May You Be Like Ruth and Like Esther and Mary

Well, this weekend is a very special weekend. It's a weekend in which the country has designated the Sunday to be Mother's Day. And I would like to follow the theme that was set by our opening hymn service about family. And mothers and our ladies are a very essential part of our family. So I look forward to bringing this message to you today on Mother's Day. And in this, I would like to address the wonderment of motherhood. And the title of my message is simply this. May you be like Ruth and like Esther and Mary. Some of these women were not only earthly mothers, but they were also mothers in the faith, whose contributions have stood the test of time and are squarely set before us today here in Holy Scripture.

What I want to share with you today, because it is going to be a message that is going to be focused on mothers and focused towards women, is to not allow you to go on a siesta for the next few minutes. This message that I'm going to share with you as your pastor is designed for each and every woman in this room, whether you are a mother, biological mother, and or not. It's designed also for the men. And it is also designed for a way that our children, for all of us that have been born, indeed, do have a mother. Therefore, with that stated, let's further come to understand what it means and why the title that I've given you to be like Ruth and like Esther and like Mary. First of all, and that's why we're here today, let's anchor ourselves in Scripture. If you'll join me in Proverbs 14 and verse 1. In Proverbs 14 and starting in verse 1. Let us read it together. The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her own hands. When we read that, we say the wise woman builds her house. There's something that is being developed. There is a structure that is going up. What I want to share with you as we begin is that women indeed are builders. But the question I want to share with all of you today is what are you as our ladies? What are you building? Men, by nature, build structures. They take wood. They take hammer. They take nail. They pour concrete. They build structures. They build buildings. But a woman, by her very nature that God placed in her, builds something very different. Men build houses. Women, ladies, you build homes.

You build relationships. Relationships that are net-knitted by none other than your personal and giving and loving heart. Well, you say, well, I'm glad I'm a woman, because I build homes. Not like the cavemen. No! You and I realize that both are needed, aren't they? Men do build. They develop. They construct. But once that's constructed, they give it over to their ladies to bring that essentiality that God purposed in a woman. To create relationships that will stand the test of time. Relationships that will be developed down through the ages. But again, let's draw back to verse 14, verse 1 again. The wise woman builds her house. And we've already defined that with a word further, meaning home and relationships. Drawing and knitting the family together in the only way that a lady can. But the foolish pulls it down with her own hands. That can be done by commission. That can be done by omission. That can be done by the pressures of life and the squeeze of societal norms. Today, the world sells our women and our ladies that somehow you work outside of the home. And you and I understand that. Just sometimes out of sheer necessity to keep a roof over your heads along with your husband. I get that. You get that. I understand that. But a woman's work, the God-given work that God designed for our women and our ladies begins at home. If you never go down to Wilshire Boulevard, if you never go down to Sunset Strip, if you never go out to Van Nuys Boulevard in the valley, you are working every day of your life. Before God, and for your man, and for your children, and for your grandchildren. Sometimes I will talk to people and I'll talk to a lady and say, Well, are you working? And she says, Well, I have not worked for 15 or 20 years now. But you see, that's where society has taken us. That somehow what a woman does, and her loving labor at home is discounted. You ladies, if I can just say this as a man on behalf of all of our men, many of you are doing double duty. When just what God intended you to do at home is, frankly, more than enough, perhaps in this lifetime and or the next. Let's be frank and may we talk. Today the family is under attack. Today the primary core of a family unit, which is the man and is the woman, which is the husband and which is the wife, is under attack. And sometimes we suddenly accept that, whether wittingly or unwittingly, like this has always been. We see now that there is a new societal definition for what marriage means. Marriage was intended to be between a man and a woman. And to recognize that that is being stretched of and by itself with the challenges of keeping up, trying to keep a roof over our head, and what society is pressuring us or telling us that we need to do to feel complete. And then where are our children? If the man and the woman are not intact. And I'm not saying that's always easy. You get it. I get it. We've been married for 43 years. It's a challenge to enrich, to expand, to bring God into a marriage, to stay bonded, to rather than leave to cleave, recognizing that Jesus Christ is the literal head of our marriage. He is the spiritual head. With these pressures that are upon us, and what about our dear children that are being modeled by this society around us, that more and more the government wants to take over the parenting. More and more the secular institutions are defining what they consider the norms to proceed into the future. And we can let go of our responsibility. We can diminish the God-given roles that God has given us, simply by pressure, either wittingly or unwittingly, and or becoming distracted, distracted from the prime responsibilities that God has given us as men and as women. Truth, Him in entity.

