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The Rewards of Motherhood (Exodus 2:1-10)
14 Plays1 month ago
Sunday Message recorded 11 May 2025
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Learning Faith from Family
00:00:06
Speaker
You don't know where you learned to surrender to the Lord, but I learned it from my mom and I learned it also from my grandmother. And that's very similar to what Timothy writes or what Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1.
00:00:23
Speaker
He said, I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first and in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And now I'm sure dwells in you as well.
Honoring Mothers and Grandmothers
00:00:38
Speaker
want to welcome you if you're here with your mother and your grandmother. Thank you so much for coming and being a part of our service today. I pray that you'll be blessed as you worship him. But in this service, we want to say thanks to those who have been a mother, those who are serving as a mom, grandmother, great grandmother in some cases.
00:00:58
Speaker
Thank you for all that you have taught us. Thank you for the many sacrifices, the way you have served us through the years. Thank you for your example. And many of us have learned to care about other people by simply watching you.
00:01:13
Speaker
And so we want to thank you. So I thought it'd be appropriate for us today to express to every mother and grandmother in this building how we appreciate them and we want to honor them. So if the moms and grandmothers would just stand for a moment and let us give you an applause. We just want to recognize you. That's all. Thank you so much.
00:01:33
Speaker
are you are All right, I wanna thank the children and the students for helping us to pass these out.
Prayer and Reflection on Motherhood
00:01:48
Speaker
And I would like for us to have one more prayer, just just to pray that God would continue to bless our mothers, that they would have a great day today.
00:01:59
Speaker
And I realize that for some of us, your mom is in heaven. And so we can thank the Lord for your mom and for her sacrifices through the years for you, even though she's with the Lord now.
00:02:11
Speaker
But for others of you, maybe your mom is living in another state, another city, and you cannot be with her today. So God's right there and he can bless her. Maybe your mom is sick or maybe you're taking care of your mom who is sick. And so anyway, just want to pray that God would bless all of our mothers today. Would you po bow with me as we pray together for our moms and give thanks for them?
00:02:38
Speaker
Heavenly Father, you give lots of good and perfect gifts, just like James wrote in James chapter 1. But certainly one of those good gifts... It's moms.
00:02:48
Speaker
Thank you for our mothers. Thank you for all that they do for us constantly. Lord, like I mentioned earlier, they serve us and they sacrifice for us. ah Lord, it's through their example we learn to care about others and we learn to pray for others.
00:03:02
Speaker
I know that many mothers are praying mothers. I would not be standing here if it were not for my mom. being a praying mother. And so thank you for those who have prayed for us through the years.
00:03:14
Speaker
Lord, I pray for those who have um already gone home to glory. And I pray that you would take care of those mothers and grandmothers that we have entrusted to your care until we see them again.
00:03:28
Speaker
But we still remember the legacy that they ah placed within our hearts and with our homes, and we're still living it out. Lord, thank you for the example of those who are still daily living for you right in our homes.
00:03:42
Speaker
We can see it up close. We see Jesus in them. And so thank you so much for them. And Lord, we know that even though our mom cares about all of us, The truth is that moms carry heavy burdens too.
00:03:56
Speaker
So today, would you take their burdens? Would you make their load lighter? Would you give them strength and endurance and bless them? Help them, oh Lord, as they go through this day and through this week. We love them and thank you again for them.
00:04:10
Speaker
Would you speak to us today through your word about motherhood, especially about the rewards of being a mom? In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:04:23
Speaker
One of my earliest memories of church is when I went with my grandparents to their church. My grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. He was a bi-vocational preacher. He was a mechanic, and he was a carpenter.
Personal Reflections and Moses' Story
00:04:36
Speaker
He was an electrician, a plumber. He could do it all.
00:04:39
Speaker
But anyway, I was so thankful for how he lived for Christ, and so did my grandmother. And so one day they invited me to go. So I was with them on this Sunday. And I remember sitting like where Modena is sitting right there on the front pew.
00:04:55
Speaker
And I remember I was so proud when my grandfather got up to preach and he said, you know, Moses, his mother placed him in a little basket and placed him gently and safely.
