19 will read down to 21. Now, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.
I'll read in 22, but you know that Timothy, he's proved himself because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I have no one else like him. Let's pray. Lord, I think it's clear to us that as we journey through life and we look back on how you have involved yourselves in our lives and how you brought mothers and women like mothers and sisters who are committed to the Lord to help shape and influence us, that it's so important that we have the beauty and the balance of that influence in our lives.
We thank you Lord for that precious gift of mothering that has come down to us, that has shaped and formed and allowed us to maintain a strength and beauty. I praise you God for your love for us and we pray as we think in terms of our mothers and those others that have been alongside of us, that we would be grateful and appreciative and have the opportunity to express that in Jesus name. Amen. That's quite a statement that he says, I have no one else like Timothy.
It's amazing to think that some who are the scholars that would try to explain scriptures to us how that some say the Apostle Paul may have exaggerated a little bit because certainly there's other people like Timothy who have this genuine interest and love for other people and others would say, well, you know, Paul's in prison at the time he's right in this letter and because he's in prison for the gospel and the sharing of his faith that he really only had a few people he could draw from. He says, I got no one like Timothy to send as a representative of me. Either way, when we study the scriptures and we look at the life of Timothy, we find that he was quite a unique individual. He was one who had a genuine love for people.
He had a commitment to some of the deep principles of life. His value system, his purity, his integrity was way off the charts in comparison to other people. If you turn with me to verse Timothy chapter 1, I would like to just kind of connect the dots because I think it's clear to us. I'm sorry, second Timothy chapter 1.
We want to look at verse 5 that we realize that a Timothy just doesn't drop in out of nowhere. A person who has a genuine interest in other people and a young man who has integrity and real purity and commitment to the things of God, they just simply just don't happen. For a second Timothy, chapter 1 and verse 5, it goes on to say, I have been reminded of your sincere faith. He's talking about Timothy here, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I'm persuaded now lives in you.
The whole point of Mother's Day when we think in terms, particularly from a Christian perspective, is we are so appreciative of those examples and those role models and those people who influence us in seasons in our life and times in our life that nobody else can help us with. We think in terms of our younger years, our maturing years, and we think about the importance of someone coming alongside of us and helping shape and form our lives. I realize as a pastor for many years, I certainly would not want to minimize the power of a changed life that God can supernaturally take a very hard in person and really soften them up. But I got some good news and bad news as powerful as the gospel is and as powerful as truth is and as powerful as other people can be in your life.
Nothing compares to the beauty of a mom who nurtures a child when they're young. Statistics show it over and over and over again. That's without that involvement, that's preciousness, that specialness of a mom with a son or a mom with a daughter, it doesn't even begin to compare. Mother's are really the secret to preparing and protecting and preserving all that is important to us.
What's interesting when he's writing about Timothy's faith is called a sincere faith. That's a rather interesting term when we talk about a sincere faith because it goes back to the days when a lot of the dishes and utensils or the things you would use were cooking were made out of clay. It was well known that sometimes you could buy a pot piece of pottery and somebody sold it to you by putting a little wax on it and they covered the cracks. And so the moment you use something hot, the wax would melt and you end up with a crack pot.
And so the Apostle Paul is communicating that he is so appreciative of Timothy knowing that he's not a cracked pot. He is real, he's genuine and his mother and his grandmother are the key instruments in developing within this young heart and this man's life a quality that no longer is simply going to crack. We think of moms, we think about the biggest and most powerful position in the world is your influence upon your children because when those beginning stages are formed and the qualities of life are established, if a mother has communicated these into your life, that child has so much of an advantage in life and we are certainly grateful for that influence. You know we think about the job of mothering and the beauty of that, you know, mom's salary really isn't considered rather competitive.
