[0:00] We're in the Proverbs chapter number one. I know last time we were in Proverbs 25 and we're going backwards a little bit, but I wanted to stay in our theme today. And I knew we'd have a good percentage of kids in here.
[0:12] And so kids, it's Mother's Day and I got a lesson for you tonight. And the title is Listen to Your Mama. All right. Tonight's lesson is Listen to Your Mama.
[0:22] It is sponsored in part by all the moms in the room today. I'm hoping that somebody will give me one of their crumble cookies as a result of doing this. And so Proverbs chapter number one, I'm going to read verse seven through nine.
[0:34] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck.
[0:48] I want to show you that last picture here, kids, if I could have a volunteer. All right. Hudson, why don't you come up here for me? Actually, Henry. Henry, you're always around the church. We got Henry up here.
[1:00] Henry's always around the church. All right. And Henry. So here we got Henry Penrod. Everybody, round of applause. All right. Thank you very much.
[1:11] We got this lanyard for Henry. So proud of him. I went to Greg's office. I couldn't find any wreaths in there or gold. Okay. We got a picture here. We're so proud of Henry. You did good today.
[1:22] One more round of applause for Henry. All right. There we go. And they're like, what was that about? All right. And so verse number nine, it says that, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck.
[1:35] That receiving something, that honor that was given is what this passage shows us that children could have. That honor and that grace that is placed upon them that was given to them.
[1:48] I want, how do we good, how would we do that? Not a lanyard, but how would we place that grace upon them? And so there's a saying that young people have. Every time I say that, the young people shake their head like, no, we don't.
[2:01] All right. Is that put some respect on that name. Okay. And so young people, you need to put some respect on that name when it comes to your moms and to your dads. But you need to put some respect on that name because in so doing, you can have an ornament of grace upon your head and chains about your neck.
[2:20] The attributes that you need in your life are going to come as you're obedient to God through your parents, obedient to God through your parents. Obedience to God comes through obedience through your family, for the structure that he has given to us to have.
[2:38] And so I wasn't ready for Proverbs 31. Mothers, maybe someday we're getting that way, but Proverbs 1 is a great passage as we think about your role in our lives. In 1 Kings chapter number 2, verse 19, we see something pretty neat.
[2:52] We see Solomon, his interaction with his mom. So here's Solomon, 1 Kings 2, verse 19. Bathsheba, therefore, went unto King Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah.
[3:04] And the king rose up to meet her. So the mom walks into the room, King Solomon, wisest man to live, over most of the world as we know it at this time. He's over this area.
[3:15] And so here's King Solomon, his mom walks into the room, he stands up and he bows himself unto her and he sat down on his throne and he calls the seat to be set for the king's mother.
[3:28] And she sat on his right hand. Guys, listen to this. He's the king. His mom walks in. He stands up to show her respect. He bows down and shows honor to her.
[3:41] He says, go get my mom a seat, people. All right. And set her right here beside me. All right. And the mom sat there right beside the king. He was putting some respect on her position that is there.
[3:52] I went to a Christian school the last two years and when an adult would walk into the room, we all had to stand. And when I first saw that, I just thought it was very weird. But I saw through the years of that, that it changed the way that we interacted with the adults because we were mindful that them coming into a room.
[4:10] I'm not trying to make this. If your moms want it, make it happen. Okay. I'm not saying to put this in practice, but that idea of showing respect to your parents or to an adult is something we see from the wisest man who had lived.
[4:26] And so we see that from him. Get a seat. He's shown respect. Even kings should stoop when their mothers enter a room. They should show respect. We see the care that Jesus gives for his mother during his ministry, even to the cross, to take care of my mother.
[4:43] John 4, 27 shows a distinction between the way that Jesus would think about women and the way the rest of the world would. It says, John 4, 27, upon this came his disciples and marveled that he would talk with the woman.
[4:57] Yet no man said, what seekest thou? Or why talkest thou with her? We should follow Jesus' example and treat women differently than the world would.
