DECEMBER 19, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
JOIN US AT 10 AM TODAY!
Transcription Notes:
I am Jody Lukowiak. I am the children's pastor here at Common Ground Northeast. I'm so glad that you are with us here this morning. I have the privilege of continuing in our Women and Advent story today. But before and get to the ladies, we're going to talk about today.
As I was preparing for the sermon, I began to think back to when I was eight. Now, as a second grader, my parents informed me that I was going to be a bigger sister, and I'm not sure how I reacted at that point in time, but I was an only child for eight years. So you can imagine. I had probably developed some only child characteristics and qualities. And I remember after my brother came home there was a moment in time when we all were overtired and stressed and I remembered the thought of wondering what would have happened if my brother hadn't been born.
Now it was a momentary thought, probably out of lack of sleep and frustration. But I had it nonetheless. And as I grew older, I was so glad that I had an older brother, even though he's a whole foot taller than I am. Something happened with the jeans. I don't know.
I'm the shortest one in my family, but we had a lot of fun growing up. We played Legos together. I enjoyed watching him play basketball. In fact, a lot of my basketball knowledge comes from my brother. I remember him going around the house saying pick and roll, give and go.
Why that has stuck with me for 30 some years. I don't know. He and I are going to have to talk about that at Christmas. And as an adult he's made me a sister in law and Auntie to four precious children that I absolutely love. I love to play with them and get them wound up and then send them back with my brother.
He had an impact on my life. He still does on our family dynamic, and actually the world not to brag on my brother, but I'm going to he serves international students at Iupy and actually spent some time in Japan overseas ministering to students there. Not wishing that he was born seems a little silly now, but I can't imagine the world without him. So keep that in mind that little story. As we are talking today from my experience in life, it's comforting to know that some other people have probably wondered why their siblings existed at one point or another.
In fact, Hollywood has made a lot of movies to go with this overall theme of existence, especially this time of year. There's a wonderful life or it's a wonderful life, which I actually learned is 75 years old and not to give away the plot. But many of you may have seen it or seen glimpses of it, but the man wonders and sees his life if he had never been born. We also have a Christmas Carol where we see some reflection of the past, present, and the future and how the characters actions affected others.
And one of my personal favorites, home alone.
What if the parents disappear? Right. So you can see there's this common theme of wondering what would happen if actions were different or if people didn't exist. So today we're going to learn a little bit more about two ladies in the Bible, Shifa and Pua. And you might be saying who I know.
When Pastor Eric told me about Shiframpua, I didn't really hear him correctly. And I don't know if we have a picture. Do we have the picture? This is what came to mind. This is my husband, and I up above is Timon and Pumbaa.
That's what came to my mind. This is how a crazy children's pastor minds work. So I went home to my husband, and I'm, like, Eric wants me to talk about these two ladies, and I'm not sure who they are, but Timon and Pumbaa came to my mind. So we're going to have to figure this out. So obviously I asked some follow up questions of Pastor Eric to figure it out.
That indeed I am talking about Shiffa and Puma today and not Simone and Pumbaa. So before we get to the verses that talk about them, I want to set up the circumstances and kind of where we are in the Bible. The Hebrew people are multiplying in numbers so much that the Egyptians have started to dread the people of God, and they're making them work as slaves. So if you want to turn to your Bibles to Exodus, chapter one, verse 15, I'm going to read 15 to 21.
I'll give you a minute to get to your Bible or on your device.
It says this the King of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shifra and Pua. When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool. If you see that the baby is a boy, kill him. But if it is a girl, let her live. The Midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the King of Egypt had told them to do.
They let the boys live. Then the King of Egypt summoned the Midwives and asked them, Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live? The midwives answered Pharaoh. Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women.
They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. So God was kind to the Midwives, and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the Midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. So here we have two women serving as Midwives. Shifra, whose name in Hebrew means brightness and Puwa, whose name means splendid.
These ladies serve their name as well. They were faced with a decision.
Do we do what Pharaoh says, or do we listen to God and in the face of danger, potentially even death, for not following Pharaoh's orders, the women chose to be faithful and obedient. Chef Rampu has stretched the truth a little bit. If you've given childbirth, you know, they stretch the truth a little bit, and God responded to their faithfulness in verses 20 and 21. We see God giving Shifra and Pua families. Some scholars believe that midwives at the time were ladies who were unable to have children.
And being a midwife was a way for them to feel like they were part of a family. When family was valued. In these verses, we learned that not only were Shifa and Pua blessed, but the people of God grew in number. Now I kind of chuckled at this a little bit. Pharaoh is trying to keep the people of God from growing in number, but God had a different plan.
He actually magnified Pharaoh's problem, and I was thinking to myself, God must have thought, take that Pharaoh. Through Shifra and Pooh story, we can see that God doesn't expect us to obey authority when it's against him. Shifra and Puaha and the other Israelites at the time were rewarded for Shifra and Puha's bravery. They were rewarded for the loyalty and disobedience or obedience, not disobedience. They knew that what God called them to do was way more important than what man was asking of them.
So let's continue reading and Exodus. You're probably still there. Fairly close chapter two, verse one through six, and it says this now a man of the tribe Levi married a Levi woman and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hit him for three months, but when she could hide him no longer, she got a Papaya's basket for him and coat it with tar and pitch. Then she placed a child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the River Bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and set her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying and she felt sorry for him.
This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. Now, Scripture doesn't say exactly who this is, but we know who it is. Somebody shouted out, who is it? Moses? That's right.
