SERIES: IRON MAN
PART ONE: THE LEARNING CURVE
I love superheroes. How many of you ever put a cape around your neck when you were a kid and pretended to fly? Remember all of the superheroes in comic books and cartoons? Then there have been all of the superheroes movies superman, superwoman.. batman, etc. In all of them there was the battle for truth, justice and the American way. So, Americans still enjoy those kinds of movies when they come out. Any of you remember a movie that came out some time ago about a super hero? Iron Man.
Iron Man was a comic book series started by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics back in the 60’s. It was the story of a technological genius who’d been making weapons for the military but who began to realize that some of his weapons were being sold to bad guys. Iron man’s suit wasn’t made of iron, but the image of an iron suit symbolized the virtual invulnerability of this hero to bullets, rockets and bombs big enough to level New York City. In his suit, Iron Man could fly, generate beams of energy and shoot his own array of bullets and rockets at the bad guys.
But, as with all movies about superheroes, one of the fun things is to watch how they go through the process of learning about their powers. There’s a learning curve they have to go through to reach their full potential. Iron Man leans how to use his suit.
In Scripture God uses Iron for a number of images. And amongst those imges are the ideas that iron represents strength and endurance. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” When we become Christians God placed within us the power of iron. Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” That power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and it’s in each one of us who belong to Christ. God’s Spirit has placed iron in our souls and it gives us the ability to be strong and endure many of the difficulties of life.
But we need to remember that we don’t start out that way. We don’t start our walk with God knowing how to utilize the power of His Spirit. There is a learning curve for us too that we need to go through so that we can be sharpened and have all of the qualities of iron we need in our lives. So how do we do that? How do we take that quality of iron God has placed inside us and make it all that it can be?
First We Need Someone To Help Us Grow In Our Faith
That’s what it told us in Proverbs 27, “so one man sharpens another.” And God teaches us that when we become a Christian. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commands us to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” God kinds of sets it up that we need another Christian to guide us through the beginnings of our faith.
Teresa went down to NC a couple of weeks ago and on the way back she went to the Billy Graham Museum. He’s 92 now and his health hasn’t been good, but he’s touched so many lives over the years. On one of the place mats where you ate lunch was the story of a man named Patterson who along with Billy’s father was praying out in the field one day. As Billy walked by at the age of about 15 he heard him praying that God would raise up someone from Charlotte, NC that would preach the Gospel all over the world. Little did Billy know that later on it would be him. If you’ve never seen the movie Billy Graham The Early Years you should get it. After he became a Christian he had many in his life that discipled him. And the same is true for us.
I had a special couple that after I became a Christian would encourage us to go to different things to learn to grow. We went to conferences, teachings at different places. They were always there for me helping me on my Christian walk. They were sharpening my iron. It’s also what we ask of parents when they come and have their babies baptized. They vow before God that they will seek to raise the child to learn about what this faith is all about. Sad to say though that many don’t follow through. Why is that? Many times its because the parents may not even be Christians. It’s looked upon that somehow it just has to be done.
And so when someone becomes a Christian we are suppose to help them grow in their faith. It’s what the Great Commission is all about.
Secondly, We Need The Church To Help Us Grow In Our Faith
God involves us with one another. It’s the way He established the church. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Jesus died for the church to establish the body of believers that you belong to. Part of the reason He went to the Cross was to create an atmosphere where we could sharpen the iron in those who worship with us.
That means it’s not true that you can be just as good a Christian without going to church. You can’t simply say, “Well, I’m there in Spirit….but I don’t have to be there in body.” At this university they had a policy that if the professor was 10 minutes late for the class it could be cancelled. One day a professor put his hot on his desk and then went to the faculty room. He apparently lost track of time and when he arrived back at the class he was 10 minutes late and found the room empty. He was furious. When the class met again the next time he informed the students that “When my hat is here, I’m here!” His class learned their lesson well. The following day the professor arrived at 9 am and found 25 hats on the desks…but no students.
