Trusting God With Your Children - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your bibles with me this morning, turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I'm sure that no one in this place would disagree with me that the world is much different today than it was a few months ago. Americans are experiencing a fear and anger, disappointment, frustration, confusion, and unprecedented ways. And among the many issues at hand, there is a concern raised by parents, especially parents who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this concern is not even being voiced by parents, but even those who prayfully plan to have a family of their own. And that concern is that the world and what it's gonna look like with our children growing up in it. It's no secret now. Articles are going out declaring to the public of how public schools, as young as preschoolers, will be learning about the LGBT movement, their beliefs, their history. There are now political agendas that are creeping into classrooms trying to frame the convictions of young people in order to fulfill a specific agenda by creating a worldview.

And it doesn't take much study to realize that these things that are being implemented are not according to the word of God. And it's almost as though darkness is creeping in, and now the enemy is cornering even our children. And this is not just about informing, by the way. This is not just about displaying information. This is all about conforming.

This is a mission. The same mission that King Nebuchadnezzar had with the young Jews to transform their way of thought and to change their God given identity, and nothing short of it. And what you have now is people, God fearing parents, God fearing people who are concerned, and you add that with what our government, what our laws, what our media is gonna look like in just a few short years, and there is genuine, sincere anxiety about what's going to come. And so what do you have? You have parents, as of now, not just in this church, all across the land, people are talking about this, planning and praying, praying about how to protect their children, Strategizing, talking, seeking.

And you have others who are even contemplating and debating the idea of even having children at all. Why would I wanna bring kids into this kind of an environment, an atmosphere? And some saying jokingly, but sometimes jokes reveal what's really in your heart. Here's what we wanna do this morning. The goal this morning is to see what we can find in God's word for fathers and mothers, future fathers and mothers, friends of fathers and mothers to know something of an anchored hope.

That's what we need this morning. And we want to look into God's word, and I'm sure many parents are already aware of the threats that are coming on the horizon, and they're already praying, they're already seeking God, but we want to find truth from this word in order to impart faith in this area. So this morning, if you do not have a spouse, if you are married and you don't have children, this is not time to tune out. This is not time to say, this is not for me. One day, you will probably have children of your own, or there is a certainty that you know people who have children and these truths can help you help them.

And even if you don't have children, even if you don't have a family, we are a family. We are all concerned about our children. We're all concerned about their future. We're not like Hezekiah, when Hezekiah was told that he would be judged for his pride, but it was mainly his kids that were gonna experience judgment, and he said, well, that's fine as long as it was them, not me. That is a terrible way of thinking.

A true godly man, a true godly woman is concerned about the next generation just as much as their own. And so what can we do? You and I might be amazed to realize how much grace God gives to specific lives in biblical history, children in protection and purpose. You and I are gonna realize that despite the depravity and corruption of certain environments and moments in biblical history, this is not anything new concerning the things that we are facing. And yet we're gonna find out that there have been men and women of God who still chose to have and raise children fearlessly.

And in fact, I want us to look at a few examples of how God has imparted a special grace and faith in specific moments. Number one, let's look at God's faithfulness under a corrupt government. In Hebrews chapter 11, you're there, I'm sure, we read in verse 23. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king's edict. Hebrews chapter 11, as you are well aware, is the hall of faith.

The author is giving one example after another of how faith looks like. I love what the Holy Spirit does here because he is not giving as much time explaining what faith is, and he's giving more time to displaying what true faith is like. Because faith is more about how you live and how you act than what you profess. That's the point. Very little explanation of faith what what faith is because it doesn't help us to just parrot what faith is.

He goes one after another to show this is what it looks like. Because as James confirms, faith without works is dead. And so this is exactly what the author is doing. And at this point, the author, by the Holy Spirit, wants to highlight a particular faith from a particular couple that people overlook. He spends much time with Moses because he was a man of faith, but we often overlook Moses' parents who are people of faith.

And this is encouraging because they had a particular faith during a particular time. And the time of their faith being manifested was under, tyrannical government that was radical in their laws, that was crazy in their thinking. And what happens? Well, you have a pharaoh that is intimidated by the growth of a certain people, the Israelites, and so he implements a certain edict. And it's almost unthinkable to think how this could actually be implemented in our day, but it was a reality nonetheless.

