And if you would join with me in your Bible as they're headed out to 2 Kings and chapter 4. 2 Kings and chapter 4. I'd like to publicly thank all the fellows who helped us Friday night for the Mother Daughter Banquet. There were a lot of ladies involved in prepping and decorating and so forth as well. Cooking and just appreciate that. We had a wonderful banquet Friday night. I'm not exactly sure what the count was. I know we set up 11 tables at eight chairs a table. That's 88. We had a few empty slots here and there. But then with all the fellows helping, I think we were maybe popped over 100, I think, Friday night. So, that was wonderful. I told the ladies that they were quite honored and that that was the first event for a completed new fellowship hall. I mean, we did have race day, but things weren't quite done yet. And there were more things to be done. But that was the first event. And does not the Fellowship Hall look wonderful? We are so blessed. It is just beautiful. And now we get to put it to work. Amen? And the thing is, once we do it, it doesn't stay pristine, does it? starts to get some wear on it, but that's alright. I'm thankful for all of that that's been done. But we had a great time, Friday night, and thank you, Sandy, for speaking for the ladies. I got nothing but wonderful, great reviews on every event, everything that happened Friday night. So, thank you to all those who had a part for that. It is Mother's Day, and I've said, happy Mother's Day, and I trust that will be for you and for your mother if she's still living. I encourage you to call her or text her, however your mom communicates. My mom has been texting me. I am not a texter, actually. I mean, I do, but I guess, I don't know, maybe I'm just sticking to mud. But my mom sends me a text every Sunday morning at 6 a.m. Now it's 8 a.m. for her, so that's okay. But that's encouraging because then I know my mom's praying for me. And she's praying for all of you. She prays for our church and those of you that knew her personally when her and dad were here. And so that's a little abnormal for my mom to be texting me. I'm trying to get that wrapped around my brain. But anyways, she probably does that because I don't call. I'm a typical man. I don't call. Not a lot. I do every now and then, but not like my sister. I think my sister calls my mom like 50 times every day. But it's a different relationship, and that's okay. It's okay. Come on, guys, say amen. You're backing me up on that. Leave me out to dry. But today, I'm thinking of two mothers who are rejoicing in a very, in an abnormal way. For one, it's a rejoicing that every mother hopes that she will have. And for the other mother, it's a rejoicing she hopes no mother ever has. There was an incident, I don't know if it was this last week, maybe the week before, I saw the report in the news, and there's probably a lot more available about it, but the little report that I read. Sergeant Brian Lieberman, who is an Army medic with the 82nd Airborne, was at his apartment with his buddy. And all of a sudden there was commotion out in the courtyard of where they lived. I'm not even sure what state it was. But they saw somebody apparently driving by and shooting. I don't know, I didn't say it was gang related or why there was this drive-by shooting. But there was a lot of commotion. And so, he grabbed his firearm and immediately went to the scene. And as he got down there, he announced who he was. I'm an Army medic. And they pointed to an individual who had been shot by the drive-by shooters. And he went there as an Army medic and began to triage, just like he would have on a battlefield. And it was a 14-year-old girl. She'd been shot. And he was doing all the normal kinds of things you might do in a battle emergency situation. Attending to her wounds, his buddy ran down and brought him his medic bag. Then the shooters came by again. So his friend yells at him to take cover. What Sergeant Lieberman did is he covered the girl. And soon as they went by, he drew his weapon and returned fire. I don't know if he took care of the bad guys. The report wasn't focusing on that so much. But the 14-year-old girl lived because of his quick, immediate response and risking his life. It turns out that Sergeant Lieberman's mom is a nurse. and she's been a nurse for 20, 30 years. His dad was a paramedic and I think also a police officer, if I remember right. But he said his attitude of serving in such a capacity started long before his military training. That's just what he learned at home. And he was awarded the I think it's called the Soldier's Medal. And you can bet his mother is rejoicing today. That her son acted in such a way that he was the hero, not seeking to be a hero, but just doing the right thing and what he could. I don't know the young lady's name, probably because she was a minor, no names were given. But that mother's rejoicing that her daughter is still alive. Honoring mom. Moms have a great influence in our life, do they not? I saw another report. Apparently there's a new stamp coming out with Barbara Bush's picture on it. And there was a big ceremony honoring her. And her children were there. At least her daughters were all there with the First Lady. And you can imagine how proud they were