00:05:07
Speaker
in the Nile River, and he was safe in that little basket. And he said, I don't remember what he said after that, but he must have said something about me, because he said, and just like my grandson Victor on that front road, buddy, I sat up and I thought, that's me, folks, you know.
00:05:22
Speaker
But anyway, I'm so glad that you're here today on that pew where you are, and I know that God is going to give you a word, but I want to speak today to moms.
00:05:33
Speaker
I want us to look at Exodus chapter 2, I believe the focus is on a mother. It was Moses' mother. But you know, Chuck Swindoll summarizes the large book of Exodus with two things. He says, it's about the redemption from Egypt and the revelation from God.
00:05:52
Speaker
You know, chapters 1 through 18 is that redemption, that rescue out of bondage from Egypt. But then the rest of it is how God is disclosing to the people of Israel who he is and how he wants them to live.
00:06:08
Speaker
He went on to say, Chuck Swindoll that is, he said, really the first part of Exodus is about getting Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus: Redemption and Revelation
00:06:16
Speaker
But the second part of Exodus is getting Egypt out of Israel.
00:06:21
Speaker
And I think that's what God is doing with us. Perhaps for you, you still need to be rescued from sin. But maybe it's that now sin still is within you. You've been rescued from the penalty of sin, but the power of sin is still at work in your life.
00:06:37
Speaker
And I remember Joshua 24, 14, after they had already gone in the promised land and everything, Joshua said, throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped in Egypt.
00:06:49
Speaker
It's so easy to still be held bondage by those things from the past. But Moses's parents grew up in a wicked and pagan environment in Egypt.
00:07:01
Speaker
The Jews had been but in slavery there for 400 years. And unfortunately, what they saw over and over again throughout those 400 years were people worshiping idols, people serving heathen gods and doing evil practices.
00:07:19
Speaker
But you know what? God blessed the Hebrew families that were struggling under that kind of oppression. And the Lord multiplied the families. And so it's like, what was going on in the family, in their hearts, in their homes?
00:07:33
Speaker
That made them strong. And God blessed them. And so it's amazing what God did. But the Pharaoh of Egypt, he noticed how their families were growing and they were multiplying.
00:07:44
Speaker
And so he said, you know what we're going to do? We're going to take away all of the little baby boys that are here in Egypt, and we're going to ah kill all of them. And so how tragic would that be?
00:07:56
Speaker
So we're going to look at today is how his Moses' mother, Jochebed, how she lived for the Lord.
Rewards and Challenges of Motherhood
00:08:05
Speaker
You know, it tells us what their names were. Moses' father's name was Amram, and the mother's name was Jochebed.
00:08:13
Speaker
But I got to thinking, what about for you? What makes it worth it for you? a little bit later when I read this passage, you're going to hear the daughter of Pharaoh tell Moses' mother, you take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.
00:08:31
Speaker
I will give you your reward. For you personally, mom, what's the reward of being a mother? You know, could it be the precious meditation as you kiss your child goodnight?
00:08:45
Speaker
Could it be that warm feeling with the hug after the child's first day at school? Do you remember when they first started school, how you felt when you put them on the bus or how you felt when you dropped them off and then how you felt when they came home and they gave you that first hug?
00:09:02
Speaker
Maybe it's the sheer fun of baking cookies with your kids or the joy when surrounded by laughter when you're playing games with the kids. Or maybe it's the pride you felt when they graduated from high school or when they graduated from college.
00:09:17
Speaker
You're thinking, thank you, God, for helping me get this far. But these precious and priceless joys cause a mom to realize, you know what? It doesn't matter what it costs.
00:09:28
Speaker
I love my kids dearly. You know, someone said that just diapers and baby wipes alone add up to about $1,850 every year. But who cares? It's like, what a privilege it is to raise children and to see them grow.
00:09:45
Speaker
So I want you to listen as I read Exodus 2, verses 1 through 10. Would you stand in honor of God's Word? Let me read through this passage and then give you just a few of the rewards.
00:09:56
Speaker
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
00:10:11
Speaker
And when she could hide him no longer, She took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the riverbank.
00:10:25
Speaker
And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and while her young women walked beside the river, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.
00:10:46
Speaker
And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "'This is one of the Hebrews' children.' Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?
00:11:07
Speaker
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go So the girl went and called the child's mother, and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "'Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him.
