Today is your special day and we are here to bestow on you the coveted title of “Doctor of the Year” for the nights you have sat up with sick kiddos, for the remedies you have provided for their recovery, and best of all, your bedside manner. We’ve come to present you with the “Protector of the Year” award for the nights you’ve snuggled with your kids who were scared because the thunder and lightning shook the house or because they heard something outside. Your words of comfort and strong arms of protection are more valuable than having the Navy Seals and Army Rangers posted at the front door. We’ve also come to award you with the “Counselor of the Year” award for the advice that you have given free of charge to your kids when life was perplexing and confusing them. These are just a sampling of the many wonderful things you do to bless the lives of those the Lord has placed in your care. I’ve not even mentioned the meals you’ve cooked, the diapers you’ve changed, the clothes you’ve kept clean, the homework you’ve helped with, the bedtime stories you’ve read, and the prayers you pray day-in and day-out. Mom, you are a treasure.

Moms come in all shapes and sizes. They have different styles and methods of doing what they do. Some moms are more committed to the call of God for their kids than others, but make no mistake about it—loving, providing for, and shaping the lives of kids is Kingdom work. Moms need God’s help. Moms need God’s Word for guidance, encouragement, support, and strength. Moms need other moms, older moms, to listen, teach, and encourage them along the way. Moms need fathers who will appreciate and support them. We like to make motherhood out to be a fairy tale story, but the truth is that motherhood can push a woman to the outer limits of frustration and insanity. If you don’t believe me then either you are not a mom or you just haven’t held that title long enough.

I want to appreciate you who are mothers today. I want to encourage you to continue to do what God has called you to do. I also want to be honest. Let’s face the facts; the simple mention of the word “mom” elicits all kinds of responses from people. Some have had moms who have abandoned them. Others have had moms who mentored them in all of the wrong ways and led them down dark paths. Some kids have even died at the hands of their own mother. The mention of the word, “mom,” can stir all kinds of feelings, but a mother after God’s own heart is a beautifully strange creature. A mother who is first and foremost a woman after God’s own heart will give and give and there is no way that she will ever receive from those she so freely gives to in equal proportion to what she has given. The sacrificial love of a godly mother is a beautiful thing to behold.

I was reminded of the wondrous sacrificial love of godly mothers a few weeks ago when I was watching a series called, Life, on the Discovery Channel. I hope you had the opportunity to see some of the ten part series. In one episode called, “Creatures of the Deep,” the story was told of the Pacific Giant Octopus. I had never heard of the octopus before I watched Life, but I will never forget it now that I have seen her story. The mother is an example of the sacrificial love I just described for you a few minutes ago. The eight legged creature, when she becomes pregnant, finds the perfect spot to lay her eggs. Once she has the eggs nestled under her care she stands guard for the next six months as their protector and provider. She protects them from predators, oxygenates the eggs, and keeps them free from disease. She is so concerned for her unborn babies that she won’t leave their side even to eat. Eventually, near death from starvation, her last act is to breathe on the eggs which aids in their hatching. New life emerges as her life ebbs away. A mother after God’s own heart will gladly lay down her life for her children.

I mentioned to you earlier that moms need others to help them live out their God-given call. In God’s Word we read about how important it is for the older women to take time to teach the younger women how to love their husbands and children. In Titus 2:3-4 we read,

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children… (Titus 2:3-4 NIV)

In another episode of Life called, “Mammals,” there is a beautiful illustration of how the older moms can help the younger moms. In the episode I watched an older elephant grandmother intervened to help her inexperienced daughter rescue her baby. A young elephant was stuck in the mud. There was no way out. She couldn’t do anything to free herself and evidently her mom didn’t know what to do either. Have no fear grandma is here! The grandmother of the trapped baby moved the young mother out of the way and then pulled her young granddaughter out of the mud and back into the care of her mom. When I saw the mother octopus give her life for her unborn babies and the grandmother elephant help her grand-daughter I thought about the sacrificial love of mothers and grandmothers.

