[0:00] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to the book of Exodus now, Exodus chapter 2. I was just sitting there thinking about what do you say about mothers, and I really don't know what you say about mothers.
[0:11] I don't think there are any words that can sum up what a mother is and what she's done and who she is. When our oldest daughter had her first child, I think it was, he was very sick, and she had been up all night long taking care of him, and she called her mother and said, I think this is the first time I've ever understood how much you love me, because I know how I feel about my child.
[0:39] And, of course, that is how a mom feels, and so I thank you, ladies. You know, I don't think enough is made of what you are and what you do, and we just thank God for you.
[0:49] If you agree with that, say amen. And if you don't agree with that, she will whip you when you get home. All right. I think your Bible is going to go to Exodus chapter 2. In Exodus chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, just for the fun of it, when you do your Bible study, check out the number of hers, she's.
[1:06] It's all women. All women. I mean, Moses is in this story, but barely. And it's all about the girls. It's about Pharaoh's daughter.
[1:17] She's in there. And Moses' sister's in there. And Moses' mom's in there. And Moses' dad, I don't know where that guy was. He's out making bricks somewhere to build a pyramid, I guess.
[1:29] And so it is a lady-filled 10 verses. I don't know. I guess you know. I'm certain you know. I guess that they've been in captivity for 400 years.
[1:41] It wasn't captivity in the very beginning. It was a place that rescued them. They had come out of the land of Israel, and they'd gone to Egypt. And while they were in Egypt, there had been a famine going on.
[1:52] And so when they got there, things were good. And they were given a special part of the land, the land of Goshen. And they were shepherds. And Egyptians didn't like shepherds.
[2:02] And so it worked out real good. They were separated from them. And things had gone well. And then the Pharaoh that knew Joseph died. And when he died, the politics started changing. And then all of a sudden, everybody got really afraid of the Jews.
[2:16] They were living in their country, and they were multiplying too quickly. And so they began to put harsh, forced labor on them. Then they began killing their children. They began killing their children.
[2:27] Any boy baby born was doomed to die. And that's the setting of when you arrive at Exodus chapter 2. And you're going to meet a very godly lady who is going to have in mind, I have to save my child's life.
[2:41] I have to save my child's life. And she will risk everything to save her child's life. But in her doing what she knew God wanted her to do, God steps in and shows his power in wonderful ways.
[2:54] God does a miracle. And he provides even the finances to raise Moses right. It is a wonderful and a beautiful story. There are seven things I hope you'll write down out of this passage of Scripture.
[3:07] Read with me, if you would, Exodus chapter 2, verse 1. Exodus chapter 2 and verse 1. A mother of great godly children needs a right relationship with God. First word, relationship.
[3:17] You need the right relationship with God. In Exodus chapter 2 and verse 1, there went a man of the house of Levi, and he took to wife a daughter of Levi. Now the real important thing in this passage of Scripture for when you're studying the Bible is that they needed this tribe of Levi.
[3:35] And that goes a long time back. And so they needed to establish who Moses was going to be, that he could be the leader. But in the story today, since we're looking at the mama, she comes out of a good group of people.
[3:49] She has godly people, the tribe of Levi, God's servants. And when she, she's been raised in an environment that believes in and trusts and serves God.
[4:03] And in Exodus chapter 2 and verse 2, she knows God has a plan for her child's life. And she's going to risk everything to fulfill that plan. Look if you would at chapter 2 and verse 2.
[4:14] The woman conceived and bare a son, and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. Now if you've got your Bible open, you might underline goodly child. All that means is he was good looking.
[4:27] But every mama thinks her baby is good looking. Amen. You know, some of us, when we see your child, and you're like, do you see how beautiful my kid is? We're like, beautiful, really?
[4:40] Beautiful. My parents told me that I was totally unexpected, unplanned for, and unwanted. And my dad was kind enough to tell me also, you was the ugliest baby we ever saw.
[4:52] But beautiful babies grow up to be ugly like you, and ugly babies grow up to be handsome like me. Amen. He was a goodly child. You know, she looked at her kid, she said, I believe God wants to do something with my kid.
