FAITH IN GOD'S PROVISIONS

Here in Hebrews chapter eleven we see those mentioned who have left a legacy of faith in God.

As we study what it means to live a legacy I want to shift our attention to Moses.

Last week we saw how David left a legacy of faith in God’s power. This week we will see how Moses left a legacy of faith in God’s provisions.

Hebrews 11:23–29 NKJV

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

Furthermore, if we study scripture we will see how God provided Mana, Quail, Water, Victory, Wealth, and Sacrifice.

Moses witnessed the provisions of God, because he lived by faith.

I. Obstacles to Faiths Provisions.

During Super Bowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.

When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, “Thank you.”

But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?”

She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.”

Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth and strength are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them.

– from PreachingToday.com

A. The Pleasure of Sin.

B. The Disgrace of Righteousness.

C. The Fear of Judgement.

The only survivor of a shipwreck came upon a small, uninhabited island. He prayed repeatedly for God to save him and everyday scanned the horizon for his answer. Even though he was exhausted and in despair, he eventually managed to build a little hut to keep him out of the weather and to store his provisions.

Then one day, after searching for food, he came home to find his little hut on fire. The worst thing that could have happened had happened. Everything he had was consumed. In his grief he cried out, “God, how could you do this to me!” Early the next morning, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. They had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the castaway. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

Matthew 10:28 NKJV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

II. The Opportunity of Faiths Provisions.

A little girl named Mary was in bed one night preparing for lights-outs. Prayers had been said and Mom had hugged her. Perhaps in a effort to put-off sleeptime, Mary asked her mother why God created night-time. “Why didn’t he make it daytime all the time?”

Her mother mumbled something about how it’s easier to sleep in the dark and we all need rest, but Mary interrupted her saying, “Oh, I know why it gets dark at night; that’s when God puts the world into his pocket!”

What a profound statement of faith! What a wonderful attitude to take to bed, to believe that even as we sleep, the one who loves us more than we can comprehend has us securely in his pocket. Theologians write big books about faith, but Mary mastered it with beautiful simplicity. (Bill Bouknight, “Just a Thought”)

A. Boldness to face Kings.

Exodus 2:14 NKJV

Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

B. Strength to care on.

C. Spiritual Sight.

III. The Outcome of Faiths Provisions.

A. Obedience.

B. Mercy

Mercy obtained

C. Salvation.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Georgia Peach Pass.

Everyone wants a quicker way, a short cut. But with God there is no short cuts, just Jesus, He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.