Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/pbclincoln/sermons/71893/legacy-of-a-godly-mother/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] As we look at a mother's legacy and some elements with it, you know, as we celebrate moms today.! You know, it's important to set aside that time to do that.

[0:16] You know, moms make an important impact upon society, upon nations, upon even the legacy, the direction of the future, and the impact that they have is great.

[0:31] And so this morning we're going to take just a few moments here to look at a few things as we consider a mother's legacy, because the reality is every mom leaves a legacy to her children.

[0:45] You know, a legacy is tied directly to her life and to her influence as a mom, and every mom will shape the lives of her children.

[0:58] The real question is, is what kind of legacy will she leave? Because we choose what kind of legacy we're going to leave.

[1:09] We choose those things by what we do and how we do them, how we choose to address things. You know, her presence and her decisions form the lives of her children and even the atmosphere of her home.

[1:26] And it's easy to look at just the routine tasks sometimes. You know, moms teach a lot of routine tasks. You ever consider some of the routine tasks that moms teach through the years?

[1:38] I mean, they teach kids how to get dressed. They teach them when they're real little. They work with them on how to eat, you know. They work with them on how to dress. Just little things like washing your hands or etiquette like saying thank you and please.

[1:55] I mean, those are all sorts of little minute details that get taught along the way. And we find here that they teach them also to be grateful, you know, and just to share, you know.

[2:08] Things that they have, you know, sharing and caring and the legacy she leaves on her family will not be fully realized sometimes until years down the road. Because the thing about a legacy, a legacy isn't determined in the moment.

[2:24] A legacy is determined looking back of what happened before, how it impacts the present and the future. And I think we're going to look this morning here in Proverbs 31, we find a picture of a godly mother who does some things.

[2:42] I think we're going to look at some specific things here this morning. When it talks here about just like speaking wisely, you know. How somebody speaks impacts others around them.

[2:55] You know, when we think about how faithfulness is displayed. You know, the influence on her family and these critical elements to leave a good legacy are bound up in that.

[3:08] A legacy that reflects God's love and shapes her children's and her grandchildren's future. You know, we're going to look here today specifically at moms, but hopefully in the next few weeks we're going to be talking some for the next few weeks about family.

[3:24] And the different elements within family. And we're going to finish up on Father's Day talking about dads. So when dads are here, just buckle up, we'll get there, okay? But because it's one of those things, both of us together, moms and dads both impact the family.

[3:42] But today we're going to talk specifically about moms. We're going to talk about some important elements here. So if you found Proverbs chapter 31 this morning, let's stand together and look here in verse 26.

[3:55] As we see the word of God here, it says this. It says, Let's pray.

[4:19] Heavenly Fathers, we just take a few moments here this morning to look into your word, Lord, about just even a godly mother and the legacy and the impact of a mom.

[4:29] Lord, we pray just would help our hearts and minds to realize the importance of this responsibility, this blessing that you've given. Lord, the importance of a godly mother's influence.

[4:43] Lord, and how it even ripples throughout generations. It shapes families and communities. Lord, we just ask that you'd be faithful here today, Lord, and to encourage moms and even dads and just even kids to realize the importance of these things.

[5:02] Lord, just let us know what to do and how to bear fruit for you through these things. Lord, help a legacy to not be one that's negative, but Lord, help us to build a positive legacy with our lives.

[5:17] And Lord, we just ask it all in your precious name. Amen. May you be seated. You know, we see here that Scripture's filled with moms. You know, if you start reading through Scripture, it doesn't take long.

[5:31] You come across the first mom right away. You know, you come across Eve. You know, the Bible says the mother of all living. And we find Eve, and then you go down through.

[5:41] I mean, you can just find moms listed throughout the Scripture. The list keeps growing. The more you dig into it, the more you find different ones. And each of them left an impact and a legacy behind.

[5:56] You know, when you read through the books of the Kings and the Chronicles, you know, you'll find there, as we've been studying the Kings on Wednesday night, you'll notice something, that God often lists the mother of the king.

