Amen. So this morning, of course, is the Sunday. This is the beginning of Thanksgiving week,
and there's going to be a lot of preaching probably that you're going to see go up online
and elsewhere where everyone kind of preaches on the theme of Thanksgiving, and it's not
going to be any different here. Typically, I try to avoid preaching on topics you know
are going to be preached on. Something happens online somewhere. There's some major news
article or something like that, something major, because I know a lot of people are going to be
preaching on it, but there's certain holidays, there's certain themes that you just kind of
have to preach on. You've got to preach the Mother's Day sermon or you're going to be in
hot water. You've got to preach the Thanksgiving sermon. I guess you don't have to,
but I think it's important to preach on it because being thankful and having a spirit,
an attitude of Thanksgiving, it's something that we tend to not do. It's something in our nature.
I think it's great that we have a holiday called Thanksgiving where we stop and
we give thanks right before Black Friday where we start to covet again and want all the things
we don't need or should have. It's great that we have a holiday like Thanksgiving to
simply just to remind us of the things that we ought to be thankful for. Hopefully, we have this
attitude year round, but it's great to be able to just stop every now and then and just think
about some things that we could be thankful for. If we were to go around the room this
morning, a lot of people could list a lot of different things that they're thankful for.
Someone would probably say something like, man, I'm so thankful for indoor plumbing
or electricity or the freedoms that we enjoy here. There's just so many things, especially
in the society that we live in. We're very privileged to live in the time that we live in.
We're very privileged to live in the country that we live in and enjoy the freedoms and
the conveniences that we have. But one thing I really want to focus on is
as far as thankfulness is to be thankful for the family, thankful for your family.
Because that's something that really has a lot of value, has a lot of worth in it,
and it's something that we should never take for granted. Like I said, that's the tendency
in human nature is that we do end up taking things for granted. We might take the
electricity for granted. We might take the indoor plumbing for granted, the AC. We take them for
granted until those things begin to fail, until those things stop working for us. Then we
realize how much we really like them. My son came to me the other day and reminded me of the week
or two where we didn't have AC this summer. I had put it far from my mind when we were in
that sweltering heat in our house. I had already forgotten about it, but he just came
in the room and said, dad, you remember when the AC went out? I'm so glad we have AC.
That was just this week. And I thought, well, that's a good attitude. But we tend to
take things for granted, don't we? And one thing we don't want to take granted in our lives is
our family. We should be thankful for the families that we have. And one, of course,
there's a lot of different relationships within families that we could talk about, but I think
one that needs to be pointed out often is that children ought to be thankful for their parents.
Children have a tendency to take their parents for granted. They just think, you know,
you brought me into this world, you're stuck with me, and now it's your job and your duty
to take care of me. And you know, that's true, isn't it, though? I mean, the Bible does
say, I'll just read to you from 1 Timothy, it says, if any provide not for his own,
and especially for those of his own house, he had denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.
You know, and that's a very strong word, infidel. You know, that's, you know,
meaning unfaithful. And so the Bible commands us that, you know, we ought to, you know,
care for our own. We ought to take care of those that are of our own house. Of course,
the context in 1 Timothy is dealing with widows and things like that. But it does say,
especially for those of his own house. You know, we as men ought to provide for our families.
We ought to earn a living and take care of our families and all of that. That's something
that's commanded in Scripture, but that doesn't mean kids should just take that for granted.
Well, Mom, Dad, you have to take care of me because the Bible says so,
because society expects you to, right? Because here's the thing, the Bible does tell us to do
a lot of things, doesn't it? The Bible tells people to do a lot of things. That doesn't
always mean that those people do those things. You know, a lot of times there are parents
who don't take care of their children. I've known of children that were abandoned by their parents.
Parents literally drove them to some kind of office of the state and dropped them off and
said, see you later. You know, just because you have parents that take care of you doesn't
mean you should take those things for granted. That's one part of that relationship that I want
to remind us of this morning within the family. The Bible says there, if you look in Proverbs
chapter 13 where we were in verse 22, a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children
and the wealth of sinners is laid up for the just. So it's a good man that leaves an inheritance
to his children's children. You know, that's something, if you have a good father, a good
mother, if you have a good set of parents, that's something you should be thankful for.
