Exodus chapter 2 verse 10, And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, Because I drew him out of the water. What's your image of Moses? When you think of this great hero of the Jews, what picture is conjured up in your mind? Do you think of a handsome, talented, courageous, gifted man? Is that the picture you have? Where did you get that picture from? It's not actually the picture you get from the Bible. That's not what he seems to have been by nature. Moses, it seems, was a very ordinary man. Who faced and who had the same struggles that you and I have in life. a very ordinary man who made the same mistakes that you and I make and yet God used him mightily and he not only goes down in the roll call of faith in Hebrews 11 but he is one of the great men of history but there are three things about him that teaches an awful lot. If he was simply an ordinary man who had the same struggles as you and I, who made the same mistakes as we all make, there are three things about him that teaches as an awful lot of how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Number one, I would say is this. He was able to identify his calling. He was able to see what it was God placed him on earth for. He was able to latch onto it. He grasped it. He saw it. He saw God had a purpose in life for him. And that's true about you. And that's true about me. There is something in this world that only you can do. God has you here on the planet earth for some particular purpose that only you can do. Identify it. Identify it. That's the beginning of Moses greatness. The second feature about this ordinary man was that he stuck to his tough assignment. When he discovered, what he discovered about his calling, he discovered it wasn't easy. He discovered I can't do these things naturally. But he stuck to it. That's very, very important. Do you want to be great? Do you want to make a hit in life? Stick. Stick to what God has called you to do in life. The third thing is perhaps the most important of all. He stuck. to His tough assignment, the Bible tells us, by seeing Him who is invisible. You know who I am speaking about. By seeing God. By seeing Him who is invisible. I wonder why the Bible puts it that way. Why doesn't the Bible say, He achieved these things because he was focused on God. But as another way puts it, the Bible says he saw Him who is invisible. Do you know this? If your God is visible, you don't need faith to follow Him. If you can see where He is, if you can see where He is going, what do you need faith for? Do you know what faith is? Faith is believing God when He isn't there. That's faith. Believing God when He seems to have left y'all. When He seems to have vanished. When you say, where is God? Faith is believing God at that moment. Well, we're looking at the faith of Moses. Where did Moses' faith begin? Well, Moses' faith actually began before he was born. It began with God. And if your faith didn't begin before you were born, if your faith is not God's faith, It isn't real faith. It isn't saving faith. It won't take you into the next world. The faith you need, the faith I need, is the faith of God. Moses faith was the faith of God. Where did it begin on earth? Well, it began on earth, you know. where it began for many of the great people of faith. Do you know where it began? It began with his parents. That's why we read what we read. Hebrews 11.23 makes that very clear. It starts in the role call of faith there, Hebrews 11.23, By faith Moses when he was born was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. You see that's where Hebrews begins, the faith of Moses. It began with his parents faith. Parenthood, especially motherhood, you know, is one of the greatest callings on earth. Tell me, is there a person in that roll call of faith, in Hebrews chapter 11, is there a famous person there of faith whose mother isn't mentioned in the Bible? Is there one? Can you find one? Let me know. When did you last hear someone saying, I'm called to be a mother? I'm called to be a parent? They were able to identify. They saw. You see, Moses was not their first baby. He was their third. But when they saw him, hey, there's something special, something different. He was ordinary, as you'll come to notice, but they saw there was something different. called to be a parent, called to be a mother. You know, there's some things that we've really got to teach our children and it's very, very important. And one of the things that we've got to teach them is that life is not about enjoying themselves. We should We shower them, don't we? I'm as guilty as anyone. We shower them with gifts at Christmas time. We shower them with presents at their birthday. What are we doing? We're making them think this life's a bed of roses. This life's about enjoying yourself. They begin to think they're entitled to new gifts every day. It's all about getting presents. We have to teach them life is not a picnic. We have to teach them secondly, not what their rights are in this world, so much we have to teach them what their responsibilities are. If we could just teach them that, I tell you there would be a huge change in society. Now people are so concerned about their rights and no one's concerned about their responsibilities. All they're looking for is someone to sue, someone they can take to court because of something that happened to them. We must teach them they're responsible creatures and this world owes them nothing. We have to teach them That God has a purpose and a meaning for every life. And God has brought them into the world for a specific reason. That does not mean that every one of them are going to be heroes. It does not mean that every one of them is going to be famous. It does not mean that every one of them is going to go down in history. But it does mean that they are here for a purpose. God has something for them in life. There is meaning to life. But you know, probably