Memorial Day Sunday

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Today is Family Sunday at Church On The Rock. How do we determine which Sundays are Family Sundays? Normally each month will have only 4 Sundays. However, about 4 times each year a month will end up with 5 Sundays. We plan these Sundays to give our Children’s Church team and our families a chance to worship together in what they call “Big Church.”

Family Sunday is a time when we take advantage of the opportunity for families to worship and hear the word together. For those of you joining us at ChurchOnline, take some time, if possible, to interact with your younger family members during this service to insure they understand why we attend and support the Church and what the message is about.

This morning we are going to be going to the New Testament Gospel of Luke, specifically chapter 22. The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, give us details about the birth, life, ministry, death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Today’s message will be taken from the evening just prior to Jesus being arrested in Jerusalem.

Jesus was 33½ years old at this time. He wanted to enjoy eating one “Last Supper” with His 12 disciples who were also His friends. This meal was a very important meal … it was the annual Passover meal which was commissioned by God for the Children of Israel to remember all that God did through Moses to deliver their ancestors from bondage to Pharoah in Egypt.

Every year since Moses, about 1500 years before Christ, the whole nation of Israel had observed the Feast of Passover to remember how God had delivered and blessed them. It was even a command of God that the people observe this Feast every year on a special day so that they and their children would never forget.

During this special Passover meal that year in Jerusalem, Jesus called for the group to give Him their full attention. We pick up with the actual account in:

Luke 22: 19  And Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

About 20 years later the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Church in Corinth and recounted that moment. Paul instructed the Church on what Jesus did and what He meant. As well, Paul told us that we also should follow these same instructions as a way of teaching and remembering what Jesus did and how Jesus willingly gave His life for us.

1 Corinthians 11

24  And when Jesus had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

25  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

In the Old Testament period, God wanted the Children to Israel to set aside a special day each year to remember what He had done for them and how He had delivered them from Egypt. At the Last Supper Jesus told His friends to also set aside a time to remember what it cost Him to pay for their freedom from sin, sickness, poverty, and the defeat.

What did it cost Jesus to save your soul and set your free? It cost Him His life. And the hope of Christ is that we would not forget what He did.

1 Corinthians 11:26  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Remembering what it cost and honoring the sacrifices made by others for us is an attribute of the Godly. Jesus said:

John 15:13  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

I am so grateful to God and thankful to Jesus who gave His life for me, so that I could be saved, delivered, set free, and be blessed. Salvation and eternal life come only through faith in Jesus Christ as we call upon His name for forgiveness of our sins and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

Remembrance and thanksgiving, however, do not stop there.

We dare not put men on the same pedestal as Christ nor worship them as we do our eternal Savior, but we do, and by the grace of God we should, give our thanks and show our gratitude to those who also laid down their lives for us because of their great love.

Tomorrow, Monday, May the 30^th, the United States of America will observe Memorial Day 2022. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a federal holiday designated for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.

For 102 years, (1868 to 1970), Decoration Day, as it was called, was celebrated on the 30^th day of May each year. It was originally established in honor and remembrance of those American soldiers who died in the Civil War. However, after WW I and WW II, the day broadened its scope to include all U.S. military from all branches of the armed services who gave their lives in defense of our nation.

In 1971 Congress standardized the holiday as “Memorial Day” and set its observance to the last Monday in May. This year the observance falls on the same date as originally set by General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic 154 years ago – May 30^th.

We are a grateful nation and although we deeply appreciate and owe a great debt of thanks to all of our U.S. military veterans and have designated a day to celebrate their service each November 11^th, Memorial Day is not that day. If you thank a veteran for his or her service tomorrow, they will no doubt smile and be gracious and kind, however, we all know that Memorial Day is not about us, it is about those honored brothers and sisters who bravely and willingly gave their all for us and will never come home again.

The Bible records God pronouncing judgment on the nation and the people of Amalek. God was angry with them and decided to do to them one of the worst things possible. 

Exodus 17:14  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

God wanted His children to know that one of the worst things imaginable would be to be forgotten. This shall not be the testimony of America.

We are a Christian nation, founded on the principles of God’s Word and destined to accomplish the purpose to which we have been called. And as I said earlier, we are a grateful nation, and we will never forget.

However you choose to spend the holiday tomorrow, I encourage you to include a time to remember those who gave their lives so you could enjoy the benefits and fruits of living in America. Say a prayer of thanksgiving and teach your children and your children’s children the meaning of Memorial Day and the need to remember. 

We are a grateful nation, and we will never forget.

