Celebrating Mothers: Letting Go of the Past and Embracing the Future

Not fair that that baby's down there in the front row next to all

those ladies.

They're looking at the baby and they're not paying attention

to preaching.

And I'm in papa mode.

I'd be doing the same thing.

Love my babies.

And she's precious.

Look at that.

Well, y' all can't see it.

I'll look at it for you.

She's precious.

She is precious.

All right, I would like for us to read from Proverbs 31 here in

just a moment, but before you do, I'm going to throw something

at you.

I love this.

I've changed it up throughout the years, but I always like to do

it.

I only do it once, usually once a year.

So as I was going through it today, I thought, oh, man, some of

this really dates me.

It's outdated.

It shows my age.

And so I had to scribble a line through some of it.

So, you know you're a mom if you believe that.

See, I had here Happy Meals.

Is that still a thing?

It is.

Okay, you're still a mom.

Or you, you know you're a mom if you believe that Happy Meals,

PBJ, SpaghettiOs and Popsicles are the four major food groups.

I know this one would date me.

You know you're a mom if you unconsciously start singing veggietale

songs.

Now, I changed that one.

I actually put a line through because I think it's changed.

My daughter walks around singing Frozen the Moana tunes to

Bluey Paw Patrol.

She knows all the characters to Paw Patrol.

So you know you're a mom if those are on your daily repertoire.

You know you're a mom if you're so desperate for adult conversation

that you spill your guts to the telemarketer and he hangs up

on you.

You know you're a mom if you count the sprinkles on each kid's

cupcake to make sure they're equal.

You know your mom if you have time to shave only one leg at a time.

You know your mom if you your definition of living la vida loca

is staying awake long enough to watch the weather during the 11

o' clock news.

I guess it's 10 o' clock news, isn't it?

You know your mom if your number one cleaning agent is spit.

You know you're a mom if the two words that strike mortal fear

into your heart are projectile and vomiting.

Could added another one there.

But you know you're a mom if in your bathroom there are toothpaste

globs in the sink, toothpaste, globs in the sink, water on the floor,

an eternally empty toilet paper dispenser, and a perpetually

unflushed commode.

You know you're a mom if your feet stick to the kitchen floor and

you don't care.

But this is more true to life.

Your typical 18 hour day runs like this.

18 hour day, moms.

It runs like this.

You're dragging out of bed, dressing, brushing, buckling, feeding

them, not you.

Driving, dropping, paying bills, clipping coupons, shopping,

loading, unloading, vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, flushing, wiping,

picking up, washing, drying, ironing, folding, changing sheets,

changing diapers, cooking, serving, rinsing, washing, helping

with homework, bathing, putting to bed, singing, praying

plus coloring, swinging, playing base, playing baseball, basketball,

football and soccer, riding bikes, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls,

blowing bubbles, flying kites, filling plastic pools, jumping rope

plus mowing, trimming, raking, planting, gardening and painting

plus refereeing, fights, doctoring, cuts, scheduling appointments

and accommodating your husband.

You have no time to eat, sleep, drink or go to the bathroom.

And yet somehow you manage to gain 10 pounds.

That's a mom.

And God bless every one of you.

Couldn't do it without you.

Thank God for you.

I want to read just a few verses in Proverbs.

Proverbs 31 · chapter mention

Chapter 31, the beginning in verse 10.

Let's go ahead and read several verses.

The Word of God says, who can find a virtuous woman, for her price

is far away, above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall

have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hand.

She is like the merchant's ships.

She bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also, while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her

household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it with the fruit of her hand.

She planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good.

Her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth

her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow, for her household, for all her household

are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry.

Her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the

elders of the land.

She maketh fine linen and selleth it and delivereth girdles

unto the merchant.

Strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in

time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law

of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the

bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed.

Her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them.

All favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise

her in the gates.

This was the first passage that came to my mind When I was directed

by Brother Weatherby to preach a Mother's Day sermon.

When he told me I was preaching this day.

And he said, now you're preaching a Mother's Day sermon,

right?

I said, is it required?

And he said, yes, it's required.

And he confirmed that this past week.

So that was the first passage that came to my mind.

You know, all the sermons that are going around the country today.

This lady here, we call her a virtuous woman.

A virtuous woman.

