WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.896 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.896 --> 00:06.396 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.396 --> 00:08.356 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.356 --> 00:09.476 builds your faith, 00:09.476 --> 00:12.536 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.536 --> 00:15.616 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.616 --> 00:18.276 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.276 --> 00:20.716 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.175 --> 00:25.375 If you have your Bible, please open it with me to 1 Samuel chapter 1. 00:26.255 --> 00:30.295 And we just want to thank all our moms for all that you do. 00:30.395 --> 00:35.155 You have a very, very hard job, and we are thankful for you. 00:35.775 --> 00:42.415 I know a mom who was asked if you could do it all over again, would you? 00:42.455 --> 00:47.055 And she said, absolutely, just with some different kids. 00:47.635 --> 00:49.997 Absolutely. 00:49.998 --> 00:54.398 Well, maybe you feel that way today. 00:54.398 --> 00:58.198 You know, Mother's Day is one of the most interesting holidays that we have 00:58.198 --> 01:00.958 because it's filled with such powerful emotions. 01:00.958 --> 01:04.298 For many of you, Mother's Day is a beautiful day. 01:04.298 --> 01:07.598 Your mom's here, your kids are here, you feel celebrated. 01:07.598 --> 01:08.798 That's a beautiful thing. 01:08.798 --> 01:10.298 We want to honor you today. 01:10.298 --> 01:15.338 But I also know that for some of you, today is very hard. 01:15.327 --> 01:21.327 Maybe your mom's no longer with us, or you've lost a child, or you have a wayward child, 01:21.387 --> 01:25.567 or maybe you've been trying to become a mom and that has not yet happened. 01:25.767 --> 01:30.047 And so instead of joy, today you feel a sense of sadness. 01:31.088 --> 01:32.468 Now, maybe you feel both. 01:32.648 --> 01:35.588 The mom we're looking at today in 1 Samuel 1, 01:35.788 --> 01:38.328 I think if she were here with us today on Mother's Day, 01:38.708 --> 01:44.908 she would probably be filled with some intense emotions of both joy and maybe even sadness. 01:44.908 --> 01:46.908 Her name... 01:47.035 --> 01:53.555 was Hannah. And she gave birth to a son that she named Samuel, who was among the top five 01:53.555 --> 01:58.455 most significant men in the Old Testament. He served as a prophet and a priest. He 01:58.455 --> 02:02.355 helped Israel transition to become a monarchy with a king. 02:03.151 --> 02:05.531 We pick up the story in verse number two. 02:05.691 --> 02:08.791 Speaking of a man named Elkanah, it says, 02:08.951 --> 02:10.111 And he had two wives. 02:10.651 --> 02:14.911 The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. 02:15.531 --> 02:19.851 Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 02:19.851 --> 02:20.531 Okay. 02:20.532 --> 02:25.032 We see here that young Hannah was facing some major challenges in her life. 02:25.032 --> 02:31.032 For one, she was part of a polygamous marriage, meaning her husband had another wife, which 02:31.032 --> 02:33.832 was clearly against God's design. 02:34.672 --> 02:39.052 Someone asked Mark Twain one time, where in the Bible does it say that we can't have more 02:39.052 --> 02:40.052 than one wife? 02:40.152 --> 02:44.472 And he thought for a moment, and he said, well, the Bible says that no man can serve 02:44.472 --> 02:48.122 two masters. 02:48.123 --> 02:50.043 Well, that's true. 02:51.883 --> 02:54.623 Hannah didn't just have a bad marriage, though. 02:54.703 --> 02:57.043 She also was struggling with infertility. 02:57.663 --> 03:04.023 And that weighed very heavily upon her because for women in the ancient world, and really even today, 03:04.683 --> 03:07.783 women often find their identity in being a mom. 03:08.795 --> 03:15.435 Now, as Christians, it's very important that each and every one of us learn that we are to find our identity in Christ and nothing else, 03:15.495 --> 03:18.755 because our identity in Christ is eternal. 03:19.495 --> 03:21.155 That can never be stripped from us. 03:21.215 --> 03:23.355 It's the essence and the core of who we are. 03:23.435 --> 03:27.235 We are new creations in Christ Jesus, but there's no denying. 03:28.100 --> 03:37.480 That we are tempted at times to find our identity in other things, especially something as instinctual for women as being a mom. 03:38.220 --> 03:41.720 So Hannah, no doubt, had a difficult home life. 03:41.860 --> 03:43.940 She was sharing her husband with another woman. 03:44.460 --> 03:45.620 She can't get pregnant. 03:45.620 --> 03:51.520 And on top of all of that, verse number six says, and her rival, that's the other woman her husband's sleeping with. 03:51.961 --> 04:14.081 You know, I've learned as a pastor that at times women can be very brutal with the way they treat one another. 04:14.081 --> 04:14.977 Right? 04:14.978 --> 04:18.238 Poor Hannah couldn't give her husband a child, 04:18.418 --> 04:21.198 and so she's grieving, and she's mourning that, 04:21.458 --> 04:23.198 and Peninnah just starts rubbing it in, 04:23.638 --> 04:27.078 how she's got a bunch of kids, and Hannah, you don't have any. 04:27.398 --> 04:29.798 And so Hannah's distraught at this point. 