And this was the decree. He was so frustrated with the the growth and the multiplication of these people. He was so threatened that he came to the conclusion at the end of Exodus one, every Hebrew boy that is born, throw them into the Nile. Throw them into the Nile. He tried to do it secretly beforehand by hiring certain midwives to say, Listen, just kill them while you're trying to help them give birth, and let's try to mask it a little bit.

But it wasn't working because of God fearing midwives, so he says, that's it. Just throw him in the water. How vile, how cruel, how vicious. But I argue that the same devil that energized Pharaoh's mind is the same devil that's energizing the minds of those empowered today. You read Exodus one, you'll realize that there is not much difference between Pharaoh's mindset and the mindset of many who are pro abortion.

What was Pharaoh's understanding of destroying these babies? Self interest. He was threatened. He thought his kingdom was threatened. He thought he was gonna be overruled and dethroned, so kill him.

I'm not even talking a penny here. Look statistically and you'll realize that most of the reasons for abortion is self interest. Self interest, same spirit. And what happens? What we see here that it was so intense, listen to what acts seven nineteen says when Stephen retells the story.

He being pharaoh dealt truly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. Forced. You know what's happening these days? We're seeing a forcing of something upon our children. It's not optional anymore.

And it's it's getting more and more intense. Now this decree alone would have been enough to dwindle any desire for any Hebrew family to have or to increase in their number of children, and that was the point. We know from Genesis that God had purpose with a people and a seed to come through this people to bring redemption to the world. You better believe that Satan is behind this, the same way Satan was behind the massacre in Jesus's day as a baby. This is just a parallel picture of that, wanting to snuff out any hope for salvation.

But what happens? We read of the faith of parents who are not afraid of the king's edict, to to have a family, to raise a family nonetheless. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, would you? What would you feel? Would you even dare to entertain the thought of bringing another child into this world when you have the very government?

We'll call 911. What did you 911. 911 is coming against you. This is the kind of atmosphere, this is the kind of fear that was looming in their day, and yet still there was a fearlessness. We're gonna obey God's command.

We're gonna be fruitful and we're gonna multiply. And this is what's amazing because they are highlighted for their faith and you have to ask yourself, why? Why this couple? Weren't all the Israelites faithful to God? Weren't all the Israelites in a place resembling this type of faith?

You can argue for it, but I would say no. I believe the reason why Moses' parents were so strong and confident is because Moses' parents were walking with God in Egypt, and not every Israelite was. Here's proof. In Joshua 24 verse 14, we are told by Joshua, now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.

Put away the gods, here's the contrast, put away the gods that your father served beyond the river and in where? In Egypt. Not beyond Egypt, not in the wilderness. See, most of us have adopted the idea, myself included, early on reading about the Israelites journey that they were idolaters when they came into the wilderness. No.

They were idolaters in Egypt. Even while they were enslaved, even while they were slaves, they were actually, some of them, many of them bowing down to false gods. That kind of messes with our idea of that narrative. But it makes sense when you realize how they were so creative in coming up with a golden calf. Where did that come from?

And so in Egypt, even though they were slaves, you had many that were worshiping false gods. They were not following God in sincerity and faithfulness, but Moses' parents were. Moses' parents were. They were totally sold out to God. They were totally focused and they were fearless as a result of it.

And here's the first point I want to make. This is what we need in this day. During a time of crazy edicts and it's only gonna get worse. Laws, principles, agendas, parents, in partnership, fathers and mothers like these parents must commit themselves and cling to the Lord Jesus Christ like never before, despite the failure of other people. It's not time to look at others and see how they're doing it if they're not doing it God's way.

It's not time to adopt what other doesn't matter how weird you look, doesn't matter how strange you are, doesn't matter how radical you may be seen, this is the time to hold fast regardless of the compromise all around you. This is what they chose to do. This was their family. They served God regardless of anybody else. And it doesn't matter how professing Christians choose to raise their kids.

If Moses' parents looked at how others were compromising in their faith, perhaps they would have failed themselves. No. What's beautiful about this passage is that you have a partnership. You have father and mother deciding to put their trust in God together despite the other Israelites. Doesn't matter.

And what did they receive? Strength. What did they receive? Confidence. What did they receive?

Fearlessness. And you know what's amazing is that we might make the mistake to think that their faith as described in Hebrews eleven twenty three is just wishful thinking. It's just wishful. God's gonna protect us. Let's just do it.