The Bible calls her a virtuous woman.

Her qualities are amazing.

And every woman should inspire to incorporate her qualities.

But here's the problem.

The problem is, after hearing a sermon on the qualities of the

virtuous woman many women walk out of the church depressed and discouraged

thinking, I'll never live up to that.

Look again at verse 10.

And by the way, I don't think that the.

I don't think that you ladies are unjustified in thinking that

I'll never live up to that.

Because look what he says in verse 10 again.

Look there in chapter 31.

Look at verse 10.

What does he say?

Who can.

Sorry, not 10.

No, it wasn't 10.

I'm not going to leave here without.

Until I find.

I'm not leaving this portion because I just wrote down the wrong

verse.

But it's right here.

It's right here.

Okay, 29.

Sorry, it's 29.

Look at verse 29.

Many daughters have done virtuously but thou excellest them

all.

Thou excellest them all.

It does say in verse 10, who can find her price is far above rubies

but thou excellest them all.

While I don't think it's wrong for a woman to extol these virtues

and attempt to incorporate them into her life.

I think it is wrong for any woman to try to compare herself and

judge herself by these standards.

This woman excels all of them.

I mean, she is the model for all women, all things woman, all

things mother, all things wife.

And it's wrong for you ladies to try to compare yourself and judge

yourself by these standards.

And I think it's wrong for any husband to try to hold his wife and

judge her by these standards as well.

Is there any woman, is there any woman who is characterized by

all these virtues?

While you might rightly think your wife is perfect, and I certainly

see many of these virtues in my own perfect.

To me, wife.

I don't know of any woman who in her right mind would want to be

compared to the Proverbs 31 woman.

And I don't know of anyone who wants to be held to those standards

that wouldn't be right.

And one writer, he describes her like this.

Dr. O.S.

Hawkins.

He says of the Proverbs 31 woman.

This wonder woman gets up before dawn.

And I mean, think about it.

This is it in a nutshell.

This is what he says.

This wonder woman gets up before dawn, stays busy until.

Until the early hours of the next morning.

We have developed a mental image of her.

She has the looks of a movie star, the domestic abilities of a

master chef, the stamina of a world class athlete, the intellect

of a professor with a Ph.D. the tenacity of a political operative,

the wisdom of a godly missionary, the sensitivity of a

Mother Teresa, the business sense of a Fortune 500 executive,

the Grace of an etiquette expert, and the spirituality of the

Virgin Mary.

If you wanted to write down what the Proverbs 31 woman looks

like, that would be her.

So remember, ladies and moms, the next time you read Proverbs 31

or you hear her virtues being extolled in a sermon, don't forget

verse 10.

Her virtuous.

Who can find.

Who can find a virtuous woman?

Her price is far above rubies.

But don't forget verse 29 either.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou this lady excellest

them all.

Don't forget that.

So with that being said, I want to preach to you ladies for

just a few minutes this morning on this subject.

The other virtuous woman.

The other virtuous woman.

While it is true that women are typically not listed in the ancient

genealogies, we find Rahab and Ruth listed as one of two women,

as the two women listed in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ

in Matthew, chapter one, verse five.

Let's take a quick trip into the past, and I want you to look

at the lives of.

I don't have time to do both of these women this morning.

I'm only going to do Rahab.

So I want to look at her just for a minute, okay?

So go ahead and turn with me to Joshua chapter two and six.

So you thought I was going to preach on Proverbs 31, didn't you?

And I know that when I said, let's turn to Proverbs 31, there

are a bunch of.

You went, oh, man, heard this one before.

Good night.

I've heard it.

I've seen it.

Because it is going to be preached across America today.

I'll guarantee you the Proverbs 31, woman.

But I want us to look at the other virtuous woman, the other virtue.

And there's two the virtuous women.

But we only have time for one.

So.

So in Joshua chapter two and Joshua chapter six, we'll bounce

back and forth between those just a little bit.

So a woman with a reputation far from spotless.

Rahab was a harlot.

I don't think anybody would have called her a virtuous woman.

She had a reputation as a harlot.

She was a harlot in the city of Jericho.

But you remember in the story, she received the two spies when they

were getting ready to come over into the promised land.

And the two spies came over from the other side of Jordan, and

they went over to spy out the land.

