This is a part of a sermon series in the book of 1 Thessalonians. You can watch more here.
This morning we are going to celebrate Mother’s Day. There is a verse in 1 Thessalonians
that fits right in with Mother’s Day but before we get there I want us to see the context of 1
Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians is written is about men, women, and children just like us today. Men,
women and children who go through hardships in life. Men, women and children who get
caught up in idolatry, just like we saw last Sunday.
In chapter 1 the Apostle Paul is primarily encouraging the Thessalonians. The Apostle Paul
tells them their faith in Jesus is so beautiful, people from 100’s of miles away were talking
about what the Lord is doing in the people in Thessalonica.
In chapter 2 the Apostle Paul is going to clarify good things are happening, but God’s call on
our life isn’t always going to be easy, and there are going to be times that we doubt what
the Lord is doing in our life. Happy Mother’s Day!
Maybe some of us are in that place of doubt right now? Maybe we are doubting the stability
of our economy? Maybe we are doubting the stability of our country? Maybe, as women,
you’re are entering into this Mother’s Day with a myriad of emotions? Maybe you’re
doubting the faithfulness of the Lord? Maybe you’re wondering why these do these
“difficult” things keep showing up?
Some of us are thinking, “Didn’t we just study about difficulty in the book of Daniel?” Yeah.
And, didn’t we just study about “difficulty” in the books of Joshua and Judges? Yeah, it’s a
pretty common theme throughout God’s Word.
The God of Scripture created the world to be perfect (Genesis 1-2). All of humanity rejected
His goodness to do what is right in our own eyes. It’s called sin, and as a result we see a life
of “difficulty and hardship.” That’s the bad news.
The good news is that God Himself enters into humanity to take the greatest difficulty and
hardships upon Himself at the cross. The good news is that God Himself not only takes our
sin at the cross, but conquers death in the resurrection, so that through faith in Jesus we
might have eternal life in Him. That’s the good news!
It is Jesus’ blood poured out at the cross that cleanses us from all sin. It is Jesus’
resurrection that brings the hope of forgiveness. It is Jesus that gives us the strength to
persevere through the difficulty of our day, because one day Jesus is going to return.
Amen?
Listen to me, that doesn’t mean we are all just waiting to go to heaven one day. The phrase
“eternal life” is not only a “duration of time,” but also a “quality of life” in Jesus here on
earth today! Including in those moments of difficulty.
In verses 1-2 we see the Apostle Paul references some examples of difficulty. In verses 3-4
he Apostle Paul encourages them in their difficulty. In verses 5-6 the Apostle Paul says the
encouragement isn’t just flattering words. And then, look at verse 7:
1 Thessalonians 2:7, “7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own children.”
That’s our focus for this morning. We talk a lot about the importance of godly men in our
church family in Austin, but just as important is the gift of godly women, so let’s see if we
can draw out some observations that are helpful for us today.
First, Mother’s Day isn’t just a celebration for biological mothers. Mother’s Day is a day to
honor the gift of femininity from the Lord, because God’s Word celebrates the gift of
femininity.
The church in Austin, filled with both men and women, is described as the “Bride of Christ”
which is feminine language. In the life of Jesus, we see Jesus looking at the hardened hearts
of Israel and Jesus says to them, “How often I have wanted to gather you together as a hen
protects her chicks beneath her wings.” It is Jesus describing Himself in feminine language.
In Genesis 2 Eve is described as a “help-mate” to her husband, and our culture gets
offended that Eve would be described as a “help-mate” in marriage, but the Holy Spirit is
described as the Helper!
In fact, that language of “helper” is a connotation of a powerful military force that is used to
describe women! This is why we celebrate all women over the age of 13. It is a
supernatural gift of a nurturing mother that are biological and spiritual mother’s, so that
we absolutely want to honor the gift of Mother’s Day. Let’s look at our next observation:
Second observation, there is feminine and masculine language. It is easy to think of the
Apostle Paul as this over masculine authoritarian bossing people around in the New
Testament.
The Apostle Paul writes 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, so Paul is used by God in
powerful way, but I want you to see the language used in verse 7 is feminine language.
1 Thessalonians 2:7, “7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own children.”
The Apostle Paul refers to their relationship with the Thessalonians as a “nursing mother
tenderly caring for her children.” Can you imagine the next time our men get together and
we say to our men, “Come, gather with us as a nursing mother tenderly caring for her
young?”
Listen to me, this is important, because our culture is all over the place with what’s
masculine and what’s feminine. Our culture will teach us “everything is a social construct”
so masculine and feminine is fluid, but God’s Word says, “No there is masculinity, there is
femininity, and both are good and necessary for humanity.”