There hats were there…………….they were there in spirit…….but not in body. But they weren’t really in class. They weren’t behaving as true students should. They weren’t going to learn anything……because they weren’t there. And as Christians, we’re not going to gain anything if we’re not together with the church. So we need to be in church, but even that isn’t enough.
Third, We Need To Put Something Into Church
Have you ever known a student who goes to class and doesn’t learn anything? Of course you have. Well, a Christian can come to the church building and get nothing out of worship. Why? Because Jesus designed the church to be a place not where we get something out of it, but that we put something into it. Heb 10:24-25 instructs us to “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” You see – the purpose of church is to sharpen the iron that God has placed within us.
Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” That means that your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ NEED you. The Bible repeatedly drives home the fact that we need to BE THERE for each other. • 1Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to “… encourage one another and build each other up…” Romans 15:1 says “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
Romans 12:15 says we should “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” • And Galatians 6:1-2 says “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” We need to be there for each other, because we NEED each other. We’ll never attain the fullness of Christ until we understand that significant fact.
2 Corinthians 3:18 has an interesting insight: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Glory to glory. It’s like a person on a staircase, climbing up into God’s presence… glory unto glory. Every step they took was an accomplishment. Every step they took brought them up higher… closer to God. But that image also told me something about our responsibilities to each other.
• Some people are a several steps up the staircase.
• Some are on the first step or two.
Unfortunately there are those who look down on those on the lower steps and they wonder why all those other folks aren’t as spiritual as they are, or attend Sunday School as often as they do, or understand how to tithe like they do.
But that’s not how God wants us to look at others in the church. If others are lower down on the staircase than you are… your job is to help them up the stairs. God expects you and I to reach down and take them by the hand and encourage them. To urge them on to greater deeds of love and good works. God expects us to sharpen each other… to bring out the quality of iron that God has placed inside us. In fact, this is so important to God… that’s He’s watching. Hebrews 6:10 tells us “God… will not forget … the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
God’s watching… He takes this seriously Back when He made a covenant with Abraham, He told him “I will bless those who bless you… and I will curse those who curse you.” He was telling Abraham “I’m watching. I’m paying attention if others treat you well, or if they don’t. And in the New Testament, God repeated this promise In Matthew 10:42 Jesus said “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." What’s that mean? = I will bless those who bless My people
In 2 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul writes “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.” What’s that mean? I will curse those who curse you. And that’s easy to understand. If you are nice to my kids… I’m inclined to be nice to you. But if you hurt one of my kids… you better look out!
Lastly, God Expects Us To Be Nice To Each Other…Build Each Other Up
But that’s not always easy to do. As one person said: “It’s easy to be an angel when
nobody is ruffling your feathers. It’s easy to be kind to other Christians when they’re doing things I agree with. When they’re not offending me. When they haven’t sinned against me… etc, etc. But Jesus has a couple of rules about that
What if I’ve sinned against a brother/sister? What should I do? (go to them)
Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Don’t even bother trying to offer a gift to God if your brother/ sister in Christ has been offended by you. Go make it right.
Now, what if a brother/sister sins against me? What if they tick me off? What does Jesus say I have to do? Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” You are to GO to them. Not to argue with them/or beat them over the head with your Bible. Your objective should be to win them over. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve sinned against them - or they’ve sinned against you - YOU have to go to them and get things right. WHY? Because God wants us to sharpen each other… He wants us to help each other.
Now… how many of you agree with Jesus on this? (ask for a show of hands). I’m glad you do. But it’s one thing to SAY you agree with Jesus, it’s quite another to commit yourself to obeying Him in matters such as this. So what I’m going to ask you to do today is to make a vow before God. A vow is a very serious thing, and God will hold you accountable if you break it. The vow I’m asking you to make today is that if another Christian offends you (preacher, elders, Sunday School teachers, fellow Christians of any stripe) that you will go to them and try to make it right. You’ll be vowing not to talk about them behind their backs or to convince others of how badly this person has mistreated you. You will go to them and try to win them over.