If their mindset, if the things that they're thinking about are your well-being and the
well-being of even your children, they're thinking, let me lay up an inheritance and, you know,
often we think of inheritance we think of, you know, financially. And, you know, a lot of us
might not be able to provide that. There might not be, you know, sorry kids when I go, there's
probably not going to be a lot left. You guys can tip the couch over and fight over the
change or something, you know, and go through that ashtray in the car that only gets used
for change, right? And you can fight over that, you know, but look, someone's going to get my
Bible. Someone's going to get that Bible with all those notes that are in there. Someone's
going to get that. And that should be a treasure. You know, there should be a spiritual
inheritance that they look forward to that are going to be laid up, not just for them,
but also for their children, you know, and that's, and if you have that, you know,
that's something to be thankful for. Now, look, if you don't have that, if all you have
is some parent who is just, you know, at least they're meeting the basic needs. If they're
just providing the clothing, the food, and the shelter, you know, you should still be thankful
for that. You know, maybe they're not saved. Maybe they're not right with God. Maybe
they don't care about the things of the Lord. They don't care about spiritual things. But hey,
if they're meeting, you know, those bare requirements, those bare minimum requirements
of providing for you, you should still be thankful for that. But what if you do have
a parent, you know, and we're going to get into this here in a minute, that is a little
bit more rare. Someone who does want to lay up a spiritual inheritance for you. That's
something you should be especially grateful for because spiritual wealth is, of course,
of much greater value than any, you know, monetary wealth. You know, spiritual wealth
is more important than physical wealth. The things that we receive spiritually from our
parents are more important than things that they might leave for us when they die,
or even the things that they're providing for us while they're still alive. If they're,
you know, guiding us in the ways of the Lord, if they're taking us to church, if they're having
rules and standards, those are things that I know it's hard to do sometimes as a young person,
but that you should be thankful for because a lot of people don't have that. A lot of people,
they just have, it's a free for all with their kids. Just do whatever you want, you know,
just there's no rules, there's no boundaries. And that might sound like a lot of fun. That
might sound like, hey, that's the way to do things. But you know, in the long run,
that's actually detrimental to everybody involved. Okay. If you would go over, we're
going to be in Proverbs a lot this morning. So just keep something there in Proverbs,
but go over to Proverbs four in fact. The Bible says in Psalm 16, the Lord is the portion
of my inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in
pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. And he talks about there about the lines being
fallen unto him in pleasant places, right? And what he's talking about is when, you know,
the line like a border of land, when a line is divided up, you know, you set up these
boards, these lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. You know, if you have a parent
where, you know, your spiritual lot, so to speak, is in the Christian life where the lines
have fallen onto you in a pleasant place where you're going to the house of God, you know,
that's part of your inheritance. You know, that's a goodly heritage that you have. That's
something that you ought to be thankful for this morning. Thankful for the fact that they provide
for you. Not just the physical provision that, yes, they're commanded to do, but look, a lot
of them don't even do that. We could go to places where parents just don't even do that.
They just say, look, we're not going to provide for you the basic means and necessities of life.
But you have that. Be thankful. Be thankful for the parent that does, you know, have a
spiritual heritage, a goodly heritage for you. Be thankful for the instruction that they give you.
Be thankful for the instruction. Look at Proverbs chapter 4 verse 1. He says in Proverbs 4 verse 1,
Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding.
For I give you good doctrine, forsaking not my law. For I was my father's son,
tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also and said unto me,
Let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments.
Say, well, I don't know why should I do that? Why should I incline my heart? Why should I let
my heart retain thy words? Why should I keep these things? Why should I keep these
commandments? I mean, just that word. We don't like that. I don't, you know, a lot of young
people, they don't like commandments. They don't like being told what to do. You know, they
look forward to the day when they're going to be their own boss, when they're going to be
get out from under mom and dad's authority and just do whatever they want. Well, if you're
wise here, you'll listen to what he's saying. He's saying, let thine heart retain,
right, my words, keep these things, keep my commandments. He's saying, look,
the things that I'm teaching you, the things that I'm instructing you, you need to keep them
with you. Not just when you're under my home, not just when you're under, you know, under
our authority, but even after that. When you go out and you live your life and you become an
adult and you're the authority in your home, hopefully you keep these things. Hopefully you
keep that spiritual heritage that's been imparted to you. You keep these things. Why? Because it
says, keep my commandments and what? Live and live. Look, these things that you're being taught
as a young person in your home are things that are going to help you live a good life.
They're not just there because parents want to make your life miserable.
They're there because they want you to live. Look at verse 10,
hear my son and receive my sayings and the years of thy life shall be many. Now who wouldn't want
that? No one gets up and says, I hope I live a very short life. I hope my life is brief and
cut off early. I hope it comes to a tragic end very, very soon. No one says that. Everyone
says, I want to live a long, anyone who's sane anyway, says I want to live a long full life.
You know, I hope I die in a good old age as the Bible says, right? Well, if you want that, here
you go. How do you achieve that? Well, this is a major part of it. Hear, oh my son, verse 10,
and receive my saying. There it is again, a receiving of the sayings, a keeping of the
instruction, a retaining of these commandments. Hear my sayings and the years of thy life shall
be many. That's a promise from the word of God. Because that's what's going to help you
avoid the snares, the pitfalls in life that are there. They're going to keep you from
doing things that you ought not to do. Look at verse 11. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom.
I have led thee in right paths. Jump down to verse 20. My son, attend to my words. Incline
thine ear into my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes until you're out on your
own. Until you've started your own family. Until you're no longer under my authority. Then
you can just forget everything you've learned. No, he says, let them not depart from thine
eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart. These are things that should be with us throughout
our life. Why? Verse 22, for they are life. These sayings, these commandments, these
rules that we like, that's the modern vernacular. These aren't just here to ruin
a good time. These are things that are going to help you live. These are what are going to
part unto you long life and a good life. He says, for they are life also to them that
find them and how does it end there? And health to all their flesh. It's not just the spiritual
nourishment that you're going to get from the instruction that a godly set of parents is
going to give you. Your health of your flesh is going to benefit too. When they say,
when you learn growing up, drinking and smoking and fornicating and all these things bring
disease and bad health. When you learn to avoid those things early on in life, you're not
going to suffer the consequences of that later if you keep these things. And that's what they
don't tell you. That's what they don't put up on the billboard when they're advertising
their booze. It's not just the six-pack in the bucket. Everyone's got a six-pack on their body
too. They're all fitness models up there. That's not reality. The person that's
hitting the bottle hard, that's not what they look like. They're not disciplined to go
to the gym and live like that and just the effects of those things on their body.
But look, if you believe what the Bible says, if you keep these commandments, they will be,
look, I'm not saying they're going to turn you into a fitness model. But I'm saying this,
you're not going to have the cirrhosis of the liver. You're not going to have the big
giant nose that they get from drinking. You're not going to have the beer belly.
You're not going to get all these things that come along. You're not going to get the
lung cancer, the mouth cancer, all these diseases that come from it. This will be health to
your flesh. So be thankful. That's the point of the sermon. Be thankful for this.
