Practical Faith

Practical Faith

, , 12:1-2

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Hebrews ends by saying the Lord is coming back and we need patience to wait for it. Then he says that the just shall live by faith and keep going on for God even when he cannot see or tangibly feel what is going on. That is where faith comes in.

Then chapter 11 starts off by telling us what faith is. It says faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

What does that mean? How is Faith substance? How was Faith evidence?

I want you to imagine you're on an old wooden ship like the pirates of the Caribbean ship. You're in the London harbor and the fog starts to roll in the wind starts to blow and in order to keep you from crashing into the rocks and sinking your ship you put the anchor down. And attached the rope the anchor is tied 2 to the ship. The clouds keep coming in and it grows darker and pretty close soon you can't see anything but you can feel the waves and the wind and you know the rocks are there. But you are not worried because you can see the rope go down into the water to the anchor that you can't see.

That is what faith is Faith ties our life on the boat to heaven to Jesus to the things that we can't see faith is the rope faith is the evidence and substance that keeps us tied to the things we believe in and hope for.

In this passage Paul keeps making declarative statements about faith and then illustrating them.

Show The following illustrations show you how these guys had evidence and substance that help them live their faith out.

And then if you will look downto 11:6 You will see that without faith you cannot please God.

You see without faith you cannot possibly be tied to the Lord Jesus Christ you don't have an anchor you do not have any evidence and substance that keeps your life tied to God's in order to please him. People with no faith or not tied to God.

Now look at

Here it says that we have a great cloud of witnesses that show us that with faith our life Ken be constantly tied to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can constantly look to him the author and finisher of our faith. One day we will not live by faith but we will live by sight because we will see it right in front of us. In the meantime we have to stay tied to the one that started our faith and to the one that one day we'll finish our faith.

Now how do we do that? How do we look to Jesus? How do we look to someone we can't see? We do it by faith.

Let me show you what I'm talkin about.

It says there that Moses was able to do all this by seeing him who was invisible.

So what Moses illustrates to us in this passage is how Faith practically works in our life day today as believers.

Do we know how to show the Lord our faith and live it out practically on a day-to-day level? Because without faith you can never please God.

Let's look at what a life of faith that was pleasing to God looks like.

Faith sees Providence rather than the Problem 23

I find it interesting that the faith in Moses is life started with his parents. Moses had to have his own faith but they were a good example.

I was talking and Idaho to some of the people that row led to the Lord. I told them if you keep serving the lord and pass the saint you will change generations to come. their faith affected Moses and Moses affected the world.

So what is this verse talking about?

Joseph died and the Pharaoh that appointed him died and there arose a king in Egypt another pharaoh that did not know Joseph and he began to be worried about the children of Israel multiplying and said they're soon going to overtake us and overtake the land. So he commanded that every man child that was born should be cast into the river. And all the girls they could save alive.

So Moses's parents got married and they had a child. And the child what's a boy a proper child Exodus says goodly child

Proper means he was a well-formed excellent perfect.

This meant that they wer supposed to throw him in the river. This meant that if they were caught with him they would die. This meant they had a choice to make if they could preserve their life or they could preserve their child's life.

I think that these were stressful times to have a child. Could you imagine carrying a child for nine months during this time. If it was a girl everything would be okay if it was a boy everything would be all wrong.

They knew what was going to happen because as soon as he was born they hit him.

I don't know what you would be praying during those nine months. But I know what I would have been praying. Lord Miriam needs a sister to play with. it must be hard coming up in a home being the only girl. Lord please let this be a girl. We think the will of God for our life is to have a daughter. You know Moses is Dad is better with girls. I see the way he treats you marry him and I just I just know he's meant to be a father to another daughter.

I mean come on am I right wouldn't you be praying that.

And 9 months later all their prayers were answered with no.

Can you imagine the emotions it's a boy he's perfect he's a goodly child but the king wants to kill him.

They didn't have a gender reveal party they didn't have a baby shower they hid him..

You see Faith keeps what God gives you stop.

And eventually you can't hide what he gave you neither. What God gives you grows to the point it can't be silenced or hid.

Through faith they saw what God gave them as proper.

Faith makes the boy ok

Faith sees beyond the implication of unanswered prayers and sees him who is invisible.

let me ask you when God answers your prayers and a different way than you want ask and expect. Is that okay? Can you look beyond the problem and see God?

Can you see what God gives you as proper?

We have all prayed for things and then when they came they just looked a whole lot different than we thought they would

Has God ever given you something that brought about with it a great risk?

God's greatest gifts come in the most trying of circumstances.

This was the worst time to have a man-child.

Faith helps us look beyond the problem and help us see him that is invisible and sitting on the throne.

