Our scripture reading for this morning is going to be 1 Samuel 3, 1-18. This morning we're going to look also into Ephesians 6-1, which is, children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. God records for us a number of examples of obedience and disobedience. One is found in 1 Samuel 3, 1-18. As I read, notice the contrast between Samuel and what God says to him about Eli's sons and Eli's negligence. The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days, the word of the Lord was rare. There were not many visions. One night, Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, here I am. And he ran to Eli and said, here I am. You called me. But Eli said, I did not call you. Go back and lie down. So he went and lay down. Again the Lord said, Samuel. And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, here I am, you called me. My son, Eli said, I did not call. Go back and lie down. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel a third time. And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, here I am, you called me. Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, speak, for your servant is listening. And the Lord said to Samuel, see, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time, I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about. His sons made themselves contemptible. And he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, the guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering. Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, Samuel, my son. Samuel answered, here I am. "'What was it he said to you?' Eli asked. "'Do not hide it from me. "'May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, "'if you hide from me anything he told you.' So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "'He is the Lord. "'Let him do what is good in his eyes.'" What do you think, boys and girls? How did Samuel do? Isn't that impressive? I mean, the third time God calls to him and he goes to Eli and he doesn't say, come on, let's get it together. What's with this? Or when the Lord speaks, he doesn't say, couldn't you have said something earlier? I like Samuel. And what a contrast, the obedience of Samuel compared to Eli's sons, adult men and priests who were disobedient. Ephesians chapter six and verse one. Now I don't remember, I had a hard time remembering this. Oh, you're waiting. Any child who wants to go to Children's Church and escape Pastor Ike, you can, but you're welcome to stay because I want to talk to you too. If you go to Children's Church, I might show up there next week. The Koons are waiting for you. Anyhow, it was probably 25 or so years ago, and I'm trying to remember if I heard him, if we met, but Detective Robert Surgener, who was head of the Juvenile Crime Division of the Cleveland Police Department, he was talking about his new book, that he had written, a book by the title of No Fear, A Police Officer's Perspective. Now he's, I don't know if he was a believer or not, maybe, but he's maybe with the Lord now. It was an interesting, it's an interesting book. You might want to read it. You can get it out of the public library. I want to read to you just a small part from the book. It took the help of five other police officers to help me get the handcuffs on the 15-year-old boy who had just broken his mother's nose, knocked his father onto the floor, and threw a table through the front window. As I compiled information for the report, the mother informed me that they had lost control of the boy at an early age. Timeouts and groundings had never worked. When I asked the mother if they had ever tried spanking the boy when he defied their authority, she replied angrily, "'We don't believe in spanking. Violence begets violence.'" I wondered if she realized how foolish she sounded. I, for one, am fed up. During the years that I have served my community as a police officer, I have come to the realization that law enforcement and the courts bear the brunt of social experimentation. In an era of theory, yesterday's youth are becoming tomorrow's criminals. Since 1982, when I joined the police department, and especially since 1995, when I was placed in charge of the Detective Bureau's Juvenile Crime Unit, I have observed the rapid deterioration of attitude in today's teenager and adolescent. There are times when I feel as though all my efforts are futile. I feel like I'm rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Although I try to educate parents about structure, discipline, and the law, it seems as though my advice falls on deaf ears. In many of today's young people, there is no fear. No fear of consequences. No fear of their parents. No fear of their teachers. No fear of the cops or the judge. No fear of God. You know, I know that there are some of you who work in public settings with today's children who will say, amen, I've seen it, it's true. Brother Don's back there shaking his head. Now, some might be thinking, especially people who are watching, they might be thinking, well, you know, Pastor Ike, that was 1995. which I didn't think was that long ago, but anyhow, that was a long time ago. Things are so much better today. Well, if you think that, then you'll want to watch this report from CBS in Chicago that was given last year. Nope, nope, there. After that first one, did you have any regret? Nah. I could just feel her hand around my neck. Leaned over into the car and put the gun to my head. Me and my friends, three of us, we was walking, and I told him, let's take the car. In that moment, you might not be thinking. They don't see they can kill somebody. They don't see they can go to jail the rest of their life. We saw a man, and we just, Let's bounce back. Chicago is facing an unprecedented carjacking crisis. More than 1,800 