Virtuous. That's an old-fashioned word. I kind of like it. Virtuous, virtuous motherhood. And simply being there for children is being choked out by this world that we live in.

My encouragement today on this Mother's Day is to give you a greetings card from God. And here it goes.

In this world that we live in, ladies, as mothers, as grandmothers, and some of you that may not have biological children, but are mothers in the faith and mothers in the Lord, you must stand firm on the Word and the example of Scriptures.

And thus, let's continue how you can be just like Ruth, Esther, and Mary. Can we talk and share a few thoughts here? Motherhood can be a painful privilege. Let's talk about Mary for a moment, the mother of our Lord.

Young Mary of Nazareth has a unique privilege of being the very mother of the very Son of God.

Very unique. And yet, the pains and the pleasures of her motherhood are understood by mothers everywhere.

Mary was the only person present at both Jesus' birth and as a witness to his death. Joseph, Jesus' stepfather, was presumably by tradition no longer alive. So Mary was there at the beginning, and she was there at the very end, at the foot of the cross, when her son died.

In all of this, in all of this that was set before her, she offered this famous phrase, As does every mother, when you have a child, let it be. This is every woman's words, as she gives life to a baby that is made in God's image and after his likeness. And in return commits that little one to God above. And yes, ladies, you buckle yourself in for the ride. Oh, it may not quite be like Jesus of Nazareth. You may not have to stand at the foot of a cross, but you have to inch by inch and heart by heart, stand by that child through the mountaintop experiences and through the valleys and through the deserts of life. That's what a mother does. Because even more her sense of flesh and my flesh and bone of my bones, I think Adam kind of got off easy. He was asleep. But you, as ladies, that is the flesh of your flesh. That is you that has come out of your body as a gift before God to love for the rest of your life. You know, there's a unique, timeless, attached umbilical cord that remains intact. You know, it's very interesting that in war, what oftentimes happens in war, whether it was the Civil War, World War I or World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the wars over in the Middle East over the last 20 years, a man will often write to his sweetheart, or he'll write, or in this day, be on a computer with his wife and saying, I'll be okay. I love you. Remember that. And I'll see you on the other side. But with that stated about our wife or our sweetheart, it's very interesting that young men, down through the ages, when they are gasping their last breath and their consciousness begins to go, they're talking to their mother. There is something that is utterly unique in that unattached umbilical cord that is there that unites a man, and or in this day, with women sometimes on the lines, back with their mother.

With all of this said, ladies, my encouragement is to you today. We don't have to wait until our children are in a foxhole. Along with your husband, you and I, along with Susie and I as grandparents at this stage, we are in a battle. We are in a war for the very soul and the well-being of our child, that we can give a gift to the next generation and give a gift to our God. Make no mistake about it. No, no, no. Do not make a mistake. Satan and this society are more than willing and capable without our steadfastness in tact as parents, as grandparents, as parents in the Lord in this congregation where we have a spiritual family, that Satan and society want to take your child's all for their cause and leave them in a dustbin.

Why is this so important today? When Mary was a young Jewess growing up in Nazareth, she wasn't watching TV. She wasn't reading magazines from the supermarket. She wasn't even... Are you ready for this? She wasn't even surfing the net. She wasn't on Facebook. She wasn't worried of people like her.

What she was concerned about was, was she like Ruth? Was she like Esther? Was she like Sarah?

These women that preceded her were not overnight wonders of and by themselves. They were not starlets. They were not top 40. They were not famous for being famous.

