Gospel Comfort for Moms

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Chuck Swindoll in one of his books has the following letter written to his mother. I want to share that with you this morning.
As I walk through the museum of memories, I owe you for your time day and night. I owe you for your example, consistent and dependable. I owe you for your humor, sparky and quick. I owe you for your counsel, wise and quiet. I owe you for your humility, genuine and gracious. I owe you for your hospitality, smiling and warm. I owe you for your insight, keen and honest. I owe you for your flexibility, patient and joyful. I owe you for your sacrifices, numerous and quickly forgotten. I owe you for your faith, solid and sure. I owe you for your hope, ceaseless and indestructible. I owe you for your love, devoted and deep.
I don’t know about you, but that letter sounds like it could be written to my mother. And it probably sounds that way to you all with your mothers. I wanted to share it with you because it illustrates not value of a faitbful mother; but also only the high calling of motherhood, and the demanding nature of being a mom. Because the simple fact is that most moms bear a burden that most fathers in the room this morning don’t fully understand.
The reality is that you are called to be a 24 hour nurse; 24 hour counselor, 24 hour disciplinarian, an educator, a short order cook, a mentor and short-order cook, and whatever else your kids need from you whenever they need it.
And alot of you moms are doing that on top of keeping a house, maintaining a marriage, many of you are doing that on top of working a job that takes you out of the home probably longer than you would like; many of you, too, are serving at church.
Not to mention the worires, on top of all of that, of just the difficulties of living in a fallen world. Your kids safety, your marriage, your health, their health.We know that this world is fallen and broken. We know creation is groaning under the strain of our fallenness. We know also that a new creation is coming. And we know we ourselves and those we love will one day be made totally new, but we haven’t gotten there. We long for that and we hope for that.
But we live now in the intervening time between the cross and resurrection on the one hand and the new creation on the other hand. It can be confusing because ewe’ve been saved, and yet the Bible says that fullness of our salvation isn’t ours yet. We’ve been declared righteous and holy by the Father because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and yet our lives and our behavior and thoughts often don’t match with that. We have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit, and yet we have to see God face to face. Jesus is risen, and yet the bodies of those we love and have gone before us are still in the ground.
And it’s hard especially as a mom, because you have a million things and a million persons who need your attention, and yet you probably feel like you have nothing to give. Maybe your kids are older and you don’t know how to relate to them as adults. Some of you moms have sons and daughters that are wayward. Some of you have lost a child. You know that pain of having to say goodbye in this world to a son or daughter who you never thought you would outlive.
Too often we see the gospel as a message that saved us in the past, and guarantees our eternity, but for many of us that gospel has nothing to do with the here and now. But what if we began to dig down deep into the depths of the gospel and unearth those treasures that have the potential to change our lives now, to give us joy and to give us the hope that the Bible says is ours as believers. And that, I pray, will be the outcome, by God’s grace and by His Spirit, of this sermon. What gospel comfort has God provided that can give us - and particularly you mothers and grandmothers - the hope we need to persevere and be faithful in our callings here and now? Three gospel comforts for mothers from Romans 8.

Gospel comfort #1: When we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit helps us

