Children can be dismissed for Children's Church at this time. So children? Take your Bibles if you would and turn to Hebrews chapter 11, and we're gonna begin reading at verse eight, and then we're gonna flip over to first Peter. The two aren't very far apart there in your Bible, so it shouldn't take you long. Hebrews chapter 11 and then first Peter chapter three.

We're going to read verses eight through 12 here in Hebrews 11. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should, after received for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whether he went. By faith, he so sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.

Through faith also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore, sprang there even of one and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand of the and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. So if you hold your place there in Hebrews 11 and turn over to first Peter first Peter chapter three. Just a few pages. First Peter three beginning in verse one.

Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be one by the conversation, the the lifestyle of the wives. While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and wearing of gold or putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well or not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor under the wife as under the weaker vessel, as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy that we see in the lives of Abraham and Sarah and in our own. We thank you, Lord, for our savior. We thank you for the opportunity to praise your name here this morning to look into your word that we might be changed more into the image of our savior Jesus Christ. And we pray indeed that would be the case today that we would allow the word of God to sink into our hearts.

We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit would bring understanding, and Lord that we might leave this place closer and more like Jesus and we pray if there be one who's yet to receive Christ as a lord and savior of their life that even today might be their day of salvation. Amen. Mother's Day, we like to it's good to see you finally showed up, Faya. He's smiling. But we like to take this opportunity to encourage those that are here today that are moms, to remind us that our have wives, they're moms, and all of us who have mothers, some here, some already gone to their reward in heaven, of what an honor and what a miraculous and wonderful thing God created when he created the family and fathers and mothers and how privileged we are.

As I read these verses this morning, I also thought about how far our world and our modern culture is strayed from the created purpose of the family. When we read these verses concerning Sarah this morning, the things for which God prays Sarah in these verses, the world often cringes at. The partnership and God ordained roles of motherhood and fatherhood of husband and wife, many in our world today scorn and make a mockery of. Who thought the day would come when you would read on some official document the birthing parent or the non birthing parent? Aren't those people father and mother or mother and father?

Why do we why would you define it in those terms? Because, sadly, many in our society have turned their back on the word of God and on the God of the word, and it has had a terrible effect on our society, in our homes, and in the lives of our children. As the world has sought to undermine the honor of fathers and mothers and their roles in the life of their children as God created it. The very idea that a strong woman like Sarah should be praised for following her husband and having faith to conceive and give birth as though they were some great accomplishments in life for a woman is anathema to many, but it is not to God. He praises her for those very things, for following her husband and the Lord, and having faith to conceive and to bear a son in her old age.

Today, we will praise and recognize what God does, what God praises, and not what man praises. Now Sarah, like the rest of us to begin with, was imperfect. As we look at these great heroes of the faith in scripture, these great examples, there was only one who was perfect and who's that? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest are imperfect examples.

In most cases, there are things as you read about their lives, good things that we can learn from that we should do and follow, and some things we read that we shouldn't do or follow because they were human just like us. Yet, the Lord used them because of their faith and because of his love. Sarah's faith, like that of her husband, was a work in progress as she also ran ahead of God with Hagar, but God does praise her still twice in the New Testament and hold her forth as an example of a woman of faith and a wife with a submissive heart to the Lord. And indeed, these two qualities go hand in hand, making her a faithful wife and mother and a good example to others today despite her failures, failures which it would seem in most cases she learned from. The question often is not whether you have failed and come short.

Well, because remember God says, that is true of who? Of all of us. But whether you learn from your failures, failures, and repent of your sins. Sarah learned from her failures and she grew in her faith and she found grace and mercy in her Lord and praise in the scriptures we just read a moment ago. And so if God sees fit to praise her, then shouldn't we?

We should. And all other mothers of faith who are doing their best by the grace of God to be that mom for their children, that faithful mother and wife. Look at three points here from these verses this morning. Number one, we see she is praised for her faith and obedience as she too left behind all she knew to follow God with her husband. She is praised for her faith and obedience as she left behind these things with her husband.

