Honor Your Father and Mother

The title of the sermon is Honor Your Father and Your Mother. Because we're all trying to honor God in everything we do. It's interesting, this week a lot has happened, obviously. Every January 16th I get a little melancholy because 25 years ago, on this January 16th, my father and the faith died, that's the dearest, Herbert W. Armstrong. And he taught me a lot about honoring God, as he did each of us in bringing us to God in the Bible, to understand what our part and our role is in God's overall plan.

And then Monday this week, on January 17th, I learned Mr. Elliott turned a year older. Didn't mean as much to me, he's had lots of birthdays. But my grandson was born. Special blessing that we didn't, my wife and I never expected you'd ask me 25 years ago, if I thought we'd had any grandchildren, I'd have probably said no, that Christ would have returned by then. If you'd asked me 30 years ago, I'd have said we probably wouldn't have any children because we all thought Mr. Armstrong would have cut Christ's return. And our timeline on some of these things are different. Because Michelle and I were in service to God with him, and we never expected to be able to have children.

And then he died, and she got pregnant. And I said she was pregnant before he died, so he found out she was pregnant. Then she supposedly miscarried and didn't. And I told you that story before because she was upset when I learned about crying, wives and mothers, because she cried because she didn't want to be pregnant. And then when she, the doctor told her she miscarried, she cried because she miscarried. And then she went over to Asia where they were spraying DDT and chemicals all through the hotels and things, transitioning to Mr.

DeCotch at the time. And she came back, and she was still feeling sick. And the doctor told her she was 16 weeks pregnant. And then she cried because she thought she'd poisoned our son and didn't know what was going to come out because of all the poisons and things that they'd been spraying over in Nepal and India and all those places at that time of year.

And then she had her baby shower, and her water broke at her baby shower, which I always thought was appropriate. It was a month early. And when I came home, they said, your wife's having the baby, her water broke. And I said, yeah, haha. And it was true it had. And so we took her to the hospital, and then, so it was a month before she was supposed to be born.

So she only knew she was pregnant for four months, which is probably the shortest pregnancy on record. And then AJ came out, and of course he was a C-section because they kept encouraging her, saying, you're dilating, and they said she was one centimeter. And I saw the chart up there, one centimeter, really small. And I didn't think we had that small of a baby. And I told her, I said, I really don't think it's coming out.

And so they ended up doing a C-section on him and taking him out. Of course, the doctor reached under to pull him, and the first thing he said was, ghastly. And I thought, oh boy, maybe there was something chemical over in India. And it was just that he'd grabbed onto the rib cage and stuff and didn't want to let go of him. So he had to go back in and get him out. And he was fine, except he was blue. He didn't want to breathe.

And any of you who had that problem, had kids, it's amazing how you sit there and breathe for them. You try to, come on, try to get them going. And of course, it's not doing any good, but it makes you feel better, I guess. That's why we do that. So he came, and now we have a grandson. And I started thinking about the things that I like to teach him, things that I taught my son, things that I was taught, and what God expects of us, things that we don't know what's going to happen in the future.

We do, in general terms, prophecy. We know what God's plan is in that, but life is certainly a miracle. And the things that happen in God's plan happen when he wants them to happen, and it happens in the way that he wants them to happen. We just don't know when. And that's because we're human. We guess, and we've had our booklets in 1975 in Prophecy, we've had our thoughts that things would happen before they did. We've come to a complacency, I think, in some ways now that we tend not to talk about prophecy as much as we should. I think that'll change a bit now in the United, because I think some of the broadcasters want to talk more about what is happening in the world.

And of course, me dealing in finance, and you, any of you in finance, the monetary system is about to collapse worldwide. Things are happening that, if God wants to pull the strain, they can happen in a minute. And it's scary to me, because when I see the problems we have in the church and with ourselves, I said to him, how come we get so, how come we lose our focus on the things that are really important to God? Like I said, life is a miracle.

When you see a baby, and my son was telling me his son was born, and someday he may stand up here and tell you his story with his son. Because they were concerned, his cord was wrapped around his neck a little bit, and his heart rate was going up and down, they were kind of afraid it wouldn't come out. They actually came close to having a C-section as well, but didn't. So she dilated pretty quickly, and everything worked out. But it is a miracle. Every time a birth happens, it's a miracle. You know, when God says a man should be united to his wife and they become one flesh, that's how it happens.

You have a child in his one flesh, which we will be with God at some time. Turn to John 10, verse 27, the verse there that is interesting. Because we have to hear God.

God wants us to honor him by listening to him, by understanding what he's about, by being part of his plan. In John 10, verse 27, Christ says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Do we hear God's voice to be able to follow him? Last night, it was interesting, I was holding a baby, and AJ started talking, and I'd see my son turn his head, and my grandson turn his head a little bit. And he recognized his voice already. Of course, AJ had been talking to him for nine months already. And little Jason recognized his voice, and all of you have children who know how that is when your child recognizes your voice. And then his mother, Megan, started talking. And when she started talking, a different reaction happens. He starts trying to suck, and nurse. He hears the sound of milk, I guess, when he hears his mother's voice. But it's amazing how a little child like that hears the voice of his mother and his father, and it's comforting to them. And it means something. Do we hear God's voice the same way? Do we hear God's voice talking to us and calling us? Of course, you've all memorized Exodus 20, verse 12.

The commandment, Honor your father and mother that your days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives you. Of course, the New Testament says it's the first commandment with promise. It is a promise. God promises. If you honor your father and your mother, your days can be long. Of course, the real fulfillment of that promise is much beyond the human life that we can have. Because truly, if we honor our Father in Heaven, we're given eternity. We're given the opportunity to live forever. If we can hear his voice, if we can keep his commands, if we can do the things that are pleasing to him. I'm very thankful that God's plan is there. I've talked last week, I was talking in West Virginia in the Q&A, and I said I am so thankful for God's plan and how people can give up the holy days and God's plans beyond me. But the fact that God made us in such a way that we can live a life, we can learn about him, we can choose. That's what God's about, is choosing. We can choose to follow him. We can choose to be happy. We can choose to obey. But if we don't, then we can be dust and ashes under the feet of the righteous.

