Honor Your Father and Mother

Well, thank you, gentlemen. Once again, happy Sabbath to each and every one of you. Great to see you with us on this fall Sabbath day.

Well, today I would like to continue my series on the Ten Commandments, something that I started, I think, earlier in the year. The one today is as important today as it ever was. It's a universal principle that we should observe both in its physical and spiritual application. It will discuss what those are. It's the Fifth Commandment, and we're going to begin with Jesus Christ talking about the Fifth Commandment and emphasizing its importance. So let's begin today by going to Matthew 15, beginning in verse 1, and see what Jesus had to say about this particular commandment and why it is so important. Here, in this story, Jesus confronts the scribes and the Pharisees because their tradition had created a way to get out of respecting this commandment, to avoid keeping this commandment. And obviously, Jesus wasn't very happy with that. He has very strong words here. It says, then the scribes and the Pharisees, who were from Jerusalem, came to Jesus, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? Now, notice, they don't say that they transgressed the Torah or transgressed God's law. They're transgressing the tradition of the elders. This was the additional oral law created by these Jews, anciently. For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. And he answered and said to them, I have a question for you. You're asking me questions? All right, here's one for you. Why do you also transgress the commandment of God? In contrast to the traditions of the elders, I have a question for you. Why do you, according to your actions, why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother, and he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, this is Jesus speaking according to their tradition, you say, whoever says to his father or mother, whatever prophet you might have received from me is a gift to God. Now, there's another phraseology used in Mark's account called Corban. Corban was a vow in which you would devote something to God. So they had come up with this tradition that instead of helping your parents out materially, maybe giving them some money or helping them out, that you could avoid that by declaring Corban. You could avoid that by saying, Oh, I'm going to give this as a gift to God. And it usually was in the form of money given to the temple. And unlike your parents, who maybe are poor and no one's about to give you the kind of glory that they might in the temple, if you give money to the temple, it's, and so and so has given money to the temple. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's the least I could do. See, so this was all about vanity. This was all about avoiding the obligation to support your parents. And they used this as an excuse to violate God's law, the fifth commandment. So continuing here, let's pick it up in verse five. Whoever says to his father or mother, whatever prophet you might have received from me is a gift to God. So instead of helping you, it's going to be given as a gift to God. Aren't I righteous? Aren't I a godly person? Because I'm giving this to God. That's the impression here. Verse six.

Then he need not honor his father and mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, quote, These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, putting these human traditions before the law of God, before the Ten Commandments themselves. Jesus is quoting from Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 13. So of course, Jesus Christ is saying here that the fifth commandment is still in effect and that it's still valid.

Many religious people and organizations attempt to dodge the commandments of God because of their own traditions, church doctrines, or agendas. None of this is surprising, and it goes far beyond the fifth commandment. Try the commandment to observe the Sabbath. How many churches avoid keeping the seventh-day Sabbath because of their church traditions, right, or their own personal agenda, or for some reason that they have created to avoid simply doing what God asks us to do. Regarding this commandment to Jesus, honoring your biological mother and father was an obligation because it's part of the law of God.

Let's go forward now a few chapters. Matthew chapter 19 and verse 16. We'll again see where Jesus emphasizes the importance of the fifth commandment in a statement that he makes to a young man who comes to him and asks him a couple of questions. Matthew chapter 19 and verse 16, if you'll kindly turn there. This is now behold. One came to him, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he said to him, why do you call me good?

No one is good, but one that is God. So Jesus is kind of probing him a little bit. Are you admitting that I'm God? Why are you using that phrase or are you just trying to impress me? So Jesus is probing him a little bit. He says, but nevertheless, if you want to enter the life, keep the commandments. And he said to him, the young man, which ones? And Jesus quotes the commandments on the second tablet. You know, there were two tablets of stone. The first tablet listed all of our obligations to God. That's what was on the first tablet that God inscribed with his finger. The second tablet that God inscribed with his finger was all of our obligations to mankind. Those were the two tablets. So Jesus doesn't see a need to relate all the ones relating to our obedience to God, including the Sabbath day. That was a self-evident truth to his audience that you would keep those commandments. So he specifically is talking about the young man's relationship with other human beings. So when he says which one, he says to him, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, all these things I have kept from my youth, what do I still lack? Now the young man doesn't realize that Jesus Christ has an advantage here. Jesus Christ can read the human heart, and this is in a way is kind of a setup because Jesus knew what his Achilles heel is. Jesus knew what his personal weakness is. It's the love of money. So when the young man asked that question, and Jesus just strung him along because he knew the young man would get to that point, and he could answer his question, Jesus said to him, if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor. I want you to notice what Jesus says, unlike what we read in Matthew 15. He doesn't say, sell what you have and give to the temple.

