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Happy Mothers Day
Happy Mothers Day
ILLUS: Abraham Lincoln said, ''No one is poor who had a godly mother.'' He went on to say, ''I remember my mother's prayers, and they have followed me; they have clung to me all my life. All that I am and hope to be I owe to my angel mother.''
A Timeless Treasure
Psalm 22
Have you ever thought about all of the roles that your mother filled while you were growing up? I just jotted down a few this week - and this list is by no means exhaustive. Nurse, counselor, spiritual advisor, educator, nutritionist, accountant, transportation center, maid, peacemaker, entertainer, and I came up with those in just a few minutes. There are so many other roles that our mothers fulfill each and every day.
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Beginning of the sermon
This Sunday is Mother's Day it’s a wonderful day. They say more phone calls are placed on Mother’s day than any other day of the year. Yesterday is the day in which you can see card stores full of people most of which would never actually go to a card shop in the first place so that they can get just the right card for mom.
At the same time, I know that Mother's Day can be a very difficult day for some of you. For lots of different reasons. Maybe your mother is no longer alive, and you really miss her. Or maybe you don't have a very good relationship with your mother. Or maybe you'd love to be a mother, and that just hasn't happened.
So I want to be sensitive to that today. Today is a day to celebrate the role women play in our lives. Some of us its our mothers. Some of us it’s a great friend. An aunt. Or whatever there is no doubting that mom figures come in many different forms.
so I thought you'd enjoy this list of things our mothers taught us:
My Mother taught me LOGIC: ''If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can't go to the store with me,'' as well as, ''If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you do it too?''
My Mother taught me HUMOR: ''When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.''
My Mother taught me GENETICS: ''You are just like your father!''
My Mother taught me ANTICIPATION: ''Just wait until your father gets home.''
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING: ''You are going to get it when I get you home.''
My Mother taught me RELIGION: ''You better pray that will come out of the carpet.''
My Mother taught me about STAMINA: ''You'll sit there until all that spinach is finished.''
My Mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: ''I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.''
And the all time favorite thing my Mother taught me, JUSTICE: ''One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you'll see what it's like! I can't wait!''
And I did. It took 4 tries but I think I have finally received a little blessing that is just about as challenging as I was. Jase
As I searched this week for a fresh idea to bring you for mother’s day I finally came to the realization that there really is not much fresh bread when it comes to mother’s day.
However this week I came across a fresh passage to me and I really like the message it shares. So I would like to share it with you. . Read the first few verses.
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
This is a Psalm of David as he is crying out to the Lord in the midst of his struggles. More than likely dealing with the result of the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. In which he suffers the loss of his child. His family is at war within itself and he flees the kingdom. At that moment the world was crumbling around him.
This Psalm is also a messianic Psalm in which it reflects the suffering of Christ upon the cross.
So Pastor how exactly does this refer to Mother’s day.
Being a mom is tuff stuff. I am man enough to admit it ladies you have it rough. Your jobs are never done. There are no time clocks to punch in and out on. Even when your sick you still have work to do.
James Dobson tells the story of a mother who was sick in bed. She had the flu. And her little daughter wanted so much to be a good nurse. So she brought mom an extra pillow, and she brought her a magazine to read. And then she even showed up with a surprise cup of tea. And her mother took a sip of the tea, and she said, ''Wow! I didn't even know you knew how to make tea!'' And the girl said, ''Oh, yes. I learned by watching you. I put some water in the pot, and then I put the tea leaves in, and I boiled the water, and then I strained it into a cup. But I couldn't find the strainer, so I used the flyswatter instead.'' And her mother said, ''You what?!'' And the girl said, ''Oh, don't worry, mom. I didn't use the new flyswatter; I used the old one.''
Gross
Even though it may be tough it is the most rewarding calling to speak truth into a life. To model faith to a child. Here in this Psalm David is in despair. It looks like he is being swallowed up by the earth. But yet he still has faith.
Look with me at verses . Talking to God, David says “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Notice, the psalmist doesn’t talk about the faith he gained at his FATHER’S knee. Noooo, David is telling us – about the depth of his faith he found when he was with his mother.
ILLUS: There was a recent study reported in the October 2004 issue of “Psychological Science” that showed that Children who have the good fortune to interact with their mothers a lot develop healthier consciences. In that article they said that toddlers were encouraged to imitate their mothers while they played. They were graded on how they played nicely etc. Then they were enticed to be bad cheat and break toys etc.
What the researchers found was that toddlers who eagerly imitated their mothers were more likely to follow the rules and were more likely to exhibit a sense of guilt when they broke something.
One person (commenting on that research) stated that God has placed our conscience within us to monitor our behavior. The conscience is like a thermostat, but mothers apparently help us define the settings.
There are things that children learn from their mothers - that they cannot learn anywhere else.
Here in , David is telling us how critical his mother’s influence was for him.
· He tells how life had become almost unbearable for him. He’s been rejected and people have mocked him. He has seen and experienced how unfair life can be. And ultimately he’s come to believe that God wasn’t near to him anymore. That maybe God had even left him.
He’s filled with despair and hopelessness… and his world is falling to pieces around him. It’s in the midst of his misery he remembers the lessons he learned from his mother. And what might he have learned from his momma?
Well, says that “From (his) birth (he) was cast upon (God)”. David’s mother raised him to know God. From the time that he was born she trained him up to know God. To lean on him for strength and hope.
ILLUS: They say that Susannah Wesley (the mother of two great evangelists of the day – John Wesley and Charles Wesley) spent one hour each day praying for her 17 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters.