And she received them and she displayed her faith in God when she

believed what she'd heard.

And then by receiving the spies as messengers of God in Joshua

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Look at verse 9.

The Bible says, and she said unto the man, I know that the Lord

hath given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us

and.

And that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

For we heard how your.

We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea

for you when he came out of Egypt.

And what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on

the other side, Jordan, Si and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts didn't melt.

Neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of

you.

Listen to what she says.

For the Lord your God, he is God, and in heaven above and in earth

beneath.

And not only that, look what else she did.

She asked for mercy.

First she believed in God, and then she asked for mercy.

She said in verse 12, now, therefore, I pray you, swear unto

me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that you will

also show kindness unto my father's house and give me a true

token, and that you will save alive my father and my mother and

my brethren and my sisters and all that they have, and deliver our

lives from death.

And here's the promise.

When she exercised faith and she asked for mercy, look at the

promise she received in verse 18.

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of

scarlet thread in the window, which thou didst let us down by.

And she said, according unto your words, so be it.

So she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the

scarlet line in the window.

When Rahab said yes to God, and by faith she hung the scarlet

cord out her window, an amazing thing happened.

God in heaven knew about the God knew about a coming cross of

which she was unaware.

But the blood that was to be shed upon that cross in the future

had already been accomplished in the pages of eternity past, even

before the foundations of the world.

And when God looked upon her faith, and according to James, chapter

two, verse 25, listen to what it says in the New Testament.

Likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when

she had received the messengers and had sent them out

another way that's justified in the eyes of man, justified by

God.

When she acted in faith and acted on that faith, she believed

and she acted on that faith.

She was saved by hanging the scarlet cord or the rope out the

window.

It was a true picture of salvation only through faith in the

blood of Jesus Christ.

So I want to say to you here this morning, before I go any further,

mothers, daughters, sisters, husbands, sons, the only way you're

going to get to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ.

He shed that blood.

That scarlet cord was a picture of the blood of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

The only way that she could be saved from the destruction of the

army that was about to take over Jericho.

Destroy Jericho?

Really?

Not even the army.

The God of the army is the one who destroyed Jericho.

You know, somebody asked somebody, why do I need to be saved?

And they said, to be saved.

To be saved from what?

Not from your sin.

To be saved from the wrath of God.

And if you're going to miss the wrath of God, which I believe

isn't very far away, if you're going to be saved from the wrath

of God, it's only going to happen through faith in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And what he did on Calvary, he died on that Cross.

He paid the debt for your sin that you owed an almighty God, a

thrice holy God.

You owed that sin debt, but he loved you so much.

According to John 3:16, God so loved the world that he gave his

John 3:16

only begotten Son that whosoever that's you should believe

in him, should have everlasting life.

Everlasting is how long?

Forever, Right?

Let's say it together.

Everlasting is.

It's not until you sin again.

When Jesus died on the cross over 2,000 years ago, all your sins

were still future.

He didn't die for it, just until the day you got saved.

And then the rest is up to you.

He died on the cross and he paid the sins for your past, present

and future sins.

And the only way that you're going to get to heaven, the only

way you're going to miss the destruction of this city, the destruction

of your soul in hell, is through faith in Jesus Christ.

That's it.

That's the only way.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life.

No man comes to the Father but through me.

That's gospel.

That is Bible gospel right there.

It's the only way you're going to get to heaven.

So while we don't read the word virtuous attached to Rahab's

name, we can't judge her by her past.

You wouldn't want anybody in here to judge you by your past.

And we can't judge her by her past.

And thank God that he didn't.

There are many women who still allow, I would say, even in this

room, there are some of you ladies that are allowing your past

to haunt you when you shouldn't.

I quoted a verse when I first walked up here.

It was actually one of the sermons I was going to preach.

Therefore, there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ

Jesus.

If God doesn't hold it against you, why are you holding it against

yourself?

If God doesn't judge you for the wrong you've done, the mistakes

you've made, the things we've done, Listen as mothers.

Oh my.

Listen to this.

Here's part of a sermon I was going to preach, a different one,

and I brought some of it with me.

So I'm going to go ahead and read it to you.

See, it's not that one.

All right.

Many mothers.

And I've counseled so many people and I've talked to so many

people and I've seen so many mothers and women who are just beat

up by their own past.

