Mother's Day - Cheryl Ryan & Jen Self
Cheryl Ryan
Question: How do you define the word “mother”?
Mother: I looked it up in the Hebrew; It means “the bond of the family”.
Bond- JAMES BOND 007! Don’t mess with my babies!
Then I thought of all the different kinds of glue. Representing the different kinds of Mommas out there.
ELMER’S GLUE
“OOZY MOMMA”
Spread thin but oozing love doing everything for your children
GLUE STICK
“COLOR CHANGING MOMMA”
Start off purple “NO” as you dry down to white “YES"
HOT GLUE
"PUSH MY TRIGGER - I’M COMING OUT HOT! MOMMA”
Then you harden up. Kids know not to mess with you!
GORILLA GLUE
“TOUGH LOVE MOMMA”
Tell it like it is, they might not like it.
PL400 CONSTRUCTION GLUE
"FOUNDATION MOMMA”
HEAVY DUTY IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS
SUPER GLUE
“FIXER MOMMA”
Putting the pieces back together
BIBLICAL EXAMPLE? WEARY WEAK EYED UNLOVED WIFE - Leah
Genesis 29:32
Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, (Behold, a son) for she said, “Because the Lord has SEEN my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.”
1. affliction, poverty, misery
Other verses about The Lord SEES:
1. Hagar said in Genesis 16:13 “you are a God who sees”
2. Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good."
3. Job 34:21 "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps."
Genesis 29:33
Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has HEARD that I am unloved, He has given me this son also”, So she named him Simeon (hearing)
To hear: in the Hebrew
1. perceive by ear
2. have power to hear
3. hear with attention or interest, listen to
4. to understand
Does the Lord really HEAR you? With attention or interest?
Isaiah 65:24
It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking I will hear.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.
Genesis 29:34
She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become ATTACHED to me, because I have borne him three sons” Therefore he was named Levi.
(Attached) to adhere, be joined closely
Leah was trying to get her husband to be glued to her In her own strength.
Genesis 29:35
And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “THIS TIME, I will praise the Lord. She named him Judah. (praised)
Weary Leah got her eyes off her circumstances and off trying to make her husband love her. She fixed her eyes on the Lord. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, anointed Savior of the world, came from the lineage of Judah. Her attitude change reached through generations, and the very man that gave his life on the cross descended from her son Judah – which means to praise.
Revelation 5:5
"...and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of JUDAH, the Root of David, has OVERCOME…”
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Lion of the Tribe of PRAISE.
Lion of the Tribe of ATTITUDE CHANGE: This Lion of the Tribe of Judah is fighting for you.
Deuteronomy 20:4
“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Jen Self
I love this! Our King, King Jesus is fighting for us!
Exodus 14:14 NKJV
"The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
When we truly grab hold of who He is, there is such a rest in it and that is what I want us to focus on for a moment…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
He hath made everything beautiful in its time
Did you know that you are beautiful (for all you guys-handsome?!) Well it's true!
We may not always feel beautiful (or strappingly handsome), we may feel like a frazzled frustrated, 'sticky' mess trying to hold everything together, but how many 'things' are we carrying that we were never meant to?
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
“Is life feeling heavy and hard? It’s time to cast the weights aside, it’s time to BE STILL AND KNOW.”
Psalm 46:10a NLT
“Be still, and know that I am God!"
Do you know? Do you know that God is God? He stands alone. He is unmatched in every way. Do you know Him? Do you know God? Not just knowing of Him and know here in your head, but do you truly KNOW and have a relationship with Him? Do you know YOUR God? Do you know that He is for you not against you? Do you know His kindness toward you? Do you know His character? His heart? His thoughts and heart toward you? Do you know the comfort and confidence of His friendship?
When we know Him, we can trust Him! Knowing His ways are higher than ours, His care stretches beyond ours and His ability to move on our behalf is matchless.
Exodus 3:14 NLT
14 God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”
'I AM' God - what a loaded statement.
The Great I AM - All that we need HE IS!
POWER in His name and who He Is.
When we KNOW our God, when we KNOW His heart, when we KNOW His Word–all His promises, then we know that we can TRUST Him and when we TRUST Him, and trust our cares/anxieties to Him, we can BE STILL and REST.
1 Peter 5:7 NKJV
"...casting all your care (anxiety) upon Him, for He cares for you."
Exodus 35:1-2
Moses gathered all the congregation of the Israelites together and said to them, these are the things which the Lord has commanded that you do: 2 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of REST to the Lord
And it's not just a suggestion…it’s a command. And God led by example when He created ALL of heaven and earth and everything in it - on the 7th day He rested. If it is important for us to rest physically, how much more spiritually and emotionally
What does it mean to really obey, to 'be still' and to 'rest'? Lets take a look at this…
Be Still
To remain in place, motionless, free from sound or noise, to be silent; or at REST.
REST
- to lie down as dead
- to cease/refrain from action, motion, labor or exertion
- to be free from anxiety or disturbance
- to sit or lie fixed or supported
- to remain confident : trust
- to remain idle or uncropped
- to bring to an end voluntarily
What does rest look like…
Now this…this is the ultimate act of trust and obedience in one that I know! Because when we KNOW God and truly trust Him we know that He's got our back, that He truly is fighting for us and we KNOW that He, The Great I AM is way more capable than us. This is an ultimate act of surrender.
So when is the last time you REALLY rested in God when is the last time you took a day of rest? That’s a challenge for you to take with you today…I challenge you to...
#trustGod #rest #restday #iChallengeYouToAdayOfREST
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Today God simply wants you to KNOW HIM. He IS who He says He is, He is LOVE and HE is GOOD. He wants you to FIND FREEDOM and REST in knowing Him. He wants you to DISCOVER the PURPOSE HE has for you, for you to overcome the situations you are currently facing. And that as you move forward in life Trusting Him and His ways, that you will truly see and MAKE a DIFFERENCE in your world and the world around you.
As you take the ultimate step of trust by RESTING He IS fighting your battle and fulfilling the promises that He has made. He's bringing you into a new season, a season of REST…
A season of…
R.E.S.T.
R - RESTORATION. God is restoring back all that the enemy has stolen in your life. When you were weak and vulnerable and didn’t know how to fight. God says He is bringing restoration: spiritually, emotionally, physically and even financially. Get ready, it's going to happen.
E - ENCOURAGEMENT. You will be encouraged by the Lord, through His Word, through a friend, a phone call, by others. He will make sure that you are encouraged. And as you're encouraged you will, in turn, be able to encourage others.
S - STRENGTH. You are coming into a new season of strength, even in your weakness, His strength is being made perfect. He is raising you up on wings as eagles; He's giving you new perspective insight, wisdom, strength and strategy for the battle.
T - TRUST. This truly will be a new season of trust as you choose to simply believe, obey and rest in the fact that God is who He says He is and will do what He said He would do.
God thank you for who You are, You are the Great I Am…everything that we need or could ever want You Are! We thank You that You see us, You hear us, You care, You are working on our behalf and most of all, You love us more than we can ever imagine. You don't just give love, You are LOVE. You are so for us, You are always with us and You have equipped us for this journey called life! You have given us what it takes! Thank You for Your Word - the weapon of Truth you have given us that exposes the lies of the enemy and sets us free! We thank You that that has happened today, we thank You that it is Your word and heart that has been displayed today and thank You that it will not return to You void, but it will accomplish that which you have sent it forth to accomplish…to set the captives free, reveal purpose, bring healing, encouragement and so much more! Holy Spirit, do what you do best. May we continue to all have ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to perceive and receive all that You are doing in our everyday.
God, we speak to the dry places right now and we call forth refreshment.
Come on you thought you were 'just' bringing your momma to church, just coming alongside your family, 'just' coming for a Mother's Day service before taking your momma out. You thought oh just another Sunday, NO! God says Today is your day! Today I'm doing a new thing! Today you will taste and see that I am good. Today you can KNOW Me, Today you can lay your burdens down. Today you can REST as I fight for you and equip you for the battle. If that’s you and you say yes I need that to any of the things we've talked about we would love to pray for you! After service the altar workers will be up here if you would like personal prayer, but right now we would like to pray over you, if you want to respond to what God is speaking to your heart just raise both arms right now as a simple act of saying that’s me God, I hear you and I surrender and need this…