They were not on the cover of People magazine for one or two issues and you never heard about them but you gawked and you stared and for that moment as a teenager maybe you wanted to be like them. These women stood the test of time and were to be modeled. Girls were taught and encouraged to be like them.

Remember the movie which came off of the stage play Broadway, Fiddler on the Roof? Remember when they are doing the Sabbath prayer? There is this famous song, these lyrics that came out of that play which later on became a very famous movie. I like to just read them to you for a moment. You can relax and sit back and just allow me to read for a moment. Ask yourself, ladies, and you that are men that are looking to be married, is this the woman that you are looking for? Is this the woman that you are dating with and hoping for? May the Lord protect and defend you. May He always shield you from shame. May you come to be in Israel a shining name. May you be like Ruth and like Esther.

May you be deserving of praise. Strengthen them, O Lord, and keep them from the stranger's ways. May God bless you and grant you long lives. And may the Lord fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you. May God make you good mothers and wives. May He send you husbands who will care for you. May the Lord protect and defend you. May the Lord preserve you from pain. Favor them, O Lord, with happiness and peace. O hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.

But those prayers must be put into action. It's one thing to recite them, which is a beautiful thing. But then we have to do our part to allow God to do His part. And the more we do, the more God does for us. And we must go out and meet those prayers because it will not always be easy with the world that you and I step into. Why is this important? Because ladies and mothers and grandmothers and aunts and all of our ladies who may just be mothers in the faith. You know, you can't choose your family, but sometimes you choose those... Did I say that? No. Sometimes you can't choose your family, but you can choose those that you will mentor in church or at work or at school and stretch yourself and expand yourself. And be a light. Be something different than in this increasing world of darkness. Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, put it this way. I had no responsibility in determining what my grandfather was like, but I do have the choice in determining what my grandchild will be like.

Basically what our president, the 16th president, was saying, we can't go in the back. We can't go in the past, but we can touch the future. And we'll be talking about that and expanding on that. Sometimes we'll say, well, what's the use? What is the use? Maybe you had a day right now that was challenging or a week that was challenging, and you see the world that, in a sense, I painted a picture of for a moment. And you say, here I am in 2017. What is the use? Thank you for asking that question. We're going to answer that by Scripture. Join me if you would. And let's go to 2 Kings. 2 Kings 21.

2 Kings 21. I have a question before you sneak and peek here by looking at Scripture. I have a question for you. How many of you have ever heard of Jedada? I'm not stuttering. Oh, there's always one in a crowd. Yep, thought it might be. Jedada.

Confession is good for the soul. I didn't know who Jedada was some years ago until I looked that up and became familiar with her story. But that just goes to show you, ladies and gentlemen, there are just silent heroes and heroines in the Bible whose example speaks so very loud.

2 Kings 21. As you're there, and I'm about to get there, in 2 Kings 21, we notice what it said in verse 19. Ammon was 22 years old when he came king and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshu Lomath, the daughter of Huraz of Chappah. And he did evil, this is Ammon, in 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 he worshipped them. No, no, no, it gets worse. And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers and did not walk in the ways of the Lord. Then the servants of Ammon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.

But the people of the land executed all of those who had conspired against King Ammon, and then the people of the land made his son notice 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 the Garden of Uzzah, and then Josiah his son reigned in his place.

So far, so good. We recognize we had a bad guy. One of those, you know, when you deal with the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah, bad guy, good guy, bad guy, good guy.

Chapter 22, verse 1. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.

And notice, his mother's name was Jededah, the daughter of Adiah, of Bosecath.

And he, that is, Josiah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David. And he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Interesting.

Now, I know some of the younger people are here thinking, I'm pretty old, but I'm not this old.

I was not the fly on the wall. Are you with me? I was not in that king's palace. But let's just do a little wandering with our thoughts and stretch our imagination a little bit, and let's do what we might call some supposing.

Some supposing. Let me just ask you a question. How could an eight-year-old boy begin to reign and stay the way that he reigned without the guidance of a wise mother?

