Sunday Sermon
HOW DOES GOD FEEL ABOUT MOTHERS
Date: May 11, 2008
Speaker: Pastor Gerry Gregoire
Scriptural Reference: John 2:1-11
Listen to Audio Sermon

1ON THE third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.2Jesus also was invited with His disciples to the wedding.3And when the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no more wine!
4Jesus said to her, [Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? [What do we have in common? Leave it to Me.] My time (hour to act) has not yet come.5His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it.6Now there were six waterpots of stone standing there, as the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing) demanded, holding twenty to thirty gallons apiece.
7Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. So they filled them up to the brim.8Then He said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the manager of the feast [to the one presiding, the superintendent of the banquet]. So they took him some.9And when the manager tasted the water just now turned into wine, not knowing where it came from--though the servants who had drawn the water knew--he called the bridegroom
10And said to him, Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now!11This, the first of His signs (miracles, wonderworks), Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory [by it He displayed His greatness and His power openly], and His disciples believed in Him [adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].

THIS STORY TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT JESUS AND WHAT HIS PRIORITIES WERE WHEN HE WALKED THE EARTH.
IN VERSE 1 AND 2 AND 3 WE LEARN THAT HE WAS AN ORDINARY MAN THAT ATTENDED WEDDINGS AND SUCH. IN VERSE 3 WE SEE HIS MOTHER TELLING HIM THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THEY HAD RUN OUT OF WINE AND THE WEDDING CEREMONY WAS NOT OVER. YET, MARY AS JESUS’ MOTHER KNEW HER SON VERY WELL AND ASKED HIM TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

HIS MOTHER HAD FAITH IN HIM, THAT HE WOULD DO THE RIGHT THING.

HOW ABOUT US TODAY? WHAT TYPE OF PROBLEMS HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED IN YOUR LIFE AND WHO HAVE YOU PLACED YOUR FAITH IN? LADIES, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE CHILDREN? DO THEY ESTEEM YOU HIGHLY ENOUGH TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES.

THIS MOTHER KNEW HER KID BECAUSE SHE HAD RAISED HIM RIGHT. IT ALL STARTS EVEN BEFORE BIRTH. MOTHERS CAN FORM THE PERSONALITIES OF CHILDREN AS THEY PREPARE TO DELIVER. AND THE NATURING AFTER BIRTH IS SO IMPORTANT. MOTHERS CAN BEST BE DEFINED AS THE “LOVE” OF THEIR CHILDREN’S LIVES AS THEY ARE BEING RAISED. IT’S ALWAYS MOM IN MOST CASES THAT HEALS THE HURTS AND CALMS THE NERVES. MOM IS THE ONE WHO GENERALLY DOES MOST OF THE FEEDINGS.

NOW IN VERSE 4 AND 5 IS THE KEY TO THIS TEXT. WE LEARN THAT JESUS WAS REALLY NOT WANTING TO DO ANYTHING SUPERNATURAL AT THAT TIME. HE TELLS HER THAT IN GOD’S SCHEME OR TIMING, IT WAS NOT YET TIME FOR HIM TO PERFORM MIRACLES.

IN VERSE 5 IT IS ALMOST LIKE HIS MOTHER HAS TOTALLY IGNORED HIS COMMENT AND TELLS THE SERVANTS OF THE WEDDING TO DO AS HE SAYS AS THOUGH SHE KNOWS HE WILL NOT MAKE A SCENE AND EMBARRASS HER.

THE ADVICE SHE GIVES THE SERVANTS IS WHAT WE NEED TO HEED TODAY IN OUR LIVES. JUST “DO”AS JESUS SAYS IN HIS WORD. IF WE DID, WE WOULD SEE SO MANY MIRACULOUS THINGS IN OUR LIVES JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE OF THE WEDDING WITNESSED.
THIS TYPE OF MIRACLE ALSO SPOKE TO HIS DISCIPLES THAT JESUS WAS THE REAL THING.

