A Godly Mother
Many of us here today have memories of our mother. Our mothers have played a very important role in our lives to make us what we are today.
Some statements you may remember your mother saying
I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished."
Make Sure You Have Clean . . . underwear."
Why? (In case you get in an accident.)
Sitting on the living room floor, how many times did you hear these words,
"Don’t Sit Too Close to the . . . television."
Why?(It’s bad for you eyes.)
At the supper table you heard this. . .
"Clean Your . . . plate." (There is no point in sermon for this.)
Why? "There are starving children in India, Africa (or any foreign country) who would love to eat that."
Different views of Mom:
4 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE ~ Mom…duh!
16 YEARS OF AGE ~ My mom? She’s like, so “not cool”.
18 YEARS OF AGE ~ That old woman? She’s way out of touch!
25 YEARS OF AGE ~ Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE ~ Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wonder what Mom thinks about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wish I could talk it over with Mom.
Susannah Wesley, who had 19 children is said to have prayed one hour every day for her children. She was strict. But she was unselfishly faithful. She had six rules for teaching her children the priority of the Savior:
1. Subdue self-will in a child.
2. Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.
3. Give him nothing he cries for, and only what is good for him when he asks politely.
4. Punish no fault confessed, but let no sinful act to go unnoticed.
5. Reward good behavior.
6. Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.
Being a mother in our society today is complicated. Many demands have been placed on women today, success at work, demands of home, school, children and to complicate matters even more many women have been left to do these things alone because they have been abaonded by the men who help make the babies.
In order for a mother to have a Godly influence on her children she must love her Husband.
Titus 2:3-4 (ESV)Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, [4] and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
Back in the book of proverbs that we read in the opening the Bible says that the heart of her husband trust in her and she does him good and not harm all the days of her life in verse 11-12
A woman has the power to make or break a man. The writer of proverbs goes on in that passage of scripture and says that Her husband is known in the gates when he is with the elders of the land. In the end of this passage He says that her husband praises her.
When the marriage relationship is priority:
*The wife and husband will be the most fulfilled.
*The children will learn how to have successful marriage.
*The wife and husband will both be aware of the dangers of placing other pursuits as priorities above the marriage relationship.
C. This is in contrast to the ungodliness of our world where personal happiness is placed above every other priority. Godly Mothers in an Ungodly World love their husbands.
Some advice given to women trying to find a spouse watch how the man you date treats his mother, it will tell you a lot about how he will treat you.
In order to have a godly influence on your children you must also love your Lord
Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
A Mother is in a great position to have a spiritual influence on her children.
When Paul was writing to Timothy we can see by his writing that is was Timothy’s mother and grandmother that taught him about Jesus.
2 Tim. 1:5 (ESV) “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
It was the women in Jesus’ ministry who followed him all the way to the cross, and became the first missionaries as they took the message of His resurrection back to the disciples.
Children can see right through hypcroisy. Children are excellent judges of character
in the old testament Hannah had prayed for a child and after he was born she took Samuel a gave him to the Lord. Hannah Loved her Lord
In order to have a godly influence in the life of your children you must also love your children
Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her:
A mother loves her children by providing for them, sticking with them, disciplining them and the most difficult letting them go…
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Application: If your children don’t honor and obey you, whom they can see, how will they learn to obey God whom they cannot see?
C. Mary Was Faithful To Her Children and also had to let Jesus Go
John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
I heard about a little boy sitting on his front steps with his face cradled in his hands, looking so forlorn. His dad came home just then & asked him what was wrong. The little boy looked up & said, "Well, just between us, Dad, I’m having trouble getting along with your wife, too!"
The Mom Ministry is one of the toughest assignments God ever gave anybody! She’s got to be as insightful as a psychologist, tough as a marine corps drill instructor, gentle as a nurse. She’s got to be a labor and management negotiator. A teacher, an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter….It requires an endless supply of energy, a massive amount of patience, and iron will, and recognition of the fact that if she ever gets sick, she’s got to get well before the end of the school day.
600 college students were asked to write down the most beautiful word in the English language. 422 of them wrote the word "mother".
Being a Godly Mother in an Ungodly World isn’t an easy task. We need to pray for our mothers often.
