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Happy Mother's Day! All the mothers

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And for those mothers who are on the couch drinking coffee watching live stream, we're

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glad you're joining us too. Amen.

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Well, it is a good day to be in the house and, and I'm glad

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that you're here. Before I get going on

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Tuesday, on Tuesday we have something going on here that we have on the second

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Tuesday of every month and that is the Business Collective

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and if you are a business owner, manager, entrepreneur,

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aspiring business leader,

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we invite you to come. Josh McLeod and Justin Beshearce lead that time together.

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08:00 here at Spring House, there's a breakfast provided for you,

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and, I've always left just enriched and

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blessed, and you will be too. So I encourage you to be a part of

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that if that's something you have capacity for.

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We're continuing our story, our series rather, on the Greatest

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Stories Ever Told. And, today we're going to talk about a character

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in scripture that you all read about this week. If you're following our, our, our

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reading plan, we're going to be talking about, a lady

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named Hannah. Now not that Hannah. That is is that a Hannah out

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there? I can't see. Yeah, that's Hannah. Not that Hannah, but Hannah in the

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Bible. And, the Bible actually mentions

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several moms in scripture. And though in

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scripture moms don't they're not illuminated, we don't have,

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you know, expansive stories on on a lot of on a lot of the

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moms, they are mentioned here in in scripture. Let me just

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mention a few of them. Eve, the mother of the

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living, Adam and Eve. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Rebecca,

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the mother of Jacob and Esau. Leah and Rachel were mothers of

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the tribes of Israel. Jochebed was, Moses'

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mother. Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon. Elizabeth was

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the mother of John the Baptist, and of course Mary was the the mother

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of of Jesus. There are mentions of mothers in

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Scripture, you know, but they're not their stories may not be as illuminated,

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but their stories are very connected and very powerful. And I

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would probably venture to think that

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in this house with this many people there's probably some mothers here

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who your story is not very illuminated but your story is very connected

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and it's very powerful. It's very powerful.

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Mothers, mothers are I think probably the some of the

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strongest warriors of our time, mothers. Taking great

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care, you know I was I was listening to the skit during the

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first gathering or whatnot and I said man, those are actually some puny

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things. See, my brother and I, we fought when we were children.

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You know, it started with knives and, and it ended with hopefully

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not death and it didn't. We're still here, you know, but, may it be a

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crashing into a wall or a lance broken or whatever it is, we were

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brutal with one another. And my mom still

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let us live in the house and still took care of us and

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and, and still loved us through it all. But I'm

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gonna read the story of Hannah, to you and then we're

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gonna read, a portion of the response Hannah had

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in her worship to the Lord, after after the story.

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So let's listen to the story. There once was a man who lived

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in, Ramathaim. His name was Elkanah

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Elkanah and he had two wives. His first was Hannah, the second was,

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Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, Hannah did not. Every

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year Elkanah went to his hometown up to Shiloh

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to worship and offer sacrifice to God. Eli and his two sons

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served as priests of the of God there. When Elkanah

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sacrificed, he passed helpings from the sacrificial mill around

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to his wife, Peninnah, and all her children, but he

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always gave an especially generous helping to Hannah because he

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loved her so much and because God had not given her any children.

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But her rival wife taunted her cruelly rubbing it

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in and never letting her forget that God had never given her

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children. This went on year after year. Every time she went

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to the sanctuary of God she could expect to be taunted, Hannah was

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reduced to tears and had no appetite. Her husband

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Elkanah said, oh Hannah why are you crying?

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Why aren't you eating and why are you so upset?

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Am I not worth more to you than 10 sons? So

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Hannah ate, she pulled herself together, slipped away quietly and

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entered the sanctuary. The priest Eli was on duty at the entrance of

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God's temple and the customary seat. Crushed in soul,

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Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried inconsolably. She

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made this vow, Oh God, if you'll take a

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good hard look at my pain, if you'll quit neglecting me

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and go into action for me by giving me a son, I'll

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give him completely unreservedly to you. I'll

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set him apart for a life of holy discipline. It so happened

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that she continued in prayer before God. Eli was watching

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her closely while she prayed. Hannah was praying in her heart

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silently. Her lips moved but no sound was heard. Eli jumped to the

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conclusion that she was drunk. He approached her and said, you're

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drunk. How long do you plan to keep this up? Sober up,

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woman. Hannah said, oh no sir, please.