I have spent a lot of time this past week reading the stories of mothers in God’s Word. I’ve read the stories of famous mothers and grandmothers like Ruth, Sarah, Rachel and Leah, Hannah, and Jesus’ own mother, Mary. I’ve also read the stories of some not so famous mothers, some that we don’t even know their name, like Samson’s mom. There is a lesson I’ve learned this past week that I want to pass on to you. The lesson is this: you give, you serve, you love not because of a desired outcome for your kids, but because it is a holy offering to God.

We live in an “outcomes based” society where what we do, we do, for the purpose of the outcome we are going to experience. We are willing to make sacrifices and give our all as long as we think there is a goal, a prize, an achievement that awaits us at the end of our journey of sacrifice. We are willing to make those sacrifices as long as we see hope that the end product is going to be what we envision it being. If we become persuaded that our efforts are futile then we are likely to throw in the towel. As I read the stories of the mothers of the Bible it didn’t take long for me to realize that the outcome of their labors was as varied as can be.

Mom, as a woman of God, you do what you do as an offering to God not for the end result of your kids turning out as a success. That is a hard pill to swallow isn’t it? We all want our kids to be a “success,” whatever that word means. We want our kids to be happy, to love God with all of their hearts, and to contribute to the betterment of others and society. That’s what we want, but that is not why you do what you do. A mother after God’s own heart does what she does as an offering to God—not to secure the success of her kids. I can’t stress to you how important it is for you to inscribe that sentence on your heart and mind, to keep it before you day-in and day-out. It is not the outcome, but the offering that is most important.

If we as parents can begin to live out this truth then it will change the day-to-day tasks that can feel so mundane, so toilsome at times, into holy moments of worship. Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. In 2 Samuel 23:14-17 we read about an interesting time in David’s life. David was on the run. His life was perplexing and chaotic and his future seemed uncertain. David was hiding with some of his mighty men at the cave of Adullam when David said, “Aw, I would love some water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem.” David knew Bethlehem. He was born there. He herded his father’s flocks there. During a chaotic time in his life David was reminiscing about a much quieter, more serene time in his life. Read the story with me.

14 At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD. 17 “Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:14-17 NIV)

Now, you need to know that from the cave at Adullam to the well in Bethlehem was twelve miles—a long journey. If that weren’t enough the Philistine military was nearby once the men made it to the well. Three of David’s mighty men heard their leader say that he would like a drink from the well so they headed out. Talk about a servant’s heart! They made the long journey, broke through the Philistine defenses, and drew some water from the well for David. They headed back down the twelve mile trail all the way back to the cave at Adullam. Once they got back to the cave they presented the water to David for him to drink. David was overwhelmed. He couldn’t believe what the men had done for him. David couldn’t drink the water. Instead, he poured it out as a “drink offering” to the Lord and then David said,

17 “Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:14-17 NIV)

What David did with the water wasn’t disrespectful of the men who had made such an incredible sacrifice to get him a drink. As a matter of fact, I would say that what David did with the water made a much greater impact on all of those who witnessed it then if David had simply drank it and said, “Thanks boys!”

David poured out the water as a “drink offering” to the Lord. You can read about “drink offerings” throughout the Bible. The first occurrence is found in Genesis 25:14 where we read,

14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. (Genesis 35:14 NIV)

When the sacrifices began to be made in the temple the drink offering accompanied the animal sacrifices. If a lamb or bull was being sacrificed a drink offering of wine was poured out along with the animal sacrifice. Unlike the animal sacrifices that were sometimes eaten by the priests, and even the worshippers in the case of the “Peace Offering,” the drink offering was never shared with anyone—it was solely for the Lord.

With that in mind, let’s go back to David. David sees the water the men risked their life to get for him and he recognized it as too holy for his lips so he pours it out as an offering for God alone. Now, if you were to have stopped the men on their way back to the cave at Adullam and asked them about the water they would have simply told you that they were doing their job. David was their leader. He wanted water from a specific well. So, they went to get him what he asked for. Job done. Task completed. What David does by pouring the water out as an offering to the Lord is this: David takes the ordinary and he redefines it. With David’s act the ordinary becomes holy.

