Being Blessed by Jesus — Erlo Stegen

Jesus’ Care for His Mother at the Cross

The first miracle you did, Lord, was at a wedding. You honored it. You honored marriage in a special way. And we pray that you would be in our midst today and turn the water, plain water, into life-giving wine.

Presence yourself. Speak to each one, especially to the bridal couple. But may no one in our midst be excluded. No matter who he is, where he comes from, young or old, may it be a memorable time. Amen.

Karl-Heinz said it would be good if we spoke in English. There are some Englishmen among us who don't understand German or Afrikaans, and that we speak mainly in English. Now, for a couple of days, whenever I thought of this service, a word came to my mind.

And something that happened just before the Lord died, while he was still in the greatest anguish, agony, the greatest that any human being has experienced. And that is the portion we find in John chapter 19, verse 26.

Jesus Entrusts Mary to John

When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her into his own household.

In the Greek language, it says he made her his own, his own property. On the invitation card, it is written, Lord, teach me to follow your decrees. Then I will keep them to the end. Lord, show me, Lord, the way of your commandments, that I may keep them to the end.

And I believe that this word is like a commandment to you on this day. I believe that this is a decree, this word, even to Carl Heinz and Jenny, and how good it would be if you would keep it to the end, right to the end, bis ans Ende.

To me, this is like one of the greatest miracles that Jesus did when he hung on the cross in terrible pain and anguish. He went through hell. No person before him or after him could have suffered like him.

And yet, in this great anguish, he still cared for his mother. He still cared for his mother. When Jesus was a baby and they brought him into the temple, there was an old prophet, Simeon. And he took the child, and then he spoke.

And the parents were surprised by what he said. And then there was a word. He says to Mary, the mother, the sword will stab you into your heart. Das Schwert wird dein Herz durchbohren. Now, that word went into fulfillment right there at the cross.

When the mother saw her dear son crucified, she could have died of the pain. It must have been terrible as a mother to see your blessed one, and he was the most blessed, being crucified. And Jesus attended to her need right there on the cross.

And he said, woman, he didn't say mother. Maybe that would have made the pain, aggravate the pain even more. He said, woman, there's your son. Son, there's your mother. Now, Mary had many sons. There was Jacob.

There was Joseph. Some interpretations say Joseph. There was Judas. And there was Simon. He had four brothers that were born after him. And then he still had sisters. Now, it may, if you carefully look at this, seem to be a bit strange.

Wie hat Jacobus wohl gefühlt, als er die sieherte? Jesus says to John, there's your mother. And John took her from that time on as his mother. They still stood at the cross. They didn't leave. He didn't take her home right there.

They were at the cross to the end. But he took Mary as his own mother. And Mary took John as her son. If you think about it, you could say, oh, Jacob could have had bad feelings about it because it was his mother.

Or some of the brothers could have said, well, that's not right. We are her children. We've got to take care of her. And there were even sisters. And sometimes, I say sometimes, the English say, a daughter can take better care of the parent than the son.

Well, if you look at me, I'm a good specimen for that. You can see it, that I'm treated very well. When my children were small, one came and comforted me and said, don't worry. When you're old, they'll take care of you better than a boy would do.

Well, it shouldn't be like that. The boys should be able to look after their parents as well and sympathize with them and take care of them with much sympathy and feeling and enrich their lives. So boys are not exempt of that.

Now, the Lord Jesus always cared for his mother. He was the oldest in the family. Their father must have died many years before. Nobody knows when. But then Jesus took care of the family. Now, when he hung on the cross, for a moment he forgot about his own pain.

You know, when we experience something, everything can circle just around ourselves. We're so egocentric. We don't even see others, the need of others. We're just busy with our own things. And young people can be like that.

When there are elderly people, they're just busy with their own things. That's not good. We can learn that of our Lord. So in his greatest anguish, he had time for her. He cared for her. And he said, woman, there's your son.