If you would, turn back to Genesis chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12, and we'll read a few verses from there. Essentially, when God came to Abraham and he spoke to Abraham, he was also speaking to who? He was also speaking to Sarah. They were a unit.

They were partners in this journey of life. And as Abraham call God called on Abraham, he also called on Sarah and she did answer as did he. Chapter 12 verse one. Now, unto the Lord, now the Lord said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house into a land I will show thee and I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing.

I will bless them that bless thee. I will curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Great and precious promises that changed the world forever. Verse four, so Abraham what? Or so Abram departed.

As the Lord had spoken unto him and Lot went with him and Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran and Abram took Sarai, we later her name was changed to Sarah, his wife, and Lot his brother's son and all their substance that they gathered and the souls that they had gotten in Haran, and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, into the land of Canaan, they came. So not only did Abram depart, but also who did? Sarah departed departed with him. You say, well, she had no choice. I don't know about that.

I don't know about that. God praises her for leaving and following him. I do believe she did have a choice and she chose to leave with who? Her husband in obedience to her to her Lord. She left her relatives.

She left her homeland. She left the comforts and security of her house and her property and her home. I know none of us are, you know, fond of the place where we live and find a bit of comfort and security there, do we? We do in many cases. But she left that behind.

Just picked up and what? Picked up and went. Left her relatives, her homeland, her comfort, security. She left behind the known for the what? For the unknown.

As even Abraham did not know where they were going right off, just that he was going wherever the Lord took him. She left behind the known for the unknown to follow God with her husband, to trust in a promise which seemed quite impossible because, well, she was already approaching the age of 70 and had never had a what? A child, and yet God is saying that he would make of Abraham and Sarah a great nation with no children. This seems impossible, but the Bible tells us with God all things are what? All things are all things that God requires, all things that God decrees, all things that God prophesies, they are all possible for who?

They're all possible for God. Like many missionary wives who have done in modern times following the Lord and their husbands into the ministry, in some cases, leaving behind forever the luxury, securities, and relationships of home. Some of those wives are on that board in the back. They chose to follow the Lord with their husbands to the land that where those little strings take you to and that's where they are or that's where they're going. And God uses using them.

When I put missionary of the week, I don't put just Rick interline. I put Rick and Becky interline. Why? Because it is a what? It is a partnership that requires faith and obedience in both of their lives.

Many of you know the name Adoniram Judson. Maybe fewer of you know the name of his wife Anne who went with him or Hudson and Maria Taylor, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot, and many hundreds and thousands more. To name a few missionaries who were married, whose wives went with them into the ministry of the unknown. Some of whom never returned home but died on the mission field and went. Praise the Lord to their eternal reward to the praise of their savior as represented here by Sarah in his word.

She left in faith that God would lead them to a land of his choosing. She left in faith that God would protect and keep them. She left in faith that God would make of them a great nation and therefore give her a what? A son. And did she waffle a little bit on that after another fifteen years?

Did she struggle a little bit? Well, yeah, and so did who? And so did Abraham. So but we'll come back to that. But in faith, she left believing in the God of her husband.

She made his God her God, and she left in faith to follow him where he would lead. She also left in submission. Submission first to God, but also to her husband for which she is prayed specifically in first Peter chapter three in verse six that we read. That she was in subjection to her husband. First to her God, second to her husband.

For which who praised her? God praised her. God praised her. The world might not do so, but the God who created her gave her purpose and meaning. The God who ordained marriage between a man and a woman and led Abram and Sarah to that partnership in life, that God praised her for submitting herself to the Lord and thereby also to her husband.

Both things that the unsaved world today would treat maybe with scorn, God treated it with praise. She was not a slave to her husband. She was not treated as a child. She was not owned by him. She made choices.

