1 SAMUEL 1:24-28 “GIVE ‘EM BACK TO GOD”
A) Have you ever given your children back to God?
* Some of you are thinking, “I’d like to give them back, but I didn’t think God would take
them back ... I thought He had a no return policy on kids – Besides, I lost the receipt.”
B) The truth is, there’s not a parent here who hasn’t had a few moments or days
when they wouldn’t have liked to package up that kid .......
* And take him or her back to God’s customer service counter and demand, “I want my
money back.”
C) One man said, “Before I was married, I had 6 theories on raising kids ... Now I
have 6 kids and no theories.”
* One little boy came running in to his Mother and asked, “Mom, what would you like for
your birthday this year?” ... The Mother said, “I would like 3 well-behaved children.”
* The little boy said, “WOW – Then there would be six of us.”
D) Well, I’m not suggesting you return your kids to God and try to get your money
back, when I ask you if you have ever given your children back to God?
* What I am asking is, have you ever really recognized that your children are a precious
gift from God ... And they belong ultimately and always to Him first, not to you.
* Release the ownership of your children to Him, understanding God is responsible for the
way in which they are designed and already knows the plan and purpose for their lives.
E) Today, God is asking every one of us who are parents to bring our children
and put them on the altar.
* “Preacher, did they practice this in the Bible?” ... They sure did.
EXAMPLES OF PARENTS GIVING THEIR CHILDREN BACK TO GOD
A) There are many examples of parents in the Bible who brought their children
to God and gave them back to Him – Let me share some with you .......
* One: 1 Sam. 1:24-27, there is the classic example of Hannah bringing Samuel .......
* The son for whom she had prayed for, and presenting him to God, and handing young
Samuel over to Eli the priest.
B) Two: Zacharias and Elizabeth circumcised the infant John the Baptist and gave
him the name the angel had instructed them to give him – Luke 1:59-63 .......
* This was an act of surrendering that child to the purpose and plan for which God had
chosen him.
C) Three: Of course, you remember Joseph and Mary brought the infant child Jesus
to the Temple following his circumcision at 8 days – Luke 2:21-24 .......
* They brought Him to the Temple to “present Him to the Lord.”
D) But the example of a parent surrendering his child to God that I want us to study
about today is that of Abraham offering Isaac on Mount Moriah.
* So, let’s go back to Genesis 22, and let’s see what God would have to say to us today
about “Giving Your Children Back To God.”
E) I hope before we leave here today, every parent, grandparent and hope-to-be-parent
have something of an Abraham and Isaac experience.
* I hope you have a real encounter with God where you can come, and in a very real way,
give children and grandchildren back to God.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT ABRAHAM DID
A) He literally, and totally gave Isaac back to God.
* Man, that had to be hard and painful for Abraham ... After all, Abraham loved Isaac.
* v.2 God said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him.”
B) Isaac had been a miracle baby ... He was born when Sarah was 90 and Abraham
was 100 years of age ... Abraham’s entire life was invested in Isaac.
* Abraham had spent his whole life following God around the deserts of the Middle East
because God had promised to bless him and make him the father of many nations .......
* And by him, all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and all of this was to be
fulfilled through Isaac.
C) Now ... Just try to put yourself in Abraham’s place.
* It was very painful for Abraham to strap his dear son on an altar and a stack of wood,
raise a knife to slash open that boy’s chest and throat .......
* Cremate the body, and sit by as he smelled the stench of the burning flesh of his boy,
and then watch that boy literally disintegrate into a pile of ashes.
D) I don’t know if I would do that ... But in a very real sense, I know I must do that
with all of the precious children and grandchildren that God has given me.
* Do you know, the best thing Abraham ever did for Isaac, was to tie him to that altar
and surrender him back to God?
E) Four elements of surrendering your child to God:
* What does it mean to surrender your children to God? ... I think it means 4 things:
* Giving your children to God is .......
(1) A CONFIRMATION OF YOUR LOVE FOR GOD AND THE CHILD
A) The first thing you are saying when you give that child back to the Lord
is simply this .......
* That you love God even more than you love that child, and that you can’t properly
love your children without loving God.
B) This is exactly what Abraham proved by his willingness to offer Isaac.
* He was demonstrating that his love and fear of God were supreme in his life above all else.
* Abraham loved God above the most prized treasure of his life, his only son Isaac.
* Matt. 10:37-38 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy .......”
C) So, giving your children back to God confirms your love for God and the child.
(2) GIVING YOUR CHILDREN TO GOD IS A CLARIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP
A) When you give your child back to God, you are openly declaring that,
“This child is a gift from God.”
* This child does not really belong to you ... This child belongs to God.
* You have the privilege to love and train this child, but this child is not yours, but God’s.
* Was this not what had to be on Abraham’s mind when he lay Isaac on the altar?
