The Blessing of the Mother Bird | Jentezen Franklin

0:00 Hello, this is Jensen Franklin, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically-based teachings that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service recorded at Free Chapel. I believe it's going to bless you today. You have your Bibles. I'm going to preach just a few minutes on one of the strangest sermons you've ever heard in your life. I promise. I want you to look with me in Deuteronomy chapter 22. Chapter 22 of Deuteronomy. one verse of scripture verse 6 if a bird's nest happens to be before you along the way in any tree or on the ground with young ones or eggs with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs you shall not take the mother of the young you shall surely let the mother go and take the young for yourself that it may be well with you.

1:31 This is something that seems so amazing to me that God says, if you do what I just said, if you treat the mother bird like I tell you to treat it, treat her, It will be well with you that you may prolong your days. I'll give you my title in just a moment, but I want us to understand something very important this morning. That it's the little things, it's the small seemingly insignificant things of attitude and heart and internal stuff that God sees. MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTWARD, GOD SEES THE HEART. AND WHEN WE PLEASE THE LORD IN LITTLE THINGS, IN THE KINGDOM, LITTLE THINGS ARE HUGE THINGS. BIG DOORS SWING ON LITTLE HINGES. DOORS ARE HUGE COMPARED TO THE TINY HINGES THAT THEY HANG UPON. HINGES ARE SMALL COMPARED TO THE DOORS THAT THEY open to our lives and the things that we enter into by that tiny hinge the door hangs on. It's true in life and it's true especially in the spirit realm. It's the little things that God requires many times that he sees that no one else sees about us. I want to make that point about the tiny hinges that the big doors swing on. For example, when Moses was 80 years of age, he had been in the wilderness for 40 years tending his father-in-law's sheep.

3:22 And the scripture said he saw a bush that was burning and he noticed it. And the thing that called his attention is that it burned, but it was not consumed. And something in him, something he had seen it many times, it's very normal to see a plant catch on fire. It gets up to 120 degrees. It's combustible. It's a fire that just happens because it was dry, like what we've seen around here. And so when this happened, it wasn't something he had never seen before. It shouldn't have piqued his interest, but five words changes the whole human race. Five words would change everything about our lives. The Bible said in the scripture, when he saw the bush and it was not consumed with the fire, it kept burning.

4:21 he turned aside to see five words he turned aside to see had he not turned aside to see when he got there it was not a burning bush it was God in God's voice and God's call and that burning bush said take off your shoes you're standing on holy ground and that burning bush began to give him the plan of God for a nation to be born out of out of bondage that plan of God was communicated through that burning bush, had he not turned aside to see five words, the big door of the Ten Commandments would swing on five words. The nation of Israel being in existence would swing on those little hinges of five words. The Messiah coming through the tribe of Judah would ultimately swing the first five books of the Bible from the story of creation all the way up to the tabernacle plan in the wilderness, the sacrifices, the priesthood, all of those things, types and shadows of Christ, they came from five words of a door that swung on seemingly.

5:35 It was a normal day. It was not a special day. He felt no chill bumps. He saw no angel. He just got up. He was on his way to go somewhere. He sees from a distance a burning bush, and he turns aside to go see. And when he does, God noticed that tiny obedience and opened massive doors that are almost mind-boggling to us. I thought of another occasion when a big door swung on a tiny, tiny hinge. in the book of Ruth, when Ruth was a widow, her husband had died and her mother-in-law, her husband had died. And Naomi said, you stay here, Ruth. I'm going home to Bethlehem to die. There was a famine and Ruth said, no, listen, just this one little thing. No, your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. I'm not going to let you go without me.

6:41 were going together. And they went together. And when they get to the outskirts of Bethlehem, there was a provision of welfare for people who were hungry and poor and had no food. The farmers were told to leave a little bit in the fields, in the corners. And she by, the scripture said, she by happen chance, she by happen chance, she happened to come. Some translations say by happen chance. She didn't know whose field it was. She didn't know who owned the field. She just knew that we are hungry. I need to grab some food so we can have a little bit of barley to eat tonight, something to eat. And she, out of all of the fields, she chose the field of a man named Boaz. Boaz saw her while she was getting it and said to the servants, give her extra hand, drop a lot of your food. Drop more. Drop it everywhere. And she's thinking, these are the sloppiest reapers I've ever seen. And she's picking them up, picking up food, and she's loaded down. And ultimately, he proposes they get married, and they have a child named Obed. And Obed had a son named Jesse, and Jesse had a son named David. And David ultimately would bring the lineage of Jesus Christ, that one door took a woman who was homeless and poor and put her in Matthew chapter one in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. One small hinge. That's why you don't waste your life in the world. You never know. You think it's the big things you do for God. It's the big deals.

