Cecil A. Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
January 25, 2004
Mother's Day 2004
Jochebed, The Mother Who Acted in Faith
Hebrews 11:23-27
INTRO: As we see in the Word of God, Jochebed was a mother in difficult and troublous times (Ex 1:22-2:3). The mother of Moses acted in faith. She trusted God to take care of her baby (Ex 2:3). Mother, are you trusting God to take care of your son, of your daughter?
Mom, you too are in troublous times. Drugs, sex, alcohol, perversion, etc. face our children. In times like these, we need mothers with faith in Almighty Jehovah God. We need mothers who will act in faith, not in trends or fashions of the world.
I. HEBREWS 11:23, JOCHEBED WAS A COURAGEOUS MOTHER
A. She did not live in fear; she lived in faith.
1. She chose to serve the Lord.
a) Who will you serve?
b) Can you say with Joshua: "....as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
2. It takes courage to stand for God when the world is against Him.
B. Jochebed, by faith, proves that God is bigger than your problems, bigger than your situation, bigger than your circumstances.
1. Mark 9:23, "...If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
2. Jochebed believed; she had a plan set in the wisdom of God (Ex 2:4-8).
a) No one can take the place of mother.
b) Every child needs a mother of faith, a faithful mother.
II. JOCHEBED SAW THE POSSIBILITIES
A. Moses' mother had faith in what God could do for and through her son.
1. Exodus 2:2 says: "...she saw him, that he was a goodly child."
a) He was pleasant.
b) He had good understanding.
c) There was moral good seen in him.
d) She saw that he would be of benefit to others.
2. Acts 7:20 says that he "was exceeding fair." Then in Hebrews 11:23, Jochebed saw that he was a "goodly child."
a) He was a pretty baby.
b) In love, she saw the future.
B. Her reactions were those of a mother.
1. She loved him as he was.
2. She expected him to survive and succeed.
3. The Bible tells us that children are to be a blessing not a bother.
4. Children are the heritage of the Lord; they are His gifts (Psa 127:3).
a) Trust God; let Him build your home (Psa 122:1).
b) We need old fashioned Bible believing, Bible reading, Bible obeying moms.
c) Build upon the Rock, not the sand!
III. JOCHEBED'S ACTIONS INSTILLED COURAGE
A. Moses was a man of courage, a man who stood for right because his mother acted in courage and stood for right.
1. Jochebed's courage (Heb 11:23).
2. Moses' courage (Heb 11:27).
B. Moses learned from his mother that there are times when, "we ought to obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29).
IV. JOCHEBED'S FAITH AFFECTED MOSES
A. Jochebed, by faith, hid Moses for three months (Heb 11:23).
1. Her plan allowed her to nurse and teach Moses (Ex 2:7-10).
2. Jochebed taught him about her Lord and His people.
B. Moses, by faith, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
1. His mother's teaching helped him to be a man of faith (Rom 10:17, "So, then, faith cometh by hearing.....").
2. Moses choose to serve God and help the Lord's people, his people (Heb 11:24).
C. Ladies, you have a mission! A mission to teach your children of faith, to instill principles and precepts of God's word.
1. "Train up a child...." (Prov 22:6).
2. Deut. 6:6-9.
V. JOCHEBED'S FAITH HELPED MOSES SEE THAT LIFE IS MORE THAN FAME AND RICHES
A. Heb 11:25, Moses saw fleeting and temporary sin is.
B. He choose to love and suffer with God's people.
C. Heb 11:26, He saw that eternal riches are in the Lord.
1. Mother, what are you teaching your children about eternal riches?
2. The Bible tells us that we "cannot serve God and mammon" (Mt 6:24).
D. Moses forsook Egypt by faith (Heb 11:27).
1. He did not fear the king.
2. By faith, he saw and trusted God (Heb 11:1).
E. Heb 11:28 tells us that Moses believed what God said about the blood.
1. The blood saved the firstborn.
2. The blood will save you. "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (I Cor 5:7).
CONCLUSION: "Jochebed had the joy of seeing her son grow up to be a good and great man. That, mothers, is the reward for all your trials when children rise up and call you blessed, and when the world also blesses you for giving it such children" (Linton, Seward 127).
1. We need mothers who will not tire, who will not give up, who will not quit teaching the Word of god to their children.
2. Will you be a Bible mom of faith?
For additional copies of the sermon CD's, please contact the church office:
Elliott Baptist Church
566 Nat G. Troutt Road
Elliott, Mississippi 38901
Phone: 662-226-4425
Pastors Email: cecilafayard@msn.com