Faith is the rope that takes us beyond the problem and connects us to God and gives us some substance an evidence that we can hold onto.

Can I tell you without faith I have no idea how anyone can look past these present problems. But once you see him that is invisible it does something for you.

Faith is how we look beyond the problem and please him

Faith helps us look beyond Pharaoh's throne and look at heaven's throne.

Look at the wording. Look at the verbs

By faith was hid , they saw

Faith enables you to see differently. You see him who is invisible and see beyond that earthly throne

Faith sees the commandant rather than the cost 23

Not fearing the wrath of the king

The way it is used here is the same way it is used in verse 27.

they did not obey they did not listen they did not honor they did not fear they rebelled and disobeyed.

Why because they had a greater fear. The fear of the Lord.

Now disobedience to the earthly king comes with a cost.

The potential was loss of life.

But they looked at the Lord's desire the Lord's commandment instead of the cost.

Even though the ten commandments we're not yet given. Man still knew it was wrong to kill. That is written on our conscience. God held Kane accountable 4 killing his brother Abel.

When you read the book of Genesis they knew it was wrong to deceive they knew it was wrong to kill. they knew a lot more than people give them credit for.

When Moses was born they looked at him and they said mister King it doesn't matter what you say we ought to obey God rather than man.

God gave us this child and he does not want to kill it.

There are certain times when it is proper to repel against the king and the government and your husband and your father.

Look at acts 5:29

God has all authority and he has delegated some of that authority for better or for worse to your father to the government to your husband to the church to your mother.

but there are certain things he does not delegate. And morality is one of them. God does not give your father or your husband the ability to change what is right and what is wrong.

The king cannot make murder okay.

The king cannot make it okay to bow to the image of Babylon.

God has not delegated morality he has not given the authority to anyone to legislate morality.

When they tried people for war crimes at Nuremberg even if they were commanded to do it they were still held accountable. Even if it would have meant death if they did not do it they were still held accountable.

Because humans understand that death is not an excuse for murder.

Moses's parents new the death would not be an excuse that the Lord would accept for killing their baby.

Faith cause them to look at what was right. The commandment of God rather than the cost associated with it.

Every one of us will be put in positions like this. Maybe your husband will try to get you to do something morally wrong. Many husbands try to bring immorality into their marriage. And the question is should I honor my husband the Bible tells me to do that should I obey him. Not this time honey.

However that does not give you the right to overthrow authority and all the other areas. Daddy I will obey you but I will not steal.

And it takes faith to see what God wants and do that instead of focusing on the cost.

One of those Christian movies facing the Giants.a guy gets saved and he starts doing well at work the boss says I will make you a supervisor and it will be good for your family but you need to falsify these reports. He said I can't do it.

Why because Faith connection us to heaven. We see him who is invisible on the throne. And we understand that he will hold us accountable.

Faith the conviction rather than the concession 24

As Faith grows the responsibility of Faith increases. It goes from hiding to responsibility.

For years Moses was content to live in the royal places of Egypt

To Learn in Their best schools.

But when he came to years he refused to just go on.

He saw what was happening to his people. He heard what they were planning and doing concerning his people.

There came a point when he said I will no longer be called this son of Pharaoh's daughter.

said pharaoh sought to slay moses.

You see this was not a thing where he just said don't call me that anymore. The only way to stop being called Pharaoh's daughter was to stop being Pharaoh's daughter.

One day Moses looked in the mirror and he saw Egypt all over himself. And he said this is not who God wants me to be. It's going to change. I'm not just going to not say anything. I'm not going to just go along to get along.

God put it in my heart to deliver these people. And he started to try to make that happen.

He was ready but God wasn't ready. When God was ready he wasn't ready.

Faith look beyond the throne and show him who was invisible sitting on the throne. Faith said I know what he wants me to do.

I will no longer be passive. I will no longer allow Egypt in my life.

And he did everything he could to please him who was invisible. He did not just give in and by concession alow Egypt to rule his life.

Evil prevails because good men do nothing.

Do you know what God wants from you? Do you try to make that happen? Or are you just passive?

Moses said I refuse this system. I am not going to think differently and just be in the shadows. I am rejecting it.

I am blowing the bridge up. I am cutting my ties with Egypt. I'm not going to just try to stay in and slowly reform it from the inside.

It took him 40 years to get there.

Egypt took me away from my family. Egypt gave a command to kill me. Egypt is not care about me or my people. It doesn't matter what Egypt benefits me this is not of God.

I remember about a soldier in the Ukraine that when the military came through there instead of fighting he went and hid under a manure pile. And somebody snuck him food. And he's head there for years. One day he started screaming and came running out from under that manure pile and said I want to live. I want to live. I would rather die then live under this smelly stuff.