SERIES: IRON MAN
Part Two: “A Wolf In Iron Clothing”
Matthew 7:15
Last week we looked at superheroes. We talked about a comic book hero by the name of Iron Man. There are many superheroes such as superman, superwoman, batman, spiderman. And something you can count on in each one of them is that they always have a super villain….an enemy who almost matches them in their abilities and skills. Superman has Luther, Batman has the Joker, and Spiderman has the Green Goblin. And they are fairly easy to spot. I mean they’re bad guys…they look like bad guys.
But the Bible tells us our enemy isn’t so easy to spot. When we think of our enemy many tend to think of some guy standing around in a red suit with a tail and a pitchfork. But in II Corinthians 11:14 it tells us, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” He looks almost righteous, almost religious. In other words, you’ll not always know he’s evil by how he looks. Even false teachers don’t always show up with snake oil and a handlebar mustache.
Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” We are to look out for false prophets. They look like the flock. They have wool just like the other sheep. A few weeks ago a man who is the head of a ministry announce that Judgment Day was coming on May 21st. They spent millions on advertising the end of the world. Had people on the board walk in NJ. Billboards……one man in NY spend his whole life savings ($ 140,000) on advertising about it. This minister said, “He searched the Bible and calculated it as that date. Well, we’re still here! When asked about why it didn’t happen he simply said, “Our calculations must have been wrong.” Now he says it is going to happen in November. That my friends is a false prophet. God’s Word says no one, not even Jesus, knows the exact time it will happen. Only God does and so don’t believe things like that.
Paul is warning the Elders at Ephesus that some of those wolves would show up from amongst their leadership. “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
In Iron Man I movie the villain was Stark’s (the hero’s) supposed friend and mentor. Through the first part of the movie he looked like a friend, he acted like a friend, he talked like a friend. He even looked like he was protecting the hero. But inside, he was seething with anger and rage. Underneath, he desired to destroy the man who stood in the way of his power. Iron Man confronts Obadiah on the street and is thrown into the bus, to the point where Obadiah ices up and Start says, “Did you ever solve that ice problem…think about it” and then thumps him. Stark’s adversary Obadiah felt the Iron Man was his enemy. The hero stood in his way to rightful leadership of the company. “For 30 years I’ve built up this company. Now no one’s going to get in my way! Especially, you!” The hero was someone to be destroyed so that Obadiah could attain his true right power. In order to deal with the Stark, Obadiah had developed a suit that looked very much like Iron Man’s so that he even looked like the hero….but he wasn’t. He was just a wolf in iron clothing.
WHAT’S THE TRUE NATURE OF WOLVES?
First They Look Like Us
The wolves Jesus and Paul talk about look like us. You can tell who the Jehovah Witnesses are. They hand out the funny looking tracts. You can recognize the Mormon missionaries. They’re the ones wearing white shirts and ties. And you know the Hari Krisna types by the flowers in their hair. But these wolves look like us. That’s because they often are us. They’re often part of the family. It could be an Elder, a Preacher, a Sunday School Teacher. It could be me…..it could be you and that’s crazy.
Second They Feel They Are Right
Often they don’t realize they are wolves. They are so convinced they are right, nothing else matters. And so, we might actually end up being wolves without realizing it. How many of you here would like to be a wolf? Of course you wouldn’t. Jesus didn’t call us to be wolves; He called us to be His sheep.
