verse twenty-one. Matthew chapter fifteen, there in verse twenty-one. I'll read down to about verse twenty-eight. If I can please stand with me, if you wouldn't, we'll read the Word of God together this morning. Matthew chapter fifteen, verse twenty-one to about verse twenty-eight. I entitled this message here for this Mother's Day. She cried unto Matthew 15, verse 21 to 28, the Bible says, and Jesus went thence and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried unto him. saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. But he answered her, not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Let's pray. Father, we come to you this morning. God, we thank you, Lord, for your blessings. Lord, we thank you for this lady here who we see demonstrated such great faith in coming to the Lord on behalf of her children. Lord, I pray today that you'd help us, God, to learn some things, Lord, from her and her life, and that we too would exhibit the kind of faith in our life that she did. Lord, I'm thankful for all the moms that exhibit such a great faith. They have a desire in their heart to come before you in this intercessory prayer for their children and those they love. Well, I'm thankful for the moms that are here today, moms that perhaps have went on into heaven. And Lord, we thank you for them and their memory and legacy that lay left behind in our hearts. Lord, the impact that they have made on us. Lord, I pray that you'd bless the day. Help us, God, as we have read through your word. Lord, that you would use God in our life to help us to be better men and women of God for you. Lord, I pray to you to be here this morning. Help me, God, not to speak of my own, but Lord, help me to help my words, Lord, to be your words. Lord, I pray to you to bless the day. If there's anyone here this morning that's not saved and through the message and the singing and all that we've done here, we will have done our best to appoint people to you. The one who is here that perhaps may be lost would not leave out of the church the same way they came in. God, they will have given their life to you. Lord, I pray that you do a great work in our hearts this morning. This we pray and ask in Jesus name. Amen. I'm sure all of us here today have had some moments in our life where we've cried unto Him. Listen, sometimes, some of those moments may have been some hard times when we lifted up our voices to the Lord and we cried unto Him because we were unaware of what we needed to do in situations. or things were not as comfortable as we'd like for them to be. Listen, some of those tears may have been tears of joy and gladness. You know, sometimes we lift up tears of joy to the Lord because God is so faithful and God is so good. And we are just thankful for His presence, ever presence in our life. There's lots of different types of tears that we can shed this morning. We think about this mom here today, what a blessing that we learned so much from her. The Bible shows us in verse 21, That that Jesus was on his way Departed from the coast of Tyre excited and the Bible tells us in verse 22 that a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast And the Bible says in verse 22 that she cried unto him She found out that Jesus was nearby and she couldn't think of another place that she would rather be Than to be with him man. Praise God for that. You know, there's no greater place for a man to be and And to be with Jesus, man, praise the Lord. For us to walk with the Lord and to be with God and to be in fellowship with God through His Word and prayer and then ultimately one of these days in heaven, no doubt, but to be in fellowship with God and walking with God, seeking the face of God every day, every moment of their life. There is no greater place. And when this woman had a need, when she was looking for something and she was expecting something big, and the Bible shows us here that when she heard, in essence, that the Lord Jesus was close by, the Bible tells us in verse 22 that she cried unto Him. She came to the Lord Jesus where He was and she cried out for help. She cried out for support. And she extended her voice of intercessory on behalf of her daughter there. God, help me. God, we got some issues. God, we got some problems. And Lord, You're the only one that can do anything about it. Lord, we need You right now. God, we need You in this moment. And so we see here that this lady, appeals to the Lord no greater place than she can be. The Bible says that she came to Him. She found out she was nearby. She had, of course, had put her faith and trust in Christ and knowing that Christ could deliver her, knowing that Christ could help, knowing that Christ could intervene in this situation that she was in. that the Lord can do something about it. And so we can see here in the text in verse 22, the Bible says, she cried unto him saying, have mercy on me. We see this, this phrase here, the Bible says that she said, have mercy on me. That was the number one thing that we see that when she came to him, The very first thing she asked for, the very first thing that she said, Lord, there's something that I need from you today. And what I need from you today is your mercy. Aren't you glad the Bible says that's renewed for us every morning? Praise God for that. But the Bible shows us the very first thing she asked for. Well, she said she cried for mercy. Now, what is mercy? What exactly is that? Well, mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Think about that. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. How many of you as kids or even grown adults, listen, you was acting up whenever you was a youngin' and maybe perhaps mom and dad went to go give you a whipping. And as they was going to go give you a whipping, maybe perhaps he was thinking about wanting mercy, you know? And how many of us, moms, or how many of us this morning, and even dads, whenever we went to go, we knew our kids were guilty, we knew they needed it, but they was crying out to us and crying out to us, and what do we do? Well, okay. Sometimes we just shed mercy. Sometimes we give mercy. She cried out for mercy. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Aren't you glad God doesn't give you what you deserve every day? Amen. I mean, that's why His mercies are renewed every morning. The Bible tells us in the book of Lamentations, I mean, I'm so thankful today that God has mercy on us every day and that it is renewed every morning because, listen, God knows. That every single day, that is something that we're going to need. That's something we must have. We, as God's people, must have God's mercy. Because, listen, even though we're saved, and listen, we still, listen, we still sin. None of us is perfect here this morning. And so we can still get out of the way. We can still get ourselves into things and make bad decisions. And so the Bible says his mercies are renewed every day. The very first day that she cried out to the Lord was, she said, Lord, have mercy on me. God, I know I don't deserve it. God, I know I don't deserve it. Lord, I'm looking for your help. God, I know I don't deserve it. She didn't come to the Lord saying, listen, I deserve this and I deserve this and I deserve that. Now she came to the Lord. She says, God, I need mercy. I need you to, I need you to give me something. I need you to give me something. I know, Lord, I know I don't deserve your mercy, but God, I so desperately need it. And then after she asked for mercy, then she went into what is it she needed in life? God, I'm coming before you this morning on behalf of my son or on behalf of my daughter, or Lord, I'm coming before you today on behalf of those that I love. God, I'm just asking God that you would listen. I know I don't deserve it, but Lord, I need your help. and come before the throne of grace and lift up their children before God. This marks our kids. our prayers. We live in such a day today where the devil's got them so distracted and pulling and pulling our young people in so many different ways. Listen, we need moms and dads to be in the prayer room. We need moms and dads to be getting in that secret place with God and say, listen, I'm going to lift up my kids and I'm going to lift up my son. I'm going to lift I'm going to preach and help them. God, you bless them, Lord, that you would protect them and all the things they do and everywhere that they go, Lord, that you'll lead them in the right direction, put good people in their path and help them, God, to continually to seek your face and Lord, help them not to get so distracted and in this world that, Lord, that they don't seek you first. And I mean, we got a lot of things to pray about this morning. And I'm thankful for all these moms today that get in the prayer closet and they lift up their kids. Bible says one thing about this woman that we can see is she had such a heart of humility. She says, God, I know I don't deserve it, but Lord, I'm asking for your help. Lord, I know I don't, Lord, I know I don't deserve, I know I don't deserve your goodness. God, I know I don't deserve for you to do anything for me, but God, I'm just coming before you because God, I'm hopeless. God, I'm helpless in this situation and Lord, I need your help. And so the Bible shows us here in the text, she said, have mercy. own me, have mercy on me. We can see her great face. She cries out for mercy, but then she also begins to speak of her daughter. She says, have mercy on me for my daughter is grievously vexed. What I appreciate that about verse 22 is not only do we see her great faith, but we also see a mother that's identifying with the problems that her kids have. She says, have mercy on me, my daughter's fixed. Because she loved her daughter so much that what was affecting her daughter was affecting her too. See where I'm coming from? She wasn't in this thing by herself. The daughter wasn't in this thing by herself. The mother wasn't in this thing by herself. She was feeling as much as possible what her daughter was feeling. She says, Lord, have mercy on me. My daughter's grievously vexed. Lord, have mercy on me. My daughter's got some problems. Lord, have mercy on me. My daughter's vexed by a devil. Lord, have mercy on me. some issues in the house. God have mercy on me. The devil's running rampant. God have mercy on me. The devil's making himself known. God have mercy on me. She identified, she identified with her kids. She, and the reason why she did that was because she loved them so much. She was praying to God for her children, an intercessory prayer. She was identifying with the needs of her children. She was coming before the Lord on behalf of the needs of her children. And listen, us this morning, we can see a tremendous picture of what moms do. I see a tremendous picture of what I've seen my wife do. They listen, they identify, they identify with the pains and the struggles and the difficult situations that the kids go through. And so she says, Lord, have mercy on me, but also understand my daughter is grievously vexed. God, we both need some help. Lord, I'm hurting because I see what's happening to her. God, I'm hurting. God, I