Gratitude for God’s Goodness to Mothers

Happy Mother’s Day! We are thankful for all our mothers that the Lord has blessed this church with, those who are mothers of biological children, adopted children, or spiritual children. Motherhood is a gift and good creation of our God and I hope today that you will remember those who played a motherly role in your life and thank the Lord and thank them.

Last week Pastor Brent shared God’s word to us from Philippians 4 to help us grow in gratitude for the gospel. Which is our church’s annual theme. We can grow in thankfulness for the good news about Jesus Christ by learning the secret of what makes our soul full. Fullness of soul only comes through a heart filled with Jesus.

We have seen that example in the life of Paul as he wrote the letter of Philippians from prison. Despite circumstances and conditions that might cause despair he is rejoicing, thankful, and expressing love toward the Philippians.

Today we are going to unpack another example of fulness of soul to a mother, because you might be thinking well of course the Apostle Paul could do that because:

1. he probably wasn’t married.

2. and he didn’t have children.

So, we are going to see a mother who was struggling with empty unfulfilled longings, and when she experienced the goodness of God fill her heart it resulted in what Pastor Aucoin mentioned last week. Thankfulness, rejoicing, and her willingness to give and be generous with what God have her, because she was full in the goodness of God.

Turn in your bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 1 that’s on page ___________ in the Bible under the chair in front of you.

[Read 1 Samuel 1]

Four actions that leave a legacy of God’s goodness to the next generation.

God’s word makes clear that one of the primary responsibilities of parents is teach children the praises of the Lord and the wonderful works that God has done.

“Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.” Psalm 78:1-4

Notice what is assumed…the goodness of God is to leave a lasting legacy of gratitude on the lives of his people…when you know him and his works…you will want to teach and instruct your children in God’s ways. So its not surprising then if parents are not regularly growing in their love for God and remembering him and his praises, that teaching and passing on to children is lacking…That’s why God gave the most important command to his people…

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-8

In other words…love of God results in actions that are supposed to result in a lifestyle to your children that leaves a legacy of God’s loving goodness to his people. One of the first actions...we need to take that points the next generation toward the Lord is…

I. Recognize your need for God regularly.

As a parent, you meet needs. Need-meter is in your job description everyday.

• Mom, I need . . .

It’s delightful to be used by God and meet the needs of others, but if we are honest, its also exhausting and at times you come to the point when you are empty and needy.

• Those days when you say to yourself “I need some peace”

• “I need some rest”

• “I need someone to care”

• “I need something or someone outside of me”

One of the ways that your children hear and see the praises of the Lord and the great things that the Lord has done, is when your children, your spouse, see your neediness and weakness and observe how God shows his goodness.

Our God is so full of goodness, so complete and satisfying, so strong and sufficient that he only wants a kingdom full of people who are needy for God to satisfy them….

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

[Possible contrast to “proud” and “not needy” parents]

Recognize your needs regularly and that starts with taking and honest assessment and…

A. Acknowledging your human limits (v.2, 6)

We see Hannah understands her current condition is beyond her power and ability to fix because it is something that God has chosen to do up to this point.

“but Hannah had no children. . . because the Lord had closed her womb” (v. 2, 6)

There are some here today, who feel the weight of those words (had no children), and a day like Mother’s day can poke the longings and desires of your heart . . . and can tempt you to conclude that life will only be full when you have these gifts of God. And if you don’t have these gifts you conclude falsely, “for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.”

But remember another mother in the Bible, the mother Naomi in the book of Ruth, who did have a Husband, and did have sons, but when these gifts were taken and her husband and son died, what did she conclude…

“the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:20)

Recognizing our creatureliness can help you appreciate the goodness of God. The more you consider what you lack without God’s goodness, the more grateful and thankful you can become for whatever ways he chooses to bless according to his wisdom and good character.

When we have longings and concerns, God encourages through the example of Hannah to bring those concerns honestly to the Lord, demonstrating your need for God.

B. Praying your concerns to God (v.10, 15-16)

Does Hannah sound all put together when she comes to God with her concerns?

Notice it doesn’t say…Hannah, her heart perfectly content, full of joy…went to the Lord and turned to God without crying a tear in great self-control so no makeup ran down her face….No!