Son, there's your mother. Maybe just by the way, we could have a short look at those that were around him. There were so many Marys. Don't know. It must have been a famous name in that time. We read in verse 25, but they were standing by the cross of Jesus, his mother.

Family, Obedience, and Staying Near the Cross

Her name was Mary. His mother's sister, when we read the Gospels, in the other gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Solomi was the sister of Mary. And she bore John and James, Jacobus. So in other words, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was John's aunt.

And John and Jesus were cousins. All those that stood around there were related to the disciples and to the Lord Jesus. A beautiful picture when you found relatives being together, one. And the devil will do everything to destroy that.

Well, the Lord said he didn't come to bring peace. He'd divide even families. But in spite of that, it's a wonderful thing if people of one flesh and blood can be united. And then we find the other Mary.

So we've got a family group around the cross. Now, that was just by the way. Now Jesus says, Mary, there is your son. And from that time on, John accepted her as his own mother. He took her home to Jerusalem.

She didn't go home to where she came from. At first, she stayed in Jerusalem because we read that after some weeks when they prayed, the disciples, Mary was with them. So she stayed in John's home. He must have had a home as well in Jerusalem.

She stayed with John. John had a mother, a new mother. In the meantime, he had his own mother, Salome. His father was Zebedee, and they were still alive. A real family business. I said, it's marvelous if they are together.

But if they are not together, then it's better if they are far apart because then there can be much strife. Feel tongue and stride. But it shouldn't be like that. How will the mother of John feel when she hears that Jesus says, there is your mother?

How will Zebedee feel that the son now has a new mother? But they accepted it. And if we are obedient to the Lord Jesus, he never makes a mistake, then he becomes obedient to the blessing for all. Well, today it is as if the Lord says to you, Karl-Heinz, there is your wife.

To Jenny, there is your husband. A second marriage can be problematic. It's easier when the children are still small. But when they get a little bigger, it can be difficult. But it can also be wonderful if you take it out of the Lord's hand.

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I was speaking English. It can be problematic if a person gets married the second time. Although one says, when a man marries for the second time, she's got a royal time. He carries her on his hands.

The first woman didn't have, wife, didn't have such a good time. But there are always exceptions to the rules. And I was saying it's more difficult if they get married and the children are bigger already.

The husband was used to the first wife. She had her ways. He's used to her. Now somebody else comes into the house. She's not the same. She has got the same character. She doesn't act the same way. So, humanly speaking, it could be problematic.

And then the children are still there. But I've just spoken about a family circle. And when the Lord Jesus spoke, he changed everything. A new chapter started. The Lord Jesus died. He was the best son there's ever been in this world.

Nobody could have cared for his mother better than the Lord Jesus. And now John has got to be the son. He could have said, well, I can't care for her as the Lord Jesus did. I'm not so good. I'm not so wise.

I'm not so tactful. And she may have said, well, I had such a son, I don't know what John will be like. We'll get on together. But it was the best for them. Nothing better could have happened. We may say, why did the Lord Jesus choose John to take his place and to look after Mary?

Because we've heard she had four sons. She had daughters as well. There are those that say he did it because John stayed close to the cross to the end. The brothers weren't there. They weren't even believers.

They weren't there at the cross. But John, the only one of the disciples, at that moment was there. And because of that, some say God chose him. The other sons lost that privilege of having Mary as their mother.

But John, because he stayed close to the cross, he was the winner. He was blessed. That shows us the greatest importance of staying close to the cross to the end. Because if we don't stay close to the cross to the end, we may miss out.

We may lose many a blessing that we may never experience again. So the best for you and for me is to say, stay close to the cross. Don't have time for anything else. Otherwise you may lose your greatest blessings.

And that's a terrible tragedy if something like that happens. But John was there. And that's why he was blessed. Don't say, oh, then he had to do with another old woman. That's the language of the modern times.

When children said, oh, it's too much trouble. Take her to an old age home. Well, we've become heathen in more than in one way. But for a person who stays close at the cross, says, the best blessing for me is to have my parents close to me.

