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So you may have noticed there, Deuteronomy chapter 5, we have the 10 commandments once again. So not only is it found in the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 20, but also Deuteronomy chapter 5. And the reason for this is the book of Deuteronomy, it's sort of similar to the word duet. You know, if you're singing a duet, how many people are involved in a duet? Two. Okay, so the book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of the law. So the book of Exodus was given to Moses when they came out of Egypt. But you know that they spent 40 years in the wilderness. And then at the end of those 40 years, God was to take the nation of Israel, and they were to now be ready to enter into the Promised Land, into the land of Canaan, and God once again gave them the book of Deuteronomy as a retelling, as a preparation for the new generation that came out of that 40 year period, right? A retelling so they could once again hear the commandments and the laws that God had originally given Moses. Now I read Deuteronomy chapter 5 because we're up to now commandment number 5 in our 10 commandments series. And if you look at verse number 16, it says, Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the title for the sermon tonight by the way, honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Now the reason I read Deuteronomy is, Deuteronomy adds some extra words to what is found in the book of Exodus in the 10 commandments. And these extra words are here. That thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Of course that land is the land of Canaan, the promised land. As to getting ready to come into this land, once again God has given them a retelling of the law. And as I said to you, the title for the sermon this evening is, honor thy father and thy mother. And I'm glad we have little kids in the service today. I want you to pay attention because you do have your mother and father and you are commanded to honor them, alright? Now, just because we have kids and often when we think about this commandment, we do think about the children. Yes, you know, the first application is to children, but it's not only to children, it's also for adults. It's also for those of us that have started new families. We've left mom and mother and father and we're adults, we've got our own family. You know what, even as adults we're still commanded to honor our mother and our father. And I'll try to help explain that as we go through these verses and this teaching tonight. But I want you to notice that this is a commandment. The Bible calls this the commandment, the first commandment we've promised. So, if we honor our mother and father and I want to talk to the kids right now, okay? You know, your life right now is quite straightforward, quite simple. Most of your provisions have been provided by mom and dad. I know my kids, they don't work for their plate on the table for them to eat a meal, okay? That's a given, okay? They're right as a child of myself and my wife is that they're going to get food on the table every day. They're going to have all their needs met. They're going to have their clothes taken care of. They're going to have a roof over their heads. But you know, that's not what life is going to be like forever. At some point you're going to grow, you're going to mature, you're going to become an adult. And you're going to have to take care of your own needs. You're going to have to feed yourself, you're going to have to clothe yourself, okay? And not only that, then God's going to give you other people to be responsible for. You know, a man will take a wife and he'll be responsible to take care of her needs. And then the Lord will give that couple children and they'll be required to take care of the needs of those children. And so I want the children of this church to have a prosperous life. I want them to have a happy and long life. I want things to go well for our children, amen? And for those of you that still maybe are young and one day you're going to have your own children, I want your children to do well in life, okay? And this is the first commandment we promise. It says once again, at the second part of verse 16, that thy days may be prolonged. Children, do you want to have a long life? Or do you want your life to be cut short because of mistakes and because of errors that you've made? No, you want to have a long life. Not only a long life, but a life where it says that it may go well with thee. That you have a happy and well life that you're taking care of. That you don't have to go through unnecessary struggles, unnecessary burdens, unnecessary troubles. Then what do you do? All you have to do, brethren, or children I should say right now, is honour your father and your mother. That's it, okay? You start there. This is the best start to life. I'm going to honour my mum and dad and the Lord promises me a long and happy life. Things will go well with me. What a promise. You can start right now, you know? Sometimes we think the Bible is for those that are older, more mature in the Lord and maybe even adults. No, the Bible's for children as well. God's given you guidelines as to how to have a long and prosperous life even now. Even if you're five years old, you can start applying this promise right now if you honour mother and father. Can you please, actually you can turn away from there. Go to Ephesians chapter six now. Please turn to Ephesians chapter six. Ephesians chapter six. Just in case there's any thought where someone might say, well, Pastor Kevin, we know this was for the Israelites. We know this was when they would come into the land of Canaan and God is telling them things will go well for them on that land. And you know, we don't have that land today, Pastor Kevin. And so, you know, maybe this is not for us. And maybe that's just for the people, you know, the Israelites of old, the Jews of old. And no, no, no, we'll notice that this is not just an Old Testament teaching. This is also a New Testament teaching. Ephesians chapter six and verse number one. Ephesians chapter six and verse number one, the Bible reads, Children, so this is for the kids, all right? This is your message from the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. So children, what are you commanded to do? To obey your parents. That's to obey mom, to obey dad, all right? Now, you say, does this have to do with honoring my parents? Absolutely. Because if you notice verse number two, it says, Honor thy father and mother, look at this, which is the first commandment with promise. So you notice that obedience