A Faithful Mother

Introduction

This morning I want to welcome every mother that is present and say “Thank you” for being here. Each and every one of you is special. No doubt there are children here that could not have there mothers with them, whether because of death or because of distance. There are also mothers here who have suffered the great loss of their children, whether that be as a miscarriage or the untimely death of a son or daughter later in life. I want you to know that you are still precious and are valuable and are loved. Each mother here, regardless of age has experienced love on a level that only mothers can understand.

I love each of my children, but there is something on the cellular level that only mothers experience. It is called “fetal michrochimerism.” As soon as six weeks into pregnancy, the baby’s cells begin to make their way into the mother’s blood stream. These cells integrate with the mother’s body and can be found deposited in major organs, even in the brain, decades after the pregnancy. Mom’s if you ever felt like you carry a part of your child with you even when they are far away, you do.

These fetal cells, once deposited in different organs, are beneficial to the mother. Those cells found deposited in the mother’s livers contribute to liver repair. Those deposited in the heart contribute to cardiac tissue maintenance. So kids, the short version of that is that a part of you is always with your mom, even helping her internal organs repair themselves and will continue to be with her well into your adult life.

This may be why moms often have such a unique connection with their children. A couple of days ago, I officiated a funeral for a woman whom I did not know. I met her children, and by all their accounts, their mother, was a very loving and nurturing mother. She loved them and regularly showed it, but she also loved God and loved His word. The children grew to be adults who now have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and they attribute it primarily to the faithfulness of their mom.

Today I want to give a profile of a pretty important Biblical figure, and then I want us to note the influence that his mother had on him.

Who Was Timothy?

The man’s name is Timothy. Timothy is the recipient of two letters from the Apostle Paul, 1st and 2nd Timothy. Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. Timothy likely first met the Apostle Paul during Paul’s first missionary journey. As Paul passed through the city of Lystra, he met Eunice and Lois, Timothy’s mother and grandmother. It is at this time we believe that Timothy was saved under the ministry of Paul. Paul refers to Timothy as a “son in the faith” several times throughout the Bible, indicating that it was Paul who won Timothy to the Lord. 1 Timothy 1:1-2

1 Timothy 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ... 2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Timothy joins Paul a few years later during Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul mentors and encourages Timothy, eventually sending him to the church in Ephesus where he is charged to make sure false doctrine is not being preached. It seemed that Timothy, as a young pastor, was having a really difficult time, and Paul’s first letter served as an encouragement for Timothy not to give up.

Timothy was a frequent companion of Paul, and one of Paul’s closest friends. Before Paul sent him to Ephesus, he had already proven useful to help churches and fellow believers in several other Christian communities. Now at Ephesus, Timothy is constantly confronted with the leaders of the pagan worship of the goddess Diana. Within the city of Ephesus there was a prominent temple to her (included as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), and worship to Diana(Latin)/Artemis(Greek) included animal sacrifices and ritual prostitution. There were sacred days that were held and parades and such were commonly seen in Ephesus honoring this false goddess.

Timothy, as the pastor of the Christian church in Ephesus, would have had to contend and confront paganism often, and he did.

Though the Bible does not tell us how Timothy met his death, historical, extra-biblical accounts tell us that Timothy, after pastoring the church at Ephesus for over 30 years, confronted a procession of people that were worshipping Diana. When he expressed to them that they should turn from their foolish worship of a false goddess an unto the Lord, the mob became enraged and beat him severely. A few days later, Timothy died from his injuries.

All throughout the New Testament, starting in the book of Acts, you find references to Timothy and his faithfulness to the Lord, his encouragement to others, and his willingness to serve the church, wherever he happened to be. Timothy, however, did not come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ on his own.

Lessons from Home

Yes, he had Paul to thank for his conversion during his late teen years or early 20’s, but years before he met Paul, two women had had an extremely important influence on a young Timothy at home.

2 Timothy 1:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God… [Paul starts this letter in the same way he introduces many of his letters] 2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son [son in the faith, like he said in 1st Timothy, indicating that Paul had won Timothy to the Lord]... 3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears [Paul and Timothy’s friendship was close, so much that Paul sending Timothy to Ephesus had caused deep sadness to Timothy], that I may be filled with joy, [despite the fact that it was a tearful goodbye, Paul finds joy in something...] 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. [Paul finds joy in remembering the sincere faith that Timothy has.]

1. Lois and Eunice Taught the Bible

This faith that Timothy has was not a faith that came just from hearing Paul preach the Gospel. Paul makes it very clear that the seeds of Timothy’s faith were planted by his mother and his grandmother from a young age.

Though Eunice, Timothy’s mother, had married a Gentile, she and Lois (Timothy’s grandma) had been very faithful in teaching little Timothy about the Scriptures. They instilled in him good doctrine and taught him a a good faith from the time that he was a child. 2 Timothy 3:15

2 Timothy 3:15 KJV 1900

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Before Timothy ever got saved, he knew what the Bible said. he had been taught about the law by his mother and grandmother. he had been taught that the law could never be kept perfectly, and therefore, sacrifices were needed. He had been taught about the Messiah that would come, not to cover the sins of the world, but to take away the sins of the world. He would have been taught that the Messiah would have to die and shed his blood, like the sacrificial lambs used in the temple rituals.

Timothy knew the scriptures, and when Paul comes on the scene in Lystra, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Timothy recognizes that Jesus is who the Old Testament prophets were talking about, and he gets saved! Why? Because he had been instructed in the faith and in Scripture by his Mom and Grandma. The seeds of faith had been planted and watered for years.

