The three quotes from Men who loved their mothers is from sermon #114882.
The story and prayer of Monica is from sermon #121107.
-first of all, Happy Mother’s Day. I hope all of you are going to have a wonderful day and your family is going to shower you with gifts and take you out for a nice dinner today. And all the husbands are now glaring at me, okay…
-but today, mom, we want to honor you here, and we want to do that by talking about Timothy.
TIMOTHY
-yes, the guy who has two books in the Bible with his name on them, even though he didn’t write them, he was the recipient.
-here’s what we know about Timothy:
-He was originally from Lystra, or Turkey today.
-His mom was a Messianic Jew and his dad was Greek (Acts. 16:1)
-We think Paul introduced Timothy to Jesus because in I Tim. 1:2 he calls Timothy his “true son in the faith”, and we know Paul visited Lystra on his first missionary journey.
-During his second missionary journey Paul stopped again in Lystra and invited Timothy to go with him, which he did. He even went so far as to be circumcised for that trip so the Jewish people he was talking to wouldn’t be offended (that is hard core!)
-We know he traveled with Paul to Macedonia and Achaia, stayed a long time with him in Ephesus, to Macedonia, to Corinth, and it seems he even went to Jerusalem with Paul.
-We also know that when Paul was first thrown in prison, Timothy was there and visited him (Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:1, Ph. 1:1). This might be why when Paul was imprisoned right before his execution, he asked that Timothy would visit him (II Tim. 4:9,21) and Timothy even went to jail himself for his faith (Heb. 13:23).
-On one of Paul’s trips, they went back to Ephesus and Timothy stayed behind to be the pastor, which is why Paul wrote the two letters to Timothy, to help him in his pasturing.
-We also know on the trips, Tim must have had a big influence on Paul, he was named a co-writer in six letters, II Cor., Phil, Col, I & II Thess, and Philemon.
-They were such good friends Timothy cried when they were separated (II Tim. 1:4).
-In fact, here’s what Paul had to say about Timothy.
**Phil. 2:19-22 -> 19I plan (according to Jesus’ plan) to send Timothy to you very soon so he can bring back all the news of you he can gather. Oh, how that will do my heart good! 20I have no one quite like Timothy. He is loyal, and genuinely concerned for you. 21Most people around here are looking out for themselves, with little concern for the things of Jesus. 22But you know yourselves that Timothy’s the real thing. He’s been a devoted son to me as together we’ve delivered the Message. (MSG)
-wow. That’s the way to be remembered. This is Paul, the guy who wrote a good chunk of the Bible, this is what he things of Timothy.
-so Tim’s a nice guy, so what? Why bring him up today of all days? Why spend time talking about him now? Because:
TIMOTHY IS WHO HE IS BECAUSE OF HIS MOTHER
-this is from Paul writing to Timothy:
**II Tim. 1:5 -> 5I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. (NLT)
-remember we mentioned that Paul went to Tim’s hometown and stayed there a while for more than one mission trip, apparently Paul just didn’t know Timothy, he knew Tim’s whole family. Paul apparently knew grandma.
-and Paul says very specifically to Timothy that his faith is strong, why? Because of mom and her mom.
-I sat down thinking about this, can you name any other moms in the Bible who are famous for being moms? Not someone who is a mom but was famous because of her husband, like Rachel is Joseph’s mom, but we are introduced to her really early in the whole marriage sister-mix-up thing. (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read Gen. 29 as a little storytime before bed tonight).
-but really, I came up with two just off the top of my head, and even cheating a little. Mary, obvious, and Hannah was Samuel’s mom. But that’s really it. Everyone else is the mom of someone famous but also married to someone famous.
-think about it. Who’s David’s mom? Moses? We know she was a Levite but never told her name. All these big spiritual giants or heroes, we don’t know their moms at all.
-here, Paul mentions mom and grandma specifically, Tim is who he is because of them. Dad is never named. All we know is he was Greek, he may not have even believed in Jesus, we know so very little about dad. Timothy was all thanks to mom.
-even what he knew about the Bible, that came from mom.
**II Tim. 3:14-15 -> 14But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. 15Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (NCV)
-now think with me here. If we know that he was taught the Bible as a young child, and we know there was no real church there, or else Paul wouldn’t have gone on a missionary trip, and we know dad probably did not even believe in the Bible, who do you think it was teaching Timothy the Scriptures? Mom and grandma.
-it’s true for me. I still have no problem at all picturing my mom’s brown leather-ish cover bible, big and thick. When I had to learn memory verses for Sunday School or we had a Christian version of scouts, she would grill me on them. As a kid, after church, she’d ask me what I learned.
-because here’s the truth of it.
MOMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
-you do, believe it or not.
-John Quincy Adams - “All that I am, my mother made me.”
-Abraham Lincoln - “All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother."
-Dwight Moody - "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother."
-real men, thanking mom.
