Happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there, what a blessing you are and we want to thank you for all you have done and are doing. I know that at times you may not feel like you are a blessing, maybe that is the way you feel this morning because you feel you are not perfect. You don’t dress like June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver, wearing a fancy dress and a pearl necklace to do the housework! You may even lose your temper at times. Let’s be real here, there are no perfect mom’s, nor are there perfect dad’s, we are all human and have our weaknesses, but let me also say this, you come close and as God looks down upon what you are doing, your love and care for your children, He smiles down upon you, He is glorified!
My prayer for this study this morning is that I would encourage you mom’s out there, those of you who will be mom’s and for all of us who are children and have been influenced by our mom’s, that we would not only show them our thanks, our appreciation for what they have done or are doing just once a year, but every day. It is not easy but the rewards are out of this world, they truly are heavenly as we see in the life of this woman. We are told:
What a difficult life. She was the twenty-fifth child in a dissenter’s family. Though brilliant, she procured little education. Though strong-willed, she lived in a male-dominated age. She married an older man and bore him nineteen children. Nine of them died. Her house burned up, her barn fell down, her health failed, and she lived with the wolf at the door.
She was Susanna Wesley.
Samuel and Susanna, married in 1689, began pasturing in dreary little Epworth in 1697. They served there for forty years, enduring hardships like these:
A difficult life. And yet the parsonage at Epworth was destined to become the most celebrated in English history, for from it came two of the greatest evangelists of all time, John and Charles Wesley. And the mother who raised them shook the world.
- Robert Morgan, On This Day
The key, don’t give up because out of chaos God can bring beauty, fruit. What we see as a mess and hopeless God is weaving into a work of art. You look at the life of Susanna Wesley and you think she should have given up long ago, thrown in the towel, but she kept forging ahead, not perfect, she had her problems, and yet God honored her devotion to Him and to her children and blessed her. For you mom’s that have little children, they are a blessing, even at 2:00 AM in the morning. For you mom’s who have teenagers, hang in there, they too are a blessing, even at 2:00 AM in the morning. You are an important factor in their life don’t ever forget that.
Today we have people like Hilary Clinton tell us that “It takes a village to raise a child” and I say “Garbage!” I disagree with that for I do not want my government raising my children, do you? It takes a mother who is willing to sacrifice her time, her energy, all that she has so they will mature into godly men and women. It is not easy, some of you have to work, some of you are single parents, and yet you take the time to raise your children because you love them and you are being obedient to the precious gift that God has given to you.
If you don’t raise your children in the things of God, to respect people, train them up, the results are ugly. You see, when they are born they are so cute and adorable, and they are, but the reality is, they are nothing more than sinners who have entered this world and if they are not trained up in the correct way, it will have a detrimental impact upon them and our society and isn’t that what we see today? Of course it is!
Listen to this report from the Minnesota Crime Commission on the essence of human nature found in children. And please understand that this is not some church group or religious organization, this is a secular commission and they came to the same conclusion as the Bible, we are all born sinners! They said:
“Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it – his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toy, his uncle’s watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is, in fact dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children – not just certain children – are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal – a thief, a killer, or a rapist.”
Not a pretty picture, and yet, God has given to us the tools to train up our children and with the reminder of our time this morning I would like to focus on motherhood to encourage you in the work you are doing and to help us all have a better perspective of how important mother’s are.
1. HONOR THY MOTHER
In Exodus 20:12 we are told, and this is from The Amplified Bible, “Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.” I like this commandment, especially now that I am a father, but it also speaks of mothers and how we are to honor them, treat them with respect, why? Not only because God tells us to, but also, if you don’t, if mama ain’t happy, then your days may be short on this earth! That is not exactly the translation but the reality is, if you bring dishonor to your mother, if you are disobedient to her, if you don’t treat her with respect, if you do what you want, your life may be shortened because of the lifestyle you are living. The other idea is living in the land that God had given to them, the land of Israel and with disobedience comes judgment and they will be brought into captivity. How many children have found themselves in captivity because they turned from God, did not respect their mother, and now, instead of living a life in the land that God would have them live, they are living in bondage! Now please, don’t misunderstand me, just because a child dies young does not mean they were disrespectful to their parents, that is not what God is saying, but a society that has children that disrespect their mothers is going to be a society that is in trouble!
Today the role of a mother is looked down upon, it is not honored, being a housewife, that is just plain old fashioned! Why is that? Because you are not moving up the corporate ladder, you are not making a name for yourself and thus, society looks down upon you and children see that and they too follow where society is leading them, to disrespect their mothers. May we not float down society’s stream like a dead fish but rise up and stand up for mothers, respect them and show them that we love them!
