Title Exodus 20:12 [Honor your parents]
Contents
May 8, 2011 Sunday Morning Worship Sermon
父母恭敬
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□ Text □ Exodus 20:12
1. To honor 'your parents.'
- Not 'someone else's' parents, not 'our' parents, not 'your parents' -- To honor 'your parents'.
- This is a command for me personally.
- Who is this ‘me’?
- I am the person who stands before God.
1. This command is directed toward “I” as a person standing before God--God commands.
- All of God's people are receiving this command -- but only one person carries out this command directly.
- This command is a command to be performed before God.
- This is a one-on-one command from God to me.
- So this order must be taken very seriously.
- The first reason people who believe in God should honor their parents is because it is a command from God.
- To summarize what God's people should do in two ways - to love God first and then to love their neighbor.
- To love God comes first.
- Just because you love God first - doesn't mean you can neglect to love your parents.
- I told you to love God first - If you think that it is okay to neglect certain things with the excuse of loving God and you are doing it - you will become like the Pharisees.
- The Pharisees neglected to honor their parents by using a system called 'gorban'.
- They said that they gave things to God that should be honored by giving them to their parents.
- It is impossible to neglect serving your parents under the guise of serving God.
1. Honoring our parents--God solemnly commands each of us.
- Those who believe in God and fear God - are bound to honor their parents.
- So, if you strengthen your faith - it's an automatic thing to do to honor your parents.
- There is no way a person who fears God will not honor his parents.
1. The commandment to honor these parents is included in the Ten Commandments -- There is a word from God before the Ten Commandments.
- 20:2, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
- Because God brought them out of slavery in Egypt - The people of Israel were able to live like human beings.
- A ‘servant’ is a property, not a person.
- Slavery documents were together with field documents and house documents.
- It was not a human being, but an object--that God made him live as a human being.
- God freed us from slavery in Egypt and we began to live as human beings. - What should we do?
- The Ten Commandments are said to teach the basic things to do in order to live as human beings.
1. It is not an animal or an object -- since we have come to live as a human being -- he is saying that we must respect our parents and live.
- By the way, ignoring these points - If you neglect to honor your parents in order to serve God, you are completely ignoring God's will.
1. After God told us to honor our parents -- He is telling us what will happen if we honor our parents.
“So that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
- This verse can be seen as telling the reason why you should honor your parents.
- The phrase 'life will be long' -- means 'the days will become longer'.
- Days are getting longer also means 'days are getting more'.
- It doesn't just mean you'll live longer -- it means your life will become more diverse.
- It is said that the lives of people in the present age are not diverse and are living a monotonous life.
- In our daily routine -- we lose interest and become monotonous, we feel skeptical -- and we are making every effort to change something. This is the world we live in.
- Why did these things happen?
- This is what happened when the extended family system collapsed.
- Instead of living with their parents - as they each lead their own lives - each one does what they want and enjoys freedom - seems to be living a colorful life - but in reality, it turns out that's not the case.
- With the collapse of the extended family system - people fall into a monotonous life - lose interest in life - and if they do not keep looking for something to entertain themselves, they become bored and unbearable.
- God is telling us to honor our parents in order not to lead such a monotonous life in this world.
-Parents and children - Furthermore, grandparents and grandchildren - The expansion of this relationship - expands people's thinking - keeps them from becoming monotonous - and makes them colorful.
1. What is the meaning of ‘the land the LORD your God has given you’ in the words ‘Your life will be long in the land the LORD your God is giving you’?
- It refers to the realm that God has given me.
- It means the realm that God has given me.
- Refers to all the places God has given me to live my life.
- It refers to my job, my place of living, and all the places where I live
- Wherever I live - It means that I will live a colorful life.
1. Wherever I live -- if I'm living a diverse life -- that person can't but be a happy person.
- You can see that God is teaching humans how to live a happy life - that is exactly what he is teaching.