In this sermon, Brother Denny addresses the role of mothers and the importance of their work in raising children. He emphasizes that being a mother is a powerful and significant task given by God. He encourages mothers to see their daily tasks, such as changing diapers and washing clothes, as acts of service to God and raising children for His glory. He reminds mothers to not lose sight of the vision and purpose in the midst of the busyness and challenges of motherhood, but to find strength and encouragement in God's calling for them.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, AFPA, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Sometimes you feel like singing and other times you don't. And I just thought we should have said Amen on that one. We should have kept singing Amen, Lord, to the whole song. We greet you this morning in the name of the Lord Jesus. It's been a blessing to be here already. I had to think while we were singing this song, you know. Some people fell at an altar in a meeting somewhere some day at the singing of that song and surrendered their life to go to the mission field at the singing of that song. Some young man fell at an altar somewhere and silently surrendered to God to take up the torch of the gospel and preach the gospel. And there on his knees at an altar, he said, Lord, I give you my life and you let it be consecrated to you, Lord. You take every bit of it. Take my lips and take my hands and take my feet and take my very being and my will and my heart. I give it all to you for your service. And many different kinds of consecrations have been made by the singing of that song. But I wonder how many of you mothers ever, ever sang that song on your knees before God as you faced your responsibility as a mother? How many have ever done such a thing as that? But yet, what higher and higher calling could there be than the calling that God has upon mothers to raise their children in a mighty and a powerful way? How many times have we mothers been at the altar singing that kind of a song? Oh, it's easy to think about going to the mission field and singing that song. And it's easy to think about going out on the streets of New York City and to sing that song. But it's just as real and it's just as alive and it's just as powerful and it's just as heart-searching for a mother to sing that song and recognize that the lips that God gave her, God gave them to her for a mighty, powerful tool that could be used to bless her children. And the hands that God gave her are hands that can be used to reach down and pick up a little child or change a baby's diaper or wash the clothes for the family. That the lips that God used can be used to sing praises unto God and grace her home with a sweet atmosphere day in and day out. Yes, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee that I might be the mother You want me to be and raise the children the way You want them to be raised. Yes, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. And yes, Brother Levi, somebody's going to think about the mothers today and just put our mind upon them. I'd like to speak this morning on the subject of honorable motherhood. I know that we've said some pretty strong things to women around here in the past and we've talked about hidden women and we've had messages such that just broke the heart of every woman in this room. And I don't desire to do that this morning. I just feel like you mothers need to be blessed today for all the things that you do, for all the things that go on in your lives that nobody else hears about. You're unsung heroes this morning. It's true, it's true, it's true. Many people, they know not what you go through. They know not the sufferings that you go through. They know not the struggles of your heart. Nobody ever lifts you up and nobody ever gives you any praise or very little for many of the things that you do. But I feel this morning that we need to bless you and bless motherhood. It's one of the greatest keys to a solid and a sound church that there is, is blessed motherhood. And I feel it's right to lift it up in an exalted place this morning, in an honorable place this morning, in a place that will make young girls in this room covet after it and long for it, just like the young men might long to go to the mission field somewhere or stand on a street corner and preach. There ought to be young ladies all over this room this morning who are longing after and coveting the day when they can take the honor of motherhood and do the will of God that way. And yes, I guarantee you, it will mean giving everything to God if you're going to do it right. It's not a second place job and it doesn't take a half-hearted consecration, but it takes a consecration of body and soul and spirit in every part of your being to God if you're going to do it the right way and in a way that's honoring and in a way that will bring glory to God. It will take just as much commitment as that young man who walked an aisle somewhere and went over to the jungles of Africa and died over there. It will take that much commitment if you do it right. So I think we need to lift it up this morning. The brother already said, every one of us in this room has a mother or had a mother, so I don't think we could have a message that has a more far-reaching effect than this one since we've all had a mother or we have a mother. From the oldest to the youngest in this room, some of our mothers