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down to them or serve them for I the Lord your God 00:00:02.400 |
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers 00:00:05.160 |
and the children to the third and the fourth generation 00:00:09.040 |
But showing steadfast love to the thousands of those 00:00:13.160 |
You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain 00:00:20.840 |
Six days you shall labor and do all your work 00:00:23.440 |
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 00:00:26.200 |
On it you shall not do any work, you or your son 00:00:34.960 |
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea 00:00:37.160 |
and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day. 00:00:39.920 |
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 00:00:42.820 |
Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long 00:00:45.600 |
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 00:00:48.240 |
You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, 00:00:50.440 |
you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness 00:00:59.800 |
or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. 00:01:10.480 |
for giving us this day where we can honor you 00:01:17.640 |
We thank you Father God that you've given us your grace. 00:01:27.080 |
and became one of us Lord God and walked this earth. 00:01:32.680 |
who guide us and teach us to know about who Christ is. 00:02:22.240 |
about obedience to parents and to honor them. 00:02:32.520 |
I'm just gonna go and plow through the Thessalonians 00:02:43.520 |
But again even though there's a temptation to do that 00:02:56.240 |
For everything that we're doing in the church 00:03:00.500 |
It's not simply because somebody in American history 00:03:03.340 |
decided to do this and we wanna be consistent 00:03:19.000 |
And I don't know if this was mentioned or not 00:03:31.840 |
and our church family has prepared a nice meal for you. 00:03:35.520 |
So please do not go and help us to serve you, okay? 00:03:44.000 |
and again not simply because the world is doing this 00:03:49.680 |
that we establish honor for our mothers and our fathers 00:03:53.740 |
but in particular today because it's Mother's Day 00:03:58.940 |
with what it means to be a Christian and follower of Christ. 00:04:01.660 |
It is directly linked to the message of the cross 00:04:13.380 |
is we're not elevating the mother with Jesus. 00:04:17.340 |
You know, it's like well we all these other weeks 00:04:19.620 |
we talk about Jesus so we wanna spend one day 00:04:24.180 |
You know, that's not what we're doing this morning. 00:04:29.180 |
we wanna take this day just specifically aside from Christ 00:04:37.060 |
is directly linked to honoring our Father in heaven 00:04:50.820 |
It's about a proper response to what God has done for us. 00:04:58.220 |
especially for a church that desires to proclaim Christ 00:05:09.980 |
You know, automatically when you have a child 00:05:22.200 |
Dad's always the idiot in the family, you know 00:05:28.440 |
the cool, cool person, the wise one is the teenager. 00:05:32.700 |
You know, who's rebelling and he doesn't listen to anybody. 00:05:46.700 |
to his high school registration and just the environment. 00:06:04.220 |
And I understand that there is a tremendous pressure 00:06:16.480 |
But all the more why the church needs to take this time 00:06:25.260 |
The scripture says, "Honor your father and your mother 00:06:42.260 |
make sure that you honor your father and mother. 00:06:45.180 |
You know, at first glance, it looks kinda strange 00:06:47.860 |
because out of all the commandments that God gave, right? 00:07:07.960 |
as the scientists were examining these animals, 00:07:25.020 |
or the Midianites, because how that was going 00:07:32.780 |
God didn't just kinda pull that out of the air. 00:07:49.020 |
There is practical ramifications if we don't obey it. 00:07:57.540 |
is the fifth commandment out of the 10 commandments. 00:07:59.820 |
The first four commandments is about loving God, 00:08:02.840 |
to worship him only, to not to use his name in vain, 00:08:22.860 |
you would think it would be do not murder, right? 00:08:30.800 |
