The Ten Commandments Part 2 Series

The Ten Commandments Part 2

Scriptures: Exo. 20:12; Phil. 4:13; 1Cor. 10:13; Eph. 4:27; 6:1-3

Today we celebrate mothers. I want to wish all mothers a happy Mother’s Day as mothers are truly a blessing from God. This week I had the opportunity to read the results of a survey that was conducted by Pew Research Center. Since before the Civil War, the story of the Israelites’ slavery and deliverance has spurred comparisons to black people’s experiences in the United States. The Pew Research Center shows that black people are more likely that most other Americans to read Scripture regularly and, more importantly, to view it as God’s Word. Among Christians, 61% of traditional black Protestants read their Bibles weekly. What is interesting is that 77% of all blacks believed that the Bible is the Word of God. However, only 57% of whites believe that the Word of God was not just written by men (not inspired by God.) For Hispanics it’s 65%. The study also found that blacks were more likely to participate in weekly Bible study sessions than whites or Hispanics. I share this with you because these numbers, I believe, are a direct result of black mothers. Although times continue to change, historically it was a very strong black woman that had the major influence on their households. In most black Churches it was not uncommon to see more women attending with their children than men. The reasons black men were not as active range from having other responsibilities like work to just not seeing the importance of spending their one day off in Church (and this is still true in 2018.) My point is simply this: without black mothers, most of our churches would be on life support and more black children would be on the road to hell and the lake of fire. I am so thankful for my mother, my wife, the mothers of this church and the mothers in churches throughout our country. The impact you are having on the church and on the lives of the next generation – I have no words to truly express what that means to God. Thank you!!!

In recognition of this being Mother’s Day, the second Commandment that I will focus on is found in Exodus 20:12. 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.” When you read through the Ten Commandments you will find that 6 of the 10 Commandments focused on our relationship with others. This is the first commandment of the six – God starts at home. This is also the first commandment of the ten that has a promise. It implies a shorter life, proving there is no set time to die and suggesting that man has an impact on his own length of life and destiny. Young people did you hear me? God has given you a promise. Now it’s up to you to grab a hold of it or let it slip through your hands. So let me read that again and you really need to pay attention: “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Unlike today in America, during Biblical times a child was under their parent’s authority for the duration of their parent’s life. They respected their parents and lived close by, if not actually with them, and continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the parents. Now I’m talking about adults. If Nikki and I still lived in Columbia, TN, with our parents, this would apply to us. We would be under the authority of our parents. In our world, when a child turns 18 they believe they have the right to make some decisions. When they turn 21, they believe they are grown and can make their own grownup decisions while still living in their parents households. Their respect and honor of their parents went only so far and primarily if the parent were doing things that “agreed” with how they wanted to live. This was not so when God gave this command and trust me when I tell you, God has not changed! When children don’t honor their parents, the truth is, they are not honoring God. I do not believe that God has changed his stance on how children should treat their parent. I want you to see the expectations of children under the Old Covenant first and then we’ll look at what’s expected in the New Covenant. What I want you to think about is the penalty for committing the sin once – not multiple times, only once. You didn’t get a chance to say you were sorry. You couldn’t ask your parents for a second chance. Honoring your parents is a big deal to God. A Big Deal!