God cares for children; Do we? Part 3
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From part 1: “We will look this morning at several passages from the scriptures but highlight two scriptures, one in Jonah and one in Luke. “
I am not going to go into another overly long survey of the scripture – though I think we could say more about those in Scripture who did not care for children and the consequences they faced.
From the child sacrifice of idol worship (Psalm 106:37-38), to the neglect of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12-17), Samuel (1 Samuel 8:1-5), and David (2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 15; 1 Kings 1; 1 Kings 11; etc) toward their children, we have many examples of failures to guide children to the Lord. Instead lets just go back to the two passages we looked at earlier – Jonah 4 and Luke 18.
You remember the story of Jonah and the great fish (Jonah 4). God called Jonah to go to Ninevah. Many of you may know that Ninevah was the capital of Assyria. Assyria was going to be a terrible enemy of Israel. Maybe Jonah saw or knew this. Jonah did not want that nation or those people to repent.
What if God called you to go to Turkey, that is 97% Muslim, that has imprisoned and killed persecuted Christians? Would you go? Before you’re too hard on Jonah, fully understand his situation.
But I am not letting Jonah off the hook. God did not let Jonah off the hook. Even in the Old Testament Law, Israel was to warn the lost, to care for widows, orphans, and strangers (Deuteronomy 27:19). God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed by his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3).
All this brings us to Jonah 4:11, “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
120, 000 who do not know their right hand form their left? Who could that be? It is children and those with disabilities. John Calvin and John MacArthur agree that this is the children of Ninevah. God cares for them. He says so here and throughout the scripture. Yes, he does care for the cattle, too. But if you follow the complete teaching of all the scriptures, you will find that the children are the most precious to God. He pities them. He cares for them.
When God says, “go into all the world and preach the gospel,” (Mark 16:15) you go. You do not defy the sovereign God and Creator without consequences.
Yet how many people today refuse to do evangelism?
Two Barna research studies show an alarming trend. “In 1993, 89% of Christians who have shared their faith agreed this is a responsibility of every Christian. Today just 64% say so” – a 25-point drop in 25 years.
“In 2015-16 the [Southern Baptist Convention] had the smallest number of baptisms since 1946, the smallest number of members since 1990, and the smallest number of people in worship since 1996. And those smaller numbers are in spite of a steadily growing number of churches.” (Source) If that is what this strongly evangelistic part of the church is doing, what about the rest of us?
If this continues America will become as spiritually bankrupt as most of the countries in Europe.
Jonah did not care about the lost. He did not want them to convert to know Christ. He had zero burden for the lost. Indeed, he wanted God to destroy them. Here in Jonah 4, Jonah is waiting to see if God will destroy them. So, God gives Jonah an object lesson. God grows a plant overnight to shade Jonah. Jonah is pleased. God sends the worm to destroy the plant. Jonah wants to die. Jonah cares more about the plant and his comfort than he does about the people or even the cattle.
What about you and me? Do we care about the men, women, and children around the world that are dying and going to hell for all of eternity?
Tim Keller, in his message on Jonah, points out something very important. The only reason we know the story of Jonah is because Jonah wrote it. This is Jonah confessing his sins. Jonah did not love God or the people as he should. Keller believes this is Jonah’s confession of his sinful heart.
The only reason we know the story of Jonah is because Jonah wrote it. This is Jonah confessing his sins.
And… to expand this picture even more, look with me at Luke 18:16-17. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became flesh to save us from our sins. But Jesus also came to show us the Father. He came to show us the Father’s heart and the Father’s will.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Jesus, God in the flesh, loves and cares for and invites the children to come to Him.
As they were bringing the children to Jesus, to be blessed by him, his disciples were rebuking them. The disciples thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered by children. Jesus had to rebuke his disciples for rebuking their parents and the children.
Matthew and Peter were there. The books of Matthew and Mark record this true story. Matthew, the author of the Gospel of Matthew, then is admitting his sin and failure. Peter, through his teachings to John Mark, author of the gospel of Mark, is doing the same.
Matthew, the author of the Gospel of Matthew, then is admitting his sin and failure. Peter, through his teachings to John Mark, author of the gospel of Mark, is doing the same.
My point is this: God cares for the children and far too often we do not.
What should we do?
First, let us confess our sins and failures to God.
We confess we have not cared for the lot and especially the lost children as we should. As Christian we know to confess our sins and thank God for Jesus, who died to save us from them. We repent and turn from our sinful ways.
Second, we pray and ask God how we can be involved in sharing our faith, especially regarding children.
This is the gospel: Jesus died to forgive us. Jesus rose again to empower us to love and follow him.