B) Was he not saying, “Lord, this young man belongs to You, not me ... You do
with him as You please ... He’s Yours.”
* Hey listen: That little boy or girl in your home does not really belong to you, they belong
to God ... They are a precious gift from God, on loan to you.
* Psa. 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb .......”
C) Hebrew word is “nachalah” (nakh-al-aw’) and means, “something inherited.”
* The English word means, “to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or
divine portion.” ... Reward: “sakar” (saw-kawr’) and means, “benefit.”
D) We better be careful how we treat and care for God’s property.
* One of the symptoms of the depth of depravity into which our society has sunken,
is how we are treating our children.
E) Worldwide 42 million abortions are estimated to take place annually with
22 million of these occurring safely and 20 million unsafely.
* And if you help elect pro-abortion politicians to office because of your party affiliation,
then the blood of 2.5 million innocent babies is on your hands today.
F) Prov. 6:17 says God “hates hands that shed innocent blood.”
* These children belong to God, and we better be very careful how we care for God’s
precious children.
(3) GIVING YOUR CHILDREN TO GOD IS A COMMITMENT TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN
UNDER THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
A) Eph. 6:4 says we are to “bring our children up in the nurture and admonition .......”
* To give your child to God is not just a CEREMONY ... It’s a COMMITMENT.
* It’s a commitment that you are going to be a godly parent – Love Jesus supremely .......
B) Teach this child of Christ – Keep this child in church – Love this child – Pray for
this child – Train this child – Stay married for this child – Keep your home holy –
* Put away worldliness – Live a righteous life – And keep Christ as Lord of your home.
C) I think some people see baby dedication as a magical ceremony.
* Let me tell you ... This little ceremony means nothing ... Zero ... If you are not making
a sincere, life-long commitment to raise this child under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
* I like what Joshua told the children of Israel as they settled into their new home,
the Promise Land ... Look at Josh. 24:14-15 and let’s read what Joshua said.
D) Now that’s the kind of commitment God is looking for in parents today.
(4) GIVING YOUR CHILDREN TO GOD IS A CLAIMING OF GOD’S PLAN AND
PROMISES FOR THAT CHILD’S LIFE
A) Isaac inherited God’s blessings, protection, and promises, because his dad,
Abraham, gave him back to God – Genesis 22:15-18 .......
* Your children are blessed by your obedience to God and cursed by your disobedience
to God.
B) As you obey God with your life, and as you give that child back to God,
you are positioning that child to receive God’s very best for his or her life.
* By giving that child back to God, you are declaring that God has a special divine
plan and purpose for that child’s life .......
* And you are doing what you can to discover that plan, and obey it.
C) So this is what it means to give your children back to God .......
CLOSING:
A) It’s a CONFIRMATION of your supreme love for Christ, and the child.
* It’s a CLARIFICATION of ownership (God owns that child).
* It’s a COMMITMENT to raise that child under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
* It’s a CLAIMING of God’s best plans and promises for that child’s life.
B) Picture ....... This is exactly what transpired when Abraham took Isaac up
Mount Moriah, and laid him on the altar to give him to God.
* Abraham was CONFIRMING his love and fear of Jehovah, and his love for Isaac.
C) Abraham was CLARIFYING that Isaac really belonged to God, not him.
* Abraham was COMMITTING to be a godly father.
* Abraham was CLAIMING God’s best plans and promises for Isaac.
* Give ‘em back to God.
Prayer
A) Thank You, Father, for being the perfect Parent.
* Thank You for those times that You’ve taken us to task, though the reproof
sometimes seemed more than we could bear.
* Encourage us with the truth that whoever the Lord loves, He reproves, even as a
father corrects the son in whom he delights.
B) Forgive us, our Father, for our prodigal ways ... For our selfish desires and
self-willed decisions.
* Forgive us for our pride in wanting to look like winners as fathers and mothers,
when the truth is, we have failed at every point.
C) Help us to be real with our children – Authentic, loving, forgiving, firm when we
have to be, and strong when we need to be, but gentle at all times.
* Help us, Lord ... Help us with our grandchildren .......
* To be there for them when they need us to be supportive and affirming of their parents,
to be a part of the answer rather than a part of the problem.
D) Enable us to come to terms with things that weren’t dealt with in our own lives,
so that we don’t pass them on to these precious, innocent children who follow us.
* Lord, we give You thanks for the influence of the family – It’s all Your idea.
* We pray we’ll have very sensitive hearts as we grow in these areas of nurturing
and training ... Speak to us as parents and grandparents.
E) Help us to be the example to our children and grandchildren.
* May they see Christ in us, and have a desire to be just like Jesus as they live
their own life.
F) I lift all children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents to Your throne today,
and ask that Your will be done in all their lives.
* And I thank You for what You are doing right now in their lives, and also for what
You are going to do in the future for them.
* In the dear name of Jesus Christ, our wonderful Saviour – Amen.