We know where Ammon was coming from. He wasn't getting it from Pops.

Think about the difficulty that Jededah had in raising him in God's way of life.

Especially with Hubby's example.

Ammon must have been very antagonistic.

Obviously, Jededah was a woman who prized her role as a mother and wanted an obedient, stable child to grow up in the nurture of the Lord.

We can only imagine in the intrigue that any court might have that she provided Josiah a refuge of peace that allowed him to absorb her influence like a sponge rather than his father's.

Now, you say, well, Mr. Weber, you really kind of wandered into with that one, and there's a lot of supposing.

But I've seen it in this lifetime, too.

So I'm just transferring what I've seen amongst the saints of God sometimes and the powerful, steady, quiet example of our women.

And what is rock by that example?

She doesn't have chapters devoted to her like Esther.

She doesn't have verses devoted to her like Sarah or even Mary.

But come what may, she said, let it be, and I will do what I will do as a woman and as a mother for my son, no matter what it cost.

There's a powerful example that used to be driven home to me almost fifty years ago when I first came into the Long Beach congregation. If you'll join me in 1 Peter 3 and verse 1. 1 Peter 3 and verse 1.

Back in that time, we had a lot of women with small children that were coming to services.

And they had non-member mates. Some that were hostile. Some that were belligerent. Some that were modern-day Amons, in a sense.

And they told their wife that if you go to that church today and you come back...

No, excuse me. If you go to that church today, don't think that you're coming back.

We had women that went for years and years under incredible pressure.

But this would always be turned to in 1 Peter 3 and verse 1. Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the Word, they without a Word.

Maybe won by the conduct of their wives.

Our good example is far louder than our good arguments.

Being a woman and expressing godly femininity, using the mind and using the heart that God gave you.

By giving it to him and allowing your example to shine, can change the hearts of modern-day Amons.

And or maybe even guide and show the way for children that are wondering which way to go.

1 Peter 2 and verse 15, ladies, let's take a look at that. And gentlemen, you're welcome to come along too.

For this is the will of God that by doing good, doing good before your husband, doing good before your children, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

We're going to leave Jedidah alone in a moment and go on to somebody else. But just think about this for a moment. I often wonder if Jedidah was actually channeling William Ross Wallace, who would live millennia later. And he is the gentleman that coined the phrase, The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

And that's what God is doing through you, ladies.

You have one that is made in your image and your likeness to be apparent to.

And we in our stage of life as grandparents too.

They too are in a program of training as they embrace this way of life that God one day is going to utilize them to serve under Jesus Christ. To be a kingdom of priests and kings. To teach, to build, to construct, and to teach others how to worship God. And how to worship Jesus Christ.

When I say that, can I make a comment, please?

We will not always see the results of our efforts every day.

Sometimes you that have grandchildren that live far away, and you may not be able to see them for a year or two years. And that seems, oh, my, ever so long. And you, on your kitchen door, you have the old mark, you know, where you put the ruler. Then you kind of show how much they've grown. And then they come a year later, and they're...well, not quite that. But they've grown. You can't watch a teapot boil, can you?

And ladies, you have quite a life before you.

You recognize that life goes that, in the beginning, they tug on your hair. I remember our daughter when she was young. I won't give her name, but it was Laura, the firstborn. She used to grab Susan's long, blonde hair. And that kid would not go...

This kid would not leave me alone. Just grabbing my hair. You know, Laura had a vice. She's over six feet now, so she had a vice.

They tug at her hair. Are you with me? Then they tug at our skirts.

And then, when they become teenagers, they tug at our emotional well-being.

And have tapped our brain as how to solve these issues and these problems.

But as we commit ourselves, ladies, to motherhood, and commit our child to God, we will do what we can do and not give up and not become distracted by the world. Not go down the arguments and the definitions of what the world thinks, but to look at the Bible. Proverbs 16 and verse 3. Proverbs 16 and verse 3.

Proverbs 17 and verse 3.

