Happy Mother's Day! All the mothers
And for those mothers who are on the couch drinking coffee watching live stream, we're
glad you're joining us too. Amen.
Well, it is a good day to be in the house and, and I'm glad
that you're here. Before I get going on
Tuesday, on Tuesday we have something going on here that we have on the second
Tuesday of every month and that is the Business Collective
and if you are a business owner, manager, entrepreneur,
aspiring business leader,
we invite you to come. Josh McLeod and Justin Beshearce lead that time together.
08:00 here at Spring House, there's a breakfast provided for you,
and, I've always left just enriched and
blessed, and you will be too. So I encourage you to be a part of
that if that's something you have capacity for.
We're continuing our story, our series rather, on the Greatest
Stories Ever Told. And, today we're going to talk about a character
in scripture that you all read about this week. If you're following our, our, our
reading plan, we're going to be talking about, a lady
named Hannah. Now not that Hannah. That is is that a Hannah out
there? I can't see. Yeah, that's Hannah. Not that Hannah, but Hannah in the
Bible. And, the Bible actually mentions
several moms in scripture. And though in
scripture moms don't they're not illuminated, we don't have,
you know, expansive stories on on a lot of on a lot of the
moms, they are mentioned here in in scripture. Let me just
mention a few of them. Eve, the mother of the
living, Adam and Eve. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Rebecca,
the mother of Jacob and Esau. Leah and Rachel were mothers of
the tribes of Israel. Jochebed was, Moses'
mother. Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon. Elizabeth was
the mother of John the Baptist, and of course Mary was the the mother
of of Jesus. There are mentions of mothers in
Scripture, you know, but they're not their stories may not be as illuminated,
but their stories are very connected and very powerful. And I
would probably venture to think that
in this house with this many people there's probably some mothers here
who your story is not very illuminated but your story is very connected
and it's very powerful. It's very powerful.
Mothers, mothers are I think probably the some of the
strongest warriors of our time, mothers. Taking great
care, you know I was I was listening to the skit during the
first gathering or whatnot and I said man, those are actually some puny
things. See, my brother and I, we fought when we were children.
You know, it started with knives and, and it ended with hopefully
not death and it didn't. We're still here, you know, but, may it be a
crashing into a wall or a lance broken or whatever it is, we were
brutal with one another. And my mom still
let us live in the house and still took care of us and
and, and still loved us through it all. But I'm
gonna read the story of Hannah, to you and then we're
gonna read, a portion of the response Hannah had
in her worship to the Lord, after after the story.
So let's listen to the story. There once was a man who lived
in, Ramathaim. His name was Elkanah
Elkanah and he had two wives. His first was Hannah, the second was,
Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, Hannah did not. Every
year Elkanah went to his hometown up to Shiloh
to worship and offer sacrifice to God. Eli and his two sons
served as priests of the of God there. When Elkanah
sacrificed, he passed helpings from the sacrificial mill around
to his wife, Peninnah, and all her children, but he
always gave an especially generous helping to Hannah because he
loved her so much and because God had not given her any children.
But her rival wife taunted her cruelly rubbing it
in and never letting her forget that God had never given her
children. This went on year after year. Every time she went
to the sanctuary of God she could expect to be taunted, Hannah was
reduced to tears and had no appetite. Her husband
Elkanah said, oh Hannah why are you crying?
Why aren't you eating and why are you so upset?
Am I not worth more to you than 10 sons? So
Hannah ate, she pulled herself together, slipped away quietly and
entered the sanctuary. The priest Eli was on duty at the entrance of
God's temple and the customary seat. Crushed in soul,
Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried inconsolably. She
made this vow, Oh God, if you'll take a
good hard look at my pain, if you'll quit neglecting me
and go into action for me by giving me a son, I'll
give him completely unreservedly to you. I'll
set him apart for a life of holy discipline. It so happened
that she continued in prayer before God. Eli was watching
her closely while she prayed. Hannah was praying in her heart
silently. Her lips moved but no sound was heard. Eli jumped to the
conclusion that she was drunk. He approached her and said, you're
drunk. How long do you plan to keep this up? Sober up,
woman. Hannah said, oh no sir, please.