IT’S ALMOST LIKE WITHOUT MUCH HESITATION JESUS FOLLOWS THE DESIRE OF HIS MOTHER. HE RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE THAT SHE PLAYED IN HIS LIFE AND WAS WILLING TO CHANGE THE PLAN OF THE FATHER.

YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR JESUS SAYING UNDER HIS BREATH, “FATHER, THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT CHANGE IN PLANS.” WHAT A COMPASSIONATE GOD. BUT THIS ACT ALSO SPEAKS HIGHLY FOR THE RESPECT THAT THE LORD HAD FOR HIS EARTHLY MOTHER.

MANY OF US FORGET THAT MOTHERS ARE THE GLUE THAT HOLDS EVERYTHING TOGETHER IN FAMILIES. THE REST OF THIS STORY EXPLAINS IN DETAIL WHAT TRANSPIRED IN THE CHANGING OF THE WATER INTO WINE. WE ARE TOLD THAT IT WAS THE BEST QUALITY WINE WHICH TELLS US THAT JESUS IS NOT SATISFIED WITH SECOND BEST. THAT SAME VALUE SYSTEM IS HOW HE PROVIDES FOR US, ONLY THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.

LET’S LOOK AT 1 SAMUEL 1:5-6 KJV 5But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
AMP VERSION 5But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.6[This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless.

GOD DETERMINES THE TIMING OF WHEN A WOMAN WILL BECOME A MOTHER. THE INABILITY TO BEAR CHILDREN IS NOT BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LOVE ANY PARTICULAR WOMEN, BUT THE TIME FOR MOTHERHOOD HAS TO BE JUST RIGHT IN HIS PLAN. HANNAH BECAME A MOTHER LATER ON BUT GOD WAS WORKING HIS WILL IN HER LIFE AND ALSO HER FIRST CHILD WAS SAMUEL THE PROPHET, A SPECIAL GIFT TO HIS PEOPLE, BUT THE TIMING OF HIS BIRTH HAD TO BE JUST RIGHT.

LADIES, WHEN GOD GIVES YOU THE PRIVILEDGE OF BECOMING A MOTHER THERE IS A PURPOSE HE IS FULFILLING IN YOUR LIFE AND IN THE LIFE OF YOUR CHILD. EACH CHILD YOU RECEIVE FROM HIM IS SPECIAL AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO GUIDE THAT CHILD TO HIS OR HER PURPOSE. YOU SEE, IT’S NOT JUST WATCHING THEM GROW BUT IT IS WORKING WITH GOD TO MAKE THAT CHILD THE BEST THEY CAN BECOME.

JESUS SPOKE ABOUT BUILDING A HOUSE ON A SOLID FOUNDATION IN LUKE 6:48 48He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock

I BELIEVE JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT OUR LIVES AND THAT WE SHOULD BUILD OUR LIVES ON A SURE FOUNDATION AND WHAT BETTER PLACE TO LAY THAT FOUNDATION THAN IN A HOME WITH A GODLY MOTHER SETTING THE EXAMPLES.

YOU CAN SEE THIS ILLUSTRATED FOR US IN 2 TIMOTHY 1:5 5I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also.

PAUL HERE IS TALKING TO TIMOTHY ABOUT HIS LIFE AND HOW HE BECAME WHAT HE WAS BY THE EXAMPLE OF HIS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER. THE FOUNDATION FOR HIS LIFE WAS ESTABLISHED WHEN HE WAS BEING RAISED BY HIS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER AND THAT THIS STRONG FOUNDATION WAS NOW QUALIFYING HIM TO BE SENT TO EPHESUS, A VERY IMPORTANT AND CRUCIAL PLACE, TO ESTABLISH A CHURCH THAT WOULD SPREAD OUT FROM THAT CITY TO OTHER CITIES LIKE SPOKES ON A WAGON WHEEL.

HOW ABOUT YOU MOTHER, ARE YOU PREPARING YOUR CHILDREN TO BECOME SOLID IN THE WORK OF GOD? HAVE YOU COME TO REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB IN THE UNIVERSE. MANY MOTHERS ARE NOT COMPLETING THEIR ASSIGNMENTS BASED ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY.

