service notes
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
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Wisdom From A Godly Mother
Sunday, May 17, 2009: By Pastor Hubert Ulysse
Pastor Ulysse started this week’s sermon by distinguishing what a Godly mother is. A mother is simply someone who has a child. A good mother, is a woman who wants what is best for her child. She wants a great future for them, cares about what happens to them, and would gladly give her life for her child. A Godly mother is much more than just a good mother though. She is a woman who not only wants a great future for her child, but wants what God wants for their future. She is a woman who would give her life for her child, but more than that, would allow God to be in charge of her child’s life even if she does not know what the outcome will be.
Exodus 10: 8-11
8. And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: [but] who [are] they that shall go?
9. And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we [must hold] a feast unto the LORD.
10. And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look [to it]; for evil [is] before you.
11. Not so: go now ye [that are] men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
In this passage, Moses goes to Pharoh for the third time to ask for his people to be set free from slavery. After changing his mind several times, Pharoh says that the condition for their freedom was that the women and children would be left behind when the men were freed to serve the Lord. A good mother would allow this because she would do what she needed to do in order for her children to be safe, but a Godly mother would go one step farther. She would do whatever it took to know that her children were serving God and doing what was right in his eyes despite physical danger. It takes great boldness to be a Godly mother. On the surface, it might not seem that they care as much as a good mother about their child’s wellbeing, but actually they care a great deal more. They care about the future of their child’s soul.
Proverbs 31:1-9
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
[It is] not for kings, O Lemuel, [it is] not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
This passage of scripture shows what a woman taught her son. Pastor Ulysse did some research to find out who King Lemuel was to find out who his mother was since this proverb is what she taught him. It turns out that Lemuel was a nickname meaning “The Devoted of the Lord”. It is assumed that this was the nickname of King Solomon, which would mean that his mother was Bathsheba.
II Samuel 12:24-25
24. And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.
25. And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
This one piece of information sheds new light on this proverb. It shows us that no matter where we come from, God still has a plan for our lives. No set of circumstances can take away from what God wants to do in a child’s life.
In Proverbs, we read Bathsheba taught her son that what was fine for some, was not alright for a king. She knew that as king, he had the responsibility to judge his people. In order to do his job well, he needed to be sober. She knew that people who turned to vices such as drinking that were looking for a way to escape their problems and forget their pain. Her love for her son is what caused her to set boundaries and hold him to a higher standard.
Pastor Ulysse asked us to not focus on drinking in the literal sense. Instead, if we consider drinking in this passage as anything we take on to distract ourselves from our purpose for God, anyone can take a valuable lesson away from this section of scripture. Our “drink” may be watching a movie, going out with our friends, or even our computers. We cannot allow ourselves to be so distracted that we try to run away from our lives and our purpose for God. Instead, going to God for strength and focusing will allow us to have good judgment just like a king who soberly goes forward to judge his people.
Proverbs 23:15-25
15. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
18. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
21. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23. Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise [child] shall have joy of him.
25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Verse 19 instructs us to guide our hearts. It’s common to hear people give the advice to “follow your heart”. This scripture tells us just the opposite. God knows our natural tendencies. He is our Heavenly Father, and we are his children. In verse 17, we are reminded that envy is something we have to guard against. He knows that our natural tendency is to envy those around us, and we cannot fall into that trap. We have to guide our hearts instead of following our emotions. This takes focus just like following the instruction found in the proverb in chapter 31. This allows God to be in control, not our physical or emotional selves.
We cannot go back in time to when we were spiritual babies or even spiritual teenagers. As we grow in God’s word and start to hear instruction like we find from Godly mothers in Proverbs, we can become the men and women that God wants us to be. When we do this, it will change our families, church, community, and the world.