[5:03] I think every mom ought to think that. She looked at her kid and said, I just can't let them put this kid to death. I can't let them kill him like they want to kill everybody. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23, by faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
[5:22] They knew God. You can underline by faith in Hebrews chapter 11. They knew God, and by faith they believed God was going to do something with their child that was about to be born.
[5:33] They believed. As soon as that baby's born, they looked at that baby and said, this baby's got, God's got plans. God's going to do something special. I don't know how. Number one, you can't be a good mama. You can't be a good daddy if you don't know Jesus.
[5:46] You can provide a wholesome environment, and you can provide education, and you can provide clothing, but you can't provide for the most important thing, and that's eternity. And you need to know Jesus so your kids can come to know Jesus.
[6:00] You need to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. This mom was willing to sacrifice herself for the future of her children. You can't save your kids. No mother can guarantee the salvation of her children.
[6:13] They used to come to me in Peru when I was a missionary in Peru. I've actually had it happen at this church even. Somebody would come to me and say, we want to make sure our kids are okay. We want to get them saved. We want to get them baptized.
[6:23] We want to get them in the church, but you can't do that. Every person is going to have to make a decision on their own to realize, I have sinned against the holy God. I deserve God's judgment and punishment, but I want to place my faith and trust in Christ.
[6:38] You can't make them get saved, but you can put them and raise them in an environment where they know about Jesus. In my Sunday school class today, we were mixed with Robert Canfield's class and the bridge builders.
[6:52] He talked about how he's concerned about his daughter's salvation, how he's always talking to them about that. You raise them like that, they're very likely to come to know Jesus as their Savior.
[7:02] You can provide the environment and the training, but they'll have to trust Jesus. You can make your home a school of faith. Is your home a school of faith? The first word, relationship.
[7:14] I would stop right there. I need you to understand something. This mother relationship is a wonderful thing. My wife's got four children. My wife's got 21 grandkids.
[7:27] She's a great lady, and she's got a great family. Can I just say to you, the most important relationship she's got on this planet is not a relationship with her children. It's not a relationship with her grandkids.
[7:38] It's not a relationship with me. She needs to know Jesus as her Savior. That's the most important decision anybody can make. And if you're here, if you're here in the sound of my voice and you can hear what's going on here, the God of heaven wants you saved.
[7:53] He wants you to know he loves you. He wants you to know he died for you. He wants you to know your sins can be forgiven. He cares about you. You can be saved. He died for you on the cross of Calvary.
[8:04] The second word I want you to write down somewhere is she refuses. A mother of great godly children refuses to accept the world's opinion about her children. A mother of great godly children refuses to accept the world's opinion about her children.
[8:22] Exodus chapter 2 and verse 2 again. And the woman conceived and bare a son. Now, can I just tell you that was the wrong thing to be doing at that time? I mean, you should have been saying the world is too wicked to have children.
[8:36] You should have been saying it's too dangerous a world to bring my child up in. That's what the world would have you think. It's too dangerous. But they wanted children. They realized that God might have a plan for their child.
[8:50] That's why by faith they hid their child for three months. They didn't find children to be a nuisance, but a blessing. They saw their child as proper, goodly, handsome, and beautiful.
[9:02] She thought his life had value and was worth living, even if it was at great risk and great cost to her. You live in a world, you know, today being a mama is not the best thing to do.
[9:14] Because you can't get ahead financially. Because children are a drag on your finances, a drag on your family. And our world may not like you being a mama, but God does.
[9:29] And he says children are a heritage of the Lord. Amen. This lady refused to accept what the world said. I always find it interesting. Now that I'm like one of the oldest people in this room.
[9:40] When Chris was born, people criticized us. And our oldest son, who's 43, was born. They criticized us for bringing him into such a horrible world.
[9:51] That means most of y'all wouldn't have got here either. Huh? They criticized us. People, even people at church sometimes said, what are you doing having children in these indecisive, horrible, dangerous days?
[10:03] I wanted a child. Betty was pregnant. We didn't have the money. There was probably a way to find out what the gender of your child was before it was born. But we didn't have the money to do any of that.
