Thanks for joining us today
for our in-depth Bible study.
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I'm Pastor Dale Leamon
from Battle Creek, Michigan
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and we are going to look
further at God's Ten promises.
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Some people call
them the Ten Commandments,
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which they are, but they
are also wonderful promises
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as we will see more
fully in just a moment.
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But first let's
have a word of prayer.
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Father in heaven, how we
rejoice that You have given us
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Your Holy Spirit
this day and that even now
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You are ready to help
us understand the word.
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Bless us as we
study, that we may come
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to a
realization of Your goodness
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and Your power to save and that
our hearts may be transformed.
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Help me, Lord, that
I maybe Your servant.
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In Jesus name, Amen.
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Well, those who have
understood that the law
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is really a list of
promises come to love the law.
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You know, it's typical of
people to kind of dread the law,
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almost like you dread
the coming of a judge,
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when you find
yourself in violation.
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And of course, the reason
that the law scares us a bit
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is because we
have often violated it.
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But God knew we would.
He understood that fully.
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He gave it to imperfect
people, to people who He knew
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were already predetermined to
sin by their parental heritage
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and he understood that
He didn't give it to us.
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In other words, in
order to become a standard,
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by which we would
achieve salvation.
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But he gave it to us to show
us our failings and to show us
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what he was going to do
for us as He transformed us.
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And so the Ten Commandments
can be seen as promises.
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Promises of what He
will do in our lives
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as we give
ourselves fully to His grace.
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Now those who find the Ten
Commandments to be promises,
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even though they
know they have failed,
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are always given a
much better concept of them
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and have a good feeling
about God's commandments.
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In fact, one of the
great examples of that is David
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in the Old Testament.
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David was not a perfect man.
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I think, we all
know that, don't we?
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He--his--the
Bible history records
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some very serious
violations of God's law.
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And yet David did not allow
himself to become discouraged.
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In fact, he speaks
of God's Commandments
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in the most glowing terms
and that was because again,
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he realized that
it was God himself
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who was bringing
him into conformity.
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Well, just look
at some of the things
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David says about the law.
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You probably know
that the 119th Psalm,
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which is just practically
in the middle of the Bible,
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is the very longest
chapter of scripture.
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In fact, it is
quite a bit longer than
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any other chapter of scripture
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and that entire
Psalm is about God's law
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and his commandments
and it is a hymn of praise
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to the wisdom of God, who gave
such wonderful commandments.
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So we're just
going to skip around
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and look at several of the
verses from this great chapter
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to see how David really
felt about the commandments.
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Let's begin with Psalm 119:97.
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All right. This says,
"Oh, how I love your law!
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It is my
meditation all the day."
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What a great praise to the Lord.
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He thinks about
God's law all day long.
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We usually don't
think about God's law
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or at least sometimes
we try not to or if we do,
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the way we think about it
is uh, it's on my shoulders.
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I feel guilty.
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But that's not the way
David responded to the law.
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He looked it as a hopeful thing.
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This is what
God is doing for me.
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You see David
understood Jewish history.
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He understood that
Israel had been given the law
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after their
deliverance from Egypt
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and that God was showing what he
was going to do for them next.
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Now that I've
delivered you from Egypt,
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now I'm going to take
away other gods and idols
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from your heart and I'm
going to help you to be a people
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who love each other better.
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And so, he says,
oh, how I love your law.
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Let's look at another one
from this beautiful chapter.
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Psalm 119:176. He says,
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"I have gone
astray like a lost sheep,
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Seek your servant,
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for I do not
forget Your commandments."
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Again, how beautiful.
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He understands that
remembering the commandments
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and loving the commandments
is something you can do
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even though you are a
sheep that has gone astray.
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He understands that God
doesn't intend for his law
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in other words to
condemn and crush us.
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But rather, God intends that
we would find hope in his law.
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Let's look at another one.
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Chapter 119 again
but this time verse 127.
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" Therefore I
love your commandments,
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more than gold,
yes, than fine gold!"
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So David thinks
God's commandments
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so the most valuable
thing he's ever run into.
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They're more valuable than gold.
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He recognizes
that the commandments
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themselves are God's covenant,
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that this is the promise that
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he would be made
ready for eternal life.
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That God would
in fact change him
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and make him able to
live with angels forever.
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So that is far
more valuable than gold.
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Gold cannot buy our
way into God's kingdom.