here is being put together with the honoring. To honor your parents as a child under your parents' roof, if you want to honor your parents, what you need to do first and foremost is to obey your parents. I'm going to quickly read to you from Colossians 3, 20, which says it a little bit differently. It says, Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. So children, you can please the Lord right now. You know, little children, we don't expect you to go out there by yourself, door to the little soul wing, okay? Because there are dangers in this world. You're not old enough to look after yourselves. You know, we don't expect you to get behind the pulpit and preach some great sermon. But if you want to please the Lord, you want the Lord to look down on you and be pleased and be happy by your behavior, what does God want you to do? To obey your parents in some things? No, to obey your parents in all things. Whatever your parents ask you to do, kids, you ought to do it with a happy heart. And knowing full well this will please mum and dad, but it's also going to please the Lord. Now let's keep going there in verse number 3, Ephesians 6 and verse number 3. It says, That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. So you notice this isn't just for the Israelites of old. You know, yes, they will walk into that promised land, but you know what? The land we live in today, brethren, is Australia, or wherever life takes you might live somewhere else one day in your life. But I want you to understand that if you were to obey your parents, and this is honoring your parents, that God promises you that it may be well with you, even in New Testament times, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. I want my children to have a long life. You know, I think one of the lifespans that are the shortest in the world are rock musicians. You know, they tend to live very short lives. You know, that they pass away in their 30s and 40s and 50s. I don't know what the average age span is, but it's very low. You know, some people think, you know, becoming some celebrity. You know, I'm going to live a fulfilled life, but really these people are miserable and sad, and they lose their lives early. I'd rather live a long life and a happy life where God will see the continual hands of God blessing upon us. And the longer we live, the more we can do for the Lord. The more souls we can see saved, the more people that we can bring into His kingdom if we live a long life. And, you know, there's nothing... I think it's perfectly good to desire to live a long life. You say, oh, you know, it doesn't matter if I die tomorrow, I'm going to be in heaven. Yes. But look, you're going to be in heaven for all eternity. You know, the only opportunity you have to lay up treasures in heaven is right now on this earth. So you should desire to live a long life because the longer you live, the more chance you have, the more opportunities you have to lay up your treasures in heaven. All right? So I just want to show you, this is definitely a New Testament teaching, okay? And it doesn't matter what your age is, little children, you want to honour mum and dad, you want to make the Lord pleased, then obey your parents in all things. All right? Now, let's apply this to adults, okay? Because even as adults, we ought to be honouring our parents. And you say, well, Pastor Kevin, does this mean, like, I'm a married man, right? I mean, I left mother and father, isn't that what marriage is? You leave mother and father and you cleave onto your wife, you start a new family, and now you've got, you know, your wife, you've got your children, you've got your own family. So Pastor Kevin, am I still supposed to obey my parents? That's a good question. And the answer is no, okay? You don't have to. You've started a new family, okay? Your parents no longer have authority over you once you've established a new family, okay? For the men, you've left mother and father, you've cleaved onto your wife. For the ladies, you've left the authority of your father's head and you've put yourself under the authority of your husband. So how can we apply this for adults? Okay? Now, look, I think, you know, when you get married, your parents still want to get involved in your life to some extent. And if you have grandkids, I think the best thing you can do is allow your parents to have access to the grandchildren. I think it's very cruel when I hear stories of people that refuse to allow their grandkids to see the grandparents. They say, oh, well, they're going to be a bad influence. Oh, I've had to fall in love with my parents. I don't want my kids to see them. You know, I think it's very cruel. Yes, you know, maybe you might limit how much they can see them, but to completely refuse them, I think it's a very hurtful thing. All right? And I think it's important for grandchildren to even know their grandparents, even if they're not saved, just so they know that lineage in which they came from, all right? And they understand, you know, the relationships that develop between grandparents and grandchildren. But in what way can we as adults, I suppose, honor our parents? Because are we just, you know, my parents, you know, I get married. Does that mean now I've just got to do everything my parents say? You know, does my wife have to do everything her mum and dad say now that we're married? If that's the case, we're going to have conflicts, because my parents might feel like our family should be run a certain way. My wife's parents might feel like our family should be run a certain way. And if we're just taking the advice and the opinions of our parents all the time, there's going to be conflicts. No, you know, God's asked us to start new family units, okay, to develop it and bring up a godly seed. And so we're not commanded to obey our parents even after we're married, but we still are commanded to honor our parents. You see, honoring, obviously the word honoring has to do with highly esteeming our parents. It has to do with respecting our parents. And even if you're married, you still should highly esteem your parents. You should respect your parents. Now, let's understand this. In what way can we understand this? Well, let's go to Matthew chapter 15, please. Go to Matthew chapter 15, please, and verse number 1. Matthew chapter 15 and verse number 1. And before we read Matthew chapter 15, let me just quickly say that as children, if you learn to obey your parents, you're going to be more effective and more successful in obeying your Heavenly Father when the time comes. If you're rebellious and stubborn, and parents, if we raise