Amen.
Amen. Great chapter of the Bible, isn't it, Isaiah 40, some great verses in there.
Right, Isaiah 40, I want to look at verses 10 and 11 here.
Isaiah chapter 40 and verses 10 and 11, which reads,
Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him.
Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.
He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
And the title of my sermon today is Recognising the Value of a Mother.
Recognising the value of a mother.
Let's go to the Lord in a quick word of prayer.
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you for this great chapter.
Thank you for these great verses.
Please just help me to just preach clearly now,
boldly to preach with your spirit, guiding me,
and help everyone here to hear what message that you've put on my heart to preach today,
and just help those, everyone here to apply it to their lives,
and just for all these things to be done in Jesus' name, Amen.
Amen.
So we live in a society where being a mother seems to have lost its importance, hasn't it?
Definitely has been downgraded.
I was looking at just a few stats for this in 2019.
The rate of births in the United Kingdom fell to its lowest figure in the last 20 years,
at 10.7 live births per 1,000 population.
Now, obviously, you hear these ridiculous claims of overpopulation.
Anyone?
I think most people would have heard that sort of stuff,
even though you could have the whole world's population with about 10 square metres to themselves each
in our little nation here, in our little island here.
It is ridiculous, isn't it?
But there's that stuff.
But let's be honest, I don't think anyone really who's not having children,
or purposely not having children, sorry, is doing it to save the planet.
They might claim that.
There are various reasons, various ways that people try and avoid being mums in life.
There's the birth control, isn't there?
And how much is that used now?
And again, I was looking at some stats on that.
Across the whole United Kingdom, 2018, the birth control pill was the most common method
of contraception for women aged between 15 and 49 years, with 28% use it as their main method.
28% of women between 15 and 49 using birth control pills.
Anyone really know what that pill is doing to them?
Do they?
And look, I know there'll be people here that have, and sadly, hopefully not,
that still use stuff like this, but it's wicked, OK?
It's wicked, and you're messing with your body clock, and people use that stuff
and then wonder why then, when they decide to stop using it, they can't get pregnant.
But look, we see the birth control pill.
Well, that's wicked, but there's something more wicked than that, isn't there,
that is absolutely huge in this nation, across the world, and that's abortion.
And abortion sounds a little bit more medical than what it really is, which is murder.
Yeah, baby murder.
And we have baby murder going on, again, across this nation, across the world,
purposeful murdering of their children.
In 2019, it's reported that 209,519 baby murders took place in England and Wales,
which is up from 205,295 in 2018, 197,533 in 2017, et cetera.
So it's getting higher and higher, 209,000 in one year.
I mean, that's a Holocaust, isn't it?
That's a Holocaust, that is absolutely wicked as hell.
Yeah, how evil is that?
And that's the nation we live in.
That's the nation we live in, and why is that?
Because it seems that being a mother isn't important anymore.
It seems a life isn't important anymore, is it?
And I saw a stat that approximately, apparently, 25% of all pregnancies,
and this is excluding spontaneous miscarriages, currently end in abortion.
25%, a quarter of all in this nation.
How bad is that?
Okay, and that's where we've got to, that's where this nation is.
And is it any wonder then that at the same time, being a mum is just so downgraded?
It's sort of, it's not got any respect almost anymore, has it?
Because it used to, didn't it?
Because even when you get beyond the desperate attempts to not be a mother,
which seems to go on throughout this nation by the stats I've just given you,
the family and friends suggesting murder when you're pregnant, okay?
And they'll do that to people who are married, who are married with an...
Look, there's no excuse for it anyway, but married, settled, what are you going to do?
Are you going to have the baby?
This sort of actually, I've seen this, I've experienced this.
It's wicked.
When you get past the men refusing to settle down in the first place
because that's going to take out from the pub time,
that's going to take out from the hobby time and everything else.
When you get past all of that,
you then have many mums that do go through the nine months of pregnancy
to then basically give the child to the government to raise, yeah?
They're still not going to be a mum, so they might have the baby
and then they're still not a mum at the end of it.
So once you get through all of those other things,
you get to the point where then, what, you've got,
you've got, what, whether it's the school system, the pre-school,
look, they're giving you free childcare hours here.
How many is it now, do they offer to a mum of nursery?
Is it 30, 15 hours, free?
Free 15 hours, I mean, how enticing is that?
15 hours to just park your kids off and be me, you know, that old stuff.
Be yourself, you know, just, you know, get up, you know, you deserve that.
You should have time for yourselves and everything else, but what's that?
That's 15 hours with your child being raised by not just people
that you don't know, but it's people that you don't know
that have to raise them in a certain way that our all-wise government
has told them to raise them, because I don't know if you've noticed,
but every single registered childcare in this nation
has to adhere to certain things, like they have to be Ofsted regulated,
which basically means that they're government regulated,
which means basically, in essence, it's a branch of the government
raising your children from young, from baby.
And look, when I say Ofsted regulated, they have things like British values,
because it sounds so good, doesn't it?
We, you know, you must adhere to British values in your childcare institution.
But what are British values?
Because what they say,
British values are different to what many British people would say are their values.
And one of those British values is, for example, the all-inclusive
British value that they claim that apparently a good, honest Brit should have.
And that's to all sorts of perverts and weirdos being around your children.
Yeah.
And that sort of stuff being pushed on them from young.
Yeah, that sort of agenda, that sort of propaganda being pushed on them.
And look, it starts with the nursery, it continues with the schooling.
But it continues there.
It's not just the schooling, because then it's the preschool clubs again.
They have to adhere to Ofsted regulation.
They have to adhere to British values, whatever they may be.
It continues with the after-school club.
It continues to the holiday clubs.
It continues with the weekend stuff.
It continues with everything.
You basically have the government raising your child.
Now, not just that, but you've got the government raising your child.
And who do you have babysitting your child after that?
The TV?
The iPad?
Yeah?
The iPad, the TV, the games console.
And again, it's all ultimately the same people, isn't it?
And it is really at the top of all of that.
It's the devil, isn't it?
And people, once they get through the hurdles, the propaganda,
the pressure to not even have children in the first place,
the temptations and everything else,
then when they have the children,
they're still not actually raising those children.
And there are very few that are actually just being a mum,
just being a mum, and actually mothering their children.
And is it any surprise that with so much,
such little importance being given to being a mum,
that, well, they seem to be treated then as such, don't they?
So mums in society aren't really treated with anywhere near
the respect, the credit that they used to.
It wasn't so long ago that pregnant women especially
were treated in a special way, weren't they?
