Last week I began a series about attitudes. As we look at the second sermon in this series I want to discuss what I call the "Be There¨ attitude. Mother’s are a prime example of the "be there¨ attitude. There are many things we could say about mothers. We could talk about their love. We could talk about their gentle spirit. We could talk about their endurance. We could talk about their kindness. One thing is for sure, mothers display a "be there¨ attitude. They are there when we are born. They are there when we cut our first tooth. They are there when we take our first step. They are there when we graduate from school. They are there for many other events. What a wonderful attitude!
Some of the great events of history have been built around the "be there¨ attitude. If you have seen a picture of the soldiers erecting the American flag at Iwo Jima you witnessed such an attitude. If you have heard the story of the Alamo you witnessed such an attitude. If you have visited the Vietnam memorial in Washington you witnessed an event that represents such an attitude.
There are many places where we should display a "be there¨ attitude.
- We should "be there¨ for our country.
- We should "be there¨ for our friends.
- We should "be there¨ for our church family.
- We should "be there¨ for our employers.
It is not always easy to "be there.¨ A husband was told by a marriage counselor to try and be more considerate of his wife. One day he comes home from work. He is dressed in a suit, has cologne on, and has a bouquet of flowers and a box of candy in his hands. He rings the doorbell and he is standing there as she opens the door. He holds out the flowers and the box of candy. The wife opens the door takes one look at him standing there and starts crying. In between her sobs she says, "Oh, I can’t believe it! Little Johnny has been throwing up; the dishwasher just broke; your parents are coming to visit this weekend and to top it all off, you come home drunk!
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Timothy Henning)
There are many things that affect our commitment.
- Conditions and circumstances affect commitment.
- Values affect commitment. Many Southerners were disloyal to the union during the Civil War because their values affected their commitment.
- People affect our commitment. A beautiful young girl will affect a boy’s sense of commitment to his buddies.
- Ultimately, your faith will affect your commitment, in other areas of your life.
We are going to look at a Biblical example of a person who had a "be there¨ attitude. She was a mother. In fact, she was the mother of Jesus. Our text for today is taken from 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.¨ Jesus mother, Mary, was loyal and dependable. She was there when Jesus was an infant. She was there when Jesus performed His first miracle. She was there when Jesus faced his trials. Ultimately, she was there when Jesus died.
What a trait, loyalty! It is so important. My prayer is that it would be said of me, he was always there. He was loyal. I want my sons to say, he was there for me. I want Judy to say, he was there for me. I want my friends to say, he was there for me. I want my fellow believers to say, he was there for me.
I want to examine Mary, not as the mother of Jesus, but as a person who was dependable and loyal to a lifestyle. In so doing, I want to lead you in discovering the qualities that made Mary such a positive example. If we follow her example it will affect our faith but also our daily lives. That is what it’s all about: being a better Christian, being a better husband, being a better employer, and being a better church member. What do you need to see?
1. You need to see your life as an assignment from God. Mary’s assignment was to serve as the earthly mother of the Son of God. What a job! What an assignment!
If you are going to honor God your assignment may not be easy. In the Bible, believers did not face easy assignments.
- What if you had been in Noah’s shoes?
- What if you had been Moses?
- What if you had been in Jeremiah’s shoes?
- What if you had been in Paul’s shoes?
Your assignment may not be easy.
Erma Bombeck wrote this essay entitled, When God Created Women. It underscores the difficulty of being a mother. "By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands," The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", said the Angel. The Lord replied, "Oh, it¡¦s not the hands that are the problem. It¡¦s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have! One pair of eyes are to see through the closed doors when she asks, "What are you kids doing in there?¡¨ Another pair in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn¡¦t but what she has to know. And of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, "I understand and I love you without uttering so much as a word. The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I can’t", the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing a creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower! The Angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish." "Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel. The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate," The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one." "That’s not a leak", the Lord objected, "That’s a tear!" "What’s the tear for?", the Angel asked. The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride," The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius Lord, this woman is amazing."
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Aaron Burgess)
Being a mother is not an easy job.
Your assignment will have eternal consequences.