04:30.038 --> 04:31.734 She stops eating. 04:31.735 --> 04:35.495 And so the question is, why didn't God just give her a child? 04:35.915 --> 04:39.235 Because it says here that God is the one who closed her womb. 04:39.375 --> 04:46.195 I mean, that's one of the most interesting and surprising parts of the story, that God closed Hannah's womb. 04:46.655 --> 04:53.275 Now, I think it's important to recognize that just because God closed Hannah's womb doesn't mean that he's done the same for you. 04:53.892 --> 04:59.112 There are things in life that God causes, and there are things in life that God allows. 04:59.312 --> 05:03.672 This verse is not saying that God directly causes all infertility. 05:04.392 --> 05:09.392 Sometimes infertility is simply a tragic result of living in a broken world. 05:09.392 --> 05:13.352 But in this case, it says that God caused it. 05:13.349 --> 05:14.369 Now, why would he do that? 05:14.449 --> 05:19.109 Well, because God was about to do something big in the nation of Israel. 05:19.109 --> 05:24.949 And whenever God does something big, he often starts with a miraculous birth. 05:25.049 --> 05:27.809 That was a pattern that we see throughout the Old Testament. 05:28.389 --> 05:29.429 Think about Sarah. 05:30.005 --> 05:34.085 and Rebecca, and Rachel, and now Hannah. 05:34.265 --> 05:37.985 God wanted it to be very clear that the child He was about to give Hannah 05:37.985 --> 05:41.345 was a special gift from Him. 05:41.825 --> 05:46.865 Now, we see in the passage that her husband tried to fix her paint, 05:46.945 --> 05:49.345 and he started off pretty good in verse number 4. 05:49.345 --> 05:49.964 It says, 05:49.965 --> 05:53.025 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering... 05:53.022 --> 05:57.322 He would give portions to Peninnah, his wife, and to all her sons and daughters. 05:57.622 --> 06:04.702 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. 06:05.341 --> 06:12.281 Elkanah knew that Hannah was hurting, and even though he had another wife, he really truly did love Hannah. 06:12.481 --> 06:15.241 So he gives her a double portion. 06:15.621 --> 06:19.801 But Hannah is so depressed at this point, she can't eat any of it. 06:20.241 --> 06:22.101 And so in verse number 8, it says, 06:22.101 --> 06:24.241 Then Elkanah, her husband, said to her, 06:24.761 --> 06:29.641 Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? 06:29.841 --> 06:32.261 Am I not better to you than ten sons? 06:32.261 --> 06:33.606 Yes. 06:33.607 --> 06:36.687 Like Hannah started off so well, but when Hannah kept crying, 06:36.787 --> 06:40.207 he kept trying to fix that which he was not able to fix, 06:40.247 --> 06:41.747 and he sticks his foot in his mouth. 06:42.307 --> 06:43.587 Am I not enough? 06:44.247 --> 06:48.487 As if that's going to take away her pain from not having any kids. 06:48.567 --> 06:51.107 Listen, guys, the Bible is very clear in the New Testament 06:51.107 --> 06:56.267 that you and I as husbands are to dwell with our wives with understanding. 06:57.127 --> 07:00.967 That's one of the hardest verses in the Bible for us men. 07:00.961 --> 07:04.101 Because oftentimes, we don't understand our wives. 07:04.721 --> 07:10.101 But the goal is always to dwell with them with understanding. 07:10.761 --> 07:14.301 And in times of emotional pain like Hannah was experiencing, 07:14.941 --> 07:21.161 Elkanah, he would have been a whole lot better off sitting with Hannah and holding her while she cried. 07:21.161 --> 07:25.301 But instead, he tried to convince her that her emotions were illegitimate. 07:26.425 --> 07:29.825 I think all of us men, unfortunately, have been there from time to time. 07:30.245 --> 07:34.725 And we need to learn from Elkanah that instead of trying to always fix everything, 07:34.885 --> 07:38.405 sometimes we just need to hold our wife and let her cry. 07:39.165 --> 07:42.165 So Hannah, she's in deep emotional pain. 07:42.345 --> 07:43.545 Her husband can't fix it. 07:43.565 --> 07:44.805 In fact, he made it worse. 07:45.005 --> 07:46.505 So what does Hannah do? 07:46.505 --> 07:52.145 Well, she goes to the one person who can heal her pain, the Lord. 07:52.666 --> 07:54.486 Verse number 9, it says, 07:54.726 --> 07:59.406 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. 07:59.846 --> 08:04.486 Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord, 08:04.486 --> 08:11.186 and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. 08:11.426 --> 08:12.305 Here's our principle. 08:12.306 --> 08:14.546 A godly mother is a praying. 08:15.093 --> 08:21.253 mother. That's the most important job you have as a mom, is to do business with the Lord. Hannah 08:21.253 --> 08:26.713 goes to the tabernacle and Eli, the high priest who was also the judge of the nation of Israel, 08:26.873 --> 08:32.513 was there. But Hannah doesn't stop to talk to this big prominent person in Israel with Eli. No, 08:32.593 --> 08:34.833 she goes right past him. She goes directly to the Lord. 08:35.579 --> 08:42.439 And with all of the raw emotions that she was feeling, she opens her heart to the Lord in prayer. 