Promise Verse: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. – Isaiah 1:19
Fifth Commandment: (Exo 20:12) Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
(Eph 6:1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
It is joyful to see the children being born. It is wonderful to see the children grow up. The child first calls the mother “Amma“. The mother teaches the child to call “Appa“. I was lying down one afternoon. Our son Samuel was lying down on a mattress. He could barely stand. I heard a voice calling me “Amba“. I took him and embraced him. The teaching starts there in the cradle.
It is a Father and child relationship with God and us when we call Him Father.
Children are to obey their parents. It is the parents’ job to teach obedience to the children. It is the mother’s responsibility to teach respect and obedience to the father in the family. i.e. I have seen my wife buy dresses for the children and say “Daddy bought it for you. Go and say thanks to him”.
(Eph 6:2-3) Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth
The first commandment with a promise: Paul reinforced this idea with a reference to Deu 5:16, where God promised to bless the obedient child.
Sixth Commandment: (Exo 20:13 NIV) “You shall not murder.
“If you will not have death unto sin, you shall have sin unto death. There is no alternative. If you do not die to sin, you shall die for sin. If you do not slay sin, sin will slay you.” – CHARLES SPURGEON
We as Christians think we are safe with this commandment. But how many abortions have taken place? Removal of the fetus is murder.
(Psa 51:6 NIV) Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Man looks at the face, but God looks at the heart.
(Mat 5:21-22 NIV) “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
If you hold hatred towards anyone, you come in the murderer’s list. Let go of your hurt feelings.
(1Jn 3:15 NIV) Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
Last Words: Edith Louisa Cavell (1865–1915) was a British nurse martyred by the Germans for harbouring British refugees. About to die, she said:
“Standing, as I do, in view of God and eternity … I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness against anyone.”
Remember Stephen the martyr (Act 7:59-60 NIV) While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he said this, he fell asleep.
Jesus our Lord on the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing”.
Seventh Commandment: (Exo 20:14 NIV) “You shall not commit adultery. (Mat 5:27-28 NIV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Many people have given themselves to lust. Lust is the natural expression of the fallen man.
(2Ti 2:25 NIV) Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, Lust is especially dangerous and rarely lies alone. Its bedfellows are fornication, adultery, perversion, rape and even murder.
Lust caused Herod to murder John the Baptist, the greatest man born of women. It doesn’t want a mere half of your kingdom, it wants your head on a plate. It brings forth sin, and sin when it’s conceived brings forth death. Proverbs 6:32 warns us, “But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding: he that does it destroys his own soul.”
The gift of sex was given by God for procreation and pleasure. Scripture says that the only time a husband and wife should refrain from the joys of sex is when they are praying and fasting; otherwise, they set themselves up for temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5). The Bible also says that a man should be ravished (enraptured) always with her love (Proverbs 5:18–20). The only stipulation is that it is his wife he is to be enraptured with—not the woman down the street.
(1Co 6:9 NIV) Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.
(Mat 5:29 NIV) If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Read the Bible daily, without fail. As you submit to God, the devil will flee (James 4:7, 8). The next time temptation comes, do fifty push-ups, then fifty sit-ups. If you are still burning, repeat the process (see 1 Corinthians 9:27).
Eighth Commandment: (Exo 20:15 NIV) “You shall not steal.
It is a sad testimony to the wickedness of the human heart when the world honours an honest person. Someone finds a wallet filled with money and returns it to the owner—and that makes national news. It is rare when a human being does what he should. Theft comes easily to us because our spiritual father is a thief. He came to steal, kill, and destroy, and his will we willingly do … and love it. ie I had a friend when buying a big kite he would hide a small one inside. His father was a union carbide company manager. When we visited to bakery he would buy bread and flick a ladoo in his pocket. ie We had apples at home but stolen apples tasted sweeter. “Thiruttu mangai thithikum“.
Sinners will often dig deep into the realm of fantasy to try to justify theft. They will say, “Are you telling me that if a man steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children that God calls that theft?” The answer is yes. It is theft and the Bible says that he should make restitution for his crime. If a man is hungry, he should beg before he steals. A sinner will often admit to stealing but say that it was just a bar of candy when he was young. ie Me having samosa in college for less money. God convinced the 25 paisa asking me to repay.
We had a college get-together last week for alumni. Our son Samuel Aaron joined me too. I went forward to hear the principal fathers talking since there was no mic. Sam sat on the chair. Two of my classmates told Sam “Rufus, how are you doing? You look the same as you were in college”.
Ninth commandment: (Exo 20:16 NIV) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. You shall not lie.
In Manipur the Meitais are killing and vandalising the churches and houses of Kukis. If Christian Meitais family hides some 25 Kukis in their houses, if asked they deny it, it is not a lie before God. Some four ministers went to Bhutan a few years back to minister among students. They checked the visas at the border and sent us as tourists. But we were preaching and ministering to congregations. You can’t go to N. Korea as an evangelist or pastor. If we were to admit as missionaries, they would be killed.
The dictionary defines a lie as a false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood; something intended to deceive or give a wrong impression.
…20,000 middle and high-schoolers were surveyed by the Josephson Institute of Ethics—a nonprofit organisation in Marina del Rey, Calif., devoted to character education. Ninety-two percent of the teenagers admitted having lied to their parents in the previous year, and 73 percent characterised themselves as “serial liars,” meaning they told lies weekly. Despite these admissions, 91 percent of all respondents said they were “satisfied with my own ethics and character.” (Reader’sDigest, November 1999)
All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Who is a liar? How many murders must one commit to become a murderer? Just one. One lie can make a man a liar. What happens to liars?
(Rev 21:8 NIV) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
Tenth commandment: (Exo 20:17 NIV) “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”
Covetousness is the most subtle of sins. It appears so minor. Before a man steals, commits adultery, he covets.
(Rev 21:8 NIV) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
(Jas 2:10 NIV) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.