Transcription
We are beginning a brand new series called Hidden Heroes. Hidden Heroes. How many of you, your life was impacted by someone whose name might not be very famous, but they're famous in your heart? How many of you have a praying grandmother who might not have an Instagram with a blue check mark, but they made a, they made a mark on your heart? How, how many of you have people in your life where you, you didn't even know them, uh, but for just a few months, but they made a significant impact in your life?
Over the next several weeks, we aren't going to look at names that are popular for preaching. We're going to look at names of characters who sometimes you got to dig a little deeper to find their, their name, and you can see their impact for generations to come. And this is a brand new series called Hidden Heroes. And I would love for you, in your life, to maybe reach out to a hidden hero this week in your own life. Maybe there's a grandparent. Maybe there's a cousin. Maybe there's a, a former pastor in your, in where you used to live out of town or wherever you moved from, that really made a difference, and a significant difference in your life.
I'm grateful for every Vision team member that serves in the kids ministry. They're hidden heroes this morning as they change diapers and, and rock babies and, and teach young children about the ways of God. They are hidden heroes. They might not ever be on the stage, but they are making an impact in the shadows.
Exodus chapter 2. We're going to be looking at a hidden hero in the Old Testament. Exodus chapter 2. If you have a copy of God's word, it says this about this time, beginning in verse one. About this time, a man and a woman from the tribe of Levi got married. Come on, somebody. God's tribe. Did things God's way. And the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby. Everyone with a baby thinks their baby is special. I've done enough baby dedications and, and visited enough people in the hospital to know that every, everybody's baby is special. But scholars believe that this woman, Moses's mother, probably heard from the Lord about the mark that was on his life, and she kept him hidden for three months.
But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and she put the baby in the basket, laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him. Your other children are watching your faith. Your children are watching how you respond to times of trial. Your children are watching how you respond, how you respond in times of crisis. Your children are watching how you hand, handle every storm and how you handle every difficulty. And so she assigns her other daughter to watch the basket.
And soon Pharaoh's daughter, the providence of God, the sovereignty of God, Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. Compassion, even from their enemies. God's providence is in the details, my friends, that he would even use the enemy, Pharaoh of the Hebrews. He was the enemy of, of this woman, Jochebed, at the time, and yet he used his own daughter to have compassion. "This must be one of the Hebrew children," she said.
Then the baby sister approached the princess. "Should I go?" she asked, acting dumb, playing dumb. "Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse this baby for you?" she asked. "Yes," do the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby's mother. Oh, God is a God of reconciliation. No matter how far you think your children are, God has the power to redeem and reconcile children who have been lost.
"Take this baby and nurse him for me," the princess told the baby's mother. "I will pay you." It's, it's God's, it's God's sovereignty. It's God's providence. It's God's favor on your life that the thing you would do for free, your enemy will pay you to do. "Anyways, I will pay you for your help, pressed down, shaken together." When you give something to God, he has a way of returning it to you. I'm not just talking about money this morning. I'm talking about favor. I'm talking about blessing. I'm talking about anointing. I'm talking about health. I'm talking about prosperity.
So the woman took her baby home and nursed him. And on the 1st and the 15th, there was a direct deposit. Imagine holding the child that you birthed, that you hid for three months, and getting compensated from your enemy for doing the thing you prayed you'd be able to do. She already had experience doing it. Gave it to the princess, to the princess, and the princess gave it back to her.
Verse 10. Later, when the boy was older, this is probably the most challenging thing for Moses's mother to do. His mother brought him back. Oh, she could have escaped. She could have left. She could have stolen her own child back from Pharaoh's daughter, but decided to give Pharaoh, Pharaoh's daughter back the baby, who adopted him as her own son. And the princess named him Moses, for she explained, "I lifted him out of the water."
Oh, I, I came to preach today to somebody who needs to be lifted out of the water. I came to preach to someone today who's got a struggle with their faith and they've released the basket upstream, but they don't know what's happening downstream. And I want to let you know God's providence and his favor and his sovereignty is upon your life, and he is sending even people you wouldn't expect to find the things you're believing for and to lift them out of the water.