She gave advice, some good, some bad, but they were partners. Read the story. We don't have time to read it all today. But they were partners as they should have been, and then husbands and wives should be today in the service of the Lord. So first of all, she was praised for faith and obedience in following the Lord with her husband out of the land of Ur to Heron and then to and then to Canaan.

Number two, she was praised in that she in faith stuck with her husband. She did not forsake him when times were tough. She remained what? Faithful. Well, when they got to Canaan, there was a mansion just waiting for them there.

They just moved right in, took all their furniture, you know, and settled in to a nice and wonderful life. Is that what happened? No. They had a lot of flocks and a lot of animals. They weren't poor per se, but they never again, it would seem, had a actual, you know, permanent home.

They lived in tabernacles. Another word for tabernacle is what? Tent. They lived in tents for the rest of their life as they moved from place to place, from Canaan to Egypt, from Canaan to Egypt, from this place in Canaan to that place in Canaan to this place in that. That was their life, and their life was not always easy.

But no matter what happened, when Abraham was doing the right thing, sometimes when Abraham was making blunders and mistakes, who stuck with him? Sarah did. Yeah. She was faithful. Consider these marriage vows.

I take you to be my wife or husband to have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poor, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live. Those were vows I don't know that Abraham and Sarah made word for word when they got married. Probably not, but the concept was there. God created this to be for life, to be together, to help each other through the good times and the bad. I'm reminded of this, this statement made from Ruth to Naomi here in Ruth one sixteen and seventeen.

Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee or return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried.

The Lord do so to me, and more also if ought but death part thee and me. Similar commitment. Different commitment, one between daughter-in-law and mother, but similar sentiment there. Yes. Ruth made these promises to Naomi, but also to God and later on as a wife to Boaz and mother to Obed, king David's grandfather.

These words were given by one who would become a mother who's would keep these vows not only to Naomi but to God and to Boaz and to become the great grandmother of king David. Sarah followed Abraham to Heron and then to the promised land. She stuck with him in perilous conditions, famine, danger. She stuck with him even when he put her at risk. He did that twice.

I the stupidity of Abraham. I was gonna call him something, but the stupidity of Abraham. He comes to Egypt and he says, you know, my wife, you know, she's she's not young, but she is still quite beautiful. And I I don't want somebody I fear in this pagan land. They're gonna kill me to take my wife.

So what was his conclusion? Tell them that his wife is his what? Sister, I'm not gonna tell him she's my wife because I don't want him to kill me to get my wife. So what did he do? Well, he set up Sarah for trouble because, well, no, they didn't kill him to take his wife.

They just took his sister. And God had to intervene and come in and fix the problem for it got worse. And he delivered Sarah and he delivered Abraham from his own stupidity. And years later, Abraham comes to another city, Gerar, and guess what he does? The same dumb thing over again.

Puts his wife in danger. Again, God has to come in and intervene to protect her and to protect him, and he does. Praise the Lord. And Sarah stuck with who? Abraham, despite his selfishness.

She stuck with him after Hagar. You say, well, that was Sarah's fault. No. That wasn't Sarah's fault. Abraham still had to do the act, not Sarah.

Yeah. She for whatever reason, we can conjecture, She gave him poor advice. She wavered a bit in her faith about her having a son. She explained it away, thought, well, I guess, you know, you know, having a son by Hagar would be sort of the same as having it by me, seeing she's my handmaiden, blah blah blah blah blah, but Abraham was the one who sinned. Abraham was the one who made the choice and when Hagar got pregnant, Sarah obviously, as could have been predicted, got jealous.

And, yes, there was some friction. But you know what didn't happen? Sarah didn't leave Abraham. She's she did what? She stuck with him and eventually, guess what?

Eventually does happen. Sarah does have a what? She does have a son. Now, around the age of 80. Fifteen to twenty years from when they left Canaan.