They beat themselves up by their past.

But you're not condemned by your personal sins, if you remember

that verse.

Therefore there is no condemnation to them which are in

Christ Jesus.

You're not condemned by your personal sins, not condemned by a

messy home.

You're not condemned by your lack of desire to homeschool.

You're not condemned by the knowledge of how easy it is for you

to love one child more than another.

That's because he needs more love, that's all.

It doesn't mean you don't love.

It means you have to love one or pay more attention to give more

attention to one than you do the other because he needs it or

she needs it.

You're not condemned by your miscarriages.

You're not condemned by your lack of desire to have more kids.

You're not condemned by your inability to cook, at least not by

God.

You're not condemned by being divorced.

You're not condemned by your desire to be alone, away from the

kids for a while.

You're not condemned by your body, which may not be what it once

was.

You're not condemned by your perceived failures as a mother.

You're not condemned by your rebellious children.

You're not condemned by the frustration of having to scrape Mac

and cheese off the kitchen floor again.

You're not condemned by all the fears and tears which leave you

depressed and discouraged and feeling alone.

You're not condemned by not being able to throw the party of

the century for your kids.

You're not condemned for not being able to send your kid to school

with lunches that are bought only from Whole Foods or sprouts.

You're not condemned by your need and desire for a vacation.

You're not condemned for not living up to the standards of your

mother or your mother in law.

You're not condemned by the stares of those who have no kids.

When your kids erupt into volcanic screams in public places

and mothers, you may feel, although you may feel condemned if

you are in Christ, you are not condemned.

You are not condemned if you are in Christ.

God loves you and that's all that should matter.

Amen.

He loves you.

He loves what you're doing.

He loves the fact that you have children he's given to you for

a little while to try to raise up to be what I'm trying.

You know, I always want to see.

It always irritated me.

It always irritated.

And I'll get off on a hobby horse if I'm not careful.

So I'm going to keep this rabbit trail short.

It always irritated me when someone would say, what Kind of raise

your kids to be.

Adults or just trying to raise my kids to be six when they're five.

You know, many times I have to tell my people, someone would look

at them like that, and I'd notice that they were looking at

them, and I'd say, yeah, quit acting like you're eight.

Because they were eight.

Quit acting like you're eight.

You know what?

Kids are going to be kids.

We had a little boy in our church in Corpus Christi, and the

fact is, he was autistic.

He was extremely autistic.

And at this point, he started finally coming around just a little

bit, and he started running around the church after church was

over.

He was running around and he was loud.

Oh, my goodness, he was so loud.

And his dad was so worried that everybody else was going to

judge him and he would make him stop.

And.

And Jojo didn't want to stop.

He wanted to keep on running.

And finally I had to tell him, I said, rapha, just hold it.

It's okay.

Let him run.

You don't have to stop him.

Let him run.

Let him have fun.

Let him be a little boy.

Even if it's inside, he's not going to hurt anything.

And, you know, that made all the difference, number one, to those

parents.

And then secondly to Rafa.

Oh, my goodness.

I mean, to Jojo, that little boy who was probably five years old

at the time when they first came.

Five years old, but extremely autistic.

Now, guess what?

And I mean, extremely autistic.

I know.

I'm getting.

This is a separate rapid trail.

So this is different.

He was extremely, extremely autistic.

And I'm telling you.

How old is he now?

Fifteen, something like that.

He's 15 years old now.

He is an assistant instructor in karate.

I'm telling you, if you just, you know, they said this, I'm not

going to medicate him.

I'm not.

I'm just going to love him.

I'm going to trust God.

And they did, and they just.

He just developed.

God did an amazing thing in his life, and we didn't judge her,

and we didn't judge him.

And I'm telling you, don't let people judge you.

Don't let people.

You do the best you can with the children that God gave you, raise

them according to this book, and you may have to bust them on

one end, kiss them on the other, but they'll turn out all right.

They'll turn out all right.

Amen.

I don't know how I got off on all that.

Oh, I just Wanted you to make sure that you're.

Don't judge yourself, okay?

Don't judge yourself too harshly.

So there's a lot of women who still allow their past to haunt them

when they shouldn't.

And if they place their faith in Jesus Christ, all that is under

the blood.

So let that be in the past.

You know, any mistakes you made in your life, that's in the

past, forget about it.