need your mercy because I see what she's going through. God, I need your mercy today because I see the road that she's going. I see what the devil is doing in her life. God, I need your mercy. God, she needs help too. God, we all need you this morning. And so I just appreciate so much the fact that she's appealing before the Lord in this intercessory prayer to Christ. I'm thankful so much for the moms that do so. I'm so thankful for the moms who identify with the hurts and heartaches of those that they love. And that's what she did. Her daughter was grievously vexed. And because she was, the mother was grievously vexed because she loved her children. They see the pain in those they love, and they share in those pains, and they share in those struggles. How many moms this morning, we have kids, and they hurt, you hurt. Yeah, they hurt, you hurt as well. When people you love hurt, it hurts your heart. And how many times you've seen maybe perhaps your kids, they were running perhaps maybe on the playground or whatever, maybe they were just doing whatever and they fell down and they got hurt and they were crying. And what did you do? You went running over there to them and run over there to them and you pick them up and you dust them off and you give them a hug and do everything you can to try to make it better. Because that's you identify with their hurt. You identify with their pain, identify with their struggle. And that's what this mom did, man. Praise God for moms that can see and notice and identify with the pains and struggles that their kids have. The Bible shows us, man, that's what this woman did, the great faith that she had. God, have mercy on me, but Lord, please help my daughter. She identified with her daughter's pains and struggles. In verse 23, we can see that there's something that happens in the midst of this. We see that her faith, because we see her faith, the Lord spoke of her great faith. But we're fixing to see her faith being extremely tested. Notice this. After she spoke there in verse 22, and she cried out for mercy, the Bible says she spoke of her daughter, but the Bible says in verse 23, but he answered her, not a word. How much faith do we still have when we feel we're not given back? How much faith do we have when we feel like, well, I've been praying, I've been praying, I've been praying, and I've been asking God and asking God, but it seems like nothing that I'm saying seems like nothing that I'm doing. It seems like nothing's working. Have you ever felt like that before? Man, I've been praying. I've been praying. I've been in the prayer classes, man. I've been in accessory prayer. They prayed. They prayed. We got together to pray. We've done all this stuff. I've been praying for a month. I've been praying for two years. I've been praying for 10. I've been praying for 20. I mean, you've been praying and praying and praying. The Bible says that she said, Lord, I need your mercy. God, my Jesus, my daughter's grievously vexed with the devil. And it seemed like the Bible says that he didn't answer her at all. He answered her not a word. what our faith keep pressing forward through that. This woman's did. Her faith pressed her forward through that. That's why the Lord Jesus exemplified and made much of her great faith. Because see, listen, I'm thankful for the moms this morning. You say, well, you know, I've been praying about this and praying about this and praying about that. And you know, It seems like maybe my prayers aren't going no further than the ceiling or no further than what I can see. Are my prayers entering into the throne room of God? Because I'm lifting this up and I'm lifting this up and I'm lifting this up. And it seems like God doesn't hear a word that I'm saying. Can I get a witness? Have we all been there like that? Yes, and moms, listen, I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for the moms that they say, you know what, God, I know you hear me. I don't know, maybe perhaps get the answer that I want, or Lord, I am kind of wondering down here, do you see what's going on? Do you hear me down here? But God, no matter what, I'm just going to keep on going, the persistence of a mother's prayer. Man, how many lives have been changed in this world? How many kids have been brought back to Christ? How many people have gotten saved? How many wonderful things have happened in families all over because there was a mother at the root of it all that did not quit on praying for those that they loved. Man, ain't no telling. Ain't no telling the impact that moms have had in that persistent prayer. This woman was a persistent woman. She didn't quit. She didn't give up. And when it seemed like her prayers were not being heard, she didn't stop there. But listen, that was a test. That was a test of her faith. But God said, great is thy faith. Well, how is her faith so great in the sight of everybody? Because it was put through some tests and it was revealed the type of faith that she had. The Bible shows us here that she heard, that he answered her. Not a word. Look at verse 23. The Bible says, And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. I mean, think about this now. She's coming to the Lord. She's asking for God's help. And then the next thing you know, she doesn't hear nothing from God. But then his disciples come up and say, Lord, just send her away. That's number two. That's number two. When those who are supposed to be following God send you away. When those who are supposed to identify with the grace, the love and the mercy of God, say, what are you doing here? Go