In addition, our culture is trying to elevate the value of women, which is great, but because
our culture doesn’t believe in God’s Word we are basically telling women today to find their
value and worth in what women DO instead of who they ARE, created in God’s image.
Our culture tells women they need to get an education, so they can get a career, which is
great but it doesn’t stop there.
Women also need to be excelling in that career. Women also need to be physically
beautiful. Women also need to be politically engaged. Women also need to be amazing
mothers.
Also, if women could also cook some really good food. And it’s always nice if women could
be on top of the current fashion trends. Our culture puts a lot of pressure on women!
But, God’s Word says women are valuable because women are created in His image. Let
the truth of God’s Word wash over you this morning as a woman.
You’re value and worth isn’t in your intellect, physical appearance, financial status that is
always going up and down, but you are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.
You are valued, you are treasured, because you are a woman made in His image. Full stop!
Let’s look at our next observation:
Third observation, relationships can be difficult, because the illustration of a nursing child
can be difficult. Now, this might be a surprise for some of you, but I have never nursed a
child. True story. But I am guessing nursing a child is not all warm and fuzzy.
We have a woman in our non-denominational church family and her primary job is to help
infants latch on to the mother, which means there are people paying money to help infants
nurse, so I am guessing there are times nursing a baby can get a little complicated.
I am guessing there are times a new mother can get discouraged. I am guessing nursing can
sometimes be painful for a new mother; emotionally and physically. I am guessing there
are times when that new mother begins to think to herself, “What have I got myself into!”
Is that fair?
Therefore, it’s important for us to acknowledge the Apostle Paul must be using the
illustration of a “nursing mother” because his relationship to the Thessalonians had some
moments of difficulty.
We know the Apostle Paul loves the Thessalonians (Chapter 1). We know some great
things are taking place with the Thessalonians (Hundreds of miles). And at the same time, I
am guessing the Apostle Paul has found himself thinking, “What have I got myself into!”
Listen to me, we’re talking about life on life relationships, and the Apostle Paul is using the
relationship between a nursing mother and her child and saying, “Sometimes our
relationships in the local bible church in Austin, in the family, in life are going to be a little
messy.” Sometimes it’s going to be difficult.
Sometimes I joke with people when they ask me what I do for work I tell them, “I work in
waste management.” I am being a silly, but the work of a pastor is basically working with
people who are constantly pooping on one another and trying to minimize our poop as
much as possible.
I am like, “You poop over here.” You stop pooping there. You apologize for pooping
everywhere. It’s all waste management! Welcome to North Village Church!
This is the life of a mother! As a mother, there are times you are going to get discouraged,
because you have been uniquely designed by God to care about others and want to nurture
others to “help them” and there are times that “help” is not going to be appreciated.
There are times you are going to feel like people are taking advantage of you. You are going
to feel like you wasted your time. You are going to feel like you didn’t make a difference.
You are going to feel like you are always caring for others and you are going to wonder,
“Who’s caring for you?”
In those moments, as a mother, you could get discouraged. You could turn to despair. You
could turn to control. You could turn to gossip and slander and manipulation, because as a
mother, you are terrified that everything feels like it is out of control. Is that fair?
Listen to me, you’re not alone. It is a woman thing, but it’s also a human thing. Men and
women both wrestle with that discouragement of “difficulty in relationships” but I want
you to see our last observation. Let’s look at our last observation:
Fourth observation, our relationships aren’t lost or won overnight. Everyone wants deep,
godly relationships. Everyone wants great friends, great marriage, great church in Austin,
but none of us, including myself, realize how long it takes and how much time it takes to
develop deep, biblical relationships with one another, just as a “nursing mother cares for
her young”…it’s exhausting! Such a helpful and powerful illustration!
When it came to nursing our children, I tried to help my wife as much as I could, but as she
was nursing our children she would be waking up every 3-hours, changing diapers, feeding,
burping, rocking, putting them to bed, get about 30 minutes of sleep, and then start the
process all over again. It’s exhausting!
Most of creation is born ready to run! Right out of the gate most of creatures hit the ground
running for their life (turtles, deer, pigs, birds), but the God of Scripture designed His
prized creation of humanity that was set apart for His glory, made in His image, and we are
basically seconds from dying the first 5-years of our life.
It’s because in His wisdom the Lord knew our relationships were going to be messy, even
between mother and child. The Lord knew our relationships are not going to happen
overnight, therefore, He embedded into our existence a need for the child to cling to a
nurturing mother, so that the mother and child are born uniquely designed with inherent
instincts to connect with one another. Isn’t that amazing?
