Honoring Mothers, Now and Always

We just turned on that air conditioner to keep the roses fresh for all of you, and your pastor as well.

In the Scriptures it says to rejoice, and again I say rejoice. Sometimes a message is so important that it needs to be spoken twice. And thus I want to build upon the very fine foundation that Mr. Dennis Star Wars laid. I've been away for eight or nine days and didn't have an opportunity to connect and see what the topics were. And he's given us a wonderful framework regarding this institution and this relationship that God has placed into the human society called motherhood. I'd like to actually build upon that and go into more Scriptures in the Bible so that we can certainly appreciate what God is doing.

I'd like to have you join me. Let's open up our Bibles. A lot of this is going to be Scripture. I'd like you to go to Proverbs 14 and verse 1 to establish a point for all of us in Proverbs 14 and verse 1. Because again, a part of it is what was spoken about is our appreciation for God and for mothers.

My message is, to a degree, going to be why we appreciate them and what all of us can do to be effective mothers in that sense. The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

Women are builders. It says here in Scripture that every wise woman builds her house. We normally think of men when it comes to those that are involved in construction, those that are builders that put up structures.

Men build houses. Men in general are good with what we call things. Women do something different. They build homes. They create nests. They develop relationships. It is that to which I would speak today about how our ladies have been planted on this earth to develop long-lasting relationships which are memorable. When we think about it, we recognize that there is a unique relationship between a mother and her child.

When there is some body, some living being, that literally comes forth from you and is made of your bones and made of your flesh, it does create an enduring bond. It is interesting that that bond lasts for a lifetime, as Mr. Star Wars mentioned. It is a unique bond. Susan and I were talking about this after I had given this message to a degree in Redlands this morning. There is something primal about it. It is very interesting that on the battlefield, when either men are very seriously wounded and or men are literally dying, there is something in that human psyche, and maybe you have heard this before, that they call out for their mother.

It is kind of interesting. It is as if they go right back to that child that is within all of us, and in the midst of this darkness and this trauma, out of all these relationships that are within the human compact, they speak to their mother, they cry out for their mother, and they remember their mother.

With that stated, to draw you all in, mother is an incredible opportunity, but it can also be a painful privilege. There are two bookends to this story. Allow me to share one individual that will bring this to light. There was a young Jewess of Nazareth. Her name was Mary.

Mary, written in the Bible, had a unique privilege and a unique opportunity of literally being the mother of the Son of God.

Yet, all the pains and all the pleasures of what she went through are understood by mothers everywhere.

Mary was the only human that was present at the birth of her son that was there at the death of her son. She witnessed his death. That's something that a mother doesn't want to do. It's different when the generations turn, doesn't it? It's unnatural. It's unseemly. It's just downright human-tough to endure.

She saw him arrive as a baby son, and she saw him die as her Savior. Interesting. And with all of that, and what I've said, birth, life, and death, it reminds us that there are many stages in this relationship called motherhood and with her children.

Yet, with all of that stated, I want to share a verse with you. May I? It's open to Luke 1.38. Join me over there if you would.

Paul McCartney made these words very famous about 25-30 years ago. Or is it 50 with Paul now? It seems like he's been around forever. Same guy that sang when I'm 54. Or what is that? When I'm 64.

Let's notice what it says here about Mary and Luke. That really sets the framework of what being a mother is all about. Luke 1, verse 38. This is after the angel Gabriel had proclaimed to her that she would bear Messiah.

For with God nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said, Behold the maidservant of the Lord. And then there were these three words.

Let it be. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

That's really something that are words that every mother has to come to terms with when she finds out that she's pregnant. And then when she gives birth and gives birth to this beautiful little daughter or to this man-child. And to recognize that there's going to be this unique partnership. And to recognize that so often life is what's happening that you haven't planned for.

And that she's going to go up the escalator of life with this little one and or go on a merry-go-round and or a roller coaster and maybe all three. But whatever it is, Mom is there for the entire ride.