People would be giving their seats to a pregnant woman,
people would be opening doors,
people would be, there'd be some chivalry, wouldn't there?
And it wouldn't just be from that old-fashioned man.
And nowadays it seems to be that, doesn't it?
Nowadays, any of you mums, when you've been pregnant,
especially I'm talking about when you're pregnant,
you've been walking around
or you've gone in somewhere in public,
most of the time it might be some old guy.
Some old guy might open a door
or the old guy will get up off the bus seat
and give it to the lady while everyone else
has just got their feet up.
But should it just be the old guy?
Should it just be that old gentleman?
No, shouldn't it be absolutely everyone?
Shouldn't it be other women as well?
Shouldn't everyone be trying to do their better?
Not just for some, how about a mum that's walking around,
one kid, two kids, three kids, five kids, 10 kids with her?
Shouldn't they be in help?
Shouldn't people give them the respect they give them
instead of, what do you mums who've got a few kids get now?
A lot of the time, looking at the kids, looking at you,
looking at the kids, working out in their mind,
are they all yours?
How dare you have so many children?
How dare you?
Looking at the dad, looking at the kids, are they all his?
We all get that.
You get that once you've had a couple.
Let alone when you're going up to the five, six, sevens.
And that's where we got to, isn't it?
And they're not giving, rarely are they giving respect for that.
A lot of the time, then there's animosity as well, isn't there?
Animosity, there's annoyance, there's irritation.
They'll go...
You know, like, irritated that the kids have made some noise.
Yeah, kids make noise.
Yeah, that's what they do.
Kids are great at making noise, but how irritating do people find that?
And how irritating do people find mums, sadly?
But like I said, it wasn't that long ago, was it?
Where it wasn't a snidey comment, you know,
because you've got a couple of kids.
It wasn't a snidey comment because you've got a couple more kids than they have,
or something else, some sort of little dig or little comment,
yeah, good luck to you, you know, and that sort of thing.
Well, in the old days, there was a time, if you remember,
I remember this time, when men were ready to throw fists
if someone even swore in front of a lady.
Someone swore in front of a mum or in front of a kid,
people would be ready to throw fists,
and there's not many men like that anymore.
Nowadays, you'd be more likely to be throwing fists at the nearest women,
I swear, because a lot of the time,
the filthy mouth is coming from the women as well, isn't it?
But in the old days, that was what it was like, wasn't it?
How dare you speak like that in front of a lady?
How dare you speak like that in front of a child?
How dare you speak like that in front of a young family?
Now, I have to catch myself,
because you still have a bit of that in you, don't you,
and you walk past people and they're effing and blinding
and talk about absolute filth
while you're walking past them with your young children.
Isn't it wicked? What have we got to?
What have we got to in this nation?
But we, as Bible-believing Baptists, like I say many times,
and no-one's not aware of this,
we get affected by our culture, don't we?
OK, we shouldn't get affected by our culture, but we do.
And again, I'm not just talking about the men here, yeah?
Everyone here, including mums themselves,
get affected by their surrounding culture,
get affected by this wicked society,
and this society where women, where mums,
are given such little credit now, such little respect.
And that's why, when it comes to things like Mother's Day,
yeah, I'm up for celebrating Mother's Day, yeah?
And there might, I don't know, hopefully there might be some in here,
sitting there going,
it's pagan, pagan, how dare you have happy Mother's Day,
it's a pagan festival, or something else.
I don't really care, yeah?
Because compared with what the rest,
don't be part of the rest of the society,
which is just trying to downplay and basically take any credit,
it's nice to have at least one day a year.
One day a year where we can go, yeah, let's give some respect,
let's give some adoration to the mums, yeah?
To mums for everything they do, everything they go through.
And look, like I said, if we do get affected by this,
and if going home, you know, or coming here to church,
all of us here, we're just witnessing
through your different forms of transport,
through maybe stopping at a shop or whatever else,
you were just witnessing people giving respect,
people opening doors.
If when we came out of here in the afternoon,
those drunkards from across the road quickly run over
to open the door for the mum coming out with the buggy,
for, you know, maybe just gave respect and just said,
oh, well, you know, that's really great that you've got so many kids or something,
I think we would all probably be affected by that a little bit, wouldn't we?
Yeah, that would actually, that would affect how we behave,
how we talk, how we think, how we treat the women in this church
and how we treat our wives, how maybe kids treat their mums,
how people here just treat the other mums in the church
and treat other mums in their lives.
Because we are affected by the world,
but that's not an excuse, is it?
Is it an excuse that our society is wicked?
No, because Romans 12, too, you don't have to say anything that says,
And be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind
that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.
And God's good and acceptable and perfect will is that we value mums.
I have no doubt that that's God's will, that we value mums,
and not valuing them according to how manly they are,
yeah, not valuing them according to, you know,
how much they fit in with what the world says a woman should be like,
but just valuing them for the pure fact that they are mums,
for the pure fact that they are mums.
Part of the lack of value that our world, our society gives mums
is basically because she's now judged by her masculinity.
Don't we see that now, how strong she is?
You know, how strong is that woman?
How good is her job?
How good is her job? What's her job?
How many times, when we did have our kids at school,
would my wife be arsed out on the school gate?
So when are you going back to work?
You know, the baby's literally, you know, still blue, yeah?
Literally, you're going back to work next week?
You know, what do you do?
It's like, I'm standing there with three kids.
What do you mean, what do I do?
But that's the attitude, isn't it?
And that's what they're judged by.
That's the credit, you know, are they, you know,
have they got a really good job, you know?
But is that how we should judge a woman?
Her qualifications.
Because sometimes it's that. It's not just what her job is.
It's, well, you know, what did you used to do?
Are you qualified? What sort of job could you go back to?
People really want to know that stuff
because they really want to make a judgement then.
How promiscuous, sadly, seems to be something to adhere towards
in our society, doesn't it?
How promiscuous is a woman, you know?
How, well, sadly, you know, how much attention she gets at the least.
That's something that they seem to be judged by.
And, look, women are always going to come short
if they're judged by what, look, being promiscuous is wicked
whether you're a man or a woman anyway,
but if you're judged by any of that,
any of those masculine type things,
well, you're always going to come short, women.
Ever wondered why, look, the more and more
they try and push you to be and act like men,
they try and judge you by what a lot of the time masculine tendencies,
the shorter you come and the more insecure you feel.
The more insecure you feel, the less respect you get
because you're always going to come short.
Because when it comes to being able to work
and slog out hours and everything else,
you're going to come short, okay?
When it comes to many of the other traits of being a man,
you're going to come short.