You commit murder, you die, people are gonna die, 00:08:58.040 |
You would think any one of those commandments, 00:09:04.120 |
of not obeying those commandments in the culture. 00:09:06.360 |
So if you disobey any of that in the new land, 00:09:13.520 |
But the commandment that he chose to set aside 00:09:16.040 |
was the first one, honor your father and your mother, 00:09:29.760 |
do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness? 00:09:46.880 |
of his widowed mother, he is worse than an unbeliever. 00:09:50.880 |
He said that a believer, one of the first things 00:10:01.400 |
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew 15, 3 to 6. 00:10:04.600 |
And he says, why do you break the commandments of God 00:10:08.480 |
For God commanded, honor your father and your mother, 00:10:11.360 |
and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. 00:10:15.140 |
But you say, if anyone tells his father or his mother 00:10:17.900 |
what you would have gained from me is given to God, 00:10:25.640 |
And God, Jesus keeps on bringing this up to the Pharisees, 00:10:33.860 |
So not only is this commandment true in the Old Testament, 00:10:42.660 |
In fact, that same phrase, that same commandment 00:10:52.240 |
above other commandments, say if you want to live long. 00:10:54.560 |
Well, the practical ramification of obedience 00:11:33.220 |
and how Jesus and the church is the reflection, 00:11:42.900 |
and how the church should submit to Christ, right? 00:11:46.140 |
And how the wives should follow that as a model 00:11:55.160 |
is the relationship between the parents and their children. 00:11:57.980 |
If the family structure is to be honored by God, 00:12:04.240 |
it needs to follow what Christ teaches us in the scriptures. 00:12:10.700 |
"has practical ramification in building the kingdom of God," 00:12:19.280 |
and children begin to rebel against their parents, 00:12:21.880 |
the very fabric of what God intended in the church 00:12:30.560 |
this is something that is very, very difficult 00:12:32.780 |
for modern thinkers to accept in our way of thinking, 00:12:41.360 |
and probably many people would be repulsed by 00:12:52.800 |
They were to take the child out and stone them publicly. 00:12:57.640 |
"How can you possibly think that that is okay?" 00:13:02.640 |
Especially in our culture where we are taught 00:13:12.880 |
Yet in the Old Testament, it was capital punishment. 00:13:18.260 |
"That must be one of those ancient barbaric things 00:13:21.500 |
"that they did, but now that we know a gracious God, 00:13:25.640 |
I think the reason why God gave such a harsh punishment 00:13:29.240 |
for that is because those are the beginning signs 00:13:36.260 |
When we do not honor our fathers and mothers, 00:13:43.200 |
and eventually the rebellion against father and mother 00:13:49.640 |
Typically, when we rebel and do not honor our father 00:13:56.880 |
Our culture values independence and it values rebellion. 00:14:11.960 |
because I don't know what the kids listen to, 00:14:13.680 |
but I remember when I was younger in high school, 00:14:16.560 |
there was a song called "We Don't Need No Education." 00:14:19.720 |
We don't need no teachers and their dirty rules. 00:14:22.320 |
We used to sing that and say, "Yeah, we don't need that." 00:14:26.720 |
but I'm pretty sure it's gotten much worse than that. 00:14:42.400 |
"this is the practical way for us to honor God," 00:14:45.400 |
then it'll be impossible for us to build a church 00:14:51.320 |
Some of you guys may have read or heard of this poem. 00:15:02.500 |
I've read it in service, so you must have heard it. 00:15:06.800 |
Let me read a portion of it for you where it says, 00:15:10.840 |
"Everything I learned, I learned in kindergarten. 00:15:13.520 |
"Share everything, play fair, don't hit people. 00:15:29.840 |
"Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. 00:15:34.160 |
"Learn some and think some and draw and paint 00:15:36.560 |
"and sing and dance and play and work every day some. 00:15:41.540 |
"When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic. 00:15:45.960 |
You look at that and say, "Oh, what a cute story. 00:15:49.080 |
