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...included and pleased to help us all to profit greatly from the message this morning. And in Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Now, we're living in a day and in a time where women are not respected like they should be. Let's face it. In today's world, in 2006, the United States of America and our society, I just don't believe that women are respected the way that they should be respected, and uplifted the way that they should be uplifted. And I don't think mothers are as respected as they should be in our day and in our time. Whenever a society or a religion, you mark it down, whenever they drift away from the things of God, whenever they get away from this book, whenever they get away from the morals that are in this book, women are not respected as they should be. For example, look at our society that we live in. Women today, it's almost like people want to turn women into men. You know, they put a pair of pants on them. They give them men's clothing. And in our society, women wear pants. They send women to work and say, you know, women, we want you to act like a man. We want you to put on pants. We want you to go to work. We want you to live like a man. And I'm thinking to myself, good night. Where's the respect for women in our country where we have reverence and honor for a woman? I just don't believe that... I just believe that it used to be that women wore skirts and dresses and femininity was something that we respected and that we celebrated in a woman, but now it's almost like we just want women to be like men in this country. I don't think that's right. You know, God looks very highly on women, and God respects women very highly, and you'll see this throughout the Bible. And God has created women for some very special purposes, some very special purposes that only women can... And one of those great callings of a woman is to be a mother. And today is Mother's Day, so that's what we're talking a little bit about. But in the passage that we read, we saw the first woman here, the first woman in the Garden of Eden, and she has sinned here, and her husband also sinned, and she ate up the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she's brought all kinds of problems and damnation upon mankind Adam also was involved. But right after God gives us this story about this woman sinning, and then he gives us the redemption plan in verses number 15 and 16, he talks about how one day Jesus Christ is going to come and be the Savior, and he gives some hope there in this situation that's kind of a sad passage that we read. But notice in verse number 20, if your Bible's open, Genesis 3.20, it says, And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. You see, her whole identity that God gives her here, this woman that he created, the first woman, her name, her whole identity, is wrapped up in the fact that she was a mother. That's what God is saying here. He's saying her name is going to be Eve. Why? Because she's a successful businesswoman. Why? Because she is a good wife. Why? No. Her name is going to be called Eve because she's the mother of all living. So even her name is just wrapped up in the fact the epitome of who she was was a mother. Let me tell you something. There's no greater calling in this world for a woman to be than to be a mother. That's the greatest title that a woman could ever attain unto. So my first point is be most proud of the fact, if you're a mother here today, be most proud of the fact that you're a mother. That's the most important thing that you are. You think about children sometimes. And in our day, for some reason, children are kind of looked at as a burden. For some reason, children are looked at as an inconvenience sometimes. And I know that this is a trap that I can fall into as a father also. But sometimes we'll be going about our business and we have all these plans and we have our work to get done and we've got our housework to get done and we've got our chores to get done. And it's almost like these kids are getting in the way of what I need to do. But no, these kids are what we're doing. This is the most important thing. Right here is these children that you're raising are the number one thing. You say, well, I can't get the dishes done like I should because my kids are in the way. Look, the kids are the most important thing that you're investing in. Your life is the children that are in your home, mother. He says, I'm going to name this man, I'm going to call him Adam. And Adam just means man. If you study the Bible, studying the psalm and just looking every time the word Adam occurs in the Bible. And the word Adam just means man. He just called him man. He created a man, called him man. But then he says, when I name his wife, I'm going to call her Eve because she's a mother. That's who she is. You see, your children that you're raising are the most important part of your day is that time that you invested in your children. Open your Bible, if you would, to Proverbs 29, 15. I want to show you something. Proverbs 29, 15, the Bible reads, The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Notice the mother is brought up here. First he starts out by saying, yes, it's true that the rod, suck my spanking, yes, it is true that the rod does bring wisdom. Yes, it is true that reproof does bring wisdom when you tell your children you've done wrong. When you discipline them and spank them, he says, but that's not enough. The rod and reproof is not going to be enough to make sure that your kids turn out right. You say, well, I spanked my kids, they must turn out right. No, because he says, yes, the rod and reproof bring wisdom, but a child left to himself will bring his mother to shame. You