On the morning of September 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One. Al had survived the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and had even helped a woman with asthma escape from the building. Jeannie knew that Al would do the same thing this time, She knew he would stop to help and minister to people,"she said, but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!¨ A week later, like so many others who were in that building, Al’s body was found in the rubble. Al’s wife, Jeannie, and his son Christopher were devastated! Then the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent a final e-mail to loved ones saying that a man was leading people in prayer. A few referred to Al by name. Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack! When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer. This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife, Jeannie. For years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women. According to Jeannie, Al hated his job and couldn’t stand the environment. It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit. Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness, and although Al would not have put it this way, to be a hero! Al was not ashamed of Christ and Christ’s words and he paid the price of taking up his cross daily. Al shared his faith with his co-workers, many of whom sarcastically nicknamed him ¡"the Rev.¨ And on that fateful day on September 11, in the midst of the chaos, Al’s co-workers looked to him and Al delivered! At the same time, Al too tried to get a phone call through to his family. He asked an MCI operator to contact his family. "Tell them that I love them,¡¨ he said. It took the operator more than a month to reach the Bracas, but the message brought them much-needed comfort. "The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him¡ God and his family,¨ his son Christopher told a writer for Focus on The Family. "He loved to lead people to Christ. That takes away a lot of the hurt and the pain.¡¨ SOURCE: compiled by Kenneth Sauer from "A Light in the Darkness" by Christin Ditchfield. Focus on the Family Magazine, September 2002.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Kenneth Sauer)
2. You have been given an assignment. Along with the assignment God gives you the assurance of His enabling presence. In Mary’s situation we discover this in Lk. 1:28-30. Notice what the Lord said to her. "And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.¨
Assurance comes from an encounter with God. Many times our trials are an invitation to meet God in a totally new way.
Illustration: Steve McQueen was a top billing actor who lead a tough life. Success filled his life until alcohol and a failed marriage left him empty. In his despair he attended a crusade led by one of Billy Graham’s associates. McQueen made a profession of faith and requested an opportunity to speak with Billy Graham. A connecting flight in Los Angeles allowed Dr. Graham to spend a couple of hours with Mr. McQueen in the actor’s limousine. Dr Graham shared numerous scriptures in his quest to give spiritual hope and assurance. Steve McQueen struggled with the thought of God giving eternal life to a man who had such a checkered past. In Titus 1:2, however, he found a promise that spoke to him - "the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago" He requested something to write down the verse, but Billy Graham gave McQueen his Bible instead. Later, Steve McQueen died in Mexico while seeking experimental treatment for his terminal cancer. He passed into eternity with his Bible opened to Titus 1 and his finger resting on verse 2. Regardless of our past, we have the assurance of our eternal salvation because of God’s Word.
(Contributed by Sermon Central)
Mary was given assurance by a personal encounter with God. In that encounter God assured her that she could do the job. That is true about life. If God thinks you can do the job, you are qualified.
Though your gifts may be small, that does not disqualify you. In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter¡¦s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth." The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits. SOURCE: Craig Brian Larson, Pastoral Grit: the Strength to Stand and to Stay, Bethany. http://www.christianglobe.com.
(Contributed by Sermon Central)
A large part of the assurance that God gives is the assurance of His presence. He will assist us in performing our assignment for Him. You don’t go alone!
When Jesus gave His commission to His disciples they were insecure about the job. He promised that He would be with them. He said "lo, I am with you always.¨ (Mt. 28: 19) He also promised them the Holy Spirit, who would be an enabling presence as they faced the trials of service. (See John 14 & 16)
There is a true story that has been passed around about a fellow pastor. This pastor had a lady in his church named Wilma. In her later years she needed the assistance of a cane to help in walking. As she spoke with her pastor she would make points by lightly tapping on his chest or shoulder with the handle of her cane. One Sunday after a morning worship service, Wilma hobbled up to her pastor and said, "That was a pretty good sermon." In true Christian piety He said, "Thank you Wilma, but it wasn¡¦t me it was the Holy Spirit." Without batting an eye she tapped him in the middle of the chest with her cane and said, "Oh no, if it was the Holy Spirit it would have been a lot better than that."
(Contributed by Sermon Central)
When God gives you an assignment he will enable you to do things you never thought possible. One day John Wesley was walking with a troubled man who expressed his doubt as to the goodness of God. He said, "I do not know what I shall do with all this worry and trouble." At the same moment Wesley saw a cow looking over a stone wall. "Do you know," asked Wesley, "why that cow is looking over the wall?" "No," said the man. Wesley said, "The cow is looking over the wall because she cannot see through it. That is what you must do with your wall of trouble. Look over it and avoid it." Faith enables us to get above circumstances and look to Christ who is over all, blessed forever.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Randy Aly)
It is my prayer that all of us would be a "be there¨ type person. God created us to "be there¨ for His son, much like we see in the life of Mary. As we are there for Him he will enable us to be there for other people.
