[0:00] If you have a tendency to grab a piece of scripture and read it apart from its surrounding passages, our text this morning may not carry the idea of a mother's love.
[0:16] It may instead feel somewhat like an attempted abandonment. It may look like a stroke of luck if you believe in such as that. It may look like a fairy tale.
[0:28] But in reality, it's a wonderful account of the early days of one of God's mighty men that was preserved in a trying time to lead a people to the God of promise.
[0:41] Our passage today would not appear to be an example of a mother's love, but man is it. It's in Exodus chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, and it says this.
[0:54] Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his 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.
[1:07] When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and dabbed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds of the riverbed.
[1:23] 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 while her young women walked beside the river.
[1:35] She saw the baskets among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. But when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying.
[1:47] She took pity on him and said, this is one of 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?
[2:01] 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'll give you your wages.
[2:13] So the woman took the child and nursed him, and 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.
[2:26] Now what would appear to look like abandonment is really quite the opposite. Because this passage speaks of the time when the Hebrew people were slaves to Egypt.
[2:38] And Egypt were attempting to kill any Hebrew boys that were born in order to stifle the growth of their slaves, afraid that that slave body would get so large that it would overtake the Egyptians.
[2:53] So they were instructed that if a boy was killed to be killed upon, if a boy was born to be killed upon the spot.
[3:04] That is awful. When we think about that, it shocks us to read such as that. I want to be clear. We should be even more shocked that a civilized, free country that's been built on the faith of the Judeo-Christian faith, like the United States, is battling over right now the same thing for many children.
[3:35] They're just making sure they do it while the child is in its mother. It's called abortion. Not only is it allowed, but it's fought for and celebrated as the power the woman has over her own body.
[3:48] And I just want you to watch the rage that is taking place in our country right now over Roe and Casey and the possibility, the hinting of it being overturned in an unprecedented leak to stir the pot in a hopes to change the direction that the Supreme Court takes.
[4:11] Folks, lost folks are bloodthirsty to kill the ruling just as bloodthirsty as they are to kill the babies. And the whole time they speak of the rights of women over their body, but actually it's the body of the child that has to be discarded afterwards or maybe saved for research.
[4:30] What a shame. And I want you to know this morning that God hears the cries of an aborted child. Thankfully, the faith of Hebrew midwives came in.
[4:43] And they were often called on. And when they were called on, they would save these little lives of these little boys. When Hebrew boys were still being born after that, Pharaoh changed his instructions.
[4:55] Instead of killing them on the spot, he said, throw all newborn Hebrew boys in the Nile River. He wanted them to be drowned immediately upon birth.
[5:08] And that's why Moses' mother did what she did. Because when we look at this passage today, Moses' mother, Jochebed, responded to that demand and the way she responded.
[5:21] When you really dissect it and look at it, it's pretty powerful. She responded, one, with a godly mother's love that protects. Instead of just throwing them in the water, she carefully prepared a papyrus basket by coating it with tar to allow it to float.
[5:41] Then she strategically placed it, the basket in the reeds of the river, securing it from floating away. Why? Because that's the care and the protection of a mother.
[5:52] That basket was a safe abode from water. That basket was safe from animals. Because why? Because there was a watchful eye watching that basket with that boy in those reeds. He was strategically placed in those reeds so that he would not float away.
[6:08] He was strategically placed so Pharaoh's daughter, who often came down to the river to bathe, would find him and save him. That's the watchful eye of a mother. See, a godly mother seals off her child from the whims of the world and of the devil.
[6:23] And by training that child properly and by allowing him or her to build friendships with fellow Christians by faithful church attendance and activity. Please don't underestimate the strength that it is when your children at an early age find friends within the church, begin to build relationships with those who know how they ought to live.
[6:47] Those who can strengthen one another. It's a godly mother that sets rules and regulations not to oppress a child, but to protect that child. We live in a day when parenting is a lot more lax than when I was a child.
[7:00] I can't remember ever feeling lorded over by my mother and dad. I never sensed that. I never felt like I was in a strict home. I didn't get everything I wanted.
[7:12] I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do. But I knew when I was to be at home, and I knew that when I rounded that bend on the way home, that I'd see a light on beside my mother's bed as she waited for me to get home.
[7:26] And not only did I know that my mother and dad would be there and would love and protect me, but I knew when I did something stupid, I'd have to face them when I got home.
