April 6, 2008
Sermon # .
Honor given to parents
Intro: The word honor means to give weight to – to esteem as valuable. We are to honor God and His Son Jesus Christ. We are to honor our mates – give them recognition and awe. But, the scripture also states as a commandment that we are to give our parents honor –that brings many questions.
Exodus 20:12 (NKJV) 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
The commandment to honor is not in isolation.
Exodus 20:1 - 17 (NKJV) 1And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
No commandment can nullify any other – so the child can never break any commandment and give honor to the parent, even if the parent tells the child to do it!
Ephesians 6:1 - 4 (NKJV) 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3“that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
ILL: The Pharisees tried to nullify this law with another.
Mark 7:9 - 13 (NKJV) 9He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
ILL: They tried to say we will not give support to our parents, because we have committed that support to God – Jesus is warning us that we cannot go around the commandments in order to fill another!
What if the parents tell the child to do something that is against God’s royal law?
ILL: When I worked for Sears & Roebuck, a small boy broke a bicycle that was on the sales floor. When I carried it back to repair, his mother had him to push a lawnmower out of the store – when caught she blamed the child. She was teaching the child to steal!
ILL: When I was a teen, my father wanted me to get a rich girl with child so that I could marry into wealth – fornication is against God’s word!
ILL: We have taken the 10 commandments out of public life and today the country is in a moral crisis!
You can only Honor your parents by honoring God’s Word!
What if the parent is not honorable? Honor them anyway so long as you do not have to break God’s law to do so! My parents did not want me to be a Christian and then did not want me to be a minister – I had to obey God’s calling above their wishes!
Honor your parents by keeping their name pure.
Proverbs 22:1 (NKJV) 1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
Protect and preserve the name of your parents – even if they don’t!
Genesis 9:20 - 27 (NKJV) 20And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” 26And he said: “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”
Notice the Judgement – Ham went out talking about his father’s nakedness which disgraced the name of Noah. Ham and his generation were cursed! Shem and Japheth covered the sin of Noah – protecting their father and his reputation and thus they were blessed and their generation!.
ILL: There was a young boy named Jim who lived in Hamilton, Missouri. He worked for a grocery store, and planned one day to own one. He told his father that his boss was a “foxy man” who mixed high price coffee with low priced, so that he could get the price of the high priced coffee for the product. His father made Jim go to that grocery store and quit working for him. His father told him “Jim my name is too good to be connected with a crook. Tell him that you are going to keep the name clean and that one day it will be worth a fortune.” Jim did what his father told him – Jim’s name, J. C. Penney! - Founder of one of America’s greatest merchandise companies.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 (NKJV) 1 A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;
ILL: My son had to appear in court – the judge asked him if I was his father – then told him that he was ashamed that my son was in his courtroom – then placed my son on probation and told him that if I said that he should be put into jail, he would be – I thank God Dennis got the message!
Psalms 103:17 - 18 (NKJV) 17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
The blessings of God can go from you to your children’s children.
ILL: The descendants of Jonathan Edwards: ( who was the grandson of a preacher )
14 college presidents
100 college professors
100 Ministers of the gospel
100 lawyers & judges
60 doctors
Every major corporation in America has had a descendant as CEO
Psalms 112:1 - 3 (NKJV) 1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.
Exodus 34:5 - 7 (NKJV) 5Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
An unholy parent can curse his family
ILL The decedants of the Jukes Family
310 Professional beggars
130 Convicted criminals
60 Thieves
7 Murderers
Have you ever met anyone named Judas? No? Why?
Deuteronomy 27:16 (NKJV) 16‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
Deuteronomy 21:18 - 21 (NKJV) 18“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
Honor the elderly – just because they made it long enough to become elderly!
Leviticus 19:32 (NKJV) 32‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.
ILL: Dr. Lesley Campbell told a student who was attempting to demonstrate against the chapel service – “Sir you may not honor this college, which my father built but you will honor my white hair – you are expelled – you need this college but it does not need you!”
ILL: I am amazed at the rudeness of this present generation toward the elderly – you should open the door for them – offer them a seat – show them respect.
Proverbs 1:1 - 9 (NKJV) 1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion— 5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; 9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.
ILL; Being older does not necessarily mean being wiser – but it has given those who have lived much time to learn!
Arab Proverb:
He that knows not and knows not that he knows not: He is a fool – shun him
He that knows not and knows that he knows not: He is simple – teach him
He that knows and knows not that he knows: He is asleep – wake him
He that knows and knows that he knows: He is a wise man – follow him!
ILL: Those that are older than I am – are from the “greatest generation.” Some of them have survived the “Great depression, WWII, the Korean War, and Viet Nam, - They have also seen the birth of Air Traffic, Television, Computers, and Cell Phones, - in fact they helped create today’s society – they deserve our respect!
ILL: I am amazed as a Pastor, of how many Mothers and Fathers are in our rest homes and never get a visit from their children – or how many funerals I have preached when only the Pastor and the funeral home came.