The men got the water so that David could drink it—that was their desired outcome right? Once David turns their act into a moment of worship David’s drinking the water become irrelevant. What they had done was really for God. And so it is for you mom. Each and every day you do what many see as mundane tasks. You change diapers. You’ve put a million miles on your minivan running your kids from here to there. You’ve cooked enough meals to feed a Third World country. You’ve cleaned up throw up. You’ve washed clothes. You’ve spent more time at Wal Mart than Sam Walton. You’ve defended your kids against bullies and “mean girls.” You’ve stopped doing some of the things you used to do because you want to set a good example for your children. Why have you done these things? Why do you continue to do these things? That is a great question.

I will tell you this, if you are doing those things so that you will be appreciated and so that your children “will rise up and call you blessed” then there is a good chance that you are going to be disappointed. If you are making all of the sacrifices that you are making so that your kids will turn out right then there is a chance that you are going to be disappointed. If you are doing these things as an offering unto the Lord then you can’t go wrong.

You see, we think that if we will follow this book or this philosophy or this method then things are going to go our way and our kids will be all that they can be. We want to shape our kids into the people that we want them to be, but our desired control is a deception. In the time that we have remaining I want to share the stories of some of the women I’ve read about this week.

We hear so much today about the plight of single mothers. You who are here this morning who are single mothers hold a special place in heart of God. You need to know that He will be a father for your children that their absent father could never be. You need to know that He will be a Husband, a support, provider, and encourager for you that you can’t even imagine. There are all kinds of statistics floating around today about all of the trouble that kids from single parent families will be prone to fall into, but you need to know that those are just statistics—God knows you and your child by name. He has a plan for you and your children.

Jedidah was a single mom. Her husband was a horrible man named Amon who was the king of Judah for two years before he was assassinated. He turned away from God and led the people under his care away from God as well. Jedidah and Amon had a little boy who was just eight years old when his father was killed, the boy’s name was Josiah. Eight years old and you have to live with the legacy of your dad being an evil man—a man who was so evil that the people of his land killed him? Now that is a tough legacy to have to deal with. Josiah didn’t drop out of school. He didn’t start smoking weed and hanging out with sleazy women. He never went to jail. He didn’t father a bunch of kids that he never knew. Josiah became king of Judah and he reigned for 31 years. During his 31 year rule he brought incredible spiritual reform to the nation and at the end of his life we read in 2 Kings 23:25.

25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did–with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses. (2 Kings 23:25 NIV)

So much for the statistics of kids from single parent households huh? We don’t know a thing about Jedidah other than what we read in 2 Kings 22:1. She was the daughter of Adadiah, the wife of Amon, mother of Josiah, and she was from the town of Bozkath.

Let me share another mother’s story with you. Do you remember the name Rahab? Rahab was not an Israelite, she was from Jericho. Rahab was a prostitute, a harlot, a despised woman whom God used to help His people when they were preparing to attack Jericho. After the attack Rahab and her family were taken in by the Israelites and eventually she married a Jew named Salmon. You wouldn’t think that Rahab would be the marrying kind would you? Certainly not good mother material. Oh well, so much for assessment tests. Rahab and Salmon have a son and his name was Boaz. What kind of kid do you think Boaz would turn out to be with a mom like he had? We don’t have to guess at that answer. If you have ever read the beautiful book of Ruth then you have read about Boaz. He was the “kinsmen redeemer,” the one used by God to rescue his relative Naomi, who had gone through some horrible times with the death of her husband and her two sons. After the death of her family Naomi tells her two daughter-in-laws to go home to their people, but Ruth, a Moabite, says that she will go with Naomi. They head back home and that is where Boaz learns of their horrible situation. Boaz provides for the two women and eventually marries the Moabite Ruth. They have a son named Obed who has a son named Jesse who has a son named David who would be the greatest king in the history of Israel.

Rahab may not have looked like the marrying kind and she may not have done well on a “Future Mothers Assessment Test,” but we can’t predict what a child is going to be like by simply looking at their parents.

Let’s go the other end of the spectrum. There is a mother that I’ve spent a lot of time with this past week. I don’t know her name. Jewish tradition says that her name was “Zelponith,” but the Bible doesn’t give us her name. We do know that she was married to a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan and that she had not been able to have any children. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to her. Read along with me from Judges 13:3-5.

