VBC 5/12/24 MOTHERS DAY BROTHER CURTIS

Ezekiel 16 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Amen. I want to say I appreciate our choir, I appreciate our band, Brother DJ, and I appreciate a church that says. Amen. Man, I tell you, what a what a just a beautiful thing to prepare our hearts to receive the Word of God as we come to Him with Thanksgiving and remind ourselves of what a gracious God He is. Would you do this with me this morning? Would you just join me in prayer? Lord Jesus, we thank you for this day that we celebrate, a day, Lord, set aside by our by our country to honor mothers. And Lord, we understand that each one of us have a mother. But Lord, I also understand it's a difficult day for a lot of people. It's a difficult day to speak because, Lord, for some it's a day of just sheer celebration. They've had the privilege of having a godly mother or a good mother, and Lord, we thank you for that and we honor that. But for others, Lord, they may stand in the midst of the celebration and say, Lord, I didn't have that. They may bear the scars of that, Lord. There's others that, Lord, our mothers have gone before us into eternity. Some, Lord, have the assurance of heaven and others do not. And then we have those, Lord, that this morning they may be mothers, but their hearts are heavy and there may be kids that are struggling. God assist a day where we we just set our lives before you. Whatever the case may be, the one thing we are assured of, Lord, is that we have a God that loves us. That there's nothing that could separate us from your love. And God, this morning, I I pray you'd be with me as we're gonna look at some difficult passages. And I just pray, God, that you'd give your word to your people, that you would remove me out of the equation. God, and just use your word. Lord, let it challenge each and everyone here today, man and woman, boy and girl. God, that we'd be drawn closer to Christ. And it's in his name we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. I want to ask you to be turning with me first of all. Um in your Bibles. We're gonna start in Ezekiel chapter 16 with a verse. We're gonna be we're gonna look at a lot of scripture today, and I think that's a good thing, but at the same time, uh maybe it maybe give you an opportunity to turn some pages and read some words. But I want to start there, but as we do, I just want to talk about the idea that that Mother's Day, and I believe this, I believe it's a day that's important to Christ. I know it's a national holiday for our country, but we see in John chapter 19 as Jesus was hanging in agony on the cross, uh he speaks those words those words to John, his disciple, behold thy mother, in other words, take care of her. And he loved his mother and he cared for her, and I believe this, guys, we should too. Amen. Mothers play such a pivotal and an important role in our lives. And man, if you have the privilege of honoring your mother, your mother one more time, do that today. Amen. Uh, this coming from somebody who has has had my last opportunity to do that here on earth. Uh, but I believe this. We also can honor them in their absence, amen. And so this morning, I want to talk about mothers, and and and I'm gonna be honest, this is some, I tell you all the time, there's passages that I just like, man, Lord, can we not just do something more fun? Uh but we're gonna talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly this morning. You're like, you shouldn't talk about ugly on Mother's Day. We're going to. So pray for me, guys. We're gonna dig into it. Not all, not all motherhood is is beautiful, amen. Not all of you had a great mama. And we're not gonna pretend today like everybody's got a storybook tell, but here's the thing in Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 44, it says this. Because here's the deal a mother transfers life to their children, amen? I mean, that's like a very practical, obvious observation of what motherhood is, but the reality is this, not only life, but Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 44 says this behold, every one of us, everyone that uses Proverbs shall use this proverb against the saying, as is the mother, so is her daughter. Amen. Young men, don't overlook that. I know people have told you, you know, if you're gonna marry her, you probably need to look at mama. And you're like, oh, now she's not gonna turn out. I promise you she will. Amen. And that's not all bad. My mother-in-law was here this morning. That's a good thing. Amen. I love my mother-in-law, and she loves me as far as I know. So that's a good thing. But uh, man, this idea that it transfers, it passes down. 2 Timothy, we see Paul is writing to Timothy, young Timothy, and he says in verse number five of 2 Timothy chapter 1, he says, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice. And I'm persuaded that it's in thee also. He says, Listen, I knew your grandma, I know your mom, and I see them in you. I see their faith being lived out in your life. And he also says this, I see it. Not only do I see it in you, he says in chapter 3, verse 15, that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. They made sure that you knew the Word of God, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And so the idea that a mother passes life to her children