Today is Mother’s Day, a day when we honor our mothers. Although Mother’s Day was not officially recognized in the United States until 1914, God told us thousands of years ago that we ought to honor our mothers and fathers. NIV Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. So today is a special day to honor mothers, but each of us should honor our mothers throughout the year as well.
Mothers have a great influence on their children. A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day she gave them a written test which included the question: My full name has six letters, the first letter is M, I pick up things, What am I? When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50% of the students answered the question with the word Mother. Moms do a lot of picking up around the house for little ones, but they also do a lot more.
Today, I want to focus my thoughts on what you as a mother can impart to your children. Being a mother in the 21st century is not an easy task. Life is hectic, life is complex, many mothers work outside the home. How can you keep up with all the demands on your life? Children, job, husband, house, friends, church and the list goes on and on. What is the most important thing that you can impart to your children?
Today I’m going to talk about “The Power Of A Mother’s Faith.” I believe that the most important thing that a mother can impart to her children is her faith in Jesus Christ. In order to impart faith to your children, you must be a believer, you must have faith in Jesus and your faith must be strong. When your faith is strong, you can impart that faith to each of your children.
Listen to what Paul writes to the pastor of a New Testament church called Timothy in NIV 2 Timothy 1:5 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. Paul is saying that Timothy’s sincere faith had been passed down through three generations. The first believer in Timothy’s family was his grandmother Lois. Lois passed her faith down to her daughter Eunice, who in turn passed it on to her son Timothy.
Now just because a mother has faith and is a believer does not mean that her children are automatically believers. Each person must make a decision to believe in and commit their lives to Jesus. However, as a mother prays for her children, her faith can influence them to become believers as well. A mother with a strong faith will raise children with strong faith. A mother with weak or no faith will raise children with weak or no faith.
God wants every mother here to impact the lives of their children and future generations with their faith. The impact of your faith can affect your children’s lives long after they have left your home. It is never too late for a mother’s prayers and faith to influence her children’s and grandchildren’s lives.
Today I’m going to look at the story of the mother of the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, Moses. Moses’ mother was named Jochebed. She had three children: Moses, Aaron and Miriam, all of whom were used mightily by God. Life was not easy when Jochebed was pregnant with Moses. She lived in Egypt and the Pharaoh had just given an edict NIV Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” Of course when Jochebed was pregnant, she didn’t know if she was going to have a boy or girl. When the birth came, the announcement “It’s a boy” had a different impact. However, Jochebed was a mother of faith and so today I’m going to draw three principles from her life that every mother (or father for that matter) can apply to their children.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 14, 2006 message entitled The Power Of A Mother’s Faith
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifechurchstlouis/mp3s/2006_Messages/2006_05_Become_Part_Of_The_Family/051406_The Power_Of_A_Mothers_Faith.mp3