But, look, you're not designed for that,
but then before we even get to a lady's mothering skills,
God, look, God values you just purely for being a mum.
Did you know that?
God values you just for the fact, the pure fact,
that you are a mum.
Isaiah 40 and verse 10 says,
Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand
and his arms shall rule for him.
Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.
He shall carry them in his bosom
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
So here in Isaiah 40, I believe that he's talking
of the second coming of Christ here.
I might be wrong there.
He's talking about him coming with a strong hand.
I believe ruling and reigning for a thousand years
with a reward for his saints.
That's us, isn't it?
Verse 11 says that he shall feed his flock like a shepherd.
And we are his flock, aren't we?
Everyone here, if you're saved, you're part of his flock.
And the Bible constantly gives the analogy of Jesus
as a shepherd and believers as a sheep.
I think anyone that's read through the Bible,
or even if you haven't, you've just heard preaching
and you've heard parts of the Bible,
probably going to have heard that many times.
In John 10, verse 11, Jesus said,
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
And he gave his life for us, didn't he?
Jesus Christ gave his life for us.
Everyone here who's saved, he gave his life for you.
If you're not saved, he gave his life for you,
but you've got to accept that gift.
But the good shepherd, he also teaches us
how we should behave, doesn't he?
He's a great example as well.
He's a great example not just to us men.
He's a great example to everyone here.
It said here, he shall gather the lambs with his arm
and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
So the picture is a shepherd caring for the lambs
and the mothering sheep, yeah?
What do you call a, is there like a special word for that?
For a sheep that's a mother?
Mothering, say again?
Is it a ewe?
Okay, ewe.
Shall I go with that?
Could make a risk here and keep saying this
for another 40-odd minutes.
Mothering sheep.
Okay.
Well, if everyone's goal is to be more Christ-like,
then this analogy applies to all of us, doesn't it?
Okay?
But obviously, especially if you're a dad, yeah?
Especially if you're a husband of a mother,
but also single men here, yeah?
This applies to you,
for those that maybe will eventually be one day,
and those of you that maybe have wives that don't have kids.
And look, whether you do or don't,
all of us, it applies to you,
because we're all going to be around mums, okay?
We're all going to be around mums.
So whether it's a lady without children,
or maybe it's a child here,
this applies to all of us, yeah?
Okay, how we should care for,
how we should view the mums here,
and view mums in general in our lives.
Now, I'm sure that everyone gets this analogy to some degree,
okay?
Talking about sheep,
we'll probably have at least an idea about sheep and stuff,
but I don't think we've got many farmers here.
Have we got any farmers here?
No?
Okay, I don't think we've got any farmers here.
And look, because maybe you understand it a bit more
when you're a farmer.
So I'm going to kind of give you a different analogy.
I want to use something that maybe we'll get a little bit more,
that we could apply a little bit more,
that maybe is a bit more to do with us
and our kind of culture and our work life.
We're not all farmers.
Let's look at it from a husband's point of view especially, yeah?
Imagine that you're,
imagine you're a business owner.
Imagine you have a business,
and you can think about many different types of business,
whether it's white collar, blue collar.
Whether it's early days or not,
you've already got a number of employees, okay?
So whether, you know,
whether it's early days you've employed a few,
or maybe you've employed many,
you've got this one essential member of staff, yeah?
You've got this one member of staff in your business,
whatever type of business it is,
that one that the business could not run without, okay?
That one member of staff that is so productive
that your business would be a failure without them.
That one member of staff which is the reason that your business
is even still going in the first place.
The reason that your business can and will thrive
is that one member of staff,
well, they're irreplaceable, yeah?
They're irreplaceable.
Same as that farmer.
If those sheep aren't having young,
well, they're going to stop being a farmer soon enough, okay?
They're going to stop having a farm.
And in the same way in your business,
if you don't have that employee,
you don't have that one super employee,
that one key employee, your business is a failure.
If you sacked them or they left,
you would lose the rest of the team.
You're likely going to lose the rest of the team.
The other employees are going to go as well
because that person is such a key member of your staff.
They're worth so much to you
that like that nursing sheep is worth to that shepherd, yeah?
They're just this member of staff, this key employee, okay?
Well, I reckon if you were that business owner,
that integral employee would get treated as such, wouldn't they?
Yeah?
If that was your business, that was your bread and butter,
that was your thing,
that employee would get treated as that top employee, wouldn't they?
Think about how in some of these businesses
how they treat those really good employees, yeah?
Think about the sort of bonus schemes.
Think about the extra incentives they give, the extra rewards.
Think about the way that sometimes
if you've ever worked in certain places
where there's someone who's just really good at their job,
they tend to get a lot of leeway, don't they?
They tend to get a lot of preferential treatment.
Sometimes if you're not so good at the job and they are,
it could be a bit annoying
because they just seem to get that better treatment.
They seem to just be in the boss's good books all the time, don't they?
Well, the title is recognising the value of a mother
and point number one here, how we do that is by helping her,
yeah, by helping her.
Isaiah 40 and verse 11 said,
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,
he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom.
Jesus Christ the shepherd here is gathering the lambs and carrying them
because sometimes a mum needs some help, doesn't she?
Yeah?
Sometimes doesn't a mum need some help?
Amen.
Sometimes the kids need a man's input too, don't they?
Yeah.
Sometimes, in fact, all the time the kids also need a man's input,
they also need a dad's input.
Now, you could sit there going,
Wait a minute, brother Ian, she's meant to be the help meet for me.
Isn't she the help?
Yeah, she is the help meet for you, yes she is.
But like that prized employee,
she sometimes needs a bit of time off, doesn't she?
Yeah, mum sometimes needs some time off.
Yeah, yeah.
She sometimes needs an early finish.
Yeah.
Sometimes she's got things she's got to do.
Sometimes she needs that early finish.
Sometimes she needs you to take over from her for a little bit.
Yeah.
Sometimes she needs that.
Mums do need that, yeah.
And look, there are times when her workload is so heavy that she needs support.
Okay, she needs support and a lot of the time there's the men and dads here
with that first support, aren't we?
Sometimes a good boss, sometimes an owner of a business has to step in
and help out and when it's a prized employee I think they're more likely
to do that, aren't they?
Absolutely.
If they're a key employee they're more likely to do that.
And the obvious place is when it comes to children, isn't it?
Okay, the obvious place is when it comes to children because,
believe it or not, parenting isn't just a mum's job, is it?
Yeah.
And look, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular here.