"Everything that we learned, how to be a good citizen, 00:15:51.760 |
"how to be a good person, we learn in kindergarten." 00:16:00.660 |
Kindergarten didn't teach you to flush the toilet. 00:16:22.320 |
You went to kindergarten for what, four hours each day 00:16:35.080 |
that make you a human being was taught by your mother 00:16:42.280 |
So we need to give credit where credit is due. 00:16:51.080 |
we have special grace because we have been given 00:16:56.600 |
through the special revelation of the word of God. 00:17:02.040 |
is under common grace until the judgment day. 00:17:06.800 |
that because God is withholding his judgment, 00:17:09.440 |
that there are still reflections of his goodness, 00:17:29.020 |
We would not be here without somebody laboring in our lives. 00:17:54.080 |
That's what, isn't that what it says in Romans 1? 00:17:56.640 |
It says judgment is coming because they gave thanks 00:18:02.280 |
So again, I wanna emphasize that our thanking 00:18:06.000 |
of our mothers ultimately is not about the mom, really, 00:18:17.280 |
But ultimately, if our thanksgiving stops there, 00:18:22.120 |
giving thanks to the stewards rather than the person 00:18:32.940 |
Ultimately, it is a reflection of genuine worship to God. 00:18:37.540 |
By honoring our mothers, we are taught from early on 00:18:43.560 |
And it is a huge part of what it means to be mature, 00:18:47.900 |
not only to respect those that you can gain something from, 00:18:56.260 |
These are huge, huge things that we need to learn. 00:19:00.920 |
When you get a job, of course, you have a resume. 00:19:08.780 |
One of the things, are you a good team player? 00:19:12.520 |
But another important question that they ask you is, 00:19:20.700 |
And said, no, you know, it's like, I do whatever I want. 00:19:26.980 |
See, practical ramification of honoring our father and mother 00:19:30.140 |
is that God has given us, whether it is the government, 00:19:36.420 |
because God's the one who establishes all authority, 00:19:39.340 |
and the most practical authority in our lives 00:19:43.740 |
And this morning, we are dealing with our mothers. 00:19:49.420 |
when we are called, said, "Children, obey your parents." 00:19:53.940 |
That word children there is not referring to little kids 00:20:00.060 |
One is paidio, which is talking about young little children, 00:20:15.100 |
He uses the word technon, and he tells the technon 00:20:18.780 |
to obey your mother and father, your parents. 00:20:22.280 |
Some people think that because now that I'm married, 00:20:26.020 |
and the scripture tells us to leave and to cleave, 00:20:29.740 |
to leave means that we're no longer obligated 00:20:36.860 |
clearly says to adult children that our responsibility 00:20:49.140 |
but our responsibility to care for our parents 00:21:11.340 |
but the parents have a hard time seeing you as an adult, 00:21:19.520 |
ends with teenage year, but what I've noticed 00:21:23.180 |
is that in your 20s is where the transition takes place, 00:21:26.380 |
where you're not a child, but it's hard for parents 00:21:31.620 |
And I can honestly say, now from a parent's point 00:21:41.300 |
This guy, I raised this kid since he couldn't do anything, 00:21:44.500 |
and all of a sudden now he wants to make his own decision 00:21:58.180 |
And one of these days when you're parents at that point, 00:22:02.620 |
some of the conflicts that you may be going through 00:22:06.620 |
It's absolutely essential and important for us 00:22:14.980 |
their very first person example that I think of 00:22:17.980 |
in the New Testament is Mary, the mother of Jesus. 00:22:26.500 |
to talk about Mary because whenever the subject 00:22:28.500 |
of Mary comes up, it's usually about how we ought 00:22:32.340 |
to not worship her because of the Catholic church. 00:22:36.020 |
The Catholic church venerates her to the point 00:22:41.140 |
that Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, 00:23:00.460 |
and to sympathize with her and see what God has done 00:23:06.420 |
She shows up in Luke chapter one and the angel says, 00:23:15.060 |
Mary knew from early on that she was not carrying 00:23:19.820 |
an ordinary child, obviously, she was immaculate conception 00:23:24.460 |