00:11:27
Speaker
When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, because she said, "'I drew him out of the water.'" Oh Lord, speak to us this day through your word. In Jesus' name we pray.
00:11:44
Speaker
Amen. Thank You may be seated.
00:11:48
Speaker
Well, let's look briefly at this passage and let me give you what I feel were some rewards that Moses' mother must have felt that made it all worth it.
Faith as a Family Compass
00:11:59
Speaker
The first reward would be faith. The faith that's going to lead that child forward. You know, if you're looking for something that's going to help you have sort of like a compass to know which way should I point my child, the best thing you'll ever find is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:12:16
Speaker
I've heard so many testimonies of both men and women who say, you know what? What changed my life was whenever my child was born. Whenever we saw that little boy, when we saw that little girl and we looked down into their face and we thought, they're depending on me.
00:12:35
Speaker
That's when ah many people decide, you know what? I got to get my life right. I got to get right with God and I got to do it quickly. Well, thankfully, Jochebed's parents were God-centered.
00:12:47
Speaker
And you know what they did? They gave her a faith-filled name. Maybe you don't realize this because you might not have known anybody named Jochebed, but the name Jochebed means honor to God.
00:13:00
Speaker
It means glory to God. Later, this tribe that she was from, and says ah that ah now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman.
00:13:13
Speaker
Later, that tribe of Levi became like a servant to the priest, assistance to the priest, something like maybe deacons do for pastors and so forth.
00:13:25
Speaker
But in the Old Testament, there are lots of people who live for Christ that were from this tribe of Levi. For example, Eli, Ezra, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Malachi, to mention just a few of them.
00:13:39
Speaker
Even in the New Testament, I think it's interesting that some men that are really godly men live for the Lord, and they were from the tribe of Levi, like John the Baptist or Barnabas.
00:13:53
Speaker
But you know, faith in the Lord and faith in His Word, it gives a mom and dad a compass to navigate the right direction for the family. If you were to look at Hebrews chapter 11, verses 23 to 27, what it mentions is the parents of Moses.
00:14:11
Speaker
And you know, chapter 11 of Hebrews, you know what that's called. It's called the Hall of Faith. It's only like we say a hall of fame, but a hall of faith. It's all those heroes of the faith who lived it out.
00:14:25
Speaker
Well, right there is Moses' parents mentioned. See, Jochebed's heritage of faith equipped her to prepare her son.
00:14:36
Speaker
You know what her son did, right? You know how God used Moses to lead the nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to the promised land. That's just one thing. Do you know that Moses was used of the Lord to write the first five books of the Bible?
00:14:51
Speaker
How would we have the book of Exodus if the Lord had not written it through Moses? What about Genesis? How would we know that God created the heavens and the earth without that book of Genesis?
00:15:03
Speaker
So the first reward is to say, you know what I can give to my child? I can impart my faith. Maybe you'd say, I don't have silver and gold. Like, you know, Peter and John said to the man that was lame right there in front of the temple. They said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I given to you you. You can pass along that faith and that makes it worth it.
00:15:27
Speaker
But let's move to a second reward. And that is the fruit from loving, the fruit from loving. Now, it is true that children are gifts from the goodness of God.
00:15:39
Speaker
But they are the precious fruit from the sweetness of marriage. You see, Jochebed was chosen out of love. It says in this passage, Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levi woman.
00:15:56
Speaker
He chose her. You know, I think it's interesting how every the husband chooses that wife. He proposes to her and she accepts his his proposal to be married.
00:16:10
Speaker
But then out of their union, out of their love for one another, what happens? Children are born. It says the woman conceived in verse 2 and bore a son.
00:16:21
Speaker
So not only was Jochebed chosen out of love, she was embraced with love But then she bore the fruit of love. it says she bore a son.
00:16:33
Speaker
You know, sometimes we're looking for love. We're looking for joy or peace. Where can things like that be found? They're only found in Christ.
00:16:45
Speaker
You know, as a matter of fact, whenever we trust Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer. And you know what the Holy Spirit does in our lives on a daily basis, even in 2025? Yes.