As we move further into this discussion, this talk this afternoon, I want you to know that I am simply not going to be talking to you that are biological mothers. I really want to talk to all of the ladies in here, whether you have children or not. I want to expand the subject to help all of us recognize, and along with the men, we're going to bring us along. And to recognize the unique gift of being a mother, of being a mom. Because as I'll describe a little bit later, there's a difference between being a mother and that of being a mom. I think all of us are familiar with the story of Fitter on the Roof and where the mother sings that Sabbath prayer and her shaz, her hands moving over the candle. And there's this musical lyric, this lore that comes down through the centuries, where she says, May you be like Ruth and Esther. I think many of us remember that Broadway musical and the moving and incredible words. I'd like to dwell on that for a moment. May you be like Ruth and may you be like Esther. When we think of Ruth and we think of Esther, these are names that have come down to us through the ages. Time in Memorial. These ladies, as well as other ladies in the Bible, these were not overnight wonders. They were not starlets. They were not a part of the top 40. All of a sudden, they're on the horizon. They're on People magazine. Their picture is everywhere.

But for a while, then they disappear as their looks disappear. These were ladies whose examples stood the test of time, whose values were ageless, and whose values were as needed now as yesteryear. Back then, through the example of these ladies, and what was passed down about their examples, and other examples out of the Bible were taught and encouraged that the young ladies of Israel and Judah and Christians in the first century and now might drink in of their examples. Such a powerful example is found over in 1 Peter. Join me if you would there. It's the story of Sarah. I'd like to dwell on Sarah for a moment. In 1 Peter 3 and in verse 3.

Actually, let's pick up the thought in verse 1. I'm going to go all the way up here. Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives. And when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear, and that word really is about respect and respect of what God is doing in your life. Do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair and wearing gold or putting on fine apparel. But rather, let it be that hidden person of the heart, with that incorruptible beauty of a gentle and a quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of the Lord. For in this manner and former times, the holy women who trusted in God and also adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are, if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. This lays out this example. And certainly, ladies like to obviously present themselves in a pleasant format. And all the examples are utilized here about outward adornment. We know that ladies often times like to go shopping. They want to get a special dress or earrings or a bracelet or this or that, this outward adorning. That's well and that's good. But what the Bible is centering on is values that you cannot find on the clothes rack of Macy's, J.C. Penney, and or if you have a few more pennies in your pocket at Nordstrom's. That's not at the end of the day what is going to motivate and mold those children that you mother. Now, again, let's understand this that when it mentioned Sarah, it wasn't like she was a doormat being walked upon. Sarah was an attractive, most likely a dynamic lady. When you see that Pharaoh and Abimelech cast an eye on her eye, I would suggest, may I, that Sarah was no spring chicken. When you kind of add up the years here. There was something in Sarah that was more than just a striking exterior beauty. This was a woman that was not just going to be a trophy. There was something in her by her conversation or by her demeanor. That moved her beyond being some trophy for a king, but something to be treasured that these great kings of the Gentile kingdoms wanted to have as their own. Her submission was from a position of strength and not of weakness. It's interesting that later, the same woman, she would be offered an opportunity of raising Isaac. I want you to think about that for a moment. We've already mentioned Mary. Are you with me? We've mentioned Mary, who raised the Christ. But here was Sarah, who had the privilege of raising Isaac.

Who is Isaac a type of? May I ask a question? That's when you're supposed to answer. Who is Isaac a type of? He's a type of Jesus. He's a type of Christ. He's a son of promise and one that almost was sacrificed. Yet, here then is this woman. God never does things accidentally. There's a design behind all of this that she, in those days when maybe Abraham was away with a man, she had Isaac in that tent. It was probably not like the tent that you are in, because Abraham was a man. That was fairly well off that. But she was in the tent with Isaac on her knee or in front of her as he grew up, sharing concepts, sharing values. That ultimately led to this point where when Abraham and Isaac went up into the hills of Moriah, you don't see in verse so-and-so in the Bible that Isaac, all of a sudden when his father says that God will provide the sacrifice, and he's looking around, you know, okay, oh. You don't hear this tussle. You don't see this fight ensue. You don't see this desperation to get away. Why is that? Why is that? This woman of God instilled values, ageless values, with an Isaac to be the man and to become the man that God could use. And that's kind of interesting.

Every man and every woman, every mother and everyone who is a spiritual mom has that opportunity to touch the future. But we're not all Sarah, and some of you ladies out there are saying, well, last time I looked, I didn't marry the father of the faithful either. And that's well, and that's good, and we understand that. But there's things that we can learn. We can touch the future. How many of you have ever recently studied a Jeddah? Has anybody here studied Jeddah? How many of you know who Jeddah is? How many of you care? How many of you are going to get to know about Jeddah in about the next five minutes?