Let's pray. Father, thank you for the mother of Moses and for the hidden heroes in all of our lives, in the nooks and crannies of our lives, who made an impact on us, maybe during our formative years, maybe when we were younger, maybe when we were lost, maybe before we were ever mature enough to realize the impact that a praying grandmother makes, or maybe before we were ever mature enough to realize what good parenting does. God, I thank you for the hidden heroes that are in every single one of our lives. I pray that by the sound of my voice, everyone to receive the word of God, precision and conviction, in Jesus' name, by the Holy Spirit. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.
See, before there were 10 Commandments on stone tablets, before there was a promised land or the land of Canaan, before there was, uh, sandals taken off and a burning bush encounter with God, before there was a plea before Pharaoh to let his people go, before there was a redeemer leading a million people across dry ground, there was a mother who kept a baby in hiding and then released that baby into the river. She had no idea the impact that her obedience would have for generations. That baby would become the one who set people free. That baby would become the one who leads a nation out of 400 years of slavery. That's good. The savior of the people started as a secret on a mother's heart. The only reason he survived was because of his, his mother's willingness to release back to God what he had rightfully given to her. Her name is Jochebed. If you're taking notes today, the hidden hero of the week is Jochebed. She is a Levite. The Levites were the tribe of God. They were a, a great tribe, and she marries a, a man of God, and they have a child. But the times that the child was born in were difficult times. God appointed Moses and anointed Moses despite the time that they were living in. They still had children. Despite the times that they were living in, some people are fearful of having children right now because of the times that we are living in. I want to encourage anyone today to not let the times that we are living in keep you from being fruitful and accomplishing God's mission here on Earth.
See, Pharaoh had decreed that all baby boys were to be thrown into the same river, the Nile River, that Moses was carried down. When Moses was born, Jochebed hid him for three months, but then she couldn't hide him any longer. This sermon is for the hidden heroes that have been protecting their children from the ways of the world. I don't know if you've realized this or not, but raising children has never been more challenging. It's never been more complicated. And in a society where children are dying, in a society that believes in, in the murder of children, we have to be willing to stand up for the rights of every child that can be born. Oh, this isn't a political statement today. This is God's divine design over every human being that has ever been conceived. They, my friends, could be the Moses that we need in today's world. Oh, this isn't meant to shame anyone who has ever terminated a pregnancy prematurely, but I want to let you know in a culture that was killing babies, Jochebed decided, "I'm going to keep this child alive." I would encourage you today, if you are struggling or wrestling with the decision on whether to terminate a pregnancy early or not, you are in a church that will welcome your child into the family of God. We will protect that child. We will keep that child safe. Do not send your child to the enemy's hands.
Jochebed decides to protect Moses in a basket. That's what we are called to do. Protect our children. Protect our children's minds from thoughts that are not, that are not of God. Protect our children's actions from things that are not of God. We are called to protect our children to the best of our abilities. But there does come a point where obedience steps in. We have to relinquish control and say, "God, use this child however you deem necessary." Jochebed is our hidden hero of the week, and I want to give you three quick observations at all of our locations. They've asked me to be quick to give enough time for you to go to party with the pastor. Well, I'm the pastor, so the party don't start till I'm finished.
