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And with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God had respect on them It's all bow our heads and have a word of prayer Thank you Lord for bringing us here together to sing praises to you and hear your word be preached But we ask you please fill pastor with your Holy Spirit as it comes forward increase the message of the blade on his heart Lord We ask you to please give us all your ears to hear and hearts to receive the messenger. Lord We love you and in Jesus name you pray. Amen All right Amen, so happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there The title of the sermon this morning is the sacrifice of a mother the sacrifice of a mother And the reason why I'm calling it that is because you may not realize it or you may realize it What you do is a huge sacrifice or at least it should be Well, so what we're gonna do this morning is we're gonna look at three mothers in the Bible and they're lesser known Okay They're not extremely popular But the things that they did can teach us a great deal about not only motherhood But just courage and commitment and having some integrity because you see the world today, you know, they want you they want your children Let's just be honest Okay The world today wants you to be this mom that can somehow juggle a husband a full-time career and somehow You know raise your children And really what they mean by that is they want you to let them raise your children You see what you got to understand is if you don't raise your children if you don't have that sacrificial attitude that says hey I'm gonna teach my kids. I'm gonna discipline my kids Guess what somebody else will do that for you and you're not going to like the outcome. Okay, so First door we're gonna look at is right here in Exodus chapter number two It's the mother of Moses and if you remember if you read on in the book of Exodus you'll learn that his mother's name is Jacob and his father's name was Amram and so we're gonna take a look at jock a bed this morning So what we're gonna do is we're just gonna take these moms. We're gonna read about them We're gonna talk about what the conditions were like while they were alive and then we're gonna make some application and then we'll be done so look down there verse number one it says and then when a man out of the house of Levi that's Amram and took to wife a daughter of Levi and that would be jock a bed verse number two It says in the woman conceived and bear a son and when she saw him that he was a goodly child She hid him three months and that just means he was just a healthy, you know, good-looking, baby You know, most moms are gonna say that about their children except for some of you guys in here and I'm just kidding Just Look at verse three. It says when she could no longer or when she could not longer hide him She took for him an ark of bull rushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch and put the child there in and she laid It by the flags by the rivers brink. And so, you know how the old story goes, right? You watch the veggie tales you watch these cartoons about the Bible and they always have like Moses floating down the river Right and then there's you know, the cartoon characters like oh look, what's that? I hear something crying and then she's like go go fetch that thing out of the water and then they pull Moses You know floating out of the water. That's not what the Bible says though This says that she she obviously made this this container out of bull rush Or you know put pitch and slime so they wouldn't get wet and put him by the flags Well, that's just basically grass that grows out of like shallow water So she didn't put him in the river and let him float down. So the crocodiles could have a chance of getting them All right, she just she she's she's making preparation here, right? She's not gonna put her child and the river She doesn't have the heart to do that. And so she sets him in the best possible Place that she could obviously and we'll talk about this in a moment knowing that the royal Egyptians would go down there from time to time And it says in verse 4 and his sister stood afar off to wit what would be done to him verse 5 and the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river and her maidens walked along by the Riverside and when she saw the ark among the flags she sent her maid to fetch it and when she had opened it She saw the child and behold the babe wept and she had compassion on him and said this is one of the Hebrews children So right away you can see how God's Orchestrating is how he's got his hand in this he's protecting Moses, you know He's responding to that great faith that jock Abed has here in verse 7 It says then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter Shall I go and call to the a nurse of the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for thee and Pharaoh's daughter said to her go and the maid went and called the child's mother and Pharaoh's daughter said unto her take this child away and nurse it for me and I will give thee thy wages And the woman took the child and nursed it and the child grew and she brought him on to or I'm sorry And the child grew and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son and she called his name Moses and said because I Drew him out of the water. So yes, she did draw him out of the water, but not out of the depths of the river Okay, she just just something to remember there. So let's talk about what this means here So what this means here is that jock Abed put Moses in a dangerous situation to avoid a greater dangerous situation So what why I want to bring that up is because you as a mother are gonna find yourself Faced between a rock and a hard place oftentimes in life and you're gonna have to make a decision You know Every mom that says you know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and not vaccinate my children right, I'm just gonna go ahead and just Forfeit that not gonna comply You know You have all these so-called Scientists and all these gurus and all these experts and all these billionaires that don't vaccinate their own children on the media telling you Hey, if you don't do this your child's gonna get sick and everybody's gonna come at you and you're gonna think man You know what's going on here? Am I am I doing the right thing, but you know in your heart, you know Because of the Word of God that we shouldn't put unclean things like that into our body that you're making the right decision And so you take the other route and you say okay. Well, I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna protect my child that's still a dangerous situation But it's a better option than giving them to the world And I'm trying to tell you is that you're gonna find yourself in that position several times throughout your life in Jocka bed, you know, she obviously understands the culture during this time that the Egyptian government they will kill your child They're trying to exterminate the Hebrew people. That's why they said hey, we want all the male children that are born to die Because we don't like these people we don't want their God. We don't want anything to do with them anymore They've multiplied they become too mighty they become too great and we need to get them out of here So instead of packing them up and shipping them out. They said well, we'll just exterminate them Right, and that's exactly what the world does today There's a temptation to mothers in the world to sacrifice their children to the god of convenience down at the