8:23 It's the little hinges that big doors swing on. And so when we come to this text, it seems almost like you can just read it and pass right by it. And yet there is a massive, massive, massive blessing that is attached to how you treat the mother bird. He said, if you get out in the woods and you see, and you got to remember, they didn't have drive-thrus. They didn't have Kroger. They didn't have Publix. They didn't have refrigerators. So if you looked up and you found a free meal of food that you didn't have to hunt and you didn't have to farm. And you just, it just was there. And she said, if you're ever out and you see a nest in a tree that you can reach, or maybe it'll even be on the ground and you see it and you see the eggs in there, you can take those eggs. You take every one of those eggs.

9:25 You make you an omelet if you want to. You have a barbecue if the chicks are alive. You take them and you put chicks on a stick and you have you a little cookout there. You enjoy. You can have your eggs sunny side up, scrambled, however you want to have them. Help yourself. But then came this commandment. But don't you touch that and harm that mother bird.

9:55 That's too cruel. Now, I want you to see the thing that's not written here. there's something about not just taking all those all the offspring of that mother bird but her too and eating that together I I don't want you to do that it's the spirit of it I don't want you to be that cruel because the mother bird knows that if she she may not even know she's just sitting on the eggs. She may not even know, you know, what, what, but she knows that if she's lost any of the little chicks, if a snake ate them or something happened, a hawk came and got one. She knows that she can have more and I don't want to put more on her. So what I want you to do, and I know you're out in the woods and nobody will see it and nobody will know why you're doing it, but it would really please me.

10:50 I'm God. I'm the giver of your life. That if you treat that mother bird right, I'm going to put a blessing on you that will follow you the rest of your life. You will have my blessing and you will live long days. That big door, all because you were kind to the mother bird. You were sweet and kind. What can happen if you show the mother bird mercy? When you understand this and you see it, the mother bird is a type, I believe, of our mothers. The Bible said, honor your father and your mother.

11:49 And then it gives this add-on condition. Honor your father and mother as the Lord God commands you. That your days be long and that it go well with you in the land the Lord God will give you. There is an undeniable blessing that is connected to the mother bird and how you treat your mother. And God says it will go well with you and I will bless you and I will prolong your days. If you will obey this small hinge of honoring your mother. What in the world? When you walk away from leaving that mother bird and showing mercy to her. There will be, I want to say it like this.

12:42 a Holy Ghost wind to your back. There will be a force behind you from that encounter where you could have been merciless to the mother bird, but instead you showed mercy. I will put the wind of the Holy Ghost behind you, hitting your back, and the journey will be easier and you will be able to go further. I don't want to have Holy Ghost headwinds. The rest of my life, I want the wind of God on my back, pushing me, leading me, guiding me, directing me. The wind blows where it lifts it. And I want to know the direction of God. And all of these big doors that I'm talking about are swinging on little hinges of how you treat the mother bird. Well, you don't understand my situation.

13:45 It's such a big door for such a little hinge. But when you ever recognize that, one kind act to this mother bird that will follow me and bless me if I remember the bird, the mother bird, and the blessing. Be careful. Be careful, teenagers. Be careful, husbands. Be careful, children, grandchildren, how you treat the mother bird. I, God, I see that stuff. I don't care how much you preach, how much you sing. I don't care how religious you look when you bring your Bible. I watch how you show mercy to people that I allowed across your life that you could crush them if you wanted to.

14:51 But instead, you obey me. It's a big door attached. You know, when you understand that, the purpose for this scripture is how much more if we show it to a mother bird, how much more if we show it to our mother physically or our father or our brother or our sister or our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ or the people that we work with. we're supposed to be kind people. We're supposed to be nice people. We're supposed to be when nobody's watching our heart is to be kind and merciful to people. This is Christianity in action is shining a light in a dark world. We don't react to people like other people react. We don't say things like other people say. The purpose for this scripture should challenge every one of us that he remembers if we're mean to people.

