The Spirit Filled Mom

The Spirit Filled Mom

John 7: 37-39 May 11, 2008

Today is a very unique day in the church… Because Easter came so early this year, Pentecost Sunday is being celebrated on Mother’s Day… Or, maybe Mother’s Day is being celebrated on Pentecost Sunday… Whichever the case, today we celebrate both Pentecost and Mother’s Day…

Pentecost is the day that the Holy Spirit came like flaming tongues and fell upon the disciples… So I thought I would preach about Fiery mothers today, or hot momma’s…

No, I’m just kidding… but somehow I felt like I needed to put the two together… So today I’m going to talk about The Spirit Filled Mom…

Now I’ve never been a mom, but I know that being a mom is not easy…

Illus: I read about a stay-at-home mom who went to a PTA meeting one night. While she was gone, her husband and oldest daughter decided they would clean the kitchen for mom and surprise her when she got home.

Well, they washed all the dishes, put away the pots and pans, cleaned the stove and countertops – the kitchen was spotless…

Later than night, mom came home from the meeting… she walked in the kitchen and fixed herself something to drink and then went into the den to watch TV with her family… but she never said a word about the kitchen being cleaned…

Finally, her husband said, “Honey, did you notice the clean kitchen?” “I did,” she said… “Well, you’re not going to say thank you or anything?” She said, “Why should I? It’s a thankless job, isn’t it?”

Being a mom is sometimes a thankless job – and that’s why they need a day like today… a day that is devoted just to them and a day that allows us to show our appreciation…

Illus: Lori got up this morning and started cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes… I told her she shouldn’t have to clean the kitchen on Mother’s Day – I told her to wait until tomorrow!

Illus: I read about a little boy who was going to buy his mom a slip for Mother’s Day… The clerk asked him did he know what size she wore and he said no… So she asked him to describe her – was she fat, thin, short, tall? The little boy said, “Well I would say that she’s just about perfect…” So the clerk sent him home with a size 34… A few days later the mother came to exchange her gift, as it was too small… She needed a size 52! But to her son, she was just about perfect!

As I was thinking about Mother’s Day and how it relates to Pentecost Sunday, I kept thinking about my mom’s sweet spirit…

I was blessed to have a Christian mother… She made sure that my three brothers and I were in church and Sunday school on Sundays…

My mom loved people and she taught me to love people… My mom loved the church and she taught me to love the church… My mom loved the Lord and she taught me to love the Lord… And she taught me so many other things but these three things came straight from her loving spirit… The Spirit of God that was in her is what she shared with those around her…

And that’s what Pentecost was all about… It’s about receiving the Holy Spirit and then sharing that Spirit with those around us… Jesus said, “From out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water – which is the Holy Spirit.” John 7: 38

The First Pentecost: If you remember, the first Pentecost occurred when the disciples were sitting around in the Upper Room… The story is told in the second chapter of Acts… Jesus had been crucified and resurrected and had shown himself to the disciples many times… And just before his ascension back into heaven, Jesus told his disciples to return to the Upper Room and wait there for the promise of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit… (Acts 1: 4)

And as they were waiting, suddenly from heaven there came a sound like a rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were staying… Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability… (Acts 2: 2-4)

And because of the Holy Spirit, they were empowered to go out into the streets of Jerusalem to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God with those around them… The Holy Spirit is what empowers each of us to do the things that God calls us to do…