3 Gifts Every Mother Needs - Christian Hope Church Home

Message for THE LORD’S DAY MORNING, May 13, 2012 (A MOTHER’S DAY MESSAGE)Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolinaby Reggie A. Braziel, Minister3 Gifts Every Mother NeedsPROVERBS 31: 10-31 (NKJV)Since today is Mother’s Day, we are going to set aside our series fromDaniel until next Lord’s Day, Lord willing.Please turn with me in your Bibles to perhaps the most commonlyused scripture for Mother’s Day messages……..Proverbs 31.Proverbs 31:10-31 (NKJV) “The Virtuous Wife”10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.13 She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.14 She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.15 She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household,and a portion for her maidservants.16 She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.17 She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.20 She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed withscarlet.22 She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants.25 Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.27 She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, sheshall be praised.31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.P R A Y E R******************************************************************************************I N T R O D U C T I O NFor many of you this is a joyous day. A day when you get pampereda little bit...........A day for you to enjoy a few brief moments in thespotlight...........A day to get nice gifts, and sentimental cards, anda nice meal in a restaurant....... A day-off from household chores.But for others of you, this is a difficult day. And I have been told bymany mothers over the years that being in a Church service on Mother’sDay seems to accentuate some very painful emotions.-This is difficult day for women who have prayed a thousandprayers and cried a thousand tears, but still do not have a child.-This is a difficult day for mothers who have lost children, andfor children who have lost their mothers.-This is a difficult day for Christian women who may have chosento end a pregnancy years ago and are still haunted by the guiltof that decision.-Still for others, this is a difficult day, because sermons about mothersonly seem to highlight your feelings of inadequacy and sense of failure.

In her book, The Proverbs 31 Lady and Other Impossible Dreams,Marsha Drake writes:Proverbs 31 has been both a marvelous model for the Christianwife and the cause of more guilt for her than anything else.When those verses become the pattern for a do-it-yourselfproject.........frustration, guilt and disillusionment can onlyresult. But when seen as what the Holy Spirit can do inthe life of a godly woman, those same verses are winsomeand hope-filled.Most of the time when we preachers use this passage as thetext for a MOTHER’S DAY SERMON........we focus on all the noble virtuesof this wonderful lady of the scriptures.But this morning, I want to approach this passage from adifferent angle.......an angle I believe will be a source of realencouragement to all you mothers.Amid all the VIRTUES of this woman, we also see 3 THINGSEVERY MOTHER NEEDS.---------------------First of all................I. EVERY MOTHER NEEDS THE GIFT OF APPRECIATIONverse 28 aHer children rise up and call her blessed1. This woman’s children were so appreciative of the thingstheir mother had done for them, they actually ROSE orSTOOD IN RESPECT when she entered the room andverbally “showered her” with words of appreciation!!!2. No Gift is more precious to a mother than appreciativewords from her children.

A mother works tirelessly. A mother makes many sacrifices.A mother endures many heartaches. And just to hear aword of appreciation now and then from her childrenis like breathing life-giving oxygen into a mother’s spirit.ILLUSTRATIONA second grade teacher had just completed her Science Lesson onMAGNETS. The following day the teacher gave her class a little quiz.The teacher wrote three clues on the black board, and the studentswere to write their answer on their paper. The three clues werethese………..-My full name has SIX LETTERS.-The first letter of my name is the letter “M”-I pick up things.What Am I?The Teacher was astonished to find that almost 50%of her students answered that question with theword “M-O-T-H-E-R.”3. You Know on Mother’s Day we may give our mothers............-A New toaster-A New blender-A New set of dishes-A New dress-A New pair of shoes-Or a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or favorite store.We give our Mothers ALL KINDS OF GIFTS..........whenthe greatest gift any of us can give our MOTHER is theGIFT OF APPRECIATION.Now don’t go looking for the SALES RECEIPTS andBOXING UP those gifts you got her just yet.....................MOM will take those too............But that gift ofgenuine, heartfelt appreciation is the one that willmean the most to her.4. ILLUSTRATION: The great evangelist G. Campbell Morgan

and his wife had four sons, all of whom became preachers.One day a family friend walked into the DEN of their homewhere all the Morgan Family was gathered. The guestthought he would see what Howard, the oldest son, wasreally made of.The guest asked, “Howard, who is the greatest preacherin your family?” Howard had a tremendous admirationfor his father, but without hesitation, he said, “thegreatest preacher in this family is my mother.”5. EVERY MOTHER NEEDS THE GIFT OF APPRECIATION!-------------------------------------Secondly.................II. EVERY MOTHER NEEDS THE GIFT OF AFFIRMATION(v. 28 a, b)verse 28 a , b Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also,and he praises her:1. Have you ever noticed in the New Testament how womenwere especially attracted to Jesus? They were the firstat the cradle and the last at the cross.They were not drawn to Jesus for any lewd, lustful reasons......women were drawn to Jesus because he AFFIRMEDTHEM!-JESUS never got around a group of guys and bashed women.-JESUS never “cracked jokes” about a woman’s weight, or herbig hips, or the way she fixed her hair.-JESUS never be-littled a woman for her “Mood Swings” or her suddenoutburst of tears.-JESUS never called a woman the “B” word.-JESUS never treated a woman as an OBJECT or “a piece of meat.”

