General Ulysses S. Grant said at his mother's funeral;
“I owe all am to her earnest, modest, and sincere piety.”
A newspaper editor was introducing Winston Churchhill by listing those who had taught him. When he was finished and Churchill came to speak his first reply was "You have omitted mention of the greatest of my teachers, my mother."
Andrew Jackson once said of his mother;
“The memory of my mother and her teachings is the only capital I had to start life with; and on that capital I have made my way.”
No wonder
AFrench general, after meeting Mary Washington, George Washington's mother, said, "It is not surprising that America can produce great men since she can produce great mothers."
AndNapoleon said, "Let France have good mothers and she will have good sons."
I thought I would begin with some encouraging quotes because the passage I want to open with isn’t very uplifting.
2 Chronicles 22:1-3 (KJV)
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
I read this passage and was struck with the influence of a mother.
In many respects the influence of a mother has a more powerful pull, whether for good or for evil, than does a father’s.
So that, while the Bible seldom gives us the names of the mothers of our Bible heroes (we do not know the name of David’s mother) we can almost be certain that the Bible describes her character in David.
Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah, but Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, recognized which of their two sons would carry on the birthright blessing.
I believe it is healthy to recognize, ladies; that it is as possible to pass on your negative qualities to your children, as it is your positive ones.
It would serve none of us any good to ignore our potential to influence wrongly.
In order to give our kids positive influence we will have to:
· Identify in ourselves, our own character faults
· Strive to strengthen them and
· Work to teach something else to our children
But it’s Mother’s Day.
I would much rather bring a message today about some mothers who made a positive influence in the children.
I. Jochebed, Nurtured Moses’ Faith
Exodus 2:1-10 (KJV)
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
We know the Moses’ mother’s name because of Exodus 6:20 (KJV)
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
I want you to notice the word “nurse.”
The word in Exodus means, “to suckle.” It means what you think – it means to feed the baby.
Pharaoh’s daughter could not do that. She had to find a woman who had recently delivered a baby in order to produce the milk this infant would require.
If you will allow me, though, I want to “press” the word a bit. The translators chose the word “nurse” and that word is used often in the Bible, to mean things other than suckling a little baby.
Ruth 4:13-16 (KJV)
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
Naomi did not suckle the Obed.
This word means, “to build up, to support, to foster.”
I suggest to you that Jochebed did not that feed her baby, Moses.
· Knowing her time with him was short
· Knowing she must soon deliver him to the world in which he was born
Jochebed must certainly have tried to give Moses the tools he would need to identify as one of the people of God in a world that was totally against God.
I say Jochebed because, given the circumstances, I doubt Amram was allowed much private time with Moses.
We are raising children in a very challenging day – especially if we want to raise them up to stand for Christ.
But it can not be any more difficult than it was for Jochebed and her son, Moses.
Can you imagine the enticement of worldly things that Moses must have faced in Pharaoh’s home?
And yet the Bible says,
Hebrews 11:24-27 (KJV)
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
That has to have been the result of the nurturing of his mother.
I am reminded of a story in the biographies of Charles Spurgeon.
Spurgeon’s father was a traveling preacher.
On one of his trips he became concerned for young Charles. Was he spending too much time on the road and not enough with his son?
Returning back to the house unannounced, he found his wife in earnest prayer for the spiritual wellbeing of Charles.
Spurgeon’s dad went back to his work, assured that, with a mother praying like that, Charles was in good spiritual hands.
A dad supports, protectsand even directshis family.
But it is the mother who nurses and fosters that direction.
Fellows, in case you are feeling a bit left out I want to give you this verse, 1 Thessalonians 2:6-7 (KJV)
Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
Men, you too may foster your children – building them and strengthening them to identify for Christ in a Christ-less world.
II. Mary, Pondered Jesus’ Words
Luke 2:6-19 (KJV)
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Drop down just a bit further in this same chapter and read, Luke 2:42-51 (KJV)
And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
One of these events happens at the birth of Jesus, the other when Jesus was twelve years old but Mary’s response was similar in both cases.