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. The picture here is of the Spirit of God coming to our aid as an emissary from heaven and doing so precisely in our moment of greatest need and greatest vulnerability. He takes hold of the situation with us. Jesus said this would happen. He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper.” Moms, you may at times feel alone, but that feeling doesn’t represent the truth. Jesus sends us His very own Spirit, just as Jesus helped His disciples. He comes to us in our weakness, just before it is too late.
And he does this when we don’t know what to pray. Look carefully at what verse 26 says. “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought”. This is the moment at which Jesus comes to our aid by His Spirit. Ever felt alone in prayer? Have you ever felt like the needs are too many, or you’re too tired? Your mind wanders? It’s hard to focus? That is the weakness into which the Spirit of God comes and brings divine help.
And He tells us that the Spirit comes to us and intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
A couple of years ago, I accidentally called 911. I hit the emergency call button on my lock screen and before I knew what was happening I had Lincoln County EMS on the other line asking, “911, What’s your emergency?” As soon as I could, I tapped the end button to terminate the call. But three seconds later, of course, they called me right back. Wanting to make sure we’re ok. I answered and said, “No, it’s n accident. But it was comforting to me to know that if something ever happens to my wife or my kids or my parents and we’re not able to talk to the dispatcher, all they have to know is where I’m calling from and help is on the way.
I/n the same way, when we’re struggling to know what to say in prayer, how to pray, what to pray for, when we’re facing a situation so complicated and so difficult, the Spirit comes to our aid, to help us.
How does He help us? The Spirit helps us by interceding for us. Look at the second half of verse 26: “For we do not know what to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” The groans are the Spirit’s as he shares in our agony. He bears our burdens with us. HE goes between us and God and when our confused thoughts can’t find words, the Spirit takes them to God on our behalf.
And here’s the really cool thing. We know the Bible says God answers prayers in the affirmative when they are in accordance with God’s will. Well, the Spirit always prays according to God’s will. And God is able to see the mind of the Spirit and know what the will of the Spirit is. And so we know that when the Spirit prays for us, or prays on our behalf, the Spirit takes our prayers and not only puts them into His own language, but He takes our prayers and modifies them according to God’s will.
We know that sometimes our prayers need to be adjusted. Sometimes that means we pray for things we shouldn’t be praying for. We might be praying for our kids to be happy or blessed or have this opportunity and it might be that we’re praying for things our kids don’t need, or things that aren’t their deepest needs. And he takes those prayers and reshapes them or refashions them into prayers that are according to God’s will.
So moms, don’t stop praying for your children. The will of God is the plan you would have chosen yourself if you knew everything that God knows about the situation. And the Spirit is interceding for us in accordance with that will. So don’t stop praying. All creation groans. We grown. New creation is coming. In the meantime, we have hope, because the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Gospel comfort #2: When we suffer, we know God works all things for our good

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

How do you feel about the sovereignty of God? I want you to listen to how our Baptist statement of faith articulates the sovereignty of God. This is from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
“God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.”
We wkno from the rest of Scripture that things in this world are not happening hapazardly.

He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

The lot is cast into the lap,

but its every decision is from the LORD.

21  Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

And it would be frightening to think of God being in control of everything if we didn’t know what kind of God He is. But we do know who He is. He is all-wise, all-good, all-powerful. He’s absolutely trustworthy. He’s the Father of those who believe, and it’s a comfort to trust in a God like Him being fully in control. So look at what Romans 8:28 has to say:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good

It says God is presently working all things./ Even now, present tense, He is working all things for the good of His people. How far does His control extend? To everything, “all things”. Not just the good things, or not so bad things, but everything. And who does God work all things for: For everyone? No, “for those who love God.” So for those who trust in Christ, everything is part of His plan — the hard times, the happy times; the bright days, the dark nights; the highest joys and deepest valleys, everything is ultimately from God and for our eternal good.
Now it’s true that some situations seem so bad we can’t really see how good could come out of it. All of us know of people who have suffered tremendous loss. School shootings and human trafficking. Some of you moms may be facing situations as moms and wives that no one else knows about. And you’re asking, “Can God really bring good out of this?”
But listen, if God is who the Bible says He is, of course He can and He definitely will bring good out of it. Faith means that we recognize the limit of our knowledge; we don’t see the whole picture. God has revealed some of Himself and His ways to us but not everything. Faith says, “I know that the Creator and Governor of this universe is my Father, and I believe that He is always sovereign, always good, no matter what happens, and no matter how I feel.
Think about Joseph. Sold by his brothers into slavery, elevated to a high position then imprisoned; then forgotten in prison. Then God raised him up as high as he could be without making him Pharoah. And when Joseph encountered his brothers for the first time after that, this is what he said.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

And then, think about Job. When God allowed Satan to take Job’s wealth, we know what Job said.