are gone, but I truly believe that we can still receive blessings upon our life from God according to the attitudes we have about our mothers even if they're ten years gone. I believe that we can still be adjusting our attitudes about our mothers twenty years after they're gone and receive blessings from God because our attitudes are being adjusted, brought into line. This story comes to my mind and it's about a father, but I think it can be applied to a mother about a son who had a bitter attitude toward his father and his father died and it was ten years later before he finally came to grips with the reality that his heart was filled with bitterness and disrespect to his father. And after God dealt with his hard attitude about his bitterness and about his disrespect, and I don't mean this in a wrong way, but he went out to Father's grave and there he knelt on Father's grave and said, Father, will You forgive me? And I don't see anything wrong with that. Clearing his heart, even though Father was gone for ten years. So the message has a wide application this morning. I know it's a term that has been used a lot, but it's such a powerful expression of the power and the influence of a mother. And that expression is this, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. That's more true this morning than I think we realize. John Wesley had a mother. Paul the Apostle had a mother. The Lord Jesus had a mother. Adolf Hitler also had a mother. And Stalin had a mother. Yes, the hand that rocks the cradle has a great influence upon the world that we live in. I don't know how many mothers have a vision for those little ones when they're rocking them in the cradle, but nevertheless, they are going to grow up and they are going to take their place in society, and they will have an influence one way or the other on society. The hand that rocks the cradle has a very powerful influence at ruling the world. Of course, that leaves an awesome responsibility, doesn't it? When we begin to think about that. I wonder how many mothers change the destiny of a child because when that child was little, they had a sweet session with God and they gave that child to God in a special way. I wonder how many mothers when that baby was just a little baby, maybe a week old, maybe two weeks old, a mother took that baby before God and said, God, would You take this little boy and make him a preacher? God, would You take this little girl and make her a woman of God? Would You take this little boy and send him over to Africa or send him to China? God, would You take this little baby that I have here and use this baby in a way that will bring honor and glory to Your name? Oh God, would You do that? I wonder how many mothers change the destiny of a child because they're in those tender moments shortly after a birth, maybe a week or two, or one of those lonely nights when they were up and the baby was crying. There they held that baby in their hands and the Spirit of God and a burden of prayer came upon them. And there they laid that child before God and said, God, do something with this child. Do something special with this child. God, pick this one up and use him for Your honor and for Your glory. Therefore, I wonder how many mothers change the destiny of one of their children or many of their children because in the beginning there when they held that little baby, they had a vision. A vision that was motivated by the Spirit of God. A vision that came from God of what God could do with one of their children or all of their children for that matter. John Wesley had a mother. Aren't we glad? John Wesley had a mother. Paul the Apostle had one. The Lord Jesus had one. Timothy had one. We could go down the list of men that have been mightily used of God. They had mothers. But you know something else? Lest we put too much emphasis on preachers and missionaries this morning, don't forget Susanna Wesley had a mother also. She had a mother who put within her the right goals, the right vision, the right desires, the right purposes in life that when Susanna Wesley became a mother, she guided her children in a right way. And as far as I'm concerned this morning, if you're a mother and you're guiding your children in the right way and you carry them children upon your heart and you have a burden of prayer... Let me turn this thing on. You have a burden of prayer in your heart. You are just as important as that man that stands in a pulpit somewhere. You are just as important as the one that goes over to Africa. There is no difference at all in the mind of God. My heart this morning is just to take motherhood and lift it up and put it up there where it belongs. You do not have an insignificant job. You do not have a second-rate job because you stay home and guide a home and raise those little children and go through all those menial tasks that sometimes seem like they don't have any effect or mean nothing at all. My mind goes back to an illustration that I read about Amy Carmichael and how she went over to India and she wanted to be a missionary. She went to India to be a missionary and she had her dreams about being a missionary and she longed after it and she felt God calling her to go there and finally she made her way into India and out on the streets she would go and she would win souls. And for three or four years there, she was winning souls on the mission field in India. Then God began to open a new door of ministry for