“Having a Spiritual Impact”
Mother’s Day • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 7 viewsAs parents we want to have a significant impact on our children…Scripture helps us know what to do.
Notes
Transcript
Today we honour MOTHERS! …
It is good and right for us to think about the importance of our mothers.
There are some great & beautiful portraits of motherhood in the Scriptures…
Jochebed…mother of Moses (Exodus 2)
…loved & cared so much for her son that she broke the law in order to teach him the faith of his people.
Hannah…(1 Samuel 1)
…heartbroken yearning to be a mom…become the mother of Samuel the prophet.
Loving Mother…(1 Kings 3)The mother who came to King Solomon was willing to have her son be taken away by another woman rather than see any harm come to him. (SACRIFICE)
King Lemuel’s mom…gave advice to her son about godliness & how to pick a wife Proverbs 31
Mary…mother of Jesus (Luke 1)…willing servant, Lord’s handmaiden…
Mother of James & John…loved her sons so much she wanted them to sit by the Lord’s side in the heavenly kingdom.
While today may be directed to Mothers today…
KNOW they are principles that APPLY to ALL of us.
We all have a circle of influence…
How can we have a significant spiritual impact?
The significant spiritual impact of a mother!
CONTEXT: I’d like to introduce you to a young woman named Eunice…
Raised in a religious home…greatly influenced by her mother Lois...
She loved to learn the stories from the OT Bible when she was young and she enjoyed going to the synagogue worship services where she could learn about God.
As she approached her teenage years, she was still focused on spiritual matters but she became attracted to a young man who was “not into religion” at all.
In fact, she was Jewish and he…was a Gentile. And against the best wishes of her godly mother, the teaching of her faith, and the tug of her conscience, she married the man.
Don’t get me wrong…he was a nice guy but he thought spiritual matters were for weak people.
After a couple years of marriage, Eunice and her husband had a baby boy they named Timothy.
In the meantime, Eunice’s dad had died so they asked her mother Lois to come and live with them.
Little Timmy was a delight to everyone.
Both mother and grandmother spent hours with him…
Teaching him stories of the OT…
Praying with him & for him…
Training him in the things of God.
They didn’t have Veggie Tale videos or an AWANA Kid’s Club nearby…
But they did create a spiritual environment where young Timothy could grow and flourish…
Then, one day, a preacher named Paul came to Lystra and told them about Jesus.
Both Lois & Eunice listened intently…What they heard was a joy to their heart. They had hoped for.
They saw in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises of God in the OT and both of them placed their trust in Jesus and were wonderfully saved.
So, Eunice and Lois…as new believers…began teaching Timothy all about who Jesus was.
In the book of Acts Paul took a personal interest in Tim the teenager and, along with his mom & grandmother, led him to saving faith.
Later, Paul and Timothy would become partners together in ministry as the Gospel spread throughout the area.
Many years later, while Paul is in prison, awaiting his execution, he wrote 2 letters to Timothy who was now pastoring the church in Ephesus.
The letters contain teaching on how Timothy should be as a church leader… and they also contained some memories.
As Paul writes these letters, 1 & 2 Timothy, he is remembering the significant spiritual impact that these mothers had in Timothy’s life.
With that background, I want to look at 3 passages of Scripture …to showing the significant Spiritual Impact of a mother/grandmother…can make a Significant Spiritual Impact on her children…
1. Teach your Child…a Love & Respect for SCRIPTURE…(2 Timothy 3:10-15)
{BTW…fathers do this too…each of us to have a great respect for the God’s Word}
In 2 Timothy…Timothy is a pastor in the city of Ephesus…and Paul is mentoring him as he serves…
Ephesus…a tough place to serve as a pastor…pluralistic 50+ gods and goddesses…Artemis (Diana)
“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
…my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…
v.12 Paul tells Timothy: everyone who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
…while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it…
v.14 Paul urges Timothy to keep on going…hang tough…when the tough times come:
“Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed…”
(Note: this interesting little phrase)
“learned…” …everything taken in from a cognitive standpoint…
“have firmly believed…”. What you have been assured of…”
Timothy not only learned things cognitively…in other words…he made a practice of owning what he studied by becoming convinced of its truthfulness.