That is in part what faith is. But you know what we see here? That because of their faith, they also made a contribution. They also made an effort. Their faith was put into action.

How? What did we just read? By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents. Now again, put yourself in their shoes. Some of you know already the difficulty of raising a child alone.

Now imagine trying to raise a child while trying to hide him from the public eye. Imagine the investment of energy and effort and partnership and prayers and wisdom to hide the child. Never mind just raising him. So what did you do, Moses' parents, when Moses was crying, exposing yourselves to the ears of your neighbors? What did you do when guests came over?

What did you do when Pharaoh's guards came knocking without invitation to your door to examine your home? What did it look like for those three months? I can tell you it was intense. I can tell you it was a sacrifice. I can tell you that it caused them to trust in God and to focus like they've never focused before.

And I say that to make this point, that in these times, parents, future parents, friends of parents, it's gonna require some more effort. More intentionality, more prayer, more planning. Family worship can't be optional anymore, it has to be intentional. Prayers can't just be, well, whenever. No.

Prayer is now. Discipling and teaching, not being crippled by ungodly fear, but with a confidence that while you obey God, God will bless your obedience. This is not some light thing. They had to put their hands to work. They had to sacrificially give more into protecting and investing in their children during this time, and so will be in the years to come.

And it's gonna be worth it. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months. You have to trust and believe that God has brought you together and God will bring you to somebody for the purpose of what Malachi two fifteen says, that I may have godly offspring. That I may have godly offspring. See, God's strategy for what we're facing is not you having no children, because God has a plan for those children.

God has a generation in mind to raise up to be an influence and to change what we're seeing in our day, or at least recruit people to the kingdom of heaven. And the temptation is to hear what's being said this morning, because you fear God and you fear interpreting his word rightly, to put up a guard and saying, that's wonderful, but that was one man with specific parents under a specific time of history because that man was gonna be a deliverer. I can't really take that and apply it to my life. And I'm here to give you the freedom according to the authority of the word. Yes, you do.

Because if you didn't, then why is the author of Hebrews using it as an example of what faith is? You know what the Holy Spirit had in mind? Parents who would be concerned for generations to come about how their kids would face an evil world with evil edicts. And he says look back at Moses' parents and realize that you can have faith that can protect and change your future. This is not something that we can dismiss.

And this is what I love, that as we realize the influence of his parents, it wasn't just at his birth. Look at verse 27. By faith, he being Moses, when he was grown up, left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Did you notice that? You have a grown Moses, who he himself as the leader of the nation of Israel received his own unique threats from Pharaoh.

Just read Exodus and you'll realize that. Pharaoh now is facing Moses head on. But what are we told by the Holy Spirit? Moses himself was not afraid. He was unmoved.

Challenged? Yes. Shaken? Absolutely not. And you know when you read that, you have to wonder, how did Moses have no fear?

Well, let's go back to verse 23. In the latter part, we are told, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. He got it from mommy and daddy. Moses wasn't afraid of pharaoh because Moses' parents were not afraid of pharaoh. You know, as a parent, you can impart fear into your children or faith.

And in this case, it was faith that was imparted into this man, to the point where he became an adult, he emulated them. He saw the fearlessness of his parents. He knew obviously where he was from. He was a Hebrew. He had a calling, and he knew how he came to that place and he realized that the only reason why he was being raised up in Pharaoh's palace was because of the fearlessness of his mother and father.

But you have to wonder because between verse twenty three and twenty seven, you read also of Moses being what? Choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Choosing what? To not enjoy the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking for a reward outside of this world. And when you read that, again, you have every right to ask, Moses, where did you learn that?

Moses, where did you get that from? And I can tell you where he didn't get it from, Pharaoh's palace. And if you know Moses's story carefully, you know that most of his life he was in that place. And I can tell you this, they were not worshiping Yahweh. They were not worshiping the true and living God, pagan gods, pagan rituals, abundance of wealth, anything at the snap of his finger.

And yet, he's able to endure for many of his young adult years up to his forties, and he is still as straight as an arrow concerning the will of God. Unmoved, unshaken, tempted, yes, but not given into it. Moses, where did you learn it from? He didn't have a private Christian school. He didn't have the chance to go somewhere else and learn the truths of God.

