"WHAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

2 TIMOTHY 1:3-5

1. SHE TAUGHT ME TO BELIEVE THAT GOD KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON AT ALL TIMES:
1. That is simply a biblical truth!
1. Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, realized that. Cast out of the house by Sarah, Hagar was in the desert. An angel appeared to her telling her to return to Sarah and serve her faithfully. Thereafter, Hagar referred to God as "the God who sees me!" Genesis 16:13 (NLT).
2. Solomon wrote "The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping His eye on both the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3 (NLT).
3. "But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine." Psalms 33:18-19 (NIV).
4. "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NLT).
2. What a truth that is! My mother taught me that and I think she wanted me to know that for two good reasons:
1. She wanted me to know that God cannot be fooled. Nobody gets away with anything. Mother might be fooled. Teacher might be fooled. Anyone else might be fooled. God is not fooled. You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time, and I'll tell you for sure, you can't fool God any of the time! There is a warning in that awareness. What we do will either please or displease God. We can rejoice or grieve Him. But whatever we do is always noticed.
2. She wanted me to know that God is aware of what I am going through. No problem, no danger, no suffering, no plight escapes His scrutiny. He sees the joys and sorrows, the successes and failures, the ups and downs. There is a comfort in that awareness. Other people might not know or notice or understand or care. God knows and notices and understands and cares.
3. Sometimes a mother tells her children that she has eyes in the back of her head. And some mothers seem to have them; they just know how to keep track of what is going on. We have seen shows on TV where people plant hidden cameras in some area to catch some suspect at some activity. A boss might catch a thief in action; parents might catch a babysitter doing something undesirable in their absence. Police set up cameras in vans to photograph drug stings. There are security cameras in hospitals, stores, school buses and parking lots.
4. Even then, people think they can get away with things - and for awhile they might. A girl looked out her second story apartment window and saw a man trying to break into a car. She frightened him off by hollering, "God is watching you!" And he took off like a shot. Nothing escapes God's notice. Take warning if you are doing wrong; take comfort if you are in a bad situation. God sees, God knows, God cares.

2. SHE TAUGHT ME TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS TO BE FEARED:
1. By that I don't mean "feared as an enemy." I don't mean "feared as someone who means me harm." But there is a holy, reverential, even quaking fear when we consider God's holiness and power. God is not to be taken lightly or trifled with. God is not to be scorned or ignored. God is not to be demeaned or belittled. God is to be feared.
2. Now, what difference will that make in our lives? It surely doesn't mean just quaking in our boots.
1. It will result in kindness to those who are weak in some way. God said, "Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the blind. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:14 (NLT).
2. It will result in proper use of authority. "The person who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of the morning," 2 Samuel 23:3, 4 (NLT).
3. It will result in seeking the Lord. "Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as the king sought the LORD, God gave him success." 2 Chronicles 26:5 (NLT).
4. It will result in restraint from sin. Concerning those who do not fear God David said, "Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them." Psalms 36:1 (NLT).
5. It will result in worship and honor to God. "The LORD, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice." 2 Kings 17:36 (NASB).
3. Fear of God corrects our treatment of others, takes a stand against sin, and elevates God to the highest position.
4. Jim Elliot martyred missionary wrote, "In reading the Scriptures I find a great moral power. Therein am I made aware of two great forces for good in human experience: the 'fear' of God and the 'grace' of God. Without the fear of God I should not stop at doing evil; the fear of God restrains from evil. Without the grace of God I should have no desire to approach positive goodness. The one is a deterrent from evil; the other an encouragement to good."

3. SHE TAUGHT ME TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS ENOUGH:
1. I can't remember not knowing about, and believing in, Jesus. Mother taught me to trust Him, and to believe He would always be there with me.
2. Many people want to add something to Jesus. Jesus plus rules; Jesus plus good intentions; Jesus plus good works; Jesus plus the 10 Commandments. But Jesus plus nothing is enough! He is enough for
1. Peace of mind.
2. Rest of our spirit.
3. Strength for the task.
4. Wisdom for the complexities.
5. Access to God.
6. Hope of heaven.
7. Salvation of our souls.
3. Jesus was enough to feed the 5,000; He was enough to lift sinking Peter out of the sea; He was enough to raise Lazarus from the dead; He was enough to defeat Satan on the cross and through the resurrection; He was enough for Paul's thorn in the flesh - and He is enough for you and me.
4. As a boy, I had a recurring dream that Satan was hiding in our closet. When we'd open the door, there he'd be - red suit, pitchfork, horns, tail and all. At first I was frightened. But then I'd always remember to holler to Jesus for help. Satan disappeared instantly and so did my fear. Jesus, in life, and in my dream, has always been enough.

My mother taught me some invaluable lessons. Have you learned those same lessons? Have you learned that God knows all about your life? Have you learned that God is worthy of being feared? And have you discovered that Jesus is enough? Are you going through life as if there is no God or that if He is, He doesn't matter? Are you going through life with no awareness of God's involvement, or is He right at the center of who you are and where you are and what you do? Some say there are only two certainties: death and taxes. I don't believe that. The real certainty is that all of us, without exception, will one day stand before God to give account of ourselves. We can be ready for that day if we live our lives so we don't need to dread God seeing how we live, if we fear Him, and if we put our full trust in Jesus Christ alone. My mother taught me that. I hope somehow you, too, have come to understand those truths. If you have, you can honestly sing, and live by, the song that says, "I have a Maker, He formed my heart. Before even time began, my life was in His hands. He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call." Do you hear Him when He calls? He calls you today, come as we sing. / "I hear the Savior say,'Thy strength indeed is small! Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.' Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." Come to Him. He is enough, He paid it all.

Jim Elliott from internet search