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT A MOTHER TEACHES
Years ago Charles Barkley, who played in the NBA, was quoted as saying “I am not a role model!” And I would agree, I would not want my children acting like he did on and off the basketball court and yet, because of his position as a NBA star, kids looked up to him and imitated him. Look at the role models kids are patterning their lives after today and they are not too good! Mom’s, you too are a role model for your children, they are learning from you lessons to live by and I know that many times it seems like no one is listening, but they are, and they are watching too! In Proverbs 1:8 we are told, and this is from The Living Bible, “Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.” (See Proverbs 6:20).
How important is it to listen to our mother’s? God says you are a fool if you don’t! Paul, in II Timothy 1:5 tells us, and this is from The Amplified Bible, “I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also.” Timothy’s grandmother shared her faith in the Lord with her daughter Eunice and she came to believe in the Lord. Then Eunice shared her faith, raised her child Timothy in the things of God and he came to know the Lord and Timothy is a vital part of Paul’s work, he is a laborer with Paul and a young pastor because a mother took the time to share the love of God with her son.
Paul confirms this in II Timothy 3:14-15 where he tells us, again from The Amplified Bible, “But as for you, continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you learned [them], And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].”
You see, from a young age Timothy was taught the Scriptures where faith is born from because God’s Word is living and powerful. Jewish mothers, from the time of their child’s birth, would read the Shema to them, words from the Scriptures, from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Timothy was no different as he grew up, the Word of God was taught to him and then one day, the Holy Spirit opened his heart up and he received the Lord! The thing I want you to notice is that it began with a loving mother sharing her faith with her child!
I know it is not easy at times, we have seen how difficult it was in the not-so-perfect life of Susannah Wesley, but she didn’t give up. In fact, listen to her rules for raising her children, they are good and helpful, especially in a day when we don’t know what to do with our children. She said:
1. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
2. Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.
3. Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely.
4. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.
5. Commend and reward good behavior.
6. Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.
One of the problems today is we want our children to like us and we make them equal with us, and they are not equal with us, we are the parent and they will not always like us because of what we are telling them, especially as they get older. Don’t cave into the pressure, but stand strong, live what you believe and I think Susanna Wesley had some good rules to live by, to raise her children by. You see, you need to train them up now in the things of God so when they are old they will not depart from them! How is that done? Listen to this story and I think you will get the idea here. We are told:
There is a story about four pastors discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One liked the King James Version best because of its simple, beautiful English. Another liked the American Revised Version because it was closer to the original Hebrew and Greek. Still another liked a contemporary version because of its up-to-date vocabulary. The fourth minister was silent for a moment, then said, “I like my mother’s translation best.”
Surprised, the other three men said they didn’t know his mother had translated the Bible. “Yes,” he replied, “She translated it into life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw.”
- Eleanor Doan, Seasons of Motherhood: A Garden of Memories
Your life is powerful to your children; they are watching you, never forget that. I would also encourage you to go over the Sunday School lessons they are learning on Sunday morning, make those lessons a part of their life so they too may grow. We have each lesson in the bulletin and we also have next weeks lesson in there for you to read on ahead. And what a great way to spend your lunch, sharing with your children and your children sharing with you the things God has shown you!
3. A WISE MOTHER BUILDS HER HOUSE
How does a wise woman build her house? Very simply and yet powerfully, upon God! In Proverbs 14:1 we are told, “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” One is working with a God-centered life and the other, still working, but doing it on her own and it is not working, in fact things are falling apart! It is as the Psalmist said in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” You can spend so much time doing this and doing that and miss out on the most important thing for you and your family, the Lord. If your walk with God is not right then your relations with your husband, with your children, with others, will be off. Someone once told me that they were just too busy for God, they had too much to do between work and the family, and I believe it was true they were just too busy. The truth of the matter is, if you don’t put God first your family will be affected in a negative way.
Remember the story of Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus? As many read of these sisters they see Martha as the Martha Stewart of her day, not going to jail but Miss Susie Homemaker, always busy doing things, not a spot of dust anywhere. Then there is Mary, and the sign over her bedroom might read, “Martha Stewart doesn’t live here!” That is not the right concept of Mary, not at all. In Luke10:38-42, from The Amplified Bible, we are told, “Now while they were on their way, it occurred that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's feet and was listening to His teaching. But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]! But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; There is need of only one or but a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her.”