on. We don't care about the problem. Test number two. Wow. Those two things right there would have been enough for her to never, for most people to never come back. Those two things right there, God, I'm not hearing from you, and those that maybe are supposed to be hearing from you, that are supposed to be good, that are supposed to be righteous, that are supposed to be holy, that are supposed to be serving you, your disciples are sending me away because they don't even care. That right there would have been enough for most people to never come back, to never come before God again. Maybe perhaps to never even pray, to never even follow disciples, to never call upon Christ. Test number two. But you know what? She still did not quit. I'm thankful for moms that persevered and are steadfast in those difficult moments. That regardless of what, even though I'm not getting the answer that I want to receive, or I feel like I'm not getting one at all, or even though the ones that are supposed to be your disciples, even though it don't seem like they care and they're walking away, Lord, I'm still going to keep coming to you. I'm still going to keep calling on your name. you. Praise God for the moms who in these maybe perhaps these situations, man, they kept pressing forward and kept pressing forward. You said, why would she keep pressing forward? Because she loved her daughter so much. How could she? How could she stop? She saw that her daughter was grievously next. How in the world can I not keep coming to the throne of the master? How can I not keep lifting my voice up to the one that can help me in this situation. It was her observance of seeing everything that her daughter was going through and the love that she had for her that helped her to persevere through these difficult times. And I'm thankful this morning for the moms who have persevered through some difficult moments. I'm sure there's lots of people here today that can say, you know what, I as a mom, I've been through some difficult times. Or maybe you say this when you say, you know what, I as a child, I've seen my mom go through some difficult times. Hey, maybe there's some of them say, hey, I as a child made my mama go through some difficult times. Maybe a few of them do. But nonetheless, we're so thankful for the moms that persevered. The moms that kept going forward. The moms that kept praying, even though they got beat, even though they got hurt, man, they just kept going and they kept going and they kept going because they understand. This woman, this mother, she understood. She could see, man, the heartache and the brokenness of her daughter. She longed so much for her daughter to be made whole and for the devil to be out of her life. She longed for it so much so that she was willing to endure anything she needed to, to hear from God. Praise the Lord for that. Praise God for that. Where would some of us be? Some of us, maybe even here this morning, lots of people, I'm sure all around the world, maybe perhaps the reason why maybe they're saved or the reason why they're in church or the reason why maybe because they are where they are is because they had a mother that was persistent in prayer and would not give up on coming to God for them. Man, praise the Lord. We see this woman, she persisted even though she faced some difficulties. Take a look at verse 24. The Bible shows us as we keep going through. The Bible shows us, but he answered her and said, I am sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So then we see another test that's coming up. He let her know really quickly. He said, well, you know, cause he did answer. but he didn't give her the answer that she was looking for. How many of her didn't get an answer you were looking for? So he did speak and he did give her an answer, but she didn't get the answer she was looking for. He spoke and he says, well, I'm not sent but under the law of the sheep of the house of Israel. He let her know really quickly. He says, well, listen, you know, I'm here for the nation of Israel. And he wasn't saying he didn't want to help anybody else, but he was just simply saying that, listen, I am come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So she didn't get the answer she wanted. That's number three. That would have been enough, maybe if not the rest, for her just to walk away and to never come back. For her to never speak to the Lord again. This mother, her faith was so great. She was so persistent. that even though she didn't get the answer that she wanted, the Bible says in verse 25, then came she and worshiped him. Even though she didn't get the answer she wanted, even though she didn't get the comforting words or perhaps the merciful words or the loving words or any of those things that she desired and wanted, she still kept coming. And even more so, after the third time of her faith being tested so greatly. The Bible says she fell down and worshipped him. The more testing she went through, it seems, the closer to his feet she got. How amazing is that? That's why God said, how great is thy faith. Because even though she didn't hear a word from God the first time and the disciples were ready to kick her out, man, she's bothering us. She's a nuisance. Send her away. And then the third time, well, I've come to the house of... I've come, but I've come to the Jews, to the house of Israel. She didn't hear what she wanted to hear. But yet she still, even in that third time, she got even closer to him. When most people would have just went further away. She drew herself closer, fell down at his feet