abortion clinic Is that not a real thing? There are women today that are really struggling with this decision That's you know Should I you know abort my child? Because the world is that strong the power of Egypt still reigns today in this country And we need more mothers to stand up and say no, I'm gonna sacrifice My reputation I'm gonna sacrifice my standing in the community I'm gonna sacrifice my standing with my own family if it means the safety of my child if I can save my child That's what we need today. That's how Jocka bed was and she was rewarded greatly for it Right. It's not like Moses was her only child. She had Aaron she had Miriam She obviously probably it doesn't say but I would imagine she probably lived the rest of her life with great faith Seeing how God responded to that great act of faith that she had And so number three I wanted to show you this the Jocka bed carefully planned the best situation for her child She didn't just throw caution to the wind Right. She obviously understands. Okay, this culture these people they mean business. They're going to I can't hide him anymore They're gonna kill him. What are my options here? Do I send him floating down the river? Do I just cast him off? Do I do I obey the government at this time or do I just you know? Pray and ask God to help me and look at those scenarios and the situations that I have to choose from and pick the best Possible one and that's exactly what she did I believe that she knew that the royal people would go down to the river brink there to bathe frequently I believe that she knew it doesn't say that that's my opinion. But I mean, why did she pick that area? Why did she pick the flags because it was a shallow bit of water, you know? No, probably no threat really of drowning at the time. She's got Moses sister out there, you know Keeping an eye on things watching things. It was the best scenario, you know And as a mother you have to weigh your options You have to weigh all you can't just give up and be like, oh well if I do this This is gonna happen if I do this this is gonna happen. I'm just not gonna do anything That's not gonna help anybody out. That's not gonna profit your child That's not gonna send a message to that child's heart down the road when they grow up. Is it? now what this also means is that She didn't have the privilege to even name her own child Think about that who named Moses Pharaoh's daughter did means that she drew him out of the water But you know what? It doesn't say the jock a bed cried the rest of her life about it, right? It doesn't mean that at all So, I mean think about the sacrifice that she gave that she had she had to literally give up I mean give all the way up her son To the point to where she knew I mean praise God that he was rescued But I mean it had to it had to sit with her for the rest of her life Knowing that she didn't get to even name her own child, you know, though the world did Egypt named him I think about that now luckily God turned it in for good now Look at verse number three and we're gonna make the first point this morning So point number one is this the sacrifice of a mother? Means giving up your heart for the life of your child Let me say that again the sacrifice of a mother means giving up your heart for the life of your child Look at verse number three it says and when she could not longer hide him she took for him an ark of bull rushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch and Put the child therein and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink Think about how she probably felt think about how you would feel if you had to give up your son in this same manner Guess what would be going in that arc with it. It would be your heart That's exactly what it would be And so that's why I said point number one is the sacrifice of a mother means giving up your heart for the life of your Child already talked about the vaccine situation, right? You know you're having to give up your heart because you know that you're gonna get flack You're gonna get emotional torment from the world for doing that. You're gonna get pushed back by your own family You're gonna get pushed back by all sorts of people and eventually you'll get pushed back by the government But you have to do what's best for your child. Even if that means giving up your heart Let's talk about this on a lower scale like sanctification and I don't want to downplay sanctification, right? But look, you know We we're not in jock-a-bed situation today, right? I understand things are getting bad in the world, but we're not in jock-a-bed situation today The government is probably not gonna at least not in Idaho right now gonna come and snatch your kids out of your house it's happening out here in California, but Not here, right? What are we trying to do as godly? Bible believing born-again Christians we're trying to raise godly children, right? And you know what? That means that when you're trying to raise them with sanctification, you're trying to keep them out of the world. That means discipline That means you have to discipline them and you know what there goes a part of your heart, right? It hurts when you see your child cry, does it not even when you know, they've done something wrong So when your child does something wrong, you have an option You can give them to Egypt which is a picture of the world and just not do anything and just comply and just be a Good little mama According to the world or you could say no what I'm gonna take you down by the river's brink I'm gonna spank your butt and I'm gonna listen to you cry for a little while. You know what that's your options It's a sacrifice every single day being a mother This is why I pick lesser-known women in the Bible to for this sermon Because you as a mother have probably the most important job in the world and guess what? The world doesn't even realize that they don't even know that They think the most important job in the world is being a CEO at some fortune 500 company. That's what they think But that's not what God thinks. That's not what the Bible teaches at all. And you know that But you've got to understand in your heart that it is a sacrifice Look homeschooling, you know what I'm hearing right now every house I go to just about I can't wait till the schools open and the bars I told you this was gonna be the the cry of the city right and now that's what I'm hearing every single day Hey, how are you surviving the coronavirus? They don't care about the virus anymore. They're like we're sucking It's horrible. I'm like man. What's going on? Did you get the virus? You know, no, no, but I'm about to kill these kids I don't we I think we need to pay teachers ten times more than we're paying right now And it's like oh I see what's going on You don't have the heart to sacrifice for your child This is what they're saying. I'm tired of working from home. I Want the schools open I want to go back to work and I want the bars to be open tests to Quench my pain that my family causes me I'm hearing it every single day house after house mom after mom dad after dad That's what's going on in the community right now and then and then out of the other part of their mouth They're like, well make sure you wear your mask and your gloves. Otherwise, you're gonna get me sick Okay, that's a whole nother deal right there, but that but that's the attitude today Those you're not gonna find those kinds of people in the Bible Those are the kinds of moms that eat their children when the famine really comes to town Seriously you read read in second Kings about how in Israel