11:26 Well, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Welcome to our final session of this Maranatha Conference twenty twenty six. It has been a joy. It has been a time of refreshing.
11:43 And I wanna welcome those in the community who have joined us for this session. And keep in mind, this is not just our final session. This is the Lord's day. And this is the Lord's day service. Everything that we do is focused on exalting him today.
12:00 You know, I was thinking about earlier that we live in a day and age with a lot of deception, a lot of false religions and false teachings. So how can a believer protect their heart and their mind? How can a believer know what is the truth in a world filled with noise? Well, one one thing we can do is we test everything by what that religion or what that person says about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the litmus test of true religion.
12:38 You see, the Jews have it wrong. They don't recognize their Messiah. Jehovah witnesses have it wrong. Jesus is not a created being. The Mormons have it wrong.
12:49 Jesus was not a man who attained godhood. Islam, Muslims, they have it wrong. Jesus is not a prophet who happens to be even lesser than Mohammed. And of course, the atheist in the secular world has it wrong. Jesus is not a mere good teacher or historical figure who had good sayings or was a martyr for what he believed.
13:14 No. Christian, Jesus Christ is our King and our Lord. Truly God and truly man, the alpha and the omega, our redeemer, our sustainer, our great high priest. Anything else, means to our own ends. Jesus Christ is not a means to church growth.
13:48 Jesus Christ is not a means to quote unquote racial diversity. Jesus Christ is not your homeboy. He's not your invisible friend. He is our lord. And we approach him today with holy reverence, with serious joy.
14:07 I hope you've come expecting great things today as we exalt Christ. He gets the glory, and he says we get the joy. Read from the word of God. And may it wash over us. May it fan the affections of our soul to him today.
14:27 And may it focus our attention on giving our all to him. So will you please rise for the reading of God's word this morning? First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18. First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18. First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18.
14:40 First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18. First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18. First Corinthians, chapter one, starting at verse number 18. Starting at verse number 18. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing.
14:51 But to us, who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?
15:13 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. A stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling.
15:52 Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. Weak in the world to shame the strong.
16:09 God chose what is low and despised
16:12 in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness
16:28 and sanctification and redemption. So that, as it is written, let one who let the one who boast in the Lord. And, I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Let's Father, we thank you for this time that we get to come and gather as your bride, as your body, as your to unite our hearts together, to unite our faith and our voices and our prayers. Lord, may you have your way in this meeting today.
17:18 May you have your way in our hearts today. May it be fertile soil for the preaching of your word, for your truth. May it have been planned deeply into our hearts. And Father, for all of us today, sin that so easily entangles us, so that we might run this race with freedom, that we might run this race with joy, and that we might run this race. Expecting wonderful things from you.
17:51 To you be the glory today. And Laura, we ask for your unending joy. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Church, will you join the heavenly chorus now with your voices and give your praise to the Lord?
37:38 Let's pray together. Lord, you have given us ample reasons to sing hallelujah. We praise your holy name on this Lord's day. And Lord as we have come as your people, we ask that you would give us even more reasons. As we approach your word, as we hear from your voice, Lord, we we ask that you declutter our hearts, anything that would obstruct this transmission of truth.
38:07 Oh, Lord, deliver us. We yearn for you. We hunger and thirst for righteousness and we have come to eat and drink. We believe that you have a feast prepared for us and we give you thanks in advance. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
38:21 Well, before you're seated, why don't you turn to somebody and welcome them to this Lord's day service. Well, by the grace of God, we have made it through yet another year of conference. This is the last service of Maranatha Conference twenty twenty six. Yes. And we wanna say a special welcome to the community of the Maranatha Bible Missionary Conference.
39:17 And so MBC Church and other visitors, can we welcome the community who have joined us to this service? It is always a joy to worship the Lord with you. And I was told that there are some from Chicago who drove up here for this morning service. So let's welcome them as well. Those are good members.
39:43 They don't they don't wanna miss church. Well, listen. Your prayers have been answered this weekend for many reasons, but I also want us to give God glory for this wonderful, testimony. We have seen and heard of first professions of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, especially in last night's service. Yes.
40:11 People with tears of repentance, people who have heard the voice of God in their hearts, people who got on their knees and received Jesus Christ as Lord. And this is what it's all about, isn't it? Yes. And we have even more reason to rejoice. Some of you are aware in the last two years that as a church, we have been looking for a brand new building.
40:38 We've been saving up and we've been praying and we've been waiting and we've been searching and we've been by God's grace patient. And we wanna let you know especially the community here that God has answered our prayers. We have been been able to find a building. Yes. So allow me give me a few minutes to share a little bit of the story leading up to this.
41:01 So this last or this past January, it was on our hearts because we were renting from a wonderful Polish congregation for about four and a half years. It was on our hearts that in the New Year that we would, as a church, fast and pray. And so we did that for the first weekend of the month of January. We also did other things but that was the main thing. And one of our prayers was, should the Lord give us a building?