-JESUS never gave the slightest hint of “Male Superiority” overa woman.READ EVERY PARABLEREAD EVERY SERMONREAD EVERY TEACHING Jesus gave us about women................and you will discover JESUS treated women withRESPECT..........with DIGNITY........and with HONOR.JESUS KNEW ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS A WOMANHAS IS THE NEED FOR AFFIRMATION.2. MEN.............Do you give your WIFE, the mother ofyour children THE AFFIRMATION she needs? I don’tknow about you, but I have NO respect for a man whobashes and criticizes and belittles his wife......to herface or behind her back.To “Affirm” someone means “To validate them asa person” “to give value to them” “to give them theproper respect and honor that is due them.”3. Studies have shown that one of the biggest reasons whya wife becomes unfaithful to her husband is becauseshe gets THE AFFIRMATION from the other man shedidn’t get from her husband.4. I want you to notice how this husband in Proverbs 31affirmed his wife.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and hepraises her:29 “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”This man affirmed his wife V E R B A L L Y!!!5. You don’t think those words of praise didn’t make thatwoman’s ears perk up!! Those words of praise werelike WATER to a thirsty flower! Those words of praisewere like a “breath of fresh air” after a spring rain.

6. Guys.......You can buy your wife “Material things” til the cowscome home.........But if you want to give hera lasting treasure........GIVE HER THE GIFT OF YOURAFFIRMATION..........Verbally VALIDATE what she meansto you as a wife and as the mother of your children.------------------Thirdly.........III. EVERY MOTHER NEEDS THE GIFT OF ADMIRATION (vs.30,31)30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, sheshall be praised.31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.1. What does a mother get in return for all her labors?*A Mother doesn’t get a paycheck for all she does,after all, who could afford to pay her for all her labor?*A Mother doesn’t get an insurance package forher labor.*A Mother doesn’t get a dental plan.*A Mother doesn’t get mileage re-imbursements.*A Mother doesn’t get paid vacations.*A Mother doesn’t get any kind of retirement benefits.2. The Most Powerful, The Most Influential Woman on theFace of the Earth doesn’t get any of the things other womenget for far less noble labors.

3. Setting aside ONE DAY each year to show ADMIRATIONfor the Most Noble Women on Earth isn’t too much to askis it? But this admiration should not be limited to this oneday. Mothers need ADMIRATION every day!ILLUSTRATIONOnce the New York Times was asked to help a group of CLUBWOMEN decide on the TWELVE GREATEST WOMEN in America.After much consideration, the New York Times printed the followingarticle:The twelve greatest women in America are women whohave never been heard of outside their own homes.Ilion Jones, the writer of the article concluded his articlewith this remark:I ask you, who was greater, Thomas Edison or hismother? When he was a young lad his teacher senthim home from school with a note saying: “Your childis dumb, we can’t do anything for him.” Mrs. Edisonwrote back, “You do not understand my boy. I willteach him myself.” And she did, and the rest is history.------------------------4. EVERY MOTHER NEEDS THE GIFT OF ADMIRATION.......for noone has a greater influence on earth than MOTHERS.CONCLUSIONShortly after she found out she was dying from cancer, Erma Bombeckwrote this memorable piece I would like to share with you ladies in closing.

Its called...............IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVERIf I had my life to live over I would have gone to bed when I was sickinstead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’tthere for the day.I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted instorage.I would have talked less and listened more.I would have invited friends over to dinner, even if the carpet was stainedor the sofa faded.I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good living room” and worriedmuch less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in thefireplace.I would have taken more time to listen to my grandfather ramble about hisyouth.I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer daybecause my hair had just been teased and sprayed.I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.I would have cried and laughed less while watching TV and more whilewatching life.I would never have bought anything just because it waspractical.....wouldn’t show soil......or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I would havecherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing insideme was the only chance in life I had to assist God in a miracle.When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later, nowgo get washed up for dinner.” There would have been more “I LoveYou’s” and more “I’m sorry’s.”But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute......look atit and really see it........live it .....and never give it back.

Mothers, today we present to you……….The Gift of Our AppreciationThe Gift of Our AffirmationThe Gift of Our AdorationMay God’s richest blessings be on each and every one of you!