3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:3-5 NIV)

Manoah’s wife tells him about the visit from the angel of the Lord and Manoah prays to God. Listen to this.

8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” (Judges 13:8 NIV)

Can you imagine what kind of parents these folks are going to be? They will raise him as a Nazirite, a person set apart for God. Manoah’s wife will not drink any wine or fermented drink. She will make sure that she never eats any unclean foods. Manoah will be meticulous in making sure they bring the boy up right. He will read every book ever written by James Dobson. They will make sure their son goes to Sunday school. They will have family worship every night. The boy will have the best home training that a young man could possibly receive. After all, he is going to be the one who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

You know the story of Samson. He was a rebel. He broke his mother and father’s heart. Just two verses after we read about the birth of Samson we read that Samson went down to Timnah, the enemy’s camp. Read along with me.

1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” (Judges 14:1-2 NIV)

What in the world was he thinking? Where did he do with all of those wonderful lessons that his mother and father had taught him? Manoah and his wife were perplexed. They said,

3 … “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (Judges 14:3 NIV)

The marriage went bad and Samson went from bad to worse. He went down to a prostitute in Gaza and spent the night with her (Judges 16:2). Later he ran into Delilah and Delilah led to Samson’s demise. The Philistines were using Delilah to get to Samson and their plan worked. Colin Gibson writes,

Samson’s mother finally heard that her son had been captured and mutilated, forced into slavery and degradation. Brought out to make brutal sport for his captors, he died a suicide, beneath their bodies and the ruins of a building he brought down in a final spasm of strength. (Colin Gibson, Samson the Son. http://alturl.com/wbqc)

Can you imagine the questions that must have run through the minds of Manoah and his wife? Samson’s parents had done everything right, but Samson was not a computer in which you input data and get the output you desire. God has created people, all people, young people and old people alike with decisions to make and sometimes we make bad choices. It doesn’t have anything to do with how we were raised or what others may want for us—we all have choices to make. Some of those choices break the hearts of those who love us most.

Those of you who have older kids know exactly what I’m talking about. You might not have been a good mom, but somehow, by the grace of God, your child is serving the Lord with all of their heart. You know their faith is not a by-product of what you did for them when they were young. Some of you moms here this morning might have raised your kids like Manoah and his wife—you were so focused in teaching your son or daughter about the truths of Scripture and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and yet they have rejected it. Doesn’t it just perplex you still to this day?

There are lots of young moms here with us and I want you to know that I’m not trying to scare you or rain on your parade. None of us knows how your kids will turn out, but that is beside the point. The point is this: make your every thought and action as a mother an offering to Almighty God…period. Trust Him for your child’s future and realize that you do not have the power to control how your child makes the decisions they are going to have to make in life. You have great control while they are young, but the older they get the less control you will have. Whether they are young or old you have the power to do what you do for the glory of God alone.

Mom, would you say that up to this point you have had an “outcomes” mindset about the children God has given you? I think that it is only natural to think in this manner, but I believe that this type of thinking sets us up for heartache upon heartache. I want to encourage you this morning to come before the Lord and ask Him to rearrange your thinking so that your daily walk with your child becomes an offering to the Lord. All of the love, nurture, and training that you give them is to be an offering to Him. If you will do this I will promise you that it will be freeing for you. It doesn’t mean that you will never worry for your kids or experience heartache over your children, but it means that you will be grounded in the fact that they are His and He alone can turn their hearts to Him if they will but seek Him.

Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
922 NW 91st
OKC, OK. 73114
May 9, 2010

The thing that first caught my eye were some statistics that then Governor Frank Keating had shared with a group of pastors here in Oklahoma City. The statistics concerned the alarming rate of child abuse and neglect cases in our state. At that time, Governor Keating said,

We are doing everything we can to pass laws that will make it tougher on those who choose to abuse their children, but all of the laws in the world will not work because what we have is a spiritual problem. Our pastors need to address the subject.

The State had just published a 23 page booklet detailing the horrors of neglect and abuse cases in Oklahoma. Here is some of the information that was included in the report.

