Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Senior Minister), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply stating where in the world you are based; I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Herman Abrahams,
Cape Town, South Africa.
APOSTOLIC MOTHERHOOD
There is a side to God which is like that of a mother. Mothers feature in the lives of the Apostles. Deborah rose up in Israel as a mother to lead the nation. Timothy was trained in the Christian faith by his mother and grandmother. Spiritual mothers are much-needed in the work of the gospel to provide compassion, care and strength to tho
1. Mothers Needed Nationally, Internationally & In The Local Church.
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Deborah is an example of a woman raised up by God (AS A MOTHER) and placed in a governmental position [see Judg. 4—5 for the full story].
(Judges 5:7) “Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.”
“APOSTLE DEBORAH” - She became a military commander and the governess of a nation. God’s choice to govern was a woman.
1.1 Mothers Bring Faith, Emotional Strength & Courage
Judges 4:8 “Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go."
Barak felt strong enough to face the task, but only if Deborah, the woman of strength and courage, would accompany him.
2. Apostles Also Need Mothers.
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• Rufus’s mother mothered Paul (Romans 16:13).
So often we look at strong leaders as a sort of father figure. This is not at all improper. "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15 ).
But though we look up to an respect these strong leaders in the faith, we sometimes fail to realize that they also need spiritual parents. The role of leadership is one of the loneliest in the world. Frequently there is the need to pour out one’s soul to a listening ear, to seek counsel in the perplexing problems that face an active minister in the gospel. In the mother of Rufus Paul had found just such a confidante.
1 Thes 2:6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
3. Apostolic Mothers Nurture The Faith Of Their Children (Both Spiritual & Physical children)
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2 Tim 1:5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
From grandmother, to mother, to child – from one generation to another.
Illustration
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After my late wife, Fiona, died I noticed a penciled message in the Bible of my granddaughter wherein she wrote, “Micaela, remember, this is The Book Of Life.”
Here was a wonderful example and reminder of the faith-life which a grandmother worked so hard at in inculcating it into the life of her children and grandchildren.
4. Mothers Are The “Kings Of Compassion”.
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Luke 15 – Men show compassion – how much more mothers?
We cannot overlook the amazing words of the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8, where he describes his apostolic ministry in decidedly female terms such as nursing and cherishing. The Amplified Bible renders verse 7,
"But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children."
It is unlikely that Paul would have chosen such language if he had been afraid of combining the concepts of femininity and apostleship in the same context.
Isaiah 49:15 (NIV) 15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
5. Treat Older Women As Mothers.
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1 Tim 5:1-2 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
Eve – the mother of all: (Gen 3:20) Adam [ Or The man ] named his wife Eve, [ Eve probably means living . ] because she would become the mother of all the living.
6. The Motherhood of God.
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a) According to Jesus, God is like a woman sweeping a house! (Luke 15)
b) Isaiah 66:13 “How can I show how much I will love and comfort you? I know! Think about how a mother comforts her child that’s how I will comfort you.
c) Isa. 54:7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you"
d) Psalm 131:2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
e) Standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem , Jesus cried out:
Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who stoned the prophets and killed those who were sent to you, how often would I have gathered you under my wings like a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not do it”.
There’s a side of God which can only be described as ‘Mothering’ - things that might be used to describe the ideal mother: understanding and concern and care and comfort and nurture.
Conclusion
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Jesus lived in a culture which viewed women as property; some even doubted that women had souls. They wondered if the only women in heaven would be those who served the men!
There is a place in God for Spiritual parentage to include both Father and Mother, and
If God is to be properly represented in the nations, WE’VE GOT TO HAVE THE MOTHERS THERE ALSO.