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But the grace of our Lord,
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which writes the
law in our hearts,
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certainly can and has
purchased the kingdom for us.
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Let's look at
another one. Chapter 119:93.
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"I will never
forget your precepts,
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For by them you
have given me life."
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David understands that
the law is God's promise
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of a new life and so
He loves the law of God.
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Let's look at verses 71
and 72 from this same chapter.
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"It is good for me
that I have been afflicted,
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that I may learn Your statutes.
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The law of your
mouth is better to me
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than thousands of
coins of gold and silver."
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He again says he values
it more than gold and silver,
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but notice, he
says, it's a good thing
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that I've had
some trials in my life
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because the trials have made
me appreciate your law more.
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Isn't that amazing?
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He sees that God is
developing his understanding
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and appreciation for the rules.
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He realizes that God
isn't just saying here you are,
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do your best, keep the rules
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and if you do good
enough job, I'll save you.
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No, God is working
with us throughout our life.
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Even training us by
disciplines and helping us
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through afflictions to
discover the value of His law
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and to
appreciate it's principles,
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so that we more and
more allow His grace
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to write the law in our hearts.
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David has a very mature
understanding of the law
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and therefore he loves
it instead of hating it
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as so many are tempted to do.
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Let's look at
verses 35 through 37.
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"Make me walk in the
path of Your commandments,
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For I delight in it.
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Incline my heart
to Your testimonies
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And not to covetousness.
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Turn away my eyes from
looking at worthless things
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and revive me in your way."
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David here sees that it
is God's work to bring him
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to the enjoyment of the law
and the obedience of the law,
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where he says, incline
my heart to your testimony.
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You see what he is saying.
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He is not just saying,
okay, Lord, I know I blew it.
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I'll try harder next
time. I'll do better.
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Give me another
chance. No, no, no.
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David knows that any
number of extra chances
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aren't going to change him.
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He recognizes that what he
needs is God's special grace
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to come in and
incline his heart.
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Now, an incline is
where you have a tilted floor
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or level and he wants his heart
to be tilted toward God's will
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and toward God's law.
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And he realizes that that's
the work that only God can do,
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and so he sees the
commandments as a promise
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and as an
inducement to receive the grace
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and the work of
God in the heart.
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Finally, let's look at
verse 32 in this chapter,
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which says, "I will run
the course of your commandments
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for You shall enlarge my heart!"
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You see, he knows that he's
got to have his heart enlarged.
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As runners run it is true that
as they exercise frequently,
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their hearts expand
somewhat and certainly
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their strength of
their heart muscle increases.
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And so David is saying,
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I'll keep your
commandments better.
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I want to, I'm willing to.
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I see that they're
wonderful and I just need you to
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strengthen my
heart, enlarge my heart.
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He recognizes again that
that's God's work to do that.
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And so, he's not
intimidated by the law
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but rather sees
it as a hopeful thing
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that God intends to
produce in his life.
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That's the way we all
need to look at the law.
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David freely
admits his many failings,
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and difficulties,
and weaknesses, and yet,
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he sees God's law
as a great treasure,
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as a tremendous bank account
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that is going
to see him through.
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He recognizes that he
needs God to change his heart.
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David, as you know, was
guilty of adultery and murder.
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In such a public way, that
he brought shame and disgrace
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on the entire nation of Israel
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and yet he
still loved God's law.
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The law, which could
be seen as condemning him,
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he recognized was also
promising him a new life
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and hope for eternity.
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Of course, it's God's
work to change our hearts.
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The law cannot
change us in anyway.
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It cannot save us.
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But it is God's
glorious promise to do for us
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what we cannot do for ourselves.
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Now let's look--let's
focus on another command
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as we have been doing.
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This time we're going to
look at one of the ten promises,
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number five in number,
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which is found in
Exodus Chapter 20:12.
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This is the commandment
about family life, in particular
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relationship between
children and parents.
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Let's read. "Honor
your father and your mother,
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that your days may
be long upon the land
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which the Lord
your God is giving you."
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Now that is, is interesting.
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We've already seen that
the first four commandments
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relate to our
relationship with God.
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They show us, God wants to be
the supreme person in our lives.
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He doesn't want us to make
cheap representations of Him
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that we would worship.
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He wants us to
use His name properly,
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to find the power
that is in his name.
