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noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (6/15/2005 2:02:52 PM)
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Finally, here are the notes for Pastor Reid Clark's sermon on Mother's Day, 5/8/05. Sorry that it's taken me so long, gang, but I've had some things crop up that needed to be taken care of, and I also needed to get the texts and PowerPoint slides burned to a couple of discs. That's the reson for the delay. So, without any further adieu, here is the sermon.
Title: Mothers in Israel
Here is some Mother’s Day trivia: During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.
During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass every year.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
No man is poor who has had a godly mother. Abraham Lincoln.
An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest. Spanish proverb
Why honor mothers?
* Cultural forces in our nation de-value motherhood
* Satan would love to warp and destroy Biblical womanhood
* Motherhood is subject to much fatigue, discouragement, and confusion
* God places a high value on motherhood
* The Bible has a lot to say about motherhood
* Motherhood is plain hard work
Another reason for honoring mothers is that motherhood is subject to sorrow. The first use of the word “mother” in the Bible is in the context of separation – the son “leaving” his mother. The second reference to Eve’s motherhood relates to the pain of childbirth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told that “a sword will pierce your soul.”
Mothers – and women in general . . .
* have many roles and tasks
* should be loved and cared for
* must fight to follow God’s plan
1. Mothers – and Women in General – have to do whatever is required
If you were to try and pin down a job description for Godly women – from the Bible – you’d be hard pressed to do it. Women in the Bible wore so many hats that any woman should be able to identify with one of them. You see sinful women and saintly women, wealthy women and poor women, influential women and obscure women, barren women and women who had babies every time they turned around, old foolish women and young wise women. There are all types of women in the Bible. Let’s look at a few and their characteristics:
A) Deborah (Judges 4-5)
- was serving as judge in Israel - only because men were not willing to do the job. Deborah is pointed to by the feminists as the prototype of God’s design for women to lead in the church. But the way in which she led and served is so much different from what is often portrayed, which we'll look at later on.
- She was a prophetess, a strong and godly woman
- She heard from God and was very wise - in Him
However, I think that the Biblical text shows us that her leadership – as a woman – was not the norm, but unusual in the history of God’s people. Here’s why:
o She tried to get a man to do what he was supposed to do and rebuked him when he didn’t
o The setting in Israel was a time of upheaval and many of the judges were, shall we say, less than exemplary. She apparently was an example in her character, but not setting a precedent by her gender. One write said, “Because the rule of women was not normal in Israel, her prominence implies a lack of qualified and willing men”.
o The scripture does not say that “the Lord raised up” Deborah – as it says for some of the other judges – but that “Deborah was judging”. So, even though He used her, there is a question as to whether this was His ideal.
o She was not a national leader, but more of a local leader.
o I’m not sure how much weight to put on this, but her husband’s name is feminine in gender. Might he have been an example of the Israelite men shirking their manly roles?
o Two times in Isaiah, the consequences of God’s judgment on the nation involves rule by “youths” or “women” (Isaiah 3:4,12)
Deborah is the subject of some debate between feminists and conservative Biblical scholars. Jewish writers don’t treat her well at all – and I think unfairly. One writer in the Talmud scornfully refers to her and says that her name, in Hebrew, means “hornet”. Other scholars say that Deborah means “honey bee”. See the tension?
I think that Deborah is a wonderful example of a woman’s ability to adapt and function in roles that may not be ideal. I think that she’s also an example of what women are forced to do when men shirk their duties. But as for ability – she had it. As for courage – she had it. As for her dedication to God – she had it, and gave Him the praise in the song in chapter 5. As for ability to hear from God – she had it. As for wisdom – she had it. But I believe that she also tried to encourage men to do what they were supposed to do – a good example for mothers today and women in general.
B) Ruth
- a most remarkable woman
- young and widowed, she was given the opportunity by her mother-in-law to return to her native land.
- she, instead, makes the life-altering decision to stay with Naomi to help and minister to her
- as a result, she receives great blessings from God, and from Boaz.
Ruth is an example today of a woman filling an unusual role, being devoted and loyal to the elderly and needy, and being blessed by God for it. Ruth is also an example for Godly women today.
2. Mothers – and women in general – should be loved and cared for
a. Old Testament law – although it seems strange in many ways to us, protected women. They had rights and protections by law, and were not treated as property. It has been pointed out that Christianity did more for the status of women that anything else in history. And we see it in the OT. There would have been no person more vulnerable than a widow in those days, but the law prescribed how they were to be cared for.
b. Exodus 20 – we are commanded by God, in His “short list” of do’s and don’t’s, to honor our mother. God thought it so important that He included it in the 10 Commandments.
c. Ephesians – men are commanded to love their wife, using the highest example of love ever expressed as their model. They are commanded to love their wife “as they love their own body”, and to even lay down their life for their wife.
d. Colossians – men are commanded to love our wives and not to be harsh with them
e. 1 Peter – men are commanded to live with our wives in an understanding manner, so that our prayers may not be hindered. Husband, if you’re not treating your wife as you should, no wonder you can’t get answers to prayer!
