Rewarding Mama Now
Holiday Sermons • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Proverbs 31:10-31
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
INTRODUCTION:
1000 Fresh Illustrations Illustration 1 > Mother’s Day (2)
In 1872, the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Howe suggested the idea of a special day set aside to honor Mothers and celebrate peace, but the idea never took root. Never that is, until the early 20 th century.
A couple of years after her mother’s death, Anna Jarvis held a ceremony to honor her late mother. The experience so moved her, that she began a campaign to establish a formal holiday to recognize mothers. West Virginia adopted the idea in 1910, other states followed their lead the next year and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May “Mother’s Day,” a national holiday to honor mothers.
Something Jarvis could be proud of? Not exactly. A few years later, she was arrested for disturbing the peace at a Mother’s Day rally. Jarvis deplored the commercialization of the holiday and the way people used it to make profits. In 1923, she filed a law suit to stop a festival where the organizers were selling white carnations as a fund raiser on Mother’s Day.
She didn’t lead a campaign to begin this holiday so card companies and florists could make money, she wanted it to be a day that stirred sentiment in the children of the world. She was more successful in starting the day than stopping it. Regardless of some people’s motives, the idea of honoring mothers was contagious.
Today, we thank the Lord for our Mothers and the care they give us. It is the right thing to do.
—http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/special/holidays/97/mom/history.html
As we seek to honor Mama on her day, we need to begin to “Reward Mama Now,” by doing three things:
I. RECOGNIZE HER WORTH (Proverbs 31:10).
I. RECOGNIZE HER WORTH (Proverbs 31:10).
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
A. A Godly woman is a rare Gem. (Proverbs 31:10 a).
A. A Godly woman is a rare Gem. (Proverbs 31:10 a).
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
1. She is a treasure that is hard to find.
2. There are many who do not measure up.
a. Some are Like Eve: Making decisions based on the wrong criteria (Gen. 3:1-6).
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.
5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
b. Some are Like Jezebel: Leading all around her to destruction (1 Ki. 21:25).
25 (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.
c. Some are Like Athalia, Josiah’s grandmother: Seeking power at the expense of even her family (2 Chron. 22-23).
d. Some are Like Rebecca: favored one child over another (Gen. 26-27).
e. Some are Like Gomer: unfaithful to her husband (Hosea).
B. She is worth more than gems or gold. (Proverbs 31:10b).
B. She is worth more than gems or gold. (Proverbs 31:10b).
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
1. She is the greatest blessing aside from the gift of Jesus!
II. REMEMBER ALL SHE DOES (Proverbs 31:11-27).
II. REMEMBER ALL SHE DOES (Proverbs 31:11-27).
Abraham Lincoln said, “The greatest lessons I ever learned were at my mother’s knees.”
A. She is trustworthy in all her ways. (Proverbs 31:11-12).
A. She is trustworthy in all her ways. (Proverbs 31:11-12).
11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
B. She is industrious in making a house into a home. (Proverbs 31:13-15).
B. She is industrious in making a house into a home. (Proverbs 31:13-15).
13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
C. She is insightful in the business of homemaking. (Proverbs 31:16-19).
C. She is insightful in the business of homemaking. (Proverbs 31:16-19).
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
D. She is merciful to those in need – teaching her household to do the same. (Proverbs 31:20).
D. She is merciful to those in need – teaching her household to do the same. (Proverbs 31:20).
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
1. Like Dorcas (Acts 9:39).
39 So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.
E. She is tireless in caring for the needs of her family. (Proverbs 31:21-22).
E. She is tireless in caring for the needs of her family. (Proverbs 31:21-22).
21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
1. Like Abigail- saved her family (1 Sam. 25).
F. She is supportive to her husband’s rise to success. (Proverbs 31:23).
F. She is supportive to her husband’s rise to success. (Proverbs 31:23).
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders.
1. Like Priscilla (Acquilla’s wife) (Acts 18).
G. She is her husband’s partner in providing for the home. (Proverbs 31:24-25).
G. She is her husband’s partner in providing for the home. (Proverbs 31:24-25).
24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
H. She is a well of wisdom and a flowing river of kindness. (Proverbs 31:26)
H. She is a well of wisdom and a flowing river of kindness. (Proverbs 31:26)
26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
1. Like Deborah was known for her wisdom (Judges 4:5).
5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.
I. She is a godly wife and mother. (Proverbs 31:30).
I. She is a godly wife and mother. (Proverbs 31:30).
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
A godly mother will point her children to God by the force of her example as much as by the power of her words.
III. REWARD HER WITH LOVE AND PRAISE (Proverbs 31:28-31).
III. REWARD HER WITH LOVE AND PRAISE (Proverbs 31:28-31).
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
A. Her children should reward her. (Proverbs 31:28a).
A. Her children should reward her. (Proverbs 31:28a).
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
1. By honoring her (Eph. 6:2) and thanking her.
2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise:
2. By leading godly lives (Prov. 17:25; 23:15).
25 Foolish children bring grief to their father and bitterness to the one who gave them birth.
15 My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!
B. Her husband should reward her. (Proverbs 31:28b).
B. Her husband should reward her. (Proverbs 31:28b).
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
1. By giving her a godly husband (Eph. 5:25-33).
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.
27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.
29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
2. By giving her tenderness and love (1 Peter 3:7).
7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.
3. By giving her praise, not ridicule.
CONCLUSION:
As we seek to honor Mama on her day, we need to begin to “Reward Mama Now,” by doing three things:
I. RECOGNIZE HER WORTH
II. REMEMBER ALL SHE DOES
III. REWARD HER WITH LOVE AND PRAISE
Ladies, the challenge for each of you is this:
Do you seek to live out the qualities that our scripture text has discussed.
Have you surrendered your life to Christ in salvation? Do you know him personally as Savior and Lord?
Are you walking with Christ daily, spending time with him in prayer and his word?
Are you seeking to lead your children in the ways of Christ, teachings them at home and living them out in your home?
Are you faithful to attend and be involved in His church and lead your children to do so?
If not, you need to surrender afresh to Christ in your life.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3622 The Will of Henry Heinz
The Will Of Henry Heinz
When the will of Henry J. Heinz, wealthy distributor of the famous “57 Varieties” line, was read it was found to contain the following confession:
“Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I also desire to bear witness to the fact that throughout my life, in which there were unusual joys and sorrows, I have been wonderfully sustained by my faith in God through Jesus Christ. This legacy was left me by my consecrated mother, a woman of strong faith, and to it I attribute any success I have attained.”