But again, if you know his story carefully, you'll realize that there was a season of time where he received something from someone. Go to Exodus chapter two, please, and I want you to see it because it's absolutely important. Exodus two, we are told that after those three months, that Moses's mother and the family had a strategy to put this baby boy in a little mini ark. They put him by the water. Pharaoh's daughter is going to take a bath.

She finds the basket, opens and realizes it's a boy. She adopts him. Moses' sister is by the river, and he tells Pharaoh's daughter that, you know, this is a Hebrews child, and and so she convinces the mother, rather, Pharaoh, to give the baby back to his own mother, And this is what we read of in Exodus two verse nine. And Pharaoh's daughter said there, 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.

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. Moses, at the early stages of his life, was given back to his mother until he was weaned, so at least a few short years. You know what I find amazing about this text? Listen to how awesome God's sovereignty is.

Look at how God honors a person's faith. Please pay attention. This was during a time when pharaoh gave a decree that all Hebrew boys would be slaughtered. You know what God allows to happen? He allows Pharaoh to pay the wages for a woman to raise up a Hebrew boy.

Not only to pay their wages to raise up a Hebrew boy, but to raise up the actual deliverer of the nation of Israel. Talk about the sovereignty of God. Talk about even though all hell will belch out all its evil, God just moves the pieces like this. Devil, I'm gonna make you pay the mother to raise him, and he's gonna actually deliver my people from your grip. That's your God.

You think God doesn't have a strategy for all this wickedness? Think God is biting his nails in heaven wondering, oh, look what they're gonna be teaching in schools. Oh, look what's gonna happen to my church. The freedoms are becoming less and less and less. God has a plan that will blow your mind and mine.

But this is the main point, during those few short years, I argue this is where Moses learned all that he knew. And so as this mother took in Moses, she wasted no time. And the conversation could have been something like this, and maybe it wasn't even a conversation, just pure impartation of words and faith. Moses, God has a call for your life. And I want you to remember that as you go into the palace, don't get caught up by the glitter and the glam of Egypt.

There's another reward beyond this world. Moses, it's better to serve God and his purposes even if you suffer than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Don't you ever forget it, Moses? Moses, God has a call, and whenever you honor God's call, you will have to make a stand, so don't be afraid when you stand, Moses. Don't forget what I'm telling you, son.

You know how powerful those words were? You know how powerful that discipleship was? It was so powerful that she can allow Moses to be raised up in Pharaoh's palace and still remain faithful, and still come out according to how God had called him to be and to serve as. Listen, you can raise your children in such a manner that place them in any environment, send them off to college, and they'll stand firm in their beliefs. When they hire where they are hired for a specific work, when they serve at a specific job, and all the culture and all the pressures, I can testify to that.

Before coming here, I was in advertising. I'll tell you this, they were not pro bible. I can tell you this, they had an agenda and they had a belief system and they they wanted all their employees to submit to that belief system. And it's possible to stand as a light. It's possible to stand firm in any environment because of what has been imparted into you and the eternal perspective that has been discipled in you.

I never want you to forget about Moses, the faith of his parents that changed him and that changed the world around him. God is faithful even under a corrupt government. And God, number two, is faithful even under a corrupt religious system. Point number two. Because today there are parents who are not just concerned about our secular government, you have people that are concerned about the state of Christendom.

And so what is the the cry of this generation of those who truly love God's word? Where is true Bible preaching today? Where are those who will hold to the word of God no matter what, Who would declare the whole counsel of the word of the Lord? And if parents truly love God, they're concerned about their children and what they will hear because they know that out in that world they're gonna hear everything opposite. So, so if the church is not willing to stand for these truths, where are they gonna hear it from?

And you have people even willing to move locations to be around a local congregation that will preach the word of God unapologetically. And so we're not just even seeing the secular world shaken, we're seeing even in recent news that the evangelical world is being shaken. And things are being exposed. And things are creating more fear in some of God's people's hearts. Listen, the Bible did not leave us without examples to draw faith from because Israel has known many, many, many moments in history where Israel was at a shallow place spiritually.

And one of those days was during the life of a boy named what? Samuel. Samuel. It was so bad in Samuel's day with the leadership, the spiritual leadership, not the political, the spiritual leadership. Go to first Samuel two, and I want you to read this in verse 24.