08:43.519 --> 08:50.899 Now, Hannah was not yet a mom at this point, but she was already doing the most important job that moms do. 08:51.039 --> 08:52.099 She was praying. 08:53.079 --> 08:57.519 Now, moms, here's some very quick tips on how you should pray for your kids. 08:57.519 --> 09:01.399 First of all, be emotionally honest with God. 09:01.820 --> 09:05.920 Some people form these formal and sophisticated sounding prayers. 09:06.120 --> 09:07.780 That's not what Hannah did. 09:08.340 --> 09:12.180 It says that she prayed and wept in anguish. 09:12.180 --> 09:18.360 Verse number 12 says, and it happened as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli watched her mouth. 09:18.900 --> 09:23.060 Now Hannah spoke in her heart and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. 09:23.380 --> 09:25.460 Therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. 09:26.356 --> 09:28.416 I mean, Hannah's a hot mess at this point. 09:28.496 --> 09:32.016 I imagine her eyes are swollen because of all of the crying. 09:32.136 --> 09:35.856 She hasn't eaten for some time, and she starts praying in her heart. 09:36.296 --> 09:40.136 Her mouth is forming these words, but she's not projecting any sound. 09:40.136 --> 09:41.656 And Eli thinks she's drunk. 09:42.656 --> 09:44.316 So Hannah eventually explains herself. 09:44.396 --> 09:46.356 We don't have time to look at her explanation, 09:46.556 --> 09:50.596 but the point is she was being honest with God in her pain. 09:51.871 --> 09:53.751 She didn't need Eli to hear her prayers. 09:53.851 --> 09:56.351 She needed the Lord to hear her prayers. 09:56.471 --> 09:57.390 And she's honest. 09:57.391 --> 10:00.211 And we all need to learn how to be honest with God in our pain, 10:00.531 --> 10:03.791 especially when our pain is connected to our kids. 10:04.561 --> 10:11.381 When we're worried about our kids, there's something freeing and healing when we pray honest prayers to the Lord. 10:11.381 --> 10:20.321 He brings healing to us that we need, and He meets us exactly where we are, and He begins working in incredible ways. 10:20.741 --> 10:22.841 Now, I think it's also that we... 10:22.837 --> 10:27.457 Learn when we pray for our kids to find our peace in the Lord. 10:28.317 --> 10:31.157 Ladies, you're not going to find your peace in your husband, I can tell you. 10:31.617 --> 10:34.317 He might actually create some more stress for you. 10:34.957 --> 10:38.797 You're not going to find your peace scrolling Instagram, trying to numb your mind there. 10:38.857 --> 10:41.337 You'll likely feel worse after that. 10:42.037 --> 10:44.457 You're only going to find your peace in Jesus. 10:45.280 --> 10:55.320 You see, as significant as a wife is and being a wife, as significant as being a mom is or whatever job is that you do, you'll never find your peace in those things. 10:56.040 --> 11:01.680 If you find your identity in those things, that is a recipe for unrest in your soul. 11:02.746 --> 11:05.586 I find that so many women are emotionally torn apart 11:05.586 --> 11:08.986 at the seams because of identity confusion. 11:08.986 --> 11:10.866 Now, not gender identity confusion 11:10.866 --> 11:12.546 that our culture's hung up on, 11:12.546 --> 11:15.506 but identity confusion nonetheless. 11:15.506 --> 11:18.146 What defines me as a woman? 11:18.146 --> 11:20.566 Is it my beauty and my sex appeal? 11:20.566 --> 11:21.846 Is it my duty as a wife? 11:21.846 --> 11:23.986 Is it my duty as a mom? 11:23.986 --> 11:26.566 No, none of those things define you. 11:26.566 --> 11:29.946 You must allow Jesus to define you. 11:29.946 --> 11:32.626 If you're a believer, you're a daughter of the king. 11:32.615 --> 11:34.575 Period. That's enough. 11:35.155 --> 11:37.115 Nothing else needs to be added for significance. 11:37.415 --> 11:39.555 Nothing else needs to be added for peace. 11:39.815 --> 11:41.395 Jesus is enough. 11:42.436 --> 11:50.696 Now, the last thing that I would say about your prayers for your kids is you need to depend on the Lord with very specific prayers for your kids. 11:51.136 --> 11:51.955 That was Hannah. 11:51.956 --> 11:53.756 We see in verse number 11, it says, 11:54.016 --> 11:56.656 Then she made a vow and said, 11:56.956 --> 12:01.576 O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant, 12:01.656 --> 12:04.076 she's humbling herself as a servant before the Lord, 12:04.656 --> 12:10.936 and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child. 12:11.461 --> 12:18.761 Then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head. 12:19.081 --> 12:24.641 Now, no razor coming upon his head was a sign of the Nazarite vow she was making to the Lord 12:24.641 --> 12:29.921 that her son would be completely dedicated to the service of God. 12:30.884 --> 12:35.824 Hannah prayed a very, very specific prayer for a little boy. 12:36.944 --> 12:43.044 Mamas, it's very important, whether you're praying and asking God for a child, a baby, 12:43.184 --> 12:47.624 or whether you already have one and you're concerned about something happening in his or her life, 12:47.804 --> 12:53.124 that you have enough faith to ask God for some very specific things in their life. 12:53.124 --> 12:59.404 That you go out on a limb of faith and ask big, bold prayers for your kids. 13:00.213 --> 13:05.133 Now, just because you ask God in faith doesn't mean that God automatically is going to give it to you. 13:05.213 --> 13:06.953 It may not fit his plan. 13:06.953 --> 13:12.953 But I promise you that God blesses your prayers in one way or another. 