It wasn’t that Mary was lazy or didn’t help out around the house, you know, having a little doily under every cup and plate, that was not as important to her as her relationship with the Lord and Jesus tells us that. Men, don’t call me today and tell me that your house is a mess and the message this morning just made things worse. That is not what I am saying. The issue here is that mom’s as well as all of us need to take the time to be with the Lord for the Lord is not going to say, “You really picked out nice doily’s!” Men, it is our responsibility to give our wives the time they need to be with the Lord, which will infringe on our time of doing things, but it is important, help her out, let her go to those retreats, for not only will they be blessed, but you and your family will too as God speaks to her and shows her His love and that joy will be infectious in your home!
Now if you don’t build your house with God being a priority in your life, the foundation will be weak and it will crumble, your children will not see the Lord in you. Thus, as Solomon said, “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1.
4. A MOTHER’S DISICPLINE
In Proverbs 29:15 we are told, “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” Discipline is not easy but it is necessary. And you as parents need to pray and seek God regarding discipline for your child. If you do not discipline them they will bring shame to you by their actions, for they have seen that there are no consequences to what they do so why not do whatever they want and we see that today where children are not learning the consequences of their actions. Solomon said in Proverbs 19:8 from The Living Bible, “Discipline your son in his early years while there is hope. If you don't you will ruin his life.” Also, in Proverbs 13:24 and from The Living Bible we are told, “If you refuse to discipline your son, it proves you don't love him; for if you love him, you will be prompt to punish him.”
Please understand that I am not saying nor is God saying that we are to physically abuse our children, or for that matter verbally abuse them, but we are to train them up! God is telling us to use the rod of correction to get their attention and not to wait several hours before you correct them, do it speedily, quickly so they know why they are being punished.
It is your responsibility to teach your children what is right and what is wrong and to correct them when they go astray, when they do wrong. Charles Spurgeon recalls a powerful prayer of his mother that truly got his attention. He said:
I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother. I remember her once praying, “Now Lord, if my children go on in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior.”
- Charles Spurgeon
I do understand that at times it seems so frustrating, it seems like no matter what you are doing nothing is helping, but don’t give up. Continue to love and serve the Lord and care for your family, your children. You see, what may seem hopeless to you is very possible with God as this story shows us:
When Dr. R. A. Torrey was a young man, he had not faith in God or the Bible. His mother, however, was a devout Christian who constantly prayed for his conversion and often witnessed to him. One day he said to her, “I don’t want to hear about my sins and your prayers; I’m going to leave and not bother you any more.” With tear-filled eyes the woman followed him to the gate and pleaded with him to change his mind. But he would not be detained. Frantically she cried, “Son, you are going the wrong way, but when you come to the end of your rope and everything seems hopeless, call upon your mother’s God with all your heart and He will surely help you!”
After Torrey left home, he went deeper into the ways of sin. One night in a hotel room he was unable to sleep. Weary from the problems pressing in on every hand, he decided to take the gun he kept in his dresser and end his life. Just as he reached for the weapon, he remembered his mother’s last words. Convicted by the Holy Spirit, he fell on his knees and cried out, “O God of my mother, if there is such a Being, I need Your help. If You will give it to me, I’ll follow you!” In a moment his darkened heart was illumined, and peace filled his soul. Later R. A. Torrey became an outstanding evangelist who led thousands to Christ!
You do your part mom’s and let God do His part, and He will, even with those children that seem so rebellious, let them see the love of Jesus and never give up on them, for God doesn’t!
Mom’s again I would like to thank you for your love, your devotion, the time you take to care for your children. You may not hear these words too often, “Thank you!” but God is pleased and He will honor your work, your efforts that you are putting forth to raise God’s precious gift to you, your children. To encourage you that in time you may get a thank you, listen to what some great men have said of their mother’s. We are told:
“The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887).
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).
“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” George Washington (1732-1799).
Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mothers’ secret hope outlives them all.” Oliver Wendell Homes (1809-1894).
Raising children is often like a tapestry. On one side it looks a mess, nothing seems right, it is ugly, things are not in place. But, on the other side is a beautiful work of art as God works through mothers to make a beautiful child grow into a godly man or woman. Moms take a look at your children through the eyes of God, for the work is not completed yet but it will be and thus, don’t give up. Mom’s, I pray that you are encouraged this morning. Children, I pray that you bless you mom this morning, that you treat her like a queen, for she loves you more than you will ever know, pray for her, love her and thank her for she is praying for you to grow and mature in the faith.
As I close this morning, let me leave you with these words:
When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture, one said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?” The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”
- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale, 1972, p. 381
Happy Mother’s Day and may God bless you mightily and keep you strong in the work He has called you to do!