see, it's not just enough to spank your children, mom. It's vital that you spend time with your children. He's saying don't leave your children to yourself. Don't just have your children just running around doing their own thing all day and you're doing your own thing. No, God has called you with this important job of being a mother, and he says don't leave your child to himself. Spanking is not enough. Spanking will bring wisdom, but you must be with that child. You must invest in that child with your time and your energy and be with them and train them. Spanking is not enough. You must also spend that loving time where you're nurturing and spending time. Don't just let the kids run wild. Have activities with the child. Maybe this applies to some people in here who have small children. I know we have some mothers here that their children are out of the home and grandchildren in the service here today, adult grandchild here. But the point is that women who have children at home and even older children, but mainly women that have children at home, you have got to be involved with your children throughout the day if you want them to turn out right. That's what he's saying. He says if you don't, there's going to come a day when you're ashamed of your own children. Where people say, is that your son? And you're like, well, yeah, that's my son. I don't know, maybe that's some other branch of the family. No, yeah, okay, that's my son. And wouldn't it be a terrible thing to be ashamed of the way your children are? And you say, well, I was, but I was saved and then I brought him to church. Yeah, but did you raise them? Did you spend time with them? Were you a mother to them? And he's saying, don't leave your children to themselves. A child left to his own devices is going to get into all kinds of ungodly things and he's going to bring his mother to shame. You've got to have the activities there. Boy, this is one thing. Let me just brag on my wife a little bit here. Boy, I love the way that she has activities for the children. She takes them on little field trips and she interacts with them and has little games for them to do and plays with the children. It's so important. Flip over a few chapters, if you would, to Proverbs 31. This is just three chapters forward. And I want to show you just how important a mother's role is in her children. This is how important it is, a mother with her children. Look at verse number 1 of chapter 31. Now, chapter 31 is most famous for being the virtuous woman described in verses 11 and toward the end of the chapter. But look at these first verses. Don't just leave out these first 10 verses because these are about the same subject. It says here in verse number 1, the words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. See, Mom, it's your job to teach your children the word of God also. We learned recently in a sermon about fathers preaching the word of God to their family and teaching the word of God to their children. But look at that, the prophecy that his mother taught him. He says, this is what my mom taught me about the word of God. Look what she taught him. What my son, and what the son of my womb, and what the son of my vows, give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Hey, give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. This is what his mom taught him. This is a great mother, by the way, that God is lifting up here and saying, here is a godly woman and here's what she taught her son, Lemuel. She said, listen son, two things will destroy you. Two things will destroy you. She said, number one, the strange woman, ungodly women, will destroy you. And number two, alcohol will destroy you. And he says, listen, you are a king. And by the way, I'm raising my children to be kings. I'm not trying to just raise them to turn out right. I want my children to grow up and be great kings. And so, of course, the Bible says that God has made us to be prophets and priests and kings. It says in Revelation chapter 1, every born again child of God. And so I look at my children and I see kings. And God is saying here, look, it's not for kings to drink wine. It's not for kings to drink strong drink. What's he saying? What's she saying? She's saying, look, you're too good for that. This is the kind of psychology. She said, you're better than that. Look, hey, you know what alcohol is for, Isaac? Alcohol is for the guy that's out in the gutter that's about to die. He's a miserable wreck. He's ruined his life. Yeah, let him go drink his sorrows away and let him go drown his sorrows in a bottle of liquor. But you, sir, are a king and I want you to be righteous and godly. And it's not for you, son. It's not for you to ever touch alcohol. And he's saying, this is things that a mother taught you. You don't normally think of a mother maybe preaching on these lines. But women, you take your kids aside and don't just give them some little Sunday school story. Sometimes you've got to lay it out for them, as this mother did. And say, look, son, this is the way life is. And, I mean, she gets down to the brass tacks and really preaches to her children. And she makes a sin exceeding sinful here. It says in verse number 8, and she's continuing to teach him. Verse number 7 says, let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb and the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth. Judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy. And then it says, who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies. And then she goes on to teach her son and says, son, this is what you need to look for in a wife. And she goes on and she teaches her son exactly what he needs to look for in a wife. And then it goes on, and in the last four verses in verse number 28, Proverbs 31, 28, it says, Her children arise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excelest them all. Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. So basically her son, the mother's teaching her son these things. And he says, you know what, mom, you're the kind of woman that you're describing to me. You're the godly woman that you're describing to me. Basically, I need to find a wife. This is what he's saying. I need to find a wife that's like my godly mother. Boy, would to God that every mother could be the kind of godly example to where she could describe who her son should look for to marry. And she's pretty much just saying, find somebody like me. Find somebody that's a godly woman like me. You've got to be leading by example is what's being taught here. You have got to be the example for your children, for your daughters, and for your sons, what they should look for in a wife. But let me show you how much power a mother has. Look at 2 Chronicles 28. 2 Chronicles 28, this is just a few books back from where we are in Proverbs. 2 Chronicles 28. The Bible reads here in 2 Chronicles 28, and we'll begin reading verse number 26. The Bible says, 2 Chronicles 28, 26. Now the rest of the acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Ahaz, this is the man we're talking about, King Ahaz. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem. But they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. Oh, you know what, I skipped part of it. Go back to the beginning of chapter 28. So that's talking about Ahaz dying, and he died such a shameful death, the Bible says, that they didn't even bury him with the kings of Israel. He was such a shameful reproach that they buried him down in the common cemetery, and they said, we don't even want to bury him with the other kings because he was such a jerk, he ruined our country so much. But look, I'm sorry, look back at the beginning of chapter 28. It says, Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. But he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Balaam. Listen to this, moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire. Are you listening to how wicked this man Ahaz is? He's so ungodly, it says that he burned his own children in the fire. He worshipped the devil, the Bible says in the previous verse. After the abomination of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel, he sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high place, and it goes on to talk about all the wicked things that he did. And then I was going to read that part where it says that when they buried him, the people just had such disgust for this king Ahaz, that they wouldn't even bury him with the kings, they just buried him in somebody's backyard or something. They just got rid of this guy. It would not bury him with the kings. But watch this, King Ahaz, right? Now look at chapter number 29, the next chapter. Hezekiah, this is his son. It says Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. Watch this. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that, which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, he said in the first year, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He didn't waste any time. And it says he repaired them and he brought in the priests to the Levites. Look, here's what happened. You've got a wicked, ungodly king named Ahaz, and a wicked, ungodly man to the point where he's worshipping Satan, to the point where he's burning his own children in the fire. He's murdering his own children. Yet, he's married to a woman named Abijah. Now why does God bring up his mother here? You read through most of these and very few of them bring up who their mother was. It usually just says, you know, King so-and-so begat King so-and-so. This is a man and it talks about his son. Father to son, father to son. Why does God point this out? Because it's obvious. Look, if Ahaz was as wicked as hell, as this ungodly king, look at his wife. We just see her name. But then look, we see the child who turns out great. We see a child who grows up and becomes a great man of God, one of the greatest kings of Judah, Hezekiah, a man who the first year, in the first month, in the first week, in the first day, he says, we're having church again. We're not going to worship Satan anymore. We're going to brush off the dust off the Bible. We're going to take the bars out of the wood planks off the windows of the church house. We're going to open up the house of God. How did that happen? How did that happen? Why? Because of a mother, a godly mother, a mother who taught her son the word of God. And you say, well, I don't know if my kids can turn out right. And you always want to blame somebody else. You know, husbands who want to blame their wife for why their kids don't turn out right. Wives who want to blame their husband for why they don't want to turn out right. Listen, ma'am, just one person, one parent, one godly mother can turn out a child for God. They can turn a whole nation upside down, as we saw in this story. What a great mother Abijah was to Hezekiah. Look, if you would, to Proverbs chapter number one. Just a few books forward again, Proverbs chapter number one. And I want to show you some scriptures here in the book of Proverbs. Look at Proverbs chapter one. And look at verse number eight of Proverbs chapter one. You see the awesome power that you have? You could be married to a Satan worshiper and turn out kids right for God. That's the kind of power that a mother has according to the Bible. Look at Proverbs chapter one and verse number eight. The Bible says, My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace under thy head, and chains about thy neck. Well, the first thing that struck me when