rebellious and stubborn children, we don't discipline them, then don't expect them to follow the commandments and be in obedience to our God either. Okay, it's important for us to raise up our children to understand their place, to understand submission, to understand, to submit to the will of that one that has authority over them. And if they do that will as a child under your leadership, they're also going to do well as they obey the Heavenly Father. So obedience is key, is key, even as a child. But I want you to notice here in Matthew chapter 15 and verse number 1, we're no longer dealing with little children here, but Jesus Christ is still enforcing the commandment to honor mother and father. In Matthew chapter 15 verse number 1, But he answered and said unto them, look at this, What commandment are they transgressing? For God commanded, saying, So now we're introduced to a new thing here. Not only are we commanded to honor our mother and father, but if you were to do the opposite, and if you were to curse mother and father, Jesus Christ says this is the death penalty. It's not just a sin, it's a crime to curse your mother and father. That person needs to be put to death. Yes, that's what the Bible says. Yes, I know it's unpopular in Australia and unpopular in 2021. I know it's unpopular because parents don't seem to care about raising their kids. Parents think these days that if you were to discipline your kids, if you were to chastise them with a rod, well, that's child abuse. Yeah, well, if you want to raise your kids that way, if they were living in Bible days and they were stubborn and rebellious and they end up cursing mother and father, and yes, I've seen that, we go to the shops and you see a child crying in the shopping aisles, you see children lashing out and striking their parents, you know what? That child should be put to death. That's what the Bible says. So if you don't want your child to be put to death, or you don't want God to think of your child as someone that should be dead, then as parents we should do the right and raise our kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But I want you to notice that Christ is saying that to these priests and Pharisees, sorry, was it? Yeah, to these scribes and Pharisees, sorry, that they were transgressing this commandment to honour mother and father. So let's understand in what way were they transgressing that. Verse number five, But ye say, now the wording is a little bit tricky, but let's just read the whole thing from verses number five and nine and I'll go back and explain what it's talking about here. But ye say, Whatsoever shall say to his father, sorry, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. So the priest is basically saying that if you're honouring your father and mother, in fact you're cursing your mother and father, you can go free because you've done something, all right? So they're transgressing this commandment of God. But let's keep going. Thus ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, where did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honour for me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men. Now, brethren, Jesus Christ is lumping, and if you disregard this commandment, honouring mother and father, Jesus Christ is lumping you in as someone who honours him with your lips, but that your heart is far from him, all right? And in vain you do worship him if you don't honour your mother and father. So let's understand what is happening here. This is not about just a young child's obedience to mum and dad instruction, okay? When we talk about the word honour, once again, it's got to do with esteem and to respect. Now, when it comes to your parents where they might be at an age where they can't work or they can't provide, okay, the Bible is very clear that the children are to help their parents along, okay? Even if you're married, even if you have your own family and your own children. And look, when it comes to me, my wife and my children will always come first, all right? But once my wife and my children needs are taken care of, if my parents are going without and they need my assistance, then I am commanded to honour them to make sure their needs are met as well, okay? Without, obviously, I've got to have the right priorities. My wife and kids are my first priority. Once that's taken care of, then I need to make sure that I provide for my parents as well. If that's the situation, they're older, maybe they're sickly, they need care, they're unemployed, whatever that situation is, the children are required to help out their parents. And I know this is not popular. It's not common, okay? People might say, well, that's just the culture of the day. No, it's the commandment of God. It's the fifth commandment, honour thy father and mother. This isn't just like tradition or culture. God's word is timeless. It's for all people. It's for all the children of God that we should follow this. So let's understand what is happening here. In what way are they transgressing the law? Let's look at verse number five again. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father and mother, it is a gift. By whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. So there's a man who is required to honour his mother and father in the sense of taking care of their needs because they're older, they can't take care of themselves. Well, this man, instead of taking care of his parents, instead of honouring his parents, he takes his funds, he takes his finances and says, well, no, dad, mum, this is a gift. The money I've got, this is allocated to something else because he says by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. You know, this gift, these funds that I have, I'm not going to give them to you to help you out. I don't want you to profit by me, right? And here's the crazy thing. We've all profited by our parents. Not only did our parents give birth to us, they fed us, they clothed us, they raised us. Many of you have gone to school, they've prayed for our education. You know, they've done so much for us and we don't even realise just necessarily how much. I had a lot of dental work when I was a child, you know, a lot of braces and I know those costs were in the thousands. In the thousands, my parents thought it'd be best for me to help me with my jaw and my teeth, right? They loved me, they spent money upon me and on my part of my brother as well and we've all profited from our parents. You know, my children, you know, it's not just it's mum and dad and, you know, they're going to provide for me. You're profiting and by your parents work towards