This world has a funny notion that you and I have ancestors that have more hair on them than we do.

That we are the result of love's sick amoeba in a slimy, sunny pond on the other side of this world.

And all of a sudden, by the power of photosynthesis and light, and of course you have to ask yourself, well, where did the light come from? But anyway, SPIRQ!

And we are on our way to one day becoming human beings.

Brethren, children are not a heritage of evolution.

Children are a gift and a heritage from God. Thus, what do we do with this gift that God gives us? Proverbs 16 and verse 3. Commit your works to the Lord. And there is a promise. We have to do something that God does something. It says, commit your works to the Lord.

And it says, and He will establish... Are you with me? Our thoughts.

He'll establish our thoughts. So we need to understand that. I want to share a story with you of bi-generational motherhood and grandmotherhood. Join me if you would for a moment in 2 Timothy 1 verse 5. We'll get to chapter 3 and 1. This is Paul speaking to his son and the Lord Timothy. He was a spiritual son.

But notice what it says here. When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your ladies, your grandmother, Lois, and your mother Eunice. And I am persuaded is in you. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God.

Here we find three generations of faithfulness that started with a grandmother named Lois that went to Eunice. Now let's go to 2 Peter 3 verse 15. There's something in there. There's a Peter on my mind here. 2 Timothy 3 verse 15. 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. This is speaking of an importance of taking a child and not giving them up to the world, not giving them up to secularism, not giving them up to evolution.

But to recognize that there is a purpose that is being worked out here below. So when it mentions that he grew up in the faith, does that mean he, Timothy, was told to...well, Revelation wasn't written yet. So I'll go back to the Old Testament. Was he supposed to have known all the book of Isaiah from chapter 1 to chapter 66? I mean, what was his training like? What was the...because training is not only what you say, but it's what you see. What kind of training would have been given to a child in that day, in that age? Join me if you would at 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. Here we go.

Notice what it says. Do not let a widow under 60 years old be taken with a number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man. Marriage is important. Well reported up for good works. And if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saint's feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work. Now, this is talking about ladies, but what I'm trying to share with you here, we're not talking about an IQ of intellect. And that can be well, and that is important. But we're talking about an IQ, an identity quotient, not an intelligence quotient, of service, of giving, of relationships, of honor, of respect, of commitment.

This is what we teach our children. Ladies, grandmothers, dear friends, we as parents and grandparents, we have two full responsibilities in this lifetime. One is to give the next generation roots to ground them, because the storms of life will come up. And we are also to provide them wings, to allow them ultimately to fly on their own.

Allow me to be plain. There is a difference between being a mother and mothering. One is biological. One is biological. The other is a never-ending call of God to action, to give your child roots and wings to ground themselves. I want to share a few thoughts with you about my own mother, Thomasina Weber, commonly called Tommy, to recognize that the time that you spend with your child, how valuable it is, how very valuable it is, and so wonderful. Before that, I want you to turn to Proverbs 6.20. Just join me here for a moment to set the stage. Proverbs 6 and verse 20.

Proverbs 6 and verse 20.

It says, My son, keep your father's command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart, and pie them around your neck. If you go to Proverbs 1, 8 through 9, you might want to jot that down. Proverbs 6 and verse 20.

I took about 10 things out of Ambassador College. You might say, Really? And he's a pastor? But I keep those 10 things in my mind. And I can't remember my experience with my mother day in and day out, but there are certain things that will come to mind. Susan will recognize some of them. I'm going to share this with you up front. My mother was not perfect at all.

Susan, I know that. Some of you know that. Some of you were good family friends. But this is what she left in my mind. This is the garland around my neck. This is what I take with me. Sometimes things that you will never understand. Have you ever been to a memorial service? Have you ever been to a funeral? And it's really kind of like, this is the first half hour. You know, everybody's sad and going through Scripture.

