[0:00] And go with me to Proverbs 31. Proverbs 31. And I know what you ladies are all thinking right now.! It's Mother's Day. He's going to us to Proverbs 31.
[0:13] He's going to talk about the virtuous woman. He's going to tell us all those things we can't live up to. And he's going to give us all that. Wrong. Proverbs 31. I'm going to take you to a section there that you probably, maybe you've heard a message on it before.
[0:29] I don't know. Instead of starting at verse 10, where he talks about the virtuous woman, I'm going to start at verse 1. Proverbs 31, verse 1.
[0:39] Today's Mother's Day. I'm going to give you three different mothers today. We're going to look quickly at three different mothers, hopefully quickly. And I want you to see some things they taught their children.
[0:52] First of all, King Lemuel. Who's King Lemuel? Well, a lot of people think that's a poetic name that's used in Proverbs for Solomon.
[1:05] Bathsheba used to refer to him that way because Lemuel means belonging to God. And they're saying Solomon belonged to God. So let's see what she says to this king.
[1:19] Chapter 31, beginning of verse 1. The words of King Lemuel. The prophecy that his mother taught him. What, my son? What, my son? And what, the son of my womb?
[1:30] And what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink.
[1:45] Lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish. And wine to those that are of a heavy heart.
[1:56] Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb and the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
[2:07] Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. Open thy mouth for the poor and needy. Stop right there. We're going to talk first of all about King Lemuel's mom.
[2:20] What did she teach? Each one of these, these three different ladies I'm going to give you this morning, I'm going to show you two things that each one of them did to teach their children. How did they teach them?
[2:31] What direction did they send them in? So I'm going to do that with these three different ladies who were moms today. So, let's have a word of prayer. Do you have any father? I just thank you.
[2:41] Lord, that we can honor our moms today. Lord, I thank you for my mother. Thank you for the godly example she was to me. Thank you for the way that she raised me.
[2:54] And Lord, that the way that she emphasized you in church, in the Bible, making sure that it was a part of my life. Lord, I just thank you for these ladies here.
[3:07] Lord, those that are moms, pray that you would watch over each one of them, help them, Lord. And Lord, just because their children may be older and grown and gone away from home, they never stop being a mom.
[3:18] And so, Lord, I pray that you would help them. Give them wisdom as they talk to their children. Give them wisdom as they help give instructions still, even under this time. Lord, pray that you would help them to learn today.
[3:31] And things maybe that will help them as they do that. Lord, guide our thoughts today. May they be centered on you and on what a mom should be. We pray this in Jesus' name.
[3:43] Amen. King Lemuel's mom. You notice the things that she talked about in those first nine verses. The first thing King Lemuel's mom taught her son had to do with morality.
[3:58] Morality. Purity. Notice what she said in verse 3. Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
[4:10] Now, if this is King Solomon, he did not learn that lesson very well. But she tried to teach him, apparently. She tried to teach him the right way to go. Because you remember Solomon?
[4:21] 700 wives, 300 concubines, 1,000 different women. He didn't learn that lesson real well. But she tried to teach him. She said, look, in verse 3.
[4:32] Give not thy strength unto women. Be careful. You know how many times he must have been listening somewhat. Because as you read through Proverbs, do you remember what happened there in Proverbs?
[4:46] The fact that he, at different times, talked about strange women. Women who would go after men. Who would try to throw themselves at men. And he talked about that.
[4:56] Be careful about being around those type of women. He said, look, you need to be so careful that you get the right kind. And his mom taught him that.
[5:08] Because she goes on from here, as you know. Starting at verse 10. For who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. And he goes on. And she goes on. And they talk about the fact that all these different things that she did.
[5:21] Then you come over to verse 27. She looked well to the ways of her household. And eateth not the bread of idleness. Verse 28. Her children rise up.
[5:32] And call her blessed. Her husband also. And he praises her. Many daughters have done virtuously. But thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful. Beauty is vain. But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
[5:46] He said, she's taught him. Look. Be careful of the women you go after. This is the type of woman you need to be looking for. So she taught him morality about the women that he should be around.
[6:00] She also taught him something else. Again, look at verse 3. It says, give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
[6:12] It is not for kings, O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Lest they drink and forget the law and pervert judgment of any of the afflicted.