He doesn't say that. Unlike some religious frauds that I've known in my lifetime, he doesn't say, sell what you have and give it to me. No, he doesn't do that. He doesn't even say, sell what you have and give it to the church. He says, sell what you have and give it to the poor, the people who really need it. And you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.

Jesus is offering him an opportunity to be a disciple, to literally be a disciple, and walk and talk day by day with Jesus Christ. Follow me, verse 22, but when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Again, Jesus knew this. He could read his heart. He knew what the young man's stumbling block would be. The thing I want to bring out in this scripture is that Jesus once again emphasizes that honoring your father and mother is still a valid, legitimate commandment and an expectation by God that each and every one of us respect and understand.

Christ made similar statements in Mark chapter 10 and Luke chapter 18, and for the sake of time, we won't be going to those other versions of what Jesus said here in Matthew that we just read. So now, at this point, now that we've established a starting point, let's go to the original instruction in Exodus chapter 20. If you'll turn there with me, verse 12.

Exodus 20, verse 12, and this is repeated in Deuteronomy 5. I won't go to Deuteronomy 5 today because it's just basically a repetition of what we're going to read. Again, Exodus chapter 20, verse 12. It says, Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land, which the Lord your God is giving you. Interesting thing about this command is this is a commandment that comes with a promised blessing, and actually the blessing was twofold.

As an individual, God will bless us with life, long life, a good life. If we do this, if we respect our mother and our father, why is this commandment so important to God? Because this commandment is really all about family. Family units start with a mother and father, and then they have children. And if you thought about it, what would the world be like if everyone kept this commandment? Every generation kept this commandment, families would be stronger instead of so fragmented like they are today.

And because of so many broken marriages and relationships, of which I was a product of a broken marriage and relationship, it has made life a lot more complicated. Because you don't know whether which side of the family or which mates children that you should become friends with, or mother or father or this mother and father or these half sisters and half brothers. And we've just made life a lot more complicated today because of the dysfunctional relationships that have evolved in human society. This is all about family.

Now, so again, for an individual, God will bless us if we do this. For the nation of Israel, and this is what some scholars believe that the end of verse 12 here is actually talking about Israel, not so much an individual. For Israel, they would remain in the promised land as long as they obeyed this commandment, as long as they respected and reinforced family, moms and dads and children, loving one another, caring for one another, taking care of one another, being there for one another.

That is the heart and the core of family. Here's an interesting thing that the Cambridge Study Bible says, and I'm going to quote from it. This is their comment on Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12. The fifth commandment demands equal honor for mothers with fathers, which is an unusual feature in the wider society of the Middle East, where women were primarily instruments of male procreation and expendable slaves. And, quote, you know, in a lot of areas of the world, women are still looked at as inferior to husbands or fathers.

And the interesting thing about this commandment is, contrary to the culture that existed at that time, including Hebrew culture, contrary to the culture that existed at that time, this demands equal honor for mothers and for fathers. And that's a very powerful point made by the Cambridge Study Bible. So what does it mean to honor our mother and our father?

Well, the Hebrew word honor is the Hebrew word kabad, and it's spelled K-A-B-A-D, and it means to boast about, make glorious, treat greatly, to promote. To put it in more modern terms, to honor your father and mother, is to support their material needs and their emotional needs by providing resources to them as it's needed and by giving them respect and dignity.

Now, this doesn't mean that we have to agree with their attitudes or their personal decisions or their lifestyle, but we do need to show them deference and respect no matter how challenging they may be at times. If you give you, again, a personal example without getting too personal, my biological father, I really didn't know him growing up. He showed up in the scenes when he had grandchildren. When I had grandchildren, suddenly he appeared almost like a genie, because I think he wanted to have a relationship with them, and he would always come unannounced.

I'd open the door. There's my father. You know, the first time a man I hadn't seen in 15, 20 years, he would just totally show up unannounced, and he had a lifestyle that I did not agree with at all.

But yet, I always gave him deference. I always treated him with respect. I allowed him to see his grandchildren, spend time with his grandchildren, because that's what God expects of us. He expects us.

