Will The Real Mom Please Stand Up?

WILL THE REAL MOM PLEASE STAND UP?

1 Kgs. 3:16-28

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. We all know what today is! It’s the Special day to Celebrate all our Mothers! That’s why Mother’s Day is the 3rd most celebrated holiday, just after Christmas and Easter.

2. If we’re not mothers, we still all have had mothers, so we can appreciate the special place they hold in our lives.

3. Being a mother isn’t easy. One said, “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”

4. Mothers never stop being mothers, even when their children are grown. One son said, “During one of my visits to my parent’s house, my mother made blitzes (a pancake rolled up with sour cream inside). After a while, she said, ‘Bob, why don’t you have a couple more blitzes.’ He answered, ‘No, I’m stuffed; I’ve already had 8 of them.’ She said, ‘Actually you’ve had 11, but who’s counting?’”

5. This morning we’re going to read about 2 mothers locked in an unusual situation, and how God brought a solution to them.

B. TEXT

1. 16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. 19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.” 22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king. 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” 26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” 27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

C. THESIS

1. Solomon was asked by God what gift would he like and he had asked for wisdom. Solomon used his wisdom of the MATERNAL INSTINCT; that if the infant were put at risk, the real mother would become evident.

2. God says, “Will the Real Moms Stand Up?” and be great mothers. WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?

I. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT MOTHER

A. MOTHERS ARE TOO HARD ON THEMSELVES

1. I don’t say this to drag mothers down, but to lift them up. No one needs to be treated with more tenderness than our Mothers. Sometimes, we are too hard on them; other times they are too hard on themselves.

2. Dennis the Menace once vocalized the haunting thought of mothers when he yelled from his time-out chair; “If you’re raising me right, how come I get into so much trouble?”

3. Why is it that sometimes, Godly Christian’s kids don’t serve the Lord, and go from one tragedy to another? Many Christian parents have felt like failures or felt like God has let them down. “Other’s kids didn’t go bad.”

4. THERE’S AT LEAST 3 THINGS TO REMEMBER:

a. God knew we wouldn’t be perfect parents; there is enough room for us to make mistakes.

b. Second – Kids can make their own mistakes. Many godly people in the Bible had ungodly kids – Moses, Samuel, Eli, etc. But this didn’t mean they hadn’t done a good job. Some are compliant and others are strong-willed (so we can’t judge).

c. Thirdly God will be faithful to His promise to save your House. God’s Word says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” Acts 16:31. You may never see it; your kids may be saved on their death-beds. But God is faithful in His timing.