So Tempted To Call Names...

And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. (Numbers 26:59)

Friends,

What a temptation it must have been for Moses, and perhaps even his family...

Preferential treatment. In a season where Hebrew boys were being decimated, Pharaoh's daughter ignored her father's edict and Moses was allowed to live.

Privilege. In a society where Hebrews were valued only as slaves, their son Moses was being trained in the ways of the king.

Profit. In a system where Levites were not permitted to be landowners (see Numbers 26:57-62), Moses had access to the best lands available and lived in a palace.

In some instances, parents do not seek to rescue their children from the world system because the family is deriving a benefit from that same system.

-Yes, my daughter's a stripper, but she makes $3000 in a weekend. That's more than I make in a month.
-Yes, we're lying on our tax return, but our son is an accountant and he says it's okay. It's the only way we can keep our house.
-Yes, they're selling drugs, but they don't use them. I mean, there's always going to be someone using drugs, we might as well make some of the money... and we use the money for supporting good causes.

Friend, are your children providing you with benefits from a corrupt system? If the answer is yes, I implore you to release yourself, and them, from the ways that lead to death: "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" (Hebrews 11:25).

Repent, while you can: the door of the ark is being shut.

"Floating, Not Sinking."

In "The Making of Moses and Other Game-Changers", Pastor Sam shared a number of points that related to the three topics of our Sunday: African-American heritage, the dedication of children, and the offering for our denomination's "Alabaster" ministry that seeks to help fledgling churches with building projects.

The title of today's blog is a quote from Pastor Sam. Towards the end of the sermon, Pastor Sam spoke on two aspects of letting go. In Exodus 2, we see that Moses's family had to let him go when he was too big to hide. However, the "letting go" was done in a strategic manner that not only saved Moses's life, but also made opportunity for the family to continue interacting with Moses over the next few formative years from infancy to early childhood.

First, they prepared for calculated risk. Yes, the Nile was dangerous. Aside from the issue of drowning, there was the risk of infants being devoured by animals. Jochebed (Moses's mother) made a basket that could securely hold her child. But the basket was not just secure, it was camouflaged. And the basket was not just camouflaged, it was also being watched by Moses's sister Miriam. Clearly, the family had planned and prepared.

Second, they were present as partners for career success. When none other than Pharaoh's daughter (and her servants) retrieved Moses from the basket, Miriam was present to make an offer. To paraphrase, she said "I can find a Hebrew woman to take care of this child for you." And, in an irony ordained by God, Jochebed spent the next few years being paid by the Pharaoh's household for nursing her own son, the Hebrew boy that the Pharaoh had said must be killed.

Did Moses's family let go? Absolutely. Scripture tells us that Jochebed returned to child to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter named the child. And Moses grew up in Pharaoh's household. But, in a wonderful postscript, we learn that the household of Pharaoh never grew up in Moses.

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:24-27)

Yes! Friends, that is strategy in action. Seeing our children with the eyes of faith, so that we are not sidetracked by what we see with our physical eyes. Recognizing that the riches of Christ Jesus far outweigh and outlast anything the world tries to offer. Doing all we can to prepare our people, then releasing them with both visible and invisible support systems in place. And when they grow up, they will forsake the world and stand with Jesus.

So, who is your "Moses"?

Name-Calling.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam took time to discuss what I would call "the strategy of resistance". As Christians, we often fight on two battlefields. The first, which was blogged on Tuesday, was the idea of a sociopolitical mandate that flew in the face of God's plan and purpose. Specifically, if God's design is for the multiplication of mankind through marriage and having children, then it is a sin to obey Pharaoh when Pharaoh calls for every male in a particular ethnic group to be killed at birth.

The second battlefield, though, might be a bit more subtle. It is in operation on a spiritual plane: in a realm we can't see, but that is powerful and deadly, the devil works to destroy the children of God. This is seen in Scripture. Let's look at a scene Pastor Sam referred to back in December 2007 during the Revelation series:

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation 12:3-4)

As the chapter progresses, we see that the devil was unsuccessful in his attempt to subvert the work of Christ, and in anger the enemy strategizes to instead subvert the work of Christ's followers:

And the dragon was wroth (angry) with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17)

To wrap up, I'll leave you with this thought: sometimes, there is a demonic force behind certain forms of media. Why? Because, although the stated goal is to entertain, the actual goal is to destroy. To paraphrase the former Chief Executive Officer of BET (Robert Johnson), "The 'E' in BET does not stand for enlightenment or education, but entertainment."

What sort of future is promised to a people who are uneducated and unenlightened?

Pharaoh had the Nile. And today, there is still a Nile where children are drowned.

Friends, there's a war going on.

Three In One.

Hello Friends!

This past Sunday, Pastor Sam dealt with the topics of Black History Month, parenting concerns, and our denomination's Alabaster Offering project... all in one sermon.

We'll take the next few days to review some of the points from the sermon. For today, though, let's just reconsider a couple of the scripture verses Pastor Sam referred to during the sermon.

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. -Exodus 1:22

And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. -Exodus 2:3

Pharaoh, who ordered his people to commit infanticide, had an agenda to destroy Israel by eliminating its male population. But Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, had their own agenda. Because they chose to obey God and not kill their son, they paved the way for the deliverance of Israel.

So, in this twenty-first century filled with options on granting children life or death, will you obey Pharaoh or God?