Because of her faithfulness in pointing her children toward God John and Charles Wesley grew up to make a powerful mark on the culture of their day.
Here are a few rules she followed in training her children:
1. She rewarded politeness and good behavior. And she punished any sign of stubbornness and selfishness in her children
2. She taught her children to pray as soon as they could speak.
3. If she made a promise to her child… she kept it.
4. And if a child freely confessed a sin, she didn’t punish him. But rebellious behavior was always quickly dealt with.
The point is: she took her responsibility as a Godly mother seriously. And she saw her role in influencing her children for Christ as most important
Today I hope you do as well. to influence you to do the same. I also want to encourage everyone no matter age. To be an influence to someone a grandchild for instance. To make it your job to be a Susannah Wesley to someone your child or someone else’s.
ILLUS: Davida Dalton in “Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul” wrote that one particular day in her life had been particularly hectic. Now, she had 10 children… and had one on the way. But this particular morning was more trying that others, because her son Len (who was 3 at the time) was on her heels no matter where she went.
Whenever she stopped to do something and turned back around, she would trip over him. Several times she patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied.
“Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” she asked again.
But he simply smiled and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” then he just bounced happily along behind her.
After stepping on his toes for the 5th time, she began to lose her patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When she asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at her with his sweet green eyes and said: “Well, Mommy, in Sunday School my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I’m walking in yours.”
Now that psychological study we mentioned earlier revealed that sometimes all a mom has to do is just play with her kids and her children can grasp some very powerful lessons of life. But the writer of tells us that his mother went further than that. This mother actively “cast her child upon God”. And BECAUSE she was so faithful in this, her efforts she kept her son from tumbling over into despair and kept him from giving up on life.
Notice how he reasons. Look with me to
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
He starts by saying: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.”…
So he is describing how filled with despair he has become. But then, even though he is overwhelmed by the turmoil and tragedy of the moment… EVEN THEN he still looks to God for his help.
He writes: “But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.”
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
But that’s not all. After he prays for deliverance… and BEFORE anything ever changes in his life, he says: “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
What’s going on here?
How can he shift from despair and hopelessness to an attitude of praise and worship?
BECAUSE his mother taught him about God.
* She taught him that God was powerful and worthy of praise.
* And she told him the stories of what God had done for others in the past
He writes: “… you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.”
* And she told him the stories of what God had done for others in the past: “In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.”
You see, THAT’S the advantage of a Godly mother. She instills the power of faith into her children. And that power of faith gives her kids courage and hope when life goes sour. Because there will be a time when life goes south
Jesus told us “In this world you will have trouble…”
And when that trouble comes they’ll have to handle that discouragement all alone…
… all alone except for God.
And that is what Godly mothers prepare their children for.
Now, this truth alone would make a powerful lesson for us. The very concept that mothers can give their children hope in harsh world is the type of encouragement we need as Christians parents.
But we’ve only scratched the surface here. Because is what is known as a Messianic Psalm. It talks about Jesus. It describes (in pretty good detail) much of what took place at Calvary.
Verse 1 is quoted by Jesus as He’s dying on the cross
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Verse 15 tells of the torment He endured
”My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”
Verse 16 tells how He was to be executed:
“Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.”
And Verses 7 & 8 describe the attitude of the crowds at the foot of the cross
“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”
I got to thinking this and I became a little puzzled. Here we have a Psalm that tells the story of a man struggling with despair… and ultimately triumphing over that despair with praise and hope. And in the midst of this Psalm God literally hides the story of Christ’s death on the cross.
And I got to thinking… why would He do that? Why put these two stories together?
And then I realized…
… in this world we will have trouble.
… in this world we will face opposition and disappointment.
… in this world we will encounter hardship, and pain and death.
Just like that guy in the Psalm
In fact Jesus said this would happen: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble….”
But that’s not all Jesus said about the matter. Right after Jesus tells His disciples they will have troubles in this world, He declares: “But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Now this is where it gets good. As a Christian Mother you teach/model to your child that God is more than a distant God far away in heaven; that he is as close and as real as my love for you. This is the message of the cross and i believe David is foreshadowing that in this Psalm. An Old Testament mother taught her son about the power and providence of God. But no matter how much she would teach this truth to her son the God she told him about was always somewhat distant. His power was that of an all-powerful ruler who sat high in the heavens. This was a God who might care for the child… but it wasn’t a God who really seemed to understand his troubles. God was UP there… and the man was DOWN here.
But at the cross that all changed.
At the cross, God came down.
At the cross God took on the form of a mortals… like you and I
And at the cross God suffered, God was rejected, God was beaten, God was placed on a cruel cross and nails were driven thru His feet and His hands… and He died.
What is saying is that the promised the Messiah was going to experience all the despair and misery and pain that you and I face in this world. And in that experience God showed us how much He really cared for us.
As one person once noted:
Someone asked God how much He cared for him and God spread out His arms on the cross and said “This much.”
Jesus went thru the valley of the shadow of death… so that when we find ourselves in that same valley we’ll know we’re not there alone.
CLOSE: That is the advantage a Christian mother has over even the most Godly mother of the Old Testament. The Christian mother can point to a God - so powerful He could experience the turmoils of life who faced suffering, rejection, and even death… and He conquered it all because death would not hold Him.
And she can point to a God who went thru all that because He loved us.
is a powerful chapter in Scripture… but I believe it’s greatest power is in reminding us of our potential as parents - especially as mothers to prepare our children for the difficulties of life. To give them most powerful tool for overcoming despair.
And that is – the story of a God who cares so much for us… and for our children… that He gave HIS only begotten child… to die on the cross for us and our children.