From Indescretion To Intercession

Mother¡¦s Day 2004

Introduction:

„« Welcome and wish all mothers a Happy Mother¡¦s Day

„« Today is a day where we honor our mothers

Eph 6:2

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (KJV)

What is the promise:

Deut 5:16

16 ¡§Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy [your] days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee [you]. . .¡¨ (KJV)

Each and everyone of us has parents, if your parents are still here then realize that your interaction with your parents directly affects your well-being.

I remember the story of a young minister when he first started work in the ministry at a large church.

His parents were not Christians at the time of this story ¡V John had moved to, I believe, Texas.

He was getting started on his own and he was looking for an apartment when he discovered that one of the music ministers at the church he was going to work for was also looking for an apartment.

They decided to get an apartment together to cut their living expenses, which made John very excited.

He called his parents and was talking to his father and his father told him, that he thought John should not do this and that he should get an apartment by himself.

John made the decision to not listen to his father because ¡V ¡§he wasn¡¦t even born again ¡V he lives in another state ¡V he doesn¡¦t know what was going on¡¨

Long story short ¡V it ended up being a very bad situation that cost John a lot of money.

John was praying and said Lord I¡¦ve set my heart on You why didn¡¦t You warn me about this?

The Lord answered and said, ¡§I did!¡¨ and brought to his remembrance the words of his father.

The command of God is not, honor your father and mother if they are in church or if their wisdom agrees with what you think.

The command is honor your father and your mother.

„« What has been so lost in the Church structure is honor ¡V and what we so often fail to realize is that when we do not honor - it is our own lives that are effected.

So I first of all what to encourage everyone ¡V if your parents are still with you ¡V not only on this day ¡V not only on Father¡¦s Day ¡V honor your parents.

As I contemplated what honor is I came up with the following definition:

¡§Honor is glorifying God through the authority delegated to man. It is an act of humility and submission, a statement of loyalty and thankfulness for what God has given you through another.¡¨

I read a book on honor not too long ago and the authors definition of honor was:

¡§Using my resources, talents, and abilities to aid and support the plan and success of the one whom I am honoring; desiring his or her needs to be met above my own; putting the life plan and purpose of this person above my own.¡¨

You may have your own definition of honor, but what we must realize is that through the Word of God ¡V the first commandment with a promise is to honor our parents.

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Since today is Mother¡¦s Day we will look specifically at the mother ¡V

There is a special place ¡V an anointing ¡V that has been given to a mother.

I want to look at an unlikely woman in the Bible ¡V who many times is not referred to in a positive aspect because of the situation that brought her to be mentioned in the Bible.

One may think that there are other women in the Bible who would make for a better illustration, but I think there are some very important characteristics in this woman.

She first makes her appearance in the Bible in 2 Samuel 11:3 and a story unfolds in the 11th chapter through the chapter 12:24:

2 Sam 11:1-4

1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?