Very good, very alert. Join me if you would. Join me in 2 Kings for a second. 2 Kings 21. In 2 Kings 21, this is the story of just one woman. 2 Kings 21. And this is the story of Jeddah. And you'll recognize who her son was here in a moment. Let's pick up the story in verse 19.

2 Kings 21 verse 19. There we go. Ammon was 22 years old, and when he became king, he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshelemeth, the daughter of Haraz of Jutba. And he did evil on the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done.

So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked, and he served the idols that his father had served and worshipped them. You begin to understand that this guy was no Abraham. And then the servants of Ammon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.

But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against Ammon. And then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. Now the rest of the Acts of Ammon, which he did... Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Azah. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place. Chapter 22 verse 1. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedada, the daughter of Adiah of Bouscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.

And he walked in all the ways of his father David, and he did not turn aside to the right hand and or to the left. Jedada! Say, well, I've never heard of her before. There's Mary, there's Elizabeth, there's Sarah. Certainly there's Deborah. She's kind of an exciting gal. She's the one that comes over the hill with the spears and the men following her. But I've never heard of Jedada.

Can I tell you something, ladies? Can I tell you something, gentlemen? There are a lot of Jedadas out there every day in every way that we've never heard about that are doing what Jedada did. And that is to instill in their young person values that they touch the future. Let's consider this for a moment. How could an eight-year-old boy named Josiah begin to reign without the guidance of a wise mother? Think about the difficulty which she must have had raising him, quote-unquote, in this way of life.

And or we might say in the church, if you want to use that expression. How did she navigate and place the values into this Josiah when Ammon himself was basically a non-member, was not a believer? And here he was, a king of Judah. Because after all, Ammon must have been quite antagonistic. Obviously, Jedada was a woman who prized her role and wanted obedient, stable children.

In the turmoil of all the court intrigues, she must have provided a refuge of peace that allowed Josiah to absorb her influence rather than Papa Ammon. That's what kids do. They're like monkeys. We can talk about this thing by the San Diego Zoo. Monkeys see, and monkeys do. And if the primate analogy does not work for you, children are like sponges. They just soak in examples. They soak in little principles that you share with them. Not long sermons, but principles. And just very much as God instructed that when we teach our children a way of life, it's not by long sermons.

The best sermon is not what you say, but by the way you do. And then at times, as it says in Deuteronomy, when you're in the way, when the circumstance comes up, deal with the subject. Deal with the proverb. Deal with the psalm. Deal with the principle that comes out of the Sermon on the Mount. You don't have to go two hours about it. You might just do a Lincoln and go two minutes here and there in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. Before school passed. Maybe before a situation where it's their first job. Whatever it is that you as a person can create a tremendous impact upon them.

Here's what I want to share with all of our ladies today. The point is to never underestimate the role of motherhood. What God can do and do through you. That's very, very important. I want to again share this power of example. Join me if you would back in 1 Peter 3.

1 Peter 3. I alluded to this before, but I'm just going to do a double take on it for a moment. 1 Peter 3. Wives. He submitted to your own husbands that even if some do not obey the word, that they without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives. I remember coming into this way of life when I was 12 years old. I used to attend the old Long Beach Church. At that time in 1963, it was very interesting. We had big families coming into the church.

Sometimes there would just be the woman alone who was called into this way of life. She brought all the children with her. She'd be out there, and there would be the old blankets right down there on the floor. A lot of us that are older know we know what we call the routine. There would be that mother. Sometimes she'd have her children there.

Back then, men didn't take care of the kids as much as they hopefully do today. It was a different cultural thing back then. She'd bring all the kids. Sometimes, frankly, she didn't know what she was going to go home to. She might have not just had a very kind and pleasant non-member mate, but perhaps somebody that was very antagonistic. I think all of us know stories of that, unfortunately, over the years. I always remember, as a 12-year-old boy, and here's Kyle down here listening to me right now.

You'll remember this in about 40 years. I always remember this story, how powerful just example alone is. Not what you know, but what you do with what you know. Not what you think others should be, but what you are. And by her example, demonstrate a way of life that will bring to peace the relation on the outside. Notice what it says over here in chapter 2, verse 15. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. And so we see that example.

Jededa most likely knew what, again, what William Ross Wallace would write centuries later. And again, Mr. Star Wars credited to Napoleon. It's probably been accredited to many people. The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. And she probably never stopped. Jededa, that is, neither should we. I'd like to read a little bit out of Today is Mine. It's one of my favorite meditation books.

