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May 11, 2008AM
1 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mothers Practicing Pentecost
We are celebrating Mother’s Day on Pentecost Sunday.
Which Day is more important?
Talk about a choice that putts you in a no-win situation.
How should I answer that question?
Well, sorry mothers, and ladies in general.
The Holy Spirit’s work is more important than even a mother’s work.
I think I may have just shot myself in the foot.
After all, where would we be without a mother?
Who of us would be here today if not for our mother?
And yet, before a mother ever walked on this earth there was the Spirit.
Genesis 1:1, 2 tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.”
“The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.” (Amplified Bible)
The Amplified Version is right to use “brooding” in its translation.
That is the most accurate translation of the Hebrew word.
The Holy Spirit brooded over the face of the water.
It implies to be relaxed.
The Holy Spirit moved freely without resistance.
Before any creation began, the Holy Spirit was active.
Nothing was in order.
Everything was all scrambled up and lacking any form.
The Holy Spirit entered that kind of environment.
He relaxes and broods and quiets.
He settles down on the chaos that existed.
In that context God speaks the world into existence.
Is your life more like the pre-creation chaos or the goodness of God’s handiwork?
Is your life a darkness over the deep or the light that God provides?
Is your life a formless void or a life shaped and directed by God’s voice?
How many would have to say there is too much chaos in your life?
How many would say your life is so hectic you don’t know where you are going?
That you feel like this formless void going in all directions at the same time?
That makes the work of the Holy Spirit crucial in your life.
The work you do as a mother is secondary to the work of the Holy Spirit.
If you try to be a mother without the Holy Spirit your life will be chaotic.
You will wonder some days which end is up.
You will be tossed and thrown in every direction.
Live like that long enough and something is going to snap.
It is likely the relationships you care so much about will snap first.
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about the work of the Holy Spirit.
He says that the Holy Spirit is given to each one.
Why is the Holy Spirit given?
He is given for the common good.
Let’s return to the creation story again.
When God created He saw that it was good.
When He looked at each day’s work He said “It is good”.
His desire to do good has never changed.
He wants that goodness to be the mark of relationships.
He has given His Spirit for the good of relationships.
Notice what Paul says in verse 12.
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”
In verse 14 he goes on to say, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.”
And in verse 27 Paul tells us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Everything in the Church is about relationships.
The Church is nothing but relationships of one part with the next.
God wants those relationships to be good.
And essential to that goodness is the Holy Spirit.
The same is true in our homes.
God desires good relationships between parents and children.
And God has made this possible in very practical ways.
As the Holy Spirit broods in your life He brings gifts.
You receive gifts of the Holy Spirit for the common good.
His gifts help you every step of the way.
With the gifts of the Holy Spirit relationships become good.
I As I read the list Paul writes about it sounded like the life of a mother.
Notice the first two gifts Paul names.
The gifts of wisdom and knowledge.
Let’s call this GOOD COMPREHENSION.
Mothers, have you ever noticed that children don’t come with owner’s manuals?
It is so easy to make mistakes.
It is so easy to jump to the wrong conclusions.
It is so easy to accuse the wrong person.
We have all been victims of that.
Imagine if you had the wisdom and knowledge to unravel every mystery.
Wouldn’t it be great to just know when you are hearing the truth?
To not have to doubt or wonder if you made the right decision?
How many judgments are you called upon to make during the day?
How many skirmishes or battles do you need to referee?
Who hasn’t heard the expression, “You just don’t understand!”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be a woman of wisdom and knowledge?
Mothers need the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
II The next gift Paul mentions is faith.
Let’s call this GOOD COUNCIL.
What could you do without faith?
Faith enables you to let a child venture outside the house.
Faith enables you to trust a child to wander the hall ways at school.
One definition of this gift is, “being able to trust God and encourage others to trust God, no matter the circumstances.”
Faith enables you to prepare your child for an uncertain future.
Faith encourages your child to consider God’s will and direction.
Faith equips a child to face temptation and make the right choice.
The older a child becomes the more essential faith becomes.
Mothers need the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
III Paul then mentions the Gifts of healing and the working of miracles.
Let’s call this GOOD CARE.
How many times does a mother confront injury and broken bodies?
We have seen commercials for medications administered by Dr. Mom.
How many tears have been dried from hurt bodies and emotions?
How often have you been called upon to be a nurse through the night?
How often have you been called upon to counsel after disappointments?
And how often has your authority been challenged?
The gift of healing is the miraculous ability to use God's healing power to restore a person who is sick, injured, or suffering.
The gift of miracles is being able to perform signs and wonders that give authenticity to God's Word and the Gospel message.
Mothers need the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
IV Paul mentions three more gifts given by the Holy Spirit.
They are the gifts of prophecy, speaking in foreign languages and interpreting
those foreign languages.
Let’s call this GOOD COMMUNICATION.
Mothers certainly need to be able to anticipate the future.
Children eventually test the limits of life.
Mothers need to know the consequences of that testing.
Prophecy is not just predicting the future.
It is also the ability to proclaim truth.
We live in a world that denies the existence of truth.
Rules of one generation are rejected by the next.
The gift of prophecy is essential to give proper direction to children.
The gift of prophecy enables naïve minds to understand consequences.
The gift of prophecy is being able to proclaim a message from God.
It helps bridge the gap between generations that think differently.
Mothers need to speak and understand different languages.
You’ve heard these conversations.
Parent: Where were you?
Teen: Nowhere!
Parent: Who were you with?
Teen: Nobody!
Parent: What did you do?
Teen: Nothin’!
Two different languages.
How does a teen say, “I love you!”?
What does a teen hear when a parent says, “I love you”?
The gift of tongues is the ability to speak in a foreign language that you do not have knowledge of, in order to communicate with someone who speaks that language.
If anyone needs that gift it’s a mother.
The gift of interpreting tongues is the ability to translate the language spoken and communicate it back to others in your own language.
If anyone needs that gift it’s a mother.
Mothers need the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
In whose strength are you trying to be a mother?
God wants good comprehension, good council, good care, and good communication.
He has given you His Holy Spirit.
Through His indwelling presence Jesus is glorified as Lord.
Is He Lord of your life today?
You may not have all the gifts of the Spirit at work in your life.
The question is, is the Holy Spirit at work in your life?
To be the mother you want to be requires the work of the Holy Spirit.
You need to invite Him to brood over your life.
You need the Holy Spirit to settle in on your life today.
You need Pentecost to occur in your life.
It is equally true if you are a wife or a daughter.
Let God bring His good into your life and relationships.