“Purposeful Faith”
May 8, 2005
Mother’s Day
Intro:
Peter Marshall, the Scottish pastor and the Chaplin of the U.S. Senate, told the story of a town situated along a beautiful stream. The stream rose from the ground and produced the most beautiful brook with the freshest, most clear water imaginable.
There was a man in town whose sole job was to look after the purity of the brook. He was paid by the town to care for it and keep it nourished so that no impurities would creep in. And so, he faithfully cared for the little brook so that the town would have beautiful and refreshing water.
As little town’s so often do, this one grew and grew until it no longer was just a beautiful little town. As businesses built up and developed, you could hardly even seem the beautiful little brook. As the town leaders looked over the finances of the town, they realized that they were paying the man $300 a month to care for the brook. Deciding to save the money, they relieved the man of his job.
Before long, the brook became dirty. People got sick from drinking the water. The brook was no longer crystal clear, but was brown and dirty. And the smell that rose form the shore no longer was a refreshing breeze but an offensive odor.
You see, without someone to keep the impurities out, and nurture the spring to maintain its health, it became polluted by the impurities poured into it by the community.
You may think this a rather odd way to start a talk on Mother’s Day, but the same principle is true for kids as is for little streams of water. Without someone to pour into their life and to protect them from the pollution around them, they will eventually become polluted by the effects of this world.
Mom, this is part of the job that God has entrusted to you as you perform the most difficult of tasks. Mom, you are valuable in the economy of God, and you are valuable in the care and the formation of our society.
If you think being a Mom is not valuable and important, think again.
MSN reported a survey done by Salary.com that asked 5.4 million stay at home mom to list their job titles and then they came up with what a mom should make.
Based on a 40 hour work week, for all they do, moms should make $43, 461.00. However, for the extra 60 hours of overtime they put in every week, moms would receive an additional $88, 009 a year.
The grand total for moms would be $134,371.00. Worth every penny!!!
Today, there are three areas that I want us to look at to hopefully encourage the moms who are here and to challenge all of us to realize the importance of the influence others have on our lives.
I. Moms, thanks for passing on your faith.
For most of us, our moms are the ones who begin to instill in us values and beliefs. It is no coincidence that Godly moms have such a great influence on the beliefs of their children.
The values of a child are set extremely early in life. By most experts accounts, by the time a child is four years old, their values and worldview have already been firmly set. Moms, you play a tremendous role in shaping those values. Without you passing on your faith, our world would be a much darker place.
One of the primary roles of Godly mothers is to instill Godly character into your child.
Paul writes to Timothy, his young disciple, and reminds him of his strong heritage in faith.
“I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother Eunice and your grandmother, Lois.” 2 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)
Paul reminds Timothy of the foundation of his belief. It was the tradition of the Jewish culture that the father would play a very foundational role in the teaching of the Jewish law to a child. However, Timothy’s father was Greek, not Jewish. So his mother and grandmother trained him in the beginnings of the faith.
Timothy took his heritage, and when it met with the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, it took deep root and led him to passionate ministry in the early church.
We are in a society where it has never been more vital for parents to teach their kids the foundation of faith.
Recent studies show a decline over the generations of people who had a biblical saving faith.
45% of the Builder Generation has a biblical faith.
35% of the Boomer Generation has a biblical faith.
15% of the Buster Generation has a biblical faith.
It is estimated that between 4 and 6% of the Millennial Generation will have a biblical faith.
It is paramount that we as the “Keepers of the Spring” pass on our faith to the next generation.
II. Moms, thanks for teaching us wisdom and caring for our needs.
We must understand that the role of parents, particularly of moms who shape so much of a child’s early values, is one of teaching right thinking and basic necessities.
Scripture praises women who meet these needs for their children.
“When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and she keeps them all busy and productive. Her children respect her and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise: ‘Many women have done wonderful things, but you’ve outclassed them all!’ Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.” Proverbs 31:26-30 (The Message)
Moms, scripture praises you for your wisdom, kindness, caring, and labor.
Thomas Edison once said,
“I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor.
I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I should have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness, were potent powers to keep me in the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.”
SOURCE: Steve Shepherd in "Mother’s Day" on www.sermocentral.com.
Dads, husbands, here is a lesson for you.
The greatest gift a husband can give his wife is to not let anyone treat her with disrespect.
Dads, you should be moms’ biggest cheerleader.
The biblical mandate for marriage is that a man and woman should leave their families and cleave to one another solely. That means that the kids are not to come between you and you are to allow nothing else to come between you.
It is your job, dads, to make sure that your kids treat their mother with respect and hear you praise her for how wonderful she is.
III. Moms, thanks for being our biggest fans.
Moms have a way of making us believe that anything is possible. They cheer and applaud, even when we know we haven’t necessarily given our best.
Moms instill dreams.
“From my mother I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams and believe I could make them come true.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States.
SOURCE: Celebrating Mothers, A book of Appreciation. Edited by Glorya Hale and Carol Kelly-Gangi. MetroBooks,2002
Mary was a huge Jesus fan. She was there thorough all the days of teaching and training. She was there to treasure all the things happening to her oldest son. Mary even brought Jesus to the forefront to save a friend embarrassment.
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ‘Dear woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” John 2:1-5 (NIV)
Don’t you get the feeling like Mary had her mind made up before she ever came to Jesus? Don’t you think that she sees the problem and thinks, “My son can fix this.”
Have you ever had your mom get you in the middle of stuff you didn’t want to get in the middle of? My mom loves to get me to speak at her church when I go on vacation. She thinks it is fun to show off her preacher son. I always wonder if other moms have their kids do engineering problems or teach English class to impress their friends.
Mary isn’t just showing off Jesus’ “miracles.” She is simply trusting that he can handle the situation. She doesn’t know how or what he will do, but don’t you get the feeling she was telling everyone and Jesus, “Hey, I believe in him.”
Moms, thanks for being our biggest fans. It is through your belief in us that we dare to dream that we can be more than we imagine.
It is in this way, that moms change the world. Think about what happened to Jesus after this. In the verses that follow, we see that Jesus begins to teach in powerful ways exactly who he is and what he is all about. Mary didn’t create that in Jesus, but she didn’t hinder it either.
Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with saying, “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
I take that to mean that moms have so much influence and so much life to give their kids that they begin the change in their lives that ultimately creates a change in the world.
Mom, you have the power within yourself to change the world through your belief in your child.
I am not talking about some brow beating and pushy fairy tale; but real dreams of purpose and vision and life.
“Whenever I held my newborn babe in my arms, I used to think what I did and what I said to him would have an influence, not only on him, but on everyone he meets, not for a day, or a year, but for all time and for eternity. What a challenge, what a joy! “
SOURCE: Rose Kennedy, Mother to John F. Kennedy.
Citation: Celebrating Mothers: A Book of Appreciation. Edited by Glorya Hale and Carol Kelly-Gangi. MetroBooks, 2002.
Conclusion: All of us play a part in the life of someone else. As mothers, you have a unique opportunity within your relationship to touch lives and change the world. I pray that today you would receive my thanks for your part in making us all who we are.
Have all moms stand and have the congregation applaud.
In conclusion I want to ask you one question. I want you to reflect on this:
“How am I doing as the Keeper of the Spring?”
You have an incredible opportunity. Maybe you haven’t had a great start. Maybe you have been hindered along the way. Maybe you have lost hope or faith that you can make a difference. Today can be a day of new beginning and new dreams. Today can be a day of new life.
