Mothers' Day, May 10, 2009: Spiritual Mothers

Spiritual Mothers.
Acts 18: 24 – 28 and 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.

I. Introduction.
Three women had a discussion about when is the best time to begin teaching their children…The first woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is when the child begins to talk and walk…The second woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is at birth…But the grandmother said, “The best time to begin teaching a child is 20 years before birth”…

Developing mothers develops children…This is the responsibility of the church. As the church develops girls and young women into godly mothers, the church is developing children…Actually, we are developing disciples of Christ…

I see this as an important lesson for us to grasp this morning. Our role as a church is very closely related to our role as parents—both mothers and fathers alike. We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.

There is a story that I believe illustrates this very well.

After creating everything in heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing God told them was, “DON’T!”
“Don’t what?” Adam replied.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.” God said.
“Forbidden fruit?! We have forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve…We have forbidden fruit!!!”
“No way!” “Yes way!”
“Do NOT eat the forbidden fruit!” God said.
“Why?”
“Because I am your Father and I said so!” God replied, wondering why He hadn’t stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry. “Didn’t I tell you not to eat the forbidden fruit?” God asked.
“Uh huh,” Adam replied.
“The why did you?” asked the Father.
“I don’t know,” said Eve.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did not!” “Did too!” “Did NOT!”

Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

But there is reassurance in the story! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give wisdom to your children and they have not taken it, don’t be hard on yourself. If God could not raise perfect children, what made you think that you could?

Again, let me say… We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.

In this case, we need churches who are willing to develop Spiritual Mothers. But what exactly do I mean by the term Spiritual Mothers. I don’t think you will ever find that term in a book somewhere, because I think I made it up. I made it up about six years ago while I was sitting in a senior adult men’s Sunday School class in Mississippi.

The teacher was teaching a lesson on Acts 18, the story of Priscilla and Aquila…In particular, he focused on how Priscilla and Aquila served as Spiritual Guides, or Mentors for the Apollos…

Read Acts 18: 24 – 28

Apollos eventually became one of the Apostles and church planters of the early church. He had a great influence over the church at Corinth. But none of this would have been possible without the influence and discipleship of Priscilla and Aquila.

When Priscilla and Aquila first met Apollos, he was a traveling Jewish preacher. He taught the Jewish Scriptures in synagogues all over the Jewish world. Apollos was even familiar with the life and teachings of Jesus. But Luke tells us that Apollos thought Jesus was only a Jewish rabbi who was teaching the same old Jewish message of the Old Testament. That is until Priscilla and Aquila took him into their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

And this is what I remember the Sunday School teacher saying: "In other words, Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos what his mother should have done for him…"

Many of you may have a story like mine…I had a godly mother who taught me the Bible at home and demonstrated a consistency of what she believed and how she lived out her faith…She took me to church and helped to shape me into the Christian man and minister that I am today. (My father did also, but this is Mothers' Day.)

Yet, there are many people who are just like Apollos. Either you do not live at home with a godly mother or you never had the opportunity as you were growing up. If that is your story this morning, then perhaps the church can help you to find a Spiritual Mother who will lead you into the godliness of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

There are many different qualities of godliness and discipleship that I could describe this morning, but I want to focus on just one: The life of prayer. There is a wonderfully familiar story in Luke 10 about two sisters, Martha and Mary. One day Jesus and 70 of his friends stopped by their house for a visit. While Martha was scurrying around in the kitchen trying to prepare food for 71 people, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Jesus used this as a teaching moment and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Prayer is perhaps the most important skill for good parents. How could anyone endeavor to be a parent today without daily—or hourly—prayer? Prayer is also the most important spiritual discipline we could teach our children.

I can think of at least one mother in the Bible who demonstrated a consistent prayer life and instilled that into all her children…Hannah. Hannah chose the Only Necessary Thing and serves as a great example of a Spiritual Mother.

Read 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.

This may surprise you when I say…But this is not really the story about Hannah. No, this is the beginning of the story of David. The only reason we know about Hannah is so that we can be introduced to the Prophet who anointed David as the second king of Israel and the ONLY Ideal King over all Israel.

It is ironic that the story of the monarchy of Kings David & Saul began with story of a woman. Of course this is not just any woman. Her name was Hannah, which means “Gift” or “Grace.” Therefore, we can say that the nation of Israel began in Grace…God’s people are always born of grace.

