Faith-Fueled Obedience

Reflection:

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sermon Text:

Hebrews 11:23–28 ESV

23 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. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

OPENING QUESTION: Can FAITH move us forward in the midst of impossible situations and obstacles?

MEH...

Can obedience that is fueled by faith move you forward in spite of the impossible situations and obstacles?

YOU BETCHA!

And God’s Word shows us that OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

If you have ever longed for relevant teaching…that was right on point! A Hope-infused, relevant, word from the Lord for this moment of history! With great satisfaction, I point you to the sufficiency of God’s Word today - expositionally preached…with the Holy Spirit’s help!

Moses will show us great encouragement of just how far faith-fueled obedience can take us…for God’s glory.

BY FAITH

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Remember from one of our earliest messages in this series:

FAITH IS BELIEVING - A life-giving, hope-fueling trust. But it is not authored and finished and defined by the one needs faith - it must have a basis.

FAITH IS BELIEVING IN GOD - The Creator, Ruler of the Universe is the author and finisher of our faith. Christian faith, the faith once delivered to the saints, is active, doctrinally sound, vibrant, living faith.

FAITH IS BELIEVING IN GOD ENOUGH TO ACT (IN OBEDIENCE) - As an act of worship we will act on his promises, obey his commandments, and trust and accept His Word.

So we come to the faith of Moses a life that shouts faith from beginning to end!

1. By faith—the faith of Amram and Jochebed—Moses was preserved and nurtured.

Hebrews 11:23 ESV

23 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.

Exalting Jesus in Hebrews Faith in the Faithfulness of God 11:20-40

When the author says Moses was hidden because he was “beautiful,” he is not saying Moses was hidden because he was a cute baby. Rather, Moses’s beauty alludes to his particular destiny. Moses was a beautiful child because he was set apart for a specific task by God: leading Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan. Therefore, his parents were not afraid to disobey the king’s edict that every son born to the Hebrews be cast into the Nile but every daughter be allowed to live (Exod 1:22). Instead of acting in fear, Moses’s parents saw the exquisite quality of their son and trusted in God.

2. By faith Moses identified with his oppressed people as he turned his back on Egypt and took on the stigmata of Israel.

Hebrews 11:24–26 ESV

24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

3. By faith Moses separated from Egypt for forty years so God could prepare him to be a deliverer.

Hebrews 11:27 ESV

27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

4. By faith Moses obtained the salvation of his people by instituting the Passover.

Hebrews 11:28 ESV

28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

HOW IS THIS RELEVANT TO US?

It wasn’t just faith…it was faith in action - the OBEDIENCE of Moses to the LORD when the facts were stacked against Him. The Truth was God was on His side!

The facts may be stacked up against you right now, but the TRUTH for the child of God is - God is on our side.

Let’s work our way backwards through this passage. We see some amazing essential doctrines of the church here...

1. SALVATION - We are saved by grace through faith…because of the blood of our spotless lamb of God.

in spite of ourselves

because of His great love

Ephesians 2:1–9 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2. SANCTIFICATION - We have been set apart by God…for His purpose and His pleasure.

2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV

17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

John 17:17 ESV

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:20–22 ESV

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

3. IDENTIFICATION! You are more than your job, your talent, your position in the family, what your friends say about you, what your enemies say about you!

Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:9 ESV

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Galatians 3:26–27 ESV

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

4. PRESERVATION! God is able to keep us in the palm of His hand!

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Timothy 1:12 ESV

12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Jude 24 ESV

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

Salvation, Sanctification, Identification, Preservation

These are all evidences of God working in our lives. These are the benefits of faith-fueled obedience.

So then, if Moses’s parents could have faith when a death sentence was issued for the Hebrew children…faith enough to act...

If Moses could have faith enough in a God he couldn’t see with his eyes, to identify with a family that was thicker than his party friends...

If by faith, Moses could identify with Christ’s sufferings by abandoning the comforts and pleasures and idolatry of Egypt…faith enough to separate himself…to prepare to be used by God

If through faith-fueled obedience, Moses would trust that God’s plan of using the blood of lamb could bring salvation...

It begs the question, “DURING THIS HISTORIC TIME OF ADVERSITY AND GLOBAL INTERRUPTION, HOW IS YOUR FAITH FUELING YOU TO OBEY?”

IF OUR LIVES WERE COMPARED TO THOSE AROUND US, HOW WOULD THEY BE MARKED DIFFERENTLY BY CHRIST?

It’s got to be MORE than inner peace

It’s got to be MORE than joy unspeakable

It’s got to be MORE than just consumption of nice content…doesn’t it?

I CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR HOW YOUR FAITH FUELING YOU TO OBEY THE GREAT COMMANDMENT?

Mark 12:28–31 ESV

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

How are you LOVING GOD distinctively through this time?

How are you LOVING OTHERS in a way that reveals to your identity in Christ?

I CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR HOW YOUR FAITH IS FUELING YOUR TO OBEDIENCE TO THE GREAT COMMISSION?

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

WHAT DOORS ARE OPEN NOW THAT WERE CLOSED?

WHAT HEARTS ARE SOFT NOW THAT WERE HARDENED?

WHAT CONVERSATIONS HAVE YOU HAD WITH FOLKS AROUND YOU, HUNGRY FOR HOPE?

We who are saved, sanctified, identified as in Christ, preserved by a promise-keeping King…we are OF THE FAITH!

Hebrews 10:39 ESV

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

BONUS - By faith Moses effected the deliverance of Israel through the Red Sea.

Hebrews 11:29 ESV

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.