She is the Mother - 5/10/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

All right. If you have a Bible, invite

you to turn with me to the book of First

Kings. First Kings, chapter 3. When you

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

find your place, if you would stand in

honor of us to the reading of God's

word, First Kings, chapter 3,

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

when you find your place, if you would

stand. Thank you for being here in the

service today. We appreciate each one of

you and pray that God would add a

blessing to you this morning. And happy

Mother's Day to all you mothers. Once

again, want to preach here out of this

chapter, give you the thought here after

we read the text, then we'll pray. and

ask the Lord to help us. And a little

different text from Mother's Day is what

God put on my heart. And uh you pray for

me that the Lord will help us this

morning. First Kings chapter number

three. And let's begin reading in verse

number 17. First Kings chapter 3 and

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

verse number 17. The Bible says, "And

the one woman said, oh my Lord, I am

this woman dwell in one house, and I was

delivered of a child with her in the

house. And it came to pass the third day

after that I was delivered that this

woman was delivered also. We were

together. There was no stranger with us

in the house, save we too in the house.

This woman's child died in the night

because she overlaid it. And she arose

at midnight and took my son from beside

me while thine handmmaid slept and laid

it in her bosom and laid her dead child

in my bosom. And when I rose in the

morning to give my child suck, behold,

it was dead. But when I had considered

it in the morning, behold, it was not my

son which I did bear. And the other

woman said, "Nay, but the living is my

son, and the dead is thy son." And this

said, "No, but the dead is thy son, and

the living is my son." Thus they spake

before the king. Then said the king, the

one saith, this is my son that liveth,

and thy son is the dead, and the other

saith, nay, but thy son is the dead, and

my son is the living. And the king said,

"Bring me a sword." And they brought a

sword before the king. And the king

said, "Divide the living child in two,

and give half to the one, and half to

the other." Then spake the woman whose

living child was unto the king. Notice

this. For her boughs yearned upon her

son. And she said, "Oh my lord, give her

the living child, and in no wise slay

it, be but the others said, Let it be

neither mine nor thine, but divide it."

Then the king answered and said, "Give

her the living child." And and no wise

slay it. She is the mother thereof. And

all Israel heard of the judgment which

the king had judged. And they feared the

king, for they saw that the wisdom of

God was in him to do judgment. I want

you to notice a phrase with me out of

verse number 27. It's the thought of the

message this morning. When the King

Solomon says in verse 27, "Give her the

living child and in no wise slay it."

Notice this phrase, she is the mother

thereof. And I want to preach with the

help of the Lord this morning on that

thought. She is the mother. She is the

mother. And I want to give you some

things out of this text on just how

Solomon figured out that this lady was

the mother of this child. Amen. Let's

pray and ask the Lord to help us.

Father, thank you God for this day, for

your grace and your mercy. Thank you for

allowing us to be in the house of God.

And Lord, I realize a little different

service today, God. But I know that you

are the God of every service. And Lord,

we invite you, Lord, into this service.

We pray that you would help us now. And

God, for every law center that's here

this morning, I pray conviction, Lord,

would settle in on their heart. Lord,

for everyone that's not right with you.

I pray, God, that they as well would be

convicted, Lord, of their sinful life

apart from you and be drawn near to you.

And God, I pray this morning every

mother would receive a blessing from

this text. God, I thank you, Lord, for

each one that's present today. And would

you help us to receive with meekness the

engrafted word, get all glory unto

yourself and for what you do, we'll

thank you for it because we ask it in

Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. You can be

seated this morning. Now, I know this is

a different text to preach on Mother's

Day this morning, but I don't want you

to allow the text to turn you away from

the point that I want to make out of

these verses this morning. Now, let me

lay the groundwork if I could just

quickly for this message and we'll get

on in the thought this morning. I notice

in this chapter, this chapter is about

Solomon. Now, King Solomon here has been

anointed that son of David to reign in

David said over the tribes of Judah and

over Israel as a whole. And so, in this

chapter, you'll find three points

concerning Solomon. There is the desire

of Solomon that is met in this text. The

Bible says in chapter number three in

the earlier part that Solomon desired

wisdom and he desired to know the Lord

and to draw near unto him. And out of

that desire there was a dream that

Solomon had. Several verses in this

chapter is attributed under the dream

that Solomon has in this text where God

endused him with wisdom and not only

wisdom but riches, glory and honor as

the king over Israel in this text. But I

think when we come to this chapter often

times we consider the dream we often

times consider to the desire of Solomon.

