Children, Obey Your Parents

How many of you understand English? Wow, that's really good. Thank you. Okay, tell me, what do you find to be the most difficult thing for you to do? In your life, what is the most difficult thing to do? There are some things that are very easy to do. For everybody. Some things are very difficult. What is the most difficult thing for children to do? What is the most difficult thing for children to do? Tell me. Okay, you're not going to tell me, I'll tell you. You're not going to tell me, I'll tell you. It is to obey your parents. It is to obey your parents. Is that easy or difficult? Tell me, is it difficult or easy for you? Easy. It's easy. Do you all obey your parents? Yes. Oh, no, you're telling lies. Shall I ask your parents? No, it's very difficult for all children to obey their parents. It's very difficult for all children to obey their parents. Many things you may obey. There are many things you will obey. But there are some things your parents tell you, you'll find it difficult to obey. For example, your parents tell you, eat that ice cream. Your parents tell you, eat that ice cream. Or eat that chocolate. Is that easy? Or if your mother says, stop playing outside and come and help me in the kitchen. Easy or difficult? Difficult. So, there's a verse in the Bible which says, If children obey their parents, God will bless them. Let me ask you another thing. When Jesus came to this earth, Did he come as a full grown man or did he come as a little child? Why did he come as a baby and not as a man? Why did he come as a baby and not as a man? To be an example for all of you. See, nobody on this earth is perfect. Jesus also had two earthly parents when he came. Do you know Jesus' mother's name? Okay, he did not have an earthly father. Because God was his father. But Mary was married to a man. What was his name? Because Mary married Joseph, Joseph was like a father to Jesus. So, Jesus, imagine he was just a small child like one of these little boys. See all these little boys here. Jesus was like that, small boy. He did not know how to read or write. As they grew up, he went to school and learned how to read and write. So, when he was at home, As he grew up, he had to obey his parents. So that he can be an example to all of us. That is why he came as a little baby and grew up just like us. So, let us imagine when he was about 12 years old. Who is 12 years old here? He was like some of you. Do you like to play games? Girls play different games, boys play different games. So, boys sometimes like to play cricket. Do you like to play cricket? Do you like to play cricket? In the days of Jesus, there was no cricket. But there was a game like cricket, where a ball, a stick and a bat were played. Those who are around Jesus' house, those who are old like you, If Jesus was 12 years old, he would have played with the kids. Playing with them, throwing the ball and all that. So, in cricket, there is bowling. Then there is batting. And then there is fielding. You understood that? Batting. Bowling. Fielding. Which do you like? We all like batting. But first you have to bowl and field, then you come to bat. Jesus is playing there with the others. Now think about it, Jesus is playing a game like cricket. Jesus, who is 12 years old, is playing a game like cricket. So, for half an hour, he was fielding. He was not playing with the ball and throwing it. Now what happened? Another team is over. That team is over. Now it is our turn to bat. Why? It is time to catch the bat. It is time for Jesus to catch the bat. So, the time has come for Jesus to take the bat and go to bat. His mother says, Jesus come here. I want you to go to the well and draw some water and bring it. I have to do some cooking. Jesus' mother is calling Jesus. Why is Jesus waiting? He is ready to catch the bat. We have to take a decision now. It is very difficult for Jesus. Answer my question. Would Jesus have wished to catch the bat? Yes, he would have wished. He was just like you and me. I also played cricket and I liked to bat. Jesus was like us. He also liked to bat. He had a conflict in his mind. On one side, I want to bat. On the other side, my mother is calling me to get some water from the well. By the time I go to the well and gather the water and drink back, in half an hour, my batting tournament by team will be over. By the time I go to the well and gather the water and drink back, in half an hour, my batting tournament by team will be over. Then I will not be able to catch the bat. Then I will have to field again. There is a struggle in Jesus' mind. What will I do now? You tell me, what will you do? You will say, I know what you will do. You will say, Mommy, wait. Just five minutes. But it will not be five minutes, it will be 35 minutes. So, very often we say like that. Isn't that what you will say? You will tell Mommy, wait, I will come later. I want a bat now. But do you know what Jesus did? He dropped his bat. He gave it to somebody else. He went and helped his mother. Went to the well. Brought the water back home to help his mother. So, the Bible says, if you honor God, God will honor you. So, by the time Jesus came back, He thought his team will all be out. But it did not happen like that. Some of those people scored many runs and they were still batting. By the time Jesus came back, He said, it's your turn to bat now. You can go and bat. So, he went to bat. God helped him in his batting also. So, he did not lose anything by obeying his mother. If he had disobeyed his mother, and he had gone to bat, I think he would have got out in the first ball itself. If you honor God, God will honor you. So, if you obey your parents, There is a verse in the Bible, If you honor your parents, it will go well with you. Not only that, What your parents tell you is good for you. Like they tell you, Don't mix with all these worldly boys and girls. Keep boys with bad habits. Because the devil is trying to catch you. Get you to some