Mother’s Day 2007

2 Timothy 1:5-7 & 3:14-17

A teacher was going to have a lesson on the magnet for her second graders. She demonstrated various kinds of magnets and told them all the ways that a magnet could be used. Each student was given a chance to hold a magnet and try it for themselves. The next day she gave them a little quiz, and the last question was: "My name has six letters. The first one is 'M.' I pick up things. What am I?" The teacher was surprised to see that over half the students had written the word "Mother." (Pretty smart kids, if you ask me!)

100 years ago on May 12, 1907, a woman named Anna Jarvis brought carnations for all the mothers in her church. Her own mother had died two years earlier, and Anna was determined to honor the memory of her own mom, and to recognize the contribution of all mothers. Through her dedicated efforts, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the second Sunday of every may would be Mothers Day in the United States.

Today we honor the mothers, grandmothers and potential mothers in our midst. We honor those ladies who have raised children, who are raising children, and those who are influencing children in our church and community – THANK YOU!

This morning, I particularly want to honor one woman in our church who has done an outstanding job of raising her own children – they are serving the Lord all over the world. But she didn’t stop there – she has demonstrated Christ-like selflessness in taking on 5 young children in need – and making a huge difference in their lives. Will you please join me in honoring Sue Volkert?

Carol and I have had the blessing of taking Alex and Zack; Jude, Justice and Samantha out for an evening a couple of times, and I have to tell you, Sue and John are having an amazing impact on those children! It’s simply amazing! And I know that John would be the first to tell you, that Sue deserves much of the credit – she is with them through the day, caring for them, disciplining them, nurturing them. The same could be said in many of our homes. 

Mom – your lives make a difference! You impact the world by your faithful work! You, like no other person, impact the future of our church, our community and our world. 

Theodore Roosevelt stated,

When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls, who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she would realize it, a more honorable as well as important position than any man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or

scientist.

Not surprising, the Bible demonstrates this truth. From Rachel and her sons to Bathsheeba and her boy Solomon we see the impact moms have had. In the book of Proverbs, much of the words of instruction are attributed to Solomon’s father, King David, but when he begins to personify wisdom, Solomon uses the feminine – “Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…” When Solomon determined to give wisdom a voice, he chose a female voice – and I’d be willing to guess that it’s because of the influence of his mom. At the end of Proverbs, in chapter 31, there is a list of wise sayings from King Lemuel – words of wisdom that were taught to him by his mother. 

Through your godly example, you impact future generations like no one else. When we think of great leaders in the Christian church in the 20^th Century, our minds immediately jump to Billy Graham. For over 50 years he has been the premier evangelist in the United States, and his impact has been felt around the world. Untold millions have come to Christ at his crusades, and as they have been broadcast around the world. As his age increases, and his health decreases, Dr. Graham has been steadily handing the primary ministry to his son, Franklin. Franklin Graham also is the founder and president of Samaritan’s Purse, through which we just did our Change for Change drive that we talked about earlier.

Imagine being the son of Billy Graham! Boy, what a godly father! What great influence to have your dad be the man that Presidents and kings call for spiritual guidance! But Franklin Graham went through some rebellious years. In his book, Rebel With A Cause, he describes being sent to a Christian boarding school, he writes, “Whatever was expected of the student body, I wanted to do the opposite. I got a kick out of staying one step ahead of the law.”

If Billy Graham was the ultimate preacher then Franklin made a run at being the ultimate 'Preacher's kid'. Fighting, high-speed car chases, guns, “rock and roll” and booze. He said, “I didn't want to identify with Christianity…I prayed and attended church but I found the things of world pleasurable and fun, and I didn't like being around Christian people.” Eventually life caught up with him, and he found himself empty, alone and desperate. In a motel room, he realized that he couldn’t stay on the middle ground – he either had to accept Jesus as Lord, or reject Him all together. He said, “I put my cigarette out and got down on my knees beside my bed and settled the matter for eternity.”

When Franklin sites the major influence in his life, it is not his father, who was most always off on a crusade, but the difference was made because of a spiritually strong mother named Ruth Belle Graham, who learned her faith from her parents who were missionaries in China. Franklin’s life and ministry are a testimony to his mother’s life and work.

In 2 Timothy, we have another such testimony. I invite you to turn to 2 Timothy, chapter 1. the two letters we have in our Bibles from Paul to Timothy are some of the most personal and intimate writings in the entire book. To Paul, Timothy was his “son in the faith.”  The boy he never had. Some scholars believe that Paul led Timothy to Christ on his first visit to the city of Lystra. On his second missionary trip to that same city, Paul was impressed by his knowledge and character. Timothy was the son of a single Jewish mom, who was a believer, and an unbelieving Greek father who seems to be out of the picture before Paul arrived. By that second visit, Timothy had developed a great reputation among the people of his home church and community, so much so that he invited Timothy to join him on his missionary journeys. 

From the account that Dr. Luke gives us in the book of Acts, and from Paul’s letters, we know that Timothy served in churches in Berea, Macedonia, Troas, Corinth, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. Timothy is listed in 6 of Paul’s letters to the churches as his dear son in the faith and as his partner in ministry. Timothy was perhaps the most dearly cherished partner of the most influential man in church history.

And to what do we owe this man’s great character? As we said before, his reputation was already impressive when Paul first met him, so it had to precede the Apostles training – the answer is found in the passage we look at today – in 2 Timothy chapters 1 and 3, there are two references to Timothy’s upbringing. First, let me read for you verses 1:1-5. Paul writes:

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son: 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Then, turn with me to chapter 3, verses 14-17

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work

When you put these two passages together, you get a picture of a young man whose upbringing shaped him into a man who had a major impact for the kingdom of God. The legacy of his mother and grandmother went far beyond the young man they raised. The difference he made in the lives of people all over the known world is a lasting testimony of the power of a godly mother. 