[6:27] He says, be careful about drinking. Be careful about what you take into your body. Be careful. Because it's going to have an effect on you. Do you remember Solomon wrote in Proverbs 20, verse 1, Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever deceit thereby is not wise.
[6:47] And then over here he's saying, this is what my mom taught me. Taught me, it's not for kings. It's not for princes. And you want to think about that. Who are we? The Bible tells us that our father is the king of kings and lord of lords.
[7:04] Which makes us all princes and princesses. So how should that affect us and what we do and how we handle things? It says, oh, be so very careful in how you do those things.
[7:16] You know, I think about Alexander the Great. You've all heard of Alexander the Great. He was co-ruler with his father of Macedonia at the age of 16.
[7:29] At the age of 18, he was a victorious general. Think about that. 18. He's a victorious general. And he's starting out to go out and conquer most of the known world.
[7:39] At the age of 20, he is king all by himself. At the age of 20. I mean, he's, everything is going for him. And he is conquering and he's ruling and he's doing all these different things.
[7:52] And he's going on and, you know, just, like I said, conquering most of the known world. He died at the age of 33. As a drunk.
[8:02] He conquered most of the known world, but he could not conquer himself in that one area. I think about it.
[8:13] You know, age of 33, he died. Jared's 33. Right? Yep. 33. So Jared's age, he dies.
[8:25] You think of all that he accomplished in his lifetime. What if he hadn't? He picked up those bottles. Hadn't picked up those things. So she teaches him about morality.
[8:37] She says, be careful about the things you let into your life. Whether it be women, whether it be alcohol, whatever it is. Be careful about it. Second thing she teaches him is about others.
[8:50] Others. Look at verse 9. Verse 9 says, Open thy mouth. Judge righteously. Judge righteously. And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
[9:04] Judge righteously. Judge by biblical standards. Not what I feel, what I think, or what other people feel or think. What does the Bible say? Judge righteously. When you're dealing with people.
[9:16] And you know, one of the things you're going to learn when you judge righteously and judge according to the Bible. People are going to mess up. All the time. How do we judge them?
[9:28] Well, I can't believe. The Bible says we're going to mess up. The Bible says we're going to have problems. You know, what does she tell him to do in verse 9?
[9:42] Plead the cause of the poor and needy. Plead the cause. Be compassionate on them. Show them compassion. Show them that you care. Show them because you have a much better chance of winning them over.
[9:57] A much better chance of leading them in the right way if you show compassion to them. She says, look, show compassion to them and give by biblical standards.
[10:08] Give to them. Help them. So here's a mom. She has given of herself to her son.
[10:19] She has taught him that two of the most important things you can do is live right. And as you live right, help others.
[10:33] Take what you've learned. Take what you know and help other people. So morality and doing things with others. Let me show you another set of moms.
[10:47] Go with me toward the end of the Bible. 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 1.
[10:58] Dana. 2 Timothy chapter 1.
[11:13] I'm going to start actually in verse 3. Verse 3 says, 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.
[11:27] 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 dwell first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.
[11:46] 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. Paul writes and he says, Timothy, I have good memories of you.
[12:01] I have good memories about your family. Your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, they are two of the best examples I have ever seen of what godly mothers should be like.
[12:12] I just rejoice when I bring, when they come to my mind, when I remember them. And Timothy, I want you to notice some things that they taught you. Timothy, the first thing I noticed, notice that you said there, now I lost it.
[12:33] Oh, verse 4. Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. Timothy, your mother and your grandmother put in you a tender heart.
[12:45] A tender heart. A tender heart to know the things of God. A tender heart to know the things that God wants you to do and to follow him. Matter of fact, you don't have to turn.
[12:57] I think I might have them up there. Do I have Philippians up there? I do. So, I forgot to put it in my notes. So, Philippians chapter 2, verse 19.
[13:09] It says, I'm going to send Timothy because Timothy is going to give me a report on you.
[13:23] And Timothy is going to bring a report to you. Timothy is going to be my liaison between you guys. And he's going to give me a good report, I hope. Verse 20. For I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state.
[13:40] For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. But ye know the proof of him that as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel.
[13:56] He says, look, first of all, I'm going to send Timothy because Timothy has a tender heart. First of all, toward his friends. Do you notice verse 22 there? For ye know the proof of him that as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel.
[14:14] As a son with a father. Timothy cares about me. He cares about you. He cares about the things of God. Notice in verse 21. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ.