And I just, oh, I know. Yeah, he's right. Here we go again. Yeah, I'm right. And yeah,
here I go again. But what's the attitude? How do you receive that? Do you understand
these things and believe it? And are you, as a result, grateful? Are you thankful for the
family that you have? Thankful for the instruction. Thank you. Thankful for the provision.
Thankful for what? Their integrity. Integrity. Look, finding a parent who will,
having a parent rather, who will teach you and instruct you out of the Word of God is
extremely rare. I mean, what are most parents doing? They're letting other people raise their
kids. And look, I might step on some toes and I'm going to go ahead and step on some toes.
You know, they drop them off and say, hey, you teach them. You instruct them.
I've got to go make more money. You know, we're too busy, you know, supporting a lifestyle that
requires two incomes. And I get it. It's hard to make it on one income. I'm doing it. Okay.
But it can be done if you make sacrifices. If you cut out a lot of the fat and a lot of
things, you really aren't as important as you think. You know, people would be surprised,
you know, that they could stay at home and teach their own children. But that's not, look,
my point is this. I don't want to, you know, jump down people's throat over that.
But my point is this, is that if you have a parent who says, look, we're going to take on
the responsibility of educating our children, teaching the truth of the Word of God, you know,
you have something that's rare today, even amongst Christians, even amongst Baptists,
even amongst independent fundamental Baptists. You have something that's rare. So thank your
parents. Be thankful this, you know, not just this week, but throughout your life,
that you have parents that have integrity. That'd say, you know what, my children's spiritual
heritage, that's more important to me than having a second income so we can buy a boat.
And if you're buying a boat in Arizona, I don't know what you're doing, you know.
I could think of better ways to spend your money, right. Or whatever frivolous thing that
people want, you know. Because it says, I should have had you go to Proverbs chapter 20,
Proverbs chapter 20. Look, having somebody with integrity in your life is a rare thing.
You know, be thankful for that instruction that you're receiving from somebody who,
you know, cares about your spiritual well-being enough to have these rules, maintain these
standards, take you to church. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 6, most men will
proclaim everyone his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find. The Bible says, a faithful
man who can find. It's asking that question. A faithful man who can find. You know what that
tells me? That it's hard to find a faithful man. They're rare. It's hard to find people
that have integrity with the word of God. Look, you might have people out in the world
that have integrity in other areas, but enough integrity to care about the things of God,
making the word of God a priority in their life. That's a rare thing. So if you have that
in your life, you ought to be thankful. You know, faithful fathers are rare. Fathers that
are faithful to the word of God. That's a rare thing to have. And you know, same thing with
mothers too. We won't go there, but Proverbs chapter 31, you could turn over to Colossians
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, the Bible says in Proverbs 31, who can find a virtuous woman?
It's the same thing. A faithful man who can find. Who can find a virtuous woman? Having
a set of parents that have integrity is something you ought to be thankful for because it's
rare and it's important and it'll have an impact on your life for the better if you take heed to
it. And you say, well, how do I express that? You know, I'm thankful. Look, if you're really
thankful for that, you won't have to tell anybody. You won't have to, you know, draw the
turkey, the hand turkey this year and write to mom and dad, thank you. You know, like they
used to do in kindergarten, right? You can do that if you want, it's fun, right? But look,
if you're really thankful for these things, if you're really thankful for the fact that you
have parents that not only provide for you physically, but also spiritually, that take the
time to instruct you and to teach you how to live a life that's pleasing unto God, that have
the integrity that have made that a priority for themselves and for you, you won't have to tell
them, it'll show up in your attitude. It'll show up in whether or not you do what? Obey.
Whether or not you obey. And the attitude with which you obey. That's how thankfulness is
expressed in this area, I believe, is through obedience. The Bible says, and you know, and we
all know this, Ephesians chapter six, children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well
with thee, that thou mayest live long on the earth. But look where you are in Colossians
chapter three, verse 20. Children, obey your parents in all things for this is well pleasing
unto them. If you're following along, you'll notice I misquoted that on purpose. It says
there are children, obey your parents and all things for this is well pleasing unto them.
Now, is it well pleasing on your parents when you obey? Of course it is. No parent likes to
have to, you know, go through a, you know, some kind of a negotiation every night when it's
time to go for bed. You know, I'd rather the kids just went to bed when they were told,
right? The first time, okay? But who is it pleasing to? In addition to your parents,
it's pleasing unto the Lord. You say, I want to live for God. I want to please God with my
life. Well, are you obeying your parents? Because the Bible says here that when children
obey their parents, this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Which means when you are not obeying
your parents, when you're disobeying that that is unpleasing the Lord. That God pays attention
to that. You know, sometimes I think kids, they get this idea. They think, well, they're
not that important. And no one's really paying attention to me. I'm just a kid. But the Bible
says here that even a child's behavior is taken note of by God himself. He looks down and
pays attention and knows whether or not a child is obeying or disobeying. And that either pleases
him or displeases him. I don't know about you, but I want to please the Lord. You know,
I want God to be pleased with me. I want his blessing. I want to be happy with me.
So you know what you ought to do? You ought to learn to obey children. You could do that.
You know, you could show your thankfulness by not taking these instructions for granted.
The instructions that your parents give you, they should not be taken for granted. If you
would go back to Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs chapter 11. Go to Proverbs chapter 11.
You can say, oh, I'm so grateful for everything my parents taught me. Well, we'll know. You know,
you could say that, but you know, the truth will come out whether or not you actually
take heed to those things. Whether or not you actually are grateful for those things. Whether
or not you actually keep those commandments and obey them. The Bible says in Proverbs 19,
you're an 11. He that wasteth his father and chaseth away his mother is a son that
causeth shame and bringeth reproach. It's somebody that wastes what was given them.
