PREACHED: OL,5-08-05,AM

 

“THE CHALLENGE OF MOTHERHOOD”

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

    CHANGING CULTURE—CONFLICTING VIEWS OF THE HOME.

 

A.      Several years ago—Roy Angel, Rejoicing On Great Days:

 

1.       “600 students of a university were asked to write on a piece of paper the most beautiful word in the English language. 442 wrote the word ‘mother.’ 112 wrote ‘home’.”

 

a.       Apparently, our culture doesn’t share the opinion of these college students…today the family is under attack!

 

1)       Radical feminists view motherhood as involuntary servitude and the home as a prison!

 

k    GOD’S PLAN REMAINS: THE HOME IS  STILL GOD’S BASIC UNIT OF SOCIETY.

 

A.      Nothing has changed regarding Gos’s view of motherhood or fatherhood and the home.

 

          B.       PETER MARSHALL:

 

1.       “The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart; it needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant; it needs some who are willing to be brave. The world has enough women who are popular; it needs more who are pure. We need women, and men too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct.”

 

 

l     THERE IS AN EXTRAORDINARILY POWERFUL BEAUTY WITNESSED IN THE DAILY ACTIVITIES OF A COMMITTED MOTHER!

 

          A.      Expressed in the many words of the poets:

 

                   “She mended a doll, and the washing waited.

                   The dust lay thick while a fish hook was baited.

                   When ‘Injuns’ attacked, her dinner burned up.

                   She provided a bed for a straying pup.

                   A two-year-old helped with the cookie dough.

                   The ironing dried out while she romped in the snow.

                   Her neighbors whispered to one another,

                   But her children laughed and adored their mother.”

 

                   “Mothers are what rise up gaily,

                   To a thousand crises daily:

                   To the missing sock and buckle,

                   To the ivy-poisoned knuckle,

                   To the dank and earth-wormed pocket,

                   To the ill-starred homemade rocket,

                   To the stark and wigless dolly,

                   To the nervous-stomached collie,

                   To the guppy’s grave to mourn it,

To the knee that knew the hornet,

                   To the jelly in the door lock,

                   To the home-besissored forelock,

                   To the over-sodened moaner,

                   To the date that said he’d phone ‘er,

                   To the bedspread with the clay on,

                   To the stepped-on spreading crayon.”

 

m    NONE COULD DENY THE TREMENDOUS CHALLENGES OF MOTHERHOOD!

 

A.      God sees the importance of a mother and commands honor and respect:

 

1.       A command and a warning -

 

a.       Ex 20:12. “Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you…”

 

                                      1)       Quoted by Paul in Eph 6:1,2

 

b.       Deut 27:16. “’Cursed is the man who dishonors his father and mother,’ and all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’”

 

          B.       THREE GREAT CHALLENGES:

 

                   1.       As seen in the lives of four women in the Bible Ø

 

DISCUSSION:

 

1Æ   Hannah’s Challenge to Mothers

 

          A.      Hannah was barren -

 

1.       I Sam 1:10-12a. “She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…And she continued praying before the Lord…”

 

          B.       God blessed her with that son -

 

1.       When she named him, she reflected her dependence upon and thanksgiving to God for his blessing!

 

a.       V 20. “And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord’.”

 

                                      1)       “Samuel” means “Heard of God!”

 

C.       True to her word, after Samuel was weaned, she presented him at the house of God to Eli the Priest!

 

          D.      THE CHALLENGE FOR OUR MOTHERS:

 

1.       To view each child as a genuine blessing from God and to dedicate each child, even before they are born, to God!

 

2Æ  Eunice’s  and  Lois’  Challenge  to Mothers

 

A.      II Tim 1:2-5. “To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 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…”

 

1.       You see, the story began with a mother’s mother who made sure that her daughter was truly God’s daughter in faith, and that legacy of faith was passed on to the third generation!

 

a.       What a message for mother’s who have no help from their husbands in godly influence in the lives of their sons and daughters!

 

1)       Acts 16:1, 2. “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well-spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.”

 

          B.       THE CHALLENGE TO OUR MOTHERS:

 

1.     To see beyond our children to our grandchildren—I want a LEGACY OF FAITH!

2.     And to be strong enough to overcome even the negative influences of unspiritual mate!

 

a.       Can you imagine the challenge of Eunice to overcome the influence of a man who was probably an idol worshipper?

         

3Æ  Elizabeth’  Challenge to Mothers

 

A.      Especially meaningful—granddaughter is to be named “Elizabeth.”

 

1.                 Mother of John the Baptist.

 

2.       Like Sarah of old, she bore a child beyond age.

 

B.       Luke 1:5, 6. “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zachariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”

 

                   1.       Elizabeth was a preacher’s wife!

 

          C.       THE CHALLENGE FOR OUR MOTHERS:

 

1.       To be a true partner in righteous living with your husband, seriously acknowledging the essentiality of a blameless, obedient example for your children, if they are to grow up to be great leaders for the kingdom!

 

CONCLUSION:

 

üü  HANNAH included God and his service first as a goal for her son…Is that your first priority?

 

LOIS AND EUNICH left an inheritance of strong faith and knowledge of the word of God…Is that your legacy?

 

ELIZABETH set the pattern of righteous living and obedient respect for God’s commands…is that your example?

 

          WILLIAM WHITNEY wrote,

 

                   “Lord, give me strength for today,

                   To lead my children in Thy way;

                   Oh, give me wisdom, Lord, and grace,

                   To show them Thy precious face!

                   And help me, Lord, to teach them, too,

                   The things of Christ so rich and true.

                   Just let them see in me, dear Lord,

                   Thy holiness in life and Word.

                   Keep me from sinning with my tongue—

From harsh, quick words that might have stung,

Their tender hearts that trust me so,

And watch to see which way I go.

Dear Father, keep my thoughts pure,

That they will always know for sure,

My Lord has led me all the way—

Lord, grant my prayer just for today.”