APPLIC: Are you convinced of the truthfulness of the Scriptures?
You may have learned it intellectually…but are you convinced?
Are you assured of their truthfulness?
Timothy didn’t just fill his head with truth but he internalized it and then he lived it out.
WHY?
It was MODELLED for him…“…knowing from whom you have learned them…”
Timothy did this because he saw it modelled in his mother & grandmother, and in Paul himself.
…and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Note: 2 Timothy 3:15 shows us what this truth was: “…acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
In the manner of devout Jews mother Eunice and grandmother Lois taught the Holy Scriptures to Timothy from the very beginning.
“childhood” = “infancy” refers to a newborn baby/toddler.
Lois and Eunice teamed up to instil in young Timothy …even before he could crawl!
They read to him…talked about Abraham, Noah, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, Samson & Samuel, David & Ruth.
They did everything they could to provide Timothy with the opportunity to learn all he could about the Scriptures.
As good Jewish parents they were obeying Deuteronomy 6:4-7
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
These two mothers had God’s Word in their hearts…and because they had internalized the truth into their own lives…
They could impress it upon young Timothy by talking about it throughout the day…showing Timothy how the Scriptures should impact every area of life.
APPLIC: Mothers, it is never too early…
And it is never too late to start teaching the Bible to your children!
There is nothing that can replace your role in your child’s life.
God wants to use you to instil within your children a love and a respect for God’s Word.
Thankfully, you do not have to do this all by yourself. We have a Bible-based, Gospel centred VBS, an AWANA program based on Scripture memorization…and a youth ministry teaches God’s Word in a way that teenagers can understand and embrace. These are designed to assist you in helping your children learn the Word of God…to help you make a spiritual impact in the life of your kids.
2. Show your Children a GENUINE Faith…2 Timothy 1:5
The second way to impact the lives of your children is by SHOWING them a GENUINE faith.
We see this in 2 Timothy 1:5
“…I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
Lois & Eunice were believers…Timothy needed to come to a point in which he put his faith in Christ.
Faith is not hereditary…it is learned…
When mothers model genuine faith…an environment is created where children will be motivated to want that same kind of faith.
The word, “sincere” also translated “authentic/sincere” related to faith means it was “unhypocritical.”
It was real…without pretence or false façade.
Faith had taken up residence in his mother’s heart and his grandmother’s heart…and was now alive in his own life.
These 2 mothers were completely sold out to Christ.
Drop-dead serious about their faith.
Fully devoted & completely committed.
Timothy knew it…and he followed their example!
Notice the family chain of influence here: Lois to Eunice to Timothy.
I should point out…there is no reference to a grandfather or a father anywhere in this equation.
That’s not to say that a father is not important…he is.
What I’m saying is this: a mother can make a significant spiritual impact on her children with or without the help of a father.
Parents, if we want to instil authentic faith in our children then…take your own faith seriously.
If we just going through the motions spiritually your kids will eventually see it, and tragically, may do the same thing when they are older.
As you demonstrate your faith consistently by reading the Bible, praying, attending worship, bringing your kids to programs that help them grow spiritually, and by participating in the life and mission of the church, you will send a strong message to your children.
What does GENUINE FAITH look like?
Genuine faith…trusts in the Lord with all our heart & leans not on our understanding…Proverbs 3:5-7
Genuine faith…where what we believe will affect the way that we live. James 2:17-18
Genuine faith…is a praying faith…there is a complete dependence upon Him.
Genuine faith…is a Scripture/Christ centred life…where Christ is on the throne of our life. He Lord
Make sure you KNOW…
Your child’s soul…is far more valuable than any thing this world can offer.
Your child’s spiritual condition… is far more important than their success in this world!
Your child’s most important friendship…must be with Jesus!
Your child’s position before God… is more important than their standing in this world!
