What’s The Best Way To Honor Godly Mothers?

What’s the Best Way to Honor Godly Mothers?

Luke 1:26-45, John 2:1-11, John 19:25-30

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 13, 2012

(Revised from Sermon preached at McClendon Baptist Church - May 9, 2010)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Luke 1, thinking about the best way to honor Godly mothers. In this wonderful chapter, God sent the Angel Gabriel to give an amazing message to the Virgin Mary. Listen to the heart of Gabriel’s message starting in vs. 30:

30. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

33. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

*Now to see this Godly mother’s response, let’s read vs. 34-45.

INTRODUCTION:

*Where would we be without Mom? -- First of all, we wouldn’t be without mom! And that’s just the start. So today we give special honor to Mom. Thank God for the mothers in your life: that means your grandmothers, your own mom, the mother of your children, and the mothers of our church. Thank God for moms! Especially thank Him for Godly moms.

*What is the best way to honor Godly mothers?

-It’s not through a special gift or card on Mother’s Day, though I hope you had the good sense to do that. The best way to honor a Godly mom is by living a Godly life, and the Lord’s own mother shows us what to do.

1. First: Follow their faith.

*The Lord’s mother showed great faith in the Scripture we just read. There she was minding her own business, when out of the blue the angel Gabriel appeared to her. Mary was terrified. Who wouldn’t be? -- So the angel tried to calm her fears. But then he gave her the miraculous message that she was to be the mother of the Messiah!

*And starting in vs. 34:

34. Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?’’

35. And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

36. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

37. For with God nothing will be impossible.’’

38. Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’’ And the angel departed from her.

*In the New Living Translation, Mary says: "I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true."

*Mary’s great faith shows up 3 ways in this verse.

[1] First, she had the faith to serve God, "I am the Lord’s servant."

[2] Mary’s faith also showed up in her acceptance of God’s will: "Let it be to me according to your word." She had the same attitude Jesus had on the night before the cross, when the Lord said: "Father, not my will, but Thy will be done."

*You see, it was not going to be easy for Mary to go through a pregnancy with no human father for her baby. Who was going to believe that her baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit? Mary was in for ridicule and trouble, but she was willing to be obedient to God.

[3] Mary also had the faith to trust in God’s Word, so she said, "May everything you have said come true." -- "Let it be to me according to your word."

*Mary was saying, "Lord, I trust you! Even if you tell me something that seems impossible, I will trust you." This is why Elizabeth praised her cousin in vs. 45, saying: "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."

*Mary had strong faith, contagious faith, the kind of faith worth following.

*After one of the battles of the Civil War, a chaplain came to see a man who did not have much time left to live. He took the young soldier’s hand and said, "Brother, what can I do for you?"

*The dying soldier replied, "I want you to kneel down and give thanks for me." It was an unusual request from someone who was dying. "Give thanks for what?" the chaplain asked. "Give thanks to God for my mother. Thank him that because of her I am a Christian. What would I do now if I were not a Christian?" (1)