[14:29] Timothy is not like that. Timothy looks to do what God would have him to do in every situation.
[14:40] He says he cares about his friends. He cares about the people around him. He cares about God's people. Look at verse 20 again. For I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state.
[14:57] First of all, he uses the word naturally care. Timothy, it was built into him. He had that tender heart. His mother and his grandmother taught him to have that tender heart.
[15:07] They cared about the people around him. They cared about the people of God. He cared about how they were going to be used. He cared that they were going to learn the proper things, the right things.
[15:21] He cared that they were going to walk with Jesus. He says, I have no one else who will naturally care for your state. I have no one else who is like-minded. What does that mean?
[15:34] Timothy is going to be like-minded. What does he mean by that? Well, look at chapter 2 there. No, you're not there. Verse 5. I do not there, okay? Chapter 2, verse 5 says, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
[15:49] He's like-minded to Jesus Christ. He has that mind of Christ. He cares about people. He cares about their salvation. He cares whether they go into heaven or hell. He cares because he has a tender heart.
[16:03] Timothy cares. How do you learn that? His mother and his grandmother. Not only that, he has a tender heart toward the unsaved. Again, verse 20, like-minded, naturally care for your state.
[16:15] Verse 22. You know the proof of him that as a father with a son, he has served with me in the gospel. He was like-minded in the fact that just like Jesus cared about us, Jesus came for us, Jesus came to make a way of salvation for us, Timothy cared that those people would know.
[16:34] The Lord Jesus Christ. They would know that way of salvation. And he cared about it so much, it says there in verse 22, that he served with Paul in the gospel.
[16:47] Timothy was willing to take the gospel wherever. Timothy was willing to go out and share the gospel with people he did not know. You know, there was a man who was a missionary to Africa.
[16:59] His name was Robert Moffitt. Robert Moffitt was getting ready to leave home, going out on his own. And his mother stopped him. And she said, Robert, promise your mother something.
[17:13] And he said, what? He said, promise me something. Well, you've got to tell me what it is before I'll promise. It's something easy for you to do. Promise me that you will do it.
[17:25] Finally, he looked at her face and he said, very well, mother. I'll do anything you wish. She put her hands around his head and drew them down close to her. And she said, Robert, you're about to go out into a wicked, wicked world.
[17:40] And she said, begin every day with God. And end every day with God. And he said, then she reached up and gave him a kiss.
[17:54] And he said, that kiss made him a missionary to Africa. The tender heart that she had for the things of God and the people of this world knowing God said, that kiss gave him that same tender heart toward the things of God.
[18:16] Timothy's mother and grandmother said, we want you to have a tender heart. Second thing for them, look at verse 5. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice.
[18:34] Unfeigned faith. What does that word unfeigned mean? Not hypocritical. Not put on. Not a show. An honest faith.
[18:45] An honest faith. He says, I want you to have an honest faith. And Timothy did. You look at verse 5 there. Talks about his mother, his grandmother, and all the things that they did.
[18:57] They gave him an honest faith. They're understanding that Jesus Christ was the Savior. You know how important, moms, that is for you to teach your children the importance of Jesus Christ being the Savior.
[19:12] Most of you probably somewhere in your house, in your kitchen, maybe in your refrigerator, maybe sitting on a shelf, wherever, you have something that was made by Heinz.
[19:25] I remember taking the Fulkers out there last Sunday, sitting on the table where we were at, the restaurant we were at. It was a Heinz ketchup bottle sitting right there.
[19:38] Henry Heinz. 57 varieties and all that stuff, you know. Before he died, he made up a will. Here's what he said in his will. Think about this being the will that you would make up.
[19:50] Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior.
[20:07] Oh. That's the first thing you want people to know after you die. Jesus Christ was my Savior. He goes on. I also desire to bear witness to the fact that throughout my life, in which there were unusual joys and sorrows, I have been wonderfully sustained by my faith in God through Jesus Christ.
[20:28] This legacy was left me by my consecrated mother, a woman of strong faith, and to it I attribute any success I have attained.
[20:41] Anything I've done in this world is because my mother taught me about Jesus Christ. Wow. That's a pretty good testimony. Timothy's like that.
[20:53] Timothy, Paul says, because of your grandmother and your mother, you have a love for Christ like few others. Not only do you have a love for Christ, excuse me, in 2 Timothy chapter 3, if you're there, verse 14, they gave him some other things to love.
