? (Theme Song) Jesus is
worthy ? ? oh yes, he's worthy ?
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? worthy of all... ? ? (Music) ?
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PB: We come today to commandment
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number five.
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I want to ask the question
today to everyone, in light
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of all the craziness
that is going on in our world
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do our families have a future?
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When you look at the changes
in the family from former
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times, we've seen how the
family has changed from the
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extended family to now
the nuclear or the solely
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immediate family.
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There used to be a time--
some of you have been around
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a little while, you know what
I'm talking about-- there used
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to be a time when the
family was not merely comprised
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of people who lived in the
context of the geography of
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a particular address, but
where an entire neighborhood was
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an extended family.
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But we've moved from
the extended family to the
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immediate or nuclear
family and then we had
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another movement.
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We moved from the hierarchical
structure or order of the
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family to the individual.
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And that is where the removing
of the hierarchical structure
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of our parenting to a kind
of individualistic view of the
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family, where grandparents,
great-grandparents, aunts,
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uncles, they all developed a
hierarchy of the family, until
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it moved to a certain kind
of individuality where the only
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people in control were
those who paid the mortgage at a
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particular residence.
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But why has this happened?
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Well, one reason this
has happened, for one,
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urbanization.
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Everybody say urbanization.
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Urbanization has taken over.
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That is, we've moved
from the family farm.
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We grew up in a
particular place.
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Whether you're a country boy,
a country girl or somebody who
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now lives in the urban
concrete jungle, it was that
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somebody originally
moved from the family farm.
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We moved from the
farm to the factory.
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And because of these changes
from agricultural development
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to industrialization,
the family began to separate
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somewhat because parents
began to move, make more money,
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make a better living.
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But at the same time the fiber
of the family, the fabric of
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the family began to unravel
and the family seemed to be
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deteriorating, unknown to
us, even though life appeared
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to be getting better.
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So the development and
the progress made up for the
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absenteeism of
the mother and father.
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We've moved from
the family to the media.
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We couldn't buy or pay
people to live in our homes as
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nannies or baby sitters
because we were gone working
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two or three jobs, so the
media, the television, the
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radio, the Internet, became
the guardians of our children.
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So, many of our children
are the products of a video
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generation in which
they grew up, now saying,
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I see so I become.
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Many of our children and
many of our families have our
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values and heritage and
our history safe and woven by
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what we see in the media.
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Consequently, we've moved
from our little house on the
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prairie and most of us
are now living nightmares
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on Elm Street.
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There's been a deterioration
of relationships because
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of all of these moves.
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But then, out of that
deterioration something
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else happened.
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There was this
emotional disorder.
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Because of the lack of
relationship and communication
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in our families, the emotional
stability became disordered.
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In case you didn't know,
emotionally we're in trouble.
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So what happens because
of this emotional challenge,
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there's disorder.
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There's a reason,
there's a consequence, it calls
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to all of this.
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So because of all these
changes in our world, we also
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began to understand and
experience the confusion
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concerning values.
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Let's be honest, when my girls
grow up the biggest thing I
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want them to--the
Lord delay his coming.
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When they decide to get
married, the biggest thing I
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want them to do is
marry somebody who's
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got good values.
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Yes, I want them
to love the Lord.
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Their future husband, and
he's got to be able to take
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care of my babies.
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Do I have a
witness in this place?
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But he also has
to have good values.
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His value system.
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Where do our children get the
majority of their values from?
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The media.
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It's amazing today the
powerful influence that the
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media has, that even we
as grown folks, we now do
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craziness in relationships.
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In fact, some people have
the soap-opera mentality where
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they just hop anywhere
with anybody at any time.
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I wish I had a
witness in this place.
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So if one person doesn't work,
they just trade them in for
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something better.
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But then something else happens.
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The marital and family
fragmentation took place.
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Because of the stress and
strain upon the family, these
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things begin to
pulverize the family.
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You don't have to be a
sociologist to understand
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and know this.
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All you have to do is be
one who looks, one who observes,
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one who listens, one
who reads, and you can hear
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children give this same
outline on any given day.
