Sunday Sermon Outline: Out of the Mouth of Babes

"Out of the Mouth of Babes"
Matthew 21:15-16; 19:13-15


Introduction:
     Matthew 21:12-14, “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”


I. Children are important to the King. Matthew 21:15-16
     “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant, 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABES THOU HAST PREPARED PRAISE FOR THYSELF'?"”


     A. The wrong reaction vs. 15-16a
     1 John 3:1, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.”
     1 John 4:19, “We love, because He first loved us.”


     B. The righteous reaction v. 16b


II. Children are important to the Kingdom. Matthew 19:13-15
     “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there.”


     A. The wrong reaction v. 13


     B. The righteous reaction vs. 14-15
     Matthew 18:1-4, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”


Conclusion:
     Mark 10:15, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.”
     2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
     1 Corinthians 1:22-25, "For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."




LISTEN TO AUDIO MESSAGE HERE

New Birth

I am so grateful to the Lord for the safe birth of my second grandchild. Holding little Tabitha Ruth for the first time was truly a joyous moment. So too was my grandson's birth, and the birth of my children. But – not to diminish these births for a second – an even greater joy … an even more emotional moment … took place as I baptized my two children into Christ.

Currently my grandchildren – Jonah and Tabitha – are beyond the reach of Satan (Romans 7:9). They are protected by their innocence. But a day is coming when they will learn the difference between right and wrong. They will – at some point in the future – choose to sin, and in that moment stand in need of a Savior.

I am grateful though that there are at least five of us – Christian parents, Christian grandparents, and a Christian uncle – who stand ready to teach and instruct these two little ones. We stand together – warriors ready for the conflict – prepared to fight for their souls.

Recently, evolutionary biologist and renowned atheist Richard Dawkins spoke to a large crowd of people gathered for a literary festival. In his speech, Dawkins stated that what Christians teach their children – the “indoctrination of religion” – should be labeled as “child abuse.” “We must not indoctrinate our children,” he says.

You see? Already the fight with the devil for their souls has begun. This is exactly why we must indoctrinate them. We must tell them “the old, old story of Jesus and His love.” We must teach them of a God and His “amazing grace.” We must warn them of the enemy who wants to destroy them.

I will never forget the first song I sang in public at the age of three. “Mommy told me something a little boy should know, and it's all about the devil and I've learned to hate him so. She said he causes trouble when you let him in the room. He will never, never leave you if your heart is filled with gloom. So let the sunshine in, face it with a grin! Smilers never lose, and frowners never win! So let the sunshine in, face it with a grin! Open up your heart and let the SON shine in!”

My mother taught me that song – and so many others. My parents read me the Bible stories. They taught me the difference between right and wrong, according to God's standard. Eventually, my father baptized me. I baptized my children. I look forward to seeing Joshua baptize his children.

This is why the Bible is so important … from the earliest age. God's word was delivered “so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged” (Deuteronomy 6:2).

Yes, the life of a newborn child is reason to celebrate. But a greater celebration is coming! “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). We may not have to worry about that yet … but if the Lord continues to tarry, the day is coming when we will, because “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Regardless of what the atheists say, God has declared, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Therefore, we have a duty to our children … to indoctrinate them … to protect them … to prepare them … to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Thank you, Lord, for a new birth! And I mean that both physically and spiritually.

“How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives. But greater still the calm assurance this child can face uncertain days because He lives!”

Andrea! Josh! Barak! Lee Anne! It's not too early. Let's get started. The fight starts here and now. If we don't draw a line in the sand, Satan will come and kick it in our face. Our preparation has a purpose … “whatever is born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4) … and those two little souls are worth far more than a mere existence on this earth.

Don't get me wrong … I look forward to spending time with my grandchildren. I want to play with them, go fishing and camping with them, pray with them, sing with them. I want to see them grow up and become superior citizens … of the kingdom of God.

I'm glad I was there for their physical birth. I hope I'm still around to see their rebirth. And while I am grateful for time spent with them in this world, I hope even more for an eternity with them in heaven.

Five things that are killing the Restoration Movement: #5, Youth

Surely this will be the most contentious of the five articles, because not just the church but our society has gone youth crazy. We live in a day and age where parents cater to the every whim of their children … and the results have been obvious and startling. Children are less moral, less polite, less knowledgeable, have less of a work ethic, are more selfish, more self-centered and more lazy than at any time in recorded history.

Within the Restoration Movement, it has been the decision of elderships across the land to focus a majority of the congregation's time and resources on attracting and catering to youth. Transportation ministers bring them, children's ministers raise them, youth ministers play with them, praise bands play for them, planning committees build for them and the adults pay for it all. We pay to send them on mission trips and retreats. We take them to youth group, after school programs, parties, Vacation Bible School, church camp, conferences, concerts, ball games, skate rinks, movies, restaurants and theme parks.

