"I Remember Mama"
2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Introduction: Back when I was a lot younger I remember seeing a movie entitled "I Remember Mama" and it starred Barbara Bel Geddes and Irene Dunn, who played "mama." The movie revolved around how "mama" took care of her family and placed her family's needs above her own. Even today when I watch this movie I get a little misty eyed thinking of my wife, mother and daughter and what they have done and are still doing for their families. In 2 Timothy Paul mentions (remembers) Timothy's mother and grandmother and that's where I'd like to start this message today. What does he say about them?
I. THEY EMBRACED THE TRUTH
a. Their background
Lois is the grandmother of Timothy, a Jewess who married a Greek (pagan) who embraced the Christian faith, made her home probably in Lystra, and was probably deceased by the time Paul wrote this letter. Eunice is her daughter and Timothy's mother and was converted during Paul's ministry in the same place. It is probable that Paul led a young Timothy to Christ while visiting in the home during his ministry in Iconium and Lystra since he refers to the persecutions there, which Timothy himself knew about. Paul may have recovered from his stoning at Lystra in Timothy's home.
b. Their belief
More than likely Lois was a messianic Jew who may not have known that the Messiah had come. Eunice and Timothy came to Christ during Paul's ministry.
Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
c. Their behavior
Their behavior is consistent with their beliefs. They "walked the walk and talked the talk."
ILL - A woman once wrote Gipsy Smith after an evangelistic campaign to tell him she had been converted as a result of one of his messages. She said "I believe the Lord wants me to preach the Gospel, Brother Smith, but the trouble is that I have 12 children to raise! What shall I do?" She received this letter in reply: "My dear lady, I am happy to hear that you have been saved and feel called to preach, but I am even more delighted to know that God has already provided you with a congregation of 12! The new convert got the point!
Someone has said, "Mothers write on the hearts of their children what the rough hand of the world cannot erase..."
Abraham Lincoln said, "All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother."
Dwight Moody said, "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother."
Proverbs 6:20; My Son keep your Father's commands and do not forsake your Mother's teaching.
Out of the French Revolution came a story of a mother who wandered through the woods for three days with her two children, trying to survive on roots and leaves. On the third day, she heard some soldiers approaching and quickly hid herself and the children behind some bushes. The sergeant in charge noticed the movement, so he prodded the bushes to see what was stirring behind them. When he saw the starving woman and children, he had compassion on them, and immediately gave them a loaf of brown bread. The mother took the bread eagerly, broke it into two pieces and gave one piece to each of the two children. The sergeant noted, "She has kept none for herself." A soldier asked, "Is it because she is not hungry?" "No," the sergeant answered. "It is because she is a mother."
II. THEY EXPOSED TIMOTHY TO THE TRUTH
2 Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
a. Clearly
If your child is to embrace the faith they must know that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. I cannot emphasis this enough. We cannot afford to be ambiguous about this. In this day and age of moral relativism and rejection of the idea that there are absolutes in life, our children need to know that there is something that they can anchor to that will not change or move.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Psalms 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
b. Comprehensively
We must take a comprehensive approach to this task of saturating our children's hearts and minds with God's Word. There can't be any "dust on your Bible" if you going to do it either!
Deuteronomy 11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
ILL - Susannah Wesley, mother of John 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. No wonder two of her sons, Charles and John, were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America.
c. Consistently
It will take a lifetime of consistent effort to get his task done.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
ILL - Preacher G. Campbell Morgan had four sons and they all became ministers of the gospel. At a family reunion, a friend asked one of the sons, "Which Morgan is the greatest preacher?" While that son looked at his father, he replied, "MOTHER."
III. THEY TAUGHT THE TRUTH BY EXAMPLE
I want you to notice what Paul says about Lois and Eunice and also Timothy. "...I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith..." What does unfeigned faith mean?
a. True faith
The word "unfeigned" literally means without hypocrisy! Moms and dads, what our children need to see, must see, is a faith that is the "real deal!"
ILL - Charles Swindoll in his book on Grace puts it this way, "You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here's how - guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do's and don'ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately . . . yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it - emotional and spiritual damage will occur." Charles Swindoll. The Grace Awakening. Dallas: Word Pub., 1990) p.97
b. Transmitted faith
Notice also that there is inter-generational transmission of faith. It passed from Lois to Eunice to Timothy and on to others.
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
c. Triumphant faith
In Lockyer's "All the Men of the Bible" I read this about Timothy:
"He was a co-sufferer with Paul in the afflictions of the Gospel, 2 Timothy 1:8. Tradition says that Timothy died as a martyr for his faithfulness as a bishop in the reign of Domitian. While attempting to stop and indecent procession during a Festival of Diana, this God-honoring minister sealed his testimony with his blood." How can this be a triumphant faith, you say?
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
ILL - Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beauty, eloquent old English. Another said he preferred the American Standard Bible for its literalism, the way it moves the reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. A third man preferred Moffatt because of its quaint, penetrating use of words, the turn of a phrase that captures the attention of the reader. After giving the issue further thought, the fourth scholar admitted, 'I have personally preferred my mother's translation.' When the other scholars chuckled and asked, "Your mother translated the Bible? He responded, 'Yes, she translated it. She translated each page of the Bible into her own life. It is the most convincing translation I ever saw.'
Conclusion: In just a moment I'm going to ask our musicians and worship leader to come and we will sing an invitation hymn and you will have the opportunity to make a public response to the claims of Christ on your life. You must respond publically because according to what Jesus taught if you are ashamed to confess Him (publically) before men then He would be ashamed to confess you before His Father. You may need to come for some other