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Because of the causes, because
of the changes, because of the
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consequences I come by to
ask you this morning, does the
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family have a future?
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The family as we once
understood it is not the same.
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Things have
changed considerably.
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Because of our
political posturing and our
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maneuverings, or ability to
change the men who ratify law
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through the ballots, we're
seeing the family structure
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change all over the place.
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What do I mean?
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Proposition 8.
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Same sex marriages.
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Same sex marriages in
the parenting of a child.
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All of these things, whether
you agree or disagree with it,
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the complexion of
how the family is done.
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The family today has changed.
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This is not the same family
orientation and structure that
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I grew up under in the
seventies and the eighties.
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This is a new world
in which we live today.
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But then on the other hand,
somebody says the turbulence
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of tomorrow will
drive people deeper.
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In other words, there's
so much turbulence today as
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it relates to the family that
driving people who are serious
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about living and people who
are conscientious about life,
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and those who have a remnant
of a value and virtue left
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behind, they're holding out
for something that is deeper.
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They're saying, life has
no more substance than these
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shadowy images of what we see.
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That might be the reason
why some of us today came
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to this building.
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That may be the
reason why some of us
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came to Berean today.
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We came to church and we've
come to drop our buckets into
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the spiritual well of God
and drink from that which is
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deeper than what the
world view has for us.
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And maybe, just maybe,
that is our question we
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come asking, too.
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Pastor Byrd, is there a word
from God to give us hope that
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the family will survive?
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And so the command from the
Lord is, honor your father and
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your mother that your days
may be long upon the land which
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the Lord thy God giveth thee.
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But this becomes a
critical command that has been
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given to each and
everyone of us by God.
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I heard a preacher once
say, out of all the commandments
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that have been uttered and
issued, this commandment is
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probably the most difficult,
to honor mother and father.
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Brother Preacher, Brother
Pastor, why would it be so
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difficult to
honor mother and father?
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It's pretty self explanatory.
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But many of us make
it difficult for our
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children to honor us.
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They see us say one
thing and do another.
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You see, our
children know the real us.
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We can come in here, face
front and do all that, but our
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children know the real us.
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And so what we do, we
tell them, remember family
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business is family business.
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We tell them, don't you go out
of here and tell anybody what
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you've seen or heard,
this is family business.
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To combat that we say,
do as I say but not as I do.
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But what makes it difficult
for many is their children
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raise this question.
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Pastor Byrd, how can I honor
a father or a mother who does
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not deserve my respect?
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My father is a drunkard, my
mother is a gossip, my father
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abandoned us, my mother
talks bad about people, they
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both fuss and fight.
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My daddy molested me.
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My momma beat me.
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My daddy cursed me and
defiled me, my mother gives
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no support to me.
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In fact, over and over my
self-esteem is stripped away
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because of the
way they treated me.
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How then can I give honor,
respect, care, courtesy and
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thoughtfulness to people
who don't deserve my respect?
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Now, I'm not just up
here talking to be talking.
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These questions are real.
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The mission worker, a
missionary once said, I can do
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a bunch of things but
there's one thing I cannot do, I
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cannot pray the Lord's prayer.
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And if I do, I can never begin
with "Our Father," because it
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sent this girl into a violent
rage and she began to have
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serious reactions merely
at the mentioning of a father.
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There are people in
this church, there are people
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watching this broadcast and
I don't know who you are who
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have that kind of emotional
trauma as it relates to
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parenting and yet there
is no escape clause in the
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commandment contract.
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But God says it emphatically.
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God doesn't stutter.
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He doesn't stammer.
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He doesn't fake.
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God says honor your
father and your mother.
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Yet, in the world in which
we live sometimes it seems as
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though the command is for
the parents to honor their
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children so their days
may be peaceful upon the land.
00:10:43.60\00:10:48.06
And while humanity does
not have the right to change a
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divine commandment, if we're
honest with ourselves maybe
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many parents are honoring
their children more so than
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children honoring their parents.