2. Lois and Eunice Modeled Their Faith

It has been correctly said that when trying to teach our children good behavior, manners, character, and the like, that “more is caught than taught.” That is to say, the influence of our lives as parents is more impactful than the words that we have to say.

Notice what Paul points out 2 Timothy 1:5

2 Timothy 1:5 KJV 1900

5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

How is it that Timothy had a faith that was so strong, strong enough to confront the mobs in Ephesus, strong enough to confront false teachings that were creeping into the church, strong enough to die for his faith? Well, it had been modelled for him by his mother and grandmother. The faith that Paul saw in Timothy, he saw that it came from Eunice and Lois. They lived out their faith in front on Timothy. Their lives reflected that they trusted God and that they trusted God’s word.

These two things provided fertile ground in Timothy’s heart where they planted the seeds of the Gospel. And one day, when Paul arrived at Lystra, Timothy heard the Gospel one more time and received Jesus as his savior.

What does that mean to us today? Well there are several things that we can learn from this, and by the way, this is not just for mothers, but this is for dads also. Kids, this is for you as well, so that you can appreciate what your parents are doing when they put these things into practice. This is for people that one day hope to be parents. This is for parents of older, adult children, because you will be able to take this information and give it to them. This is for grandparents, because as we have seen already, it wasn’t just Eunice that was teaching and living out a faith in front of Timothy, it was also Lois.

I want to look at characteristics of a faithful mother, really of a faithful parent, from Deuteronomy 6. These things that we cover today will be characteristics that directly influence our children in the areas of loving and following God.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 KJV 1900

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

One of the first things that you might notice in this passage is that it does not say “mother” anywhere. I would also draw your attention to the fact that it does not say “father” either. This command is for all parents. So as I go through the rest of the sermon, almost anytime that I mention “This is what a faithful mother does,” it can also be applied to dads as well.

A Faithful Mother Loves God First

Notice first, if you will, that the first verse we read tells us that a faithful mother will love God first.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 KJV 1900

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Over the course of our studies on the Sermon on the Mount, we have seen that this right here is what Jesus would refer to as the “first and great(est)” commandment. This is the commandment from which everything else hangs. Even the command to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is the second commandment in order of importance, even that commandment is dependent on this one. Because we cannot love others the way God wants us to if we do not love God. What does 1 John 4:20 tell us? If someone says that he loves God but hates his brother, he is a liar; he really does not love God.

Why is this such a critical thing for mothers who want to be a Godly influence on their children? Because everything else flows out of our love for God, or our lack of love for Him. The way that I love God will affect the way that I treat others. The way that I love God will affect how I speak to others. The depth of my love for God will affect how I live the Christian life. Moms, if you love God first, above all other people and things, and yes, that does include loving God above your children, then you will see that you will be able to affect your children’s love for God.

One of the ways that we express and show our love to God is by reading and studying His words. Look at the next verse, Deuteronomy 6:6

Deuteronomy 6:6 KJV 1900

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

They were not supposed to just read it, they were to commit it to memory and take it seriously.

A Faithful Mother Is a Teaching Mother

A faithful mother is one that teaches her children about God and His word. Remember Lois and Eunice. grandmother and mother of Timothy? This is exactly what they did. They realized that it was not just the dad’s role to do so, it was both parents responsibility to teach the children, and since Timothy’s father was a Gentile, then it fell to Eunice to teach her son God’s word.

She understood the responsibility that she had from Deuteronomy 6:7

Deuteronomy 6:7 KJV 1900

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Two days ago I officiated a funeral for a woman who was described by her three children as a woman who had a deep faith and love for God. All three of them pointed to the fact that their mom was a faithful teacher of the Bible to them, to the extent that when they are adults, they came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Faithful mothers are mothers that teach God’s word to their children.

A Faithful Mother Lives Out Her Faith

Lastly, faithful mothers are those that live out their faith.

Deuteronomy 6:7 KJV 1900

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Notice that after teaching them, they are supposed to talk about them. But where are they talking about these things? In the house, walking in the down the road, and during the daily routine. This deals with living it daily.

The next two verses say this:

Deuteronomy 6:8–9 KJV 1900

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

This deals with the word of God being present in the home. And if there is one thing that we have learned throughout our study of the Sermon on the Mount it is this: Just knowing God’s word is not enough. Just doing God’s word is not enough. We must obey God’s word out of love for Him.

See how all this hangs on first loving God?

This is what Lois and Eunice did for Timothy. They loved God and lived out their faithfulness in front of him as they taught him God’s word. Because of that, Timothy had a ready heart to accept Jesus as his savior when Paul came along.

The reason why Timothy got saved, the reason why he became a faithful pastor, the reason why he was able to have the strength and the faith to confront people that were worshipping false gods, and the reason why he was faithful to the Lord to the death was because his mother made sure that she was faithful to loving the Lord,learning about the Lord, teaching Timothy about the Lord, and living out her love and faithfulness to God in front of timothy from the time he was very young.

Mom’s both new and old, I am sure it is your desire to see your children grow up in the love and knowledge of God and to see them become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. I will leave you with one more verse that I hope is an encouragement to you and to all the parents that are here. 1 Corinthians 15:58

1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV 1900

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The labor that you do for the Lord to your children is not in vain. It may be that they come to Christ at an early knowledge of Christ as their savior, but it may be that they will not do so until they are adults. Either way, every day that you live out your faith, you are planting and watering a seed.

Invitation