Battle Ready: "Obey and Honor" Ephesians 6:1-3

Good morning

Raines kept some people away today, haven't they? If you have your Bibles

Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

You know as I get older

Why are you laughing?

Not as old as some of you, but my goodness I'm older

But as I get older the more I realize that God pretty much

Has this whole world to kind of figure it out

The Bible says in Genesis in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

And if we are to continue to read through that chapter of Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

We find that God created the planets the stars the dry ground the plants the animals and everything else

That that goes into making the world as we know it

Now when God made all of this stuff when he created everything when he spoke it into being he didn't just let it go

And do whatever it wanted it want wanted to do

He didn't just create the world and just let it be no God established some rules and some order

Some guidelines some laws of nature to make things work

For instance, it's God who invented this whole idea and this whole reality of gravity

Can you imagine what this world would be like if God didn't create gravity?

And imagine what would happen if God hadn't made water where it expanded when it froze

Do you know that water is the only liquid?

It is the only substance that expands when it freezes

You know cold things usually sink and warm things rise to the top when it freezes

But but when water freezes it stays on top

It stays on top of the lakes and the and the rivers and the ponds and such

Which makes ice skating a whole lot easier doesn't it like we wouldn't be wanting to ice skate underneath the water

To think of all the laws that God has placed in the world to make the world work

The only reason the earth doesn't float off into space away from the sun is because of gravity

We stay in place because of gravity and yet if it wasn't for centrifugal force and inertia keeping us out here

Gravity would pull us into the sun and then we'd all just kind of burn up

We kind of be destroyed when I was growing up in school that there was this eclipse that happened

And they were kind of making this a really big deal

They would give us the glasses that you would wear at an eclipse

And they were kind of talking like how this is a once in a lifetime opportunity

Like the next time this is going to happen is in 2024

Now think about our children and how young they are and how far in our lifetime opportunity fell off

And here we are we just looked through another one

And they're already talking about when the next one is going to happen

They already know to the minute when the next one is going to happen now granted a total eclipse occurs every 18 months

But we just don't see them because they are usually over the ocean

But but think about the precision that God uses to keep things in orbit

Orbit to where they can predict the minute

An eclipse will happen over any particular part of the world

God has created all these rules that govern the universe and make sure that there is order

God knew how to how the place was supposed to work

And so he created laws to make the place operate the way that he wants them to operate

Well, the world is not the only thing that God invented. He also invented marriage

He invented the family and home. He is the one who created adam and eve

He's the one who told them about how they were supposed to be

He's the one who invented the home

Now just as God created the world and created all these laws of nature

That are in place in order to for things to function the way he wanted them to function correctly

He also put certain laws for how people in a family are supposed to function

This morning. We like to look at our role the the role that children play in the family

We would like to look at God's plan for them

And so if you have your bibles open them up to Ephesians chapter 6, we're going to read the first three verses this morning now my sweet

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

obedient

daughter

Is going to read our passage this morning and she is excited beyond belief. All right, and so adley we're gonna

Yeah, just read it right there

Children obey your parents and the lord for this is right

Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with the promise

That it may go well with you that you may live long in the land amen. Do you want to read that again just for

Just kidding. I'm just kidding father. Thank you for this day

We pray that this

The words of your word will seep into our hearts again. We pray that you will open our eyes to it

Thank you for adley her willingness to read this verse

verses

As a way to honor you so gotta pray you bless her for it. We ask all these things your name amen

Thanks sweet girl

So

In these three verses we find we find the basic responsibilities

Of children to their parents

We find the place of children within the family now

We could look at many different things that go into being a good child

But it all boils down to these two commands in these three verses the commands that that will allow you

To deal with your parents regardless of age

Regardless of age number one. God says that children are to obey their parents

Now before we progress any further before we get into all the details

Let's think for a moment who we're talking about when paul says children

The word translated here children does not mean infant

It

There's other words that mean those things. No the word children here is a general word for offspring

So it's it's just talking about children in general

No, no age is in view here from from birth to young people as long as you were under

parental control

In parental care

You are their child children equals offspring

Okay, equally we need to think about what the word parent means parent refers to birth parents