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Let me throw this in right now.
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If you have a son, a son.
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I wish my daddy right here,
we could preach and tag team on
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this sermon today.
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If you have a son that's in
the seventh, eighth or ninth
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grade or above, when school
ends this year you tell them
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clearly I said it, that
they are not going to come home,
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watch video games,
watch TV and play all day.
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We've got to teach our
young boys how to work.
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I wish I had a
witness in this place.
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But maybe you don't believe
too many parents are honoring
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their children too much.
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If you don't believe
it, answer these questions.
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Who sets the
standard on how we dress?
00:11:42.80\00:11:45.86
Young people do.
00:11:45.86\00:11:49.33
Who determines what
the most popular music is?
00:11:49.33\00:11:52.96
Young people do.
00:11:52.96\00:11:54.76
Who changed the
automobile industry of how they
00:11:54.76\00:11:58.23
constitute a car in Tokyo,
Japan and Detroit, Michigan?
00:11:58.23\00:12:00.53
Young people do.
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Who makes the sexual
values in this country?
00:12:03.13\00:12:08.20
Young people do.
00:12:08.20\00:12:10.00
Think about it.
00:12:10.00\00:12:11.63
They've got the mass.
00:12:11.63\00:12:13.26
They've got computers now.
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They've got videos.
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They've got Wii.
00:12:15.96\00:12:16.76
You see, we are what I
call digital immigrants.
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They are digital natives.
00:12:21.43\00:12:27.43
I can take my iPhone, give
it to Christyn or Caileigh, and
00:12:27.43\00:12:31.56
they can do things I never
dreamed or thought of doing,
00:12:31.56\00:12:34.86
and they're driving at six,
eight and ten years old on the
00:12:34.86\00:12:39.43
information superhighway and
they're getting from one place
00:12:39.43\00:12:43.26
to another in a
matter of seconds.
00:12:43.26\00:12:45.46
And here some of us are
fumbling, trying to figure out
00:12:45.46\00:12:48.16
this gadget called a
computer and an Internet.
00:12:48.16\00:12:51.63
Been to college, been to
graduate school, an expensive
00:12:51.63\00:12:54.86
education, but you're
fumbling around where these
00:12:54.86\00:12:58.36
children show you.
00:12:58.36\00:12:59.93
Kids who haven't even started
grade school, they can show us
00:12:59.93\00:13:02.86
how to travel on
the information highway,
00:13:02.86\00:13:05.43
superhighway, and it becomes
a struggle for these adapting
00:13:05.43\00:13:09.50
teens and children to give
reverence, honor and respect
00:13:09.50\00:13:13.60
where they can't find it.
00:13:13.60\00:13:16.83
And what's so amazing about
this is there was a time when
00:13:16.83\00:13:20.36
all of us were like them
and we looked at our mothers and
00:13:20.36\00:13:23.93
fathers and we looked
at our parents and they
00:13:23.93\00:13:26.53
were our heroes.
00:13:26.53\00:13:27.76
They were our hero.
00:13:27.76\00:13:29.20
We looked at them
and they were flawless,
00:13:29.20\00:13:30.73
impeccable creatures.
00:13:30.73\00:13:31.76
They were perfect.
00:13:31.76\00:13:33.00
And then the day came like
Adam and Eve when their eyes
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were open and they found out
that we were not all of that.
00:13:36.13\00:13:38.46
I said to myself one day,
even if my kids right now think
00:13:38.46\00:13:42.93
that I walk on water, the
day is going to come when they
00:13:42.93\00:13:46.63
will recognize that
my feet are made of clay.
00:13:46.63\00:13:50.20
I can hear some child right
now saying, you mean to tell
00:13:50.20\00:13:53.20
me, Pastor Byrd, my
daddy's not perfect?
00:13:53.20\00:13:55.53
But let's be clear,
this commandment is not a
00:13:55.53\00:14:01.20
commandment on
honoring perfect parents.