13:13.873 --> 13:18.313 Now, in Hannah's case, she attached a vow to her prayer. 13:20.125 --> 13:23.365 That's something we should never, ever do 13:23.365 --> 13:26.965 unless we are fully committed to following through with it. 13:26.965 --> 13:28.085 And Hannah was. 13:28.085 --> 13:31.005 I mean, she's desperate and she makes this vow to the Lord 13:31.005 --> 13:32.145 and she means it. 13:32.145 --> 13:36.185 And long story short, God grants her request. 13:36.190 --> 13:43.650 And she conceives and she has a little boy and she names him Samuel, which means heard by God. 13:44.070 --> 13:45.390 Hannah nurses her son. 13:45.510 --> 13:47.170 She begins raising him. 13:47.250 --> 13:48.430 She loves her son. 13:49.110 --> 13:52.990 She teaches him all about the Lord and how to love the Lord. 13:53.926 --> 14:00.626 And after she weaned him, many believe that was probably between the ages of three and five in that culture. 14:01.386 --> 14:05.066 She took little Eli to the tabernacle and she gave, 14:05.966 --> 14:10.086 she took Samuel to the tabernacle and she gave Samuel to Eli, 14:10.666 --> 14:12.706 just as she promised to give him to the Lord. 14:12.706 --> 14:14.086 Now, verse number 24 says, 14:16.150 --> 14:21.650 She took him up with her with three bulls and one ephah of flour and a skin of wine 14:21.650 --> 14:24.430 and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. 14:25.030 --> 14:26.450 And the child was young. 14:27.130 --> 14:29.490 Then they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli. 14:29.670 --> 14:30.850 She said, Oh, my Lord. 14:30.950 --> 14:33.250 She's calling Eli Lord as a term of respect. 14:33.750 --> 14:38.870 As your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood by you here praying to the Lord. 14:39.370 --> 14:44.650 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of him." 14:44.652 --> 14:46.972 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord. 14:47.032 --> 14:48.612 I've given him to the Lord. 14:48.612 --> 14:51.672 As long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord. 14:51.892 --> 14:53.832 So they worship the Lord there. 14:54.672 --> 14:57.272 Can you imagine that day? 14:57.692 --> 15:02.332 Hannah takes her little son by the hand and she walks him up to the tabernacle. 15:02.892 --> 15:08.512 She takes her little boy's hand and she places his little hand into the hand of Eli. 15:08.792 --> 15:13.612 And she tells the little Samuel, the Lord gave you to me on one condition, to 15:13.711 --> 15:14.971 that I give you back to him. 15:15.291 --> 15:17.791 So I know you want to come with me, 15:17.851 --> 15:19.071 but you can't come back with me. 15:19.211 --> 15:20.571 You must stay here. 15:20.891 --> 15:22.471 You are God's. 15:23.532 --> 15:31.252 And after worshiping, she walks away from her firstborn son and leaves him to be raised there in the tabernacle. 15:31.412 --> 15:35.112 God blesses her incredible faith and her commitment. 15:35.412 --> 15:39.412 Samuel grows to be one of the godliest men in the Israelite history. 15:40.052 --> 15:45.232 Hannah had prayed for a son, and then she dedicated him fully to the Lord. 15:45.470 --> 15:48.970 Now, there's a couple more things that I think we need to learn from Hannah today. 15:48.970 --> 15:57.170 Not only do you need to be praying for your kids, you also need to assume spiritual responsibility for your children's faith. 15:58.510 --> 15:59.590 Assume responsibility. 16:00.250 --> 16:03.710 Hannah didn't leave her son's faith to chance. 16:03.850 --> 16:05.630 She was very, very intentional. 16:05.750 --> 16:09.890 She took all the necessary steps to dedicate him unto the Lord. 16:11.086 --> 16:14.726 Now, if you're one of those parents who thinks, well, we need to be neutral about Jesus, 16:14.866 --> 16:17.566 we need to allow our kids to chart their own path, 16:17.646 --> 16:20.586 well, if that's you, you've missed the point of life. 16:21.686 --> 16:24.126 That tells me Jesus isn't very important to you. 16:24.626 --> 16:28.586 And if Jesus isn't very important to you, that means you don't know him very well. 16:29.186 --> 16:34.806 Because when you get to know Jesus, you'll crawl over a broken glass to get your kids to him. 16:34.806 --> 16:35.959 Amen. 16:35.960 --> 16:38.240 I talk with parents all the time who are struggling 16:38.240 --> 16:40.620 with a rebellious or defiant child. 16:40.620 --> 16:44.040 And so I just start asking questions. 16:44.040 --> 16:46.620 Well, how do they like their life group? 16:46.620 --> 16:48.020 Well, they don't go. 16:48.020 --> 16:50.800 How much are they getting out of a youth group 16:50.800 --> 16:51.639 on Wednesday nights? 16:51.640 --> 16:54.640 Well, they need to start going. 16:54.640 --> 16:56.060 I wish they would start going. 16:56.060 --> 16:59.940 Okay, let's get them to summer camp this summer. 