It means adopted parents

Or for the second part of this command it refers to guess what in-laws

When when you get married your spouse's parents become your parents just as 224 says for this cause a man

Shall leave his father or mother and shall cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh

So so all of her baggage and all your baggage are joined together

okay

one final definition

And that's for the word obey to obey doesn't just mean listen to your parents

But it means to listen to and realizing that you are under their authority

In other words children if you are at home

Under the watch care of your parents or step parents or adoptive parents or guardians or whatever

You are to do what your parents tell you to do you are to be

Obedient some of you are better at that than others

Some of us were better at that than others when we were growing up

Colossians 3 20 says that you are to be obedient to your parents

in all things

If you are home under their authority if they are responsible for you if they are

Providing for you and watching over you you are to obey them in all things that includes the way you dress

The places you go

The people you hang out with the things that you watch on tv you are under their care

Listen I get told

pretty regularly

By my children that I just don't understand

I I don't get it

That's not an excuse to not be obedient

Okay, I don't care if they are old and things have changed since they were in school

I don't care if your parents are so old

They walked uphill both ways to school

I don't care if your parents are so old

They didn't even have history class when they were in school

I

I don't care if their memory is in black and white

I don't care if they were eating captain crunch when he was still a private

That's no excuse to not obey your parents. The bible says in all things

You are to obey your parents now granted things have changed since your parents were in school things have changed since I was in school

The schools have changed all of us who are parents today. Do you understand? We went to school in the 1900s

Think it think about that saying

Many of you used to think that teased bangs looks good

I'd love to see pictures of that

Now we didn't have cell phones. We didn't have social media things have changed and your parents might not have kept up with the times

But you still have a responsibility to obey them and I believe there are several reasons you are called to obey

Your parents the first one being it pleases God

Colossians 3 20 children be obedient to your parents and all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord

The first reason you are to obey your parents is because it pleases God

In the bible children are told by God to obey their parents

Whenever we are obedient whenever we listen whenever we follow their commands

Whenever we do what God tells us to do

It pleases God

God wanted his own his son Jesus Christ to set the way to set the standard to set the example to set the trend for the new church

And so Jesus went down to where his cousin John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing folks

And Jesus was baptized

Did Jesus need to be baptized to to to to fully paint the picture of what a new life looked like? No

He was living it

Did Jesus need to be baptized in order to wash his sins away? No

Jesus had never sinned ever while he was on the earth

And the bible says that water does not wash away sin

Did Jesus get baptized in order to become a member of the church?

No because he's the one that invented it. He's the one that created it. So why was Jesus baptized?

Because God his father

wanted him to be

God wanted him to set the pattern for us as followers of him when Jesus did what his dad wanted

God spoke from heaven and said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased

Children don't you want to be like Jesus?

All right, just be obedient

Jesus did what his father wanted and God was pleased. Let me tell you God has a plan

He has a blueprint

For the family as well. He says children that is your responsibility within your family

It is your responsibility within your family to obey your parents and when you do that

God is pleased

You should obey

God

obey your parents because it pleases God that needs to be the motivation

The motivation for you being obedient to your parents is because it pleases God not so you don't get in trouble

If that's your motivation, it's never going to work

Second you should obey your parents because it is commanded

Look at Colossians 3 20 again. It says children be obedient to your parents and all things for this as well pleasing to the to the Lord

in this verse

And other places in the Bible God commands his children

To obey their parents

It's not a recommendation

It's not a suggestion children obey your parents

to command

Now now I know that may not seem like a big deal

Disobeying your parents isn't a big deal. It isn't that big of a sin. Is it?

I mean everyone messes up every single one of us at one time or another has disobeyed our parents

And so is it really that big of a deal?