Even if mom and dad had problems, even if they didn't always treat us well or kind, the commandment says that we need to honor our father and honor our mother. So we need to show them deference and respect, no matter how dysfunctional they may be in their own lifestyles, no matter what maybe they have done to their lives or scars or difficulties we have from the past. And if one is blessed to have godly parents, it's an additional blessing because of the wisdom that they can share. Let's take a look at the scripture here, Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 7. And obviously, this is in context talking about if you have godly parents, meaning parents who respect God's law, individuals who strive to have a relationship with God. This is wisdom. And here it is, Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, more than just fright, but holding God in awe, saying, He is my everything. He is my creator, sustainer, my savior. God is my everything in life. That's the beginning of knowledge. You're now to the point of humility where your mind can soak in truths. So the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains around your neck. End of quote. Now, for most of us, we were not blessed with godly parents. Some of you were, because I know you and I knew your parents when they were alive, but most of us were not blessed with godly parents, and they couldn't provide us this kind of wisdom. Instead of providing wisdom from God, they usually only had carnal advice from the school of hard knocks. If our parents, or if our parents ever had, or if our parents are living today, and they violate the law of God, or they contradict the teaching of scriptures, we are obligated to obey God rather than our parents. Yet we can still do that respectfully, even if they're not happy about it, we can still treat them with kindness and respect, even if we don't do what they want us to do. And I think that's an important thing to point out. Christ himself stated in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 37, whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. You do have to draw a line. And if you're asked to do something that violates God's law, or something that violates your values, you can kindly say no. You don't have to be angry about it. You don't have to be haughty about it. You can respectfully and kindly say no to things.

And I realize sometimes that what I'm talking about today is easier said than done. As we age, we elderly become more rigid in our thinking. Some of us, because we stop growing, become fossils mentally. Some of us stop learning. We get behind in technology. Our attitudes and mindsets are 20 years ago instead of the world way it is today. And I don't think sometimes we realize how frustrating that is for our children when they're trying to deal with us as parents, and the world has left us behind. So this is kind of a two-way street. Yes, indeed, they need to honor us and give us that honor and that respect due to our position and our situation. But we also have to be moldable, and we have to work with them. We have to be there and have hearts and minds that are listening to them, that are open-minded, that are looking at them as advisors, our children as advisors, as someone who wants to help us because they love us, not an adversary because they have an idea that's different than our own. According to the Torah, striking or cursing one's father or mother was punishable by immediate death. All it had to do is the elders who had judged that that indeed occurred, and there would be the immediate death penalty for anyone who struck or cursed to their father. That's mentioned in Exodus 21.15 and Leviticus chapter 20 verse 9. Think about it.

Striking is physical abuse. Cursing, cursing out your parent, cursing out anyone, is emotional abuse. So the Bible doesn't just condemn physically striking or hitting your parent. The Bible also condemns demonstrating emotional abuse towards your parents. Let's remind ourselves of the time this commandment is written because it's, I think, it's easy for us today in the 21st century to lose the understanding of what the context was when this was originally said.

Life for most people at this time was short, hard, and often violent. As you became elderly, you got to the point where you could no longer work. You can no longer work hard, and eventually you could no longer work. You were old. There was no social security. There were no government programs, nothing to help you with food and utilities and all the things we have today. There was nothing except the mercy of your family helping you out. It was totally up to children to care for their parents' physical and emotional needs. Even in the book of Ruth, Ruth the Moabitis went out of the field and gleaned the fields on behalf of her elderly mother-in-law Naomi, implying that Naomi herself couldn't go out and glean the fields. So her daughter-in-law did that for her to help her. Why? Because aside from that, there was absolutely nothing you could count on. You may have done everything right in life, and you grew old and you grew to the point where there was nothing for you. No food, no shelter, nothing. No health care, nothing. You had to rely on family for everything. Caring for parents was the children's responsibility. Now, even though we live in a different age, and certainly today we have the government to help out, many people have financial planning as they're getting into their upper years. We do have social security. We have a lot of government programs that help with food and utility and the needs of the elderly.

We need to realize that even though much is provided by the government today and by someone's own financial planning, we still need to look out for mom and dad, for mother and father, and their material and particularly their emotional needs. The government can give you all the food in the world. It cannot provide for your emotional needs. It can give you all the material things you could want, but it cannot provide for your emotional needs. And we need to realize that and appreciate that. Here's what the Believer's Study Bible says about this particular concept.