But I think we fail to consider maybe

the greatest point in this chapter and

that is the discernment of Solomon that

is highlighted in this chapter from

verses number 16 down through the end of

the chapter. The discernment of Solomon

is mentioned in this text. Now out of

this dream of Solomon in verse number 15

it says that he awoke and behold it was

a dream and so he comes back to

Jerusalem and immediately after this

dream there is a test that is placed

upon Solomon and you see not only the

dream of Solomon but you see the defiled

sinners that come unto Solomon in verse

number 16 the Bible says then came their

two women that were harlots unto the

king and stood before him and so these

defiled sinners have come unto Solomon

in this text after his dream. And then

you notice the difficult situation that

is present in verse number 17 as one of

these women began to tell Solomon about

the events that have taken place. Now

mind you this this is a testing of

Solomon's wisdom in this text and out of

this difficult situation we find that

there are two mothers in this text. Look

what the Bible says. And the one woman

said, "Oh my Lord, I and this woman

dwell in one house, and I was delivered

of a child with her in the house. And it

came to pass the third day after that I

was delivered that this woman was

delivered also." So in this text, you

find two mothers. You find two birds

that are mentioned. You find two

children that are mentioned in this

text. And you say, "Preacher, how dare

you preach on two harlots on Mother's

Day?" Well, let me just tell you this

this morning. They're mothers. You're

right.

>> Amen. And what you notice in this text

is something that's true for all mothers

this morning. Now, I want you to

understand with me this morning. I don't

want you to emphasize the sinful life

that these women are living in. Because

the truth of the matter is you and I are

all sinners this morning. Let's just

state the fact. Say, "Ma'am, they ain't

none of us no better than any other of

us." Say, "Ma'am," and we ought to

remember who we are this morning. You

say, "Preacher, well, I'm a good

person." Well, you just ought to

remember the Bible says that all have

sinned and come short of the glory of

God. Amen. And the wages of sin is

death. Amen. But thank God, the gift of

God is eternal life through Jesus Christ

our Lord. And when I come to this text,

I find two very different mothers.

>> And I want to say this on the outset of

the message this morning. All right.

Motherhood has nothing to do with birth.

>> You're right. Come on.

>> Come on, preacher. Let me say this.

Motherhood also has nothing to do with

the behavior of children.

>> You're right.

>> Motherhood has nothing to do with birth.

Because I've known women who had no

children that were greater mothers.

>> You're right.

>> Than mothers who have had many, many

children.

>> You're right.

>> And what we find in this text is a great

contrast. I want to talk to you first of

all concerning this one mother in the

text. This mother is telling the story.

We'll deal with the bad one first and

then the good one at the end of the

message. But we've stated the fact this

morning that both of these ladies are

mothers. One woman here in this text,

she has a child. Three days later, this

other lady in the text has a child. And

the Bible says in verse number 18 that

there there only two of them in this one

house. Verse number 19, the Bible says

this woman that's telling the story, it

says this woman's child died in the

night because she overlaid it. Now, I

want you to note four things about this

woman, first of all, this bad mother in

the text. I note number one, this mother

is careless. Look what the Bible said.

This woman's child died in the night.

What the Bible say? Because she what it

say overlaid. You know what that means?

It means that in her sleep, she had

rolled over on top of her child and had

smothered it to death in this text. And

you say, "Preacher, how could she have

done that?" Well, you understand in this

day and time, they didn't have cribs and

separate rooms. Amen. They had dirt

floors. Amen. And the bed they had was

the bed that the baby stayed in with

them. Amen. And they didn't have

infamil. So when the baby had to be fed,

they had to be near to the mother. And

so the carelessness of this mother, she

had fallen asleep and somehow had became

had gotten on top of this baby and

smothered it here in the text. And so

she is careless. But I note, not only

you say, "Preacher, well that's bad

right there, but let me just say this.

It gets worse." Okay, notice what the

text says. and she arose at midnight in

verse 20 and took my son from beside me

while thine handmmaid slept and laid it

in her bosom and laid her dead child in

my bosom. Now, this woman already, we've

already thought in our mind, well, she's

careless, but this could have been a

mistake. This could have been something

that, you know, it was just an accident

and it happened. But what happens is the

further we go in the story, we realize

that this woman really just is careless.

But I'll say it goes further than that.

She's corrupt. Notice what the Bible

says. and she arose at midnight and took

my son from beside me while thine

handmmaid slept and laid it in her bosom

and laid her dead child in my bosom.

Now, I don't know about you, but if if I

any mother that I know, if a child had

died in its sleep and a mother woke up

and found that child lifeless, I know

what would happen.

>> There would be a shout.

>> There would be screams, shrills, shrieks

because the fear of LOSING THAT CHILD.

BUT YOU DON'T SEE that in this text.

>> Instead, the first thing that this

mother does, she gets this child and

goes into the room of this other mother

and swaps the living child out for the

dead one.

>> You're right.

>> Talk about corruption.

>> Amen. Oh, friend. I could preach right

there for a minute, but I'm going to

move on. All right. I say this, she was

careless. She was corrupt. But it gets

worse. The Bible says in verse 21 that

when the mother of the living child

arose to give her child suck, behold it

was dead. But when I had considered it

in the morning, behold, it was not my

son which I did bear. And the other

woman said, notice this. Nay, but the

living is my son, and the dead is thy

son. Now, let's just get here where

something all you women can identify

with. When you have a baby, you know

which which one's yours and which one

ain't.