I'm sure, you know, I hope and pray that all the dads here
and all the men that will eventually be dads here
all get involved with the kids and all want to help
and want to make sure that their prized employee,
that key member of their, you know, their business there
and obviously I'm using an analogy here,
I hope that they're always wanting to make sure that they are comfortable,
they're happy as much as they possibly can
because we're commanded to do that, aren't we, men?
Well, turn to Proverbs chapter 4 because parenting isn't just a mum's job.
Proverbs 1-8 says,
My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother.
So, according to Proverbs 1-8, fathers need to be instructing their kids too, yeah?
Proverbs 6-20 says,
My son, keep thy father's commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother.
So, fathers need to have commandments for their kids, yeah?
You're in Proverbs 4 and verse 1 says,
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father and attend to no understanding,
for I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
For as my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother,
he taught me also and said unto me,
Let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live.
So, who's his father? King David.
He was a busy man, especially after Solomon was born.
We'd already gone through that little blip that was more than a little blip
where he clearly was a bit lazy and slack and hanging around the king's rooftop,
but after that he was a busy man, wasn't he?
And, look, he taught Solomon also, didn't he?
King David, the busy king, still taught Solomon.
He still taught his son, didn't he?
And what is a dad teaching his children?
Well, first things first, it's the things of God, isn't it?
Yeah. Yeah, it's the things of God.
You'll have to turn to Ephesians 6, 4 says,
And ye fathers provoke not your children of wrath,
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Let me read that again.
Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
So that's children being brought up by their fathers, isn't it?
Yeah, look, I'm not saying...
Start going to preach a role reversal here.
Wives, get out to work, then you'll be more respected.
Dads, hang around with the apron on.
I'm not preaching that, but we should be helping out, shouldn't we?
We should still have some input with our kids.
We should still be fathering our kids as well.
It's not just something that, right, well, I'm working, that's it.
You know, mums get on with it.
No, you should still be commanding.
You should still be instructing.
You should still be bringing up your children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
And if your schedule is so busy that you can't do that,
you're failing as dads, you're failing as fathers,
and you're failing as husbands that you should be to your wives,
because they need that as well.
They can't do it all on their own.
And that's in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,
because that's what it's about ultimately, isn't it?
And look, when you take kids for a day, yeah,
when any of your dad's here, when your wives,
you've given them a day off, or sometimes it's more
because they've got something that they can't get out of
and they have to do, some sort of appointment,
and you're like, yeah, yeah, okay, I've given her a day off.
Well, even when it's a couple of hours,
you kind of start to recognise the value of being a mum, don't you?
Especially you like that.
In fact, regardless, whether it's one kid or a few kids
or multiple children, it can be pretty tough, can't it, sometimes, yeah?
And we're not really, we're not so good at it all the time, are we?
And like I've joked before a lot of the time,
the house is absolutely trashed after a couple of hours,
and you start to value your wife a bit more, don't you?
You value that mum a bit more.
And look, there are other ways, though, we can help mums,
so it's not just looking after the kids.
Look, that's something, that's not just helping a mum, okay?
That's something that you're commanded to do, okay?
That's something, you are a father,
you're not just a breadwinner and that's it, okay?
You are a father, you need to raise your kids as well,
you need to help raise your kids,
you need to have an input with your kids,
you need to ultimately be the one teaching your kids the things of God as well.
Yeah.
Yeah, but there are other things as well,
and it's not just a case of, look, right, you got saved,
or you got married with your wives, yeah?
You've got three weeks to match the virtuous woman from Proverbs 31, okay?
Because men can be like that, look,
especially like newly saved men can be like, right, married, right,
she needs to basically be exactly like the virtuous woman,
but is that right?
No.
Are we fulfilling our responsibilities?
Have we just got, anyone here just got saved?
Any of you men got saved?
When you got saved, did you just suddenly just match up
to everything the Bible says a man should be?
Anyone here actually matching up to all of these years down the line?
I don't care how many years, no.
But we can sometimes expect that with our wives, can't we?
We can sometimes expect that with a mother,
that she's just going to, like, flick a switch, right,
we save time to be the virtuous woman.
Well, it's not like that, is it?
Would it be loving of me, caring of me,
if my wife was literally grafting from first thing in the morning
to last thing at night, yeah?
She was really putting the hours in, be it homeschooling, cleaning,
you name it, just cooking meals from scratch, doing all of that,
helping me, giving me, you know, the things I need,
and I was doing 38 hours a week at work, working from home,
and I had my feet up on the sofa while she's hoovering underneath me.
Would that be loving and caring?
Would that be good leadership, do you think?
It would have, would it?
No.
It'd be a nice life.
No, I'm joking.
But it would have really, would it?
Because is she really going to be happy with time?
Oh, but I'm doing my bit, so that's okay, isn't it?
No, because, look, we've become one flesh, yeah?
There are different members of your body that are good for different things, yeah?
And that are going to have the responsibility of different things, aren't they?
But, you know what, sometimes you need to look at that balance
and make sure that they're actually able, in the long term,
to do what they're doing, yeah?
Okay?
And make sure that they're not going to resent you in the long term as well.
Okay?
And that's part of loving and nurturing,
and that's part of being a good leader, part of being a good boss, isn't it?
Is not just going to that prized employee,
right, I'm going to work you to that.
Would you do that in your business?
Would you work that key employee to the bone while you put your feet up?
And, again, I'm not saying people are doing that, but some men do, don't they?
Some men are like, well, that's her job, that's her role, 12th kid, you know?
And I managed to make some good money on a part-time job, so that's me done.
I've done my role, but is that what God wants us to do?
It's not, is it?
No.
Well, like I said, that irreplaceable member of staff, she needs managing carefully.
She needs help at times, yeah, and that can be helped in other areas as well.
Yeah.
And that doesn't just apply to a husband, though, does it?
Does that just apply to a husband?
Like I said, it's valuing a mum, yeah, recognizing the value of a mother.
How about kids?
Do you recognize the value of your mother's kids?
Yeah, are you helping out?
Are you just taking what you can and doing nothing around the home
and just put out every time you're asked to do anything?
Is it, well, you help out when it's on your terms?
Or are you actually thinking, look, my mother is a key, she is a key member of this family,
and I need to make sure that she's going to be happy and she's able to keep going in the long term.
She's able to keep up whatever it is that she's doing.
Are kids doing that?
But not just kids, what about other family members?
You've got family members that are mums that maybe need a bit of help,
and it might not be, look, it might not be coming around and helping with the kids,
it might not be coming around and helping with the chores,
but how about helping with counsel, helping with just someone to talk to?
