Introduction:
A drill sergeant was frustrated in his efforts to make a soldier out of a
certain recruit. The trainee lagged behind on marches, used any excuse to
go on sick call, grumbled constantly about the food, and never made his
cot up properly.
But one day, a noticeable change took place in the young man's attitude.
When asked to what he attributed the soldier's change in attitude, the
drill sergeant explained, "Threats and punishment didn't work, so I had to
resort to the ultimate weapon: I called his mother!"
This rather humorous story, reminds us of the PROFOUND & POWERFUL
INFLUENCE that a mother has on her children. With this in mind, I invite
you to turn with me to an IMPORTANT text of Scripture, that we need to
ponder on this MOTHERS DAY SUNDAY.
Our text is found in 2 Tim 1:5, were the Apostle Paul makes the following
statement concerning the GODLY INFLUENCES of a Mother and Grandmother,
upon the life of Timothy, Paul states;
I have been reminded of your sincere faith , which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also .............
How then does a Godly Mother INFLUENCE her children?
1. A Godly Mother Has a PROFOUND INFLUENCE on Her Children
It was Lord Shaftesbury who said,
Give me a generation of Christian mothers and I will undertake
to change the whole face of society in twelve months
In Philippians 2:20, the Apostle Paul makes the following statement about
Timothy, he says,
There is no one like Timothy
And agin Acts 16:2, states that,
The brothers of Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him (Timothy)
What was it that caused Paul and Luke to make such a COMMENDABLE
statement, regarding his ‘Son in the faith'? The ANSWER is found
here in 1 Tim 1:5, as Paul recalls the PROFOUND INFLUENCES that Timothy
had in his life. He states;
I have been reminded of your sincere faith , which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also .............
A. Notice the REALITY of their Sincere Faith
The word translated SINCERE, comes from the Greek word, from which we get
our English word, HYPOCRITE. It means to be undisguised, to be without
hypocrisy, to be genuine, to be sincere, to be without pretense or deceit.
It is a word that RINGS with REALITY!
• Paul employed this word in 1 Tim 1:5, were he said,
The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a SINCERE faith
• And again in 2 Cor 6:6, Paul used this word to describe his
sincere love, he call's it ‘GENUINE Love'
• James also uses this word, as he describes the final qualification
of the ‘Wisdom from above ...', James 3:17;
Wisdom from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
reasonable, fullof mercy and good fruits,
unwavering, WITHOUT HYPOCRISY
The SINCERE FAITH of Timothy's Mother Eunice and grandmother Lois made a
DEEP and LASTING impression on Timothy's life. The REALITY of their faith,
deeply impressed Timothy. Timothy was a young man who had a Godly
heritage.
A. Notice, the REALITY of their Sincere Faith
B. Notice the RESULTS of their Sincere Faith
Paul states 1 Tim 1:5;
I have been reminded of your sincere faith , which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also .............
Chuck Swindoll says,
"If you were blessed with a good mother, you will reap the benefits the
rest of your days. If your mother neglected your needs and failed to
support your dad, unfortunately, much of what you suffered cannot be
erased. For good or ill, a mother's mark is permanent."
As we ponder many of the GREAT men and women of the faith, we soon
discover, somewhere in the shadows of their surroundings, stands the Godly
Influence of a mother in touch with God.
Someone has said,
Mothers write on the hearts of their children what the rough hand of the
world cannot erase
For EXAMPLE;
John Quincy Adams said, "All that I am my mother made me." 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."
1. A Godly Mother Has a PROFOUND INFLUENCE on Her Children
2. A Godly Mother Has a PRACTICAL INFLUENCE on Her Children
What then are the PRACTICAL RESPONSIBILITIES of a Godly Mother?
A. They Sensed their responsibility in COMMUNICATING the TRUTH Verbally
Paul states in 2 Tim 3:15;
From childhood (Timothy had) .....known the sacred writings
which are able to give (him) the wisdom that leads to Salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus
Deut 4:9, reminds us of our responsibility to TEACH our children the
truths of Scripture,
Teach them to your children, and to their children
after them
This teaching was to be DELIBERATE. The Hebrew word translated teach,
suggests, repeating, or telling over and over again. This is the task of
the home, not some institution.
Solomon states in Proverbs 6:20;
My Son keep your Father's commands and do
not forsake your Mother's teaching
And again, Proverbs 22:6;
Train a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not turn from it
Amplify:
Moses is a good example of a man who was deeply impacted by the truths His
mother taught him.
B. They Sensed their responsibility in DEMONSTRATING the TRUTH Practically
Lois and Eunice, not only COMMUNICATED the TRUTH, but they DEMONSTRATED
the TRUTH, in practical and convincing manner.
• They DEMONSTRATED the TRUTH in a DIFFICULT Inviroment
Acts 16:1, reminds us of the DIFFICULTY of their home situation, His
Mother (Eunice) was a Jewess and a believer, but
whose Father was a Greek
The FIRST DIFFICULTY they faced was that this marriage was a MIXED
MARRIAGE, Timothy's father, we are told was a Greek. In 1 Cor 1:23;
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to
Jews and follishness to Gentiles
The Greek, we are told, were not interested in eternal truth, to believe
and follow. They were only interested in hearing and arguing about new
ideas.
Acts 17:21 states that they,
Spent all their time doing nothing but talking about
and listening to the latest ideas
In addition to this, they also believed that all matter was evil, and
that everything spiritual was good. The incarnation of Christ was utter
foolishness to them. It was unthinkable that God would become a man, and
therefore be crucified to secure our salvation.
The SECOND DIFFICULTY they faced was, that the Greek translation of Acts
16:1, suggests that Timothy's Greek father was dead. In spite of the
apparent difficulties that Eunice and Lois faced, they faithfully
DEMONSTRATED the REALITY of their genuine faith, which PROFOUNDLY IMPACTED
the life of Timothy.
• They DEMONSTRATED the TRUTH in a DOMESTIC Inviroment
It is highly probable that Lois and Eunice, came to faith in Christ,
through the ministry of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, during Paul's 1st
Missionary Journey, which took Paul through Timothy's home area of Galatia
(See Acts 13:13-14:21).
As a result, it is very possible that Paul stayed with them in their home,
and saw the reality of their faith being lived out and displayed in their
home.
Someone has said,
A Christian mother's most vital task is passing the faith on, not only by
what she SAYS, but by what she ISHoward Hendricks once said,
If your Christianity doesn't work at home, it doesn't work!
The Apostle Peter underscores this TRUTH in 1 Peter 3:1-4;
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of
them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the
behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your
lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided
hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should
be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight
Illustrate
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, he responded, 'Yes, she translated it. She translated
each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I
ever say.'
3. A Godly Mother Has a PRAYERFUL INFLUENCE on Her Children
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."
Illustrate
After one of the battles of the Civil War, a chaplain came to see a man
who had not much time left to live. He took the young soldier's hand and
said, "Brother, what can I do for you?"
The boy replied, "I want you to kneel down and return thanks for me." An
unusual request from someone who is dying.
"Thanks for what?" asked the chaplain.
And the soldier said, "Thank him for my mother. Thank him that because of
her I am a Christian. What would I do now if I were not a Christian?"
Illustrate
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.
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!