God’s plan is for men to love and care for women. This extends farther than the husband-wife relationship and encompasses male-female relationships in general. Men ought to be opening doors for women, we ought to be giving up our seat to a woman, we ought to be defending women in war, and we ought to be caring for women and children in need. That’s what men ought to be doing. Mothers – and women in general – should be loved and cared for. But they have a part in this, too.
3. Mothers – and women in general – must fight to follow God’s plan
a. Temptation to rule
i.) Genesis 3
1. I wonder if you understand the effect of the curse that God placed on all of creation when Adam and Eve sinned. Do you may understand how God cursed Adam and Eve specifically in their relationship to each other?
Here’s what God said in Genesis 3:16-17. Among other things, God said to Eve, “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Now, at first glance, that sounds like she’ll now begin to crave her husband’s attention and affection and that he will now be in the leadership role. However, that’s not it.
The word “desire” is a word which means to crave mastery. It’s the same word used in 4:7, when God told Cain that “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” The curse, for Eve, turned her loving partnership with Adam into a struggle for control. Likewise, Adam’s leadership now turns into domination and rule. Men err on one of two sides – either domination or passivity. God’s place is in the middle – loving leadership. Women err when they begin to try to control and usurp their husband’s leadership. Only in Jesus can we relate correctly together – and even then we have to fight the flesh to overcome.
ii.) Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3
1. The NT clearly teaches that wives are to submit to their husband’s leadership
b. Temptation to follow worldly values and priorities
Over one hundred years ago, G.K. Chesterton asked: "Can anyone tell me two things more vital to the race than these; what man shall marry what woman, and what shall be the first things taught to their first child?" Chesterton goes on to comment that: "the daily operations surrounded her with very young children, who needed to be taught not so much anything but everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, a woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren't...Our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world....But when people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean....If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge (at his work)....But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless, and of small import to the soul, then I say give it up...."
How can it be an (important) career to tell other people's children about mathematics, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?...A woman's function is laborious...not because it is minute, but because it is gigantic. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.
i. Work
The world wants you ladies to think that a career is more important than the anonymity of being a homemaker and mother. It is a lie from hell. And I know something else – many times, it’s easier to work outside the home than it is to be a homemaker and mom. Don’t give in to that temptation. Paul told Titus that older women were to teach the younger ones to be “keepers in the home” and to “love their husband and children”. That’s plain and simple.
ii. Childbearing
The world, being the devil’s mouthpiece, wants you to think that pregnancy is a disease to be avoided. Seventy-five years ago, you wouldn’t have heard of Christian women using birth control. Now, we somehow think it’s a right and even a responsibility. However, the Bible says that God opens and closes the womb and that children are a sign of God’s blessing. There is not a nobler mission than to bear and raise children – whatever lies Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem have bred into our culture.
iii. Childrearing
And what about the job of raising children who know and love Jesus? Is there a nobler call. Spurgeon said, “I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother. I remember her once praying, "Now Lord, if my children go on in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior."
c. Temptation to despair
Eight common challenges faced by mothers of young children:
1) Low self-esteem
2) Monotony and loneliness,
3) Stress from too many demands
4) Lack of time with husband
5) Confusion about discipline
6) Home atmosphere
7) Need for outside role models,
8) Training of children. Susan A. Yates
Yes, mothers, there is a strong temptation to worry and to despair and to be overwhelmed. But you have to know that your children WILL one day rise up and call you blessed. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain. One day there will be generations around the throne of God who look to you and say “Thank you for fighting against the lies and temptation to shirk the duties of Godly motherhood. Thank you for believing the Bible and that God’s ways are the best ways. Jesus said, ‘Wisdom is proven by her children’, and the wisdom of your choices is shown by the worshippers around the throne who came from your body”.
The mother of three notoriously unruly youngsters was asked whether or not she'd have children if she had it to do over again. "Yes," she replied. "But not the same ones." David Finkelstein, Reader's Digest.
Ladies, you are in a battle. A battle for God’s priorities and values. You are a prime target, and, sadly, we men haven’t protected you as we should – just as Adam didn’t protect Eve. But today we want to re-commit ourselves to being what we should be to you.
I want to close by challenging all you women, mothers or not, to be what God has called you to be.
After his closing prayer, instead of singing a hymn or praise song, we were asked to be seated. Then came the moment that many of us had been dreading for several years: Reid announced to us that he was going to be leaving. During the nearly 2 years that we were between Senior Pastors, he filled the pulpit very admirably. This confirmed to him that his ultimate calling was to have a church of his own. He had been "putting his name in the hat" for months, but the call never came. He then began to look at being part of our denomination's Church Planting Program, but this was not what God had in mind. For years, Reid has been drawn towards the Sovereign Grace network of churches, because of their doctrine, their worship style, and their emphasis on small groups. He has been led by God to go back home to Georgia (the Atlanta area) and link up with a friend of his at a Soverign Grace church until such time as he can attend their Pastors College and plant a church of his own. He will be working in the secular job market again, all the while sewing seeds for the future congregation he will lead - in God's perfect time. Reid, his wife Marjorie, and their 4 children - Mary Evelyn, Paul, William, and Annie Rose - will be greatly missed by our entire Body, but we rejoice in what God is doing in their lives.
Duane
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