SERMON SERIES: STONE TABLETS IN A WIRELESS

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SERMON SERIES: STONE TABLETS IN A WIRELESS WORLD SERMON: BRINGING BACK HONOR 9-9-18

Exodus 20:1 – 18(NIV) And God spoke all these words: 2

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3

“You shall have no other gods before me.

4

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13

“You shall not murder.

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“You shall not commit adultery.

15

“You shall not steal.

16

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.

KNOWING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS EXERCISE: One of the purposes in this series is to quote the commandments in their correct order: 1. Hold up pointer finger – point to the sky (no other gods) 2. Hold up two pointer fingers – have one bow before the other (no idols) 3. Hold up three fingers – place over mouth (don’t take God’s name in vain) 4. Hold up four fingers – place on cheek as if to nap (Sabbath rest) 5. Hold up five fingers – place hand over heart (honor parents) 6. Hold up hand and make a gun – (don’t murder) 7. Hold up five fingers on one hand and the pointer and middle finger on the other and cross them to show they are bonded together (No adultery) 8. Hold up four fingers on both hands – using one hand grab the other (No stealing) Let’s add one today: 9. Hold up four fingers on one hand and five on the other – move the four up and down as they face the five to show that they are lying or bearing false witness about others (no lying) 10. Hold up five fingers on each hand and pull them both in toward yourself – (You shall not covet) JOKES:

OPENER: ILLUSTRATION: Although God revealed his glory in fire and smoke on the mountain, he made a greater revelation of himself when he began to speak. WE CAN KNOW GOD’S POWER. WE CAN EXPERIENCE HIS MIRACLES, HIS PRESENCE AND HIS GREATNESS, BUT TO KNOW HIS CHARACTER WE MUST LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS. The church is full of worshippers who experience God, but do not even know the Ten Commandments, much less how to keep them. How can people be interested in God and attending church and not do what he says? I believe the only answer is that people do not know the God of the Bible, because if they did they would recognize the absolute authority of his law. RESPECT FOR GOD DEMANDS RESPECT FOR HIS LAW. WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A LOW REGARD OF GOD’S LAW THEY HAVE A LOW REGARD FOR GOD.

I. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Vs. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God. Love for God must come first. The last six commandments deal with our relationship with others. As we come to the first of the last six. And in telling us how to treat one another, God starts with our families. Loving our neighbor starts at home. THE FIRST PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP BEYOND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR PARENTS. NO OTHER HUMAN RELATIONSHIP AFFECTS OUR LIVES MORE. The first people a child knows are his parents. God intends the family to be our first hospital, first school, first government, and our first church. IF WE DO NOT RESPECT AUTHORITY AT HOME, WE WILL NOT RESPECT IT ANYWHERE. LOVE BEGINS AT HOME. IF SOMEONE FAILS TO HONOR THEIR PARENTS, IS THERE ANYONE THEY WILL SPARE? The fifth commandment is about respecting authority. What stands behind this commandment is God’s own authority as our Father. TO DISHONOR YOUR PARENTS IS TO DISHONOR GOD.

II. STUDYING THIS COMMANDMENT 1. Honor – kaved- Hebrew for heavy or weighty. It is the word the O.T. uses for the glory of God, for the weightiness of His divine majesty. To honor one’s parents is to give due weight to their position. It is to give them the recognition they deserve for their God-given authority. To honor is to respect, esteem, value, and prize fathers and mothers as gifts from God. IF PARENTS ARE WEIGHTY THEN THEY SHOULD NOT BE TREATED LIGHTLY. The opposite of honor is dishonor. Just as the fifth commandment requires respect for parents, so it forbids showing them any disrespect. Rebelling against parents has become common, almost expected. Most young people believe that breaking the fifth commandment is part of their job, an ordinary part of growing up.

The cover of one magazine for teen-aged girls asked, “Do you really hate your parents? Like, who doesn’t? The magazine proceeded to offer advice on “how to deal with your detestables”. 2.GOD CONSIDERS DISHONORING ONE’S PARENTS TO BE ONE OF THE WORST SINS THAT ANYONE CAN POSSIBLY COMMIT. Leviticus 20:9 Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. In the NT disobedience to parents is listed as one of the signs that we are living in terrible times. ….. 2 Timothy 3:1-2 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy……. 3.FATHER AND MOTHER Notice the commandment includes both father and mothers. Elsewhere the Bible makes it clear that fathers have a unique responsibility for the spiritual leadership of their families. However, this does not mean that mothers deserve any less honor. Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Leviticus 19:3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

4. SEVERAL REASONS FOR OBEYING THIS COMMAND 1) IT PLEASES THE LORD Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 2) OBEYING IT SERVES YOUR OWN SELF INTEREST When the Bible talks about living long in the land it is not simply talking about how old people are when they die. The expression, “Live long in the land.” is a Hebrew phrase that means to “have an good, and abundant life.”

