Momma's Genuine Faith

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The Heritage Tree, Cape Perpetua, Central Oregon coast. This giant spruce is called The Heritage Tree because it stands almost 200 feet tall and because it started to grow as a seedling about the same time Martin Luther was pounding his theses on the church door at Wittenberg. What’s really fascinating about this tree, however, is that there’s this tunnel about 3 feet in diameter that runs through its base, making it appear that the tree is standing, or rooted into the ground on a tripod. This tunnel, this empty space running through the root "fingers" or buttresses is the space where a nurse log once was located. This giant Sitka spruce began its life as a seedling on a nurse log.
Nurse logs were once great, giant trees themselves. Then they died and fell to the earth. The log became a nursery for an entirely new ecosystem of life. With the nurse log down on the forest floor, light, as well as rain, now streams through the canopy. In such a high-moisture environment, the nurse log decays rapidly, and soon the seeds of mighty trees, caught in the mossy layer that now grows on its surface, sprout and take root. As they grow larger, their roots will surround the girth of the nurse log, and the tree will shoot up to take its place in the forest, and soon, strong and viable on its own, the tree stands alone, and the nurse log, utterly decomposed, has disappeared. Such has been the case with the 500-year-old Heritage Tree on Cape Perpetua.
This sermon this morning is about being a person, or a church, that nurtures and trains others who will follow, passing on our teachings and traditions, stepping aside so that others may grow in our place, making use of what we have learned.
In light of the popularity of the Dodge Super Bowl commercial "So God Made a Farmer" this is our Mother's Day rendition.
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We have all heard the cliché: “The Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” Many men and women grow up and develop much of their faith and world view based upon what their mothers have taught them. Sometimes wayward children do not share the faith of their mother. It has been said that some good wombs carry bad children. This evening, while we acknowledge that faith is ultimately a personal choice, we will see what mothers can do to help their faith to be contagious and to be caught by their children.
Our passage this evening is probably one of the greatest praises for Godly mothering in the Bible. Young Timothy was a great joy to the Apostle Paul because of his fervent spirit and deep convictions. Upon reflection, the Apostle Paul realizes that Timothy’s grandmother, Lois had that unfeigned faith. Lois passed that unfeigned faith to her daughter Eunice, Timothy’s mother. Eunice then passed that unfeigned faith to her son Timothy. How can that faith cross over generations? The faith like that is contagious is a special kind of faith. Contagious faith is unfeigned faith. Let us study this truth together and discover the incredible blessings that occur when a mother’s faith becomes contagious.

Genuine Faith is Contagious

A. Definition of unfeigned
1. Anupokritos= without hypocrisy sincere
2. Hupokrisis= Hypocrisy, “play acting”
B. Faith that is pure and without play acting will leave a lasting impression.
1. Because faith produces the evidence of actions
Hebrews 11:1 KJV
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. This faith is seen by children and grand children
2 Timothy 1:5 KJV
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.
3. This faith is seen by an unsaved spouse
1 Corinthians 7:14 KJV
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
1 Corinthians 7:16 KJV
For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

Genuine Faith Produces Genuine Love

1 Timothy 1:5 KJV
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
A. Selfless love
Romans 12:9-10
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
1. Without dissimulation= anaupokritos= without hypocrisy
2. Preferring the other over self
Philippians 2:3-4
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
B. Obedient love
1 Peter 1:22
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1. Purifies the soul
2. Strengthens your personal assurance of Salvation
1 John 3:18-21
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

III. Unfeigned love produces unfeigned wisdom

James 3:17
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
A. Pure= not contaminated
B. Peaceable
Hebrews 12:29
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
1. Produced as a result of God’s chastening
2. Produced when we surrender our will
C. Gentle= “Expresses that considerateness that looks humanly and reasonably at the facts of the case.”
D. Easy to be intreated= “To be persuaded, compliant”
E. Full of mercy= “An outward manifestation of pith”
F. Full of good fruits
Matthew 5:16
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
G. Without partiality= not to be parted, without intercession
H. Without hypocrisy= anupokristos
“So God Made a Mother”
He needed someone tender enough to cherish the thrill of a baby growing within her body & yet someone strong enough to survive the pain of childbirth, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone to take care of that precious baby throughout the night & still take care of her home & the rest of her family throughout the day, on minimal sleep, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone hard enough to say no to her children when she needed to & soft enough to breaks the rules at times & treat her kids to what they want, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone who could be in two places at one time & with eyes in the back of their head, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone stern enough to paddle a little behind when it was called for & yet someone tender enough to heal a skinned leg with a Band-Aid & a hug & kiss, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone with calloused knees, calloused from the hours spent there in prayer for her family, so God made a Mother.
He needed a theologian to share the gospel, a psychologist to deal with teens, an entomologist for those insect collections, a botanist for those leaf collections, a professor for those late night homework sessions, & a physician to always know what’s wrong, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone with a tough enough heart to show her child tough love & yet someone with the patience of Job & a soft heart to show trust to that child, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone with a heart that would always hold a place for that child & yet have hands that would eventually open up & let that child go to find their place in this world, so God made a Mother.
He needed someone who would have the grace to welcome that child that had made a mistake back into the fold, so God made a Mother.
He knew He needed someone to watch over us as we made our way through this life, so God made a Mother.
Kenny Richardson
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