Mom’s can make a difference!
2 Timothy 1:1-7
Three ladies were exercising pride in their grown sons. The first lady told of the extravagant birthday parties her son provided her. “Why he even hired a full band for my last birthday.” The second lady bragged about how her son gave such lavish vacations. “Just last month he sent me to Hawaii for the fourth time.” The third woman was not to be outdone and she piped up, “That’s nothing. My son has been paying a psychiatrist $150 a week for the last three years just so he can talk about me.”
Mom’s can make a difference. That is the title of my sermon and the story of my own personal life. My mom made a difference in my life. She stayed faithful through some very difficult times in her life. She as far as I know has never strayed from her faith. I know she is not perfect, but she is close to it. She always has the needs of others, exemplifying Christ.
She is very conservative with her finances, some would call her cheap, but she never made more than a little over $ 11.00 per hour and yet she retired early and owes nobody anything and has a nice next egg to live the remaining days of her life with.
She is devoted to her church, her children, her six grandkids, her own family and friends, but even more devoted to her Lord.
So when someone tells me that I am just like my mom, I take pride in that.
It has been said, “It takes a village to raise a child”. But just consider the source and I totally disagree with that statement. I think the truth is that is takes the grace of God and Godly parents to raise a child.
But today more than ever, people and things other than parents are raising their children. Today with the cost of living and our wants and not necessarily our needs cause both parents to work. Now I am not here today to preach against that.
Because even the stay at home moms are letting things raise our kids.
We let the TV’s, DVD’s, gameboys, computers, and other things raise our kids.
And then sometimes we get so busy keeping them busy that we don’t teach them how to do anything right. We think they have to do everything that we didn’t get to do, and the truth be known that you can be doing something every night if you let yourself.
So does it really take a village to raise a child? No but we act like it does in the way we raise them. It is the responsibility of the parents to influence and be involved in the instruction and correction of our kids.
In our text today, we see two examples of Godly mothers; Lois and Eunice, the mother and grandmother of Timothy.
Read 2 Timothy 1:1-7
Eunice was a single mom. She was a Jewish believer in Jesus. She had at one time been married to a Greek unbeliever, who had either left or died. Like today raising a child as a single parent was no picnic.
But our text tells us that she must have done a good job because she raised him in the genuine faith.
So this morning we are going to look at some of the basic things that young Timothy learned from his mother and that we can learn, not just the mom’s, but all of us as well, to teach others.
We will look over a few chapters to do that in 3:15-17
The first thing that we need to do is…
Start Young “From childhood”
Timothy’s mother started at a very early age. Timothy received a religious education as a child. His education didn’t come from a priest, a Pharisee, or a Pastor, but from his mother and his grandmother.
Some times I hear about parents who say that they are not going to push their beliefs on their kids. They want to let them when they are old enough to make their own choice.
But think about how stupid that sounds. Would you let your child choice weather or not to do their homework? Or if they even attend school? Or what kind of food they eat, or how late they stay up, or who they hang around with.
Someone once raise a good question, “Have you ever wondered why so many parents tie up their dog, but let their children run loose?”
So their belief in Jesus as their Savior, the most important decision a person can make, should not be left up chance? We need to start training our kids at a young age.
Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
The word train here doesn’t mean teach. The Hebrew word here means to prepare for a contest. We know that Satan is in a contest. He is in a contest to take as many souls with him to hell as he can. He influences society to influence people, and young people are the most influential of all. Parents have to prepare their children for that influence
Most statistics show that a child’s behavior is formed in early adolescence. What really needs to happen is that children be taught to ‘discriminate’. Now you might be thinking, you couldn’t possibly want me to teach my child discrimination, could you?”
It is wrong to discriminate against someone because of what they look like or where they are from – that is the truth – and parents who teach their kids to do that are dead wrong. But to teach our children to discriminate between what is sin and what is not, what is right and what is wrong is the duty of a godly parent
And the only way for the parent to know is for they themselves to have a vibrant, personal relationship with God.
That is where we need to start. We need to make sure that we have the right relationship with God then we need to teach our children at an early age to have a relationship with God as well.
Eunice led her boy Timothy to know the Lord Jesus Christ. She taught him about Jesus, and expected that he would accept Christ as Savior.
Then we need to teach others to…
Use the right tools
Not only do you have to have the knowledge but you have to have the tools to apply that knowledge.
“and that from a childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Equipped for every good work. You not only need the knowledge but you need the tools to do the work properly. Where do we get those tools?
God left us with the greatest “How to book” in the world.
It is not only reading God’s instruction book, it is applying what you learned. So you have the instructions, now where are the tools? Let me share with you a few of them.
The Bible
Psalm 119:1, Your word have I hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against you.
We need to read and teach God’s word to our children. Some of the greatest stories in world can be found in the Bible.
Pray
Pray for your kids and pray with your kids.
Go to church
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as in the matter of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching.
Today you see a lot of people who drop off or let the church bus bring their kids to church. Maybe the verse should read, “Train a child in the way he should go… and go there yourself once in a while.”
And if you are the type of the person that church is a something you do when you can and not a priority, then guess what. Your kids stand a good chance of not going at all when they grow up. They think well it was not that important to mom and dad. Not that important to me.
Parents should be leading the way to church, which leads me to my last point.
Practice what you preach
His mom and grandmother not only taught Timothy, but he also saw God’s influence on their lives. Godly parents cannot just “train” their children in the way they should go. They must lead the way.
Do your children see God’s influence in you? Do they see His love, His discipline, His grace, His mercy? Are you an example of godliness to your children?
You see, I am sure Timothy had other influences in his life. As a young boy he probably had friends or at least acquaintances whose parents were not Christians. I am sure Satan tempted him to follow after carnal desires, sins of the flesh and improper behavior. But Timothy always had his mother and grandmother at home as a guide.
Do your children and grandchildren see you as a godly guide in their lives? Someone who is steadfast in your faith. Someone that when the temptations of this world come calling, they can look to you as an example of godliness?
You will never shield your children from all that life will throw at them, but you can be a light in the darkness that leads them through by being an example of God for them
God never intended that children be allowed to go blindly into life without any knowledge of Him, but that godly parents would guide their children into that knowledge.
If you are a parent or grandparent I admonish you, spend time with your children and tell them about God and His love for them.
“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.”
Thank God for giving us mothers –
Mothers (and Dads), don’t leave the mission to the preacher, Sunday School teacher or anyone when it comes to your precious children. A Spanish proverb says: An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. YOU lead them to the Savior; YOU teach them the Scripture; YOU prepare them for service. You be a mother on who makes a difference!