[10:14] So all we did was pray. But I begged God for children that would serve God and children that would be used of him. I want to refuse what the world thinks about children. If you're a mama in this room, praise Jesus for you.
[10:28] You have the most noble and highest profession a lady can have on the planet. To be the president of the United States and not have children would be a massive step down. Being a mama is a great thing.
[10:40] You ought to thank God for that. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23. The parents together wanted to raise children. The Bible says in Hebrews 11, 23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months.
[10:51] And his parents, they saw he was a proper child. And they weren't afraid. They saw the value in being a parent. They saw the value in being a parent.
[11:02] And you need to understand, being a parent, children are a loan gift from God. If I had my choice, more than being a pastor, more than being a missionary, I'd like to have children that grow up and love Jesus and serve him.
[11:20] And you're going to have more children that love and serve Jesus. That's the highest praise a man could get. Could you say amen right there? We refuse to accept the world's opinion of being parents.
[11:33] We refuse to accept the world's opinion of raising children. We refuse to accept it. The next thing I want you to write down, I can write down the word resist. A mother of great godly children resists the world's opinion about how to raise the children.
[11:49] We refuse to accept it, but then we resist the way they want us to raise them. Back in Exodus chapter 2 and verse 2 again, The woman conceived and bear a son. And when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
[12:01] The world wanted her child dead. And she refused to accept that opinion. Abortion is not a means of birth control.
[12:13] Not value in a human life. That's the opposite of what's going on here. They're having post-birth abortions. Kind of like New York. These parents said, boy, having a kid in the most dangerous times ever is worth it.
[12:31] And the world would take your kid once it's born. They don't want you to have a kid. They do not want you to have a kid. But as soon as you have a kid, they have a plan for your kid. And this lady said, nope.
[12:43] You didn't want me to have the kid. And I don't want you telling me how to raise the kid. You don't want me to have the kid. Now you want to tell me how to raise the kid. I don't want you telling me how to raise the kid. The world wants God's people to just give up our children so the world can mold them.
[12:58] But we want to teach our children about God. I know I've said this to you a thousand times, but I'll say it a thousand more. Let's look at Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4.
[13:10] Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might. If you've got your Bible open, you don't know what that is.
[13:22] It all starts with you. You need to make a decision. I love God. How much do I love God? With everything in me. How much do I love God?
[13:33] I love God with all my heart. With all my soul, with all my might. I give everything to loving God. That's what happens. Then in verse 6, he said, I'm giving you the word of God.
[13:45] He's handing them a copy of the book. He's giving them the Pentateuch. He's giving them the books of Moses. He's giving them the books of the law. He's giving them the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
[13:57] He's giving those books to them. And as he gives them to them, he said, now, here's the words. Put them in your heart. Here's my words. Put them in your heart. Look, if you look at chapter 6 and verse 6. These words, which I command thee to say, they shall be in your heart, in thine heart.
[14:13] As a parent, I need to worry about raising me more than I worry about raising my kids. If you ain't in love with Jesus, you can't be a good parent. If you haven't filled your heart up with the word of God, you are unqualified to be a good parent.
[14:28] That might make you mad, but that's exactly what's going on in this verse. He said, here's my word. Now, put it in your heart. Then he's going to say to them, look, if you would, in the verse. Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.
[14:40] If you have your Bible, would you put a circle around the word diligently? Do you realize what that means? It's not haphazard. It's not here a little and there a little. It's not an accidental sprinkling of it. It's not like the prayers we pray before we eat.
[14:52] Father, thank you for this food. Amen. Pass the beans. It's like I know the word of God. I've got my heart full of the word of God. I'm 100% serving God with all my heart, with all my might, with all my power, with all my emotions.
[15:05] I'm serving God. And now, kids, sit down. Daddy, mama, got something to teach you. As I would say in the Spanish church, you can say amen or oh me.
[15:18] But you should say something right now. Amen. Oh me. Look at what it says in the verse. You shall teach them diligently. You should talk of them when you're sitting in the house. You should talk about them when you're walking by the way.