Third They Tend To Destroy Anything In Their Way To Get Their Way
There’s a song that a goes: “I want to be a sheep, baa baa. I don’t want to be a wolf, I want to be a sheep. Jesus called me to be a sheep not a wolf. Sheep and wolves are natural enemies. But if wolves can arise among our number, and if those wolves could end up being you or me, how do I recognize when I’ve stopped being a sheep and become a wolf? You want your own way. You’ve stepped over the line when you find that you are consumed with power and influence. Paul tells us in Vs. 30, that these wolves, “Distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” These folks want the church run “their way.” The rest of the church should be their disciples, and if they’re not they’re either fools or heretics. The one phrase they use a lot is “This is my Church.” It belongs to them. It should be run their way. But there’s a problem, it isn’t their Church. Whose Church is it? Jesus’. Paul tells the Elders from Ephesus in Acts 20:28, “Be shepherds of the church of God, which HE bought with HIS own blood.” But wolves don’t think that way. If they can’t get their own way in church matters, they tend to forget whose church it is.
There was a mom who told the story of a church she attended. Some of the more wealthy members of the congregation wanted to fire the preacher. He wasn’t doing things the way they wanted it done….and one of the members wanted his son, who was a Youth Minister at the time, to take over. The preacher stood against them and they eventually left in a huff. But that wasn’t the end of it. They began to send e-mails to other members of the congregation trying to get them to leave too. According to this mom, the e-mails were fairly nasty. And though this group never got anyone else to leave, they left scars on that congregation that they’re still trying to heal.
Paul Also Tells Us These Wolves “Distort The Truth”
Truth is often one of the first victims of wolves. Distortion of truth can sometimes be false doctrine. In a church there was a man teaching a Wednesday night Bible Study and taught that Jesus was not the Son of God. The Pastor was appalled and approached the Elders, who knew all about it. He asked them why they didn’t deal with the matter. They told the pastor that the man threatened to leave, if he couldn’t teach the way he wanted, and would take a bunch of people with him. The pastor took the Elders and taught them what the Bible had to say and eventually they agreed he had to be dealt with. They confronted him, he made good on his threat, and he left and took one family with him.
Many times they don’t care who they hurt. Acts 20:20 says, “Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” When the wolves attack the flock it scatters. It can be done by sending out nasty emails where they try to convince others to follow them. They’ll attack the character of the pastor, elders, or anyone else who opposes them. Why? Because the flock isn’t as important to the wolves as getting their own way. They don’t really care who they hurt along the way. They’ll tell you that they love Jesus…..but do they? If they really did they would care more about the church, His bride. They are right and that’s all that matters
Sometimes those wolves can be the leadership of the church that is heretical. What if they are teaching false doctrine or allowing immorality to run rampant in the church. We see it all over today don’t we in the news. Senators, Congressmen, Church Leaders. My friend’s, heresy and immorality must be dealt with and in my ministry I’ve had to deal with each of them once or twice. But you have to be very careful in how you deal with it, because you are still dealing with the Bride of Christ.
How Do You Deal With It?
The best example of someone who did it the right way was a person who understood the
mind of God and was described as a man after the heart of God…….David. Did David ever have to deal with a leader who was immoral, who directly disobeyed God, who was tormented by demons? Yes he did………..it was a man named King Saul who repeatedly sought to kill David. Do you recall how David dealt with this wicked King?
II Samuel 24:1-13 tells the story. “After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert."So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, ‘This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’" Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, ‘The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.’ With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD’s anointed."
See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.”
David confronted Saul about his wickedness. Heresy, immorality must be confronted and called what it is. If you are in the position of Eldership or pastor, you should use your position of responsibility to deal with that sin, perhaps removing such people from church membership or leadership. But even then you have to be careful. Notice that David refused to destroy Saul, even when it was in his power to do so. He identified this kind of behavior with evil. He withheld his hand because Saul was the Lord’s anointed. And in the same way every Christian is anointed by God because when we became Christians, the Spirit of God came and dwelt inside our hearts. His presence confirmed our relationship with God the Father. So if I hurt or damage another Christian I might be guilty of wrongdoing.
David trusted God. He said in Vs. 12, “May the Lord Judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me.” He was quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35 where it says, “It is mine to avenge, I will repay.”