Yet for all the time invested … for all the expenditure of finances … what have we accomplished? Are our children more spiritual? Are they more knowledgeable of the Scriptures? Are they better prepared for heaven? In fact, since the inception of youth ministries … since the spotlight has been shined upon our youth … have they become more moral than the society around them? Do the statistics show that more kids are attending church and being saved? Have teen pregnancy rates dropped? Are more college kids attending church because they were a part of their church's youth group?

Psalm 144:12 says, “Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, and our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace.” I cannot come up with even one name from my own experience within the Christian church of a youth such as Josiah, Samuel, Mary or Jesus. Where is the proof – even one scrap of evidence – that suggests the human invention of youth ministries is working?

I say human invention, because there is not one shred of Biblical evidence that even remotely suggests such a training process for children. God said to His people at Mt. Horeb, “Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children” (Deuteronomy 4:10). This is the God-given pattern. It is one of righteous men and women teaching their children. Proverbs 6:20 says, “My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.” Nowhere in the Scriptures was the spiritual instruction of the children given over to someone else.

But today we are too busy! We are too ignorant! We need specialized people to train our children. They must have a degree from a Bible college (which is understandable, because where would we ever find a young man or woman who came out of their congregation's youth group already trained?). But once they have gained that sacred shingle, then we gladly turn our children and our money over to those who are barely more than children themselves. They have received an education, but unfortunately have no wisdom with which to disseminate their knowledge. Welcome to today's youth ministry!

One congregation which I attended numerous times had a habit during their worship service of standing and turning to face the children as they left the sanctuary for children's church. After leaving, one of the leaders would then pray for them specifically. This happens every week. Perhaps you think, “What's wrong with praying for children?” The better question would be: Why only pray for the children? Why stand and give them special honor? Do we also stand for the reading of God's word? Do we stand and pray before the minister preaches? Do we so recognize teachers or musicians? Why just the children?

“Oh, but the children are our future!” That's what I have been told repeatedly, ad nauseum, since I entered the ministry. But is it true? Are the children we train our future … or are they someone else's? How many children grow up in your congregation, are served by your youth group, attend college and then come back to serve that same congregation as an adult? The answer is very few indeed. Most children graduate from college and relocate to areas other than the old hometown. So it would be much more accurate to say that our children are someone else's future … and someone else's children are our future. Of all the deacons and elders I have worked with over the last 27 years, I cannot think of one who was actually raised up in that particular congregation.

Regardless, the end result is the same. Children are being entertained, but not educated. They are given ample activities, but few facts. They are taught nice moral lessons (ala VeggieTales), but little actual doctrine. We cater to their attention spans, rather than meet their spiritual needs. They go home to their parents and report what fun they had! … and it's enough. As long as their kids LIKE the youth program and have some friends, there are no questions asked. What a shame that parents care more about whether their children will survive public school than about whether they will actually reach heaven.

It is this ungodly tunnel vision upon youth that is killing the Restoration Movement. If such attention were focused upon producing holy and righteous youth, able to stand boldly against a wicked world, I would be less inclined to complain. If actual fruit were being produced, I would have a harder time criticizing. But such is not the case. Today's children are rude and obnoxious (like their parents), especially toward those elderly who have exhibited the most faithfulness within the church. They desire said adults to fund all of their ventures, all the while keeping their mouths shut about everything else. “We don't want your old-fashioned ideas. We want programs we like. We want music we like. We want teachers we like. We want ministers we like. We want buildings where we can play. We want buses to take us wherever we want to go. Don't tell us how to live our lives, just write us a check.” Is it any wonder Isaiah said, “The youth will storm against the elder” (Isaiah 3:5)?

One of the main reasons Solomon wrote the Proverbs was “to give ... to the youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:4). Very few of today's youth ministries are actually accomplishing that goal, even if it were their job instead of the parents. Unless we reverse this trend … unless the parents Biblically educate themselves and take control once again of their children's spiritual education … the Restoration Movement is doomed to failure.

The Scriptural process has been reversed (which is Satan's specialty). The New Testament shows adults being given good news … being evangelized … and those adults sharing it with their families. The church was a top-down model: Win the parents, and they bring the children. Today, it is the opposite: Win the children, and maybe they will bring their parents.

We are supposed to be a Restoration Movement … restoring biblical principles … restoring New Testament faith and practice. Somewhere along the line, someone stopped caring. Today, tradition trumps truth. What the consumer wants is more important than what the soul needs. Oh, for a return to the time when a preacher was able to say with conviction, “I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).