is not only an objective observation of the definition of motherhood, but it's also a definition and understanding spiritually that you have an obligation to pass life, eternal life, the knowledge and the understanding of the scriptures and of Christ to your kids. And so this morning I want to look at three different moms. I don't know that I've ever preached on any of these three moms on Mother's Day, and I'm gonna take a pretty big shot in the dark and go. I don't think there's another preacher's ever preached about the middle one on Mother's Day. And some of y'all, when I get there, you're gonna be like, what are you doing? And I agree with you, okay? This is this is everybody, everybody ready? Got your attention? Cinch it down, buckle down, amen. It's Kim laughs at me every time we're on an airplane, we're fixing to land. I just cinch it down and and I put my hands on the headrest behind me. She's like, stop it. She thinks I'm like making some display. Guys, if we crash, I want to be ready. Amen. Cinch it down. Here we go. We're gonna look at first. Guys, there's there's a story uh in Proverbs chapter 31. See, we're gonna start easy. Yeah, I thought it was gonna be hard. Proverbs 31, that's every Mother's Day. Let's start there. Let's start with the usual. Proverbs 31, and guys, here's something that I just didn't, and I've I know I taught this last year in our Mother's Day banquet, but uh or our breakfast with ladies, but it's a passage that's literally written about women, but it's written by King Lemuel. Um and in digging this year, I a lot of scholars believe, and I don't know that I ever run across this before, but a lot of scholars believe that that's a pseudonym for Solomon. In other words, he was still the one writing this, but he just wrote it under another name. Uh, we don't know for sure, uh, but it here's what that would mean if that is true. Uh it says, listen, this is the way the words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that mom taught him. And so he's he's repeating them what his mother taught him. If this is Solomon, then the mother that taught him these words would have been Bathsheba. Most remembered for being David's lover. Whether it was against her will or not, it doesn't matter. She's a woman that had a troubled past. And she may also be the origin of the most frequently used words concerning advice for womanhood. How about that? Amen. She describes to her son the ideal wife. Young men, read this passage. She's telling her son, either way, this is in the book of prophecy. This is in the book that Solomon bound and to hand to his son to say, listen, this is, man, this is the best information I give you. These are the things I would teach my son. He says in verse number three, this is what she would have taught her son. Give not thy strength to strange women, nor thy nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. I know it's Mother's Day, but can I echo some mamas here to some young men? Don't. Don't give your strength to strange women. Kingdoms have been destroyed. Like protect yourself, guard yourself. For it's it's not for kings, O Limul. It's not for kings to drink wine either. For for princes to strengthen for nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Here's a mother's love, and she ought to be an example of God's love, but she's also trying to teach them right and wrong. She's trying to help them avoid a lot of heartbreak and a lot of pain and thank God for godly mothers. Amen. I know I've shared this many times before, but I had a godly mother, and one of the gifts she had, she just had perception. Like if she would she God would would just like she would see things and she would see through things that sometimes other people around her couldn't see, and and and oftentimes that was me as a son, you know. Like I'd have a girl and I'd think, man, this is the one. And mom's like, No, you don't like her. And I'm like, what do you mean? But you can't tell me who I can like and who I can't like. She's like, you don't like her. And I look back, and you know, she was she's a good judge of character, amen. She never said that about Kim, by the way, so that's all it's all good. Some of y'all are like, I wonder if you something, no, absolutely not. She's trying to teach them right and wrong, she's trying to teach them things that'll avoid heartbreak. You know what mom saw that I couldn't see? She's like, listen, I can see her, and she's gonna break your heart, she's gonna hurt you, she's gonna bring problems into your life. God, listen, mom, if you're a mom, be a good mom. Amen. Be a good mom. Don't be so concerned with their momentary happiness. I just want you to be happy. That you invite them to bring lifelong pain and suffering into their lives. Thank God for a mom that would tell me things I didn't want to hear. Amen. She is a good mom. I was young and dumb. Be a good mom. Teach them, bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. That means tell them things that they may not want to hear. Prepare them for the path. Quit trying to prepare the path for the child. Oh, we just want them to be happy. Well, they probably won't be. Right? Y'all know how it is. I mean, if you don't have self-control, I tell parents all the time, if you don't teach a kid self-control, they're gonna either end up dead or in