Mother's And The Promises Of God

Mother's and the Promises of God

Text: Gen. 18:1-15; 21:1-7

Introduction

1. Illustration: Mothers are central to the success of the American family. Their love, dedication, and wisdom touch countless lives every day in every community throughout our land. And their love and guidance of children help to develop healthy and spiritually sound families. President John Quincy Adams once said, “All that I am my mother made me.” President Abraham Lincoln believed, “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” These statements are just as true for the millions of Americans who credit their mothers for helping to successfully shape their lives (George W. Bush).

2. Many of us get strength from our Mother's, but where do they get their strength? They get it from the Lord!

3. In order to maintain that strength Mother's need to:

a. Practice the Presence of God

b. Trust the Promises of God

c. Experience the Joy of God

4. Read Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7

Proposition: Mother's deal with the difficulties of life through the strength they receive from the Lord.

Transition: The first thing that Mother's need to do is...

I. Mother's Need to Practice the Presence of God (18:1-8).

A. My Lord

1. As our test opens, it's focus is not on a mother, but on her husband. However, the truths we learn from this text are relevant for both men and women.

2. As the text begins we see, "The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day."

a. The word Lord in verse 3 is the Hebrew word adonay (Ross, 341).

b. This word is only used in the OT for God.

c. The Hebrew text leaves no room for doubt here, it is the Lord himself who appears to Abraham.

d. The three visitors came from another world to bring Abraham a message.

3. However, the most important aspect of this text is how Abraham responded to the visitors. First we learn, "He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground."

a. Abraham didn't just ignore them and just go about his business, but he dropped whatever he was doing and he ran to them.

b. He knew that this was a visitation from God himself, and he treated it as precious and special.

c. My Pastor before I went to Bible College used to refer to our devotions as "our daily appointment."

d. We need to look forward to that daily appointment as if it were the most important part of our day - because it is the most important part of our day.

e. It is that part of our day where we gather strength to meet the challenges of our day.

f. It is that part of our day where we put on the full armor of God to deal with the opposition of our day.

g. It is that part of our day where we receive the spiritual nourishment required for our day.

4. The second thing that Abraham did was he said, “My lord,...if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet."

a. Abraham begs the Lord to come and stay with him.

b. He knew that this was a special opportunity and he didn't want it to get away from him.

c. How often do we treat our devotional time as something we do it we have the time?

d. How often do we push the Lord into a corner and tell "Now stay there until I'm not so busy."

e. We need to treat that time not as luxury but as a necessity.

5. Notice what Abraham does next, "So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, 'Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.' Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it."

a. He didn't say, "Hey Sarah, why don't you see what we've got laying around."

b. He didn't say, "Hey Sarah, is there any of that meat loaf left from last week?"

c. No, he told Sarah, "Hurray and give the Lord the best we have to offer."

d. Don't give God your left over’s, give him your best.

e. Don't just give him a part of your day; give him the best part of your day!