We began a message this morning that we entitled, The Little Ones, and we'd like to pick up where we left off and continue on with that thought and that study this afternoon. We're going to go back and read the passages that we gave as introductory reading, and then say a few words by way of review, and then we'll pick right up where we left off this morning. Two passages of scripture that we want to call your attention to, both found in the book of Matthew. We'll begin in Matthew 19, read verses 13 through 15, and then we'll back up to Matthew 18 and read the first six verses there. Matthew 19, 13. Then there were brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray. And the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' And he laid his hands on them and departed thence." I was impressed again when I reread that in the expression that he made, for such or for all such is the kingdom of heaven. Many of the parables that Jesus spake, he said, and this particular circumstance is likened unto the kingdom of heaven, showing a comparative value. Now he says little children are of such as are populating the kingdom of heaven. Submissive, agreeable, little children. In chapter 18, beginning with verse 1, at the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest? in the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea." Now, reviewing, we said, surely the little ones are oftentimes overlooked. or ignored, or worse yet, they are instructed that, quote, these things are not for you, at least at this time. What a shame to put little children in such a position to make them believe that they're not able to, nor willing, nor capable of understanding the words that other men speak about. And again, I repeat, I do not know, nor do I know of a single scripture that would justify or substantiate a so-called age of accountability. Not too young, not for you and me to decide. Surely Jesus knew, and he knows now, when one of his elect, be they young or old, are granted repentance and given faith to believe on him for the saving of their precious souls. He knows, but we do not know. Neither can we discern the working of the Holy Spirit until he works. That's the secret. We cannot discern nor know the working of the Holy Spirit in the heart, mind, and life of any individual, be they child or adult or old person. We do not know. And we can only know once the result of that working of the Holy Spirit manifests itself. If there is grace granted, Faith given, that individual who's saved, his life will pretty soon demonstrate that something is different. He likened the work of the Holy Spirit to the wind as he spoke in John 3, 8 to Nicodemus. We will not repeat that again. You're very familiar with that. The wind blew it where it listened. Now, here is the sound, our Lord, but canst not tell whither it cometh or whither it goeth. Now, we've done a lot of reading in the Old Testament Scriptures this morning in support of the general theme of the little ones. We're going to continue with that. God, in his word, clearly indicates that he has always purposed and intended to bring little ones under his watch, care, and protection, shielding them, instructing them, enlightening them, quickening them, bringing them to a knowledge of the truth. Now, he never told us that he began that work when they were X number of years old. He never told us that he didn't begin that work when they were X number of years old. There's no scripture that I know about or have ever heard of that can justify the position that many men take, well, that's too, you're not ready for that, and try to put that child off. Let's see how God has dealt with the little ones down through the ages. Turn in your Bibles, if you will, and follow with me again this afternoon as we did this morning to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 6. We'll begin reading in verse 12 and read through verse 16. This concerns Solomon as part of the Old Testament sacrificial services were involved. and he," referring to Solomon, and he, "...stood before the altar of the Lord, in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands. For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court." And upon it he stood, and kneeled down on his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, and said, O LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, THERE IS NO GOD LIKE THEE IN THE HEAVEN NOR IN THE EARTH, WHICH KEEPETH COVENANT, AND SHOWETH MERCY UNTO THY SERVANTS, THAT WALK BEFORE THEE WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS. Thou which hast kept with thy servant David, my father, that which thou hast promised him, and speakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Now, therefore, after praising God in those words before, now, he says, now, therefore, O God of Israel, Keep with thy servant David, my father, that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel, yet so that thy children take heed to their way in my law, as thou hast walked before me." The promise was that there would always be a proper heir to the throne. But the instruction is that those children were to be taught this precept and demonstrated before them that their fathers and their grandfathers believed and practiced this precept so that they might take heed in their own way. That the children might learn by observation what they ought to do and how they ought to apply themselves. Seeking to walk in the ways that God's covenant with David said they ought to walk. a perpetuation, if you will, a continuation of being trained, one step at a time, from one generation to the next, to follow the ways of the Lord and God's promises connected. Now, in order for us to seek the right way, as Solomon sought to