[21:12] I love in the word of God, for the word of God. 2 Timothy 3, beginning of verse 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.
[21:31] Timothy, continue in the things that you've learned. Think about who you learned them from. Who's he talking about? Mom and grandma.
[21:43] Verse 15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. Who taught him? His mother and his grandmother. Which are able to make thee wise and to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
[21:58] What did he learn as he learned the scriptures from his mother and his grandmother? Verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
[22:15] Timothy, you've been learning since you were a child from your mother and your grandmother about the holy scriptures. They've been teaching you the scriptures. Be assured of them, because you know who taught you. And he says, and now that you're a man, he says, you can be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
[22:32] He says, look, you learned the word of God from your mom and your grandma. Remember it. Never forget it. And then about, how about the fulfilling of all that?
[22:44] The calling of God on his life. He has a calling. Look at verse, back in chapter 1, verse 6. There. 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 6.
[22:55] Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee. I was putting it on my name. Stir up the gift of God which is in thee.
[23:06] You have a calling of God on your life. Many of you have probably heard of, heard the name G. Campbell Morgan. He was a preacher, olden days.
[23:19] He wrote commentaries, wrote various books and things and still use them today. He had four sons. They all became ministers.
[23:33] At a reunion, a friend asked one of the sons, so which Morgan is the best preacher of you guys? The son looked straight at his dad, like I'm looking at Steve.
[23:47] He looked straight at his dad and he goes, mother. Who's the best preacher in the family? Her. Moms, you have such an impact on people.
[24:01] One of my favorite things, I didn't have this in my notes when it comes to mind. One of my favorite people in the whole world. Jared's met him recently and he's become one of Jared's favorite people too.
[24:14] His name is Bob Filbrick. And Bob Filbrick has been a pastor. He's been a missionary to Argentina. He's had his whole life, has been serving God in one way or another.
[24:26] Matter of fact, a few years ago, in his mid-70s, he retired from being a pastor at Clinton Baptist Church. Since that time, he has spent four and a quarter years in Warren at Calvary Baptist Church being their interim pastor while they were looking for a pastor.
[24:45] They finally found a pastor. Within a week or two, he was at West Hamden Baptist Church filling in for them because they lost their pastor. And he's still there at West Hamden right now.
[24:56] He's 82 years old now. And he had four kids. David, his oldest son, is a missionary to Spain. Debbie, his only daughter, is married to a missionary that was in Argentina.
[25:14] He now runs the missionary board he used to work for in Argentina. His next son, number three, Mark, is now the pastor at Clinton Baptist Church where Bob was.
[25:26] And his youngest son, Mark, is a school administrator in a Christian school in Pennsylvania. They're all serving the Lord in one way or another. And it's all because of the example of their mom and dad.
[25:40] Use the time you have with your kids and teach them what it is to love the Lord. One more, fairly quickly, go over, go back in the Old Testament.
[25:53] 1 Samuel, chapter 1 and 2. 1 Samuel. I'm trying not to keep you late today, so I know I'm going to do things with family, so 1 Samuel, chapter 1 and 2.
[26:13] Hannah, Samuel's mother, Hannah. She's going to teach two things as well. One of the great things that Hannah teaches is about effective communication.
[26:28] Effective communication. If I think about effective communication, what's the greatest thing I can think of for effective communication? Look with me in chapter 1, beginning at verse 10.
[26:39] And she was in bitterness at soul and prayer unto the Lord and wept sore. Most of you know the story. I'm not going to take a long time.
[26:50] She was married to a man. He had another wife. The other wife had kids and she didn't. The other wife was always giving trouble and getting on her because she didn't have any kids. Da, da, da, da, da. That upset her.
[27:02] So, she was in bitterness at soul, prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. Verse 12. And it came to pass as she continued praying before the Lord, the Eli marked her mouth.
[27:13] They had gone up to one of the feasts at the tabernacle. Eli sees her sitting off by herself, sees her mouth moving. He has some thoughts about what's going on there.
[27:26] Look at verse 15. And Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord. I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink. but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
[27:40] And she tells him what she's praying for. She's praying for a child. Praying for a man. For a boy. So that she can give that child back to God. Look at verse 26 and 27.
[27:54] And she said, Oh, my Lord. As my soul liveth. My Lord. I am the woman that stood by thee here. Praying unto the Lord.