16:04 God sees if we're ugly and, and, and, you know, just upset with people. I want to encourage you to be kind. It's not just that. is something that we do, but it's a spirit of it.

16:29 It's something that's hard to put into words, isn't it? But there is something about it. You know, if you're a good person, you treat animals right. Even though nobody is looking, you treat animals right. I'll never forget, as long as I live, We had been given for Christmas BB guns. My mother sitting down here and her and my dad, they always had great Christmases for us. We didn't get a lot, but what we got, we liked.

17:05 And it was given with love. And man, I was so happy. I was just a little bitty fella. And I said, I am going hunting. We lived on an end street around a junkyard. It's literally a junkyard. There were beer bottles to shoot all day long, and we would set them up and shoot them and all kinds of stuff. And I remember one day I went out and I saw the most beautiful blue bird sitting on the power line. And I had my BB gun. It had to be God. And I pointed that thing, and 99.9% of the time I would have never hit it. That's a very small target. I shot that thing and I nailed it and it flopped and fell over. And I ran and grabbed that dead bird by the claws.

18:02 And I ran to the front door of the parsonage next to the church in Henderson. And I pounded on the door and my mother came to the door and she looked down. And I was holding that with my BB gun. I was so excited. I felt like a man. And I was just standing there. Mama, look, mom, look, look. And all she said, the Bible said, son, a righteous man regardeth the life of a beast. Go bury that thing in the backyard.

18:39 And she closed the door and it marked me for life. I'm standing there with that dead bird. Had I known the book like she knew it, I would have had more wind of the Holy Ghost to my back if I'd have just let Blue Robin or whatever it was go.

19:04 And the point that I'm trying to make is it's amazing that there's something about this law. there's something about the fact that kindness is required in christianity proverbs 31 the virtuous woman she's wonder woman of the bible she is bad to the bone she makes all the children's clothes sewing she don't go to target she sews them all She cleans. She keeps the house. She has businesses. She's an entrepreneur and she has her own business situations going on on the side. This is Wonder Woman of Proverbs 31. She makes her husband look good. And all the men, when they see him at the gate in public places, say, oh, that's so-and-so's husband right there.

20:05 Wow, wow, wow. Her kids are dressed and to the T and they're clean. And she's just really got it together. But maybe the greatest, maybe the real hinge to all of the blessings of this great virtuous woman is found in one verse. And in her mouth is the law of kindness. The law of kindness is in her mouth. It's not just that she's kind here and there sometimes. But it's the law of kindness. If it comes out of her mouth, even if she's upset and she's speaking what needs to be said in truth. The Bible says that we are to reprove at times our children, rebuke. We are to exhort.

20:58 We are to be forceful. We are to be loud sometimes with what we're saying. But then it says with all long suffering. And I believe this gentleness is speaking of our spirit, a gentle spirit. Not that you can't lose it and go off, but you do these things, rebuke, reprove, exhort with all longsuffering and gentleness.

21:28 What you say, you say with redemption in mind. If you can take care of a mother bird, it touches God's heart. And God says, it'll go well with you. I won't forget it. I'll put the Holy Ghost wind behind your back. You'll have a force behind you because you've treated mother bird right. Galatians chapter 6 said, let us not be weary in well-doing. Don't ever stop doing it when you know you're doing what is well in God's eyes. For in due season we will reap if we faint not. Good people are kind to their animals. They care for their animals, even caring for animals, the Bible said, for the wicked is cruel. Some people are so mean, so wicked, so cruel, they can't do anything without having meanness attached to it. there's a little twist of meanness in some people and that stuff should not be in us in christianity you must have the spirit of christ that you get smoked you get convicted you feel a check in your spirit when your attitude is wrong and you're just letting it fly something's something's not submitted to the cross until we reach that point God, wash it out of us.

23:04 God, whatever you've got to do to work on my tongue, on my mind, on my temper, on my disposition, on my attitude, on how I treat my people, my family, my loved ones, my employees, the people that I work with, we must have that spirit of kindness. not that we can't at times you have to deal with things at times not all meetings are pleasant say amen somebody But the end result is I'm going into this meeting. I want everything to be aired out. I want every issue to be covered. Family, we're going to go through some stuff and we're going to talk about this. But when it's all said and done, it's not blaming you and you blaming me and I'm so right and you're so wrong. It's a spirit of restoration that says, now that we've aired it out and everything is, give me your neck, come here and hug me and I'll hug you and let's move forward.

