I. Praise the Lord for a Mom Who Fears the Lord
Proverbs 31:30 - Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
A. Whose true character is apparent
B. Whose greatest beauty is on the inside
C. Whose fear of the Lord makes her wise and trustworthy
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
1. Controlling her actions
2 Chronicles 19:6-9 - He said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.” In Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly.”
Proverbs 16:6 - By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.
Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.
2. Controlling her thinking
Proverbs 23:17 - Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the LORD always.
Proverbs 15:16 - Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it.
Romans 10:9-10 - If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
II. Praise the Lord for a Mom Whose Speech Is Full of Wisdom and Kindness
Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
A. Because wisdom offers safety and security
B. Because kindness builds relationships
III. Praise the Lord for a Mom Who Cares for the Home (v. 27)
Proverbs 31:27 - She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
IV. Praise Your Wife and/or Mom for What They Do that Is Right (vv. 28-29)
Proverbs 31:28-29 - Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.”
Good morning and happy Mother’s Day!
There’s been a team meeting for the last few months to think of ways to make today special.
And now Mother’s Day has arrived and we appreciate the energy put into preparing for this today.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to open up God’s Word to you – Pastor Rod is away, otherwise it would have been him ministering the Word of God to your souls today.
Before I open the Word of Life, I want to preface some things before we begin.
First, we know that today can be hard for a number of reasons. Perhaps you had a very difficult childhood. Perhaps you no longer have a relationship with your mother.
Perhaps your mother recently passed away, or you lost a child – perhaps you want to be a mom.
We understand that today is hard and part of our prayer leading up to this service included weeping with those who weep.
Second, although our primary emphasis is on mothers today – this doesn’t negate the application of the Word of God for the rest of us – my goal will also be to apply the Word of God to your hearts too.
If you’re not a mother, we’re not suggesting in any way that you are less of a person or a woman from one who is.
The Lord works out his plan in each of our lives in different ways.
All of us can drink deeply out of the well of God’s Word that is far reaching even those of a different demographic.
Third, I know it’s possible to load mothers with guilt over what they are not – to, in essence, use mothers day as a means to help moms be what they should be. We know that mothers often sense their inadequacy …
From how do I comfort my child who seems like they cannot be comforted, to ‘how do I know when I need to instruct my child and when I need to discipline them’, to how do I maintain a good relationship now that they are adults and are making decisions on their own when some of those decision may not particularly wise decisions – we understand. In fact,
There might be some things presented today that the Lord uses to challenge or convict you. However, that is not our primary goal today.
Moms, we want today to be an illustration of “giving honor to whom honor is due” or “focusing on the things that are right” or as the title of our message suggests, Praising the Lord for Godly Moms.
With that in mind, please turn to Proverbs 31.
That is located on page ____ of the front section of the Bible under the chair in front of you.
Proverbs isn’t just a collection of wisdom sayings, but as the life story of one person.
Proverbs opens with a series of speeches from a set of parents to their son. The son seems to be the main character. The parents, wisdom personified by a woman, and foolishness, also personified by a woman, offer him advice.
At the end of Proverbs 9 we wonder who the son will follow. Who will the son listen to? Whose words will he value? Whose advice will he take?
Then, chapters 10-30 provide lots of wise instruction on what to do in various situations, but also explain the consequences of following foolishness. As you read you just can’t help but ask … what about the son? Which path is he taking? Who is he following?
Proverbs ends with an amazing description of an excellent wife. It almost seems like she embodies wisdom itself.
- Perhaps that is what the son received and all the blessings that came with it.
- Perhaps he is the husband we will read about who married wisdom personified in this woman and is experiencing all the blessings of making that choice.
Having said that, lets read Proverbs 31:10-31 for context, but my primary emphasis will be in verses 26-30.
Please follow along as I read, this is the Word of the Lord. (read)
As one of your pastors, I know that this text could be written about some of you moms. We are celebrating and praising the Lord for that this morning.
Moms, wives, ladies. Today we are going to praise the Lord and tell you some of the things that we love about you.
I. Praise the Lord for a mom who fears the Lord
Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
I’m looking at verse 30 because it will explain how the rest of the chapter unfolds.