you as well. And so there might come a time in the future where you need to return that favour, okay? And so not only should you prioritise your finances, yes, prioritise your finances, take care of your family but the next thing that should be on your mind is what about mum and dad? You know, are they going without? Now, look, thankfully in Australia we have other things that the government has put into place, whether you're in agreement with it or not. I'm not necessarily in agreement with all of it but it's in place. You've got your pensions, you've got your superannuation. It's a full superannuation, isn't it, that's there. So, you know, you don't always have to be there to provide for your parents because in Australia at least they're well taken care of, generally speaking, okay? But there might be other people in other nations where they don't have those privileges, they don't have those benefits and in those cases, yeah, definitely those children should be keeping thought about their parents. Do they have what they need? Can I help them out? Now, here's the thing. This man, he did not want to allocate his funds to his parents. He says, no, this is allocated to something else. These are allocated to my car payments. You know, these are allocated to my Netflix subscriptions and my cable TV. No, these funds are allocated to my internet connection, right? I mean, they've got all these other things that they need to take care of which are not needs and they're just wants but they won't take care of their parents. Well, here's the thing. This man, this situation, you know, should be put to death. He doesn't care about his parents and the Pharisees and the scribes, they're just transgressing this commandment because it says in verse number 6, and I am not his father or mother, he shall be free, thus you have made commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. So if these Pharisees and scribes found out that there's a son here that's not taking care of their parents and the son says, well, I can't take care of them because these funds, they're for other things like my Netflix subscription, right? It's for other things like my car payments, things that are not needs. He's got the wrong priority but they say, well, since you've got it allocated to something else, you've got allocated toward a gift, you know, maybe a gift to even the temple. They've said you've transgressed, Jesus Christ says you've transgressed the law, okay? Because our parents should be a high priority in our lives, okay, even after you're married. You know, to love them, to care for them, to make sure they have the needs met. And again, you know, it's contrary to our Australian culture. We don't think of it like this too much, okay? And again, you know, there are benefits to living in Australia, like I said, the pension and the superannuation, and so that burden won't necessarily fall upon your shoulder. But can you please now turn to 1 Timothy 5, and I want to just show you this in another angle here. 1 Timothy 5 in verse number 3. So the scribes and Pharisees, they were pardoning the men who would not take care of their parents, okay? When the Bible commands that they should be put to death. That's what Jesus Christ is saying, all right? And they were, you know, they were finding excuses why these people should not be put to death. But anyway, 1 Timothy 5 in verse number 3. 1 Timothy 5 verse number 3. The Bible reads, Here's that word honor again. And once again, if you look at the context of this chapter, the honoring has to do with taking care of their needs, all right? So a widow in this case has lost her husband. But I want you to notice verse number 4. Good and acceptable before God. Praise God, all right? So how do we honor mum and dad? Well, if dad passes away and mum becomes a widow and she's going without, she no longer has the main breadwinner, hey, and you're ready, you're a child, or hey, even a nephew. Your auntie might become a widow and she's got no children. You should consider, hey, you know what, I'm going to take care of my auntie. I'm going to take care of my widowed mother, okay? And again, this is good and acceptable before God. Right? Just like children obeying the parents was well pleasing to God. Well, even as adults, we can please the Lord as well by taking care of our widow mothers or widow aunties in a situation like this. But drop down to verse number 8. So I just want to bring your attention to verse number 8. The context of verse number 8, of course, has to do with the widows there. But then it says, An infidel is an unbeliever, all right? So if you don't provide for your own, you've got a widowed mother or if you've got a widowed auntie that no one else is there to take care of him and you don't provide for them, okay? And then it says, especially for those of his own house, that now is his wife and kids, okay? So you don't want to sort of prioritize your widows or your mother or your auntie over your own family. No, especially for those of his own house, that's his own family, right? He has denied the faith and is worse than the infidel. And so, brethren, I just want you to notice, this is clear to God, that even when our parents become elderly and that they need assistance, that we should be there to help them. They've been there early in our lives. They've helped us along till we've become our own men, we've been married or whatever stage that is, and now God says, look, you need to return that favor to your parents, all right? And I truly believe if you take care of your parents, when you become old and you have needs, that your children will take care of you, okay? I mean, I think this is good. This is the biblical way. God does not require superannuation. God does not require pension, government pensions, where they tax you out of your pay and then the government decides who to give it to. It's God's expectation that we would look after our own family. Now, one thing that we did notice about Jesus Christ, not only did he speak about honoring mother and father, he also brought up the cursing. And the cursing associated with the death penalty. So let's have a look at this a little bit. So I want you to turn to Proverbs chapter 20. Turn to Proverbs chapter 20 for me. Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20. Let's talk about cursing, father or mother. What does it mean to curse? I'll quickly read to you from Exodus 21, 17, which says, And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Let me read that again. He that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. It's not just a sin, brethren, it's a crime. It's a crime deserving of the death penalty to curse mother and father. And, you know, we need to hear this. Our generation needs to hear this, okay? I mean, honestly, I'm disgusted how in Australia, in our current generation, how people treat their elderly, you know? I've got a, you know, I'm not saying that this is the best way to do things. You know, I've got growing up, I grew up here in Canling Vale. I grew up here just, you know, a few kilometers away from where we meet for church. And I had friends that were, you know, Asian, Thai and Vietnamese, all these kind of things. And I was kind of surprised just how much these children honor their parents. You know, I had one of my best friends who would come over to my house. And as soon as he'd walk past my mom and dad, he'd bow himself to my mom and dad. Like, bow himself, like, I respect these are Kevin's parents. And my mom is like, you have to bow to us. It's not part of our culture, it's not part of our tradition. But it just shows you that in certain cultures, certain generations, they still uphold mother and father. They still honor mother and father much more than us Aussies. You know, we've lost this in our nation. We've lost this love, this respect in our generation. I'll quickly read to you Leviticus 20 verse 9. For everyone that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. And he hath cursed his father or his mother, his blood shall be upon him. All right, so I just want to show you many verses that say the same thing. Christ taught this again when he was upon this earth. So what does it mean to curse, you know? It basically means to desire harm or to inflict harm upon your parents. You know, honoring yes is to obey when you're a little child, but honoring yes is also to take care of their needs. Cursing your parents is basically desiring harm for them. So your widowed mother might be in a great need and needs great help. You say, I'm not worried about her. I've got my own life to live now. Well, you're basically cursing your parents. You're cursing your mother because she's going to go to harm. If you're not there to help her with the rest of her life. Now, you're in Proverbs chapter 20. Look at verse number 20. Now, the book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom. I want you to be wise people, yeah? We want to be wise. We want to have the knowledge of God. And it says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 20, who so curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. What is that talking about? Well, we know the book of Proverbs is the book of poetry as well. And so they'll say things a slightly different way. But it's very clear when we look at Exodus and Leviticus, that if you were to curse your mother or father, you were to be put to death. So we know what it means by his lamp shall be put out to obscure darkness. It's not, ah, you've cursed mother and father. Bring your lamp here and we'll turn it off. That's what it's saying. It's saying you're going to die. You deserve to die. Okay? We want to be wise. We don't want to curse mother and father. If you curse your mother and father, you're foolish. You know, you want to have wisdom? Start honoring mom and dad. You can start that at a very early age. Okay? Right now, little children, you can honor mother and father by being obedient to all they ask you to do. Now go to Proverbs 30, please. Go to Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30 in verse number 11. Proverbs chapter 30, verse number 11. I said we live in a generation that really does not honor mother and father. It says in Proverbs chapter 30, verse 11, there is a generation that curseth their father and doth not bless their mother. Hey, there is a generation like that and I believe we're living in that generation right now. We've lost the respect for our elderly, you know? Verse number 12. You know, I remember just even when I was a child, you know, catching the train to school, and you'd see someone elderly. You'd see a pregnant mother and you'd get up. You know, I mean, you were like the best guy if you got up and gave your seat to someone that was older than you. You know, I've caught the train, I've caught the bus, and now you see the school kids, they don't move for anybody. It's gotten worse. And I don't know, maybe I look a little bit young sometimes and I think I'm just one of the school kids now. But, you know, you see, I'm on the Sunshine Coast. You know, I'm catching because I'm traveling up there where I was being here and I couldn't always have someone pick me up. So I've caught the bus a couple of times, I'm on the bus, the bus is full. I'm seeing these elderly people come on because there's a lot of retired generation up there. And I'm seeing younger people on the bus, school children, they don't move. They don't make room for the elderly. You know, and I think about that, I think, we're in that generation now that does not honor their mother and father. Does not honor the elderly. Look at verse number 12. There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness. You know, they're too prideful, they don't want to acknowledge that they're ever wrong, right? They don't want to ever, you know, you give criticism to the generation today, they can't handle it. They have emotional breakdowns, you know. Verse number 13, there is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. Think about the generation we live with, Facebook and social media, the selfies that people take and, you know, it's all about me, it's all promoting me and me and, you know, they're lofty and lifted up. Verse number 14, there is a generation whose teeth are as swords and their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. So it's what can I have, you know, what can the world give me, not what can I give to others. There is a generation like this, that same generation is one that cursive their father and doth not bless their mother. And I do believe we're living in that generation. We've lost, we've lost all respect, you know, for the elderly, for mothers and fathers in today's generation. Can you please turn to Exodus chapter 21, Exodus 21. So let me just now give you a little bit more detail. What does it mean to curse mother and father, okay? Because we've seen a little bit of detail, what does it mean to honour? Well we saw, little children, obedience. When you're older, making sure your parents are provided for. By not neglecting your old family, making sure you've got the right priorities there. So let's get some details on what does it mean to curse. And if you're to curse your parents, then you should be surely put to death. But in Exodus 