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He wants us to
have a day that we spend
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with Him every week,
that special Sabbath day.
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But now, that--those,
00:12:27.96\00:12:29.89
we understand
those four commandments
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were contained
on the first stone.
00:12:32.41\00:12:34.60
Remember that the Ten
Commandments were written
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on two tablets of
stone and on that first stone
00:12:36.19\00:12:40.66
were those first
four commandments.
00:12:40.67\00:12:41.86
On the second
stone, we have commandments
00:12:41.87\00:12:44.75
that relate to the
inter-human connection.
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And it's very
interesting since God is looking
00:12:51.75\00:12:54.20
at the hierarchy
of relationships.
00:12:54.21\00:12:57.93
He starts on the first
stone with relationships
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between God and man.
00:13:00.47\00:13:01.78
Then when He
moves to relationships
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between man and man,
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He starts with the relationship
between man and his parents,
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which in God's view is the
next order of relationship,
00:13:11.10\00:13:15.78
you see, coming down
from God and going all the way
00:13:15.79\00:13:18.42
to what we have
with our neighbor.
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So the--the parental
child-parent relationship
00:13:20.84\00:13:25.88
is in God's mind a
elevated relationship.
00:13:25.89\00:13:28.96
It's a very high relationship.
00:13:28.97\00:13:30.06
It stands just
below that of man and God,
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but above that of
neighbor to neighbor.
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In other words, God
intends to give us an attitude
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and a sense of appreciation
and of respect for our parents
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that will exceed
any other relationship
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that we have with
another fellow being.
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That's hard to
imagine, isn't it?
00:13:59.14\00:14:01.08
And you might
wonder what that says
00:14:01.09\00:14:02.31
about the marriage relationship,
00:14:02.32\00:14:03.75
which is also
supposed to be such a high
00:14:03.76\00:14:05.45
and respectful
relationship. But as we'll see,
00:14:05.46\00:14:08.42
the commandments relating
to the marriage relationship
00:14:08.43\00:14:11.16
come after the one relating
to parental relationship.
00:14:11.17\00:14:14.07
So clearly that has a very
high precedent in God's mind
00:14:14.08\00:14:17.94
and He intends
that we shall never stop
00:14:17.95\00:14:20.12
respecting our parents
not even when we're grown
00:14:20.13\00:14:24.69
and we become more
of a peer with them.
00:14:24.70\00:14:28.53
"Honor your father and mother."
00:14:28.54\00:14:32.02
Now that has become more
difficult as time has gone on,
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because parents
make a lot of mistakes.
00:14:35.77\00:14:40.08
And many parents don't
seem to be worthy of much honor.
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We live in an age when love
is dying from the human heart
00:14:46.35\00:14:50.94
and to some extent that has been
due to the sickness in the home
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and the loss of love
between parents and children.
00:14:57.53\00:15:01.64
I would like to say
though that God intends that
00:15:01.65\00:15:05.30
we should have a transformation
in our thinking on this.
00:15:05.31\00:15:10.58
God intends to bring
about a major revival
00:15:10.59\00:15:13.58
in these last days.
00:15:13.59\00:15:15.29
What we're seeing in
society as a breakdown
00:15:15.30\00:15:18.70
in the appreciation
between parents and children,
00:15:18.71\00:15:21.96
God intends to reverse in
His church and among His people
00:15:21.97\00:15:25.63
and He intends to make
it so that the connection
00:15:25.64\00:15:28.06
between parents and
children is increasing,
00:15:28.07\00:15:31.49
improving, getting
better and becoming a real model
00:15:31.50\00:15:35.03
of his original plan for us.
00:15:35.04\00:15:37.51
So, this promise this #5
promise of the Ten Commandments
00:15:37.52\00:15:43.93
is not something
God is slacking off on,
00:15:43.94\00:15:47.07
even though in our
culture in general,
00:15:47.08\00:15:49.39
it seems that the love
between parents and children
00:15:49.40\00:15:52.17
is decreasing everyday.
00:15:52.18\00:15:54.91
Yet God intends to make
this a very powerful testimony
00:15:54.92\00:16:00.35
among his final people
as He keeps the promise
00:16:00.36\00:16:04.46
of the Fifth Commandment.
00:16:04.47\00:16:05.98
We have a scripture
in which that promise
00:16:05.99\00:16:08.83
is made again in
a prophetic sense.