>> Amen. Your husband may not.

But you do, okay? You know which one

belongs to you and which one doesn't.

And what's amazing to me about this

story is is that this woman is careless.

She's not only careless, but she's

corrupt so much she's not even thinking

about a funeral for the child that she

has lost, but instead she takes this

dead baby and puts it in the bed with

this other WOMAN AND TAKES HER child for

her own. And then she has the audacity

to say what she says in verse number 22.

The dead one's yours.

You say, "Preacher, what is that?" She's

a charlatan is what she is,

>> right? Amen.

>> She's corrupt, but she's a liar.

>> Right?

>> The worst form of corruption. She lies

about this child. And remember, Solomon

has prayed for wisdom. He has prayed for

discernment. And who is he? He's the

king. And we come in this text. The

Bible says that these two women have

come to him here in the text. And I'll

go ahead and give you the fourth point

and then we'll talk about this good

mother this morning. I'll preach about

it for just a little while. You

understand here out of this text, these

two women have come to Solomon here in

the text. And the Bible says when

Solomon brings out the sword and says,

"All right, let's divide the child in

half and give one half to one mother and

one half to another mother." And the

Bible says that this bad mother, look

what the Bible said in verse 26, the

last phrase. But the other said, let it

be neither mine nor thine, but divide

it. This woman's not only careless,

she's not only corrupt, she's not only a

charlatan, she's a criminal.

>> She's right.

>> She want to murder this child.

>> You say, "Preacher, she's not a mother."

>> But she is, isn't she?

>> That's right. You see, it's not the

children that you have that make you a

mother,

>> right?

>> It's not the husband that you have, the

children that you've raised. It has

nothing to do with the life that you've

lived. But what I find in this text

about this good mother is what shows us

what real motherhood really is. And

Solomon was able to say this in verse

27. He said, "She is the mother." I want

to give you three things this morning

about this woman that makes her the

mother in this text. Now I notice here

in the text we've already pointed out

that both of these ladies were mothers.

They both had children and one has died

and the other is living and they are

fighting over this living child. This

one woman is careless. That's why her

child died but she's corrupt not even to

care to give her own child a funeral.

But instead she goes and swaps him out

for this living child. She's a

charlatan. She lies about it in the

presence of this woman. She lies about

it in the presence of the king. And when

the king asks, she doesn't only stop

there, but she is willing to allow HIM

TO TAKE THE life of this other baby. And

here's what happened. She became

jealous.

>> Right?

>> And so, you know what it was? It wasn't

that she wanted the baby. She wanted the

other baby dead.

>> You're right.

>> Because her baby was dead.

>> You know what? That happens a lot in

this day and time.

>> Not literally, but figuratively

speaking. But I note in this story, this

woman here in the text, I notice first

of all, you think about this. One of

them had to make the choice to come to

the king. Solomon has been dooed with

wisdom. God has anointed him. He has

answered his prayer. He has blessed him

with wisdom, riches, and honor. And just

immediately after Solomon comes out of

this dream, just shortly after, these

two ladies come in this text and Solomon

is the king. And when I think about

first of all I think let me just say

this. I'll give you four things not

three. Number one let's say number one

what makes a real mother? He knew she

was the mother because number one she

came to him

>> right?

>> Who'd she go to? She went to the king.

>> Right.

>> You know how you know who a real mother

is

>> not by her children.

>> Not by her husband.

>> But her relationship to the king.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. She comes to the king. Why?

Because she's got a problem that's

bigger than she is. You're right.

>> And you know what? She doesn't only come

to the king, but you know what? Second

of all, I notice not only her coming,

but I notice her conversation.

You see, the one doing the most talking

to the king in this text is the one

who's the living child is. You're

>> right.

>> She's talking to the king. She's telling

the story. She is making her request

known. I NEED HELP IN THIS SITUATION

BECAUSE I CANNOT FIX IT MYSELF. YOU SAY,

"PREACHER, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME?"

WELL, as a mother this morning, the m

level of mother that you are is not

described BY HOW MANY CHILDREN that you

have or how much love that you show to

them. BUT LET ME SAY THIS, THE LEVEL OF

MOTHER THAT YOU are is decided ABOUT HOW

MUCH YOU TALK TO THE king about your

children.

>> It's decided by how much time in prayer

you spend for them. I can tell you how

much you love your children by how many

times a day you pray for them because

you understand your love is not

stringing upon your affection for them.

But your love is stringent upon first of

all your relationship with God. You can

give them everything. Look, I know you

don't like it, but I'm going TO PREACH

IT ANYWAY. YOUR LOVE is not STRINGING

UPON YOUR EXPRESSION TO THEM. You can

tell them you love them from now until

your dying breath. BUT IF YOU'VE NEVER

TALKED TO GOD ON THEIR BEHALF, I submit

to you, you don't know what real love

is. You're

>> right.