And then the kids get up. And then the grandkids get up. And you never knew what they were thinking. But now you know those little things that were not caught on camera. Those sweet little moments. I remember a recent date when Aya, our Aya, Reyes, and we had the memorial service. She talked about being underneath her father's draft desk and just sitting there underneath the desk. Aya. I don't think she's playing the violin then. But those little things that come out. I want to share some things that my mother began doing with me over 60 years ago.

I'm going to be 66 next month, but are as much a part of me and what make me today as if it was just yesterday. My mother always came to my bed at night. And she sat with me. She told me lots of stories. She talked about great people. This is starting at age 6.

She talked about great people and exploring ideas. And her word and her expressions made little words very great. She had a certain romanticism in life that were captured with words and with a smile. By her visiting my bed every night, and we would talk, she would expand my mind and my heart and my imagination beyond a small bedroom in La Mesa, California. When my mother came into my room and sat with me at night, the world, as Shakespeare said, was a stage. Poured into my bedroom. Poured into my mind. Poured into my heart. It challenged my imagination. It increased my vocabulary in words and thoughts and how to put things together.

My mother ignited a spark of imagination that I still try to share in sermons and writings now that are right around the world. That romanticism and that exploration continues to guide my heart today. To be a thinker outside of a bedroom. To be a thinker outside of a box. And allow God to lead me wherever he might. My mother sat by my bedside. Some of us, it's time to put down our smartphones. And, wondering if people like us.

And make sure that you sit down by your child every night and say goodnight. Have a conversation. Oh, maybe not for hours, but for minutes. And let your child know that they're special. Susan will know this next one. My mother always told me to carry a dime and to carry a coat. It still stays with me 60 years later. And we pass it on to our daughters, our three daughters, many of whom, you know, and the grandchildren. Always carry a dime. And always carry a coat. We don't have to carry a dime today because there's cell phones. But that taught me to think ahead.

And that taught me to think of others. There may be a very good reason why you are late for an appointment. But there's never an excuse to not let people know that you're late. And that you're trying every bit of your whole being to get there. And that they would be patient. My mother always taught me always to carry a coat. Always to carry a coat. Because you had to be prepared for no matter what occurred, what happened.

Always be ready. Always be prepared. You never know what's going to come over around the next bend, the next turn. Always be prepared for life. I see Susan down here, and we'll smile on this one. My mother, who, for those of you who knew her, was somewhat of a classy lady.

But when we went to an Italian restaurant, my mother would always, no matter the dress that she wore, when she was eating spaghetti, she put a napkin down her front, no matter if it was a four or five star restaurant. Ladies, it's all right to wear napkins.

Ladies, it's all right to recognize that we're human beings, and the spaghetti sauce will not always stay on the plate, that can dribble down your front. And, oh, what an evening that will be then. She taught me that accidents can happen to the most careful people. My mother taught me to never be afraid to ask questions.

I remember that from the time I was six years old, when I went to school. And I still do, whether having been a council member, whether a pastor, whether a Christian, whether as an educator, never be afraid to ask questions. She always said that the worst thing that can happen is they can simply say, No, but ask a question. Don't be afraid to share yourself. Another thing that I learned from my mother was simply this. Always look out a window when traveling. You might miss something.

You might miss things in life. Life is interesting. Grab it while it passes by. That came to play when it was about 1965, and the old church bus was going up to camp up at Orr. And we're going through Utah. We're coming up to Salt Lake City. And I said, I want to see the Mormon Temple. I knew we weren't going to go into Salt Lake City, but it's a historical edifice.

So while everybody else was asleep on the bus, and they could have been asleep, I just pinched myself to stay awake. And I was looking out my window, and I knew kind of what Salt Lake City looked like. We were going fast, but I recognized that as we went by, between this building and that building, there would be one that was lit up, because I'd seen it in the book, and I wanted to see the Mormon Temple.

I saw it. I learned from my mother to look out a window. And don't just let life happen. Take it. Grab it. Look out. One phrase that comes down to me all of my life, and your mothers or grandmothers or maybe even your dear aunts have this same phrase, whatever you do, do with your might. Things done by have are never done right. And of course, there's the biblical principles that whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might.