-a few years ago Barna did a study on teenagers and what they think, feel, etc. Barna is a company that does polls and stuff like that for churches. Here’s what is says in the teen study:
“Although millions of mothers of teen would faint at the idea, Mom is typically the most revered figure in the life of a teenager. Almost 6 our of 10 teenagers (57 percent) say they are emotionally very close to their mothers; 9 out of 10 teens contend that emotionally they are at least fairly close to their mothers. Some teen subgroups-most notably blacks, born-again teens, those who see themselves as leaders and those who believe they are very intelligent-are well above the norm in perceiving themselves to be emotionally close to their mothers. Teens not only feel close to their mothers, but most of them have substantial appreciation for how well she nurtures and raises them. When we asked teenagers what grade they would give Mom for her parenting prowess, three-quarters gave her an A, one-fifth awarded her a B and just 6 percent gave their mother a C or lower [that’s 11 percent better than Dad]. While our research among mothers suggest that they would be shocked to receive such a complimentary rating from their young adults, teens possess an acute understanding that few people deem parenting a teen to be a reward that God bestows upon the righteous of the land!” (Barna, Real Teens, p. 69)
-wow mom, you’re loved, whether you believe it or not or your kids tell you themselves or not, you’re loved. Later on they asked teens what they would like to change about their moms, number one was better communication, two was spending more time with mom. They want to be in your life! And by the way, guys wanted more time with mom over the girls. And I’ll also mention 29% said they’d change nothing about mom, they love her the way she is.
-moms, you are the favorite. Hey I was thinking about this, thinking back to my days as a kid, if I fell and hurt myself, which happened a lot, we had good climbing trees, who do you think I ran to when I was hurt? Mom. Why? Because when you’re hurt mom hugs you and tells you it will be okay and kisses your boo-boo’s. What does dad do? Rub some dirt on it, get back out there.
-when people get hurt playing sports here on Sunday nights, who do you think they run to, me or Liz? I just say “You’re okay” and tell them to keep playing. Liz has first-aid kits stashed all over the church.
-moms, you take care of us, which is wonderful, but because of that, you have great influence on our lives.
-and this carries over into our faith and relationship with God. Moms, you have influence in here too. Look at Timothy, it was because of his mom and grandma’s teaching.
-it’s a big question that all parents wrestle with, should I influence my child’s faith? I say absolutely. No question. Because I don’t know a single ten year old that is going to voluntary wake up early on Sunday and memorize Scripture for fun.
-and I know you can’t give anyone your faith. You can’t make someone believe at all, but you can teach and guide and help children see the decisions they make. I mean, you don’t let an eight year old pick whatever they want for dinner, we all know what would happen then. We don’t take them to the mall, give them $200 and tell them to pick out their own clothes. I know some eighteen year olds I wouldn’t do that with. You’d end up with a kid at home with $200 shoes eating chocolate frosting out of the can with a spoon for dinner.
-seriously, you know it’s true. We all want our kids to make smart decisions and to be able to one day, yes, pick out a healthy meal for themselves or manage money well but you bring them up and teach them and influence them to do those things well, and I honestly don’t think faith is any different.
-that’s why God asks moms, and dads, to instruct children in faith.
**Prov. 22:6 -> 6Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (NLT)
-if you want to get really technical, in Eph. 6 it specifically mentions dad, just putting it out there…
-but the truth is you have more influence on your children than anyone else. I’m a youth minister. 75 years ago there was no such thing. And even now, if I were to somehow turn our youth ministry into some amazing program, do you know how many people are reached by the news of a good church program? At most, 2%. My chances of reaching teenagers doubles by putting a sign on the door marked “Church”. No matter how hard I work, people are twice as likely to come to church by driving by and seeing the building and wondering what’s inside.
-that’s the scope of my influence. So who are the influencers? Mom, you’re a big one!
-this is why I think it’s really important that Paul points out that Timothy’s mom was Jewish, because Jewish families teach their children faith a lot differently than the rest of the world. We have lots of beautiful traditions here at our church. We have this pattern that we follow in which we introduce people to Christ, then teach those people traditions to remember their faith.
-a Jewish home is opposite. They teach traditions right away. They believe that in learning the traditions the children find God.
-when we read that Timothy’s mom and grandma taught him the Scriptures, it probably was not that Timothy was some on-fire excited for God five year old. They taught him the Bible before he knew God to help him find God. They didn’t leave it up to him to make a decision as to what he believed then start giving him information, they gave him information so he could make a choice.
-in Deuteronomy, there is a verse known as the Sh’ma, a verse many people have heard, many people know, Jewish people are taught to repeat it often “the Lord your God is One”, or “God is God alone” and “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” People know those verses, but do you know what is before and after it?
**Deut. 6:1-9 -> 1“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all His decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (NLT)
-all these reminders that were to be written and placed throughout the home that God is God alone and to love Him with all you are, they weren’t put up for you, they were to be put up to teach your children about who God is.
-why you? Because you, mom and dad, are the most influential people in your child’s life.
-moms, you have more power and more influence than you know and God gives it to you because He trusts you with it, just keep praying for your kids.
-did you know there is a patron saint of mothers (and married women)? Her name is Monica and she is remembered this way for one reason, she prayed for her son. A son that did not believe in Jesus early in life, who made many wrong decisions, who did lots of things she did not approve of, but she kept praying for him, she never gave up on him. While she prayed he caroused around and studied philosophy and intellectualism, focusing his entire life on himself. And she kept praying. And eventually her son turned. He started to listen to her and believe in God, so much so he changed the church so much the church now remembers him as a saint too, St. Augustine. A man who we would know nothing about and may even have a different view of the church today if it had not been for a mom who wouldn’t stop praying for her son.
-now she has a prayer dedicated to her that people remember. Not that I believe in praying to the saints, but it is a great memorial to who she was.
-"Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray." Amen.
-all because a mom prayed for her son.
-so moms, I want you to feel good today. You may look at your kids and think about running a DNA test, they can’t be yours, but they love you, you have great influence on them whether they admit it to you or not, the world would be a far darker place if it wasn’t for the light from moms. Even me, my mom’s coming to visit next week, as much as I’d like to be an adult now some of you are probably going to meet her and go, “Yeah, that explains a lot about Troy” because there is no greater influence than a mom.