00:14:01.20\00:14:05.73
It's a commandment that
says, honor your father and your
00:14:05.73\00:14:10.00
mother that your days may
be long upon the land which the
00:14:10.00\00:14:12.80
Lord thy God giveth thee.
00:14:12.80\00:14:15.73
Where is our supreme
example of all of this?
00:14:15.73\00:14:18.33
We can look at the
life of Jesus, can we not?
00:14:18.33\00:14:20.20
Jesus grew up in a
family where his father
00:14:20.20\00:14:22.73
was a carpenter.
00:14:22.73\00:14:23.46
He imitated his father's
craftsmanship and then after
00:14:23.46\00:14:25.46
Joseph died Jesus took upon
the responsibility of caring
00:14:25.46\00:14:28.46
and nurture for his mother.
00:14:28.46\00:14:29.80
And even when he was on the
cross dying, the Bible teaches
00:14:29.80\00:14:32.63
that before he breathed
his last breath Jesus looked at
00:14:32.63\00:14:36.23
the company that had come
to watch him die and spots the
00:14:36.23\00:14:39.13
big watery eyes of John,
the beloved, and says, John,
00:14:39.13\00:14:42.70
behold your mother.
00:14:42.70\00:14:44.43
Mother, behold your son.
00:14:44.43\00:14:46.30
And he transferred family
values and said, John, if you
00:14:46.30\00:14:50.93
want to honor me, love my
momma and take care of her.
00:14:50.93\00:14:56.80
Jesus got into a big argument
with the Pharisees one day
00:14:56.80\00:14:59.93
about growing old and
taking care of your parents.
00:14:59.93\00:15:02.83
The Pharisees had
a term called Corban.
00:15:02.83\00:15:06.56
Corban was an offering, it
was a kind of offering that was
00:15:06.56\00:15:10.20
designated specifically for
the Lord and for his temple.
00:15:10.20\00:15:12.10
But Jesus said, you
try to twist the law with a
00:15:12.10\00:15:14.90
technicality, because these
Pharisees had parents who were
00:15:14.90\00:15:18.66
aging and the Pharisees
did not want to care for their
00:15:18.66\00:15:21.76
aging parents, and the
Pharisees said to their
00:15:21.76\00:15:24.20
parents, we would, but
we can't take care of you
00:15:24.20\00:15:26.86
financially because
our money is in the Corbin.
00:15:26.86\00:15:30.26
But they were lying.
00:15:30.26\00:15:32.53
Because all of their resources
were not designated for God
00:15:32.53\00:15:36.13
and his temple.
00:15:36.13\00:15:37.23
But that was their way
of saying, I can't give you
00:15:37.23\00:15:39.73
anything because I've
got to give it to God.
00:15:39.73\00:15:42.50
Jesus said, you're
trying to twist the law on a
00:15:42.50\00:15:45.36
technicality.
00:15:45.36\00:15:46.43
You know that's not true.
00:15:46.43\00:15:47.50
And so, in here today,
none of us escape commandment
00:15:47.50\00:15:51.30
number five.
00:15:51.30\00:15:52.16
That's what makes it
difficult, because from our
00:15:52.16\00:15:54.76
infancy, our
parents take care of us.
00:15:54.76\00:15:59.53
But when our parents get in
their golden years, in return
00:15:59.53\00:16:04.56
we must take care of them.
00:16:04.56\00:16:06.86
Do I have a
witness in this place?
00:16:06.86\00:16:08.86
And interestingly enough,
all of us who debate this and
00:16:08.86\00:16:12.66
we're out of the house and we
talk about the failures of our
00:16:12.66\00:16:16.03
fathers, we talk about the
failures of our mothers and
00:16:16.03\00:16:19.36
what they are
and what they aren't.
00:16:19.36\00:16:21.70
The first thing I have to say,
particularly as I get older,
00:16:21.70\00:16:23.80
keep on living.
00:16:23.80\00:16:25.73
You might be a daddy or a
momma yourself one day and
00:16:25.73\00:16:31.60
when that happens, then we
can sit down and talk about it.