This is the Believer's Study Bible. Quote, again, the national character of this legal covenant can be seen. Since God's moral character is unchanging, these moral principles have universal application. But in this Mosaic covenant, it's for Israel in the Promised Land. The commandment clearly indicates that God values relationships and holds them sacred. Furthermore, this mandate emphasizes that God is the creator of the home he considers one's attitude and actions towards parents as a measure of godliness. So the way that we treat our parents, God says, is the way that you treat me. And we're going to see that's actually the spiritual application of this law, is that God is our spiritual father. And we'll talk about that more in just a few minutes. Let's go to Luke chapter 2 and verse 41. Jesus Christ, of course, lived a perfect life. He never violated the law of God. And this is an interesting story of Jesus as a 12-year-old boy who's just beginning to become aware of the fact that he's different than everyone else, that he was born on earth for a very special mission. And we'll read about that here in Luke chapter 2, and we'll pick it up in verse 41.

Luke chapter 2 and verse 41.

His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover, as all Jews did. That was one of the pilgrim festivals, the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, and everyone was instructed to go to Jerusalem at that time. And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast. And when they had finished the days, and that would include the Passover and all seven Days of Unleavened Bread, as they returned, the boy lingered behind in Jerusalem.

And Joseph and his mother did not know it. They were in a big family unit, big pack, and there were this group, and then a little farther behind. There's this group of relatives, and a little farther behind. This group kind of reminds me, when I was a young boy and we would go on family vacations with our aunts and uncles and cousins, it would be that way. You know, there'd be this little pod doing this thing, and down the road there'd be another group of relatives kind of, you know, tagging along, and then later on there'd be some more cousins and an aunt and uncle. So that's what's happening here. And again, Joseph and his mother did not know it, but supposing him to have been in the company somewhere among the relatives in one of those little groups, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances.

So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him. Now so it was that after three days they found him in the temple. And I would say, on all fairness, their anxiety level is probably pretty high by now. Looking for their son, they probably felt guilty. We should have kept an eye on him. Were the parents, we're supposed to be the grown-ups in the room, we should have kept a better eye on him. So there probably a lot of anxiety going on here. They found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers far above what you would expect from someone who's just 12 years old. Again, he's beginning to come aware of his life mission and why he was born and his role in the universe.

Verse 48, so when they saw him they were amazed. And his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. Yeah, I would say after three plus days there's probably a lot of anxiousness going on there. And he said to them, again, I want to emphasize that Jesus is not being rebellious. Jesus is not being disrespectful here. If there's any blame in this situation to go anywhere, it would be in the parents for not keeping a close enough eye on their children. So they said, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, why do you seek me? Do you not know that I must be about my father's business? Verse 50, and they did not understand the statement which he spoke to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them. He was submissive. He honored his mother and his father. He respected them. This was a unique situation in which he was becoming aware of the spiritual side of his life and his destiny and what he had been born to do in his calling. And he just basically wanted to go to the temple and learn more about his spiritual father. He's beginning to, again, become aware of his life. In essence, he states, Mom and Dad, there's no need to worry. I've been here in the temple all along, building a relationship with my spiritual father, getting to know him. That's what Jesus, in essence, is saying here. So if anyone should doubt whether Jesus believed in the fifth commandment and the importance of the fifth commandment, I would ask them to read John chapter 19 and verse 27. So let's go there. John chapter 19 and verse 25 and see something that is recorded during his crucifixion. I want you to look at an example of Jesus as he demonstrates one of the greatest acts of love in all of recorded human history. He's hanging on a cross.

He has nails hammered into his feet and into his hands. He's got the weight of the world on his mind. He's slowly bleeding to death. He had already been beaten to a bloody pulp.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophis and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. And he said to the disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

Again, I want to emphasize what's on the mind of Jesus Christ. He's in excruciating pain.

It's natural being human that he would have the anxiety of his impending death. He's slowly bleeding to death. His body has to reek in horror because he's just been beaten to a bloody pulp, as I said a few minutes ago. I'm sure he's thinking about human sin and he's thinking about the relationship that he had with the Father before he even came to earth. He's being mocked by others as he hangs there. In spite of all that's going on, in spite of all this, he thinks of the needs of his mom and asks John to take care of her as in a mother and son relationship. Now that's love. That's Jesus by example, showing how much he believed in the importance of the Fifth Commandment.