To care for them. To be with them. Greatest honor. And John took her and cared for her as his own mother. And Carl Hines, you've borne testimony to the fact that you feel it is God's will that you get married to Jenny.

Jenny, you prayed about it and you said you feel that's God's way for you. So in other words, it's the same that Jesus said. Carl Hines, it's your wife. Jenny, that is your husband. And then there are the children.

You didn't bring them into this world. And Mary didn't bring John into this world. But he said, woman, this is your son. That means on judgment day, God will say, Jenny, I gave you sons and daughters.

And then it will come to light whether they were sons and daughters. Real sons and daughters to you as if you brought them into this world. If you are obedient to what you feel that God has told you, then that's the way you've got to act.

That's the way you've got to speak. That's the way you've got to feel. That's the way you've got to care for them as your own children. And your children. He says to John, there is your mother, there is your mother.

Jesus did a miracle there. And that you treat her as if she were your real mother. Even if she was not born to you. But spiritually, and according to the will of God, she is like your own mother. Thus you have not become poor, but rich.

And I would like to use the word blessed. To me from heaven has come into your family and into your life. And you will be blessed if you accept this. John, when it was said, this is your mother, he took her to himself.

Right to his house. And he took care of her. He looked after her until she died. He did not wait and said, oh, I'll think about it first. Whether this is possible, whether I can do it. He was obedient.

And so it is in your life. God took your mother to himself. She is in glory. She has it much better than we have it here. She is in glory. She does not look back. Never. Never. I recently asked a farmer, do you look back?

I often do that. And they say, no, no, no. But you get some who say, yes, I'm sorry. But there are also those who say, don't think about looking back. Forward. May the Lord give you the mind that John had.

And has her as a mother. Despite the fact that he still had his own mother. Now he had two mothers. And he looked after her. And we have heard that some say, He got that position because he stayed close to the cross.

Jacob, James, the eldest son after Jesus. He got converted. He became a preacher. He became a disciple. He was a bishop of the church in Jerusalem. But she didn't go back to him. Jesus had said, this is your mother.

And I believe that the brother said, What he said is best. And we want it to be like that. Johannes, don't worry. We're not jealous. We don't say, oh, why? His will be done in our lives. As it is done in heaven.

Christian Marriage as a Calling from God

If you live like that, Karl-Heinz, it will be no problem. Jenny, Es wird ein seliges Leben sein. Herrlichkeit. Für euch. Als Ehe. Und für eure Kinder. Frau, das ist ein Sohn. Sohn, das ist deine Mutter.

Karl-Heinz, das ist deine Frau. Aus der Hand Gottes. Frau, das ist dein Mann. Das sind deine Kinder. Das ist eure Mutter. Jesus bringt den Himmel, er bringt nie die Hölle. Das tut der Teufel. Gibt ihm keinen Raum.

Tu das, was Jesus sagt. Dann wird die ganze Geschichte eine wunderbare sein. Vergess das nicht. Und nun will ich schließen. Many of us come from German stock. In northern Germany, in the 1840s, God started a revival.

The preacher there was Louis Harms. Well, he didn't play church. When you read his sermons and hear what he says, then you can understand why he had to appear before the church council and the church court over 60 times.

Er hat die Menschen reinen Wein eingeschenkt. Er hat gepredigt, dass die Heide gewackelt hat. And he says one day a young girl came to him from a neighboring district. She didn't belong to his church.

And it was a dear girl and a Christian girl. She just wanted to go God's way. So there was a young boy who wanted to get engaged to her. But the Christians at that time, the young people didn't communicate together.

The boy wouldn't go to the girl and flirt with her and woo her. When the boy felt it is God's will to get married, he wanted a Christian girl and a good girl. And he saw her. Then he went to the father and the mother of the girl and said, May I get engaged to your daughter?