Let's turn our bibles there, and I want you to see how bad it was. Look at verse 24. This is the high priest talking to his sons who were priests, who were ministers in the house of God. And you know what they were all about? Money and sex.

Sound familiar? Same temptations that ministers are facing today. And look what the father does, just a light tap on the wrist. Right? Eli says, no, my sons.

It is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. This wasn't even hidden sin anymore. It was known. It was exposed. Everybody knew about the corruption in God's house, and nothing was being done about it.

They didn't have many tabernacles, by the way. They had one tabernacle. And that one place of worship, the only place where people can go and worship the Lord, that place was corrupted. So talk about frustration. Talk about being squeezed.

But during this time, there was a woman named Hannah. There was a mother. And we were introduced to her before we hear about all this corruption, and this mother had a cry. She had a pain in her heart because she wanted a baby. She was barren.

Nothing else mattered to her in life. It was so overwhelming that it affected the relationship between her and her husband. I just want a child. And no other love, no other comfort, no other provision can can make up for this emptiness that I feel in my womb. But what's amazing is that this cry for a child very early on doesn't become a selfish one.

She begins to cry out to God in chapter one, and she prays in this manner, Lord, I make a vow to you. If you give me a child, I'll give him back to you. If you give me a a child, I'll give him back to you, and I'll never take him back. He'll be surrendered. He'll be set apart for whatever you wanna do with his life.

And that's the kind of prayer that draws God to answer. When it's conformed to his will, he is more open to responding, and he did. And when he answered, he did something wonderful. See, Hannah wanted a child. God was looking to raise a prophet.

And with God's will, he was able to partner with a woman. And so what does he do? He does more than she expected. She wanted to consecrate him as a Nazarite. God says, don't worry.

I'm gonna make him a prophet. And Samuel became one of the greatest messengers in Israel's history, and god found a woman where he can work with her prayer to make it happen. You have no idea that if you conform every request, do it. Conform every aspect of your life, including your children, your relationship, your give it to God's will and watch what he'll do with it. Some of us just want it for the sake of having it, and even if they're good desires, you'll miss out on what God wants to do if you just give it to him.

And she did. And after Samuel was weaned, can you imagine what that must have felt like? Hannah and Elkanah, her husband, take baby Samuel up to that tabernacle. They come to worship the Lord, but not just worship the Lord, not just to lay a bull on the altar, but symbolically their child. They look at the high priest and they say, he's yours.

He's consecrated. God answered my cry and I told the Lord I would give him back to him. So here he is. And I don't know if Hannah knew, like most of the Israelites of the corruption or the depths of the corruption in that place, but Hannah trusted God nonetheless. So this boy enters in, and guess what he's entering into?

A reluctant high priest and his sons who are completely rebellious. Not the best examples for your son to grow up in. And so she turns her back, and she walks away confident. Why? She didn't commit him to the high priest.

She committed him to God. She trusted that God would take care of this child. And what's amazing is this boy was birthed in prayer, so to speak. His very name testifies that God heard her cry for a child. He had a call.

He was a special boy. But Hannah didn't just pray this child into existence. Hannah continued to relate to him. And this is what's so beautiful. There's a little verse that, again, we might read over and not think of anything of it, but I think it is very important in terms of how I believe, in part, this boy Samuel was able to stand firm even around corrupt spiritual leaders.

We can say, oh, it's because how he was raised. And Hophni and Phineas, the priest there, raised by a bad father. We can make all those arguments, but I wanna make one observation that I believe the Holy Spirit highlights. Look at chapter two and look at verse 18. Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.

That's a priestly attire. And his mother I love this verse. There's so much compassion, tenderness. It almost makes me well up with tears when I read it. And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

We read that and we just skim over it, But think about it. Year after year, close to that time when the Israelites would go to the house of God to practice their feast, Hannah was making a robe. And she knew that this robe was gonna have to be a little bigger than it was last year, because this boy is growing up. Year after year, he's changing. And so she has in her mind, I'm gonna make him a new robe.

Now what was this robe all about? Was it just a nice comfortable outfit? No. It had to do with his priestly attire. It had to do, it was a connection with how he would serve the Lord.

And so here you have this woman, you know what's on her mind? I wanna encourage Samuel to continue to serve God. I wanna clothe him with my assurance and my affirmation. I wanna bless him. And it was woven with love.

