Honoring Mothers

SERMON STARTER

 

          Today we honor mothers, living or dead that have granted us the gift of life through their love and nurture. Ruth, the great-grandmother of David honored her mother-in-law in a extremely trying time in both their lives. Naomi determined that all that was left for her to do was go back to her homeland and die.

          Naomi's two daughters-in-law both lost husbands, Naomi's two sons. They began to follow her on her journey back home.

Naomi rebukes them and implies her two daughters-in-law are young enough to have new husbands, but she is too old to marry again and have sons.

 

11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn back, my daughters, go--for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,   Ruth 1:11,12

 

          Have you ever been at the extremity where Naomi was?  Her husband was dead.  Her two precious sons, the light of her life, were dead.  Her heart was heavy with sorrow.  All that was left to her was to go home to die.

          The final injustice was that she blamed the Hand of the Lord for bringing all these calamities into her life.  Naomi’s god had abandoned her.  She was all alone in her grief and sorrow.  The desert fathers and mystics of the early church called it, “The Dark Night of the Soul.”  Everyone eventually comes to the place of complete loss of control in their lives.  We start our lives out of control and eventually come the full circle and end our days out of control.

          See what God sees.  As Oswald Chambers loved to put it “God strips away from us all the things we feel are important until all that is left is ourselves and Him."  Can you see in the midst of Naomi’s sorrow and despair what God was doing?  Ruth became the great-grandmother of David, whose lineage gave birth to Jesus Christ, who called himself the “Son of David.”

HONORING MOTHERS, Intro, p.2

 

          God used Naomi’s extremity to lead her and Ruth back home in Israel, where Ruth was to meet her husband, Boaz and bear a son, Obed, who became David’s grandfather.  How could Naomi have known the important task God had for her in the midst of her sorrow and loss? 

          Mothers, what if God has an interest in blessing your generations through your pain?  Do you have the faith to trust Him and allow Him to do it? Your extremity may be God’s opportunity to bless your generations.

 

Pastor Phil   <><<

 

       

 

 

Mother’s Day,  May 12, 2019 - Sheepfold Ministries

                                                                                Pastor Phil Roland    <><<

 

Honoring Mothers

Ruth 1:1-17

 

“Today we honor mothers. Two mother's stand out in the Bible narrative, Naomi and Ruth. Ruth’s Loyalty, Honor and Respect to her mother-in-law is an inspiration and a challenge to us today to remember the mother who laid down her life to give us life.”    Pastor Phil

 

 HONOR = HEBREW = cak = CHA-BAHD = “To be Heavy”

                                             “To Give Weight”  “To Do Honor”

 

16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." Ruth 1:16-17

 

Ruth is one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew, alongside Tamar, Rahab, the "wife of Uriah" (Bathsheba), and Mary.

 

“Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue,
then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”  Romans 13:7

 

FIVE WAYS RUTH HONORED NAOMI. . .

I.  RUTH HONORED MOTHERHOOD BY HER LOYALTY

A. Ruth Clung To Her Mother-In-Law - v. 14

                    14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her

              mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
                        1. Why would Ruth cling to her?

                    2. Moab was her homeland

                    3. She was a Moabite Priestess

                    4. The gods of Moab were her gods

                    5. She was a total stranger to Israel, Naomi's homeland

          B. Five women are mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus

                    1. Tamar whose husband was Judah (Perez) - Matt. 1:3

                    2. Rahab the wife of Salmon (Boaz) - Matt. 1:5a

                    3. Ruth the wife of Boaz (Obed) - Matt. 1:5b

                    4. Bathsheba the wife of David (Solomon) - Matt. 1:6

                    5. Mary the wife of Joseph (Jesus) - Matt. 1:15

          C. Ruth Honored Naomi With a Fierce Loyalty

                    1. Leave / Cleave - Genesis 2:24 - A Husband Cleaves to His Wife

                    2. Hebrew= wac= DA-BAQ = “To Adhere” “To Be Glued” 

HONORING MOTHERS, cont. p.2

 

SECOND WAY RUTH HONORED NAOMI. . .

