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WHAT DO MOTHERS DO?

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    It is easy to give birth to a child.

 

B.      It is not easy to be a mother.

1.      Mothers have a tough position.

2.      Mothers have many things that are required of them.

3.      Mothers do when others don’t.

4.      Mothers are never off.

5.      Mothers must labor even when one seems to care.

 

C.     Today is Mother’s Day.

1.      This Sunday has been designated as Mother’s Day since May 8, 1914.

2.      Thus, this is the 105th celebration of this wonderful day.

 

D.    This morning, I want to take the word “mother” and use it as an acrostic. 

1.      Each letter will begin a point of this lesson. 

2.      We will be answering the question:  “What Do Mother’s Do?”

 

I.                   M – MAKE A DIFFERENCE

 

A.    Mothers make a difference in the life of their children.

 

B.      Quotes:

1.      Rudyard Kipling:  “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.”

2.      Abraham Lincoln:  “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

3.      Ethel Waters:  “You are the person of the greatest importance when you are a mother of a family.”

 

C.     Timothy’s mother, Eunice, made a difference.

1.      She was a Jew who was married to a Greek (Acts 16:1).

2.      She was converted to the gospel of Christ (II Tim. 1:5).

3.      She taught her young son, Timothy from the time he was a small child (II Tim. 3:15).

 

And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which in in Christ Jesus.

 

4.      Her influence brought forth a young Christian man who would eventually become a Christian and a preacher of the gospel.

a.      He would be a servant to the apostle Paul (Phil. 2:22).

b.      He would be a dear friend to the church at Philippi (Phil. 2:20)

c.       He would be a minister who could protect the church from false teachers (I Tim. 1:3), and help order the church at Ephesus (I Tim. 3:14-15).

5.      Foxes’ Book of Martyrs reveals that Timothy died around the age of 80 as an elder of the church at Ephesus.  Tradition tells us that he tried to stop a pagan worship service in order to preach the gospel to them.  He was dragged through the streets and then stoned to death.  This was about 97 A.D.

 

 

II.                O - OPERATE IN SILENCE

 

A.    Being a mother is not a high-profile position.

1.      Your name will not light up the “big screen.”

2.      You will not make the headline news for your service.

3.      You will not be interviewed on national television because of your work.

 

B.      Most of your work is done in silence.

1.      Behind closed doors at home

2.      In the car

3.      Sitting on a stadium bench

4.      In a nursery

5.      In a doctor’s office

6.      And, did I say:  “In the car?”

 

C.     Let’s ask a couple of questions.

1.      Who was the mother of Abraham? (Not mentioned)

2.      Who was the mother of Moses? (Jochebed, mentioned twice, Exo. 6:20; Num. 26:59).

3.      Who was the mother of Joshua? (Not mentioned)

4.      Who was the mother of Nehemiah?  (Not mentioned)

5.      Who was the mother of the apostle Peter? (Not mentioned)

6.      Who was the mother of Saul of Tarsus (Paul)?  (Not mentioned)

 

D.    There are a few mothers who are recognized in the Bible such as Sarah, Hannah, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Eunice; but there are many great men whose mothers are never mentioned.  They did their work in silence.

 

E.      Mothers are still doing their work in silence today. 

1.      The really good mothers appreciate the silence.

2.      The really good mothers take advantage of the silence.

 

III.             T – TRUST IN GOD

 

A.    A good mother realizes that the position she occupies comes from God.

1.      God made the very first woman a mother.  In facts, she is referred to as “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20)

2.      It is God who set forth the responsibilities of mothers in the Word of God.

 

B.      Since God established the position and legislated the position, she trusts God in all things.

 

C.     Jochebed, the mother of Moses, trusted God enough to put the baby Moses in an ark of bulrushes and entrust his care to God (Exo. 2:1-3).

 

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 she saw him that he was a goodly child she hid him three months.  And when she could no 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 laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

 

D.    The trust that women need today is found in this statement:  “God’s way is always right!”

1.      Thus, she learns the ways of God.

2.      Then, she  diligently teaches them to her children

a.      Twice in the Proverbs children are exhorted with these words:  “…forsake not the law of thy mother” (Prov. 1:8; 6:20).

b.      The reason the child is taught this is because a good mother is going to teach the ways of God unto her children (Deut. 6:6-7).

3.      Remember, this is exactly what Timothy’s mother did for him (II Tim. 3:15).

 

IV.             H – HATES THE EVIL ONE

 

A.    A good mother knows that Satan exists and that he is living and active on the earth (I Pet. 5:8).  She is not ignorant of his devices (II Cor. 2:11).

 

B.      She hates the evil one.

1.      She protects herself from him.

2.      She learns of his ways.

3.      She warns her children about what he can do to them.

4.      She helps to arm them with the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-17).

 

C.     Samson’s mother tried to warn him about taking a wife of the Philistines (Judg. 14:3).

 

Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goes to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?

 

1.      She would not support his practice of religion.

2.      She would encourage him in the ways of the Philistines.

3.      She would have an influence on their children in a negative way.

4.      The marriage may not last.

 

D.    Good mothers know what sin is.  They know the evils of the world.  They understand people.  They hate every false way just as the psalmist did (Ps. 119:104).

 

Through thy precepts I get understanding:  therefore I hate every false way.

 

V.                E – ENDURE THE DIFFICULT

 

A.    Someone looked up the definition of the word “mother” and this is the definition they found.

1.      One person who does the work of twenty.  For free.

2.      It also said:  “See ‘masochist’, ‘loony’, ‘saint.’”

 

best quotes about importance of mothers (31)

B.      Mothers must

1.      Feed their children

2.      Change diapers

3.      Care for the sick

4.      Put in long nights

5.      Sacrifices their desires

6.      Endure criticism

7.      Endure the attacks of the world

8.      Put up with rebellious teens

9.      Do mundane tasks over and over again

10.  Do things with little, if any, assistance

11.  Work outside the home

12.  Keep on keeping on, even when they are physically unable to do so

 

C.     This is why Solomon refers to her as a virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:10.  Too, he says she is priceless.  Her price being far above rubies.  Too, they are rare breeds.  “Who can find a virtuous woman?” he asks.

 

VI.             R – REJOICES IN THE END

 

A.    There is an end to a mother’s labors.  That end brings a long period of rejoicing in her life.

 

B.      Her children:

1.      Know and obey God.

2.      Work and serve diligently in a local congregation.

3.      Produce wonderful families.

4.      Are good citizens in the community.

5.      Labor hard to provide for themselves.

6.      Care deeply for others.

7.      Shun sinful things.

8.      Become leaders in and out of the church.

9.      Have children who love and care for them.

 

C.     III John 4 applies to all mothers.

 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

 

D.    As Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary, He commended the care of His mother to the apostle John (John 19:26-27).  I wonder how Mary felt about her Son after she heard these words and reflected on them after the His death.  Surely, she must have been proud.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    We have looked at the answers to the question:  “What do mothers do?”

1.      They “M”ake a difference.

2.      They “O”perate in silence.

3.      They “T”rust in God.

4.      They “H”ate the evil one.

5.      They “E”ndure the difficult.

6.      They “R”ejoice in the end.

B.      Now let’s ask:  “When a child has a wonderful mother, how is she viewed?

1.      She “M”eans the world to him/her.

2.      She “O”ccasions his deepest gratitude.

3.      She “T”enders his love.

4.      She’s “H”onored in his heart.

5.      She “E”arns his praise.

6.      She “R”eceives his blessing

 

C.     Proverbs 31:28

 

Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.