In this message, Dr. Stanley details the many facets of a godly mother as well as describes the lasting impact she can have on her family. Learn how to live the kind of life you’d want for your children.
well then lots of mothers in the Bible
some of them good some of them not too
good and when we think about mothers and
how important they are to all of our
society each one of us has had one and
whether you like it or not you have a
mother you may have loved her or maybe
you didn’t love her but you have a
mother and they’re precious and God
sighs so with that in mind I want you to
turn to second Timothy and I want you to
turn to the first chapter if you will
and if you look at the first verse of
this second epistle to Timothy and
notice what he says to him here Paul an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God according to the promise of life in
Christ Jesus the Timothy my beloved son
grace mercy and peace from God the
Father and Jesus our Lord I thank God
whom I serve with a clear conscience the
way my forefathers did as I constantly
remember you in my prayers night and day
longing to see you even as I recalled
your tears so that I may be filled with
joy for I am mindful of the sincere
faith within you which first dwelt in
your grandmother Lois and your mother
Eunice and I’m sure that it is in you as
well for this reason because of this
relationship I remind you the Kindle of
fresh the gift of God which is in you
through the laying on of my hands
but God has not given you a spirit of
timidity but of power and love and
discipline and Paul writing to Timothy
because he was probably a little
discouraged with her work in the church
there so in thinking about the scripture
and thinking about what are the
characteristics of a godly mother anyway
what does a godly mother looks like we
could talk about a beautiful mother rich
mother youthful not all kinds
but what about a godly mother does that
mean she’s perfect no it does not but
that does mean she has a quality about
her that separates her for most a godly
mother that is a godly mother is a
mother who prays and reads the word of
God not necessarily every day but it’s
the habit of her life it’s the habit of
her life because she accepted Jesus
Christ as their personal Savior she
believes the Word of God and she knows
that the instructions in the Word of God
will help her to be a better wife
Anabella mother when the children came
along not only that it’s going to affect
everything about her it’s gonna affect
the way she dresses the way she handles
herself the way she works the kind of
wife she is and the kind of mother
she’ll be so that’s God’s goal for every
mother to be godly not perfect but
righteous that is her conduct her
character her conversation and instead
of keeping with the word of God doesn’t
mean she’ll be like anybody else looks
like anybody else I’ll do anything
somebody else does but she’s a godly
woman and her life is rooted in the Word
of God and in prayer that’s the reason
she does such a good job of raising her
children because they’re reflections of
her secondly I think about this kind of
mother she’s a mother who has learned to
trust God for every need in her life
because reading and thinking and praying
and meditating from the Word of God
she’s recognized God’s made some
promises he’s made a lot of promises in
the Word of God for meeting needs that
isn’t just a physical needs and material
needs but emotional needs and a woman
the mother has emotional needs that we
men don’t quite fully understand and
we’d like to understand better but God
made a woman that way and that’s the way
she is and so a woman who loves God it
was in the word she is trusting God and
trusting God for every need and she
doesn’t talk about being poor she
doesn’t talk about having less than she
talks about God’s efficiency for her
life I never heard my mother in all the
years of her life
and my father died when I was nine
months of age so she lived about that
was about seven eight years I don’t know
it was nine years before she married
again but I never heard my mother talk
about being poor now we were poor but
she never said it she never mentioned
that she didn’t think about poverty she
thanks and yard but the nine dollars and
ten cents a week she made in a textile
mill never spoke about being poor unless
then never compared herself with
somebody else that wasn’t her attitude
she trusted God a third quality I think
I’ve forgotten the mother is that she’s
generous toward of us and that’s the way
my mom was very generous I can remember
when we had almost nothing we always
gave somebody something when you left
our house she gave you something that
was her heart a generous heart is not
selfish a generous heart is thinking
about others because sometimes the only
thing you have to give the person who’s
visiting you is a word of encouragement
and think about how powerful that is
sometimes a word of encouragement is far
more powerful than money or some
position in life but there’s something
about your character something about who
you are something about your spirit
something about the way you carry
yourself that is a godly mother is one
who is generous taught of us and knows
what generosity is about and knows when
they compliment somebody they
complimenting them in a way that does
something call them she’s building them
up everybody needs to be built up nobody
wants to be torn down and not only that
if a mother I can she’s gonna she’s
gonna be generous sort of children and
told her husband and taught other people
and when I think about that I think
