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November 16, 2021 3:00 am
The fifth commandment directs us to honor our parents, but how we do that today on Truth for Life will learn practical ways to show our respect were continuing our series on the 10 Commandments called pathway to freedom and Alastair beg begins.
Part two of today's message titled family life. God's way. He's teaching from Exodus 20 verse 12 let us come enter some specific applications on this fifth commandment. First of all, let us define honor here. Honor your father and mother somebody honestly going to see what is that mean the Hebrew word for honor is the word cabinet KA VED and it simply carries the meaning of to be heavy to be having and employing stew regarding our parents as eminently worthy of a weight of respect. Okay if that is how honor is defined, how is owner displayed me just run through a number of these in the time that we have.
First of all it is just a note in passing that the honor that is called for is an obligation is not an option is not as if we can now choose to opt into this if we like and if we don't then we'll just have a Christian life. Without this particular one can do that is obligatory is not optional I so for those of you thought you were going to skip the Fifth Amendment move quickly to the six-year in deep trouble right so the honor is displayed number one in practical respect we understand disrespect on weight. We would like to build to teach respect and then people discover disrespect but all having discovered disrespect. We will teach respect and counterbalance to the disrespect that we've already embraced.
We disrespect our parents when we mock them when our tongue that is disrespectful. Therefore, to respect the means that I don't mock them with my tongue. I disrespect my parents went on talking on the telephone asking for a ride home from such and such a place.
I treat them as if they were some dreadful cabdriver I like to be glad of my business.
Therefore, I respect them when I treat their kindnesses towards me with the honor and revering that is Juden Proverbs chapter 23. Listen to your father who gave you life and do not despise your mother when you're old.
I display practical respect for my parents when I show them courtesy courtesy I display practical respect for my parents when I look into their eyes when they're speaking to me to not difficult it is to get people to look at you these days when you speak to effect guy does not look at me when he speaks to me. I'll tell you one thing, he never looked at his parents when he spoke to them if your children cannot hold the gaze of somebody in public is because you have not taught them to hold your gaze when you speak to and the one time I don't want to hold my mother's gaze is when I know she has something on me and I sincerely look at me when I'm speaking to.
I'm not speaking to a board screen or wall as being to you and your eyes are the gateway to your soul. Look at me. Proverbs chapter 6 verse 23. Incidentally, young folks you want to take Proverbs and get it and just chew it up to memorize it, read it think it out. Proverbs 620. My son, keep your father's commandments. Do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever.
Fasten them around your neck when you walk they will guide you when you sleep. They will watch over you when you awake.
They will speak to you from man this picture you see you see the responsibility that is given to parents here. This is the flipside of Deuteronomy 6, these things shall be upon your hearts and you shall teach them to your children when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get up. In other words, it will be so much a part of your lives together that these things will be transferred into your kids that will be wrapped around their necks that will be carried with them if they will be driven is aware into their chest and in the darkness of the night when the music needs and the temptation is loud, what will it be that keeps them, it will be your prayerful commitment to instruct them even when they seem so disregarding that which you offer to their care. It will keep you. He says for these commands are a lamp. This teaching is a light and the corrections of discipline are the way to life the corrections of discipline are the way to life there not a way to bondage. They're not the way to death. Freedom in the current framework of things is total bondage and the expression of Christianity which appears to be bondage is actually the gateway to freedom.
All right, let's move on and honor is displayed that in practical respect, it is displayed in genuine love, genuine love will come to this, as we conclude, God willing, if we have time in the story of Joseph, but genuine love within a family, and for children to parents is not something slushy is not something sentimental is a heartfelt expression of affection and it needs to be cultivated, and it needs to be cultivated at particular times and parents need to be wise about the funny times these adolescent years where it appears that after you poured everything into these kids. They suddenly grew up and said, these people are crazy. I don't want them.
Even living in this house look at her and listen to him. I can't believe this. It appears a nice or strange wilderness experience in between their adult hood and their crawl from from childhood that there's maybe nothing much they are tall but hang on.
Keep the lines of communication open. Keep looking in their eyes let them lock themselves away with regularity in the rooms will come around again to cultivate genuine love. If you want to have friends, you've got to be friendly. If you want to have love, you've got to be a lover. Some dads are not good at this say I provided and in one Tony's dad wanted you. Thirdly, we honor our parents when we display express obedience to their commandments that is that we say no to stubbornness. We say no to rebellion.