41:23 And we believe that he will give us a building. We want it to be a story that when people hear about it, they would be able to say, That is God. That is God. Well, about a month after that prayer and fasting weekend where every night from Friday to Sunday at 7PM we opened the doors and people came and we just cried out to God. We received a message from a gentleman, a wonderful brother in Christ who was not attending our church at the time, he's attending our church now with his wife.
41:55 And he was made aware of our need, he was made aware of what the Lord was doing at NBC. And so he had let us know that the Lord put it on his heart to help us find a place. So after a few short weeks, a building came to, his attention and then he brought it to our attention. And so we visited it, and I think we have some pictures that we can show at this point just for you to get an idea of what we stumbled upon when we came to see this building. It was not on the market and, it was something that a church was looking to give to another church.
42:28 And they've been approached by, concert venues. They've been approached by music programs and music organizations and they were even approached by a mosque saying, We will pay whatever you want us to pay for this facility. And this church, called the chapel refused. They said, We will not do that. Yes.
42:55 And it was on their hearts to give it to a kingdom minded ministry, a kingdom minded gospel preaching church. And in God's providence, we were able to meet with that leadership. And just to give you some details, we came from a church that had zero parking spaces. Z when I mean zero, I mean zero. K?
43:13 It was all street parking and if there was two inches of snow on those streets, you could not park. And so there were a couple of, very scary Sundays with heavy snow where, I won't tell you what we did to get people situated in park for us to have church on those Sundays. We were unfortunately harassed by some neighbors during those years and so we went from zero parking spaces to this potential building of close to 300 parking spaces. Yes, we can celebrate that. And then we walked into the sanctuary and realized that, it was a sanctuary that was built for, seating up to a thousand seats.
43:57 Currently it has over 600 seats. There's a balcony there. There are plenty of Sunday school rooms. There's a fellowship hall and it sits on 15 acres of land. And so, yes, we can rejoice in that.
44:12 So we walk in here and I'm looking at this place. To be honest, I was more excited about the parking lot than anything else. And, we're a young church. You you all know this. We're we're a very young church.
44:26 And so the the wonderful brother in Christ who initially reached out to us and helped us find this place asked, what do you think? And we said, well it's amazing. It's actually above and beyond what we even prayed for. And, he let us know, if you want this building, I will donate a million dollars for it. And, yes.
44:49 And so we brought this news to the congregation, to the members, and, we were going to make an offer and we did. And in a short window of time, we did our best to raise funds. And, when we came to the, actual closing date, the same gentleman who made that amazing donation let us know, be at ease. Whatever is left, don't go to the bank. I will lend you the rest of the money.
45:14 And, yes. And so I wanna let you know that we were able to purchase this building and it is the new home of Maranatha Bible Church in Chicago,
45:36 So two things for the community here. One, you have to visit us now. And two, we wanna say thank you from the bottom of our hearts because we know that many of you have prayed with us and for us and many of you also have made contributions financially and we want to let you know that God has used you in this story. You are a part of this story. And, we're so excited to be able to give God all the glory.
46:00 Me personally, I've been able to share that with even unbelieving friends and neighbors and when they hear it, they say, I got goosebumps. That that has to be a miracle and they don't even believe in God. I said, amen. And so the Lord has done above and beyond what we ask as he always does. And I just want to publicly testify and let you know that we serve the living God.
46:20 You know this, but we serve a living God. And the Israelites asked the Lord in the wilderness, can he serve a table for us in the wilderness? And the answer is yes, he can. It may seem bleak. It may seem like a drought.
46:34 It may seem like there's no doors and then God shows up. And he does something like this. So we glorify him for it. Well, lastly here before we get into the word of God, we we know that some of you always ask about how you can give to, Maranatha Bible Church and, to the conference. And as you heard the other night, what you pay to attend the conference every year just covers the costs, of all the things that you get to experience and benefit from this wonderful facility.
47:02 But it doesn't cover all the costs. And so every year many of you are so kind to to go above and beyond and to give and we wanna give you the opportunity to do that now. And if there's any additional, donations, that will go to Maranatha Bible Church. And and so we're grateful for your partnership in this way. So the ushers are here to help us with baskets and there are different instructions on the screens of ways you can give.
47:24 And as that is taking place, the team here will play softly for us and at the same time, prepare your hearts as we get into God's word in a few minutes here. Thank you so much. Let's pray together. Father, again, we thank you for this blessed morning. As we come to your holy word, speak to our hearts and may Christ be glorified.
51:53 In Jesus name we pray, amen. Amen. Well, if you've been with us since Thursday night, then you know that the theme of our conference this year is unsung heroes of the Bible. And we began in the book of Hebrews on that evening. And I thought it would be fitting to bring this, weekend full circle and return to the book of Hebrews to receive from God's word yet again.
52:16 And as you turn there with me, I wanna remind you that of the notable figures that are highlighted in that incredible chapter known as the chapter of the Hall of Faith, Hebrews chapter 11. There are two figures who receive the most attention, Abraham and Moses. And it's not surprising at all why. But what's more interesting is to see who is mentioned between these biographies. Who bridges the gap?