Timothy was raised in a home with the benefit not only of a godly mother, but of a godly grandmother as well. Their’ sincere faith planted the seeds of what became Timothy’s sincere faith. That does not happen as a result of genetics – God does not have grandchildren. No one will get into heaven because their parents or grandparents were godly people! Your parents can pass on blonde hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion, but faith is passed on from generation to generation only by intentional effort and consistent demonstration. 

That is borne out by verse 14 of chapter 3. Paul says, “As for you, continue in what you have learned and become convinced of…” Timothy learned about his faith. Which means that he was “taught” it. His mother and grandmother were intentional in teaching young Timothy about the Lord. In verse 15, we see that from his infancy Timothy was taught the Scriptures. He “knew the holy Scriptures.” Obviously his mom and grandma were deliberate in their instruction of this young man.

But when it comes to faith, book learning is never enough. There are a vast number of people all around us who have lots of knowledge of the Bible, but have very little faith. In fact, Jesus Himself said in Matthew chapter 7 that there would be lots of people on judgment day who would say, “Lord, Lord, we prayed in your name, we preached in your name, we even cast out demons in your name…” They obviously had lots of knowledge about Jesus – but Jesus says, “I never knew you…” It’s not about what we know – it’s WHO we know! Knowing about the Lord is something Timothy’s mom and grandma did by calculated effort, but Paul goes on to say that in addition to “learning” about faith, Timothy had been “convinced” of it. 

Being convinced takes far more than book learning – it means there was a consistent demonstration of that faith in every day life. I can read and study all about the physics and engineering that indicate the principles of aerodynamics – but when I look at a 747 Jumbo Jet, that weighs nearly 800,000 pounds, it takes more than principles from a book – I am convinced when I see them take off, land and fly overhead. It is then that I am willing to get on and fly to across the Atlantic.

Timothy had a great upbringing with lots of instruction and knowledge, but it was seeing the faith of his mother and grandmother in practice that convinced him of it. Paul says that Timothy was convinced, “because you know those from whom you learned it.” The word “to know” in the Greek meant “to observe, perceive, examine or inspect.” Timothy was convinced in his faith because he had seen it at street level. He didn’t believe because it was easy – it was not. In fact, when Paul had first come to Timothy’s hometown, which is recorded in Acts 14, he had been attacked by a crowd, and stoned. Then his body was dragged out of town and everyone thought he was dead. It was during that visit that Timothy’s mom and grandma were converted, and Timothy had watched them over the years between Paul’s visit, and that observation had confirmed and strengthened his faith.

By the time Paul wrote this letter, Timothy was a leader in the Church – he was making an impact all over the Roman empire, accompanying the great missionary on his trips, assigned by Paul to churches that needed strong leadership – even responding to Paul’s need for support and encouragement. Timothy impacted the world – and his influence can be directly traced to the impact of his faithful mom and grandma.

So here’s the message of the morning, moms – You can me moms who impact the world – all you need to do is be perfect. Be Godly – don’t ever mess up. Follow all the rules. Raise your kids to memorize the Bible, be well behaved, and perfect.  Let’s pray…

Wait!

So, where exactly does this get practical? When does this apply to those of us who live in the real world?

Well, who said anything about Timothy’s mom doing it all right, and not messing up? Remember what I said earlier about his mother Eunice? She was a single Jewish mom – but Acts 16 also tells us that Timothy’s dad was a Greek man. Wait a minute! That was a big no-no! Jewish boys and girls would never marry a Gentile! It was forbidden – it was so unacceptable to first century Jewish culture that we don’t have anything that even comes close anymore – it would be like you daughter wanting to marry a terrorist – only worse!

The only way a Jewish woman would marry a gentile man was if she was in rebellion. She was in rebellion against her culture, her parents and her God.  She may have been Jewish culturally – but she was not practicing the Jewish faith. That is further shown later in Acts 16 when Luke tells us that Timothy had never been circumcised. For a Jew, circumcision was the most basic of religious rituals. It signified the covenant between God and His people – for a Eunice to have not had Timothy circumcised showed that she had pretty much dismissed her faith. Obviously, she and Lois had begun teaching Timothy from the Scriptures during his youth, probably because it was the only way Jewish parents schooled their kids – it was the only text book they had! And even then it would have been as an outsider. Not welcomed by the Jewish community.

It is also evident from the book of Acts that Timothy’s dad was out of the picture. Most scholars believe he had either died or simply abandoned the family at some point.  But Luke is very careful in the book of Acts to let us know when a “widow” is in the story – I believe Timothy’s dad had simply abandoned them. When we are introduced to Timothy, he is described as the “son of a Jewish woman who believed, but whose father was Greek.” The absence of a statement of his faith, and the ease with which Paul takes Timothy with him on his missionary trips, indicate that his father was not a part of his life any longer.

Eunice’s marriage to a Greek man would have alienated her from the rest of the Jewish community – and her ethnicity as a Jew would have subjected her to racial bigotry by the Greek community. She was, for all practical purposes, a woman without a people, and alone to raise her son. Which is maybe why her mom had come to assist her in raising young Timothy.

So what we have here is not the picture of a woman with her halo firmly in place, who lived a holy and pure life and never made a mistake. In fact, we have a woman who, for at least a good part of her life, was not very religious at all – who broke the rules, who was left alone and abandoned, and who had to turn to her mom in desperation to help her raise her half-breed little boy.

NOW does it sound practical? Is it a little more like the real world to you? Sure it is…