they were eating their own children And you know I bet you if you were to go back in time and talk to the mothers that were doing that you would find the same Ones that are complaining about their children being home from school today It's the same thing, but you know what at you as a godly born-again Bible-believing Christian mother, you know, you say, okay I've got an option again. I can go to Egypt or I can go down to the river's brink and just homeschool my child And you know what that's gonna take a lot of sacrifice That's gonna sacrifice your emotions because you're gonna have to become a very disciplined person You're going to need to develop patience and you're gonna need to develop some kind of a program to do that And guess what? That means you're not gonna get to do all the fun and and cool things in the world that maybe your sister's Doing or that your mom's doing or that your neighbor's doing or that people that you used to know are doing It's a sacrifice Every single day as a mother is a sacrifice or at least it should be But do you see jock a bed crying about it in the Bible No Surely if she was crying or she I regret this I should have just chucked him to the wind Keep us in bondage. That would have been recorded Because that would have been something we could learn from but it doesn't say that doesn't say that anywhere in there It just talks about how she had great faith Said I'm just gonna have to trust in the Lord to take care of my needs You know You got to remember Egypt in the Bible is often a picture of the world Egypt wants you and if they can't get you Because God's already got you then guess what? They want to exterminate you And they're gonna do that any way that they possibly can and in our day, how do they do it? They do it through the media They do it through the music that you listen to the stuff that you put in front of your eyes They do it by basically surrounding you with bozos at work They just can't shut their mouths and they just want to just just torment you day and night About the decisions that you make about the fact that you chose the hard route Right to raise your child Instead of just giving them over to Egypt And that's why I said point number one the sacrifice of a mother can sometimes mean giving up your heart for the life of your Child now, let's be thankful The conditions aren't like they are in Egypt and you don't have to actually physically give up your child And so just remember that you know, you're feeling discouraged from time to time as a mom. I'm sure Right think about these stories remember what these women went through and they made it out stronger It Didn't kill him think about that. Think about the the emotional pain that Jacobin must have felt at that river brink Not knowing what was gonna happen Who in here has been in that situation before nobody Not a single person Now think about all your problems and put them on that scale and then tell me what's wrong Tell Me that you can't stick to church. Tell me that you can't push forward with your homeschooling with your sanctification You show me you give me an excuse and I'll give you a Bible character They did ten times more than that and then would shoot. I mean, so this woman here would just laugh in your face When you get to have it, she's gonna be like look what is wrong with you snowflake? Did you have to put your child down at the river's brink and not know what would be come of him? You're worried about not being able to get on your Facebook and your Mario Brothers or I don't know if mom's play Mario I Forgot that the names of the all the games of the mom's play but you get what I'm saying. So All right next up go to first Samuel chapter number one first Samuel chapter number one So again point number one the sacrifice of a mother Means giving up the heart for the life of your child and that just doesn't mean physically that also means Spiritually if you want your children to be godly Born-again zealous sold-out Christians. Guess what? That means you have to give up your heart You have to put your feelings aside when that child's crying because you're disciplining them and you're doing what is right You have got to remove your heart from that. Otherwise, you will be giving them to Egypt. That's just the way it is That's how it works. There's no way around it Now next one we're gonna take a look at is Hannah who remembers Hannah Hannah's the wife of elkanah Samuel's mother All right, not a lot said in the Bible about her But there I mean the the the sacrifice and the things that she did Impacted the nation of Israel and made it possible for us to even read the things that we're reading today All right, so you're there in second Samuel chapter one We're gonna pick up reading in verse number 21, but I just want to give you some background up to that verse here So basically, you know how the story starts Starts off talking about how elkanah Samuel's father. He had two wives He loved Hannah more than the other and it when it came time for for offerings and sacrifice He would give Hannah a worthy portion the Bible would say and basically give the rest to his other wife and their children Just be you know, just give them enough to to satisfy them and just to get them going But he really loved Hannah more and because of that the Bible says that God stopped the womb of Hannah Seeing this could lead us into a whole nother sermon about multiple wives. See God said don't do it It's not wise and all you see in the Bible with these guys that have multiple wives is multiple problems Multiple multiple problems and that's what he's having here now because she was barren because she couldn't give birth Elkanah's other wife was vexing her like haha just teasing her just mocking her just putting under emotional torment so much where she just cried out God's she's just like saying my soul is vexed because I cannot bear my husband children Now think about that that's not quite as bad is what Jacob is going through but nonetheless she's living in a literal prison That's her family like it or love it. That's her family It's Elkanah his other wife and their children in her and she stuck there She made that commitment right along with Elkanah to marry him and she's stuck in this living hell I mean the Bible, you know Elkanah even tells her he's like what's wrong and she's like she's like I can't give you children and he's like am I not good unto thee am I not better unto thee than all that stuff? You know, but still she's tormented Still she's going through pain now with Hannah This is this is almost a hundred percent emotional and guess what? The Bible does teach that women, you know emotions play differently than men, you know when when problems happen What do guys mostly do they just want to solve it right away women want to sit down and want to think? Okay. Well we have this option this option this option Whereas I'm like now we're just gonna just do this Whether it's the best thing or not because I just want to get the problem solved and that's how it is You know, I don't always sit down there and weigh in my boss I'm just that's why God gave man and help meet for him to hopefully Kind of guide him and help the guy out a little bit, right? And so this this thing works together It's not a marriage sermon, but I just wanted to bring that up So what winds up happening was Hannah? Like a good girl instead of just giving up on God instead of cursing him instead of just being a complete bozo What does she do? She cries out to the Lord? She asks for help She goes to the temple and she prays to God and she makes