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I'm a woman who is brokenhearted. I haven't been

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drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer has entered my my

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mouth. The only thing is that I'm pouring out my heart, pouring it out to

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God. Don't think for a minute that I'm a bad woman.

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It's because I'm so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I've

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stayed here so long. Eli answered her, go in peace and may

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the God of Israel give you what you have asked of him. God

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began making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had

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asked and before the year was out Hannah had conceived and given birth to a

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son. She named him Samuel explaining, I

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asked God for him. When Elkanah next took

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his family on their annual trip to Shiloh to worship God

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offering sacrifices and keeping his vow, Hannah didn't

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go. She told her husband after the child is

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weaned I'll bring him myself and present him before

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God and that's where he'll stay for good. Elkanah said to

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his wife, yes. Let God complete what he has begun.

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So she did. She stayed home and nursed her son until she had weaned

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him. She took him up to Shiloh bringing also makings of a generous

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meal, a prized bull, flour, and wine. They first butchered

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the bull, then they brought the child to Eli. Hannah said,

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excuse me sir, would you believe that I am the very

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woman who was standing before you on this very spot praying to

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God? I prayed for this child and God gave me what I

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asked for and now I have dedicated him to God. He is

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dedicated to God for life. Then and there,

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they worshiped God. And in Hannah's worship, she said this. Would

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you stand with me and read from first Samuel chapter two.

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My heart rejoices in the Lord. In the

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Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth

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boasts over my enemies for I delight in your

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deliverance. There is no one holy like

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the Lord. There is not one besides you.

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There is no rock like our God. Father, I thank you that that is

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true. I thank you that you are holy, that you are

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sovereign, that you are true, and that your promises are yes

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and amen. I pray Lord that you would pierce our hearts with your words today

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and transform us for eternity. In Jesus' name, and everyone said?

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Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Well it is Mother's Day as we've mentioned

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multiple times and you obviously know, that is today, but

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before we get into celebrating Mother's Day and we are gonna draw from Hannah's

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story and I'm gonna speak to the mothers. I want to say two things. The

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first thing is is if you're a dude I don't want you to check out

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today because while I'm speaking in context to mothers,

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God has something he wants to speak to you as well. Secondly

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secondly, I understand that, that

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today isn't always easy for every person. I want to take a

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moment to honor those, those for whom this day may feel a

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bit complicated. To the women who have longed to hold a child

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and are still waiting. To the women who have walked a painful

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road of loss, to the women who have prayed,

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hoped, and maybe even grieved in silence, to the women who have nurtured

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others as mentors, aunts, teachers, and spiritual mothers,

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I want you to know this morning that you are seen.

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That you are seen, that you are deeply valued, and that you

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matter. We look at Hannah's story and we see a

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woman who did not know how her story

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was going to end. See, we have the privilege when we read scripture to know

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how the stories end. Hannah did not know that God was

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going to provide a son, she didn't know the end of the story. She was

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not holding a child when she came to the temple. She was

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holding a desire, she was holding disappointment, she

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was holding devotion all at once. And what changed

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her wasn't the moment that she got what she wanted,

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It was the moment she poured out her soul to God and said, Lord if

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you will remember me I'll give it all back to you.

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So today even before we talk about the gift of motherhood we begin

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by celebrating the power of surrender.

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The power of surrender because whether you're a mom,

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longing to be a mom, or carrying a different type of

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hope, God sees your heart and he treasures your offering

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of worship, every one of you. I don't presume to have the authority

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or understanding on what it is to be a mother because I've never been one

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and I don't plan to be one anytime soon.