� In 1995 there were 11,700 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in the state of Oklahoma.
� In our city alone there were 2,666 cases of confirmed child abuse and neglect reported for 1995.
� In Oklahoma County there were 15 children who died at the hands of one of their parents.
� 76% of those abused were age 12 or under.
� 77% of those children abused were abused at the hand of their biological parent.

The government noticed that we had a problem back in 1996. With all of the resources�financial and human resources that the State has at its disposal, I would assume that the problem has now been eradicated, and today, as we celebrate Mother�s Day, our children are safe. That would be a false assumption. Let me update you.

I called Judge Roger Stuart on Thursday. Roger has been a Judge for 15 years, many of those years dealing with �abuse and neglect� cases for our kids. Roger sent me a document that details the alarming findings.

� Oklahoma County alone has more children in Foster Care than 17 other states within the United States. In Oklahoma County alone there are just under 4,000 children in Foster Care.
� In 1995 there were 11,700 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect. In 2008 there were 13,000 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect.
� 51 children died last year at the hands of one of their parents in Oklahoma. This number leads the nation.
� There are 5,542 homeless children in Oklahoma.
� 39% of children born in Oklahoma are born out of wedlock.
� Oklahoma�s divorce rate is 5th in the nation.
� We are number 1 in the nation in incarcerating females. 5th in the nation in incarcerating males. Roger says there is a direct correlation between taking mom and dad away from kids and abuse.

I asked Roger what he has seen transpire in the 15 years that he has been a Judge. Roger said, �With all of the resources we have to use, the financial resources, psychologists and psychiatrists, and trained social workers, the government cannot protect children. Parents are the first line of defense to protect kids.� You really need to hear those words folks. God has placed parents at the city gate to provide for, protect, nurture, and assure our children that they are, and will be, loved and protected.

I know that this will not be the most downloaded �Mother�s Day� lesson that I have ever taught because what you hear this morning will not be one of those �sappy, sweet� Mother�s Day lessons. We don�t need to be told that everything is wonderful when it is not. Many moms and dads have bought into the cultural philosophy of a lifestyle of convenience and abandoned the call of parenting. These telling trends that we are witnessing right before our eyes are not unique to the United States, nor are they unique to living in a post-Christian nation, but they are signs of a society in decline, a nation which has departed from the ways of God. I was struck by God�s words to His people through the prophet Isaiah this week. In Isaiah 49:15 we read,

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15 NIV)

If you ask the same question today, �Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?� Most people would get sentimental, tear up, and say, �Oh no. There is nothing more precious than a mother and her baby.� Yet, what we are seeing is exactly what God saw in Isaiah�s day. Mom, and dad, are forgetting.

In Matthew 18:1-7, Jesus addressed the issue of true greatness, real success. He used a child as His illustration, and then He had strong words to say to any of those who would cause any little one to stumble. Jesus said,

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (Mathew 18:1-6 NIV)

To set the context for the things that we are discussing this morning, I want to look a little deeper at Jesus� words. Maybe by taking the time to really understand how serious and how pointed Jesus was, we might be more inclined to become more incensed by what is going on all around us.

As we come to the story, we find the disciples arguing over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. They made a big mistake when they asked Jesus to settle the argument. Jesus, after hearing their question, called a child. There might be some among us who would say, �Well, what did Jesus mean when He said, �child?� That�s a good question. Did He mean a �child� of God which would then broaden the category to include all people who are followers of Jesus? What did He mean?

The Greek word used by Jesus is �paidion.� The word means, �as a newborn child, infant, babe, or as a small child.� Jesus brought the little child up before the adults, the followers of Jesus who were arguing about �greatness� and He said, �Behold, greatest of the kingdom of heaven!�

Jesus said, �Unless you change and become like these little ones you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.� When Jesus says, �Change� � He means turn around. The disciples were heading in the wrong direction with their selfishness and their desire to look out only for themselves. My friend, Jesus is saying to us today � unless you change you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. We are just as misguided for the same reasons today as the disciples were in their day.