her life. And God led her to start a little children's home over there in India. And when it started, she had no idea what was going to happen. She just started with one and one it was okay. But all of a sudden the one became two and the two five and the five ten. And she found herself changing diapers, washing children, feeding children from the beginning of the day to the end of the day. And something began to rise up inside of her heart as if maybe she had taken a second rate job. Maybe God had given her a lower task than before. She wanted to be out there on the streets again. She wanted to be out there winning a soul. And the Spirit of God came down and hovered over that lady's life and said, you are winning souls. You're doing a mighty work for me. It's one of the most important things you could do. And she submitted her heart to God. And God gave her hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of children in her lifetime. That she raised little Indian children for the glory of God. Never went home on furlough one time in 53 years. She was a mother, though she never had a husband. She was a mother for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of children. Powerful influence you mothers have. Powerful influence. Those honorable women who raised honorable sons had mothers who raised them. Let's not forget that. You have in your hands, you have under your care, mothers, sons and daughters. And God is just as concerned about the blessing on your daughters as He is upon your sons. He's just as concerned that each one of those daughters that you have within your care, they get your heartbeat. They get His heartbeat. They get His vision and your vision of what can be done, and their responsibilities, and what God's goal is for them in life. And I don't think it's wrong for every girl in this room to long after being a mother. It's normal, you young girls, for you to want to carry a little baby around. It's normal for you to want to hold a little baby doll. It's normal for you to want to play house. And I would recommend to every one of you little girls that you just lift motherhood up there even higher than you have it already. And you long for the day when God will let you be a mother. But remember, when that day comes, you must be a godly mother if your life is going to glorify God. You must be a God-fearing mother. You must be a mother that's anointed with the Spirit of God. You must be a mother who knows how to pray and how to prophesy in your house to your children. There's more than just changing those babies and rocking them, although that's a very big part of motherhood. Now, what does the word mother mean? That's a very interesting study. The word mother in the Hebrew, it means the beginning of a journey. That's what mother means. It means the point of departure. Mother means beginning. Turn to Genesis 3, I believe. Genesis 3, verse 20 is the first time in the Bible that the word mother is used. I think that's a good way to interpret the meaning of words is to go back to the first time that it's breathed out in the Bible and read its context. And just notice the context here. And Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. Or the beginning of all living. The word mother means the beginning of a journey. Isn't that an interesting definition? Through the eyes of a child, you mothers, your children look at you as the beginning of life's journey. Did you ever ponder that before? Think about the birth experience. Think about what the child goes through. Think about when you held those little babies in your hands. Think about the reality of coming into the world. Most of that is shared between the little baby and the mother. And I don't understand it all, but there's a mysterious bonding that takes place there when a mother brings forth a child and even though that child has no comprehension yet, it cannot talk, it cannot receive verbal messages, that child and each one of those children, they receive communication from mother to child and from child to mother. And the spirit of those very words is put into that child from day one. You are mother. You are the beginning of their journey. You are where it all started for them. You are the first hands they felt, most of them. You are the first arms that comforted them. You are the one who fed them. You are the one who caressed them. You are the one who spoke kind words to them. You are the one. You are the beginning of their journey through life. And today, motherhood is being torn into pieces, isn't it? It's being torn into pieces and I don't know who in this room could be struggling. I know there are struggles in motherhood. I don't know who in this room could be struggling with worldly ideas about motherhood. Maybe you think it doesn't work. Maybe you don't think it's worth at all. Maybe to you it seems like so much work and no reward. My sister, there is reward. God is not forgetting your labor of love. He is not forgetting it. But today, motherhood has been torn to pieces. Motherhood has been degraded. Motherhood has been passed on to somebody else, hasn't it? Now, motherhood goes to the nursery school. Motherhood goes to the babysitter. Motherhood goes to somebody else. Motherhood has been passed on. American women have taken motherhood. They have looked at it through the natural eye, not a spiritual eye. They've made their evaluations about motherhood and they've said, this is a waste of time. I get my