If you have a child and you didn't have the intercourse 00:23:38.020 |
Then Luke chapter two, she meets certain prophets 00:24:04.920 |
and how difficult it is because so strong willed. 00:24:13.240 |
Mary raised a perfect child 'cause he's the son of God. 00:24:24.600 |
and Joseph and Mary are taking him to the temple 00:24:41.960 |
I think Esther and I lost our kid maybe once or twice 00:24:53.000 |
And I remember we were, this one particular time, 00:24:55.320 |
we went to the INS office and my mom was watching him. 00:25:00.120 |
He was probably no more than about two, two and a half, 00:25:03.280 |
He ran into the elevator, we weren't paying attention 00:25:08.320 |
We turned around, my mom didn't know where he was, 00:25:17.360 |
And you have to remember, this is not an empty building. 00:25:19.320 |
This is a building full of people that we don't know. 00:25:22.480 |
So we're thinking, oh my gosh, what happened? 00:25:28.080 |
and the security guard basically found him at the basement 00:25:32.560 |
'cause he ran out and he was running all over 00:25:42.440 |
who's lost their child, even for five minutes, 00:25:46.200 |
Well, the scripture says they lost him for three days. 00:25:57.240 |
And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. 00:26:00.840 |
And his mother said to him, son, why have you treated us so? 00:26:14.200 |
'Cause I would have said, what is wrong with you? 00:26:18.760 |
You told your father and I have been searching for you 00:26:25.200 |
oh, I'm sorry, I was playing with my friends, 00:26:36.060 |
Did you not know that I must be in my father's house? 00:26:44.600 |
You would never train a child to turn around and say, 00:26:48.720 |
Did you not know that I needed to be with my friends? 00:26:58.160 |
Did you not know that I need to be in my father's house? 00:27:01.800 |
And what the response is interesting after that 00:27:05.500 |
is that it says Joseph and Mary did not, at that time, 00:27:17.540 |
Now, remember that this was clearly prophesied 00:27:23.960 |
And so Jesus is only repeating what they should have known. 00:27:28.360 |
This is who I am, that I needed to be at my father's house, 00:27:35.140 |
is that Jesus and Mary raised Jesus like any other child. 00:27:59.840 |
Where they're at the wedding and the wine disappeared. 00:28:05.480 |
who were throwing this party 'cause they ran out of wine. 00:28:15.980 |
And Jesus' response in verse four, chapter two, 00:28:19.500 |
says, woman, what does this have to do with me? 00:28:39.780 |
meaning that it's not my time to be doing this 00:28:42.980 |
because the reason why he's performing miracles 00:28:53.140 |
And I'm thinking, Jesus probably performed some miracles. 00:28:59.180 |
He probably did some stuff that Mary knew about. 00:29:02.660 |
And he said, wow, my son, he has a special gift. 00:29:06.900 |
if anybody can fix this, my son Jesus can fix this. 00:29:12.900 |
and you have a close friend who has problems, 00:29:18.620 |
And that's the scene that I see in John chapter two 00:29:39.300 |
and when the angel said to Mary that you are blessed, 00:29:45.620 |
and I know birthing the son of God is a special privilege 00:29:50.620 |
that no one else but her was able to experience. 00:29:56.300 |
But I think the true blessing of Mary with her 00:29:59.940 |
is that her affections for Christ went way beyond 00:30:17.700 |
was because from the very get-go, when Mary died, 00:30:31.020 |
and then that kind of evolved in the fourth century 00:30:33.340 |
in Arabia, turned into an actual worship of Mary, 00:30:36.540 |
and then that kind of crept into the church gradually, 00:30:42.980 |
So that part of it, we need to be very careful. 00:30:45.660 |
But the fact that Mary was chosen to raise a child, 00:30:50.380 |
and at the end had to give him up and sacrifice, 00:31:07.560 |
when I look at the scripture and look at all the mothers 00:31:17.360 |
and how we ought to venerate them and honor them. 00:31:20.920 |
There's a unifying factor in every single one 00:31:22.960 |
of these mothers that is mentioned in scripture. 00:31:37.520 |
But there's always a mother in the background. 00:31:40.400 |