one of the most important things of all that we really do need to teach our children is this. Christianity is well, well worth it. But it is not an easy life. Now that's important. We must teach them it pays to be a Christian. But it is not an easy life. If we teach them, well, all you've got to do is pray and God answers you. Well, is that intelligent? Is that wise? Is that true? We bring everything to God, but God is King. God is Sovereign. And as we noticed this morning, He's got a purpose for allowing us to fall into trouble. We teach that to our children. We don't let them think that God's a Santa Claus in the sky, you just pray to him and everything good happens. We teach them reality from day one. It is well well worth, we must tell them, to be a Christian. There's nothing like it. There'll be nothing more worthwhile at the end of the day than being a Christian. But down here on this earth, it will be tough, it will be hard, but it will be well, well worth it. It's amazing how children will accept that before adults will accept it. That's why you do when they're young. Now, Moses' parents' faith. Let's just note quickly three things about the faith. As we hinted at already, they discerned that Moses had a special purpose, a special vocation in life. He was an ordinary child, but no ordinary life. no ordinary vocation. They were able to discern that. They lived close to God it seemed. They saw there was something they had to do with this child, there was something about him. The second thing to note about their faith, the faith of his parents, was that it was worth Hiding him for 3 months. As we read in Hebrews 11, 23. They hid him from the authorities for 3 months. Because you know fine he wasn't meant to be there. He wasn't meant to be born. The midwife should have killed him whenever they saw him as a male child. But they hid him and they did so putting their own lives at risk. I wonder, would we be strong enough for the faith to put our own lives at risk? Would we be willing to defy the authorities if it meant not that we would be imprisoned, but that we could lose our lives? Moses' parents' faith extended it. Now there are some who think it only lasted three months. I don't, I'm not of that persuasion, but maybe it's right. But I think the third thing you've got to think of is this. Here's their faith. They had the faith. They had the courage to put baby Moses in the River Nile that was full of crocodiles. The Nile was called the River of Death. It was full of crocodiles. Imagine having the faith to put your child in a river infested with crocodiles. And that is the significance of our text and of Moses name. As you can see from verse 10 in chapter 2, she called his name Moses saying because I drew him out of the river of death. I drew him out of the water of death. I drew him out as it were from the jaws of the crocodiles. It seems, does it not, that God revealed to them, this is what you are to do. And it took faith, and it took courage. The faith of Moses began with the faith of his parents. And this is what we'll look at now. What Moses was drawn from. He was drawn from the river of death, the river of the crocodiles, the river Nile. Drawn from the very jaws of death, you might say. Well, he was called Moses because he was drawn. What was his background in other words? Well, we read it there in chapter 1. He came out of groaning and persecution in Egypt. Did you notice some of the words we read of the oppression that the children of Israel were under, under this new king in Egypt? Did you notice the words? Taskmasters, burdens, affliction, dread, servitude or slavery, hard bondage? If you just read the last two verses of chapter 2, Exodus 2 verse 23, now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Now listen, then the children of Israel groaned. because of the bondage and they cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. How old was that covenant? Didn't we notice it recently? 400 years. God can wait, but he never ever forgets. Now, this great hero, is there a greater man in the Bible, apart from the Saviour? Maybe the Apostle Paul was, maybe he wasn't. Moses is among the greats there. See what he came out of? Groaning, oppression, slavery. servitude, hard bondage. Moses was drawn out of a very dark era, a world of cruelty and pain, a world of slavery and brutality, a world of oppression and despair. Moses was drawn out of a situation Where you would ask, where is God? Maybe you're going through a tough patch. Maybe you've never had such difficult circumstances in your life and you're saying, where is God? See what God can take out of a situation where you cry and you groan Where's God in all this? Just watch. Just watch and see what God can draw out of oppression, servitude and bondage. Are you in bondage? Just watch what God can take out of it. Now, no from chapter 1, wouldn't you think such harsh conditions, wouldn't you think that such harsh conditions, wouldn't you think they'd prevent what you call a baby boom? It's the very opposite, verse 7 in chapter 1, But the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them. And then we read also that the more they grew, the more they multiplied. I've lost the verse. Oh yes, verse 12. But the more they afflicted them, The more they multiplied and grew and were in dread of the children of Israel. The very thing you'd say, well that'll stop them breeding. See what God can do? He multiplies them in the very situation where they think there wouldn't be any. And secondly, they multiply so much, the oppression leads to infanticide. Chapter 1 verse 16, that he said, when you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstools, if it's a son, then you shall kill him. And in verse 22 again, so Pharaoh commanded all his peoples and every son who was born, you shall cast into the river. infanticide. Why are people so afraid of Christians? King Herod did the same when