What causes a parent to beat, brutalize, abuse, and even kill their kids? Stress, economic problems, problems with their mate, no spouse to help take care of the kids, low self-esteem, ornery children, having been abused as a child misbehaved children�the list goes on and on and on. Even though these are things that trigger anger and end up hurting our kids, I don�t think these are the cause, I believe they are merely the symptoms. Those who brutalize their babies lose sight of the responsibility given to them by God to set �self� aside and give themselves to blessing, rather than bruising their children, caressing rather than crushing the little ones who look to them for love.

It�s not just those who harm their children who have rejected Jesus� high call to protect and care for children. Today, in our country, over 1 million children will never see their mother or father, never be allowed to run and play, never be allowed to gain an education, never be allowed to sing �Jesus Loves Me�, and never be given the chance to grow up and experience the glories of God in this life. Over 1 million babies will be aborted in this country in this year! That�s 2,740 deaths a day. 114 deaths every hour. Two deaths every minute! During this time that you and I will spend in this sanctuary worshipping the Creator of life, 150 babies will lose their lives! Here some basic statistics for you to contemplate:

� There have been more deaths from abortion in the United States (50 million) than all of the deaths from all of the wars that we�ve been involved in during our nation�s history.
� Planned Parenthood reports that 1/3 of all babies conceived in the U.S. are aborted.
� There are currently 2 million couples waiting to adopt a baby and over 1 million babies aborted this year alone.
� Since abortion was legalized in the U.S. in 1970, the number of reported cases of child abuse has increased from 167,000 in 1973 to 1.7 million in 2000. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
� 70% of the total number of abortions each year are for women who describe themselves as either Catholic or Protestant.
� In 1963, Planned Parenthood produced a pamphlet called �Plan Your Child.� In the pamphlet it is stated, �An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun. It is dangerous to your life and health.� In 1990, Planned Parenthood reported prenatal care for 4,732 women and abortions for 122,191 women.
� Abortions are performed by doctors who have taken the Hippocratic Oath. An oath which states, �I will neither give a deadly drug to anyone if asked for, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.� Maybe it should be called �The Hypocritical Oath.�

How did we get to where we are? I know some of you are very uncomfortable right now. You�ve either had an abortion yourself or someone really close to you has gone through the procedure. I can relate. I have friends who are close to me who have had an abortion. I hurt for those who have gone through this horrible experience. God�s forgiveness is available. His healing is available for those whose lives have been broken by the horrors of abortion. I love you and want to see God restore to you your peace of mind through His forgiveness and mercy. While I love you deeply, I am just as passionate that life is precious, that bringing life into the world is the work of God and not the choice of men or women, and that the convenience of having a �problem� taken care of is killing more than the babies that are losing their lives�its killing us. Our conscience is becoming seared and our hearts are becoming hard.

I�m sure there are over 1 million reasons why the abortions had to take place. Threat of life to the mother, rape, incest, economic problems, genetic problems, etc. Difficult situations to be faced, but there are far too many abortions being performed because a baby would be inconvenient and because there is some slick marketing and big bucks to be made off of the hardships of women facing pregnancy. This is not a problem pertaining only to those who don�t know the Lord. The statistic I just shared with you is startling�Christians are having abortions and making decisions based upon convenience at an alarming rate. Doctors are making decisions to perform these detestable procedures based on money, there is a lot of money to be made from the abortion industry.

We must stop bowing at the altar of convenience and money and worship the One True and Living God. God has warned us in Exodus 20, to �have no other gods,� but we have winked at His command and bow at the feet of anyone who promises us greater happiness and contentment.

Don�t get me wrong. I�m not saying that having children is easy. I�m not suggesting that there are not times when our children press us to the extreme and drive us to the brink of insanity. I know there was more than one time that my parents wanted to throw up their hands and quit. I�m sure they wondered, �Why in the world did we ever decide to have children?� There have been times that, even with my three angelic children, I�ve wondered, �What were we thinking?� Children bring struggles into the lives of their parents, but those struggles are to mature us and teach us to depend upon God for His grace and wisdom. They are not meant to lead us to harm our kids.