Sometimes mums just need someone to talk to, don't they?
I know us men find that surprising, sometimes we just want no one to talk to,
but a lot of mums need someone to talk to, don't they?
They need to be able to offload sometimes.
Are we offering that?
Are the women here in the church, are you offering that to other mums?
Are you thinking, look, maybe she needs that, maybe that mum.
How's that mum doing this week?
Because being a mum can be hard.
And it's not about how many kids they have.
Being a mum with one kid can be really hard.
Being a mum with two kids, four kids, it doesn't matter.
Look, there's so many different challenges.
And it's not about the ages either.
It's not, oh, well, she's got a newborn.
Because, oh, she's got a newborn, we do the food train, check,
maybe say a couple of prayers for her, six weeks old, let's move on now.
What's the problem?
Because it's not like that, is it?
Kids have challenges all the way up, don't they?
Kids have challenges all the way up to 50 years old.
They do, don't they?
And look, we need to recognise that in a mum,
that a mum's going to be going through that.
And a mum's going to go through those worries
and those concerns about their adult children
that many of us dads don't really recognise so much, do we?
Oh, get on with it, you know, kids like falling over, smash their head.
It's just a scratch, you know.
Mums care about that stuff.
That affects mums, doesn't it, yeah?
Mums actually care about those sorts of things.
That stuff will play on their mind.
They have concern for their children.
Like I said, church members here,
we should think about the mums, shouldn't we?
And remember as well that the mums here as well,
for the future of this church,
they're discipling future church members, aren't they?
Amen, Matthew.
Yeah, that's a big way a church grows, is through having children.
Yeah, and they're key to the health of this church.
If they're doing a bad job discipling those kids,
we're going to end up with an unhealthy church, aren't we?
Yeah.
So we need to recognise that as well.
Like I said, council, someone to talk to.
And there are many ways we can all help, yeah?
Everyone here can help a mum in this room.
The title is recognising the value of a mother.
Number one was by helping her.
Number two is by gently leading her.
Gently leading her.
Isaiah 40 and verse 10 to 11 said,
Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand,
and his arm shall rule for him.
Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,
he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Notice the word gently here, yeah?
Don't miss that word gently here,
because a mum needs some consideration for the fact that she's a mum.
Yeah.
Doesn't she?
She needs some consideration for the fact that she is a mum.
She can't do the same amount of soul winning as you, OK?
She can't do the same amount of soul winning as you.
She can't match the physical labour that you do.
If she can, then you'd better get busier.
But she can't, OK?
She's not built for those things.
That key employee in that business isn't getting forced to do double shifts
every day so you get your money's worth, is she?
That key employee in your business isn't getting rung up at the crack of dawn.
You need to start earlier.
You need to start earlier because the boss is up.
That key employee is getting respect for being a key employee, aren't they?
They're getting valued for what they bring.
They don't want to put that employee off.
They don't want them to crumble and fall.
They don't want them to quit on the job, do they?
And we as men, look, we especially need to appreciate
all a woman's body and mind goes through having babies, yeah?
It's not just, right, baby's out, that's it, job done, look.
They go through a lot, OK?
They go through a lot.
And they go through a lot for us, as dads here, to have children, yeah?
Because happy is a man that has his quiver full of them, yeah?
And look, we get a lot of blessings from our wives,
the mums here having babies, having children.
We need to remember that sometimes, don't we?
Because they go through a lot.
They go through a lot.
And there's a lot of hard stuff that comes with pregnancy
and not just pregnancy but comes with being a mum.
And if we appreciate that more,
then maybe that might help those mums a bit more, yeah?
Because we can quickly just, oh, what about everything I've got to do?
I've got to work, I've got to work long hours to provide...
Look, what their body goes through, what their mind goes through
is a lot, isn't it? It's a lot.
Turn to Leviticus chapter 12.
But again, so can family and friends, yeah?
So can everyone in this church.
Appreciate what every single mummy has gone through
and sometimes continues to go through.
And that can be in many ways.
That can be in wanting to support.
That could be in having some empathy.
That could be in maybe turning the other cheek
when sometimes mums can, you know,
now and again they might do the odd crazy thing, yeah?
Mums do that sometimes, yeah?
Sometimes it's more than sometimes.
But they can, can't they?
And look, that's having a bit of, what, a bit of mercy sometimes, isn't it?
For mums who go through a lot
and the mind goes through a lot and the body goes through a lot,
that's also maybe not having too high expectations.
Because the truth is you'll find that the vast majority of churches,
and I'm talking about proper churches here round,
the vast majority of the work being done by the women that do it
is a lot of the time being done by the busiest mums.
That's what happens in churches a lot of the time.
It's the mums who are doing so much and a lot of the time,
and again I'm not picky on anyone here,
but a lot of the time it's the singles, the kids,
the people that don't have kids who are doing the bare minimum.
Now part of that, admittedly,
is because being a mum starts to train you to be busy
and it trains you to end up just getting used to being busy.
But still, look, we need to have some consideration sometimes
because sometimes it just burns them out, yeah?
And as we get busier, when we get that bigger building
and when we have more to do, everyone here needs to appreciate the fact
that that's not just right, it's the mum's jobs now to really knuckle down.
Everyone needs to support them, everyone needs to help them.
Now in Leviticus chapter 12 we see what was law was law for a new mum.
Now although we're not bound by this ordinance,
there's a really good principle here.
Leviticus chapter 12 and verse 1 says,
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child,
then she shall be unclean seven days,
according to the days of the separation, for infirmity shall she be unclean.
So basically she keeps away from people for an initial seven days.
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised,
and she shall then continue in the blood of her, purifying three and thirty days.
She shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary
until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
And obviously if you're wondering, no, we don't circumcise any more,
but here it says basically if she's had a little boy,
she was then to stay away from church for a further thirty-three days.
Okay, that's forty days.
Forty days with a mum that's just had a little boy.
Forty days away from church.
Now that was, that was a law.
Okay, there was no choice.
Now look, I understand some women bounce back quicker than others,
some women actually want to be around people, but that was a law.
Okay, there was no choice.
There was no say on that.
But why is that?
Well let's carry on.
But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks,
as in her separation, and she shall continue in the blood of her,
purifying three score and six days.
So after a little girl she was to stay at home for two weeks,
and then to stay away from church for a further sixty-six days.
That's eighty days total after having a little girl.
Why more for a baby girl?
Because it takes longer for mums to recover after having a little girl.
Okay, there's different hormones at play there.
The hormones take longer to settle.
There's a longer process there.
Whether that's a longer mental recovery as well, that's just the truth.