I was reading this. The first thing I noticed about this when it says forsake not the law of thy mother. I was thinking about that word law. And I was thinking about what do I think of when I think of laws? Well, I think it's something that's just set in stone. I'm thinking about something that's just nailed down. I was thinking about the Ten Commandments, for example. The laws that God gave where they're etched in stone with the finger of God. I was thinking about laws that don't change. I mean a law isn't something that just somebody verbalizes. I mean a law is something that's written down, it's signed, it's been decreed, it's a law. Mom, have rules that you teach your children that are nailed down. What am I talking about? Well, how about your Bible reading? Is it something that's just optional? Or is it something where your kids see Mom and they look at Mom and they say, Well, Mom reads her Bible every day. That's a law. That's something that doesn't change. I mean, good night, we're supposed to read the Bible every day, right? And children should look at their Mom and say, That's not Mom's preference to read the Bible every day. That's her law. That's Dad's commandment. That's her law. Why do you know it's a law? Because she does it every day. It's set in stone to read the Bible every day. You know, I was thinking about that church attendance. Three to thrive. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. You say, Well, I think church is important so I think I'll show up when I feel like it. Well, what are you teaching your kids? Are you teaching them that it's a law? That God says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is? Are you teaching them that it's a law? That the church is the pillar and ground of the truth? Or are you just teaching them that, Well, you know, it's just something that we kind of do. No, God says, Look, if you want your kids to be trained in the things of God, if you want them down the road years later to have these commandments and these laws as an ornament of grace to their head, chains about their neck throughout their whole life, He says it's going to have to be a law that you lay down. All throughout the Bible, and I'm only going to give you a few examples of this just for the sake of time, but I was thinking about this as I was preparing this sermon. I thought of just a multitude of examples and I just wrote down a few that jumped out at me. But here's the statement that I want you to remember because this statement rings true throughout the Bible. It rings true throughout life. What the parents do in moderation, the children will do in excess. Remember that. What the parents do in moderation, the children will do in excess. You say, Well, I go to church. I don't go to church every time the doors are open. I go to church two out of three. I make about two out of three. Well, your children will make one out of three. You say, Well, I go to church just one out of three. Well, your children may not even go to church or they may go every other week, if you're lucky. But look at this. Think about these examples right here. I wrote down some examples. Think about David. What did David sin in moderation? Well, David decided, One wife is not enough for me. I think I'll have three wives. And David was married to three different women at the same time. King David had three wives. So what does his son Solomon do? His son took it to the next level and his son said, Well, if Dad can have three wives, then I can have 300 wives. Exactly 100 times what his dad had done. Do you want your kids? Let me ask you something. The sin that's in your life, do you want your kids to multiply it times 100? You better get the sin out of your life. You say, Well, hey, you know, I have a drink on New Year's Eve and one other time throughout the year. I have two drinks a year. That's all. Well, you want your kids to drink 200 times a year? That's what God's saying here. What the parents do in moderation. Listen, David, go ahead and enjoy your three wives. Your son Solomon is going to enjoy 300 and he's going to have 700 concubines on top of that for a total of 1,000. I thought of another example. I thought of King David again. I thought about his son Amnon. King David, of course, committed adultery with Bathsheba. What's his son Amnon do? He takes it to the next level and actually forces a woman that's his half-sister. I mean, he took it to just the most ungodly extreme. Because why? What David did, his son did it far worse. See, parents, this is the way it is. Your good qualities can be multiplied in your children, but your bad qualities can be multiplied also. Think about this. I thought of another example, Cain. Look at Cain. Cain, what did he do? He killed his brother. He murdered his brother Abel. Well, you go down the line to his, I believe it was his grandchild or great-grandchild. You go down a few generations from Cain. You have a man named Lamech. Lamech kills a man and he kills somebody and he says, look. He says, it's not my fault and I shouldn't even be punished for it. Because remember Cain was saying, my punishment's too much. My punishment's more than I can bear, is what Cain told God after he murdered Abel. His descendant Lamech is saying, well, I shouldn't even get any punishment. See how it just multiplies? Then you go down a few generations from Lamech and the Bible says the whole earth is overspread with violence. In Genesis chapter 6, before God destroyed the world, the whole earth is overspread with violence. See how it just kept getting worse and worse and worse and worse? You have got to let it stop with you because the sins that you do in moderation, your children will do in excess and it will just get worse. I thought about the example of Jacob. Jacob, of