MOTHERS DAY 2016 Proverbs 31: LAST YEAR WE LOOKED AT the heart of a mom using Matthew 15: We opened up the heart of a Mother and found it

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1 MOTHERS DAY 2016 Proverbs 31: LAST YEAR WE LOOKED AT the heart of a mom using Matthew 15: We opened up the heart of a Mother and found it to be Caring, Discerning, Helpful, Persistent & Full of Faith. All those things found in Godly mothers are what God expects. Have you ever given thought to what the child expects from the Mother? Used many times especially for Mothers day, let us look to the scriptures to Proverbs 31: for our text: 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. Today I want us to take a look at some expectations that children have of their mother. This month, my mother has been promoted to glory 33 years. It was way too young in my opinion that God should call her home at 61, but then again, He has a plan for all our lives. Ecc 3 says; A TIME TO LIVE AND A TIME TO DIE. I think back now of when I was her small child and I try to remember what was it exactly that I expected from my mother? Maybe these thoughts will strike a cord in your heart. Maybe you too had some expectations of your mother. First of all, Children expect Mothers love and care. Is that too much to ask? After all, it wasn t the child s decision to come into this world, it was their mother and fathers decision. So to ask that ones mother love and care for then is a very sensible expectation wasn t it? The Bible teaches that we are to Love one another as Jesus loved us and gave His life for us. If the Bible teaches that, why shouldn t a child also have that expectation of their mother, for them? My Mother demonstrated her love and care in so many ways. She always seemed to be there for me when I was picked on by the school bullies or one of my three sisters. She always seemed to know just what to say and just about the time that I was about to fall apart, she would know just when to pull me into her arms and say, that s ok, I love you and everything is going to be alright. And you know what? It almost always was after that. That s just like the Lord isn t it? He too has a way of drawing us close to Him and giving us that love and comfort that as long as we are in His arms, everything will be alright. One example from the Bible of a Mother that demonstrated her love and care was the widow of Zarephath found in the book of 1 Kings 17:8-9 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. She was a Mother, and a widow who was in a foreign land near starvation when a man of God named Elijah under the direction of God arrived on the scene and asked her for water and

2 bread. He asked a starving widow for sustenance and she obeyed the Lord s command and the prophets request and provided her very last morsel of food and drew water for him to drink. She loved the Lord enough to do as he said, and she demonstrated her care for the work of the Lord through her sacrifice. The Lord provided her and her son and the prophet with oil, bread and water until the rains came and replenished the land. My Mother cared for me too. If I was sick, she was there with some home remedy that, if it didn t kill me, it made me well. She knew just what the dr would have done, and other than stitches, she knew just how to treat all my illnesses. There was that one time that she tried to save a few dollars and give me a haircut. Well, after that, I wasn t sure she really cared about my appearance or not. She somehow always managed to be at the band concerts, the parades, the ROTC drills and my swim meets always on time and even acted like she enjoyed it when I practiced the trumpet indoors. I expected my mother to love and care for me and she did. She demonstrated her humility by always putting others first, including the children. That s what I expected and saw in my mother and I suppose children today have the same expectations of their mother too. I am thankful that she learned those characteristics from my heavenly father. He is still displaying His love and care towards me today. I remember well the poem that one of our children here at CLC, Corey Vernon, wrote for her mommy at the ripe old age of ten. Her work was published by the Seth Foundation in a little book of poems called Many.. Many.. Moms. Corey Vernon wrote; MOMMIES ARE VERY, VERY NICE THEY ARE ALL MADE OF SUGAR AND SPICE. YOU CAN NEVER MEASURE THEIR LOVE I THINK MOMMIES ARE SENT FROM GOD ABOVE THEY CARE FOR YOU WITH ALL THEIR HEART THEY ARE VERY, VERY SMART I THINK THEY MAKE A GOOD FRIEND THEIR LOVE WILL NEVER END THEY ALWAYS DO WHAT S RIGHT THEY ALWAYS ARE VERY BRIGHT WHEN WE ARE CRYING THEY WILL NEVER START SIGHING