hands dirty. All work. No play. No reward. Nobody understands. No gratitude for what I do. Here, you take this baby. That's exactly what the mothers in America have done. Oh, God forbid that we give way to any of those kind of thoughts among us. Let us not give place to the devil in the area of motherhood and hold that baby and say, it's not worth it. What is it going to mean? What will be the benefit? I don't get to see any of it for years. Here, you do it. I've had enough of it. You do it. And give your baby away to somebody else. Oh, we wouldn't do that in this room, would we? But oh, listen, in spirit, in spirit, God would have us in spirit to rise up to that honorable understanding of what motherhood is all about. I know nobody would give their baby away in this room and praise God for that. But there's such a thing as the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Motherhood is being torn to pieces. And it's a trick of Satan. He knows God's plan to mold mighty young men and women through that hidden, quiet place of the home by an unknown mother. Let me say that again. Satan knows motherhood is God's plan to mold mighty young men and women in that hidden, quiet place of the home by an unknown mother. And Satan knows that. And he goes against our grain, doesn't he? And tells us it's not worth it. And he tells us it's just too much labor. And he tells us nobody knows what I'm doing and nobody appreciates what I'm doing. But someday, it will reap rewards that you'll be grateful for for all eternity if you'll do it God's way. So this morning, we just want to sing about the unsung heroes a little bit. O thou honorable women, we bless you this morning. Thou honorable women, you who have chosen, you who have submitted yourselves to God for the awesome responsibility of bringing children into the world. And not only bringing them into the world, but then doing that which is necessary and right to see them rise up and be what God wants them to be. O thou honorable women, we bless you this morning. Nobody knows, or many do not know, the late hours that you go through. I know there are many sleepless nights in motherhood. I know there are struggles that you face in motherhood. Many times you wish somebody knew. Many times you wish the children knew. Sometimes you even wish your husband knew. But God bless each one of you today. No one knows about that day off that never comes. That one you were going to take just to do a little bit of your own things, and you've been waiting to take it for two years or three years. Nobody knows the struggles you face. The freedom that sometimes you wish you had. And I know that you do. I know you struggle with those things. I know you look around some and you see that some may have more freedom than others, and you may struggle with that, and sometimes you may look back and think, oh, to not have any children again! Or, oh, to just have one again! But God bless each one of you. God is not unforgettable of your labor of love. Nobody knows how the burden can be sometimes. All the clothes, all the scraped knees, all the work that needs to be done. Brother Daniel mentioned how our mothers worked so much and we don't want them to wear out. And we don't want you to wear out. And I think it was a good admonition to give to the children to rise up and help your mothers. We don't want our mothers to wear out. But I assure you that though you sometimes wonder if anybody knows how much labor of love you're going through, you are watched. And someone knows. God knows the points of frustration that come into your life. God knows the prayers you pray in the middle of the night. God knows it all. It will be worth it. I promise you that. I don't think I speak presumptuously this morning when I say I promise you it will be worth it. It will be worth it. It will pay you back. No, you don't have the freedom to go out and work. Sometimes you may not get to buy what you'd like to buy. But I guarantee you, mothers, it will pay itself back someday. It may not pay itself back with a refrigerator that you wanted or maybe some other nice new dress. But I guarantee you, your labors will pay you back someday in dividends that cannot be measured. You hold this morning the son of a king, the daughter of a king, prince and princess rest in your arms. It will be worth it all someday. Someday, you'll be able to see it all the way it really is. And my prayer this morning is that God could just pull the spiritual veil back and let us see it for what it already is this morning. The honor of your position, the honor of your work, the great need there is for mothers to rise up and be all that God wants them to be. It's there. It's all there. And it will count someday. Young girls, long to be mothers. Dream about it. Plan on it. Train for it. Study for it. Lift it up high in your minds. I want to be a mother. Most of you young girls in this room will be mothers. A few may not be, but most of you will be mothers. Long for it. Dream about it. Look forward to the day and train and prepare for it. Now, it's a glorious high calling. A glorious one. Young men, when you go searching for a wife, make sure that you also go looking for a mother. You will need one. Not just a wife. You will need a mother someday. Make sure when you go looking for a wife, you also look for a mother. You will need one someday. I wanted to read this text, but the Lord just led differently, so we'll read it now over in Samuel. 