[15:31] You should talk about them when you're laying down. You should talk about them when you're getting up. I don't know if you catch it, but that means it's like you're going to be talking about him and his word all the time. You're sitting in the house and you're eating supper.
[15:44] You're sitting around the house and you're playing a game of Monopoly or you're watching a TV show or you're doing some kind of game. And you know what you're going to do as the topic of conversation? His word's going to be in it while you're sitting around.
[15:57] And then before they go to bed, you're going to tell them about Jesus. And then when you get up, you're going to tell them about Jesus. And when you're riding down interstate, you're going to tell them about Jesus. When they're on the way to school, you're going to tell them about Jesus.
[16:10] That's what he said do. I think that's what this lady does. See, that's refusing this world. This world would have you believe. They don't need to be taught what to believe. Let them figure it out when they get old. That might be what the world says, not what God says.
[16:22] Amen. He said, I want my children to make up their own mind. Me too. But I'm going to seed their mind the best I can. Me too. But I want my children to know they'll go to heaven when they die.
[16:32] Yeah. Moses had a strong, godly influence placed on his life. Look at Hebrews 11, 24. Now, you've got to know the story of Moses just a little bit to get what kind of mama this is.
[16:43] This is a great and godly mama and a great and godly dad. So Moses is there, and they put him in the river. And after they put him in the river, the sister's standing there watching, and Pharaoh's daughter comes out to bathe in the river.
[16:58] That probably sounds funny to you. But when you live in a—they didn't exactly have the best shower system in their homes yet. And I've bathed in many a river in Peru.
[17:09] And so they come down to the river to bathe, and she's getting ready to take a bath. She hears this baby crying, and she sees the baby. And God steps in and touches her heart and gives her compassion.
[17:19] She should have said, kill the baby. We don't like Israelite babies. But something changed. God had a plan, and God is at work in the whole story. And then the lady picks up the baby, and she's acting all tender, and the little girl steps out.
[17:35] Miriam, she steps out, and she says, hey, would you like me to get you a Hebrew slave to take care of that baby? And the woman says, of course, I can't take care of no baby. She said, I know just the one.
[17:46] Be my mama. I'll be back. They go get mama. Mama comes and takes her baby. She had never been able to raise her baby. She had already had to release her baby into the hands of the Lord. She didn't know what was going to happen. They come back, and she said, well, let me just go ahead and pay you for your services while you take care of my baby.
[18:01] That's a pretty stinking good God. Amen. And so Moses is in the house with her. I don't know how long. The Bible's not clear. Maybe just the first three, four, five, six years, but whatever it was, mama knew I got a job to do, and I don't have long to do it.
[18:19] By the way, you ought to get a hold of that idea. Your kids are leaving home, and they're leaving home faster than you can think. And when you're young, and it seems like they'll never get out of first grade, or they'll never get out of diapers, or they'll never learn how to do any of their own things they need to do for themselves, you're like, they ain't never leaving.
[18:36] Believe me, it will start to fly by, and you will lose your kids. They'll be gone. But in that time, she had that boy. She taught him something. Daddy and mama taught that boy something.
[18:47] Look at what the Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, when he got old and became a grown man, he said, I refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
[19:02] I remember my mama. That's pretty good. He went all the way through grade school. He went through elementary school and grade school and high school.
[19:14] He's gone through the university system, and he's old enough, and he says, not going to do it. Mama taught me about God, not all these false gods.
[19:26] And he says in verse 25, I'd rather suffer with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin. I have had it good for the last 40 years. But I remember what mama told me.
[19:37] I remember what mama told me. See, mama resisted the world's pressure, and in Hebrews 11, 26, he esteemed the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
[19:50] He had respect under the recompense of the reward. How did she know her time was so limited? Do you realize your time to teach and train your children is very limited?
[20:03] You know they're leaving home. If you just look in the mirror, you know, when you're my age, when people, I marry people all the time, and I'm like, these guys, these guys are 12. I can't believe they're getting married.