Why stay away?
Why stay away from church?
Because it's not just the baby that needs protecting,
and the baby does need protecting by the way a lot of the time,
like we were talking about earlier about germs and stuff like that,
when they're new, they're very delicate.
But mums need time to recover as well, to bond with their child,
to stay away from illness.
That's how God commanded it.
That wasn't optional.
So you wouldn't have had a choice
if you'd been living under Old Testament Israel law.
That's what you would have done, mums.
And anyone here wonder, think that God got that wrong?
No.
No, God didn't know what he was doing?
There's a reason for that.
Like I said, no one's forcing anyone to do anything here like that.
We're not bound by this.
But I think there's a good example there.
There's a good lesson there, isn't there?
And if you choose to, if you're any of the wives here,
any of the mums-to-be, anyone who has a child,
has a little girl and says,
especially if her husband says,
I think that you should be taking that time off,
that you should be taking that time to recover,
to recover mentally,
to get in a place where you're ready to be around people again,
then you should give her that time.
Don't start forcing her back to church
so that she can look more holy.
And I'm not saying anyone would do that,
but men sadly will do that, won't they?
And same like mums here.
Take the time.
Because you need that time.
And look, some might not.
Some might be sitting here going,
look, actually, I find it hard to be away.
And look, there's no rule here.
There's no law here.
But for me, God put that there for a reason.
God commanded that for a reason.
Don't feel pressured.
Women, mums here, when you have children
and going on into the future,
young ladies here as you grow up,
don't feel pressured to be getting back to church straightaway.
Okay?
Because if you'd lived then,
it would have been 80 days after having a little girl.
It would have been 40 days after having a little boy.
It's quite a bit of time, isn't it?
Yeah.
And again, I think that's for good reason.
Turn to 1 Peter chapter 3.
And like I said, however stoic a mum might be,
because some mums maybe don't need that time.
Some mums maybe would find it harder to have that time.
Okay?
And they might have their reasons not to.
We as men, as family, as friends,
we need to recognize the value of a mother, don't we?
Okay?
We need to recognize the value of a mother.
And that is showing some value to them there, isn't it?
That's saying, look, you need to have some time.
You need to have some time away.
And we need to treat them in that way, don't we?
And like I said, it's not just mums with newborns.
Okay?
There are challenges with having children of all ages.
There's challenges with just having offspring.
Yeah?
Whether you're an older mum here that's got adult children,
or whether you're just thinking about your mum,
some of you adults, yeah?
They're challenges.
They need to be treated with the respect.
And there are some battle scars.
Yeah?
There are wounds that come, battle wounds, mental scars,
that come from having children that will never go away.
Yeah?
And look, that can affect women for life.
So it's like, oh, well, you don't have a newborn anymore.
You should just be acting and behaving exactly like I've decided you should behave.
No.
We need to have empathy.
We need to have sympathy for mums at all stages.
Yeah?
At all stages.
1 Peter 3 and verse 7 says,
And that's why the early days of marriage can be so difficult, can't they?
Because you don't have the knowledge yet.
You don't have that knowledge of that wife to be able to dwell with them according to knowledge.
And that's why that first part is so difficult.
I was saying to someone recently, I was saying, look,
that first part of marriage is basically when you're putting the hardest work in.
Okay?
It's like if you're building a house, and in a way you are building a house.
Yeah?
That first part, that digging the foundations.
Yeah?
That digging out some of those nasty old tree roots
and those other weird things you find when you go deep into the ground.
You think, I really didn't expect to find that there.
Yeah?
That digging is hard.
That laying that concrete is hard.
Yeah?
That first part, those foundations, that first part of most jobs is hard, isn't it?
Yeah.
And it can be difficult.
It can be difficult.
It is difficult.
Anyone here is thinking, yeah, yeah, no, no,
the beginning of my marriage was all roses.
I hate the truth.
And I have a many mushy, stupid Hollywood movies, yeah,
and trash novels where people are just, from the beginning,
it's just this, you know, romantic honeymoon period tell you otherwise.
It's nonsense.
Yeah?
The beginning is tough.
You're learning to live with each other.
You're learning to dwell with your wives according to knowledge,
but you put the graft in and you reap the rewards.
Yeah?
You put the graft in early.
Yeah.
You dig those foundations.
You lay, you don't just, you don't do the old, you know,
the old trick and just go a few inches down.
No one will notice because it's going to crumble, isn't it?
Yeah?
You just don't deal with any of the issues early.
Just do it the world's way instead.
Do it the world's way.
Do the cheap, quick, easy way.
Just kind of, just keep away from each other.
Just, you know, don't really, don't try and encourage them.
Well, they don't really want to go to church.
They don't want to do this.
Oh, well, just leave that.
No, you put the work in early.
Yeah?
You get to know them early.
Get to learn what works and what doesn't early,
and you'll reap the rewards.
Yeah?
You'll reap the rewards.
Now, it says here,
Likewise ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge,
giving honour unto the wife as unto the weak of Esalen
as being as to get the greatest life that your prayers be not hindered.
We need to give honour.
That's respect.
High esteem.
Value.
Yeah?
That's value to our wives.
Value to the mums.
And a weaker vessel isn't a less important vessel, is it?
Amen.
Is weaker less important?
Yes.
No?
Some say yes.
No?
Weaker isn't less important, is it?
Whatever this heckler is saying.
I don't know who it was.
Ushers.
Get him out.
It's not.
Did Jesus, the good shepherd, consider the rams more important?
And if anyone's wondering here, rams being the male sheep,
did he go, oh no, they're much more important?
No, here, he's gently leading those with young.
He's actually carrying the really young, isn't he?
Is a bone china tea cup of less importance than that big clumpy,
clunky pound store mug where you drink, it just doesn't taste the same,
does it?
Yeah?
But that bone china's a weaker vessel, isn't it?
That bone china will get cracked when your kids empty the dishwasher.
Yeah?
In fact, a lot of the time you can't even put it in the dishwasher
and it'll crack.
Yeah?
You can't even put a boiling cup of tea in it and sometimes a fine line
appears, doesn't it?
And you're, oh no, I've only got a certain time left with that.
But it's still important, isn't it?
And look, for those of you that like your tea,
it's nice to drink you out of the bone china, isn't it?
Yeah, but it's a weaker vessel.
It's a weaker vessel, that big sports direct mug.
That stupid sports direct mug where you get about three cups of tea in there
and you get high from all that caffeine, yeah?
It's not more important, is it?
No.
In fact, it's worse for you.
Yeah?