And one of these ladies that stand out is Hannah. 00:31:43.100 |
Hannah didn't have a child until she was way late in years. 00:31:49.680 |
"If you give me a child, I will sacrifice him, 00:31:57.840 |
So she's able to have a child in her old age. 00:32:01.000 |
And then the scripture says that when he was strong enough, 00:32:05.400 |
that he delivered, he had to drop off this child 00:32:07.640 |
at the temple to the priest Eli, and then go back home. 00:32:15.840 |
going through the hardship of weaning this child, 00:32:27.980 |
that I see in scripture about the mother's love 00:32:33.240 |
Because she dedicated Samuel to the service of God, 00:32:37.160 |
and God raises this prophet up in a period of Israel 00:32:43.840 |
who were gonna speak up for God and not be afraid of man. 00:32:55.320 |
And this is what it says in 1 Samuel 2, 18-19. 00:33:03.320 |
And his mother, Hannah, used to make for him a little robe 00:33:08.120 |
and take it to him each year when she went up 00:33:10.480 |
with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 00:33:24.600 |
and his mom is at home every year making this little robe 00:33:30.960 |
and she made this little robe to give to him. 00:33:34.940 |
Again, it's biblical history, and we look at it, 00:33:41.240 |
Hannah sacrificed for the service of the Lord. 00:34:04.720 |
And behind this great man, according to Jesus, 00:34:07.120 |
the greatest man who was born of a woman, John the Baptist, 00:34:15.180 |
You look at Salome, the mother of James and John. 00:34:18.980 |
This is the mother who was following Jesus from Galilee 00:34:23.200 |
and was begging Jesus, "When you go to your kingdom, 00:34:26.480 |
"you make sure you sit on the left or to the right." 00:34:29.880 |
And Jesus kind of gently rebukes her and says, 00:34:34.780 |
"My father will do that, but what I can give you 00:34:36.860 |
"is that can you drink the cup that I drink?" 00:34:46.980 |
but later on we see when Jesus is hanging on the cross, 00:34:50.220 |
Salome was one of the mothers who stuck with Jesus 00:34:56.060 |
All those times that they were traveling for three years, 00:35:00.440 |
cooking for them, cleaning for them, picking up after them. 00:35:11.420 |
that she wanted to sit on the left and the right, right? 00:35:14.740 |
And John is cast out into the island of Patmos 00:35:27.440 |
And behind these great men, there's these women. 00:35:35.080 |
Eunice is Timothy's mom, and then the grandma is Lois, 00:35:39.980 |
and we see Timothy shows up on the scene in Acts 16. 00:35:48.320 |
and recognizes this young man who is great of faith 00:35:52.560 |
and chooses to take him with him on his journeys 00:35:59.300 |
was probably no more than about 15 years old at that time. 00:36:02.980 |
Can you imagine letting your 15-year-old child 00:36:07.740 |
And I know he's an apostle, and he's already famous, 00:36:10.460 |
but everywhere he went, if for every one person 00:36:16.720 |
there probably was 100 other people that wanted him dead. 00:36:21.540 |
He was already beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, 00:36:30.420 |
There's a good chance that this man is going to die, 00:36:32.560 |
just like Jesus died, and offered him up to him. 00:36:40.140 |
and he's giving the baton to his disciple, it's Timothy. 00:36:54.180 |
So most likely, Eunice raised him as a single mother, 00:37:03.360 |
So imagine being a single mom, raising this child, 00:37:09.140 |
that he's going to take care of you or something, 00:37:14.720 |
because they were so deeply affected by the gospel, 00:37:23.020 |
they gave up their son that he may also follow. 00:37:26.220 |
The unifying thing that we see with all of these moms 00:37:34.380 |
they dedicated their children for the sake of God's service. 00:37:38.620 |
Now I would say this to all the young moms in this room. 00:37:43.480 |
There is a great temptation when you become a mother 00:37:50.980 |
And you get to that point in the road in your life 00:37:55.740 |
And when you first meet Christ, you make that decision. 00:37:58.220 |
I want to follow Christ, and I don't care if I become rich, 00:38:04.120 |
all of a sudden you have another reason to become worldly. 00:38:15.820 |