[5:08] When Jesus was sitting that day, that day with the woman at the well, people said there's just something unique and distinct about the way that he is speaking to her. There's something for us to learn and showing honor.
[5:21] So what are some of the implications of this? Genesis 5, 1 and 2. What are some implications of Genesis 5, 1 and 2? Which says, this is the book of the generations of Adam.
[5:31] In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him. Male and female created he them and blessed them and called their name Adam in the day when they were created.
[5:44] So what is the implications of women being made in the image of God? First off is that they are equal in personhood. Women are not less than men.
[5:57] And so Solomon's showing respect to his mother. Jesus is showing respect to the one at the well. That Jesus, the teachings of Jesus have always showed us that there is an equalness in personhood.
[6:09] You study history and you know what Christianity did in showing honor and respect and dignity to women, not less than men, which in the way we speak about them and the way that we treat them and the way that we honor them.
[6:23] I'm kind of reminiscing today of having Patrick up here, all right? And so in college, one of the nice things that a guy could do, gentlemen, listen here, okay? You guys that aren't married, take some notes here, Carson. You're going to need this, okay?
[6:33] And so in college, if you wanted to walk, you know, if you had an umbrella, you had a big umbrella, you could walk with the girl and you could walk her from her class to the next if it was raining. If you do that, you've made one friend.
[6:45] Well, me and my friend Dave Childers realized if you take the patio umbrellas out of the chairs, you could walk five or six girls and your odds are a lot better, okay? And so you could walk them the class.
[6:58] And they taught a lot about opening doors and doing things that are like that to show a dignity and respect to not treat them as less, which is the next one, equal and dignity.
[7:09] They should be honored. 1 Peter 2, 17, honor all men, and that's speaking of all mankind. We should honor all mankind, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
[7:22] We should give a dignity. We treat people with dignity regardless. There's not, because they're made in the image of God, regardless of what they've done, no matter what they've done, we always treat them. Right now, you know, we're praying that there's something going on with the Supreme Court when it comes to Roe versus Wade, and we as believers believe that all life has dignity, the born and the unborn.
[7:44] What does Jesus call an unborn person, and what does he call a born person? He called them both a baby. There is no difference between the two. There's a dignity there, but it also means that if a person has lived a life and made a series of bad mistakes, they still have dignity because they were made an image of our creator.
[8:01] And men, we need to show dignity and respect to ladies. A mutual respect means that men and women should be equally zealous to respect and honor each other.
[8:11] We should be looking to show respect and honor to the ladies in our lives. And harmony means that there should be a peaceful cooperation between men and women.
[8:22] It means that male and female will not try to duplicate each other, but will highlight each other with unique qualities that make for mutual enrichment. We believe that God had given us both responsibilities and privilege in this world, and that it's a wonderful thing, the way that he has made us, and the role and the responsibilities that we give all the way back in the beginning of creation.
[8:43] And we think that's a wonderful thing for us. And then we're unified in our destiny together. Equal enjoyment of understanding God's word and celebrating.
[8:54] 1 Peter 3, 7. Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.
[9:07] We are heirs together of the grace of life. And so we should study this Bible together. We should challenge each other in the Bible together. And we should rejoice in knowing what God has given us, not just in eternity, but now.
[9:20] But there's a sin that lies at the door. Genesis 4, 7 is the story of Cain and Abel. And there's a phrase in there that we see a couple chapters before. Genesis 4, 7 says this, If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted.
[9:34] This is God speaking unto Cain. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. See, Cain was so angry he could not be talked out of his sin, even by God.
[9:48] Eve, however, had to be talked into her sin by Satan. Cain belonged, 1 John 3, 12, to the evil one. It was said in his heart to destroy his brother, which was a natural man's solution to his own failure.