he heard about King Jesus. Why are they so afraid of him? Why does the Scottish Executive and the Westminster, why is it bending over backwards to deny Christians whatever else is to be granted? Why? Why are they afraid? It's not new. There's nothing new under the sun. But note thirdly, wonderfully, glorious, out of such a decadent society, you find a wonderful statement, don't you? The midwives feared God. Isn't that wonderful? In verse 17, but the midwives feared God. They feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? It reminds you of what the Saviour said on another occasion. I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. He found it in the Gentiles. He found it among the pagans. But he didn't find that in Israel. Great faith. Jewels in the salvage yard. All that oppression. All that bondage, but the midwives feared God, and Moses' parents feared God. Isn't it wonderful? Now, to go back to Moses, to go back to what we said, you get the image that he was very, very capable, very, very talented, but it's not the way he was naturally. Here's some of the statements that we'll no doubt look at. Who am I Lord? Who am I? What will I say? God sends them on the top of the office. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to say. Then God tells them what to say. Do you remember what he said? They'll never believe me. They'll never believe me. If I go and say that to them, they'll never believe me. That's words you'll find Moses saying. You'll find Moses saying, Lord, I'm not a speaker. I'm not a public speaker. I can't do it. Lord, send someone else. Send someone else. He had an overwhelming sense of his own inadequacy. Now when God calls, He calls. DL Moody You know that Moses lived 120 years. D.L. Moody said you can divide his life into three sections. Three sections of 40 years. He spent the first 40 years thinking he was a somebody. He spent the second 40 years learning he was a nobody. And he spent the third 40 years discovering Just what God can do with a nobody. What's your opinion of yourself? Do you think you're somebody? Or are you a nobody? God can do a lot with somebody that's a nobody. He did it with Moses. And he did it with lots of others. He did it with lots of others who thought they were somebody. But first they had to become a nobody. Now I think, personally, the outstanding lesson from all this is this. Hardship makes strong characters. See what God took out of this oppression. See the man he made of Moses. See the background he had. Who was it? But see what it made Moses. That seems to be the message here. Hardship produces strong characters. And now remember that when you are bringing up your children. Don't bring them up in cotton wool. Here's some lessons. Hardship never escapes God's notice. But that's what it feels like, isn't it? You say, where's God? He can't know I'm going through this. Well remember, hardship never ever escapes God's notice. Listen. Then the children of Israel groaned, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. No one else heard it, but it went up to God. You think God doesn't see me? Wrong. Here's another lesson. Hardship never means God doesn't care. It might feel like it. It might feel like it. But it's not true. You see, whenever you discover, well, God has noticed me, the next thing you see is, ah, but you do nothing about it. You can't care. But it's not true. It's just that God's ways are not our ways. And God's timing is not our timing. But we learn the hard way. God's timing is best and God's ways are best. Here's another lesson about hardship. Hardship never interrupts God's promise or God's plan. Do you remember the promise God gave to Abraham about 400 years ago? He said God's forgotten. He's forgotten. And you and I think we've been praying a long time, we've been praying 15 years for something. It's nothing compared to God. God's an eternal being. God remembered His covenant with Abraham. Not that He had ever forgotten. It's just that the time to fulfill it had come. And we think hardship is going to Stop God fulfilling His promise and His plan, never in a million years. And whatever you do, never believe, never think that hardship will hinder God's blessing. As we noted this morning, God's blessing comes through hardship. comes through trials, comes through affliction. It's the instrument He uses for blessing. His ways are not our ways, definitely not our ways. But we have to learn that. We really need to. And we must believe it. What lessons there are here for you and for me today. We think there never was such a day as there is today. We think men were never so wicked. We think governments were never so evil. We haven't seen half of it yet. They were far worse than these days. See what God brought out of it. See what He drew out of the jaws of death. Moses, a strong, strong character for God. Well, one final point. The story of Moses teaches us that faith makes decisions. Certain kinds of decisions. Some people think, well if you've got faith, you just lie back in your chair and everything happens. God does it all, you don't need to do anything. You've to make a decision. to follow God, to stand up for Him, to go into the lion's den. Moses' parents had to put him in the river Nile with the crocodiles. Faith makes decisions. Certain kinds of decisions. Decisions influenced by trusting God. All our decisions are the result of being influenced by something or other. Perhaps by godly parents. But the real faith has to be influenced by faith in God. Trusting God for this future. It's not enough to say, well God was with me in the past. in the future. That's faith. Believing in the future. Whatever 2006 might hold. Whatever terrors, whatever trepidation you might have facing 2006. Say this, I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded. He is able to keep what I have committed to him against that makes decisions influenced by trust in God. Let's pray.