A weaker vessel isn't less important.
And look, yeah, we don't lie here, do we?
We don't lie and pretend that the genders are exactly the same, do we?
Yeah, we don't lie and pretend that we're all exactly the same
and everyone is just exactly the same like this wicked world tries to do.
But it doesn't affect their value, though.
It doesn't affect their value.
We're just different.
We're different.
And like that important staff member, if he suffers,
you all suffer, don't you?
If a mum suffers at home, a lot of the time,
that's going to have a knock-on effect on the family, isn't it?
Yeah.
And when you're married, you're heirs together of the grace of life,
it says here in 1 Peter 3, verse 7.
It's being heirs together of the grace of life, the blessings, the trials.
The results of bad decisions affect both of you.
Yeah.
When your wife, if your wife starts having bad times and hard times,
it's going to affect both of you and the other way around as well.
I'm not just picking on the women here.
Sometimes us men can seem to be the weaker vessel, can't we?
And again, that's going to affect your wife as well.
You're heirs together of the grace of life.
When you became one flesh, you became heirs together of the grace of life.
And when you do it wrong, when part of that one flesh isn't right with God,
it's going to hinder the whole flesh, isn't it?
Yeah.
It's going to hinder the whole flesh.
What happens?
Any of you into sports?
It's not, oh, well, I've only got my left leg injured.
I'm going to be absolutely fine with this event or whatever it is I'm trying to do.
No, look, one part's injured, one part's failing,
one part's lacking in some way or another.
It's going to affect the whole body, isn't it?
Verse 8 said,
Finally be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another.
Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.
Now, verse 8 is specifically to each other in the church,
which, by the way, means that it does also apply to mums,
but I would say it should especially apply to mums, shouldn't it?
Remember to have compassion on a mum.
Like I said, they all have unique challenges.
It doesn't matter if they've got ten kids or they've got one child, yeah?
It doesn't matter if they've got one adult child or they've got,
or they've, is there such a word for having ten, ten twins?
What do they call it?
Is there a word for that? Anyone know?
No? Nine, eight? What's the biggest?
What's the most anyone's ever had?
I know you guys are going to know this.
Say again?
Octopus.
Is that eight, yeah?
I think, yeah, eight.
Okay. I bet there's some challenge with having eight kids at once.
Wow. That would be tough, wouldn't it?
But you know what? There's also challenges to having one baby.
There's a unique challenge to every unique mum in here to having one child, okay?
And there are unique challenges to every part of being a mother, yeah?
We need to appreciate that.
We need to have compassion, like I said earlier, especially on the mums.
We need to love them, don't we, as well?
But here it says also, be pitiful.
There are times when they need some sympathy, like I said.
There are some times when you're not just going,
well, you know, so and so has four kids, so how could you be finally arbitrary?
And I guarantee you there are people that have at least thought that,
maybe even said that, in this church and in many churches and in many areas of life.
Well, you know, they've got this many, so why is that?
Because it's hard.
Because however many kids you have, it's hard.
Yeah, because being a mum is hard.
Yeah, let's recognise the value of a mum, because it is hard, isn't it?
And by the way, it's hard, look, that first kid is sometimes the hardest, isn't it?
That first adaptation to having a child is sometimes the hardest one.
And people look at it and go, oh, it must be easy, you've only got one.
No, look, having a baby is hard, yeah, having a child is hard.
But what about being courteous?
It says love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.
It should go without saying, yeah?
And, you know, the old saying, good manners don't cost anything, do they?
Okay, and by the way, this church is in the UK,
so all of you that don't understand this watching online, we're Brits, we love manners, yeah?
And we've got a thing for manners in this country, yeah?
And I've got a thing for manners, I think good manners are important, yeah?
Good manners are important.
And I would say, especially, like I said earlier,
there was a time when, especially when you were talking to a mum,
when you were talking to a lady, yeah?
And we have many ladies in this church, don't we?
We should make sure that we're always using manners when we're talking to a lady.
Yeah, I don't see it, like, why shouldn't we?
We're treating them as a weaker vessel, we should be honouring them,
we should be treating, that's everyone, okay?
And obviously that goes without saying for your own wives,
it also includes when you talk to other people's wives and other,
and when you just talk to ladies in general in this church, yeah?
Okay, we want to make sure that we're courteous, we're polite,
yeah, we talk to people how we should do, yeah, with manners.
Now, especially, though, when you're talking to a mum,
yeah, especially when you're talking to a mum,
when you're talking to a mum that sometimes the wrong word
and sometimes the hormones can be up and down, can't they?
Sometimes saying that wrong thing can really affect them,
sometimes they'll look back and dwell on something that's been said to them,
yeah, that's just life, in fact, all of us can do that sometimes,
but that can be the case with a mum.
And with a mum who has that need for us to value them,
that's not getting that in the world,
we want to make sure that we're careful
with how we talk to mums in this church especially, yeah?
Obviously to each other, it's talking here especially,
talking to each other, it's saying finally be all of one mind,
but I would say especially with mums as well.
Now, the title is recognising the value of a mother,
number one was by helping her, number two was by gently leading her,
number three is by still leading her, by still leading her.
Isaiah 40 and verse 10 said,
Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand,
and his arms shall rule for him.
Behold, his reward is with him in his work before him.
And verse 11 said, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd,
he shall gather the lands with his arm and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Yeah, it's gentle but he's still leading,
because sometimes that leading can get so gentle that it's not leading, yeah?
Sometimes the leading can get so gentle,
yeah, yeah, I like the gently led bit,
but I'm just going to start ignoring the word lead there
and I'm just going to be gentle and too gentle
and then it stops being leading, okay?
We need to lead, because recognising the value of a mother
means recognising the need to lead her in the right path, doesn't it?
Yeah, leading her in the right path.
That same good shepherd, that same good shepherd
who will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead the mothers will still, look at verse 10,
come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him, yeah?
Gentle leadership is still leadership, isn't it?
And the weaker vessel needs leadership, yeah, they need leadership.
Like with that integral employee that we're talking about,
how great they are at the job, the company still needs a boss, doesn't it?
Yeah, the company still needs a boss,
it doesn't matter how good that employee is, they still need a boss.
In fact, they will stop being a good employee if they can't submit to the boss
and the business will eventually fail, won't it?
Yeah, it doesn't matter how good an employee they are,
how good they are at their job, they still need to submit to the boss.
And, look, those mother sheep,
I should have looked for a technical term for this,
those mother sheep, well, they still need leading, yeah?
Between the wolves, between the thieves,
between the rough terrain, they're going to fail, aren't they?