Moms, wives, ladies, we praise the Lord as you fear the Lord. We rejoice how you know the things that matter and the things that are of lesser value. We love those …
A. Whose true character is apparent
The Bible says charm is deceitful – that’s an interesting claim. According to the Lord, charm can give a wrong impression about who a person really is. Notice that I did not say charm gives a bad impression!
In fact, just the opposite is true. A charming person normally give a good impression.
The problem is that charm hides true character or what is in a person’s heart.
God says that charm gets in the way because it is false front. It hides wickedness.
Ladies, thank you for allowing who you are – what you value – and what you are like when others are not watching be how you think and function.
We praise the Lord as we watch you live out a Christ-like character. We also love those …
B. Whose greatest beauty is on the inside
The Bible tells us, on occasion, that a person was attractive. For instance, Abraham’s wife Sarah was called beautiful, as was Rachel. Jacob’s son Joseph was also called attractive.
But wisdom understands that a physically attractive person is not necessarily a godly person.
This word (vain) is used in the OT for several different ideas.
The NIV translates the word “fleeting.” Physical beauty is not sustainable over the long term.
The other idea, conveyed in the KJV and NASB, is that beauty is worthless (or vain).
In other words, it does not have real value because the attractiveness of the person on the outside is not necessarily a reflection of their beauty on the inside.
A beautiful woman is not necessarily a godly wife, mother, or woman. Moms, ladies, we praise the Lord when you understand that and invest in spiritual things.
We love those …
C. Whose fear of the Lord makes her wise and trustworthy
The Fear of the Lord forms the foundation of Proverbs’ worldview.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
There are two types of people here – note the contrast. There
Those who fear God and acquire wisdom
Or…
Those who do not fear God (fools) and they shun wisdom
These two groups of people are the two general people mentioned throughout the entire book.
“The wise man …. But the fool …”
Defining just what the Fear of the Lord is however, can be a tricky proposition:
Some have erred by defining the Fear of the Lord the way a prisoner cowers before guards about ‘
to torture him. These folks have made God out to be a horrible cosmic ogre looking to crush
people or rain on their parade.
Others have erred on the other side by simply calling the fear of the Lord a ‘respect’ of God that
suggests you take his counsel into consideration.
A genuine and right fear of the Lord results in a mom whose focus on the Word makes her wise and trustworthy by…
1. Controlling her Actions
Moms, we appreciate it when you allow the Word to keep you from sinning.
In 2 Chronicles 19:6-9 we find that the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat appoints both priests and judges in the Land. Before they take their respective offices, he tells them to…
2 Chronicles 19:6-9 He said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. 7 "Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe."
8 In Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 9 Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly.
The Bible tells us that judges and priests might be tempted to play favorites.
They might be inclined to rule in favor of their friends,
Or against a person they see as foe
Or in favor of a person who offers them benefits
Consequently, they would violate the truth of God’s Word. The fear of the Lord protected them
from these errors. The fear of the Lord controlling actions occurs throughout Proverbs. For
example:
Prov 16:6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.
Evil comes in all shapes and sizes – drunkenness, immorality, wild living, profanity, seeking
revenge, and gossip all fall under the category of evil.
The fear of the Lord keeps us from participating in these things.
Moms – thank you for allowing a proper fear of the Lord to keep you from that.
In fact, Prov. 8:13 makes the statement even stronger:
Prov 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.
This passage almost gives the hint that the fear of the Lord is thinking corresponding to the
thinking of God. It loves the things that God loves and hates the things that God hates.
We understand that when a mom fears the Lord properly, her will is surrendered to the Lord and
His Word to control her actions – her behavior.
We watch as you serve in the church body, as you bless your husband, as you care for your children.
We are thankful for the privilege and opportunity to pastor moms who genuinely live like this. This mom is also wise and trustworthy by …
2. Controlling her thinking
We find a number of spiritual guard rails in proverbs – but ultimately, proverbs reminds us that the fear of the Lord not just keeps us from doing evil is helps us not to WANT to do evil.
In other words is reaches to our very motivation for doing things.
Prov 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.
- It is possible to envy. Even those who do not live for the Lord.
- It is possible to attempt to achieve those same things by whatever means necessary.
Prov 15:16 brings it back around to the Prov. 31:30 teaches when it says, “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it.”
The book of proverbs begins with a discussion of the fear of the Lord, it has points along in the middle, and that is where it ends. The Fear of the Lord is absolutely critical.