I'm a woman who is brokenhearted. I haven't been
drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer has entered my my
mouth. The only thing is that I'm pouring out my heart, pouring it out to
God. Don't think for a minute that I'm a bad woman.
It's because I'm so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I've
stayed here so long. Eli answered her, go in peace and may
the God of Israel give you what you have asked of him. God
began making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had
asked and before the year was out Hannah had conceived and given birth to a
son. She named him Samuel explaining, I
asked God for him. When Elkanah next took
his family on their annual trip to Shiloh to worship God
offering sacrifices and keeping his vow, Hannah didn't
go. She told her husband after the child is
weaned I'll bring him myself and present him before
God and that's where he'll stay for good. Elkanah said to
his wife, yes. Let God complete what he has begun.
So she did. She stayed home and nursed her son until she had weaned
him. She took him up to Shiloh bringing also makings of a generous
meal, a prized bull, flour, and wine. They first butchered
the bull, then they brought the child to Eli. Hannah said,
excuse me sir, would you believe that I am the very
woman who was standing before you on this very spot praying to
God? I prayed for this child and God gave me what I
asked for and now I have dedicated him to God. He is
dedicated to God for life. Then and there,
they worshiped God. And in Hannah's worship, she said this. Would
you stand with me and read from first Samuel chapter two.
My heart rejoices in the Lord. In the
Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth
boasts over my enemies for I delight in your
deliverance. There is no one holy like
the Lord. There is not one besides you.
There is no rock like our God. Father, I thank you that that is
true. I thank you that you are holy, that you are
sovereign, that you are true, and that your promises are yes
and amen. I pray Lord that you would pierce our hearts with your words today
and transform us for eternity. In Jesus' name, and everyone said?
Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Well it is Mother's Day as we've mentioned
multiple times and you obviously know, that is today, but
before we get into celebrating Mother's Day and we are gonna draw from Hannah's
story and I'm gonna speak to the mothers. I want to say two things. The
first thing is is if you're a dude I don't want you to check out
today because while I'm speaking in context to mothers,
God has something he wants to speak to you as well. Secondly
secondly, I understand that, that
today isn't always easy for every person. I want to take a
moment to honor those, those for whom this day may feel a
bit complicated. To the women who have longed to hold a child
and are still waiting. To the women who have walked a painful
road of loss, to the women who have prayed,
hoped, and maybe even grieved in silence, to the women who have nurtured
others as mentors, aunts, teachers, and spiritual mothers,
I want you to know this morning that you are seen.
That you are seen, that you are deeply valued, and that you
matter. We look at Hannah's story and we see a
woman who did not know how her story
was going to end. See, we have the privilege when we read scripture to know
how the stories end. Hannah did not know that God was
going to provide a son, she didn't know the end of the story. She was
not holding a child when she came to the temple. She was
holding a desire, she was holding disappointment, she
was holding devotion all at once. And what changed
her wasn't the moment that she got what she wanted,
It was the moment she poured out her soul to God and said, Lord if
you will remember me I'll give it all back to you.
So today even before we talk about the gift of motherhood we begin
by celebrating the power of surrender.
The power of surrender because whether you're a mom,
longing to be a mom, or carrying a different type of
hope, God sees your heart and he treasures your offering
of worship, every one of you. I don't presume to have the authority
or understanding on what it is to be a mother because I've never been one
and I don't plan to be one anytime soon.
