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.
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what is it garden a mother looks like we
could talk about a beautiful mother rich
mother youthful not all kind of mothers
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
it separates her from those
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InTouch the characteristics of a godly
mother well there 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
societies 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’s
eyes 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 out 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 their work in the
church there so in thinking about the
scripture and thinking about one of the
characteristics of a godly mother anyway
what does a godly mother look like we
could talk about a beautiful mother rich
mother youthful not all kind of mothers
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 from 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 heaven 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 come
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
these and material needs but emotional
needs and a woman a 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 sufficiency
for her life 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 thanked God for 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 of a godly mother is that she’s
generous toward others and that’s the
way my mom was a 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 toward others 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 not she’s gonna be generous sort
of children and told her husband and
told 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 I young children
would come to the door knock on the door
back instance 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 half the side I’ll 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
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 he 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 oh
my 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 trying 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 was just not go to sleep
too 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 was 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 miss fear when you walk in
there’s an atmosphere of freedom as an
atmosphere of welcome there’s an
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 I’m loving those 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 welcomed 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 unwatched this
people who are unforgiving a living in
stress living in tension no matter what
else they do that looks right feels
right whatever is an unforgiving spirit
is a spirit of tension stress now if
somebody would 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 in him
but the whole issue of forgiveness is a
vital part of a family spirit being able
to forgive because all of us have
thought that parents were not forgiving
all I thought they mistreated us in some
way 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 what 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 or what he’ll 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’re 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
we’re persistent 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 my remember of my mom
I didn’t lay Holly the pair trousers
around kick it up and or 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 lets 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 oftentimes
people forget in life but 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 in front of
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 this awesome sense of deliberate
and willingness to do whatever needs to
be done for her children and I think
husbands taught us certainly need to
appreciate that in any godly mother
persistent you she can be counted on no
matter what happens so would you be that
kind of mom you you’d be that kind of
mom a wife that you can be candid on no
matter what times get 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 paint
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 God wants
out of 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 this
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 are 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 her mother because what does
she do she serves everybody every day
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 a godly spirit not
only that a servant spirit gets a long
ways further in life than 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 sched you how
do I feel what’s coming to me
what am I going to get for 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 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 schedules you have to live by if
you’re not orderly listen where there is
no orderliness there is confusion
frustration anxiety attention
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 if you don’t
think about this whoever you are and
what kind of parents 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 their
words if a son sees his father being
disorderly and that 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 rebel 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 holds 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 an 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 from different
reasons but she always have a good word
and every single mother needs to be an
encourager 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 doesn’t 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 then 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
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 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 my 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
you if your husband if you guys if you
tell your wife in the morning well I’ll
see you seven 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
bubble 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 any
mother amen and father had 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 your 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 that 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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