Opening Joke:
(Taken from a Calvin and Hobbs comic:)
Calvin gives his mother a card.
She begins to read: "I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink & red.
But then I thought I’d rather spend the money on me instead.
It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small.
So I guess you’re pretty lucky I got you anything at all.
Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m done.
So how about getting out of bed & fixing breakfast for your son."
There is a modern proverb that most of us have heard that says: ‘the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
A Tribute to a Mother who seeks the Lord.
Matt. 15:21-28
I. A Mother who seeks the Lord teaches us to carry the pain of others. (vs. 21-22)
A. This woman was carrying the pain of her daughter.
1. “Have mercy on me!”
a. “On her, she wasn’t the one possessed.”
b. “Have mercy on my daughter.”?
2. The mother carried the pain of the child with her.
a. Mother’s who are here know what I mean.
- IE. Sheryl’s tears for David and Mikey.
b. Fathers just aren’t as able to do this.
- As a child, when I got hurt, my dad would say “Walk it off, son!”
B. “Why would we want to carry someone else’s pain?”
1. Women are the gentler, softer sex.
a. This is not a mark of weakness; it is a strength.
b. Many times, the pain our children feel is more than they can bear.
c. Mother’s can make that connection with their feelings that fathers find hard to do.
2. This goes beyond “feeling sorry for” people.
3. This teaches us compassion.
a. My concern for using “compassion” It didn’t to fit.
b. Define compassion = “sympathetic consciousness of other’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”
4. Do we feel this today?
5. This is the love we have from God.
a. Ro 5:8 “God demonstrates His own love to us,”
b. Sinner = enemy of God.
c. While we were God’s enemy, Christ died for us.
d. While we were trying to bear the burden of our own sins, God came among us and said, “Let me carry it for you.”
II. A Mother who seeks the Lord teaches us to persist in our prayers. (vs.22b-25)
A. Prayer indicates the source of our strength. (v.22b)
1. This was a Canaanite woman.
a. She had her own religions.
b. IE. Baal worship of the OT. Prophets vs. Elijah.
2. She says “Son of David.”
a. Indicates a belief that He was Messiah.
b. Great statement of faith.
3. What can we conclude?
a. She has exhausted all other avenues to heal her daughter.
b. Her gods, her medicines, Her own strength.
4. Our prayer life indicates the source of our strength.
a. Little prayer = trust in our own strength.
b. Much prayer = trust in Gods strength.
5. The woman put all of her marbles in Jesus’ basket.
6. Illus.: Rufus Jones
"Rufus Jones often told a story from his childhood: It seems that one day when he was 12 or 13, his mother went to town, leaving him behind on the farm with some chores. He fully intended to do the work, but his friends’ beckonings to play grew too loud. "When he saw his mother’s car pull into the driveway that evening, his heart sank. He knew he was in for one of the worst whippings of his life. His mother parked the car and came into the house. She looked him straight in the eye. She didn’t have to ask. "Rufus said he would always remember what happened next. It affected him as no whipping ever could. His mother took him upstairs into the bedroom, knelt down beside him, wrapped him in her arms, and, with tears streaming down her face, prayed one phrase over and over: `Lord, make a man out of him. Lord, make a man out of him.’ "It is said that whenever Jones told that story his voice would grow quiet, his eyes misty, as he remembered that special feeling of `standing in the weeping arms of love.’"
B. Prayer must be persistent when God is silent. (v. 23a)
1. One of the most frustrating things of our faith is when God seems to be silent in our prayers .
- Prayers that bounce off the ceiling.
2. Why is God silent?
a. Not sure. Could be a number of reasons.
- Sin, refocusing.
b. I believe Jesus wanted to se this woman exhibit her faith.
c. The question is not “Why?” but “What do we do in response?”
- Granted or loss of desire.
d. Persist! In our persistence, God will give us our answers.
e. Though, at times, God doesn’t speak we know He will always hear.
III. A Mother who seeks the Lord teaches us to sacrifice. (vs.26-27)
A. The sacrifices this woman made for her daughter.
1. A Canaanite approaching a Jew. History.
2. A woman approaching a Jewish man.
3. Just being an annoyance to everyone. (v. 23)
B. The most pronounced sacrifice: the insult.
1. Take the bread from the children and feed it to the dogs.
2. What was He saying?
a. Bread = His ministry on this earth.
b. Children = Israel.
c. Dogs = Gentiles.
3. “How insulting!”
C. This woman was making a statement.
-“Think what you want, say what you want, you can even do what you want with me, but I have a daughter back home who is very, very sick and she needs help. And I will do whatever it takes to get her that help.”
-This is a mothers love at its best. Willing to subject herself to ridicule and possible harm for the sake of her child.
D. Illus.: WWII Rosenburgs story
ILL. The story is told - out of WW 2 & the holocaust that took the lives of millions of people - of Solomon Rosenberg & his family. It is a true story.
Solomon Rosenberg & his wife & their 2 sons & his mother & father were arrested & placed in a Nazi concentration camp. It was a labor camp, & the rules were simple. "As long as you can do your work, you are permitted to live. When you become too weak to do your work, then you are exterminated."
Rosenberg watched his mother & father marched off to their deaths, & he knew that next would be his youngest son, David, because David had always been a frail child.
Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of labor & searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another, & thank God for another day of life.
One day Rosenberg came back & didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, & praying. He said, "Josh, tell me it’s not true." Joshua turned & said, "It is true, poppa. Today David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him."
"But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg. "Oh poppa," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid & he cried. Momma said, `There is nothing to be afraid of, David,’ & she took his hand & went with him."
CONCL. That is motherhood. Mothers, this is your day. May God bless you in it. And I pray that if there is someone here who has never experienced the love of God that is so close to the love of a mother, that this will be your time of decision.
E.This is a mirror of the sacrifice God made for us.
IV.A Mother who seeks the Lord teaches us to have great faith in God. (vs. 28)
A. This faith believes that God able.
She said, “”True, Sir. I admit that I have no claim on You, but there must be some extra grace—some grace that I don’t deserve, and I’m appealing to You for that.”
B. This faith believes that God willing.
C.The significance of Jesus saying this:
-Was never said to any disciple. See Matt 16:8
-This is what God wants from us more than anything: Great faith in Him.
-Do you have that faith in Him?