16:59.940 --> 17:02.800 Church will help you pay the way to get them to summer camp. 17:02.800 --> 17:04.180 Well, I'm not sure they'll go. 17:04.883 --> 17:06.123 And I'm dumbfounded by that. 17:06.323 --> 17:07.423 Who's in charge? 17:08.183 --> 17:12.603 Why are you letting your teenager raise himself or herself? 17:13.203 --> 17:15.323 Now, I know that sounds harsh, but it's the reality. 17:15.563 --> 17:17.042 It's true. 17:17.043 --> 17:21.143 In no world do my kids have a choice of whether they come to church or not. 17:21.883 --> 17:24.243 I don't give them a choice whether they go to school. 17:24.543 --> 17:28.523 In church, their eternity is a whole lot more important than a little education. 17:29.243 --> 17:33.743 As parents, we've got to decide what is our target that we're aiming at. 17:34.178 --> 17:36.078 We've got to decide, and then we've got to shoot at the target. 17:36.358 --> 17:40.198 We have to assume responsibility for our kids' faith. 17:40.318 --> 17:45.978 Now, does that mean that they're going to automatically believe and follow Jesus? 17:46.138 --> 17:47.878 Well, unfortunately, it doesn't mean that. 17:48.638 --> 17:51.778 Every child must make their own decision. 17:52.198 --> 17:55.638 But let's make it as easy as possible on them for them to believe. 17:56.639 --> 18:08.619 Moms, you play an incredibly vital, important role that God has specifically given you in cultivating faith within your kids. 18:09.679 --> 18:11.059 Now, I had an amazing dad. 18:11.119 --> 18:12.819 I praise God for my dad. 18:12.819 --> 18:18.819 But I highly doubt that all of us kids would be serving the Lord like we are without my mom. 18:19.927 --> 18:23.467 My mom was and is a spiritual giant 18:23.467 --> 18:28.467 who God used in absolutely miraculous ways in my life. 18:28.847 --> 18:31.027 Earlier this week, I was telling the Lord, 18:31.027 --> 18:32.267 as I was praying for my mom, 18:32.267 --> 18:34.887 I was telling him about all I was thankful for, 18:34.887 --> 18:36.947 and these words just came out of my mouth. 18:36.947 --> 18:40.707 Mouth, God, my mom's one of the greatest masterpieces. 18:40.700 --> 18:48.360 She's the greatest masterpiece of your grace, and the image of Christ is just placed on her like no one I've ever met before. 18:48.540 --> 18:50.140 Thank you for my mom. 18:50.640 --> 18:52.140 Now, that doesn't mean my mom's perfect. 18:52.140 --> 18:56.360 It means by God's grace, God has made her something beautiful. 18:57.600 --> 19:00.080 Now, if you're not a ginger spradling, don't beat yourself up. 19:00.180 --> 19:01.260 God only made one of them. 19:02.975 --> 19:04.234 You be you. 19:04.235 --> 19:08.075 God doesn't want you to be anyone else but you by his grace. 19:08.175 --> 19:13.395 My point is be like my mom and showing your kids Jesus with your life. 19:14.015 --> 19:15.435 Pray your kids to Jesus. 19:15.855 --> 19:18.015 Love your kids to Jesus. 19:19.055 --> 19:20.155 Now here's our last principle. 19:20.155 --> 19:26.635 We learn from Hannah that a godly mother is willing to let her children go for God. 19:28.495 --> 19:29.875 That's a hard thing. 19:31.763 --> 19:35.903 Let me ask you, what's your goal as a mom? 19:36.923 --> 19:43.103 Do you want your child to fulfill all your plans that you have for them 19:43.103 --> 19:44.283 and make you very happy, 19:44.283 --> 19:47.883 or do you want your child to fulfill all of God's plans for them 19:47.883 --> 19:49.443 and make him happy? 19:50.603 --> 19:51.883 You know, we hold our little baby, 19:51.963 --> 19:54.843 and it's like we want to just write our will upon our child. 19:54.843 --> 19:59.263 What if we said, God, would you write your will upon my child? 20:00.029 --> 20:03.889 Now, I'm not suggesting any of you bring your toddler down to the church and have the pastors raise him. 20:04.069 --> 20:06.829 That would be a disaster for everyone involved, I promise. 20:09.609 --> 20:16.129 But I do believe that God calls every mom and every dad to be like Hannah. 20:16.129 --> 20:21.929 Hannah had a unique vow that God blessed, but he calls all of us to give our children back to God. 20:23.047 --> 20:30.027 You know, one of the keys to having fulfillment as a parent is to recognize that our kids are not actually ours. 20:30.387 --> 20:31.467 They don't belong to us. 20:32.027 --> 20:33.526 They belong to God. 20:33.527 --> 20:34.547 He's who made them. 20:35.087 --> 20:36.807 He's who gave them. 20:36.807 --> 20:39.887 And he's who someday they're going to return to. 20:40.207 --> 20:42.647 We're simply stewards of them. 20:43.727 --> 20:46.067 Sometimes we steward them for 18 years. 20:46.847 --> 20:49.347 Sometimes it's 26 years in our day and age. 20:51.734 --> 20:53.154 Sometimes it's only six years. 20:54.494 --> 21:01.254 One of the things that I think got my parents through the tragedy of their six-year-old daughter, Charity, 21:01.254 --> 21:06.534 being hit by a car and killed was their knowledge that Charity belonged to God. 21:07.414 --> 21:14.794 That she was a gift from Him and they were thankful for the time that God gave her to them. 21:16.614 --> 21:20.654 You see, we're stewards of that which belongs to the Lord already. 21:21.485 --> 21:24.965 Now, to be clear, I want to say it again so none of you get any weird ideas. 