[6:10] And that mother oftentimes has a direct impact on the direction the king takes. That legacy is tied together.

[6:22] You know, we see the legacy in their children. You find that even as you get into Exodus, you know, you have a mom by the name of Jochebed who left quite a legacy through her children.

[6:33] You know, when you consider one of which was Moses. You know, she left a legacy through that of what she taught him when he was young, impacted throughout time.

[6:47] What she did, her legacy, you might say, impacts us today. You know, moms have a greater impact than they realize and the importance of it.

[6:58] You know, then you think about Naomi who left a legacy through her daughter-in-law, Ruth, the mother of Obed, who then had Jesse and then David.

[7:08] I mean, you think about the impact of that. And then you have even a mom by the name of Jedidiah, you know, another one that you don't hear much, the mother of Josiah, king of Israel who turned the nation back to God, went from being evil to good on the influence of a mom.

[7:28] That influence and that legacy is real. And we find here that, yes, moms, you've been given a great opportunity to leave a legacy, a godly heritage for not just today, but for the ones to come.

[7:48] You know, oftentimes today we get pretty short-sighted. You ever notice we live in a short-sighted society? We want to know how it impacts the next hour. We want to know how it impacts just the next day.

[8:01] But when we look at Scripture, we realize God wants us to understand how does it impact long-term. What's the impact and direction of our choices today and how it's going to impact a generation or two down the road?

[8:16] You know, today in our society, we are facing issues because of decisions that moms and dads made one or two generations ago. We're living a legacy that somebody left us.

[8:32] The real question is, how do you leave a legacy that's not negative or going away from God, but how do we leave a legacy that's going towards God? How do you change up those things?

[8:45] And I think today we see here in Proverbs, God gives us some examples of some things of how to be a godly mom, and it often is related of being a godly woman because the two are tied together.

[9:02] Because a godly mother leaves a legacy, a legacy that impacts generations. And so as we see here, let's take a look at our text here, and we see here a godly mother here teaches with wisdom.

[9:19] Wisdom. You know, wisdom here, notice in verse 26, it tells us this. It says, She openeth her mouth with what? Wisdom. Wisdom.

[9:32] A wise mother realizes the power of her words. You know, what we say directly impacts people. How we say it impacts people.

[9:46] You can say the right thing the wrong way and still get in trouble, you know? It doesn't take very long in a relationship. You can say the right thing, but say it with the wrong tone, and it gets received totally differently.

[9:58] That's wisdom is to understand not only to say the right thing, but to have the right things attached to it. To understand how is it being received? How is it being understood?

[10:11] That wisdom that is there a wise mother realizes the power of her words because words do some things. Words will either build up or words will destroy.

[10:23] Words will encourage or discourage. Words are powerful instruments that God gives us. Words carry instruction. They carry guidance.

[10:34] A wise mom here, notice what it tells us here. She opened her mouth with what? Wisdom. Wisdom. In other words, not randomly, but selectively.

[10:49] You know, our words need to be measured. Our words have a great impact on the legacy that we leave. They prioritize in her teaching.

[11:02] A wise mother prioritizes her teaching. You know, we teach our kids many things about life. You know, oftentimes, I want you to understand, we need to teach a lot of things.

[11:16] You know, you teach your kids as they grow up. You teach them everything from how to tie their shoes. You know, practical life skills. We teach them how to handle money.

[11:27] We teach them even how to look for what they love to do in life and to build those things. We have a list of all sorts of things that you teach them.

[11:39] Many of those, I want you to understand, they're not unimportant, but those are things that are just basic functions and not legacy. Because legacy goes beyond them being successful in the worldly mindset.

[11:58] I want you to understand, these things might be beneficial in general, but the wisest moms teach their children to be wise, not in their own eyes, after their own things.

[12:12] You know, the Bible speaks about different types of wisdom. You know, we find in 1 Corinthians here, a list of different ones you find here in 1 Corinthians 1.26, it talks about being wise after the flesh.