[7:38] You know? It made a difference. And I promise you, parents, in the midst of the struggle of raising children, it still does make a difference.
[7:49] We live in a day when what you do on Sunday is a harder choice than it used to be. I mean, there's a lot of options out there for you to do.
[8:00] A lot of things take you away from church. Sunday's one of the busiest days with all kinds of activities that involve your childhood. And there's pressure there to be a part of that. And I well know that.
[8:12] That pressure is tough as you watch the trends of others. That's why I think it's so important that you're going to have to decide what you and your family does on Sunday.
[8:24] How big a priority is it to you? Are you going to follow the trends of the world? Are you going to follow what God tells us to do according to his will and his word? What's most important?
[8:37] And listen, church, when they bring those children to this church, when they make those decisions to bring up those children in love and admonition of the Lord and to bring it under the umbrella of this church, how important it is that the volunteers are there for Vacation Bible School.
[8:53] Let me just say there's a sign up in the lobby out there. How important it is to be a part of that, to have Children's Church and Awana and all those other things that take place and any opportunities that we have to nurture them, to love on them, to lead them to Christ.
[9:15] How important it is when you see those children to speak to them, to love on them, to let them know this is home. This is where they want to be.
[9:27] I grew up in a home where I desired to go to church. I was going to be there whether I liked it or not, but I wanted to be at church and I enjoy being at church. I've always been like that because I was raised that way to be taught that.
[9:39] Whether it's a papyrus basket lined with tar or whether it's a nightstand light that's on or whether it's a bold decision to faithfully follow Jesus, a godly mother's love protects.
[9:57] But not only that, but a godly mother's love also prepares because if you gave your child everything that he or she wanted, you would absolutely ruin them.
[10:11] Not only would you spoil him, but you'd lead her down a road of false expectations that the world's just going to hand it to him. I promise you, Moses didn't care to be left in that river.
[10:24] I bet that baby wasn't happy. I bet they heard him crying as he laid in that basket. But Moses' mother knew what he needed and that was important. It was more important than what he wanted.
[10:39] At some point, you got to let your children go. You know it's coming and they may not understand that. And when you know that that's coming in the future, you need to prepare them for that.
[10:52] Do now, if you have children in your home, do now what you cannot do later. Discipline your child is never fun, but it is necessary. And so do it now while you have the opportunity.
[11:06] You don't hold them back from getting the proper medical care that they need because they don't like it, because they don't like going to the doctor or they don't like shots or the medicine tastes nasty.
[11:16] No, no, no. You take care of them. You do that. It's necessary. And so you do it. Saying no is not easy or fun. It's necessary.
[11:27] So you do it. Reading the Word of God and praying together is not easy. And man, on some days it feels absolutely impossible, but do it now while you have opportunity.
[11:38] You may have a child that will be an adult soon. So do it now. They won't look to tomorrow.
[11:50] They're worried about the now. You look to tomorrow. You prepare them for tomorrow. Do it now. Because a godly mother's love protects.
[12:02] It prepares. But not only that, it also provides. Jochebed had a strategic plan here to nurse and to raise Moses.
[12:15] When he was under the protection of Pharaoh's home. That is sophisticated and daring. And she did it because she loved her child.
[12:27] The nursing of a mother is part of that provision of a child. And godly parents know that they must do that, do without at times because their child will need to have something.
[12:38] And it takes sacrifice to spend time with your child. But you've got to make that choice. There's a lot of babysitting substitutes for children these days. They're not all good.
[12:49] You can turn on the TV and you can text and you can allow them on the internet. Give them a remote and let them have at it if you want to. Give them an iPad with no limits.
[13:00] Or you can choose to raise your kids right. A parent has to decide that. We provide what they need while we have opportunity. Now what do they need? What do we provide? We provide our attention.
[13:13] We give them our attention. Small child, that may be a storybook at night. As they get older, it may be a kitchen lesson along the way. As they get even older, it may be a listening ear.
[13:25] Just hearing them out. Seeing how you can help. Tell you what else we give them. We ought to give them some laughter. You need a sense of humor. I promise you.
[13:37] If you don't laugh in this world, you will cry. So you might as well laugh. And you ought to have a willingness to be silly and to see them laugh and have fun with them. They need our time.
[13:49] We need to provide our time. Do things with them. We need to provide our creativity. There's a lot to grab their attention. It's worth the effort to work hard to entertain them ourselves. You need to provide our resources.
