LAW HOMILY: Honoring Dishonorable People

The Shepherd's Church

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Every week we look at the law of God because we want to understand what he has to say to us his people

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We don't believe that 75 % of the Bible when Jesus rose from the dead was auto Magically, that is a real word.

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You can look it up later Auto magically was thrown away We believe that Christ is the fulfillment of the

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Old Testament that all of the Old Testament points to him But that it still is valid for the believer

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We don't believe that we obey God in order to gain salvation But we do believe that because we are saved because the root of us now is in Christ.

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The fruit of us is Godly obedience So we look at the law of God differently, but we still look at it and we repent and we rejoice

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Today, we're gonna be in the fifth commandment, which is In verse 12 of chapter 20 of the book of Exodus is what it says honor your father and your mother

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That your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you

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Now the fifth commandment like all of the Ten Commandments aren't throw away transitions from the vertical to the

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Horizontal this is the transition away from the first table of the law to the second table of all the the vertical

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Relationship between us and God and the horizontal relationship between us and man and there's no Coincidence on why this one is the first one in the table of man it teaches us that honoring authority is not merely a social good but a

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Biblical mandate a divine test of humility patience and trust in the sovereignty of God at its heart

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This commandment is not merely about the nuclear home though. It certainly includes it for sure

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But underneath it as a principle of honor honoring the structures that God has ordained the leadership that he has placed in the providence that he has appointed it applies to parents pastors elders civil magistrates employees employers and every lawful authority and Here's the rub

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God does not tell us to only honor those who are honorable He does not command us to only submit to those that suits us

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This commandment doesn't say honor them if they agree with you

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Obey only if you feel respected it simply says unflinchingly so to honor

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But what happens when honoring authority means swallowing our pride What happens when obedience feels like dying

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What happens when the leader that we are submitting to is a

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Saul? kind of figure Well, David would know something about such things

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He was anointed king by the Prophet Samuel chosen by God himself to reign and yet for years

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After he was anointed king of Israel he submitted unto this lunatic tyrant

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Saul the paranoid King Who tried to murder

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David by the way? none of us have had bosses hopefully that have tried to do that unless maybe you worked in Southie in the mob and I Don't want to presume

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Saul hurled spears at David hunted David like a dog conspired to kill him. And what did

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David do he served him? He waited He played music to soothe his troubled heart.

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He fought in Saul's battles He refused to raise his hand against the Lord's anointed

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King. He would not even Harm him when the Lord it seemed according to his soldiers and compadres that the

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Lord had delivered Saul unto his hand He cut off a piece of his garment to show Saul That I'm here to honor you and Why did he do that?

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That wasn't because David was a fearful man It wasn't because David couldn't rip anyone in half.

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I mean as a teenager He he killed lions with his bare hands like he killed it

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He killed the giant Goliath with a single stone. This is not the guy that you'd mess with The reason

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David honored the madman is because he feared God more than he feared man

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Because David trusted that God's providence is not advanced through rebellion but through reverence

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Because David understood that honor is not weakness. It is warfare against the pride that bubbles up and gurgles up within and God saw it and you can even argue that it's one of the reasons why

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David's kingdom was so blessed Because he honored we live in a world.

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However Where we're drunk on autonomy where social media Depersonalizes people where the keyboard warriors will cut you down without a second thought where when someone steps upon our most glorious personhood with any level of micro aggrievances

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We are entitled to let them know. I think the same command and the same

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Necessity of honor exists today. I just think we've ignored it I think the

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Lord is very pleased when we honor dishonorable people and We don't do it for them.

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We do it for him So in whatever ways dishonor has crept into your life whether it be in marriage and friendships in work relationships

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Whether it be in someone who you've been carrying bitterness in your heart for decades over something that they've done to you

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In whatever way dishonor has entered in lay it down at the cross today brothers and sisters and children and let us receive forgiveness and let us now walk in honor as an honoring people and If I if I had to guess

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I think all of us has something to confess right now So let us pray Lord.

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It's so easy for us to elevate our preferences over people

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To elevate our opinions over image bearers So easy for us to become personally offended and to return dishonor for dishonor

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Then to walk the path of David and ultimately as a type of Christ Who while they beat him he said nothing and the one who walked with joy to the very cross the symbol of infamy

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The symbol the greatest symbol in the ancient world of the degradation of human life the most dishonorable

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Atrocious death that could be concocted in the soul of sinful man and yet he walked to it with joy

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He didn't walk to it screaming his record and resume. He didn't walk to it

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Screaming at those who were killing him I Calam before his shearers.

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He was silent and he honored you as he was being dishonored Lord, I pray that the same spirit that raised

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Jesus Christ from the dead That lives inside of us would begin cultivating that kind of honor

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Lord, I pray that we would be known as a people of honor not weak But strong in you

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Lord, I pray that you'd forgive us where we fall short of this It helped us to repent and have the courage to do so And Lord, I pray that you'd get great glory

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From the good works that you've prepared before the foundations of the earth for us to walk in Lord, I pray that we would walk in them.