The Blessing of Showing Honor | Pastor Jentezen Franklin

[Music] come on tell these kids what a magnificent job they did today that's so great so great praise god god bless you happy mother's day i want to say to all of you who are joining in at all of our campuses we're so delighted that you're here and i'd love for all of the mothers at every campus to stand up on your feet and let us tell you how glad we are that you taught us how to talk to jesus let's hear it church we love you we appreciate you such a blessing to have the mother of my five children cherise here and then my mother sitting down here on the front row katie is in the house and charisse's mother pat is in the house and we love you guys and don't have words to tell you how much we appreciate all that you are and all that you mean to us and i know you feel the same way about your mother don't you i dressed up and i wore a suit just for my mother today because she likes to see me wear a suit and a tie and it's mother's day and i i probably do this once or twice a year so enjoy it amen if you have your bibles i'd like for you to open them with me to the book of ephesians ephesians chapter 6 and i want to teach today from ephesians chapter 6 and i pray that god speaks to you the truth of his word sometimes we teach because we are always mindful of a new generation coming up and especially on a day like today and i want you to see ephesians chapter six we'll begin reading with verse 2. i'm going to read it off of the screen just like you everybody out loud honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth that's it honor your father and your mother and then he adds a blessing of course it is one of the top 10 commandments as a matter of fact if you are interested ephesians chapter 6 is the great relationship family chapter it teaches you it talks to parents it talks to spouses it talks to children concerning their parents one of the ten commandments the top ten out of all the things that god could have said this matters the most to me about one of them is you shall honor your father and your mother you say well pastor what will happen if i'll do that the bible's very clear it's the only commandment that comes with a promise he said that you will live long and your life will be full a blessing we equate blessing only to money and stuff like that no no no no blessing means that there is the help of god no matter what life brings good bad or ugly the blessing never leaves that house and he said it's connected how you honor god listen carefully how you treat and honor god is connected and god says as you honor your parents you honor me well pastor you don't understand my parents are flawed well that's funny because every parent is flawed your parents are flawed their parents were flawed if you're a parent now you're definitely flawed and when your children become parents they're going to be flawed and god designed it that way that there are no perfect parents and that way there's no excuse to not honor the position that they have given you even if you don't feel like you can honor the person the second reason that you ought to honor them is because you would not be alive without them god chose them to be the method through which you would come into this world god used their dna to make you in psalms 139 and verse 13 puts it like this in verse 16 i'm going to combine them together god knit me together in my mother's womb and he recorded every day of my life before i was born god had a plan for your life and god understood that you would not be you if two if any other two human beings your mother and your father had not been who they were and not gotten together it would not uniquely have created you you would have been someone else you wouldn't be you without your father and your mother there are no accidental babies there are accidental parents there are illegitimate parents but there are no accidental illegitimate children your parents may not have planned you but god did that's what the bible teaches well why did god give me the parents that he gave me because they had the exact dna needed to create you no other two individuals the exact chromosome and dna to create you that's why you should honor them that alone is the reason god was more interested in creating you than their parental skills god was more interested in that than he was and you know i i tell a story sometimes i'm not going to take time to do it but it's the truth that sometimes some of you may say well i can't honor my dad because he was never in my life or i can't honor my mother because she was a terrible mother but please understand that sometimes god will give you a parent and he trusted them to get you here but not carry you through life because had they stayed with you they would have taken you into all kinds of addiction pain sorrow or whatever and so but god said i so want you uniquely to be here i need these dnas and i've planned every day of your life if some how many of you know that and how many of you would agree that some mother went through labor and pain to get you here today let me see your hand and the rest of you are liars turn to somebody and say do you realize what a pain you were that's why you ought to honor your mother if for no other reason what a pain you were we're not all moms but we all had a mom and the bible said if you had a mom you're the one that has required one of god's top 10 to honor your mother how do i honor my mother the rest of my life three quick ways real simple message see in life you have stages you have childhood where you honor your mother one way and then you move up into young adulthood teenage late teenage and young adulthood you begin to relate to your mother in a different way and honor your mother and your father in a different way and then finally there's