She did neither abandon him nor turn against him, though she might have had reason. Sadly, husbands do not always live up to their end of the bargain as they should. But praise God for faithful and patient wives who stick with them through the bad times as well as the good. In Ephesians five twenty two, it says this, wives, submit your husbands. This is very important phrase.

Submit yourselves under your husband as what? In submitting to your husbands, you are being obedient to who? Does God deserve it? He does. Does your husband always deserve it?

But God does. But God does. God deserves it. So work together as partners. Follow your husband.

Encourage him to follow the board so that you might do it together. Sarah did this. She is an example to be praised. She left with her husband. She stuck with her husband, her family, and in faith she conceived, number three, and gave birth to a son long after she should have been able to do so.

She protected him, the seed of promise. She gave birth to Isaac. His name was called what? Laughter. Isaac means laughter.

Why was his name laughter? Well, because in Genesis chapter 18, when God came with two angels to speak to Abraham and he was telling Abraham, when I come back this way in a year, you're going to have a son. Now, Sarah is almost 90 years old. Abraham's almost 100 years old. And Sarah heard in the tent what God, in human form here, told Abraham.

And she what? She laughed under her breath. She didn't laugh at no. She okay. Sure.

Sure. Guess what? When God came when they came back that way a year later, Abraham and Sarah had a son, and they called him laughter. They called him laughter. We have a God of great grace and mercy and love and patience with us, did we not?

And you know, the thing is after that, Sarah didn't give up. No. She continued to trust in the Lord. She took her rebuke and her and Abraham did have a son. She gave birth to that son by faith.

She conceived that son by faith, trusting in the Lord who said that. Rather than running from God, she ran to God. She believed in the prophecy concerning her son by faith that he from him would come a great what? A great nation. And she defended that son as the seed of promise against her stepson.

She protected him by faith. She was a good wife, and she was a good mother in difficult circumstances. And she is to be praised. As our mothers today, who are often sadly overlooked, And sadly, young women are encouraged in many cases today to think of motherhood as something to be avoided when motherhood is something that is a great, the Bible says, treasure and gift of God to both moms and dads. It is God who said fill and replenish the earth.

That only happens by reproduction. And while the world is tearing down the family and motherhood, we as Christians should be raising it up. We should be praising it. We should be encouraging it. And we should be honoring the moms and dads that God gave us.

In Proverbs thirty one thirty, it says, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. She shall be praised. What is the most important thing? It's not beauty, but as Peter puts it, a meek and a quiet spirit, a woman that feareth the Lord. My mom has many things, and one of the things that I think defines and describes my mom as a meek and quiet spirit.

She knows how to raise her voice when she needs to. She is not weak, but she is a woman of faith. And she deserves, I believe, an extra measure of honor because of that today. And we who have mothers like that and wives who are mothers like that should certainly do the same and even learn from their example. You don't have to be a woman or a mother to learn from Sarah's example.

All of us can learn from her example. Bringing this message to a conclusion This morning, none of us have perfect mothers but most of us had faithful and loving ones. Don't forget to thank God for your mother today and if she is around for you to tell her yourself to do the same. Number two, if you're a mother and wife, be a faithful one. You'll never be a perfect one.

But be a faithful one. Learn from your mistakes. Trust in the Lord. Believe in the word of God. Be a woman.

Be a man of prayer, be a man or a woman of faith. God will reward you even when it seems others do not. He is watching. And if no one else honors you today, the God who created you does. Let's honor him in all we do.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord. For the moms that you gave us Lord, thank you for their faithfulness and love. Lord, help us to be Help us to honor them not only with our words today but in our actions. As we honor our heavenly father most of all.

Lord, help us to be good parents if we have children. Lord, to be faithful, kind, encouraging, helpful, honest with them. Lord, thank you for the gift of being a mother or a father. Lord, bless our homes and help us, Lord, together to follow you as did Abraham and Sarah's home. In Jesus' precious name, pray.

Amen.