in essence and worshipped him. Wow! That is amazing! Because how many people do that? This woman, man, she was such a great woman. She was such a great mother that even though she had been tested by the fiery trials of what she was going through, She wasn't willing to accept no answer. She wasn't willing to accept the answer that she received. And she fell down at His feet. She began to worship and to worship and to worship. And notice what the Bible says there in the text. Notice what she said. She pleaded out again there in verse 25. And the Bible says she came, she worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. How many have ever been in a position like that? God, I need your help today. Lord, I'm facing this for someone that I love is facing that. God, I need your help. She didn't quit. She didn't give up. But she kept coming, and she kept coming, and she kept coming. The Bible shows us there in verse 26. The Bible says, he answered and said, it is not mean to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. Boom. The fourth time. She got hit. Now, the reason why he said what he said was because that's how everybody viewed the Syrophoenicians. The Jews viewed the Gentiles as useless and nothing. She was looked at by society. Gentiles were looked at. We're Gentiles. Gentiles were looked at by society as dogs. They're nothing. They're useless. They're vermin. They're vile. And so it's not that he's calling her this, but it's that he's reiterating something in her head that she's heard, I'm sure, many times. You know, everybody says that the Gentiles are dogs. So I would take the children's bread, the nation of Israel, something that's good for them, because I've come to the nation of Israel. Why would I take what's good for them and give it to the dogs? But then she gets down as low as she can possibly get. She says, but the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Wow. The fourth time she got in, She got down to such a place where she says, you know what? Maybe I am. Maybe this is what I am. The world calls us dogs. Maybe this is what I am. I ain't got nowhere else to go. But Lord, if this is what I am, Christ wasn't calling her this, but this is what the world's view was. But Lord, if this is what I am and if what everybody says is true, don't believe everything everybody says. If this, what everybody says is true, then Lord, the dogs still eat the crumbs from the master's table. So I'm asking God, I'm bringing myself down as far as I can. Lord, as a dog, I'm still willing to eat the crumbs. Whatever, God, just whatever little bit you can give me, I'm willing to have it. Oh my goodness. Oh wow. The place this mother put herself in. And what was going on? The humility that she had. The fourth time, the fourth time that she got in. The fourth time that her faith was tested. The fourth time. Jesus came back in verse 27. And we see, she said, in verse 26, the Bible says that she said, truth Lord, Yet the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the master's table. In verse 28, then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. And so we start off seeing this woman's faith, but then we see her focus. Her focus was on Christ. There in verses 26 and 27, she acknowledged who she was. She acknowledged that she wasn't worthy. She said, God have mercy on me. Lord, if there's anybody that don't deserve your mercy, it's probably me today. And I'm sure when we woke up this morning, That could have been something that was said on all of our lips today from the pulpit to the pew. God, I don't deserve your grace. God, I don't deserve your mercy, but I'm thankful that it's here. And I'm glad, listen, I'm not perfect, but God, I'm striving to try to be the best I can be. I'm thankful I'm not what I was yesterday. I'm thankful I'm not what I was like last year. I'm thankful I'm not what I was 10 years ago. I'm thankful I'm not in the position of not what I was chasing 20 years ago. Listen, brother, it was 30 years ago. Lord, I know I'm not perfect. God, I know I need a lot of work. And I know I don't deserve your grace and mercy. But God, I'm coming to you. And Lord, I'm seeking it. God, I'm pleading for it. I'm asking it. And even though four times, man, pow, she was hit by the testing of her faith, did not quit. And she kept coming and she kept going. And so her focus wasn't on her. Her focus wasn't on what other people thought. You know, the bread, it's not good to give the bread, the children's bread to dogs. That's what other people thought. But her focus wasn't on what everybody else thought. Why does that matter? Her focus wasn't what on everybody else's opinion was. Her focus wasn't on everybody else's thought. Listen, her focus was on Christ and what the Lord Jesus can do in her family and what the Lord Jesus can do in the life of her daughter. That's what she wanted. What everybody else's opinion was didn't mean anything. It was about what Christ can do in her family. It was about what Christ can do in her life. It was about what Christ can do in the life of her daughter. Everybody's always got an opinion. She wasn't worried about it. She says, Lord, I need my daughter. God, I need my family. I need my family. I need the devil out of my family. The Bible says she was grievously vexed. God, I need the devil out of my family. Listen, how many moms today have been praying or praying for the devil just to get out? family. The devil just didn't get out of the house. The Bible shows us here, man, she was focused, focused on Christ instead of everybody else. And then thirdly, of course, we