Before he had spoken a word to her, he went to the parents. And the parents they said, We honor and respect you that you've come to speak to us before you have spoken to her. But we can't say yes for her.

Let us call her and hear what she says. And then she came. And then they asked her, Do you want to get engaged to this young man? And at the end she said, Yes. And then, to make a long story short, you can read it in the book Golden Apple of Silben and Schalen.

Golden apples on a silver plate. And he was a must in telling stories. You'll be blessed by many things that he said. Now, our forefathers came to South Africa because of him. He sent the missionaries and the farmers.

So this young bright girl who wanted to go God's way said, Before we get married, let's go to Louis Hams and visit him and let him bless our engagement. And the boy was a boy who wanted to be a Christian or was a Christian and they went and met at Louis Hams' place.

And when they were there, he spoke to the first of them. They said, We want to get engaged. We want you to bless our engagement. We don't want to get engaged like the others with booze and dance and things.

Oh, Louis Hams, when you spoke about dancing and drinking, he'd spit fire. And they came to him and said, We want you to bless our engagement. So he admonished them and then he said, I can see that you love each other but allow me before I bless you to ask you a personal question.

Girl, you love that young man. Young man, you love this girl. That's good. But may I ask you whether Jesus has got the first place young man in your life and young girl in your life. Has Lord Jesus got the first place in your life?

I can see that you love each other but young man, do you love Lord Jesus more than your wife? And you, young girl, do you love the man more? Jesus more than the man? Then they were quiet. They looked at him.

Then, he says, they looked at each other and then after a long time the girl said, I don't want to say a superficial yes. I don't want to lie. If I say I love Jesus more then I want to speak the truth.

Then she was quiet again. She says, but I am struck by this. Why didn't we when you asked us whether Jesus has got the first place in our lives, why didn't we just immediately say yes with gladness and joy?

Why did we have to think so much? That most probably shows us that it's not the case. That, will you please pray for us that the Lord Jesus will mean more to us than our partner. That he'll have the first place in our lives.

He says, then they knelt down and prayed and then he laid his hands upon them and blessed them. When they got up she said, I would like to ask a question. In our congregation people get married on a Saturday usually, not a Sunday in the church.

Church Weddings, Temperance, and Mission Giving

They said, in these modern times people don't get married anymore in the church, but at home. The rich started that. They wanted something special for their children and they made a special party at home.

And he says, that's not a good thing. The rich people do that. They want something special. The best place is in the church. You get that blessing from God. And the last evening before the marriage they had a poltergeist.

Then they'd come together and fool around, play cards, they drink, they crack their jokes and some went good. And he says, that's not a good thing. He says, you shouldn't start with the devil and end with God.

And he said, you shouldn't even start with God and then end with the devil. That's what he preached. That was the pastor of our ancestors. They took it seriously with their Christianity. If that man would still live today in our time and preach, then he would fly the dove.

Then we would say, we don't want him. He's a fanatic. But that was the faith of our ancestors. That's how our ancestors lived. And he says, you can't start with God and end with Satan. An einem fest, das geht nicht.

Und der Mann hat seinen Fuß runter getan. Und so war das. And he says, don't have a polterabend before your wedding. Before your wedding, invite your friends. Those that want alcohol, booze, don't invite them.

Just those that want the Bible and the gospel. Come together, sing wonderful hymns, pray. The next day you get married in church and you'll receive the blessing of God. And this young couple left and they said, that's how we want to get married.

And when she got the news that he wanted to get engaged with her, she said, if you want to get engaged with me, then you have to give 100 thales to the mission. Mission work. Maybe here in Guadalupe Valley.

And the young man, without hesitation, took it out and gave it to her. For mission work. And she said, Louis, God had his 100 thales and he had his wife. Interesting. When you read those stories, you can't but be blessed.

Because you are busy with the things of heaven. Not the things of hell and not the things of this world that just pass by. Do you hear what Louis said? Does Lord Jesus have the first place with you? That you love your bridegroom, Jesus, more than him?