demonstrate to Israel that they ought to, to seek the right way is simply to ask that ye be given in ableness so that you can walk in that way. That's pretty simple. Let me repeat that. To seek the right way is to ask that you may be given enablement so that you can walk in that way. 1 Corinthians 6 and many other scriptures teaches us that we are to walk circumspectly. That means within due bounds, within the boundaries that God's word has set. We're to walk circumspectly. Within new bounds are the boundaries that His Word points out to us. What is our guideline? His Word. What His Word teaches for us to do, that's what we ought to do. What God's Word restricts us from doing, that we ought to refrain from doing. Walking circumspectly within the boundaries that God's Word has established. We are commanded, it's not a suggestion folks, we are commanded to walk so as to demonstrate or to manifest that we are gods. Having been bought with a price unto separation from the world, unto that which is pleasing in God's sight, unto that path that is the right way that his word points out for us to follow. we are to walk according to God's teachings. Now, all of this up to this point has been dealing with the primary subject of the importance of instructing the little ones. Now, we want to get down to the second main point, which is the instruction itself of the little ones. We begin by a familiar scripture, Proverbs 22.6. Listen to what Solomon said at God's direction, and the holy spirit leadership of him provided. He says, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Now, we can look at our lives, and we can see some measure of modest success, but we can also, if we're honest, see much in our own lives where we fail to do that very thing. train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Surely, dear ones, our children, our little ones, are born of sinful parents. So, consequently, they are born sinful. They are depraved. We need to recognize that. I know we like to think that that little innocent child, hey, that little child is not innocent. That little child is a sinner. begotten of a sinful father, conceived by a sinful mother, brought forth in sin, not a sinful act, but in a sinful state. Psalm 51 says, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Again, not because of a sinful act, but because of a sinful nature. My mother was of a sinful nature. my father was of a sinful nature. Therefore, the only children that they could bring forth would inherit that sinful nature. I'm a sinner because I was born with a sinful nature. Psalm 58-3 is the scripture that verifies that to be true. Psalm 58-3 says the wicked, the wicked mean those not yet redeemed from their wickedness, all sinners. all unsafe sinners. The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Speaking lies is sent to the manifestation of the nature that they have. They are sinners, and therefore they will act accordingly. You do not need to teach a child to lie or to otherwise sin. They're born as they. With these capacities, with these propensities, they are born sinners. They are depraved, meaning they are void of righteousness, or they're void of right speaking or right doing. They're sinners. Thus parents are commanded to teach them of the path in which they are to take. Now, please understand that you are not required to make them believe anything. You are required to teach them. You are required to teach them slowly, daily, methodically, the ways of God. As Moses instructed the sons of Israel, as how they were to teach their little ones about the significant facts of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, he said, in Exodus 13, verse 8, it is recorded, beginning in verse 8. Remember, Moses is instructing the sons of Israel as to how they were to teach their little ones about the significant facts of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And here's what he said, Exodus 13, 8. and thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand that the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." It's an ongoing thing for the Hebrew to remember. Now, how can the ordinance be kept from year to year except the parents teach this ordinance, this precept, to their children in the successive generations? How? Teach them what this means. In Exodus 13, verses 14, 15, and 16, listen again. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? Thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt from the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrificed to the Lord all that opened the matrix, being male." Did you hear what that said? The firstborn of a male child was condemned. both of man and beast, but all the firstborn of my children I rename." Now, remember what happened. We'll talk about it in a minute. Verse 16 continues, And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes. For by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt. Let me give you a little bit of historical data. a mark on the hand as frontlets between thine eyes. The orthodox Hebrew in those days, and still today, have a little packet, a little box strapped around their forehead at this time of year. And inside that are those commandments that tells them what that means It is to remind them constantly that by the strong and mighty hand of God, and only by the strong and mighty hand of God, were they delivered from the bondage that Egypt had imposed upon them. It was not by their own strength or might that they came free. It's because God intended to bring them free, and he brought them free. And they were to be reminded of it, and they were to teach their children. and their children, and their children, down through all generations. That's what it was all about. In Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 9 and 10, continuation of these thoughts. Listen to what he said here. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest thou depart from thy heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons, especially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that I will make them hear my words, so that They may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." That's what God commanded that whole rapture. Gather all the people that I may instruct them as to what they must do. They are to serve me, they are to fear me, they are to go up before me in godly fear, giving due respect, due honor, due reverence, and they are to teach their children the same precepts. and the same principles. In Deuteronomy 11, beginning with verse 18, these words continue, Therefore shall ye lay up these words in your heart. I'm pausing here, there's not punctuation that would require me to pause, but I'm pausing for emphasis. Lay up these words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as trumpets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou lies down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the doorpost of thine house, And upon thine gates that your days may be multiplied and the days of your children in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give them as the days of heaven upon the earth. The Lord is serious about this. He gave instructions. He required them to put these precepts into practice and to do what he said. I get a little bit discouraged When I observe and look around and see the apparent lack of concern that the truths of God's Word are taken so lightly by the world. You look at the world out here that is religious beyond measure, by their own standards, and who know nothing about these precepts and teachings of God's Word. They simply make light of it and put it off. All that was the Old Testament. Folks, without the precepts set forth in the Old Testament, then the precepts of the New Testament stand baseless. They're not grounded upon anything. Maybe that's the problem that many men, women, boys, and girls feel. They do not feel any compulsion to give heed to the precepts of God's order. It doesn't seem important. But the religious world is the greatest perpetrator of that false attitude that is so common in their adherents, those that follow their ways. They're like blind leaders of the blind. They're being taught a bill of goods that's not what it ought to be. Listen to this admonition and warning in Psalm 78, verses 1 through 8. 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 ye have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing 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. He will have children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children." You see, it's not a one-time deal. It's an ongoing thing. "...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 steadfast with God. Instruct our children? Those are my words. Are we to instruct our children? And I say, absolutely. Why? Because we have been commanded to do so. God didn't suggest that we might consider doing this. He commanded it to be done. We have so many scriptures that we've already read and others that we will read, for it is not merely something for me to consider. Perhaps the best known of these instructions, perhaps the most widely read among God's people even today, amidst this time of declension and decay and falling away, is what we find recorded for us in Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 1 through 9. If you haven't turned there, please do so, and put your finger on this and read it with me. I'll try to read it as it is. I may emphasize for your attention's sake, but let's read what God said as instructions for parents to raise up their children. Deuteronomy 6, 1-9. Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it. When you go into this promised land that I've given you, here's how you're to live. That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I commend thee, thou son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life, and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it. that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach diligently. Diligently means to quit or sharpen their appetite for this truth. And thou shalt teach 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, and thou shalt bind them upon thine hand, and they shall be as trumpets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them on the post of thy house and on thy gates." So, in summation, how are we commanded to teach these things to our little ones, to our children? We are to teach these things first by godly example. Matthew 5, 6 tells these disciples, let your light so shine. Let your light, the light that you have, shine to such degree that others may see thy good works and glorify thy name. So we're to teach these things by godly example. We're to teach our children these things by daily meditation upon the Lord's word, teachings, and by his example." In other words, how did Jesus live when he walked among men as a man? What example did he leave us? By daily meditation upon the Lord's word, upon his teachings, and by his example. We're to teach these things to our little ones by seeking to be filled with the spirit as we navigate through this wearisome land in these wearisome times. We are to teach these things to our children slowly, daily, constantly, meaning every day. Number five, we are to apply these teaching principles as we seek to be wise in our application of the teaching them all things whatsoever I have commanded you in our commission. Never forget to ask the Lord for divine enablement to do these five teaching steps that I've listed. Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote in order to instruct Timothy, and you and I as well, God preserved it. It wasn't just for Timothy's sake, it was for me and you too. In 2 Timothy 3, 12-17. Here's what Paul wrote to Timothy to instruct him. Timothy was a, relatively speaking, a young man. But he learned some things from his childhood. But Paul continues the godly education unto the edifying of Timothy's spiritual well-being. Listen, 2 Timothy 3.12, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Will our task ever be ended? Not in this mortal life, because while we're teaching the truth to our young people, evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse, teaching them everything except what God teaches. But he says, continue thou. To continue means that you proceed on as you have begun. If you've begun teaching them slowly, constantly, daily, continue on. Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou, Timothy, hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, meaning lacking nothing, but who were truly furnished or equipped unto all good works. Now, why did Paul write such words as this, and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures? Why would he write that? Because that's where Timothy's teaching had begun. When as a child at the knee of his mother Lois, He was taught these things. Surely we need only to look at what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1, 5, and 6. He said, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned love that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. What has begun in your preparation, Timothy, signified a massive change took place at your ordination when the Holy Spirit conferred upon you that desire to be used of God to the degree that you were As a man, I wonder, and I hope you wonder, do our children, do our little ones, receive of us the kinds of instruction and example that Timothy was, as a little child, blessed to receive at the of his godly mother and grandmother. You and I taught in those ways. Did we teach our children those ways? I wonder. And I pray that each of us come to realize the awesome duty and privilege that God has afforded us when he provided the fruit of the womb into our care and under our tutelage. means the office of function of a guardian. It means guardianship. Those little ones are gifts of God placed under our fear. Final thought. The future of the Lord's churches. The little ones who are, to be sure, Honor our tutelage are the future of the Lord's churches. However long that might be until the Lord comes and takes us up. That's how his churches continue to thrive. By thriving I simply mean to exist without being put under. Put under meaning to be consumed by mortality and death so that there are no more. Are we instructing with loving kindness and at the same time with sternness the ones who are under our watch? I'll look at my own life and I'll reflect on days and years gone by when I failed to know what I ought to do about teaching I failed quite often in that I simply did not avail of the means that God had provided so that I could do those things. But as I've grown and as the Lord has patiently strengthened me and edified me, he has given me, I believe, a greater insight than I had when I was 30 or 40 or 50. So it is. Now my question is, have I been a faithful servant in the duty of teaching our little ones? You see, I look at reality, and our church is made up of some 20 members. And we don't have any young people to speak of. But those that are, at my age, those that are 60, are still part of my tutelage. You're still under my watch care. And the duty that God has assigned me is to teach you and encourage you to teach those younger than you. I see very much in our little group strength and perseverance. And I see demonstrated in your lives. that you are willing to be instructed. What I would like to see is that you then pick up that mantle and teach those that are younger than you. I don't necessarily mean younger in chronological age, I mean younger in the Those things that you have opportunity to share with others, begin first by sharing those truths to those members of our culture. Then, ask them to begin to prepare themselves to teach their little ones. You see, I see a our children, and their children, and their children, on occasion in this assembly. The Lord has not failed in his promise. He provides us continuing opportunity to teach our little ones. here a little, there a little, steadfastly teaching them the precepts of God's Word. And I believe that we'll all be greatly encouraged when we see some evidence of growth and maturity taking place in our church. The teaching of the little ones of this church The Lord's coming will be carried very long. How quickly it will leave when they will be the mature ones. Have we encouraged their growth and maturity? I remember a number of years ago, Brother Mike made mention of me, and I hope it's not offensive to anybody, but he said, I can remember in our church when we had several young people, and we did not provide for their growth and maturity, and we woke up one day and noticed that we didn't have any young people. Did we fail? We fail to methodically and slowly teach them to ground and settle them in the truth. I know you can't do it for them, but I urge you to be much in prayer that our church will be revived and awakened to our duty and our privilege of taking God's Word and teaching this Word to our little ones so that they find their rightful position in place and be enabled then to teach their little ones these same truths. May the Lord bless us all and keep us and strengthen us and enable us to walk pleasing before God.