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But I've been surrounded by mothers all my life,

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lots of mothers, good mothers. And my

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my natural, my biological mother has really put up with a

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lot when it came to to me and being her son. You

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know, as a boy, you know, I would run into her workplace, next to

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her friends and I would just speak my mind such as, you sure are

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wearing too much makeup. Or maybe I would see a slightly

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obese friend of hers and say, when is that baby due? Right in front of

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her. And she would be so embarrassed

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by the things that would come out of my mouth. We would be running

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around the thrift store pulling down clothes off of the racks as we played hide

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and seek and knocking into people. We often fought over who had the

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most Doritos in the bowls that we were given. We fought, we

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fought, we fought, we cried, we needed, we wanted, and mom,

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mom was always there. Mom was always there. I believe

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that mothers are modern day heroes in my

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book. They are warriors. And while we all tend to

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go to the greeting card section of Target and Walmart and

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Walgreens or wherever you get your greeting cards and you look for a sentimental

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card to convey your appreciation and many of times you're looking

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for a card that says thank you. After I review my life and

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think what I put my mom through, I can't help to succumb to say anything

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else to you mom except for I am sorry. I am

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so, I am so sorry. You know, it's fun

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raising kids. I have four daughters and I watch my wife be a

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real incredible mother as well. And the

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number one word that's used in our house is mama,

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Mama! Because none of my kids nor myself can

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ever find anything, even though it's laying right next to us. When we need something

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we call mama and she just mysteriously finds it every

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single time. Maybe that's your story in your house.

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Maybe that's your story. Moms hold things together. They

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are like glue. And, and

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we so appreciate our our moms. When I, when I was,

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younger, I worked at a place called Chick fil A. Am I like Chick fil

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A? I used to work at Chick fil A, and, I worked there for eight

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years, and there was a single thing I've come to realize that I really

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enjoyed about Chick fil A. It's my favorite thing about, being at Chick

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fil A. And it was this, at 10:00 at night,

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I would walk out of Chick fil A and the dishes were done. The

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counters were wiped. The floors were clean, and I didn't have to

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think about it again until I came back the next day. Can I

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tell you? It's not the same for mothers.

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Mothers think about their children is it am I saying the truth, moms?

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You think about your kids all of the time. It does

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not stop. It does not stop. You don't get to hang it up, you don't

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get to walk away, but mothers think about their kids all of the

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time. It's while the physical umbilical cord has been severed, the emotional,

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spiritual, and mental one is very, very much still intact.

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From rendering food for a hungry hungry

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child, care, clothing, nurturing support, and emotional

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well-being, schooling, provisions, doctor visits,

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answering questions, showing up when

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nobody else will. There's almost very little in

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the vein of appreciation instead a lot of times, mothers, does it

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feel like expectation. An expectation, a

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weight of expectations. Mom, moms I believe are the warriors of

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our day. I have a lot on my plate personally. I've got a lot going

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on in my life, a lot of moving parts, but can I tell you I

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think most every mom in this place would run circles around me when it

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came to the things that you carry and the responsibilities

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that you have in being a mom? But even in all of that, something

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happens in moms that I see all

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too often. No matter how incredible, no

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matter how wonderful, no matter how super powerful we think

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they are, many moms when they look in the mirror,

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all they see is one word, failure.

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Failure. And I believe that there are some moms in

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this place today who need to hear, you

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are doing an exceptional job.

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You are doing an exceptional

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job as a mom. One of the hardest

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jobs on the planet. In all of that we're gonna draw

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from Hannah and one of the things that I want mothers

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to understand and for all of us to understand today as we look at Hannah's

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story is this, your identity is not found in what you

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produce. Your identity is not

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found in what you produce and producers you are. From the

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very first breath of your baby you become a producer and you

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do not stop producing, many of you, until either the

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Lord takes you home or them home first. You continue to produce.

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And so this is a real trick of the enemy, moms,

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is that your identity and your value is placed in how well

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you keep up with the kids, how well you keep up the house, how well

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you're taking care of everything and answering everything else. Your identity

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is not taken up in what you produce.

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God never intended it to be that way.

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Elkanah said, why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more

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to you than 10 sons? Hannah lived in a world where

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a woman's worth was measured by her ability to bear children.

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Her rival Penina had many children. Hannah had

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none. And yet Elkanah tries to remind her you are

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loved, you are valued, you are not forgotten.

