Honoring Mom (Mother’s Day 2008)

Honoring Mom (Mother’s Day 2008)

“Honoring Mom”

(Deuteronomy 5:16)

Mother’s Day

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

First Baptist Henderson, KY

(5-11-08) (AM)

 

  • Take your Bibles and open to Deuteronomy, chapter 5.

 

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible.  We will be returning to our study through the book of Acts next Sunday but today we’re honoring our mothers across the nation on this Mother’s Day and so we’re looking at a text that will instruct us to that end: Deuteronomy 5.

 

Deuteronomy contains what we could call “Farewell Messages” from Moses.  He is preaching his last words to a generation that will cross over and enter into the Promised Land of Canaan.  Moses wants to help the new generation avoid some of the mistakes of their parents and grandparents.  And so Moses tells them how to get along in this new land they are inheriting and one of things Moses does is to review some of the helpful laws that God had given the people.  Specifically in Deuteronomy 5 Moses reviews the 10 Commandments.

 

  • Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

 

You see how this chapter begins, this reviewing of the 10 Commandments there in verse one of chapter 5: “And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak to your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.’”  And then he gives them the 10 Commandments.

 

You can divide the commandments into two halves: the first half concern our relationship with God and the second half concern our relationship with others.  In the first few commandments, God tells us things like, “You shall have no other gods before Me” and, “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.”  God tells us how to get along with Him.  Then in the second half of the Commandments God tells us how to get along with others.  I want to read just one verse that begins this half of the Commandments, commandments that tell us how to get along with others.  It’s verse 16.  Let me read it and then we’ll pray.

 

16 ‘ Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

 

  • Pray.

 

Introduction:

 

I read about a young preacher who was preparing to preach his very first sermon.  Because it was his very first sermon he wanted to do a really good job and so he wanted the “perfect” introduction, you know, one that really got the peoples’ attention.

 

So he went to an older pastor and asked if he had a sermon introduction that would really get the peoples’ attention.  The older pastor smiled and said, “Son, I’ve got an introduction that works every single time.  I’ve used it for years and it is guaranteed to work.”  He said, “Here’s what I do.  I get into the pulpit and I make this statement: ‘Some of the greatest days of my life were spent in the arm of another man’s wife.’  He said, ‘Then I pause for a moment and then I say: ‘My mother!’”  The pastor said, “That introduction will definitely get their attention.”  Then he said, “Now remember, don’t forget to pause for a moment and, whatever you do, don’t forget to say, ‘My mother!’”

 

Well, the Sunday came when that young man was to stand to preach his first sermon.  He was going to be so scared.  And on top of his anxiety, the young man had forgotten to tell his wife about how he was going to open his sermon with the smashing introduction.  So, he walked up to the pulpit, nervously cleared his throat and said, ‘Some of the greatest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife.’  Then he paused for a moment but, as he was pausing, he saw his wife—who was a rather large and hot-tempered woman—angrily getting up out of her seat and stomping down the aisle, making her way down front to the pulpit!

 

So he said again, “Some of the greatest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife.”  And he paused again, but by this time his wife was marching up onto the platform and he quickly said again, “Some of the greatest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife—and for the life of me I can’t remember who that woman was!”

 

Well this morning we’re going to take some time to remember our mothers.  My sermon is derived from verse 16 in Deuteronomy 5.  From this one verse we find two truths we must remember as we honor our moms this Mother’s Day.  Here’s the first truth.  Number one:

 

I.  Honoring Mom is Required by our God (16a)

 

16 ‘ Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you,

 

It could hardly be any clearer.  God says, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD         your God has commanded you.”  While both parents are in view here, I am focusing specifically on mothers.  So honoring mom is required by our God.  It is not an option.

 

Let’s talk about this first part of verse 16.  The word “honor” there is a word that means “to esteem,” or, “to recognize the value of.”

 

When you go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy or some place like that and you bring your item to the counter and pull out a gift card to make your purchase the cashier scans that card and then makes the transaction.  That cashier “honors” the card.  The cashier is “recognizing the value of” that card.  That card is not just any card.  It is a card that has an inherent value.

 

God says our moms have an intrinsic worth, an inherent value that we are to recognize.  So the 5th commandment begins by instructing us to recognize the value of our moms.

 

For most of us this commandment is relatively easy to carry out.  We are grateful for our mothers.  We thank God for our mothers.  We have little difficulty recognizing the value of our moms.

 

But some of us may struggle a bit here because we may feel our moms are not worthy of the honor we’re commanded to bestow upon them.  Some say, “Well, you don’t know my mother,” or, “Good thing you never knew my mom!”  Can I share with you a statement I read this week?  Here’s what it says, are you ready?  Simply this:

 

“Only perfect children have a right to demand perfect parents.”  Can I quote that again?  “Only perfect children have a right to demand perfect parents.”

 

See, if you’re a Christian, you can be grateful for your mom no matter how many mistakes she may have made.  The commandment does not say, “Honor your mother only if she is perfect.”  It simply says, “Honor your mother.”  There’s no qualifier there.  Honor her.  Recognize her inherent value, recognize her intrinsic worth.