How merciful is God that if you can't be eternally happy, if you can't choose happiness that is non-existent. That's really a blessing from God. It's a blessing that God gives to those the incorrigible wicked that it talks about in Revelation, that they can actually die, unlike the demons in Satan, to our spirit. It's a blessing. But do we hear God in Christ?

We're here because he called us out to give us that special opportunity that very few people get in this life. Do we hear the simple commands that God gives? Turn to Matthew 15.

We need to hear God. We need to understand. Matthew 15, verse 1, Jesus came to the scribes and the Pharisees with Jerusalem, saying, the scribes and the Pharisees were always challenging Christ. In every turn, why do your disciples transgest the tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat bread? The scribes and the Pharisees always wanted to judge people, and especially Christ. They wanted to be seen doing certain ritualistic things. But Christ answered them and said, why do you transgress the Commandment of God by your traditions? You're creating rules and things that aren't really what God had in mind. For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother, and he that curses father or mother, let him die the death. Yeah, children in the Old Testament, if you cursed your parents, would be stoned. But you say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother, it's a gift. By whatsoever thou might be profited by me. And on or not his father or mother, he shall be free. Thus you have made the Commandment of God of no effect by your traditions. They basically taught, if you gave your money, gave your possessions, did things for God, that you could disregard the Commandment to honor your father and your mother. And then they were trying to make points in their minds of righteousness, but in reality, points with men. They did things to be seen of men. And if you go to the temple and you give a great ceremony or do whatever, people will think you're wonderful and you love God. God says, no. If you don't love your parents, then you're not honoring me.

You're not following what I say. And the same thing, if you don't love God and do the things He said, you're not honoring Him. And this is about honoring your father and your mother, honoring your father in heaven who has given us life. Verse 7, you hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws nigh to me with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. If we could be like a little child like little Jason or some of the other babies in here, we've got a number of them in this congregation, and turn to our father's voice and our mother and hear them truly and honor them. Sadly, as we get older, we learn not to do some of those things. In verse 9, he says, In vain do they worship me. Again, they do worship Christ. So many people do worship but teach for doctrines the commandments of men. Do we do that? How do they do it then?

He explains it in verse 10. He called them, and said to them, Hear and understand. You want them to understand the difference between what the Pharisees were accusing about and what God expected. Matthew 15, 11, It's not that which goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth that defiles him. Again, so concerned with whether you washed your hands because you had a little grain, because of the ritualistic things that they had set up. Then came his disciples and said to him, Know you that the Pharisees were offended after they heard the sign? The Pharisees got offended all the time. Everything he said and did seemed to offend them. If he washed, they defended them.

If he drank, they defended them. If he ate something, they offended them. They were, I don't know how they lived their lives being so offended, but they did. And he answered, and he said, Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.

Are you planted in God's Word? Are you His Son? He said, Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. If the blind lead the blind, they both fall in the ditch. That's absolutely true. If we follow men, we do fall in the ditch. One of the things my parents taught me, which I found very helpful in my 58 years, was separate salvation from people.

Because people, humans, with the exception of Jesus Christ, will let you down at different times. If you follow men instead of God, they'll go off. It doesn't mean permanently, because people can go off, we all go off, we all sin, and have to come back. But those who think they're righteous, the Pharisees did at that time, they set up these rules and things to try to create. It's kind of like putting someone in a box. I've told people, Is God interested in having someone who's never sinned because he's been put in a box and protected? You can do that. You can protect people. People always talk about me with Mr. Armstrong, and, boy, you must be really good. I said, no, I didn't have any choice. No child that I know puts his hand on the cookie jar when the mother stands there watching him. Unless they have permission, of course. It's when the mother leaves and the father leaves that no one's looking and they put their hand in the kitchen and they put their hand on the cookie jar. And so character is what's down in the dark.

And we have to understand that God is always watching. Even like the little child that doesn't necessarily see that, God is watching and he sees everything. And he uproots you if you're not following him and trying to honor him. Peter, verse 15, answered and said, him, declare this as this parable. It's interesting how much the disciples didn't understand being with Christ. You tend to think being with Him all the time you'd understand all these things but they didn't. And Jesus said, are you yet without understanding? Again, they had been brought up and they understood the rules of the Pharisees, so they probably asked.

They probably thought maybe they should have washed their hands. He says, do not yet understand that whatsoever enters the mouth goes into the belly but is cast out. Yeah, we have a way system that God created in us. But those things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man. Is it about the physical or about the spiritual? For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. A lot of evil things. They do. Are we careful? These are the things which defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doesn't defile a man.

There might be a little dirt on the food, but the dirt doesn't hurt you. The dirt? Yeah, I suppose if you had some bad dirt that you could die physically, but it's not going to kill you spiritually. What is God concerned with? Is he worried about men? Or worry about God? What God thinks? Because God is the critical. He knows each of us and He puts us through different tests. So we judge ourselves, if we're wise. God wants to be our Father, and He wants us to be His children, and He wants us to be like Him. Christ, what did He say?

He says, if He's seen me, He's seen the Father. How much are we like our Father? To truly honor Him, we have to make the choices that He would make. Again, they're difficult because our society wants us to choose other things. The society today, the values are so upside down. Values that don't mean anything except in this life and the people that want the things that men want now. 2 Corinthians 6, God wants to be our Father. What do you want us to do? 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14. So be not iniquity yoked together with unbelievers.

What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion has light with darkness?

It doesn't mean we are out of the world because we're not, because we have to participate in life and in work. But is that where your heart is? Is your heart in the pleasures of this world, or is your heart in honoring God and what He teaches? And what concord has Christ with Belial, and what part has He that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. And God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The idols of this world are materialism, mostly. And even those that have various gods and different religions are still affected by not only their idolatry toward their gods, but also their idolatry toward things, things that they desire and can't have. Verse 17, Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Eternal, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. And I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. How do we be as sons and daughters?