And Karl-Heinz, you love Lord Jesus more than her? Then you will be the best man and she will be the best woman and she will be the best mother. And you also have ancestors. You also have a father and other daughters.

We heard from Papa Friedel and Mama Rita. We didn't hear that she is also to my mustard. But that's the way it should be. That you become a great blessing for one another. Then all problems are wiped away.

Then all problems are wiped away and one day will be better than the other day. That's how our lives should be and may God grant you. Men, there's your wife. Wife, there is your husband. Woman, there's your son.

There's your daughter. There are your children. Children, there's your mother. When we pray to our Father, we say, may his will be done on earth and in our lives as it is done in heaven. The Lord Jesus said, not all that say, Lord, Lord, that will enter heaven, only those that do my will.

Good, you can come forward. You can testify for the whole community that you think it is God's will that you take Jenny as your wife. Jenny, do you believe with all your heart that this is the man that God has created for you?

Do you think they heard it? Maybe. Did you hear it? Oh, sorry, I've been asking them questions and I'm just asking them whether they accept each other as partner out of the hands of God. She said yes.

In good and bad days and times I spoke about Louis Harms, this young couple. You know what happened? They went home. After a few weeks, she got a sickness that touched her nerves within a few days she was dead.

She didn't even get married to him. And the wisdom and inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Louis Harms should ask her, Do you love Jesus more than your fiancé? After a few weeks she died. There was a terrible sickness in Germany, northern Germany at that time that touched the nervous system.

Faithfulness to Christ Through Sickness and Death

And then within a few days and before she died he came with his parents to visit her on her deathbed. And then on her deathbed she said, Dear so and so, are you happy that I'm going home to my heavenly bridegroom?

And then with tears in his face he said yes. And she says, Take everything that you've given me send it to the mission field. And Louis Harms says after a few weeks he arrived and he says, I'm giving up my farming.

I'm selling everything and I'm giving it as a gift to the mission that the heathen can hear the gospel. And he went home. And when he went home after a few days he got the sickness and he told his parents I wanted to become a missionary as well.

I didn't want just to give my all. I wanted to give myself as well. Now I've got the sickness and I'm going to die. Now I pray that you'll take all my belongings when I've died take them to Louis Harms and let him send it overseas to Africa that the blacks will hear the gospel.

And he died. And then after a week or two the parents came to Louis Harms and said we bring you the message that our son has passed away. And the daughter to whom he would have got married as well. But here is everything that he had.

And his last wish was take it, send it to Africa that the missionaries can preach to the blacks and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ so they can get saved and repent of their sins. So it's good in good times and bad times Jesus den ersten Platz zu geben to give him the first place.

Sometimes the sun shines sometimes there are storms sometimes lightning and thunder Times aren't the same sometimes you're healthy sometimes you're sick, sometimes you die. That will happen in the end.

But in all these times remember son, this is your mother mother, this is your son. Then things will go well. Now these rings are just an outward sign of that. If you go to the coast and you swim and you lose the ring in the Indian Ocean that doesn't cancel what Jesus said.

He says heaven and earth will pass away but not just a comma of his word. And when he'll judge us he'll judge us by his word. Shall we pray for the blessing of God upon this couple's life. Lord we thank you for their lives for their testimony we thank you that they are determined to follow you and to do your will bless them by your word and with your word and the whole family, every member of the family young and old may your presence be felt whoever goes into that home may feel Jesus is here whoever meets them and speaks to them will know the Lord Jesus is dwelling in their hearts and lives so bless them Lord with your heavenly blessing and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you every moment of every hour and every hour of every day, day or night right to the end that you will rule supreme in their lives and as they've given us that verse teach me oh Lord to keep your decree to the end grant them that grace and may the love the divine love of the Father fill and overflow their hearts and may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be theirs, teaching them guiding them, leading them in all the truth to live a godly life in this life which will be a good preparation for eternity to your glory we ask it.