Romans 12:19 repeats that in slightly different words: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine,’ saith the Lord, ‘I will repay.” When we have the authority to discipline a wayward member, or Elder or preacher, we should do so, but we must still be careful how we deal with it, because we may very well find ourselves opposing God or getting His way. We might find ourselves becoming wolves rather than sheep.
Closing
Somas years ago an evangelist was holding a Revival at a church that was in turmoil. The Preacher of the congregation wasn’t quite as good as he should have been. People were leaving and the church was it was struggling. This evangelist was well known and respected, so a group from the church asked him to come and talk with them. But the moment he stepped into the room he found himself faced with a crowd of very angry people. They hadn’t asked him there to help them “solve the problem” – they were looking for someone who would listen to their grievances and assure them that they were RIGHT. As he sized up the situation… this was a not a good thing.
He looked out over the assembled group and asked "Who is the leader of this group." A man toward the back raised his hand and said: "I am,” The evangelist smiled and then said “Well, I expect that you have gathered because you are a group of spiritual people who are concerned about your preacher’s many faults?" In response the group began to list off a series of rather small complaints that taken together mounted up to an almost insurmountable challenge.
"Well then," said the Evangelist, "since you are spiritual people, then the scripture from Galatians 6 should be your guide "Brothers, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual should restore that one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, less you be tempted also. The leader practically sprang out of his chair "I’m not about to restore that preacher!" "Well then," the preacher responded, "by this you are indicating that you are either unspiritual or rebellious... which is it?" At this, the man stormed out of the room. A woman was in tears and said "But so many are leaving..." The Evangelist responded "The Bible calls us a BODY. My body loses cells all the time. It’s only when cells get together in an unauthorized group that it becomes a cancer and that can lead to weakness and death." He continued by noting that if they continued in their action that their rebellion against the preacher would lead to their teenagers rebelling against Christianity.
SERIES: IRON MAN
Part Three: “Building On The Foundation
A foundation is very important when building a building or home or anything. There was a new art building at Ohio State University that was built. It was a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality. The building had no pattern. Staircases that went nowhere. Pillars that supported nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect how he saw life. It went nowhere and it was mindless and senseless. Someone once asked the guide, “Did they do the same with the foundation?” The guide laughed and said, “Oh, you can’t do that with a foundation. Any contractor will tell you that a building is only as good as its foundation. If the foundation is faulty the building is doomed. But if the foundation is solid, the building will stand a long time.
Jesus tells us that everyone builds on some kind of foundation, but not every foundation
For example, He tells the parable of two men who build on different foundations. A wise man built upon a foundation of rock and his house stood in the storm. But the foolish man built his house on a foundation of sand and the rain washed it away.
In the story of Iron Man, we meet a man named Tony Stark who he finds that he’s been building on the wrong foundation, and wants to make a change. Starks Industries had been built by the hero’s father. His Dad had laid the foundation for the company and set the course of what they manufactured. It was that foundation that allowed Tony Stark to be the wealthy man and it was that foundation that allowed him to create the hero he became. The Bible tells us that we all have a foundation laid for us by our fathers. And God apparently expects us to build properly on that foundation. Proverbs 23:24-25 tells us, “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.” Ephesians 6:2-3 declares, “Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on the earth.” There is a promise in this Scripture for us all. God expects us to honor our fathers and our mothers.
My dad was real easy to honor. He was a strong man who always tried to do what was right. He had his own way of allowing God in his life and decisions. I always looked up to him and admired the kind of person and dad that he was. But, I must admit, I didn’t always honor him as I should have. I didn’t always show him the respect and thanks he deserved. So even though we are commanded to honor our fathers, I didn’t always do it well. The question before us this morning, it being Father’s Day, is how can I honor my father properly, even if they are no longer alive? There are four ways that we can honor our fathers.
