Celebrating Motherhood – the Mother that does not give up! (Mother’s Day - 12 May 2013)
Text:
Exodus 2:1-10 (AMP)

Intro:
Motherhood has been under attack over the past decades but one fact remains: * Motherhood is one of the greatest powerful and influential ministries in the whole world: * Not only is motherhood, one of God’s highest calling, * Mothers have the power to impact their children, families, communities, society, nations and the world at large as they cooperate with God's plan for their lives.

An example of this fact is the mother of John and Charles Wesley accomplished great things in the Christian church - the founders of the Methodist movement. Although she never preached a sermon or published a book or founded a church, Susanna Wesley is known as the Mother of Methodism. * Why? Because two of her sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, as children consciously or unconsciously will, applied the example and teachings and circumstances of their home life.” * Even though Susanna experienced many hardships in life, her main aim in life as a mother, was to raise children into adulthood who would honor God and live for eternity in heaven. She was incredibly focused in seeing that happen and directed her fierce will to shaping her children into devout followers of Christ. She believed very strongly in daily prayer and spent an hour each day praying for her 10 remaining children (19 in total). Susanna’s children are a lasting testament to her strength in the face of adversity.

Outline
Would like to talk about an obscure mother in the bible and how she never gave up in her quest to be the best mother she could ever be. She recognized her calling and committed to give it her best shot.

The impact of a mother otherwise known as Jochebed (AMP), in the life of Moses – the deliverer
The man God used to: * Deliver the Israelites from Egypt. * Present us with the Ten Commandments.

What does her role/impact in Moses’ life teach us? The priorities of motherhood: - Protection; provision; and preparedness.

1. Protection: Verse 2
A cruel law was made for the murder of all male children of the Hebrews at the time of his birth and many no doubt would have perished by the execution of this law.
As a pregnant mother she would have been very anxious about the upcoming birth and may have contemplated many options should the baby be a boy.
God’s overall plan (sovereignty of God) – in the midst of Pharaoh’s increasing cruelty, the deliverer was born. The source of death is a source of life once God is in it. * when she saw that he was [exceedingly] beautiful, she hid him three months.
She recognized God’s will and purpose for her son (his destiny) and put her life at risk by protecting him. You need to be in tune with God’s will to be used by Him.
Hebrews 11:23 says the parents of Moses hid him by faith – they understood the promise God had made about Israel and acted in faith – faith in God’s promise at work.

2. Provision: Verse 3 - 4 * And when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket [making it watertight by] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Perseverance – when it was getting difficult to maintain the faith?
Surrendering to God’s guidance when it doesn’t make sense?
Surrendering fully in God’s hands, simply learning to trust and doing nothing else. Took the most difficult step she could ever take, and placed her son in God’s hands. Even though she had placed him in the dangerous world of the