How do we honor Him as true sons and daughters? Chapter 7, verse 1, Having therefore these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the Spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Hertford told the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom, and it is. And we become perfect by fearing God and learning His way, reading His scriptures. Perfecting holiness is to be like God. It's a big challenge. There's no question it's the biggest challenge that we all face in our whole lives, because we're torn apart by various things that happen to us, by emotions. We don't see the full picture.

And none of us truly understands the full picture, even if you're in the room, because you can't understand the motives of people, always. It's not always crystal clear. Turn to John 8. If we pray to God enough, and we look to God and we ask Him to purify us, like David said, purge me with hyssal, but I become quite a snow. John 8, verse 39, we have to really know God our Father, not think we know Him.

And they answered and said to Him, verse 39, Abraham is our Father, the Al, the Pharisees, and the Israelites wanted to claim Abraham and Moses and various ones. And Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God.

This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your Father. And they said to Him, we're not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God. Now, when you're caught in something, the first thing you want to do is criticize the other person. And they did that to Him. He was called names when He was young. He went through all sorts of things that we can only imagine. And Jesus said to them, if God were your Father, if God really were your Father, you would love Me.

For I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Even because you cannot hear My words. Your minds are not attuned to it. I'm speaking spiritual. You're physical. You don't seem to want to understand. You're of your Father the devil. From the lust of your Father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and a bode not in the truth, because there is no truth in Him.

Indeed, Satan, even when he says things that are true, is designed for a wrong motive. It's designed to turn you away from God. It's designed to tempt you and twist you. And when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the Father of it.

Because I tell you the truth, you believe Me not. Which of you convinces Me of sin? Did Christ sin? No. If I say the truth, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God hears God's words. You therefore hear them not, because you are not of God. Do we know God? Do we hear Him? Or do we react humanly? This is all too easy to do.

Let's get me down to verse 55. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I said I don't know Him, I'd be a liar like you. But I know Him, and I keep His sayings. Do we keep the sayings of God? Do we know God? Do we really know Him? Of course, we can only know Him through this book and through the words that He teaches us. My father, I never really knew my father.

He died when I was about three and a half. And I have little visual images of him, little clips that I remember throwing a ball to me down by the barn where my grandfather's house was and things. And I didn't know a whole lot about my father, except for what my mother told me about him.

And it was interesting, because she always told me the good things about him. And I was always trying to live up to an image that was actually beyond what he really was. But it was actually good for me, because if you don't set the bar high, then you don't grow. You've got to set the bar high. And that's what God does for us. He sets the bar really high. And we have to come over that. I really thought my father was the strongest man on earth. I thought he was the most moral man on earth. I thought he was the most honorable man on earth, because that's what my mother said. And I kept thinking, every time I had weaknesses, I thought, well, it's not genetic.

It must be me. And I would try to hold out. And I did in a lot of areas, because a lot of my friends who knew their parents' weaknesses, and I always told my kids, don't always tell your parents, your children, everything you do is wrong. There are some parents that want to protect their children by telling them everything they did that was wrong. What I found from experience is that most children then learn from it, but what they tend to learn is that, well, if they couldn't do it, I couldn't do it.

And they seem to have an excuse. For some reason, we humans want to have excuses for things. I've always seen that. My parents would never let me do that. If I was sick and there was a test that day, and I'd gotten well the day before the test, and they sent me to school and they said, take the test. Study as much as you can between classes.

I had a friend of mine that I used to help tutor a bit. It was interesting. His parents always had me come over to help tutor him in different subjects that he wasn't that strong in. But in his case, it was crazy because if he got sick or missed something, his parents would always tell him, well, you've been sick, don't worry about it. And it was funny because he'd go to school and if there was a test that day, he'd be out playing four square before school and he'd play at lunchtime and whatever. My parents, I was studying before school and studying during lunch for the test because my parents say, it's no excuse.

And his parents, if he failed, I'd go home and tell my parents, well, I've been sick.

Parents built any excuses for him. Do we build any excuses for ourselves? We have to know our God and understand the bar he sits on. I'm thankful for my mom for what she did, things I never knew about my father, and things that I actually she never told me in her life. She told my wife a lot of things about my father that she never told me, which I always thought was curious. But I guess she figured she knew where my weaknesses might be and she wanted to help my wife out, which I appreciate sometimes. Like all of us guys, all of us with broken shins under the table. Why is a woman kicking the shins when you say something wrong? I haven't figured that out yet. It does get your attention, though.

But we have to know God. We have to know Him. When I look at our young men and women in this church and all the congregation we're in, trying to provide physically and spiritually for the needs of their family, and I see my son doing his job and my daughter-in-law now taking care of the baby, nursing him, trying to make sure he doesn't need any dirt, which is interesting because I don't know how we all survived back when we had dirt floors and things. It's amazing what our ancestors managed to live through it, but it seems like enough. If there's anything at all that drops and hits the ground, go wash it. My son's good at washing things. He does that for his marriage more than for his son, I think. Which men do that, ladies? It does work. But I see our God providing for us because He does provide for us. Matthew 6, turn back a few pages. God has created a whole universe for us. Of course, that's what we get to enjoy in the future when we're spirit beings. But right now, we get a look at it visually when we get parts of the earth. Matthew 6, 25, when we think about what God does, Christ talking because Christ didn't fear for tomorrow. We often fear things. Therefore, I say to you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you'll put on. Is not life more than meat and body, more than just ramen? You wouldn't think so in this world, all the fashion shows and designers and the iron chef and all the cooking shows, etc. But God takes care of His. Verse 26, Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither they reap.