I'm going to judge you based on how we interact today.

Amen.

So don't cuss in front of me.

Anyway, I won't judge you.

Don't cuss me out and I won't judge you.

You want to cuss somebody else out, I might even say amen.

Depends on who you're cussing out.

But I'm glad that God forgives us of our past and he tosses our

sins into the sea of forgetfulness.

He says he removes them from himself as far as the east is from

the west.

And he remembers them no more.

Amen.

Sins are gone.

Gone.

If God can forgive you.

If he can forgive me, then I've got to forgive myself.

Oh, my goodness.

I've done so much stupid stuff in the past.

I wouldn't.

My wife wouldn't.

I wouldn't be fit to live with if I constantly brought up.

And if she brought up things that I did in the past wouldn't be

fit to live with.

I'm so grateful that God doesn't hold those against me.

So what is important now is that is your present and your future.

Paul said in Philippians 13, in Philippians he said in verse 13,

this one thing I do.

Forgetting those things which are behind.

Forget the things which are behind.

Mom, maybe you've made mistakes with your kids up to this

point.

I want the parents in this room who have never made a mistake

with their kids proudly and boldly stand up and raise your hand.

Not one.

Not one.

We've all made mistakes with our children.

All of us have.

Can I get a big round Amen on that?

All of us have made mistakes with our kids.

And, yeah, I wish I could do things over, but I can't.

I can't.

Because that's just being human.

Made mistakes.

But don't let that.

Don't let that keep you from living in the present and reaching

for the future.

He said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling

of God in Christ Jesus.

God used Rahab in a wonderful and gracious way.

And he can and he will use you, too, if you'll let go of the

past, worship him and serve him in the present and dedicate your

future to his glory.

Dedicate your future to his glory.

Moms, can I tell you this?

And I say it to dads, too, but I will say this.

Moms often, in most cases are.

They set the spiritual temperature in the home.

In most cases, Moms, do you know it's true.

If Mom's upset, we're all walking on eggshells.

If Dad's upset, nobody.

It's no big deal.

It's dad.

Just don't get mom upset.

So mom, we know it's.

It's for the most part, it's true that the wife carries.

I mean, think about this.

Adam and Eve are walking through the garden, fellowshipping

with God.

Who had the most influence over Adam, God or Eve?

Eve did.

And so wives, moms, Your kids are going to spiritually go the direction

that you set, the example you set the direction which they go spiritually.

You really do.

You really do.

You have a huge responsibility to be the spiritual, not leader,

but thermos.

Thermostat in your home.

And so dedicate your future to the glory of God in a little bit.

Well, let me.

I won't use them as an example, but I will say this.

How many times have you come to a baby dedication service?

Right.

A bunch.

Right?

How many of you?

How many have been to a baby dedication service?

All right.

A bunch.

One of the things the pastor says over and over, and I've said

over and over, probably every pastor in here has said over and

over, is that you can bring this child to dedicate to the Lord.

But truly, what you're doing, what you're saying is that you're

going to dedicate yourself to the Lord.

It's up to you to set that child's feet on the right path.

And so don't get lost in the past.

Don't get.

Forget the things that are done now, even now.

Even now.

I've known people who have gotten saved.

I've known many husbands and wives, adults who have gotten saved

and their kids were teens.

And I've seen those teens.

You're like, oh, man, how's he going to handle this?

How's this going to happen?

Because they didn't grow up in a Christian home.

They never went to church.

But now all of a sudden, mom and dad going to church.

And I'm telling you, there have been some times when I saw that,

I saw that the kids did not come around, but there have been

many times when I saw that, when mom and dad Dedicated themselves

to the future of serving God and glorifying God.

I did see those kids come around.

They saw that it was real in mom and Dad's eyes.

Can I tell you something else?

My daughter asked me one time, she was about maybe 15, 14, 15 years

old.

And she said, one of my daughters, she said, dad, why is

it that when kids turn 18, when they're able to make a decision

for themselves, why do so many of them just leave the church?

Why do they never come back?

And then she said, is it because they've had it crammed down

their throat all their lives?

Is it because they were made to come to church?

I said, absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

I believe that the reason that most kids fly the coop as soon as

they get an opportunity is because of hypocrisy in the home.