First and foremost we will pray this morning for people to be born-again by the perfect sacrifice and the spilled blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus. If you want to be saved from the penalty of your sins, pray with me now and ask Jesus to come into your heart. Salvation is free to you because Jesus paid for it.

We will close our prayer this morning honoring and remembering the men and women who gave their lives to secure and protect the freedoms we have and the blessings we enjoy as citizens, friends, and beneficiaries of the United States of America.

Please stand and let’s pray …

Passing Through

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Acts 17 NKJV

1 ¶  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

2  Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

3  explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”

Some places you pass through and some places you go to.

You have to decide if this is a pass-through season of life or if this is a go to season – a season with a reason to plant this particular field.

How do you know?

Not every place you are going to and not every time you lead to pass through. And not every reason or argument you make for the truth will always be a pleasant experience. You can be in the middle of God’s will, telling the truth, doing your best, and still not be received. 

However, when you are in the will of God you are planting seeds in just the right place … in the place God intends to bring an eventual harvest … a seasonal harvest … in His time.

4  And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

5  But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

But the most difficult places in life are often the most fruitful

10 ¶  Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11  These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

12  Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

13  But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

14  Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

Men of Thessalonica chased Paul all the way to Berea. Those Thessalonians were passionate about what they believed. And, when the seeds sown in their lives and the work of the church matured, those who were saved were just as passionate for Christ as they earlier were against Paul and the preaching of the Gospel.

Great sinners usually make great saints. Passionate sinners make passionate saints.

Berea is almost never heard of again, and they were the noble ones. However, the church in Thessalonica went on to be world renown and is still today one of the leading examples of a new Testament congregation fulfilling the Great Commission in their generation and beyond.

Take Aways

·        Some places you pass through and some places you go to.

o   Thank God

o   Not every day is a workday

o   Not everything is on your plate

o   You’ve got to decide what you are responsible for and leave the rest to God and somebody else.

o   God has someone coming right along behind you … and no doubt, someone just ahead.

o   Some places you pass through and some places you go to – we don’t want to get those mixed up!

§  We must be led by the Spirit beyond our own ability to reason or calculate.

§  God is not unreasonable, but He is superior to reason

§  God has His own reason and anything else is unreasonable.

o   Acts 3 – the lame man at the gate

§  Most likely Jesus had walked past this man many times

o   There is a right time and a right place and a right person for everything … Peter and John were the right people for the lame man.

§  The Bible is filled with people who are chosen for one thing and people who are chosen for something else – so it is with life today.

·        God sends us to places He intends to bring a harvest.

o   Luke 10 – 2x2 into every place where He would come

o   When you are in the will of God you are planting seeds in just the right place.

o   God will watch over it … He has a plan that includes more than just you.

·        Some of the most difficult places in life turn out to be the most fruitful.

o   Romans 5:3-5 – We glory in Tribulation - Tribulation works …

o   James 1:2-4 – Count it all joy – Patience works …

o   2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – Affliction works …

·        Don’t give up on committed sinners, they make committed saints.

o   Pray

o   Keep praying

o   Do what you can and leave the rest to God.

Revival

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People can go to heaven having been poor, stupid, miserable, afraid, lazy, or crazy, but they can’t go to heaven without Jesus. A person can be on their way to heaven while living in hell. What people go through is not always a choice but the person they are in the midst of the problem is a choice.

I  believe there will come a great departure from the faith in the last days. I also believe in a great last day revival. I see both as a pattern of God’s revealed plan. God is a God of patterns.

Let me say it this way:

What do these things have in common:

·        Genesis 1

·        Noah’s ark

·        Job’s recovery

·        Moses delivering the Children of Israel from Pharaoh and Egypt

·        Ezekiel‘s Dry Bones

·        The Day of Pentecost

·        Paul and Silas in the Philippian Jail

·        The Rapture of the Church

They are all pictures of revival. And there are so many more.

·        David bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem

·        Jonah at Nineveh

·        Ruth meeting Boaz

·        Esther going to the King

·        The Great Light that surrounded Saul of Tarsus

You see:

·        Revival is something God makes happen

·        Revival is a sovereign move of God

Revival is not something we can prescribe it is something we can only describe after it happens.

It’s on God’s shoulders, not ours. The scriptures tell us that God has a set time to favor Zion and that He will suddenly come to His temple. God is going to do it with or without me … I can participate or I can spectate.

Each one of the great revival events in the Bible were on God’s calendar from the foundation of the world, along with every resurrection you have ever faced and every resurrection you will yet face in this life.

Psalms 30

5  For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

2  O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.

11  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

Bad days turn to good days in the hand of the Lord.