The Grace that Hannah reminds us of is that in the midst of our barren days, we can know that our trust & God’s faithfulness brings new life our God turns barrenness into birth.

In the world in which Hannah lived, it was acceptable for a man to take more than one wife. For example, if a man’s first wife could not have children, then it was OK to take a second wife.

People understood that children are security for the future. If a man could not have children, then there would be no one to carry on his family name…And from a practical point of view, there would be no one to take care of him in his old age. Therefore, I believe that Elkanah married Hannah for love and Peninnah for children.

This made Hannah the favorite wife, but that wasn’t enough for Hannah. She was just like many of us…She felt like something was wrong with her…That she wasn’t good enough…Hannah felt inadequate. And going to church didn’t make things any better…In fact, going to church made things worse than staying at home.

The Bible tells us that every year, Elkanah took his two wives and the rest of his family to the religious festival at Shiloh. Hannah dreaded the religious festival every year, because while everyone else was eating, drinking, enjoying fellowship, Hannah felt excluded…inadequate…no joy in church…

I know that there are some of you who are here this morning just like Hannah. You didn’t want to come, because of the way you feel when you come to church. For some, church is a place of guilt, not of grace; but it does not have to be that way…It shouldn’t be that way at all.

The prayer that we read this morning in 1 Samuel 2, is not the first time that Hannah prayed. In fact prayer is exactly what Hannah did while everyone else was celebrating at the Shiloh festival and worshipping God…She went into a private place and cried out to God for help…
Hannah demonstrates for us that there are basically two ways we can pray…Help me, Help me, Help me…and…Thank you, Thank you, Thank you…


II. Help Me, Help Me, Help Me.

Hannah’s feelings of inadequacy stemmed from the fact that she could not have children. This caused her to think other women were somehow better than she, and it led her husband to take a second wife. But, when Hannah felt inadequate, she took her inadequacy to God.

This was the smartest thing Hannah ever did, because God answered her prayers…Can you imagine what would happen if we did the same thing?

We will have a breakthrough in our faith as soon as we realize that God can handle our anger, frustration, fear, doubt. The truth is He already knows them…And he is waiting for us to let Him set us free.

The cry “Help me, Help me, Help me” is an invitation in the midst of trouble for God to be faithful…

It is a shift in our focus. No longer satisfied to focus on our own insufficiencies, but to remember the words of Christ who said, “My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.”

“Help me, Help me, Help me” is a hopeful prayer…To place all our hope in God…Not in ourselves…

But there is another prayer we must pray…


III. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah taught us to pray, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” This is a prayer not only for the hopeful, but for the grateful. I also believe it is a prayer of mature faith…As we grow in faith, our prayers change from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” (Of course, we will always pray for God's help. Maturity comes as we learn to say "Thank you" to God, giving him the credit for what he has done in our lives.)

Notice how Hannah expressed her gratitude… My Heart Rejoices…My Mouth Boasts…There is a natural connection between what is inside the heart and what comes out of the mouth…I suggest there is a progression…The gratitude that we feel in our hearts ought to always come out in our words and our actions…

Hannah prayed to God for a child, and God answered her prayer when Samuel was born. Then Hannah did the strangest thing. She demonstrated her gratitude to God by giving Samuel back to God. Sometimes I think we lose sight of just how big a deal this was. In giving Samuel to God, she gave up her own security in old age. This was an act of trust declaring that God, not her child was her source of security.

And this is how Hannah’s prayer changed from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you”…By trusting in God’s Faithfulness, not her own.


IV. Conclusion.

When Hannah was desperate, she prayed the most honest prayer: Help me, Help me, Help me. Then, she responded by giving God her life and actions as a mirror of her prayers: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you… This is what makes Hannah a model for all mothers, fathers and disciples…

The truth about the book of 1 Samuel is that this is not a story about Hannah so much as it is the story about David, the greatest King of all Israel. But there was something else we have learned about David. He was not just a good King. David was a disciple who demonstrated a “Passionate Spirituality.” In fact, 75 of 150 Psalms have been attributed to David. Some of the most beautiful and passionate prayers ever written came from his lips: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…Create in me a clean heart O God…

I can’t help but think that David learned a lot about prayer from his pastor, a man named Samuel. And just where do you think Samuel learned how to pray? Samuel learned to pray with his whole heart from his Spiritual Mother, his birth mother—Hannah. We can learn from her, too.