24:11 That's what it's all about. And how you treat the mother bird is a big deal to God. And all you daughter-in-laws, it's a big deal to God how you treat mother bird. Well, you just don't know what a witch she is. And you may be absolutely right, but that doesn't change God's word.

24:50 And God's word said, I'm watching, and there are big doors swinging on you, having the right spirit. It's quiet in this Presbyterian church right now. Almost done. That was a mother. Amen. Listen to this. David was a man after God's own heart. Why? I believe the big doors for David swung. When God sat back and watched Saul try to kill him, and Saul's son Jonathan became his friend, and when Saul's house was killed, the Scripture said, and David went to the throne in 2 Samuel 9 and 1, He said, is there any left in the house of Saul that I might show kindness to?

25:51 Who was the house of Saul? The people who had chased him and tried to kill him and assassinate him over and over and over. And he said, I made Jonathan my friend a promise. And I heard he's got a son and he's crippled. And I want you to go get him. And I want you to bring him to my palace. He will sit at my table. And by the way, I want his ranch and his farm restored. All the land will be given back to him that he lost. And I want Ziba to take his 15 sons and hire 22 servants and make sure the old home place is there for that crippled boy. If he ever wants to go out and just somebody take him around. But he'll eat at my table every day for the rest of his life. He's a man after God's own heart. That's a photograph of what it looks like. It's somebody who is blessing a family that tried to take him out.

26:51 This is a big deal. These are the things. When you forgive your father who wasn't there. Not that, not when I say forgive, I can't stand him and all of that. You don't necessarily have to be around somebody. but you do have to forgive them truly from your heart. And God says when you do that, when you do that, when you have disagreements, and especially with the mother bird, get over it. Love, forgive, show mercy, show kindness because God sees it. God sees it. Now, let me give you a couple of scriptures.

27:37 In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially unto them of the household of faith. The video that you just saw of these single mothers, they're mother birds. And all we did, it's no big deal, all we did as a church is we stepped in and we said, We can't do everything. But these all three, and there are many more to follow, and we've already helped many more that you don't know about. But here's what I want you to hear. They're of the household of faith, and we are to take care of the mother birds, the single mothers, the children that need help. And so when you pay for that apartment for 12 months, you did it. So you did it. You did that for a mother bird. When you buy that car, you did it for the mother bird. And God says, a blessing.

28:31 Oh, a blessing. And you know, when I saw this in scripture, I've had it. And every once in a while, I'd want to get upset with somebody or something. And the Holy Spirit, not that I don't, I do. But I'm struggling too. You know we're all human. You know that, right? You know that. But now I think, I literally think, sometimes I'll see when I'm really upset about something and a red bird will fly by or something and I'll think, oh, I'm going to miss the mother bird blessing if I don't get my attitude right. THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT REMEMBERING THAT MOTHER BIRD AND THE BLESSING THAT'S ATTACHED. so I say this to you in first Peter chapter one in verse five, add to your faith, virtue, knowledge.

29:33 And he says in temperance and patience and controllability and godliness, here it is brotherly kindness and charity so that you will not be unfruitful and that these things may abound in you. The stuff matters. you can be saved and be unfruitful. Ephesians chapter 4, let's read it. Verse 31, Ephesians 4 and verse 31 says, Ephesians 4 and 31 says, let all malice, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Next verse. Everybody read it out loud on Mother's Day and be kind to one another. Tender hearted. Oh, what a beautiful word. Tender hearted. Everybody forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

30:50 Do you know that Jesus said in Luke chapter 12 that there would be five sparrows sold for two denarius? Not one of them is forgotten before God, the text said. Not one of them is forgotten before God. God remembers the mother bird. Matthew 10 and verse 29, but even the very hair of your head is numbered. Fear not, for you are more valuable than many flocks of sparrows. What he's saying, what he's trying to teach us, is if I feel that way about a mother bird, how much more do I feel that way about you?

