Sermon Tone Analysis

Moms in the Real World

Jeremiah 31:15-17

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 12, 2013

(Revised from sermon preached at McClendon Baptist Church - May 10, 2009)

BACKGROUND:

*I am so glad that you chose to make worship with us a key part of your Mother’s Day.

Thinking about moms in the real world, let me ask you to open your Bibles to Jeremiah 31:15-17.

This little known Scripture winds up in one of the best-known parts of the Bible:

15.

Thus says the Lord: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.''

16.

Thus says the Lord: "Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,'' says the Lord, "And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

17.

There is hope in your future,'' says the Lord, "That your children shall come back to their own border.

INTRODUCTION:

*Moms in the real world.

One mother said:

-"BEFORE Children: I was thankful to have been born the USA, the most powerful free democracy in the world.

-AFTER Children: I am thankful for Velcro tennis shoes.

-BEFORE Children: I was thankful for holistic medicine and natural herbs.

-AFTER Children: I am thankful for pediatric cough syrup guaranteed to "cause drowsiness" in young children.

-BEFORE Children: I was thankful for a warm, cozy home to share with my loved ones.

-AFTER Children: I am thankful for the lock on the bathroom door."

(1)

*Moms in the real world: A lot of things have changed since I was born back in 1951, but some things never change.

And here in God’s Word we find four constants:

1. First: Moms in the real world can see great happiness.

*Rachel had a baby.

The Rachel in vs. 15 represents a whole group of mothers who lived in and around Bethlehem when Jesus was born.

These mothers were all descendents of Jacob and Rachel.

And they all had little children two years old or younger.

Rachel had a baby!

*What great joy we have when God sends new life into the world.

Like most dads my age and younger, I got to be in the delivery room when my three children were born.

Those were times of indescribable joy.

But dads, our joy cannot compare with a mother’s joy over the birth of her children.

*All healthy mothers rejoice over their children.

In John 16:21, Jesus compared the joy His resurrection would bring to a mother's joy.

And Jesus said: "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world."

In other words: A mother’s joy is strong enough to erase all the pains of childbirth.

*Moms get great happiness.

-- But ladies we also want to remind you that you give great happiness to many people.

Your husbands and children want you to know how much we appreciate you.

My words could never express how uncommonly good you are for us.

*Listen to part of the praise God’s Word gives you in Proverbs 31:

10.

Who can find a virtuous woman?

For her worth is far above rubies.

11.

The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

12.

She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13.

She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

14.

She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.

15.

She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants.

18.

She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.

20.

She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

25.

Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.

26.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.

28.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

29.

"Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.''

30.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears 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.

*Godly mothers, we praise you! -- You bring boundless joy into our lives.

-Moms in the real world can see great happiness.

2. But they can also know great heartache.

*In vs. 15: Thus says the Lord: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.''

*This verse is a prophecy that was written 600 years before Jesus was born.

And it was fulfilled when the Wise Men came searching for the new king.

God used a miraculous star to guide them to the exact house where Jesus was.

Matthew 2 tells us:

10.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to King Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

13.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.''

14.

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

16.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

17.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18. "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more.''

*Melvin Newland gave great insight in a Christmas Message, where he said:

-"This passage of scripture reveals an insecure and nearly insane old king who felt his rule threatened when he heard that another king had been born.

-- And when he couldn’t find that child, he issued a decree that all the little boys in Bethlehem, 2 years old and younger, were to be executed.

*So when we talk about the sounds of Christmas, maybe we need to remember also the shouts of soldiers, the cries of children, and the wailing of their mothers, for these are a part of the Christmas sounds, too.

They are a part of what God is trying to communicate to us at this season of the year.

*It is almost impossible for us to imagine what it was like to be a parent in Bethlehem the night of that slaughter.

To have a little boy, maybe 18 months old, who has captured your heart, and the sparkle in his eyes brightens up your day.

Then to have soldiers burst into your home, searching through every room until they find your son, and carry him outside to take his life from him.

-- Oh, the anguish and the emptiness of it all!

Yet that is a part of the Christmas story, too.

Anguish is still very much a part of the world today.

There are many who are suffering, many who are lonely.

And many who are grieving."

(2)

*Moms in the real world can know great heartache.

3.

And they can need great help.

*In vs. 15 Rachel was weeping for her children and she refused to be comforted.

But you can be sure that someone was trying to comfort her.

Thoughtful, Godly, loving husbands were trying to comfort her.

Brothers, sisters and friends, perhaps her own parents, maybe even her older children were trying to comfort her.

*Moms need help.

Even on good days, moms need help.

So dads and older children, let me tell you that God wants us to be helpers.

God wants all of His children to be helpers, because He is a helper.

God wants us to have a servant heart, because He has a servant heart.

*It always impresses me to remember that on the night before He died on the cross, Jesus took the time to wash the disciples' feet.

John 13:1-5 describes the scene this way: