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Blessings to Honor Your Parents

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[Ephesians 6:1-3]

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" --which is the first commandment with a promise-- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

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Through Moses, God directly carved the ten commandments that God's people must obey on the stone tablets. We call this the “Ten Commandments”.

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The Ten Commandments are largely divided into two orders. Commandments 1 through 4 are commands we must keep against God.

[Exodus 20:3] You shall have no other gods before Me.

[Exodus 20:4-5] You shall make no idols.

[Exodus 20:7] You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

[Exodus 20:8] Keep the Sabbath day holy.

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And the 5th to 10th commandments are orders to be kept against our neighbors.

[Exodus 20:12] Honor your father and your mother.

[Exodus 20:13] You shall not murder.

[Exodus 20:14] You shall not commit adultery.

[Exodus 20:15] You shall not steal.

[Exodus 20:16] You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

[Exodus 20:17] You shall not covet.

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Of the six commandments to be done to our neighbors, the first commandment given in order is to honor our parents. In Ephesians, honoring parents is the first commandment with promises guaranteed.

[Ephesians 6:1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

[Ephesians 6:2] "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--

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In addition, the Ephesians Bible says that two distinct blessings are promised to children who honor their parents.

[Ephesians 6:3] "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

The first promised that they would bless their work well, and the second promised that they would bless their lives on earth.

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God's promises to us are fulfilled. Today, we want to meet a blessed person who is blessed on the earth by honoring his parents among Bible characters.

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The first one is “David”, the great king of Israel. David's father was a man named Jesse. David was Jesse's eighth son.

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There was a great war between Israel and the Philistines. The sons of Jesse were on the battlefield as soldiers in the war. David's father, Jesse, was worried about his sons on the battlefield.

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Jesse entrusted his eighth son, David, to make sure his sons were safe.

“Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them.”

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The battlefield was a dangerous place for young David. However, David obeyed his father's words without complaint. David went to the battlefield and delivered food to his brothers as his father Jesse said.

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On the battlefield, where his father went to deliver food to his brothers, David defeated Goliath, the enemy who had troubled Israel. This made David famous among Israel. God later exalted David to become the king of Israel.

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Another person is ‘Timothy’. Timothy grew up as a child of faith through his mother 'Eunice' and his grandmother 'Lois'. These two women tried to pass on their faith to Timothy.

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. Timothy obeyed the two of them and obeyed the teaching. He was eager to learn and learn the Word of God and to have the right faith. Paul later said to Timothy: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (2 Timothy 1:5)

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God used Timothy preciously as a child to obey his mother and grandmother's faith training. God made him a partner on a missionary journey with Paul. Also, as a pastor, He made a person who lives a precious life to share the gospel of God.

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God's promise that people who honor their parents will do well on the earth will be fulfilled. David and Timothy are the representatives of God's promises. Believing in Jesus and becoming a child of God, we must strive to honor our parents even more. Honoring your parents is a delight in God. God blesses humble people who honor their parents to do well on earth.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)