Upwords For Moms

UPWORDS FOR MOMS

Judges 13

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Pastor Brian Matherlee

Video introduction—bluefish tv video

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, and I pick up things. What am I?” When the grades were all in the teacher was astounded to find that almost fifty percent had written in "MOTHER."

Read & summarize Judges 13

From this exchange I see five UPWORDS for mom.

1. God knows your dreams (v. 2)

• Manoah and his wife had no children. We have people in our fellowship who have known this longing. And the prayer of their life is being answered even now.

• This couple poured out their heart to the Lord. They prayed. They prayed daily for years I’m sure, for a child.

• They had dreams for a child and when they had Samson, they had dreams for him.

• But God knows every mother, every parent has dreams for their kids.

• God sees the hurts, God sees the hopes. He cares about the future of your family.

2. Live by the right you know now

• Manoah asked in verse 12, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?”

• The angel’s response is noteworthy. He could have laid out how Samson was to be sure not to drink fermented drink or eat anything unclean or cut his hair. But he didn’t say that. The angel told Manoah in verse 13, “Your wife must do all that I have told her.”

• How often we waste time regretting the past

• I should have done this

• I have ruined my kids

• I didn’t do right by them

• You cannot change the past but you can change

3. You won’t ever be able to control your kids’ lives—and you won’t always understand what God is doing…and that’s o.k.

• It is mentioned in 14:4 that Samson’s parents didn’t understand what God was doing in Samson’s life.

• If we look at the Bible we can find more than a few examples of mom’s to follow that will help us in the toughest times of being a parent.

• Two Biblical examples help us understand the role of the mother in guiding…not controlling the lives of their children.

i. The mothers of Moses and Hannah had to learn to let their children go.

• Other examples show us the futility of the attempts to control our kids’ lives instead of guiding them.

i. Rachel’s desire to have a certain outcome for Jacob over Esau was a bold faced lie. Beyond that it created a rift between brothers & sowed a poor example for Jacob.

• God wants mothers everywhere to find encouragement in the fact that they don’t have to control the outcome of their kid’s life to be found faithful to their calling as a mom.

4. Realize God’s desire is for you; never against you

• Manoah was afraid after the angel of the Lord disappeared but Samson’s mom reasoned in verse 23, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”

• We read in the next verse that Samson was born and God blessed him.

• Too many people believe God is out to get them. He has a heavenly tally sheet that he keeps track forever and ever amen!

• God’s desire is not to condemn…but to love. (John 3:16-17)

5. It’s not how many, but who

• If you’re old enough, you’ll probably remember this song (play “Cheers” theme song)

• The line is “sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name.”

• We only know the mother of Judges 13 as Manoah’s wife or “the woman”.

• Was her name not important?

• You don’t have to be known by everybody to have value.

• The world doesn’t know your mother’s name…or my mother’s name. But we know their name don’t we?

• Moms, the world won’t know your name, but your kids do.

• We see what mom does…the sacrifice, the love, the effort, etc.

• We don’t see a lot of what mom does. It goes unnoticed or underappreciated by kids and fathers alike.

• But I know the name and action of every mother is known to God…and He loves you!

Revelation 3:20 Video closing.