Don't take it for granted. Don't waste your father. Don't chase away your mother.
Don't be somebody that causes shame. Don't take this instruction for granted that is being
given you. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 11 verse 29, he that troubleth his own house
shall inherit the wind. Proverbs 11 verse 29. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit
the wind. Say, what am I going to get for an inheritance if I trouble my own house? If I'm
a grief to my parents? If I take their instruction for granted? You know what you're
going to get? You're going to get the wind, the Bible says. Meaning nothing. It's just going
to be empty. There's nothing there. So look, don't take this instruction that's being
given to you for granted. Be thankful for the parents that you have. And the more
godly they are, the more integrity that they have, the more thankful you should be.
Don't walk out of here and say, well, my parents aren't those things. My parents aren't
Christians. My parents aren't godly. I'm going to take them for granted. No, you should still
appreciate and obey them, even if they're not saved. If they've taken the time to provide
for you. And look, even the unsaved have a lot of knowledge and things to impart.
There's just the experience of life that we can learn from our parents, whether they have the
Holy Spirit or not. So don't take these things for granted. I know I'm kind of getting
after the kids this morning, and amen, they need it. But also, same thing for the parents.
Parents should be thankful for the children as well. That's something I often thank the Lord
for, not just on Thanksgiving. I thank God for my children. And why is that?
Well, go over to Psalms 127. Well, one is they're a source of joy. Children bring a
great deal of joy into our lives, for the most part. Kids are kids. If my parents were here,
they could probably share some stories where I was a little bit less than a source of joy
in their life. But that is what they are. Especially if we're taking the time to invest
in them and guide them and teach them and instruct them and have the right influences
in their life, they will become a source of joy if they're not already. Look at Psalms 127,
verse 3. It says, Lo, children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is
his reward. That's an important verse right there. We could park it right there and preach
a whole sermon on the fact that the fruit of the womb is God's reward, not a punishment
It's not his chastening. It's not his, you know, God inconvenience you with children. No,
it says it's his reward. You know, that's why I want as many children as God will allow me to
have, because the Bible says that they are a reward. It's that God is pleased and gives
children. Okay, look at verse 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the
children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. Now, what's the
them there? Well, it's referring back to what? The children, the arrows, right? The arrows are
as arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man
that hath his quiver, you know, has 1.8 of them. You know, it has the average number of
children that goes in their country. No, he says happy is the man that hath his quiver full of
them. Has as many as he can get in there, right? And it says, happy is that man.
You know, people, we get that, we only, and look, I say that we only have five,
and I mean that because I know people have twice as many children as I have.
You know, that's not rare in our churches, right? But here's the thing, people will look at,
you know, me or my wife with five kids and just say, I don't know how you do it. Your
life must be miserable. Now, they've never said that, but, you know, there is that connotation,
right? They just say, oh, that must just be just such a hard life to have, you know, five kids
or four kids or whatever. And they think, man, how do you even live? You must be pulling your
hair out. No, the Bible says happy is the man. You know, it makes you happy to have
a lot of children. It goes on, it says, they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with
the enemies in the gate. So children, you know, parents, we ought to be thankful for them. We
ought to be thankful for the reward that God has given us in the form of children, okay?
Because they are a source of joy, it says that that man is happy. They are also what,
you know, this is something maybe that men tend to think about a little bit more, you know,
their legacy, you know, what they're going to leave behind, you know, their mark on the
world, you know. I mean, people get into this, don't they? You think about the scientist who wants
to make some great discoveries so it can be named after him. You know, he wants to have some
theory named after him. Why? Because he wants people to at least remember his name. You know,
they want to name certain places after themselves. So, you know, if that's, and that is part of
nature, and I understand that, you know, we do want to make an impact on the world, you know,
at least for Christ. But look, children are that legacy. They are that influence that's going to
speak for us after we're gone. Is that what it says at the end? They shall speak with the
enemies in the gate, right? They're going to speak for us. They're going to be the ones that
pick up the mantle, right? They're going to speak with the enemies. Look, after, and this
is why it's important to be thankful for the children that we have and to not take them for
granted because they're, you know, they're up to bat next when it comes to, you know, the faith.
They're the ones that are going to have to keep the faith after we pass on. So, if we take them
for granted and just say, and just treat them like there's some kind of a pain in the neck,
let's not be surprised when they turn around and say, well, I don't want to be the one to
say, thus saith the Lord. I don't want to be the one that picks up this banner and
proclaims the word because, you know, you treated me poorly. You took me for granted,
and they'll be surprised if they take us for granted or the faith for granted. Look,
we need to not take our children for granted. We got to be thankful for them because they are
the ones who are going to carry the torch for us after we're gone. Now, if you would, go over to,
uh, go over to Mark chapter seven, Mark chapter number seven. There's, you know, I want to just,
so I'm just talking about being thankful for your family this morning. Being thankful for,
you know, there's so many things we could talk about being thankful for, as I said in the
beginning, but, you know, being thankful for your family is a very important thing to be thankful
for year round. You know, and we talked about children being thankful for their parents,
and now we're, you know, talking about parents being thankful for their children, okay. Why?
Because of the fact that they are a source of joy. They are the next generation, okay. But also
because, and this is something I believe, is that they are going, if they, if they're right
with God, okay, they will be your provision in old age. And I understand that, you know,
we're living different times than when a lot of the scripture was written,
but I believe this principle still applies. And people have, you know, we're a very privileged
society that we live in, live in now where we can, you know, we can save up for retirement
where when we were, you know, when we get into our old age, we can live off of our own means.