Ephesians 6:2-3 Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 3) KEEPING THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT IS ESSENTIAL TO GOD’S PLAN FOR PASSING DOWN THE FAITH There is another reason to keep the fifth commandment, and it may be the most important reason of all: Parents have a God-given responsibility to teach their children how to know and serve God. Proverbs 1:8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. OF ALL THE WAYS CHILDREN HONOR THEIR PARENTS, THE MOST IMPORTANT IS LISTENING TO WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT GOD AND SERVING HIM. AS EACH NEW GENERATION HAS LESS HONOR - SO WE SEE EACH NEW GENERATION WITH LESS FAITH.

III.HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE When God tells us to respect our parents, he is telling us to respect all authority. Learning how to respect authority begins with respect for our parents.  If you grew up having resentment toward your father, you will resent authority.  If you grew up distrusting your parents, then you will distrust authority.  If you grew up questioning your parent’s authority, then you will question and be critical of all authority. ALL AUTHORITY IS SET IN PLACE BY GOD Romans 13:1-2 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. OBJECT LESSON: Son, Father, God Team member, Team leader, God Boss, Employee, God We honor government authority… 1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority…………….

We honor our bosses…. 2 Peter 2:17 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. We honor church authority……. Hebrews 13:17-18 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. We are to pray for our authority, encourage them, assist them, speak well of them and submit to them.

IV.WHAT IF MY PARENTS DON’T DESERVE HONOR? WHAT IF MY PARENTS ARE ABUSIVE? Note: NO GOOD FAMILY BACKGROUND Learning God’s plan for the family sometimes brings sadness and disappointment to people who never had a good family background. Is a person who was not raised in a Christian home at a spiritual disadvantage? Yes. We are always damaged by the sins of others, including the sins of the parents in not raising their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. But God is gracious by the saving work of the Holy Spirit he adopts orphans into the most important family of all – the family of God. Psalm 27:10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Story: It is not always easy to submit to authority and there is a story about this in the Bible. The story of two best friends – David and Johnathan. These brave young men were spiritual brothers, bound by a covenant of friendship. Both were mighty warriors, both had a courageous faith in God and both had proven themselves in battle. David is well known for killing Goliath, but Johnathan was just as brave. On one occasion the Israelites faced the Philistines without any weapons. Only Johnathan had a sword. He said, “It may be that the Lord will work for us , for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving By many or by few.” With these words, he launched a one man attack, killing twenty Philistines and sending the rest of their army into a panic. DON’T EVER THINK THAT SUBMISSION IS A SIGN OF WEAKNESS! SUBMISSION IS A SIGN OF STRENGTH! SUBMISSION IS A SIGN OF FAITH IN GOD!