21:25.045 --> 21:29.785 God's not calling you, I can tell you, to bring your toddler to us at the church to raise. 21:30.785 --> 21:31.805 I don't believe that. 21:32.165 --> 21:34.944 I hope not. 21:34.945 --> 21:44.825 But I do believe that some of you moms who are listening right now will be called upon to give your kids to the mission field. 21:45.785 --> 21:50.985 I believe there's some kids in our preschool ministry, in our kids' programs, in our youth groups, 21:51.125 --> 21:57.725 who someday God's going to call to leave mom and dad and go to another city and plant a church there. 21:58.365 --> 22:01.845 God's going to call them to leave mom and dad and their country 22:01.845 --> 22:06.125 and go to the edges of our world to take the good news of Jesus to the nation. 22:06.125 --> 22:11.605 So let me ask you, are you willing to let them go for God? 22:13.358 --> 22:16.378 If not, you haven't fully dedicated your kids to the Lord. 22:16.438 --> 22:17.917 They belong to Him. 22:17.918 --> 22:22.998 Our most important job as parents is to be like Hannah and to give our kids unto the Lord. 22:23.158 --> 22:26.778 Now, that's going to mean a lot of different things for different people based on God's will. 22:27.218 --> 22:31.378 But every parent, we should dig deep with honesty before the Lord, 22:31.378 --> 22:36.198 and we must be willing to say, God, they're yours, whatever your will may be done. 22:37.338 --> 22:42.678 Now, I know that's perhaps especially difficult for moms, but that's your calling. 22:43.345 --> 22:44.445 And it's a high calling. 22:44.585 --> 22:48.825 You are stewarding the gift of God that belongs to him for his purposes. 22:49.405 --> 22:52.045 To steward the gift that God has entrusted to you. 22:52.185 --> 22:57.665 And then to present those gifts back to him for him to do as he pleases. 22:59.745 --> 23:02.325 As we begin wrapping up here on Mother's Day, 23:02.325 --> 23:07.185 I think it's important to note that motherhood in our culture is sort of under attack. 23:07.345 --> 23:10.125 The birth rate in our country is dropping like a rock. 23:11.712 --> 23:16.512 More and more women are choosing comfort and career over being a mom. 23:16.512 --> 23:20.352 And sadly, so, so many women 23:20.812 --> 23:24.592 are going to miss out on the special calling of motherhood. 23:25.692 --> 23:29.032 I want to end our time this morning 23:29.392 --> 23:32.672 by reading a conversation between two ladies, 23:32.672 --> 23:35.932 and one of the ladies wrote about the conversation. 23:35.932 --> 23:38.012 She says, Time is running out for my friend. 23:39.505 --> 23:43.365 While we are sitting at lunch, she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking 23:43.365 --> 23:45.265 of starting a family. 23:45.265 --> 23:50.145 What she means is that her biological clock has begun its countdown and she's being forced 23:50.145 --> 23:52.265 to consider the prospect of motherhood. 23:52.265 --> 23:55.845 We're taking a survey, she half-jokingly says. 23:55.845 --> 23:59.185 Do you think that I should have a baby? 23:59.185 --> 24:02.545 It will change your life, I say carefully, keeping my tone neutral. 24:02.545 --> 24:06.905 Oh, I know, she says, no more spontaneous vacations. 24:06.905 --> 24:09.145 But that is not what I mean at all. 24:09.155 --> 24:11.275 I tried to decide what to tell her. 24:11.455 --> 24:15.495 I want her to know what she'll never learn in childbirth classes, 24:15.815 --> 24:18.615 that the physical wounds of childbearing heal, 24:18.975 --> 24:21.935 but that becoming a mother will leave an emotional wound so raw 24:21.935 --> 24:24.335 that she will forever be vulnerable. 24:24.335 --> 24:25.522 I want her to know. 24:25.523 --> 24:29.483 I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking, 24:29.643 --> 24:30.903 what if that had been my child? 24:31.463 --> 24:34.323 That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. 24:34.683 --> 24:36.943 That when she sees the pictures of starving children, 24:37.063 --> 24:40.323 she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. 24:41.023 --> 24:46.583 I look at her manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, 24:46.583 --> 24:51.023 becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. 24:52.017 --> 24:56.737 that an urgent call of mom will cause her to drop her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. 24:57.777 --> 25:02.157 I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she's invested in her career, 25:02.537 --> 25:05.237 she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. 25:05.897 --> 25:10.717 She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting 25:10.717 --> 25:13.217 and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. 25:13.777 --> 25:20.537 She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home just to make sure her child is all right. 25:21.278 --> 25:27.678 I want my friend to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine, that a five-year-old 25:27.678 --> 25:31.718 boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at a restaurant will become 25:31.718 --> 25:37.558 a major dilemma, that issues of independence and gender will be weighed against the prospect 25:37.558 --> 25:40.778 of a child molester that may be lurking in the restroom. 