[10:02] Here, Cain, there was sin at the door, and he was going to act upon it. He was going to take the life of his brother. That sin at the door. And then Genesis 3, 16, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, and sorrow thou shall bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
[10:23] That same desire, that same phrase here, is that same understanding, is that there's sin at the door. Or inside of every family, there is this desire to not follow God's plan for that home, and it is to not honor God.
[10:41] God's telling the Cain, you would do well if you would listen, accept what I say, but he wouldn't, and he rebelled against it. So when sin has an upper hand in a woman's life, she'll desire to overpower, subdue, or exploit man.
[10:54] And when sin has an upper hand in man, he will respond in like manner, and with his strength subdue her, or rule over her. And so at every home, there's a sin that lies at the door to not live in the way that God has created us to live.
[11:07] So men, here's some practical implications. We should be men of integrity, building a world of nobility. That's a subtitle for a book I read recently. I just love that expression.
[11:18] Men of integrity, building a world of nobility. Ladies should be treated differently by us because we are men of God, because we are his children, and we should have a nobility about the way we treat our wives and the ladies in our lives, not just here, but especially here in the way we speak to them.
[11:37] And we should show respect for our mothers and women in our lives. Travis Snow said a great statement. He says, the world is growing. The growth population of this world is growing so quick, and 50% of all the growth is women.
[11:49] All right, he's genius, all right? Travis is a real thinker there, and he was talking about how women have to be studying to teach the Bible, because if we're going to be prepared for the growth in any city or any country, then women have to be prepared to teach the Bible, because 50% of all growth will be of women.
[12:06] And we should do all that we can to help make sure that they're prepared to minister to them, primarily by helping make sure our sisters in Christ are equipped to teach God's Word. So Proverbs, in these passages here, let's look at five things real quickly in the next five minutes or so.
[12:22] Families are God's ideas, God's plan. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Solomon takes for granted that that is God's original plan.
[12:34] He made man and woman, and then he made a covenant where they would be one flesh. The family is God's idea. I am grateful to have been raised by a wonderful single mother, but she knew that I needed strong male influences in my life, and so she was very dedicated to church.
[12:51] She made sure that she got me to whatever I needed to go to so that I could have that opportunity to see what it meant to be a Christian man and also to learn from the ladies in the church, and I'm grateful for that.
[13:02] A Christian family life is a work of God's Spirit. Being not drunk with wine, wearing his excess, but being filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5.18, and then it goes on to say that we should submit ourselves one to another.
[13:14] And so it takes the work of the Spirit for the husband and the wife to mutually love and to respect each other and for the obedience of children and the nurturing by parents. It's a work of the Spirit to have a family work the way that it's supposed to, but that is God's plan for the raising of children.
[13:31] Families are God's primary means of instruction for children. My son, hear instruction of thy father, and then of the mother, forsake not the law. Kids don't come into the world with many natural skills.
[13:42] They have to be taught, right? They can close their eyes. They can cry. That's about it, all right? They're not going to do much. They don't have any nunchuck skills, you know. They don't have any hunting skills. They can't identify 27 kinds of snakes like Hudson, Bush over there.
[13:55] Everything that they're going to learn about survival in life is going to happen. They're going to have to be instructed. And the family is God's primary means of instruction. We have, there's different choices about education inside of this room, and we make those decisions.
[14:11] But every one of us, regardless of what kind of schooling our kids have, believe and must believe that the family is the primary means of instruction for children. It can't be outsourced, all right?
[14:24] It can't be outsourced. I think about my neighbor at our old house. We'd drop the kids off at the bus, and he would say, all right, now they belong to the state. And he would turn around and I would say, Matt, you've got to stop saying that, okay?
[14:34] My kids never belong to anybody but to me and my wife, okay? And so it's, you never can negate that responsibility in the instructions of your kids, regardless of what other ways you get help in the instruction of your kids.
[14:49] It will always be your responsibility. The foundation for families is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. The theme for fathers and mothers is instruction.