The greatest revival ever known to mankind was the reviving of the Body of Christ at the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

I believe and have long preached that the last days of the Church on the earth will follow the pattern of the last days of Jesus on the earth. Two thousand years ago the world and the devil thought they had the last word concerning the Body of Christ. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.

God had a plan and He had already decided He was going to bring about the greatest revival the world had ever seen. It is simply the pattern of God. And God has that same plan for your life. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. Without respect as to what we may face in life, the devil will never be able to count you out.

You may not always be able to prescribe what God will do but one thing for certain, one day you will be able to describe what He did.

Miracles happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

2 Corinthians 4

17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

18  while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This morning I want to share three things we conclude from all the stories of revival found in the Word of God.

1.  God has predetermined the success of His children.

a.   It’s not a matter of if, it’s only a matter of when.

b.   He is in control of the future.

2.  Revival brings results.

a.   Order to chaos and light to darkness in Genesis 1

b.   Deliverance for the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt

c.    Victory over sin, death, hell, and grave at the Resurrection

d.   Salvation on the day of Pentecost

e.   Revival brings whatever is needed

f.    God has plans for a revival in your life

3.  God most often demands we participate in our miracles.

a.   Job had to keep trusting God

b.   Paul and Silas sang and prayed in their midnight hour

c.    The Disciples and Believers were together in one place and in one accord on the Day of Pentecost

d.   The Church will be busy preaching the Gospel and meeting needs on the day the Lord returns.

What can you do to participate with God’s plan to bring revival to your life, your family, your community, your nation, and your generation?

·        Pray

·        Trust God

·        Don’t let the devil divide you

·        Be a functioning part of the Church in these last days

o   Decide to be a Goer; Stayer; Prayer; or a Payer

o   Sign up today …

Life Shape Prayer and Discipleship Module 2 - New Creation Realities Block 4 - Transformation

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Romans 12 NKJV

1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

To conform means to pattern oneself after some other influence, model, or mindset. The “World” has a mindset, a set way of thinking WE continually hear about “World Opinion.”

People are often influenced by world opinion, but world opinion does not reflect God’s opinion.

The world is at war with God. The world tries to overwhelm, discount, and destroy God’s influence, all the while … God is right, and the world is wrong. Nonetheless the world seems tireless in its efforts to capture the mind and control opinion.

The world is not your friend. The world is crazy and wrong, and crazy wrong.

James 4:4 … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

God does not want us to pattern ourselves after the influence, the model, or the mindset of this world. The world’s method of thought and practice is an enemy of God and runs contrary to the Kingdom. Therefore, whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.

World opinion does not reflect the mind of Christ. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed.

Transformation in this scripture comes from the concept of metamorphosis. One of the best pictures is that of the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. We can also be transformed into an example of the new creature we became when we were born again. Wrapped in a cocoon of God’s love and grace we emerge for all the world to see the beauty and grace of our new creation reality.

Transformation is not without a struggle. The world is an enemy of God and fights to dominate opinion. God expects us to challenge our thoughts and not to let them run wild or come under the influence of this world’s opinion. God has given us spiritual weapons to use against this enemy of our soul.

2 Corinthians 10

4  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds,

5  Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience to Christ.

The battle is in the mind and the battle is for the mind. To begin the process of transformation we must learn God’s Word and accept God’s Word as Truth. Believers must embrace God’s opinion as their very own.

When a Believer changes their mind to line up with God’s Word, it will change their whole life and it will influence the lives of all who know them for all eternity.

Our Important Points For Today

1.   Truth is not determined by a show of hands.

2.   God does not disagree with the world – the world disagrees with Him.

3.   Transformation begins when we decide to believe the Bible.

4.   You are always only one decision away from being right.

If The Truth Be Told

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Jonah 1 NKJV

1 ¶  Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

3  But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

17  Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2 NKJV

1 ¶  Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly.

2  And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.

7  “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.

Jonah 3 NKJV

1 ¶  Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,

2  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”

5 ¶  So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

10  Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Jonah 4 NKJV

1 ¶  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.

There are a few things we learn from the account of Jonah. And remember, Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as an actual account.

1.   It’s always a shorter walk to go God’s way.

We will never catch God unprepared.

2.   The pain we endure going God’s way is less than the pain we encounter going our way.

We cannot simply calculate what it will cost us to obey God, but we must also factor in what it will cost Him and others if we do not.

God is the God of second chances.

You may not be the first person God asked to do what He has asked you to do. Hopefully, you will be the last.

3.   What God wants you to do is not just what’s best for God, it’s also what’s best for you.

It never pays to be angry with God.