[20:15] And Betty says, well, we were younger than them, but we got married. I said, that's different. Amen. Your kids are getting married. They're going on. They're moving on. You need to realize you don't have a lot of time to teach and train your children.
[20:28] Are you allowing the world to train your children? Are you resisting sin and its influence? And I'll just stop and say, that can be video games. That can be TV shows.
[20:42] That can be apps. That can be friends. Some of you, I don't mean to be ugly, but here it comes. I'm the old man, get mad. Some of you might say, well, bless God, that's why we don't send them to public school.
[20:55] You send them to Christian school just about as bad or worse. Or you keep them home and let them watch enough TV to pollute them worse. I have my resignation letter right here.
[21:12] It says, blessed assurance. Come on. We need to say, I'm going to watch what my kids are watching. I'm going to know what they're doing. I'm going to know who they're talking to.
[21:23] I'm going to know who's inserting truth into their life or lies in their life because I'm responsible. She said, I'm not letting the world raise my kid. You know, if she hadn't have taken advantage of the few short years she had, probably, probably less than six or seven years, that kid would have not been able to do what he did.
[21:41] Mama, you have got to be at it. By the way, we're pretty sure he went to live in Pharaoh's house when he got old enough to go to school.
[21:52] I don't know how old that was. Was that six? Was that ten? But Mama said, I'm going to teach my two-year-old. You're like, my two-year-old can't learn anything. Maybe you just got to be smarter than a kid.
[22:03] Number four, write down another word. A mother of great and godly children releases her children into the hands of God. A mother of great and godly children releases her children into the hands of God.
[22:20] In Exodus chapter 2 and verse 3, the Bible says, What faith did it take to take that baby down to the river and trust God?
[22:40] The river's where they kill the babies. The river's where they kill the babies, but she took the baby to where they kill them. The river was meant to be a place of death, and she took it there for the other reason.
[22:50] And she sent her daughter to watch over and see what would happen to her baby. Any snakes, any alligators, anybody, anything going to happen to the baby, you go down and you watch. In Exodus chapter 2 and verse 4, his sister stood afar off to wit, to watch, to see what would be done to him.
[23:07] You see, our job as parents is to raise and train our children while we can, and then give them up to God to do as he wishes. They're not yours to control the rest of your life. I'm sorry.
[23:18] Some homeschool people got the idea that they're yours, so they're 120. This woman said, I'll take them down to the river and release them. I put the training in them. I put the training in them.
[23:30] They know about Jesus. There's a Holy Spirit out there. He can lead in God. He can work in my child's life. You can't control their lives. And when you want to control their lives, they don't like you.
[23:43] You might not know it yet, but they don't. Somewhere along the way, you've got to figure out, I trust God. Our job is to train them while we can and then let them go.
[23:55] In Philippians chapter 4 and verse 6, I know you're worried about your kids. Good night, we raised four. I worry about my grandkids. My wife comes in the room now. I mean, my kids are all grown and old. And my wife comes in the room and tells me about some grandkid, tries to get me more worried.
[24:08] I'm like, I did my worrying. Let the kids do their worrying. But you don't get to do that. I'm afraid when the great grandkids come in there, she's going to come in there again. Time to start worrying. I'm like, good night.
[24:20] But be careful for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. You know what? You need to pray for your kids.
[24:31] Can I get an amen right there? See, here's what's really going to make a difference. You can't watch your kids all the time. Some parents that really thought they knew what was going on with their kids had no idea that they were a porn addict and they were 12.
[24:45] Some parents that thought they had all the control didn't know their daughter lost their virginity at 14. Some parents that thought they had all the control have no idea because none of us can have any idea.
[24:56] But we know a God who does. And we have a right to pray to Him. And I know you're worried about your kids. You want to save them. You want to protect them. You heard about the man and woman sitting there talking and said, they're not back off that date yet.
[25:08] The mama said, don't worry about it, honey. They're just doing what we did. He said, that's exactly what I'm worried about. Get them back in here. Let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keeps your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
[25:23] You and I need to be able to go down to the river and say, God, I've done everything I can. I hid this kid for three months. There's nothing else I can do. I do not know what else I can do. I'm just going to have to trust you.