Because what they see, mom and dad living at church isn't necessarily

the same thing.

They're living at home.

You want your kids, and that's no guarantee.

I'm telling you, that's no guarantee.

Your kids still have to make a decision eventually.

They have to make their own decisions.

But I'll tell you what.

You have a higher.

You have a higher success opportunity, A higher opportunity

for success if you'll just be consistent.

Be a Christian man.

Be in this thing.

Or don't.

I mean, be all in or don't come to church Sunday morning.

I'll say it right now.

I know it won't happen, but I'm gonna say it because I'm a preacher

and I'm.

I'm supposed to say it.

And you know, God would get me if I don't say it.

You ought to be in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday

night.

Why?

Because you're teaching your children.

And then hopefully you'll be so used to it by the time the kids

leave the home, you just keep on coming by yourself.

Amen.

Just keep on coming.

Don't miss church.

Keep on coming.

This is where they're going to hear the gospel preached.

This is where the Bible is going to get taught right here.

And so you need to come.

Moms, dads.

You don't have to be the Proverbs 31 woman.

But there are some expectations.

God does have some expectations, and one of those is

to quit looking to the past.

Forget about all the mistakes you made.

They're done.

I wish I could go back, but I can't.

Right.

You can't go back.

I've got some things I wish I could change.

Oh, my goodness.

But I can't.

And so what Do I have to?

Do I have to live for God today?

Today?

And I have to live for his glory, for the future?

That's what I want to do.

So what happened to Rahab?

Did she have to overcome the stigma of her past when she entered

the camp of the Israelites?

Well, if we know people, then yes, I'm sure there was a stigma

attached her.

That's that Rahab.

That's that harlot who came from.

From.

From Jericho.

She's the one that they went in and saved.

She had to overcome that.

There have been some things you might have to overcome, But she

did overcome it.

How do I know she overcame it?

Because we don't hear any more about Rahab until the genealogy of

Jesus in Matthew, chapter one, verse five, where it is noted that

she married a Hebrew named Salman.

What Hebrew man would want a harlot for a wife if she had not

changed?

When she placed her faith in God and she acted by faith and she

came among God's people, I believe there was an amazing change

that came over her and took place in her life.

And they saw that she was a. I'm a quote, unquote, a virtuous

woman.

She changed.

God changed her.

There's every indication that she placed her faith in the living

God.

And they had a son named Boaz.

And that's where we meet Ruth and I don't have time to talk about

Ruth this morning, but Ruth and Boaz had a son named Jesse.

And Jesse was the father, David, the king, through whom came

Jesus, our Savior.

Rahab was no Proverbs 31 woman.

But I think that putting the name of her sin aside, more women

today in this room probably can identify with Rahab than with

our Proverbs 31:Woman.

I didn't say you're a harlot.

I said, putting her title aside, her pass, putting all that

aside, most of us, most women in here can probably identify with

Rahab better than you can the Proverbs 31 woman because that's

a impossible task.

Well, I want to say happy Mother's Day to moms and all those

who aspire to be moms.

God willing, your day is coming.

God has great plans for you as a woman and a mom.

And this morning I want to ask you a couple of things.

Number one, will you let go of the past?

Because you have a past.

You have a past, and there are so many of you that are beating yourselves

up over the past, and you can't get past the past.

But for the sake of.

For your sake, for the sake of your children, for the sake of your

husband, for the sake of your marriage, for the sake of the cause

of Christ, can you let go of your past?

And this morning, if you've never done it before today, embrace

the present today.

Say, this is the day.

This is the day that I'm going to begin living for Jesus Christ

and for the future.

And if you've never been saved, today is the day of salvation.

Today is the day.

If you've never accepted Christ as your savior, if you are

not 100% sure that you're going to heaven when you die, forget

the past.

Today is the day when all of that can be put behind you for eternity.

All your sins put behind you for eternity if you've never been

saved.

Let me ask you this real quick.

How many of you put on clothes this morning?

Raise your hand.

Okay?

It's not a trick question.

I want you to do this with me.

How many of you, by a raising of your hand, how many of you put

on clothing this morning?

Oh, come on.

That was worse than the first time.

All right, let's do this again.

How many of you, by showing of a raising of your hand, how many

of you this morning put on clothes?

Thank you.