Jonah 4:11  “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?”

God will always have the last word.

And if the truth be told … God evidently takes notice of, cares about, and has pity on animals. So, consider how you treat all of God’s creatures.

A Love Story

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I have a passion and God has a purpose for sticking to the basics today. Recently we have considered that God gave us the Bible so we could understand Him. His hope is that if we understand Him, we will choose to become more like Him. If anyone wants to know what God looks like they can look in the mirror. God looks like you, or should I say, you look like Him. He made us in His image. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7)

We were made to look like God on the outside but as we grow, we begin to think and feel much different than God does on the inside. Jesus encouraged us to pay more attention to little children because, He said, of such are the Kingdom of Heaven. However, human nature is not God’s nature. Human life is not God’s life. Human thinking is not God’s thinking. Human love is not God’s love. (Matthew 19; Mark 10; Luke 18; Isaiah 55:9)

Many people are doing good and doing their best, but we cannot make light of the fact that Jesus said, “You must be born again.” Born not only of the water, through the womb of a mother, but also born of the Holy Spirit. (John 3) No matter how good a person is, heaven is for the saved.

Some might take issue with the thought of good not being good enough. I can understand that thought from a human perspective. However, human perspective does not rule on earth or in heaven, and certainly not for eternity. When you get to heaven you can ask God to clarify why. That’s providing you get to heaven. And according to the Bible, you must be born again to get that opportunity. Decisions this big simply belong to God.

And God has made His decision. He will not save your mortal body. However, He is willing to save your immortal soul. And all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, will be given a new body at the resurrection that will be incorruptible and undefiled. (1 Corinthians 15)

You can be born again right now

·        Acknowledge before God that you are a sinner.

·        Ask God to forgive you through the blood of Jesus.

·        Accept Jesus into your life as Savior and Lord by faith.

Now that we are all on the same page, I am going to use the next few minutes to tell you something and hopefully teach you something. It is my hope that you will both listen and that you will learn at least one thing that will make you want to be more like Jesus. We understand that:

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The Bible only tells one story and it’s a love story. The story is told through the lives of so many. From Abraham to David, and from Ruth to Esther; from Samson to Stephen, and from Rahab to Mary … Love is demonstrated by putting the needs of others ahead of your own.

A person can give without loving. But a person cannot love without giving.

Love is giving and God loves us intentionally. He did not give without a plan. He decided to give His best and He gave first. While we were yet sinners, before we even knew Him, He loved us. John wrote: We love Him because He first loved us.

1 John 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:21  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Who is your brother? Jesus said: It’s the one who needs you and can probably never pay you back. Love is a gift … love is giving. (Luke 10)

It is God’s hope that when we understand Him, we will want to be like Him. I have witnessed so many of you doing this very thing. You have given yourselves to God, and given so much for others.

My purpose this morning is to thank you. Thank you for loving and thank you for giving. Thank you for sharing the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel with people in need on purpose and intentionally. God bless you!  

The Report

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Congratulations to each graduate and to the parents, families, and friends of those who have reached this milestone in life. You have achieved your goal and have now arrived at the next departure point from which you will launch out into deeper waters for yet another adventure.

As far as you are concerned, it does not matter what I say tonight. It only matters what you will take with you. As far as you are concerned it does not matter what your teachers have said during your time at school … it only matters what you will take with you.

Without regard as to how many words you hear me speak this evening, the only ones that will impact your life are the ones you choose to remember. I will have taught you nothing unless you can repeat what you have learned. There is a great and lasting difference between being told and being taught.

There is as much difference between telling and teaching as there is between listening and learning. You may be polite and listen to me because that’s what you’re supposed to do. However, instead of just listening, I challenge you to learn.

Believe and accept what I say or prove me wrong … don’t just listen … determine to learn.

Tonight I will share an account that’s recorded in the book of Numbers. It concerns 12 leaders who were sent ahead to see the promised land and bring back a report to their families and friends. All 12 spies saw the same things. The fruit of the land was abundant and amazing, the cities were large and fortified, the enemies were like giants and very well-trained in the art of war.

Although all 12 spies saw the very same things, not all 12 gave the same report. 10 of the 12 believed they had no chance of winning against the enemies, while 2 of the spies believed just the opposite.

Numbers 13 NKJV

30  Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

31  But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

Able … not able? Which was it?

There will always be divided opinions and different perspectives, even when people are looking at the same things. Do not mistake opinion, even educated opinion, for truth.  