>> Their conversation with the king, SHE

HAD A PROBLEM THAT SHE COULD NOT FIX.

AND LET ME SAY THIS TO YOU, MAMA. YOUR

CHILDREN HAVE A PROBLEM THAT YOU CANNOT

FIX. OH FRIEND, BOY, I FELT A BREEZE

FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY ON THAT. HEY

FRIEND, EVERY CHILD BORN INTO THIS

WORLD, DAVID SAID, "BEHOLD, I WAS SHAPEN

IN INIQUITY, AND IN SIN DID MY MOTHER

CONCEIVE ME. EVERY CHILD THAT'S BORN OF

WOMAN HAS A PROBLEM THAT CANNOT BE

FIXED. AND IT'S THE SIN PROBLEM. IT IS

THE CORRUPTION PROBLEM. AND UNLESS YOU

GO TO THE KING, UNLESS YOU DECIDE TO

MAKE YOUR CONVERSATION BEFORE HIS THRONE

AND BEFORE HIS GLORY, YOU DON'T REALLY

KNOW WHAT LOVING YOUR CHILDREN IS THIS

MORNING. PREACHER,

>> those that love their children. You say,

"Preacher, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? MY

children are mine." But you understand

there's ladies in this church and are

praying FOR YOUR CHILDREN. YOU MAY HAVE

NEVER PRAYED A PRAYER FOR YOUR CHILDREN,

but there's LADIES THAT'S BEEN MORE

MOTHER TO YOUR CHILDREN IN THIS CHURCH

THAN YOU have been.

>> Come on.

>> Because they're praying for your

children. You're

>> right.

>> Your motherhood is not stringing just

upon your affection.

>> You're right.

>> It's stringent upon your

>> prayer.

>> Your supplication

before the king. What does she do? She

tells her complaint.

She tells the story. says, "Lord, this

woman has taken my child." You know what

the truth is? Sin will take your

children.

>> This woman's a type of the enemy. You're

>> right.

>> She's a type of sin. She takes her

children. You know what she did? She

killed her own child.

>> And so, you know what she had to go get

somebody else's,

>> right?

>> Because you know what she won't do? She

want to kill it, too.

>> You know what sin has done? It's plunged

the entire human race into death. Yeah.

The

>> Bible says, "For by one man sin entered

the world, and death by sin, and death

passed upon all men in that all have

sinned." And this woman was trying to

take her baby. And you know what? The

only hope she had was to get to the

king. You're

>> right.

>> I don't know what else to say other than

that. I'm just going to get hung up on

that for a minute. But some of y'all

need to get to the king,

>> right?

>> Amen. Hey, some of y'all need to go and

have a conversation with a king, with a

sovereign. She had A CONVERSATION WITH

ONE who had more power than she did.

This woman, she is the mother. Solomon

decided because she came to him, but

because she conversed with him. Notice

this, not only her coming and her

conversation, but notice her compassion.

The Bible says in the text in verse 26,

that then spake the woman whose living

child was unto the king. Notice this.

For her boughs yearned upon her son, and

she said, "Oh my Lord, give her the

living child, and in no wise slay it,

but the other said, let it be neither

mine nor thine, but divided." You see,

the great imagery in this text is is

that sin has come and taken this woman's

child. And what has happened because sin

has come and taken this woman's child.

You know what's about to happen?

Judgment's going to fall. You say, "What

is that, preacher?" Well, Solomon told

his men, he said, "Go get the sword."

What is that an emblem of? It's an

emblem of judgment. And this baby has

come here in the text because of this

woman's sin, because of what she has

done. And his life is fixing to be taken

because of his sin. And what happens is

when Solomon says, "BRING THE SWORD,"

THAT WOMAN in her heart BEGINS TO FEAR.

THAT WOMAN IN HER HEART BEGINS TO

TREMBLE. SHE BEGINS TO BE BURDENED. SHE

BEGINS TO BE BROKEN. SHE BEGINS TO BE

BEING ON THE INSIDE. WHY IS THAT?

BECAUSE SHE REALIZED THAT HER CHILD WAS

GOING TO DIE.

>> That's right.

>> Notice the text. And the king said IN

VERSE 24, "BRING ME A SWORD." And they

brought a sword before the king. And the

king said, "Divide the living child in

two and give half to the one and half to

the other." You know what that displays?

That displays that this child was going

to have to die.

>> You're right.

>> And the judgment was coming upon it

because of sin. But aren't you thankful?

This mother in the text, the Bible says

she spoke up.

>> Yeah. Come on.

>> You know what I'm not hearing? I'm

hearing a whole lot of women speak up in

this day and time, but they're not

speaking up for their children who are

dying.

>> You're right.