By Leroy Brownlow. It's from May 9th. Just listen to me for a second, if you would. A mother's work, a mother works, works and works. And the willing with which she does it is the chief contribution to a pleasant and a happy family. It's been said that the thrush goes to work at half-past two every morning during the summer and works until 9.30 at night. A straight 19 hours during which it feeds its young over 200 times.

For any of our overworked mothers, you're beginning to feel good. The blackbird works 17 hours and feeds its little ones 100 times a day. In the home, the energetic mother is up early and retires late. And like the hardworking bird, she does it for those who are so precious to her.

A man's work is from son to son, but a mother's work is never done. And the work that you have, ladies, more than anything is not just putting a bottle into a baby's mouth or as they develop later to diaper them and later to just simply be a taxi-gap driver along with your husband going hither and yon and back and forth and making sack lunches.

And that's all a part of the activity of a parent. I absolutely understand. But I want to stress, do not underestimate what you're doing moment by moment. Can we talk? I know it's tough sometimes for ladies and for dads, but we're talking about the ladies today.

You know, you get that child, you want to have that child. Remember how it is that when the child comes out, all of a sudden, it's here, you can't put it back on the shelf. Oh, okay. Can't do that. Once they are here, they are here. And they are your responsibility for a large measure of the rest of your life. And especially being a young mother is not easy.

Now, I've never been a young mother, but I've been around one. And it is not easy as that child develops, and you are the object of all of their tension, from being fed to being cuddled to being clothed, and then they grow up, and they are kind of cute at first. So, those first two weeks when the baby comes out, most of the time they are kind of... because they have just come out of this traumatic experience, which is more terrifying than Mr.

Toad's wild ride, because they have just come down this dark, dark canal, and burst into this light. And then they naturally kind of have that tired period where they rest, and hopefully the mother can rest a little bit. But then you start feeding the baby. You start having to deal with everything that comes out of a baby.

And then they grow up, and they want you. And they are pulling on everything that is either on your person or clothes that are... you know, they are pulling your hair, they are pulling on your body, they are pulling on your pants, they are pulling on your skirt. And sometimes they just kind of do it all, and you can be literally exhausted, emotionally and physically. And then later on they grow older, and there is another set of challenges that you have.

And then they become... You teenagers aren't supposed to hear this. Then they become teenagers. Teenagers think there is somehow in America at least a time out from humanity. And you just hope that they come back to become your best friend again when they are about age 21. Which for you parents that have children right now, they will. And they will take care of dad and mom down the line. It's not easy stuff. But in all of that, here is what I want to share with you. Women of old and women of purpose today recognize the priority of children. I suggest to you that society today does not put children as a priority.

They talk a good talk, they speak the accent, but without a trace of the language. We see a society that increasingly supports abortion. Supports abortion. The destruction of that little embryo or fetus that's made in the image of God. We find also a society that's just tearing not only man and woman and husband and wife apart from one another because of the frenetic nature of life, but also pulling us away from our children. So that when it's all said and done, an iPhone or a tablet or a smartphone becomes really the nurturer of our child more than mom and dad.

And when you think about it, that is basically a robot now. A robot that has more contact with your children than you do. This is the world that we are faced with. What I want to share here with you for a moment before I give you a few verses is simply this. Because I want to draw in all the rest that perhaps have not had children as ladies. And it's very important when I give a message like this that we bring everybody into this. I want you to remember something that being a mother is a biological event.

Mothers are happening every second, even as I speak. Mothering, and that's what I am speaking about, mothering is an attribute and it's an action. And all you ladies to one degree or another have been called to that in this life. You say, well, Mr. Weber, how can you say that? I've not had the birth of a child. Maybe I've never been married. I want to share something with you for a moment. Join me if you would in Luke 18. Look, excuse me, Luke 18.28.

In Luke 18, verse 28, let's take a look here. This is Peter when Christ is continuing to call him. He's asking who then can be saved. And then Christ comes back and says, the things that are impossible with men are possible with God. And then Peter says in verse 28, See, we have left all and followed you. Now this is very important. If you get anything out of this message, this is where I need your attention right now. See, we have left all and followed you.

So he, speaking of the Christ, says to them, Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life.