She didn't go out and buy it. She was making it. And as she was making it, year after year, who knows the words that she had on her lips when she would put that robe around those small little shoulders, keep serving God, Samuel. Keep loving the Lord. Keep honoring him with your life.

You know, your mother gave you to the Lord. That's why you're not at home. But I think about you all the time. Here's a robe. And I believe that Hannah was not just clothing him with a robe.

I believe Hannah was clothing him with prayer throughout those years. And so you know what she was doing as a mother? Encouraging his consecration. See, Eli had his place. I can guarantee you that Halethni and Phineas had no encouragement to give the young man, but as a mother.

She continually blessed him in this direction. She did not think that he was too young not to absorb these things, these spiritual truths. She even dressed him up as a priest as he was growing up. You know what's amazing? Parents are so quick to put their kids into leagues when they can barely run.

They can barely throw a ball and we're willing to put them into sports leagues. We're willing to take kids and place them in musical, schools so that they can be disciplined. And while they're blossoming, they're still trying to figure out how to play the keys and how to play strings. And we're so willing to put them so that we believe that they can absorb these things at a young age, but when it comes to spiritual matters, oh, no. They don't get it yet.

They don't understand. They don't comprehend. We're willing to invest everything into them, but not spiritual matters. Not Hannah. There is an age, there is a moment in a child's life with their minds, there is an advantage that God has He's ordained this, where there's something that is so absorbed.

It's a golden opportunity. JC Ryle said, there's a golden opportunity in a child's life to receive from you with an openness and a willingness unlike any time in their life. And that was true for Hannah, imparting encouragement, imparting hope, stirring him to continue to love the Lord and making very personal and wooing him with love throughout those years. And so what happens? Well, are you afraid about the spiritual condition that your children are gonna grow up in?

Never mind the corruption of the world, and we look around and the shallowness of preaching, and the shallowness of discipleship, and the biblical illiteracy in our day, don't be afraid. Samuel faced it. Hannah faced it. And yet, this man became one of the greatest prophets in that kind of an environment. Isn't that amazing?

And this is why, again, let me make this point. Not having a child, sheltering our children to the point where they're not exposed to the world at all is not the answer. Why? Because God was looking for a voice, and he found it in this young boy because of a woman who dedicated him. And this young man became a messenger that changed the spiritual climate of Israel.

Don't think any less of your children, of your future child to do the same in his generation. We gotta start thinking like this. We can't just think defensively. We gotta start thinking offensively. God wants godly offspring to make a godly influence.

God doesn't want us to just have kids so we can have kids and shelter them from the evil of the world. God wants them to go out as arrows, as Psalm says. Now, again, we might be hearing this and we're being stirred emotionally and we love it, but again, there are walls of hesitation because of examples that you know in your life. Examples of what? Examples of godly parents that you know that raised up children in the best way that they could in the fear of God, and their kids are going in the literal opposite direction.

And you might be like that. And I can tell you over the years, I've talked to enough parents with tears in their eyes saying, where did I go wrong? What did I do? Look at my son, what he's in. Look at my daughter where she's at.

And I wanna encourage you today that the Bible is realistic. But I also wanna let you know that as much as God is faithful under a corrupt government and God is faithful under a corrupt spiritual climate, God is also faithful with a corrupt child. Because we have an example of a man who had a devastating testimony, but it should shock us even more because he had wonderful parents. This man was raised up to be almost like a superhuman, But not just for the sake of showcasing his strength, but to be a judge and a deliverer in the nation of Israel. Samson.

Samson. We are so caught up with Samson's drama and his lust issues that we almost forget about his origins. Samson's call didn't begin with Samson. Samson's call began with his parents before he was even conceived. And you have to understand something as you turn your Bibles to Judges chapter 13.

Samson's parents were godly. Right before first Samuel, we come to Judges 13, and this whole chapter is dedicated to Samson's call. You know what makes Samson so unique? Not just his ability and his power. Samson was one of the few people in the Bible where his birth was announced by an angel.

That is not a common occurrence. This boy was gonna be very special, and this boy was gonna do some great things for God. And what I love about this story is that when the news came to Manoah, his father, first to his wife, we don't know her name, you just see this wonderful orchestration of the relationship. You can tell that they were linked. You can tell that they had a common vision.