31:42 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 10, AND THEY THAT LOVE LIFE MUST REFRAIN THOSE WHO LOVE LIFE AND WANT TO SEE GOOD DAYS. REFRAIN YOUR TONGUE FROM EVIL AND YOUR LILTS FROM SPEAKING GUILLE," THE KING JAMES SAYS. FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD WATCH OVER THOSE WHO DO RIGHT. BE FRIENDLY. FORGIVE. LOVE. You know why? Because he's a good God and he keeps good records. And when he sees you doing things that nobody else sees you doing in the realm of kindness and forgiveness, he says, hey, Holy Ghost win, get behind their back. And it's going to be harder for some people to get there, but it's going to be easy for them to get to the place of destiny that I've called them to because they've got the win behind their back.

32:42 I don't need Holy Ghost headwind. I want the wind, the blessing on my life, on our families, on our marriage, the blessing of the wind, of forgiving one another, honoring our father, honoring our mothers, honoring one another. And when you do it, God says, it'll go well.

33:15 Big doors swing on little, little, little, little bitty hinges. And today, a big door can be waiting behind one hinge of simple obedience to God's Word. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want every mother to stand to your feet. Every mother to stand to your feet. You are our mother birds. and we will honor you and we will respect you and we will praise you and we will thank God for you. You carry things that we can't even imagine. And last week when we had the funeral of our precious Chelsea, mother of five, pastor's wife here in town and she was here.

34:25 this week I've been asked to go play a part in the funeral and speak at Joni Lamb at her funeral. Another great mother, founder of Daystar Network, been through hell. she's in heaven this morning unexpectedly nobody saw it coming and I guess it's just like we just keep moving life keeps going but what happened in this room last Sunday for the funeral and this place was as packed as it is this morning it was thousands of people I've never it's the largest funeral I've ever been to Chelsea Hall her five children sitting and her precious husband, Brian, and their congregation and all of the school teachers that she taught special needs with, hundreds of them came and filled this room to capacity.

35:37 I personally have never seen anything like it. That one mother, and she did 1,000, 10,000 things right, she made one decision wrong. And you say, well, pastor, Do you believe that if someone takes their life, that they can go to heaven? I believe that God is a just judge. And I believe if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he is faithful. But that is not God's plan. God's plan is to give you grace. He will forgive. I do believe she is in heaven this morning. I know that in my heart, in my heart. I know that. What I'm saying to you is she was carrying things secretly all by herself. And if she'd have just known who to reach out to. we want you to know we see you we care we understand sometimes you just need a break and that's why we started game changers is sometimes women just need a break they just need a break from it all and can we begin to be that church i've never been more prouder of our staff and our team because we hosted that family and hosted that church and provided all that we could provide to comfort them, not for any reason, but just to be kind.

37:10 Because that's what God's called us to be and to weep with those that weep. So ladies, would you lift your hands toward heaven? I know I'm embarrassing you making you stand, but you need to understand we can't make it without you and this church and our families can. And would you just invite the Holy Spirit to touch you right now? You're that important. We're not rushing through. We're not trying to get to the next part. You are that important that God sees your burdens. God knows the things you deal with mentally. God knows the pressure you're under. God knows how you worry about your babies, what's going on with their education, what's going on with their health, what's going on with their social life, what's going on with their mental, you know, situations that they may be facing. God, give it all to God right here, right now. Just give it to him. Give your babies, give your family, give your husband, give it all to God.

38:04 Just let it come off of your shoulders and say, Lord, I surrender to you. I need you. I want to be that woman of God that you've called me to be that mother burned. And when my children think of me, I want it to be a blessing, a legacy of blessing. I heard Karen Wheaton preach the most masterful message to our women on legacy, legacy women. May that legacy be upon you now that what you will pass on to them, they'll know they're loved, they'll know they're cherished, and they'll know that their mother was a woman of God. In Jesus' mighty name. Everybody else, stand to your feet. and don't you ever, ever, ever forget the mother bird and the blessing that you can take or leave by the wrong attitude.

39:04 Are you ready? Raise your hand and receive this blessing. I'll be preaching next Sunday morning and then we're going to DC to be a part of the 250th thing there on the mall of rededicating our nation back to God. And I'm gonna speak for a few minutes, pray for me, but I'll be here preaching in the morning service. Don't miss it. Raise your hand, receive this blessing. We love you, mothers. Thank you, thank you, thank you for who you are and what you do.