carjackings committed in 2021, and this year is off to a violent start. Many of the crimes are committed by kids. An 11-year-old charged with carjacking two women at gunpoint. A 16-year-old out on probation for three carjackings now accused of killing this 8-year-old girl during a drive-by. At CBS 2, we are tackling this problem from all angles, hearing from victims, police, and community leaders. When Nancy and I were on our way to the building here this morning, I had the radio on and they were reporting a five-year-old yesterday who stabbed to death his twin brother. Took a knife out of the kitchen and stabbed him to death. God says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Now, the point in Proverbs chapter 1 is not academic knowledge, knowledge of God and who God is and what God says and the responsibilities that we have. The rest of the verse says, fools despise wisdom and instruction. God has created an authority structure that is ultimately unbreakable. That's what we've been looking at in Ephesians chapters four through six. That God talks about the home. It begins with a husband and wife and children come along and their employees and employers and we'll get to those verses here in chapter six. And ultimately our battle with Satan. Ephesians chapter six tells us in terms of the authority structure that God has made. So everyone, especially those who think they've gotten away with it, they haven't gotten away with it. Someday they are going to die and face God and face judgment. Now, boys and girls, are you listening? I see you back there talking. You might die if you're five. That boy stabbed his brother to death. He was five. Tuskegee Valley Schools knows all about this. You might die if you're 16, 18, 39, 56. That was the one teacher. Because every person has an appointment with death. Hebrews 9.27 says, it is appointed unto people once to die, and after this, the judgment. Everybody is going to die. That's why children should obey their parents, so that you can learn about God, as 2 Timothy 3.15 says, the scriptures which are able to make you wise into salvation, and be prepared for it. So as we come to Ephesians chapter six and verse one, we have a commandment. Children, obey, it's an imperative verb. Obey your parents in the Lord, gar esten daikon, the Greek text says, for this is right or righteous. could be translated that way. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna take that verse and we're going to divide it into four parts in terms of subject, verb, object, prepositional phrase, and see four reasons why children should obey their parents. I hope Claire's writing down those reasons, because I want to check her notes later. Reason number one is this. Because there's a relationship. That's what the verse says, children and parents. You have a relationship with your parents. In our library, we have a book written by Edith Schaefer, the wife of the late Francis Schaefer, written I think in 1975. The title of the book is What is a Family? And she says this, a family is a formation center for human relationships, a perpetual relay of truth, a museum of memories. Well, I think those are good traits of a biblical family. Now, if any of you have seen that movie Courageous, and if you haven't, you're gonna see a part of it anyhow, there is a gang scene in the movie that relates to family, and it goes like this. You did good, little G. That's all. That's all, man. Yeah, you win. And now that I ain't got Clyde and Jamal no more, I'm happy you making those runs for me. Let me tell you something, man. This little pain you think you feeling, that ain't nothing compared to what we'll do if you ever try to leave or turn on one of us. Twine, get him up, man. You family now. Family. Two things about that clip that are very instructive. Number one, he's beaten up, laying on the ground, and he says, so am I in? Every child wants to be part of a family. Yeah, you family now, family. Yeah, right. What kind of family is that? Well, there are all kind of families, right? There's church family, biological families, blended families, adoptive families. I went to the Orville football game and I saw a T-shirt that said Orville football family. I thought, okay, well, that's it. Obviously, the word has a broad range of usage, right? And I was a bit surprised to find the government's definition of a family. Let me read it for you. A family is a group of two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together. All such related persons are considered as members of one family. I thought, huh, not too bad for the government. There are others, Fernando Barcelona, President of Barcelona and Friends. I feel family goes beyond bloodlines, last names, or obligations. To me, the word family includes all the people in our lives who commit to love and support us unconditionally. Or Beth Lakeyer, Chief Operating Officer of Chicago Commons. To me, a family is whoever I can depend on for support, to laugh with, to play with, to share the challenges and rewards of life with. All right, well, they all have these ideas of family. I remember one time in Japan teaching an English and Bible class, and there was a young lady in the class, 24 years old. And we were looking at this Bible passage about children. It might have even been this one. And she said, well, I'm still a child. Well, that kind of surprised me. 24 years old. taking the class to improve her English with where she worked. I said, why do you say that you're a child? And she said, because I still live in my parents' home and I'm not married. And I thought, oh, OK. Well, actually, the word children here in this verse has that idea. You're single, you're not married, you're still living in your parents' home, and so you're still obligated to obey this verse. Now God defines this relationship perfectly. And Ephesians 6.1 is built upon the foundation of the Old Testament. And there are plenty of passages in the Old Testament like Proverbs 1, 8, and 9. Hear my son your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. That's a way to say obey your parents. Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck. These are good things. By the way, parents, you want to give your children gifts this Christmas? Give them biblical gifts like these. Hero, sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching. Do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, let your heart hold fast my words. Keep my commandments and live. I was listening to a message about this by Adrian Rogers and he made a great statement. He said, children aren't looking for perfect parents. They're looking for real parents. And then he went on to explain that they're looking for you to be real. When you fail, you acknowledge it. They're looking to see how do you handle the difficulties and issues of life because a lot is caught. Not just taught. Now, Proverbs, or I should say Luke chapter 15 and verse 20, you probably know this verse. Remember the prodigal son? He got up and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Why? Because they have a relationship. That's why. God put them together as a family. There are a lot of other verses. I want to read some, if I can, with the time that we have. Proverbs chapter 13, I'm sorry, chapter 3, beginning at verse 11, goes like this. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe his reproof. For whom the Lord loves, he reproves. Some translations translate that he disciplines. Now, it doesn't mean corporal punishment. That word is used in many contexts to mean training. You get training from your parents. You go to boot camp for training, that's what family is. Boot camp for life. even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding, for her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her." Fast! The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth by understanding He established the heavens. By his knowledge, the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Now, I'm not gonna read those other verses. You can read those on your own, just because of time. But I was telling you that I listened to a message by Adrian Rogers, and he made this statement, another good statement. He said, parents, be firm, be fair, and be fun. I thought that was really good. Firm, fair, and fun. Ted Tripp, in his book, Shepherding a Child's Heart, wrote this, children have a Godward orientation because they're made in the image of God. The young child may not be conscious of his religious commitment, but he is never neutral. Made in the image of God, he is designed with a worship orientation. Even as a young child, he is either worshiping and serving God or idols. Now, I want you to listen to this next statement. The combination of a child's shaping influences and his or her Godward orientation will determine the person that he or she becomes. Did you get that? So, parents provide biblical shaping influences that shepherd a child's heart. It's a large part of this relationship between parents and children. One person put it into a poem like this. Speak the truth to these your precious ones for guidance tell your daughters and your sons of one who loves them even more than you and who will be their guide a lifetime through. You know, spoiled children get what they want. Wise parents give them what they need. So there's a relationship. Now, the main verb, of course, of this verse is obey. That's our second reason, right? Why should you obey your parents? Because God requires it. That's why. And you might be thinking to yourself, why does God require it? Why all these rules anyhow? Well, I wanna tell you, it's not for God's benefit. He doesn't need them, right? He doesn't need us or the messiness that comes with dealing with disobedient children. But what he does, like parents, is he gives children to parents and parents receive children because they bear them out of love and they have rules to benefit you, to protect you. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 10 says, our parents disciplined us as seemed best to them. Well, dad, why are you telling me to do that? I can't find that in the Bible. As seemed best to them, based on experience and truth. I read that the Duke of Windsor who visited America in 1936 was so fascinated because American homes now had electricity and you just flip the switch and the light comes on. And they asked him what he thought about American homes and he said, everything seems to work by a switch except the children. You know, the Bible has a lot of examples of that, doesn't it? Parents failing, to raise their children or train them well. How about David and Absalom? How about David and Adonijah? Do you think much about Adonijah? He was Absalom's younger brother, and in 1 Kings 1.6, when Solomon was being made king, it says that David never said a crossword to Adonijah. You heard the scripture reading about Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They brought disgrace to his name and defeat to the nation. Isaac pampered Esau. Rebecca favored Jacob. And Jacob showed favoritism to Joseph. And so God took him and sent him to Egypt to make a man out of him. And he did a really good job. I read to you Proverbs 3.12, whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, he trains like a father, the son in whom he delights. Now in our library, we have this book, Shepherding a Child's Heart, and a whole DVD set that goes with it. And it reads like this, I really like this, Proverbs pages 29 and 30. You did not come to your child demanding for your own purposes that he knuckle under you and obey. No, you