a vow now I'm not recommending that you do this, but this is what she did and so the priest Eli he goes up to her tea. He sees that she's talking He thinks she's drunk and so he's goes over there and he's like, you know, what's your problem? What are you in here drunk? She's I know she explains the situation Eli's like, oh, okay And then somehow he gets the word of the Lord and he says to to Hannah. Hey, guess what? You're gonna conceive and bear a child. So keep that in mind. She makes a vow. She makes commitment. She tells God Hey, she's like Lord if you open up my womb I promise I will give this child unto thee and here's what you're gonna find out she sticks to what she says She sticks to what she says she makes about and she's going to fulfill that vow now again Think about the pain that she's gonna suffer here. Look at verse number 21 It says in the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord yearly the yearly sacrifice and his vow Verse 22 but Hannah went not up for she said unto her husband I will not go up until the child be weaned and Then I will bring him that he may appear before the Lord and there abide forever Verse 23 and Elkanah her husband senator do what seemeth he good Terry until thou have weaned him only the Lord established his word So the woman abode and gave her son suck until she weaned him So she does get to spend more, you know a considerable amount of time with Samuel. She has to make that bond She actually, you know gets to gets to name him gets to play with him. She gets time with him She's getting to feel what it's like to be a mother, right? She's a new mother here Look at verse 24 and when she had weaned him she took him up with her with three bullocks and one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh and the child was young verse 25 and they slew a Bullock and brought the child to Eli and she said oh my lord as thy soul liveth my lord I am the woman that stood by thee here praying unto The Lord So again, what does this story up to this point mean? This means that she was tormented Emotionally and she did not quit on God She cried out to God. She made a vow and she Fulfills that vow she said I'm going to give this child as Lord and when it happens I'm sure there was some sort of a temptation within her heart to say I wish I could keep him I wish I could just sway the Lord to just just keep this child I mean think all she wanted was to bear a child. She gets the child, but she says no, I'm better than that I'm not gonna be a dirtbag and say one thing and do another I'm going to fulfill my promise I'm gonna fulfill my commitment Why because that's what gets life-changing results is when mom is when dad says something and actually Does it? That's what gets changed and you're gonna see that here in a minute So she made the vow and she stuck to it with an obedient heart She didn't go up there grudgingly See a lot of times people will volunteer for stuff at church and then they'll grudgingly do it You get what I'm saying? Not not here Not right now, but we've had this in the past where people say hey They would they would they would send me a text message or send me an email or call me and say hey I want to do this. Okay, let's do it and then they just dip out It's like why don't you just keep your mouth shut? Nobody told you to make that commitment. No one told you to make that vow But as soon as you open your friggin mouth, guess what? Now you need to fulfill it Right. Oh, I'll make that for you, right? I'll make that website for you I'll make that database for you. I'll make the bulletin for you I'll do this for you and then you don't do it or you tell your child. Hey, I'm gonna help you do this I'm gonna do this for you and then you don't do it Hey, I'm good. You know, I think of these these mothers out there that are struggling you know with maybe drugs or alcohol and they say hey, I promise this is the last time I'm not doing this anymore and Then they slip and they fall and they keep doing it and the cycle never ends and it just never stops What message does that send your child? I'm not saying it's a hundred percent fat guarantee your life's over as a child your life's ruined You can't get over that no because you can But you're not making it very easy on that child when you habitually say I will do this and you don't do it That's Why I preach the way I do is to get Changed to get results to put this stuff out there to make you the type of person that says I'm gonna do this and you Do it and you do it with an obedient heart just like Hannah did That's what God's looking for today. And guess what as a mother that's how you need to be Because you're gonna see that is what made Samuel the man that he was So Point number two is this the sacrifice of a mother means doing what you say has a lifelong impact on the character of your children Let me say that again the sacrifice of a mother means doing what you say has a lifelong impact on the character of your child Think about it. You don't think that when Samuel came of age and learned what happened to him as a baby as a young child You don't think that that's out with him, you know, the Bible says his mom went up year after year and made him a coat He still got to see mom on a regular basis now. Obviously there was a lot of months in between there It was hard not quite as hard as jock a bed But still hard maybe who does maybe it was harder for her because she's actually getting to see him and she's year after year after year You know getting that that blessing. Oh, oh, you're getting big Samuel, you know, you're getting big you're talking more You're understanding more and then having to leave again. I Don't know maybe that could be worse But I'll tell you what, it probably couldn't get much worse than that emotionally for a mom So think about that the sacrifice of a mother means doing what you say has a lifelong impact on the character of your child Look at verse 27. It says for this child I prayed and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him verse 28 Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth He shall be lent to the Lord and he worshipped the Lord there. She made a vow She fulfilled that vow with an obedient heart. She was happy about it. She did not regret it She did not go and look back and say I I need to find a way to convince Eli to give me my son back No, she gave him up just like she said How is that not a sacrifice? How are our problems worse than hands Talk about coming from a dysfunctional family go over to chapter number three first Samuel chapter number three And I'll show you What happened because of that sacrifice of Hannah first Samuel three look at verse 20 It says this many years later in all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was Established to be a prophet of the Lord and the Bible doesn't say this what I'm about to say But I'll tell you this who else was around Eli while the time that Samuel was growing up Eli's sons the Bible says that they were sons of Belial they were reprobates. They were rejects. They couldn't be saved You say I'll prove it. I don't have to prove it right now But I'll just tell you that they said we I mean think about this They said themselves and it's recorded in the Bible that they did not know the Lord Bible says they did not know the Lord. Now. Here's the thing. They where do they work? the temple Like Pharaoh they knew mentally who the Lord God was. Okay. I mean, come on Their father is a priest their father is a judge of the land. Okay, they know the Lord God They've seen they've heard the things that he's