[15:01] It isn't just where they learn manners and how to do hard work, but it's learning where they reverence God, to stand in awe of Him, and to trust Him. Everybody wants a happy home, but few people want a purposeful home, a home with a mission and a destiny that's more than just satisfying us.
[15:16] We often want a quiet home. We want a peaceful home. But peaceful doesn't mean led by the Spirit. It just means something where nothing intrudes on us, you know, where life's easy, where I don't have to get out of my hammock, that kind of life.
[15:29] That's what I'm aiming for. But that isn't what God has called the family for. God has called us to be a training ground to provide instructions for them. Jesus desires to be Lord of our lives.
[15:40] He died for that purpose, Romans 14, 9. For this end, Christ both died, rose, and revived, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Inside of the home, there has to be learned a fear of the Lord, and they have to learn that Jesus is Lord and how to submit to Him.
[15:57] And then fathers and mothers share distinct responsibilities. My son, hear the instruction of the Father, forsake not the law of the mother. Same theme, different lessons here. They both have discipleship responsibilities.
[16:09] You know, Paul talks about Timothy. And Timothy, in 2 Timothy 1, 5, he had been raised by Lois and Eunice. And then later on, when Paul's speaking to him, says, continue in what you have learned, knowing from whom you have learned it.
[16:24] He was pointing back to the home. You know, he didn't point back to anything else. And so many of us are blessed in here to just be continuing in the things that we've been taught at home. And if that's not your case, it can start with you.
[16:36] This is going to be the generation of people in your family that receive Christian instruction at home. Children are commanded to hear and embrace the teachings of their mom and dad. And all God's parents said, amen, right?
[16:48] And so my son, hear the instruction of the Father, forsake not the law. Two different forms of rebellion addressed here. The one is listening while you're at home. Listen. And the other one has to do when you leave home, which is not forsake.
[16:59] Sometimes I'll tell my kids to go do something in another room. And they'll take off before I even tell them what to do. I'll say, go to the other room. And I start to tell them all the things to do. But by the time I get to it, they're already in the other room.
[17:11] And because they've done the first thing that I said. And that's a living picture for me where I think, is my kids going to leave before I have a chance to give them all the instructions?
[17:22] Am I going to tell them the things that they need to know? Because it's coming so very quick. And I don't want them to be in the other room with me not having given them all the instructions I'm supposed to give them.
[17:33] I don't want them on the other side of the town, on the other side of this world with me saying, I wish I would have had this opportunity. And so children receiving instruction is dependent on us giving instruction, right?
[17:45] Children are told to receive instruction. That's one part of it. They're only able to receive if we are giving. So it's also a command to us. It's such conviction to me. Because I can put a lot of time in the preparation to speak to you and your kids and give instruction.
[18:05] And then I can often just kind of wing my instruction to my kids. And that's not what should happen. I should put intent and thought into the instructions I'm going to give my kids.
[18:16] I should have object lessons. I should have field trips. I should have preparation. It doesn't have to look like a curriculum, but it means that before I deal with something, I should take time and prepare to do that.
[18:30] We should invest in learning how to teach and personal growth and mentoring. Greg bought me a book while he was at the conference last week, How to Teach Middle Schoolers. And I thought, oh, this is really good.
[18:41] I need to give this to somebody as we start this new middle school program in the fall. And I thought, no, you're about to have three middle schoolers. You need to read the book because you're teaching middle schoolers and you need to get better at it.
[18:53] You know, you've got to learn how to be cool. Things like show some respect on that, you know. No, you don't need to be cool. All right. It's give up. There's nothing uncooler than an older person trying to look cool.
[19:03] That's what I have learned many years ago. And so, kids here, receiving instruction for parents is a wonderful thing. We're told to withhold not correction of children and that we are supposed to instruct them in the way that they should go.
[19:17] Proverbs 23. And then lastly, receiving teaching from your parents is a wonderful blessing in your life. Kids, receiving instruction from your parents is a wonderful blessing.