Your child’s spiritual life… is infinitely more valuable than any accomplishment in this life! (music, athletic, intellect etc)
Timothy’s family environment was fertile to his faith development.
Eunice & Lois held their faith deeply and shared it freely.
How fertile is the environment in your family for the reproduction and the nurturing of authentic faith in the lives of your children and grandchildren?
Mothers, are you passing along a legacy of authentic faith to your kids?
3. Teaching & Releasing them to Serve Christ…where they are! (Acts 16:1-4)
The third way to impact your children is to instil within them a desire to SERVE.
After Paul preached in Lystra, and Timothy was converted, he returned a short while later.
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.
2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.
3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.
There are 4 QUALITIES in Timothy …no doubt…passed down from his mother, and grandmother:
First he was a STRONG BELIEVER…he is referred to as a “disciple”.
Luke, the writer of Acts, could have referred to him as a believer or a Christian, but he chose to call him a “disciple”.
A “disciple” is a learner and a follower.
A disciple is one who is serious about following Jesus Christ, not just one who was going through the motions.
As already mentioned, his mother modelled this type of authentic, no holds-barred kind of faith.
2. Second, he had a GOOD REPUTATION… The believers in the area spoke well of him.
v.2 “He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium…”
People knew him as a man of integrity…a man of the Word…Timothy was rock solid.
And again, this had a lot to do with the godly influence of his mother and grandmother.
3. Third, he was COMMITTED…
Remember he was the son of a Greek man and a Jewish woman…he had not been circumcised according to Jewish law.
So because of the Jews who they would be ministering too would know that Timothy was not Jewish and it would have been a stumbling block for them so Paul said: You need to be circumcised.
4. Finally Timothy was simply AVAILABLE… Paul wanted to take him along on the journey.
Read the Book of Acts, you find that Timothy was eager to minister.
He knew it meant leaving home and he knew it meant facing hardship.
Friends, there is no way this kind of commitment to ministry develops if it has not been encouraged at home.
Timothy was such a help for Paul…
Paul refers to Timothy as his “beloved son” in
17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
Paul can’t think of anyone like Timothy when he writes: “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.” Paul thought very highly of Timothy and couldn’t wait to unleash him for ministry.
Mothers, part of your job is to Teach a love & respect for the Bible…to Demonstrate a genuine faith.
These are necessary to instil within your children a desire to minister.
Our kids are to learn the Bible and grow in their faith so that they can become difference-makers in their world.
So they can share their faith with others.
So they can minister in the church and in their school.
So they can serve those who are hurting.
So they can serve as missionaries.
So they can identify their spiritual gifts and use them on a regular basis. The truth of the matter is this:
We are saved…in order to SERVE. We are to be disciples so we can disciple others.
We are equipped…so that we can SHARE Christ with our world…
We are sanctified…so that we can be SENT to a lost and dying world…
Susannah Wesley...mother of 17, two of which were John and Charles Wesley, spent one hour each day praying for her children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour each week to discuss spiritual matters. No wonder her children were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America. I came across some parenting guidelines that helped her as a mother:
Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
Teach the child to pray as soon as he can speak.
Give the child nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely.
To prevent lying, punish no fault, which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.
Commend and reward good behaviour.
Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.
WRAP UP…
Let’s see if I can bring all this together.
Mothers, you can make a significant spiritual impact in your family with or without the help of a father.
You can do that by:
Instilling a Love and Respect for Scripture…
Demonstrating an Authentic Faith…
Teaching them to serve & releasing them to Serve…Nurture a Desire for Ministry…
Today we honour mothersI want to applaud you mothers who take the task seriously of making a spiritual impact in the lives of your children.
Proverbs 31:28 “Her children arise and call her blessed…”
Proverbs 31:30 says that, “…a woman who fears the Lord…she shall be praised.”
We praise God for you mothers!
As you worship and adore and serve the Lord…
And you pass this legacy on to your children.
Thank you. May God bless you mothers!
Happy Mother’s Day!
