Good Morning. Firstly, I would like to extend my greetings, Happy Mother’s Day, to all mothers, whether you are a biological or spiritual mother… I would like to honor you with my prayer.
I pray that God continues to use you as a source of joy, comfort, and nourishment. Fill you with strength to nurture not only your own children, but also those around you, helping them become strong in the Lord and reach their destinies. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
One day, three boys on the playground were bragging about their dads.
One said, “My dad scribbles a few words, calls it a song, and they pay him $50.”
The other one said, “Oh, yeah. My dad scribbles a few words, calls it a poem, and they pay him $100.”
Then the third one said, “That’s nothing. My dad scribbles a few words, calls it a sermon, and it takes six people to collect all the money in the room!”
I would like to say that I haven't come here for that kind of business today. I want to assure you that the donations collected today are not for me to take.
This morning, I would like to share about the “Amazing Love of God.” – How wonderful our God is! … God the Provider – Jehovah Jireh, the Healer, the Comforter. The Living God and the Resurrected King. He is the Way Maker and The Promise Keeper.
• Until last July 2024, I was in my hometown, trapped in a military conflict area. As I had planned to come to Hong Kong for my doctorate, I had to leave my parents and my hometown after 10 days of the conflict, making my way to a safer city to await my visa, and I dwelt in a pastor’s house.
• Most of the cities were in the battle zones, and the gates and transportation were very restricted.
It took many days to cross city after city.
The tough part was that two days before coming to Hong Kong, I didn't have any airplane tickets. I didn’t have enough money to buy it. I was a refugee and stayed in someone’s house.
My parents were still in the conflict zone. They drove a motorbike for hours to the highest mountain just to call me. The lines were terrible, constantly cutting out.
I was crying inside because of what my father asked at that time, he asked me, "How much money do you need? I will send it to you."
Just imagine, my father was in the battle zone, a conflict area, had no job, no income, and the phone line wasn’t stable. I am not sure whether they had enough food to eat. They were struggling to survive.
But when I saw he was trying his best to ensure that his daughter could escape the political oppression as soon as possible, I was deeply hurt, and it broke my heart. Because the line was bad, the call dropped, and then
(Matt. 7: 9-11) Immediately came to my mind…
I instantly fell on my knees and prayed, “Lord, as You said in Matt. 7: 9-11... If your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
If a parent wants to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give good gifts to His children?”
I prayed,
Lord, I believe you want to provide the best for me… I am thankful that you will provide the best…
I didn’t ask for help from anybody. I just prayed and trusted in the Lord.
A friend of mine from Singapore tried to get my account from my sister, and sent me some money, she blessed me with an airplane ticket.
God never fails; He is faithful. God is never late, and He is never in a hurry.
No text in the Bible mentions “Jesus was running.” Right? –
As it is said in Habakkuk 2:3 “If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
When we were young, my parents weren’t wealthy, they struggled to provide for us. When they saw some snacks were very popular among children, or in the advertisements, they made an effort to have us try them at least once, even though they couldn’t buy them frequently.
They tried to assure that we were not different from others… They wanted to support us so that we wouldn’t feel inferior…
My Parents are not perfect .. but … as it’s mentioned in Matt. 7: 9-11,
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
I believe that our Heavenly God also desires to assist us not to feel inferior in this world.
I have been living separately from my parents since I was 13… From that moment, I have called upon God as my parents… when I didn’t have anyone to talk to, I spoke to God, and He guided me on how to believe in Him, and I have gathered many testimonies in my life…
God helped me to experience breakthroughs in my life… Financial breakthroughs… Spiritual breakthroughs… Educational, Emotional, and mental breakthroughs… But, before all of that, I faced numerous faith challenges that I had to overcome…
Even before I studied Feminist Theology, I prayed to God as both a loving father and mother. When I was scared, I spoke to God as a powerful father. When I needed comfort or clothes to wear, I spoke to God as a mother.
The Bible always refers to God as Father. However, God taught me how to approach God as "God beyond gender," since I haven’t known anything about theologies.
My point is We can approach God as a caring parent.
In my childhood, I was someone who was quiet and reserved. At school, I often experienced bullying… I was physically bullied constantly..
Every time, I returned home in tears… My mother couldn’t bear to see this, so she came to the school with me and confronted the teachers and those children.
As a parent, we cannot tolerate our child being bullied… I believe many parents want to stand by their children’s side even if their children did wrong. We want to protect our children from any harm.