But I've been surrounded by mothers all my life,
lots of mothers, good mothers. And my
my natural, my biological mother has really put up with a
lot when it came to to me and being her son. You
know, as a boy, you know, I would run into her workplace, next to
her friends and I would just speak my mind such as, you sure are
wearing too much makeup. Or maybe I would see a slightly
obese friend of hers and say, when is that baby due? Right in front of
her. And she would be so embarrassed
by the things that would come out of my mouth. We would be running
around the thrift store pulling down clothes off of the racks as we played hide
and seek and knocking into people. We often fought over who had the
most Doritos in the bowls that we were given. We fought, we
fought, we fought, we cried, we needed, we wanted, and mom,
mom was always there. Mom was always there. I believe
that mothers are modern day heroes in my
book. They are warriors. And while we all tend to
go to the greeting card section of Target and Walmart and
Walgreens or wherever you get your greeting cards and you look for a sentimental
card to convey your appreciation and many of times you're looking
for a card that says thank you. After I review my life and
think what I put my mom through, I can't help to succumb to say anything
else to you mom except for I am sorry. I am
so, I am so sorry. You know, it's fun
raising kids. I have four daughters and I watch my wife be a
real incredible mother as well. And the
number one word that's used in our house is mama,
Mama! Because none of my kids nor myself can
ever find anything, even though it's laying right next to us. When we need something
we call mama and she just mysteriously finds it every
single time. Maybe that's your story in your house.
Maybe that's your story. Moms hold things together. They
are like glue. And, and
we so appreciate our our moms. When I, when I was,
younger, I worked at a place called Chick fil A. Am I like Chick fil
A? I used to work at Chick fil A, and, I worked there for eight
years, and there was a single thing I've come to realize that I really
enjoyed about Chick fil A. It's my favorite thing about, being at Chick
fil A. And it was this, at 10:00 at night,
I would walk out of Chick fil A and the dishes were done. The
counters were wiped. The floors were clean, and I didn't have to
think about it again until I came back the next day. Can I
tell you? It's not the same for mothers.
Mothers think about their children is it am I saying the truth, moms?
You think about your kids all of the time. It does
not stop. It does not stop. You don't get to hang it up, you don't
get to walk away, but mothers think about their kids all of the
time. It's while the physical umbilical cord has been severed, the emotional,
spiritual, and mental one is very, very much still intact.
From rendering food for a hungry hungry
child, care, clothing, nurturing support, and emotional
well-being, schooling, provisions, doctor visits,
answering questions, showing up when
nobody else will. There's almost very little in
the vein of appreciation instead a lot of times, mothers, does it
feel like expectation. An expectation, a
weight of expectations. Mom, moms I believe are the warriors of
our day. I have a lot on my plate personally. I've got a lot going
on in my life, a lot of moving parts, but can I tell you I
think most every mom in this place would run circles around me when it
came to the things that you carry and the responsibilities
that you have in being a mom? But even in all of that, something
happens in moms that I see all
too often. No matter how incredible, no
matter how wonderful, no matter how super powerful we think
they are, many moms when they look in the mirror,
all they see is one word, failure.
Failure. And I believe that there are some moms in
this place today who need to hear, you
are doing an exceptional job.
You are doing an exceptional
job as a mom. One of the hardest
jobs on the planet. In all of that we're gonna draw
from Hannah and one of the things that I want mothers
to understand and for all of us to understand today as we look at Hannah's
story is this, your identity is not found in what you
produce. Your identity is not
found in what you produce and producers you are. From the
very first breath of your baby you become a producer and you
do not stop producing, many of you, until either the
Lord takes you home or them home first. You continue to produce.
And so this is a real trick of the enemy, moms,
is that your identity and your value is placed in how well
you keep up with the kids, how well you keep up the house, how well
you're taking care of everything and answering everything else. Your identity
is not taken up in what you produce.
God never intended it to be that way.
Elkanah said, why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more
to you than 10 sons? Hannah lived in a world where
a woman's worth was measured by her ability to bear children.
Her rival Penina had many children. Hannah had
none. And yet Elkanah tries to remind her you are
loved, you are valued, you are not forgotten.