00:17:00
Speaker
He bears fruit. He bears fruit. And the top of the list is love, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
00:17:11
Speaker
Those are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So when you're running out of love, you're running out of joy, it's your invitation. Go back to the Lord and say to God, please, I need you to bear the fruit of love in my life.
00:17:29
Speaker
You know, as a matter of fact, Romans 5.5 tells you where the filling station is. You do know where to fill up on love is found, right? It says in Romans 5.5, God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The Strength and Love of Mothers
00:17:46
Speaker
You know what? If you're a Christian mother, you've got that kind of love that you can pour into your child. It's a great gift. It's a great reward to be able to do that.
00:17:57
Speaker
You know, we have within us as believers this great treasure that we can entrust to our kids. You know what's better than cash? You know what's better than clothes and cars and college and castles and careers?
00:18:13
Speaker
Christ. It's Christ and his love. So put that within them and say, it's a great honor for me to share with you the love of Jesus Christ and the love of your father and I. Let's move to the third reward.
00:18:30
Speaker
This one will be hard and challenging for me to describe, but once I get into it, I think you'll you'll be moved and you'll say, yep, I've been there. It says in verse 2 that Jochebed, when she saw, when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
00:18:51
Speaker
Have ever just stopped and looked at your kids and it's like you you say, how did you grow to be so tall? How did you become so beautiful? Or you look down into their face and you're thinking, this is like a miracle in motion.
00:19:06
Speaker
It is a miracle in motion. And I think for us, one of the rewards is when you get to watch it. It's like a fascination. Jochebed paused and it says, when she saw that he was a fine child,
00:19:21
Speaker
Maybe you would think that, oh, that's just Moses talking about himself. He wrote the book of Exodus, right? No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. It's mentioned two other times in the New Testament, not in the Old Testament. After the days of Moses, do you know that Acts 7 verse 20 tells us that Moses was a beautiful in God's sight?
00:19:43
Speaker
Do you know that Hebrews 11 23 says they saw that the child was beautiful? Speaking of Moses's parents. Yeah. You ever see that beauty?
00:19:54
Speaker
The beauty of a creation that God created and placed there within your arms. Psalm 139 verses 13 and 14. King David one time was meditating upon that very fact and he thought, you know what?
00:20:07
Speaker
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Wow. You know, someone calculated and they said, you know, to to take a child from birth all the way through college in this day and time could cost as much as $250,000. Some of you are saying, that's where the money went. You know, and you're thinking, oh no.
00:20:29
Speaker
But you know what? All a mother needs to know. is to think about how worth it it is when you look into that child's face and you marvel at the work of God.
00:20:41
Speaker
You just wait until your daughter places her hand in the hand of a man at a wedding altar. You just wait until your son holds his baby in his arms.
00:20:52
Speaker
You're going to say, Lord, it is absolute blessing and an honor to watch them grow up. Let's go to the fourth reward, because I think this one is something all of us can relate to, and that is fortification for living.
00:21:09
Speaker
Have you ever heard of the term mama bear? Yeah, you don't wanna cross a mama bear. You know, Robert Frost, a poet wrote this about um a mama bear. He said, the strength of a mother bear lies in the fierce love she has for her cubs.
00:21:26
Speaker
It is a love that knows no boundaries. I'm just warning you, don't cross a mama bear. You know, life can be difficult and it can be hard. It can require of every man and every woman, every father and every mother, endurance and perseverance.
00:21:43
Speaker
But I don't know about you, but the hardest thing I've ever faced as a dad is not my suffering. but they're suffering. When you see your kids go through hard times, it will really pull on you like nothing else.
00:21:59
Speaker
It can almost feel intolerable whenever you see your own child suffering and you can't fix it. Some things we can't fix. You know, Exodus 1.22 says that Pharaoh was threatening all of the Jewish Israelite male babies.
00:22:17
Speaker
He was saying you're going to have to throw them in the river and let let them drown. But you know what? Because she had such a deep faith, Jochebed and her husband Amram, Moses' his parents,
00:22:31
Speaker
In Hebrews 11, 23, it says, they were not afraid of the king's edict. And so they were like, you know what? I don't care. I don't care what they're going to say. What is it that is strong enough to throw out fear?
00:22:47
Speaker
For every mom that's standing here, I think she knows. You know, don't you? 1 John verse tells us what is stronger love Perfect love, perfect love casts out fear.