They're going to go out wandering, they're going to be lost, yeah?
Between all of that, something's going to go wrong, isn't it?
Turn to Genesis chapter 3, because recognising the value of a mum
means recognising the importance of leading her.
Like I said, you know, like that employee,
that employee wants a good boss, yeah?
That sheep want a good shepherd.
And a mum wants a good leader.
A mum wants a good leader.
Genesis 3.16, after the fall here, God says,
"'Unto the women,' he said,
"'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.
"'In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,
"'and thy desire shall be to thy husband,
"'and he shall rule over thee.'"
Yes, a woman's desire is to the ruler, yeah?
A woman's desire is to her husband.
A woman, deep down, wants to be led,
wants to be ruled by a proper leader.
But what's the goal? What's the goal?
Is it to prop up a man's ego?
Is that why she wants that, is it just to make us feel good?
Is it to show the other men
how they can get away with talking to their wives?
Is that what it's about?
No, it's to lead them in the paths of righteousness,
for His name's sake, isn't it?
That's what it's about, it's to lead them in the paths of righteousness.
Isaiah 40 and verse 10-11,
it said, "'He will come with a strong hand,
"'and his arm shall rule for him,
"'but, behold, his reward is with him in his work before him.
"'He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.'"
It doesn't take a strong hand to lead your wife
the way the world serves up things, yeah?
It doesn't take a strong hand to lead your wife
in the way of the world, yeah?
That's not strong.
It takes a strong hand to lead her
to the daily nourishing of God's word, doesn't it?
Yeah, that takes a strong hand to regular church.
Yeah, to regular church.
And in some areas, that leader needs to be gentle, yeah?
We've just seen that.
When it comes to feeding that star worker,
only the best food will do, won't it? Yeah?
When it comes to feeding that mothering sheep,
when it's that sheep that's producing,
oh, you know, half of your farm for you,
well, you're going to feed it good food, aren't you?
When you're wining and dining,
and I'll use the word wining in a biblical sense here,
when you're fruit-juicing and dining your employee,
well, you're going to make sure they have some good stuff,
don't you? Yeah?
It won't just be that cheap grape juice drink, yeah?
Which is grape juice with a load of junk in it, yeah?
It'll be the pure grape juice, won't it?
Yeah, when you're taking them out for a meal,
you're not going to take them down to McDonald's, are you?
You're going to be taking them somewhere good.
Well, in the same way, we want to make sure
that when we're leading our wives
that they're going to be getting some proper food, yeah?
Like the sheep in the lush meadows,
when she's fed properly, she's going to be happier,
she's going to be healthier,
and less likely to disappear into the neighbouring field, yeah?
It's true.
When you recognise the value of a mother,
you're happy to put the effort into leading her
as Jesus wants you to, aren't you?
Turn to Ephesians chapter 5.
You understand the importance of leading her properly
so that she continues to be of such high value, yeah?
And how do we do that?
Well, Ephesians 5, from verse 25, says,
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it,
that he might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word,
that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
He that loveth his wife loveth himself,
for no man ever yet hates his own flesh,
but nourishes his own flesh,
yet hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,
even as the Lord the Church.
Notice the washing of water by the word.
Notice the nourishing there.
You need to lead her in the clean will to the word of God, yeah?
You need to clean her.
You need to sanctify her.
You need to cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
the word of God, yeah?
That's what we're leading our wives.
That's the ultimate goal, isn't it?
But that's not going to be
by just making her read the Bible all day every day.
Look, you've got to dwell with them
according to knowledge as well, don't you?
You've got to find the way.
That's your job in life, husbands, yeah?
Men here who are looking after wives and mums here,
your job is to find the way to lead them
in the path of righteousness, yeah?
Find what works for your wife, how to do that,
how to encourage them, how to inspire them
to want to do the things of God.
You need to nourish her with the quality food, don't you?
The inspired, preserved word of God, yeah?
The King James Bible, you need to nourish her with that.
Yeah, that's what she needs.
She needs the word of God
and you need to find a way that you're going to do that
because that's what you're leading her for, aren't you?
You're leading her to be a godly woman.
You're leading her because God told you to lead her
and you're leading her for Him, aren't you?
And why?
Because like that sheep with young, that key employer,
you recognise the value of a mother, don't you?
You recognise the value of a mother.
And the title is recognising the value of a mother.
Number one is by helping her,
number two is by gently leading her,
but number three is by still leading her.
And like I've said,
although that applies especially to the husbands here,
everyone else here can support mums too, can't they?
Yeah, everyone else can support mums, you can help them,
you can be caring and sympathetic,
you can encourage them in the things of God, can't you?
Yeah, you can encourage,
everyone else here can encourage them
and look, that's not by boasting about how godly you are,
that's just to encourage them into the things of God.
Talking about the things of God,
maybe you might have ways that it can work for you,
maybe it's hard, you've got a newborn baby,
you set that alarm, that baby's crying, needing things,
it's hard to get up and start reading your Bible first thing.
Find ways that it can work, help each other,
give each other advice when it's asked for,
no one wants unsolicited advice,
but we can all help the mums here.
The dads here, we can recognise our wife's immense value, can't we?
Yeah, every dad here, you can recognise your wife's immense value.
The kids here, you can recognise your mum's immense value, yeah?
Every kid here should recognise your mum's immense value.
Everyone else here, everyone here can recognise the mum's immense value,
not just to this church but to their own families as well.
And mums here, you can recognise your own immense value as well,
cos sometimes, especially with the way our world paints things,
you can go through life feeling like some sort of, you know,
you're just playing catch-up with the men
and you're just not quite there because you're being judged according to the men,
but mums, you have immense value, yeah?
Every single one of you does.
On that, let's pray.
Father, thank you for, well, all the mums in this room,
thank you for all the mums around,
thank you for all the many different types of mums we have
and all the many blessings they bring this church.
I pray that you'll just help us all to appreciate them,
help us all to want to help them, to care for them,
to not only be sympathetic to them but for us men here especially,
to help lead them in the right way as well,
to lead them gently but also with a strong hand,
to just be everything that you want us to be,
to be like that Good Shepherd, to be like you.
Father, I thank you that, you know, you make things clear in your word,
how, you know, the world's version of things,
which is always failing compared with your way of doing things,
how just upside down inside out it is
and help us to not be so affected by the way the world thinks and does things,
help us to be affected by how you want us to do things.
Starting with today, please just help us to go out and preach the Gospel,
help us to just get many people saved
and help us to all return back here for this evening's service.
In Jesus' name we pray all of this. Amen.