1 Samuel. We have such a beautiful illustration of a godly mother. We know the story of Hannah. In 1 Samuel 1, we know the story of Hannah, how she longed after a child, and we know that her adversary provoked her sorely, and she fretted because the Lord had shut up her womb, and she did not realize in those days that God had a special calling upon her life. Hannah did not understand that. To her, it seemed like God had cursed her. To her, it seemed like she was a reproach. To her, it seemed like God was not blessing her. But all the while, God was preparing her for a special task. She had a special task that God had in mind for her. Let's just start reading in verse 9. So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she, Hannah, was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid and remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but will give unto Thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. You know, it's interesting to look at these things. Oh, sometimes we look at them through our own eyes, but it's good to look at them through God's eyes. And I can just see God watching over Hannah's life and waiting, waiting until Hannah got to the place of desperation where she said in her heart, I don't care if God will just give me one. I'll give him back to God. And God said, that's what I've been waiting for, Hannah. I need a deliverer in Israel. And I've been looking for a godly woman who will give their son for that very reason. And then God granted her, Samuel the prophet. And it came to pass as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli marked her mouth. Now, Hannah, she spake in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord for a son. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early and worshiped before the Lord and returned and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. Hallelujah! Wherefore it came to pass when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived that she bear a son and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. Samuel means asked of the Lord. And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifices and his vow. But Hannah went not up, for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and there abide forever. And Elkanah, her husband, said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good. Tarry until thou have weaned him. Only the Lord establishes word. So the woman abode and gave her son's sock until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her and with three bullock and one ephah flower and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh, and the child was young. The Bible doesn't say how old Samuel was, but it says the child was young. And they slew a bullock and brought the child to Eli, and she said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked Him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there. A beautiful example of a godly mother. Here we see in Hannah some of the attributes that every mother should have. Number one, there was a longing in her heart after motherhood. She longed to be a mother. And I think, my sisters, after you've had one child, it's not time to quit longing to be a mother. If we truly see motherhood for what God sees it to be, there ought to be that longing inside of our heart that stays there even after we've had one and two and three and four. We ought to long after God that He may give us a child that that child might be used of God into the honor and glory, into the building of His kingdom. Hannah, she longed after motherhood. Number two, she gave her son to God. That's what we need to do with every single one of them, isn't it? We need to give them to God. Not just to pray a prayer, but to give them to God. One of the sweetest blessings that we've had in our house each time we've had a child is as soon as that child is born, we pick it up and set it before God and say, God, here it is. This one You have given us. We receive it and we thank You in Jesus' name, but God, we give it back to You. Take this child. Raise it. Give us wisdom. We want it to honor and glorify You. We want it to be a powerful child. We want this child to be mighty in spirit. And I think it's wise for every mother and father for that matter to take those children and lift them up before God and say, Here, Lord, this is not mine but Thine. Give us the wisdom to raise them right. Number three, we notice she also suffered the heart pain of giving that child to God. I don't know how old little Samuel was. Maybe he was five. They say that many times they weaned the children at maybe the age of four in the days of Israel. I'm not sure how old he was, but I don't think he was a 12-year-old boy. And the child was young, the Bible says, and that's all the Bible says, and I believe that's all God wanted us to know. But I think there's enough we can know, enough there to know that Hannah suffered the heart pain of bringing that little boy and leaving him there at Shiloh in the hand in the house of Eli and going home. She suffered the heart pain of it all. And fourthly, she was a woman who prayed. I don't believe. The woman who walked with God to pray those first prayers and the woman who prayed the prayer and we didn't read it, it's in chapter 2, as she consecrated that son to the Lord, the woman who prayed that prayer, I don't believe that woman stopped praying, but I believe she continued to pray and she had a powerful