[12:27] You know, some people are very shrewd individuals. They're wide after the flesh. Or the next one we find here, wise in the world. You know, the Bible speaks that you can be wise in the flesh.

[12:40] You can be, that's dealing with people. We can be wise in the world. That's the dynamic of being good in business or understanding things. You know, those things, there might not necessarily be anything wrong with them because you need to be wise about the world around us.

[12:57] But the reality is we want to, if you're going to leave a lasting legacy that makes a difference, you need to be wise in Christ. You know, we can have our kids wise according to the flesh, wise according to the world, but they're not wise about the things of Christ.

[13:14] We've left the wrong legacy. The legacy that we leave is important. You know, we can teach our kids how to get the most out of the world and get the most things according to the flesh, knowing how to navigate all the things of life.

[13:30] We can leave children who look successful on the outside but empty on the inside. You know, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 15 tells us this, so that you see ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.

[13:44] It says a mom opens her mouth with what? Wisdom. What kind of wisdom are you imparting? Are you giving the right kind of wisdom that leaves the right legacy?

[13:57] You know, consider a man in Scripture mentions his moms, a young man Timothy, his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois who left a godly legacy to him.

[14:12] You know, take a look over at 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1, you find here in verse 5, the Scripture talks about this and Paul says, when I call to remembrance that unfeigned faith that is in thee.

[14:27] Where did Timothy get that unfeigned faith? From the wise instruction of his mom and his grandmother. A direct impact, a direct correlation, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that is in thee also.

[14:49] That unfeigned faith. You know what? There's a couple of wise moms that said my legacy is not immediate. My legacy is where things go.

[15:02] The direction things go after me. What do you leave behind? What's the direction that is there? They understood the importance of godly wisdom both for themselves and for their children.

[15:19] You know, I want you to look, take a look over in Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs 1 and verse 7, when we consider the Bible says this, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but the fools despise wisdom and instruction.

[15:34] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The Bible also says it's the beginning of wisdom because if we don't put God in the right place, things get out of order.

[15:46] When we get God out of order, the problem is that sometimes as parents, God becomes second or third instead of in the first spot. If they're wise in Christ, it makes a big difference how they're wise in the flesh and wise in the world because that's the driving factor and filter through which they filter it.

[16:08] But if you're wise in the world and wise in the flesh and you filter Christ through those things, it changes. Because what's the first priority that we have of what we're teaching them makes a difference.

[16:21] You know, when you talk about those words, you know, how is this accomplished? This is important in accomplishment because oftentimes we find today, notice the next part of this verse, because these two are tied together because one deals with the information, the other deals with the attitude attached to it.

[16:41] It says, in her tongue is the law of kindness. In her tongue is the law of kindness. Now, let's talk a little bit about what that means because as a mom, how you say something and what you say makes a difference.

[16:58] The same applies for dads, but you know what? Oftentimes today, we find that people get upset and they start speaking through bitterness. They begin speaking through anger.

[17:09] You can speak through resentment. Those are some dangerous things in families, in relationships, because we're saying, I didn't get what I deserved.

[17:19] And the problem with bitterness, anger, and resentment, it focus becomes us instead of what we need to be focused upon. And what we're passing to the next generation is a bunch of angry, upset individuals.

[17:35] We passed a legacy counter to what we wanted. You know, I've yet to meet a mom that says, I want to raise the most angry, bitter, and resentful children I can.

[17:49] You know, if your mom said that, how would you look at them? You'd say, man, there's something wrong with you. But the reality is, if we don't open our mouth with kindness, having the right spirit and the right attitude, you can say the right things the wrong way, you end up with a different result.

[18:07] The law of kindness, literally here, this law of kindness means the practicing of mercy, both in words and in deeds.

[18:18] Because a wise mom controls her tongue and refrains from speaking things that don't need to be spoken. You know, sometimes it's not what you say, it's what you don't say that makes an impact.

[18:30] People get in trouble because they say, I'm just going to speak my mind. I won't ask for a show of hands on that one. But have you ever stopped to consider what do you leave behind when you speak your mind?