They don't gather into barns. They don't build things like we do, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not better than they? Do we really have the faith that God's going to take care of us? The faith of a little child, nursing on its mother, it cries and it comes to the breast and drinks. Which of you, by taking thought, verse 27, can add one cubit to His stature? Can we do anything like that? No. A lot of us wish we could.

Why take thought for ramen? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither they spin. And yet I say to you, even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. The interesting thing is to see what Solomon looked like, beauty, with the knowledge and wisdom he had, although with all his wisdom. It's interesting, when I read the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom, I wonder how Solomon could do some of the things he did. But he was human, too. Anybody can be drawn astray. If you don't keep God close, if you're not constantly honoring your Father in heaven.

Wherefore God so close the grass of the field, which is today, it is, and tomorrow is cast in the oven, shall ye not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Do we have the faith we need? With what's coming ahead, we better. We better have that faith in God.

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink? And where shall we be clothed? For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows you need those things. But where is our heart? We want to honor our God. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Little child, if you want to honor your parents, how do you honor your parents? You honor them by doing what they ask you to do. How many children that dishonor their parents? How many children say they love their parents, and they do things that don't show love?

It's interesting. We talk about faith, and James writes, Show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. I think love is very similar to that. Show me your love without obedience. And we show our love to God by our obedience. Just like a child. A child can say, I love you all day long, and if it goes out and does drugs and breaks windows and beats the other kids up, it says, I love you. Do they really love you?

Do they really honor you? Do they respect you? Versus doing the things that you ask him to do. What does God want us? If we want his kingdom? Seek righteousness, and the things that you need, the physical things, will be given to you. Don't take any thought for the moral, for the moral shall take care of the things of itself. Sufficient unto today is the evil thereof. Certainly, we live in a time now that is rapidly approaching Sodom and Gomorrah. It's rapidly approaching a godless society where anything goes. It's hard not to think of tomorrow without a bit of concern.

It's hard not to think of my grandson growing up in this world. What's he got to face? A lot of people wonder if they should even have children when they see what you have to bring them up in, and many people in this world have chosen not to, because they don't understand God, and yet with God we can realize that he will fill in those needs.

We have to do our part to help them to honor us and help us to honor God. Am I concerned about United? Yes, but I have to have the faith that God's going to provide, because all of us have been through traumas before. In the traumas that we've seen in the past, let us know that God is teaching us something.

He's teaching us to love Him, to love our neighbor, to get rid of anger, to get rid of fear, to get rid of doubt, to honor Him and to understand that He knows what He's doing. Most of the sins I've seen of people have been people trying to take things into their own hands, things that belong to God. But God loves us. He loves all of us. And to honor our Father, we must be like God. Do we love the same way that God does?

Do we truly love how God loves? 1 John 4, if you turn over there, God is love. And we have to have that love. If you want to honor God, be like Him. Show love. 1 John 4, verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. If you truly love your brother, if you truly want the best for everyone and have that love, then you know God.

He that loves not knows not God, for God is love. Want to be like your Father? Want to honor Him? Be loving as He is. In this was manifested the love of God toward us because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.

Here it is love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the perpetuation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also love one another. Are we willing to die? God gave His Son. It's hard for me to imagine giving up my son or my grandson.

And of course, our children can't do what Christ did because they didn't live a perfect life. But love also doesn't mean you let things go. All too often we tend to think love is forgiving, which it is, but forgiving in the wrong sense. In fact, you cannot let things go because if you let things go and you don't correct them, it actually enables and breeds sin. Over the decades I've seen a lot of people become bitter. Sometimes bitter over things that actually did happen. Other times bitter over things that didn't happen because they didn't really understand. People fill in the parts of the puzzle they don't have, and often they fill in those parts wrongly, depending on how they see things.

I've seen many people take things into their own hands over the years. Sometimes we act too soon, sometimes we act too late. All of you who have been parents know that. You don't know when do you step in and when do you not. And usually we don't have all the facts, and so we don't temper our love with wisdom. In fact, look at one example in the Bible, a father that loved his son very much. And obviously that love wasn't tempered with the proper amount of correction. Go to 2 Samuel 18, if you would.

It's interesting. Of course, Proverbs are told to train up a child in the ways you go when he's old to not depart from it. And you don't have to train. Indiligently train your children. And it doesn't mean they won't depart at times, because they do. That's from the sermonette with the prodigal son. They can depart, but they can have a basic foundation. I've talked to some of my friends that aren't in the church anymore, that I grew up with in prayer. And most of them, I think, that never had God's Spirit and didn't get bitter. For the most part, they loved the discipline that was there, and the foundation that was given, and the training there. And it's taught them certain character aspects that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise.

It was interesting, when we look at the story of the love that King David had for Absalom, and I'm starting in chapter 18, verse 33. This is right after Absalom died. Absalom had taken the throne from his father in an unusual situation, which is hard to understand at times. It says, The king was much moved and went up into a room over the door weeping and saying, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only my life might have been given for yours, O Absalom, my son, my son. And word was given to Job that the king was weeping and soaring for Absalom, his son. Of course, Job had led the armies out there, because Absalom was trying to kill David, his father. And Job was upset. And word was given to Job that the king was weeping and soaring, and salvation of that day was changed to sorrow for all the people. For it was said to the people, The king is in bitter grief for his son. Again, these are the people that fought with David, that fled with him and came back. And the people made their way back to the town quietly and secretly, as those who were ashamed to go secretly when they go in flight from a war, when you're retreating, when you've lost. Here they had won a victory, and because David was so hurt and upset about his son's death, the victors were slinking into town. They weren't celebrating, and she would think, because the king is back, the one that God had appointed. Verse 4, But the king, covering his faith, gave a good cry, O my son Absalom, my son Absalom, my son, my son. And Job came into the house of the king and said, David, he says, Today you have put to shame the faces of all your servants, who even now have kept you and your sons and your daughters and your wives and all your women safe from death. For your haters, it seems, are dear to you.