adult to adult as your mother or your father or both get older you relate to them in a different way so how do i honor my mother all the days of my life well when you're a child you honor your father and your mother by obeying them don't say honor my father my mother i love my father you honor them when you are in their household by obeying them following instructions willfully you do it cheerfully you do it immediately and the more you obey them in your hou when you're living in their house the more you honor them listen to this verse ephesians 6 and verse 1 children obey your parents this is right this is the right thing to do because god has placed them in authority over you one translation says they're in authority over you one of the greatest life skills that that we must teach our children is to respect authority there are three god-ordained authorities that god has established himself and if anyone wants to have a miserable unsuccessful life then you break these three god-ordained authorities and disrespect them and do not obey them and you will be a failure in some way major it will catch up with you and be miserable what are those three ordained authorities god has put authority in the home that is the father that is the mother god has put authority in the church spiritual authority and you cannot you cannot do just any way you want to with the authority of god's word and with spiritual authority and then in government god has established authority the authority of government that if you can't ex respect the person you respect the position and you show honor you show honor we must teach our children honor in the home honoring the school to teachers even if the teacher is a jerk or the or the a policeman is a jerk you show honor to the position it's government it's home and it's church honor honor your parents by obeying them then secondly when you beg begin to deal in the teenage years and young adult years you honor your parents differently than just everything they tell you to do you do it because you're beginning to get out especially when you start leaving their home especially when you start getting out on your own and making your own decisions so how do you honor your parents at that level you honor them listen carefully by respecting them the number one thing the enemy will try to do to teenagers and to young adults is get them to disrespect their parents leviticus 19 and verse 3 each of you must respect his mother and father hebrews chapter 12 and verse 9 we respect our parents even when we don't agree with them even and we don't agree with what they're saying you show incredible respect and god says i honor you when you honor your parents to respect your parents doesn't mean you don't see their weaknesses as a matter of fact the older that you grow with your parents the more that you will realize they're flawed human beings just like you are and if you're a teenager that's all you see is their faults god says respect them forgive them and and and re and show honor to them accepting and forgiving that's how you honor them except your parents the good the bad the ugly well why should i expect them why should i respect her why should i respect him he left me this that and the other i didn't have a choice for them to be my parents pastor franklin well here's a big revelation neither did they have a choice of you being their child they didn't have a choice in what they were getting either respect means accepting and forgiving and if you want it you got to give it we don't diss them we don't disrespect them but we honor them especially in the teenage years especially in the young adult late teen young adult years by listening to them proverbs 13 and verse 1 intelligent children listen to their parents foolish children do their own thing going into young adulthood i'm not bound if i'm out on my own to follow the instructions of everything my parents tell me but i am bound to listen carefully to them even if they're not living right even if they're terrible in their own life and it's a disaster i believe and i've seen that most of the time the parental instinct even if they're not making wise choices for themselves the parental instinct for their children is right what they're telling you even a heathen or somebody crazy and done all kinds of stupid stuff and made mistakes when they tell you as the child they're usually telling you out of their own pain and experience don't do that and even a broken clock is right twice a day just because your mom and dad didn't have it all together doesn't mean that you are not supposed to listen ever to anything they say proverbs 23 and verse 22 listen to your father's advice and don't despise your mother's experience in life god gave you your parents for a purpose my mother's sitting here and charisse's mother's sitting here and we they prepared us to pastor this church there's no question about it by the way they raised us the way they brought us to church the way that they had god in our families they prepared us to pastor this church and all of the people there's no question i'm so glad that we listened we listened we didn't always agree but we listened proverbs 6 and verse 20 says do what your father tells you especially if you've got a godly father and a godly mother do what they tell you never forget what your mother teaches you their instructions will lead you guide you and instruct you in how to live life now here's here's here here's where we are as children you show honor by obedience as young adults as late teenagers 18 and up you show honor by respecting them respect them show that to god and show that to them and god will bless you for it and then there's that level of adult-to-adult relationship as your parents get older as they begin to get aged the bible says that you honor them