see her favor. The Bible does respond about Jesus does respond to this woman. And he says, he says, be it unto thee, even as thou wilt. Verse 28, he says, O woman, great is thy faith. God used this woman as a tremendous example for us today to follow. I think men and women alike, we can learn some things from this lady. O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. She hath obtained the favor of the Lord. Her persistence in A faith that would not quit. A faith that would not give up. A faith that would move mountains. A faith that would move the hand of God. A faith that would grab a hold of His attention. God bless. The Bible shows us there in verse 28. He says, O woman, great is thy faith. You know, I wonder, whenever He said that, the disciples, a few verses up, this. Man, she's constantly crying after us. She's Bible shows us there in the text. She's constantly crying after us. Man, just just tell her to send her away. She comes to the Lord. Bible shows us that he says verse twenty-eight, old woman, great is thy faith. I wonder what the disciples were doing during that time. They were sitting around, listening to that, thinking, maybe we should be more like Him. The Bible says, O woman, greatest of faith. I wonder what the crowds of people thought as they saw the Lord Jesus. Look at her. And in front of everybody, how many people that sat around could relate to this woman? You know what? See how she didn't quit. See how she didn't give up. Maybe that's funny. Maybe I'm Listen, I started praying for my kids. I started praying for my son. I started praying for my daughter. I started praying that I quit because of this, and I quit because of this, and I quit because of that. But man, she just kept coming. She just kept coming. She just kept coming. By her example, I wonder how many lives were changed because she did not stop. How many kids came to know Christ? How many lives were changed? How many other demons were cast out of other people's families? the Lord in prayer. How many of us today maybe are where we are at right now because of a persistent mother or father in prayer or family member, grandmother, whoever it is. How many people did this woman touch because she proved in front of everybody that even though sometimes in life we may get beat, we may get hit, we get frustrated, we may get angry, we might not hear what we want to hear, we might not hear no answer at all. But how many people did she touch there in the crowd? Her story is touching us today. Her example is touching us today. And we're learning from it. It was so great that God said, listen, throughout all eternity, if there's one story that I want in my Word, it's about her faith. That's pretty good. May our lives seek to touch as many people through a persistent prayer as this one did. Even though sometimes it gets hard, we may take lick after lick, we just keep coming. God, I'm still here. I'm not quitting. God, I'm not backing down. My daughter is grievously vexed, and God, I'm praying for her. I'm going to pray for her. I'm going to pray for her. God, I'm praying for him. God, I'm praying for him. But you're nothing but dogs. If that's what the world wants to think of me, then so let them think it. Just know this, dogs still eat the crumbs that fall from the master's teeth. Let them have their opinion. I'm still going to be here. Father, we come to you this morning, we're so thankful, Lord, for your love and your grace that you shed on us every single day. God, I'm so thankful for the fervent, persistent, loving, gracious, merciful God that you are for us. I'm thankful this morning for all the moms that are represented here today, perhaps those going on in the heaven. Lord, their example has left behind a legacy of prayer, something that we can stand on, something we can look to, something that we can share with each other and tell our kids about, tell our grandkids about. Let me tell you about the great faith of your grandma. Let me tell you about the great faith that your great grandma had. Let me tell you about the great faith that your mother has. so thankful for moms like this. As a piano plays, let me think about our lives here today. We know without a shadow of a doubt that we're on our way to heaven. This is the greatest gift that mom can give her family. is the fact that she knows and her family knows that she's on her way to heaven. The greatest gift that we can pass on to those that we love is the fact that they know that one of these days, when our bodies expire and our spirit leaves this body, that it's going to heaven. It's the greatest thing that we can pass on to our people, to those that we love. You don't know that. And you this morning need to know that too. You're here today, you don't know if you're saved, but you sure would like to. You never accepted Christ as your Savior, but you want to this morning. Have all your sins forgiven. You put your faith and trust in the Word of Jesus Christ. Plus nothing, minus nothing. It's all about the shed blood of the Lord. You put your faith and trust in Him. You ask God to save you today. I believe with all of my heart, by the authority of the Scripture, that God will save us. Whosoever will, come. Whosoever has a desire to be saved. God so loved the world that He says, Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. If you're here this morning, say honestly, preacher, from your heart, say preacher, if I die today, I'm not sure, or I know that I'm gonna go to heaven. If that speaks to you here this morning, would you just set your hand up so I can see you? Preacher, if