INTRO: FAMILY HEROES
Heb 11:32 –talks about Samson, Gideon, David and Daniel and then right in the middle of this roll call God lists 3 people who never did anything on that grand scale
Heb 11:7 – By faith Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household.
Heb 11:23 – By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for 3 months by his parents.
Heb 11:31 – By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish when she received the spies with peace.
They were heroes because they saved their families.
1. RAHAB BROUGHT HER FAMILY INTO THE HOUSE
Josh 2:12-13, 18-19 – Rahab was a prostitute who hid the spies – she said “I want my family to be saved.” Acts 16:31 – You and your household shall be saved.
Her house is a type of the church –There’s faith, a scarlet cord, a promise, it is one big family!
People were sleeping on the couch and all over the place but she still got them in the house. I’m sure they were getting on each others’ nerves, thinking, “I don’t even want to be here.” She thought – I cannot save them but if I can get them into the house, God can save them.
Don’t ask a 13 yr old who has not earned a right to have an opinion yet, whether they like church.
Sometimes bringing your family to the house of God is not convenient, but there is power when you don’t forsake the assembling of the Church – Heb 10:25
2. NOAH INVOLVED HIS FAMILY IN GOD’S WORK
God told Noah to build the ark, and it took 120 years to complete it. So he probably thought,“I am not going to build this all by myself” and would have said to his children, “Children, help me in the work of God. You’re going to be involved”;the very atmosphere of Noah’s house was about building the work of God.
When asked “How did you keep your sons from the filth in the world?” Noah would have said: “I kept them busy with the work of the Ark.”
When it came time for them to fall in love, they didn’t just look for any girl but for boat-building girls – it was their family’s culture.
The Story of Mark Lowry: Mark Lowry had ADHD as a child, and his teachers felt he was a burden and would keep him separated. He would come home and cry to his mom, but his mom would speak grace over him. He would pretend to be sick when he had to go to Church, but his dad would take him to Church anyway. He learned music at Church, later became a songwriter and a singer, and became a great blessing to the world.
3. MOSES’ PARENTS HID HIM FROM EVIL
Moses’ parents were heroes in God’s eyes because –
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They saw that Moses was special by faith
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They hid Moses from Pharaoh and the Egyptian system that wanted to destroy him.
Hide your children from movies and parties
After a while they had to let go of Moses – he went astray but came back and became a hero!
Pro 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
I know one day they will be exposed to temptations – like Moses they may go astray but they will come back to the presence of God because they have tasted it!
CONCLUSION: CARRY YOUR CHILDREN
True story of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick Hoyt, who had severe cerebral palsy. He could neither walk nor talk. Every limb of his body was just mangled. However, his mind was brilliant and completely unimpaired, above average; he even graduated with honors from both high school and college. The only part of his body he could slightly control was his knee, which he used to operate the modem of the computer with his knee. One day, after watching a marathon, Rick used his computer to tell his father, who was now 59 years old and had a heart condition: “Dad, if you would run in a 5km race and push me across the finish line, I would feel like I wasn’t handicapped anymore when I crossed the finish line.
And there’s a kid in the neighborhood playing sports. Maybe we can get people to sponsor us and give the money to him.” The dad was so inspired by his 37-year-old son that he started training. At 59 years old, he pushed his boy in a wheelchair, ran the 5k race, and then the son came back home, gets back on the computer and finds another race, he enjoyed it so much and he signed him up for another one and another one and another one, and finally he said “Dad, let’s do the iron man in Hawaii.” This is the biggest in N.America.”It consists of first swimming 2 ½ miles of the Pacific Ocean. Then, on a bicycle, he’d put his son in a special seat and ride 112 miles through the hills of Hawaii. Next, he’d get off the bicycle and run a 26.2-mile marathon while pushing a wheelchair. This dad is so moved by his son! Together, they completed more than 1,000 races.
Keep pushing your children to excellence!”