TIMOTHY WAS ABOUT TO FACE ONE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OF HIS LIFE GOING INTO A CITY THAT WAS STEEPED IN SINS OF IDOLOTRY AND SEXUAL INFIDELITY. PAUL WAS IN PRISON AND HE HAD TO SEND SOMEONE HE KNEW WOULD GET THE JOB DONE. HE CHOSE TIMOTHY BECAUSE OF HIS FOUNDATION IN GOD PROVIDED BY HIS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER.

MOTHERS, IN ORDER TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN IN GODLLINESS, YOU HAVE GOD TO BE GODLY. CHILDREN LEARN MOST OF THEIR BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AT AN EARLY AGE IN THE HOME. WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER AND HOMELIFE SOWING INTO YOUR KIDS?

LOOK AT GALATIANS 6:7-8 7Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.
8For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

WHAT TYPE OF SEEDS ARE YOU SOWING AND WHAT WILL YOU BE REAPING OR MAYBE HAVE ALREADY REAPED?
WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE FACES OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE AT THESE COLLEGES AND HIGH SCHOOLS WHERE GREAT TRADGEDIES HAVE OCCURRED IN RECENT YEARS, YOU HAVE TO ASK YOUSELF WHAT SEEDS WERE SOWN INTO THESE LIVES WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER.

IN 1973, THE SUPREME COURT SAID THAT IT WAS FINE FOR MOTHERS TO ABORT THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN. SINCE THAT TIME THE NUMNBER OF ABORTED CHILDREN HAS GROWN TO OVER 4000 PER MONTH. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!

STATISTICS TELL US THAT PARENTS SPEAK TO THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT 6 MINUTES EVERY DAY YET THEY SPEND 4 TO 6 HOURS BEFORE THE TV SET. THEY GET MORE INPUT FROM THEIR FRIENDS, WHO MAY NOT EVEN HAVE A CLUE AS TO WHO GOD IS. IN MANY HOMES TODAY CHILDREN TELL THE PARENT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND PARENTS LET THEM HAVE THEIR WAY TO AVOID CONFRONTATION. AS YOU RAISE YOUR CHILDREN, THEY NEED TO SPEND TIME IN CHURCH. THEY NEED TO SEE AN EXAMPLE OF GODLINESS AND THAT IN MOST HOME FALLS MOSTLY ON THE MOTHER.

WOMEN, MOTHERS, WIVES, WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT OF YOU? MARY IN HER ROLE AS THE EARTHLY MOTHER OF JESUS DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO. AND FROM OUR OPENING SCRIPTURES WE CAN SEE WHERE JESUS HELD HER IN HIGH ESTEEM TO THE POINT WHERE HE WAS WILLING TO EVEN CHANGE GOD’S PLAN. THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH REALLY LIES IN THE HANDS OF GODLY MOTHERS. WHAT A GREAT ASSIGNMENT AND YET MOST WOMEN NEVER GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT.

I BELIEVE WE CAN SAY WITH SOME AUTHORITY THAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO FOUR THINGS.

1ST ACCEPT THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS’ DEATH AND RECEIVE HIM AS YOUR SAVIOR.

2ND SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTE OUSNESS FIRST ABOVE ALL ELSE IN YOUR LIFE.

3RD BE A WOMEN OF PRAYER AND THE WORD.}

4TH WORK FOR GOD WITHIN YOUR FAMILY DESIGN JUST AS GOD DECREED IT TO BE. YOU ARE THE EXAMPLE TO YOU’RE CHILDREN.

AS THE TWIG IS BENT, SO GROWS THE TREE. TODAY IN MANY CHRISTIAN PROFESSING HOMES, GOD’S PLAN IS NOT BEING CARRIED OUT FOR THE FAMILY. HOW ABOUT YOUR HOME? GOD WILL CHANGE HIS PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE IF YOU ARE DOING WHAT HE HAS DECREED IN HIS WORD. THAT IS THE KIND OF GOD THAT WE SERVE.