So I want to stop here and think about a what if moment back to the Christmas movies that we were talking about. What if Schifra and Pula hadn't protected the baby boys being born? What could have happened? Potentially, Moses wouldn't have been born. Also, look at Moses mother and what she did to protect Moses against Pharaoh.
She was courageous in her own right. Pharaoh wanted the baby boys gone and out of the picture.
Imagine the Old Testament without Moses. No burning Bush, no rescuing the people of God out of Egypt into freedom. No Ten Commandments or ten best ways, as we call them in children's Ministry.
In fact, this is our story that we tell in children's Ministry, and we talk about taking a part of the story out and having all the story that we need. But imagine this whole entire story being gone.
Shifra and Pooh's actions had a huge impact on the Old Testament, and they appeared so briefly, so briefly, I didn't even remember who they were. So you may be asking yourself, how are these ladies related to Advent? I'm preaching this series called The Women of Advent. So we see that Moses and Jesus have a similar birth narrative in Jesus story. There was King Herod.
Here we have Pharaoh, both evil rulers who had their own self interests in mind and trusted themselves and their pride more than they did. God both had issued decrees to have baby boys killed. And also we just read about the verses about Moses that Moses was put in a basket. If you look at the new King James version, what I read was from the NIV. Verse three of chapter two says this, but when she could no longer hide him, she took an arc of bullrushes for him.
Dobbed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it and laid it by the reeds by the river. Arcs are used to preserve things.
Noah's Ark is used to preserve animals and people. God used it to preserve creation.
This is kind of small. You may need to look on the screen the Ark of the Covenant that kept the Ten best ways or the Ten Commandments in it so that it could travel with the people of God and ultimately end up in the temple.
Arcs. Hold our vessels that hold precious cargo. We also see Moses escaping through water in a couple of different instances, his beginning of his life floating across the river to be rescued by Pharaoh's daughter and also leading the people out of Egypt through the parted waters into freedom. We have a story of Salvation that reminds us Jesus Salvation of all people. For those that follow him, Moses and Jesus delivered people from bondage and from slavery.
And if you think about Shifra and Pula and eventually Mary, these ladies delivered a deliverer.
Imagine if Chef Rampula hadn't saved the Hebrew babies, so many Israelites wouldn't have existed. Think about the impact that could have had on the lineage of the Jewish people. God's promise to Abraham could have looked a lot different. They are reminders that our actions and our acts of faithfulness have an impact. We might not see it at first.
We might plant a seed today that doesn't bear fruit until after our lifetime. Chef Rampua were simply doing what they knew God wanted them to do, and they had no clue how it would shape the Bible. If you've been watching and listening to the series, the very first week, Pastor Eric mentioned Eve's disobedience in the fall and that there is this not of disobedience that gets untied throughout the Scripture. And today, through Shiframpua, we see a little of that start to loosen in the story of Moses and Jesus.
We see evil forces trying to change the course of history.
Herod and Pharaoh were trying their best to get rid of God's people. Here we had two women chiffonpua stepping in on God's behalf and methorically saying, not today, Satan, we see God giving us one more example that evil doesn't have the final say. As Eric mentioned a couple of weeks ago, as Eric mentioned a couple of weeks ago, there was this prophecy with the story of Eve about the woman's offspring crushing the Serpent's head. And here we have an instance of a couple of ladies doing a similar thing as they anxiously were awaiting the Messiah.
God placed Shifrinpua and so many women in the Old and New Testament in a divine position, and he equipped them to stand up to evil and to fight on God's behalf. And this can serve to all of us as a
reminder that we are equipped and positioned each and every day to further God's Kingdom. And I hope that you can find encouragement and stop and think about this story and Exodus. Whenever you doubt your influence and your impact on others and on other believers, God rewards risk takers on His behalf when things seem scary and impossible.
Remember how he equipped Shifra and Pula and to all the ladies in the room.
And I want to include our friends in here, too, that are young ladies that are in kindergarten and first grade and up. It is my prayer for you that you remember Shipra and Pua, remember their obedience and their bravery and their faithfulness. God has equipped you to stand up and do what's right. He's got your back. You can face evil and overcome it.
God has made you a fighter and a warrior. Even if society tells you that you're not stand up and be part of a legacy, you can do great things, even impossible things. I never thought I would be a pastor ever. And in fact, we were talking about our earlier pastor. That is the head of Path.
I told him there is no way I'm going to be a pastor. And yet here I am.
Pharaoh and Harrod were afraid of the boys, but I think he needed to take the little ladies a little more seriously into what they grew up to be like these ladies stood up and fought for the most vulnerable people, innocent, helpless babies. What a beautiful story God has given us. He's given us a whole book of stories that point to Salvation and redemption, each one hinting of defeating evil, restoring creation to the way it was intended to be and the Salvation and forgiveness of his people. In less than a week, you all better be ready.
Unless did you hear that in less than a week, we're going to celebrate the ultimate defeat of evil and the savior of our world.
And I just want to invite you again to come to our Christmas Eve service at 06:00 P.m.. Where we'll continue this service and celebrate Jesus birth together. Will you pray with me, father, we thank you for your faithfulness, father. I thank you for Shifra and Pua and their obedience. Father, we thank you that we can trust you, Father, that we can step out in boldness in accordance with your plan for us, father and Father.
As we go into the week here before Christmas, we ask you to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice that you had for each and every one of us, that you brought a helpless little baby into the world to be the King and the savior of it. Pray these things in his name. Amen.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.