That's what I'm talking about. That's what Moses did.

And that's what he wants you to do. We refuse to be called a man of the world the man of flesh a man of the devil. can't you people see when they look at you by being different.

Faith sees the value rather than the vanity 25-26

Faith sees beyond what is visible what is temporal and it sees what is eternal.

Faith will change your value system.

Faith will help you see what is really important.

Moses had a choice

And he chose rather to suffer than to sin.

The word rather means not being drugged kicking and screaming.

It means he ordered it off the menu because he wanted that.

He said I will take slavery over the palace.

Rigor hard bondage affliction

That would be better then the pleasures that this palace can afford.

Suffering sounds better than sinning.

Moses looked at the menu. Slavery, the whip, gathering straw, no time , no freedom. But you can identify as a person of God.

The next menu item . Stay in the palace enjoy all Egypt has to offer a life of ease. Order what ever you want.

And Moses looked at him that was invisible by faith. And says I think I'll take the suffering that sounds better.

Authenticity comes at a price. But that price is so worth it.

Eventually people stop pretending. Moses stop pretending to be an Egyptian.

and either you will stop pretending to be like the world or you'll stop pretending to be like Christ.

Which would you rather do? some of you would rather not be here and do whatever you want.you want to be authentically out in the world. And you will eventually. Or if you have faith like Moses you just want to be like the one sitting on the throne that you can only see by faith.

But that authenticity that freedom to be comes when you make a choice.

I was fishing out on the kayak the other day. And I was sitting there with the person that grew up and the same church brother Ashton did. And he said I always appreciated brother Ashton because he was real. He said so many people we grew up with just stop pretending and stop playing church and went out into the world. I said well they became real well as well.

26

Reproach for greater riches

Esteeming means value

The reproach of Christ. The reproach the mocking the looking down on the people of God by the people of Egypt.

He said he esteemed that greater than the treasures in Egypt.

Talk about a different value system. If Moses was to open his safe and take you to his most valuable possession. you would be with him and he would be opening the safe and you would be like I wonder what he got maybe it is gold maybe it's a diamond that he took from the palace. Then he would reach in the safe and get a newspaper clipping that says the son of Pharaoh's daughter rejects the palace to become a slave. Turns out he was a slave the whole time. What a fool.

Moses said that accusation was worth more than all the gold in Egypt.

the apostles left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

We don't see a lot of this reproach in Texas. But if you have ever reproach for being a Christian. Reproached for witnessing to people. Jesus said rejoice for great is your reward in heaven.

Moses saw him that was invisible and he said the reward that he will give me is greater then gold.

She had respect unto the recompense of the reward. He looked forward to what the Lord would give them.

What do you value more what God will give you in the future or what you can have now?

He valued God's people. The people of God then the people of the world.

as long as he was living as the son of Pharaoh's daughter and denying who he was he could never suffer affliction with keyword being with the people of God. There would have been Moses and then the people of God.

It's all about what you value. If you value the people of God then you will walk in the light so you can have fellowship with them. What do you value more? The people of God or the pleasures of sin?

says if we walk in the light as he is in the light. We have fellowship one with another.

People say I can get along with other Christians. There's a reason for that they're acting like egyptians instead of suffering reflection with the people of God.

Faith sees the promise rather than the prolonging 27-29

By faith he forsook egypt not fearing the wrath of the king: For he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

He did not go back he endured

He endured 300 miles of desert to midian

He endured 40 years on the backside of the desert with out his people without his culture.

I think Moses had a Lonely life. I do not think he ever fit into the palace life. HE was taken from his real mom at a young age and Pharos daughter was not the caring type she was the higher a slave babysitter type and I will see him in two years.

And when he left the palace his people did not receive him no he has to flee because pharoah wants to kill him. And 40 years on the backside of the desert.

You know what he did he endured.

How did he endure ?

He looked at the promise rather than prolonging

And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

He knew God called him and God would bring it to pass

And for 40 years he endured

How seeing him who is invisible.

If you can just look past the problem and see the promise

THe answer to our problems is Jesus and he is the one that will come one day and set us free from the dessert.

Just look past the problem and see Jesus.

All I want you to see is that if you can just by faith see him who is invisible the rest will fall into place.

You will be able to see God instead of the problems

You will be able to see his commandment instead of the cost

You will be able to see were to stand and have conviction

You will see what is truly valuable not the Egyptians not the treasures

You will see the promise and not the hardship the poloning

Think about your situation where does the Lord want your faith to mature ?

As you think about whatever it is you are facing whatever it is that is next and can you stop looking at that and start looking at him?