The people that hated you seem to be more dear to you, and your friends are hated. For you have made it clear that captains and servants are nothing to you. And now I see that if Absalom was living and we had all been dead today, it would have been right in your eyes.

God loves us like David loved Absalom, but he loves all mankind. David mourned for his son. However, God in his perfect wisdom controls the vets and makes them happen differently.

Why did Absalom take the throne? What did he say about David, his father? Why did he turn the way he did? Actually, Absalom would have been next in line to be the king. He was older than Solomon, and Amnon had died. He had an eye that came after that. But it was interesting because David hadn't really reared his children. He was busy fighting wars and surrounding enlarging the borders of Israel. And Absalom was a goodly man, obviously had a beautiful mother, and said he was the most beautiful man in the kingdom, eloquent in speech and desired. And he had a sister, Tamar, when you've read that story, I can paraphrase it here. And it was interesting because Absalom's older half-brother had wanted Tamar, his sister. He'd lusted after her. And he set up a trap for her and asked the king, I'm sick, can you send Tamar in with a bowl of soup to feed me that can comfort me? And of course, he raped her. And Absalom was upset at that. It talks about Absalom hating his brother for what he did to his sister. And of course, then Absalom went and slew his brother after a couple of years. He invited him to a party. And he asked David to come to the party. It was a harvest festival four years after his sister had raped. And at that party, he asked for all the sons of David and David to come. And David said, no, I can't come, but the sons went there. And it was interesting because a messenger came back to David and told him that Absalom had killed all of his sons. And he wept. But someone else came to David and said, no, it's not true. He only killed Amnon because of what he did to his sister. And then Absalom had said David was upset. He was upset at Amnon.

He was also upset with Absalom. And Absalom left because he was afraid. And David didn't want to see him, didn't want to let him come in. Absalom went to a far country. And he worked different systems, different things. He worked with people there to try to set up situations. He went to Joab and Abner and different ones and said, you know, I'm not living a life out here. I can't see the king. And so he had people make intercession for him to the king. And he got back in David's grace because David did love Absalom. And even though he had killed another one of his sons, Absalom's brother, and done the things that he had done, he loved him. But Absalom still, what did he do? I'm sure he was still angered, his father, for not taking Amnon and doing something to him himself. He had cause against his father for the things that his father hadn't done in raising all of his children, for allowing his sister to be raped. There were things that had happened that I'm sure he felt were unjust that should have been changed. And when it talks about Absalom, then he started to sit at the gate when David let him come back. And so he sat at the gate, and he talked to anyone that would come. He'd say, tell me your problem. And he'd say, oh, if only I was a judge, I would do righteously and I would help you. And he did that for two years, and he turned the hearts of Israel against his father and towards him. Did David know about that? I assume he did. But looking at how David let things happen, because of his love, he didn't correct his son. He should have. He should have told Absalom, Absalom, come in here.

What's your reason for doing this? But he didn't. And Absalom was able to take the throne from David, and David had to flee. And you wonder how that could happen. David who slew Goliath, David who was anointed by Samuel. But I'm sure that Absalom brought up all the sins and the errors of his father, the Bathsheba, and the people that died there with his sister. And he managed to take the throne. And he took most of the priests and most of the people, so that David had to flee. And David, again, had to fight his own son. And that's how his son died. But it was interesting how God works things out. 2 Samuel 17 is a verse there that's interesting. Because Absalom asked for advice on what to do about David. And it said that Absalom and all the men of Israel said, verse 14, Houshay's advice or suggestion is better than that of a Hithafel. For it was his purpose of the Lord to make the wise designs of a Hithafel without effect, so that the Lord might send evil on Absalom. God was working things out. A Hithafel was the one person who was an advisor to David. Apparently, he had incredible amounts of wisdom. And people didn't even challenge him on anything. Yet in this case, another man who didn't have the wisdom was believed. God can let us see things differently. He works things out in a way that we don't understand because he tests people. He tests each of us. In this case, he was going to give the throne back to David. In Absalom, because of his sins, God was working it out. But David still loved his son. And when he died, he mourned for him, to the point that the rest of Israel was mourning. And his own army actually had to sneak into the city. In directing the information that Absalom got, God changed the course of where Israel was going in that day because a Hithafel had said to go take David now while he's weak. And Hushia, I said, no, no, gather all the armies. You need a huge army because David's men are really strong. It was obvious that it was bad advice. But God works things. He directs things in a way we don't understand. As fathers, we also must direct things to our children that they may not understand.

And we need the wisdom of God to do this. Do you ask God for wisdom and how you deal with things?

Because humanly, we tend to ask things in the wrong way. Like I said, sometimes we let things go too long, sometimes we do things too quickly. And it's that balance and timing that's often very critical. Turn to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 verse 1.

For if we are seeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, the sin which easily besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us.

How do we run that race? Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. If he hadn't lived and died and given us a word, we wouldn't know. Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set now at the right hand of the throne of God?

The humility. Christ was God. Yet the humility and what he endured is incredible. How much are we willing to endure? How much do we put up with?

For consider him that endured such contradictions of sinners against himself, lest you be worried and faint in your minds.

We want everything to be totally fair in this life. The point is, if you can accept unfairness, you can certainly accept fairness.

And oftentimes what we think is unfair may be fair. In fact, I've had to mediate a few things.

The only successful mediations I've ever had were the ones where both people walked away thinking they had lost.

Because fair seems to be leaning your direction. When both people walk away thinking, I didn't get the long end of the stick, you probably were in the middle.

Because if one of them thinks that's fair, he probably got more than his share.

Verse 4, you have not resisted under blood striving against sin. How hard are we?

How hard do we work striving against sin? How much patience do we have in faith that God is there?

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children.

My son despises not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him.

God chases us. He lets us go through experiences that we don't want. He lets us have trials that we don't enjoy, to face things.

For whom the Lord loves, he chases and scourges every son whom he receives.

If you endure the chastening, the correction, God deals with you as with sons.