[18:42] What have you instructed? What have you taught? It might make you feel better, but you know what you did? You did more damage to your legacy. The importance of it. Take a look at a few verses here. You know, think about Proverbs 15.

[18:53] Proverbs 15 in verse 1 says, A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. Consider Proverbs 21. It says, Whosoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

[19:05] Let me sum this up for you. Let me put it this way. Just because it rolls through the mind doesn't mean it has to come out the mouth. We get ourselves in a lot of trouble when our filter opens up and runs restricted.

[19:19] Wisdom in words. You know, a godly mother is concerned about how she is using her words. Are they words that are building the things that are needed or are they words who are tearing down things?

[19:32] It's critical to grab a hold of these things. While it's important to instruct our children how to navigate life, it's critical that we teach them to do so in light of the life to come.

[19:45] And that's before Christ. To be focused on the right things. You know, as a mom, I want to encourage you, you know, are the words you use, are they pointing and displaying God's wisdom or are they just displaying worldly wisdom?

[19:59] Are you speaking life and truth into the lives of those around you? Or are you speaking things that tear down because life isn't going the way you thought it ought to go?

[20:11] Dangerous things. God speaks about a wise woman. A godly woman doesn't tear down but builds up. The use of words is important.

[20:22] It tells us there, she opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is the law of kindness. And look at this, verse 27, she looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness.

[20:37] A godly mother models faithfulness. She looketh well to the ways of her household. You know, in other words, she's concerned what kind of legacy, what kind of things are going on in my life, what direction are they going?

[20:52] You know, that's some good things for all of us, isn't it? To take a look and see what am I doing? What direction is it traveling? What things have I invested in?

[21:03] What things have I prioritized? How am I being faithful to the right things? Because a godly mother pays attention to what's happening in her household. You know, when it speaks here of looking well, looketh well, the term here isn't just looking in the immediate.

[21:20] When you look up this term in the Hebrew, it carries about looking into the future. In other words, it's this way. It's not just knowing what road I'm on, it's knowing where the road takes me.

[21:31] Because sometimes we can know where we're at, but we don't realize what's at the end of the road. We need to be careful. The Bible tells us that sometimes we can be on a road that seems right to us, but it leads to destruction.

[21:42] Just because you think you're on the right road or you know what road, think you know what road you're on, the only way you truly know is to know where it ends up. You need to look out to see where is it taking me.

[21:53] These things apply into our life. It's looking in the distance to see what is needed to arrive at the right destination. Then responding by teaching and modeling what's needed.

[22:06] A godly mom is she's faithful both in the things of God and to her family. Faithfulness is revealed through consistency. Consistency is intentional.

[22:16] It takes discipline because we always have to remember something. To say yes to one thing means you're automatically saying no to something else. If you agree to go this direction, you cannot go this direction.

[22:28] I mean, that's just simple understanding. To say yes to one thing means you're saying no to something else. The question is, what are you saying yes to and what are you saying no to?

[22:39] The importance of faithfulness to look down the road. You know, children learn from watching how their parents respond. You know, sometimes you don't realize our kids learn more through our adversity than they do through our advantage.

[22:57] I want you to understand that sometimes we think that we have all the things we can give them. We can provide. But you know what? Sometimes kids learn the most to see how you deal with adversity when it's tough.

[23:10] The problem is oftentimes that gets us in trouble in this part of faithfulness is the first part, our words. Because instead of thinking how is this affecting, what direction is it taking me, how am I going to be faithful to these things, we let loose of things that gets us in trouble.

[23:26] Takes us in alternate direction. You know, what do our kids need to see? They need to hear and see a direction that their future choices are going to make.

[23:38] You know, it's been said that it's more caught than taught. to see things play out. To say something than to do something. And to have the say and the do match up makes a difference.

[23:53] It changes the perspective. You know, think about another mom in scripture. Over in 1 Samuel chapter 1, you have a mom by the name of Hannah. She was without child and prayed to God that he would give her a child.