prison. That's how that works. Like you've got to teach them to rein it in, which means you don't always get to do what makes you happy in the moment. Be a good mom. And moms, be careful. This is Bathsheba teaching her son. This is this is the one we always teach Proverbs 31. What an example, but I don't want to stop there this morning. My point with that is this, guys, be careful. This is a woman who had a story, she had a past, and she's teaching her son some truth. Moms, be careful. What you love and what example you set before your kids. Which brings us to Matthew 14. Some of you are like, is this the middle one? Yeah, this is. Not only are we gonna look at the woman who probably deserves the award for worst mom ever, but I think she also gets the award for the worst birthday present ever. You may not be familiar with Matthew chapter 14, and let's just I'll just kind of give you a backstory on it and then we'll read it together. It's again, this is we use we have this word in our culture. We come from a dysfunctional family. We all do. Amen. So humanity's broken. And her great her, this this woman we're fixed to look at, her crazy, and I don't use that word lightly, like literally, her, that's what history records. Her crazy grandfather was Herod the Great. And he had her father executed, his own son, out of paranoia. And history says it was safer to be his dog than his son. That's grandpa, and and so grandpa kills her father and then gives her to her uncle to be his wife. She wasn't real happy about that. She later leaves him to become the second wife of Herod Antipas. And she's the mother of a daughter named Salome. So let's read Matthew 14, verse 1. At that time, Herod the Tetrarch of the fame of Jesus said unto his servants, this is John the Baptist. He is risen from the dead, and there's another, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. He sees Jesus and he's saying, This is John the Baptist. And understand, and then he tells the backstory. The reason Herod's paranoid, he says this, for Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. That's the woman we're going to look at, is Herodias. So I want you to focus on her this morning. For Jod said unto him, It's not lawful for thee to have thee, for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude because they counted him as a prophet. And when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John the Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry. Yeah, he is. He's sorry. Nevertheless, for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meet, he commanded it to be given to her, and he sent and beheaded John the Baptist in prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and he gave it to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. This same Herodias that we read about here. Guys, I want you to see this. She is the one who takes her daughter and uses her for her own gain. This is a selfish woman who takes her daughter and has her come in during this party and dance before her own husband. Guys, that alone is messed up. Amen? Can we just stop and say a word about moms? Be careful about how your kids dress even at home. Two amens. That's good. Let me say it again. Moms, be careful how your kids dress, especially at home. She doesn't only dress her up, she has her come in and dance for her husband. How messed up is that? And history tells us this. It says it's unlikely that a princess would come in and dance before the king anyway. Because it would really just sort of cheapen her market value, if you will. If she comes in and she plays the part of a harlot, if she comes in and she's basically, I mean, to use the modern word, she's the one that's coming in and enticing everybody, and she's the one that's dancing seductively before the king. You normally wouldn't have the princess do that. But here's mom, and she understands that that's not normal. So she has her daughter come in, probably veiled up in the garb of the Arab world, and she comes in and and and I wrestled with this, but guys, here's what we have here. We have a mom pimping out her daughter. And if that term offends you, it should. Because it's accurate and it happens every day in the United States of America. Moms that are so selfish that they're not only using their kids for their own personal gain and their own personal glorification, but I'm talking about literally selling their children. Because the drunken king wouldn't assume it was the princess. He wouldn't assume it was Saloon. And the plot works. And the king gives her in verse 7 the man a chance of a lifetime. He says, I'll give you whatever you ask for. He is so impressed with her. That this drunken king says, I'll give you anything. You have the opportunity to have anything in the world. And her selfish mother, who has already set the table, created the plot, put her in place, convinces her to use that opportunity. You can have anything you want in the world. And what's her, I want to murder a preacher. Like that's just that's a that's a bad deal, right? Like you can have anything in the world. And this selfish mother convinces her daughter to make this foolish decision. Not only is that her daughter, but as I was doing research and trying to put together the family tree, I noticed something else that I've never seen before. This mom, this