Now, when I ask the question, how many of you, if you died right

now, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'd go to heaven,

Your hand should be able to go up just as quickly, because being

saved is an event.

It is entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, essentially

with God himself.

And when a person has never had that experience, when they've

never truly received Jesus Christ by faith, there's always a

hesitancy to, well, I hope I'm saved.

I hope I'm going to heaven.

And so you kind of people are like, mmm, mmm.

But I'm telling you, if you know that, you know that, you know

you're going to heaven when you die.

And I say, how many of you, if you died for sure, if you died, you

know for sure you're going to heaven, that hand would go up that

quick.

That quick.

When I'm out knocking doors and I talk to people about Jesus

Christ and I ask them that question, if you died, do you know

for sure you're going to heaven?

I'm telling you, those who know they're saved, immediately they'll

say, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I'm going to heaven.

I accepted Christ as my Savior.

I'm saved.

Been saved 15 years, I got saved.

I mean, no hesitancy.

They want to Tell you the whole story.

But then there are those who say, well, I hope I am.

I hope I am.

I hope I am.

I mean, nobody's perfect, but I can hope.

So I can hope.

I can.

And then my next question is, well, how do you know?

What are you basing that on?

Well, nobody's perfect.

I mean, I've done pretty good.

My grandpa's been a deacon for four to 11 years.

That bound account for something?

No.

If you've got a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you

know it.

And if you don't, you doubt it.

And I want to ask you this morning to let go of the past and

the present.

Right now is what matters.

Would you be willing to be saved this morning?

I mean, get saved.

It'll change you.

The Holy Spirit of God will come within you and change you from

the inside out.

I'm not asking you to throw off all your sin.

I'm not asking you to stop doing this and stop doing that and

start doing this and start doing that.

But when you get saved, the Holy Spirit will from within.

And the important part is that you obey.

And that will change not only your present, but your future.

I hope you get saved.

Mothers, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Listen, my mother, I wasn't raised in a Christian home.

And my mother, God bless her, she divorced when I was 12, I think

maybe 13.

13.

I was 13 and my sister was 15.

My mother divorced when we were teens.

It was tough.

And we moved over to a trailer park next county over.

We moved and my mother was working in a factory.

And I'm telling you, I cannot tell you how many times I listened

as my mom came home on a Friday after receiving her paycheck

and go straight into her bedroom and then just cry.

And I didn't know it at the time because my mom didn't share

her financial burdens with me or my sister.

She just did what she had to do.

But Cherise, she was crying because she didn't have enough money

to pay the rent and the bills.

She had to choose and food and ask me today why I don't like corn

dogs.

I hate corn dogs.

Because my mother, because she had no money, she would go buy that

big, big bag of frozen corn dogs and we had them for breakfast

and lunch and supper and till they were chasing me in my sleep.

I hate corn dogs.

But I love my mother for hanging in there and doing the best

she could.

And that's what you want, that's the best you can do.

Do the best you can.

But the best you can do is be saved.

That's the best thing you can do for your children, for your husband,

for your family, for your friends.

So if you're here this morning, you've never trusted Christ.

If you're not 100% sure that you're going to heaven when you die,

I want to ask you to come and be saved this morning.

Okay, let's all stand together and I want to prepare for the invitation.

Would you bow your heads with me just for a moment?

I'm going to pray here in just a second, give you an opportunity

to respond to the invitation.

Again, I want to say thank you, Moms.

Thank you so much.

Because I know that you do things that your kids don't know

about and they don't need to know about.

They're not made to carry those burdens.

And so thank you.

Thank you for being a great mom.

Father, I thank you for all the mothers that we have present

this morning and all those who want to be mothers.

And Lord, we just pray that first of all they'd be saved.

That is the very most important thing, is for them to be

saved.

We don't have to be a Proverbs 31 woman so, Lord, I pray that you

would please speak to their hearts and just help them to know

that the first item on the first item in the order of business

is that first of all they trust you as their Savior and be

saved.

Please save souls.

This morning is my prayer in Jesus name with heads bowed, eyes

closed, just for a minute, with no one looking around.

Let me ask you this, and it could be husbands or wives, whoever

the Holy Spirit is speaking to, I'm going to go ahead and ask

you that question.

If you died Today, are you 100% certain that you're going to

heaven?