in two ways the older they get and the older you get and when they start getting up in life there are ways that you show honor differently from just obeying and respecting number one when your parents are getting older you honor them by appreciating them proverbs 28 verse 22 when your mother is old show her your appreciation appreciate your mother in two ways number one appreciate their effort parenting is difficult parenting is demanding parenting is time consuming have you ever thought how much easier your parents life would have been if they hadn't had you in california they have the big redwood up in northern california the big redwood trees and the way that they determine how old the tree is is it forms a red ring around the trunk of of the tree and in the good years meaning the years when there's plenty of water the ring is very thick and very pronounced and very uh very very noticeable and it stands out but in the years that were crisis years the ring around the tree is much much much thinner and much lighter to the eye and harder to detect and the way that they know how old a tree is is they count the rings and some of the rings in the good years are just red and they're so obvious but then there's those crisis years when the line gets barely so thin that you can hardly see it that really describes what parenting is like there are those years when everything is wonderful and i'm dedicating all these babies and and it is amazing and all of that but i promise you the moment that you decided to become a parent you are going to face things that you cannot even imagine and the line is going to go from thick to thin and i compare that line of parenting to the color of my hair when i used to pastor this church when i was 29 years old and we had our first baby courtney who's sitting on the front row i had jet black hair anybody remember those days i mean it was black as it could be and then courtney came along and that got this side and then carissa got this side and then caroline got the top all of it and then and then connor got this side and drake got this side and then the hair on my chest is turning white that's cherise say man because i married her when she was a baby she was 18 years old and you can measure the years and you'll look back and some of you think you know everything you don't know nothing nothing but they're worth the effort i'll tell you that every even the thin line years the crisis years i'll take them i'll take them i'll take them cause family is the greatest blessing on earth clap your hands and say amen but have you ever thought about have you have you when was the last time you thanked your parents for putting up with you let's do it right now mom thank you i know there was a few years when doyle and richie and jennifer and jill really did bad and i was always good amen appreciate their effort it costs the latest statistic this is actually about three years old it's all i could find it cost to raise a child to 18 years of age before college 249 thousand dollars per child average to clothe them to feed them to take care of them 249 000 per child that is before college and before they move back into your house amen one of the most unselfish decisions a human being will ever make is to become a parent they're giving it think of the car they could have had think of the stuff they could have had but they chose you so honor your father and your mother appreciate the effort [Applause] the definition of a parent according to webster's dictionary is someone who has a photo where they used to have money i made that up but it's the truth it's unselfish proverbs 23 and verse 25 this is a powerful verse if you don't get nothing else out of this sermon you ought to get this verse give your parents joy may she who gave you birth be happy are you doing that are you doing your best of your ability you say well how do you give your parents joy well if they're christians i can tell you it's not in anything you can achieve in this world the bible put it like this john said i have no greater joy than to know my children walk in truth and that text they want to take it down too quick put it back up that text says everybody out loud give your father and mother joy may she who gave you birth be happy clap your hands if you say if you would say amen at every campus that's the truth that's the truth as we get older not only do we appreciate their effort but we are to provide for our elderly parents all that they need it's sad that in western culture we're the only culture that doesn't honor people as they get older like we should the asian culture is totally the opposite the most honored person who will show up in a gathering is the elder they will all give up that seat and put that person and make a big deal about that person in middle eastern culture is culture it's exactly the same in african culture they honor the elderly more than any but only in western culture in america the older you are the less you are respected and valued and in western culture we put emphasis on the younger and we forget about the older and look where that has brought us to as a culture what i'm saying to you is value and esteem and respect the elderly especially aged parents stay in touch with them appreciate them and provide for them see what happens is as they get older the roles reverse you can't just say take care of yourself that's not what a christian does you are responsible you and the siblings have to get together and take care and it's not have to you want to they took care of you and now you are to take care of them that's natural that's normal and that is exactly what the bible teaches to not do it is to not honor your father or your mother first timothy chapter five put it like this that we are to treat the older women like our mother and we're to