But that's not always the case for everybody. And through, you know, the vast majority of
history, that was not the case. You know, there wasn't always the, you know, the 55 plus
community waiting for us at the end of the, at the end of the, that wasn't the light at the end
of the tunnel, right. And retiring at 60, whatever. You know, a lot of times you just, you know,
you worked until you died, right. Or you worked till you could just, you were physically
incapable of doing it. And at some point, you know, it was your children that had to take you
in, you know, and what, to repay the favor, right. They had to requite you, as the
scripture puts it. And this is something that we should be thankful for in our children,
you know. And this is why we should not take them for granted, and invest in them, and teach
them this. Because, you know, the Bible says that they should be our provision in old age.
I mean, that's what the, why it says honor thy father and mother. That's what it really
means there. We say that means you should obey. And look, that is part of it. But we're
going to look here in scripture, that honoring is actually referring to a taking care of them
in their old age, okay. And look there, you're in Mark 7. Mark 7, it says there,
and he said unto them, full well, and he's speaking to the Jews, for well you reject
the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. If you remember, they'd
been asking him, you know, hey, why do your disciples transgress, for they keep not the
tradition of the elders. You know, they eat with unwashing hands. You know, they see the
disciples not washing their hands, or washing some pot, or bowl, or whatever, before they eat out of
it. And they're getting so upset about that. And they come to Jesus, and they're kind of grilling
them on it. And instead of just answering the question, he just takes the opportunity to say,
oh, you're offended by that? Well, you know what, I'm offended by the fact that you reject
the commandment of God. You know, yeah, maybe we don't keep the tradition of your elders
that is unbiblical. It's extra biblical. You know, it's the tradition of man. It's not a
doctrine of God. You might be upset by that. But he's really letting them have it here,
saying, I'm upset with the fact that you reject the commandment of God. And what is the
commandment that they're rejecting here? Verse 10, for Moses said, honor thy father and thy
mother. And whoso curseth father and mother, let him die the death. Verse 11, but ye say,
if a man shall say to his father or mother, it is Corban, that is to say, a gift by
whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to
do aught for his mother, father or mother, or his mother. He's saying, look, you guys have
this tradition where you say, it is Corban. And let me just point something out here,
because my name is Corbin, okay? With an I, right? I have people come to me from time,
oh, like in the Bible. Like, no, not like in the Bible. Because that's not,
this isn't a good thing, right? Like, that's not where my name comes from. It's not even
spelled that way. All right, so that's just a little commercial break right there.
But he's saying, look, it is Corban. What they would say, what he mean by that, that is to say,
a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. He'd say, oh, well, you know, the Bible
says that we ought to honor our father and mother. That's what Moses said, to honor thy father
and thy mother. But, you know, I'm just going to take it as a gift that I'm, that I don't
have to take, you know, take care of you. You know, whatever you would have been profited
by me, I don't have to do that for you. Now, think about how cold-hearted that is,
to say that to your own parents. Say, well, let's just, you know what, I know you're old,
and you need me to take care of you, but let's just count it as my inheritance that
I don't have to take care of you. That's a pretty cold-hearted thing, but that's what
they were doing. I mean, they're all worried about whether or not they washed their hands
before they ate. So you can see why Jesus, you know, and throughout the Gospels is
calling them hypocrites, devils, you know, all kinds of names. These are wicked people.
But, you know, it's, so the Bible's showing us it's a wicked thing to just say, well, I'm just
not going to take care of my parents. Because that's what's meant here by honoring thy father
and thy mother. We ought to honor our father and their, and their, and our mother in their
old age. And I believe this applies whether they were, you know, because people ask this
question, well, you know, my parents aren't saved, or they're ungodly, or they don't love the
Lord. Is there any kind of a stipulation here? If we go back and we read, we read the Ten
Commandments, if we read that in Moses, you know, we're going to see some kind of a clause
except, you know, unless of course your parents are unbelievers, then you can ignore them. No,
it still applies. You know, and, and, and it's important, you know, as I was, I once,
you know, was told, you know, it's always better to err on the side of being too generous
rather than being stingy. You know, that's a good principle in life.
But look, there's a real danger there in saying, I'm just not going to take care of him.
And this, this, this commandment of, oh, it's a gift, you know, that, that's wicked. You
suffer him to do more, to, to know, to, to know more, no more to do ought for his father
and mother, making, verse 13, the word of God of none effect through your tradition.
I mean, that's how it's serious. He took it. So what am I getting at is that parents ought to
be thankful for children that are going to provide for them, not in their old age and not
just because the Bible says they have to, right? Because that's what I just got done
explaining at the beginning of the sermon that yes, parents are expected and commanded to provide
for their own, but that we want them taking us for granted as parents, then just saying, well,
you have to, it's your job. You know, you have to feed me. Yeah, I can feed you white
rice and crust of bread every day. You know, we don't have to go to Culver's.
We don't have to go to the In-N-Out. I can feed you. It can be, it can be zucchinis and peppers,
and that's it. You know, I can feed you. But you know what? We, we do do those things.
Why? Because we don't just do it because we feel like, well, we have to. We do it because
we want to, right? And look, it should be the other way around too. Yes, children are
commanded to take care of their, their parents in their old age. I believe that, you know,
and my kids, they're fighting over it right now. Who gets dad, right? I wish that were the case.
I'm sure it will be eventually, right? But here's the thing. We don't want them to just
do that because, well, it's because I have to. You know, we should, or just say, you know
what? You need to do that because it's your job to do it. We should be grateful for that,
you know? And how, and again, you know, thankfulness is, is expressed through instruction.
