Chosen, Cherished, and Released: Honoring Mothers' Sacrifice

You see, you have to decide what you're gonna do with Jesus and what you do with Jesus decides, well, what he's gonna do with you. Because one of two things are gonna get blotted out, erased. Either your sins because you believe and receive him or your name out of the book of life. And I trust you've already made that decision. And if you haven't, today would be the day. You say, Lord, you became sin. What I have done, you've never done, but you became sin that I might have your righteousness. And I believe that, and I receive that, and I need it. [00:28:59] (52 seconds)  #DecideForJesus

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit is spirit. There has to be a a birth, but it's different than your original birth. So let me ask you the question that George Whitfield can't stop asking. He he preached 300 times on John three. Have you been born again? When? What does that mean? Is that just a term somebody else uses? Some Jesus freak that said they were born again? When were you born again? Because there are Christians on this planet. I met him who say, yeah. I'm a Christian, but I'm not one of those born again types. That's the only type there is. [00:43:10] (32 seconds)  #BornAgainBeliever

I remember in school, teachers didn't want us to use pen because we'd make mistakes, and then we'd have to cross it out and just do it in pencil. Even when I was a police officer, they make you write it in pencil back then. Same reason. But there are erasers that can handle pen. Those were amazing. You see, you have to decide what you're gonna do with Jesus and what you do with Jesus decides, well, what he's gonna do with you. Because one of two things are gonna get blotted out, erased. Either your sins because you believe and receive him or your name out of the book of life. [00:28:29] (59 seconds)  #FaithErasesSin

And she looked at him and she said, pastor, you're wrong. You are wrong. I am damaged, but god's god can use god can use extremely damaged goods. You're wrong. After the pastor left, she called her son, Davey. She said, you know what, Davey? As long as you have breath, as long as anybody has breath, God can use them. Not long after that, new pastor came in and called her and said, miss Gibbs, we we have, you know, the church here and, we have a Sunday school, but we don't have any children. I I was wondering, would you be willing to head up our Sunday school? [01:18:21] (42 seconds)  #GodUsesTheBroken

And if you say, no, I've I've never done that. Well, I wanna remind you that the command to honor your father and mother is still in the bible. And by the way, there is no expiration date. It doesn't mean while you're still a kid living at home, you know, you gotta make them breakfast in bed and that's mother's day celebration. Listen, we're to honor our fathers and mothers throughout the rest of our lives. That command is still on us. And if you say, well, I can't get to my mom. She's gone. Guess what? God's listening. Your children are listening. [01:14:07] (32 seconds)  #HonorParentsAlways

And so the Lord gives us confession, and he gives us communion to remind us what Jesus did for us. So we just wanna invite you into a time of celebrating your savior and the forgiveness that's yours. Own it. Say, Lord, I'm far from you if you are. Lord, I I haven't really even told you about some stuff I've done. I know you know it and you already paid for it, but I wanna admit it because I don't want it to hurt my fellowship with you today. I wanna be close to you right now. [00:21:35] (30 seconds)  #ConfessAndReconnect

But actually, there's a there's a depth of treasuring in a mother's heart that doesn't fit into even their child's heart. And I I love this about moms. They care so deeply. They remember things that we did that they're not even sure what it all means, but it's precious to them because it was you that said it. It was you that experienced it. I love that. Put this down. Mothers must eventually let go. And this, of course, relates to what we talked about last week in John chapter two verses three and four. Mary comes and says they have no wine. Jesus said, what is that to me to you? [00:56:03] (39 seconds)  #MothersMustLetGo

The the faith that that Timothy had came from a mom who evidently came from her mom. And maybe some of you here, your mom was used in a unique way to either bring you to salvation or at least to reflect the Lord. And for a lot of us, maybe we've never even appreciated the fact that god used our mothers as an example to us. I I heard of a little boy. He had one line in the church play. He was so nervous. One line? The line was, I am the light of the world. That was it. He had memorized it. He had practiced it. [00:50:18] (36 seconds)  #FaithPassedDown