[24:06] God gave her a child and the child's name was Samuel. Samuel. They dedicated this child to the Lord and they gave him to the Lord. Verse 28 of chapter 1 of 1 Samuel says, Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord and he worshipped the Lord there.

[24:26] I want you to understand she was willing to say my child that God has blessed me with I'm willing to dedicate the direction of that child. To say I'm going to give them to the Lord for what they would have.

[24:41] To do what God would have in their life. But I want you to see here she didn't just leave it there. Look over at 1 Samuel chapter 2 for a moment.

[24:52] 1 Samuel chapter 2 look down at verse 19 because Hannah didn't just make a one time commitment she was faithful in looking at the direction and continuing that direction.

[25:06] Because it says moreover his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. In other words she had some consistency and faithfulness to what she had committed to do.

[25:21] She didn't just make a commitment and forget it she was faithful to fulfill it year by year. You know often times that's important because life isn't made in a day life and legacy is made year by year by year.

[25:38] She demonstrated faithfulness and commitment to God's plan. You know consider another one we already talked a little bit about Jochebed the mother of Moses there in Exodus chapter 2.

[25:49] Now here's a mom who faced an impossible decision. You know as I read through Exodus chapter 2 as a parent I'm thinking you know that's a tough choice. How do I save the life of my child? That's an impossible decision for a parent.

[26:01] Walking through those things seem impossible but her faithfulness in a very difficult situation allowed Moses to be grounded in the knowledge of the Lord because if you remember she put him out in the bulrushes and who came by?

[26:16] You know Pharaoh's daughter comes by and she finds him and she takes him in and then Moses' sister's there and she says well let me go get somebody to take care of him.

[26:27] Who's she go get? She go get his mom. You know we read that story sometimes and we see how it turned out but I want you to think for a moment where she was in the moment. That took a lot of faith. It took a lot of faith to continue instructing him.

[26:39] She was faithful. The Bible tells us that what Moses learned as a young man stayed with him throughout his life.

[26:50] How did he understand what sin was? Hebrews tells us that he chose not to enjoy the things and the privileges of Egypt.

[27:00] He didn't get that in the Egyptian school. The only place he could have got it was from his mom. What a legacy. It's not easy to be faithful especially when life doesn't seem to make sense right now.

[27:13] You know when life doesn't make sense I want to encourage you that's the time to be the most faithful. To stick even harder. To hold on even tighter.

[27:24] To the things that you know are right. To be faithful to what we know God has given us and how God has guided us. You know this morning are you looking long term to where you need to go or are you caught in the madness of today?

[27:40] A godly mom looks beyond today to where does this take us tomorrow? Where is this going? You know it's been said that what you teach your children today will be how they live tomorrow.

[27:52] The choices that they make. But notice here also as we find here in the scripture we see something else. It says her children rise up and call her blessed. You know there is a benefit to investing in a lasting legacy.

[28:08] The benefit of this lasting legacy a godly mother leaves a lasting legacy. Her children arise up and call her blessed.

[28:19] A mother's influence is seen in the lives of her children. Her children arise that is they are successful and continue to follow the Lord. They know their direction and what they ought to do.

[28:30] Their direction will bring joy and happiness to their mother because her influence has extended beyond herself. You know moms do a lot to invest in their children.

[28:43] Being a mom takes effort takes intention. One of the greatest joy is to see the outcome. The outcome is your reward. To rise up and call you blessed.

[28:53] You know I want you to understand this isn't what you did yesterday and you get people applaud you the next day. This is what you did early in life comes back and benefits you late in life.

[29:08] There's a longevity. There's a time frame here. Oftentimes we want to do what makes us look good today instead of looking what's going to make the most benefit and be the most gracious and loving thing we can do for them in the future because their direction will bring joy and happiness.

[29:32] You know today our goal ought to be to raise your children that they grow up to be godly adults and pass the truth of God's word onto the next generation. Oftentimes today we get caught up how much money can I get my kids to make?