First Is To Work At Finding A Way To Fulfill Their Dreams
In I Kings 5 we find that Solomon has built on the foundation of HIS father David. He told Hiram, the king of Tyre, that he intended to build on the foundation that HIS father had laid. David had dreamed of building a beautiful Temple for God but had been unable to do so because he was always at war with other nations. But now, Solomon has the ability and resources to fulfill his father’s dreams and he is going to build a Temple to glorify God. And because Solomon honored his father in this way God honored Solomon by allowing him to build a Temple that lasted for centuries. The Temple he built was destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times but neither of the rebuilt Temples equaled the physical beauty and majesty of the first. All because Solomon honored his father by his decision.
Second Way To Honor Our Dads Is To Not Bring Up Weaknesses
David was a great man and a hero. A man after God’s own heart and the author of most of the book of Psalms. But if Solomon had wanted to, he could have given us a laundry list of all the things his father had done wrong in his life. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, who later became the mother of Solomon. He arranged for a man to be killed on the battle front so he could have Bathsheba. And David was often a miserable failure as a parent. With the exception of Solomon, almost all of his sons were disappointments. But Solomon never recited his father’s failings. In fact, it’s in his book of Proverbs 20:20 it says, “If a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.” This should be our attitude towards our fathers as well. So Solomon taught us not to recite our dad’s failings. Not to air their dirty laundry. And not to replay every wrong thing they’ve done or said.
Third Way To Honor Our Fathers Is By Focusing On Things They Did Right
When Solomon spoke to King Hiram, he explained that the reason he wanted to build the Temple was because that was his father’s dream. David did a lot of things that were good, but there was one thing that David did that caught Solomon’s attention. There was one thing that was good and righteous and worth building on and that one thing was to build a temple for God. In Solomon’s mind this was one of the greatest things his father could ever have accomplished.
God took seriously the matter of honoring our fathers and mothers. Paul tells us that the command to honor our fathers and mothers was the only one of the 10 Commandments with a promise. And that promise was: “So that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Why would God include a promise with this specific commandment? Why make a promise for this commandment, but not for the others?
Because dads aren’t always that easy to honor. Sometimes fathers are difficult men to be around. How many of you who are fathers here have ever made mistakes. We all fall short. Even some of the best fathers will make mistakes. Why? Because dads aren’t always that easy to honor.
A group of 10 year olds were asked what troubled them about their dads. One, they make promises, then they forget all about them, or else they say “it wasn’t really a promise, just a maybe.” Two, they don’t do things they’re always telling the children to do, like pick up their things, or be neat, or always tell the truth. Three, they never really listen to what children have to say. Four, they make mistakes, but they won’t admit them. Five, they interrupt children all the time and think nothing of it. But if the child interrupts their dad, he gets a scolding or something worse. Six, sometimes they punish children unfairly.
I don’t care how good a father you are; sooner or later you’re going to mess up in one of those areas. But there are other dads who’ve done a lot worse. There are fathers who haven’t just messed up a little bit; they’ve destroyed any trust their kids might have in them. How could a son/daughter possibly honor them……people like that? Well, it is hard to do and that’s why God included the promise. Apparently, God believes that honoring our parents is crucial for our well being. Otherwise He wouldn’t have made such a big deal about it. But why does He expect me to honor my dad, even if he’s not worthy of it?
First Because God Asked us To
God said so and that should be enough for most of us. Leviticus 19:3 says, “Each of you must respect his mother or father…I am the LORD your God.” In other words: “Show respect to your parents because I’m your God and I asked you to.” If it’s important to God, it should be important to me, because I love God.
Secondly God Is Telling Us We’ll Miss Out On His Blessings If We Don’t
This is the only commandment with a blessing. It’s like the story I told you about before where the boy who graduated didn’t like the Bible his father gave him for a graduation present. He wanted a new car. His father and he didn’t see each other for years. When his father died, he was going through his possessions and came across the Bible and found that inside was a check for the exact amount of the car in wanted. The gift was there all along, but he turned away. What a shame it would be for us to turn away from the promises of our heavenly Father because our earthly fathers might had done things to disappoint us.