00:23:04
Speaker
You know what this mama did? It says that she took a basket. I think it's kind of unfortunate that it's translated in English basket because in the original Hebrew, it's the word tabah.
Jochebed's Faithful Acts
00:23:17
Speaker
Tabah, what is a tabah? Well, tabah is only used two different occasions in the Bible. One is this basket right here. You know where the other one is?
00:23:29
Speaker
The ark, the ark that Noah built, the ark that Noah made sure that his family was safe in, the ark that he made sure that it was safe whenever the floods came for all the animals to be rescued.
00:23:45
Speaker
She made little miniature ark for her child. She was like, I'm not going to give in to this whole edict of killing my child.
00:23:58
Speaker
Don't you find it ironic that in a way she was obeying the order to place her child in the Nile River, but it's like, I'm gonna take good care of him when I place him in there. Wow.
00:24:11
Speaker
You know, the American Christian instructor wrote this in April of 1836. It was an article by a pastor named George W. Bethune of Philadelphia.
00:24:26
Speaker
Have you ever heard anybody say this? The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Have you ever thought, where'd that ever come from? 1836, a pastor in Philadelphia wrote this, and it was published in the American Christian Instructor.
00:24:43
Speaker
And I quote, it has long been acknowledged that female influence has controlled the world. whether for good or evil.
00:24:55
Speaker
It may be said with great truth and certainty that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. And who would wish the scepter taken from that hand?
00:25:10
Speaker
There's any hand that we can say, thank you, God, for that hand of gentleness, that hand of love that rocked my cradle. It would be our mom. But let me move to the fifth reward.
00:25:23
Speaker
This one is our own discipleship, Jochebed's discipleship, her own following of the Lord and doing what he said. Not only did she do what she was supposed to, but you're going to see as I unpack verses four through eight that others were listening that day.
00:25:40
Speaker
Do you follow by listening? I think for you to obey God is the greatest gift you could give to your children. Perhaps one of the others that I would put right up there is loving your husband.
00:25:52
Speaker
To love your husband, to love the Lord, to listen to what the Lord is saying. These are the great things that make a great life. But Exodus 2, 1 through 10 is a beautiful portrait, I believe, of two things.
00:26:09
Speaker
One is it's a beautiful portrait of the diligent use of means. What could she do? i mean, Jochebed was trapped, right? But she did what she could.
00:26:21
Speaker
But then it's also a beautiful portrait of the quiet trust in the providence of God. So it's in like one little setting in Hebrews 2, 1 through 10, you see two things, human responsibility and divine sovereignty.
00:26:38
Speaker
Okay. But how did it all get started? Well, I'll tell you how that works. look Look at her example. Don't look at me. You can look at her example. For example, look at verse 4. Verse 4 tells me of the silent observation.
00:26:53
Speaker
If you're going to listen to what God is saying, you're going to have to look in his word and observe what he said. What does it say that she did, Miriam? It says that Moses' sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
00:27:11
Speaker
I know, Mom, you wish that you could protect your kid. I know that you wish you could guide them all their life to make all the right decisions. But in some ways, you know what you're going to do?
00:27:22
Speaker
Stand at a distance. But when you stand at a distance, what you're trying to observe and look for is God. God at work. And God was at work. Notice verse 5, the sovereign operation.
00:27:35
Speaker
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. This is a Romans 8 28 moment. Romans 8 28 if you're not familiar with it says, for God causes all things to work together for good. God doesn't cause all things, but God causes all of the things that happen to us in life to work together for good to those who are loved and called according to his purpose.
00:28:00
Speaker
But isn't it amazing? Don't you find it amazing? That at just the right time, the right person came down to the right place at the Nile River. I wonder how long the Nile River is And yet the daughter of Pharaoh comes down to the Nile River at that moment.
00:28:22
Speaker
I wonder how long, how many seconds was it when Moses' is little ark, Moses' little basket floated by that spot where she found him. I bet it wasn't long, but just think, she found him and God set it up. It was a sovereign operation, but notice the sentimental orientation. It says, she took pity on him.
00:28:47
Speaker
Now think about that rationally. Think about that from just intellectual, you know, thinking, okay, what in the world? Why would she disobey her father's order?