“She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly” (v. 10)

She goes on later in verse 15 to describe her continued trust despite that she’s troubled…and there is like this fight inside of her…

“I am a woman oppressed in spirit . . . I have poured out my soul before the Lord” (v.15)

Notice she specifically mentions one of the concerns that is so troubling, and distressing is the provoking and words of Peninah and how Peninah would bother and irritate her so much…she is bringing those concerns to God.

“for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation” (v. 16)

Are you bringing the specific situations and relationships that are irritating you to God? Are you asking for his wisdom and help to trust God and please God in these situations, it is so easy to first turn to other people and bring our complaints to them instead of the Lord, who is aware of the situation and cares about the situation. Neediness and prayer is an opportunity for your heart to be weighed and sifted. As you bring your concerns to God it shows your heart and concerns and provides and opportunity for God to judge me and my motives.

C. Knowing that the Lord weighs hearts (2:3; 1 Sam 16:7)

One of the primary themes of the book of 1 Samuel is that human judgments cannot be compared to God’s judgement. In other words, humans judge based on what is presented, what we can see.

We judge a book by the cover, whereas God judges a book by both the cover and its contents. God can see the contents in ways that no one else can. God sees the heart and judges motives. God makes this point clear later in the book of 1 Samuel when he tells Samuel about God choosing the king of Israel…

“Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Wow!

This is the goodness of God…God sees, God notices, God cares and evaluates at the deepest level. That is good news for those trusting in God, because what it implies is that there is someone who can actually judge rightly and fairly.

• Think about Hannah…She is seeking her best to be faithful to trust and follow God, despite her challenges and yet the Eli the priest sees what is happening on the surface (the appearance) and concludes and thinks “she must be drunk!”

• Notice her concern is that she would considered “as a worthless woman”

Is that not just the biggest lie….and falsehood that could be concluded. Based on the comment of Eli to conclude “Hannah is a worthless woman.” Literally a daughter of worthlessness…A woman who is good for nothing.

• Man judges the outward appearance.

Where God is worthy of worship as Hannah’s prayer in chapter 2 emphasizes because…

“For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.”

I want to speak briefly to the women and mothers of our church.

• Are you regularly seeing your need for God to judge and declare you righteous? Is his judgment and weighing of your heart what you are most concerned about?

If you look to fullness in life from trusting in your spouse, your kids, your friends, your co-workers to be able to know your heart and judge correctly. You are going to be so unsatisfied and discouraged and disappointed.

• It is so easy for us to care about what other people see about us.

• If I choose to stay home as a stay at home…they are judging me that “I am worthless mom, not contributing enough to society and my career”

• “If I go to work, those stay at home moms are judging me “I am worthless and not doing enough at home with the children.”

• “If I am not married and I don’t have children, they are considering me a good for nothing…after all only women can have babies.

• For all of us . . . you need to be prepared to be judged in all sorts of ways based on the outward appearance…what they see you doing and judge.

Oh, but the goodness of God to know that I am trusting in the Lord, his is the only judgment that is eternal and lasting!

• The good news of Christ satisfies our hearts in these moments.

• I am forgiven and declared righteous through trust in Jesus Christ

• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

• While others may look down or judge me as worthless, I consider the approval and acceptance of men as rubbish that I may gain Christ and having a standing before God…through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

Cf. “For the eyes of the LORD move to and for throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Cf. “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer,” 1 Peter 3:12

One legacy that you can leave to your children is an example of neediness. Your children seeing you need the vindication and judgement of God. You bring your concerns to God because you need him and you trust his judgments and how he weighs the situation. You show your kids that you are looking to God for grace.

As you are needy and bring your concerns to God, another impactful action to leave a legacy is to:

II. Continue to Trust God through Trials.

God did not make all of Hannah’s trials disappear…yet she continued to trust God…we see that the trials were ongoing and her trust continued. You know at times, God allows trials to be coordinated even when we make the right commitments. Meaning as you are seeking to be faithful to God it seems it just gets harder. For example, some in our church family know exactly this difficulty. Your commitment to bring your children or family members to church every Sunday because that honors God is met “year after year” by your spouse…as “often as you go up to the house of the Lord.”