I want you to know that all sin

Regardless of what it is

Is serious and God doesn't play around with any of it in 2 Timothy chapter 3

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

Paul writes this

It says but understand this

That in the last days there will there will come times of difficulty

For people will be lovers of self lovers of money proud arrogant abusive

Disobedient to their parents ungrateful unholy heartless

Unappeasable slanderous without self-control brutal not loving good treacherous

reckless

swollen with conceit

Love lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having the appearance of godliness

But denying its people its power avoid these people

Did you hear

The groups of sinners god includes in this list of ungodly people

He includes those who are disobedient to their parents god says

This is one of those signs of the end times

And we can kind of see that right this is one of those signs that there are types of ungodly people who will live in the last days

As we await the coming of jesus again

There are people who are disobedient to their parents

There and at the end of verse 5 it says avoid these people

Avoid these people who are disobedient to their parents

Disobeying your parents is a sin and it's a biggie

It's a biggie god doesn't mess around with that stuff

You should obey your parents because it pleases the lord

You should be obey your parents because it is commanded and thirdly you should obey your parents because it is rewarding

There are good and bad things to having your children grow up isn't there

One of the bad things is the fact that they are not as dependent on you for some things

That they don't need you to read them books anymore

They don't need you to tuck them into bed. They can kind of go to bed on their own

You don't realize how fast time flies until you look at some old pictures, right?

And the memories start flooding back

That there are many times I wish that my children were still small

But there are other times I'm glad that we're past certain stages

particularly

on Christmas and birthdays

When my kids were little

They would get these toys

That would require an engineering degree to put them together

When I'm talking about these toys you as a parent know exactly what I'm talking about

You have a particular toy in mind of the heartache that

Comes with putting those things together those particular toys don't really get you in the Christmas spirit. Do they?

So the obvious thing to do

at least for me

Is to grab the manual

And throw it off to the side because I'm a grown man

And I can figure out how to put together a paw patrol lookout tower on my own

Done it

I just need the picture on the box and I can go from there right and anybody else

Yeah

Usually I get it started and it begins to look how it's supposed to look and and as I get into the last few

Pieces I realize that this certain piece that I have left should have gone on a few steps prior

And it would have made the process a lot easier. So what do I do?

What do I do in that situation?

I pull out the manual and like oh that makes sense right?

I should have I should have followed the manual and it shows me the order in which I should attach things

So so what happens is I end up frustrated because I thought I knew better than the manufacturer

when in reality

I just if I just followed the instructions it would have gone better for me, but in the end

Putting together a paw patrol lookout tower if those of y'all that have them, you know what I'm talking about

massive piece of

plastic pieces

But when you see it

It's rewarding when you get to see the fruits of your labor. It's rewarding when you get to see your children play with them

Proverbs 1 verse 8 says here my son your father's instructions and do not forsake your mother's teaching

Proverbs 1:8

Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck

Obeying your parents

Is rewarding as well

God promises to bless those who obey their parents

Parents are are a part

Of the owner's manual for life

For for one thing God will bless you with a better home and a happier family

But also believe it or not your parents have lived a lot longer than you

They've picked up a few things along the way

So so you aren't rewarded when you obey your parents because often you can learn from the mistakes that they made

And avoid repeating those same things

It goes better for you and listen it will not feel rewarding at the time

It will feel like they don't want you to have any fun

It will feel like they're trying to rob you of the joy in life

This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. This is what took me a long time to learn and adults believe it too

We buy into it too even as adults that that all the rules that God has laid out for us in his word

Is not to rob us of joy, but actually to lead us into joy

That it's not just a set of rules. It's a pathway to life. That's a hard lesson to learn

And it requires an immense amount of faith and trust in the process

Now when the team was remodeling the

the foyer

And they were in the beginning stages of kind of planning things out and they would they would be discussing some things and I would not like their suggestions

You're going to pick that pink color with that flooring and this furniture? No

Makes no sense to me. That's going to look hideous

Do you know how many times they told me

Just trust the process

Right, just trust the process. It's all going to come together eventually. It's all going to look good

And I am so grateful

I'm so grateful for the work that they did and I'm grateful for the fact that I trusted the process

because it's rewarding right?