25:40.778 --> 25:45.658 However decisive she may be in the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as 25:46.861 --> 25:51.361 Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the 25:51.361 --> 25:56.421 pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. 25:56.421 --> 26:02.081 That her life now, so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. 26:02.081 --> 26:07.061 That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but she will hope for many 26:07.061 --> 26:11.821 more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his. 26:12.275 --> 26:17.775 My friend's relationship with her husband will also change, but not in the way she thinks. 26:18.295 --> 26:25.415 I wish that she could understand how much more she can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby 26:25.415 --> 26:28.315 or never hesitates to play with a son or daughter. 26:29.235 --> 26:36.175 I think she should know that she will fall in love with her husband again for reasons she would now find very unromantic. 26:36.423 --> 26:41.103 I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to hit a baseball. 26:41.383 --> 26:47.303 I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. 26:47.303 --> 26:52.143 I want her to taste the joy that's so real it hurts. 26:53.315 --> 27:00.455 My friend's quizzical look reminds me or makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. 27:01.095 --> 27:02.955 You'll never regret it, I finally say. 27:03.395 --> 27:08.975 Then squeezing my friend's hand, I offer a prayer for her and me 27:08.975 --> 27:15.555 and all mere mortal women who stumble their way into this holiest of callings. 27:16.815 --> 27:19.395 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, if you will. 27:21.108 --> 27:24.288 This is a special holy moment in the life of our church. 27:30.648 --> 27:32.608 I want to encourage you moms, 27:34.768 --> 27:37.608 that whatever your circumstance is today, 27:38.508 --> 27:40.008 that you draw close to the Lord. 27:41.168 --> 27:45.388 If you need to be comforted because of pain that you're feeling, 27:45.388 --> 27:48.508 that you would find your comfort in Jesus today. 27:49.508 --> 27:56.288 That if you need to be encouraged in some particular way as a mom, that you be encouraged today. 27:58.728 --> 28:08.628 You know, maybe you're here today and you live with deep wounds that were inflicted maybe even by your moms. 28:10.298 --> 28:13.398 Something she said, something she did. 28:13.458 --> 28:15.118 Maybe you could never please your mom. 28:15.258 --> 28:18.738 No matter what you did, no matter how hard you tried, and you live with this wound, 28:19.498 --> 28:22.378 I want to invite you to allow God to heal you today. 28:23.678 --> 28:26.898 Maybe you're a mom and you struggle with guilt. 28:28.178 --> 28:30.358 You wish, man, I wish I had done this differently. 28:30.358 --> 28:32.138 I wish I had done that differently. 28:32.238 --> 28:36.698 I want to encourage you right now to just give it all to the Lord. 28:37.973 --> 28:39.213 His grace is amazing. 28:39.653 --> 28:40.873 It takes care of everything. 28:41.713 --> 28:46.873 You just place your child into his hands and you trust him as you pray for him or her. 28:48.933 --> 28:51.373 You know, moms, maybe you have a wayward child. 28:51.453 --> 28:55.693 I want to invite you in a moment just to pour out your heart to Jesus about it. 28:57.673 --> 29:02.913 Whatever raw emotions you have, you just let him know all about it. 29:03.133 --> 29:05.213 And you pray for your baby. 29:07.167 --> 29:11.047 I don't know the pain that you might be feeling or the celebration that you're feeling, 29:11.127 --> 29:14.067 but I do know that Jesus is here for you. 29:15.187 --> 29:18.767 Now, the focus this morning has been on our moms today, and rightfully so. 29:20.427 --> 29:24.107 But if you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, 29:24.107 --> 29:27.187 I want to invite you to give your life to Him today. 29:27.923 --> 29:35.923 It's amazing. I'm constantly amazed as a pastor. I'll preach on one subject and someone else will 29:35.923 --> 29:41.003 say, tell me something specific. Like, man, were you talking just to me? And they'll tell me about 29:41.003 --> 29:48.043 their situation. And I'm like, I wasn't talking to you at all. It was the Holy Spirit though, right? 29:48.680 --> 29:55.480 He takes the word of God and he applies it in very, very specific ways. 29:55.620 --> 30:00.080 And so maybe God is speaking to your heart and it's not because you're a mom. 30:01.540 --> 30:04.960 Maybe you came today simply because your mom drug you here. 30:05.920 --> 30:07.120 She wanted you to be here. 30:07.220 --> 30:08.860 So you honor your mom today. 30:08.980 --> 30:11.840 And that is wonderful that you did that and you came, 30:11.920 --> 30:13.940 but maybe you had no intention of meeting God today. 30:15.511 --> 30:19.231 But perhaps as you arrive from the moment you stepped under our campus, 30:19.231 --> 30:23.551 God began to speak to your heart that you're loved. 