course, deceived his brother Esau. Remember he tricked him and he stole the birthright from his brother and he deceived him with slight uncraftiness, but what did his sons turn around to do? Not only did they deceive their brother, but they tried to kill their brother and they lied to him, they tricked him, they got him into a pit, then they sold him into slavery. You see how they took it even further? He does a little bit of a dirty deed to his brother here and then they're to the point where they're ready to murder their brother because what the parents do in moderation, the children will do in excess. I thought of another example. I thought of Eli. Remember Eli in the Bible? Eli was a priest found at the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel and this man, Eli, was a fat man, the Bible says. It says that he was fat. I'm not trying to be offensive or anything, but it said that he was a fat man. It says he was a very heavy man. So you say, well, what does that mean? Well, think about his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. If you look at his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, what was their big sin? Well, it all started where the people would bring their sacrifices down to the temple, or I'm sorry, the tabernacle in those days. They would bring their sacrifices down to the tabernacle and he said that they were supposed to burn it on the altar and then they were going to take some of the meat after it was cooked and burn on the altar and that was for the priests to eat and that was their food. Well, they said, no, no. We don't want that. We want to take the raw meat before you cook it because we want to tenderize it and put our special seasonings on it and we want to get more of it. We don't want to burn off the part that's for God. We want the whole thing. And they said, no, you can't do that. That's not what the Bible says. And they said, no, give it to us or we'll take it from you by force. And so what was it? A lust for food right there that you see. But then a few verses down, after their lust for food to the point of stealing from God, then they take it to the next level. Now it says that they're lying with the women who assembled at the tabernacle. So now they're into another physical appetite that was far worse than their dad's problem that was out of control with food where his food appetite was out of control. Now his sons not only have a food appetite that's out of control, but they have another lust for women that's out of control and they're bringing fornication and reproach on a whole nation by their ungodly lifestyle with these women because they could not control physical appetite. You see, his dad lived in the flesh a little bit. He wanted to just gorge himself and be lazy and eat and eat and eat and what did his sons do? They turned around and did the same thing, but then they said, we'll add to that fornication. We'll add to that perversion. We'll add to that sleeping around. You better watch when you live in the flesh. When you gratify the flesh, you better watch out how your kids are going to interpret that. They're going to gratify the flesh in another way. But anyway, I'm going to stop there because I could go on and on. It's a whole sermon. Just a whole list of people. What's the point of all this? Mothers, you've got to have law. You've got to say, this is the law. If it's right today, it's always right. If going to church is right, it's always right to go to church. If reading the Bible is right, we need to be reading it daily. Have consistent rules in your house. If you say, well, this movie has too much cussing, but this one only has a little bit of cussing, look, is it right or wrong to watch a movie with cursing and cursing Jesus Christ and for vanity? Is it right or wrong? Quantity has nothing to do with it if you live your life by laws and not by preferences. And so I'll go on from that point. But if you're still in Proverbs, I think you're in Proverbs chapter 1, just flip a few verses over to chapter number 6, verse number 20. Proverbs chapter 6, verse number 20, the Bible reads, My son, keep thy father's commandments, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Bind them continually upon thine heart, tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee, when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Look what he says. He says, look, these laws that a mother teaches to her children, they will stick with them. He says he's going to hang on to them throughout life. It says when he walks down the road, he's going to be thinking about it. When he wakes up in the morning, he's going to be thinking about these things that his mother taught him. And it says that is what's going to protect him from the strange woman. That's what's going to protect him from ruining his life, is these laws that were taught to him by his mother. You mean just when she taught him some good ideas and some things and some rules? No. When she taught him laws, when she said this is the way it is, this is the way, walk ye in it, look at the way I live. I follow it. That's what the mother should be able to say. Do like I do, son. These are laws. These are things that I do consistently. Now, nobody's perfect, but not this, whoo, up one day, down the other type of thing, but saying, no, look, we always do these things because this is what we believe. It's a law. It's not something that we have as a preference. Flip, if you would, in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 22, chapter 22, verse number 6. Let me show you this other verse here. Proverbs 22, 6, the Bible reads, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Train up a child. Think about it. There are people in the world who get a paycheck, and their