>> They're not speaking up for their

children who they've lost to sin and

lost to the world, and the judgment of

God is on them. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, THE

BIBLE SAYS SHE WENT AND HAD A

CONVERSATION WITH THE KING. WHEN SHE

REALIZED JUDGMENT was coming, THE LOVE

OF GOD IN HER HEART, SHE SAID, "YOU

DON'T TAKE MY BABY'S LIFE."

>> YOU'RE RIGHT. YEAH.

>> Notice the text. She spake. Then spake

the woman who's the living child was

under the king. Notice this. For her

bowels yearned upon her son. You know

what that means? She was moved inside.

She was broken. She was burdened. And

out of that broken burden that she

possessed, she began to beg for the life

of her children. I tell you this, ask

you. LET ME ASK YOU THIS, MAMA. WHEN'S

THE LAST TIME you beg the soul of your

children that's lost AND UNDONE WITHOUT

GOD? WHEN'S THE LAST TIME THE COMPASSION

IN YOUR HEART, SHE DIDN'T PLEAD WITH

THAT OTHER MOTHER. SHE DIDN'T EVEN PLEAD

WITH A BABY. BUT THE COMPASSION IN HER

HEART WENT AND PLED WITH A KING. KING,

GIVE HER TO THE OTHER WOMAN. SAVE HER

LIFE. SAVE HIS LIFE. BECAUSE HER

COMPASSION, SHE DIDN'T WANT HIM TO DIE.

AMEN. RIGHT.

>> More important than physical life. Yeah.

spiritual life.

>> Amen. Right.

>> She was burdened. She was broken. Mom,

are you broken

by the state of your children?

>> Come on, preacher.

>> When they live in sin, they walk in sin.

You say, "Preacher, you know I'm

broken."

Well, it comes back to this question.

Your brokenness will be showed by how

much you pray for them.

>> You're right.

How many times have you went to God on

their behalf and your love for them and

your in your in your heart has expressed

to God, Lord, please have mercy.

You can kiss your children. You can hug

your children and you ought to. You can

kiss your children and you ought to. But

you know what? More than any of that,

you ought to go to God.

>> Amen.

>> You ought to go to God.

I noticed this and I tell you this

morning, you say, "Preacher, this is an

awful hard message for Mother's Day."

Well, WHAT I'M SEEING IN OUR COUNTRY IS

I'M SEEING CHILDREN SLIP THROUGH THE

CRACKS OF OUR FINGERS BY THE THOUSANDS

IN OUR CHURCHES. AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE

MOTHERS HAVE NOT KISSED THEIR CHILDREN

AND HUGGED THEIR CHILDREN, BUT IT'S

BECAUSE THEY'VE NOT INTERCEDED FOR THEIR

CHILDREN. RIGHT?

>> Your love is not judged by your

affection, BUT IT IS JUDGED BY YOUR

PRAYER FOR THEM,

the conversation, the compassion. But

notice this.

There's not only her coming, her

conversation, her compassion, but notice

her concession.

Verse 26, her bows yearned upon her son,

and she said, "Oh my Lord, give her the

living child and in no wise slay it."

But the other said, "Let it be neither

mine nor thine, but divided." You see,

the a real mother's number one greatest

action is prayer. But a real mother's

number one greatest affection

is for that child to live no matter what

it cost her.

>> You're right.

>> Notice the text again. Look what the

Bible says. Oh my Lord, give her the

living child. You know what this mother

was willing to do? so her baby could

live.

>> Come on.

>> She was willing to turn her over. You

say, "Preacher, she was turning her over

into the hands of this other person."

No, she was putting him in the hands of

the king.

>> You're right.

>> You see what she was conceding here in

this text? She was acting upon the

mercies of the king.

>> You're right.

>> Because the king was the one who was in

control of this matter.

>> Is anybody in the building?

>> Come on.

>> She's not concerned about this other

mother, but she's talking to the king

cuz she's concerned about the life of

that baby. And when she conceives the

life of that baby over into THE HAND OF

THE KING, SHE KNOWS THAT REGARDLESS OF

WHAT HAPPENS, the king's got it under

control.

>> The king's going to take CARE OF THE

PROBLEM. THE KING'S GOING TO MAKE SURE

THIS BABY'S ALL RIGHT. I'M SAYING,

FRIEND, SHE TALKED TO THE LORD. SHE HAD

A TENDER LOVE FOR THIS BABY THAT WAS

EXPRESSED IN HER PRAYER UNTO the Lord.

BUT LET ME SAY THIS, WHEN SHE COULDN'T

DO NOTHING ELSE, OH FRIEND, WOULD

SOMEBODY HEAR ME PREACH? WHEN THERE WAS

NO OTHER STEP SHE COULD TAKE, WHEN THERE

WAS NO OTHER MOVE LEFT TO MAKE IN HER

LIFE, YOU KNOW WHAT SHE HAD TO DO? SHE

JUST HAD TO turn him over.