It looks good when you obey your parents

When you're going through the process

You might not see all the pieces and you might not be able to see how all the pieces fit together

But trust the process

Remind yourself that your parents want what's best for you and they're not trying to rob you of joy

just to be mean

Just to make your life miserable

In the same way adults trust

The Lord in his directions for life because it is leading you to the best possible life on earth

Then God gives a second command to children as well

He says children honor your parents

Ephesians 3 2

Honor your parents now this verse applies whether you are under your parents roof or not

This verse applies to your parents and to those that come with the package when you are married

God says honor them now. There's three ways to honor your parents the first one being with your speech

This is a hard one

That's honor our parents with our speech Proverbs 31 28 says her children rise up and bless her

Her husband also and he praises her

First you can honor your parents with your speech

Listen no parent is perfect

None

None

There's we're learning as we go

Those of you who aren't parents will soon discover that once you become a parent yourself

But that doesn't mean that your parents don't have good points

Find the good things and point those out

Find the good things

And thank them for those

Honor them with your speech

When you talk to them and when you talk about them

Honor them not only just to their faces but also honor them in the eyes of their friends

Honor them with what you say and also with what you say about them

Honor your parents with your speech this this shouldn't stop when you leave the house

When you go out on your own

Honor your parents with your speech

What do you say about them?

How do you how do you talk about them?

Second let's honor them with your money

Now it saddens me when I see people who will indulge in every desire that they can imagine

But who leave their parents dressing like ragdolls and are living in a shack that is barely standing

I see it all the time

Honor your parents with your finances

Help them out when they are in need

Jesus thought that was important

He thought it was important to care for our parents

Now for me I like to keep a running total of how much my kids cost me over the years

So that when I get old I can give them a bill

This is my retirement plan

Okay now I hope they make it big

Because I got some sweet vacations planned and I'm gonna want a boat

And so I hope they make it big

Now I kid

But I wouldn't be opposed to that either

Just saying

But when I think about honoring our parents with our money

I don't just think about buying them stuff

I know several people who are my age or even younger and older I guess

Who still rely on their parents to pay their rent

To make their car payment

Or keep their light bill on

Because they're not responsible enough to stop eating out

And spending their money on frivolous things

Honor your parents with your finances by being a grown up

But also as our parents age their responsibility for caring for them

Might fall on us and we need to honor them

We need to care for them

Now when I was growing up

Now my parents will be here second service

So I can say this here

But when I was growing up

And our parents started acting up

Meaning they were doing things that we didn't approve of as their children

We would threaten them with the nursing home

Now if they had a good week

Okay mom and dad we're gonna give you a good nursing home

But if they had a bad week

You're going into government housing

That looks more like a prison than it does a home

But I mean I joke about that too

The truth is though

That we will do, me and my siblings

We were gonna do whatever it takes

To make sure that they are taken care of

They made mistakes when we were growing up

They've made mistakes since we've been grown

But it's still our responsibility as their children

To make sure that they are taken care of

We have that responsibility as children

To make sure that we honor our parents with our money

And finally

You can honor your parents with your actions

Proverbs 27 and 11 says be wise my son

And make my heart glad

That I may reply to him who reproaches me

Proverbs 15 and 20 says a wise son makes a father glad

But a foolish man despises his mother

Live a life

This goes for all of us

Live a life that will bring honor to your parents

Keep your priorities right

When they get old and down, don't forget them

Shoot them a text, although they probably don't do that

Write them a letter

Call them on the phone

Take them out to eat

Take them to go get some coffee

Spend some time with them

Often times your parents want nothing more from you

Than your time

I have a grandmother

I have one grandmother left

And she's awesome

And every birthday comes around

Every Christmas comes around

She doesn't want a gift

She wants a phone call

Every once in a while

Send me an updated picture of your family

You know what that cost me?

I don't know

I remember saying this

I get a little bit worried

I don't have that sense

Just go over to Walgreens

Having printed and I guess a little more

Because I have to mail it to her

But it's not about money

It's how can I honor my parents

How can I honor my grandparents

With my actions

By taking time out of your day

Now, I'm going to end real quick

With a quick note to us as parents

topic as I was getting ready for this passage. I didn't want to forget that even we as parents

have a responsibility as well. Are you raising your children in a way that honors the Lord?