We have been called to teach our children about the Lord, to tell them of His faithfulness and love for them. Do you know the best way children learn of God�s faithfulness and love? By watching me and you. When our children are young, so impressionable, they look to me and you for a correct picture of God. We are the closest thing they have to grab hold of when they come to think of God. What kind of message are we sending them when they come to understand that fathers and mothers are sexually abusing, physically abusing, and even killing their own kids? What kind of message are they receiving when they come to learn that we are allowing over 1 million children to be killed by abortion each year? I will guarantee you that if I were to ask a child if abortion was right or wrong and describe to them what happens when an abortion takes place � the child would not hesitate to offer you his answer � it is wrong!

Why do children know what we do not? Because we have cut off our dependence upon Almighty God, we have rejected His Word, and we are seeking to forge ahead in our pursuit of convenience�a convenience that is defined by happiness and getting what we want. Children have not lost that sensitivity to God. Children know that God�s Word rings true when He says,

3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalms 82:3-4 NIV)

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. (Psalms 127:3 NIV)

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalms 139:13-14 NIV)

5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV)

6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm (Jeremiah 7:6 NIV)

�Do not shed innocent blood.� Tell that to the 13,000 children who were beaten and abused in our state last year. �Take care of the weak.� Tell that to the 51 children who lost their lives last year by the very hands that were created to bless them! �Children are a reward from the Lord.� Tell that to the countless millions of adults who look at their children and the children of others as mere commodities to be used and abused!

Jesus had strong words for those who would bring harm to His children. Jesus said to His disciples,

6 �if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

When Jesus warns against �causing a little one who believes in Him to sin� � He uses a unique word. The word, �sin,� is really not a good translation. The NAS says, �stumble� and the KJV says, �offends.� Either of those are better than the NIV translation of �sin.� The Greek word used here is, �skandalise� (skandalise) occurs is in Matthew, Luke, and Mark in their accounts of this very story. The word means, �cause to stumble;� in the New Testament it is used to describe �a transgression causing to do something wrong or sin, be led into sin, be caused to do wrong, or to fall away, or give up believing.�

I wish we had an entire morning to talk about the implications of the word �skandalise�. It is the word from which we get our word �scandalous� and I can�t think of a better word to describe what is happening to our kids today. When a little child is killed by those who were blessed by God to be able to care for him � it�s scandalous! When a young child is sexually abused by her mother or father, or anyone else�it is scandalous! When defenseless babies are shaken to death by their parents�it is scandalous! When children are beaten by those who are supposed to bless them�it is scandalous! When children are sought out by predators to take advantage of them and then kill them�it is scandalous! It�s scandalous what we are doing to our children today!

How many future leaders have we robbed our country of because of the scandals that are taking place each day? How many future Abraham Lincolns have we robbed our country of because of the scandals that are taking place? How many future Albert Einsteins, Martin Luther King, Jrs, how many Mother Theresas, or Harriet Tubmans, Frederick Douglass�, or Apostle Paul�s?

The real question this morning is, �Who will save the children? Who will speak up in their behalf?� We have been silent for too long. We�ve stood by when it didn�t directly affect us and as a result we�ve seen our nation begin to rot from the inside out. For so long we have thought that our greatest enemies were from without � the Taliban, North Koreans, or some other military power who is a threat to our national safety, but now we are finding that like all great civilizations gone before us � our greatest enemy is from within. We are killing ourselves as well as our children. We must speak up for our children or one day there will be nobody left to speak up for us.

Martin Niemoller was a preacher during the time of Adolf Hitler in Germany. After the effects of Hitler were being felt by the entire country, Niemoller wrote,

First they came for the Communists, and I didn�t speak up because I wasn�t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn�t speak up because I wasn�t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn�t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

When will we realize that we must bring an end to the silence and speak up for the children? Will it cost us our friends? I�m sure it will, but it will not cost us our character. Will it cost us prestige and prominence in our community? I�m sure it will. Some of you will leave here this morning and think badly of me for speaking out, for having such a �downer� sermon on Mother�s Day, but I�m not worried about what you think of me, I�m worried about being obedient to God and speaking out. The cost may be high, but the reward is greater still! The reward is that maybe someday a child will be saved, a life lived, a hope fulfilled, and the heart of heaven will be mended once again. Who will save the children? Will it be you?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
922 NW 91st
Oklahoma City, OK. 73114
May 10, 2009