Mary keeps and ponders the things of God that she hears.
I see three sources of spiritual input in these passages
· The angels
· The scribes and teachers and
· Jesus Himself
Remember, she does not have a Bible like we have it today, certainly not a New Testament.
These words used: to keepand to ponder tell us that:
· She observed the spiritual events carefully
· She listened purposefully and then
· She internalized them – she memorized and meditated upon them
Of course, Mary’s relationship with her son, Jesus, was different than every other mother in history.
I don’t know that she influenced him in any way.
But I’ll tell you what she did do – she grew in grace and in the knowledge of her Lord and Saviour.
Mom, Dad, I promise you, the very best thing you can ever do for your children is to be a growing Christian yourself.
I think too often we think of ourselves as having attained some mark and now it’s our job to bring our kids up to our own standard.
That’s the farthest thing from the truth. Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Our kids belong to God and the only standard they ought to strive for is God’s.
What’s really happening is that you and your children are pressing toward the same mark.
The Lord willing you are just a little bit farther down the road than them.
The best influence you can have on your children is an example of growing in grace and you can do that exactly like Mary did.
· Observe carefully what God is doing in the Word of God
· Listen intently to what God is saying in the Word and then
· Meditate wholly on what God has shown you in the Word
Jochebed nurtured Moses’ faith
Mary pondered Jesus’ words
And then
III. Eunice, Passed on Timothy’s Salvation
2 Timothy 1:1-6 (KJV)
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Here is a rare insight, especially for the New Testament.
We know the names of both Timothy’s mother and grandmother.
There isn’t a ton of other information about them.
· We know that they were Jews, who lived outside of Israel, in the region known as Lycaonia, now Turkey.
· We know that his mother was married to a Greek and
· We know that his mother and grandmother were early converts to the faith
Paul’s words are very interesting. He spoke to Timothy of “… the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”
It’s multi-generational.
· Grandmother Lois and passed on this unfeigned faith
· To mother Eunice and Paul is persuaded she passed it
· To Timothy, who was a preacher at this time in Ephesus
This phrase unfeigned is fascinating. It is composed of two parts:
· The first is a negative. It means that whatever the second part is, this isn’t.
· The second is an actor. It means to say what someone else would say.
There are tons of people who say they are Christians because someone else says they are Christians.
· They said a prayer because someone else told them to say a prayer
· They act like a Christian because someone else encouraged them to act like a Christian
· They got baptized because someone else urged them to get baptized
Their whole Christian life is an act.
It’s not really them – they are pretenders.
Paul says of Timothy, “I am persuaded that you are not a pretender.”
Mom and Dad, the last thing in the world you should want of your kids is that they pretend to be Christians.
I do think you can insist that, while they are growing up, they:
· Attend church with you and
· Behave the way you expect them to
· Consider what the Bible teaches
But faith, in order for it to be sincere and real, must be passed on and not forced upon.
This is challenging, because it means that you can’t control whether they get saved or what they believe.
In order for your children to come to real faith in Christ and their own personal convictions, you have to risk that they come to no faith at all.
They have to know they have the freedom to reject the truth or else you will never know that they have genuinely accepted the truth.
By the way, you won’t be able to force them forever anyway.
If you don’t pass on an unfeigned faith, they will one day break your heart by turning from your faith.
How do you pass faith on to your kids instead of forcing it upon them?
A. Your faith must be unfeigned and growing
This goes back to Mary pondering all these things in her heart.
You kids need to see something real in you.
They will become what you are, not what you pretend to be.
B. You need to give them freedom to question
I didn’t say you have to give them freedom to rebel against you.
Give them freedom to ask you hard questions concerning the hope that is in you.
C. You need to give them honest answers to those questions
That means that you study the Bible and search the Scriptures for those answers.
Conclusion
Parenting is a partnership between the Mom and the Dad.
I would never want you to think the role of the father in the home is unimportant.
But while the father sets the direction of the home, it is the mother that makes it happen.
Mom, purpose that your influence in the home will be toward the Lord.
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