Moms, wives, ladies. We praise the Lord when you value fearing the Lord over a false front or a belief that your identity is found in your physical beauty.
We rejoice when you avoid evil because the fear of the Lord controls your actions.
We rejoice when your fear of the Lord allows you to think carefully and critically even when there is a conflict involving your own children.
We rejoice when you take the side of a sibling, a teacher, a friend, even against your own child because your eyes look at situations through the Scripture with a proper fear of the Lord rather than through fake rose colored glasses.
We are rejoicing on Mother’s day over those who live this out. We pastors see you and appreciate you.
For those of you in the middle of changing diapers, making meals, endlessly cleaning messes and doing it all for the Lord Jesus … you are building the next generation of church leaders.
- That son of yours just might be a future leader at Faith.
- That daughter of yours just might be used of God to accomplish great things.
I would like to broaden my application for just a moment. Today is about moms. More specifically, about praising the Lord for all the things that are right about our moms. But sometimes the Lord uses one message to accomplish many things.
Moms, maybe what I have described here is totally new to you. You came today because it was a special day, but this whole concept of the fear of the Lord is new. Maybe the Lord wanted you here today because he wanted you to learn something about him.
- This Lord created the world and he created human beings. From the beginning he wanted close relationship with people. However, we chose to rebel against his commands. The first sin of Adam and Eve has been replicated billions of times over in our lives.
- The Bible says that all of us are sinners – violators of God’s law.
- Perhaps you have not learned that before. Maybe you have not heard that you a sinner in God’s eyes. Your sin is so serious that he created hell as the punishment. As a Bible believing church we believe there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned.
- Sin is so serious that he sent his son to die on the cross to make forgiveness possible.
- o Perhaps today will be a special day because you learn that by repenting and trusting Christ as your personal savior you can be in a right relationship with the Lord.
Romans 10:9-10 says if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Maybe there are some moms who are not letting the fear of the Lord control neither your actions or or thinking. Your life has drunkenness, profanity, gossip, or immorality and fearing the Lord is not very motivating. Perhaps God’s Word is not very exciting to you.
- In fact, maybe a good haircut, manicure, or pedicure is far better than devotions, church services, a ladies Bible study, or a ladies friendship group.
Today is an opportunity for you to change. You know some things are not right in your soul
- Perhaps the simple answer is you know what you need to do. You must repent. You know the ways you need to change.
- Perhaps some of you would benefit from meeting with another lady for mentoring or for counseling to discuss your situation specifically.
The same could be said of the rest of us. Perhaps part of our take away today is praising the Lord for the moms in our lives who genuinely fear the Lord.
The other part is that we need to change because we are not equally allowing the fear of the Lord to control our thoughts or actions.
Moms, according to Prov. 31:30 making a difference in your family will not come from your charm or your beauty even if you are blessed with both. It will come from your character. It will come from an honest desire to properly fear the Lord.
That brings us to the second characteristic found in proverbs 31.
It will come from an honest desire to be more like your Lord.
II. Praise the Lord for a mom whose speech is full of wisdom and kindness
Proverbs 31:26 “She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
Don’t you love the sound of those two words together, “wisdom and kindness?”
Moms, thank you for the way you are allowing the Lord to control your tongue so that wisdom and kindness come out.
In the grand story of Proverbs, the parents teach the sons that there are two general paths in life.
There is the path of wisdom and the path of foolishness.
From Proverbs 1 the son is encouraged to follow the path of wisdom because it brings certain benefits.
Because wisdom offers safety and security
Moms, your children (I do not just mean little ones) need wisdom from you. Wisdom consistently offers safety and security. Please don’t stop speaking into the hearts of your children.
When you share the truth of God’s Word, you are giving your children a slice of blessing. When you are not there, those words will protect them. Your children receive many offers…
- In Proverbs 1, the offer was to take advantage of other people. It is an easier way to make money. You instructed your children with the word of life.
- In Proverbs 5, immorality offered pleasure. Your words served as a hedge to protect them from all the damage that immorality does.
- Laziness calls out and offers rest and relaxation. You sharing the Word of the Lord tells them that hard work brings blessing.
- Greed tells them that they will be happy only if they acquire all the right toys. The Word tells them differently.
Thank you for offering to your husbands, to your children, and to others in our church family wisdom which brings safety and security.