[19:29] For they, the parents' teaching, shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck. You may not feel like it's a gold medal that you're receiving.
[19:40] But in Ephesians, it says that this is the first commandment with promise. There are other commandments with promise, but he says this is the first one. The life that you want to live, the joy that you want to find in Jesus, all the things that you're dreaming about, about your future and living out for God, they're going to start with you and your ability to listen to your parents.
[20:00] For the fear of the Lord tendeth the life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied, and he shall not be visited with evil. The fear of the Lord is strong confidence. Children shall have a place of refuge.
[20:12] Proverbs 14, 26. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death. Parents should be teaching primary lesson, the fear of the Lord. Lots of lessons that come out of it, but what is the major theme of your childhood?
[20:25] If you were to put it up on the bulletin board, and this is our primary teaching for this quarter, every quarter, it's the fear of the Lord. Honor and reverence, and you're teaching that to the kids.
[20:36] And they're supposed to be receiving this because it tends to their life. It keeps them from being visited by evil. And so today, before I pray, we have an opportunity to give a great gift to our mothers, kids.
[20:48] All right? Some of you little ones in here, you didn't get your mom anything, and you need to listen up, okay? You need to listen up. I'm going to tell you a way that you can give a gift for your mom. And in one way, it's going to cost you nothing.
[21:00] And in another way, it's going to cost you everything. All right? And that is Proverbs 23, 25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bear thee shall rejoice. If you honor God in fear, it will cause your mom and dad to be able to rejoice.
[21:15] And that's the gift, the greatest gift that you could give them. And you'd say, well, it isn't really about paying me back. I might argue with you. 1 Timothy 5, 4. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home and to equate their parents.
[21:29] For this is good and acceptable before God. And so this word right here in 1 Timothy 5, 4, this equate their parents is make appropriate return for a favor of service or wrongdoing.
[21:44] Meaning that your parents have instructed you, and you should take care of them. And it was saying here in 1 Timothy 5, 4, is that if there was a widow here, the children ought to take care of her as a result and as a response to all the years of dedication she had poured in to them.
[22:02] And so you can think of paying back as being unloving. But here in this passage, it's not. It's a wonderful thing. We have an obligation to them because of their investment.
[22:13] And then before I pray, regardless, we should thank God for the role of our mother in the spiritual formation. Proverbs 23, 22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not the mother when she is old.
[22:26] And we should be very grateful for the mothers and the dads in our lives who have given us instruction. And if you didn't have that in your life, you very likely have a testimony of other people.
[22:38] When they stepped out, somebody else in your life stepped up for that. And you can be that for other people. So before I pray, and we go home, and some of you will go on and get ready for school, let me listen to, let me remind you one last time, is that listening to your parents is going to adorn you.
[22:57] It's going to put on you the things that you need for growing up. It is going to put that grace on you that you need. And to not listen to mom and dad is to step out of that umbrella of protection.
[23:10] And it says that you'll be visited by even when bad things will come. So that dream that you're having of growing up and fulfilling all those things that you have, the first step that you can take in it is listen to your mama.
[23:22] All right? And so I would encourage you to do that. And those of us that are older in here, it ought to be shown in living out what we have been taught. Even if our mothers have passed away, you can still show honor to them by living that out.
[23:37] And what they have taught you, teach the next generation. Let's pray that we'll be dismissed. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the instructions that we have received. Lord, I know there's many different stories in here.
[23:49] But there's many of us, Lord, that have received strong instruction from godly mothers and godly dads. And we thank you for that. And then, Lord, where that was missing, that you put people into our lives that stepped in and filled that role.
[24:03] And I'm grateful for it. Thank you that these kids in this church are receiving instruction. And there's many people that work hard at giving it and teaching. But none of that will make any difference, Lord, if they have not decided in their heart that they are going to receive it.
[24:17] That they are going to commit themselves to listening to the instructions by their parents and being obedient to it. And they do this, Lord, for your honor and for your glory.
[24:29] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.