How do you know if, if you're thankful for your children? This is how you know. And if you would,
go over to Proverbs 29, Proverbs chapter 29. Look, if you're really expecting this from your
kids and you're really thankful for your children, and you're taking, you're not taking
your children for granted, you're going to, that's going to show up. Just like a child
would express their gratitude through obedience, you know, a parent will, will express their
appreciation for their children through instruction, through actually saying, look,
I'm going to take the time to teach you and to instruct you. And look, and this really needs a
whole sermon in and of itself. And this is biblical. And again, this is something that's
fallen out of fashion today, but it's what the Bible says is that, you know, part of that
instruction is, you know, corporal punishment. And by that, I mean a spanking. Okay. And
this is something that the Bible talks about over and over again. I mean, look at Proverbs 29
verse 15. The rod and reproof give instruction, give wisdom. The rod and the reproof. So is it
just the reproof that gives wisdom? Is it just the reproof that, that makes a child wise?
Nope. It's the rod. Notice what comes first. It's the rod. And you know why the rod comes
before the reproof? Because the Bible says that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.
Right? It's bound in there. But you know, the rod will drive it far from him.
Right? If we chase it and instruct them, you know, that is going to drive that from them.
And notice it says that foolishness is bound. And I always, whenever I bring that up,
I always mention, I emphasize that. And it's not this little, you know, this little slipknot
that's bound. That foolishness isn't just tied in there where you just, you just pull that
little string and the foolishness departs. No, it says it's bound in there. That means it needs
to be driven out. And I use this illustration all the time, but I'm going to keep using it
because people and people need to get this or they're going to miss the boat with their kids.
Okay. It's important. You know, the illustration is this, is that, you know, when I worked in
excavating, you know, you'd have these toe straps that you would sometimes loop together
to lift, you know, concrete things, equipment, whatever. And then you'd have to, you know,
take that stuff apart. And you couldn't just walk up after it has all that tension and all that
weight. Those, those two toe straps are what? They were bound, right. And you couldn't just
walk up and just grab them and pull that knot apart. Man, you'd have to get a hammer,
sometimes a pry bar in there. We'd run it over with a truck tire to loosen that thing up.
And it's a great, you know, it's a great illustration of what, of the foolishness that's
in every child's heart. You know, and it's not that some, you know, I get it, some kids are
more foolish than others, but the Bible says that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child,
meaning any child. They all have foolishness bound in there. And you know what? Some kids,
you might have to run it over with a truck tire. And some of them, maybe you just need to just
work on it a little bit with the sledgehammer. You know, maybe some you just got to loosen up
some other way. Okay. But you got to loosen that up. And how do you do that? The rod.
And he's talking about a literal rod, a paddle, a spanking. And whenever you see the Bible addressing
this issue, notice he never says to use your hand. You know, and that's, you know, and again,
this deserves a whole sermon and there's probably one coming. You know, I believe in
using an implement because I don't want my kids to be afraid of this. I want to be afraid
of the paddle that's hanging, you know, on the wall or on the refrigerator. They had that
constant looming reminder of not to not be a fool, right? You can say, well, I don't,
I don't believe in that. I don't think you should do that. I think that's mean.
It says Proverbs 29 verse 15, the rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to
himself bringeth his mother to shame. Go to, go to Proverbs chapter 19, Proverbs chapter 19.
Look, and you can disregard this and you can just say, well, I know what the Bible says,
but I, you know, it's not that important to me. You know what? Well then don't be surprised
when that child brings you to shame, mom. It says in Proverbs 17, he that begetteth a fool,
do it to his sorrow. And the father of a fool hath no joy. You can disregard the word of God
on this. And all it shows is the fact that you're not really thankful for the children
of God has given you to raise them the way God has instructed you to raise them.
And you can go ahead and do that. But at the end of the day, you're not going to have
any joy in those children. Look, we've all seen them. We've all seen them. We've all been at the
supermarket or wherever. And that, that brat is just throwing a fit. And mom and dad are right
there. Oh, stop. Did you want this? Oh, I'm sorry. And they're just, I mean, on the floor,
kicking, screaming, doing whatever. And everyone's thinking, will you just beat that kid?
Gone are the days when you could hit other people's children, right? When you could,
you could spank someone else's kid. That was a good, those were the, those were the good old
days, right? I don't suggest that. Okay. Especially these days. But look, I mean, we,
my, you know, I'm not, let me brag on my wife a little bit. Yeah, I am bragging.
Is, you know, she goes out with the kids to the supermarket. She never comes back and says,
you wouldn't believe the way they behaved. They come, she comes back and says, oh, they
were, people were saying such nice things. They all, and look, parents love, the people
love to see that when there's a group of kids that are all, you know, they say, no,
you can't have that. Put that back. And they just put it back and then just move on. They
don't throw a fit. People love that. We'd all love to have that. That would give us joy,
right? We like the fruit, you know, we don't like the root because the root is what's going
on at home. They didn't, you know, she didn't just, you know, slip them something before they
went into the grocery store to make them behave that way. You know, that was taking place,
you know, for years. That's what, you know, consistent discipline that's been going on at home
that has produced children like that, that kind of behavior. That's what, the people like that,
they just don't like having to put the work into it to get it. You're in Proverbs 19,
verse 18. It says in verse 18, chasten thy son while there is hope. You know, chastening is
referring to, you know, a beating. And again, I know the word beat has a real negative
connotation. It can mean a lot of different things. Obviously, you know, God has provided,
you know, a very specific area of the human body called the posterior anatomy that you can use to,
you know, it has nerve endings and soft tissue that can, you know, provide a stinging effect,
right? And we can paddle that part of their body and to instruct them, right?