3 AND THEY ARE NICE Secondly; Children expect their mother to know the Lord and love Him. I was saved at the age of 13 and I wanted the rest of the world to be saved too. There was a revival coming to our church and the Evangelist had a contest for the ones who brought the most visitors to attend. I brought the most people for that week and won the prize. Mom was one in attendance and that attendance by my mother and father was a rarity up until then. See, a few weeks later, my Mother asked Jesus into her heart and began to show that she feared the Lord and honored Him like it said in our text verses. Thankfully, A few years later my Father did the same. Their growth in the lord came to an abrupt end when the devil got into the middle of a regular church business meeting and the church split apart in a disagreement over how the preacher was preaching. They still showed their love for the Lord in other ways and looking back, as a child of God already, I expected my mother to know the Lord and love Him. And she did. An example from a Mother in the Bible that feared the lord with a Holy reverence was Naomi. The story found in the book of Ruth. She had traveled to a far away land with her husband and sons, but after a threefold tragedy, she refused to hide her sorrow and become bitter. Rather she inspired her love and dedication and reference for God to her daughters in law. Such that one of the two of them, Ruth and Naomi traveled from that far away land back to the homeland of Naomi and her deceased husband. I m sure Naomi s heart was thrilled to know that her daughter in law was destined to love and serve her God just as she was. When someone you love comes to that place in their life that they realize their need for eternal salvation and are then destined for the same place you are, it brings joy into your heart and life. I supposed that every child of God that has an unsaved, worldly thinking and acting parent has expectations of their Mother or Father to know and fear the Lord as Savior. Then thirdly, I m sure every child: Children Want To See Fruit From Their Mothers Life. By that I mean; Good works done selflessly for others. It always did my heart good to know that my mother would care enough for others to cook for those in need outside the home, (most of the need was my three sisters and my dad and me.) It always amazed me how that mom suddenly lost her appetite when someone else wanted the last piece of chicken or cake and she would say, go ahead and get it, before it goes to waste, I m not really very hungry. She served in the PTA, marched in the March of Dimes, acted as chauffeur when no other parent seemed to have the time. I was thrilled to

4 see my Mother demonstrate that good works was important in life and that God expected her to act like that without expecting anything in return. I remember Becky s Mom asking her Dad if they could take in a family that had lost their job. He already hand his hands full trying to work hard enough to feed his family of 7 but then said Ok to bringing another family in. I think probably every child expects their Mother to demonstrate good works, thinking of others instead of themselves all the time. Being that good example. See, how else are the children going to learn how to be caring, loving, giving, reverent, submissive to the Lord s will? It is by the example of the parent. Children have an internal desire to emulate their parents. What are we giving them as examples today? OH yes, there are many Bible examples of Mothers that showed by their good works that they loved the Lord with all their hearts. Think about; the Shunamite Woman that showed generosity and hospitality toward Elisha the prophet of God. Always providing him a place to stay, food and shelter. Her obedience brought about God s miracle of life to her son. Then there was Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. They were found cooking, learning, and even anointing the head of Jesus with a flask of very expensive oil in an expression of love to Him. Because we are talking about mothers today, take time to think what an example your Mother is or was. Think about what kind of example you are to your child, or grandchild. What are you teaching your children about being what God expects? Those children have expectations of mothers too. That s what I wanted and expected from My mother. Did you have similar expectations? IF YOU ARE A MOTHER WITH CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN OR EVEN GREAT GRANDCHILDREN, YOU HAVE EYES WATCHING YOU AND THEY WILL EMULATE YOUR EVERY EXAMPLE. ASK GOD TO HELP YOU BE THE EXAMPLE HE WANTS YOU TO BE. ASK HIM TO HELP YOU LIVE A LIFE THAT HE WOULD BE PLEASED TO SEE THOSE CHILDREN CARRY ON. ASK GOD FOR HIS HELP AND GRACE TO BE THAT KIND OF MOTHER TODAY.

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