II.  RUTH HONORED MOTHERHOOD WITH UNCONDITIONAL           LOVE

          A. God’s Love Is Unconditional - Romans 5:8

                    8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still

              sinners, Christ died for us.

                    1. A mother's love is unconditional

                    2. It's an undying love: cradle to the grave

          B. Mother's Love Prefigures God's Love - John 3:16

            16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that                           whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

                    1. No matter how ornery, mischievousness

                    2. Mom had our back with that fierce love

                    3. You WOULD live up to her expectations, or else!

                    4. Read, "What My Mother Taught Me"

 

THIRD WAY RUTH HONORED NAOMI. . .

III.  RUTH HONORED NAOMI WITH UNCONDITIONAL           ACCEPTANCE -  Ruth 1:16,17

          A. Ruth Prefigures Jesus' Love for us - Ephesians 1:6

                    “. . .Christ has made us accepted in the Beloved.”

                    1. Jesus accepted us WHILE we were yet in our sin

                    2. Most of His miracles were among outcast and poor

B. Through Christ We Are Accepted As Beloved - Ruth 1:16-17

                    1. Accepting those who accept us is irresistible

                    2. Your Mother accepted you unconditionally

                    3. When first-born, none of us were angelic

 

FOURTH WAY RUTH HONORED NAOMI. . .

IV.  RUTH HONORED NAOMI WITH UNCONDITIONAL DEVOTION

". . .For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God." v. 16b

          A. Ruth's Confession Forshadows Christ’s Devotion For His Church

                    8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your                        heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess                         with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has

              raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one

              believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto

              salvation. Romans 10:8-10 (NKJV)
                        1. Ruth confessed her Fidelity to Naomi -

                              Eg. Believers confess Loyalty to Christ

                         2. Fidelity - Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated

                                          by continuing loyalty and support

                    3. Accepting Jesus results in "He is WITH us and IN us"

         

HONORING MOTHERS, cont. p.3

 

          B. Ruth’s Submission to Naomi Is Like Ours To Christ

                    1. Can you picture Ruth's confession of fidelity to Naomi?

                    2. It is our confession of faith in Christ - Matthew 10:32

                                        32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also

                           confess before My Father who is in heaven.

                              a. We will Honor Him

                              b. We will Obey Him

                              c. We will Respect Him

                              d. We will Serve Him

                    3. Ruth Clung to Naomi is as Jesus Clings to us - Heb. 13:5

                    ". . .He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."          

 

FIFTH WAY RUTH HONORED NAOMI. . .

V.  RUTH HONORED NAOMI BY KEEPING HER VOW - Verse 17

17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me."

 

          A. Ruth Kept Her Vows To Naomi

                    1. She blessed her generations

                    2. Ruth became the Great-Grandmother of David

          B. Ruth's Fidelity became a blessing to all generations - Gen. 22:18

                    18 In your seed (Abraham's) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

              because you have obeyed My voice."

                    1. Remember, Ruth's motherhood gave us David

                    2. Jesus called Himself the "Son of David"

          B. We Prosper If We Keep Our Vows To Our Mothers - Ex. 20:22

                    12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the

              land which the LORD your God is giving you.

 

 

HONORING MOTHERS, Text

Ruth 1:1-17 (NKJV)
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion--Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread.
7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
10 And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."

HONORING MOTHERS, Text, cont. p.2

 

11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn back, my daughters, go--for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,
13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!"
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me."

What My Mother Taught me

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE - "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION - "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT - "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY - "Keep laughing and I'll "give" you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS - "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM - "Will you "look" at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA - "You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER - "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS - "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen then?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY - "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times - Don't exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE - "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION - "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY - "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

THANKS, MOM!