But that's what chastening means here. Chasing thy son while there is hope and let not
thy soul spare for his crying. So sometimes, you know, people, and again, I know I'm making
a whole other sermon out of this, but, you know, sometimes people say, well, I'm going to
chase my children. But the Bible says, and let not thy soul spare for his crying,
which tells me that you should be doing in such a way that produces crying. Otherwise,
why would you have to spare for it? Not this little, no, no. It needs to, it needs to sting.
You say, well, that just sounds cruel. What kind of a church have I walked into?
What are you teaching these people? What's going on here? Well, I'm teaching what the Bible says,
and we'll see what kind of results we have. You know, you can do it God's way,
or you can follow the world's philosophies. You can go read Dr. Spock, which probably no one
knows who that is anymore, right? Or whatever new age parenting style is out there, whatever
the fashionable thing is to do with your children, and we'll see how that turns out.
And look, you might even produce, you know, children that, that can go off and learn,
earn a good income and are decent people, but are they going to be wise when it comes to the
things of God? And I, you know, I'm preaching all this why, because that's how a parent is
really going to express the thankfulness for their children is they're going to instruct them
and not just instruct them the way they think, but instruct them the way the Bible actually
teaches them to instruct their children. Go to, did I have you to Proverbs 13?
Go to Proverbs 13 if you haven't gone there. There's a lot of people that this would upset
them, and they would say, oh, I don't think you should tell people that. That's so barbaric,
spanking your kids. We can, you know, what are you? Is it the Bronze Age over here?
But the Bible says in verse 24, he that spareth his rod,
hateth his son. You know, this is a verse that's often misquoted,
even amongst, though, that might practice a form of discipline in their house. They say,
they would say something like, spare the rod, spoil the child, right? And while that's true,
is that necessarily what the Bible says? That's not what the Bible says.
The Bible doesn't just say that if you spare the rod, you're going to spoil your child.
The Bible says here, look at, look down at your Bible, verse 24,
he that spareth his rod, hateth his son.
Heateth his son. It's an unloving thing to not discipline your children. If you don't discipline
your children and instruct your children through rod and reproof, you take them for granted.
That's what I believe. That's a lack of gratitude for the children that God has given you.
But he that goes on and says there, he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. And betimes
there means early, you know, early on. You got to get to him early. We don't, in our house,
we don't know what terrible twos is. I've never, oh, just wait till they're two.
I've never gone through it because we chasten betimes. And again, this needs a whole sermon
because, you know, you got to, you got to handle some of those specifics and on when
and how and all of that. And that's just keep coming. We'll get there.
Now you might be sitting in here this morning and say, well, this is a, you know,
I appreciate the sermon on Thanksgiving, but you know what? I, you know, I don't have children,
you know, or maybe I'm, I don't have parents. I've lived long enough to my parents have passed on,
you know, maybe this isn't applying to you exactly, but here's the thing.
We can all be thankful for our family in the spiritual sense this morning. You know,
we should all be thankful. I'm going to close on this is our spiritual family. You know,
we should be thankful for our physical family, right? Parents should be thankful for their
children. Children should be thankful for their parents, but we should all be thankful for the
spiritual family that God has given us. Go over to Matthew chapter 19, Matthew chapter 19.
And look, there's going to become a, there's going to come a time, you know, where
that might be all that we have. Maybe, you know, we are, our children are gone, moved away,
or, you know, our parents have passed on. Maybe we never had children,
but you know, we always will have our spiritual family that we can be thankful for.
The Psalmist said in chapter 27 of Psalms, when my father and mother forsake me,
then the Lord will take me up. And I don't believe he's saying there, look, when my,
that forsaking there is like a, you know, they, you know, the proverbial that, you know,
they left me at the door in a basket and rang the doorbell and ran away. You know,
they ditched me, right? I believe he's referring to when they forsake me as when they pass on,
when they die. Then the Lord will take me up. Or, you know, when it's time for me to grow
up and be my own adult, you know, when my parents are no longer an authority over me,
then the Lord will take me up. You know, we always have God to fall back on.
We'll look there in Matthew 19, verse 27. And answered Peter and said unto him, verse 27,
behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee. What shall we have there for? Jesus said unto
him, verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the
Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 12 thrones judging the
tribes of Israel. I'd say that's a pretty good trade off, right? Then he goes on and says,
and everyone and everyone, not just you 12, everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren
or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake,
what are all those things? Those are our physical relationships, right? Those are our familial
bonds, right? The wives, the children, the mother, the father, sisters, brethren, if we forsake
those things, look, if we go without those things, we're going to receive in hundred fold,
right? You shall receive in hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life. What's he talking
about here? He's talking about, you know, because a lot of times, like Jesus said, you know,
I came to send, think not I came to bring peace, but a sword for a man so shall be of his
own household. He came to set, you know, the families at not one with another, because some
people are going to get saved and say, I believe the Bible. And some people are going to say,
well, I don't. And they're going to be at odds with one another. And a lot of times there
is a forsaken there. You know, those bonds don't last because, you know, a line is drawn
in the sand. And that's, you know, that's perfectly biblical, right? But even then,
when we lose, we might lose those relationships, we still have that relationship with a spiritual
family, right? That's what he's saying here. Look, you're going to receive a hundred fold of
these. I'm going to have a hundred wives, you know, the Mormons might like that, right? But
I'm going to have a hundred more children. Some of us might not like that, you know?
But what he's referring to is the fact that when you get saved and you get, you know,
and you're in church, you know, you have a spiritual family. You have a hundred houses.
Look, if my house were to burn down and I were destitute, I have no doubt that there's people
in this room right now that would take me and my family in. Can I get an amen? Okay,
thank you. You know, I'm still not going to let them play with matches, okay? Don't worry.