52:48 Who are the individuals that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention as we transition from Abraham to the discourse of Moses? And so you read thereafter Abraham something like this. By faith Isaac, and in the next breath, by faith Jacob, and expectedly by faith Joseph. These are not surprising honorable mentions either. They are foundational personalities that form the basis for our very faith.
53:18 But there is one more thread woven into the transition that can be easily overlooked and this will be the text that we will consider together this morning. So look at with me Hebrews chapter 11 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. I wanna speak to you today about Moses' parents.
53:53 That's the title of this message. Moses' parents. And more than just looking at how the Holy Spirit commends this couple for their faith, I want us to also consider how without their faith, Moses very likely would not have been the beloved leader and man of God he became. And we are going to dedicate this message to them and I believe it's helpful to first determine what their names are. What are the names of Moses' parents?
54:22 If you want to know, one helpful place is the book of Numbers. And so listen to these words from Numbers 26 verse 59. The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. Amram and Jochebed or in Hebrew, Jochebed or Jochebed.
54:49 Amram means exalted people. Jochebed means Jehovah is glory. Beautiful names for a beautiful couple. But what's more interesting to me is how both of them descend from the tribe of Levi. That's confirmed also in Exodus chapter two.
55:07 Why is it significant that this couple comes from Levi? Well, before Exodus, there's Genesis. And if you read Genesis carefully, then you understand that Levi does not have the best light shut on him as an individual and also as a tribe concerning his future. You have to remember that in Genesis 49 when Jacob was ready to bless his 12 sons, he couples Levi and Simeon. He links them together and instead of a blessing, he grants them and offers them a very bleak, prophetic future.
55:46 Mainly because of their barbaric actions against the Shechemites. And so Levi and Simeon don't seem like they have the best thing going for them because of their own actions. And so it should be to our shock that when we enter into the book of Exodus and discover in the first few verses that the man that would be raised up to be the deliverer of the Jewish people would come from the tribe of Levi. You have to remember, this was before the tribe of Levi stood out and stood by Moses at that incident of the golden calf. You remember what the Lord said, right?
56:24 When he descent descended on that mountain and he found Israel dancing around a golden calf worshiping an idol, he said, Who is on the Lord's side? And it was Levi that approached. Well, this is before that. And so with Jacob's prophecy still ringing in our ears, we enter into the narrative of Exodus. And as we are ready now to see how God is going to raise up a deliverer, the honest reader would say, There is no way that the tribe of Levi is gonna be on the top of this list.
56:58 And to our surprise, Levi is chosen. And this is a repeated thing that we've been hearing this weekend as we consider unsung heroes of the Bible that God is very gracious and generous in who He chooses to serve Him. To have Moses associated with Levi at this juncture says something about the immensity of God's grace. And so if you haven't believed it yet, dear brother or sister, you doubt yourself, you doubt because of your heritage, your upbringing, look to this God and see how merciful He is when He needs to find a man or a woman to do something for His glory. But there's so much more to learn from Amram and Jochebed.
57:45 So much more. And all it requires of us is to slowly meditate on the, the verse that we open this time together with. And it is back in Hebrews eleven twenty three. We're going to stay there and consider something about this couple. More specifically, I want us this morning to look at four elements of their faith.
58:04 Four elements of the faith of Amram and Jochebed. And the reason why we want to discuss their faith is because that is what the Holy Spirit highlights about them as the motivation for their decisions and why they made the choices that they made. The verse that we read in Hebrews eleven twenty three opens as follows, by faith. By faith. So what can we learn about faith through them?
58:30 Well there are four things. And the first thing that I want us to consider is the influence of their faith. Now this is what's so interesting about this section of scripture in Hebrews 11. The Holy Spirit, through the anonymous author, is preparing us to consider the account of Moses' faith. And we look to it and realize that Moses' faith is indeed mentioned.
58:57 But then he goes on to speak about the parents of Moses. So look at it again. By faith Moses. And when considering the rest of the verse, we would think that perhaps he would write it differently. Maybe something like, by faith Moses' parents or by faith the parents of Moses.
59:14 But it does not say that. Now some English translations, modern ones, try to restructure the sentence so that it can read like that in the English. But a faithful word for word translation says, by faith Moses. So it kinda kinda seems like it doesn't flow well. By faith Moses, and then you go on to speak about his parents.
59:38 But I'm persuaded this is totally intentional. We're being prepared to look at Moses, but it's as though the Spirit of God by phrasing it in this manner, wants us to first acknowledge and recognize the history of Moses' faith. The influence and the atmosphere that Moses grew up in before he exercised his own trust in God. It's as though here in verse 23, the Holy Spirit wants to confirm that Moses' faith, as exemplary and as stunning as it was, would not have been possible without what we find here in this text, Without growing up in the home that he was raised in. By faith Moses, and then we discuss his parents.
1:00:34 Now, this in no way teaches that faith is automatically passed down from parents to children. But it undoubtedly reveals the incredible influence that the environment of the home creates for our little ones. Especially when both parents are in sync with their devotion to Christ. I know that's not always true. But believe God for it, even even if you're ten years into it.