Another thing that was very interesting about my mother was, she found people fascinating. Fascinating! In a sense, it was an adventure on two legs that stood before her. Never met a stranger. Ralph and Ingrid, maybe that's being from Chicago. You know where you just bumped into people all the time? The ethnic quilt of Chicago back in the late 20s and the late 30s.

My mother was born on the south side but was raised on the west side. And you always kind of wondered where people were. You bumped into people that were Polish, Russian, Swedish, Black, Italian, Irish, German. A discussion came up since that time in my mother's interest in people.

When I'm on a bus or a plane or wherever I go, and Susan and I often do this, we ask questions. All the people have to do is say, no, and please be careful in doing this. But we find that after three questions, how interconnected we are as people around the world, it just takes three questions. But you've got to look out of the window of your existence. You've got to be interested in people, and you've got to ask the questions.

And all of a sudden you find, you know what? We are all really interrelated, and we're going the same direction. Something else I learned from my mother in her training was simply this, ladies and gentlemen. Take a stand for what you believe in, and keep on standing. I think I've shared with you before I grew up as a Lutheran. And I remember many a Sunday afternoon, as all the church had gone out the door, had shook the good Reverend Michki's hand, that my mother was waiting for him.

Oh, she was waiting. And they would go into her office, and the door would close, and little Robin would be sitting on the outside of the door, thinking that as they closed the door I wouldn't hear anything. And my mother would simply say, Why are you not preaching from the Bible? You're saying this, you're saying this, but the Bible says this. Oh, those were interesting hours for little Robin hearing that conversation. She continued to do that all of her life, up to 1995, with the very dear friend of hers that you would know the name of.

You're saying this, but the Bible says that. I take a lot of my courage over the years, and a lot of my stand-up from my mother, and I thank her for it. Perhaps the dearest thing that my mother reminded me of is, again, remember how we talked about the story of Lois in Eunice, the grandmother of the mother?

And I think I've shared this story with you, so I'll keep it brief. But my mother was an orphan by the time that she was age six, and she and her two sisters were shuttled back and forth between the family because they wanted to keep the girls together as much as possible. Finally, her grandmother, Lavonne, that we call Derry, Lavonne took her, the grandmother, who had cancer.

And my mother tended her at age sixteen as she was dying of cancer. But that grandmother stood up because she recognized the value of passing on values to the next generation. And even though my mother's father died at age six, my great-grandmother, Derry, always said that you always have a father. You will always have a father. You have a heavenly father. She ingrained that in me at age six as I was growing up. She would relate those stories that would expand my imagination in the bedroom. Many of you know that my mother had Alzheimer's.

Susan and I took care of her the best we could for the last year and a half of her life. And I would pick her up at the facility that she was at, which was just two or three miles from me. And I would take her out for wonderful, wonderful rides, and then I'd have to take her back to the facility. And that was a challenging moment because of the Alzheimer's, to take her from the car to get her into the facility. I won't go into it, but it was challenging.

I tried to be as quick as possible. So I went in and I got candy, who was a proprietor, and got the door open. And I must have been just maybe 20 seconds. And I looked back at my mother.

You have to understand, my mother no longer knew who I was. One time she said, as we were taking a drive through the country, she said, You know, I do know you. I know you. For those of us that have had parents that have dementia or Alzheimer's, you can understand this. She said, I know you. Just who are you again? And I said, well, thank you for asking.

I'm your sofir. I'm your lawyer. I'm your banker. I'm your pastor. And I'm your friend. But most importantly, I'm your son. Hmm. She smiled. She said, I knew that. Which is often the answer by somebody that has Alzheimer's. We understand that, don't we? But after I opened that door, I looked back.

I was trying to go as quickly as possible. Because, you know, when somebody has Alzheimer's, one second can seem like a lifetime. And I looked back, and my mother, and I'll always have that snapshot in my mind, she was like a little child. And her head was up, and she was talking to her Heavenly Father. Even in that abyss that was in her mind and in her heart, that was no longer full humanly, God had given her the gift. She had forgotten her son. She had forgotten her husband. But she never forgot her Heavenly Father.