And in the same way our identity is not determined by what we
produce. Children, status, perfection,
public praise, it is determined by the God who
created and loves you. It's determined
by the God who created and loves you. John one says this,
but to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God.
Moms in this place, can I tell you that you were a daughter of the
Most High King before you ever were a mom?
You're a child of a star breather before you assigned,
before you received the assignment of of
mom. You are incredible. Moms,
you are beautiful and you are seen because he says you
are. You were a daughter long before you were a mom. Mom
is a job and a responsibility you carry. It is what you
do, not who you are.
Second thing I want to draw from Hannah's story is this,
God's voice trumps all other voices.
God's voice trumps all other voices. As Hannah
prays, Eli accuses her of being drunk.
Peninnah mocks her year after year, it haunts her, year
after year she's coming to the temple and she gets mocked. Can I
just say that's happening in the church?
That's happening, Eli's a priest. Penina,
she's going to the temple and the taunting is happening there, the
discouragement is happening there. Dare I say that
sometimes moms walk into this place
looking at everything around them assuming that everyone else has it together
except for them. Can I tell you that's a lie from the enemy?
Can I tell you moms, the fact that you got here this
morning, the fact that you got all of the people put
together and they're here, even if there's a mustard stain right here or chocolate
milk, God sees
you and he sees your sacrifice?
Have you ever seen this movie? The
Blind Side? It's a good movie. I
recommend it. The Blind Side is a great movie.
Leanne Tuohy, and this is based on a true story,
takes on Michael Oher, and she wasn't a mother
by natural means but she sure was a mother
to that boy. Her identity was not in societal
roles, but in living a courageous surrender life,
a life of compassion. And she did not succumb to the
voices and the naysayers around her.
Of God at work. Galatians five twenty two says, the fruit of the spirit is
what? Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self control. And guys, can I tell you, I think some
of the mamas keep their sanity because they are getting before the Lord?
They're getting before the Lord, and moms, when you get before the Lord, you're
able to contend with everything that comes your way with love, joy, peace, because it's
evidence, the fruit of your, of your relationship with the Lord when you're
getting before Him. And can I tell you, it's so important that
you do? Because the Lord wants to convey to you important
truths to your heart about who you are and whose
you are. Hannah had a very
had every, right to react in the flesh. Every right to react in the
flesh, but instead of clapping back at Peninnah or confronting
Eli, she leaned on the Spirit of God, not her
emotions. That kind of self control only comes from
walking closely to God. So God's voice brings
peace before your circumstances change. So I encourage you, don't let
the culture, comparison, or even your thoughts be louder than God's voice.
When you are spirit led, you can walk at in peace
even in the pleasant presence of pressure. And
the last point that I wanna draw from Hannah's story is this,
comparison is the thief of joy.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Penina had
children but she did not have peace. Why?
Because her children became her idol.
Her children became her idol and might I suggest that sometimes
some moms might start out as a Hannah but they end up
becoming a Panina.
Moms, love your kids
like this. Because I promise you
that God God will lead and grow your
kids better than you can ever do. And if
you will raise them with a surrendered posture, not
only will he take care of them, he'll also speak
and take care of you. He'll fill you up. He'll
encourage you. He'll speak truths to you that nobody on this
planet could speak. True things
that would encourage you and change your life. Even at the temple,
Panina taunted Hannah. She wasn't there to worship. She was
there to compare. Comparison poisons
joy even when you have the thing that someone else
wants. Philippians two:three says this, do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit rather in humility
value others above yourselves.
We don't want to be a people who walk in and evaluate our job
performance based on everybody else and what they're doing. God
has equipped you for the job and task that you
have at hand and you're doing a great job. Mothers,
don't let someone else's Instagram highlight real define your
value. And when you stop
comparing you start celebrating your children, your
story, and your peace, and your peace.