>> Amen.

>> She just turned him over to the Lord.

>> Amen.

>> Just put him in God's hands.

>> That's right.

>> You say, "Preacher, how is it that she

could do that?" She could do that

because she was more concerned about the

life of the baby.

>> You're right.

>> Than she was about her own personal

satisfaction. Yeah.

>> She was more concerned about the life of

the baby than she was about being right.

>> That's right.

>> Right.

>> Come on, preacher.

>> She was more concerned about the life of

the baby than when she was concerned

about anything else that had to do with

herself.

>> You're right.

>> A real mother this morning is more

concerned about the life of her

children. When I say life, I mean

salvation.

>> You're right.

>> Than she is anything else in her own

life.

>> She'll give her last dime. She'll do

everything she possibly can. She'll run

herself racket and do everything in the

wee hours of the night in prayer and

reading the Bible and giving them the

WORD OF GOD TO TRY TO WIN THEIR HEART TO

GOD AND GIVE THEM LIFE BECAUSE NOTHING

ELSE MATTERS TO HER BUT HER CHILDREN

KNOWING AND LOVING THE KING. AMEN.

>> RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> The concession. What did she conceive

this son for? Because it was the only

way for him to live.

>> You're right.

>> Let me say this to you, mother. The only

way your children will live is if you

give them to God. That's

>> right.

>> I'm reminded of a little woman by the

name of Hannah

>> in 1st Samuel chapter number one verse

number 28. The Bible says that she came

and she was barren and she prayed for

this child. I prayed and there in that

chapter the Bible says that she lent him

to the Lord.

>> And the Bible says that she blessed and

magnified the name of the Lord. And you

know what that little baby that God gave

to her? You know what she did? She left

it at the house of God,

>> right?

>> She left it with a man of God, Eli, to

be raised to serve God and to live for

God. You know what she did? She turned

him over to the Lord,

>> right?

>> And you know what God did for Hannah? He

blessed her with many more children and

a son who would be there would be none

like him

>> as the judges of Israel in the days to

come.

Sa Hannah was blessed because of Samuel.

I'm reminded of another woman in the

book of 2 Kings chapter number four, the

little Shinomite woman. And the Bible

says that she'd prayed for a son and God

gave her a son. But there come a day

when he was in the field and they were

together and she went, he went and laid

in her lap and said, "I feel sick." And

the Bible says that he died in that

field. And the Bible says that she went

and ran. She ran to the man of God.

>> Amen.

>> And the Bible says when Gahhesi, the

servant of the man of God, met her, you

know what she said to him? Her son's

dead. The one she'd prayed for, the one

that God had given her, her son's dead.

And the man of God told Gahesi, ASKED

HER, "IS IT WELL? IS IT WELL WITH OUR

HUSBAND? IS IT WELL WITH OUR CHILDREN?"

AND THAT SHOUNOMITE WOMAN LOOKED AT HIM

AND SAID, "IT is well." WHEN ALL

REALITY, NOTHING WAS WELL. SHE HAD LOST

HER SON. HE WAS DEAD. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT

SHE HAD DONE? SHE HAD TURNED HIM OVER TO

THE LORD. SHE KNEW IF HE WAS EVER GOING

TO LIVE AGAIN, IT WAS GOING TO TAKE

GOD'S WORD. IT WAS GOING TO TAKE GOD'S

BLESSING FOR THAT LITTLE BOY TO COME

BACK TO LIFE. AND MAMA, YOU BETTER HEAR

THIS PREACHER THIS MORNING. IF YOU EVER

WANT TO SEE LIFE IN YOUR CHILDREN'S

LIFE, IF YOU WANT TO EVER SEE SALVATION

REACH YOUR HOUSE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE

TO TURN THEM OVER

>> TO THE LORD.

>> You're going to have to turn them over

to the Lord.

You say, "Preacher, but

I'm their mother."

Let me ask you something.

Does it matter more to you to be

recognized in this life as a mother or

does it matter more to you to be

recognized by God as a mother?

>> Good preach.

>> Notice the text. The Bible says, "Then

the king answered

after this woman and said after her

heart yearned and said, give the living

child to this other lady. Don't take his

life." Solomon the Bible said the king

answered and said give her the living

child and in no wise sled. What's your

Bible say? She is the mother.

You know how Solomon knew she was the

mother? Because of a conversation.

>> You know what she did? She talked to the

king,

>> right?

>> She knew he knew that she was the mother

because of her compassion.

Because when death had come, when it was

he was surely going to die, you know

what she did? She didn't stay silent.

She said, "Don't take his life." She

interceded on his behalf. But I'll tell

you this, you know what sealed the deal?

>> Solomon knew that this lady was the

mother of this boy when she gave his

life into the king's hands.

>> Right?

Everybody in this room may look at you

as a mother today,

but if God was to look at you, come on.

