Heres of Faith- Moses
HEROES OF FAITH
LESSON #4 – MOSES
For our last lesson, we are going to look at a man God called to bring the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Hebrews 11 is about the primacy and excellency of faith and the long list of OT men and women who illustrated it. Moses was just another ordinary man (a sinner saved by grace) who accomplished extra-ordinary things in his life. Why was God able to use Moses is such a significant way? Our text gives us the answer. In his life, Moses settled four basic questions of life. I submit to you that if we want to be used in an extra-ordinary way, if we want to live a life of faith (which is the only life that is pleasing to God) we must also settle these four basic questions.
Read Hebrews 11:23-28. Before we get to Moses in verse 24, let’s not skip over verse 23. We obviously covered this in the lesson on Joseph, but notice the faith of Moses’ parents. This verse is very interesting to me. Do you think that Amram and Jochebed saved Moses because Moses was a beautiful child? I think that they knew God’s special concern for this child. It was by faith in God they hid him and opposed Pharaoh’s order. Moses’ parents were willing to risk their own lives to follow God.
Again, there is much more to a Christian home than just taking our kids to church. If we want our kids to be heroes of the faith, we must model it for them. Jochebed not only nursed Moses, but trained and taught him Israel’s promises from God – that they would inherit the land of Canaan, be a great nation, and bless the world. She instilled in him the promise of a great deliver. Did she know why he was to be raised in the court of Egypt, in the very house of the one who ordered his death as a child? I would guess not. She new, though, that this was God’s plan and she was faithful to God and to her son in that she helped build in him the faith that was to become the characteristic of his life. I pray that I leave that kind of legacy in the life of my son.
…Back to Moses. Hebrews 11:24 says “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” The first key to living an effective life or the first question Moses settled was:
I. WHO AM I?
We all need to realize that God has a purpose and a plan that is just for us. Remember Noah, God has given us all an ark to build. Nobody can be you except you. Don’t try to be somebody else. Be yourself. In being the person that God has called you to be, you do not have to worry about being like someone else to be a hero. In being myself and living in the center of God’s will, doesn’t that qualify me as a hero of the faith?
For forty years Moses had been the prince of Egypt, the wealthiest, most cultured and advanced society of that day. He was highly educated and skilled. He could and did enjoy everything that Egypt had to offer. When Moses reached the age of forty, he faced a crucial decision. He was born Jewish but raised Egyptian.
He had to decide between becoming a full fledged Egyptian, with absolute loyalty and no reservations, and joining his own people, Israel. Moses had to decide, “Who am I?” This one crucial decision would determine the rest of his life. If he had decided he was Egyptian he could have lived a luxurious and easy life. If he said, “I am Jewish,” which he did, he would be humiliated, kicked out of the palace, and sent to live with the Israelites.
The Bible says that “By faith Moses…refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” He rejected, denied, he totally disowned a promising career as an Egyptian because he refused to live a lie. The deciding factor was his faith in God. In all those years Moses had never waivered in his devotion to the Lord. From the worldly standpoint, he was sacrificing everything for nothing. But from the spiritual standpoint, he was sacrificing nothing for everything.
It is interesting that Moses was now in a situation similar to that of Joseph, but God had a much different work for him to do. Joseph used Egypt’s power for the good of God’s chosen people. Moses would have to oppose Egypt’s power for the same purpose. Moses could have tried to be like Joseph, and looking at his circumstances he possible could have, but he chose rather to be himself – the man God wanted him to be and here he is in the “Hall of Faith!” It is very liberating to be yourself. It is also the first key to having an effective life. The second question we need to settle is:
II. WHAT ARE MY CHOICES?
Hebrews 11:25 “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”
Life is made up of decisions. Some are simple and unimportant; others are complex and extremely important. When we put off deciding, a decision is made for us. Still it is our decision, because we decided to put it off. The course and the quality of our lives are determined much more by our decisions than by our circumstances.
Christian living involves making right decisions. You can note the maturity of a Christian by the decisions he makes. When we have opportunity to witness, we either take advantage of it or we don’t. We decide whether or not to take time to read the Bible and pray. It is no a matter of having time but of taking time, and taking time requires a decision. Holiness is making right decisions, carnality is making wrong ones. Right choices are made on the basis of right faith and the opposite of choosing God’s way is always Satan’s way.
