By Faith Choosing God

Have you ever wondered what it takes for a person to choose God? We better know the answer to that question if we are serious about the vows we have taken this morning. This morning Randy and Emily have vowed to bring Oliver up in the fear and admonition of the Lord and we as a congregation have vowed to support them in this great task. What do we want to create in Oliver’s heart so that he chooses the Lord someday? Our text this morning provides us with the answer. Our text today is Hebrews 11:23-26:

Hebrews 11:23–26 ESV

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Moses. At that time the Egyptians feared the Israelites and Pharaoh ordered all the male Israelite infants be killed. Moses’ parents hide him as long as they could and when it was no longer possible to conceal him they cast him upon the waters of the Nile River in a reed ark, trusting in the providence of God to save their son. By God’s grace, Moses was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh and she needing a wet nurse she hired Moses’ mother! As a result, Moses was able to be raised not only in the educational system of Egypt, but in the fear and admonition of the Lord by his mother!

What did she teach him? We see evidences of it in our text. The first thing we see is the fear of the Lord. To choose God a person must...

By Faith Fear God

We find this in verse 23. This verse speaks of the fear of the Lord his parents had, but we know from the rest of the Moses story that they had successfully passed on to their son the fear of the Lord. Scripture says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” We all fear something or someone more than all else. Moses’ parents had a choice: fear the displeasure of Pharaoh or fear the displeasure of God. The reason “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” is because we end up serving what we fear. Moses parents could either be faithful followers of Pharaoh or of God.

It is no different for us. Children know what their parents and grandparents fear. As Moses grew up and understood what a great sacrifice and risk his parents took, he knew they feared the Lord and this is why he feared the Lord. Our words and instructions are very important, but our actions are even more important. Do your children and the people around you see that what you fear most is displeasing God?

I put it in terms of displeasing God, because too many see the fear of the Lord as a negative thing. There is certainly the reality of God’s punishment and discipline, but there is another reason to fear God—the fear of displeasing the God. I remember as a child that I feared getting a spanking—they hurt! But do you know what really hurt? It was the knowledge that I had displeased my parents. Long after the sting of the spanking faded, the pain that I had displeased my parents was still with me. This is what the fear of God should be like. God is terrifyingly beautiful. We must have a fear of God that both respects and delights in God. This is what must be in a person’s heart if they are going to choose God.

The second thing a person must do to choose God is to...

By Faith Renounce the World

We find this in verses 24-25:

Hebrews 11:24–25 ESV

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

This was the moment that Moses had to make his choice for God. Acts 7:23 tells us this incident that took place when Moses was forty years old. The details are found in Exodus 2:11-12.

Exodus 2:11–12 ESV

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

There is no way around it, faith must always make a choice. Moses could have placed his faith in the things of this world or he could have place his faith in God. The world had a lot to offer Moses; tradition has it that Pharaoh had no son. As the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses very well could have been next in line! Either way, as part of the royal court, he had at his fingertips all the pleasures this world had to offer.

Jesus clearly taught that each of us must make the same choice:

Luke 14:33 ESV

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Not only this, by giving up “the pleasures of sin,” Moses had to embrace the suffering of God’s people. People often evangelize others with promises of how wonderful it is to be a Christian. But Moses presents a truer picture. To be a Christian you must give up the world to embrace the cross!

If we have any hope that our children or anyone else will make this choice. We must instill within them one more thing...

By Faith See the Great Reward

We find this in verse 26:

Hebrews 11:26 ESV

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

What is this great reward? From this verse we know it couldn’t be the treasure of heaven—things like golden streets and pearly gates. If this was so the author of Hebrews would have written, “He considered the treasures of heaven greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.” What does he say? He writes, “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.” Moses considered his relationship with Christ his greatest treasure. He had rather be identified with Christ and suffer for Him than to have all the wealth this world could offer.

This is why I said earlier that the fear of God is motivated by the love of God. When you truly love someone your greatest fear is to damage that relationship and you will pay any price (even suffering and reproach) to preserve that relationship. There was not a lot revealed about the coming Promised One at this stage of Redemptive History, but what had been revealed Moses’ mother had taught him and Moses loved and treasured Christ!

This love for Christ is what our children must see in us and what we must teach them.

You may have noticed something interesting in verse 23, it says Moses’ parents did what they did because they “saw that the child was beautiful.” This word means more than physical attractiveness, it means that his parents saw something special about Moses. Acts 7:30 says that “Moses was beautiful in God’s sight.” We know that Moses played a very special role in God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Moses’ parents saw this! Don’t ask me how they saw it, I don’t know. Perhaps it was intuition, more likely it was by Divine revelation, but what is important is they saw it!

Do you see the beauty of Christ? Can your children see that you see? I can imagine Moses’ mother’s eyes lighting up as she told her son the stories of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. She saw the beauty of Christ in those stories and that is what our children must see in our eyes.