about how many times I saw my mother
give somebody who came to see us
something I don’t know what it was but
it was like she couldn’t let him leave
without giving him something I can
remember sometime when your children
would come to the door knock on the door
back is the back during the Depression
days and they’d ask if we had an extra
bread we might not have had any extra
but my mom was gonna give him a piece
whether we had any or not that’s just
who she was she was a generous woman and
generosity is a godly quality now what
can I do for me myself and I and my
family but what can I do for others
that’s a christ-like spirit and so it
was so entrenched in my life that even
now if you came to my house I don’t
think about it I don’t try I don’t
remember have to say I remember this
it’s just built within me before you
leave my house I’m gonna offer you
something I don’t know what it’ll be and
you know what he asked me why it was
built into me that’s that’s just before
your friends your family somebody leaves
you you want to give them something
generosity is good for everybody think
about it it’s good for you to give of
yourself it’s good for the other person
who has needs but we don’t think about
being generous that’s a very important
quality of a godly woman then of course
a godly woman’s going to obey god she’s
going to obey God for several reasons
one of which she knows that obeying God
is profitable for her it is only not
only profitable for her it is very
profitable for her children and its
profitable for a husband and so when we
think about obeying God you’ve heard me
say it over and over and over again
obey God leave all the consequences him
that’s the bottom line of life that’s
the bottom line what do you what do you
say beyond that obey God who is
omniscient omnipresent omnipotent has
all power love trial he can provide
everything obey God and leave all the
consequences then watch that if you
leave the consequences Tim you don’t
worry about it I can think about the
times when my mother and I prayed about
very serious things
and it would just not go to sleep that
worried about it and thinking about it
not my mother
that’s not the way she thought she
thought that when she gave it to God
that’s why she left it that’s who she
was and being obedient to God is part of
her life so think about this what’s the
atmosphere in your home everybody
everybody’s household has an atmosphere
what’s that is here when you walk in
there’s an atmosphere of freedom as an
atmosphere of welcome as the atmosphere
of love are you can walk in a home and
you know something’s wrong nobody has to
say anything nobody has to do anything
you just know that something is wrong
and a mother knows how to create a godly
atmosphere sometimes that’s very
difficult if she’s married to a husband
who does not agree with her about her
spiritual walk with the Lord or whatever
but the atmosphere in your home love
welcome tension stress all kinds of
atmospheres a godly woman is going to
have a spirit of obedience to God
which she will not worry about a lot of
things but she will be a godly person
reflecting the Lord Jesus Christ himself
and then I think you could say that one
of the qualities of a godly mother is
that she’s forgiving forgiving is
absolutely essential not only does the
Bible teach us to be forgiving but think
about this people who are under watch
this people who are unforgiving a living
in stress living in tension no matter
what else they do that looks right feels
right whatever it is an unforgiving
spirit is a spirit of tension stress now
if somebody will say well you don’t know
who I’m living with well I don’t know
who you’re living with but I know also
that God who lives within you if you’re
a follower of Jesus he has given you the
capacity to forgive anybody but the
whole issue of forgiveness is a vital
part
of a family spirit being able to forgive
because all of us have thought their
parents were not forgiving all I thought
they mistreated us is some well I didn’t
deserve that I didn’t deserve this
the truth is we probably all deserved
more than we got but forgiveness is that
forgiveness is the spirit of a follower
of Jesus look when he forgave us wrong
so be ye kind one to another
tender-hearted forgiving one another
which is the promise of the Lord Jesus
Christ so what do you do so in your
household is the spirit of forgiveness
there because there’s that listen
there’s always going to be tensions
about certain things in life and so you
won’t let your son drive this car or
that one or your wife didn’t get this or
that and so forth and so tension builds
up if you can’t forgive you’re living in
stress it doesn’t make a difference who
you are what you have and how much if
you are not forgiving
you’re living with stress stress goes to
the mind it gets to the heart you don’t
need it
God doesn’t want you to have it so
forgiveness is the key to eliminating
that in your life and then I think about
the whole attitude of persistence you
say what’s that got to do with this or
persistence means that I keep at it and
I just keep doing what I’m to do until I
get it done and not just let things lay
around I remember my mom I didn’t lay
violate a pair of trousers around pick
it up and oh if I laid something around
it it was out of place
fix that that was she never left the
table after we ate she never left it
just a mess
persistence means I know what I should
do and I’ll do it I don’t wait for
somebody else to do it I get it done and
I think that’s the key that often times
people forget in life the people who