We see no to despising their instruction in their direction and we say yes once again to the book of Proverbs 18 listen my son to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
It just comes time and time again in the wisdom of Solomon real obedience as a matter of attitude, not simply of actions do you obey your parents from the heart youngsters to be in the attitude of your heart is possible to do things to maintain an external frame of existence to become a kind of the Pharisee and training at cleaning the outside of a cop and making sure that everybody knows that you're doing everything right, but in your heart you like a gravure like a tomb so rebellious you're so disrespectful you are inside violation of what your parents are asking from you that only those who know you from a distance could ever believe that you are expressing honor to your parents by obedience to their command. It's an attitude of the heart. That's what obedience is first of all my actions are an expression of my attitude. Are there limitations to obedience to our parents, someone always asked that you know I don't of Christian parents and they asked me to go and to steal a car from down on such and such an avenue. My supposed to obey my parents. Then no the obedience to our parents is within the framework of the instruction and and guiding principles of truth and righteousness. But, for example, if I am facing a decision living at home. Maybe I want to get baptized and my parents are from a completely different environment. They don't understand my faith in Christ and they call for my obedience. Should I be baptized or should I am.
They then I think you should obey them if you're living in your home for you will be able to be baptized in an age your own accountability.
They are your parents obedience violates the commands of God. For example, in acts chapter 5 where they were told, you shall no longer speak concerning Jesus. Where would we then obey our parents if he told us no longer speak concerning Christ.
No, I don't think so, but as a principal you see it's an attitude of heart correlates of with this is that honor is displayed to our parents when we submit to their discipline. When we submit to their discipline. Every parent worth their salt disciplines their children. Hebrews chapter 12 in verse nine.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
We may not have enjoyed it at the time when the power was coming in the well was going but now were 25 and we realize that that afternoon was an important afternoon people. I'm really concerned about are the ones I see in the supermarkets buying off their kids, squawking monsters writing in chariots holding the whole place to land some what would you like honey to toast you like to do is mother's just going a little rascal out of the chariot round behind the place given the power while waiting for the wind install bring it back. In the chariot. Otherwise when the chariot becomes their own chariot and they drive it when you put your hand in the Palatinate. They will be going looking for another kind of cute dogs to satisfy the passionate hunger of their life's this stuff works. It's not just true, it works. Our society doesn't want to admit it works it works. One mom one day. Children in obedience to the parents. Here is your answer to to so many questions. Finally, we honor our parents when we repay the love and caring trouble that they've taken in our lives. The Pharisees were real bad at this stuff. They should have been taking care of their moms and dads and they weren't and they tried to justified on the basis of their commitment to the church. You can read this account in Matthew chapter 15 where the Pharisees came and started to annoy the the disciples with with their questions and the fact of the matter was that they were just there were just downright hypocritical and they were saying. You can read this in Matthew 15 they were saying that if a man says to his father or mother. Whatever help you might otherwise have received for me is a gift devoted to God. He is not to honor his father with it.
And Jesus says that she nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You're a bunch of hypocrites and knowers. Tell your parents you will build to come and see them in Arizona because your tithing to the building plan parents or your parents were Jesus saying only a bunch of Pharisees, when Paul writes to Timothy says there are windows in your church. Neighbor children and grandchildren then let the children and the grandchildren take care of the widows if churches and families were serious about this, that it would be radically different and it's going to have to get radically different love ones, is this thing this system is not on what I don't know who's coming up in the system but it isn't going to work. You can keep getting older and older and older people with less and less capacity to care for themselves and plug it up by any system except the system. The daughter named the Chinese understand their community extended family.
The African culture understands in their community extended family. We just rejected flat out rejected Newsweek magazine, December 1991. Report on hospitals that are turning to dumping ground for grannies report in the barely half the American public believe it is the children's responsibility to look after their parents but you know what, why would we be surprised to think this is going to change you think of the children who tomorrow at the age of seven months are going to be taken to a day care center know because their dad died in the war and the money has to go to work but because her mommy wants to be a quote real person and doesn't believe in parenting and in marriage and motherhood.
She wants to be a real person and so she want to put the seven-month-old in the care song yahoo present is you are to be staying home looking after her kids probably in the whole thing goes down, the children there so we got all these tiny little kids living in these boxes. It's unbelievable. If you think if we think that children who have been dumped for the first six years of their lives are going to somehow come through for their mom and dad in the last six years of their lives were crazy. What's the answer. The fifth commandment given by God to Moses thousands of years ago, and relevant this morning in 20th century society.
It's wonderful. I'm so excited I want to go out and stand on the and hold up my Bible and say hey guys, listen to this. This is true this is life changing. You committed to this, will you live this out.
We've been radical for Jesus sake.