I've never desired to have nice things until I had kids, 00:38:25.540 |
I don't want them to feel left out at school. 00:38:29.300 |
And the warning and encouragement that I give you 00:38:32.900 |
is a lot of times the temptation that we have 00:38:43.020 |
everything that you wouldn't do for yourself, 00:38:44.580 |
you're doing it with the excuse for this kid. 00:38:46.420 |
And all of a sudden, you're living for your child. 00:38:57.560 |
Scripture says, what good is it if you profit, 00:39:01.120 |
if you gain the whole world, and you forfeit your soul? 00:39:14.180 |
if you provide everything that you can provide 00:39:16.100 |
for this child, and yet he does not know Christ? 00:39:30.880 |
you don't drop the kid off and say, hey, my work is done. 00:39:33.740 |
Now is your responsibility, hopefully things will work out. 00:39:39.140 |
You drop off the kid, and what you would tell 00:39:53.020 |
to love that child as you would love that child, 00:39:55.860 |
to teach that child as you would teach that child, 00:40:02.640 |
And you wouldn't want to put him in any situation 00:40:08.900 |
what you're gonna tell him because you're a steward. 00:40:13.700 |
And in the same way, that's what parenting is. 00:40:24.380 |
We have these children for a brief period of time, 00:40:36.420 |
the greatest thing that they will be thankful to me 00:40:38.260 |
is that they were able to meet their heavenly Father 00:40:42.820 |
We only have these children for a short period of time, 00:40:47.740 |
is to prepare them so that they can meet their Father. 00:40:52.140 |
Our greatest responsibility as parents and as mothers 00:41:04.340 |
you will never come close to the love of Christ. 00:41:07.580 |
And if all they see in life is that they're thankful to you, 00:41:13.940 |
then at the end of your life, you have not done them service. 00:41:21.540 |
said, "I'm doing a great job caring for them," 00:41:25.520 |
See, every one of these great moms in the Bible, 00:41:33.020 |
They were behind the scene, and they sacrificed greatly 00:41:40.220 |
whether it was Jesus, John the Baptist, Samuel, or Timothy, 00:41:44.940 |
that every single one of them gave sacrificially 00:41:48.800 |
in order for that they may be used for God's glory. 00:41:51.780 |
Again, so I wanna encourage all of us this morning, 00:41:54.780 |
especially because there are so many young families 00:41:58.780 |
And the trend is that when you have your first child, 00:42:13.780 |
So my encouragement to you, my challenge to you this morning 00:42:22.540 |
And it doesn't matter how many Sunday school lessons 00:42:26.680 |
you give, it doesn't matter how many Bible memory verses, 00:42:33.680 |
They only spend Sunday school one hour a week. 00:42:37.140 |
They're with you the rest of the time during the week. 00:42:52.020 |
I stayed home with Jeremy for about a year and a half 00:42:54.820 |
when he was a little kid, and I honestly say, 00:42:58.860 |
I've had all kinds of jobs, cleaning toilets, 00:43:02.180 |
washing cars, digging ditches, I've had all kinds of jobs. 00:43:05.100 |
And I have to honestly say from the bottom of my heart, 00:43:11.500 |
And we just financially, we just couldn't handle it. 00:43:13.860 |
And so Esther was at work, and I remember very specifically, 00:43:17.860 |
3.30 came around, 'cause that's when she got off work. 00:43:20.620 |
We were by the front door, and I had Jeremy with me 00:43:24.460 |
in my arms, when that door opened, hello, Mommy. 00:43:36.580 |
So the work for the mothers is extremely difficult, 00:43:40.120 |
and that is why the church needs to honor them. 00:43:45.940 |
and they cannot do their job that God called them to do, 00:43:49.460 |
then it is not just the mothers who will be discouraged. 00:43:55.460 |
When the family falls apart, the church falls apart. 00:43:57.980 |
When the church falls apart, God is not glorified. 00:44:04.600 |
This is about being true worshipers, honoring God, 00:44:16.640 |
Gracious Father, we wanna continue to bless and thank you 00:44:25.040 |
And I pray, Lord God, that you would use this day 00:44:41.580 |
who we are able to see the tangible love of Christ