And who here does not wanna have peace? Who wants to have peace in
the house? I know I do. All the families. We're gonna do something a little
different this morning. The worship team could go ahead and make their way back out
here. I'm gonna give some instruction here over the next few moments.
And what the Lord placed on my heart for us to do today,
is I want us to take a moment and speak some
words of life over the moms in this
space. Now I want to be careful with my instruction here
because I really I want something very specific. I feel like the Lord wants to
do something very specific here. We're not going to tell the
moms what they have done. Mom, you
thank you for getting the kids dressed and dishes and all
these, whatever it is, all the chores, all things. That's not what this time is
about. This time is about speaking
words of life over the moms in this place. Words
that come from the throne room of God. Now how do we access the
throne room of God? The Holy Spirit. You
have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, moms let
me encourage you in something. Some of you live, especially
with men, live with with some guys who they do not know
simply how, they just don't know how to
speak words. May I tell you, a majority of those men, just because
they don't know how to speak those words, they're inside. They're
there. But today, I want to kind
of exercise those who are sons and
sacrificial. You know, I know my wife, she is literally named three or
four desires and passions
entertained, because she knows that her calling right now in this season is to be
a mom, and there are things inside you that the Lord
has not forgotten. Just like he didn't forget Hannah, and the desires
that she has, he's not forgotten you, and so this morning,
we're just gonna lather you with words of affirmation and
words of love. So if first of all, if you are a mother, would you
just stand? I just want to see how many mothers
we have. If you're a mother, would you stand? Okay. Changed up a little bit
of how I wanted to do this this morning because the Lord told
me if I did it my original way, there may get, there may be somebody
who gets forgotten and that would be a ploy of the enemy. We're not gonna
let him have foothold. So, if you're a mom in this place and you're able
and willing, would you make your way down to this
space?
Yes.
Come on, file in, make room. There's plenty of space
over here.
I'm a bit overwhelmed. Would you guys stand? Can we
just, can we just.
I want to facilitate what we're about to do really well,
so I am gonna give some very specific instructions, okay?
You all, and I'm even speaking to some of you because you are, there's some
daughters here, okay? Daughters of mothers
that are here. I don't want one mother
leaving here without a word spoken over her. Mario,
Jeanie's right back there, you got her. Okay? Not one mother leaves
here without words spoken over, so this is what we're gonna do. I'm gonna invite
you in just a second to come to the altar space, and if you are
connected biologically,
spiritually, to any of these mothers here,
I want you to come and I want you to speak direct words of life
over them. And once you guys, ladies, have had a moment
and somebody has spoken over you, once that moment has concluded, if
you'll make your way back, in our time of worship, that will make
sure that everyone has been seen, because I wanna make sure everybody gets a
word. We're gonna sing the song The Blessing. Because what I
want you to understand is that Hannah's obedience
to rendering Samuel in the temple, set a course of events in motion that led
to our savior, Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Obedience ripples. Your sacrifice ripples,
well into generations that if the Lord tarries, you won't even see on this side
of eternity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. On this side of eternity. Thank you.
Thank you for your sacrifice, for your love, for the
joy you exude, and for being strong enough to show up
every single time. You are valiant warriors for the
kingdom. Would you guys come and let's spend some time speaking
life into these women.
What would it look like if we spoke words of life over
our mothers more than just on Mother's Day? Wouldn't that be
something? Somebody said earlier to me, they were like, well I was trying to think
about what I should do and this morning I I acknowledged, I said, well let
me give you a secret. Acknowledge mom next week and see what
happens. Acknowledge mom next month and see what happens.
Right? And guys, if you're anything like me, for, you know, my life,
if it's not on the calendar, it doesn't happen, that's a tool. Put it on
the calendar. Call mom. Encourage mom, you
know? Some of you need to make phone calls today. Yes?
Raise your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, cover our
families and homes and thank the Lord for the
gift of mom. In Jesus name, Amen. Be blessed Spring
House.