1:01:03 Both of the parents are celebrated for their faith. His parents. And this moves me to believe, and I want to share in that faith with you for your own life, that it's possible for a husband and wife to be equally yoked. It's possible for them to be united in mission and united in conviction. Oh, let's be realistic.
1:01:27 It doesn't mean that you're all you're both gonna be strong in faith at the same time all the time. It doesn't mean that one and the other are gonna have the same kind of knowledge of scripture, but that's not what God is even asking of us necessarily. The same vision, the same principles, the same trust, and to grow and to help each other as you pursue it day by day. However, when you look at the original account of this, one of the two is highlighted for their trust in the Lord. So go to Exodus chapter two now.
1:02:06 Look at this with me. Because Hebrews celebrates the faith of both of these parents. But then you come to Exodus two and recognize that one is being highlighted. Exodus chapter two, look at your verse one with me. Let's read our Bible slowly.
1:02:28 Shall we? Exodus two verse one. Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
1:02:45 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with butamen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the riverbank. Who's being underscored here? Jochebed. Mama.
1:03:03 The wife. Now, you can say perhaps this is communicating that Jochebed had the stronger faith or this was her idea to begin with. And she got the approval of her husband and then they worked together. I think you can say that. But I think there's something more being spelled out here, something deeper.
1:03:23 One of the reasons why she is being spotlighted is because of the context of Hebrews or excuse me, Exodus one and two. Think about this with me. What was Pharaoh's primary fear when he saw the growth of the nation of Israel within the land of Egypt? What was his main concern? What what was he worried about?
1:03:44 Well, you don't have to guess. Go to verse 15 of Exodus one. In Exodus one fifteen, Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other Puah, When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew woman and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him but if it is a daughter, she shall live. So he is primarily concerned about the boys, the Hebrew boys who would grow up to be men and potentially a military threat. He could envision that a militia would be created and that there would be a war within Egypt.
1:04:24 And so he specifically makes this order, kill the boys. But he made a mistake because he dismissed the daughters, and we can say the women altogether. Have you ever noticed who is highlighted in the early chapters of Exodus? Who were the ones responsible for frustrating the evil edict of this pharaoh? Well, again, look at verse 17 of Exodus one.
1:04:57 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. And in Exodus two verse two again, the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. It's the woman in the story. Pharaoh didn't consider this sisters.
1:05:25 And I believe that is what the Holy Spirit is trying to showcase to us and I believe it is to build up the faith of our beloved women, and mothers, and wives especially. Don't be so quick to sell short your faith. Don't underestimate how your faith, precious sister, directed at your children or for your child is so impactful. I want you to see here how you have the women who are being highlighted for dismantling the decree of Pharaoh. It is the woman in Exodus who were used by God to save a nation and is started in the home.
1:06:18 So this is why Exodus two highlights mom, though the father also gets credit. But now when we look at Exodus two, we see something else as we compare it with Hebrews 11. Did you notice that in Exodus two, as we see the movements of Jochebed, the word faith is not mentioned at all. Hebrews says, by faith. When you look at Exodus two, they're just actions.
1:06:46 Is that significant? Absolutely. They complement one another. Because the faith that Moses observed and that Moses experienced was something that was real. Faith to these parents was not just a label that they slapped on their family name.
1:07:05 Faith in this household was not something that they experienced once a week. Faith was observable. Faith was tangible. Faith came from the heart in mom and dad. And if we aspire to see authentic faith in our children, it starts with authentic faith in our own lives.
1:07:32 The greatest disservice that we do for our little ones to the next generation is give them a faith that lasts an hour and a half on a Sunday and doesn't exist the other days of the week. That kind of faith will not win the next generation. That kind of atmosphere is not going to stand a chance against all the filth, and all the pollution, and all the powers of darkness that want to destroy your children and mine. And so, we can explore this practically and we can look at this more specifically. But for now, I just want to apply this first point with you and challenge you, parents especially, grandparents as well, aspiring parents included.
1:08:28 Perhaps we need to have an honest conversation on our way home today, leaving conference, of what kind of environment we're creating in our homes. Is what happens in our living room, the conversations around the dinner table, what we do on weekends, and how we go on vacation, does that arouse the flesh or does it build up the faith of our children? The way we speak, the way we interact, does that create anger and fear regarding the world or do we inspire with all the headlines and all the tragedies close to home and far from home, a fear of God instead? You know, sometimes you meet young people and they're riddled with anxiety. I'm thinking, you're so young.
1:09:15 You don't even know what taxes are yet. You don't know what debt is yet. You you and how are you riddled and then I meet their parents and I say, okay. It makes sense. It makes sense.
1:09:27 I'm not talking about not warning our children. I'm not talking about telling them what is out there, but if that's all you're talking about and you wonder why they're crippled in fear. And you wonder why they're depressed. That is not our duty. As we're about to see here, the results of their faith at the end of this message.
1:09:52 I heard it from one preacher and it stuck with me since. If there's anything that you and I are called to do as parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, is amaze our children with God. Amaze them with God. And that can only happen if you were actually amazed by God for yourself. And so I look at these parents in Exodus two and I realize that this is faith with legs on it.