So what's the spiritual application of this commandment? Well, in the Talmud, the commandment to honor one's human parents is directly compared to honoring God. Even Jesus, we saw in his example, that Jesus taught us to pray our Father, and that he referred to God as our Father, obviously as our spiritual Father. The Talmud also states that since there are three partners in the creation of a person, it taught there is God and the two parents. God, remember, God is ultimately the Creator, even of the two parents, of everything that's on this earth, that honor showed to parents was the same as honor showed to God. That was according to Jewish teaching. In essence, when we dishonor or if we dishonor our parents, we dishonor our Creator. And that is a sin, and it may result in a curse on our lives. Well, let's go back now to the Old Testament and see some examples of God as our spiritual Father. He himself says this is true. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 6. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 6.

Speaking through the prophet Malachi, God says this, a son honors his father, and a servant his master. Two analogies there. If then I am the father, where is my honor?

He says I'm your spiritual father, and I don't receive any honor from you.

Where is my reverence, says the Lord of Host, to you priests who despise my name.

Yet you say in what way have we despised your name? You offered defiled food on my altar.

But say, in what have we defiled you by saying the table of the Lord is contemptible?

The Father, God, assures contemptible because you've dishonored the altar with defiled food on it. You have shown a lack of respect and honor for me because you're putting deformed and you're offering deformed animals. You are doing everything against what I taught regarding acceptable sacrifices, and you are dishonoring me. Verse 8, and when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and the sick, this is talking about the types of animals that were being offered to God. The leftovers, instead of the choice, perfect animals, as God had originally instructed, is it not evil? Offer them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Would the governor be pleased to hear, Governor, thank you so much for coming into our town? I have a gift for you, a three-legged lamb. He walks a little different than the other lambs, but this is my gift to you. Would the governor be honored with a three-legged lamb? I doubt it.

Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of Hosts? So this scripture here highlights the original intent of the Fifth Commandment. By honoring our physical parents, we are reminded of our obligation to honor our spiritual father, also our Creator. We could say that, yes, Mom and Dad created us through an act of love, but there's a third individual involved in that creation. That's the original Creator himself, God the Father, the Great Creator God. God even provides a metaphor of this relationship by a condemnation of Judah that he gives through the prophet Jeremiah. So let's go to Jeremiah chapter 35, and we'll look at a prophecy that was completely fulfilled. One of the proofs that God exists is fulfilled prophecy. God said in advance something was going to happen, and it did, and this is a classic example of that in Jeremiah chapter 35 verse 13. Jeremiah 35 verse 13, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.

He says, even on a human level, some guy, who means nothing to any of us, told his sons don't drink wine. And you know what? To this day, they don't drink wine. They respected their human father. So that's what he's saying here. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey me. You're not even as good as this guy's kids as his sons. Verse 15, I have also sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods and serve them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to your fathers, but you have not inclined your ear nor obeyed me. God says you're showing dishonor and disrespect as your parents, as your father. Surely the sons of Jonadab and Rekab have performed the commandments of their father, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Host, the God of Israel, behold, I will bring on Judah and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard, and I have called to them, but they have not answered. So do you see how important it is for us to honor our mother and our father, and by extension, the spiritual application, our spiritual father, to listen to him? When we are corrected during the week, when something comes to our mind, yeah, I should stop doing that, I need to change that, not to simply blow that off, but maybe God's Spirit's trying to tell us something with that thought, with that feeling that I shouldn't be thinking that way, I shouldn't be acting that way, I shouldn't be talking that way. Maybe God's Spirit's trying to tell us something. Maybe we should be obedient and listening. I think that's something that needs to be emphasized. God originally gave the fifth commandment, with the intention that Israel would look to him as their spiritual father, as the one who created humanity. They would look to God as a teacher, a loving provider, a nurturer who wants the best for them, just like any caring human parent would. Sadly, they ignored this reality. So I have to ask us the question, are we honoring our God daily? Are we making contact with God that can be through prayer, Bible study, or fasting? Are we making that contact every day? How about our lifestyle?

Are we honoring God through our lifestyle, our conduct, what we say, how we act, what we think?

How about our faith? Do we honor our spiritual father by our strong, dedicated faith? Or are we wishy-washy? Do we have one foot in the world and one foot in the church? Do we look at churches more of a social club than a place of worship? That's a good question. Do we honor our father by worshiping him publicly on the Sabbath as he's instructed us to do? As often as we can. Yes, I realize that sometimes we all get ill. I certainly get ill, and I certainly occasionally have to miss a Sabbath. That's understandable. But aside from those unique situations where health is stopping us from public worship on the Sabbath day, are we honoring God by our conduct, by our example, our personal lifestyle? Let's conclude the sermon today with a few scriptures from Paul and a final one from Jesus in the New Testament. 1 Timothy, chapter 5 and verse 1. Do we need to understand and appreciate that the fifth commandment is universal, is part of the Old Covenant? It's part of the New Covenant. As I said before, the law of God, the commandments of God, are part of the template of any covenant God would make with any human being. Because the first part of that law explains our relationship to our Creator. The latter part of that law explains our relationship with the other creation, our neighbors, and how we should treat them, and how we should love and care for them. 1 Timothy, chapter 5, beginning in verse 1.

