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A Mother’s Influence Introduction: A. Being a mother is not a walk in the park… 1.
A Junior High science teacher lectured on the properties of
magnets for an entire class. a)
The next day he gave his students a quiz. b)
The first question read like this: “My name begins with an
“M,” has six letters, and I pick things up. What am I?” Half the kids in the
class wrote, “Mother.” 2.
That reminds me of the father who was trying to explain the
concept of marriage to his 4-year-old daughter. a)
He got out their wedding album, thinking visual images would
help, and explained the entire wedding service to her. b)
When he was finished, he asked if she had any questions. c)
She pointed to a picture of the wedding party and asked, “Daddy, is that when mommy came to work for us? 3.
a)
Mothers, we call you blessed – and we thank you for pouring
your lives into ours. 4.
Cartoon in the Saturday Evening Post - a young boy about five
or six years old talking on the telephone, saying, "Mom is in the
hospital, the twins and Roxie and Billie and Sally and the dog and me and Dad
are all home alone." 5.
a)
We praise God for mothers who worship and adore the Lord and
who pass this on to their children. 6.
I’m aware that Mother’s Day is a difficult time for some of
you. a)
Maybe you want to be a mother but you can’t be for some
reason b)
Perhaps some of you have not had the best mother in the world
c)
Some of you have had a mother who has died d)
Some of you mothers have lost a child to death e)
Some of you mothers feel the pain of a wayward child this
morning f)
And, some of you are flying solo as you work hard to nurture
your child’s faith B. A Grandmother, a Mother, and a Boy 1.
I’d like to introduce you to a woman named Eunice. a)
She was raised in a religious home and was greatly impacted
by her mother Lois. b)
She learned the stories from the Bible from her mother when
she was young. c)
She became attracted to a young man who was not into her religion
at all. d)
She married the man. e)
In the meantime, Eunice’s dad had died so they asked her
mother Lois to come and live with them. 2.
After a couple years of marriage, Eunice and her husband had
a baby boy who they named Timothy. a)
Little Timothy was a delight to everyone. b)
Both his mother and grandmother spent hours with him,
teaching him the stories of the Old Testament, praying with him and for him,
and training him in the things of God. c)
They didn’t have any Veggie Tale videos or a back yard Bible
class nearby, but they created a spiritual environment where Timothy could grow
and learn about God. 3.
Then, one day, a preacher named Paul came to their town of a)
Both Lois and Eunice listened intently. b)
They saw in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises in the
Old Testament and placed their trust in Him and were saved. c)
Eunice and Lois then focused on teaching Timothy all they had
learned about Jesus. d)
We know from reading the book of Acts that Paul himself took
a personal interest in Timothy and became his spiritual father. 4.
Several years later, Paul and Timothy partner together in
ministry as the gospel continues to spread throughout a)
Many years later, while Paul is in prison, awaiting his
execution, he writes two letters to young Timothy. b)
These letters contain some teaching about how Timothy should
behave as a church leader and are also filled with some reminiscing from
Paul. c)
As Paul writes these letters, 1 Timothy
and 2 Timothy, he reflects on the mothers who made an impact in Timothy’s
life. 5.
With that as background, let’s see how these passages show a
mother and a grandmother making a significant spiritual impact on their
children. I.
Lead Them to the Savior
(2 Timothy 3:15) 15 and that from childhood you have known the
sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. A. Introduce them to Jesus 1.
Eunice Timothy to know the Lord Jesus Christ. a)
She taught him about Jesus, and expected that he would accept
Christ as Savior. 2.
The word "leads" in this verse speaks of
anticipation. a)
When a mother anticipates, prays and leads toward Christ, she
has every right to expect the cooperation of God in bringing her child to the
Lord. This sounds simple; but it is not easy...or cheap. b)
Susannah Wesley, mother of 19, two of which were John and
Charles Wesley, is said to have prayed one hour every day for her children.
She was strict. But she was unselfishly faithful. c)
No wonder her children were used of God to bring blessing to
all of d)
She had six rules for teaching her children the priority of
the Savior: (1)Subdue self-will in a
child and thus work together with God to save his soul. (2)Teach the child to pray
as soon as he can speak. (3)Give the child nothing he
cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely. (4)To prevent lying, punish
no fault, which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act
to go unnoticed. (5)Commend and reward good
behavior. (6)Strictly observe all
promises you have made to your child. 3.
What is so familiar about these rules is it is exactly the
way the Lord treats us. 4.
Children should learn the love of the Father in heaven first
by seeing it in their mother. II. Instill a Respect for Scripture (2 Timothy 3:14-15) A. Teach them when young 1.
In a)
Then in verse 14, Paul urges Timothy to hang tough when the
tough times come: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and
become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” b)
Timothy did this because he saw it modeled in his mother, in
his grandmother, and in Paul himself. 2.