00:28:58
Speaker
Because the Pharaoh of Egypt said, kill all the Jewish baby boys. And so here comes a Jewish baby boy in a basket and the daughter of Pharaoh finds it.
00:29:09
Speaker
And what does she do? Man, how could that happen? I'll tell you how that can happen. Proverbs 21.1 says, the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord, and he will turn it wherever he will.
00:29:26
Speaker
Well, that's a good word for every mother to remember. Don't forget to trust in the control, the sovereign control of God. Ephesians 1.11 says, according to the purpose of him who works God.
00:29:39
Speaker
all things according to the counsel of his will so that we might be to the praise of his glory. Notice that synchronized orchestration.
Divine Intervention in Moses' Life
00:29:52
Speaker
Whenever at that moment, at that very moment, whenever the the little basket is discovered, what happens? Miriam steps up. What if Miriam had not stepped up?
00:30:04
Speaker
Miriam was Moses' older sister. And what if she had not stepped up, but she did step up? And this is all a part of God's working and how he works.
00:30:16
Speaker
And what her question was to the daughter of Pharaoh, shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you? Keep in mind, would you, that Miriam's only 11, 12, 13 years of age at this time.
00:30:33
Speaker
But once again, we see the importance of human participation. I wonder if Jochebed had said to Miriam, I want you to go and I want you to watch and see. Don't let Moses get out of your sight. So don't you know she was walking along that riverbank and trying to make sure But then notice the sacred occupation.
00:30:55
Speaker
As Pharaoh's daughter said to her, said to Miriam, Yeah, that's a good idea, that's a good idea little girl. You go So the girl went and called the child's mother.
00:31:06
Speaker
Now think about this just for a moment. It's almost amusing, isn't it? When you think about, okay... So Pharaoh's edict was to kill all the Hebrew baby boys.
00:31:18
Speaker
But here, God brings Moses into Pharaoh's house. And God has and the Pharaoh of Egypt yeah egypt paying Jochebed to take care of the little baby boy. And I think to myself, wow.
00:31:35
Speaker
No wonder the angel told another mother, Mary, whenever Jesus was miraculously born, he said in Luke 137, nothing will be impossible with God.
00:31:47
Speaker
So do you remember what Mary said whenever the angel told her that and reminded her of that? She said, let it be to me. according to your word.
00:31:57
Speaker
I think that's what every mother ought to say. The greatest gift I could give my child is to say, let it be to me according to your word. What a great reward to live out the Christian life in front of your children.
00:32:12
Speaker
Reward number six, let's move to verse nine. The facilitator of the learning. You know, I'll never forget when it dawned on me what ah What a blessing that I had that my wife Jody was teaching Elisa and then taught Abby how to read.
00:32:32
Speaker
do you realize what that one that one thing we do? If there's nothing else we do to teach them how to read. you It's like you hand them a map that they can follow their dreams wherever God wants them to go.
00:32:48
Speaker
They can follow that and do that because they can read. But what if they can't read? Think about what that would mean. But whenever I remember sitting down at the on the couch with them, and I would read to them the stories, but there came a point where Elisa and then later Abby would say, I can read it, Daddy.
00:33:11
Speaker
It's like, here, you read tonight. And they would read I'm telling it's a miracle in motion. But you know, unexpectedly, Jochebed was given this additional time to impact and to instruct her son Do you know that even the scientists who study family life, childhood development research confirms this, that the internal gears, the internal gears of your child's emotional well-being, your child's future social networking framework, and the internal gears of your child's moral development, it's all in place by the time they're four years of age.
00:33:55
Speaker
All I'm saying is how important it was that Moses' mom was there for this critical time in his life. I believe that Moses' mother, she knew she was gonna have to let him go eventually.
00:34:07
Speaker
So will you, mom. You know what she she did? She held him. She held Moses. She hugged Moses. She loved Moses. She prayed over Moses. She led Moses. She talked to Moses. She taught Moses. She corrected Moses. She provided for Moses. She fed him and she washed him.
00:34:25
Speaker
I wonder if she ever talked to him real sweetly and said to little baby Moses, God made you Moses. He loves you Moses. He has a plan for you Moses.