He's giving some instruction here. Paul is to Timothy, who was an elder. Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, so don't lose your cool and scream and disrespect an older man. Treat him as you would your father. That means, though, you may not agree with him.

You can disagree respectfully. That's his point. Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger as sisters. In other words, treat everyone as if they're family. Take the edge off of your approach in a way you talk to people, and treat everyone as if they're part of family. Because we are all part of a spiritual family. Verse 3, honor widows who are really widows. And he went on other places to define what a real widow is. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety. That's just a word. We don't use that often today. It means respect and duty. Let them first... these are the children and grandchildren should first learn to show respect and duty at home towards mom and grandma. That's what Paul is saying. And to repay their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God.

If one is a disciple of Jesus Christ, they recognize their duty to provide and care for the emotional and the material needs of their mother and grandfather. And there may be some needs they have that financial planning, all the financial planning in the world can't provide. All the government programs in the world can't provide. But there are certain things that we can do.

So Paul's putting the fifth commandment into action and reminding Timothy to teach the importance of obeying this commandment in the Church of God. All right, second scripture from Paul, Ephesians chapter 6 verses 1 through 4. Ephesians chapter 6 verses 1 through 4.

He writes, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment with promise, quotes right out of the scriptures, that it may be well with you and that you may live long in the earth. And then he adds something.

And again, this, as I mentioned earlier, that it's a two-way relationship. You know, honor our father and our mother. Well, as a father and mother, we also have obligations in that relationship. And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. So Paul reminds the congregation in Ephesus that the fifth commandment is as valid, is as important as ever before. He even quotes Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, verbatim.

Then Paul adds an additional point. As parents, we need to make it easy to be honored. We need to follow God the Father's example. He's easy to be honored. He's the creator, sustainer, nurturer. He loves us. He's given us the gift of life. He's given us every physical blessing we have. He's offered us eternity through His Holy Spirit. We need to be easy to get along with, like God is loving and nurturing and caring. Whether our children are either small or adults, we should not provoke them to anger or frustration by the things that we say or the things that we act.

As a mother and father, as our children are trying to help us, we should not be stubborn or unreasonable or inflexible simply because we can't get everything our way.

We have to bring that flexibility back into our heads that we lost as we were growing old.

Our children mean the best for us, so be open-minded and listen to the advice they have.

Listen to the things that they say. Give them good reason to make it easy for them to honor us and give us respect. All right, let's now go to our final scripture today, Luke 11 and verse 1.

There are many places in the scripture where Jesus referred to God as Father, a spiritual father. Again, that's the spiritual application of the fifth commandment from the very beginning. And let's just read what Jesus says here, Luke chapter 11, beginning in verse 1 as our final scripture today. Now, it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased that one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. That happened to be a tradition of the rabbis. People would often go to the rabbis and say, teach us a special prayer. Teach us something that we can say when we pray. John did it and Jesus is going to do it here. Let's pick it up. Verse 2. So he said to them, when you pray, say, our Father in heaven, I want you to notice the degree of respect and honor to the rest of this prayer.

Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Not my way. Not the way I want it done because my mind closed 30 years ago because I'm not listening to anybody, because I'm stubborn, because I'm still living in the 50s. Not my way. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us of our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Again, I want you to notice the honor and the respect that Jesus teaches us how to approach our spiritual Father, the attitude to have, the humility to have.

I think that's something that we should never forget. So, brethren, let us meditate on the importance of the fifth commandment. There's more to it than first meets the eye when you just read the words, honor your mother and your father. There's a lot more there than first meets the eye.

Let's make sure we're honoring and showing respect to our physical parents if we are blessed enough that they are still alive. And I know for many of us, our physical parents have passed.

And even more importantly, let's make sure that we are showing respect and honor to our spiritual Father. This is the commandment of God. And if we obey it, it comes with a promised blessing.

Remember both the physical and the spiritual application of the fifth commandment, this law of God. I wish all of you a very fulfilling Sabbath day.