00:16:08.84\00:16:12.24
And that is
Malachi, the fourth Chapter.
00:16:12.25\00:16:17.39
We'll read that
together, verses 5 and 6.
00:16:17.40\00:16:22.60
"Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming
00:16:22.61\00:16:27.71
of the great and
dreadful day of the Lord.
00:16:27.72\00:16:31.37
And he will turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children,
00:16:31.38\00:16:35.53
and the hearts of the
children to their fathers..."
00:16:35.54\00:16:37.91
Let us stop with
that part right there.
00:16:39.54\00:16:41.65
This prophet Elijah
of course is a prediction
00:16:41.66\00:16:44.86
of the end time prophetic
movement of God's people.
00:16:44.87\00:16:49.45
Elijah was--Jesus
said that John the Baptist
00:16:49.46\00:16:55.07
was a fulfillment of this
prophecy and yet of course,
00:16:55.08\00:16:58.66
this prophecy obviously
has an end time application
00:16:58.67\00:17:02.61
because it says that this Elijah
will come before the great
00:17:02.62\00:17:05.64
and dreadful day of the Lord.
00:17:05.65\00:17:07.32
Which in prophetic terms
means the end of the world
00:17:07.33\00:17:11.27
and the judgment of the world.
00:17:11.28\00:17:13.24
And so we look for
another fulfillment
00:17:13.25\00:17:15.51
of this Elijah prediction,
00:17:15.52\00:17:17.55
not in some literal
Elijah person coming,
00:17:17.56\00:17:20.75
but in the mission of
Elijah and John the Baptist
00:17:20.76\00:17:25.62
being again
fulfilled by God's people
00:17:25.63\00:17:28.70
in preparation for
Jesus appearing in the clouds.
00:17:28.71\00:17:31.62
This Elijah movement
will be a movement that calls
00:17:31.63\00:17:36.88
the people to worship God alone.
00:17:36.89\00:17:39.06
It will be a
Three Angels message
00:17:39.07\00:17:41.75
and will take up that
great prophetic strain,
00:17:41.76\00:17:44.71
which the prophets
of old have carried.
00:17:44.72\00:17:46.78
But it will call people
back to a worship of God alone,
00:17:46.79\00:17:50.23
to the obedience
of the commandments,
00:17:50.24\00:17:52.51
and the faith of Jesus.
00:17:52.52\00:17:54.21
And it will also
affect family life greatly.
00:17:54.22\00:18:00.47
It said again that,
the hearts of the fathers
00:18:00.48\00:18:02.89
will be turned to the children
00:18:02.90\00:18:04.94
and the hearts of the
children turned to the fathers.
00:18:04.95\00:18:09.12
What a beautiful promise
and how much we need that
00:18:09.13\00:18:13.28
in our modern age.
00:18:13.29\00:18:15.42
I had an experience a few years
ago with meeting a young man.
00:18:15.43\00:18:21.42
We'll call him Gary.
00:18:21.43\00:18:23.51
Gary was from a
home that was divided.
00:18:23.52\00:18:27.47
His mother was a Christian
and his father was not,
00:18:27.48\00:18:30.32
and he is not practicing.
00:18:30.33\00:18:32.65
He--he had a
kind of a rough home.
00:18:32.66\00:18:36.52
The father was involved
with alcohol pretty heavily.
00:18:36.53\00:18:41.91
I don't know whether you'd
call him an alcoholic exactly,
00:18:41.92\00:18:44.51
but he did drink fairly
often, and whenever he did,
00:18:44.52\00:18:47.44
he--pretty much
lost control of himself.
00:18:47.45\00:18:50.38
There were several
children in the family,
00:18:50.39\00:18:51.84
but Gary was the oldest son and
as such he had a particularly
00:18:51.85\00:18:57.44
challenging time because he
really wanted to see his home
00:18:57.45\00:19:01.71
and his family be better.
00:19:01.72\00:19:02.85
But the father always seemed
to be dragging things down
00:19:02.86\00:19:06.49
because his--his
use of alcohol hindered
00:19:06.50\00:19:09.17
his effectiveness in
work and there were times
00:19:09.18\00:19:11.83
when he lost jobs and wasn't
able to provide very well.
00:19:11.84\00:19:14.94
So Gary kind of lost
respect for his father.
00:19:14.95\00:19:17.95
Sometimes he would
also see his father
00:19:17.96\00:19:20.37
under the influence of
alcohol, hitting his mother,
00:19:20.38\00:19:24.93
and hitting his--his
little brothers and sisters
00:19:24.94\00:19:29.01
and it--it upset him.
00:19:29.02\00:19:31.71
As he grew up watching this,
00:19:31.72\00:19:33.67
he--he began frankly to
more and more hate his father.
00:19:33.68\00:19:37.85
He began to blame his
father for everything bad
00:19:37.86\00:19:40.01
that had come upon the family
00:19:40.02\00:19:41.63
and to literally
wish his father dead.
00:19:41.64\00:19:45.71
Well, needless to
say, all of those feelings
00:19:45.72\00:19:47.79
didn't help Gary to
be a Christian either.
00:19:47.80\00:19:51.37
And it almost looked
like he was going to follow
00:19:51.38\00:19:53.80
in his father's footsteps.
00:19:53.81\00:19:55.41
Isn't it strange how when allow
hatred to grow in our hearts,
00:19:55.42\00:19:58.95
we very often become
like the thing we hate.
00:19:58.96\00:20:02.31
And he was beginning
to, he was a teenager,
00:20:02.32\00:20:05.40
he was beginning to smoke
and drink from time to time,
00:20:05.41\00:20:09.90
run around with friends
who didn't have any good ideas
00:20:09.91\00:20:13.00
for his life and
he seemed rather,
00:20:13.01\00:20:15.42
rather aimless
and directionless.
00:20:15.43\00:20:18.08
But still he hated his
father and blamed his father
00:20:18.09\00:20:21.08
and he had never
given his life to Christ.
00:20:21.09\00:20:24.28
But one day, Gary was faced with
a--a crisis in his experience
00:20:24.29\00:20:30.94
and he started
thinking about God.
00:20:30.95\00:20:33.66
And I received a phone
call from him in which he said,
00:20:33.67\00:20:38.54
Pastor Leamon, I'd
really like to talk with you.
00:20:38.55\00:20:40.48
And I was
delighted, whenever a teenager
00:20:40.49\00:20:42.54
that seems to be wandering
00:20:42.55\00:20:43.87
in the world calls me
and says I'd like to talk,
00:20:43.88\00:20:46.32
I'm just thrilled
and I certainly was.
00:20:46.33\00:20:49.76
I said, well, I
have a little time today.
00:20:49.77\00:20:51.94
Let's get together today.
00:20:51.95\00:20:53.80
And so, we met in one
of the rooms of the church
00:20:53.81\00:20:58.82
and Gary began to
tell me about his life
00:20:58.83\00:21:02.81
and as he told me about his life
00:21:02.82\00:21:05.12
and the trouble
that he was getting into,
00:21:05.13\00:21:07.74
tears began to come to his eyes.
00:21:07.75\00:21:09.24
He said, do you think
that I could be a Christian?
00:21:09.25\00:21:11.56
Do you think that
God could save me?
00:21:11.57\00:21:15.06
And I had such a tremendous
joy sharing with him the gospel
00:21:15.07\00:21:20.58
and the fact that Jesus had
already given his life for him
00:21:20.59\00:21:24.02
and had already
provided salvation for him
00:21:24.03\00:21:26.85
and all he had to
do was confess his sin
00:21:26.86\00:21:29.50
and confess Jesus as his Savior
00:21:29.51\00:21:31.92
and He could become
a part of his family.
00:21:31.93\00:21:35.97
Well, you know, after we
talked for perhaps an hour
00:21:35.98\00:21:40.12
and looked up
through scriptures together,
00:21:40.13\00:21:42.29
Gary said, this is
just what I needed.
00:21:42.30\00:21:44.54
This is just what I want.
00:21:44.55\00:21:45.78
Could we do that right now?
00:21:45.79\00:21:47.93
I tell you,
that's music to my ears.
00:21:47.94\00:21:49.58
I said,
absolutely, let's kneel down
00:21:49.59\00:21:51.36
where we are and pray.
00:21:51.37\00:21:53.79
And first of all,
00:21:53.80\00:21:55.41
I prayed and asked
for the Holy Spirit
00:21:55.42\00:21:57.60
to really control that
moment and then Gary prayed
00:21:57.61\00:22:00.04
and we prayed the
most beautiful prayer
00:22:00.05\00:22:01.96
in which he confessed his sins.
00:22:01.97\00:22:04.71
He told the Lord
all about his life
00:22:04.72\00:22:06.61
and he gave his heart to Christ.
00:22:06.62\00:22:09.91
I'll tell you, He just about
jumped up from that prayer.
00:22:09.92\00:22:12.17
I have never seen a
more obvious spirit filling
00:22:12.18\00:22:15.82
at the time of
conversion than I did with Gary.
00:22:15.83\00:22:18.91
His--his face
had a glow on it that
00:22:18.92\00:22:21.86
nothing else had ever produced.
00:22:21.87\00:22:24.18
He was absolutely
filled with joy and peace
00:22:24.19\00:22:29.00
and immediately,
he said two things.
00:22:29.01\00:22:30.80
#1, how soon can I
be baptized and #2,
00:22:30.81\00:22:35.87
which surprised me so
much, shouldn't have, I suppose,
00:22:35.88\00:22:39.91
he said, you know, I think,
00:22:39.92\00:22:43.98
I'm gonna have to work
things out with my dad.
00:22:43.99\00:22:48.71
Boy, oh, boy, was
that ever evidence
00:22:48.72\00:22:50.53
of the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:22:50.54\00:22:52.13
You see, just the week before,
00:22:52.14\00:22:54.44
he had gotten into an argument
with his dad in which he now,
00:22:54.45\00:22:57.93
pretty strong and fit as
a teenager had hit his dad
00:22:57.94\00:23:03.42
in the face and
knocked him to the floor
00:23:03.43\00:23:06.67
and then stomped
out in his anger.
00:23:06.68\00:23:09.35
Now he was feeling
deep remorse for that
00:23:09.36\00:23:11.53
and realizing that he had
broken the fifth commandment.
00:23:11.54\00:23:15.42
And even though his father had
been such a bad example to him,
00:23:15.43\00:23:18.16
in his heart, he wanted
to be restored to his father
00:23:18.17\00:23:23.34
and he started feeling a
tenderness toward his father.
00:23:23.35\00:23:28.07
I tell you,
folks, that's an evidence
00:23:28.08\00:23:29.36
of the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:23:29.37\00:23:31.19
And as we come to Jesus, we
should expect that to happen.
00:23:31.20\00:23:35.34
Because all of his
commandments are promises
00:23:35.35\00:23:37.94
and the closer we come to Jesus,
00:23:37.95\00:23:39.89
the more we can
anticipate that he will put
00:23:39.90\00:23:44.14
the urging of these truths
right inside of our hearts.
00:23:44.15\00:23:48.98
And so, you know,
it wasn't for Gary,
00:23:48.99\00:23:50.98
it wasn't like, oh,
boy, now that I'm Christian,
00:23:50.99\00:23:53.96
I suppose I have
to try to like my dad.
00:23:53.97\00:23:58.37
No, not at all. It was,
the Spirit came into him.
00:23:58.38\00:24:01.85
He began to feel, oh, I
haven't respected my father.
00:24:01.86\00:24:05.86
I haven't loved my father
00:24:05.87\00:24:08.38
and instead of
guilt, he felt hope.
00:24:08.39\00:24:12.72
And he immediately said,
00:24:12.73\00:24:14.65
I want the Lord
to help me with this.
00:24:14.66\00:24:16.96
We know Jesus
has kept the promise
00:24:16.97\00:24:19.45
of all ten of the commandments.
00:24:19.46\00:24:21.07
He, himself, has
fulfilled these commandments
00:24:21.08\00:24:23.71
in his own
experience and that is why
00:24:23.72\00:24:25.61
He can give
them--give them to us.
00:24:25.62\00:24:27.94
He made the promise
in the Old Testament,
00:24:27.95\00:24:29.75
but then when he came,
he fulfilled the promise
00:24:29.76\00:24:32.32
in his own life by
keeping all these commandments
00:24:32.33\00:24:34.71
perfectly himself.
00:24:34.72\00:24:37.47
Look at Jesus own example
in relationship to his parents.
00:24:37.48\00:24:42.28
Jesus stayed at
home for 30 some years.
00:24:42.29\00:24:47.83
You know, he could have gone out
into his ministry much sooner.
00:24:47.84\00:24:51.93
He knew from age
12 pretty much exactly
00:24:51.94\00:24:54.90
what it was he was supposed
to do and yet he waited,
00:24:54.91\00:24:58.73
and waited, and waited
because he was needed at home.
00:24:58.74\00:25:02.43
His father had
died. He was a carpenter.
00:25:02.44\00:25:05.50
He took up the family business.
He took care of his mother.
00:25:05.51\00:25:09.52
He waited. He was also waiting
for the Heavenly Father to say,
00:25:09.53\00:25:13.04
now is the time.
00:25:13.05\00:25:14.75
Because Jesus took counsel
and guidance from his parents,
00:25:14.76\00:25:20.26
both his earthly
parents and his heavenly parent.
00:25:20.27\00:25:24.39
He showed love for
care-- in caring for his mother
00:25:24.40\00:25:27.86
after his father's death.
00:25:27.87\00:25:31.13
He revealed the special
respect he had for his mother,
00:25:31.14\00:25:37.78
in that story of
the wedding at Cana.
00:25:37.79\00:25:39.71
You remember that story.
00:25:39.72\00:25:41.12
His mother apparently was one
of the relatives of the family
00:25:41.13\00:25:44.50
and as their wedding
feast was progressing
00:25:44.51\00:25:47.95
and they ran out of wine,
00:25:47.96\00:25:51.58
we understand that was
fresh wine, grape juice,
00:25:51.59\00:25:55.87
she went to Jesus and she
said, do something about this.
00:25:55.88\00:25:59.96
When Jesus said,
it's not time yet.
00:25:59.97\00:26:03.96
He hadn't himself yet
felt that this was time
00:26:03.97\00:26:07.26
to introduce his
miraculous powers,
00:26:07.27\00:26:11.08
that--that
somehow that hadn't come.
00:26:11.09\00:26:12.79
But God sent that
message through his mother,
00:26:12.80\00:26:16.54
that now was the time
and he respected his mother
00:26:16.55\00:26:19.36
so much that when
she told the servants,
00:26:19.37\00:26:23.18
you do whatever
Jesus says to do.
00:26:23.19\00:26:25.67
Then He went ahead and He
told them to fill the pots
00:26:25.68\00:26:28.76
with water and then
the water became wine.
00:26:28.77\00:26:31.27
You know the story.
00:26:31.28\00:26:32.79
And--and then word went
out from that very moment.
00:26:32.80\00:26:35.92
Jesus from Nazareth
can do amazing things.
00:26:35.93\00:26:40.10
We've seen a miracle. Who is He?
00:26:40.11\00:26:42.62
Could He be the messiah?
00:26:42.63\00:26:45.24
And it was His
mother that was used by God
00:26:45.25\00:26:48.95
to initiate His
miraculous ministry.
00:26:48.96\00:26:52.32
So He respected His
mother and listened to her
00:26:52.33\00:26:56.27
and allowed the voice
of even His Heavenly Father
00:26:56.28\00:26:58.99
to speak through her.
00:26:59.00\00:27:01.58
And then of course,
there was the cross.
00:27:01.59\00:27:04.40
When He took the responsibility
of the oldest son so seriously,
00:27:04.41\00:27:09.12
and as His mother stood there.
00:27:09.13\00:27:11.32
Imagine that, his own
mother watching His agony,
00:27:11.33\00:27:14.29
watching His grief, watching
Him bear the sins of the world,
00:27:14.30\00:27:17.68
watching Him go
through hell for us.
00:27:17.69\00:27:21.55
Uh, His mother, He
still did not forget her.
00:27:21.56\00:27:23.84
He could have been
excused for forgetting her.
00:27:23.85\00:27:25.49
Could He not?
00:27:25.50\00:27:26.52
When He was dealing
with the entire human race.
00:27:26.53\00:27:30.11
But He did not forget her.
00:27:30.12\00:27:32.26
He looked down at His mother
00:27:32.27\00:27:34.96
and He looked at His
disciple John standing near her.
00:27:34.97\00:27:39.75
And He said in effect, "John,
from now on, she is your mother.
00:27:39.76\00:27:46.26
Take care of her for me."
00:27:46.27\00:27:48.26
And so we see Jesus
fulfilling the commandment
00:27:48.27\00:27:53.58
to honor our father and mother
00:27:53.59\00:27:55.47
and He'll do that
in your heart too.
00:27:55.48\00:27:57.88
Why not let Him do it for you?
00:27:57.89\00:28:00.25