Fearless Faith

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by O H Griffith

FEARLESS FAITH

Text: Hebrews 11 23.

Introduction:

A. Fear is errible. It caused:

1. A and Eve to hide from God.

2. Ten of the twelve spies of Israel to give a negative repo t on Canaan.

3. Jes spoke of,"Men's hearts failing them for fear" of end- ime events, Luke 21:26. Man not to speak out for Jesus, John 7:13. Jose h to be a secret disciple, John 19:38. G ds at Jesus' tomb to faint as dead, Matthew 28:4. Disci les to assemble in secret, John 20:19. Will cause great anguish and pain during the trib ation, Revelation 18:10,15.

B. The chil ren of Israel must have been experiencing much f ar at the time Moses was born.

C. Moses' arents may have had a natural fear of Pharao • but they were more fearful of denying their f 'th in God.

D. Their's as, indeed, a fearless faith.

E. There ere four principals in this human drama: Baby oses, his father and mother, and sister Miriam.

THEIR F TO DISRE 2:1-10.

A. Becaus

1. The

2. The

3. The

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. of their faith: saw the baby as "a proper child," not ordinary. believed him a child destined for greatness. did not destroy the child. he will for self preservation is very strong, but oses' parents would risk their lives to preserve heir baby. well may have believed their child would grow up to d liver Israel from their Egyptian bondage.

B. They w re more concerned that they please God than th t they obey Pharaoh.

1. As eter, they believed they "ought to obey God rath r then men," Acts 5:29.

LESS FAITH IN GOD ENABLED THEM

D PHARAOH'S CRUEL EDICT, Exodus 8.

b.

4.

2. Jesus id, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not ab e to kill the soul: but rather fear him [God] which able to destroy both soul and body in hell," Matth w 10:28.

C. They defi d Pharaoh, but observe:

1. They , de no public show of it; did not demonstrate and c attention to themselves.

2. Rather' they quietly proceeded to do what they felt they d to do.

II. THEIR FEAR ESS FAITH MOTIVATEDTHEM TO DO ALL THEY C ULD AND THEN TRUST GOD TO DO THE REST.

A. They hid t e baby for three months, Hebrews 11:23; Exodus 2: .

B. When the could no longer hide him:

1. His m ther made an ark (basket or tiny boat) of bulruses, Exodus 2:3.

2. She w erproofed it and laid the baby in it.

3. With t e baby in the ark she placed it in the river.

C. Sister Mi iam stood by to watch what would happen. he, too, must have possessed "fearless faith" in G

D. All paren having done what they can for their children s ould entrust them to God.

E. A person never loses what he gives to God. Examples:

1. The la who gave his lunch to Jesus, John 6.

2. H , who gave her only son to God and Eli; God blessed by giving her two more sons and two daught rs, I Samuel 2:2l.

3. Jocheb d gave up her baby, but God gave him back to her.

a. Fo the God who takes note of every sparrow that fall to the ground, and knows the number of the . s of our heads, would care for her beautiful ba .

b. "[C t] all your cares upon him; for he careth for yo "I Peter 5:7.

4. Faith calms the troubled soul. " en think it an awful sight Tp see a soul just set adrift qn that dreary voyage from whose night 11fe ominous shadows never lift;

But tis more awful to behold AI helpless infant newly born, Whose little hands uncon-scious holdI he days of darkness and of morn."

Author unknown.

F. This unfolding drama is a beautiful display of:

1. Boundless love for family. Note how this is demohstrated:

a. ±ram's love for the mother caused him to trust trexplicitly.

b. hebed's love for her family enlisted full

c operation from them.

c. ~iriam loved her parents and her baby brother, ahd delighted in obeying her parents.

2. unq~estioned faith in God's providence.

3. More than average knowledge of current events.

a. tradition says that Pharaoh's daughter had r'~cently delivered a stillborn baby.

b. ~ochebed knew exactly where the princess bathed; and

c. She knew human nature and a mother's

~

;~;o:~s:~ knew the intense yearning of a

III. THE FAMILrSFEARLESS FAITH WAS GRACIOUSLY REWARDE~.

A. They gare up their baby for a few hours, only to receive ~.m again for a few years.

1. How intensively they must have taught and trained the c . d.

2. Tho,",gh he was known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses never forgot who he "really" was.

B. Such f1·th never goes unrewarded. It is not always so dram tic, nor so immediately rewarded, but God never f rgets.

C. JOChet1d's utmost hope probably had been to save her baby's life.

Index