influence in Samuel's life. I believe it was by Hannah's prayers that her son delivered Israel. I think it's good for us to meditate on Hannah. I thought also of Eunice, who was Timothy's mother, and the Scripture was already read in the children's class. Paul speaking to Timothy and reminding him, you remember, that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. We know by history, Timothy did not have a godly father. His father was a Greek. His mother was a Jew, a God-fearing Jew, who loved the Word of God. And I believe that his mother, Eunice, filled that little boy full of the Word of God even though they lived in a house where her father was a Greek and he was not a Jew and he did not go to the synagogue and he didn't believe in God. He was a Greek. But there was a mother who watched over that little son Timothy and from a child made known unto him the Holy Scriptures of God. And oh mothers, let me encourage you this morning to redeem the time. Let me encourage you this morning to redeem the time. Death and life are in the power of the tongue and it's also in the power of your tongue. Your tongue is just as powerful as the tongues on this side of the room. Your voice can be just as anointed as the voices that are on this side of the room. Your heart can be filled with just as much of wisdom from the Word of God as the hearts that are over here on this side of this room. I would encourage each one of you mothers to redeem the time with your children. I would encourage each one of you mothers to get alone with God and get an anointing of His Spirit upon your lives that His Word and His will might flow out of your hearts and into the hearts of those children that you have at your house. I would encourage you to redeem the time this morning. Eunice did and she had a son named Timothy. By the way, Eunice had a mother named Lois, didn't she? Oh, may God give us the wisdom to have a vision on both sides of the room this morning. God forbid that we would think, I have two sons and four daughters. No! I have two sons and I have four daughters. And they're all very important. And God has a special work and a calling on every one of them. He has something that He wants them to do. He has a purpose for each one of them. It's a divine purpose. It's written in eternity. And God has it all planned out. And what is it and how can we order the child? Let that be our heart for every one of our sons and every one of our daughters. No difference at all. Because Eunice had a mother named Lois. And then I also, as I was meditating upon godly mothers, I had to think of Mary. And I'd like to turn there a little this morning, Luke chapter 1. Mary, the young handmaiden of the Lord whom God ordained to bring forth the Christ child. Mary, the handmaid of the Lord. God knew that Mary had to be a very special woman. I believe this morning that Mary had a mother also. I don't think she was just a half-hearted mother. I don't think she was a kind of do her job and not do her job. I don't think she was a mother who had no vision for her children. I believe Mary had a mother this morning. And that that mother had a profound effect upon Mary. The forming of her life. The building of her character. She had her help of bringing that Mary to the place where she could say, I rejoice in God my Savior. Mary had a mother. And God the Father in Heaven knew that Christ would need a mother for some of His earthly years. And God chose Mary to be Christ's mother. Amen? Oh, I think it's a wonderful thing for us this morning to meditate upon the virgin birth and meditate upon the great honor that fell upon Mary. That in her womb, conceived by the Holy Ghost, came forth the Christ child, the Messiah. What an honor that was for Mary. But did you ever consider the honor of being allowed by God to raise that little Christ child? What an honor that God bestowed upon her. I don't believe that God did that one by election either, brothers and sisters. But He called out a woman who first of all had a mother, who was a godly mother. And He called out a young handmaiden who was a godly young handmaiden. And He knew what kind of a heart was in that woman, Mary. And He knew that He needed that kind of a woman to have an influence on His son as He was a little baby growing up in that home. And she's a good example of a mother. Let's read in Luke 1, v. 46-55. We get some insight into Mary's heart as we read her salutation. And Mary said, verse 46, chapter 1 of Luke, and Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord. My heart is longing to make big the Lord. That's what she's saying. I have a heart that wants the Lord to be magnified. I want Him to be big. I want people to see how big He is. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. She's saying my heart is overflowing with joy in God who is my Savior. Amen? Mary needed a Savior too. Let's not forget that. Mary needed a Savior. Mary had a Savior. And she rejoiced in God her Savior. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. I think that's worthy of note, isn't it? God chose this handmaiden because He regarded the lowly estate of her character. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. Notice her knowledge of God. He hath showed strength with His arm. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath opened His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. Oh, what a blessed salutation we have here as we read of Mary. I had to think in verse 52. He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. Do you know, mothers, this morning there are millions of women in this America today who look at your position and consider it substandard, abnormal, not desired. They're the mighty ones. They want to be executives. They want to be the bank president. They want to be the congresswoman. They want to be the president of the United States. But God sends them away empty, doesn't He? Their arms are empty and their hearts are empty, my sisters. Though they be the president of the United States, though they make a million dollars, though they're heard and give speeches all over this country, He has sent them away empty. Their arms are empty and their hearts are empty. But, He's exalted those of low degree. Your arms are not empty and your hearts are full. Hallelujah! Oh, that we could see the honorable position that God has given to mothers. It's an honorable place. It's an exalted place. It shouldn't be looked down on, but it should be looked up to. It should be coveted after as a wonderful thing, as a desire of the heart of every girl. Let's turn and read Hebrews 6, verse 10. I know I quoted part of it here a couple of times already in the sermon. This is talking about going on in our salvation experience, but I believe the verse is very applicable to each one of you mothers this morning. We'll read verse 9 and 10. But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation though we thus speak. And my sisters, we are persuaded better things of you though we even exhort you this morning, though we may challenge you some this morning. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister. And sisters, this morning, God is not unfaithful to forget your labor of love that you've showed unto your children in that you've ministered to them and do plan to continue to minister to them. God is not unfaithful to forget that labor of love. He is marking it down. Yes, your husband maybe went out on the streets of Lancaster and won a soul last week, but you were raising the children last week and God does not forget that labor of love. It's marked down on the books just as bright as the soul that your husband won. He is not unfaithful to forget your labor of love. He knows. Then I had to think, for the rest of us here this morning, what are some of our responsibilities as we look at mothers? Every one of us have a mother or had a mother. What are our responsibilities? Even if we're grown today, even if we've been out of our homes for twenty years, what is our responsibility to our mothers, to the beginning of our journey? Well, I think it calls for honor, don't you? Not just a kind word, not just a Mother's Day card, but honor! Honor! A spirit of honor that mother can sense coming out of every one of us. The Scriptures teach us we're to obey our mothers. I realize when we're grown and we leave the home, we don't obey our mothers, but all you children, the Scriptures admonish you to obey your mothers. Number two, the Scriptures would tell us it's our responsibility to bless our mothers. To bless them, the Scripture says, they'll rise up and call her blessed. Well, that's true. A virtuous mother, the children will rise up and call her blessed. But children, we're supposed to bless them whether they're all what the virtuous woman is in Proverbs 31 or not. We're supposed to bless them. That's one of our responsibilities to mothers, is to bless them. And of course, the Scripture says to honor them, honor father and mother, says the Scriptures. That means we're to hold them in an exalted position. That means that our mothers ought to sense a spirit of honor from us. And you know something? That should just keep growing and growing and growing and growing in maturity all the days of our life. I think if you're here this morning and you have a mother that's 70 years old, she ought to receive honor from you like she never did before. If you're a Christian, and years have gone by, your honor toward your mother ought to just be getting higher and higher and higher. You say, my mother's an old order Amish woman. My mother's out in the streets. My mother's a drunk. It doesn't matter. Your mother is still your mother. Honor her. Let her sense a spirit of honor coming forth from you. There's a blessing with that. The Scripture would teach us that we are also to fear our mothers, children. You know, sometimes mothers, they get the disrespect and father gets the fear. But the Bible says, fear your mother also. Fear her? That means to hold her in reverence. To fear her. When mother speaks, we should listen. When mother tells us to do something, we should do it with reverence in our hearts. Just like Father would have said it. And the Scripture teaches us in the Old Testament that we are to mourn for our mothers when they pass on out of this life. Also, there's a few things it says we shouldn't do. The Scripture says we should never hit our mother. Have you ever hit your mother? The Scripture says you should never hit your mother. Never. The Scripture says you should never rob your mother. Have you ever taken a quarter out of mama's purse? The Bible says you should never rob your mother. Don't take money from your mother. God will not let you forget that if you ever did. The Scripture says we should never chase away our mother. What do you mean by that? How do you chase away your mother? You could send her to a rest home. That'd be a good