Are you prepared to make a dent in your office in your street in your home and your family. Are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is with your family and your love. You prepared to make a difference. Something sadly wrong when other cultures without our Bible are better at dealing with the long-term care of the elderly than we with our Bibles and our apparent commitment to Jesus Christ. What we do we push people up the ladder of success fast so that we can talk a little off as quickly as we can. We don't respect old age. We don't respect wisdom. We don't we just don't will bring these people back to ask their advice of the guidance we will them were committed to youth. Youth is we do we we change our here we change our face, we have makeovers were not committed to youth because youth is tremendously efficient or it has a commitment to hard work were committed to youth on the basis of image basis of image. We believe that old age at best is released from having to get up in the morning and at worst is in existence which offers no reason whatsoever to get up in the morning so you look forward to feeling for say how good I don't have to get up and then you live and you know I don't know why would so like pizza. The fifth commandment says that Christians should be the best visitors of their families where there in long-term care.
The Christian should be the most willing of the accommodation of their families and was prepared to put the resources to the areas of greatest need that Christians of all people should uphold the place of maturity and of old age old age is is taboo. Youth is worship. Old age is dreaded or despised.
We live in a society that isolates in impoverished as those who have given their lives, that we might have an existence is really wrong please call me tomorrow old friends on Euclid Avenue sat on a park bench with a coffee from McDonald's and sharing an apple grandmother looking at one another and wondering are we going to be some of the lucky ones that go to get to live in Morrison's cafeteria.
There is a sad place. There is a sad one, and I gotta tell you, love ones when that's when the signal goes out on the word is sent and the call is made, the people who go first to respond to this are not your conservative evangelical committed Bible believing Christians.
The people who go by the people with a theology that we would not embrace, but with a heart that we cannot match.
The fifth commandment says to me we better get our hearts and our teachers and our resources in line with our convictions that his parents would better teach the real ones how to honor eyes as they grow, but in our growth we better not forget that those who have given their lives on our behalf demand our utmost commitment and respect. At the end of their days in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 32 says that we should stand up in the presence of some of you remember that, don't you.
I used to wonder as I can. Why do I stand up when the teacher comes in the every day the teacher walked in the whole class as a mark of respect. Why was I was told when someone came to visit my house. Don't sit there stand out as a mark of respect why we told when ladies came back into the room stand again as a mark of respect. Why were we told to take our hats off when we were eating in a public place or standing in a public building is a mark of respect. What do we really know about respect about tax. The challenge commandment number five honoring our parents is an obligation not an option. Whether we're young or old listing to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg keep listing.
Alastair will be back shortly to close in prayer Truth for Life were all about teaching the Bible every single day, in a way that's clear and relevant.
Our prayer is that God will use Alister's messages to lead you to trust Jesus for salvation or to trust him today more than ever before. So, in line with that hope were thrilled to tell you about today's book recommendation. It's a brand-new daily devotional by Alister. It's titled Truth for Life 365 daily devotions over the years we've heard from so many of you who have asked if Alister could write a daily devotional and now it's here.
It's a beautiful hardcover book with a full year's worth of devotions. Each daily reading includes a verse or a short passage of Scripture, followed by a full-page commentary in which Alister explains the passage and just like his teaching on Truth for Life each day's reading is filled with deep insight and fresh application. At the end of each devotion. There are three symbols that will prompt you to ask how God is calling you to think differently. How he wants you to reorder your affections and what he's calling you to do now as you go about your day get started with this devotional right away requester copy of the Truth for Life daily devotional when you make a donation of any amount you can simply tap the image on the app or visit our website@truthforlife.org/donate or if you prefer you can call us at 888-588-7884. Now here's Alister to close with prayer. Our God and our father once again your boot pierces our hearts challenges our minds and calls for the response we know were sinners and we need a Savior, were not going to make ourselves acceptable to you, by keeping the fifth commandment, or even keeping all of we can do it were flawed.
We need a Savior.
And I pray that as a result of studying these first five commandments. As a result of being confronted by who we are before a holy God that there will be people even here this morning from where they said to say I want to settle the matter of my eternal destiny.
I am need to trust in Christ and for those of us who name the name of Christ. I pray that you will close the gap between what we know and what we verbalize and how we live because zealous this week for the truth of your word in a society that is completely crazy when it comes to these issues give us bold sensitivity genuine love, and may we honor our fathers and mothers command one another into your care. May the love of the Lord Jesus draws to himself the peace of the Lord Jesus God and keep our hearts and minds in the joy of the Lord Jesus, strengthen us as we seek to set but we pray in his powerful name Bob Lapine Scripture is clear that God values all life. Join us tomorrow. Find out why human life is particularly sacred Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living