Intro: I want to share with you ten truths that children learn about life.
1) No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.
2) When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person
4) Never ask your 3 year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tic-tac.
7) School lunches stick to the wall.
8) You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don’t wear polka-dot underwear with white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you are sad is on your mother’s lap.
Why on earth would I call this a Biblical calling for mothers? So much has been done to undermine motherhood and marriage for the past few decades I want to instead encourage you moms today that motherhood is not a perfection to achieve but a calling to receive.
I. Reject the cultural standard
Jochebed bore Moses into a culture hostile to Hebrew boys. The very fact that his eyes were open was a death sentence from Pharaoh. Pharaoh had become afraid of the Hebrew people. The more they were harshly dealt with the more they multiplied. Pharaoh was afraid that one day they would rise up and stand against Egypt. The first foolish decree he made as to ask the midwives to kill Hebrew boys. If you read chapter one you find the Midwives feared God more than Pharaoh.
The Bible tells us that when Moses was born that he was a beautiful child and she hid him for three months. There is a tradition given to us about Moses given to us by Josephus. Josephus was a Jewish historian that lived and wrote 30 years after Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. He tells that Amram received a vision from God that Moses was to confound Egypt and set free Israel. There is also a tradition that tells us that the astrologers of Pharaoh informed him that a special Jewish male child was born. This explains why Aaron was allowed to live and the boys born with Moses were sentence to die.
Here’s a principle to learn from this. The devil will always set cultural standards up in hopes of derailing God’s plans. Remember God’s will is what you would want if you were smart enough to want it.
The standard was to destroy the lives of this Hebrew boys because they threaten our way of life.
What cultural or societal standard are you surrendered to today?
What do your children see? Remember they do what we do not what we say. I want to encourage you to have the courage and faith of Jochebed. What is your standard of morality social or biblical? What is your standard of sexuality social or biblical? What is your financial standard social or biblical?
From Hebrews 11.23 we find that Jochebed was able to face the proclamation of Pharaoh without fear because of her great faith and trust in God. Her standard was the living God.
Moms it’s not impossible reject the standard of the world. Cultural and societal standards change while God’s truth never changes.
II. Recognize your parental limits
“When she could hide him no more.”
The living God not only wants to use our abilities he also wants to use our inabilities. An invalid was told that she could never escape from her prison of pain and weakness. "Oh, well," she replied quickly, "there's a lot of living to be found within your limitations, if you don't wear yourself out fighting them." "Young lady," the doctor replied, "I wish I could have you preach to about a hundred of my patients a year." The lady was Helen Keller who said, "Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them, but do not let them master you."
A) There is a limit to how much you can protect your child or children
Jochebed couldn’t hide Moses all his life. But all of life is preparing your children to leave. A man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. You will be limited in how much you can protect them but you can continually prepare children to face life.
Prepare them with love – Jochebed loved Moses and trusted God enough to face the Pharaoh
Prepare them with truth --
The greatest way to prepare your children for the world is to share Jesus Christ with them. The greatest joy outside of their birth will be you directing them to Jesus and their rebirth!
B) There is a limit to how much you can provide your child or children
Some of you sit here today under with a burden that God wants to relive you of. You may have lost a child and wonder what you did wrong. Your child may be trapped in destructive lifestyle. There is a limit to what you can protect your child from. There are decisions that destroy and lead to them being devoured by desires and the devil. Jesus Christ came to set you free of the burden of their bad decisions.
What sits in your mind today is if I had just.
III. Receive your biblical calling
A) Demonstrate your relationship with God
When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture, one said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?” The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”
What was it that impacted Moses so deeply? By faith Moses was hidden. It was a living demonstration of His mother and fathers dependence on the Living God of Israel.
Lifeless religion is what has between 75 and 90% of youth leaving the church today. Is your relationship with Christ superficial or is it supernaturally changing you into the likeness of Jesus. As Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible he used the name Jochebed for his mother which means Jehovah is her glory. What a demonstration of real and living faith.
Proverbs 31:30 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.” NLT
B) Develop your child’s discernment and decision making
I have learned much about child rearing in the past 10 years. John will turn 10 tomorrow. I have slowly and painfully learned something that I believe is displayed in Moses life.
Hebrews 11.24 “By faith Moses refused to be known as the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”
How is it that Moses could choose? He spent 40 years in the best schools with the luxuries and comforts of the Pharaoh’s son. Yet he chose to go with God’s people rather than enjoy pleasures that do not last.
If all we do is demand our children follow our faith theirs will be shallow. We can teach them the truth but one day they will face a decision. It is the same decision some of you face today. Will you surrender your life to become a fully devoted follow of King Jesus?
Listen to this! Hebrews 11.26 he regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt (the land of sin) because he was looking ahead to his reward. He chose the eternal of the temporal.
Hebrews 11.27 “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
Do you really think this faith began at a burning bush? It began in the arms of his birth mother who taught him to choose.
Discernment is the ability to tell right from wrong, truth from error, light from darkness. What did Solomon ask for? He asked for wisdom to rule Israel. We need discernment so that the Holy Spirit will rule us.
Conclusion: Charlie Chaplain, Lyndon Johnson, Picasso, and Winston Churchill all attributed their success to their mothers.
Napolean Bonaparte said, “Give us strong mothers and we will have strong sons.”
Abraham Lincoln said, “Behind ever great man is a great mother.”
Moms you have a calling to receive. To live a life that is a demonstration of God’s love not dead religion.
What can we as children do? Be thankful if you had a Godly influence in your life. If you didn’t be the beginning of a blessing in your family heritage.