1:10:19 This is faith that moves and acts. This is faith that actually responds to government decrees and and political movements and shiftings and the fear of this and the fear of that and they're fearless. Moses saw this. You're saying he he was three months old. Just wait.
1:10:39 It wasn't just the first three months. So I want you and I first to see the influence of their faith, the atmosphere that their faith created in the home. And how about you single people? I mentioned this earlier this weekend. Let me say it again just in case you missed it.
1:10:55 Who are you looking for in a spouse? Let me say it again. Who are you looking for in a potential candidate? Because whether you want to admit it or not, whoever you link yourself to is going to help you create that kind of atmosphere in the home. And it could be for the better or for the worse.
1:11:18 Look for somebody who loves God. Look for somebody who fears God. Look for somebody who has peace with God. Look for somebody who's actually wanting to see the next generation come to serve Christ. Because again, we can't change this.
1:11:35 The first school of faith that all of our children will attend will be the home, will be the home. It's not gonna be Sunday school. It's It's not gonna be youth group. It's not gonna be where they go to college and the college campus. It's gonna be the living room and the bedroom and the kitchen.
1:11:52 So choose wisely. But now we consider a brief point, the second one, as we look at four elements of the faith of this couple and that is the practicality of their faith. Notice again with me in Hebrews eleven twenty three that it says, By faith, Moses was hidden for three months by his parents. This is again brief, but I think it's important to highlight anyway. By faith Moses' parents hid him, which means that they concealed his presence from watching neighbors and patrolling Egyptian guards.
1:12:26 Can you imagine how difficult that that would be? I know. I have a two month old now. Right? And there have been a couple of nights where she's shrieking in the hallway and we're thinking, please.
1:12:37 There's other kids here. Let's not create an unnecessary revival in this hallway. And so I'm just thinking three months and remember, these are slaves. Their living conditions weren't the best. So what did it look like for them to hide Moses?
1:12:56 What did that require? But more than that, we're learning about their faith. Don't you trust God, Amram and Jochebed? Okay. Hide them in the home, but hide him in the home?
1:13:06 Like, you're you're actually going to try to make it as though he's he's not there. I mean, get get some fresh air with him. Invite some family and friends over. Loosen up a little bit. Why so cautious?
1:13:19 Why so careful? Don't you trust God? Are there Christians who think like that? I've met them. But what I see here is that true faith makes one wise.
1:13:33 It's not reckless. It's not presumptuous. It does not tempt God. Unfortunately, some Christians have very silly ideas of what it means to be spiritual. And one of those ideas is, if you trust God, it means you don't have to put any effort into taking legitimate security measures or practical steps to protect ourselves or our loved ones.
1:13:52 Any kind of faith that dismisses danger or is careless where we should be cautious is not commended by God. Listen, when Christ calls us to be Christians, he calls us to repent, but he never asks you to repent of common sense. And so I see here that while the faith of these parents are being celebrated, they're also very much practical and God champions that. I also wondered here, as some have, if God had such a grand purpose for Moses, wouldn't he have done something supernatural in order to preserve him? Could he have not made him invisible for those first few years?
1:14:32 Could he have not blocked the ears of the neighbors so that they wouldn't hear those precious little cries throughout the night? He could have. Especially in a book like Exodus manifestations of God's power, just throw another one in. But even in this book of miracles, God wants to remind us that he's a practical God And that He enjoys advancing His will and His purposes through our daily feeble means. He works with us when we do what we're called to do as we rely on His strength.
1:15:11 So yes, they defied the king's decree, but they still hid him. And the Lord used that very act to preserve this boy. Well, think about the Lord Jesus. Did He not face a similar challenge at the early stages of his incarnation? In fact, this is a foreshadowing of what we would see in Christ, who in Herod was in that murderous rage and wanted to slay all the Hebrew boys in order to try to find his rival as the king of the Jews was predicted and prophesied in his lifetime.
1:15:42 But it wasn't just it wasn't just the birth of Christ. Let me read to you what Jesus did in John chapter 11. Just listen to this. You don't have to turn there. John 11 verse 53.
1:15:53 So from that day on, they made plans to put him to death. That is Christ. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, But went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim and there He stayed with the disciples. So even Christ in His adult years knew when to hide Himself when they arose. Being practical doesn't mean that you lack faith.
1:16:24 And Moses' parents show us that. Well, thirdly, now we come to the motivation of their faith. The motivation for their faith. We come back to our main verse and we read here that the conviction that persuaded Amram and Jochebed is very plain. Why they risked their lives why they risked the lives of their children is because they saw that this child, Moses, was beautiful.
