Faith For The Family

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.

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

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. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

I. INTRODUCTION

I INTRODUCTION

A. The most powerful and influential people on Earth are parents of faith.

B. Moses’ father, Amram, and his mother, Jochebed, earned a place in God’s hall of fame in .

C. We can never overemphasize the importance of families.

God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out those which are bound with chains:

6 God setteth the solitary in families:

He bringeth out those which are bound with chains:

D Faith is the vital ingredient in any family’s success.

But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

D. Faith is the vital ingredient in any family’s success.

E. Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, were faithful in training Moses.

F. We can learn at least four things about faith and the family as we look at the lives of Amram and Jochebed.

II. FAITH’S VISION - WHAT THEY SAW

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.

A. By faith, Amram and Jochebed saw that God had a plan for Moses.

A By faith, Amram and Jochebed saw that God had a plan for Moses.

Amram and Jochebed were students of the Word of God.

B. God has a plan for every child.

C. Moses was not born a great man; he was born a baby. He became a great man.

1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, That delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: The generation of the upright shall be blessed.

1 Praise ye the Lord.

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,

That delighteth greatly in his commandments.

D Faith sees every child as special. We must have faith for our children.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth: The generation of the upright shall be blessed.

The generation of the upright shall be blessed.

D. Faith sees every child as special. We must have faith for our children.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

(KJV) Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

(KJV) But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

E

6 ||Train up a child in the way he should go:

i The word “way” in this passage has the idea of a bend in a bow or in a piece of wood, and it literally means to raise up a child according to the natural bent that he or she has.

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

III. FAITH’S VALOR - WHAT THEY WERE NOT AFRAID OF “and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

A From outward appearances, Amram and Jochebed had every reason to be afraid.

i

B But they understood that they were not in a battle with an earthly king, but in a spiritual battle with the power behind his throne.

i

C We, too, are living in dangerous times, which is a fulfillment of prophecy.

i

D The perilous times in which we are living show forth in many areas, including the following:

i Liberalism in churches

1 Many churches today do not stand on the authority of the Word of God and the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.

2 We sometimes send our children across the nation for an education but will not drive across town to find a Bible-believing church.

ii Humanism in schools

1 Humanism is a camouflage name for atheism.

2 Humanists do not believe in a personal God, a Deity.

a Most modern education is based primarily upon this tenant.

b Evolution is the chief building block in humanist education.

3 Humanism is an attempt to explain everything apart from God.

iii Hedonism in society

1 The alcohol industry spends billions of dollars each year in advertising.

2 Immorality is portrayed as comedy in today’s entertainment.

a The devil understands that if we laugh at sin, we can never take it seriously again.

3

a Children begin as simple, or naïve.

b We must train them to become wise.

E Just as Amram and Jochebed had faith and were not afraid of the king’s commandment, we must raise our children according to faith.

F We must not be dominated by fear, and we cannot afford to be lazy or selfish.

i

IV FAITH’S VENTURE - FAITH DID SOMETHING ()

A True faith has corresponding action.

i True faith is not fatalism

1 Faith is not taking the mindset of “what will be, will be.”

ii Neither is true faith fanaticism.

1 Moses’ parents did not throw Moses into the river with the attitude of “if God wants to deliver him, God will deliver him.”

iii Real faith acts. Real faith is belief with legs on it.

1

B We must work hard to train our children according to faith and not according to the political correctness of the day.

i

ii

iii

iv

v

C The word “train” does not mean merely to teach.

i The dictionary definition of “train” includes the following:

1 To prepare for a contest.

2 To instruct by exercise.

3 To drill, to form to a proper shape.

4 To discipline for use.

ii Someone can teach a child one thing, and then someone else can come along and teach the same child something different. Training has a deeper context.

D In faith’s venture, we do what we can do and God will do what He can do.

i Man rolled away the stone, but God raised Lazarus from the dead.

ii A little boy provided a few fishes and loaves, but God fed the multitudes.

V FAITH’S VICTORY ()

A As a man, after the training of Jochebed, Moses refused the wealth and position of Egypt to follow the Lord.

B Life is a combination of choices that we make.

i We’re free to choose.

ii We’re not free not to choose.

iii We’re not free to choose the consequences of our choice.

C Why did Moses choose to refuse Egypt?

i Estimation - he esteemed the riches of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt.

1 The word “esteemed” is a bookkeeping term implying an analysis.

2 Moses understood the value in obeying God’s calling.

a How will our children give up the world if they don’t understand what they have in Jesus?

ii Discrimination - he discriminated between right and wrong.

1 Children are not able to discriminate between right and wrong until their values are set.

2 Children must see the riches we have in Christ.

iii Refusal - he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

1 We must give our children the tools to discriminate between right and wrong, show them the beauty of Jesus, so that they will refuse Egypt and follow the Lord.

VI CONCLUSION

A In order to raise children of faith, we must be parents of faith.

B Are you a parent of faith? Do you know Jesus Christ personally?

C If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into your life.

D Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.

E

F