“It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord” (v. 7)

God says in James 1 he allows trials of various kinds for the testing of our faith to mature us. And you can consider them joy…you can actually thank the Lord for what you know the trial is producing in you…its maturing your faith. That’s a legacy I want my children to see…as trials got harder for Dad and Mom, their faith God stronger and their Christlike character just shined!

Some of the trials that Hannah must continue to trust God through is the conflict from culture…

A. When culture challenges your commitments (1 Sam 1:3, 19, 21)

The broader cultural environment and context of this time highlights the commitment of Elkanah and his family to the Lord. This is in the time period of the Judges where God tells us that…

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

^“Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger.” Judges 2:11-12

There is a sense in which the anti-God culture around God’s people in every time and place has no fear of God. They want to live like there is no God or authority above them, and each person wants to do what they want.

Today we might say, “In America, everyone lived like Jesus is not the King, and everyone said “You do you.”

Note the emphasis on the commitment to worship God despite the cultural challenges.

“Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.” (v.3)

“Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord” (v.19)

“Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.” (v.21)

Notice the commitment of their time to prioritize what is most important even if the culture is contrary to the commitments of God.

Local Church Attendance: I want to challenge or church family coming out of the pandemic to leave a legacy of faithful commitment to church every Sunday with your family to worship God. Our cultural pressures want to make “online” or “what serves me” church the norm and discourage faithful attendance of any kind to Christianity. We want to continue to trust and worship the Lord despite the trial.

Also, note in the passage that they would bring their yearly sacrifice. Notice their generosity and sacrifice. A three-year-old bull is quite valuable (Gen 15:9).

SMP: I am thankful for our church family that this year, even amid the current culture, we are looking to pray and commit together to worship God and grow over the next three years through our strategic ministry planning process.

So there is the broader cultural challenges…but some of the most difficult are when rivals are seeking to tear you down…and provoke you. Continue to trust God even in the trials.

B. When rivals rip you down (v. 6-7)

For Hannah, you can imagine the pain of living with a rival, someone who is proactively provoking you and its happening on the home front, where you are wanting peace and safety.

“Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because the Lord had closed her womb.”

This is not just a one time thing…God gives us some background of an event that was common…it was a regular trial and it happened on the home front.

“It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.” (v.7)

Have you been there, when you are so upset you don’t even want to eat? To know that bitterness of heart that gnaws at you. When someone knows you so well, they know your weaknesses. They know your struggles. They know just the buttons to push to irritate you because they know how much you want something.

• So, your adult child might mock you for praying for them and reaching out to them because they know just how much you want them to know God. They are trying to provoke and irritate you.

• Your spouse might mock you for trying to strengthen your marriage so as you take steps to show love, to show affection, to speak differently, they respond who do you think you are fooling…I know you…so they provoke you by saying God can’t change you.

• Our world is filled with rivals who are seeking to provoke God’s people and stir you up and they want to see you weep bitterly.

• Praise the Lord, he is near to the broken hearted and lifts up those crushed in spirit.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for in Christ they can be comforted.

Another trial and challenge that we see is even from those in a position of leadership…authorities are gifts of God for our good when they are functioning appropriately, but at times leadership sins like all of us and leadership can fail…and still leave a legacy of trust in God….

C. When spiritual leadership is lacking (v. 12-17)

Verses 12-17 give us some important background to Hannah’s’ story. The Priest, Eli, who you would expect to be praising Hannah’s piety and prayer life, instead pronounces a judgment that she is drunk! It’s important to understand Eli because he and his children are set in contrast to Hannah and her family. Things are not as they first appear. Humans look at the outward appearance and the Lord judges the heart.

Later on in Samuel, we see God pronounces judgment on Eli saying:

“Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me,” (1 Sam 2:29)

So remember, that at first sight it appeared to Eli and those reading that Hannah is considered a worthless woman….a daughter of good for nothingness…but in fact who does God judge and weigh is worthless…

“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord” (1 Sam 2:12)

Things are not as they seem. The irony of this story is that the prayer of Eli is heard…and God does grant Hannah’s request…and more important than finding… favor in Eli’s sight, she finds favor in God’s sight even when Eli did not judge correctly as God sees.