30:25.651 --> 30:29.071 And I want to echo what the Holy Spirit's already been touching you about. 30:30.811 --> 30:31.951 That you are loved. 30:32.611 --> 30:36.291 That God sees you in all of your pain, all of your failure, 30:36.291 --> 30:38.331 all of your brokenness, and he still loves you. 30:38.491 --> 30:43.031 That the Bible says while we were still sinners, that's when Christ died for us. 30:44.283 --> 30:49.483 Scarcely will a righteous man die for a righteous person, 30:49.563 --> 30:51.843 but how much more for sinners like us? 30:53.323 --> 30:56.283 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son 30:56.283 --> 31:01.303 that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 31:01.343 --> 31:05.463 I want to invite you to receive the life that God offers you today. 31:07.283 --> 31:12.483 I want to invite you in just a moment after I pray, it's going to be a special time in our service. 31:12.623 --> 31:15.103 We're going to stand and we're going to sing together after I pray. 31:15.443 --> 31:18.723 And there's going to be pastors and other leaders, men and women here at the front. 31:20.223 --> 31:23.803 Maybe you need to take one of them by the hand and say, can you pray for me? 31:25.243 --> 31:28.923 Ladies, maybe you need to take one of these ladies by the hand and say, can you pray for me? 31:30.643 --> 31:35.183 Maybe you need to go to these steps and let them serve as an altar and do business with God. 31:35.954 --> 31:42.114 But I want to invite those of you who don't have a personal relationship with God to meet Him today by faith. 31:43.854 --> 31:50.454 Maybe you've known about God, but you've never confessed your sin and turned from it and placed your faith completely in Jesus. 31:50.454 --> 31:55.234 And that's the step that must be taken for sin to be paid for. 31:56.626 --> 31:59.126 and for your relationship with God to begin. 31:59.546 --> 32:02.226 So I want to invite you to get to know God today. 32:02.346 --> 32:05.066 There's no greater gift that you can give your mom today 32:05.066 --> 32:08.486 than to trust Jesus as your personal Savior. 32:08.486 --> 32:11.746 There's no greater gift, ladies, that you can give your kids 32:11.746 --> 32:16.646 than for you to be completely, fully dedicated to the Lord. 32:17.635 --> 32:22.575 Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for our moms. 32:23.335 --> 32:25.055 I thank you for my mom, Lord. 32:25.555 --> 32:30.915 I don't want to go overboard and make it sound like she was perfect. 32:31.075 --> 32:35.235 I know she would not want me to do that because it's not true. 32:35.715 --> 32:37.755 But by your grace, you've done something beautiful. 32:38.855 --> 32:40.675 Thank you for how she's loved me. 32:43.353 --> 32:47.813 Lord, I pray for all the moms in our midst and listening in. 32:49.053 --> 32:53.333 Lord, would you encourage them today about the high calling in their life? 32:54.033 --> 32:58.673 Would you comfort them and bring healing, Lord, in areas where they feel guilt? 32:59.593 --> 33:06.673 Would you help them not worry about their kids, but to take their kids and to place them in your arms, 33:07.293 --> 33:09.993 to trust you as they pray? 33:11.365 --> 33:13.025 Father, we need you at this time. 33:13.545 --> 33:16.405 We're asking, Lord, that you would do a great work. 33:17.425 --> 33:21.625 Some of us didn't have parents that loved us like they should have. 33:22.345 --> 33:26.705 Thank you, Lord, for being our Father who loves us perfectly. 33:28.342 --> 33:32.082 Lord, I pray that you would do a great work in our midst. 33:32.222 --> 33:39.302 We pray that you would just stir our hearts, open our eyes, Lord, to see you for as you are. 33:40.162 --> 33:47.222 And Lord, that you would just give people the courage it's going to take to step out and walk one of these aisles, 33:47.822 --> 33:51.102 take one of these leaders and say, I want to give my life to Christ. 33:51.222 --> 33:53.242 Give them the courage it's going to take to do that. 33:53.382 --> 33:55.542 We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 33:56.624 --> 33:58.064 Thanks for listening today. 33:58.064 --> 33:59.724 We hope you enjoyed this message. 33:59.724 --> 34:01.824 And if you did, we would be so grateful 34:01.824 --> 34:03.504 if you left us a review. 34:03.504 --> 34:05.944 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 34:05.944 --> 34:07.244 if you would like to be notified 34:07.244 --> 34:09.144 when a new sermon is released. 34:09.144 --> 34:10.804 If you feel the Lord calling you 34:10.804 --> 34:12.404 to take the next step in faith 34:12.404 --> 34:16.744 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 34:16.739 --> 34:19.839 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 34:20.179 --> 34:22.459 That's podcast to 88988 34:22.459 --> 34:25.399 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 34:26.019 --> 34:29.139 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 34:29.139 --> 34:31.159 to find even more great resources. 34:31.859 --> 34:33.519 No matter where you are in your journey, 34:34.079 --> 34:35.318 know that we love you. 34:35.319 --> 34:36.479 We're praying for you 34:36.479 --> 34:39.479 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.