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And in the same way our identity is not determined by what we

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produce. Children, status, perfection,

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public praise, it is determined by the God who

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created and loves you. It's determined

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by the God who created and loves you. John one says this,

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but to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave

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the right to become children of God.

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Moms in this place, can I tell you that you were a daughter of the

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Most High King before you ever were a mom?

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You're a child of a star breather before you assigned,

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before you received the assignment of of

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mom. You are incredible. Moms,

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you are beautiful and you are seen because he says you

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are. You were a daughter long before you were a mom. Mom

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is a job and a responsibility you carry. It is what you

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do, not who you are.

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Second thing I want to draw from Hannah's story is this,

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God's voice trumps all other voices.

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God's voice trumps all other voices. As Hannah

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prays, Eli accuses her of being drunk.

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Peninnah mocks her year after year, it haunts her, year

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after year she's coming to the temple and she gets mocked. Can I

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just say that's happening in the church?

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That's happening, Eli's a priest. Penina,

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she's going to the temple and the taunting is happening there, the

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discouragement is happening there. Dare I say that

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sometimes moms walk into this place

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looking at everything around them assuming that everyone else has it together

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except for them. Can I tell you that's a lie from the enemy?

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Can I tell you moms, the fact that you got here this

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morning, the fact that you got all of the people put

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together and they're here, even if there's a mustard stain right here or chocolate

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milk, God sees

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you and he sees your sacrifice?

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Have you ever seen this movie? The

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Blind Side? It's a good movie. I

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recommend it. The Blind Side is a great movie.

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Leanne Tuohy, and this is based on a true story,

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takes on Michael Oher, and she wasn't a mother

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by natural means but she sure was a mother

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to that boy. Her identity was not in societal

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roles, but in living a courageous surrender life,

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a life of compassion. And she did not succumb to the

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voices and the naysayers around her.

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Of God at work. Galatians five twenty two says, the fruit of the spirit is

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what? Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

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gentleness, and self control. And guys, can I tell you, I think some

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of the mamas keep their sanity because they are getting before the Lord?

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They're getting before the Lord, and moms, when you get before the Lord, you're

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able to contend with everything that comes your way with love, joy, peace, because it's

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evidence, the fruit of your, of your relationship with the Lord when you're

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getting before Him. And can I tell you, it's so important that

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you do? Because the Lord wants to convey to you important

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truths to your heart about who you are and whose

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you are. Hannah had a very

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had every, right to react in the flesh. Every right to react in the

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flesh, but instead of clapping back at Peninnah or confronting

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Eli, she leaned on the Spirit of God, not her

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emotions. That kind of self control only comes from

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walking closely to God. So God's voice brings

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peace before your circumstances change. So I encourage you, don't let

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the culture, comparison, or even your thoughts be louder than God's voice.

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When you are spirit led, you can walk at in peace

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even in the pleasant presence of pressure. And

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the last point that I wanna draw from Hannah's story is this,

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comparison is the thief of joy.

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Comparison is the thief of joy. Penina had

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children but she did not have peace. Why?

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Because her children became her idol.

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Her children became her idol and might I suggest that sometimes

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some moms might start out as a Hannah but they end up

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becoming a Panina.

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Moms, love your kids

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like this. Because I promise you

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that God God will lead and grow your

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kids better than you can ever do. And if

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you will raise them with a surrendered posture, not

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only will he take care of them, he'll also speak

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and take care of you. He'll fill you up. He'll

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encourage you. He'll speak truths to you that nobody on this

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planet could speak. True things

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that would encourage you and change your life. Even at the temple,

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Panina taunted Hannah. She wasn't there to worship. She was

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there to compare. Comparison poisons

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joy even when you have the thing that someone else

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wants. Philippians two:three says this, do nothing out of

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selfish ambition or vain conceit rather in humility

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value others above yourselves.

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We don't want to be a people who walk in and evaluate our job

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performance based on everybody else and what they're doing. God

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has equipped you for the job and task that you

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have at hand and you're doing a great job. Mothers,

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don't let someone else's Instagram highlight real define your

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value. And when you stop

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comparing you start celebrating your children, your

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story, and your peace, and your peace.