treat the younger women like our sister and then he makes this powerful statement honor the widows and those who are really with us in the next part he says and if and and if you listen now if any widow has children or grandchildren let them first learn to show provision at home and repay their parents this is good and acceptable you want to be good you want to be seen as good you take care of your mother you take care of your grandmother you visit her you go see her you invite her to the soccer game you include her you do things for her you go get things for her you help her around the house you you if you have to put in a rest home you don't forget about them you go see them you talk you take time god said if you want to if you will do this this first notice the priority don't get up and tell me what a great christian you are if you can't take care of your own home and repay your parents well it's quiet but it's right [Applause] think about this jesus christ was hanging on the cross dying for your sins and my sins there could not have been a more important mission it was the most important moment in human history and jesus had seven statements that he said when he was hanging on the cross seven he said powerful things like father they're crucifying me but father forgive them they know not what they do he said on another a few minutes later a few seconds later it is finished meaning our salvation is completely provided and right in the middle of powerful seven powerful statements one out of the seven was this he sees his mother at the foot of the cross and he says john his best friend john take care of my mother provide for my mother he's dying but you know what he was doing he was modeling one of the ten commandments i must honor my mother intake and i honor my mother in her older years by providing and taking care of her and not forgetting her even on the cross jesus took care of his mother first timothy 5 and verse 8 says anyone who does not take care of his her immediate family has denied the christian faith and is worse than an unbeliever jesus if i don't take care of my family if i neglect and abandon my family i am worse than an infidel now see this isn't going to excite a congregation but this is the word of god and it may be the key to amazing things that happen in your future if you heed it it's a strong word you honor god when you honor your parents i've got two more verses and i'll close they had the dna god needed to make you and there is a severe judgment pronounced in matthew 18 and verse 6. i want them to put it up anyone who hurts a child and i looked that word up i looked it up and you know what it said it said to abuse a child or to neglect a child whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it's better for him if a milestone were hung around him the literal thing milestone has to do with what a donkey would turn in a grinding meal or an ox it was heavy it was a huge stone and literally what he's saying there is if you neglect your responsibility or you harm and you abuse a child this is the strongest warning you can get from the word of god he said it would be better for you basically you know what the mafia which is called a family you know what they do to people who who who who don't take care of family business they take them out in a boat i know because i watch the godfather they take they take them out in a boat and they put a cinder block around them in a chain and they throw them over into the deep ocean and jesus said it would be better for the mafia to get a hold of you than me get a hold of you if you abuse or neglect your responsibility for a child this is strong isn't it it's serious well pastor i i've been hurt by my parents god's not asking you to deny that god's not asking you to excuse it to repress it to ignore it he's not asking you to fake it well if i go around i love that story that that andy stanley tells in his book and i sat with his father one time for over four hours dr charles stanley and we sat beside each other on a flight and it was just the greatest thing we went back and forth and he told me story after story and it's no secret what i'm sharing is no secret andy stanley of course just one of the greatest pastors in this area i love him and honor him don't go to his church stay here but he's a great guy just throw that in there and i honor charles stanley but you know what chu you know what andy said in his book when he and his father had a big split that took place in their family and he dr stanley this is all public knowledge went through a divorce and it was just terrible and andy was so hurt and you don't know everything so you shouldn't judge everything because god knows everything and he said me and my father were not on speaking ground but he said my father had so much wisdom listen to this because he said he kept inviting me to have a meal at a mexican restaurant every wednesday we would go to the restaurant he said sometimes we were so mad at each other and we couldn't stand each other that we would sit at that table and just eat our chips and eat our food and get through it and he said but the wisdom of it is dad would call every week andy will you go to lunch will you go to lunch and name that restaurant would you go to lunch will you go to lunch and he said we couldn't stand each other but we would sit there sometimes and i'm paraphrasing but you can read his book i just thought the wisdom of that that dad was breaking down that wall that dad was and he said sure enough we began to talk sure enough we began to be civil sure enough we began to get along and now they have the strongest relationship and god has done so much through that boy and through that father that it's unbelievable don't fake it that's what i'm trying to say it's not faking it when you sit down with