Number one. The, the great thing I've realized about Jochebed was that my greatest contribution might not be something I do, but someone I raise. That's good, right? My greatest contribution might not be something I do, but someone I raise. Uh, sometimes it's not your degree or your pedigree. Sometimes it's not your wealth or the house you built or the things you own. Sometimes success and legacy not does not come from what I do, but from the children I raise. Woo! I don't know about you, but when I look at my children, I have to have a long view. Yes, because there are times in my life where if I, if I don't have a long view of their spirituality, if I don't have a long view of their maturity, I will, I'll cut off some of the things that God wants to embrace and develop in their life. My greatest contribution in this world might not be the sermons that I preach, might not be the buildings that we build, might not be the, the people that we reach. It might be the people that I raise. Oh, don't despise the days of your children being in the home. It's the, it's the most time that you get with them before they turn 18. I, I read a statistic that said you spend about 80% of your time, of your child's lifetime, with them before they're 18. You only get the last 20% once they become an adult. Woo! Put some things in perspective. Maybe, maybe, and I'm not against video games, my kids got a console, so don't think I'm that kind of preacher. We don't turn our own butter. We have a television, okay? But I want you to really factor the time spent with your children. She knew, Jochebed knew this baby is going to outgrow my ability to keep him hidden. Your child will also outgrow their ability for you to keep them hidden. So there's got to be precious moments. There's got to be precious time. There's got to be times where you pray together, times where you worship together, times where you read together, and then a time where you relinquish them, say, "God, take control."
See, children are a blessing from God. We live in a culture that is waiting too long to have children, and we didn't wait very long at all. We were on a five-year plan. My wife, Ashton, and I, that was the one request that her father had of me when I asked for her hand in marriage. He said, "You're young." We were only 19 at the time. He said, "Whatever you do, please don't have children early. Just wait five years." I said, "That's not a problem. That's in our, our plan, five-year plan." You can't stop the providence of God. And we both graduated homeschooled, so we were making up for lost time that we had remained pure and holy. And while on birth control, my wife conceived our first child five months after we were married. Everybody thought it was a shotgun wedding. They were taking their shoes off to count the months. "When were they married?" She didn't even want to tell me. She's like, "I left something on the counter in the bathroom for you." While on birth control, I was like, "What was this stick thing? What is the two lines, three lines, four lines? I don't know. Is there an app for this? Can we call someone?" The providence of God. Children are a blessing from God.
Now, that same child, uh, led us in worship, uh, today at our East location. And that same child is, it's a gift from God. We thought we learned our lesson. Someone had mentioned to us that when you breastfeed a child, it's like birth control, so you don't have to worry. That's what they told. That's what they lied. They lied. Five months after Ariana was born, pregnant with my second, my son, who's here taking pictures today at our East location. Okay, two without being planned. We just said, you know what? The third one, we're going to plan it. And eight months later, we planned, got pregnant again. So three kids by the time we were 23. People are like, "Oh, you're so young." Yeah, we started young, and we're going to be graduating high school about the same time as our kids. It's going to be good.
It says in Psalm 127:3-5, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, the children of one's youth." Come on. If you're married right now and you're waiting, let's, let's populate this Earth, man. Let's have more Christian babies around here. All right, we need them. We need them. "Children of one's youth, blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them." Come on, somebody. Come on. "He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." Meaning he'll have favor because of how he raises his family. You can find favor with how you raise your family. People will watch you and how you lead your family, and you can have favor with your enemies in the gate. See, success is not always found in what you build, but instead someone you raise. I, I want to encourage you today at all of our locations to not despise the time you get with your kids. I know they get on your last nerve. I know you just want to kick them out of the car. I see you drop them off here at youth group on Wednesday nights. I'm like, it's 2:30, service doesn't start till 7. Youth group is a good place to bring them to. But don't despise the days when they're young, because the greatest contribution you might leave on this Earth is not something you do, but someone you raise.
And I know that there are, at the sound of my voice, I'm fully aware of the room that I'm in. There are challenging, uh, parenting situations right now where kids have left the faith. They've abandoned the, the ways that you taught them. I want to let you know, even Jochebed had to release the child and, and hope and pray that God would return.