21 verse number 15, Exodus chapter 21 verse number 15, the Bible says, And he that smiteth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. That's one way you can curse your parents, by smiting them. You walk up to them and you just king hit your dad, alright? You just go and you strike your father. And we've seen stories, you know, there's been situations where children here in Australia have killed their own parents for the inheritance. Hey, they deserve to die, okay? Hey, it's not just death though, just attacking your parents, just smiting your parents. Just go to your mum and slap her in the face, you ought to be put to death. That's what God says, yeah? You know, I guarantee you, my parents' generation, they would never have dreamt of going and striking out on their parents physically, because they know how much they would cop. They would know how much they would have to lose. But again, I tell you, I go to the shops out there, I go to the Woolworths and I see little kids having tantrums, lashing out, attacking their parents, striking at their mothers, hitting their mothers. Oh, little Johnny, you know what, that kid needs a good smack. That kid needs a good rod, right, on his behind. I can fix him up, but it's not my place. Okay, it's not my place, I'll fix up my own children. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 21, please. Deuteronomy chapter 21. Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse number 18. Not only is physical abuse on your parents, cursing your parents, not only is that a crime, worthy of the death penalty, but also Deuteronomy 21, 18, just being an overly stubborn and rebellious son. And it's amazing, because we have stubborn, rebellious children across this nation, and you've got your child psychiatrist saying, just let him be, okay, just let him be. If you try to correct them, then you're going to give them emotional abuse or something. No, you know what, if they stay that way, God says no, they should die to death as well. Let's have a look at this, Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them, then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of the city, and unto the gate of his place, and they shall say unto the elders of his city, this our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice, he is a glutton and a drunkard, and all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die, so shalt thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. Now some people mock the Bible, they say, so what, every time a child disobeys mum and dad, what, put him to death, that's what you think? No, this is obviously not a little child, okay. And this is not just he's disobeyed, because if you look at verse 18 again, and that when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto him. So it's not like you just disobey and that's it, you get put to death, not because the fact that they are chastening him means that he has been disobedient, and they are trying to correct him. The point is, they're trying to correct this child, but he still refuses to listen. He stays rebellious, he stays stubborn. And let me just, you know, for parents and those that will be parents one day, you know, you're going to be chasing your kids one day, okay, and look, when they're very little, it's easy to break that rebellious spirit, and they'll come crying, sorry mum and dad, but as they get older, they're going to become a little harder, okay, they're going to stiffen their neck, and they're going to be like, I'll cop this, and I'm still going to be rebellious. I'm still going to stay angry. Hey, that's a bad place to be, you know. Let me say, you've got to increase, you know, the force of that correction. You've got to lift it up, Reverend, because you don't want to end up with children where God says they're better off dead, okay. We're not dealing with little children here. Little children's hearts, they're tender, they tend to, yes, you know, even if they don't think they maybe have done as bad as they're getting disciplined for, they're still willing to say sorry, that's good, okay, it's good to still be willing to accept your part, to play, and to receive the correction. But the proof is that this is not just about little children, in fact, it's not about little children, this is about children that are well into age, they know better, they know what's right and wrong, is the fact that when you get to verse number 20, it says, and they shall say unto the elders of his city, our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice, he is a glutton and a drunkard. This is obviously not little children, you know, little children getting off their face drinking alcohol, this is about, you know, an older child, someone well into their age, hey, maybe even over the age of 20, right, and they're just living at home, they're just bums, you know, they're just eating all the food, they're getting obese and fat, and they're just drinking alcohol, they're a lowlife, they're a derelict, okay, they're just a complete bum. Well, that one, and it's not receiving any correction. Mum and dad are like, son, you need to get out there and work a job, and they're like, no, I'm not going to do it, son, you've got to get off the alcohol, I'm going to stay drinking alcohol. You know, that son who doesn't want to make a life for himself is a complete bum, doesn't listen to mum and dad, yeah, that child needs to be put to death. That's what the Bible says. So we don't want to raise our children to turn out this way, yeah, we want to make sure we discipline our kids, they fuel the force, you know, they have to have their wills broken, brethren, okay, their rebellious will broken, and to learn submission to their parents. Once again, they learn submission to their parents, they're going to be more effective to be submissive to the will of their Heavenly Father. Can you please go to Deuteronomy chapter 27 now? So, physical abuse toward the parents, yes, an overly stubborn, rebellious son, who's a complete lowlife and derelict, yes, you know, that is cursing mother and father. But also, if you look at Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 16, Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 16, it says, Cursed be he that seteth light by his father or his mother, and all the people shall say amen. Cursed be he that seteth light by his father or his mother. This might sound a little bit challenging, but basically it means, you know, we would say, you know, when we say we're joking around, we might say that we're making light of a situation, yeah? Have you heard that before? We're making light of a situation. So, there might be a situation that's sad and heavy and burdensome, and then we kind of joke around just to alleviate that burden for a little bit. We say, we're making light of the situation. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, okay? The fact is, this child is being cursed, so obviously this is a negative thing, being cursed because he's set of light by his father or his mother, meaning he makes his parents like a light situation, like he mocks his parents, okay? Oh, yeah, mom, disrespect his parents. Like, there's no honor, there's no respect, all right, to world parents. He mocks his parents, he laughs at his parents. Another verse that goes very well with this is Proverbs chapter 30 verse 17. I'll just read it to you. Proverbs chapter 30 verse number 17. It says, the eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. So, another way that you can curse mother and father is by mocking your parents, all right? And, you know, and sometimes my parents, we laugh a little bit, but, you know, I'm laughing with them, I'm not laughing at them. Like, I don't come to church and go like, oh, you know, my dad is, you know, this and that, and, you know, he doesn't know, he's of an older generation, what do my parents know? You know, if you just make light of your parents like that, you just disrespect them, you dishonor them in public, you know, you just laugh at them and you just think they're complete buffoons and idiots, that's cursing your parents. You know, I don't care if your parents are unsaved, I don't care if your parents know nothing about the Bible, okay, I don't care if your parents were bad parents and you grew up in a broken home situation and they just, you know, they just failed in life, I guess. You know what, you're still required to honor your mother and father. You know, they've had more experience in life than you. They've loved you to bring you up, okay? Maybe the love wasn't perfect, they don't know any better, still honor them, still esteem them, still respect them, still love them just by being mother and father, mother for just bringing them into this world. You know, honor your parents, your dad, even if he's, you think of him as a bum. He's got experience, he's got some knowledge in this world. Hey, go to him and ask him for some wisdom, because he's got more than you, even if he doesn't have all the words of the Bible, even if he's not saved. You know, we should desire to honor our parents. I don't want you cursing mom and mother and father. Yeah, you might not strike out, you might not attack them physically. Yeah, you might not be that stubborn, drunk and rebellious son that doesn't listen to anything they say, but you might mock them, you might disregard them in that sense, and I don't want to see God to look upon you and think of you, man, you're just better off dead if you're going to behave that way. We should honor our parents. You say, Pastor Kevin, I grew up in a broken home, or I'm a broken home situation, or I'm a stepfather, I'm a stepmother, what about that situation? What if I've got step parents? Who do I listen to, Pastor Kevin? Do I listen to my biological parents or my step parents? Can you please turn to Matthew chapter 1 and verse number 20? Matthew chapter 1 and verse number 20. And I think the best example we have of step parents, I feel sad for step parents because I know they struggle, you know. I know several families where step parents can struggle a little bit because their children aren't really biologically theirs, and they know they've got authority, they know they should be listened, and sometimes even the children think, well, you're just my stepfather, you're just my stepmother, you know, and I've got my real father elsewhere, I've got my real mother elsewhere, and I need to be listening maybe to them instead of over you. And the best example we have of this is Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ had a stepfather. That stepfather was Joseph, right? Joseph who married Mary. Joseph was not his real father. We're not Jesus Christ's real father. He's the Heavenly Father, okay? But the Heavenly Father put Jesus Christ under the protection, under the leadership of Joseph, all right? Now, Matthew chapter 1, verse 20, let me just show you this. Matthew chapter 1, verse 20. Look at this. And thou, that's Joseph, and thou, Joseph, shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Hey, we know the name of Jesus Christ. We know the power of the name of Jesus Christ, and God saw fit that stepfather Joseph would have the honor to name that child that would be born from Mary Jesus, okay? So even though Joseph is a stepfather, he's got authority. He's got leadership. This child's going to grow up in his household. Go to Matthew chapter 2, please. Matthew chapter 2, verse number 13. Matthew chapter 2 and verse number 13. It says, That's the wise men. Once again, God honors the authority of Joseph. He sends his angels to Joseph. He says, look, Herod's going to seek to kill this child. Look, it's time for you to take your family and go to Egypt. Do you notice that the stepfather has authority in this place as well? Because the child's grown up in his home. The child's grown up in his household. Can you please go to Luke chapter 2 now? Go to Luke chapter 2 and verse number 51. Luke chapter 2 and verse number 51. Luke chapter 2 and verse number 51. The Bible reads, That's Jesus went down with Mary and Joseph. You know the story there where he was left behind in Jerusalem? But then it says, Jesus Christ was subject unto them. He was subject under his mother. He was subject under his stepfather Joseph. Did Jesus Christ honor his stepfather? Absolutely. Jesus Christ, he honored his father and his mother, even his stepfather. Even his earthly stepfather, he honored and was subject unto them. And this is the God of the universe. And he's got a stepfather. And he says, no, my stepfather has authority. He's the leader in his household. And so, I don't want anybody to think, well, I just grew up in a bit of a mixed situation. I've got step parents. Listen, whatever household you got brought up into, if the leader in your household is your stepfather, then you honor him as much as you honor your own father, your own biological father. Jesus Christ came. He set us an example. You follow after those examples. If you honor mother and father, keep this commandment, even honor your step parents that you may have in your life. Now, please go to John chapter 8, please. Go to John. Actually, you know what? I'll go to Malachi in the Old Testament. Go to the book of Malachi chapter 1. Malachi chapter 1. You turn