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

When he later lost his health, he said this:

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job saw God as being active in his suffering for His glory and Job’s good. It’s a perfect picture of Romans 8:28. Not to mention the cross…if God can take the most heinous crime in all of human history, and turn it into the greatest source of good in all of human history, then He can take my suffering and yours and bring good out of it, and He will. “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Now you say, “Pastor Dustin, are you telling me that people don’t have free will? I mean, if God is sovereign over all things, then how can anyone be free? And how can anyone be held responsible for what they’ve done?” Well the Bible has a very surprising answer for that question. It shows us that God’s control and our freedom work hand in hand. In some way that we can’t understand, God is totally in charge of everything happens and yet people are free to make real decisions, and are morally responsible when they sin. The question is not “Are people free?” or “Is God sovereign?” It’s both.
I love the hymn God Moves in a Mysterious Way.
God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea and he rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, He treasures up His brith designs and works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head.”
So moms, when you suffer, when you’re worried about your kids or the worst nightmares come true, don’t look at God as sitting there and saying, “Well, how am I going to bring good out of that?” That robs him of glory. God is not standing by helplessly as things happen or desperately trying to salvage some good. He is orchestrating all things for the good of those who love Him - even the hardest things. No matter what you’re going through as a mom, or grandmother, he knows, he understands, and He’s at work. All creation groans; we groan; new creation is coming. We can have hope because God is working all things for good for those who love Him.

Gospel comfort #3: When we experience doubt, we can know our salvation is completely secure

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

These verses are like a towering mountain range.
There’s this spot on I-40 if you’re headed westbound toward Asheville. It’s just west of Marion, but before Old Fort. You come around a curve and all of a sudden there’s the Blue Ridge Mountains rising up before you with all their beauty. If you look at those mountains, it’s like they’re layered. Smaller mountains at first give way to higher mountains. My dad and I aren’t totally sure but we think that the highest peak you can see there might be Mount Mitchell. You see mountains like that and you see the beauty of God’s creation and you see the evidence of His power.
These verses are like those mountains. When you stand in front of these mountains you want to climb them, see the view from the top. But then you realize that it feels almost irreverent to just jump into climbing the mountains without first pausing to appreciate their beauty.
For me, I don’t know there is a more beautiful passage in Scripture, because these verses tell me that my salvation is an unbreakable chain. And where I stand right now, 2021, is right in the middle, but that chain of my salvation originates in eternity past and culminates in the future. And at every stage along that chain, God is at work.
Because you’ll notice this verse doesn’t say anything about my contribution to my salvation. It doesn’t say “God foreknew Dustin and then Dustin believed and repented.” It doesn’t say that. Not because faith and repentance aren’t important; they’re essential. But this verse here, Paul does not mention my work because Paul wants to bring attention to the fact that from first to last, my salvation is a work of God to which I contribute nothing. These verses say God foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us, and glorified us. These are the higher mountain peaks that overshadow the smaller mountains and hills of our response of faith and repentance.
God foreknew us — that means God set His affection and love upon us before we were born. In the Bible the word “know” is a relationship word. It points to God’s love and affection. So, in Amos 3:2 we read

You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;

And of course God knew about other nations besides Israel. So what it must mean is that out of all the nations of the world, you alone, Israel, have I set my affection and my love upon. We see this in other places too. Jesus will one day say to believers who professed faith in Him but who were not true believers, He will say