For what son is he whom the Father chases not?

David, had he reared his children a little differently, corrected them more.

Had he corrected Amnon, his son with what he did to Absalom's sister?

It may have been a different story.

But if he be without chastisement, for of all our partakers, then you are bastards, not sons.

Further, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.

Shall we not much rather be in subjection, unto the Father of spirits and Leo?

Do we take what God gives us and not understand it? No, it's not pleasant, but it's helpful.

For they, verily, for a few days, chastened us after their own pleasure.

But he for our prophet, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Everything God gives to us helps us understand him, helps us learn to be holy.

Verse 11, it doesn't seem to be joyous for the present. Never is, never will be.

But grievous, nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them, which exercise by it. Do we have the peaceful feud of righteousness?

It's difficult in the world we live in. It's awkward, and it's hard.

Verse 14, it says, follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.

We don't always have peace. We have times when there doesn't seem to be a lot of peace.

But we have to look diligently in verse 15, lest any man fail the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, thereby many be defiled.

That root of bitterness that comes in is so difficult.

When you see that, you think about the root. Many of you have dug up roots.

Around here we got the wisteria roots. We've got some vines and things that you can't seem to kill.

You dig them up, and you try to pull them out. But they keep coming back.

If we let bitterness get to us, we'll fail as well.

And it's easy to get bitter. I've seen a lot of people do that.

But we have to make sure we don't. We have to have the love of God that we talked about.

We have to honor our Father by showing love. Sometimes that love is in different ways.

Sometimes it's in ways that we don't see as love.

I know when I was corrected a few times growing up, I didn't necessarily see this love.

But as a parent, a lot of us now, it's the old saying, this hurts me more than you. I never believed that as a kid.

I believed as a parent. I never believed as a kid because it hurt.

And I didn't figure out how it could hurt. But when you understand the mental anguish, you understand what God thinks when he sees us and the difficulties that we have.

Turn to Romans 5 if you would. Romans 5 verse 6.

Because it's difficult, and we each have to bear a lot of burdens when these things happen.

Romans 5 verse 6, For when we were yet without strength, at due time Christ died for the ungodly.

We couldn't do anything ourselves. Without his death, we couldn't be there.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet, peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commends his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He died for us. Most of us would be willing to die for our children, for our families. Back to verse 1 of chapter 5.

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We only have peace through Christ, by whom also we have access by faith, through His grace, wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Where is our hope? Better be in God and in Christ.

My little grandson's hope is in his parents. If he starts crying and they don't take care of him, he's not there. Our hope has to be in God and in Christ.

Verse 3, And not only so, but we glory in tribulation, also, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience, experience, and experience hope.

All these things we go through are for our benefit.

We don't see them that way, but they are. And they help us understand God.

And honoring our parents and honoring our God, because He gives us these trials and the patience to wait, to hope. Every time we don't have patience, we end up with an ish meal.

Abraham took matters in his own hand. He's got to have a son. He can't have it with Sarah.

He can't do it through Hagar. We've had so many ish meals in 6,000 years, because very few men have ever had the patience to wait on God.

And with that patience, experience, and hope, our hope is in God.

We have to let God work. Patience, I would say, of all the lessons that we have to learn, probably the hardest one. All of us want things now. All of us see things now. We'd like to change.

All of us wish something could be different. God, why don't You do it this way? Why don't You correct this? I was that way. I felt that way with Mr. Armstrong several times, certain things that were done. I'd say, why are You doing it that way? Why can't it be done a different way?

Patiently waiting. Many times in the jet, I would hear decisions that were made, facts that were presented, and I would think, wow, that's great. We should do that.

Only to find out later, it wasn't so great. All the facts weren't there.

I was always glad that I wasn't involved in that decision that was made.

Luke 15, I'd like to go to the Prodigal Son as well, like in the Sermonette, because Luke 15 talks about a father that loved his sons, two sons in that case.

But the father let one of his sons make some unwise decisions.

And all too often with us, we tend not to give our children the latitude to make decisions.

And all of us, those children I remember buying toys for my son, my daughter. Toys that probably all of you have bought, they go in there and your kid sees this box and somehow the TV advertising or whatever has gotten to them, and you know that toy is going to be good for probably five or ten minutes. And yet the kid thinks, oh man, this is, I gotta have this thing, I gotta have it.

And they'll play longer with the box than they will with the toy, you know that.

And it may be an expensive toy. Do you buy it for them or not buy it for them?

It's a good question. It's wise you're not to buy them for them, because you're not spending the money. But are you wise you're buying it for them and letting them find out that all the hype isn't worth what you thought it was? We had a case like that in the church, united about 10-12 years ago.

One of the churches that collected money locally wanted to do a big campaign. They wanted to run this ad and do some things. It was going to cost about $5,000. And it was interesting because everybody on the council felt it was a bad decision, that they wanted to do this.

But at the time, you know, they were still organizing somewhat. And the discussion came about, we've got to stop them until they're not doing it. I remember talking to them at the time, because I'd seen things like this happen in the past in the church, where people who wanted to do something and sure it would work were never let go to try. And so a couple of us were discussing the fact that we ought to let them do it anyway. And then a couple of people said, why do you want to let them waste money? You know, we can do better with that. That saved $5,000. We could run this or do this and cost for a response would be better, etc., etc. Which was true. It was all true.

Everything was said was true. But the reason I brought it up was because these people in this church are like children. We all are children of God. And I said, if we force them not to do it, which we can't, we have the power to do that, control them, they'll always wonder if it could have been. Just like your kid would always wonder, how long would I have played for that toy if he didn't buy it for them? And so we discussed it enough and everybody finally agreed to let them go ahead and do it. It was interesting because at the end of their campaign, it didn't work, and it didn't have results. They wrote us and told us, we shouldn't have done that. We'd have been better off to send the money to you guys. How much better a lesson was that than having people be upset or angry, perhaps even split, which some people did that were being controlled, the one that tried things your own way. But we had to make decisions that bring our children to God.