to Malachi chapter 1. We're speaking about Christ and how he was subject to his stepfather. He was subject to his mother. But he was also subject to his heavenly father. And while you turn to Malachi chapter 1, I'll read to you from John chapter 8 verse 48. John chapter 8 verse 48. It says, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hath a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil, but I honor my father, and ye do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory, there is one that seeketh and judgeth. I love the words of Christ there. He says, but I honor my father. The reason Christ came to this earth, Reverend, was to die to death, to die for the sins of mankind, to do the works of God. The father gave Christ the work to do. The father gave the words to Jesus Christ that he would preach. And by doing what the father wanted, in obedience, he says, I honored my father. Praise God. Christ again sent us that perfect example. You want to honor the heavenly father? You know what? Start by honoring your earthly parents. It's a good place to start. Little children, this is where you can start. Please go to Malachi chapter 1. You're there already probably. Malachi chapter 1. Look at verse number 6. These are the words of God. Now, I'll give you a quick snapshot of what Malachi is about. So we've been going through Jeremiah. We know that the Jews were taken into captivity. We know at the end of 70 years, they would be brought back. And when they were brought back, they rebuilt Jerusalem, they rebuilt a new temple, they were back on fire for God, they were serving God. But maybe it's estimated, maybe about 100 years later, we're in the time of Malachi. And guess what? The Jews are back to their old ways. They're back to just not doing things the right way. They're back to being rebellious against God. And this is what God has to say about them here in Malachi chapter 1, verse number 6. God says, a son honoreth his father. This should be a given. A son honoreth his father. And a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is mine honor? So as I'm going through this commandment, commandment on five, honor your mother and father, yes. Our earthly parents, absolutely. But maybe you're in a situation where you don't have earthly parents. But we all definitely have a father. We have a father in heaven, and we are to give honor to our Lord. In what? How do we give honor to God? Well, let's keep going. And if I be a master, where is my fear? Hey, we are to fear God. You want to honor God? Hey, start by fearing God. Save the Lord of hosts unto you. Oh, priest, look at this. That despise my name, and you say, we're in heaven, we despise thy name. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar. So they're doing the sacrifices, they're doing the ceremonial things that they have to do in the house of God. But instead of using the best bread, hey, they're eating their own best bread, they're just using polluted bread for the house of God. And you say, wherein have we polluted thee, in that you say the table of the Lord is contemptible. Look at this. And you offer the blind for sacrifice? Is it not evil? Hey, you know when people were to bring an animal sacrifice to the Lord? It was to be the best. It was to be one that was not lame, not blind. Why? Because they pictured Jesus Christ, who was the best. Jesus Christ was perfect without any sin. That's why they're meant to bring the best, because these pictures, Jesus Christ and what are they doing? They're bringing the blind. They're going, oh, you know what, these sheep, they're not very well. They're going to die anyway, right? They're no good for us. Let's offer them for sacrifices. Is it not evil? And you offer the lame and sick? Is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor? Will he be pleased with thee? Hey, you go to the guy in charge, you know, your mayor, your premier, your prime minister, you offer him the lame and sick. Lamb, you think he's going to be happy with you? Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person, save the Lord of hosts? So we end with Malachi chapter 1, verse number 6, because we are commanded to also honor our Heavenly Father in heaven. But how do we honor him? Well, you bring the best. You do the best you can, all right? You come to the house of God and we honor him with our lips, with our praises, with our singing. We offer our sacrifice of praise. Give your best, brethren. Sing the best you can, yeah? You know, you live a life that honors and pleases God. Just do the best you can in the works that God has given you. You've got soul winning. Do the best you can, brethren. Get your plans together. Know your verses. Have a heart for the lost. For the lost, just do the best. Give him the best of your sacrifices. And by doing it, brethren, you are honoring our Heavenly Father. You say, oh, man, I've got to go to church. You know, you just come with a rebellious attitude. Oh, man, I've got to be in the house of God again. Oh, man, I kind of want to have this Sunday to myself. I want to have this midweek service to myself. You're not giving your best to the Lord. And, look, I know midweek services are hard for some people. I don't expect everybody to turn up. But, look, if it's straightforward for you, you've got time, you're after work and all that, you know, you're able to come, come to the house of God, give your best, even if you're tired. I'm tired right now. I don't know about you, but I'm tired. You know, I'm trying to give my best in how I preach. Hey, yeah, for those of you that get behind this pulpit, preaching, give your best. Those of you that get behind this pulpit, song leading, give your best. Yeah, prepare beforehand. Learn the songs. Know them well so you can be the best song leader you can be. Let's honor our Father, which is in heaven. And so, as I said, you know, the summary, I guess, of this commandment, you know, it teaches us the importance of giving honor to those that have come before. And, please, not, yes, give your best. That's what it means to honor. Children, give your best to your parents. Obey your parents. Do that which is right. When your parents ask you to clean up your room, do the best job you can. Don't do, like, the minimal job, well, I've done it, but then your room's still dusty, your toys aren't in its place. You know, you do your chores and you just do the minimum, complete minimum. That's not giving your best. That's dishonoring your mother and father. And, again, when it comes to our Heavenly Father, let's give our best to Him. Let's give our best sacrifices to the Lord God as well. Okay, let's pray.