Herodias, this horrible mother, selfish mother who used her children for her own personal gain. You know who her son was? In Acts chapter 16, verse 28, Paul is standing before the Roman government. And there's a guy, he says, I may have the wrong reference. There's verse 28. He says, uh, he's speaking to a king Agrippa. And King Agrippa says, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. That's Herodias' son. Salome's brother. Here's a woman in Herodias that gains political power. The history tells us she divorced her first husband because he wasn't powerful and he didn't have, you know, the bankroll she wanted. He didn't have the portfolio that she wanted. So she divorces him and she comes over here and marries this other guy because he had he was more, he had more upward, you know, momentum, and he looked like he might get her somewhere politically. And so she marries him and she gains political power, but she loses her kids. The greatest mistake of her life wasn't being a bad mom, it was her selfish example and lifestyle that caused her own children to reject Christ. Moms, can I tell you? You're the greatest influence in your children's life. I think it's Abraham Lincoln that said, Everything I am, I owe to a godly mother. Guys, understand, especially moms to your sons. I know that's a connection that a lot of people don't understand. But she was a selfish woman. It was all about her, and she used her children for her own personal gain. So we see another dysfunctional woman who just missed the mark. Man, I don't want to look at a third mom this morning. It gets better, okay? She's another woman with a difficult story, and I think it's because all women, in fact, I think all people have a difficult story, amen. But all women, I mean, uh I showed up at a board meeting last week for the college with a pink iPad. The guys are, Kim's like, they give you grief. I'm like, of course they did. Walk in, they're like, is that your pink iPad? I'm like, I lived in a house full of women for the last 30 years. I don't care. You know, I don't know any other way. But here's what I know, guys. All women have a hard story. It's a difficult life. It's it's a lot that's asked of you. And it's a difficult story, and so we see in 1 Kings chapter 17, if you turn there with me, we see a woman who she's a widow in ancient times, which means she has no provider, and there's a famine in the land, and her son is too young to help provide. And she makes choices that are going to forever impact her child. Just like Herodias, she makes some choices, but unlike Herodias, she makes the right choices. 1 Kings chapter 17, verse 9, God's speaking to Elijah the prophet. He says, Get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidane, and there, behold, I have commanded a widow woman to dare sustain thee. Understand this, guys, God is in control. Amen. God tells Elijah, go, and when you get there, I've already moved on the heart of a woman who's going to help you. And he rose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering of sticks, and he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And she said, As the Lord, look, thy God, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise, and behold, I'm gathering two sticks that I may go and dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and die. It's a difficult story. And Elijah says to her, Fear not, go and do as thou said, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it to me, and after make for thee and for thy son. And if he stopped right there, that's just a cruel request. But he continues in verse 14 and says, For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day the Lord sendeth reign upon the earth. He doesn't just say, Hey, take care of me first. He says, Listen. And he and he has to he feels the need to qualify it, which means he knows this is a weird request. He says, Listen, would you make me a small cake first? Because God has said that he's gonna let the meal last. He's gonna let the oil last. It won't fail until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. Can we agree right here? This is a woman who's acting unselfishly. And she and her house did eat many days. If she had acted selfishly, it would have been the end and the ruin of their home. But because she acts unselfishly, and the Bible says that the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah. And so I want you to see this, not only this mother that we've talked about, because we it's Mother's Day and we always focus on moms, but but I want to move from there, guys, to understand motherhood is not just a means in and of itself, it's a means to an end. You're the giver of life, not only to bring life, to bring life into existence, but also you're the one that carries that life, not only in the womb, but carries it through and speaks truth into the life of those children. And this young man, he got to see a mother. Honor God's word and trust in God and have faith in God and God's plan and provision. He not only got to see it, the Bible says he tasted of it many days. Like they got to eat. It wasn't just an idea, a theory. Oh, she has faith in a God that we can't see and don't understand. No, he got to eat of the fruit of her faith. He got to see it in life. It's like Isaac seeing Abraham honor God and trust him in spite