[25:33] They put the kid in the river. Little sister standing back there while a big sister sitting there watching. And in that moment, when Pharaoh's daughter comes, the baby should die. But you can trust God.
[25:45] And God did something. And the mama, Pharaoh's daughter goes, I don't want to hurt that kid. I want to help that kid. That's not possible. And then the girl says, would you like somebody to take care of the kid?
[25:56] Yeah. Well, how about it being my mama? She didn't probably say that part. And they said, sure. The fact is, here's some money. Make sure and buy him more meat than other kids get. I know how you slaves are treated.
[26:07] That's my boy now. Take care of him. And she went home with blessings. Cast all your care on him. He cares for you. I think more than you mentioned my name in prayer or anybody else's name or any missionary's name in prayer, you all mentioned your kids.
[26:22] We must allow God to work. Next word you can write down there. A mother of great and godly children raises her children biblically. I've got to hurry up.
[26:33] I don't have a lot of time. But look at this. Verse 9, I will give thee wages. Verse 10, he became her son and she called him Moses. See how God protected and provided?
[26:44] The woman had compassion. Exodus chapter 2 and verse 6. And when she opened it, she saw the child and the baby cried and she had compassion. Cried at just the right minute and just the right way.
[26:55] Must not be one of them screaming cries or she'd have thrown him back in. She gave the money to raise the child. Exodus chapter 2 and verse 9. You and I are instructed on how to raise our kids, people.
[27:07] In Ephesians 6, 4, we're to bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. While they're young, we're to teach them the way they should go.
[27:18] Proverbs 22, 6. You are setting how your kids are going to live. If you're not faithful to church, you're teaching them not to be. If you're not faithful in the Bible, you're teaching them not to be. If you don't manage your money to please God, you're teaching them not to.
[27:30] Because they're going to learn more from your example than they are from your words. You're raising kids for Jesus. In Hebrews 11, 24, he came to years and he refused to be called.
[27:44] Remember that? He chose to suffer affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin. Moses knew who he was. Look at what it says in Acts 7, 23.
[27:56] And when he was a full 40 years old, it came to his heart to visit his brethren. At 40 years of age, all of a sudden he goes, I think I should visit my people. You've been raised with these heathens all these years.
[28:07] They're your people. He goes, nope, not my people. Nope, not my people. Mama taught me about my people. Daddy taught me about my people. Some things for you to consider real quickly as you raise your children.
[28:20] Discipline them without losing control. You don't want them to despise your teaching because you fly off the handle and act like the devil. Mamas can get irate to the point they're just, come on, you won't admit it.
[28:32] But I was raised by one. And you don't want your kid having a mama who gets mad and starts throwing things. You can go, that's never happened, but I bet it has at your house. Slamming doors and kicking stuff and beating up the dog because you're mad at the kid.
[28:47] Don't lose control. Be there for your children. They need somebody to talk to. They're going to talk to somebody. They're going to talk to the drug dealer. They're going to talk to the pimp.
[28:58] They're going to talk to the corrupt kid in school. They're going to talk to a friend who doesn't know Jesus. So they're going to talk to you. Be there. Forgive and don't keep reminding them of their failures. You know, God doesn't remind us of our failures.
[29:11] God's like, you did? No, I don't remember that. I erased that one. We're like, I remember what you did when you were two years old, nine months, two weeks, and 48 hours. That's not what we do.
[29:24] You don't manipulate your children by comparing them to everybody else's kids. Parents, work together. You're going to do biblical child raising. Work together. You fighting in front of your kids just shows them that you're not together.
[29:38] I don't think you ought to discipline them like that. Well, I think you ought to learn to discipline them. The kids that are going, I'm winning this one. I got them whipped. If you need to discuss the discipline, go to your bedroom, shut the door, and duke it out in there.
[29:50] Not in front of the kids. Teach your children to make decisions. And discipline themselves. Teach your children to make decisions. That probably goes against the grain of some of you because you're like, I'm not going to let them make any decisions.