>> And God is looking, if we could hear

what God said about your life, are you a

mother?

If God

was to look at my life and yours, you

say, "Preacher, is that just for the

mothers?" No, it's just as much for the

daddies.

>> Right. Right.

If God looked at your life and mine,

yes, we've got children.

Yes, we try to raise them in the nurture

and they have an issue of the Lord. But

I wonder if God could say, "She's a

mother."

>> Amen.

>> He's a daddy.

Paul said this to the Corinthian church.

He was telling the church at Corenth,

they had many teachers.

Corinth was

ridden with wise counsel. And he

literally says it this way in 1

Corinthians 4.

He said in verse 1 Corinthians 4 and

verse number 15,

he said, "For though you have 10,000

instructors in Christ, yet have you not

many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, I

have begotten you through the gospel."

You know what Paul was saying?

He was saying that none of those

children were his biologically. We don't

even know if Paul was married. I

personally believe he was. We don't know

if he was. But you know what he was

talking about? He said, "Church, you've

got all kinds of teachers. You've got

all kinds of advice. You've got all

kinds of illustrations. You've got all

kinds of help." He said, "But you know

what you're lacking? You're lacking a

father."

>> Yes.

>> And you know what he was talking about?

He said, "You've only got one father."

And he said, "That's me." He said, "I've

begotten you." Paul looked at the church

and said, "I've begotten you into the

gospel." You say, "Preacher, how does

that apply to the mother?"

It's not so much about you bringing

physical life into this world, mama, as

it is about you bringing spiritual life,

>> right?

>> To those of whom you've g physical life

to.

>> You'll not be judged by how good of a

mother you was in the physical side of

things.

>> Right? But you'll be judged by how good

of a mother you was in the spiritual

side of things. You're

>> right.

>> Let me ask you, are your children going

to heaven because of you? You say,

"Preacher, well, they're not saved."

Well, you know what you need to be

doing?

>> Come on.

>> And you'll be talking to the king,

>> right?

>> You say, "Preacher, but I love my

children." How much are you talking to

the king? That's

>> right. He's the only one that can change

the course of your children's life.

That's

>> right.

>> And here's where you're going to have to

come to where every mother in this room

has had to come to at some point in

their life. They've had to concede.

Lord, here's my children. Because you

know what? They're borrowed.

>> You're right.

>> Your children's not yours.

>> That's right.

>> They're God's.

>> He's given them to you to raise and you

are responsible for them. And it really

does not matter how many people call you

mother on this side if God cannot say

you're a mother. But I'll tell you this.

You say, "Preacher, that's awful

gloomy."

It's not gloomy for me.

>> Amen.

>> You know why? Cuz I'm saved today.

>> That's right.

>> Because of a great granny and a grandma

that prayed for my mom and daddy.

>> Amen. years and years and years and

years and they got saved. And you know

what? Out of that, when mom and daddy

got saved, they prayed for my my mom and

daddy's family. And one by one, each boy

got saved. I got saved at seven. My

brother got saved a little later. My

little brother, he got saved just just a

few years ago.

Me and my brother's both preaching now.

And I really believe that we're saved in

the ministry today because of the

prayers of those little ladies.

>> You're right.

>> Here's what I'll say about that. You

know what? I know there was other

ladies, too.

>> Amen.

>> That Greater Vision Baptist Church I

come up come up in, it was a Southern

Baptist church, but there was some

oldtime shouting, Holy Ghost filled

ladies in that church. I'm talking about

would scare you to death, run the

aisles, wave hankies. Amen. And you know

what I know about them ladies? They were

just as much a mother to me. That's

right.

>> As my mama because they prayed for me.

>> Amen.

>> There's ladies in this room right now

that have prayed prayers for each of

your children sitting in here this

morning.

>> Amen.

>> There's ladies that today have prayed

for you.

>> They've prayed for you in this very

service that you could be saved.

>> Amen.

>> You know what God says?

She's the mother.

She's the mother. Every head bowed and

every eye closed.

Father, thank you.

Thank you for this precious truth today.

Lord, I I pray nobody misses the point

of the message this morning.

Lord, we celebrate our mothers. We

celebrate

the life, the burden that they carry.

Lord, how they keep keep our homes

together.

How they raise the children

and love their husband and how they do

such a wonderful job of serving at the

house of God and faithful and silent

Lord and obedient.

And God, they've been blessed.

So many mothers I see here today,

Father, not just birth mothers, but God,

they're mothers for this church

that love each individual in this place.

And God, this is my prayer today. I pray

that each mother today,

Lord, would desire to be what you call a

mother.

Lord, known by

their conversation with you, known by

their compassion for their children, and

known by their concession,

Lord, that they have given their

children into your hands.

And God, I pray that you would help us.

Please help us,

God, to realize, Lord, that sin is after

our children.

And Lord, if we're not careful,

Lord, judgment will fall.

Lord, if this mother hadn't went to the

king, Lord, there's no doubt in my mind,

judgment would have fell,

Lord. No telling what would have

happened, but she went to the king

and got help, Lord, from the only one

that could give help.

And Lord, I pray for that mother here

today that's brokenhearted.

Lord, her children are wavered.

They're not living like they should. But

Lord, she's praying.

God, she's a praying every day that

they'll get saved or they'll get right

with God and PRAYING THAT THEY'LL COME

HOME. And Lord, I pray that you just

reach down and wrap your loving arms

around her and remind her today, it

ain't about what her children do, but

it's just about the fact that she loves

them enough to come to you and pray for

them. And God, I pray you would wrap

your loving arms around her today.

And God, if there's somebody here today

that maybe they don't love their

children,

God, I pray you get a hold of their

heart.

Lord, this is a wicked world we live in.

And God, I pray, Father, today,

Lord, that you'd save that soul, Father,

this morning. Maybe got bitterness

towards their children.

Lord, I'm thinking about a woman right

now, you know, Lord, who's on my heart.

Father, her life, Lord, her her birth

mother didn't didn't care about her,

didn't love her.

Her husband didn't care about her and

didn't love her. But God, she has a

smile on her face this morning. And she

loves you today in spite of the fact

that her birthother didn't care and

didn't love her.

Because God, you gave her mothers around

her that prayed for her and she got

saved

because when the physical mother wasn't

there, Lord, I'm thankful there were

spiritual mothers around. And God, would

you help us, Lord, as the men, God, to

be those spiritual fathers,

Lord, to give the truth,

Lord, to love each soul

because Lord, each soul, Father, belongs

to you. And Lord, I pray for that weward

child today. Sin's about to take them

away. God, I pray you'd deal with their

heart.

I pray you'd help them this morning.

As every head's bowed and every eyes

closed, some are still praying. I want

to ask you this morning, you say,

"Preacher,

preacher, I've not always prayed for my

children, but by the grace of God, I

want to start praying today like I've

never prayed before.

Preacher, I want to be the mother that

I'm supposed to be. Anybody

be honest and attest to that today? This

preacher want wants to pray for you. God

sees those hands. God sees those hands.

Bless his name. Bless his name. I'll

tell you this this morning. It's the

greatest encouragement to know.

The Bible says Jeremiah said it this

way. He said his mercies are new every

morning because his compassions fail

not. And the reason why you can be

compassionate on that wavered son, the

reason why after they've hurt you and

hurt you and hurt you again and again

and again, the reason why you still love

THEM IS BECAUSE GOD'S LOVE IN YOUR HEART

WILL NOT LET YOU TURN LOOSE TO THEM. AND

YOU CAN GO TO GOD ON THEIR BEHALF

BECAUSE HE loves them more than you do.

>> And he wants to see them right with you

and right with him more than even you

do.

God bless each of your hearts today.

Let me say this. They may be a wavered

child here today.

Hey, you can get right today.

You don't have to allow judgment to take

you away. There's men and women in here

that could testify of the years of their

life that they spent away from God and

they would tell you it's not worth it.

It's not worth it. There's people here

that's prayed for you today that you'd

get right with God. These altars are

open. She's going to play one more

verse.

Let me ask you this today, Sinner.

You've got a good mama.

And I'm thankful for all the good ladies

in this church. So many great mothers in

here this morning. And I love each and

every one of you. But you know what? I

know some of these mothers got children

that's lost.

They've been praying for you. Been

praying for you for some time.

It would be the greatest thing in the

world for you to get saved on Mother's

Day.

They've spent their life praying for

you. And you know what would thrill

their soul

is for you to come and trust the Lord.

You say, "Preacher, I I'm not saved."

Preacher, I don't know I'm saved. Would

you pray for me? Would you be honest

this morning? Just slip your hand up.

I'll pray for you. You say, "Preacher,

I'm not saved.

Would you pray for me?"

God knows your heart this morning.

Let me say this. None of the rest of us

have to know, but he does. And he will

help you today.

Father, thank you. Thank you for these

mamas today. And God, I pray, Lord, that

you would help us to take to heart.

Lord, it doesn't matter what people say

about us, Lord. It doesn't matter how

good we are in the eyes of men and

women, but Lord, all that matters is if

you're satisfied with us. And God, would

you help us to embrace that today? Lord,

I thank you for these great mothers here

today. And I pray that you would bless

them. And Lord, I pray it was a

challenge to their heart, but I pray

it's an encouragement, Lord, because I

know the prayer life of many of these

ladies. And I pray it's an encouragement

to them, God, that no matter what those

around them do, Lord, that they're a

mother in your sight. And I thank you

for that, Lord. I love you. Thank you

for loving us. And God, I bless your

name. You are so good to us. We ask all

this in Jesus name for his sake. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988

Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For

more information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.