The name Hannah means favor or grace, and God grants Hannah favor and grace as she continues to trust in God through the trials of the culture, the rivals, and even lack of leadership.

God’s good grace enables us to leave a legacy of continued trust in trials…third…

III. Keep a God-Centered Focus as Parents.

When God blesses you with what you have been longing for, hoping for, it is really tempting for us to idolize that. To white-knuckle grip that blessing and make sure we never lose it and do whatever means necessary to protect it.

But notice Hannah’s heart of trust and gratefulness to God. She gets that the child is not hers first, but rather belongs to the Lord like every good and perfect that comes from God.

A. Children are a gift that belong to God (v.11, 27-28; 2:5-6)

Notice her vow…she recognizes this gift of a child comes from God.

“give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life”

Notice…she doesn’t back out on her vow…she wants the child given to God…So she cares most about God’s glory, God’s will, and God’s purposes for this child…Again in verse 27.

^“For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him”

“So I have also dedicated him to the Lord . . . as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” (v.28)

Hannah wants more than anything for her son Samuel to serve the God who was so good in blessing her with his life as a gift. The heart that is full of God’s kindness wants to give even the blessings of God to be used for God’s glory and purposes.

As parents we have to remember the goodness of our God to give the blessings so that the Giver, that’s God, is central, and not the gift. The temptation for us is to make our interests as parents, to have a parent-centered home, or our children, to have a child centered home as central.

- Parents, mothers, if this is an area you are struggling, I would recommend two resources.

- Tying their Shoes by Rob Green [Insert Picture]

- Age of Opportunity (Teenagers) by Paul David Tripp [Insert Picture]

Hannah considered her son’s life in the larger history of God’s work and plans for his people and her prayer of thanksgiving reflects her ultimate hope that…

B. Christ must be prioritized above your kids (2:10)

The first mention of title Christ, Messiah, the anointed one who is a King.

“Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.” (v.10)

Hannah understands that salvation, deliverance, and glory are God’s so Christ must always have first place…We could not have a stronger contrast and warning to those who contend against God like Eli and his sons who honored his sons above the Lord, and God Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day died (2:34)

What do your kids see is first in your life? What is central? When you leave the church house today? What do my kids see and hear and understand is central and first place in my heart and life and is it God.

Application:

• Sports/activities

• Work

• Friendships/relationships

For some today, you might realize Jesus is not first in your heart. You don’t love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. The good news is that God loved you first before you loved him. And God is willing to show you mercy and forgive your unfaithfulness if you would return to Him and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved. The righteous Jesus died for us unrighteous people, to bring us to God.

Finally leave a legacy and…

IV. Give Gratitude for God’s Grace

A. Give thanks your requests are heard (v.19-20, 27)

Thankfulness and gratitude all over Hannah’s response. As Pastor Aucoin challenged us last week, that’s what God’s kindness produces when you heart is satisfied in God’s goodness.

- Earlier I asked are you praying specific requests, you might find a helpful way to grow is writing prayer requests down and being intentional to thank God when he answers a specific prayer request. For Hannah, that specific request was a child she persistently prayed for…If you cannot think of a specific prayer request, I would point you to Hannah’s prayer in chapter 2 and what she gives thanks for specifically just about who God is and his past actions toward his people. Specifically, every Christian can…

B. Rejoice in your salvation (2:3)

This is a prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance/salvation…regularly remember God’s salvation in your life, how he saved you from your sin, how he delivered you from sins consequences. Remember how you lived before Christ, recall his rescue. It keeps God’s underserved kindness before our faces.

Additionally, you can thank the Lord for his kindness for specific ways that…

C. God watches over you (2:9)

I hope as you look at how God remembered Hannah, was watching over her life, that you would be encouraged that the Lord cares about you more than anyone.

So, in what ways have you seen God keep the feet of his godly ones and show his watchful care for you?

This mother’s day might provide a natural break and opportunity to reflect on the Lord’s care both through a mother and also in spite of mother. May the Lord lead us to pray like Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 as our hearts are filled by the grace and goodness of our God. May the Lord’s goodness be known to our children. Let’s pray.