done But they chose the other route they chose to become sons to become sons of the devil The Bible says that they made people aboard the offerings of God So think about this. Do you think that they ever mess with Samuel? I'm sure they did. I'm sure they took little jabs and said stuff here and there Why didn't Samuel go the way of Eli's sons because Eli pretty much raised him Eli raised those two jerks It's Probably because of the sacrifice of his mother she said one thing She stuck to it with an obedient heart. That's militant That's discipline she said, you know what I'm gonna give my son up to the Lord and she did it with a happy hour I mean read the read Samuel chapter 2 read about Hannah's prayer unto God about how she just goes on and just magnifies the Lord Over this thing just happy as can be The he that he made her bear children and you know what God did he opened up her womb and she had children after that So God always rewards your sacrifice to mom. You need to remember that it may be hard emotionally for you right now It may be hard emotionally for the rest of your life But guess what if you just open your eyes, you're just so beat it You just do what God says and guess what? Why wouldn't he do the same thing for you? Why wouldn't he bless you in the same way? Of course, he would God's not a respecter of persons the Bible says so think about that point number two the sacrifice of a mother means doing what you say has a lifelong impact on the character of Your child now, I'm gonna have you guys turn to first Kings chapter number 17 And while you're training them just grief you Proverbs 27 19. This is the verse on a bulletin It says as in water face answer at the face So the heart of man to man and what that means is when a person looks in the water and it's calm and they can See the reflection. That's a true image. You're actually looking at that ugly mug But you're actually looking at your face and it doesn't lie But the rest of the verse says so the heart of man to man So what is in your heart mom? What's in your heart? Also dad. Guess what? That's what's going to reflect on Your offspring That's the way your children are probably going to be if they see you doing or saying one thing But always doing another thing over here You could you better bet your last dollar that this verse is gonna be you As in water face answer it to face. So the heart of man to man You know those little kids those little children that you're raising. They're sponges. This is why Egypt This is why the world wants their hearts This is why they want their minds because they understand this if they can't kill them down at the abortion clinics They'll kill them down at the public school Right, or they'll kill them later on down the road and it's your job to make sure your heart is strong Did you have the discipline like Hannah did that you have the the discipline like Jock Abed did? So that you could pass that on to your child Samuel would not have been able to be the man. He was if it wasn't for his mother's sacrifice for her obedient heart There's no way about it Mom spent way more time with him than Elkanah did but Eli spent way more time with him than than Hannah did So think about that How did he get that way it has to be because of the sacrifice of his mother What was in her heart reflected to the heart of Samuel and it didn't stop so you say well I'm in this awkward situation here where I can't my life situations not ideal. That's okay. How's your heart? What are you putting into your heart? How's your character? Do you have the guts? Do you have the intestinal fortitude to change because if you do and it's honest and it's true it will pass to your children I promise you that That's how you raise godly children is you check yourself first You make sure that your heart's right you make sure that your heart's strong and that reflects on to other people Right. It's not enough just to do this I do this all the time because it's so true. A lot of people have come through these doors and done this and A lot of these people have left and never come back and it's because they didn't have the heart They looked in the mirror. Oh, look at me. I've got my suit on. I've got my tie on I've got my all my ducks in a row except for their heart was back in the parking lot They never drug that thing in here. They never filled it with righteous things that God has to offer and guess what? Eventually, that's what reflected man to man Was what they put into their heart So again quick review here point Number one was the sacrifice of a mother means giving up your heart for the life of your child Point number two the sacrifice of a mother means doing what you say has lifelong impacts on the character of your children Now What we're gonna do now is we're going to talk about the widow at Zara Feth. You're there in first Kings chapter 17 So this is during the time of Elijah the Prophet. I always like to get those guys mixed up Sometimes I have to make sure and pronounce that J correctly So beginning of the chapter we're gonna start reading in verse 8 but before that What's going on Elijah goes up to a hab, you know, we have wicked king of Israel. This is hey, there's gonna be a drought Obviously a hab, you know how he was. He does not like to hear bad news He doesn't want to hear it, but God tells Elijah to go to the brook Cherith and he tells Elijah. Hey, don't worry about it There's gonna be water there and the Ravens are gonna bring you your food. So he's obedient He goes down there to the brook the Ravens feed him. They take care of him for a while He's got food water Raymond everything that he needs, but eventually the brook dries up So then word comes to Elijah and says hey I need you to go to a town called Zarephath and you're gonna meet a widow woman there and She is going to do what I've commanded her to do meaning she's gonna take care of you now Look down at verse number eight It says and the word of the Lord came unto him saying arise get thee to Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon and Dwell there behold. I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain me Here's what's interesting is this widow woman while we're reading this She doesn't know that God's commanded her to do this All right. So just think about this verse 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath and when he came to the gate of the city behold The widow woman was there gathering of sticks and he called her and said fetch me I pray thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink so I mean How do you think that would go over with most women in this situation massive famine, okay I mean, this is a real deal. There's like hardly any food There's just chaos I mean think about Elijah comes to the gate and he sees a woman picking up sticks Usually when you would come to the gate of a city, you would see politicians there. You would see people of influence there You know, you see people getting ready to trade and do all kinds of business there, but yet what does he see? He sees a woman picking up sticks so that she can make a fire and basically eat her last meal and he's like hey Can you give me something to drink? I mean most women would be like you're out of your mind I'm not getting you anything get out of here, right? Look at verse 11 it says and as she was going to fetch it He called to her and said bring me I pray thee a morsel of bread in thine hand So now he ups the request cuz I hey give me some water and she's like, all right Hey, I need some bread verse 12 and she said as the Lord thy God liveth I have