way to chase her away. I don't have time for her. I'm too busy. Put her over there. The Scripture says don't chase away your mother. The Scripture says we should do everything we can to keep shame from coming upon our mother. The Scripture teaches that. Do you know what loyalty is? Loyalty is in a right way wanting to cover up some of the faults of your mother. Your mother's not perfect this morning. She makes mistakes. Sometimes she gets frustrated. Sometimes she makes wrong decisions. But we ought to desire to cover for our mother, not expose. And I don't mean that in a wrong way. It's right to want to cover sin. It's wrong to want to let everybody know about it. It's right to want to cover up something that someone has done. It's wrong to want to go and tell everybody, you know what my mother did? You know what my mother said? That's not right, children. It's not right. Loyalty protects the reputation of mother. And I believe the Scripture teaches us to do that. What else? The Scripture teaches that we should not ridicule our mothers. We shouldn't make fun of them. Shouldn't make fun of them. You're dumb. You did that wrong. And tease them. And make jokes at them. And make them feel bad. And embarrass them because they did this or that wrong. The Scriptures teach it's wrong to ridicule mother. You see, mother is a queen. Children, mother is like a queen. You wouldn't do that to a queen. Would you? And last of all, the Scripture says don't forsake the law of your mother. It says that in the book of Proverbs. Do you know what that means? It means when mother makes a rule in the house, you follow it. That's what it means. When mother makes a rule, it becomes law for you. It becomes a law for you to keep when mother makes a rule. You say, now wait a minute. Yes, when mother makes a rule, it becomes a law. Put your toothbrush away when you're done using it. That is a law. And you should obey mother. Amen? Obey mother. You know, in the Old Testament, in closing, in the Old Testament, there's a Scripture that says thou shalt rise up before the hoary head. And I believe that verse means that you should stand up when the hoary head comes into the room. It means you should stand in honor of a hoary head when it comes into the room. And then the Scripture also says in Proverbs 31 that the children will rise up and call her blessed. I don't know that we ought to stand up every time mother comes into the room, but I think the spirit of rising up ought to be within our heart at all times. To rise up and bless that beginning of my journey. You see, mother is the beginning of the journey. That's what her name means. She brought each one into the world. She nurtured each one through many struggles. She bathed many a sweated brow through the night. She nursed many a child back to health. She sacrificed many an hour of no sleep through the night. She did many a task she didn't want to do. She cleaned up many a mess that she didn't want to clean up. She sacrificed many things so that you could have something. Mother did all those things and more. She's the beginning of the journey. And I believe it's right for us to rise up and bless our mothers. Rise up and honor them. Rise up and give them respect and blessing for all that they do. You mothers, we want to encourage you this morning. We want to encourage you just to keep right on doing what you're doing. We want to encourage you if you've fainted in your heart, if you've lost the vision about what you're about, if you've lost the glorious vision in the midst of the dishes and the clothes and the diapers and the noise and the crying and the toys and all those things, if you've lost the vision in the midst of all of that, may God just lift your eyes up a little higher this morning and readjust your vision. It really is worth it all. God really will bless you for every one of those labors of love. It will be an exaltation to your life someday. If not in this life, I know in the one to come. So I just want to encourage you to keep on doing that which God holds as the most honorable thing you could do with your life. May God bless each one of you mothers. Let's kneel together for prayer. Yes, Lord, this morning, a life of selflessness, giving, giving, giving. We know that's the life of a mother. Self-denial, give it up, give it up again. Let your plans be changed. Let them be changed again. That is a mother. Father, we pray, You'll bless each one of the mothers that is in this room this morning. We pray, dear God, You'll encourage them. I pray You'll lift up their heavy hands if they're heavy this morning. I pray that You'll clarify the vision in their heart. Father, we know they go through many things. They suffer in many ways. But, oh God, we also know the tremendous reward that awaits them. God, I commit each one of the mothers into Your hands and I pray, oh Father, let them be anointed mothers. Let their hands be anointed hands and their lips anointed lips and their lives anointed lives as they minister to the children in each one of the homes. Father, I pray You'll lift up motherhood where it belongs, in its exalted place, in each one of our lives. Father, whether we be man, woman, father, mother, teenager, youth, child, lift it up where it belongs, dear God. Let it have its rightful place among us that the next generation might be blessed. God, we commit the further service into Your hands and we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.