of doubt. And I've preached that so many times. The last couple times I preached it. Can you imagine being Isaac laid on an altar and your father being willing to trust God? And then you not only got to have the fear and the anxiety that comes with that, and probably the counseling that followed up, right? But at the same time, you also got to hear the voice of God speak to your father and say, Hey, Abraham, don't touch you. I will provide myself a lamb. Look over in the bushes. And he goes, and then God provides his beautiful picture, the illustration that would be used for the rest of the Old Testament. And we see that there, that God provides himself. And Isaac got to see that. Guys, Isaac got to experience that. He got to see his father's faith on display, and I promise you it changed his life. Here we see a young man, a boy who we don't know the exact age, we just know he's a child, and he can't help provide. And mom's there trying to get ready, and this stranger shows up and says, Hey, make me a cake first, and God will bless you. But this young man got to see mom act unselfishly and take care of somebody else and trust in God and literally put her faith on the line, and then he got to see God come through. Proverbs 1 7 says this the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. This God-fearing woman who trusted God, she's not promised a carefree, pain-free life. She did what was right and God blessed. And the Bible tells us that the meal didn't waste and the oil didn't, you know, didn't run out, and they got to eat for many days until the famine was over, and what a beautiful passage that is. But I'm not here to tell you that if you follow the Lord and you do right, that everything's easy. You can find people tell you that, but I don't find it in Scripture. I often said the apostles didn't believe in that, but I don't think this woman believed in it either, because at the end of her life, verse 17, it says this, as the story continues, it came to pass after these things, after the period of time that the rain didn't fall and the crops didn't grow, and the famine was in the land, and they're eating and having plenty, and for they and they ate many days. After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very sore, and there was no breath left in him. The same son that got to watch mom's faith on display dies. And she says to Elijah, verse 18, What have I to do with thee? Oh, thou man of God. I just, do you hear a tone of voice in there? I mean, if you if you read honestly, I always encourage you to read honestly. I just picture you, oh, you you're a man of God, huh? Are you come to bring my sin to remembrance and to slay my son? She not only has a tragedy strike her home, but it shakes her faith. Because that's what happens when tragedy comes. Is this what I get for trusting God? And before you look down your spiritual nose at her, how many times do we ask that, if something goes wrong in our life, it must be my fault, it must be my sin. God must be judging me because of my imperfections that we know are there. It could be that, or it could be the providence of God working in your life. Amen. God hasn't lost control. God is at work, God has a plan. And there's some moms here today that have buried children. There's moms in our church that have buried husbands. Guys, the questions that follow that are real. Just like we've, man, DJ's been teaching through Job. If you're walking with a mom who's experiencing that pain, man, please don't be like the friends of Job that come in and try to explain it all. The questions are real, they're valid. Amen. The pain, the heartache, the sorrow. But watch what happens next. And Elijah, this man of God, he he says to her, Give me thy son. That's probably the last thing she wants to do. He asked her to trust him one more time with her son. And probably reluctantly, but she but she's desperate. He says, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom. He carried him up into a loft where he abode and laid him upon his own bed, and he cried unto the Lord and said, Oh Lord, my God, thou hast also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourned by slaying her son. And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried unto the Lord and said, Oh Lord, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come again into him. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said unto Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord is in thy mouth, and it's truth. Now not only the mom, but she and her son have both had this encounter with God that'll mark their lives for eternity. Now they understand that they can not only trust God with life, but they can trust him with death. And guys, can I tell you this? We can trust God with our children. It doesn't mean it's always going to be easy, and it doesn't mean it's always going to go well. It just means we have a God we can trust. In this life and with eternity. Amen. Because I'm not preaching stuff. I don't try to live out. It's not easy. It's difficult to trust God. To those who have lost children, guys, can we can I can I remind you of this? You can trust God with your kids. You're like, I don't understand. You can trust them with this life and eternity. Amen. You can trust them with their life and with their death. To those that are