of their mom. That their mom was being honored. Now, we're not naive. We know that not every woman becomes a mother. We understand that, so we're not trying to be dismissive. We also know that not every mother is the mother she ought to be. And that's true. We may not want to admit it, especially on Mother's Day. Somehow, all mothers are like angels. And probably there are more angels than the other side, but not every mother is a good mother. We could point to several. Jezebel was not a good mother. Okay, thank you. Athaliah was not a good mother. Okay, so there's two very bad examples in the Bible. I'm not so sure that Rebekah was a very good mother. as she favored Jacob over Esau. And that didn't turn out very well. So we're not naive. All of us, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, et cetera, all of us have a sinful nature. And from time to time, we fail, don't we? But we ought to live in such a way that we live honorably. In Mother's Day, it's not so much about the individual, though certainly I think you ought to honor your mother, regardless of how you think you were raised. Doc was showing me pictures of a mother elephant protecting her. Is it a calf? Is a baby elephant a calf? Which got attacked by an alligator or a crocodile? Crocodile. Big chompy lizard. And you can bet it didn't turn out very well for the crocodile. My mom's not very big, but when she gave me, I had better do what I was told. She had a mean uppercut. I'm serious. My brother and I, we were fighting about, who knows what we were fighting about, whatever brothers fight about when they're junior high, high school, whatever. We were at it. So our punishment was to go to our room and write out Psalm 119. I don't think writing Bible verses is, I don't think the Bible should be a whipping stick. But I think mom was a bit exasperated and figured that would take us a while, and we would calm down. And she was correct. And after a while, I was like, man, I'm tired of writing. So I go out there, is this enough? Can I stop? My brother was ahead of me, and he was sassing my mom. And he was about to say something, and he opened his mouth, and I don't know what word he was saying, but his tongue was halfway out, and mom did this. Pow! She socked him right under the chin, and he bit his tongue. And this is what he did. And he just shut his mouth and went right back to his room and went back to SOMA 119. And I was like, yeah, I think I'll finish. I didn't get as much trouble as my brother because he kind of went ahead of me and I thought, I don't think that's a good idea. It has nothing to do with me being more innocent. It was anyways. And then one other time, mom, I don't know what I was doing. We were outside, we had a willow tree at our house. And she had picked up a willow switch that had just fallen off the tree. I don't know what I was doing. Obviously, I wasn't doing what my mom told me I should be doing. And I was like, we're down sitting. And that was a long, you know. And mom was sitting like in the bench, you know, like the garden bench by the flowers. And she just reached out and... Wow! I was like... Don't mess with my mom. I mean, she will do you... And you probably have testimonies like that too, don't you? Some of you. Like, don't mess with mom. You get her riled. You're going to pay, okay? If nothing else, you might not get any food. So, that's serious business. I don't know where I was going with that. Mothers. Let's read scripture, that'll help. Yeah, good start, good start. That's right. That's a good model for all preachers. When in doubt, just read scripture. You'll be safe there. 2 Kings 4, I'm going to start at verse 8. We want to honor mothers. It says, And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool. and a candlestick. And it shall be when he cometh to us that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day that he came thither and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, say now unto her, behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care What is to be done for thee? What is thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, what then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered verily, she hath no child and her husband is old. And he said, call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, about this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, nay, my lord. Thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid. And the woman conceived. and bear a son at that season that Elisha had set unto her according to the time of life. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said unto his father, my head, my head. And he said to the lad, carry him to his mother. Father, would you help us, I pray, in the moments that we spend in your word. Lord, I pray you might work in our hearts. You know the needs that we may have. Father, there may be someone here who doesn't know for sure whether they're on their way to heaven. And we'd first off ask that you might open their eyes and they might see their need to come to Christ and be saved. I pray for your children that you might work in their lives. We might see some things today that will help us to be more what we ought to be for your glory. Guide and direct now, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. This is quite the story. It's only a few verses and yet from verse eight to verse 19, probably we're probably talking six, seven years have passed, roughly, okay? So before there was no child and now this child's able to up walk by himself, go out to the field, be with his dad, et cetera. We would presume that he's a little boy because the servant is told to carry him to his mother. not that he's told to walk with him, but to actually to carry him. So he's small enough that he could be picked up and carried. And so that's a guess on my part. I want you to think about, by way of introduction, it is Mother's Day and I don't know that I could say universally, but generally there is a desire. Not all, but most women desire to be a mother. And there are blessings with motherhood. As I said, we're not necessarily highlighting the individuals, but rather the institution or the ideal of motherhood and what that means and what that should mean. Think, if you will, about Elizabeth and Mary, just briefly. Obviously, Elizabeth and Zacharias wanted to be parents, did they not? They'd been praying and praying and praying and praying and praying until there was a point in which they probably quit praying because it wasn't going to happen. And that's when God answered their prayer. On the flip side, Mary probably desired to be a mother but was not looking to be a mother. at least not yet, because she wasn't even married, and yet God blessed and gave a child. We could look at two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and how there was a lot of contention between those two sisters. because they both ended up marrying Jacob and that's a whole other story in itself. But Jacob loved Rachel and he didn't really love Leah and the Lord saw that and so the Lord blessed Leah and she gave birth to four children. And Rachel got quite, why? Because she wanted to be a mother herself. And she felt as if there was something lacking. Maybe in herself or whatever, but so that she cries out in Genesis 30 and verse 1, give me children ere I die. I mean, she was very distraught about that. So the desire to be a mother is, as I said, maybe not universal, but it's kind of a general thing. So I want us to think about that for a moment, about the ideal of motherhood. Now that's not the plan for every woman, I understand that, and we have to leave that with the Lord. We have to trust Him in those things. All right? And we ought not to be forcing it. In Sunday school, we talked a little bit about Abraham and Sarah and how Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, they took it upon themselves to force the fulfillment of God's promise. And that wasn't good, was it? it created contention and problems and to this day there are conflicts between the descendants of those sons. To this day there's global tension about all that. So sometimes we have to just leave those things in the Lord's hands and exercise faith in Him and however He may be working in our lives. But as we think about the ideal of motherhood First off, I want you to think about a mother's dedication. A mother's dedication. And I have a lot of scripture I want us to look at this morning, okay? So notice, I'm gonna go to Psalm 131. Let me just read several scriptures this morning. and then comment. 131 in verse 2. And it says, David's writing, he says, Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother. My soul is even as a weaned child. Look at 139 and verse 13. Psalm 139 and verse 13. And again David says, For thou hast possessed my reins, thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. Proverbs 4 and verse 3. And Solomon says, for I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. That goes right along with the song that Jenny just sang about savoring and those precious moments. John chapter 16, 21. John 16, 21. Jesus is speaking and he says, a woman when she is in travail hath sorrow. Now, ladies know all about that, okay. I had kidney stones, that was a while, long, long time ago. And I think it was the nurse said something, yep, the pain of kidney stones is like giving birth. And Bridget was like, no it's not. I had to defer to her because I had not experienced the other. Anyways, Jesus says, that travail is sorrow, is it not? Because her hour has come. That's the time of birth. But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish Why, for the joy that a man is born into that baby. There's that precious little baby. Now, all of that, as we think about a mother's dedication. A mother's dedicated because she goes through all that trial of carrying the child. That's not an easy thing. Ladies, you could say, Amen, it's okay, I'll let you do that. Today, you could say, Amen, that pregnancy is not an easy thing. Okay, a few of you are agreeing, the rest of you are lying. But that takes dedication on your part to take that to the end, doesn't it? It would be easy, it would seem to be easier to end it and save yourself the trouble. Especially as some seem to tell us that an unborn child is nothing but a little lump of flesh like a a tumor or something, and that it's not a human being. I'm not going to go down that road, because this is not a sanctity of life message, but there has to be enough dedication to