accomplish things in life are persistent
that is if this is the goal this is what
I’m gonna do and I’m gonna do it till I
get it done I don’t walk away I don’t
stop talking I don’t stop loving I don’t
stop embracing yeah I don’t I don’t stop
because things are not going my way
persistent
means God has given us a life showing us
what to do going through a tough time I
don’t quit and I don’t give up and I
think that was one thing that was very
difficult to me to have somebody give up
when you and when you have given your
best and for some reason either don’t
appreciate it or whatever it might be
and I think about at times when I have
to get on my knees and ask God and Lord
don’t let me be discouraged no matter
what I say no matter what I feel don’t
let me be discouraged let me keep moving
keep doing it and you’d have to be in my
position going through those difficult
times and that’s a stand up and father
everybody every Sunday and preach the
gospel and I remember how I had to be
from very very soon my heart was clean
pure and forgiving without an in doubt
and so God worked through all that but
you but you have to you have to keep
going for example a mother with a young
child how many times do you get up in
the middle of the night to take care of
that child God has planted within a
mother it’s awesome sense of deliberate
and willingness to do whatever needs to
be done for her children and I think
husbands fathers certainly need to
appreciate that in any godly mother but
sister she can be counted on no matter
what happens so would you be that kind
of mom you’d be that kind of mom a wife
that you can be counted on no matter
what times getting rough still trust you
you’re not nagging and you’re not
fussing and you’re not you’re owning and
you’re not comparing you a family with
somebody else’s family and you can
paying what they have with what you have
no none of that fits the life of a godly
woman doesn’t mean she can just push her
around it’s not that it’s just that
she’s determined to be what you got
along so to me it’s the same quality
that all of us need in our life that we
don’t just quit and give up because
things are not going to suit us well
because we don’t have what we’d like to
have we’re persistent you can trust us
no matter what
and then of course Jesus was a servant
he teaches through his word you not to
be servants that is we are to have a
servant spirit that is we’re not living
for ourselves but for others and I think
of all the people who need a servant
spirit in order to be happy is a mother
because what does she do she serves
everybody everyday all of her life she’s
giving of herself well the next time you
get tired and say I’m just fed up with
this remember that Jesus was a servant
he served those he worked with and the
truth is service is an outpouring of
yourself when you’re giving yourself
away to someone else for some need in
their life that’s what you do you’re
giving you of yourself and a servant
spirit is the godless spirit not only
that a servant spirit gets a long ways
further in life and a person who’s
selfish whether it’s on your job among
your friends or whatever it might be a
servant spirit doesn’t ask the question
well how does that suit my sketch you
how do I feel what’s coming to me
what am I going to get through all this
no a servant spirit is what can I do for
you how can I help him how can I help
her you serve the Living God by serving
your family
there’s something about a servant spirit
you can listen you can be the richest
person on your block or in town you can
have the most notoriety but if you don’t
have a servant spirit there’s something
missing in your life now you may not
know what it is but people notice what a
servant spirits about there’s something
about your attitude the way you shake
hands well you can’t handle yourself who
you are you’re not always talking about
yourself but somebody else and a servant
spirit is a godless spirit so we think
about godliness that’s what we’re
talking about then I would say to live
an orderly life an orderly life
is an organized life that is things fall
in the sequence and the think about
little children who have to get up and
go to school and they’re just six years
old or seven years old you have a
schedule you have to live by if you’re
not old early listen where there is no
orderliness there is confusion
frustration anxiety tension stress and
arguments because that’s what it boils
down to and the orderly life is an
organized life she knows what she’s
gonna do how she’s gonna get it done how
long it’s gonna take and she goes about
getting it done and I think about in
fact our friend of mine who was
surpassed him it’s an excellent preacher
he’s going now he told me he said my
mother and my father never corrected me
he said so I grew up throwing my clothes
around and he talked about all the
things that he did that spoke of
disorder in this and he said when I got
married did I have a problem I said
because you just kept doing what you’d
been doing who’s responsible about the
parents should have told him better
finally he said I learned what it was
all about but after a lot of tension
stress arguments fretting and all kind
of attitudes that were not right because
that’s the way I grew up and if you’ll
think about this whoever you are and
what kind of parent you are your
children are going to exhibit some if
not many many many of your attitudes and
your habits that’s just the way life is
and so the parent cannot neglect their
children and say well you know you’ll
you’ll be okay know there are
restrictions and there are attitudes and