Are you caring for and honoring your own parents in a way that is consistent with what you

expect from your own children when you get old? So many times I see parents raise their kids

with the do as I say not as I do mentality. Do as I say not as I do. If you want obedience, honor

and respect from your children, pay attention to how you speak to your parents. If you want honor

from your own children, give honor to your parents, give grace and forgiveness even when they don't

deserve it, even when you don't want to. There's a verse in the Bible, we call it the golden rule,

but do unto others as you want them to do unto you. You know that verse? So think about yourself older.

Did you care for your parents the way you want your children to care for you? Did you honor your

parents the way you want your children to honor you? Did you speak of your parents the way you

want your children to speak of you? See it's easy to say well this is for children only,

children obey your parents into story, but it's also we got to honor and that's hard as an adult

isn't it? It's hard to forget about some of the mistakes that our parents made. It's hard to forget

all these things that we wish we would have done differently, but we still are called to honor them.

We're still called to love them and respect them. So as my kids get older, you know I remind them,

I wiped your rear end for X amount of years. So when I get older, I'm going to expect the same in

return. I fed you all these years when you were helpless and there's going to be a day and age

when I am helpless. I don't feel it now. I still feel 18 like I'm going to live forever, but there's

going to be a point in my life where I have to come to terms with the fact that I need some help.

And so I remind my kids of that often, but it's not an expectation. It's one of those things that I

want to love them and care for them and raise them in such a way that they don't view it as a chore.

They view it as an honor. I believe one of the strongest weapons we have to fight off the enemy is a

family that honors the Lord and everything that we do. You as a family unit are a weapon against the

enemy. Raise your children up in a way where they understand that the way to abundant life, the best

life on this earth is to trust the process that the Lord has laid out in his word. Honor your parents.

Obey your parents. Now if you're like me, I have a rebellious streak. I have a rebellious nature

that I have to fight against all the time, but the Lord is faithful and I'm going to trust the

process that it's going to go well for me as I care and honor my parents as they get older so that my

children see that example. And so this could be one of those touchy subjects. I have a feeling that it is

because you're carrying around some baggage and maybe you didn't grow up in a house that honors the

Lord. Maybe you had an abusive parent. Maybe you didn't grow up in the best situation. But if we read

that verse again, Paul's not saying obey your parents and honor them if you agree with them.

Obey your parents and honor them if they did everything right. Now it just says obey and honor

your parents. And I think that's one thing we all need to keep in mind. I have a feeling that's

one thing we all need to repent for. Because if you think about the family being a weapon against

the enemy, do you not think that Satan's going to do everything he can to dismantle you? To lie to

you? To make the situation hard? And so here's my challenge to you. When you think about your family,

think about your dad, think about your mom, have you lived in a way that honors them? For many of

us, we don't have kids at home. You don't have kids at home anymore. And so your children aren't

hearing this message unless you send it to them later and say you need to watch this. But for a

lot of us that still have our parents living, my challenge to you is have you honored your parents

and have you respected your parents. And I encourage you to just lay that before the Lord this morning.

That's prayer. Father, I pray right now that as we just kind of wrap up this service,

as we think about our families, as we think about our upbringings, you got to pray that you will

take away any bitterness and anger and frustration that we might have. I pray, Father, that you will

help us trust your word and trust the process that by honoring and loving and respecting our

parents is the best way to life. And so, Father, I pray that you give us soft hearts. I pray that

you give us moldable spirits in regards to the situation. I pray, Father, that you will strengthen

our weapon, that you will sharpen us so that we can fight off the enemy. I pray, Father, that you

give us the ability to extend grace, extend forgiveness, even in situations that we feel wronged in.

And so, God, I pray that as we think about this and as we think about our families, that we will take

a step towards honoring you in everything we do. So, Father, I pray, I pray for our hearts. I pray

for those that did not have good parents, that did not have parents that honor the Lord. I pray,

Father, that they will see you as the perfect Father. And they will understand they were loved

and accepted and pleased with you. So, God, I pray that you move. Your name pray. Amen.