Mother’s Day
Gtcotr/050904
Today is our national attempt to keep one of the 10 commandments.
Specifically commandment number five, initially found in Exodus 20:12, describing how each of us should treat our mother.
Our main reading today will be come from the book of Ephesians, Chapter 5
But first, before we go there, allow me to elaborate on a few key scriptures concerning the topic of this special day.
Allow me to address these key scriptures to the various members who make up the family unit, of which mothers are the foundation.
So, here are a few words about mothers:
First to the children here, of which each of us are!
I. Children, Honor Your Mother
Deuteronomy 5:16 "‘Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God will give you.
A. She carried you nearly nine months without once putting you down or letting you down.
1. Don’t ever put her down!
2. Never let her down again!
B. If we do this, we are promised a live a long, full and blessed life.
* So children, and remember, all of us are some mother‘s child … lets give honor to our mother as unto the Lord our God. Never be ugly or disrespectful to her or to her memory, condescending, threatening, critical, judgmental, neglectful or abusive. If you do, you will be cutting your life and blessings short and disappointing God.
Next a word to husbands
II. Husband, Don’t Be A Jerk - translated - Don’t Be Ungodly
Leviticus 24
10 ¶ One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father got into a fight with one of the Israelite men.
11 During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the LORD’s name. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother’s name was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.
A. Meanings translated from Hebrew
1. Shelomith - ‘Peaceful’
2. Dibri - ‘My Word’
3. Egyptian - ‘Double Straits’
B. A peaceful woman of the word married to a man living between two pressures, raising a confused son who easily fits into both worlds.
1. He loved the things of God, i.e. Shelomith
2. He also loved the things of this world, represented by Egypt.
C. Husbands, don’t be this double minded man
1. Be consistent for your wife‘s sake (James 1:8)
2. Be disciplined for your children’s sake
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, don’t aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying.
3. Be Godly for your sake (Matthew 18:6 - millstone)
D. What happened to her son, he was stoned to death due to his evident disrespect for God.
Finally, A word to mothers
III. Exodus 2
1 ¶ During this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.
2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw what a beautiful baby he was and kept him hidden for three months.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a little basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile River.
A. Do all you can do and then, trust God with your children
* Moses’ mother, when she could no longer control the circumstances and hold her son back any longer, she let her child ride beyond her reach and trusted God with his safety and future
B. Live the example God needs you to
1. Respect your husband - just as children are told to honor parents, wives are admonished to set the example by showing a pattern of honor and respect for authority in the home.
2. Not only can children learn worldly ways from a worldly father, but also they will learn dishonorable ways from a disrespectful or indiscreet mother.
IV. Conclusion
Ephesians 5 (NLT)
31 As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."
32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
6:1 ¶ Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.
2 "Honor your father and mother." This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.
3 And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, "you will live a long life, full of blessing."
4 And now a word to you fathers. Don’t make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.
Pray blessings on mothers and mothers to be.