We had to make decisions in our own lives that bring us to God to honor Him.

Of course, the parable won't read it all because it was read in the sermonette.

The one son did everything right, the other son did everything wrong. Give me my money now, let me go do it. That's happened. It's happened in real life. Some of you may have had that happen. I know families where one son got all the money to help do some investments, or something like that, and it went south, the other kids didn't get anything. The anger and things that happened with that. But it was interesting because the one son went off and spent all the money and did everything he did. And we'll go to verse 22.

Verse 21, The son said to the father, I have sinned against heaven, and I sight, and with no more word that he be called your son. Like the sermonette said, the father knew that already.

But his father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and a ring in his hand and his shoes on his feet. Does God rejoice at us when we come back to Him in the same way?

And bring hither the fatted cap and kill it, let us eat and be merry.

For this was my son that was dead and is alive, he was lost and is found, and they began to be merry. God and the angels sing when we repent, when someone's called and someone gives up their pathway of life and embarks on that journey that Christ leads us through. But oftentimes, this is the case, verse 25, his elder son was in the field, and he came and drew nigh to the house, and he heard music and dancing. And he called one of his servants and asked, What are these things?

What does it mean? And he said, Your brother's come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, and has received him safe and sound. And here the humanist comes out, and all of us, he was angry, would not go in, and therefore came his father out and treated him. And his father said to him, Look, these many years do I serve you. And the son says to his father, I served you all these years.

I've done all these things. I never transgressed against you at any time. I didn't put my hand in the cookie jar. I didn't take what wasn't mine. I followed your commandment. He did honor his father.

No question. And yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends.

That's the human reaction, because we're not thinking of the big picture.

But as soon as this thy son has come, which has devoured your living with harlots, and you have killed him in the fatted camp, and the father's asking him, Son, you're with me forever.

And all that I have is yours. God is going to give us. We're concerned because someone else gets something sometimes. And the father said, It's me that we should make merry, and be glad. For this is our brother which was dead and is alive again, as Lawson has found. I don't know what that brother, if he came around or not, parable ends right there, because God wants us to be found, and He wants us to be happy when others are found. The son, did he honor God? Both sons honored their father when they came back. The one did it his whole life. And that son lived a better life, I'm sure, who honored his father his whole life, because there's all sorts of pain and sorrow that comes with doing it the wrong way. The brother who went out with the riotous living.

This world thinks those things are good, yet almost everyone who lives them finds out it's a hollow life. I met a lot of rich people traveling around the world in the hotels, and none of them really were happy. You could see it, you could tell it. It's not what it's about. And if you live God's way, the closer you live God's way, the happier you are now. But we all rejoice when something comes back.

God accepts us when we repent. He knows what sin does to us, and He wants us to do it right.

The father didn't go chasing after his son. He let his son go. Why? Because God constantly says, choose, choose. And all too often, again, we want to keep somebody locked in a box.

If I just protect them so they don't sin, and you hand them to God, hear God, here's my son, he didn't sin. What's God going to say? You never let him choose. How can I take him?

It's the same as burying your talent in the sand. You've got to do something with it. We, as God's children, He gives us a latitude to do things in our lives that we learn from.

Things that are good, things that are bad, but to learn to choose. God knows us by our choices.

He teaches us through the choices we make, good and bad. He taught the prodigal son through his choices, the wrong choices he made. And He taught the good son through the right choices he made. And yet it doesn't always seem fair to us humanly, but God wants each of us to grow and learn in our own way. The father of the prodigal son loved both his children. No question about that. Do we love each other? Are we the prodigal son, or are we the brother of the prodigal son?

There are pitfalls in both roles. I've been there. My brother and I are very different. My brother's done a lot of things that I wouldn't do. I remember growing up, I got in trouble. One of those things, and I don't know how many of you did that, but if you didn't know who did it, you both got swatted.

I knew who did it. And I got swatted over things I didn't do. But that was life. I learned a lot.

I tried to learn to figure out who did it before I swatted both my kids.

Of course, I had a boy and a girl, so I usually knew who did it.

Is that prejudiced? I don't know. Again, the father loved both his children.

Turn to 1 John 4. 1 John 4 verse 7. Christ died for both of those sons and for the father.

Our father loves all of us. 1 John 4 verse 7.

Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not God, for God is love. And this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son to the world, that we might live through him, hearing his love. Not that we love God, but he loved us, that sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. It's a hard love to have. It really is. We need to be encouraging one another. Studies show that it takes four words of encouragement for every negative comment. Four comments. It's amazing how we can get down. It's easy to get down. Someone says something nasty to you, and, oh, man, what did I do? And someone may say something nice, but it's amazing. It takes four things nice to offset one thing negative.

And we're also substantial to this, especially our children. And God knows that. God tries to encourage us. What do our children see in us? What does God see in us? Turn to Ephesians 4, 29.

Do we set the right example with the fruits of God's Spirit? Do our children see God? Do they see the world? Are we encouraging our children so that they can honor us? It's easier to honor people that are encouraging to you. Ephesians 4, 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, for by your seal unto the day of redemption.

Yeah, we can grieve the Spirit. I think there's been a lot of grieving in the last few months, a few years, because we haven't been as humble as we should have been, all of us. We haven't been as edifying. And things have been put out that weren't accurate. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, on all mouths, and be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

We should thank God for that forgiveness. And we need that kindness, kindness, temperate with wisdom, because oftentimes kindness can be enabling if people haven't really changed. And we must comfort as God does. We thank those that gave the meal last night delivered over to AJ and Megan. We were able to have a nice dinner because of some of you in the congregation, whoever it was who cooked all those things. We appreciated it. Those things are what God does. He provides for us. Just by being there, we can help each other.