It doesn't say when eternal life comes, but in this lifetime, if for one reason or another, perhaps you've had to part from your family, even over the truth of this way of life, or because of religious persecution. And perhaps for the moment there is a lack of communication, unfortunately. God says, I'm going to transplant you, and there's nothing that substitutes your physical family.

Please understand that. But I'm going to transplant you into a spiritual family. And I'm going to give you dads, and I'm going to give you moms, and some of you that may not have children or be childless, I'm going to give you children. And frankly, oftentimes you can have both worlds, can't you? Because you may have a very fine relationship with your physical family, but also God has introduced you to this family.

Can we take it a step further? Join me, if you would, in Psalm 68.

And just pick up the thought in verse 6.

Psalm 68, verse 6. Notice what it says here. God sets the solitary and or the single person in families, and He brings out those who are bound into prosperity. There are times when God adds to the body of Christ, which is a spiritual organism, but it is also in a family sense that God in His grace plugs family members. And we have an opportunity to be fathers and mothers, and in reverse, some of us have an opportunity to be children and to be mentored, as it were, by spiritual moms. It's not biological. This is spiritual. This is about values. This is about mentoring.

This is about every part of the body, sharing that which it has to be able to share with others. Where, then, do we mentor? What are we reminded of? Join me, if you would, in Psalm 127. Psalm 127. We just have to, frankly, just instill these values into us. Psalm 127, verse 3. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is reward. We need to be reminded of that. Especially in a society that just continues to hammer home the aspect of evolution, that humanity is just an ongoing accident that goes back to the slimy ponds of a Pleistocene world, and that somehow this world started without anybody turning the top.

That's what we are facing. Children are a heritage from the Lord. And sometimes we, as ladies, need to remember that even in the tough moments of life, to stay with it, to stick with it, to hold on. Moment by moment, can we talk? It's not always pleasant moment by moment when you're raising children, even though we know that children are a heritage from the Lord. I remember once when I had to... Can we tell you a neat story out of the Weber scrapbook?

There was a time Laura and Julie, those are our two oldest, they were playing with their little friends. I think Laura's probably about five. No, Laura's about four and a half, and Julie was about two and a half, and Susan had to go to the market. So I said, Hi, fine, honey, go ahead and you go to the market. She didn't hear this story this morning, so I'm adding a little bit for her today. Children are a heritage from the Lord. That's what the point you have to have.

So she went to the market and little Julie got kind of thirsty. So I said, Oh, I'll just go to the refrigerator and I'll just get her a bottle. There's a bottle, you know, a little bottle in there or something. I thought, I'll pour it in there and I'll put it in a little bottle of that.

Pretty soon she went back out to play, but she began to stumble and she began to fall all over along with her friends. And it was getting kind of worse and worse. And then Susan came home and the bottom line is this. It wasn't it was a form of grape juice.

I didn't realize that Susan had put wine into what I thought was the grape juice bottle. And so a little two-year-old had about this much wine out of the bottle. The pork, like this. Oh, that hurt my knees. Just like that. And so here's Susan. The mom grabs her after saying, what have you done? No. After that, she grabs it and Julie begins to share everything that is inside of her, like you usually do when you've had a hangover. Not that I would know that.

I'm just saying no. It is that, anyway, everything that was not only in Julie's heart but in her stomach came out on Susan as she rocked her. And, you know, we were very concerned, too. In one sense, this was not a good story because that much alcohol time... Don't anybody call 911 right now. It's been 25 years. And Susan is just being the...

what's the kind word I want to put? That which is regurgitated is just coming out everything on Susan for hours. It is at that time that you have to be reminded that children are a heritage from the Lord and fill in the rest of the blanks when they're 2.5, 10.5, 16, and 18.5. And you have to test. There's nothing else that you can do. You've got to, as Susan and I had to many a time, just get down on our knees because we had done everything that we could to raise our girls.

And there's sometimes... you know, children can humble you. They can humble pastors. You just have to get down on your knees and say, Lord, we commit them into your hands. We're out of the recipes that we learned back in college. We're out of the recipes, and we've just got to commit our children to you. Our children are well and fine. They're all American girls, and we're all going to be getting together. And they... after they've loved their mother to death, they love her forever now, as are with your children.

But that's parenthood, too. But you've always got to remember, why are you here, and what is the purpose of being a mother, and what is the purpose of being a mom? That is so very, very important. One thing I'd like to share with you for a moment is... join me, if you would, in 2 Timothy 1.5. 2 Timothy 1.5. How important is it as you as a lady of the Lord to plant values into your child?