I don't know if you've ever thought about that. I know moms probably are more aware of the fact that it's probably one of the lowest paying jobs out there and yet it's the one that is more demanding than any other time. You know, when we think about how much a person's worth and the job they have, a mom is obviously one that probably doesn't get a whole lot of a paycheck for that. Most moms probably didn't get a whole lot of benefits from this job.
I mean think about sick days. What does a mom do on her sick day? She has to pull herself together and realize you got to keep on going whether you're sick or not is irrelevant. How about personal days off?
I mean there's not too many days that a mom just simply says, I'm going to take off today. I mean how many vacation weeks do you get to as being a mom? Usually if you're on vacation, guess who goes with you? The kids and we find that it may not have been a whole lot of vacation.
The kids had a great time on vacation, but mom continues to work, holiday time off. How about those days when kids just look forward to snow days? Well mom's job just doubled in her demands and duties because the kids come home full of energy, they're bouncing off the walls and mom is like, please go back to school. I remember a discussion some years back I guess it was on why there's certain careers that pay so well.
The discussion is centered around the doctors. They get paid a whole lot and lawyers get paid a whole lot and professional counselors get a whole lot and maybe there's other careers that would have been included in that. But I remember the reason why they need to be paid so high is think of all the training that has to go into in order for you to be a professional person of that nature and all the experience that goes into that. And yet every mom knows when the kid is bleeding and believes he's going to die, you'd better fix them.
So mom's a well acquainted with all the doctors have to handle. She's handled the blood, she's seen the broken bones, she's seen the knee scrapes that as far as the child's concerned, traumatic. And so the mom obviously is not paid for all of this quality training. She's expected to be at least as good if not better than any doctor.
How about a good lawyer? If you grew up at a home like I did to three brothers, mom had better have a law degree because you've got to figure out what actually took place and who committed the crime and on and on and on. A good lawyer is one that obviously will take place when you raise kids because you never sometimes know the whole truth. But you've got to make judgment calls by the time a child's a teenager, you'd better be a professional counselor because they go through all kinds of situations and struggles in life.
Then unless you have some kind of unique wisdom, you're not really going to be able to work them through those teenage years. I don't know if the moms here feel like they've been paid or compensated enough, but I trust that one of your kids or I'll say it to for them. Happy Mother's Day. Because we realize that all of the things are mothering.
The thing that's so important we think about our fate is we would like to believe there's a way to bypass the influence of a mom. We tell ourselves sometimes that you know when the kids grow up they'll finally catch on and they'll finally grow and mature. The truth is the mom's role in nurturing and giving guidance particularly when it comes to character. That's the most powerful component or ingredient a mom could offer.
Is that integrity factor? You know it's interesting. We live in a world that is accustomed to pretty much anything goes. There's not always a clear clarity about right wrong until you actually get a real job and they require you to be honest, to show up on time, to be a hard worker and to not steal things from the boss.
It's amazing all through life that somehow unless a child has learned how to embrace these concepts and that nurturing influence a mom, the poor little kid is going to grow up totally confused and disoriented. It's certainly that role that when you see the life of Timothy and many others, that influence of that mom. When we think about the face that you and I hold to, the apostle Paul uses the concept of the pattern that he's encouraging people to follow this pattern. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14, which is important in understanding the pattern that is handed down to it.
He's kind of alluding to what we might see in chapter 3 verse 10. He says, you however know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance. Think about that and we understand the influence of a mother's role. There's so many factors that are mixed together in the ingredient.
The bottom line is the kids clearly have benefited by that motherly role by teaching them about what is really important. We often think in terms of when we introduce ourselves as adults, often the question becomes what do you do for a living or what are some of your interests? And so a lot of times we measure each other up, we size each other up by the things we do. And yet the bottom line is who am I as a person?
The inner quality of my life is so much more important than what you and I do. What I do doesn't make me bigger or better than someone else, but who I am, that definitely is the true measure of where we're at. And that often comes from that influence of a mother. A mother's special influence in life is to shape and form that inner person.