there are habits that need to be built
into every single one of us we all
develop habits and we pass along there
was if a son sees his father being
disorderly and no sense of organization
just doing whatever comes next he’s
gonna have a great tendency to be lazy
the same thing is true of a girl and
so it’s very important that we live the
kind of life we want our children to
live and all I think about Jesus life he
had 12 disciples handling them was an
issue I’m sure he knew exactly what to
do but I am sure that Jesus was a very
orderly person and that in his
relationship with those 12 disciples the
same was true that is a characteristic
that either bills lifts and enables and
enriches a person or the very opposite
of all those is true then to be an
encourager when I think of all the
qualities that need to be true of a
parent of a mother and encouraged if
you’ll think about this when the child
is born and that mother Huddle’s that
child up to her breast you know what
she’s doing she’s starting out
encouraging that child because that
child senses something from that mother
from the time he or she was born and
then as that child grows that
encouraging word yes you can I know you
can I love you you the sweetest one I
you you only known she goes encouraging
that child no telling how many people in
prison wouldn’t be there if their mother
or father had encouraged them do your
best be a best no matter what don’t quit
don’t give up and yeah but and encourage
you and I can think about the times when
I was a kid and I’d come home and my
grades weren’t the best in the world I
just wasn’t that smart and my mother
would always ask me this she wouldn’t
get on my case and said why didn’t you
do better and does that never she’d say
did you do your best
I see yes ma’am that’s all that matters
if I got a bad grade she will know one
thing if I did my best
she was happy always a word of
encouragement never a word to discourage
me and there is something about being an
encourager and I think of times when I
would get discouraged for different
reasons but she always had a good word
and every single mother needs to be any
courage you say well you don’t know my
kids I know this I know the power of
encouragement well my husband’s don’t
appreciate me under the power of
encouragement
there’s something about encouraging what
it does it sends a message yes you can
yes you will
I’m trusting you I’m believing in you
I’m helping you you can count on me
there’s something about that that
absolutely changed as a whole Adam
estate you’re in
did I mention one last thing and that is
probably one of the most difficult
things is to love unconditionally that
unconditional part puts it in a whole
different category I had a stepfather
for a number of years there wasn’t
anything about him that I loved all
right I wanted to have him around but he
was there and I had to learn what it
meant to love somebody that I didn’t
like and my mother told me that by her
own actions she taught me to love and
forgive when I didn’t even want to be
forgiving I didn’t even want to be
loving I wanted to have nothing to do
with it but that wasn’t the way life was
and finally I think Lord how do I deal
with this but one thing I mother always
did when I left home I when she if she
had to leave before I left she she would
do the same thing
she always hugged me and told me she
says remember mom loves you she always
liked me I can still feel it she’s been
gone a long time but I can still feel
that hug and her telling me my mom loves
you
there’s something about a hug when
somebody says for well I love you see ya
if your husband if you guys if you tell
your wife in the morning well I’ll see
in 7:00 and see ya mm-hmm and never hug
her never touch her never express loves
her shame on you
every woman needs a touch the right kind
of touch I got it
a touch that says I’m thinking about you
I love you I appreciate you I’m gonna be
looking forward to see you when I get
back that isn’t anything that a man
can’t give if he loves the mother of his
children loves his lawyer there’s
something powerful about a touch and
every woman who loves her husband her
children she’ll tell you that something
powerful about a touch not a sexual
touch a loving touch not that I want
something I just appreciate something
and I believe those 10 qualities will
make any woman a fantastic wife and a
fantastic mother well thank you moms but
being the mom you are the wife you are
the mother you are and may your kind
increase there’s something awesomely
powerful about again the woman I got a
mother
amen and fell behind grateful we are
you can grant to every mother here a
sense of fulfillment a sense of the
feeling of being loved that goes beyond
anything a man can do because you’re God
and I pray that if there’s any woman
here in him over here who is unsaved
that she would recognize how absolutely
essential and important it is that she
give her life to Christ and become a
godly mother
she might be the first in her family but
Lord give her the courage give her the
courage to make the most important
decision in her life that in order to
become the woman she wants to be in the
wife and mother she needs to be she
needs you make that crystal clear in her
heart and I prayed that before she
leaves this place this morning she would
whisper this prayer to you
Heavenly Father forgive me for my
neglect forgive me for my sin I ask you
to forgive me for all my ways that are
wayward and I ask you to receive me as
one of your children in Jesus name Amen
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