HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
INTRODUCTION - THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
A teacher asked a boy this question: Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you--your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get? A sixth, replied the boy. I’m afraid you don’t know your fractions, said the teacher, Remember, there are seven of you. Yes, teacher, said the boy, but you don’t know my mother. Mother would say she didn’t want any pie.
Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Moses received this commandment from God.
What does it mean to honor your father and mother? In the original language the word “honor” literally means “to make heavy.” In other words, we are not to take our parents lightly. God calls us to actively give them respect and reverence.
This commandment is tough to chew on because we live in an age of disrespect. Youth is glorified and old age is seen as something to avoid at all costs. On TV and in the movies kids are most often portrayed as the witty heroes. Parents tend to be the pathetic, overbearing buffoons, especially dads. Anybody remember Al Bundy or Homer Simpson? The elderly are most often viewed as senile and to be avoided if you want to have a good time. In this case it seems that the media is reflecting the attitude of the culture, disrespect of parents and grandparents.
Just as with all of God’s commandments, this one has terrible consequences for nations and individuals if it’s not heeded.
WHY SHOULD WE INSIST ON RESPECT?
The honor you give is the honor you receive.
Illustration
A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their Mom with a house plant. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ’Rest In Peace’, and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.
EXODUS 1
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,
16 "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live."
17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."
Shiphrah –Handsome, trumpet, that does good.
Puah – Mouth, corner, bush of hair
Moses means literally: “Taken out” and his name was prophetic. The Lord used him to take a whole nation out of Egypt and to save them through the water. Pharaoh gave the order to drawn the Hebrew children in the water but his own descendents died under the water when they persecuted Moses in the red sea.
1. A GOOD MOTHERS IS: A PRIESTLY MOTHER
Exodus 2:1-8
1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.
6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"
8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother.
9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."
1. God protects the Priestly family. The baby was a Levite – The tribe of the priests.
2. Moses mother followed the law of Pharaoh and she puts her son in the river not knowing what would happen. He was placed in papyrus wish was the ancient paper. This is a symbol of the Word of God. Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible.
3. Not only Moses mother got her son alive but she was paid to nurse him with the money of the family who wanted to kill him first.
4. His mother and his sister Miriam who was a gifted poet and musician raised Moses.
Illustration
On this day that we honor mothers, its good for us to think about how much you really do. Being a mother is not a walk in the park…
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!
Moses mother was the strongest human influence in the life of Moses. He was able to fulfill his call because he had a mother that didn’t gave up on him.
Illustration
A young father was trying to explain the concept of marriage to his 4-year-old daughter. He got out their wedding album, thinking visual images would help, and explained the entire wedding service to her. When he was finished, he asked if she had any questions. She pointed to a picture of the wedding party and asked, “Daddy, is that when mommy came to work for us?
2. A GOOD MOTHER: IS A WOMAN THAT HAS PERSEVERANCE OF SPIRIT
1 Samuel 1
In verse 5 we are told that Elkanah gave a special portion of the sacrifice to Hannah because he loved her very much (even though she was barren).
In verse 9 we see that Hannah was a woman of personal devotion to God. After the meal, she went to the tabernacle to pray to the Lord. The Bible says that she was in “deep anguish, crying bitterly” as she prayed. Listen, when we pray like this God takes notice! When we get down to business with God in prayer, He will take notice!
In the intensity of her prayer she made this vow: “Lord, if You look down on my sorrow, answer my prayer and give me a son, then, I will give him back to You. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign of his dedication to the Lord his hair will never be cut.”
Verse 19 reports that as soon as they got home Hannah became pregnant and 9 months later gave birth to a boy and named him Samuel. Hallelujah our God is a God who answers prayer!
In fact, the name Samuel literally means “heard by God.”
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find perseverance of spirit.
When external circumstances looked impossible, Hannah sought God, got hold of God, was answered by God, was touched by God – she persevered and turned the impossible into the possible and she conceived – Hallelujah!
The bond between a mother and her infant child is powerful. And so Hannah chose to stay home and nurse Samuel until he was weaned. Then she would fulfill her vow and give him to the service of the Lord for the rest of his life.
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find a great capacity for physical and spiritual nurture. If a godly mom raised you, you are indeed blessed. You have no idea how much she nurtured you. You have no idea how much she sacrificed for you. You have no idea how much time she spent on her knees before God for you.
A praying mom is a powerful force!
3. A GOOD MOTHER: IS ONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A DISCIPLE
2 Timothy 2:5
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.
1. We need to be mentored.
Each one of us needs to be mentored. We need to be told how to live life. We need to be taught about what is really important.
Someone has said, “Mothers write on the hearts of their children what the rough hand of the world cannot erase.” I think that quote says it well that Mothers are disciple-makers.
They have the opportunity to hand down their faith about God.
They have the unique ability to demonstrate God’s love and grace.
This was the testimony of Timothy about his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. They guided Timothy to belief in Jesus.
Illustration
A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the Magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I? When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother.
2. When we are young, we need an example of sincere faith.
Too often I have heard parents say that they wanted their children to make up their own minds about religion. They usually say that because they have not made up their own. So, in essence, they are making disciples of their own belief system. Their children are going to believe like them unless somewhere along the line there is an intervention.
3. We need to learn the basics.
I remember during those early years that I learned the elementary truths about God. I remember learning about Jesus and trying to figure out how the
Illustration
In everything that you’ve needed to know, somewhere along the line a mom probably taught you. Let’s revisit some of those lessons:
• My Mother taught me LOGIC: "If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me," as well as, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you do it too?"
• My Mother taught me MEDICINE: "If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way."
• My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD: "If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job!"
• My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you... Don’t talk back to me!"
• My Mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me."
• My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.
• My mother taught me about GENETICS: "You are just like your father!"
• My mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
• My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand," or, "I will explain it all when you get older."
• My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home."
• My mother taught me about RECEIVING: “You are going to get it when I get you home.”
• And the all time favorite thing my mother taught me, JUSTICE: "One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s like! I can’t wait!"
More Messages by Pastor Tony at http://www.carismachurch.com
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