bad habits. Okay, I will tell you a story. It's a story about a family of mice. No rats. That they were staying inside near a tree. There was a nest under a tree. In that nest, there was a family of mice. Opposite to that nest, There was a beautiful house. The mother mouse told the baby rat, Hey, you should not go to your mother's house. Because in that house, they have got these rat traps. Have you seen a rat trap? They will put some food inside. And the rat will come. Look around, nobody is here. Nice food there. And it goes in to eat that. As soon as it eats it, the trap closes. The door is closed. And it is trapped inside. And cannot escape. Then the man will come out of the house. He will hear the sound. Pick up this trap and put it in a bucket of water. And the rat will die. The mother knew that. Mother rat. Told this little child rat, Don't go there. But, you know, just like you, Sometimes children disobey. So, one day this child rat went there. And he saw this man. And the man looked at the rat and smiled at the rat. And so the rat came back. And said, Mummy. That man is a good man. He smiled at me. And the mummy said, Be careful. He is smiling at you only to catch you. Don't go there. So the next day, This child rat again decided to disobey the mother. And this time when he went, The man was not there. He saw a little box with food inside. He did not know this was a trap. Nice box. Some nice food inside. And this child rat thought, Oh, what a nice man this is. He has made a nice house for me. And he has even put food inside for me. So, I am going to go inside this house. And I am going to eat this food. And went inside. And as soon as it ate the food, What happened? The door closed. And still the child rat thought nothing is wrong. He has closed the door so I can sit quietly and eat this food. He does not want me to be disturbed. But I am eating my food. And a little later, The man came. And he picked up this. And he smiled at the rat. And the little child thought, What a nice man. He is smiling at me again. He is taking me to show me the house now. And the man took the rat outside. He took him to this bucket of water. And put it inside. And the rat struggled. Water, water, water. Then in its last moments, Just before it died, Mummy was right. This man was smiling at me only twice. If you ask why this man was smiling at me, He was smiling to kill me. Ok, tell me. What lesson do we get from this story? Your mummy knows better than you. More than you. Sometimes when your mother says, Don't do something, It is for your good. You don't know. A lot of people in the world, They look so nice, And they smile at you. You know, now in school and all, They even have the bad habit of giving some sweets, Which have got poisonous drugs inside it. So, you have to be careful. You must not take all these sweets, That other people give you. You don't know what is inside it. So, nowadays the world has become very bad. So, you must, That is why God has given you, Father and mother to protect you. So, a warning is to protect you from being killed. Let me ask you another question. Have you seen these traffic lights in some roads? How many lights are there? Three. What are the colors? Red. Red, yellow and green. Orange. Green. What is the meaning? Red means stop. Green means go. Orange means wait. Yellow means wait. Supposing you see red. Stop. And you don't stop. You go straight. What will happen? Another car will come from that side and kill you. Another lorry will hit you. So, is it good to listen to these traffic light signals? When it says stop, Stop. When it says green, then only you must go. It is dangerous to go even when it is yellow. Because, The other side may still not have finished. When it says green, then you go. So, in the same way, Your parents may sometimes tell you, Don't do this. You may think, no, no, no, it's okay. Let me do it. But it's a red light. Like that little rat. The mother put a red light, Don't go to that house. It was a red light. But that little rat went. And it got killed. So, please remember that next time when your daddy and mommy tell you something. Okay, how many of you remember the story of this rat now? Can you tell the story yourself? Can you tell it yourself now to somebody? Okay, then when you go home, You tell that story to your daddy and mommy. You must tell it exactly like I said it. Okay, one more story. Do you remember the story of Jesus playing cricket? Do you remember that? Not only that, Until he got the water, His team was winning without losing. Jesus came and played with them. Do you remember that story? Can you tell that story to your mommy? So, you must tell these two stories when you go to your daddy and mommy. And at the end of the two stories, What will you tell them? Daddy, Mommy, From these two stories, I have learnt that I must obey you. From these two stories, I have learnt that I must obey you. Will you tell them? Say it together. Let us pray. Close your eyes. We are going to pray to Jesus. Even though we can't see him, Jesus is here. We can talk to him, He will listen to us. Close your eyes. And listen to me as I pray. Lord Jesus, Thank you for all these little children. We want every one of these children to grow up to be disciples of you. Help them to obey their parents. And to obey you. Help them to remember what they heard today. And to tell it to their parents. And help all these young brothers who are working so hard to help these children. Please reward them for their service. And they will see much fruit from their labor here in eternity. That many of these children will grow up to live for you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. You know that God listens to the prayers of little children. So will you pray for me? Whenever you remember my name, Pray a small prayer. Just pray, Lord Jesus, Please bless brother Zach wherever he is preaching your word. Please protect him as he travels. Can you do that? Thank you. God bless you.