not a cake but an handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise and behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and Die so she understands the conditions of the time pretty well in her mind. She's at the gate picking up sticks She's trying to prepare the last meal for her and for her son Now you remember what I brought up earlier about how the conditions were in Israel like later on Which wasn't the first time this probably was happening during this time as well people ate their own children There were certain mothers that would boil up their kids I know that's gruesome out of this gross, but welcome to a real Baptist Church where I will tell you what the Bible says This is reality. This is what the world will drive you to if you let it You say I don't want to be I don't want to sacrifice I want my time. I want my career back I want my bar back. I want all the stuff back Guess what when times really get tough like they are here. You'll be the first one to boil your child You'll be eating your child. You'll be cooking them on the barbecue Because you have no problem now sacrificing your children to the god of convenience What would make you change when when it's your life versus the life of your child? Nothing nothing at all verse 13 and Elijah said unto her fear not go and do as Thou hast said but make me there of a little cake first and bring it unto me and after Make for thee and for thy son for thus saith the Lord God of Israel the barrel of meal shall not waste neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth and she Went and did according to the saying of Elijah and she and he in her house did eat many days Verse 16 and the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruise of oil fail according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah go to Keep your place there, but go to Luke chapter number 4 Luke chapter 4 And so just a couple of quick reminders about this woman here we're not told her name it just Tells us the conditions there, but I mean think about this. What are the conditions at Zareph at during this time? There's chaos. There's famine. There's no food. There's no comforts. This is utter chaos. There's no malls open, right? There's no retail business open. There's no barber There's nothing and all they have is just a little bit of food to make into a last meal and then die And here comes this guy from out of town who's not of their kindred who's not of their people and says hey Give me something to drink. Give me something to eat and she's obedient and what does God do? He responds to that faith and he blesses her in her family and they get to eat they have Sufficient for them. This is what mothers this is what everybody needs to understand as Bible believing God-fearing people that when we act on faith God always blesses every single time It doesn't mean you aren't going to go through the famine It doesn't mean you aren't going to go through some sort of trial or tribulation because you will But you have to understand that God cares about his people Now What I want to show you here in Luke chapter 4 is that this widow's actions were so important they had such impact On humanity basically during this time that the Lord Jesus Christ Mentions this here in Luke chapter 4 look at verse 25. It says this is what Jesus says So, you know the story he's he's been rejected at Nazareth, you know, he's like a prophets not without you know Not without honor saving his own hometown, you know, they're coming after him. They're like aren't you just this carpenter son? But look at verse 25 He says but I tell you of a truth many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias that is Elijah whom we're reading about look at the rest of verse when the heaven was shut up three years and six months when great famine was Throughout all of the land. So the story that we're reading right now in first Kings. They're not in Israel Understand that Elijah wasn't sent to a town in Israel because Israel was wicked Israel by and large didn't want to worship God Yeah, they had 7,000 men that didn't bow the knee to bail but God sent him to a town called Zara 5th or Sarepta as in this passage here look at verse 26, but unto none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta a City of Sidon unto a woman that was a widow and what happened after this? Well, they wanted to kill Jesus Christ Right because these people during the time of Christ are like hey, we're Jews. We're the gods people. We're the best We're better than everyone. We want our kingdom back. I don't like what you're saying I don't want to focus on this eternal stuff. I want it now That's basically the attitude of these people had and he's telling them Hey God's not a respecter of person even back in the Old Testament Even when Elijah was alive the greatest prophet the prophet that didn't even physically die that God took up My world went up into heaven said hey, I didn't even send him to any of the widows that were in Israel I sent him to one in another town called Sarepta or Zara fath These people were not born in the land But yet God sent Elijah to this widow woman Why because he knows and he tries the hearts of man among the earth not just in the nation of Israel That's what the world today wants you to believe That's what the church today wants you to believe that God only cares about the Jew and you're just basically under the table eating the crumbs And you know what? That's why a lot of the mothers and those institutions and organizations are failing miserable today Is because they view themselves down here, you know under God's wing and that's not true That wasn't true back in the Old Testament and it's not true today Go back to first King 17 So point number three This is the last point that I'm gonna make is this the sacrifice of a mother means that she has developed character that allows her To minister to other people in desperate circumstances. You see being a mom doesn't just stop when your kids grow up and they move out of the house Being a mom doesn't just necessarily always mean just taking care of your own children That's great. And that's what you need to do enough if that's all you do that's fine, but you need to understand that you have a skill set that no one else has and You need to be able to sometimes use that skill set to help other people out and that's what this woman does When Elijah comes to the gate and says hey, I'm thirsty. I need water. I need food. She says wow I've only got enough to feed my son and we're gonna die and she says, okay, you know what? I'm just gonna trust you I'm just gonna have the faith to believe this and I'll go ahead and do it. She was willing to care for other people Did you know that becoming a great mother one thing that will help you out Is it when you apply your skill set and you help other people out as well? Because you know what? They're single ladies. There's young children in this church that need that kind of help They're gonna grow up and become mothers themselves. And you know what you might just say something to them You might just be the example to them that they need to become that great mother That's willing to do the right sacrifices and raise a godly person Not that their own mom's not doing it but you might have that right situation You might have that right thing to say you might have that right attitude to just help that person out But when we say no, we're just gonna keep to ourselves We're just you know, I'm just gonna worry about me and my family. You know what? That's not the best a Real godly mother says