I want to tell you a story, Once, there was a farmer… One day, while he was working, a fire broke out near his field, and the flames spread to his farm and barn…
His crops, buildings, and even the animals he had raised were engulfed in flames… The firefighters tried to put out the fire. After the fire was extinguished, he walked around to inspect his surrounding field.
Something caught his attention…something black and round. He moved it gently with his foot and saw something coming out.
Looking closely, he saw baby chickens appearing. Their mother hen had been burned to death, sacrificing herself to save them.
If a creature like a mother hen can love and protect her chicks, how much more will our God love us with a love that wants to protect us from perishing... and God sacrificed Himself.
God loves us so much that He died on the cross. How can we respond to love? Will you say, "Lord, I love you so much, I will die for you?" No! God says, "I died for you. Now, You live for me."
Jesus teaches us in John 15 to love each other as He has loved us.
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."
God commands us to love each other sacrificially.
In Ephesians 5: 25 – "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her."
Last week, I found a short funny video, and it says …
If you are married to a good wife, You are complete. If you are married to a bad wife, you are finished. If you are married to a wife who always loves to go shopping, you are completely finished….
I hope men, you are not finished… but completely growing in Christ's love….
I would love to conclude after telling this,
In the Bible, there is a woman named Zeruiah. She was the sister of King David. Zeruiah means “pain or tribulation of the Lord,” “stricken of the Lord.” In the scriptures, when people gave a name, they based it on the current circumstances of their lives… If someone is suffering from pain, their name becomes related to pain…
For example, Naomi means “lovable, pleasant, sweet,” but when she faced hardships, she called herself Marah, which means “bitter,”. Similarly, Zeruiah’s name is also associated with “pain of the Lord,” “tribulation of the Lord.”
Zeruiah has three sons: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. These three were the trusted, mighty heroes of King David — the leading warriors who fought bravely in every battle… Particularly, Captain Joab was the highly trusted commander-in-chief of David.
Interestingly, whenever the narrators mention the name Joab, they often mention “Joab, son of Zeruiah,” “Abishai, son of Zeruiah,” and so on. As a feminist student studying the Bible, I find this very satisfying. Because in the Bible, the names of women are rarely mentioned.
Usually, the names of important figures are only mentioned along with their fathers’ names
For example, David’s mother’s name is not mentioned in the Bible. We can only know it through the Jewish tradition. Some scholars claimed that Zeruiah was just the half-sister of David, not the daughter of Jesse. Regardless of the complicated family story of King David,
Zeruiah was always portrayed as the mother of three heroes in Israel. Furthermore, I found out the name Zeruiah, which derives from the root word that means “balm,” “salve,” or “healing ointment” that promotes healing for wounds.
Sometimes our lives may be filled with pain, suffering, and tribulation, but God never wastes our pain. God can use our pain to bring healing and comfort to others.
There might be a single mother sitting here… someone who has been struggling alone, someone who has experienced suffering, pain, and hardship in life… People might perceive you as someone whom God has disciplined or punished, as if you have been struck by divine punishment. However, you could also be a mother who has given birth to heroes — brave and mighty warriors.
You may not have biological children, but spiritually, you can raise heroes for God.
There may be someone like Hannah, who is praying to God for children — a mother who is barren physically, or perhaps you may be in a season of spiritual barrenness, unfruitful and stuck in a difficult season, unable to see breakthroughs or fruitfulness… The good news is that God is the God who can bring healing and breakthrough from the great tribulation.
Hannah means “favor” and “grace of God.” Once, she prayed with tears before the Lord, and then Hannah testified that “God is the God who lifts the poor from the dust, and raises the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.”
Hannah gave birth to a son called Samuel, who was serving the Lord in the days that the word of the Lord was rare, in the days of no visions and God’s revelation. God even blessed her with three sons and two daughters.
Like Hannah, you can also raise the generations who serve the Lord..
God has promised us that God will wipe away every tear from your eyes — crown you with beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
God’s love is not only for eternity; we can experience God’s love in the present moment.
*O Lord, we thank You for Your everlasting love. Your mercy is for now and forever. Pour Your love upon us, strengthen our inner being, and fill our hearts with Your peace. Lord, Bless all mothers and women today. Comfort those who are hurting, and wipe away their tears. Empower us to raise mighty heroes for Your kin-dom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.*