Number two. The second observation is that my gift is meant to grow. Oh, Jochebed understood that this baby was going to be too big for her to keep hidden. Some of you have been given a gift from God, and it's gotten too big for you to keep hiding it. It's meant to grow. See, we serve a God that doesn't want to leave you on the same diet you started with when you first got saved. He doesn't want you just to drink milk and then remain the same size as a, as a spiritual person. He wants to increase your maturity day by day by day. I love the way that God works because God doesn't work in a day, he works daily. And when God gave you the gift of whatever he gave to you, it's meant to grow and to develop. It starts by being nurtured and loved and cared for, but one day that same little boy in a basket became the deliverer of all of the people of God. Some of you have, God has given you a gift, and you've tried to keep it in baby form, and it's meant to grow. You have to, to nurture it for a season, but then you got to start to see the gift is, is God's responsibility, but you got to own the growth of that gift. See, God gave me the gift, but it's my job to own its growth. Oh, I didn't, I didn't give myself the gift of preaching, but it is my job to be in the secret place all week long, to be in study, and to be in prayer, and to be in fasting, and to get revelation from the Holy Spirit. If, if I just use my gift, the hand of God quickly moves. If you sing today and you haven't been using your gift, it's meant to grow. If you, if you lead worship today, your gift is meant to grow. If you have, uh, eyes to see evil, you're meant to join our safety team. If you have a way with children, then you're meant to join our kids team. If you have a way with numbers, you're meant to join our, our count team. If you like to serve coffee or be hospitable, you're meant to join our cafe team or our guest experience team. You're not meant to just sit and consume. You're meant, you're meant to, to grow, outgrow the, outgrow. She could no longer keep it hidden. Some of you are so gifted, yet you're keeping it hidden because of something that happened to you years ago. Don't let your gift remain hidden because there might be a deliverer inside of you. Yes, your gift is, is meant to grow. The Bible says that some water, some plant, but God gives the increase. God causes it to grow. If you've been G, if you, if you currently have a gift from God, and you are at one of our locations, I would encourage you, get right to party with the pastor after today's service, and then jump right into Serve 101, which is next Sunday, so that your gift can grow.
Malcolm Gladwell, in one of his books, it's, it's the book called Outliers, he says that reaching the 10,000-hour rule is considered a key to success in any field. It is simply a matter of practicing a specific task that can be accomplished with 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. How many hours are you spending in the presence of God every week? I don't know about you, but I don't want to remain a child in the faith. "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child," is what the Bible says. But I've put away the childish things. Yes, we're ribeye people around here. We're carnivores. Yes, we are not, we are not attached to some bottle-feeding type of faith, but instead, we, we grow up here. If you're looking for a church that will help you mature, it's important that you stay planted and committed. Now, here's the deal. I can only feed you once a week, right? That's right. So this diet of you just coming once a week, it's not enough, right? You're going to starve yourself. I would encourage you, at the sound of my voice, at all of our locations, learn to feed yourself. Yes. "I'm just not getting fed." "You're right. You're, I just got to go to another church. I'm just not getting fed." Okay. Is that pastor gonna airplane? We got to, we got to embolden our faith up. We got to mature. We got to lean into the presence of God on our own. We have to say, we have to say yes to God on our own, right? Most people, they'll do something for 10,000 hours, like driving a car, you know, but they'll never get anywhere near an expert level like a Formula 1 driver. Most people, if they do something, they'll plateau. Or some of you, I've seen you on the roads because you have a Focus Church sticker, you get even worse. Come on, somebody. Heroes understand that they got to put in the 10,000 hours. I got to, I got to, I got to build my gift. I got to build my gift. My gift is meant to grow. It's not meant to stay in baby form. Not meant to stay in baby form.