[14:02] Children are not secondary. They're a priority in our lives. And although Jochebed had unique arrangements, while she could, she provided for her child.
[14:15] I'm thankful that God provided for her and took care of her and took care of him and used him to be that great deliverer that he would use as he grew older.
[14:26] All because a godly mother protected and prepared and provided. But not only that, but lastly, a godly mother's love promises. There comes a time when you have to give your child to the Lord.
[14:41] When you've done all that you can in raising that child in the love and the admonition of the Lord. One of the most difficult parts of this move for my family as we drew near to this day, as I began to see God begin to unravel and open to me what his will was going to be for us.
[15:03] As I began to see that, one of the great difficult parts of this was knowing that Abby was going to stay in Mississippi and was going to start her career.
[15:15] There's a great chance that she was going to raise a family that far away. I'm telling you, I mean, I, we're a tight-knit family.
[15:28] Abby commuted to school and she will tell you that that helped contribute to her academic success, which she had it, thank God. People often tell me, and I get a little defensive about it, well, you're going home.
[15:44] You're going back home. I want to be clear about something. Home in my life is what God's will is. If I didn't do what the Lord's will was, I'd be not at home.
[15:55] But as long as I follow the will of the Lord, I am at home, thank God. And I rest in that. And so I entrust my family to him and I trust that he'll take care of them. Because when you follow God's will, hear me, when you follow God's will, you trust him.
[16:12] Well, you trust him for a home, by the way. Are y'all praying about that? You need to be. You trust him for a home. You trust him with your kids.
[16:23] And you walk with the Lord. You trust his heart when you can't see his hand. And listen, friend, Proverbs 22, verse 6 says, train up a child in the way he should go and when he's old, he will not depart from it.
[16:41] Does that mean there won't be detours along the way? There will be. Does that mean you have to be perfect along the way? Man, I hope not. We're all in trouble if that's the case. And I'm going to tell you, I want to be clear about this.
[16:54] It's not a guarantee they won't go astray. It's a proverb, not a promise. It is, however, easier to steer your course when you've guided them in the right direction.
[17:05] When you've shown them consistently what is right. how children, how a child is brought up will make a world of difference in what she values when she gets older. So make a difference while you can.
[17:19] And once you bring a child up, there's little more that you can do so seize the day. You've got to fully trust the Lord in that matter. Was it easy for Moses' mother?
[17:31] By no means. Was it a step and a trait of faith? You know it was. Because the love of a godly mother is interesting.
[17:43] The love of a godly mother is not primarily based on her love for her child. The love of a godly mother is primarily based on her love for the Lord.
[17:55] The greatest love in that mother's life is God. And in order for you to have the love of a godly mother for your child, you've got to have a more intense love for the Lord.
[18:06] And the greatest way that you can love your child is through your love for the Lord. So if you love God and that flows into every avenue of your life, you are loving your child as much as you possibly can.
[18:20] And the greatest expression of that love that you can ever show for your child is a pattern of love for God. Tell them they're not the top priority.
[18:33] Tell them God's the top priority and you'll follow His will and His way to love your child more pursue God.
[18:45] You know what's going to happen when you do? You're going to grow, your child's going to witness you growing, and your child's going to grow a love for God just like Mama showed him or her.
[19:02] Thank God for godly mothers. Let's pray together. I realize as we come together today that there may be folks here who have never given their heart to the Lord Jesus.
[19:19] I don't want us to ever have an opportunity where we don't invite you to come to the Lord Jesus. and if He's spoken to your heart and life today, you realize that you've got sin that separates you from God and you need God to forgive you and to save you and to change you.
[19:35] I want you to know when we stand and sing in just a moment, we do that primarily to give you the opportunity to come to Christ. When you walk this aisle, we'll be happy to guide you in what that means. Maybe God's leading you to make a private decision public.
[19:50] You've never done that through baptism. You've given your heart and life to the Lord, but you never followed Him through baptism. Maybe you have a desire to remember this church, want to be a part of it.
[20:01] You come. Let us guide you in that process and show you what that means here at Pickens First. Heavenly Father, I love you and I thank you for the love that you have for us.
[20:12] And I ask, dear God, that whatever you choose to do in our hearts and lives today, God, will your Holy Spirit just give us the courage and the wisdom and the boldness to be obedient in the way in which you lead us.
[20:28] We love you dearly and we thank you for this time right now. Oh God, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Stand up. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.