 

You say, “Well, she hurt me,” or, “She’s not even a Christian.”  Granted, but can you thank God for how He’s given you the grace to learn from her?  It may seem trite to say this but truthfully, were it not for your mother you wouldn’t be here this morning.  Can you at least see the grace of God in that?

 

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.  Old things have passed away.  Behold all things have become new.”  Maybe you used to have a hard time forgiving your mom for what you feel she did or didn’t do to you, but in Christ, that hardly matters now.  You are a new creation in Christ and you do not live in the past.

 

Remember Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you.”  Only perfect children have a right to demand perfect parents.  Forgive even as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you.  Learn from your mom.

 

Having said that, let me say a word to moms this morning about how you can live a life worthy of the honor you are to receive.  This is a word to both moms and dads.

 

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the ways he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  That proverb refers to the parents’ most important task: raising their children in the ways of God.  Now if that frightens you, moms and dads, let me encourage you by reminding you that it doesn’t happen all at once.  Training up children is a process.

 

You’re in Deuteronomy 5.  Look over at the next page or two to Deuteronomy 6.  Moses is saying, “I’m giving you these important words about following God.”  Look at Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

 

That verse teaches us that parents bear ultimate responsibility for raising their children in the ways of God.  It is not the church’s primary responsibility.  It is the parents’ primary responsibility.  The church affirms the biblical instruction that children receive in the home.

 

But note that this is a process of learning.  It doesn’t happen all at once.  We are to teach our children when we “sit in the house, walk by the way, lie down, and rise up.”  And that’s just one day!  This is a process, day by day, month by month, year by year.  Always look for those teachable moments and teach your children the things of God.

 

I hope you do that especially on Sundays.  After our Sunday services I like to ask our boys, “What did the preacher preach about?”  And we try to begin our days by reading a chapter from the Bible and praying together before the kids rush off to school.  Take some time, moms and dads, to teach the kiddos and be encouraged that they don’t learn everything all at once.

 

Honoring Mom is required by our God.  Here’s the second part of verse 16:

 

II.  Honoring Mom Results in our Good (16b)

 

What is the good that follows?  Second part of verse 16:

 

that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

 

That’s a promise!  That’s what Paul says in Ephesians 6:1-3.  He says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”

 

Paul says this is the first of the 10 Commandments with a promise.  If we’ll honor our moms, it will go well with us.  That’s the idea here.  Specifically, to the nation of Israel, it would go well with them in the land, in the Promised Land of Canaan they were preparing to enter.  By way of application, when we honor our moms, it goes well with us.

 

And it does!  When we honor mom, recognizing her inherent worth, recognizing her intrinsic value, it goes well with us.

 

We have a better quality of life when we honor our moms and dads.  Why?  For the same reason things go better for us when we obey all the commands of God.  When we obey God, He honors our obedience.  This is why when I am counseling folks and the Bible speaks clearly to a particular issue such as forgiveness, or tithing, or faithfulness in marriage, I’ll say, “That’s what God says in His word and if you’ll do it, God will honor your commitment.”

 

That’s the idea.  Do what God says and He will honor your obedience.  Honoring mom is required by our God.  And honoring mom results in our good.

 

I came across some of these lessons our mothers taught us.  This is entitled, “Lessons my mother taught me.”  Here’s just a few:

 

My mother taught me Logic: Because I said so, that’s why.

My mother taught me Foresight: Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.

My mother taught me about Time Travel: If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!

My mother taught me Irony: Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about.

My mother taught about Contortionism: Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck.

My mother taught me To Appreciate A Job Well Done: If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside; I just finished cleaning.

My mother taught me about Religion: You better pray that will come out of the carpet.

 

Concluding Illustration:

 

When it comes to honoring our mothers, do you know who the best example in the Bible is?  The best example is Jesus.  Think about it.  Remember in Luke 2 when he was just 12-years-old, somehow he got left behind in Jerusalem, separated from mom and dad.  They go back to Jerusalem and find him in the temple talking with the scholars.  They say, “We’ve been looking for you!”  He tells them He had to be about His Father’s business, but then the very next verse says that He was obedient to His parents, subject to them.  You think about that!  Unlike most 12-year-olds today, here’s a 12-year-old boy who really does know more than His mom and dad!  And yet, though He knows more than mom and dad combined, He obeys them.  Jesus perfectly demonstrates what it means to honor mom.

 

Then we have some of His last words as He’s being led away to Calvary to die on the cross.  Even there we see Jesus honoring His mother.  The Bible says in John 19 that Jesus’ mother stood there by the cross, along with her sister and along with Mary Magdalene and the disciple John.  And even in his last words, He honors His mother by providing care for her before He dies.  Referring to John, Jesus says to His Mother, “Behold your son” and then to John He says, “Behold your mother” and the Bible says in John 19:27, “And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”

 

Here’s a practical way to apply this message today.  If your mother is no longer living, take some time today to just bow your head and thank God for your mom.  You might pray a prayer something like this: “Dear God, I realize that only perfect children have the right to demand perfect parents.  I know I’m not perfect.  And I thank you for my mother.  Thank you for giving me a mom from whom I could learn so much.  I praise You.  Amen.”

 

Now if your mother is still living, you too can pray and thank God for her.  But because she is still living you honor her greatly by telling her today that you love her.  Call her and tell her thank you.  It will honor her.

Invitation…

 

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