[28:04] For this child I prayed. And the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him. Chapter 2, verse 1. And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord.
[28:18] My horn is salted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. Hannah, better than anyone, could teach her children what it meant to pray.
[28:34] She knew about it. She came in heaviness of heart. She came in joy. She came any time in her life when she had some issue or something that was going on or something good that was happening.
[28:46] She came to the Lord and she prayed. Asking, thanking, always following up. You want the most effective communication you can have?
[28:58] Learn to pray. Teach your kids how to pray. Spend time with them. And, when you do pray, learn something else. Learn to keep your word.
[29:10] Look at verse 11 of chapter 1. And she vowed and vowed and said, Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid and remember me and not forget thine handmaid but will give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life and there shall no razor come upon his head.
[29:33] She's going to make sure he takes the Nazarite vow. Full service to God all the time for the rest of his life. Look over at verse 27 and 28.
[29:45] For this child I prayed and the Lord gave me my petition which I asked him. Therefore, also, I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth.
[29:56] He shall be lent to the Lord and he worshiped the Lord there. I said I would give him to you, Lord, and here he is. I'm keeping my word that I said unto you.
[30:07] Teach your kids to keep the word. Teach him how to follow through. Look down at verse 11. Chapter 2, verse 11. Chapter 2, verse 11. And Elkina went to Ramah to his house and the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
[30:25] The child stayed there with Eli working in the temple tabernacle with God. She taught effective communication.
[30:35] Effective communication, praying, but it's also keeping your word. People learn to trust you. One more. Responsibility. Responsibility. So, she takes the child, she takes him to Eli.
[30:49] He's there with him. He's going to stay there with him. My job is done. Right? No, you're still the mother. So, what does she do? Look at verse 18 and 19 of chapter 2.
[31:03] Chapter 2, verse 18 and 19. It says, But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover, his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year when she had, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifices.
[31:25] every year she made sure she brought clothes to him. Every year she came to see him. Every year she had input in his life.
[31:36] She had responsibilities. Look at verse 20 and 21. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord.
[31:49] And they went unto their own home. And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
[32:01] She said, I'm going to keep my word. I said, I would give the child to you. The child is here. He's going to be yours. I will still take care of bringing him clothes and taking care of him. I will still come and see him and be his mother. But he's going to stay here to serve the Lord.
[32:17] And it says, what did God do for her? She had no children before she had Samuel. She now has three more boys and two girls. God blessed her greatly because she kept her word.
[32:28] Because she learned how to do things the right way. To effectively communicate and to take responsibility. Martin Luther. We all know Martin Luther. Anybody know Martin Luther's mother?
[32:43] Martin Luther's mother, we probably don't know much about her, but we do know she was the wife of a coal miner. So they didn't have necessarily a lot of money. And at times she would go without money, without food, so that Martin Luther could go to school.
[33:01] She could pay his way into school. She would go hungry. She took care of the child. She took responsibility for the child. What's the end result? Chapter 2, verse 26.
[33:13] Look at verse 26. And the child Samuel grew on and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men. Because of what he was taught by his mother, he had favor with the Lord and favor with men.
[33:29] Do you remember Luke chapter 2? You don't have to turn there. Luke chapter 2 is a chapter we always go to at Christmas time. You know, frontiers, born this day in the city of David, the Savior, which is Christ the Lord, comes from there.
[33:43] And all the thing about the shepherds and everything. The end of that chapter, chapter 2, verses 51 and 52. It talks about the fact that Jesus Christ grew in favor with God and man.
[33:58] Mary and Joseph were doing their job. Now, I want you to put all this together that we talked about this morning.
[34:09] The end, next slide. You're going to teach him about morality, how to deal with others, how to have a tender heart, how to have an honest faith, how to have effective communication and responsibility.
[34:23] There's the job of a mother. That's what your job is. It's to show them, teach them, train them, get them ready.
[34:35] How do I do that? Let me read you a little poem. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
[34:49] When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer and I knew that there was a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in him.
[35:01] When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I have to be responsible when I grow up.
[35:26] When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I want to be everything I could be. When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons.
[35:37] That I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up. When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.
[35:56] So all these things, how do we teach them best? Do them. Live them out. Show them in the way you live your life.
[36:10] Now, what song could I use to end this service? I wonder. 513. 513. I saw Jesus in you.
[36:22] 513.