[29:45] There's nothing wrong. The Bible tells us there's nothing wrong with making money. There's nothing wrong with having money unless it's out of the wrong priority because God blesses us with resources that we might bless others.

[29:58] The same reality it's nothing wrong with equipping them for that but if you miss the point of reality of what they're going to do with Christ you've missed the boat because you've raised children who are wise according to the flesh wise according to the world and may very well spend an eternity separated from God.

[30:16] They may look successful on the outside but it'd be a failure in legacy because they don't know how to love the Lord. They don't know God's wisdom. You know we mentioned earlier the example of Naomi and her influence on Ruth.

[30:33] You know Ruth was a Moabite. She had married into the family. Ruth's decision to follow the Lord because of Naomi's testimony and legacy impacted everything.

[30:45] It impacted us today. Through her lineage came Christ. That's a lasting legacy. It was through her legacy that we find that Ruth was redeemed by Boaz the kinsman redeemer.

[30:57] You know you can see the picture sometime when you read through our study Ruth you can find out the implications of that. But we ought to consider the legacy that we're leaving for our children. how you can invest in their spiritual growth and character.

[31:12] Are you wise in what you're teaching them? You know Proverbs 9.10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. You know this morning we're talking about the legacy of a godly mom but these principles apply for all of us.

[31:27] But directly to a mom it impacts a great legacy because moms have been given a special place and a special influence. in the life of their children.

[31:39] Don't squander the blessing that God's given you. Build a legacy that makes a difference. You know keep in mind that before you can be a godly influence to your children you first understand who God is who you are and what he's done for you.

[31:55] You know earlier we spoke of two moms and the influence on a young man named Timothy. It tells us a little later in 2 Timothy chapter 3 it says this in verse 14 but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them and that from a child thou hast known what the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

[32:21] One of the greatest things you can do as a mom is to lead your children to Christ. To point the reality of who Jesus is. You know the Bible reveals to us and for us what God has done and true wisdom begins when we understand that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that our sin has earned us a wage of eternity without God an eternal separation.

[32:46] The Bible calls it death. It's an eternal separation to a place called hell. When we look in the distance I don't know of a mom that says that's where I want my children to go but what are you doing to lead them in the right direction?

[33:00] What are you doing to invest in those things to be faithful? This morning it's important because your children if you do those things will rise up and call you blessed.

[33:10] That's the legacy. The legacy is what comes after the investment. The investment of time the investment of controlling our tongue and what we teach and how we teach it. We need to understand the importance of even teaching them the scripture.

[33:27] Romans 10 tells us so faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Those things are important this morning. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior there's no greater day than today because that's the foundation of everything we're talking about.

[33:42] Because if you don't know Christ the rest becomes irrelevant. To trust him to know that he is the one that took your sin. He is the one that when you know him as savior says that he's the author and giver of wisdom that helps us know how to walk through the challenges of building a godly legacy.

[34:01] Maybe today you need to commit to leave a legacy of faith to your children. What do you need to do to be intentional about teaching wisdom and modeling faithfulness and building a lasting legacy?

[34:16] The reality of the legacy of a godly mom. As heads are bowed and eyes are closed this morning let's just take a moment.

[34:27] Maybe the Lord spoke to you today about some things. The message was directed towards moms but in reality the principles apply to all of us to the choices that we make.

[34:38] Maybe the Lord spoke to you about some things and decisions because today you can't change the past but you can change the direction of the future by the choices of today. If the Lord spoke to you I encourage you to spend some time with him.

[34:51] Heavenly fathers we just come before you this morning Lord we just thank you for the opportunity Lord we know that your spirit's working upon each heart each life here today. Lord that we might be encouraged and strengthened Lord that we might look to your wisdom your wisdom as the priority of those things that we pass to the next generation.

[35:14]  Lord I pray just have your hand upon each heart each life here today that we might draw close to you realizing that our relationship with you sets a direction for the legacy we desire and Lord we just ask it all in your precious name as the piano plays with you and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord and Lord