Now, the only person who gave David and Johnathan more trouble than the Philistines was Johnathan’s father, King Saul. God had anointed Saul king over all of Israel; het was an angry, impulsive, hateful man who made rash threats even against his own people. During one battle Saul swore an oath cursing any soldier who had anything to eat before he could avenge his enemies. Unfortunately Jonathan didn’t hear his father’s oath, so when he saw honey oozing on the ground, he dipped his staff into the honeycomb and tasted it. When Saul learned what had happened, Saul said to his own son, “You shall surely die.” The other soldiers had to intervene for Johnathan’s life. Saul was the kind of man who would do violence on his own son over a mouthful of food. Saul treated David even worse. First he was pleased with David because he loved to hear him play the harp. Then after David killed Goliath, Saul welcomed him into his own house and gave him a high rank in the army. David exceled in everything the king asked him to do. He soon became more famous than Saul which aroused the king’s jealousy. One day in a fit of anger, the king hurled a spear trying to pin David to the wall. Next Saul tried to kill David by having him killed in battle. He promised David his daughter’s hand in marriage if he would kill a hundred Philistines. Saul’s secret hope was that the young warrior would die at the hands of his enemies. But David killed two hundred Philistines without getting a scratch. Saul could see from all this that David had God’s blessing, which of course made him angrier than ever. Swearing eternal enmity, the king ordered his soldiers – including his son Jonathan to kill David. This put Jonathan in a bad position. He knew he was supposed to honor his father, but he also knew that murder was wrong. So Jonathan did the right thing: He honored God by disobeying his father. First he warned David what his father was planning to do so that he had a chance to escape. Then he interceded with his father for David. By doing this Jonathan was not dishonoring his father, he was preserving his father’s honor. On this occasion Saul listened to Jonathan, but the truce didn’t last long and Saul became jealous of David again. SUMBITTING TO AUTHORITY NEVER MEANS SUBJECTING OURSELVES TO VIOLENCE OR ABUSE. The point of telling this unhappy story is that if ever there was a father who failed to deserve the respect of his son, or a king who failed to deser5ve the respect of his subjects, it was Saul. And yet, David and Jonathan both honored the king. They respected the God-given authority, honoring him because they honored God. The way that David honored Saul was by refusing to take his life. After the king had his last blowup, David left for good. Saul chased him into the hills and there were two separate occasions David had an easy opportunity to take the king’s life. Once Saul came alone into the very cave where David was hiding. David’s men told him to seize his chance. But David decided not to kill Saul. Instead he sneaked up on Saul when he was asleep and cut off the corner of the king’s robe. Even after all that Saul had done to him, David’s conscience told him that it was dishonorable for him to show disrespect to Israel’s king. David said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:6)

Notice David’s reasoning, His repentance was not based on how Saul had treated him. He said nothing about what kind of king Saul was. The only thing that mattered was that his kingship came from God and therefore demanded David’s respect. Jonathan honored Saul too, and he did so by trying to stop him from sinning against David. It put a great strain on their relationship. On one occasion, Saul was so angry with Jonathan for siding with David that he tried to kill him. Naturally this made Jonathan angry. But even after all the violent outbursts, Jonathan remained honorable to his father. Although he was not blind to his faults, he still loved him as his father. The last we see of Jonathan he is at his father’s side, desperately trying to defend him from the Philistines. Jonathan was an honorable son who died fighting to save his father. Obviously Saul is not a very good model of the proper exercise of authority. There were times when David and Jonathan had to disobey him. In doing so they did not break the fifth commandment, but kept it by honoring their higher commitment to obey their Father in heaven. There were also times when David and Jonathan had to protect themselves. DAVID AND JONATHAN UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE IS SOMETHING SACRED ABOUT AUTHORITY. BECAUSE IT COMES FROM GOD IT DESERVES OUR HIGHEST RESPECT. IF DAVID HAD NOT HUMBLED HIMSELF BEFORE SAUL’S AUTHORITY, GOD WOULD HAVE NEVER EXALTED HIM. James 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

WHAT IF SOMEONE’S PARENTS DON’T KNOW GOD? What if they aren’t Christians? And what if they try to stop their children from doing what God is calling them to do? What does it mean to honor your father and mother then? This situation is not uncommon. Some parents find it very hard to accept their children’s putting Christ first in decisions about education, career, family and ministry. Where there is faith, Jesus brings families together, but where there is unbelief, he drives them apart. Christians can never let honoring their parents get in the way of following Christ. Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. If it comes down to a choice, as a Christian, your true Father is in heaven and it is his will that we must follow. This is why the Bible tells us to obey our parents in the Lord. (Eph 6:1, Col 3:20) YOU CAN HONOR YOU PARENT’S POSITON AND NOT HAVE TO HONOR THEIR BELIEFS.

CLOSING: HOW LONG MUST I HONOR MY PARENTS? The answer is forever! When Jesus saw some of the Pharisees refusing to take care of their parents in their old age, he accused them of violating the fifth commandment…. Matthew 13:4-5 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. Instead of taking care of their parents, the Pharisees were keeping their money for themselves and then claiming they had dedicated it to God. Leviticus 19:32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. 2ND CLOSING: Questions for self-examination: Do you ever talk back to your parents? Do you listen and value the advice your parents give you? Do you ever hide anything from them? Do you ever silently curse them? Do you speak well of you parents? Are you taking the time to strengthen your relationship with them? Are you giving them the care they need and the honor they deserve for their position in your life? LET’S BRING BACK HONOR