1:16:49 Now when I first looked at this, I thought to myself, that's kind of stating the obvious. Every mom and dad thinks their child is adorable. Every mom and dad thinks their child is the most beautiful, despite what anybody else says. So why does the Holy Spirit wanna tell us that they saw that this child was beautiful, that's why they did what they did? Was it to say that he was exceptionally attractive and that did something to them psychologically, to restrain them from surrendering him to
1:17:15 unthinkable? You could say that. But again, there's something deeper here because there's another place that mentions Moses's beauty that I believe gives us the right understanding of what these parents saw. So now, I'm gonna ask you to go to Acts chapter seven. And I want you to see what Stephen by the Spirit says about Moses' birth in verse 20.
1:17:46 Acts seven verse 20. Now if you have the King James translation, you're gonna be a little surprised by this. But if you have any other word for word translation, you will see this. Acts seven verse 20. At this time Moses was born and he was beautiful to who?
1:18:07 In God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house. Beautiful in God's sight. Again, if you have the King James, come see me after the service and I'll tell you why they word it differently. It's in the original Greek.
1:18:23 God is mentioned in the original manuscripts. It's not a manuscript variation here. It's a translation choice. But imagine this, beautiful in God's sight, what can this possibly mean? Now some say, well, clearly the baby was adorable to God also.
1:18:39 But is that how God measures beauty? Does God just look at the outward appearance? Oh, you know God. You know what he says in his word. So it can't possibly mean that the Lord himself was moved by the physical features of this Moses.
1:18:57 And I think the clue here, in one point we see that Pharaoh had a different opinion about the Hebrew boys, did he not? He saw these boys as disposable. He saw them that they had no worth, no value, and should be discarded into a river. And so you see a contrast of perspectives. You have this powerful king in Egypt who saw these boys as despicable and as a threat and as a danger and so he seeks to kill them.
1:19:29 And the spirit of God wants to remind us despite what Pharaoh thought and projected that Moses was beautiful in his sight. What a word for us in an age where we're slaughtering babies every single day. That sometimes even professing Christians are tempted to see their babies the way pharaoh in Egypt does. But then we're reminded here that that child is beautiful in God's sight. So that's one one thought to consider.
1:20:01 But the beauty seems to be alluding to something else. There's something special about Moses. There's something extraordinary about his his life, his calling, and his purpose. That's what I think the beauty is. And you're saying how?
1:20:13 Well, look here at verse 17 of Acts chapter seven. Acts seven verse 17. But as the time of the promise drew near, which God granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt. Highlight that first part. But as the time of the promise drew near What is Stephen speaking about?
1:20:36 Well, remember God made a promise to Abram that his seed would be in a foreign nation for four hundred years. They would be enslaved and then they would be delivered. So Stephen is mentioning here that promise now as he is reviewing Israel's history is drawing near. The language is very important because now you read on and you read this in verse 20 again, acts seven. As this at this time rather, Moses was born.
1:21:01 What time? The time of verse 17. The time of the promise of deliverance drawing near. At this time, Moses was born and he was beautiful in God's sight. So, what's happening here?
1:21:15 The beauty that's being described about Moses is linked to the timing of the deliverance of God's people. Moses looks upon, or God looks upon Moses and he sees something beautiful about him because of the timing of his birth. So the beauty is less about how he looks and more about the calling he's going to fulfill. He's beautiful in God's sight because of the day and age in which he was born. And then when you go to Hebrews and you realize that he was beautiful in the sight of his parents, ah, it's not so much that he was cute.
1:21:57 It was that there was some understanding that there is something special about this boy. And some would go as far to say that they received direct revelation from God that he would be the deliverer for their people. But I I can't make that conclusion from silence. But what we can say when we connect these truths is that they must have had some kind of instinct. They must have had some kind of intuition, not the full picture, maybe not even a major part of the picture, but just some kind of tug in their heart.
1:22:29 There's something unique about this boy. We have to be willing to risk our lives in order to save him and keep him. This was the motivation for their faith. How do we apply it to ourselves? Well, if you put Acts seven with Hebrews 11 together, then the faith that was generated in the hearts of these parents came from aligning their perspective with God's.
1:22:54 The reason why they were able to see pass through the threats, even pass through the preservation of their own lives was because they saw in this moment as God saw. You wanna build your faith. You wanna be courageous. You wanna be able to stand against the tides of a demented culture and the cascading turmoil and fear, you need to align your perspective to God's. You need to get your mind saturated with God's Word.
1:23:26 You need to allow him to do internal surgery every single day until you are able to perceive and interpret and register the way God does. And that's what we see with this couple. Beautiful in God's sight, beautiful in the sight of the parents. And so faith in your heart and mind will never survive, never grow, never be passed down to the next generation unless we build it up and we align it to God's viewpoint. And now, we come to the last point, considering their faith.
1:24:08 And that is the reward for their faith. There's so much that can be said about the reward of these parents and how they trusted God. But there's one thing that we need to establish and that is how this impartation of Amram and Jochebed went beyond the first three months of Moses' life. How do we know that? Because when Jochebed put that precious boy in that little basket and did what she could to make sure that it wouldn't sink, oh, I wish I had time to tell you what that ark represents, what that little basket points to.
1:24:42 And she places him in the reeds, I believe strategically. I believe silently praying. And she walked away and she had her daughter supervised. And Pharaoh's daughter comes to bathe and discovers this boy and adopts him. And right there, providentially, there's Moses' sister saying, I know a Hebrew woman that can nurse him.