I die today, I know I'm gonna go, but I'm not sure if I would or not, about why I'm gonna go to heaven. If you're here this morning, you say, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm just thankful for God's blessings on me. I'm thankful for how good God's been. I know I'm not what I ought to be, but I'm glad I'm not what I used to be. And I know I'm still trying to grow, and I know I've still got a lot of work, but I'm just trying to be the mom that I need to be. Preacher, would you just pray for me that I would just stay on track, and just stay on course, and just help me today to be the best mom that I can be? God, just help me to be the mom that I need to be for my kids. How many dads here this morning and kids that are with you today? You say, Lord, help me as a father and help me as the son or help me as the daughter to help my mom be the mom that she can be. To love her and to care about her and to appreciate her, to be thankful for her. Help me this morning to surround her with love and prayer. Help me, God, today to show my mom If I like that you're just going to preach, I'm going to pray that. Give me some hands up. Help me to thank God to be this. Now let's stand. Stand to our feet. If you rose your hand this morning about anything, listen, even if you didn't, God knows your heart. You know where you need to be. You're not saved this morning. You make sure you come and see this preacher right here. And I'll have somebody take the Bible and show you how you can get saved. How you can put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to come to the altar this morning, listen about anything. Maybe come this morning, pray with your mom. If your kids are with you, come on up here, pray with your mom. You say, well, my mom's not here. Pray for your mom. You say, well, my mom's in heaven. Come to the altar today and thank God for the mom that you had. The blessing that she left behind. The things that maybe perhaps they taught you in life. Listen, whatever it could be. Listen, we got so many great things to celebrate in our Mother's Day. Maybe you'll find yourself around the altar here this morning. You say, well, Pastor Bob, I might have a difficult situation. Well, maybe this morning you come up and you say, well, I'm going to commit myself to pray for my mother. She'll be what she needs to be. Lord, have mercy on me. My mom's grievously vexed. My dad's grievously vexed. My brother's grievously vexed. My sister is grievously vexed. God, have mercy on me, but God, at the same time, help my family. Lord, she cried out. She said, Lord, help me. They're going to come this awful day and ask God for mercy. Listen, there it is. you got in your heart, in your life, whatever it is you're hanging on to, whatever it is, listen, whatever it is, whatever it is that made you feel guilty about something, listen, maybe somebody's done something to you, this is the perfect place right here to get rid of it. You land down right here, you walk out, the Bible says we bring our sin to the Lord, the Bible says He cast it in the depths of the sea to be remembered no more, and then as far as the east is from the west. Give praise and thanksgiving today. Listen, we got a lot of it to give. Amanda's gonna sing. Whenever God's laid on your heart, please bring it. Is it fates that I see in the mirror? The one I wanted ever just to see? Do I show that I'm living or walking? All that I've given to you All that is yours to me I will give All that I do for you Do you see Jesus in me? ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ ♪ Do they recognize your face? ♪ Do them some choosings, choosings in you. It's so easy that you can lose me. For those who pray, who wept, their wounds are poured out here of compassion and mercy. The Father's spirit fills, the usher of forgiveness and mercy. Do they see Jesus in me? Do they recognize your face? Do I make it in your grace? Do I reflect who you are in your virtues today? Do you see Jesus, Jesus in me? Is the face that I see in my neighbor what I want us to see? Do I show in the way that I'm walking by? All that I have given to you My heart's desires to be run through The air that I do breathe Do they suit you? Do I look in your love and your grace? Do I reflect you? ♪ And the way it shows to me ♪ ♪ Do you see Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus in you ♪ ♪ And I want to show you ♪ So you'll be the one to make me see Do they see Jesus, Jesus in me? Thank you so much for being here this morning. I pray the morning has been a blessing and has been profitable to you. I pray that you have a wonderful day. Remember, we won't be back here tonight, but we are going down to the nursing home here in just a little bit. Enjoy yourselves today. Spend some time with family. and just celebrate your moms today. And we'll see you back again on Wednesday night. And then, of course, we'll get back into our regular services right after that. But looking forward to having a good day today. Lest I be dismissed in prayer, listen, I'll be down front. If I didn't get a chance to speak to you, you might have come talk to me. For visitors today, thank you so much for coming. We are blessed that you're here. And we pray that you enjoyed your time here. If you hadn't got a visitor's packet, please make sure that you get one before you leave. For all the mothers, there's some flowers outside for you, so please make sure you pick that up on your way out. Thank you so much for being at Gospel Light. Let's be dismissed in prayer. If we could, Brother Brandon, would you dismiss us today?