2024.05.12.Sermon.Honor thy Mother.
William Akehurst, HSWC
Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, Proverbs 31:1-31, Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Ephesians 6:1-3, Psalms 90:10, 2 Timothy 1:5, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Proverbs 31:28, Proverbs 31:30
THE BIG IDEA: As a Mother Cares for her children, We must not only share and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also our lives. Living it, Showing it, Giving it for the help of others.
A woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NKJV
7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
Hi MOMs! Happy Mothers’ Day
Today we honor our mothers.
If you had a mother, put your hand up!
If you are a mother, put your hand up!
Today we honor you!
Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Ephesians 6:1-3
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”
Honor your father and mother, It’s the first commandment with a promise!
How many of you here today are over 70 years old? 80? 90?
The bible says this about age:
Psalm 90:10a NLT
10 Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty.
You who have raise your hands and are 70 or older must have honored your Father and Mother!
Today being Mother's day, I want to take a peak at a mothers love and care for her young. To do so, let’s begin with the animals.
I didn't say you mothers were animals, I'm talking the other kind of animals.
How long do animal mothers care for their young.
Chimpanzee-4-5 years.
Lions-for about 3 years.
Polar bears-2-3 years.
Birds-Until they can fly, and perhaps longer a few weeks
Possum - mother opossum puts her young on her back and does not leave them for a moment.
Rabbits-Until the babies eyes are opened.
Spider-typically dies before the birth of her young.
What animals DO NOT CARE for their young?
Most Reptiles.
Snakes-never care for their young.
Turtles leave their eggs on the beach.
Fish-(When a group of children were asked which animals didn't care for their children, a little girl's response-Fish, 'cause my fish ate her babies)
Here's an interesting one, a bird, The Cuckoo, leave their eggs in another birds nest to make the other bird take care of their chicks. Sounds pretty cuckoo to me.
Human mothers typically care for their children…a whole life time.
By the time a child reaches 18, a mother has had to handle some extra 18,000 hours of child-generated work. In fact, women who never have children enjoy the equivalent of an extra three months a year in leisure time!
If you’re a mom, How many kids do you have in your care? Multiply that by 1000 hours a year and you will see how quickly caring for children becomes a full time job.
Lets take a look at some of our
BIBLICAL MOTHERS:
When we look through the bible at mothers, we see:
Jacobed. The mother of Moses: Cared so much for her son that she broke the law in order to teach him the faith of his people.
The Prostitute Mother(s) before King Solomon:
The sacrificial love of the mother who appeared before King Solomon and told him that she was willing to have her son taken away by another woman rather than see any harm come to him.
Salome. Mother of James and John: who loved her boys so much that she wanted them to sit by the Lord's side in the heavenly kingdom.
Mother of King Lemuel: who gave advice to her son about godly living and how to pick a good wife, in Proverbs 31.
Mary, Mother of Jesus: who cared for the Saviour of the world.
Proverbs 31
1 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
5 Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
The Virtuous Wife
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.
So as we look to the mothers of the Bible, we also remember those mothers, grand mothers, great grands…who have gone on before us, but have imparted something in us that has made us who we are today.
From Paul to Timothy, a faith imparted from Grandmother and mother.
2 Timothy 1:5 I 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.
Lois and Eunice had Faith in the LORD, it was a strong faith.
Perhaps Deuteronomy 6 was a strong influence in their life. This Lois shared with her daughter Eunice, and grandson Timothy. This was very apparent as Paul states. Lets take a look.
Love, Teach and Tell others
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Lois to Eunice to Timothy. Teaching and passing on the command to love the LORD with everything to their children, and children's children. It is a godly heritage, passed on from one generation to the next. And it was more than mere words, it was a lifestyle. Talking while sitting, walking, laying down and rising up. Signs in the hand and eyes, written even in the home.
Our love for the LORD must be so evident in our lives that as we pass on the faith, they see its evidence.
We too, must pass on this knowledge, and faith, from our lives to the lives of others. Just as a Mother to her child.
1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.
In this verse, Paul compares presenting the Gospel to others and giving of his time and life to those he shared Christ, with the gentleness and love that a nursing mother gives to her child.
In nursing, the mother holds the child close, there is a bond, the mother gives of herself for the life of the child. She gently nurtures and feeds her child, from her very being.
As a mother cherishes her own children
We are to gently impart the Gospel of God to others, as well as your own lives. Give to others.
Salvation, the Gospel of Christ, is not something that we are to hold to ourselves. We are to take our loved ones, and those around us, and draw them near to us, and share this life giving message.
Furthermore, we are to not only tell it, but also live it.
1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
Today, let us learn a lesson from mothering. That we all must Gently share the Gospel and our lives, to those around us.
Today, we honor our mothers.
We praise you mothers who take it serious to make a spiritual impact in the lives of your children.
Proverbs 31:28 says, 'her children arise and call her blessed'
31:30, 'a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised'
Today, we praise you moms and women of the LORD, who worship and Love the LORD with all their hearts, and who pass on this message of LOVE to their children.
We thank you and say to you, mothers and women of GOD, “You are blessed”.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Bill