Be it woman, or be it a girl, or be it a boy. 2 Timothy 1, verse 5. This is Paul speaking. When I called remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, speaking of Timothy, which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice. And I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir up that gift which is in you. What was that that they put into young Timothy? Join me, if you would, in 2 Timothy 3, verse 15.

Notice what it says. And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Well, he said, well, that was probably the father that did that with Timothy. No, no, no, no, no.

Wait, let's back up for a moment. For those of you that know the background of Timothy, Timothy was half Gentile, and he was half Jewish. The Jewishness coming down from his mother. That's why, again, remember when he had to be circumcised. To be an example to all that none might be offended in that day and that age.

And to recognize then that while I'm sure that Timothy honored and admired his, what shall we say, Greek father, that this Jewish mother at that time instilled the Scriptures, spoke the Word. Perhaps not full chapters, but the principles and the values and the stories of a Ruth and of an Esther and of a Mary. That's what Timothy downloaded. Ask yourself what your children and your grandchildren are downloading today and the values that they are taking in.

And again, this is not speaking against technology because we recognize technology can either be the greatest instrument and or it can be the greatest weapon, depending upon how you use it. It is not the one. It is not the tool. It is the user. But we have to recognize this culture that we are in.

I want to share something with you that I'm going to conclude. I'm going to kind of shorten this down because Mr. Star Wars gave such a very fine sermonette. Just a couple thoughts I'd like to share with you.

All of us remember the call in Revelation 14.12 where it defines those in the body of Christ from the first century to that time through the tribulation. It says, and here are those that keep the commandments and have faith in Jesus, defining qualities when the darkness of society comes down upon humanity.

We often think of, oh, well that's speaking about the Sabbath day. That's speaking about the fourth commandment. But lest we forget sometimes as Christian Sabbatarians, last time I looked there are 10 commandments. And the fifth is incredibly important. Again, join me for a moment and I don't apologize for going over there. Mr. Star Wars looked at it, so this is the Second Coming. Join me if you would in Exodus 20 and verse 12.

In Exodus 20 and verse 12, again notice what it says, Honor. What an incredible privilege we have to honor our parents. It's interesting that the fifth commandment has different thoughts about it.

Especially in the Church of God culture, we've often said that the first four commandments teach us how to love and honor God. And the last six are about to honor human relationships. Different books have it different ways. I would just suggest for your consideration that the fifth commandment is really a bridge commandment. It's a bridge commandment that really ties in the first four with the last four.

Because again, as Dennis mentioned, we are to honor our Heavenly Father. But then it seems to spill over and create a connection with the rest of it. The rest of the commandments that come along. To honor our Father and our Mother. And that means always. When we're young, we are to obey them and to obey them in the Lord. I think that Paul makes that very clear in his writings. We don't necessarily, after age 18 or age 21, obey them in that sense. But we have an ear. We listen to them. We honor them by at least sitting down and listening at times to their advice. Maybe sometimes give too much advice. But we listen to it nonetheless to honor them. And we honor them because, you know, life is a tremendous circle, isn't it? Life is a circle. Life is a circle that when we are young, our parents take care of us. They feed us. They diaper us. Oftentimes, by the end of our parents' life, we are feeding them and we are diapering them. That was my case. And that's what occurred with me with my mom over the last several years. And I know others that have parents like that. Never think that it won't happen to you. Recognize that life is one great circle to go through in faith, not fear. And to recognize that life has chapters. And what an incredible privilege to be honoring our parents. Another point that I'd like to bring out that was mentioned is Proverbs 23, verse 22. I'm just going to read it. Just simple. It says, Don't despise your mother when she is old. And that speaks to what I just spoke to as well. Don't despise your mother when they're old. We always have a responsibility. I can't say that it's easy as an adult son, and many of you went through it before I did, in dealing with your mothers or dealing with your fathers. It's something, and young people that are listening to me, the young folks that are here, you too will go through this with your parents. And I want to share something with you. It is never easy. It's not time convenient. It will push on everything that you want to do. And your life does need to go on, but you will need to honor your parents. They were there for you when you were helpless, and perhaps hopeless, and you returned the favor. Why, then, do we do this? Because it allows us to become complete in Christ. That's how I put it. It allows us to become complete in Christ, and it fills us with something that you don't know until you go through it. There's nothing more beautiful in this life than to give another human being honor, especially your parent. Here's something else I want to share with you. Join me if you would in John 19.25.

