How To Impart Wisdom to the Upcoming Generations

Introduction|

Attention:

According to a recent survey, two-thirds (66 percent) of American young adults who attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year as a teenager say they also dropped out for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. While this is a staggering statistic, it is up from a previous study that showed that 70 percent of young people had left the church. This mass exodus from the church finds it’s origin in two main issues within the church: 1) a lack of apologetics within the church (defending Christian theism/Christian worldview) and 2) a lack of generational discipleship in the home and church.

Need Element:

The need for both apologetics and generational discipleship is great within the evangelical church and community. With the next generation leaving the church at an alarming rate, believers need to be aware of the ecclesiastical impact of this departure from the local church. According to the Pew Research Center, the median age of church members within the Southern Baptist Convention is 54 years old. Currently, the Southern Baptist Convention has 14,813,234 members. From 2017-2018, the SBC lost 192,404 people. If this trend continues, the SBC will no longer exist in Caden and Oliver’s lifetime. If a lack of generational discipleship is a portion of the problem, We need to teach the upcoming generations to love the Lord, to worship the Lord and to obey the Lord (). Tonight, I want to help us to make an eternal impact by impacting the next generation.

Background:

Solomon is imparting wisdom to his children by giving instruction from his father to his children.

Textual Idea:

Solomon summons his children to hear and heed the godly wisdom that David had imparted to him.

Big Idea:

We need to impart godly wisdom from previous generations to the next generation.

Interrogative:

How do we impart godly wisdom from previous generations to the next generation?

Outline|

I. We can impart godly wisdom by teaching the next generation to practice biblical instruction (vv. 1-2)

Explanation:

Erik Erikson, a psychologist of the 20th century, coined the term generativity. Generativity is a “need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to the next generation.”

While this term is new, the principle is found in the Old Testament where God tells his people to nurture, guide, and contribute to the next generation: “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long” (, ESV).

You quickly pick up on the urgency of parental and generational instruction and love in both and . Solomon, in our passage, seeks to impart biblical wisdom to His children by recalling the past instruction of his father—David.

We quickly notice that we can give godly wisdom by teaching the next generation to practice good instruction.

Solomon says: “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding” (). The word hear and attend are connected with a time of educational instruction through a verbal means (e.g., “he taught me and said unto me” []). The reason for the sons to hear and heed is revealed—“For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law” (). The word doctrine (לֶ֫קַח ) means instruction. However, this word connects to the testimony of the Lord to the Children of Israel (; ). In , God people were given a song to confront and convict them of their rebellious nature and habits (). However, this song is also a warning given to the upcoming generation as they are about to claim the land so that they will not resell against him. After summoning his son to hear and heed, Solomon urges his son not to abandon his law. The word law (tôrāh) is closely connected with a time of instruction and learning given by an authority figure (e.g., YHWH to His People, a father to his son).

Illustration:

Growing up, I always enjoyed going to work with my dad. So, from an early age, I learned to change oil and tries by watching my dad do those things regularly at work. Today, I know how to pull a car into the garage bay, jack the vehicle up on a lift, and change the oil in the car because I learned from my father.

Argumentation:

Why should we teach the next generation to practice biblical instruction?

Without biblical/proper instruction, the next generation will not know the Lord or follow His word, will, and way. The children of Israel found themselves in this place. After Moses, God raised Joshua to lead the People into the promised land. At the beginning () and at the end () Joshua encouraged the children of Israel to obey the Lord and follow Him. However, Joshua’s generation had failed the upcoming generation by not teaching them to know the Lord and follow Him.

reads: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors (Joshua’s generation), another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel” (NIV).

Application:

One of the downfalls of my generation is the unhitching of tradition from modern Christianity. Traditions can become one of two things: 1) a cycle of deprivation or 2) a cycle of affirmation. Some traditions need to die because they damage and hinder growth on a personal and congregational level. For example, the anti-education philosophy and the anti-praise and worship movement need to die because they hinder and damage growth. However, some traditions need to live because they foster growth on a personal and congregational level. For example, an annual Christmas offering is a great tradition that promotes growth. Another great tradition is modest dress in both personal and congregational life. If you are a part of the older generation, you have a responsibility to impart biblical instruction and wisdom to the upcoming generation. The church has lost its focus on generational discipleship.

We must remember that generational discipleship connects the past with the present and the present with the future! We must teach them to live out biblical doctrine by proclaiming it with our lips (words) and our life (actions). Teach the upcoming generation to love and follow the Lord. However, you must allow live it out before they're watching eyes.

II. We can impart godly wisdom by teaching the next generation to pursue biblical wisdom (vv. 3-9)

Explanation:

In our text, we discover three generations of biblical instruction—the grandparent (David), the father (Solomon), and the children (Solomon’s sons). Solomon imparts the instruction of his father to his children: “For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me” ().

First, David taught Solomon to be obedient—“Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live” ().

In Hebrew thought, the heart represented the “the mind and intellect.” David wanted Solomon to grasp his words. The phrase let thine heart retain carries the idea of grasping hold of something for support. He also wanted him to obey them—“keep my commandments.” The ancient Hebrews understood sonship not to be a matter of “biology but as a matter of obedience.” Thus, a disobedient son was disowned for his rebelliousness.

Secondly, David taught his Solomon to pursue wisdom— “Get wisdom, get understanding. . . . get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding” (, ).

The word get means to acquire something by purchase—"Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding” (NET). The pursuit of wisdom provides the pursuer with two essential possessions.

First, wisdom provides protection—“she shall preserve thee. . .and she shall keep thee” ().

Secondly, wisdom provides honor—“she shall promote thee. . . she shall bring thee to honour. . .She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace” ().

Now, Solomon teaches his sons to obey his instruction and to pursue wisdom through the imparted wisdom of his father David!

Illustration:

Solomon illustrates this for us in . The Bible reads: “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 kings 3:5-14, ESV).

Argumentation:

Why should we teach the next generation to pursue wisdom?

The answer is in the text: “Wisdom is the principal thing” (). One writer says: “Wisdom is the greatest possession anyone can have, and the young man should make winning her the primary goal of his life.” We ought to encourage the next generation to pursue Christ and wisdom because “getting wisdom is the wisest thing [any person] can do” (, NLT).

Application:

Since “getting wisdom is the wisest thing [any person] can do,” we ought to be encouraging the upcoming generations to fear the Lord (). As we seek to disciple the current and future generations, we must teach them to pursue biblical wisdom by making biblical instruction a part of our life—“let your heart lay hold of my words” and by obeying God word in every area of life—“keep my commandments.” Do you continually encourage younger believers to pursue wisdom?

Conclusion/Application|

Reiteration:

We need to impart godly wisdom from previous generations to the upcoming generations. We can impart this wisdom by teaching the next generation to practice good instruction and to pursue biblical wisdom.

Action:

We need to impart godly wisdom from the past generations to the upcoming generations. We must teach them to live out biblical doctrine by proclaiming it with our lips (words) and our life (actions). Teach the upcoming generation to love and follow the Lord. However, you must allow live it out before they're watching eyes. We must also teach them to pursue biblical wisdom by making biblical instruction a part of our life and by obeying God word in every area of life.

Appeal:

If we are going to turn the tide, it is going to have to start with the past generations taking the responsibility of teaching their children to love the Lord and obey his word—true wisdom. It is going to take my generation listening and applying the wisdom of the past generation to my generation. Finally, it is going to take my generation being faithful to teach the upcoming generation the principles of scripture and modeling biblical Christianity before them.