But I'm saying, and vice versa, if I found somebody in our, you know, in our spiritual
family that was destitute and in need, they could rely on me. They could rely on one
another. We have a spiritual family here. So look, you might not have some of these other
relationships to be thankful for, or you might have both. But one thing, the other family
that we should be thankful for this morning is our spiritual family and not take the church
for granted. These are important relationships that you can have here in this church.
I mean, who else is going to agree with you? I mean, if you believe the Bible,
if you believe the word of God, you know, you're in a rare company these days.
I mean, there are not a lot of people out there that believe what the Bible says.
You know, a lot of them, most of them are in this room right now. And as far as I know,
I'm not sure there's other churches where people are gathered together that believe these things.
But look, I know of a group here. So don't take that for granted.
And again, I'll close on this thought. We talked about being thankful for our parents,
thankful for our children. And then we talked about how that was expressed through obedience
and also through instruction. Well, it's the same way with your spiritual family.
If you don't take it for granted, if you're truly thankful, it'll show up in the way you
instruct through instruction. Go over to Galatians chapter six, Galatians chapter number six. The
Bible says, let us therefore, this is Romans 14, let us therefore fall after things which make
for peace and wherewith what? We may edify one another. You know, if you really appreciated
your spiritual family, you would seek to edify it through instruction, right? Because here's the
thing, I'm not the only one in this room that can teach people. You know, I know it's my
job to get up three times a week and teach the Word of God. And that's, you know, obviously,
that's a lot of the teaching that's going on here. But, you know, all of you can teach
one another. You can edify one another, the Bible says. The Bible talks about the elder
women teaching the younger women. And there's a teaching going on in all aspects, in many
different relationships. Older Christians can teach younger Christians, and vice versa. We
can all learn from one another. Because, look, none of us in this room knows everything.
There's that famous quote, you know, I don't know everything, therefore every man is my teacher,
because everybody knows something I don't know. Whether that's something spiritual or something
more carnal, you know, where it's just kind of a fact of life type of thing, or maybe a skill
or something that they have, look, everybody can teach us something. And we can all edify
one another. We'll do that if we truly appreciate the spiritual family that we have.
We'll take the time to learn one another, and we'll take the time to instruct one another
and teach each other. Also, through provision, right? We talked about how parents,
you know, express or to provide for their children. Children provide for the parents,
you know, that's an expression of that gratitude. You know, we should be willing to do the same
thing. Did I have you go to Galatians 6? He said in verse 1, Brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness,
considering yourself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ. You know, it's the law of Christ that we,
what, bear one another's burdens. And he's talking to the church here. You know,
part of what we're called to do as Christians is to bear one another's burdens, to help one
another. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall have rejoicing in himself alone and not
another. For every man shall bear his own burden. So look, it's not that it turns into
this welfare system here. We all, obviously, we all have to bear our own burden. But look,
there's going to be times of need in our life. There's going to be times where we're
in a situation or we could help one another out. We should help each other bear those burdens.
How about bearing burdens in prayer? You know, that's, I mean, because look,
people have needs for prayer, don't they? All the time. There's always something coming up.
Where, you know, people, you know, are, they have family members or they themselves are
in some kind of distress and they ask for prayer. We ought to bear one another's burdens
in that way. And he says that that is the law of Christ. To bear one another's and fulfill,
bear another one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Go to Galatians chapter
three, Galatians chapter three. So what is that, that law of Christ? Well, I believe he's
referring to is, you know, the fact that Christ, you know, allowed himself to be
inconvenienced for our sake, didn't he? In a major way, right? He said in verse 13 of
Galatians three, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. I mean, think about that. You know, we get saved through Christ, but how did that come
about? It's because he was made a curse for us. You know, he bore our burdens. You know,
all our iniquities were laid upon him. You know, he bore our iniquities, the Bible says.
For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. So he was made a curse for us. So
I believe, you know, this is the law of Christ. This is how you bear one another's burdens.
Allow yourself to be inconvenienced for the brethren. Allow yourself to be inconvenienced
for your fellow church member, for your fellow Christian. You know, sometimes we might not
want to help somebody in some way, but you know what, we ought to. You know, if they have,
you know, and I just come to church and say, well, I'm just here to get the preaching and
get out as quick as I can. And I don't want to get to know anybody, right? That's not
fulfilling the law of Christ. That's not an attitude that is of gratefulness for the
spiritual family that you have, that you are a part of whether you like it or not, right?
Just like we're born into our physical families, we can't change that. We're stuck, you know,
whether you like it or not. Your parents are your parents, your siblings are your siblings.
Look, when you got saved, you got put into the body of Christ, this is your spiritual family.
You know, and thankfully we don't all look like each other, right?
But look, but if we're going to be really appreciate that, what are we going to do? We're
going to bear another one's burden, one another's burdens. We're going to allow ourselves to
be like Christ and to know not become a curse for one another, but allow ourselves to be
inconvenienced, to have to, you know, put up with or be burdened with something. Okay.
So I wanted to preach that because, you know, this is the week that we remember
to be thankful. Hopefully we have that mentality year round where we're constantly thanking God
and prayer for the things that we have, you know, and by the way, that there's a sermon,
you know, how to stay thankful year round, you know, get a prayer life, pray to God,
you know, but sometimes people really struggle with, I don't know how to pray,
you know, a good place to start is just to start thanking God for all the good things
he's given to you. And God has given us a lot of blessings, you know, especially in the
country that we live in, but no matter where you are, you know, if you have a family,
spiritual or otherwise, you ought to be thankful for it. And you ought to express that gratitude,
not just through words, but through actions. Let's go ahead and pray.