somebody and you got real issues face it face it quit running from it it's not going to get better time heals all things lie it does not life is short time's running out you don't fake it you you face it there's things a family goes through you just have to face it it takes courage to make peace with your parents i close with this the reason you ought to do it is you stop the cycle for the next generation by the way you say well pastor my dad left me i never had a father in my life or my mother was on something or got on got off and and i feel like they abandoned me well then god pronounces a special blessing over you that those of us who were blessed with a two-parent home do not have you have special attention by god according to this text psalms 27 i think it is you know there you go everybody out loud as bold as you can say it when my father and my mother forsake me then who the lord will take care of me clap your hands every single mother clap your hands every single father clap your hands you worry yourself to death about your kids the lord gives special attention to any children that are abandoned always i close with this [Music] romans 12 come on out guys romans 12 verse 15 commands us to rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep for many mother's day is an extremely difficult day what do you mean there are many in this room and in all of our campuses and watching online who have lost their mother maybe in the last year maybe in the last few years how many of you have lost your mother in this room let me see your hand so today is is a day of weeping and yet rejoicing there are mothers who have lost a child under the sound of my voice by miscarriage or the death of a child in an accident or something horrible happened and it took your child and mother's day to day it's like a heavy weight on your shoulders [Music] there are those of you that have children who are lost who were raised in kid pack and came up in this church and today they're as lost as they can be and today it's heavy we weep we weep with those that weep there are those who face delayed adoption and you've tried and you've tried and then there's those that are facing infertility and you've you you just can't seem you thought by now you wouldn't be pregnant this year but it's just not happening so far we weep with those who weep those who wanted to be mothers but it hasn't happened and then in the same service we rejoice with the mothers who rejoice as mothers who had wonderful incredible mothers and we rejoice there's women here who dedicated brand new babies how many of you have had a brand new baby in your family in the last two years let's see your hand let's rejoice and may god give you sleep sleep sleep rest rest rest [Music] foster parent moms we celebrate you this morning you make a home for those precious children and give great value come on let's hear it for foster home moms incredible incredible what about grandmas raising their kids kids can we can we give a big hero thank you to grandmothers [Applause] we honor you and we tell you boldly today that the greatest way you can honor your mother is to give your life to jesus christ stand to your feet no one moving no one leaving every head bowed every eye closed i want to do something a little different this morning i know it's mother's day but i need to give somebody the invitation because your mother has prayed for you and she may even be in heaven or she may be here but this is your day to honor her and it starts with honoring her god and his name is jesus so pastor pray for me i'm not right with god i'm carrying a load of guilt and shame i've abandoned some situations i shouldn't have i don't want to waste the rest of my life it's not about you feeling condemned and beat up this morning from this sermon it's about do the right thing it's not too late to turn the whole thing around it's for your healing it's for your family don't continue the cycle let god begin a miracle and let it start with you this morning maybe there's teenagers here that you know you're walking in rebellion you're not obeying your parents you're not respecting your parents you're breaking their heart and you're supposed to bring them joy it's time to stop that i command you in the name of jesus i beg you stop that it's time for joy to come to the home and it starts with you pastor pray for me i need to get right with god i want to do it today if that's you boldly raise your hand high if you want to get right with god anyone in this room raise it high right now see that hannah see that hand is there another raise it high raise it high there there there there there anyone else up in the balcony i'm looking in the balcony yes yes yes anyone else anyone else this is the day i want every mother in this room [Music] who's carrying a heavy thing [Music] to give it to jesus this morning would you raise your hands toward heaven all over this room and pray this prayer lord jesus come on out loud lord jesus i really want to please you i really want to honor my father honor my mother i really want to do what you did when you were being crucified i want to honor my mother today and so i give you my life say that i give you my family i give you my heart my pride let me be one that reconciles let me be one that blesses my family in jesus name now lift those hands and worship god for just a moment i got to do what the lord i'm trying to get away from i want every mother that will to come down and feel this altar i believe that you come you stand for your family you stand for your family and there's no pressure and if you're not comfortable then don't do it but i really want to pray for mothers come and raise those hands high not in condemnation not in shame you're amazing but lift those hands and say lord here's my family i don't know what's