00:16:31.60\00:16:34.96
But if you worked out all
the problems of your parents and
00:16:34.96\00:16:38.50
you can sit down and write
down a list of why you ought
00:16:38.50\00:16:41.23
not honor and
respect, shame on you.
00:16:41.23\00:16:43.56
Why you ought not be thorough
and thoughtful, generous and
00:16:43.56\00:16:45.96
gracious to them, if you've
done all that, what are you
00:16:45.96\00:16:49.46
blaming them for now?
00:16:49.46\00:16:50.90
If you have the call,
you ought to have the cure.
00:16:50.90\00:16:53.53
See, I've learned in life and
I'm getting older, but you see
00:16:53.53\00:16:56.33
it's always easy to cast blame.
00:16:56.33\00:16:59.06
I see it time and
time again over the years.
00:16:59.06\00:17:01.63
After so many children.
00:17:01.63\00:17:03.00
Yes, your children get
grown and you find out that you,
00:17:03.00\00:17:06.06
excuse the English, ain't
no expert in parenting either.
00:17:06.06\00:17:12.40
All of a sudden, as I get
older, I tell my wife all the
00:17:12.40\00:17:16.43
time, I understand
my father better now.
00:17:16.43\00:17:18.83
How do you honor your father?
00:17:18.83\00:17:20.36
How do you honor your mother?
00:17:20.36\00:17:21.86
One way we can honor our
father and mother is simply to
00:17:21.86\00:17:25.03
agree to cooperate
with their instructions.
00:17:25.03\00:17:28.46
What this commandment of
respect does, it not only
00:17:28.46\00:17:33.30
keeps you when everybody else
is looking at you, but it will
00:17:33.30\00:17:36.60
also sustain you
when nobody's looking.
00:17:36.60\00:17:39.56
Because you know what I tell
folk, when the lights are off
00:17:39.56\00:17:44.23
and the blinds have been
closed, when the door is shut,
00:17:44.23\00:17:50.13
the phone is not ringing,
the e-mails aren't coming, the
00:17:50.13\00:17:53.20
only person you've got to be
able to get along with is you.
00:17:53.20\00:17:56.30
And how you handle
yourself in private is who you
00:17:56.30\00:18:03.00
are in public.
00:18:03.00\00:18:05.20
Show me a man in
private and I'll show you what
00:18:05.20\00:18:08.80
he is in public.
00:18:08.80\00:18:10.56
That's character.
00:18:10.56\00:18:11.63
Because you can fake it in
public but the real you will
00:18:11.63\00:18:14.70
show up in private.
00:18:14.70\00:18:17.33
Honor your father, honor
your mother by respecting
00:18:17.33\00:18:21.66
their name.
00:18:21.66\00:18:22.96
Young people and
everybody up in here, you better
00:18:22.96\00:18:26.63
remember that.
00:18:26.63\00:18:28.00
You've got a name
you've got to live up to.
00:18:28.00\00:18:30.73
And then one last thing
I'm going to say about honoring
00:18:30.73\00:18:33.33
your mother and
your father, be generous.
00:18:33.33\00:18:35.60
And what I mean by that is
that there are little things
00:18:35.60\00:18:39.13
that you can do just to be
generous to honor their name.
00:18:39.13\00:18:42.60
A young man who knows that
curfew is coming up, tempted
00:18:42.60\00:18:47.90
to stay longer to finish
that one last game, but he says,
00:18:47.90\00:18:50.53
no, I've got to go home.
00:18:50.53\00:18:53.46
I've got to get back now.
00:18:53.46\00:18:55.40
He's just
honoring his parents' name.
00:18:55.40\00:18:59.26
A young girl is away in
college and her friends come
00:18:59.26\00:19:03.40
by to take her out.
00:19:03.40\00:19:04.86
She really wants to go but
she's trying to finish up some
00:19:04.86\00:19:09.23
studying for a test
that's two weeks off.
00:19:09.23\00:19:12.73
But every minute counts
and she says, I'm honoring
00:19:12.73\00:19:15.70
my momma and daddy's name.