She received a word from the angel of the Lord. She runs to him. He hears about it. They run together, and you just look at the language. They run.

They're so urgent to know the will of God for their child. They're in sync. There's a harmony in their relationship. Again, let me reinforce this. Partnership within the household is absolutely crucial to see true effectiveness.

And so as they move along, I love what Manoah says. They come and the angel of the Lord appears again, and this father, I love how the ESV puts it, asks these questions that every godly parent, future godly parent, should be asking God now. Look at verse 12. And Manoah said, now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, question one, and what is his mission? What is to be the manner of his life, and what's his mission?

To be honest, a lot of parents have already answered that question for themselves. They know how he's gonna live, and they know what his purpose in life is gonna be, and they haven't inquired God about it. But godly parents, Lord, I trust in your wisdom to know how to raise my child, and I want to know how can I contribute to his calling that you have in mind for him? Godly parents. And whatever instructions God gave, they submitted to no drinking wine while you're pregnant, and don't cut his hair at all until the day of his death.

No hesitation, pure joy, pure excitement, and I wanna let you know that according to the Bible, they were faithful. There's no recording of, like many examples of parents in the Bible where they fell short. I'm sure they made mistakes, they weren't perfect, but nothing significant to the point where it's worthy of consideration. They were faithful in what God had said. How do we know?

Because when we are introduced to Samson, he has his hair. He has his hair. And he's walking out in God's call at least to a certain degree, and you have to contribute the parents' faithfulness to that. Now here's the part that we're grieved by. You read about their faithfulness.

Even when in Judges 14, look very quickly. Verse one, Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife. That's very aggressive.

But his father and mother said to him, is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives or among all our people that you must go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, get her for me, for she is right in my eyes. That was Samson's problem. He interpreted everything by his own rightness. She's right in my eyes.

But I love that the last verbiage that we get from the parents was a rebuke. They didn't say, okay, we love you so much. Fine. It's not God's will, but we we care about how you no. No.

You can't find anybody else amongst the community of faith that you have to go in this direction. And so what does this prove to us? Let's be realistic. Every person, including your child, has a will. They will have to make a choice at one point in their lives if they're going to follow God, if they're going to surrender his or her life to him.

Samson ultimately had a choice, and he made the wrong one. And he continually made the wrong one, continually made the wrong one, continually made the wrong one. But I want to end where Samson's life ends. Tragic figure. Hair cut, eyes gouged out, a clown for the Philistines.

He became an involuntary entertainer for the pagan. And here he is humiliated, grinding at a mill, being called for their parties as a trophy of victory, but he does something near the end of his life, as you and I know very well. Look at verse 28 of chapter 16. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, oh, Lord God, please remember me, and please strengthen me only this once, oh, God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes. You wanna be shocked?

Go to Hebrews 11, you don't have to turn there and realize that Samson is a part of the Hall of Faith. I do not understand why, and the only thing that makes sense to me is how he ends his life. At the lowest point where he was most disgraced, where he was drowning in his shame, you know what he does? He calls out to God in faith. And this is the point I wanna make.

That was because of his parents. Let me tell you why. I can't make that argument and you can disagree with me on that point. If the angel of the Lord appeared to Samson himself, said Samson, don't drink wine. You're consecrated as a Nazarite.

Don't cut your hair, and no involvement of his parents. But in God's wisdom, God puts the responsibility of this man's consecration and calling upon his parents. Everything that Samson knew about God and his calling came from mom and dad. How how else did he know that his long, his hair was supposed to remain long and not be cut? How else was he supposed to know that he was not supposed to touch certain things and do certain things?

That came from his parents. And this is the argument I wanna make. The seeds of hope and truth that were planted in his heart, though he had rejected it for most of his life, when it came to the most terrifying and darkest place, that light began to flicker, and he knew who to turn to. He knew who to cry out to. He knew who to repent to.

He knew who to give his dying breath to. I wanna tell you something. You do your part. And even though you are seeing a relative destroy their life, though they have been taught otherwise, you never know what those seeds of light and how they will flicker in a time of need. You never know.

Can I testify this morning? I grew up in a Christian home. I didn't get saved, truly born again, until I was 20. And I can tell you this, I was at a dark place in my life. It's It's pretty disappointing when you buy into the agenda of the world of this will satisfy you and this will please you and this will give and you you buy into it only to be disappointed.