whole job is to train people. Think about it. There are people in big companies, and all they do all day long is training. You say, what's my job as a mother? You are the trainer. You must train your children. That's your full-time job. That's your life. That's your calling, is to train your children, not just feed them and clothe them and say, okay, get out of here. Go sit in front of the television and watch Sesame Street and Bert and Ernie all day. No. Just say, I will train you. Let me teach you the Word of God. Let me preach to you the Word of God. Let me show you how to live. Let me spend time with you and train you and not leave you to yourself. I want to provide activities for you. I want to spend time with you. I want to live my life to train you. Now, I'm going to read one verse. That's about it for the message. Let me just conclude by saying this. Ezekiel 16, verse 44. You can just listen to this one if you like. But the Bible reads here, Behold, everyone that useth Proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is the daughter. As is the mother, so is the daughter, it says in Ezekiel 16, 44. You see, the consistency is so vital because your children are not listening as much to what you're saying as what you're doing. They're looking at what you're doing. They're watching you. You tell them it's right to read your Bible every day. They're looking to see whether you're reading your Bible every day, more than what's coming out of your mouth. You say it's right to be in church every time the doors are open. Are you doing it? That's what they're looking at. You say it's right to win people to Christ and get people saved and open your mouth to get people saved, which we saw in Proverbs 31, where it said right here, He said, Open thy mouth, is what his mom is teaching his son. Solomon's mom, and you know what Solomon called himself? The preacher. In Ecclesiastes chapter 1, he identified himself. He said, I'm a preacher. Yes, I'm king of Israel, but I consider myself a preacher. And he preaches that great sermon in Ecclesiastes. His mother is the one that taught him and said, Open thy mouth for the dumb and the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Who is more appointed to destruction than the souls of mankind that are on their way to hell? Tell me that. Who is more appointed for destruction than people who are not saved, who don't believe on Jesus Christ, who are going to burn in hell when they die? And she said, Listen, son, open your mouth for them. Get out of soul winning. Open your mouth. And open your mouth and tell them how they can be saved for those that are appointed to destruction. And they say, Well, Mom, when did you open your mouth, Mom? For our neighbor that's going to hell. Mom, when did you show up at soul winning and open your mouth for the gospel? Mom, when did you open your mouth? Look, I just believe that this mother here who said, Open your mouth, son. Don't hang in the gospel track and think that you've done your duty. Don't just invite somebody to church and think that you've done your duty. Son, look, I'm going to make it as simple as I can because you're a child. I'm saying to you, open your mouth and get people saved. Open your mouth and preach the gospel to every creature. And I just have to believe that since Solomon grew up and became a preacher of righteousness, a preacher of the gospel, I just have to believe that his mom was opening her mouth because he was looking at her and saying, As is the mother, so is the daughter. As is the mother, so is the son. Open thy mouth for the dumb and the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. What am I saying? Mothers, you are the most important person in the world. Most important person in the world. You say, Well, but I just wish sometimes that I could put on a little business suit and be the CEO of a corporation and drive my little Lexus and have my little parking spot and my little fancy dolled up little dude and walk into work and tell people what to do. No, you have the greatest position in the world just being a mother. God said, I'm looking at the first woman that's ever existed on the earth. I'm looking at Adam and Eve and I'm saying, Your name is Eve because you're a mother. That's what God has ordained for the women to have that great calling of being a mother. And he says, You have the power, mother, to make these children turn out right or wrong. You have the power. I don't care if your husband worships Satan. He says, You have this great, awesome power of training up your children, of laying down laws and saying, These are the laws that you live by, son. They're based on the word of God. They're from the word of God. These are the laws. This is how you live your life. This is how you open your mouth and win people to Christ. And not only that, son, but I'm going to show you how to do it. I'm just going to tell you how to do it. I'm going to show you how to do it. Oh, would to God that mothers would realize how important their job is. Not be looking over the other side of the fence and saying, I wish my life was like this. I wish I didn't have all these kids running around me and the dirty diapers and the messes. I want water. I want water. You know, you live in Arizona. It's like kids are just coming to you. Water. I need to get some water. Water, water, water, water. And you're just like, Ahhh! But no, you have arrived if you're a mother. That is the calling. That is the greatest thing in the world that God has for a woman is to say, Oh, what do I do for a living? What's my occupation? I'm a mother. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, I thank you so much for my own godly mother. And I thank you for the things that she taught me and the Bible that she taught me.