That's what's engraved upon us. Now we look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14, but as for you the Apostle Paul writes, continue in his writing to Timothy what you have learned and have become convinced of. What you've learned and become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it. He's pointing back to Timothy.
Remember your grandmother. Remember your mother. There are many stories that I could give you particularly about my grandmother because growing up in a broken home, we were over there quite a bit and her influence and those kind of things. But it's a character issue that really stood out and has given me a sense of hope and guidance in life and many of you can verify and validate some of these.
But I want to think about this pattern of influence. We're all shaped. We're all influenced by a quality of life that is very difficult to teach. As a pastor, obviously we can spend a lot of time talking about the things you ought to know and what you and I probably as Christians ought to do.
There's an emphasis on believing the right stuff and practicing the right things, but I can't go back and become a substitute for what your mother and your father taught you when you were younger. It's very difficult to try to give guidance about how you form character. And so quite often even in a church membership, if you're very alluded to memberships and churches, it's interesting even on a membership application. I don't know if you've ever realized there's sort of this application.
We've got to find out whether you wear the same color-clad church as me or whatever to be a member. I'm only a jockey. But in memberships or even in interviews at a job, they want to know what you do and all the outward appearance. If you ever have a questionnaire where they really ask you what your inner person's like, have people really say what your character like?
I mean we like to say of course those kind of things, but those are the things that a mom instills with the children. That's where the children learn and are shaped and formulated on the matters that really will carry us through life. What you and I do in life is it might benefit in some way. But if character is not there, boy, it's one heck of an interesting thing.
I want to talk about this pattern formation. And some of these I would say, or probably much all of these concepts, come as I recognize Connie's mother was one that really has more influence upon her life, my life probably than my mother. And while really is aware of it was her position or her presentation of herself in life that really was spoke volumes into my life. My first memories of going to meet Connie's mother was my brother in law, her brother, he warned me.
He said, you know, when you get to the house, these are the rules. Number one, you can't use four letter words. I mean, I'm just trying to be blunt. He kind of laid it out that my mom's not wanting to be messing with.
So either you figure out how you can present yourself on somewhat of a nice format, or are you going to be out of here real quick? And so even before I got there, I got this idea like, man, she's going to give me one heck of a punch. It's amazing how I cleaned up my act real quick. And from there, it's been a constant influence on her part that there's there's this way of life.
And it's called right. There's this way of life. And it's called truth. There's this unique way of living.
And that's what you need to do. That's the short version of that influence. And it's that kind of beauty. And she didn't love that's what's amazing is she wasn't arrogant.
She wasn't obnoxious. She wasn't say it's my way or no way. She simply said, there's a way that is right. Second Corinthians chapter six.
Turn with me to second Corinthians chapter six. And I see this as an influence on moms, particularly those that desire to raise up their children and understanding of God and how to walk and live in the way that will reap many benefits and blessings in life is in second Corinthians chapter six. It goes on to say in verse 16. I'll just jump right in there.
And in verse 16, what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will live in with them and I will walk among them and I will be their God and they will be my people. There's one thing that my mother law certainly influenced and I'll just simply call her mom for the sake of my mother's passed away.
And and Connie's mom is doing quite fine at 80 some years old. And if I get out of mind, she's going to let me know. But bottom line is that she lived a faith and she lived a lifestyle as if who's on the inside. That determines what you look like on the outside.
She talked about Jesus as if she knew the guy. I mean, this was kind of new concept to me. She talked about Jesus as if he's the one you're supposed to follow. She talked about Jesus as if he's the one that's supposed to be running your life.
These are somewhat new concepts because I wasn't formed and shaped in those early years. What I remember as a child is your Bible sits over here and churches, something you may or may not go to. And my faith was separate than who I was. And that reality became so important to me.
The most powerful influence a mother could be is to help your children understand. God isn't way out there. He's right here. And to live and interact with him, your conscience and your convictions and your value systems and your beliefs are that which reside inside of us and to teach your children.