So disappointed that it depresses you, so disappointed that it has you questioning the existence of life and the purpose of this whole thing. I'm I'm just a part of this whole rat race. And at the lowest point of my life, I can argue, there is a flicker of light in my soul. When I was trying to look for answers, though I didn't remember the messages that I heard growing up in church, though I would sneak out from the back pew in youth conferences because I could have cared less what's being preached, I wanna go hang out with my friends by the plaza. When I needed it, there is a light into a path, and I knew where to run to because of what was put into me.

And I thought I just had a conversation with somebody yesterday about this, they asked, what what do you think your parents contribution had to your walk with the Lord today? And I said, definitely had an influence. Because if I was in that dark place where my eyes were blind and I was frustrated, I was humiliated in sin, if I didn't hear about Jesus, if I wasn't exposed to truth, if I didn't sit under preaching, if I didn't have my mom pray with me and over me, my dad say things to me, where else would I have gone? What other answers would I have explored? What other paths would I have taken?

What what what how long would that journey have been for me to finally find Jesus, to find him at all? It did have an influence. I knew where to run to. I knew who to call when I needed some answers from the Bible. I knew how to call home.

I knew where to find my first Bible when I said I'm gonna pick up a Bible and read it for myself. I knew where to go. I went into the basement of my parents' home in Brantford, Ontario, and I picked up a Bible. I knew where to go. I knew where to go because something was planted in me.

Samson knew who to cry out to because of what was planted in him. Be encouraged. Your efforts are not in vain. Your discipleship is not in vain. Your sacrifices are not in vain.

Even if they look like they're in vain now with your prodigal, you never know how he'll cry out to God, how she'll cry out to God. Wasted life, sure, but eternal life is more important. I wanna give you these final verses as we close and break bread. How much does God care about your children more than you know? Look at these two passages in Isaiah to get an idea of how God really thinks about your kids, and then we'll close.

Trust these things for your children. Trust the heart of God. In Isaiah 54 verse 13, look what God tells his people in covenant. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. Pray that.

Pray that. God, I'm in covenant with you. I want your spirit to teach my children. I want their peace to be great. And God's not just care about your children.

Go to Isaiah 59, a few chapters later, and look at verse 21. God says, and as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the lord. My spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouth of your offspring or out of the mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. God cares about your grandchildren, not just your children. God is eager to partner with you, father and mother, future father and mother, uncle to your nieces and nephews, grandfather, grandmother.

God is eager to partner with you to bring generational blessing and multiplication of kingdom minded people in this wicked world under a corrupt government, and in many cases, under a corrupt spiritual leadership. And even if those children themselves end up living most of their lives corrupt, God can come at the last quarter and change their life. Let's pray. Father, in this very special morning, we choose to target our prayers and to shower them over our children. Lord, we lift up every father and mother that might be fearing for their kids.

We ask for a peace. We ask that these examples of faith would impart hope and strategy to know that you are so eager and willing to work in and through us. Lord, we pray for those who feel unnecessary guilt that they have failed, that maybe they haven't done the right thing for their children. But, Lord, may they know that it's never too late to be an example. It's never too late to impart truth.

God, we ask that the kids of this church would be taught by you and that their peace will be great. Lord, that what you have taught us and the words that you've put in our mouths and our hearts would be replicated and multiplied in them and in their children. We pray and we believe you for generational blessings. Lord, we pray and believe you for household salvation. No prodigals.

No wayward children. We pray for entire households to be dedicated to the Lord. We pray, Lord, for just like the parents that we read of, a unisons. Lord, a partnership, an encouragement to energize one another, to discipling and pouring into their children. And, Lord, we pray for this church, Lord, by your Holy Spirit, that you would give us the wisdom to know how to raise up a child's program, a youth program that will bless those those young ones that would come.

Give us wisdom, Lord. We wanna do it your way. Help us not underestimate their minds. Help us not limited to simple activities and trivial things, but, Lord, to teach them doctrine, and to teach them truth, and to help them pray, God. Help us, Lord, trust in your word, and we believe that you will, Lord, in this place have a remnant of young ones that will be protected and used for your glory.

We surrender our children to you, Father. We say yes to you, Lord. Do it as you would, oh, God. We need your help. Our families need your help, God.

And we sing to you, Lord, in faith concerning your faithfulness over our children. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.