Two of my sisters are here with us today, so I must indulge in a few family stories!
The first is the night we thought we lost mom. Just after Thanksgiving last year, the family was gathered for a dinner at my house. Mom had just returned from visiting my sisters in New York. She was having trouble with her asthma and was tired and short of breath. While in NY, she felt poor enough to see the Doctor, so naturally, we were concerned for her.
After dinner I noticed that mom’s hands were blue. Without trying to alarm her, I asked her a few questions such as “Mom, are you feeling all right? Are you having any trouble breathing?” My daughter who has a good deal medical background and first aid training was also concerned. The more questions that we asked mom, the sicker that she started feeling. Finally, she wanted to head home. I didn’t know if she should go home, but I didn’t want to alert her further, so dad took her home.
We all discussed how this could be serious. Should we have let her go? Should we have called an ambulance for blue hands? I got on the phone with my sister in New York to explain the situation. Now she was worried too! But during our conversation the incoming call alert beeped on my phone. I put my sister on hold because it was my dad calling. I was nervous that they were in the hospital with mom and that her blue hands were a symptom that she was not getting enough oxygen. My father’s comments immediately put my fears to rest. “Son, don’t worry about your mother. We figured out why her hands are blue. In fact she’s blue from the waist down. She bought a new pair of blue jeans and had not washed them, and she’s turned blue from the dye in the jeans!” Well I felt relieved, but also embarrassed that I allowed my mother to leave my house looking like a Smurf!!
We really laughed about that story. Mom, were glad that you are here with us today!
Here’s another appropriate story for Mother’s Day. My niece was reciting here bedtime Catechism. The question: How many persons are there in the godhead?
Her answer: “There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spare Rib!”
So to all of our moms here today, we thank you for your love for us.
In honor of Mother’s Day, let’s look at Matthew 15:21-28. Today’s sermon is about “The Value of a Mother’s Faith.”
The SETTING
After the feeding of the 5,000
After the calming of the storm.
After the accusations from the Pharisees that Jesus’ disciples do not “wash their hands”
JESUS leaves Jewish territory and moves into Gentile territory, where the Scribes and Pharisees are not likely to follow.
He encounters a GENTILE, CANAANITE Woman. This woman has come to him to plead for her daughter. She knows that Jesus is the only one that can help her, and her faith becomes the key that saves the life of her daughter. Her faith in Christ is a beautiful picture of the value of a mother’s faith.
A Faithful Mother Finds her Strength in the Lord. V.22
She cries, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David”
Jesus is her LORD
Jesus is her MESSIAH
Like HANNAH, her confidence is in God. “And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.” (1 Samuel 2:1, ESV)
Like the Psalmist her rest is in the Lord. “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” (Psalm 62:1, NIV84)
A Faithful Mother Knows the Spiritual Needs of her children. v 22
“And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”” (Matthew 15:22, ESV)
The Greek word is kakos. It normally is translated “bad.” Here it has a strong sense of the daughter’s desperate situation. The NIV translates this word, “Suffering terribly.” The NAS uses “cruelly demon possessed.” The KJV says “grievously vexed.”
Faithful Mothers do not try to hid the reality of the spiritual condition of their children.
Sometimes when talking about our children, we are not honest with the Lord.
We are not honest with others.
PRIDE is one of the reasons
PAIN is one of the reasons
A Faithful Mother Prays Earnestly for her Children v. 23
Mat 15:23 “She is crying out after us”
This mother knew that the Lord held the key to the problem in her daughter’s life! She was relentless in seeking Jesus!
“But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”” (Matthew 15:25, ESV)
Mothers, you are the ones who are most relentless in your prayers for your children! Continue your pursuit in prayer!
Pastor Larry Norman tells the following story: “I can remember sometime ago when I was going through a particularly rough period in my life, I called my mother. When she answered the phone, I could tell she had been weeping. I said “Is everything alright mom? What were you doing?” She replied, “Oh, I was just in my bedroom praying for my son.” Larry Norman, “A Lesson of Faith from a Faithful Mother” (sermoncentral.com)
A Faithful Mother is Satisfied with God’s Provision v.26-27
Here, the word dogs does not have the negative connotation that we might normally think. The word used here is the word for “little dogs.” The picture is a household pet. She only asked for crumbs, like the little pets that know that the best seat in the house for scraps is near the little kids who drop their food on the floor!
This mother knows that Jesus had come to preach to Israel, but she is content to have even a few of the crumbs.
Christ is not brushing her aside because she is a Canaanite. He came to save everyone from their sins. But this was still prior to the cross and the Gentiles were still on the outskirts of Christ’s mission. Yet this woman knew that Jesus would not turn her away. She was content on what he would give her.
This is a model for us. We need to be content with what the Lord gives us. Some of us are weary of the problems that our children bring. We are disappointed with their choices. We are tired of their poor choice of friends. We are tired of their rebellion. Perhaps we wish that they were more like someone else’s kids. But like this woman, we must be content with what the Lord provides for us.
A Faithful Mother Is Satisfied with God’s Person. 26-27
She know that even crumbs were adequate if they came from Jesus!
A Faithful Mother brings God’s blessing to her Family. 28
A faithful mother is a great blessing, even to faithless children!
This truth is found in the residual blessings that flow to the family because of the righteousness of one believing parent. “For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” (1 Corinthians 7:14, ESV)
MOTHER (by Carol Hunt)
M is for the million looks she’s given,
Those eyes of love and those that say, “You’re done.”
Her eyes of pride and consternation,
And eyes that laugh at all our silly fun.
O is for she really is getting older.
She can’t catch me quite as fast as she once did.
And then I saw her looking in the mirror,
Holding wrinkle cream and making faces, while I hid.
T is for all the tears that come and go so quickly,
You never know if joy or sorrow is the cause.
But in case you’re in deep trouble or hot water,
It’s always safe to say, “I love you Mom, It was the dog.”
H is for her hair, it’s really, really changing.
She covers it with Clairol Sunny day.
She thinks we don’t know, but we’re the wiser,
Cause we’re the ones who are turning it that way.
E is for the eerie way she knows me.
As if she reads my mind and sees my every move.
I know they say with age comes wisdom,
Because she’s walked this path before and paid her dues.
R is Mom is right and right she’ll always be.
So pay attention and heed this little warning.
You’d better listen and obey or you will pay, come morning.
Put them all together they spell Mother.
The one who gave you birth with suffering and pain.
The one who loves you more than chocolate kisses,
She would die to keep you safe from day to day.
She is the only one, whose heart will always treasure,
All the memories of your youth and days gone by.
A heart that beats with love forever,
Even when you crashed her car and made her cry.