going on in your life i don't know what's going on in your family i don't know what's going on but god does and he cares and give it to him give it to him give it to him he's going to heal he's going to heal even in this service things that have been going on a long time he can heal just raise your hands ladies raise your hand all over this congregation men and women and worship god it's running after your goodness is [Music] [Music] [Music] the position regardless of what the person does you know what god will fix the person when you start doing that and god will fix you in the process [Music] if you want mercy give mercy sing that again [Music] [Music] i just feel like i just feel like singing the song e flat greatest thy faithfulness no the course grace thy faithfulness born in my lord [Music] sing at church sing it with everything you've got to meet he's not gonna fail you now greatest [Music] thy faithfulness [Music] is [Music] [Music] hallelujah clap your hands and praise the lord and say ask for me at my house say it ask for me and my house say it as for me and my house we will serve the lord [Music] there's no curse stronger than the blessing and it's upon you are you ready for the blessing raise your hands if you prayed that prayer of salvation stop by the connections lounge and get signed up for water baptism and begin a blessing in your family and now may the lord bless you and keep you make his face shine on you be gracious unto you lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and your children and your children's children let's go out with that one the blessing we love you so much thank you for giving we're seeing a miracle unlike any we've ever experienced in the history of this church and giving as we had a family that has pledged four million dollars if we match it and that means we go above what we did last year and anything above what we did last year this same sunday counts and we had a miracle this week of a 500 000 gift our grand total is 3.5 million we are so close to that miracle give and god will bless you as we reach all over the world for the harvest happy mother's day everybody we love you so much going god go honor your mother go honor your father go love one another be blessed happy sunday free travel online what a powerful message from pastor jensen and what a great reminder to honor our father and mother especially on a day like today and if in case no one's told you this morning moms happy mother's day we're so thankful for all the moms grandmas and just influential women in our lives we honor and we celebrate you today and hey if you accepted jesus this morning our team is celebrating with you we are so excited for you this is the greatest decision you will ever make in your life and we are so excited to have you in the kingdom so if you accepted jesus today text the word yes to 5 10 5 10 and someone from our team will reach out with you and pray with you yes we also want to invite you personally to get officially connected into the house as an online family member we say it's three million times every sunday you guys are a part of the family and we want to get you connected all you've got to do is go to freechapel.org next steps and there you'll be able to learn all things free chapel membership baptism volunteering and outreach so much more all at freechapel.org nextup so we want to get you plugged in yes and hey we want to pray with you this morning if you have a need a prayer request and you just need to talk to someone from our team we are here for you so all you have to do is text pray to 5 10 5 10 and yes that's a new number so text pray to 5 10 5 10 we have a team of people ready to pray with you and lift you up yes short of text like we said we're a family we love you guys we would love to be praying over you also like pastor touched on right before we close we are in the middle of a giving fund we are seeing god do crazy things we want to thank you guys for giving for sewing into this house it blesses all of us and we wouldn't be able to do what we do without your generosity so from the bottom of our hearts thank you and also like pastor said we have 3.5 million dollars raised of 4 million so crazy so we're trying to push forward and get that 4 million raised so that we can get our new building so please feel free to join us and partner your faith in your finances with us for our building fund absolutely and hey don't forget this december we're going on a 10-day tour of israel with pastor jensen and cherise and you are not going to want to miss this but you need to get signed up now so you don't miss out on this so check out loomiotravel.org for all the information and questions you may have and again you want to get signed up soon yes well guys that's it for our time with you this sunday happy mother's day again we're going to pray for you and then we'll continue on with our day but lord thank you so much for our online family i pray they know how loved and seen they are by us i pray god you'd bless all the moms out there watching i pray you'd spoil them just a little extra today and i pray for every single person under the sound of my voice god i pray that this week you would just show out in a crazy way in their life god i pray you do a miracle on their behalf i pray that they feel your love and they feel your closest this week god and by the time we come back next sunday we'll have some crazy cool testimonies to share in the chat of all the great things god that you've done this week the lord we love you we honor you we pray you bless our mothers a little extra today and jesus name amen amen amen guys we'll see you next week see you next week [Music]

Channel: Free Chapel

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Length: 51min 10sec (3070 seconds)

Published: Sun May 09 2021