I’ve noticed in our family, when our children are looking for support, they run to their
mother, because they inherently know their mother’s care for them.
They say when men are in battle, when their lives are threatened, they cry out for their
mother. When that football player wins the super bowl he says, “Mom, were’ going to
Disney Land!”
It is because there are supernatural forces at work built into women connecting them with
their children, so that when the Apostle Paul talks about his relationship to the
Thessalonian church he writes, “just as a nursing mother cares for her young.” The Apostle
Paul is reminding us that our relationships aren’t lost or won overnight.
Remember, this isn’t just biological children. This is adopted children. This is spiritual
children, so that as a female you don’t have to try to embody the gift of nurturing others. It
is a gift from the Lord to want to be helpful, to nurture and support. Praise God!
It’s possible some of us didn’t have a great relationship with our earthly mother’s. It’s
possible that there are some mom’s here who came to faith in Jesus later in life, and they
didn’t get to “nurture their children” the way they would have wanted, for whatever
reason.
I want you to see this is the beauty of the local gospel-centered church in Austin. In God’s
wisdom He establishes the church in Austin to be a place where His church, men and
women, can find spiritual mother’s and spiritual fathers and spiritual brothers and sisters.
Amen?
I’ve experienced this in my life. My earthly mom did a great job of raising me, but there
were some “parenting gaps” in my life that I didn’t pick up from my earthly father and
mother.
When I was young I thought it was all my parents’ fault, but as I got older the Lord taught
me that I didn’t make it that easy.
I was stubborn, I didn’t always listen, I thought I knew better, so that there were “parenting
gaps” in my character and maturity, but through the local church the Lord has brought
other men and women into my life to help me fill those “parenting gaps.” That’s the beauty
of the local church! That’s the beauty of what we’ve been given in Christ!
Some of the men and women who have helped me fill in those “parenting gaps” are in this
room, so that through your love, through your faithfulness, through your rebukes and
encouragements, the Lord has taken pain from the past to accomplish His purposes in His
people for His glory. Amen? Let’s review:
1. Mother’s Day isn’t just a celebration for biological mothers.
2. Feminine and masculine language.
3. Relationships are going to be difficult.
4. Relationships aren’t lost or won overnight.
I have found in your 20’s and 30’s you are hopeful for all the great things you are going to
do in life, but your 40’s and 50’s you start to take some hits.
You start to encounter health challenges. You start to see your friends and family pass
away. You see some challenges in your career, challenges in your character, so that a
person could get discouraged about life.
Maybe the career wasn’t as glorious as you had hoped? Maybe the marriage wasn’t as
romantic as you hoped? Maybe parenting children isn’t as stable as you hoped? The
comedian Jim Gaffigan has a joke that there are easy children and hard children and if you
have an easy child it doesn’t mean you’re good at parenting. It means God didn’t think you
could handle a hard child. There are just layers of challenges in life!
The call of God’s Word isn’t 52-ways to live your best life, despite what Joel Osteen says. In
fact, it’s just the opposite, because over and over God’s Word reminds us that we are
sinners in desperate need of a Savior. His name is Jesus! Amen?
Turning from our failures and discouragements and trusting in Jesus is called “repentance.”
Turning from those relationships of resting everything on your shoulder and asking for
Jesus to help you, forgive you, and strengthen you is called “repentance.” It is the kindness
of the Lord that leads us to repentance.
He knows the needs of our children. He knows the needs of our mothers. He knows the
needs of our fathers. And He will work His purpose in our life for our good and His glory.
Yes, there are biblical truths we can apply to our lives to enjoy and experience “heaven on
earth” but none of us are going to be able to manufacture our lives so well that we won’t
experience challenges and difficulty.
Difficulty is going to come. Difficulty might come early in life. Difficulty might come later in
life. Difficulty might shape the whole of our life, but the hope of the gospel is clear.
Jesus has overcome sin and death. Jesus is working in our lives today. Jesus will return to
reclaim what rightfully belongs to Him.
We can’t forget that! We have an enemy that wants to distort God’s Word. There are forces
of darkness that want to create confusion in our world.
Therefore, we must hold fast to God’s Word and trust that He is good and He is gracious!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
NVC Online
Unable to attend this Christian Church in Austin? Don’t worry, because, through God’s provision, we have created NVC online, an Online Church streaming a worship service every Sunday from 10:30am Central Time. You can also watch our short, powerful sermons on demand and follow us on Instagram for daily Christ centered content.