[30:02] They might make one I don't want them to make. They're going to soon. Teach them. Six and seven, real quick. A mother of great and godly children returns her children to the God that gave them.
[30:16] Exodus chapter 2 and verse 10. The child grew. The child grew. And she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter. And he became her son. And she called his name Moses. Because I drew him out of water. As a mother, she realized she only had Moses for a brief time.
[30:29] She didn't run and hide or resist. But she used her time wisely. She raised a man that God could use to lead Israel along with a daughter and another son. This woman has three of the most famous children in the Pentateuch.
[30:41] She's the mama of Aaron. The mama of Moses. The mama of Miriam. She's the mama of the leaders of the whole nation of Israel. I'd read her story. Have you surrendered your will and desire for the Lord?
[30:54] Sometimes God gives us this child, this gift. There are parents begging God for children. He doesn't give them. And he gave you a child and you think it's your child? Well, in Psalm 127, children are a heritage of the Lord.
[31:07] They're a gift from God. Samuel was born. And Samuel's mama, Hannah, took him back to the temple just like she promised. She said, I'll put him in God's hands just like I promised.
[31:19] Do you want to train him up and wait on God to do whatever he wants? Or you've got a will. How many mamas are standing in the way of what God wants? You'd say, I don't want my boy to be Moses.
[31:29] I don't want my boy to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt. I don't want my son to be Aaron. I don't want that. Because that's risky. That's dangerous. People will stand against them. They'll get hurt. You say, I would never think that.
[31:41] Yeah, because you know the whole story. But when God speaks to your kids' hearts, you're not letting them hear God. Give them back to God. Let God work in their life.
[31:53] If they don't belong to you, return them to him. Return them to him. Last thing. A mother of great and godly children is rewarded. My time's up.
[32:04] Do you know Moses is listed in Hebrews chapter 11, which is the hall of faith. Like the most famous people of the Old Testament. So when the Hebrews got to talking, they'd say, yeah, Abraham.
[32:16] Yeah, Isaac. Yeah, Jacob. In fact, his mom and dad make it in the list. Because they were mom and dad to Moses. By faith, his parents. Check that out.
[32:28] God wants to do something great with your kid. Her son becomes a great man of God who delivers Israel from slavery and captivity. Have you ever thought about the fact that God might want to do something great with your children?
[32:39] Oh, I just need them close to the house. No, you need them to find God's will. I just need them to take care of me when I get old. No, you need them to find God's will.
[32:50] Her success as a mother was teaching her son about the God of Israel. His work and his will and his way. That was her success. It's not going to be mentioned a lot more. But I can promise you this.
[33:04] Like an arrow in the hands of a mighty man, Moses' mom and dad let go and God did great stuff. Do you see the spiritual seriousness of being a mother?
[33:22] There'd be no Adonai and Judson if it wasn't for some mama somewhere that was willing to let God do something. There'd be no Charles Spurgeon, no William Carey. When Charles Spurgeon was a little boy, his parents didn't have enough money to raise him.
[33:37] He was raised by his grandparents mostly. And his granddaddy gave him an allowance based on memorizing Isaac Watts hymns out of the hymn book. He said, everyone you memorize, I'll give you a penny.
[33:48] He says, I got rich and I broke his bank. Because he was a genius guy, so he just kept memorizing. He said, one day he had too many rats in the barn. His granddaddy said, I'll pay you two cents for every rat you killed. He said, I got richer.
[33:59] And he got poorer. But that didn't do me near the good them hymn books memorizing did. You got a chance. You have a chance. What does your life teach your children?
[34:12] What does your life teach your children? Common, ordinary, not loving God people? Christians that are so close to the world that they can't tell a difference? Would your parents be like, I know they're Christians, but they're not serious about it.
[34:27] Would your children say when they get older and they're talking, they'd say, yeah, my parents go to church a little bit. Some. A lot. But maybe. I mean, I never see them read their Bible. Never see them pray.
[34:38] Never see them at an altar. Never see them give. But yeah, I think that. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. Come on. What are your kids thinking? Let's be parents of great godly children. Let's raise them for Jesus.
[34:49] Let's raise them for Jesus.