come with the corrections of discipline that are the way to life, which is what Proverbs says. You engage your son on behalf of God because God has first engaged you. I recall many conversations that went like this. Dad says, you didn't obey daddy, did you? The child says, no. Dad says, do you remember what God says daddy must do if you disobey? Child says, spank me. And the dad says, that's right, I must spank you. If I don't, then I would be disobeying God. You and I would both be wrong. That would not be good for you or for me, would it? And reluctantly, the child says, no. What is this dialogue communicating to your child? You're not spanking him because you are mean or angry. You're not trying to force him to submit to you only because you hate insolence. You are not mad at him. You, like him, are under God's rule and authority. God has called you to a task you cannot shirk or shrug off. You are acting under God's rule. You're requiring obedience because God says you must. I hope you'll check it out. Remember 1 Samuel 15, 22? Samuel said to Saul, has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. I read about a dad who told the story of his three-year-old daughter, three-year-old daughter. When our daughter was three years old, my wife and I introduced her to the fine art of dishwashing. It amuses me that many preschoolers want to wash dishes, but parents refuse to let them. Then when they become teenagers and no longer desire to clean plates, parents insist that they do. You know, Proverbs 22.6 says, train up your child in the way he or she should go. And when they're old, they will not depart from it. The real issue, of course, is not doing dishes. It has to do with loving, honoring, and obeying God. As children love, honor, and obey their parents, they're showing respect for God. And when they do, they find meaning and purpose in their lives. I hope you're listening. Claire, are you listening? Knowing God gives life meaning. Obeying God gives life purpose. Do you know why there are so many teen suicides in our nation right now? They have no meaning. They think their life has no meaning. They think their life has no purpose. But we can all live meaningful and purposeful lives by knowing God as our Heavenly Father and obeying Him as Master and Lord. You heard it during our call to worship. You heard it, Brother Dennis shared it, that by faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, even a small child, receiving Him as Savior, your life is changed from the inside out. God gives you the ability to obey. I don't know who Fitzhugh is, but they wrote this poem. Grandma's father, hearts that love you, hearts that serve you day by day, help us find in you our purpose for the things that we do and say. Even unbelievers to some degree can understand this, these things that we're talking about, right? A relationship, parents and children. Obedience, it's important, it's crucial. I say even unbelievers because this is attributed to Mark Twain. Somebody asked him how his life was growing up and he said, you know, when I was 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to be around the old man. And by the time I had become 21, I just couldn't believe how much he had learned in seven years. You see, God gives wisdom and maturity. So that brings us to our third reason. Oh, got to put that up there because of the realm of this command. So here is this prepositional phrase, right? In the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. So that prepositional phrase limits a child's obligation to their parents. You don't have to obey your parents if they ask you to do something outside the moral will of God. Say, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, Pastor Ike, you're telling them they don't have to obey? No, I'm not, God is. He says, in the Lord. And so I think this is really helpful for children who might be believers, but their parents aren't. I can identify with that. And the phone rings and you answer it and you say, mom, the bank wants to talk to you. And mom says, tell them I'm not here. What is that child going to do? Well, I'll tell you what the child should do. Hand the phone to mom and say, mom, I can't lie. That would dishonor God. Isn't that what Joseph did in Genesis chapter 39? Potiphar's wife said, come and lie with me. Oh, I can't do that. That's a great sin against God. Now, did he get in trouble? Every child who's listening is going to say, ha ha, I'll get in big trouble. Yeah, probably. I mean, Joseph got thrown in prison for two years, right? You might get into big trouble, but it's worth it because it is right. It's right. It's what God says. Now, I mentioned Ted Ted Tripp in his book Shepherding a Child's Heart, his younger brother Paul wrote a book about raising teenagers called Age of Opportunity. And in chapter 8 of that book, in pages 127 and 128, he tells the story of his teenage son who is invited to a friend's house to watch movies. They were going to have a movie night. And he didn't know this, but when he got there, his friend's parents, oh, did you do that for me? This is what I need, see, I need people to have my back. Because I forgot the other one, and yeah. I'm looking on my sheet and I thought, well, I don't have that slide, but I do. Okay, good. So now you have that and you can read it for yourself, but it goes like this. He goes to their house, their parents aren't home. He was misinformed. They bring out movies that he knows he shouldn't watch. And so he's not sure what to do. And I'm just gonna read a part of that section from that chapter. What would he do now? He could watch the videos, probably neither we nor his friend's parents would know. He could protest and see if he could convince the others not to watch the movies. He thought of going