00:34:39
Speaker
Man, while the king's treasury is paying to defy the king's order, the king's grandson is learning about the one who rules over every king and over every ruler, every lord.
00:34:52
Speaker
One last reward that I think every mom in this place has. It's the focus on lifting. What do I mean by that? Well, I mean the same thing that happened to Jochebed in verse 10.
00:35:06
Speaker
You see, we have to accept the fact that our life is nothing more than a launch pad.
Parents as Launch Pads
00:35:14
Speaker
we We're just a launch pad to where our kids can follow what God has for them to do.
00:35:21
Speaker
Our life will not last forever. And so we say, Lord, please use me to get them ready, to get them ready, because one day they will take off in the direction that you have for them.
00:35:32
Speaker
believe that's why in Luke 2, verse 22, Joseph and Mary, remember what they did? Jesus was only eight days old. They took him into the temple. And what does it say they did?
00:35:44
Speaker
It says, they took him in there, this is a quote, to present him to the Lord. That's why I love baby dedications. It doesn't save the baby, but it certainly says a lot in the parents when they say, you know what?
00:35:58
Speaker
I want my baby to grow up to know Jesus. I want my baby someday to trust Jesus Christ. I want my baby to follow him. i need the Lord's protection over my baby.
00:36:09
Speaker
Another mother named Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in 1 Samuel 1, 28, it says, she said, I have lent Samuel to the Lord as long as he lives, he's lent to the Lord.
00:36:24
Speaker
You know, we're really learning it all along, aren't we? I'm glad God does it to us slowly. The first time, perhaps, maybe you said, you know what? We haven't gone out on a date in a long time.
00:36:35
Speaker
So maybe dad and mom go out on a date and they drop their child off at the babysitter. And it's like, it's kind of hard, you know, when you leave them with somebody else. And then you go out on the date and what do you talk about? Wait, did you see what the kids did this week? You know, it's like they're still there, you know, and even.
00:36:52
Speaker
but anyway, but then you drop them off at the church nursery. But then you take them to grandparents. It's okay. Just leave them for the weekend. We'll take care them for the weekend. Just make sure you're here on Sunday afternoon. I'm not kidding. I'm just kidding about that part.
00:37:06
Speaker
But then you take them to school, right? But then you take them to baseball practice. And you you say, okay, I'll be back. What time y'all? Okay, be be done at four, be done at five.
00:37:18
Speaker
I'll be back. And so you take them and you're wondering, how's he doing? How's how's she doing? But then you take them to college. That's a tough one, isn't it? Have you been there yet? in your You'll get there one day in the seasoning whenever they go to be trained for what it is they're going to do in life.
00:37:35
Speaker
And there comes a day when you stand at a wedding altar with them and they say, who gives this woman to be married to this man? I say, her mother and I. It's preparation.
00:37:49
Speaker
You know, why not go ahead right now, whatever stage you're in and say Romans 12, one tells me that i should I should present my body as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is my spiritual service of worship.
00:38:04
Speaker
So why not say, okay, today, Lord, I'm not gonna just present my body. I'm going to present my baby. I'm going to present my child. My child is now a grown man a grown woman, but I'm still going to present them to you, that they might be a sacrifice unto you.
00:38:22
Speaker
There's so many songs that I could mention, songs that just mess me up on the inside. I get a lump in my throat. Long time ago, there was one by a man named Wayne Watson who sang a song of parenting. And he said, you know, there's these watercolor ponies, pictures of them on my fridge. And he said, one day they're going to ride away. And I'm thinking, wait a second, dude, you just slipped one in on me there. It's like he gave me ah a right hook, you know, when I wasn't expecting it.
00:38:51
Speaker
That same dude wrote another song called Somewhere in the World Today. Talks about a praise for the spouse, for his son. Praise for the spouse, for his daughter. Tim McGraw's little song, of My Little Girl. Man, don't even listen to that thing if you're not prepared. You got to get yourself prayed up before you listen to that thing. Or Heartland singing, I loved her first. That's ah that's definitely, stay away from it.
00:39:17
Speaker
The conclusion would have to be the last words about Moses' mom and dad in the Bible. This is where i bring this plane in for a landing.