no, I'm a mom and everybody's gonna know it And I'm gonna help everybody out the sacrifice of a mother means that she had developed character that allows her to minister to other people in desperate Circumstances think about how desperate people were during this time, but yet she was still willing to help out What does that say about her character? What does it say about the kind of woman that she was? I mean, it's not is it not bad enough that she was a widow that her husband was dead and passed on And she's having to raise his child alone knowing that her her husband is gone. He's out of the picture. He's died What about the pain just from that alone And then you add the pain of the economy and the spiritual condition and this place during that time and now you've got a whole nother problem But she says no, I'm gonna remain strong. I'm gonna remain above this and I'm gonna do Something to help somebody else out I'm gonna be a mother to this man who's come in here who needs help and I'm just gonna trust that God who's not a Respector of persons is gonna take care of me because see a lot of moms today They'll say, you know, I made all these mistakes in the past. I've done all these things that are wrong What good do I have to offer? Well, you know what? Tell me this woman didn't have that same thought come across her mind from time to time That's the devil talking to you is what that is You're a mother you have Experience you have knowledge you have things that you have done that you could pass on to other people to help them out in desperate circumstances Desperate circumstances call for courageous people. We need people that are courageous We need people like this to help out because you know what things are not going to get better from this day going forward Right people now. Oh, well, I can't wait to get back to the new normal. Whatever that means You know what? That's gonna cause Desperation and people that's gonna cause some people to falter and to just just be in a mental state That's not right. And you know what you mom You have the skill set to actually help that person out. You might be able to talk somebody off the ledge You Might be able to talk to somebody and get them from to prevent them from quitting on God You have that skill. I mean think about that you're raising children you prevent them from doing things all day long Right what makes you think you can't do that for somebody else? That's what this woman does No husband terrible economy here comes a stranger. So I'm gonna help him out Look at verse 15. It says and she went and did according to the saying of Elijah so tell me she doesn't have her priorities straight here She'd certainly does and you know what happens to her later on She gets her son resurrected Elijah raises her son from the dead How well do you think that's gonna go over in jubag land Not too well not too well at all But why did God allow the prophet Elijah to raise her son from the dead? Probably because of the obedience and the faith that she had during this time Look conditions aren't as bad as this. We're not out at the gate looking for sticks to boil up a little a little cake Right just a little cake and and drink a little bit of water from the little brook that runs over here We could still get food. We could still get all these things that we even want right It's what does that mean It means when you're going through it when you're emotionally tormented when you're in desperate circumstances You need to develop the character that says hey, I can help other people out. I Can still be a blessing to other people in the midst of chaos? See being a good mom doesn't mean just you and your family at home and you never talk to anybody We've had those people come to this church before where they're just huddled up. Oh, it's just us. We're so righteous. We're so blessed We're so great. Oh everybody else, you know nuts to them, right? At least we got our little clan here Where are they today? It's true It's true in desperate circumstances. How many people do you think they're helping right now? zero nothing Because they couldn't help people even when they were here And look, they're human beings. They had value they had stories they had experiences They could pass on and help other people, but they didn't have the heart You don't have the heart of this woman. They didn't have the heart of Hannah They didn't have the heart of jock a bed But you have the ability Here right now to hear this and to make that change in your life and respond to that and be that kind of person Develop that kind of character that will pass on to your children And you know what that could pass on to other people in the church there are people that will come in here and look at you and look at the things that you're going through and see your Attitude towards those things and say wow, I want to be like that It's not the end of the world. What I'm going through is not as bad as what she's going through Maybe I can make it through this And that's what you need to understand as a mother. It's a sacrifice every single day It's a you know being a mom there's so many things that go into that Being well-rounded right discipline courage. I mean all these things that we talk about all go into that. It's a full-time job It's in the house. It's out of the house. It's in God's house. It's out of God's it's everywhere It's not putting on a show is what I'm trying to tell you Right, you got to develop this personality this character because think about it during this time There was nobody in Israel that God was gonna trust his man his prophet to go to But he trusted this woman in another nation in another land Going through the same hardships to take care of them Think about that Jesus said hey remember remember I sent Elias I sent Elijah To Some other nation called Zarepta or zareph ath and that wasn't Israel and what did I do that just infuriated people? Just bothered him so bad. They're still bothered about that to this day, you know There's still angry about it. You bring that up and he was a devil That's what the Jews say. That's what the rabbis will teach and they will point to these stories as proof texts on why Christianity's false It is definitely a real thing so real quick a real mother is Willing to help other people even in desperate circumstances if you would real quick turn to Titus chapter number two Titus chapter number two Because Paul actually talks about this concept to Titus And tells them hey make sure you preach These aged women these women that maybe their kids are growing up. They're out of the house. They still have value Titus chapter two look at verse number three Here's what Paul tells him. He says the aged women. Likewise. Likewise meaning he's telling him Hey, make sure they're sober make sure they're not full of pride, right? Then he's getting all the women here says the ages of women Likewise that they be in behavior as becometh holiness not false accusers not given to much wine teachers of good things So you say my kids are out of the house. My job is done. I can just give up and quit That's not what God wants for you. You have a lifetime of battles with those kids and those experiences and those battles have Sorry, they have value and they have teachings that need to be passed on to other people not just in your own family verse 4 that they may teach the young women To be sober to love their husbands to love their children right putting things into perspective God first your husband second and then your children that doesn't you know Some people hear that and they get mad at