1:25:07 Go, and I'm going to pay her for it. Don't you love that part? I love it. Pharaoh who had commanded the Hebrew boys to be killed was now unknowingly paying Moses' own mother to nurture and raise up the deliverer of the Jewish people. And it was in those formative years, because later we read in Exodus two ten that when Moses grew older, he was brought to Pharaoh's daughter.
1:25:36 We don't know the exact age, but it was in those years that Amram and Jochabed wasted no time. Oh, I can imagine it. As he sat on their laps, it was during those years that they would have instilled in them the truths of God. We can imagine them speaking about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promises that God made to Abram about the future of their people.
1:26:04 All the things that they were going to look forward to, rehearsing the story into his young heart. And when the time came, he had to go back to Egypt. And we can relate to that, because unless you raise your son or your daughter to be a modern day hermit, there will be a time when they have to leave home and engage with Egypt. And now you have to understand. Think about it for a moment.
1:26:35 Moses would have received the best kind of education in Egypt. He was Pharaoh's adopted grandson. What did he learn in those classrooms? I'm sure he learned about the rich history of Egypt, its architectural accomplishments. I'm sure that he became accustomed with the gods of Egypt and how to appease them.
1:27:01 I'm sure that he even sat in some classes that discussed the ideological and justifications for the enslavement of the Hebrew people. And for years and years, graduation after graduation, he would be immersed in Egyptian culture and education. And you think to yourself, Hey, there's no way he's going to come out of this trusting in the God of Israel. It's gonna be erased. Ultimately, all the efforts of his parents would be in vain.
1:27:37 Is that what we read? Look back here at Hebrews 11 verse 23 and let's read through to verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was born, highlight that, 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. By faith, when he was grown up, Highlight that. Refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
1:28:06 So again, those seeds of faith blossomed and flourished. Though there are many threats and dangers and attacks against it to try to squash it and bury it and replace it, it not only survived, it thrived. I'm aware that I'm speaking to a crowd here of people who may have wayward children or grandchildren. And you're listening to this whole message and you're thinking, Perhaps I made a mistake in the way I raised my children or I did all that I can to to try to point them to Christ. And I just want you to be encouraged that who you're hearing from today is somebody who lived in Egypt for a while and intended to stay there for the rest of my life.
1:28:59 But something happened to me when I was living at home before I went to college. Though distracted and some of you young people might be distracted right now, I've seen enough and I've heard enough to not be able to sin comfortably. And even though I was convinced this is what this is what I've been looking for my whole life, nobody's got to wake me up on Sunday morning to go to church again. Nobody's got to tell me if I've read my Baha'i. Nobody's got to ask me to pray.
1:29:32 Oh, I was wrestling in my heart even while I was in sin. All my conscience would keep me up some nights. I could not fight it off. Why? Because of those seeds.
1:29:50 Couple that with the prayers of your parents still at home, something is bound to happen. I'm not here promising anything. I'm just here telling you, Don't underestimate that seed. Moses here, though a young boy, was able to stand against all the persuasions, all the temptations, all the ideas of Egypt. And if you doubt that there's a connection between the faith of his parents and his faith, go back again to verse 23.
1:30:27 There's so many things that we can miss. Look at the last part of verse 23. I'll just read the whole verse again. 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. Then you read on and what do you discover in verse 27 of Hebrews 11?
1:30:47 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king. Do you see how the Holy Spirit is intentional with His wording? Do you see the mirror that He is creating? For He endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Where did you learn your fearlessness, Moses?
1:31:04 Oh, I saw it in mom and dad. How were you able to stand against fear? Oh, my mom did when I was a little boy. Satan would convince you that what you are doing today with your little ones, what you are doing for your grandchildren will not have any lasting value. My Bible says something else.
1:31:29 Trust your word. Don't trust with what you see. I know they get fidgety. I know that they'd rather do something else than hear what you have to say from God's word. I know that they'd rather go to the park than sit in a service like this.
1:31:39 You keep planting that seed and let God's word do the work. And by God's grace, it will show up when it matters the most. But wait, it even gets more glorious than that. The account of Moses' faith in this chapter spans from verse 23 to verse 29. That's the complete picture.
1:32:03 And so the other day, I was thinking to myself, how does this discourse on Moses' faith come to a close before God speaks about Jericho and Rahab? Look at verse 29 of Hebrews 11. By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, But the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. What's the relevance? Again, this is still connected to Moses' faith and Moses' story.
1:32:31 Well, think about it. This all begins with the faith of Moses' parents. Exercised within the confines of their own home and it ends with an entire generation believing in the God of Israel as they were led by the faith of that same Moses who was the product of the faith of his parents. I'm sure that Amram and Jochebed never imagined that them hiding this boy and teaching him the things of God would lead to an entire nation believing in the same Lord and trusting him with the lives of their children. What do I mean by that?
