heart of the people in the time of the Judges, Asaph gives a final example to learn from. Learning from mistakes does not require us to only pay attention to failures. David had some mistakes in his life but we can say that he was not a failure in his leadership of Israel.
David is the example of the person who responded better than his fathers to the opportunity of serving God and receiving His blessings. When there was an opportunity to believe God, David did so. Through years of waiting, he believed that God would keep His promise to make Him the king.
Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
What was the character of David? The basis of David’s administration was the “integrity of his heart” and the “skilfulness of his hands”. Integrity was the constant choosing of right over wrong in the daily walk of David. When there were times he could have harmed Saul, he chose mercy. When there were times that he could have accumulated wealth for himself, he offered it freely to Mephibosheth. Despite his faults, David is called a man after God’s own heart. Here we see that word again, heart. How is your heart? Paul spoke of the choice of David.
And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before. This lesson is centered in the heart. There are times that we will face situations just like they did, how will we respond. The Bible is a cautionary tale to those who will walk the path of discipleship.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The message of Asaph is a timely one for us today. Lead the next generation to follow Him with their whole heart. Listen to the stories of God's faithfulness to His people. Learn from the mistakes of those who did not live in His Law.
Few now remember the person who first led an empire to conquer Spain. He was a general with an army and navy that he funded himself. He traveled of his own volition to expand the power of a city on the Northern Coast of Africa. His name was Hamilcar Barca.
While they may not remember Hamilcar, his son is well positioned as one of the greatest military leaders in history. Hannibal was able, with only a few men and elephants, to threaten the city of Rome for over a decade. He became the stuff of nightmares to the children of the city of Rome. The investment of his father to take him with him and show him the truths of warfare paid off in the conduct of the Second Punic War.
Every person chooses his own way despite the steps and actions of his father. Yet, the command of God through Asaph today is to lead the next generation to follow God with their heart. That takes a faithful father and mother who desire to see God do something wonderful again in His people.
Will you take up the challenge of Asaph? Will you speak of the works of God and set your heart firmly in Him? Will you be a father, mother, brother or sister whose heart pleases a father?
The greatest way that we can have such a heart is to live the Christian life faithfully as God has planned for us. Beginning at salvation, we have a pattern and a promise in Scripture that God will be with us. Check your heart today!
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