God is the God of comfort. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3. Here it says, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Sometimes we don't think we're being comforted, but again, what is the comfort we're looking for? Is it now, or is it the future? Is it to be eternally happy with God as our Father, and us as His children, honoring Him forever? Or is it to be comfortable now with things that may not teach us anything? Who comforts us in verse 4 in all our tribulation?

Do you see comfort in tribulation? Only if you see the big picture, only if you have patience and faith in God, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. Again, have you been in trouble? You can comfort someone else in trouble by the comfort where we ourselves are comforted of God. Our life experiences that we have are to grow and to learn and to serve, to help others, to help our family, our physical family, and our spiritual family, to help them physically and to help them spiritually. We're always supposed to be God's flock and help each other.

First Peter 5 verse 3, we read, neither is being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. We're supposed to be helpers of the joy. When the shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away. Verse 5, likewise, you are younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. It seems like when things go too good, we tend to get proud. When we fall in a ditch, things happen, we tend to get more humble.

He says, humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Our Father wants to exalt us. He wants to praise us. He wants to give us His kingdom, just as we want to give our children the best in life. And all too often, people that are rich or give the kids too much, and in giving them the best in life, they can destroy them if they're not careful. But we need to humble ourselves before God, so that He can exalt us. It's not about now, it's about the future. We have to be there for our children. We have to make sure that they learn about God. This world has abandoned God altogether and turned to the gods of materialism and false religions to choose from themselves good and evil. In choosing, this world calls good evil and evil good. It's just remarkable to me, in my lifetime, to go from Ozzie and Harriet and the value shows of my childhood to the things we have today. Anything goes, and the reality shows where you lie, cheat, and steal, and you become the winner, and everybody praises you because you can be more like Satan than like God. The god of this world is indeed turn the world upside down, the world we live in. We're called to help turn the world right side up, to honor our God. And it begins with us, and it begins with our children. We have to be the ones who teach the children that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. We have to shape their view of God the Father by our words and our deeds, by our actions, by what we do. And the hard part is to let them make choices so that they can learn.

Choices at the right time and the right place, so that they can grow up.

Hebrews 13.5, a clue that God gives us, so let your conversation be without covetousness.

Are you always wanting something more, something better? And be content with the things you have, for He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

He doesn't promise you all the wealth in the world, doesn't promise you all sorts of things, but He says He'll never leave you or forsake you. We never leave or forsake our children.

Father, the prodigal son, never left His son that left Him. We always pray for them, we hope for them, we ask God to do what's best for them. That's what we're supposed to do.

Deuteronomy 4, in the Old Testament, God talking to Israel, His children.

Deuteronomy 4, verse 1, Now therefore Harkonoi has rolled to the statutes, and unto the judgments which I teach you, to do them, that you may live, and go in, and possess the land the Lord your Father gives you.

He gave them His statutes, just as we teach our children His laws.

Verse 2, You shall not add unto the word which I command you, and neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

God wants us to keep His word. He doesn't want us to become like the Pharisees, and judge others for things that aren't there. He wants us to honor our parents, and He would rather have us honor our own parents than to try to look good to the world with giving gifts and things for false premises or for fake belief that maybe you're doing something better because, toward God, God wants us to love Him, love our families, and show the love to each other that we need. Verse 5, Behold, I've taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land where you go to possess it.

Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes and say, Surely this is a great nation, a wise and understanding people. For what nation is so great, who has a God so nigh to them?

That's the Lord our God and all the things that we call upon Him for.

It's interesting because, if you raise your family right, it's amazing how many people and we've done a lot better job than the world has. Some of you have done an incredible job.

It's interesting how people look at your family and they'll say that. God wanted them to look at the nation of Israel and say, Wow, look how great the God is. Look at how wise.

Do people look at your family and they say, Wow, look at how those kids behave.

Look at how they love their parents. Look at how they act. They must have been raised right.

And maybe they won't want to do what you do because of keeping the Sabbath and keeping the feasts and the holy days and teaching the way of God, but they'll see the difference.

And hopefully they'll want to. And most people do. I've talked to some people who've had kids that have turned to drugs and things and friends of our children and they wish they'd done it differently. They ask how. The Queen of Thailand, sitting in a car driving around Los Angeles in 1985, asked me, How should I raise my son? She wanted to be more like what she saw in the ambassador students of the time. Her son's a month older than I am. And all I could tell her is, you should have raised him the same way you were raised because your father taught you honor and respect for other people. And we have to have that honor and respect. Do we hear God? Do we honor Him? To honor God is to hear His voice and to obey. John 10 verse 11, going back to John 10.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He stays with the flock.

He doesn't divide it. But he that is a harling and not the shepherd, whose own and the sheep are not.

He sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep. The harling flees because he is a harling and cares not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known mine. As the father knows me, even so I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Another sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, that they shall hear my voice. And there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

Indeed, where is sheep now? The whole world is going to be as sheep in the resurrection, when people come back to life. There are those that aren't in the fold now. Verse 17, therefore does my father love me because I laid down my life, that I might take it again.

No man takes it from me. I lay it down on myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This commandment have I received in my father.

He did it willingly. Everything we do has to be willing. It can't be forced. Again, you can't put people in a box and control them. Each of us has to choose to honor our father.

Just as our children have to choose to honor us. We teach them about it. We can help them.

Drop me down to verse 25. Jesus answered them and said, I told you, and you believe not, the works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me.

But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one.

We all learn to hear the voice of our father. My little grandson hears his father's voice, and he turns, and he hears his mother's voice, and he turns. I pray for my little grandson, Jason, and his father and his mother, that they can teach him God's word. They can teach him this in a world that's going to be very difficult for him, harder than it was for my parents, and harder than it was for us when we raised our children. That they can be parents as God wants them to be parents. That they indeed can teach him to honor his father and mother. That his days may also be long on this earth. And more importantly, that they can teach him that we can all honor our Father in heaven. That our days may be eternity together in the kingdom of God. That's my hope and my desire for all of us, for all mankind, as it is for God's. May we soon have that day, and we can all be together.