John 19.25 is the story of Jesus on Golgotha, and it's in some of his last moments. Remember what I told you about being Christlike just a second ago? Well, Jesus practiced what he preached. Remember what I've spoken already about the commandment that says to honor your mother and to honor your father, to honor your parents. Remember what Jesus said as the word of old inspired the psalmist to say that he would set the solitaire person into families. Remember what I spoke to you, ladies, that perhaps have not had children of yourself biologically? That, nonetheless, does not make you a mother. You do have that opportunity to, in that sense, mother, to nurture, to create the nest, to share that affection and communication that, frankly, only ladies can do. We're kind of just only half good at it as men. Join me in John 19 and verse 25. Fantastic story. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, that is Mary, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. And when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, that would be John, standing by, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. He instituted family. His last dying thoughts and words was to take care of mom. And to set her, who would now be a solitaire person, as much as we can tell from the Scriptures, into John's care. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her into his own home. Can I ask you something as we begin to conclude? Is that not neat? Is that not incredible? That is, Jesus is a dying, nailed to a piece of wood, that his last thoughts were for another human being. He didn't make a call on Mother's Day. He made a call down from the cross to make sure that his mother would be taken care of. All of us have that opportunity. All of us have that incredible responsibility. Ralph Waldo Emerson. You might have studied him in American Lit. He said this, There is no such thing as a self-made man to a rightful degree. Men are what their mothers made them. Ralph Waldo Emerson. I'd like to share a letter with you that came to my attention. It was a letter that was written almost 40 years ago. Susan loves to save everything. Not really. If you write a note to Susan, it is probably going to be filed away. We may not look at it for a while, but we know that it's there. She was going through some boxes, and she came up with a letter. I'd like to read that letter so that you will understand, Ladies, whether you be biological mothers or you are a spiritual mom, how you touch the future, as my future was touched by my mother.

I read this graduation evening when I graduated from Ambassador College in 1973. That's a long time ago, and a lot has happened. But it impressed upon me how one individual impacted me. There are two great ladies in my life that have impacted me. That's my mother. That's the wife that I love that is right here. We are mother-made. Then, as we go down the assembly line, we become wife-crafted. Don't wait. If we allow ourselves as men. This is what my mom wrote to me 40 years ago. As I read this and you see where my life is before you, behind this microphone and what I do today, and by God's privilege and things that I've grown in, you think what Tommy Weber wrote nearly 40 years ago. Let's see how one jeddah impacted her son in the future. She written a card. I know you ladies always kind of, when you have graduations or marriages, you always kind of look for some nice writing here. You know, the print-out writing. Otherwise, it's not going to go. Pretty pictures. You have to have something. It said this. On your graduation, climb high, climb far, your goal the sky, your aim the star. Nice poetry. Such a good start to buy the card. But it's not what is always printed for thousands of others to receive. What's really special is when a loved one writes to you. Dearest son, congratulations.

The final chapter of your school life has finished, and a new chapter just beginning. Walk carefully. Remember your lessons well. Welcome responsibility and leadership, for you have been trained well, both at home and school.

Always use these tools to be a help to others, to guide and to comfort. Give of yourself, of strength and knowledge. Don't hold back. Never compromise your principles, and when in doubt, turn to our Father in heaven.

He will never forsake you, nor deny you the help you need. Keep His laws always, and trust in His promises. Hold fast and endure to the end. Your Father and I have given you all that we can, and taught you all that we know. Now you are on your own. And the nicest part that all of our parents might write to us, our love and prayers are with you always, Mother and Dad. What touched me as I read this was just the aspect of when it said, and when in doubt, turn to our Father in heaven. Many of you know that my mother had Alzheimer's the last year and a half of her life. Basically, at the end of her life, she didn't know me. She knew I was a looming presence in her life. I was this big guy that had this kindly smile that took her out for rides in the country and listened to beautiful Montavani music for those of you that are older and remember the stringed melodies of Montavani. She sometimes would ask me, I should know this, but who are you? And I would say, well, I'm your banker, and I'm your pastor, and I'm your friend.

And just to let you know I'm your son, oh, then she'd kind of say, I know that. She didn't. Because the last time I went over to visit my father with her, she went away with me as we rode away from the mobile home, and she looked at me with a big smile because my mother, as Susan Kintes, was the sweetest little doll at the end of her life. And she said, I didn't know I had another son. She was talking about my dad.

