May 10, 2020 CFBC… “Mother’s Day” “REVOLUTIONARY PARENTING” Hebrews 11:23 I want to take this opportunity to say a special word to a special group of people who are worshiping with us today—HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY. Your role in the Christian family is so vital. Thank you for all you have done and are doing. With this special celebration coming up, I sensed the Lord’s leadership to preach a message that would center on the family. So, today I want to speak to moms and dads who are seeking to raise kingdom kids. Let me introduce you to two parents who were used by God to shape the heart of a true champion for His kingdom. Their names were Amram and Jochebed and they had three children whose names can be found quite prominently in the Bible. Those children were Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. Here is the Lord’s observation about these parents… Hebrews 11:23…By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. What’s the story behind this cryptic reference? Take your Bible and turn to Exodus 1. [READ 1:1-17] Amram and Jochebed were Jewish parents who were seeking to raise Aaron and Miriam in a nation that was hostile to them and their faith. This evil leader discovered that he could not trust the Hebrew midwives, so he basically deputized the Egyptian citizens themselves to carry out his dastardly plan… Exodus 1:22…Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.” The story picks up steam when we move into Exodus 2. [READ EXODUS 2:1-4] Jochebed got pregnant with her last child after the Pharaoh had issued this new law that would result in the horrible death of any little Jewish boys. Can you imagine what Amram and Jochebed must have gone through when they saw that their baby was a boy? Would they simply surrender their son to the ghastly law of a godless pharaoh? Or, would they pray for their little boy’s welfare and do everything in their power to save him? They chose the latter option and every one of us should be glad they did! 1 May 10, 2020 CFBC… “Mother’s Day” Can you imagine how difficult it was to hide a newborn baby? They need milk. Their little stomachs hurt. They need naps. As you know, every newborn baby cries out for attention. Every time Moses cried, his life was put in mortal danger. Snooping Egyptians were on the lookout for any and all Jewish baby boys. What would Amram and Jochebed do? I love how the writer of Hebrews characterized the action of these two godly parents. Let’s read it again… Hebrews 11:23…By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. These parents were so determined to protect their son that they decided that they would defy the king’s edict. What amazing courage they demonstrated. They sensed that there was something special about their little boy. No doubt they knew the covenant that God had made with the Jewish people… Genesis 12:7…The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Genesis 15:13–14…God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. Genesis 50:24…Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” The covenant of God and the promises of God must have been uppermost in the minds of this dad and mom. Beyond that, they knew that the 400 years of oppression were about to come to an end and I believe that God revealed to them that He had a special plan for their son. Something that the martyr Stephen said tipped me off on this… Acts 7:20…“It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.” Every baby is lovely in the sight of parents, but this Moses was lovely in the sight of God. That’s a significant statement. God had a special plan for him and I believe that He gave Amram and Jochebed a sense of that too. For three months they did everything in their power to conceal the fact that they had a baby boy in their home. However the day came when they knew that they had to take a daring risk if they had any shot at protecting him. 2 May 10, 2020 CFBC… “Mother’s Day” So, Jochebed made a little wicker basket and sealed it with tar and pitch to make it water proof. She placed little Moses in the basket and then put the basket among the reeds that grew on the banks of the Nile River. That must have ripped the hearts out of this dad and mom. Can’t you picture them crying out to God for the protection of Moses? Miriam, Moses’ sister, stood near the spot where Moses’ was placed in the river. That’s when the daughter of Pharaoh came to the river to bathe. What happened next demonstrated the sovereign action of God. [READ EXODUS 2:5-10] When Pharaoh’s daughter pulled back the blanket that covered baby Moses, he may have whimpered or he may have smiled. She was captivated by this little boy and she decided that she would take him and raise him as her own son. Miriam showed up about that time and she offered to find a nurse for the baby boy. Pharaoh’s daughter sent her to find one and guess who Miriam came back with? It was Jochebed. So, Jochebed was given the privilege of raising her little by in the formative stages of his life and she got paid to do it! Surely God must have had a special purpose for this little boy. Amram and Jochebed were revolutionary parents. That much is for sure. There are some parenting principles embedded in this story that I want to draw your attention to. As we go over these, I want to challenge you to… JOIN THE REVOLUTION It’s about this time that guilt will start to kick in for some of you. Reject it and resist it right now. It’s never too late to start being a Christ-centered parent. For others of you who still have children in your home, I would encourage you to capitalize on these principles immediately… 1. VIBRANT FAITH One thing is for certain. Amram and Jochebed feared the Lord more than they did Pharaoh. Where did that deep sense of reverence come from? I’m picturing in my mind the times that this godly couple’s own parents and grandparents gathered them around the table at the end of the day and told them the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob along with the covenant that God had made with the Jewish people. Maybe they even memorized some of the great promises that God had made to them. The prayer times with their parents and grandparents must have shaped them for such a time as this. After Moses moved to the palace, I’m sure that Amram and Jochebed gathered Aaron and Miriam around the table and told them the same stories and recounted for them the same covenant and promises. Then, they must have cried out to God for the 3 May 10, 2020 CFBC… “Mother’s Day” spiritual life of Moses who was being reared as an Egyptian. Believe me. This couple had a vibrant faith. It takes courage to be a parent today. With that being said, I can’t overemphasize how important it is that dads and moms have a vibrant faith. In fact, your ability to raise your kids to be kingdom kids and kingdom adults is directly tied to the vibrancy of your faith. So, I want to encourage you to read and study the Bible. Make it the final source for your faith and your decisions and your actions. In addition, make prayer and worship an integral part of your lives and of your family. JOIN THE REVOLUTION In this story we can draw out some key principles for our parenting. The first principle is a vibrant faith. The second principle is a… 2. FOCUSED PURPOSE Remember now. Amram and Jochebed were blessed to have Moses in their home during the formative years of his life. Knowing that they had only a brief window of opportunity to instruct him spiritually, they must have taken every opportunity to teach him about the Lord. They introduced him to the… ▪ God’s attributes—His power, His sovereignty, His glory, His love, His holiness, and His righteousness ▪ God’s creation of the world and His purpose in doing so ▪ God’s covenant with the Jewish people along with His promise to free them from Egyptian bondage and to give them a land of their own ▪ God’s expectation of His people’s love and obedience All the philosophers, the scientists, the priests, and the educators of Egypt couldn’t rip out of Moses’ heart what his dad and mom had imparted to him during those early years! Listen parents, you take those little children that the Lord has given you and teach them the Bible, teach them to love the things of God, teach them what it means to be a child of God, teach them to obey God, teach them how important it is for them to trust Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and teach them to embrace the kingdom values Jesus emphasized so diligently and passionately.