1:33:12 Look at verse 28. By faith, he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. The artistry of the Bible, it begins with two parents protecting the life of their little one. And by the end of this account, we read of an entire nation who trusted in God to protect their little ones. So what's the point of this as we are considering unsung heroes of the Bible?
1:33:50 Here's how I pray it encourages you as you go back to your mundane day to day diaper changing and school driving, and activity attending, and grandparent duty, and uncle and aunt visits, or Sunday school leaders. Moses' parents weren't the ones standing before the Red Sea. Moses' parents weren't the ones confronting Pharaoh directly. Moses' parents were not the ones leading Israel out of Egypt. They were just two Hebrew slaves who made a choice with their newest born to hide him and with the time that they had with him to teach him about the true and living God.
1:34:37 And that would be the catalyst for everything else that we read in this awesome Exodus story. Your home is a sanctuary. That Sunday school hour can raise up a revivalist. What you're doing today and what you will do tomorrow is not in vain. Be encouraged by Moses' parents.
1:35:03 And now let's give God glory for it. But we thank you for your word. How you were able to make it more clear to us. How you were able to help us connect scripture with scripture. And how you were able to, through an obscure passage, inspire our hearts.
1:35:30 And even at this time, Lord, we choose to respond to this message by faith immediately. I pray for those who are discouraged, who are heavy hearted, Lord, that you would comfort them. You would comfort them And that they would partner with You to do what they can from this point on. Pray for those who are just starting a family that You would inspire them through the faith of these parents to follow in their steps with absolute trust. We give You glory and thanks for Your word now.
1:36:11 In Jesus' name, amen. I want us to do something that we've never done on any Sunday at conference. The team is going to help but we're going to sing in a moment. But I think with a message like this, we should respond. Parents, if you came with your little ones, I'm going to ask you to pray with them.
1:36:30 Grandparents, if you're there with your grandchildren, I want you to find them and pray with them. If you're here today and you say, I don't have children. Maybe you have nieces and nephews that aren't here. But I'm gonna ask you to stand in proxy and pray for them. Maybe you don't have nieces and nephews but you're part of a church.
1:36:49 I want you to pray for the children of your local church. I want us right here, right now, to actually pray over our little ones. And so if you need to step out and do that, it's only going to be a couple of minutes here, but just with complete sincerity and intentionality to place your hand on their head or to grab their hands or to put your arm around their shoulder. And if they're not here, just pray for them and and let's just dedicate it to God afresh. Can we do that?
1:37:17 Let's not rush this time. Find them. Find them here or find them in your heart and pray for them before we sing our last songs this morning. Go ahead and do that. We close in prayer by echoing the prayer of David in the last few verses of Psalm 144.
1:52:40 Believe this for yourself. Verse 12, may our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, Our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace. May our granaries be full providing all kinds of produce. May our sheep bring four thousands and 10 thousands in our fields. May our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing.
1:53:06 May there be no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.
1:53:22 You may be seated. Just have a few, final words for us before you're dismissed. God bless
1:53:40 Good morning. Just wanna say another I know it's been said twice, but I'm gonna say it one more time, welcome to our community. We're so happy that you can join us. And I'm gonna actually extend I'm gonna be a bit more generous with you for next year. I would like to extend an invitation for you to join any meeting during the conference.
1:54:03 I don't want you to feel like it's only Sunday that you can join, so please feel free to join anytime during the conference. I wanna say a special thank you to pastor Daniel for the amazing the amazing work and and genuinely, I I have never and I was talk I talked to multiple people, and we all felt the same way. I I've never heard messages about people like that individually. I've heard, like, bits and pieces in in sermons here and there, but I've never heard a whole sermon about people, that you rarely hear about. And actually, in some, sometimes you even forget about who these people are.
1:54:50 So, thank you for blessing us with the word of God, and I pray the Lord would use these words, to encourage us to be faithful servants and encourage us to be people who not looking for our own glory, not looking for our own name to shine, but the name of God to shine. May our name be hidden, and may our legacy be that of people who love the Lord and serve the Lord with all our hearts. So, it's been twenty eight years that we've been doing this conference. So this is our twenty ninth conference, but it's been twenty eight years we've been doing this conference. And a lot of things changed.
1:55:45 We started with a small group. We started the conference with 25 people. Obviously, things have changed. We get older. I've gotten older.
1:55:57 I'm I'm a grandpa now, actually, in case you didn't know. So, it's such a blessing. Life changes. Everything changes. People change.
1:56:09 There's only three people left from the first conference till now out of maybe six, seven, 800 people sitting here now. But the one thing that remains year after year is the goodness of God that never changes. That never changes. Amen. We've seen Him do miracles.
1:56:29 We've seen Him do amazing things, and He never ceases to amaze us with the things that He can do. He shuts doors and he opens doors and 100% of the time it's for our good. It's never, never ever that we've seen closed doors no matter how painful they were, except that they were for our own good. And one of it was coming here to this place. So I thank God for that.
1:56:54 I give him all honor and glory. Moving on to normal announcements. So, checkout is at 2PM for everybody, so we appreciate if you would just clear your rooms by 2PM because there's a