Something that was passed on by her grandmother to her. In all this, what I'm sharing, friends, and you are, dear friends, you're my family. This is my hometown church. If you knew my mother and you've seen me grow up, from the time I was playing basketball, till now, as your pastor. And I say this to you, ladies. And I say this to you, ladies, that are also mothers in the Lord to others. Never underestimate what God can do and what He can do through you to touch and affect the lives that will happen in the future.

That is so very important. I'm going to share another story about family ways and the touch. I'm going to talk about my wife for a moment. She doesn't know what I'm going to say, but it affects her and also affects her. The family ways that come down and the touches that we have. And that is, we had great joy the other day. Our daughter, Laura, many of you know Laura. She's the tall one. She's almost six.

The others are getting up, you know, six. Anyway, what had happened was, Laura sent her a Facebook picture. Laura was invited to go up to Northern California to be a part of the bridal party where they had the wedding dress or whatever. All the bridesmaids were there and the mother of the bride was there. Laura was individually asked to come up because Amber, her stepdaughter, wanted her to be there. That was so beautiful and so encouraging to me as a father and to her mother. Susan's family, you have to understand, line box don't like to be talked about, but I'm going to share it anyway.

Strap her in. Susan's family has a wonderful, beautiful ability of either entering a family or never letting a family member go even through divorce. And that there's just a beautiful patience and kindliness that our daughters, all three of them, even as they are not members of the church right now, but have collected such wonderful family ways and genes from Susan's side, that they are always respectful and always kind. And some of you that have been stepmothers recognize sometimes the challenges that go with being a stepparent or dad's at being a stepparent.

And you stay with it and you wonder sometimes, can I get through it or is this going all right? And Laura actually helped raise this young lady from the time that she was about five or six. And you ever kind of really wonder if it counts in the situations that God puts you into. But they sent Susan a Facebook picture of the mother of the bride, the bride, and here is the stepmother.

You might call it a three-in-one picture. That all of those years of wondering if it was worth it came to the fore. And they did. I credit that to Laura's mother and Susan's family that have a wonderful way of embracing people kindly and gently in Susan's way and her family's way. And always, even if family members do divorce or some situation are separated from us, they always remain family.

Never underestimate your ability to touch the future. You say, but I don't have the brains, I don't have the wherewithal. When you commit your works to God he will establish your thoughts. And it is not your IQ, mentally speaking, but your identity quotient of what you are as you touch the future. I could say much more, but I want to close because I want to go to the hymn saying, I want to continue a family way here in Los Angeles of rejoicing before God and being with our family today, with our mothers and grandmothers and our ladies.

Ladies, you have an incredible, incredible role in humanity. Don't go down the path that this world is saying is neat and that you need to embrace. You be a righteous woman. You be a woman, you be ladies of virtue and character. Today in this technological world, with all the gizmos and all the gadgets that we have and they can be well and good and balanced, there is one thing that an iPhone, that a smartphone, that a computer, that a text message cannot produce. It's called character.

Character. Because you either produce character or you become one. And you have an opportunity to mold and to touch the future. So, ladies, gentlemen, I say to our ladies, pray to God. Then go meet those prayers every day with those children and with those grandchildren. And with some of us that are adult children that need a mentor, that need a lady in our life, that need a grandmother.

I grew up in Pasadena when I was 22 or 23. I had all sorts of grandmothers. Spiritual grandmothers. I had Mrs. Lisman, Mrs. Schnippert, Annie Mann, Mrs. Mock, Mrs. Sleeper. I could go down the line. It's a Rolodex. Names that come out of the past that are still with me today. So, brethren, let us rejoice on this day. Let us rejoice and let us support our mothers and our grandmothers and all of our ladies and all of their contributions as they strive to move forward to be just like Ruth, just like Esther, and just like Mary. What a wonderful calling each of you ladies have.