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And who here does not wanna have peace? Who wants to have peace in

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the house? I know I do. All the families. We're gonna do something a little

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different this morning. The worship team could go ahead and make their way back out

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here. I'm gonna give some instruction here over the next few moments.

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And what the Lord placed on my heart for us to do today,

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is I want us to take a moment and speak some

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words of life over the moms in this

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space. Now I want to be careful with my instruction here

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because I really I want something very specific. I feel like the Lord wants to

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do something very specific here. We're not going to tell the

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moms what they have done. Mom, you

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thank you for getting the kids dressed and dishes and all

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these, whatever it is, all the chores, all things. That's not what this time is

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about. This time is about speaking

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words of life over the moms in this place. Words

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that come from the throne room of God. Now how do we access the

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throne room of God? The Holy Spirit. You

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have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, moms let

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me encourage you in something. Some of you live, especially

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with men, live with with some guys who they do not know

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simply how, they just don't know how to

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speak words. May I tell you, a majority of those men, just because

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they don't know how to speak those words, they're inside. They're

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there. But today, I want to kind

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of exercise those who are sons and

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sacrificial. You know, I know my wife, she is literally named three or

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four desires and passions

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entertained, because she knows that her calling right now in this season is to be

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a mom, and there are things inside you that the Lord

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has not forgotten. Just like he didn't forget Hannah, and the desires

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that she has, he's not forgotten you, and so this morning,

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we're just gonna lather you with words of affirmation and

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words of love. So if first of all, if you are a mother, would you

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just stand? I just want to see how many mothers

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we have. If you're a mother, would you stand? Okay. Changed up a little bit

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of how I wanted to do this this morning because the Lord told

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me if I did it my original way, there may get, there may be somebody

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who gets forgotten and that would be a ploy of the enemy. We're not gonna

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let him have foothold. So, if you're a mom in this place and you're able

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and willing, would you make your way down to this

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space?

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Yes.

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Come on, file in, make room. There's plenty of space

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over here.

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I'm a bit overwhelmed. Would you guys stand? Can we

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just, can we just.

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I want to facilitate what we're about to do really well,

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so I am gonna give some very specific instructions, okay?

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You all, and I'm even speaking to some of you because you are, there's some

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daughters here, okay? Daughters of mothers

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that are here. I don't want one mother

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leaving here without a word spoken over her. Mario,

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Jeanie's right back there, you got her. Okay? Not one mother leaves

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here without words spoken over, so this is what we're gonna do. I'm gonna invite

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you in just a second to come to the altar space, and if you are

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connected biologically,

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spiritually, to any of these mothers here,

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I want you to come and I want you to speak direct words of life

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over them. And once you guys, ladies, have had a moment

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and somebody has spoken over you, once that moment has concluded, if

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you'll make your way back, in our time of worship, that will make

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sure that everyone has been seen, because I wanna make sure everybody gets a

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word. We're gonna sing the song The Blessing. Because what I

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want you to understand is that Hannah's obedience

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to rendering Samuel in the temple, set a course of events in motion that led

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to our savior, Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

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Obedience ripples. Your sacrifice ripples,

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well into generations that if the Lord tarries, you won't even see on this side

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of eternity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank

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you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. On this side of eternity. Thank you.

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Thank you for your sacrifice, for your love, for the

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joy you exude, and for being strong enough to show up

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every single time. You are valiant warriors for the

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kingdom. Would you guys come and let's spend some time speaking

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life into these women.

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What would it look like if we spoke words of life over

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our mothers more than just on Mother's Day? Wouldn't that be

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something? Somebody said earlier to me, they were like, well I was trying to think

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about what I should do and this morning I I acknowledged, I said, well let

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me give you a secret. Acknowledge mom next week and see what

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happens. Acknowledge mom next month and see what happens.

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Right? And guys, if you're anything like me, for, you know, my life,

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if it's not on the calendar, it doesn't happen, that's a tool. Put it on

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the calendar. Call mom. Encourage mom, you

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know? Some of you need to make phone calls today. Yes?

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Raise your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the

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God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, cover our

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families and homes and thank the Lord for the

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gift of mom. In Jesus name, Amen. Be blessed Spring

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House.