00:19:15.70\00:19:17.33
I can't go out tonight.
00:19:17.33\00:19:18.53
And they press her and say,
but you've got two more weeks,
00:19:18.53\00:19:22.46
but she remembers the
sacrifices that her parents
00:19:22.46\00:19:25.90
made just to pay the tuition
and she stays there because
00:19:25.90\00:19:30.43
she's honoring their name.
00:19:30.43\00:19:31.96
A business man traveling,
crisscrossing across the
00:19:31.96\00:19:34.50
country, stops in a layover
and he knows that he just has
00:19:34.50\00:19:37.96
about two hours away
from where he grew up.
00:19:37.96\00:19:41.20
So he says, you know what, I'm
going to rent a car, I'm going
00:19:41.20\00:19:44.76
to go see my feeble
father because I need
00:19:44.76\00:19:47.66
to honor his name.
00:19:47.66\00:19:48.86
A girl finishes surgery,
she remembers that this is the
00:19:48.86\00:19:52.53
same day that her mother
or father died, she just knows
00:19:52.53\00:19:57.26
it's going to a difficult
day, so she picks up the phone,
00:19:57.26\00:20:01.30
she remembers that it's
her momma's birthday, she calls
00:20:01.30\00:20:03.50
her daddy and says, daddy, I
was thinking about you today.
00:20:03.50\00:20:07.16
She's honoring the name.
00:20:07.16\00:20:11.13
Some child has to put
their mother or father in a
00:20:11.13\00:20:15.03
convalescent home because
they don't have the resources
00:20:15.03\00:20:19.10
or the expertise
to care for them.
00:20:19.10\00:20:21.33
It breaks their heart to have
to relinquish them that way,
00:20:21.33\00:20:23.46
but they come by just to
stop in to look and smile, even
00:20:23.46\00:20:27.56
when the parents don't even
know that they are there, to
00:20:27.56\00:20:30.70
honor their
father and their mother.
00:20:30.70\00:20:34.63
Let me tell you, in harmony
with Mother's Day God had it
00:20:34.63\00:20:38.76
that it would be that we would
preach commandment five today.
00:20:38.76\00:20:42.23
You can be generous
to your parents without
00:20:42.23\00:20:45.03
giving them a dime.
00:20:45.03\00:20:46.70
Somebody in here, you
haven't even called your momma,
00:20:46.70\00:20:53.66
your daddy.
00:20:53.66\00:20:54.83
When you leave here today
and you get in your car, get the
00:20:54.83\00:21:00.53
cell phone out and say, momma,
I thought I'd call you today.
00:21:00.53\00:21:04.73
Daddy, I thought
I'd call you today.
00:21:04.73\00:21:09.96
Give them something lasting
to hold on, because there's
00:21:09.96\00:21:12.96
somebody in Berean today
who wishes they had their momma
00:21:12.96\00:21:15.53
to call, wishes they
had their daddy to call.
00:21:15.53\00:21:18.63
Take a pen and a
piece of paper out.
00:21:18.63\00:21:21.70
Doesn't have to be the
letter 10 pages long, not even
00:21:21.70\00:21:24.66
a page, just say a
line, Daddy, thank you
00:21:24.66\00:21:27.90
for all you've done for me.
00:21:27.90\00:21:31.83
Momma, thank you for
what you have meant to me.
00:21:31.83\00:21:36.30
Thank you.
00:21:36.30\00:21:38.00
So today I'm almost through,
but the question is this, to
00:21:38.00\00:21:41.06
the question of my
parents having done anything to
00:21:41.06\00:21:43.96
deserve my respect.
00:21:43.96\00:21:45.83
Yes, they have.
00:21:45.83\00:21:48.40
Because of the fact that we
have been born in the family
00:21:48.40\00:21:51.56
of God, God never said to
keep this commandment based on
00:21:51.56\00:21:56.53
their performance.
00:21:56.53\00:22:00.36
Because this commandment is
for the child and for all of
00:22:00.36\00:22:06.73
the children regardless of
how old the parents are and this
00:22:06.73\00:22:10.93
is how it works.
