Mother's Day From The Father's Perspective Series

May 9, 2010

Morning Worship

Text: Ephesians 2:1-10

Subject: Happy Mother’s Day

Title: Mother’s Day From the Father’s Perspective

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful Moms in the congregation! You may not consider yourself wonderful, but you are. Where would any of us be if not for our moms? I hope you all enjoyed the video this morning. As I watched it was like I was reliving my childhood all over again. Yes, I have heard my mother say those things and I am sure I have passed them on to the next generation. How about you? Have you ever said or done any of those things.

How about some more sayings?

Who do you think you are?

I'll treat you like an adult when you start acting like an adult!

Look at me when I'm talking to you.

Don't pick it, it'll get infected.

You'll put your eye out with that thing!

Don't put that thing in your mouth, you don't know where it's been.

Wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident and have to go to hospital.

Don't cross your eyes like that, one day they'll freeze that way

I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!

If I catch you doing that one more time, I'll...

Your father is going to hear about THIS when he gets home!

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

How many times do I have to tell you, don't throw things in the house!

Do you think your clothes are going to pick themselves up?

"I don't know" is NOT an answer!

I know it's not fair. Life isn't fair.

The wonderful words of wisdom from God’s gift to childhood!

Now we laugh about the things we have heard mother say but one thing I want you to understand – and you all know it – moms only wants the best for their families and will do anything to see that they get it.

Now, having said that about earthly mothers, I want you to know that you also have a Father who wants only the best for you – your heavenly Father.

Today I want you to se that the characteristics that we see in our mothers are present in the God who has saved you.

Let’s look to see how God works in your life to make you the best you can be.

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

Lord, open our spiritual eyes to see and our spiritual ears to hear and understand what the Spirit is saying to us today.

I. GOD SEES WHAT YOU REALLY ARE

A. 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… I am thankful that this is mentioned in the past tense - you were dead in your transgressions and sins… Since Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus we know that it was written for the Gentile church and not for Jewish Christians. I’m not saying that the Jewish Christians weren’t in the same spiritual dilemma as the Gentiles. But Paul just wants them to know where they came from. As a mother knows everything about her children God knows everything about you. Did you ever try to fool your mom? Don’t they somehow always know the truth? God does too – and even more. He knows everything about you. He knows that you were bound by sin in your sin nature – you were dead in your transgressions. That was the whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth. Isaiah 53:5, But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

B. …you followed the ways of this world… How many of you are leaders? I mean which of you will actually say, “This is where I am going. You can follow if you want?” I always considered myself to be a leader, even as a teenager. I have always wanted to stand up for those who are less fortunate; whom I thought couldn’t stand for themselves. Don’t you think that is a rather noble mindset? Good for me!!!! Don’t be fooled. There was a time in my life that I can look back at when I now realize that I was not a leader. I followed the ways of this world, and it wasn’t leading me to a good place. The willingness to follow the ways of this world is a direct result of being dead in our transgressions and sins. That is what sinners do – they sin.

C. We were living under the direction of satan. …and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Did your mom ever try to warn you about running around with certain people? Somehow she just knew they were trouble. God knows that if you are trying to live your life in your own power and authority – if you are trying to do what is right in your own eyes – you will fail miserably. Ephesians 6:12, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. If you are trying to please God by what you do in the natural man, you really aren’t pleasing Him, because you are trying to fight a spiritual battle in the natural realm. You are working for the devil. Even after you have left the life of sin behind, if you try to overcome the works of the enemy by fighting against him in what you do, you are walking according to the sinful nature and you will lose that battle. You are either totally for God or for the devil. There is no middle ground. Throughout the history of Israel we see the stories of kings who knew who God was while worshipping foreign gods. They would even call upon the name of the LORD or seek His guidance through prophets. But they were trying to have it both ways. The bible says that those kings did evil in the eyes of the LORD.