All right, number three. Number three. Last thing we learned from Jochebed is that unknown outcomes still require irrational obedience. What are you doing with my life, oh God? I don't know. I can't see downstream, but I'm going to relinquish control of what God has given me and believe by faith he's going to do something great. It, it's interesting because we don't know what God's doing downriver, but it requires faith to let go of the thing God's given us and trust that he'll take care of it. Oh, trust that his providence will set in. Trust that his sovereignty will kick in. I cannot determine the outcome. I can only determine my obedience. Oh, I'm not here to tell you that if you do this and do that and do this and do that, that God will do that. I am not here to predict the outcome. I am only here to live obediently. My job is not the outcome. My job is obedience. I can't imagine having a newborn child, three months old, making the basket, knowing that there's risk involved in releasing this child down the same river every other kid is dead in. The same river that I'm going to let him. The same school where everyone else is deconstructed, I'm going to release my kid. The same school where they're teaching all of these ideas, I'm going to relinquish my child. On what do you do? You trust the God of the river. You trust the God. You, you, you say, "God, you're sovereign, and you're, you're, you're faithful." He built the reeds. He created the reeds that held the basket in the right place. And while she's weaving that basket and putting tar on the bottom and placing the baby, God is saying, "I created Pharaoh's daughter long ago, and I knew what I was doing when it was her time to go down to the river, right? And I knew what I was doing when you left that baby in that right place, and he floated right down in front of her. I knew what I was doing when I created Moses at a time where most boys would not survive. I have plucked him from obscurity and put purpose on his heart." God knew that he would meet him at a burning bush 80 years later. God knew that he would set the people free 80 years later. God knew that he would be the one that goes before the new Pharaoh and says, "Let my people go." So you have to trust God. Now, something is happening downstream that you don't know about. Something is happening downriver that you don't know about. "God, I trust you with this baby. I trust you with this basket. I trust you with my child. I trust you with my future. You hold my future." Oh.
Too many times we want to hold on to something that God's asked us to release, and we can't see it come back to us lest we let it go. It's unknown outcomes, but they require irrational obedience. You mean to tell me at 24 years old, you're going to move to a city you visited once, start a church in your living room? It's irrational. God operates in the irrational. He just, he, he is the God of the irrational. It's irrational for a virgin to conceive a child. It's irrational. What God requires irrational obedience to do the miraculous.
As the keyboard player returns, they didn't know Jochebed and her husband didn't know that centuries later, in Hebrews chapter 11, help me preach this, Lord. Bring it all the way to the New Testament. Hebrews 11:23. Look what it says here. It says, "It was by faith that Moses's parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child." I declare and I decree over every situation that you would have the faith upstream to believe God downstream. Some of you have been believing for a healing. It's downstream. Let it go. Some of you have been believing for breakthrough. It's downstream. Some of you have been believing for someone to come into your life as a companion, a husband or a wife. You've been believing God for a spouse. It's downstream. It's downstream. Some of you need financial breakthrough in this room so, so heavy. It's downstream. Let it go.
Centuries later, they get, they get in the chapter which is called the Hall of Faith. Moses's parents hid him for three months. What do you need? What do you need that requires faith today? Oh, it's going to require irrational obedience. It's going to take your gift. It's going to grow. It's going to outgrow the, the basket if you don't relinquish it soon enough. Success might be someone that you raise, not something that you build. At my funeral, I'm assuming that they might sing a couple songs and then have some, hopefully, some good food. I hope you guys eat good. Every funeral I've ever attended, during the service, you remember the one who has passed. But once it gets to the reception and people start talking about themselves, you ever noticed that? We remember and then we're like, "How are, how's everything going at your job? I haven't seen you, cousin, five years." You know, I just hope that my children remain faithful to God. I could care less about my funeral as long as my children are protected by the basket I've built, as my children are protected by the life I've lived. I don't know who this message is for today, but don't give up despite the circumstances around you. All the other babies being killed around you, all the other things around you that are leading to death, believe God that the boy in the basket is going to make it to the right hands. I'm believing God that your children who might have been far from God right now will have the right conversation with someone. They'll meet someone at the gas station. They'll meet someone at the grocery store. They'll meet someone in their classroom, the breakroom. Maybe they're incarcerated currently and they'll meet a chaplain that's going from cell to cell, or an opportunity. I don't know what's downstream, but I serve the God who created the river. I serve the God who caused the reeds to grow at the right time that stops that basket in place right before the princess comes out.