us and they say oh, I can't believe you would say something like that That is so wrong. You should be thrown in jail. You should go to prison for something like that. Look shut up, man You're you're weak. If that's your attitude. That's what the Bible teaches. So just eat it First number four. I'm sorry verse number five to be discreet chase keepers at home Good obedient to their own husbands at the Word of God be not blasphemed So like I like we talked about a few weeks ago with blasphemy, right when a person says hey, I'm a Christian I'm warning in Bible believe a Christian you do the opposite of these things. You're just living chaotically guess what you're blaspheming God and Paul's like hey Titus make sure that these aged women are helping the younger ones Not live a lifestyle that would cause reproach on my name They would that these people would not blaspheme my name by their actions, right? It's very important and you mom you have the battle scars You have the fighting experience to be able to make that happen see because Paul's like hey Titus You could scream this stuff all day long But until they get it until you can actually motivate them to put forth their teaching their experience nothing's gonna change It's up to you. I could get up here and scream this and preach this all day long But if you don't make the change in your heart And you don't actually go and do it and teach these ladies and guess what? Guess what it ain't gonna happen. It will not happen and Paul's making that very clear to him So quick review and we're done point. Number one was the sacrifice of a mother means giving up your heart for the life of your child And again, you know Bible talks about this that you know, don't let your heart melt and you know fall out of your chest You know when you hear your child crying because of correction, right? They're not gonna die You know, it says in the prophets I shall beat us them with a rod, right? He's not gonna die You're basically beating the hell out of them. That's what it says I should have printed all these verses out, but that's the sermon for another day. You get what I'm saying, right? It's hard being a mom. I understand that I'm not a mother, you know, but I've seen what they go through I've seen what Jessica's had to sacrifice, you know, so I get it to sleep the emotional I mean look if we let's say we order a pizza Right. I order a large pizza. We think there's gonna be enough for all of us, but there's like there's not guess who's not gonna eat It's gonna be Jessica. I might pay lip service to it. I might be this guy Oh, I'm not that hungry, but inside I'm like, man. I hope she says That's how moms are you know? Somebody brings in a you know, six cupcakes to our family or something says hey I got six cupcakes in here open up and there's only four guess what? I know I already know she's gonna be the one that says oh, I don't want one. I don't need one You know, but that's how it starts and the little things like that and then you build from that Right because when you can get discipline down to the smallest things in your daily routine Guess what? That's gonna create that character and that discipline that's gonna carry you through those desperate circumstances Like the woman at Zareph it had to go through Right. She didn't come that way overnight It's not like the famine happened she's like, oh I've just got all this courage now, you know I'm gonna help this stranger in town No God looked down and saw that she was a woman that way probably for a very long time and said that's a woman I could Trust my people with I can trust my prophet with now think about that. What's stopping you from becoming that one? What's stopping you from becoming that mother? Egypt it's about the only thing I can come up with You're gonna let Egypt win or are you gonna let God Influence your heart and build up your character so that you can raise godly children So point number two the sacrifice of mother means doing what you say has life has a lifelong impact on the character of your children Just know that when you promise them something when you say you're gonna do something and you don't do it that Impacts them when they grow up And I'm not saying that those kids can't change because look I've gone through it I had a mom that constantly failed over and over and over again with the bottle And we'll talk about that in another sermon But yet I'm here today. Why because I decided to get saved and follow the teachings of the Bible So I'm not saying it's a wash if that's you, you know, and you're listening to me All I'm trying to tell you is that you don't have to be like that When you constantly habitually say I will do this and you don't it affects your children in a negative way Samuel did not hew egg egg into pieces before Saul Okay by being a snowflake by being Just just just a coward. I mean think about that story right Saul was supposed to kill all of them and Yet he saved a guy our egg egg and the best people alive and Samuel said nope I'll go down there and I'll cut him into pieces in front of you What was in that man's heart? He meant business He lit I mean he wasn't without fault as no human being is but he understood commitment and commitment breeds courage and You can check me on that any day of the week and it's true So be a mother that commits and you know what it's gonna involve your heart. It's gonna involve you pushing aside your feelings That's what it's going to require point number three The sacrifice of a mother means that she has developed character that allows her to minister to other people in desperate circumstances Just like the woman that's there Beth. I mean, that's how you want to be. That should be your goal You should be committed and have the courage now that when the times get bad You're the one that people look to you're the one that God trusts with his people Think about that think about what we read in Titus chapter 2. Where did he get that from? He got that from God that is a principle that you can see in Zara Beth The aged women likewise that they teach the younger woman to be sober to love their husbands a guide house do all these things to not blaspheme And so that's why I titled this sermon The sacrifice of a mother your job is a sacrifice till the day you die Whether you like it or not, and hopefully you do Hopefully you learn to just embrace it and just go with it because it's a lifetime of blessings as well You know Especially when you see your kids succeed for God And you see God taking care of them and you see that they're strong-willed people and they're not gonna they're not gonna take it from the world Right. I mean, I mean think about how how proud that's gonna make you feel you succeeded You can stand before God, you know and not be ashamed not be scared You know, you're just gonna be good to go That's what I'm trying to tell you. That's what we see here 100% So it's almost time for the nacho feed So, like I said, we're gonna have the final song and then you know what? I'll just pass out the guests cuz it's not that it's not that hard I can do it pretty quickly And so if your mom raised your hand and I will get that to you and we'll pray And brother Jeff give you pray for the food for us after the final song and I believe that is it All right, let's pray real quick. Thank you so much Lord for the these stories in the Bible that we can draw application from them Lord and motivation. Let's pray that these things would resonate in the hearts of all of us You should bless the food and the fellowship today Lord and the soul winning in Jesus name pray