There is a right way. There is a wrong way. There is a God and there is a devil to live in a sense that your inner person is that which is beautiful because it's Christ in us. And that's the joy of following the Lord and trying to understand is this concept that the temple as beautiful as a church building is you and I are the place in which God inhabits and dwells.
The second thing that I think really stood out is I kind of go back memory lane and I kind of keep moving myself forward as in Romans chapter seven. Romans chapter seven, if you'd like to turn there with me, many of us are aware of where we're familiar with the Bible in some sense. That there's a chapter that is sort of a mystery in the flow of the way we follow God and the lifestyle that we have in living for God. It is we get up to Romans chapter six and it's talking all about a commitment that is expressed ultimately in baptism.
That is I learn about the things of God. I want to choose to follow the things of God. And when I finally decided I'm going to be real for God, you and I ought to come into baptism and be immersed in the water and acknowledge to the world I'm living for Jesus Christ. When you get to the end of chapter six and then you have this mystery before the Holy Spirit comes in and really changes us and empowers us to live a certain way.
Chapter seven is this mystery chapter that not everybody understands what to do with it. Bear with me as I read a couple verses here and then I'll explain the point that needs to be looked at. In verse 14 down through 20, it says we know that the law is spiritual. Let's just substitute that with it.
We know that the Bible is real. But I as a person am not always spiritual nor am I always real. I'm sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do for what I want to do.
I do not do but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it's no longer I myself would do it, but it's sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Ask a typical teenager. Why did you do that? And what will they say? I have no idea.
There's a lot of credibility to that. Unless you have a mother-in-law who looks at you square and reminds you, Jesus can fix that. Do you realize that chapter seven is where many of the scholars hang between. Some views are, get used to it.
Regardless of how spiritual you want to be, you can't live that life. And the others would say, chapter eight is the conclusion. My mother-in-law would say, you need to decide. Do you want to have a face that simply believes the right things?
And on Sunday, you have great relationship. But on Monday, your marriage is going to fall apart. You're going to have problems in life. In other words, there's this reality check of influence and a mother that communicates to the children.
You're going to face temptations like you've never seen before. I don't know whether as a mom of some of our moms ever had one of those sit-down man-to-man kid-to-kid dogs that help us understand what it's going to be like to be a teenager and what are the struggles you're going to face and what the issues you're going to go through. I think that sometimes the toughest areas of life that we as Christians go through is in that personal area where there's confusion about whether or not we can actually do the right thing and make the right choices and live the right way. It's a mother-in-law like mine who's willing to acknowledge that there's a power greater than yourselves that can enable you to live with your head held by.
There is the spirit of God that you and I must humbly acknowledge that yes, the tempter is coming in full bow barrels and yet there's a savior who can change your life. It's important to understand the beauty of a mother who teaches her children. When you get to school, you're going to meet a couple different friends there. One of them is going to be a bully, the other one's going to be an obnoxious guy, the other one is going to try to lead you straight, and others are going to be nice and everything else and everything else.
But the beauty of a mom is able to sit down and work through those struggles. I don't know if you realize that one of the leading causes of casualties among Christian community is the secret world is not being talked about. It's the secret struggles that work within the hearts of so many and there's a sense somehow that that's kind of off limits. What's in your heart and what's in someone else is why we don't want to talk about that because that's private and so we separate the private from the public world.
We obviously want to have casualties and problems in the Christian life. Can you imagine struggling with temptations that you don't really know how to handle a process but you tell yourself it really doesn't matter. That will create a lot of confusion. If you have a child that grows up and he starts moving into the teenage years and he begins to believe that being a Christian is a hopeless cause.