And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

And it can’t be that Jesus didn’t know those people. What He means is that He never had a relationship wit hthem. So to know someone means to set your love and your affection on them, and to foreknow them is to so before they had a chance to choose God or to trust God or to live for Him.
I read a story a couple of years ago about the oldest woman who ever lived. In 1995 she was 120 years old, living in France. Funny story about this lady: 30 years earlier in 1965, a retired attorney in France bought the rights to this lady’s apartment.l He wanted to live there. She was 90 yeas old in 1965 and he made a deal to pay $500 per month to keep that apartment until she died. He assumed that one day she would die and he could have her apartment. He even consulted actuarial tables to figure out the mathematical probability of her lifespan. So he was thinking he only had to pay $500 per month for a few years and then it would be hers.
But it was a bad deal. Because this lady lived 30 more years after he signed the contract. He was bound by the contract, though, and so over 30 years he paid $180,000 at $500 per month. And every month she would send him a card on her birthday and the card said, “Sorry I’m still here.”
Human forfeknowledge is not reliable, even when it seems like a mathematical certainty. The best human foreknowledge can achieve is probability. But God’s foreknowledge is always perfect, and the comfort here is that God’s foreknowledge of the future makes that future a certainty. Not only did God set His love on you before the foundation of the world. But He acted upon His foreknowledge and predestined you, meaning He determined to save you.
Now I get that predestination is a term that has all kinds of different connotations when it comes to God and theology. But think about this: rebgardless of what predestination means, it does mean this: the roots of my salvation goes much deeper than my choice or your choice to trust Christ. Those roots go much further back to the deepest possible level, to the eternal, consistent, unfailing, never-wavering purpose of God. That’s how certain your salvation is.
Why did God predestine us? What was His purpose? Look with me at verse 29.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers

Moms, likeness to Jesus is your destiny. He is what this is all about - not you and not me. Look at verse 29 the second part, “conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” We will be made like Jesus, not for our sake alone, but that for eternity Jesus might have the first place in the family of God. Church, it will be our highest joy in heaven to eternally give Jesus Christ that honor.
One question is: if you really believe that your ultimate destiny is to be like Jesus, would that change who you are and what you say and how you act today? Maybe you have kids that have trusted in Jesus. You believe that it was genuine but maybe you struggle to see the evidence in their lives day after day. Well, he reality is that our kids are sinners just like us, and myabe you have a son or daughter who you believe has walked away from the faith. Let me tell you something: these verses remind us that no true child of God will be left behind. Look back at verses 29-30 at how I’ve translated this for you:
“Everyone he foreknew, he predestined; everyone he predestined, these he he also called; everyone he called, these he also glorified.”
No one is left behind. Everyone who is predestined by God, God also called — no one is left behind. Everyone who is called, God also justified — nobody left behind. Everybody who is justified, He will one day glorify in heaven — nobody left behind. Jesus said, “My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all; no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” If your children and grandchildren belong to Jesus, you can count on the fact that His grace will bring them home.

Conclusion and call for response

Let me conclude with this story and we’ll be done.
There was a mother who was worried about her son. Her son was brought up in church. His earliest memories were of children’s choir and VBS and all of that. HE went on youth mission trips and youth choir trips every time the cdoor was open by his own church. He read his Bible on his own. Seemed to have real love in his heart for Jesus.
But then he went to college. He stopped going to church. His Bible began to collect dust in his dorm room. The friends he hung out with in college were different and they made him different too. She didn’t know, but she was worried about her son who seemed to be wayward but earlier in his life he had seemed to really love Jesus.
She didn’t always knew what to do for him, but in another sense she always knew there were two things she had to do. She knew she had to love him, and she knew she had to pray for him. And she did both, faithfully, for years.
And eventually her wayward son came home to the Father. Or more accurately, the Father pursued her son and brought him home. Either way, her son was reconciled to God.
And if you have a wayward child, this is your calling. I don’t presume to tell you what to do. Many of you in the room this morning have been praying faithfully for your children since before I was born 41 years ago. But you pray for that child, you love that child, and one day in God’s providence, your prayers will be the instrument God uses to bring your child home.
If your child doesn’t know Jesus, there’s still hope, because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Be careful what you say to the child; you don’t want to push them away. Seek practical ways, when appropriate, to speak truth into their life. Love them. Pray for them. Be there for them. Most importantly, love and pray, as my mom did, because the young man in that story I told just now was me. Pray for God to bring Christian friends into their life. And be patient and wait for God to work. I’ve always believed that the sincere prayers of a mother are precious to God.
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