00:22:10.93\00:22:12.73
God didn't say, honor your
father and your mother if they
00:22:12.73\00:22:16.36
deserve it or if they've
been good to you or if they've
00:22:16.36\00:22:20.16
given you stuff you wanted
or they never made mistakes.
00:22:20.16\00:22:23.70
That's not what God said.
00:22:23.70\00:22:25.40
God does not negotiate with it.
00:22:25.40\00:22:27.76
And I have to be fundamentally
sound at this point,
00:22:27.76\00:22:30.83
regardless of how
your heart has been broken.
00:22:30.83\00:22:34.30
And I know, somebody,
you've had a broken heart as it
00:22:34.30\00:22:36.93
relates to your family.
00:22:36.93\00:22:37.90
But God still says, honor
your father and your mother.
00:22:37.90\00:22:43.10
It's not so much for
the father or the mother,
00:22:43.10\00:22:46.43
it's for you.
00:22:46.43\00:22:48.20
If you honor them, God says,
you prolong life in the land.
00:22:48.20\00:22:52.73
Understand, no, I can't
stand here and say my mom and my
00:22:52.73\00:22:59.26
daddy we've agreed on
everything in our lives,
00:22:59.26\00:23:02.63
but I honor them.
00:23:02.63\00:23:04.63
I love them. Why?
00:23:04.63\00:23:06.43
Because God said so.
It doesn't matter if they
00:23:06.43\00:23:10.46
deserve it or
not, God said do it.
00:23:10.46\00:23:15.06
So I might be getting some
resistance today, but here's
00:23:15.06\00:23:19.30
where you have to stand
bold upon the word of God.
00:23:19.30\00:23:22.86
Didn't say if you were beaten,
it didn't say if you were
00:23:22.86\00:23:28.00
abandoned.
00:23:28.00\00:23:29.50
It didn't say if your
momma and daddy had problems.
00:23:29.50\00:23:32.66
God said, in spite of all
of that honor your father and
00:23:32.66\00:23:40.56
your mother.
00:23:40.56\00:23:41.56
I already know many of you
are not paying any attention to
00:23:41.56\00:23:44.10
me, but I'm trying to help
somebody and tell somebody how
00:23:44.10\00:23:47.06
your days can be sustained.
00:23:47.06\00:23:48.70
Because let me tell
you something, if you have
00:23:48.70\00:23:53.20
children, the way you honor
your father, the way you honor
00:23:53.20\00:23:58.63
your mother, it's just a
matter of time before your
00:23:58.63\00:24:03.46
children begin to treat
you the way you've treated your
00:24:03.46\00:24:07.66
mother and your father.
00:24:07.66\00:24:10.36
Be not deceived.
00:24:10.36\00:24:12.96
God is not mocked.
00:24:12.96\00:24:15.60
Whatsoever man soweth,
that shall he also reap.
00:24:15.60\00:24:21.06
That's the only way the
family has a future, if we honor
00:24:21.06\00:24:25.96
momma and daddy.
00:24:25.96\00:24:27.56
Yes, your daddy may
have been an alcoholic.
00:24:27.56\00:24:31.70
Yes, your mother
may have done you wrong.
00:24:31.70\00:24:34.66
But don't let
your past paralyze you.
00:24:34.66\00:24:39.80
That may have been their
problem, but that's not your
00:24:39.80\00:24:42.43
problem.
00:24:42.43\00:24:43.23
You still have to honor the
name of your father and your
00:24:43.23\00:24:46.23
mother.
00:24:46.23\00:24:47.20
So I'm going to sit down
now because I've finished with
00:24:47.20\00:24:49.36
this text, but somebody
wants to know, Pastor Byrd,
00:24:49.36\00:24:51.96
how do I do this?
00:24:51.96\00:24:53.06
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians
6: 1-3 tells us what we have
00:24:53.06\00:24:56.13
to do in this command
and how we ought to behave.