take that pregnancy full term, and endure all that goes along with that. All those struggles, the pickles and peanut butter and whatever. Whatever, yeah. It's like, okay, whatever, that's what you want, okay. Dedication through the process of birth and that pain. And for some that is short and for others that is a long and very painful process. When Mandy was born, This is at a naval hospital. It felt like a third world hospital, actually. I'm getting signals. Shut your mouth. But I could tell those ladies were not having a party. That was obvious. And the doctors, you want to come in? I'm like, are you crazy? I'm gonna stay out here and watch football. And I don't even like football. Mom has to be dedicated to go through all those things, doesn't she? She has to be dedicated to give you care. To care for you. Now that care may be tender kisses and kissing your boo-boos and all of that kind of stuff. I think that's why the father said, take him to his mother. Because dad was like, suck it up, buddy. We got work to do. But no, take him to his mother, because mom's going to be more tender. Dad's going to be like, eh, you'll be fine. Just rub a little dirt on it. You'll be fine. Here is a piece of duct tape. That'll work. That's close enough to a Band-Aid, isn't it? But mom gives care. And that care sometimes is not just the care of her tender assistance. Sometimes it's the care of a sharp uppercut or the willow switch or maybe a tongue lashing. But mom cares enough. She's dedicated to her children to interact in their life and whatever it may be that is needed at the moment. For no other reason, whether someone is raised by the woman who gave birth to them, or was adopted, or some other godly woman or caring woman entered in your life and filled that role, Whoever that was, they ought to be honored just for that. For that care. And that dedication. To see you get to the end of that phase of life. A mother's dedication. But while it really is kind of hard to talk about the fact that sometimes mothers are not what they ought to be, because nobody wants to actually voice that, even though we all know that it's true, it's a painful thing to have to say. But also, I want you to think then about a mother's desperation. A mother's desperation. As I looked at all the verses in the book of Proverbs, speaking about mothers, More were of a negative nature than a positive nature. Like a warning. As if Solomon was warning his own son, Rehoboam. Who, if you know the story of Rehoboam, what a disappointment that son was. Let's look at some scripture. Once again, I want to read a shotgun of scriptures and come back. Starting at Proverbs 1 and verse 8. Proverbs 1 and verse 8. Solomon says, my son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother. Forsake not the law of thy mother. Chapter six and verse 20. Again, my son, keep thy father's commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother. Chapter 10 and verse 1. The Proverbs of Solomon, a wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Chapter 15 and verse 20. A wise son maketh a glad father, but A foolish man. Notice that. It's not a foolish son as if he's still living at home under your roof. Now he is a man. He is responsible for himself and his actions. He's living independently. But a foolish man despises his mother. Chapter 19 and verse 26. He that wasteth his father and chaseth away his mother is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach. 23 and verse 22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee and despise not thy mother when she is old. 28 and verse, let's see here, 24. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother and saith, it is no transgression, the same is the companion of a destroyer. Chapter 29 and verse 15. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. 30 and verse 17. The eye that mocketh his father and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out and the young eagles shall eat it. This is not a good picture, is it? This is a picture of mothers who've been abused, mothers who've been abandoned, mothers who are in anguish, not because of some international conflict, not because of a natural disaster, but these are our mothers in great despair because of their children that they gave birth to, they gave life to, and they cared for, and they raised. That's a sad story, isn't it? That is a very sad story, to think that someone could be cared for by their mother and get to a point where they chase her away, where they don't care for her needs at a time of her life when she needs her children to care for her. they despise, or they rob, or any of those other words that you see, bring her to shame, make her life feel like she's weighed down with a sack of rocks on her back. That's terrible, isn't it? That ought not to happen. And yet, in spite of all of those things happening, mothers tend to remain dedicated to their children. In spite of the pain they may inflict upon their mother, and the weight they put into her life, because they love their children, they sometimes will just politely endure the anguish. Sometimes they will rationalize why it's okay, because their love is taking such control. Sometimes they may even defend the wrong actions of their children. Why? Because that's a mark of their dedication, of their love for their kids. And you know what? All of us, not all of us, obviously, are mothers. I'm not confused about that issue. But all of us have a mother. We all have a mother. And regardless of her mothering skills, we don't want to be a son or daughter who despises, forsakes, shames, makes heavy, abandons, causes anguish in the life of our mother. That ought not to be. Especially for God's people. Would you agree with me? Then let me close with a mother's delight. A mother's delight. Again, I want you to look in Proverbs. And again, let me give you a smattering of verses. Proverbs 23 and verse 25. Let's read 24 and 25 together. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him, thy father and thy mother. So notice, please, that little pronoun, thy. Thy. Who is that referring back to? Who is the thy? Yeah, I think we're going back to the righteous and the wise. He just was talking about the righteous, right? The righteous shall greatly, the father of the righteous, so the righteous child, okay, or the wise child. Thy father and thy mother, the father and mother of the righteous and wise, shall what? Shall be glad, and she that bear thee shall rejoice. So here's the question, is my life, is my life causing my mother to rejoice? Am I living in such a way that my mother would be glad she'd give me the nod of approval? I'd have my mother's blessings on what I'm doing and how I'm speaking and behaving and maybe how I'm even raising my own family. Because that's a mother's delight, to see your child grow up and do right. to take the things that she tried to instill in that son or that daughter, and that they would then perpetuate those things in their children. And that makes them glad. It makes them smile. Look, if you would, please, at Proverbs 31. and 28 you can bet the Shunammite woman when that baby was born she was rejoicing and if you go back and read the rest of that story you find her dedication to her child even after he's sick and he's laid on the bed of the prophet And she gets a donkey and the servant to take her. She didn't even tell her husband that the child's died. He says, well, I gotta go see the prophet. Really? It's not Sunday. What's the deal? Well, I'll let you know. Okay, whatever. Harvest is coming and I'm busy. Okay, take care of it. And she tells the servant, you ride this thing like the sheriff's chasing you down. Don't you stop for nothing. And I made that up. But that's kind of what she says. Right? She gets to the prophet, and she doesn't want to talk to Gehazi. You're just the prophet wannabe. I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to the guy in charge. That's how dedicated she was. I wonder, was she joyful when her son was raised from the dead? I would say so. I would say so. Proverbs 31, 28. Her children arise up and call her blessed. Why are they calling her blessed? Is it because it's Mother's Day? They're calling her blessed because of how she's been so dedicated to her family. And all those things, you know, the Proverbs 31 woman she's called sometimes. That verse came to my mind as I was reading the report about Barbara Bush and there's a big picture of the stamp with her face on it and her children, her daughters are all there and I'm thinking, you know what, what they're doing is her daughters are rising up and calling their mom blessed. She's being honored. Honored. A mother's delight. Your life is the reflection of your mother's actions. Ezekiel 1644 specifically says, as the mother, so is the daughter. For the men it's almost, there's a similar phrase we say, like father like, The children are the reflection of their parents. How their parents have influenced them, guided them, in general. I get they have their free will and so forth. And so the question for me is, am I living a life that would give my mother delight? I have the privilege of of having a mom who was saved, who tried to instill in me the things of God. She wasn't perfect, but I'm thankful for that. Very thankful for that. And I don't want my mom to be disappointed, to be dishonored by me. You know, that's why it says in Ephesians, honor thy father and mother. Chapter six, verse two. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. God promises to bless you if you'll honor your mom and dad. And however she may have been, you can honor her for giving you life. But all of us can choose to live lives that are honoring and honorable. And those of you who are mothers, regardless of how your mother was, you can choose to be a mother who's worth honoring. Honoring. That all starts with the gospel, doesn't it? It starts with the gospel. Not only am I pleased to have a mother who was saved, but a grandmother who was saved. And that's a great blessing. And if you have Christian parents, you ought to thank them for that. Honoring mom. Honoring mom. Because she's mom, and because it's the right thing to do. Amen? Let's live lives that are honoring. Father, would you help us today? Would you work please in our lives that we might take your truth and put it to practice in our life that our lives would be a delight to our mothers. And if we would live in such a way, then we would be a delight to you. Would you help us please? Would you work in lives for your glory?