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There is a Call going out for Old Fashioned Motherhood! Can you hear it?
Luke 1:5-7 then 11 through 15
Dr. Dave M. Hartson
BalaChittoBaptistChurch
May 8, 2005
Introduction:
I may get a few people angry with this statement but motherhood as we know it today is failing our children. Every day in America:
-1,000 unwed teenage girls become pregnant;
-More than one third of those pregnancies will result in abortions.
-4,219 teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases;
-500 adolescents begin using drugs;
-1,000 adolescents begin drinking alcohol;
-6 teenagers will commit suicide.
I would say that those are some pretty horrible statistics about our adolescent and teenage population. And those statistics, probably tell us as parents we are not doing our job the way we should- that means mom is not doing her job the way she should and dad is not doing the job the way he should.
I know that has to be the reason because God’s Word does not lie and He says:
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
God is telling us as parents if we would do our jobs we would not have the problems we arehaving with our teenagers and young adults.
Today being Mother’s Day let’s talk about what going wrong with motherhood. I believe we have abandoned Old Fashioned Motherhood for the lie about the modern woman being able to do it all and as result the children have suffered.
Old Fashioned Motherhood would never let their children eat candy or left over pizza for breakfast. The modern mother doesn’t have time to check because she has to get ready for work.
Old Fashioned Motherhood would insist on knowing where their child is at all times. The modern woman just calls their child on the cell phone to find them when they need them.
Old Fashioned Motherhood would sit down and talk with their children about the importance of always being truthful. The modern woman’sconversation with her children is limited to a few words as they pass each going in different directions.
Old Fashioned motherhood checks out your friends thoroughly. They not only know the friends but they also know their parents. The modern woman doesn’t have the time or energy to check out your friends and is happy to assume that you can pick your own friends.
Old Fashioned Motherhood requires that everyone sits down at the dinner table and eats dinner together. The modern woman picks something up at a fast food joint and allows the children to eat it whenever they get hungry.
I can not help read God’s Word without hearing a call going out for Old Fashioned Motherhood. And I want you Moms to listen closely to see if you can hear it too.
I could have picked any one of several mothers to demonstrate the qualities of Old Fashioned Motherhood. I could have chosen Moses’ mother or Samuel’s mother from the Old Testament; I could have chosen Mary, the mother of Jesus or Eunice the mother of Timothy from the New Testament.
But this morning I want to talk to you about an Old Fashioned Mother named Elizabeth. She was married to a priest named Zechariah. And together, by a miracle, they had a son named John the Baptist.
So let me share with you some characteristics of an Old Fashioned Mother.
Body:
1. An Old Fashioned Mother makes her relationship with God her greatest priority.
Luke 1:6 (NIV)
6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
A. Everyone of us in this room has various relationships. You have a relationship with your spouse; you have a relationship with your children; you have a relationship with your family and friends. You have a relationship with God. Simply put: we have many relationships.
B. But to the Old Fashioned Mom the most important relationship is her relationship to God. God comes first and her husband knows it and her children know it.
C. Elizabeth was such a woman. It says she was upright in the sight of God. Between her and God, deep down in her heart where only her and God could see, she lived serving God.
D. Observing all the Lord’s Commandments was talking about that outward appearance. In the things she did others could see that she was a Christian.
E. This means that if she was having some kind of problem, she would go to God with it.
F. This means that if the child’s baseball team practices on Wednesday, church not baseball comes first.
G. If Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day for a picnic, it not during church but after church we will have our picnic.
H. In everything she did, God was her first priority.
2. An Old Fashioned Mother is known by how she handles life’s problem.
Luke 1:7 (NIV)
7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
A. Elizabeth, even with inwardly serving God and outwardly serving God, had her share of problems. She was barren and she and her husband were beyond the child bearing years. She had no children and very little change of having children.
B. But it didn’t cause her to stop serving God. In the verse before she was described as upright and blameless. In other words, problems did not get her off track. She kept her spiritual focus.
C. I wonder how many of us in this room, can say that about ourselves? More often than not, we become paralyzed spiritually and our relationship with God suffers when we face a major problem.
D. Your husband, your children, your family and your friends are looking at how you handle spiritual problems.
3. An Old Fashioned Motheris known for her prays lifted up for her family.
Luke 1:13 (NIV)
13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
A. The angel says to Zechariah that your prayers have been answered. I believe that the angel is saying that you and your wife’s prayer have been answered by the Lord.
B. We see further on in the passage that Zechariah might have had some doubt because he was made unable to speak by the angel. This kind of tells me that all though they prayed in agreement, it was Elizabeth who had the faith that her dream could be realized.
C. Can you remember your grandmother praying for your family? Can you remember your mother praying for the family? Will you be the type of mother that prays for your family?
4. An Old Fashion Mother encourages her husband in spiritual matters so that the children can see a dad who loves the Lord also.
Luke 1:6 (NIV)
6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
A. It is important for a mother to love the Lord but the children must see a dad who loves the Lord.
B. Elizabeth and Zechariah were spiritual equals. But unfortunately today, more women are more spiritual attuned than their husbands. Most households are spiritually unequal.
C. The problem is if the children don’t see the dad going to church at some point they will think they don’t need to go to church. That is usually in spite of the mom continuing to go to church and praying for her children.
D. So an Old Fashion Mom knows that she needs to pray and encourage her husband in spiritual matters.
5. An Old Fashion Mother feels blest if God has called her child to serve Him.
Luke 1:14-15 (NIV)
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.
A. There are some mothers who get upset if her child feels the call of God upon his life. They want their child to be a doctor or a lawyer or some profession where they can earn a great deal of money.
B. Instead of seeing it as a great honor, they see it as a problem. But an Old Fashioned Mom can get excited if God is working in her child’s life.
C. Nothing would please her more than her son or daughter serving God as their life’s vocation.Elizabeth, I believe, was excited that God was going to use John the Baptist.
Conclusion:
God is calling people moms to Old Fashion Motherhood. Can you hear the Call? If you can’t and you want to then I invite you to the altar this morning. If you can hear the call and you just want to know what God wants you to do I invite you to the altar.
If you ladies need to pray for your husbands, I invite you to the altar. And guys, if you need to thank the Lord for giving you an Old fashioned Mom, I invite you to the altar.
Let us pray!