Untitled Sermon (2)

A man came home from work one afternoon and found his three small children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud. Some of their toys were scattered across the lawn and on the driveway. The door of his wife’s car was wide open, and so was the front door of their house.

Surprised at this, he rushed inside and was confronted with evidence of complete disarray. A lamp had been knocked over. The TV was loudly blaring on a cartoon channel, and the family room was littered with toys and children’s clothing.

3. He went into the kitchen. The sink was filled with dirty dishes, breakfast food had been spilled on the counter, the refrigerator door was open, and dog food was scattered all over the floor.

4. Very concerned now, and fearing the worst, he frantically began looking for his wife, heading up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes as he went. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened to her.

5. Rushing into their bedroom, he saw her. Still in her pajamas, she lay there curled up on their bed, reading a book. She looked up, smiled at him, and asked him how his day had been.

6. Completely bewildered, he looked at her and asked, ’What happened here today?’ Again she smiled and then answered, ’You know, every day when you come home from work you ask me what in the world I do all day long?’ ’Yes,’ he said. She answered, ’Well, today I didn’t do it.

7. What a wonderful thing that God's Word has so many messages just for moms, messages for parents really, for moms, dads, and grandparents.

8. A mother tells the story where she put her son to bed on the eve of his fifth birthday. She was trying to communicate that birthday idea to him. "Kevin," she said, "this is the last night of your fourth year. Do you understand that?" Kevin was ready to communicate with his hands. For a full year, he had shown people four fingers for his four years, and now he was ready to add a thumb. Seeing his four fingers, his mother nodded, and said: "When you go to sleep tonight, you'll still be 4-years-old. But do you know how old you'll be in the morning, when you wake up?"

9. Kevin nodded enthusiastically, added his thumb to his four little fingers and said, "Tomorrow, I'll be a handful!"

10. For all the mothers who have had their hands full, we celebrate Mother's Day. History's most famous mother was called by God to her task, just as parents today are called by God to their task.

I. A mother called by God submits completely to God's will.

A. When Mary was only a teenager, she was confronted with the challenge to be completely submitted to God's will. When Gabriel gave her the angelic message that she was to carry the Christ, Mary was stunned.

1. The key phrase? May it be done to me according to your word. Mary never wavered from her complete submission to God's will.

2. Was she nervous? Certainly. Was she unsure of her own abilities? Who wouldn't be?

3. Mary was like any parent in this room, who wanted only the best, only the most protection, for her child, and fully aware that life happens, and not all of life is pleasant.

4. But Mary was unlike a lot of parents in the world today. Mary was first of all, completely committed to God. She was so committed to God, she had no room for commitment to anything else. And that made her a mother worth imitating.

II. A mother called by God does not have to be perfect.

A. This is great news!

1. I remember hearing on the day a mother’s daughter got married. As she tells the story, she went to the front of the church to light one of the three candles. Not realizing the potential hazard, she said, I got too close and set my acrylic nail on fire.

2. Trying not to ruin my daughter's big day, I calmly lit the candle from my flaming nail and then, like a gunslinger with his six-shooter, I blew it out. Needless to say, my blackened nail was the talk of the reception!"

3. Dr. Ben Carson, renowned surgeon tells a moving story about his mother.

4. Mrs. Carson insisted that Ben and his brother Curtis write a book report every couple of weeks. This wasn't for school, this was for their mom. Ben and Curtis dutifully obeyed. About the time he was in junior high, Ben finally realized something quite shocking. His mom couldn't read.

5. For years Ben had read books and scratched out reports, assuming that his mom was checking every word. But she didn't have a clue what he was saying.

6. He was raised by an illiterate mother. Ben grew up to be a world-famous brain surgeon and who served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and was the author of several books.

B. Despite the fact that Mary was the mother of Jesus, she wasn't perfect!

1. When Jesus performed his first miracle, Mary's conversation is the most unusual part of the water-turned-into-wine story. Jesus said to Mary, Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. John 2:4

2. Just think of the awkwardness of this situation. Mary's request and conversation with Jesus appears to be out of line with what Jesus was ready to do.

3. Though Jesus performed the miracle, there's a feeling that he did so in part because his mother put him on the spot. If that's not a clear indication of Mary's imperfection, then this one is.

4. One time while He was speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers were outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to You. And in Matthew 12:48-50 But Jesus said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

5. If Mary had understood the task of Jesus, would she have tried to interrupt him, or even agree with his unbelieving brothers that his ministry needed to be tempered.

6. Stopping the ministry of Jesus, even for a little while? That was a mistake on Mary's part.

C. Listen, you've made mistakes in the past, you'll certainly make a mistake or two today, and you'll make more mistakes tomorrow.

1. Through it all, God will love you, work with you, and accept you. Through it all, your task of mothering, or of grand-mothering, will be accomplished.

2. How many women have been discouraged by the last few words of Proverbs 31? It is there that the author writes of the excellent wife. There are 22 lines in that Proverb, and each one of them begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

3. It's an acrostic Proverb that speaks of an imaginary woman. She never sleeps, and she always works. OK, so that's the part of the poem that is reality.

4. But in the poem, she manages a fleet of ships, she runs a farm, she manages a staff, she sews like a fashion expert, she cooks, cleans, and home-schools her children.

5. She has a feast waiting on her husband when he arrives home from his much-less demanding job, and she needs no car pool whatsoever. She simply puts on her Super-mother cape and flies her children to their next appointment.

6. If we were to see in English what we can't see in Hebrew, perhaps it would be a poem that would go something like, "A is for the Apple pie she bakes; B is for the babies she loves; C is for the cleaning of the house;" right on down to "Z is for the Zoo she manages in the back yard."

7. Any woman who tries to emulate the woman of Proverbs 31 will understand the first line that says, "An excellent wife, who can find?"

III. A mother called by God will always be mother.

A. Mary stood near the cross of Jesus.

1. She didn't stand stoically and passively at the foot of the cross, as if she were already made out of stained glass. She cried at the cross.

2. She fell down to the depths there, moaning and wailing and begging the God of heaven to stop this horrible thing. The cross cut deeply into Mary's heart.

3. Despite the pain, however, Mary was there.

4. When remembering Jesus as a baby and all who came to visit we read in Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

5. When Jesus was a boy and stayed in Jerusalem and three days later Mary and Joseph went back to find him and all that transpired we read in Luke 2:51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

She was a mother from the beginning, and a mother at the end. A mother called by God will always be mother.

B. When a woman becomes a mother, when a man becomes a father, there is an instant realization that the day will almost certainly come when pain will dominate the picture.

1. The crosses are different for every family, but frankly, the crosses usually come. There may be a divorce, or disease, or death. There may be harsh words, and unacceptable actions. There may be tough love, and impossible nights.

2. Through it all, mothers called by God will always be mother. Always! There is nothing like a mother's love.

Conclusion

1. Mary had a chance to see God's entire plan played out. She suffered through the crucifixion, celebrated the resurrection, and even was part of the small group that witnessed the powerful presentation of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

2. Acts 1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

3. What a gift from God, to live long enough for parenting to make sense! If you're going to be a godly parent, be sure to be immersed in God's Word, fully committed to the calling He's given you.

4. Jesus Himself said in Mark 16:16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

5. Will we say to Him as Mary did in, Luke 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.