somewhere else, but he really didn't have anywhere to go. He decided to try to convince the others not to watch the videos. They thought he was being stupid and put the first video in. As a young teenager not knowing what else to do, he spent the evening in the kitchen eating more chips and drinking more soda than he ever had in his whole life. But he made a choice. He had exercised conviction and he took the heat for his obedience and his faith. When the parents of the house came home and found him in the kitchen, they asked him why he wasn't with the others. When he explained, they had two reactions. First, they were upset at their own children for the video choices they had made and for their insensitivity to their guest. Second, they were amazed at our son for the choice he had made to live out what he thought was right. And then Paul Tripp says this. I am afraid that many of us are so busy making decisions for our children in order to keep them safe that we do not teach them to develop their own set of internalized biblical convictions. It's one thing for a teenager to do what is right under a watchful eye or under the threat of punishment. It is quite another thing to see the independent, unpressured, heartfelt exercise of personal conviction. As we are preparing our teenage children to go out into this darkened, fallen world and live a godly life, it is mandatory that we make the development of internalized convictions one of our primary goals. Are you listening, boys and girls? Are you in the Lord? Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Are you in the Lord? Do you know the Lord Jesus as Savior? That's crucial, that's essential. Now we have one more reason. It's simple, isn't it? Gar esten daikon, the Greek text says, for righteous, it is righteous, it is right. God has established an authority structure God's Word, civil government, family, church. It's an order ordained of God that argues for the rightness of an action. And since parents brought their child into the world and since they have more knowledge and wisdom than the child, it's right that the child obey his parents. I mean, think about it. Even animals teach their children to obey instinctively, but they do. But what I've observed over many years now is the modern version of Ephesians 6.1. It goes like this. Parents, obey your children, for this will keep them happy and bring peace. And so, I don't know how many times I see parents bribe their kids. The child is crying and you give them something. Oh, well, but Pastor Ike, ready for this? It works. But Pastor Ike, it works. Oh, it works, okay. You have taught them how to manipulate you and the system that you have. And how selfish is that? You want them just to do what you want them to do so that you don't have lack of harmony? Come on, buck up. Do what God wants you to do. Teach them to obey the right way. Now, you might say, well, of course you would say that, you're a pastor. Okay, fine, I want two brothers and two sisters to come up here and explain it. Any volunteers? I didn't think you'd do that, so I have them on video, here we go. Hey kids, you know how some things in life are really important? Things like eating your veggies, brushing your teeth, and wearing your seatbelt. Did you know the Bible tells us there's something that's more important than all of those? Well, that's what we're talking about today. Kids should obey their parents. You don't have to obey your dog or your little sister. but you do have to obey your parents. Do you know what it means to really obey? It means when your parents tell you to stop doing something, like picking your nose or hitting your little sister, then you stop doing those things. But obeying isn't just stopping when you're told. It also means you go and do the things they ask you to do. Things like doing your homework, or cleaning your room, Now, you may not always want to obey your parents, but here's three reasons why you should. First, because the Bible says so. Don't believe me? It's right here, memory verse. Obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. See kids, it's in the Bible, so that means it's part of God's message to us. If God says we should do it, we should definitely do it. In fact, this is what the Bible says specifically to us kids. It doesn't say, hey kids, go get a job and be sure to exercise every day. It simply says, listen to your parents and do what they say. Second, because it pleases the Lord. That means it makes God happy. Don't you wanna make God happy? We should all want that. It's what we're supposed to do as Christians. And if you wanna be really good at making God happy when you're older, you should definitely start right now. Last reason, because it protects us. Let's demonstrate with this big hula hoop. It's a big O. O for obedience. The Bible says God's rules and our parents are there for our protection. So think of the O in obedience as a circle of protection. When we obey, we are safe. When we disobey, we are in danger. Stay in the boundaries your parents set and you're safe. Step out, you're gonna be in trouble. Get the idea, it's for your protection. So remember kids, eat your vegetables, brush your teeth, wear your seatbelt, but most importantly, remember to obey your parents. We should almost give them an applause. Oh, that was good. Got it? Okay, boys and girls, are you listening? So disobedient to parents is disobedience to God. To obey is better than sacrifice. God highly values obedience. John chapter three in verse 36 reads like this. The one who believes in the son has everlasting life. But the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." I think, Brother Tim, where are you, that we should sing about that. We should sing, trust and obey. Why? For there is no other way to be happy in Jesus.