watching their children go through unspeakable pain. Guys, we can trust God with our children. To the child this morning that's watched mom trust the Lord. And maybe honestly, you're just wondering why. Like why she does. Like, why do you trust a God that would allow these things to happen in your life? You don't have a perfect life. It's not easy. Why are you trusting in this God? Maybe that words for you this morning. I know many a child that asks that of their mama. We have a generation of children who walked away from the church wondering why mom and dad still believe. What good has it done you? You still suffer, you still go through life. Can I encourage you to do this? Watch the families that trust the Lord in their hour of distress. And watch the others who accuse God and their lives turn into generational dysfunction. You can either trust him and be blessed, or you can walk away from him and suffer the consequences. Understand this, guys, dysfunction is real. And maybe that's your history, maybe that's your past, maybe you didn't have a beautiful family, and it's maybe it's even hard for you to celebrate Mother's Day. But can I promise you this? It's no excuse for our failure. All of us have the opportunity to trust God, to choose to trust him or to do it our way. Mom, can I can I just encourage you with these words? We've looked at the example of three women this morning that had difficult stories. Some chose to be selfish and do it their way, others chose to trust the Lord and trust his word. Can I just remind you, his way is better, God's way is better? Amen. Do you believe that? It's better for parenting. It's better than any other book on the shelf about how to raise your kids, about how to discipline your kids, about how to teach your kids self-control, about how to raise them and see them blessed. Not only for parenting, but it's also better for their life and for eternity. And so this morning, I know it's been kind of an odd journey through the word, but this morning I just, I'm gonna ask our musicians to come and we're gonna have a time of invitation. Because Mother's Day is a hard day. It's a day of a lot of emotion, it's a day that's all over the place, and we've looked at mothers good, bad, and ugly, because the reality is across this room, some of you have mothers that fall in all three categories. And here's what I'm gonna ask us to do this morning. First of all, I'm not just gonna ask you today to be thankful for the moms in your life. I'm gonna ask you to stand to your feet, and as you do, I'm gonna ask you to pray for the moms in your life. Because motherhood is difficult. As they struggle with the pressure to be selfish and take care of number one, which is what this world screams at them, man, just take care of you. Or to be selfless and fulfill their God-ordained role of being a life giver. Selfless love for those around them. Guys, motherhood is hard. So don't just celebrate them today, pray for them. If you have a godly mother, I'm gonna ask you to come and thank God for her. One of the greatest privileges that a human being can have. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, had a mom that spoke truth into his life. Not out of her perfection, but out of her wisdom. And to pray for moms that are struggling today with questions. Maybe they're struggling with their faith, maybe they're struggling with their loss. Or maybe you're here today and you just need to come trust the God you've watched your mom trust all these years. Or maybe a mom needs to come and trust God with that child one more time. I don't know what the specific needs are, but here's what I know. I know we have a choice as we teach our children to live a life, an example before them that's either selfish, to use them for our own personal gain, to live vicariously through them in a way that makes us feel better, or to do that which is best for the child. So I'm gonna pray, and when I'm done, I'm gonna ask you to respond as the Lord leads this morning. Our Heavenly Father, we we come this morning and God, we thank you. We thank you for the godly mothers that are present, we thank you for the godly mothers that have impacted our lives. And Lord, we pray today for the mothers that are represented in this room and in our lives. Lord's such a difficult task, not only in bringing us into this world, but so many times we think, man, that's that's the pain and suffering. And God, that's just the beginning of the pain and suffering we cause our mothers. And I pray for the mothers that are struggling today. I pray for the mothers that, Lord, their faith's been shaken, their confidence has been shaken, and Lord, they're struggling to trust you. But God, here's what we know every time we do. Not only are we blessed, but those around us are blessed. And Lord, their children get to watch Mom trust you and place her faith in you. And then, God, we see the example of that be passed down from generation to generation. Lord, we need more Timothy's in our church. We need more Timothies in our world. But that doesn't come without some godly influence generation to generation. Lord, for some who don't have that, I pray that they would come today and commit to break that cycle of dysfunction, to break that generational curse. And Lord, to come and be the influence that you would have today.