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Introduction:
My mother has impacted my life more
than anyone I know. She has loved and discipled me for a long time now. Much of
who I am is a direct result of what I have learned from her. I am still
learning from her.
I want to share with you some
stories that will hopefully inspire and instruct you to be a spiritual parent
to others. But first, I will share with you her past brokenness so that you
will know that God can truly use anyone to lead and disciple others.
My Mother’s Journey
of Brokenness
She was undervalued
and rejected by those closest to her.
- Undervalued by
parents: she was not very loved by her parents. They thought she was not
as pretty or intelligent as her other sisters.
- Rejection by my
father: After she married my father, she learned that he was very abusive.
He would beat her, yell at her, tell her that he wants to divorce her.
- Salvation
through Employment: She turned to work as a salvation from her troubles.
She focused her life on the success of her restaurant that she had
established with my dad. The restaurant was called Jade Tree Restaurant (玉树圆)
i.
She became materialistic.
ii.
Years later, the restaurant caught on fire.
- My mother
finally turned to God when she heard His voice speaking to her one day.
My Mother’s
Transformation and Discipleship
As God transformed my
mom with His love, she began to disciple me with her love for God.
- My mother fell
in love with God
i.
God began transforming my mom with His love and
presence and my mom fell in love with God (all of this happened when I was 13
years old).
ii.
I would see her kneeling every evening, after
work, kneeling between her bed and room window, praying and worshipping in His
presence.
- As God changed
my mom with His love, my mom began to disciple me with her love for God.
- She would give
me goodnight kisses every night. This was how I learned gentleness and enduring
affection.
- She would share
stories every week about her experiences of God’s voice, God’s power,
God’s presence. This was how I learned to believe that God wanted to speak
and meet with me. This was the beginning of how I learned to long for God
to speak and meet with me.
- One day, I could
not fall asleep because I heard strange noises coming from downstairs. I was
not a mature Christian yet, but I heard my father and mother praying. Then
I heard weird sounds, Then I heard them laughing. Then I heard weird
sounds again. I could tell my mom was making those sounds (imitate the sound of speaking in
tongues). This was my first exposure to spiritual gifts.
- She would take
me out to feed the homeless with bento boxes packed with Chinese food.
This is how I learned the compassion of Jesus.
- She would take
me to morning prayer meetings where I learned a passionate prayer.
- She would share
stories of how she would worship. (Share her testimony about worshipping
God without knowing if she will live the next day) This was how I learned
passionate worship.
- At family
gatherings, she would pause the party and gather her family members. She
would share a testimony and tell them the gospel. This was how I learned boldness
and evangelism.
What I Have Learned
from My Mother’s Discipleship
- I have learned
that what my mother received from God, I received even more, for two
reasons:
i.
She passed onto me what she received from God
ii.
God multiplied what she passed onto me
- Share the story
of your first great experience of the presence of God.
- What my mother received
from God, I received. Why? Because my mother honored God by giving me what
God gave her. God honored her by giving me greater portions of what He had
given her (provide examples).
- The most
important thing that my mom has ever passed onto me was her passionate,
undying love for God. The second most important thing that she passed onto
me was her painful, sincere, and compassionate love for people.
Two Main Points:
- I have two main
points for everyone:
1.
We are all called to make disciples by passing
onto them everything we have received directly from God, and whatever we pass
on, God will multiply.
2.
The most important things you can pass onto your
children, your disciples, is your God-given love for God, and your God-given
love for people.
Application:
- To the parents,
I humbly say this: there is great value in having fun with your children,
however young or old they are. But there is much greater value in
consistently uploading into your children what God has downloaded into
you. You will see your children grow and go further with God than you will
have gone.
- To those who do
not have a spiritual parent, I humbly say this: find a person and ask
him/her to be your spiritual parent. We all need to be loved and discipled
by a spiritual parent (a disciple). Do this, and your character, your
gifting, your potential will be refined and ready for great things.
- To those who are
not parents yet: you must be a spiritual parent, a discipler, for Jesus
has called you to do more than just help your church. He has called you to
make disciples. Do this, and you will see revival.
- To those who
think they are not fit to make disciples because of hurtful pasts or low
self-esteem, I say this: remember my mom and what God did through her.
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