Third How I Treat My Father/Mother Influences My Character
Proverbs 30:11:14 tells us, “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their faith; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.”
These folks are all the same people. The same people who curse their parents are the same ones who are ‘pure in their own eyes’, whose ‘glances are disdainful.’ They tend to be proud and difficult people to be around and they can often mistreat others, because they’ve learned to mistreat those were part of their own family. Why would that happen?
We need to understand that God knows that how we respond to our parents forms us. How we treat our dad is how we’ll treat others in life. That how we think about our dads shapes how we think about others. Many counselors have made an observation that if you watch how boys and girls treat their parents you will know how they’ll treat their wives and husbands. A boy who treats his mother well and shows her respect will treat his wife that same way. But if he’s mean to his mother/disrespectful, he’ll almost always mistreat his wife. A girl who respects her father will respect her husband; if she argues with her dad, she’ll argue with her husband. They learned how to treat their potential spouses by the way they learned to respond to their parents while they were at home.
The reason it works that way is because we can’t really get away from dad or mom. Your folks are part of the foundation of who you are. They are a part of you. Their DNA is intertwined in yours. The decisions they’ve made, good and bad, affect how you make your decisions now.
So, if I learn to honor my dad, whether he’s a great dad or not, it will shape my personality so that I learn how to respond to others around me. And if I learn to do that God’s way, my life will be better than it would have been. I’ll live long in the land God has given me, because I’ve learned to live right.
Last Reason To Honor My Dad Is Because God Expects Us To Minister To Them
In Ephesians 5 & 6, Paul talks about how we should minister to each other. He talks about how wives should minister to their husbands. He says wives should respect their husbands, even if they don’t deserve it. He tells husbands how they should minister to their wives and love them, even if they don’t deserve it. He talks about employees or slaves and how they should minister to their employers or masters. To work for them as if they were working for Jesus Christ Himself, even if they don’t deserve it. And he talks about employers or masters and how they should minister to their employees or slaves with an eye towards who their Master is, even if they don’t deserve it.
Then, Paul talks to us about how we should minister to our parents. We should honor our parents, even when they don’t deserve it. Ephesians 6: 2 again says, “Honor your father and mother”, which is the first commandment with a promise. God is saying to us who are Christians, be MY ministers to your fathers. Not because they deserve it, because many times they don’t, but because that is our way of showing God’s love to them. And if your mom and dad are not Christians, you might even influence them to change their lives because you’ve obeyed God in this matter.
In Conclusion
So, these are the ways we can honor our fathers today. Find a way to fulfill one of their dreams. Whenever you speak of them, don’t complain about them and don’t bring up the past. And find ways of focusing on things they’ve done right in their lives. And Minister to them. Ultimately, God wants you as HIS servant to find a way to bring His love into their lives. In closing I’d like to tell you the story of Zig Ziggler. He took his young son did that for him. He had taken his son golfing and the boy was still relatively new to the game, so Zig was very impressed by his son's performance on one of the par 4 holes.
At the tee, the boy lifted the ball straight and true down the fairway. A second shot got him onto the green within 14 feet of the cup. Wanting his son to succeed, he went to great trouble in sighting the shot for him and gauging the lie of putt and then told his son just how he ought to play it. His son stepped up to the ball and putted the ball perfectly into the cup just as his father had taught him. His first birdie.
Then it was Zig's turn. He also had made the green in 2 shots but his putt was far easier. For a moment he considered flubbing the shot so that he would not overshadow his son's achievement… but then he decided against it because it would go against everything he had taught his son about doing his best. He sank the putt easily and also birdied the hole. As they were walking away to the next tee, Zig casually asked his son "Well, son, were you rooting for me on that last shot." "Dad," the boy replied, "I always root for you."