00:24:56.13\00:24:59.46
In the New Testament,
which affirms the Old Testament,
00:24:59.46\00:25:02.90
Paul says, children,
obey your parents in the Lord
00:25:02.90\00:25:07.60
for this is right.
00:25:07.60\00:25:09.43
Honor your father and
your mother, which is the first
00:25:09.43\00:25:13.00
commandment with promise,
that it may be well with ye that
00:25:13.00\00:25:16.06
thou may have
liveth long on the earth.
00:25:16.06\00:25:18.56
And it's just not speaking
of how long you shall live, but
00:25:18.56\00:25:23.16
it's also speaking of
the quality of your life.
00:25:23.16\00:25:26.23
So if you've had some bad
baggage and a bad background
00:25:26.23\00:25:30.56
with your parents,
that's not what the Lord is
00:25:30.56\00:25:34.43
explaining right now.
00:25:34.43\00:25:35.83
He's saying, honor them anyway.
00:25:35.83\00:25:42.10
To dishonor them
is to dishonor you.
00:25:42.10\00:25:47.70
But more than that, you
all, I've got to honor my father
00:25:47.70\00:25:51.63
and mother, and more than
that, I want to honor not just
00:25:51.63\00:25:58.83
my earthly father and
mother, but I've got to honor my
00:25:58.83\00:26:04.20
heavenly father.
00:26:04.20\00:26:05.86
PB: My name is Dr. Carlton T.
00:26:05.86\00:26:07.56
Byrd and I'm the senior
pastor of the Berean Seventh-Day
00:26:07.56\00:26:11.63
Adventist Church
here in Atlanta, Georgia.
00:26:11.63\00:26:14.10
I'm also privileged to be the
speaker director of the Breath
00:26:14.10\00:26:17.36
of Life television ministry.
00:26:17.36\00:26:18.40
So when you see the Berean
Church, you're also seeing
00:26:18.40\00:26:21.86
Breath of Life
television because we are one
00:26:21.86\00:26:24.20
and the same.
00:26:24.20\00:26:25.60
While in the Atlanta area
we invite you to come and visit
00:26:25.60\00:26:29.26
us as we worship
the Lord together.
00:26:29.26\00:26:31.60
Our midweek worship
service is on Wednesday evenings
00:26:31.60\00:26:34.80
at 7:00 p.m.
00:26:34.80\00:26:36.30
and then we have two
worship experiences on
00:26:36.30\00:26:38.96
Saturday morning.
00:26:38.96\00:26:39.73
The first worship
experience begins at 8:45 a.m.
00:26:39.73\00:26:43.36
and the second worship
experience begins at 11:30 a.m.
00:26:43.36\00:26:47.13
So, visit us.
00:26:47.13\00:26:48.96
We're located at 291
Hamilton E. Holmes Drive
00:26:48.96\00:26:52.00
here in the city of Atlanta.
00:26:52.00\00:26:53.80
Also, you may feel free
to log onto our web site
00:26:53.80\00:26:57.66
www.atlantabereansda.org
or www.breathoflife.tv.
00:26:57.66\00:27:04.16
May God continue to bless you.
00:27:04.16\00:27:06.36
>: The Breath of Life gift
offer this week is "Surprised
00:27:06.36\00:27:09.06
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00:27:09.06\00:27:11.60
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00:27:11.60\00:27:12.73
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00:27:15.46\00:27:16.43
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Pharisees were surprised.
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Join with Elizabeth as you
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That's 877-265-6333.
00:27:42.73\00:27:44.66
Please have your credit
card ready when you call.
00:27:44.66\00:27:50.03
Or you may write us
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00:27:52.30\00:27:55.13
Newbury Park, CA 91319.
00:27:55.13\00:27:57.06
Get your copy of
"Surprised by Love" today.
00:27:57.06\00:28:01.53
Be encouraged and
touched by the unexpected rescue
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of God's children.
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PB: Does the
family have a future?
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How can I honor a
father or a mother who does not
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deserve my respect?
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It's not so much
for the father or the
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mother, it's for you.
00:28:24.86\00:28:27.50