Here's the point.

Not knowing her husband, and not even knowing her only surviving son, my mother never forgot her Heavenly Father. I probably shared this story with you, but it's a snapshot that's in my mind. My mother, the last year and a half, lived in a facility very near to us, a little facility, a lovely home that had six people in it. And sometimes I would have to take her from the car and open the door in the facility and kind of get her in there for reasons which I won't go into. But I would have to get her in there. So I'd kind of go to the door of the facility, and then I'd try to get her in just as quickly as possible. It was a little challenging to get her in.

And that might all take about 10 seconds, but in the mind of Alzheimer's, 10 seconds can seem like a thousand years and they don't know where they are. And I would look back just maybe, just to me and to where, Joe?

Raise your hand, Joe, for a second, where you are there. And I look back at my mother. The car door would be open because it's hot in Sun City. And I look at my mom, and my mother's head would be raised up in the sky because she was scared. She was that child again. She was lost. And she didn't know where she was. And she would just be talking with her arms up and her face up, saying, Oh, Heavenly Father! The point I want to make to you about this is, she knew no other human being and did not know who they were.

That value that was so deep inside of her, that our Heavenly Father would never leave us nor forsake us, and the Heavenly Father that she turned me over to as a young man, was so deep inside of her that she instilled that in me, as your parents have instilled that in you.

Never underestimate the values, the simple values. It doesn't have to be in Greek. It doesn't have to be in Hebrew. It doesn't have to be long. But just to simply know that you're not alone, that you live, and you rise, and you breathe, and you love before something other than yourself, our Heavenly Father.

But before you can teach that, you have to believe that. Before you can instill that, you've got to distill that in your own mind and heart, that you can share it. Allow me to share one more story, now, just to show the impact that you ladies, whether you are biological mothers or spiritual moms, can have. Susan's mom died two and a half years ago now, about, and we went back there.

And it's amazing that when the eulogies began, that Susan's brother, who's about 6'5", got up there, and I think a few others. And they began talking about Shirley Leimbach. And they were talking about mom, the mom that they remembered. And the one thing that distilled down in her life, the value and the quality that she had, was if you wanted God to listen to somebody down on earth, and if you wanted to know somebody that was actually talking to God, you went to Shirley Leimbach, because she was a prayer warrior.

So often in church, church talk, whether it's this church or another church you go into, you always hear about these little trite phrases that if it's big enough to care about, it's big enough to pray about. That's a bumper sticker. It's another thing to get down on your knees, to pray for your husband, to pray for your wife, to pray for your children, to pray for your congregation, to pray for the world, to pray for the kingdom to come. Shirley Leimbach was like that.

And simply that is what she instilled in her daughter that's with you. And my wife's brothers. Susan was about age 26, and her grandfather had died. The family's all out on the west coast, and the whole family had to pack into a car. You know, let's get up, let's get going, and let's roll down the windows. It's getting a little hot in here, isn't it? You know, because you're ready to go, and you're going to go through the United States two nights without sleep and trade drivers.

I'm sure some of us have done that at times. And everybody was ready to go. And there was something primal in my wife that her mother had instilled in her. Everybody's thoughts were about to get to going. And Susan just simply said, we haven't prayed. Here you're doing the right thing. You want to honor your grandfather and your parent. And we get so busy sometimes with everything that's happening in life that we don't add God into the car and make him a passenger and make him the driver.

Those are the things that you mothers and you ladies pass on to our children and our grandchildren. Not how to wear earrings. That's a part of what a mother and grandmother can delight in. And not just simply to match a purse with this article of clothing or even how to cook.

These are all well-defined. These are beautiful things, and these are things that ladies do. But it's these deep values. These roots and wings that we place in the people's lives. Our little ones and our children and our grandchildren that are going to go through the test of time. That we might be like a Mary, a Jedidah, a Ruth, an Esther, a Shirley, a Tommy, and all of our lovely ladies right here.

As we conclude, thank you for your indulgence. I wanted a little long, but I hope I've touched each and every one of your hearts today. All of us have had a mom. All of us have been called to a degree to nurture. Let's be about our Heavenly Father's business. Let's understand that this is what the vision of the church is. That every part of the body supply that which it has. And there's nothing more beautiful than the gift of mothering.