설교제목 : 너 낳은 어머니를 기쁘게 하라 (May She Who Gave You Birth be Joyful)

Sunday Worship Service’s Sermon (5-14-2023)

May She Who Gave You Birth be Joyful

(Proverbs 23:22-26)

1.     

What is a child's greatest duty and responsibility? It is to make his mother who gave birth to him and raised him rejoice and be joyful.

2.     

Today's text exhorts us: “may your mother and father rejoice who gave you birth (v25)” and teaches us three pieces of wisdom on how to make your mother and father joyful.

The first piece of wisdom is to listen to the father and mother who gave birth to you. See verse 22. ‘Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.’ What does this mean?

It means respect your mother even when she is old. Obedience is thus the basis of honoring one's parents and the beginning of honoring God. Those who obey the parents who gave birth to and raised them can also obey the God who created their life. The first school of life called home is ‘a place where children learn to obey and respect their parents.’ Only then can you live as a person who obeys and honors God. That is why God gave the greatest promise to those who obey and respect their parents, ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ (Ephesians 6:1-3). For obedience is what pleases God most and what pleases parents most.

There is a person whose life went well and who enjoyed a long life on the earth by obeying his mother in this way. That person is John Davison Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937). Rockefeller was a man of great faith. And he is known as the richest man in modern American history. Rockefeller's mother taught him 10 lessons: (1) Serve God first and then serve your father. (2) respect your pastor. (3) Always attend your home church’s Sunday worship services. (4) Always sit in the front during worship. Rockefeller's mother would hold her son's hand and always come to church 40 minutes early and sit in the front row to worship. (5) The right pocket should always be the tithing pocket.  Rockefeller's mother taught him to tithe without fail, even out of his pocket money of 20 cents, which he received as a child. (6) Make no one your enemy. (7) Set a goal in the morning and pray. (8) Before going to bed, reflect on your day and pray. (9) Be sure to read God's Word in the morning. (10) Help others as much as you can if you can. In the end, Rockefeller became a man of great faith, love and service and became the world's richest man. Rockefeller lived for 98 years, and with the money he earned, he set up the Rockefeller Foundation and did many good things. He built 24 universities and 4,928 churches. One day when he turned 76, a reporter asked him. ‘What is the secret of your success as the richest person in the world?’ Rockefeller replied. 'I am able to become the person I am today because I thoroughly obeyed the 10 lessons I received from my mother from a young age.' He was able to live such a great life because his obedience made his mother happy. It is said that Rockefeller valued his mother's words second only to the Bible. Rockefeller obeyed his mother and, just as God promised in the Bible, life went well for him, and he enjoyed a long life on the earth.  Obedience changes your life. Rockefeller's story is just one example which shows us how important it is to obey our parents. The Bible shows countless people whose lives were changed through obedience. The common characteristic of successful characters in the Bible written by God is that they were all obedient people.

The second piece of wisdom is to follow the truths that mothers have bought for their children (v23-25). What is the biggest role of parents?

It is for mothers to buy (learn well) the truth (Proverbs 23:23) and give it to her children. That is, to make Jesus known to her children. It is to bring up children well in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, it is to make godly offspring (Malachi 2:15); It is to raise children who live by imitating Jesus. A mother rejoices the most when her children live by imitating Jesus, the truth.

Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, shed tears of pain and prayed every day for nearly 30 years because of her prodigal son. At the age of 17, Augustine left his hometown to live in a foreign land, where he led a sexually immoral life and followed the heresy of Manichaeism. Because of this, his mother lived day by day with tearful prayers in her pain.

Then, at the age of 31, Augustine met the faithful Bishop Ambrose of Milan. At that time, Monica, knowing that Augustine liked Bishop Ambrose, grabbed her son's hand and ran to the church where he pastored, and together with her son drank in Ambrose's sermon like bottled water. She then wept and prayed more earnestly for her son's soul. Monica was more zealous than before and went to church early and more often. And as she watched her son's heart change anew, Monica loved Ambrose like an angel of God. When Augustine turned 32, he finally returned to the arms of God, pouring out tears of repentance like a river. Augustine later recorded this in his famous book, Confessions, “When my mother saw that I had repented and returned to God, she gave glory to God, and she was overcome with joy and happiness. It was a much richer joy than when any of her mother's long-cherished wishes came true. It was because of Mother’s prayer that I was able to repent and return to God and become a new person.” Afterwards, Augustine served the poor and pitiful people of Africa by pouring out all his energy to lead them to God until he passed away at the age of 76. A mother’s greatest joy and happiness is for her children to return to God. It is for children to imitate their mother's faith and grow up as next generation of faith in their families and churches and live as people who respect God and preach the gospel to the world. Verse 24 in today's text says, "The father who has righteous children will have great joy. Whoever gave birth to such a wise son will rejoice in him.” The ‘righteous’ and ‘wise children’ here refer to children who live according to the truth that their mother bought and gave them.

Third, how can we make mothers rejoice and be joyful? It is to give your heart to your mother (v26). It is to love your mother with all your heart.

It is to understand your mother's heart. And that is to live the very way your mother taught you. Mother is the only person who carried you 9 months in her womb, 3 years in her arms and forever in her heart. Now is the time for us, the children, to give your whole heart to your mother. It is time for us to understand your mother's heart, to know your mother's needs, and to live obediently following the path your mother showed us. St. Augustine's mother, Monica, said that since Augustine's conversion, she had never heard a word of dislike from her son in her entire life. Augustine gave his whole heart to his mother because he knew that he had become a new being because of his mother's tears and sacrifice.

And he followed his mother's faith and life.

Before Jesus died on the cross, in the most difficult and painful moment, he entrusted his physical mother to his beloved disciple, John: “When he saw his mother and John standing nearby, he said to John, here is your mother.” (John 19:27). In this way, Jesus gave his whole heart to his mother even at the moment of cruel suffering on the cross. From that time on, John cared for Mary all her life as his own mother. It was a blessing to both John and Mary. Why did Jesus entrust his mother, Mary, to John among the 12 disciples? The reason why Jesus entrusted his mother Mary to John was because he knew that John was a person who could give his whole heart to his mother Mary.

Just as Jesus said to John that day, today on Mother's Sunday morning, He says the same to us: “Sons, daughters, here is your mother (father) who is more beautiful than flowers.” This means to remember that this person is your mother (father) who gave birth to you and raised you well. This means to give your heart to your mother (father) and make them rejoice and be joyful. This means to take good care of your mother (father) for the rest of your life. Of course, Jesus entrusts parents to all children, but He eHeespecially entrusts parents to children who love their parents with all their heart and live according to their mother's faith.

If you look at the Bible, you can see that the blessings given to mother flow to the children who respect them the most. We can see that the blessings flowing through that family flow to those children who respect their mother well and follow her faith.

3.     

Honor your mother with a heart that honors God. Thank your mother with a grateful heart to God. Love your mother with the heart that loves God. Please your mother with a heart that pleases God. A person who respects your mother well can live as a person who respects God well. (1) Come often and have a good time with your mother. (2) When your mother can eat anything, buy her delicious food. (3) Have many good memories with your mother when she can walk around. (4) Be sure to give your mother some pocket money, even if it is small. (5) Have frequent Sunday worship times with your mother. (6) Pray for your mother.

(Closing Prayer) Dear God, we thank you for the gift of a good mother and a good father who gave birth to us and raised us well. May God bless our mother and father who gave birth to us and raised us. We also want to become children who please the mother and father who gave birth to us and raised us. We also want to live as wise people who honor our mother and God. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!!