But the psalmist said the nearness of God is my good, and I know that to be true. Amen. You were made in his image, made for his glory. Jesus died for you so that you could have that chasm between you and God. The Bible says we were without God in this world. That's the way we're born. I don't care if you grew up in church, this church, you were without God, without hope in this world. But if you've come to Christ, you've had that relationship restored, but sin can damage that. Can damage your fellowship with him, and it does. [00:21:02] (33 seconds)  #RestoredToGod

But there comes a point where you realize that's not what arrows are for, just to have a full quiver. And the arrow comes out and it's still held in the hand of the father, let's say, the mother, but it's put into the bow and it's pulled back and there's tension. That's called adolescence, by the way. And then by the one who's holding it, it's aimed. But there comes a moment where you have to let go. And at that moment, like I told you before about the way I bowl, it doesn't matter. You you can't make anything change after you let go. You really can't. [01:00:07] (49 seconds)  #LetGoAndLaunch

My mom, like so many of yours, basically said to me her whole life without ever saying it in words, you were worth it. You were definitely worth it. But mothers endure difficulties to birth. Then let her see a mother's love and faith are heartfelt. They're heartfelt. Now not everyone's mother in this room led you to faith in Christ, but some of our mothers believed before we did. And I'd say maybe more often is that the case, but I don't know your situation. But I do know my own and I also know what Paul said to Timothy. [00:49:19] (40 seconds)  #MothersAreWorthIt

And I'm gonna challenge you and encourage you. Write something. Put it on the Internet. If you wanna put it on Facebook, let people know that you are grateful for your mom. Tell your story and let your kids be blessed by it. Now, like I said, all of us didn't have moms that are were on fire for the Lord are great examples, but some of us did and some of us saw a work in them that we didn't even at the time appreciate. I did not appreciate. I'll be honest with you. After I got saved, you know what I started to do? Witness to my mom. Yeah. No. [01:14:39] (31 seconds)  #ShareYourMomsStory

There's, you've heard me say this. Christians are like belly buttons. There's innies and outies. You're either in the kingdom of God or you're out of it. And except you be converted, you're still out of it. You must have a change. It has to happen. And so we're here to recognize physically our mothers were used to bring us physical life. God used them, but there's a greater birth that God wants us to have. And our mothers were used to bring us into this world. Put this down, letter b. Mothers endure difficulties to birth us. [00:43:42] (32 seconds)  #SpiritualBirthMatters

And one of the reactions to Catholicism has been to downplay the role of Mary to an extreme. That's that's that's sad because she is uniquely blessed of God. We need to appreciate that. So there's the balance for us today in looking at her. Don't be offended that we're looking at her. I hope it's, in fact, it's a study I've never done before. So I I I'm looking forward to doing it. But if you're taking notes, please do. It's it's in your, bulletin there. Fill in these blanks as we go through this. First of all, recognize your mother was chosen [00:40:21] (32 seconds)  #RecognizeYourMother

You know, the Bible says that the wicked flee when no one's pursuing them. But the righteous, David says, since what we just sang. I'm being pursued too, but it's by the goodness of God, the love of God. Have you been so long in the goodness of God that it just becomes normal for you? You just don't know how God wants to bless you next? Or do you feel like, well, I I can't relate to that? The Quaker Oats man in the commercial on the package comes alive and says, nothing is better for thee than me. [00:20:10] (49 seconds)  #AbidingInGodsGoodness

Not because I ate the bread, not because I drank the juice, but because you died for me. I'm forgiven. I am free, and I'm yours. Lord, thank you. That's what we get to say today. That you would want us doesn't make sense, but we're not gonna argue about it. We're just gonna say thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless the lord. Would you pass your cups somewhere? [00:30:40] (37 seconds)  #ForgivenAndFree