00:39:30
Speaker
Jochebed steps off the biblical stage, and I just wonder if when she steps off the biblical stage, if God would say, What do I owe you? What owe you?
00:39:41
Speaker
for raising Moses. He turned out to be a good one. Thank you so much for all that you did. And I wonder if Jochebed, based on Hebrews 11, 23 to 26, would have said something like this, Lord, you know what? You don't owe me anything.
00:40:00
Speaker
Just seeing the beauty of his life and the loyalty of his love for you is more than I deserve. Like you did with my salvation, you paid it all already.
00:40:12
Speaker
All I want to say is thank you, Jesus, for the privilege, for the reward.
00:40:19
Speaker
You know, many, many years ago, this is before my time, okay? There was a guy named Jimmy Dean.
00:40:28
Speaker
Jimmy D sings a song, and don't listen this song, it'll mess you up too. But it's a song that's an IOU. And he says that down in his wallet, he's got a little little slip of paper, and it's an IOU.
00:40:44
Speaker
He said, I wrote this IOU to remind me of how much I owe my mama. He said, in the song, he says, you know, I owe you for being a night watchman. I owe you for being a short order cook.
00:40:57
Speaker
I owe you for all the washing and cleaning and ironing that you did for me. I owe you for being my bodyguard. I owe you for nursing me and being ah giving me medical attention. i owe you for veterinarian services. And he talks about, you know, you know doing surgery on a parakeet and all this kind of stuff. But anyway, entertainment.
00:41:18
Speaker
He said, I owe you. owe you for the construction work. I owe you for investing in my life. And at the end, he says that his mom would have said, you know what? You don't owe me anything, Jimmy.
00:41:31
Speaker
It's been paid in full. All I ever wanted was for you to say, I love you, mom. You know, that's kind of like Jesus, I wonder. That's like God, the God who made you, every one of you in this room.
God's Love and Invitation to Follow Christ
00:41:45
Speaker
He sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins. He was placed in a tomb, but because he had lived a perfect life, the father said, he doesn't deserve death.
00:41:57
Speaker
He deserves life. he raised Jesus from the dead. And he offers through his shed blood to forgive you and wash you of all sins and to give you a place in his home someday.
00:42:12
Speaker
And you know what he wants? All he wants is for you to say, I love you, Lord. ah love you. i thank you. out of love, I want to respond and obey you for the rest of my life to my very last breath.
00:42:27
Speaker
So today we're going give an invitation. And if anybody's here today and you haven't trusted Jesus Christ yet, you haven't come to that place where you realize, man, I thought I was supposed to do some great thing for him.
00:42:39
Speaker
And my life is too messed up to do some great thing for God. I'll never measure up. He's not asking you to measure up. He's asking you to lift up, lift up your life.
00:42:53
Speaker
Come to him and say, Lord, I'm so messed up, but I want to come to you and ask you please, would you forgive me of my sins? And he's going to say, i paid the price on the cross for your sins.
00:43:09
Speaker
Mom, i hope that you know that we're praying with you. If you have children or grandchildren who still have never trusted Christ, we're praying with you. I know it's hard whenever they don't follow you. Or maybe you're here and you're a son or a daughter or a grandchild and you're saying, you know, i wish my mama lived for Jesus or I wish my grandmother grandmother lived for Jesus.
00:43:32
Speaker
We'll pray for you too. But anyway, why don't we stand and let's give those who are here an opportunity to respond to the invitation to trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Lord, thank you so much for passages like this. We could have looked at Hannah.
00:43:50
Speaker
We could have looked at Mary. We could have looked at Elizabeth. We could have looked at Naomi. There's so many other great ones, Eunice and Lois and so forth.
00:44:01
Speaker
But today we looked at Jochebed. And so somehow I pray that, Lord, since I i gave them the message you gave to me, i pray that now you would draw them into yourself.
00:44:12
Speaker
Let those who need Christ know that this is the time. That, Lord, david they don't owe you their works for all that you did. You did all the perfect work on the cross.
00:44:27
Speaker
What they owe you is to say, I'm sorry for my sins. I want to follow Jesus Christ. I want to thank you for dying on the cross for me. I want to follow you until the last day of my life. So bless this time of invitation in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:44:49
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.