It's all about going through the struggles of life but I don't really have anybody that can help me figure out how to move beyond that and then we have many casualties where people move off. It's beautiful to have a mom that's able to communicate and draw out of the kids. What struggles are you going to face and what struggles are you facing because there's a way to bring resolve into your life. Romans chapter 7 we see in verse 25, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And then all chapter 8 talks about the beauty of the hope and the beauty of God's power to give us that ability to move on and a process. We're fortunate that we have moms and those who are able to guide us and direct us and get us through those tough seasons particularly when we talk about those teenage years and those years where you're moving into a whole new world. I remember you know I had quite a few kids maybe it's because I'm overly analyzing people all the time that they all wanted to go into psychology and off they go and pretty soon they're no one a whole lot more than I am by any means about psychology but I remember one that one of my daughters said to me did you know that the conscience has not fully developed until you're 25 years old. In some sense he was saying get used to the fact it's not developed yet so I'm going to be able to do whatever I want but it's important to try to understand if that is true then we need a mom until how old?
25. I was 16 years old when I met my future mother-in-law. Matthew chapter 20 one more thought as we think in terms of the enormous task and responsibility of being a mom is mom only not only sets the tone that the secrets of life is this Jesus guy needs to live inside and so she lived it she expressed it she helped me understand Jesus needs to be there the second thing was in all your confusion of life in all your little private world you got to deal with that because that little private secret of yours is going to get big in a couple weeks or a couple days or a couple years and to learn how to to allow this relationship with Christ to cleanse that private world that is a powerful concept because of our kids somehow can get your light believing that the name of the game is just a look good then you're going to end up with a whole different concept as they develop and maybe even have a face that looks good on the outside but it's not deep and it's not transforming on the inside the third thing is teaching your kids to become great that might sound a little arrogant but bear with me in Matthew chapter 20 verses 20 and 21 then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and kneeling down asked a favor of him what is it you want he asked she said grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom wow can you imagine your mom going up to Jesus and saying Jesus I know one day your kingdom is going to come in all of its greatness and its power and glory would you save a spot for little Johnny does Jesus say now what in the world did you come up with that idea what does he say in verses 26 to 28 not so with you instead whoever wants to become great if you get that if you want to be great here's how you do it if you want to become great among you you must be the servant not the one being served and whoever wants to be first must be the slave just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many I take one of the leading things that will really do more hindrance to a child is to not teach him there is a path to greatness and it's called service can you imagine a child growing up and they believe the name of the game is me a mom is constantly serving she's constantly taking the second seat she's constantly pouring her life into the kids and you trust that before they leave what they remember about mom is what she did that's what I need to do to teach your kids that the pathway to greatness is not really about a position it's about what's on the inside there is nothing more precious when you guys entrust one of your kids to me as a pastor and say they want to preach next week and to invest in them and realize that here's one that has grown up understanding the beauty of serving and let them start to lead with a servant's heart it's the most powerful position and we could establish in these young hearts and lives is a child that's ready for life to invest in them but the dreams that God desires to put into a young heart is not by seeking some great position it's a start out with your heart in the right place those are just a few things I think my mother-in-law was obviously of an influence that she could see those tendencies in my young heart to be a little bit full of myself and I think that's where I put her back into prayer closet more often than not I don't know what it was but she had a unique way of saying to me and Connie tells me more about the little comment she made here and there about yeah he really likes to this and that and everything else but I'm grateful for her influence her constant servanthood and her love that really wouldn't quit it's tough being a mom I know that no I don't know that it's tough being a mom I could imagine as I think in terms of all the importance of preparing each and every one of us for that but God bless you I know you didn't pay raise and so I hope that there's the husband or whatever that or the dad or somehow there's these other influences maybe a son or two that'll take you out and treat you like the queen you ought to be let's pray Lord we realize we can go on and on and on talking about that influence that our our moms were in our lives but for those of us that have a faith that has some clarity and direction we certainly have to recognize that it just didn't happen somehow automatically but you've given us moms that have poured into our lives and were grateful for all that they did and all that the burden that has been put upon them help us Lord to recognize their importance and their value and so we honor moms and we give you thanks to Jesus name thank you