B. Because kindness builds relationships
The way we use language either draws people to us or pushes people away from us. We can take a rather sharp rebuke done in a kind way easier than a light rebuke done with meanness.
It’s much easier to reject a rebuke (even if the person is right) if they deliver it meanly.
Moms, thank you for using language with us that encouraged us to listen to you. Thank you for offering positive and encouraging words when they were appropriate. Thank you for offering your rebukes with kindness.
We rejoice and praise the Lord that you not only have the ability to do this, but also the willingness.
We husbands have benefited from your kind words even when they had a bite to them. We children benefit from words that encourage us and teaching that comes through kindness.
The third characteristic we are going to see in the text is found in v. 27
III. Praise the Lord for a mom who cares for the home (v. 27)
Proverbs 31:27 “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.”
Thank you moms for being an integral part of what takes place in the house. I am not limiting the discussion to various domestic duties. Many moms do many things to care for the home.
We are thankful for the ways that you make our various houses homes. We praise the Lord for your diligence.
Rather than sit around and do nothing, you are active, busy – accomplishing things that need to happen.
I am also talking about something more.
I am talking about sharing insights with your husband and determining together the best plan of action. Life changes and as it does, we must adjust. Thank you for noticing changes and wanting to make those adjustments to honor the Lord.
I am talking about a team effort in raising your children. There are some decisions that you as the parents need to make considering what is happening in the life of your child at that time. Thank you for caring and being on it to ensure we steward our opportunities well.
Moms and wives, we know that you do a lot. We know that you add meaningful value to our home at every stage of our lives. We know that you are in tune to what is happening and the directions we are going. Thank you that you care. Thank you that you invest so much of your time, strength, and energy to blessing those around you.
Thank you that you look “well” to the ways of the house and then you actively take steps to make it honoring to the Lord.
The final characteristics is …
IV. Praise your wife and/or mom for what they do that is right (vv. 28-29)
Proverbs 31:28-29 “Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”
I realize that is not a characteristic of hers per se. We read the response of a husband and children to a wife/mom who lives vv. 10-31.
All through this message we have been praising the Lord for the wives and mothers around us who exhibit these qualities. It is who are they and how they function.
These verses say something else about these moms. They have a great reputation with their children and their husbands.
Even unbelieving children appreciate godly moms. That does not mean that they like or agree with everything they did. I mean they value her love for them, the way she cared for their dad, the commitment to make the house a home, the work ethic that resulted in blessing, and the safety and security provided by her words.
Our role then is not just praising God, but turning our voice to our moms/wives who live like this.
Her children bless her
- o “Children” … today is a good day to remind you mom how much you appreciated them. There comes a day when you no longer have that opportunity.
- o Moms like to hear how much their children value them.
- o Men, it is easy to take our moms/wives for granted. They serve us in so many ways that we are so used it to that we fail to see it.
To say that she has done nobly is not limited to her actions, but includes who she is. How she loves, cares, prays, and encourages each member of her family to live for Jesus.
- She does nobly by finding her identity in Christ.
- She finds nobly by growing spiritually.
Husbands, how are you doing following the example of v. 29?
- Are you creating an environment where your wife and their mother is honored?
- Ask them about ways that you could honor her privately and in front of our children.
Then, be ready for the answers: You might hear something like
- please recognize and express appreciation for what I do
- o Laundry, cooking, cleaning to make the place nice for all of you
- o Please come home ready to hear about my day and to tell me about yours.
- o If you are going to be late, please call me so I can make an adjustment
- o Schedule a date with me so that I do not have to do any of the work (including child care)
- o Hear my fears, concerns, and joys. Do not just ask for the facts.
- o Not just when I am at the store, but when I am home as well. Lets do some things together
Review:
- Guys, honor your godly wife and make sure your children do the very same thing. You need to make sure that she is a significant part of the family team (not just what are we having for dinner – every significant decision should have her sign off).
- All of us – honor your mom. If you had/have a mom that is like the one in this passage, then tell her. She would appreciate it.
- Ladies. This text is a challenge for you. It tells you that
- o The fear of the Lord should characterize your life (it is more important than charm or beauty; it is a control on your thoughts, and it is control on your behavior)
- o Your speech should be characterized by truth found in the Scriptures and spoken with kindness.
- o It reminds you that you are a significant part of the family unit. Do your best to do it well.
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