Grandmother Lois and mother Eunice taught the Holy Scriptures
to Timothy from the very beginning. a)
The word “infancy” in some passages refers to a newborn baby
or a toddler. b)
They read to him, they talked about Samson and Samuel, David
and Ruth, Abraham and Noah. c)
They provided Timothy with the opportunity to learn all he
could about the Bible. 3.
They lived out the commands of 4.
It is never too early to start teaching the Bible to your
children and, it’s never too late to start if you haven’t already. a)
There is nothing that can replace your role in your child’s
life. 5.
Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. a)
One said he preferred the King James Version because of its
beauty and eloquent old English. b)
Another said he liked the New American Standard Version for
its literalism and how it moves the reader from passage to passage with
confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. c)
The third scholar was sold on the New Living Translation for
its use of contemporary phrases and idioms that capture the meaning of
difficult ideas. d)
After being quiet for a moment, the fourth scholar admitted:
“I have personally preferred my mother’s translation.” (1)When the other scholars
started laughing, he said, “Yes, she translated the Scriptures. My mom
translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing
translation I have ever read.” 6.
What kind of Bible is your child reading when he or she
observes your life? a)
They will learn what you live. III. Show Them a Faith That Is Real (2 Timothy 1:5) A. Modeling Faith 1.
The second way to make an impact in the lives of your
children is by showing them an authentic faith. 2.
We see this in 3.
Faith is not hereditary, it is learned. B. Sincere Faith 1.
The word, “sincere” related to faith means that it was “unhypocritical.” a)
It was real, without any pretense or false façade. b)
They were serious about their faith - and Timothy knew it. c)
No one knows better than a child
whether a parent’s faith is genuine. 2.
Notice the chain here: Lois to Eunice to Timothy. a)
Again, we don’t read of a grandfather or a father anywhere in
this equation. b)
That’s not to say that a father is not important - he is. c)
But a mother can make a significant spiritual impact on her children
with or without the help of a father. d)
Moms, if you want to instill sincere faith in your children
then you better take your own faith seriously. e)
As you demonstrate your faith consistently by reading the
Bible, praying, worshiping, and serving the Lord, you will send a strong
message to your children. 3.
I heard recently about a pastor who had a long conversation
with someone about becoming a member of his church. a)
When he was done the young man said he was ready to join. b)
The pastor was curious so he asked him, “What did I say that
convinced you to join the church?” c)
The man answered, “It was nothing I ever heard you say. It
was the way my mother lived.” IV. Instill a Desire to Minister (2 Timothy 3:16-17; The fourth way to impact your children is to
instill within them a desire to minister. Let’s pick up the story in There are at least three qualities in Timothy
that were passed down from his mother, and his grandmother: A. He was a disciple 1.
He is referred to as a disciple. Luke, the author of Acts,
could have referred to him as a believer or a Christian, but he chose to call
him a disciple. 2.
A disciple is a learner and a follower. 3.
A disciple was one who was serious about Christ, not just one
who was going through the motions. 4.
His mother modeled this type of authentic faith. B. He had a good reputation. 1.
The believers in the area spoke well of him. 2.
People knew him as a man of integrity and as a man of the
Word. 3.
Again, this had a lot to do with his mother and grandmother. C. He was available. 1.
Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. a)
As you continue to read the Book of Acts, you’ll see that
Timothy was eager to minister. b)
He knew it meant leaving home and he knew it meant facing
hardship. c)
Friends, there is no way this kind of commitment to ministry
develops if it has not been encouraged at home. 2.
When Paul stopped in Lystra for
this second time, he called on Timothy to come and be with him in ministry. a)
In 3.
Mothers, your job is to lead them to the Savior, then instill
a respect for the Bible, and then show them an authentic faith. 4.
But these elements are only precursors to the most important
job you have - that of instilling within your children a desire to minister. 5.
Our children are to learn the Bible and grow in their faith
so that they can become disciple-makers. a)
So they can share their faith with others. b)
So they can help others grow in the Lord. c)
So they can serve those who are hurting. d)
So they can become missionaries. 6.
The truth of the matter is this: we are saved in order to
serve. a)
We are discipled so that we can disciple others. b)
We are equipped so that we can equip others and evangelize
the world. c)
We are sanctified so that we can be sent to a lost and dying
world. d)
We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others! 7.
Many good men and faithful servants of God have the same
testimony. a)
The great Baptist preacher, G. Campbell Morgan had four sons.
b)
They all became preachers. c)
At a family reunion a friend asked one of the sons,
"Which Morgan is the greatest preacher?" With his eyes beaming with
delight, the son looked over to his father and said, "Why, it’s
Mother!" 8.
Is your child ready to serve God? 9.
Mother and Father are not honorary titles - they are working
job descriptions. 10.Mothers (and Dads), don’t
leave the spiritual teaching to the pastor or Sunday School
teacher. a)
A Spanish proverb says: “An ounce of mother is worth a pound
of clergy.” b)
YOU lead them to the Savior c)
YOU teach them the Scripture d)
YOU model a real faith for them e)
YOU prepare them for service |
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Ministries