Don’t fall prey to the opinions and the propaganda of this world. The world wants you to believe that your faith in God and His will does not matter. They want you to imagine the Church is insignificant and irrelevant in the 21^st century. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Refuse to believe the lies of the devil or the educated opinions of those who leave God out of the equation.

The fact is: The Church of today is bigger and better, more powerful, and more productive, going farther and growing faster, better equipped and more accepted, kinder, and more inclusive, feeding more people, meeting more needs, and seeing more souls saved than ever before in history.

Refuse to believe what the world says about God, Christians, the Church, about you, and especially about themselves … they are all lies of the devil.

In order to know the truth, we must always figure God into the equation. Joshua and Caleb saw something the others did not see. Joshua and Caleb saw the will and the plan of God as greater than the strength and the strategy of their enemies, and they weren’t ashamed to say it.

Numbers 14 NKJV

8  “If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’

9  “Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”

Mother’s Day

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Happy Mother’s Day!

I realize not everyone here is a mother … but … everyone here is here because of a mother.

One of the pre-requisites God designed for life is that every person would be afforded entry into this life because of a mother.

Mothers are amazing. However, at some point in life most mothers deal with feelings of inadequacy. Things happen which are often beyond the control of the human hands and hopeful hearts of a mother. We don’t have to go far to realize that at times mothers are forced to deal with disappointments.

·        Eve, the mother of all living

·        Jochebed, the mother of Moses

·        And even Mary the mother of Jesus

Mothers carry a load and shoulder responsibilities that no one else carries or shoulders in life. Not all mothers do the greatest job and some even abandon their greatest opportunities under the immense pressures of the day. Nonetheless, mothers are still the most amazing creatures God has given on the earth.

When we talk about mothers this morning we will be referring to:

·        Biological Mothers

·        Adoptive Mothers

·        Foster Mothers

·        Spiritual Mothers

·        Those women who have taken on the responsibility to be a mother to others in some way, taking them into their hearts, counseling, caring, and correcting them for their good.

Let’s turn in the word to:

Ephesians 6 NKJV

2  “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:

3  “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

The first commandment with promise.

Of course we know Paul is referring to the passage in Exodus 20, specifically verse 12, when right in the middle of the Ten Commandments, written in stone by the finger of God, the Bible says:

Exodus 20:12 ¶  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

This is the first commandment … not the first suggestion … but the first commandment to which a promise is attached.

Every time you find a promise from God you will find a potential release of His power to make that promise come to pass.

·        God’s hope is that we would qualify ourselves to be a recipient of His power.

·        God is referring to generational blessings in this passage – the power to stay in the land, not necessarily the ability to live a long life, but the blessing of being protected from the enemies who want to move you out of your inheritance.

·        (Eddie Mitchell’s and Musa Njguna’s generational blessing)

o   It may start with you … At least it can start with you …

o   And become a blessing for generations to come.

Why does God want us to honor our mothers?

·        Mothers are a gift from God

·        Motherhood is a plan of God

·        Motherhood is a God-job, not just a human endeavor.

·        Motherhood is a mantle

o   The gift of being a mother is innate …

o   It is like a seed that in the right time at the right place has all the power to perform its pre-destined call

Even if we don’t mother the next generation, God has a seed of motherhood and an anointing in them because it is His calling … it is His plan … and God wants us to honor His plan for mankind because God has pre-determined a blessing on those who help him and the blessing He is offering to us is substantial.

Every time you find a promise from God you will find a potential release of His power to make that promise come to pass.

This morning I encourage you to do consider this promise and how you can participate in God’s plan.

God wants our nation to be secure and for us to enjoy our inheritance and live long in the land He has given to us. We hold the key to releasing the power of heaven to make that happen. We will not enjoy that promise from God if we do not do what God says must be done in order to release the power to make it happen.

1.   Honor your mother

a.   This will fulfill half of the requirement of God’s 5^th commandment … the first commandment with a promise attached to it.

b.   Biological, adoptive, foster, and spiritual mothers.

c.    God has placed you in someone’s heart.

d.   God has given someone the calling and the anointing to be a caring, counsel to you.

e.   Give them the honor, respect, and thanks they deserve.

2.   Be an honorable mother

a.   It is so much easier honoring honorable people.

b.   If this nation is going to survive and if we are going to enjoy long life in this land that the Lord has given us, we will need mothers who are honorable, mothers who care, mothers who give their counsel, and mothers who will pray for us and show us their love.

                                         i.    Why not consider adopting someone today.

                                        ii.    They can be of any age … everyone needs a mother

                                      iii.    Pray for us …

                                      iv.    It’s a calling … It is the of God.

Judges 5:7  Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel.