#5 Honor

#5 (Part 2) Exodus 20:12 Emmanuel Christian Church 6.15.2025 INTRODUCTION: Several weeks ago, on “Mother’s Day” we visited #5: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 We gave some thought to what it was to carry out this command of God in regard to our mothers. Surveying Scripture we found that young children under their mother’s care are called to obedience. Leaving their mother’s home, those entering into adulthood are charged with the responsibility of taking on the role of adulthood; and as mother declines with age- her adult children are called by God to provide protection of her dignity and autonomy. Today is “Father's Day” and we’re going to revisit God’s fifth commandment with the goal of providing practical guidance from God’s word in carrying out the command “Honor your father”. PROPOSITION: Three words come to mind as we think about what that means: LEGACY, INTEGRITY AND PIETY. LEGACY

What is it? Simply put, it is an inherited responsibility.
17 times throughout Scripture we find the phrase “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”!
It is almost always in reference to a promise God made to Abraham and passed down to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob whose name was changed to Israel who became the father of the sons who became the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation of God’s chosen people! Now, THAT’S LEGACY!
Each of these fathers lived in the light of that promise God had made, and they saw themselves as guardians of a sacred trust that demanded their personal faithfulness! THAT’S LEGACY! Understanding that, is a BIG part of what it means to HONOR YOUR FATHER!
So, what about Abraham’s legacy?
ABRAHAM Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
What did Abraham believe? The promise God gave him! Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and ALL peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
What did Abraham do?
He left his native country and traveled to a foreign land.
He believed God for a son, even though he and his wife were nearly 100 years old!
He willingly offered his son (the heir of God’s promise) as a human sacrifice- still believing that God would keep His promise and raise his son from the dead, if need be! APPLICATION: Abraham believed the Lord - honoring God the Father; and in so doing began a legacy handed down to…
ISAAC
The scene is Mt. Moriah.
The occasion is God’s call upon Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering! Genesis 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Genesis 22:8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
We always immediately think of Abraham’s faith in his willingness to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to God, but what about Isaac’s faith in submitting himself to his father’s plan? Surely, a young man capable of carrying all the wood necessary for a burnt offering, also had the strength to fight off his 100 plus year-old father! APPLICATION: ISAAC honored his father by submitting himself- even to the point of death! And so continued the LEGACY of faith from one generation to the next!
Later, when Isaac and his wife Rebekah themselves faced the challenge of infertility, Isaac’s faith in the promise God made to his father Abraham moved him to take action… Genesis 25:21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
That God honoring prayer of faith resulted in the birth of…
JACOB
Chosen by God over his twin brother Esau, Jacob lived a good portion of his life on the run- from his brother Esau!
Having been reconciled to his brother while returning to his ancestral home, Jacob ran into Someone whom couldn’t run away from- God himself!
Literally wrestling through the night with what he thought was a mere man, he demanded a blessing before letting Him go. It was at that moment we find this record: Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” APPLICATION: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- three sons and fathers who lived their lives in the shadow of the LEGACY of God’s promise that all peoples on the earth would be blessed through them! But what if Abraham didn’t believe God’s promise? What if Isaac didn’t submit to his father or pray for his childless wife? What if Jacob never struggled with God and overcame? Would we be here today, talking about their stories? Would the promise made to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus - ever have come to pass? Jacob lived the legacy and honored his father Isaac. Isaac lived the legacy and honored his father Abraham. Abraham lived the legacy and honored God the Father! When we live our lives in the legacy of honoring our faithful forefathers, we carry their faith forward to our own children, even as we too honor God our Father. LEGACY INTEGRITY
What is it? The quality of being consistent in character.
TRUE to your word. You’ve probably run into someone who isn’t. Jesus warned against that when He said: Matthew 5:37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. APPLICATION: “Honor your father.” - be true to your word. Failure to do so dishonors your earthly father whom people think failed to raise you better, and it dishonors your Father in heaven whose Name you bear.
GENUINE. There’s a big difference between “gold plated” and “solid gold”. When it comes to integrity, the “gold plated” person looks good, but the “solid gold” person IS good.
In the Old Testament, there’s a Hebrew word translated “integrity” and in the New Testament, there is a Greek word translated “integrity”. Two different words in two different languages, HOWEVER both of those words have the SAME core meaning- it might best be summed up in the word “COMPLETE”.
Let’s hear the Word of the Lord as it uses those words:
First, from the Old Testament- listen to God’s call upon Solomon as he became king of Israel: 1 Kings 9:4 “As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ APPLICATION: Listen to how God describes integrity to Solomon: “walk before me”, “do all I command”, “observe my laws”. A VERY practical definition of INTEGRITY! Doing those three things, Solomon would honor both his earthly father King David, as well as God, his heavenly father! COMPLETELY GENUINE- that’s the idea of father honoring character.
Listen to Jesus use the Greek version of that word that contains that exact same concept as He delivers His “Sermon on the Mount”: Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. APPLICATION: PERFECT! Wow! that sounds like a tall order! BUT it’s the EXACT same concept of being, TRUE, GENUINE, and COMPLETE! It’s what it means to be a honorable person of INTEGRITY who honors both his father on earth as well as his Father in heaven. TRANSITION: INTEGRITY describes the CHARACTER of those who honor their father, PIETY is the word used to describe what they DO… PIETY
What is it? In a word, “GODLINESS” put to action!
In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon coaches his children on the honorable actions of “piety”: Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. 24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. 25 May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!
Check out the list!
Listen to your father
Do not despise (disrespect) your mother
Buy (highly value) the truth
Get wisdom - the ability to skillfully, righteously navigate through life
Get discipline (self-control)
Get understanding
Anyone who makes that list their life’s pursuit will automatically bring honor to their father and mother!
And not just honor, but joy, delight and gladness! CONCLUSION: Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are about one word “honor”! “Honoring” them is NOT about one day out of the year, it’s about each of us being the kind of godly men and women that honor their legacy, by being people of integrity and living lives of piety!