We need to accept responsibility for ourselves. Too many people seek to blame somebody else or something else for their choices in life. The simple fact is, I have choices I can make in life and so do you. God has given us the freedom to make our own choices. What we choose today will determine our tomorrow. That is called accepting responsibility. The Bible makes it clear that people who accept responsibility for their own lives tend to lead effective lives. One of the signs that we are maturing is when we accept responsibility for our life decisions.
When Moses grew up, he made a choice. He could not blame somebody else for the direction in his life. Do you realize that Moses lived most of his life before the covenant of Mt. Sinai, with its system of commandments and rituals? But both before and after Sinai he lived by faith, not works. No person in Scripture, other than Jesus, illustrates the power of right decision better than Moses. His decisions were right because his faith was right.
You and I cannot live off of somebody else’s spiritual commitment either. Moses did not live off the faith that was exhibited by his parents. He had to decide for himself whether or not he was going to have a personal relationship with God or not. We, too, have to make our own decisions. I hear people say all the time, “My parents are Christians,” or “My brother or sister is a Christian.” Well that is great. But just like Paul told the Jews in Romans 2, your heritage does not give you spiritual security. Neither does your knowledge of God or your works of righteousness. You have to make a personal commitment on your own to accept Christ by faith.
Your happiness will be determined by your character in life. Your character is determined by the choices you make and your choices are determined by your faith. We need to be like Moses: be yourself, be responsible and then ask yourself,
III. WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT?
Hebrews 11:25b, 26 “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
There are three things people are frantically searching for today: Pleasure, Possessions, and Power.
-Pleasure – I want to feel good (sex, alcohol, drugs, etc.)
-Possessions – I want to have a lot. The person with the most toys wins.
-Power – I want to be __________(fill in the blank) – famous, popular, influential, powerful in position, etc.
There is an important lesson in Moses’ life that we have to focus on. When you establish a value system for your life, you have to learn to say, “NO!” Every time you choose something in life, you are automatically turning against something else. When we choose God’s way, we put up the shield of faith, and the temptations and allurements of Satan are deflected. Whenever we sin, we believe Satan; we believe that his way is better than God’s. You have to decide what is important. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Sometimes it is easy for us to say “Yes” to God, but it is very difficult to say “No” to everything else. The Bible says in James 1:8 that a person who tries to say “Yes” to two things at the same time is referred to as “double minded.”
We must learn to say, “No” if we are going to be effective in life. We see from our text in Hebrews that Moses said, “No” to three different things.
1. He said, “No” to popularity. By refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he was saying, “Yes” to God’s purpose. Remember, every time you choose something in life; you are automatically turning against something else. Often times we associate the need for popularity with kids, especially in Jr. High and High School. But it is something that affects all of us. We all want to be accepted. No one wants to be an outcast. Moses new, though, as we often discover with age, that popularity does not last. Moses was not impressed by himself. Finding God’s purpose for his life was more important to him that popularity.
2. He said, “No” to pleasures and he said, “Yes” to God’s people. For the first 40 years of his life, Moses was treated royally and lived a life of luxury. But he saw the way the Jews were being treated and decided people are more important and valuable than pleasures. In order to do the right thing he chose discomfort over comfort. Moses knew that pleasure, like popularity, does not last.
Notice the end of verse 25. It does not say “than to enjoy the pleasures of sin,” rather it says “than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” I do not need to stand here and convince you that sin is fun. If it weren’t nobody would do it. It can feed our pride, satisfy physical desires and appetites, and offer many other pleasures. But it has two characteristics the world does not notice: it is always evil and it is always passing or “for a season.” There is pleasure in sin, but then you reap what you sow and the payoff is never worth it.
David learned the hard way that sinful pleasure is both brief and disastrous. For the pleasure of having Bathsheba for himself, he first committed adultery and then murder. He watched his infant son die; he saw another son rebel against him and be hanged. David’s sin was short-lived in pleasure but long-lived in consequences.
Moses knew that God was calling him to give his life for his people. He had a choice. He could have obeyed or disobeyed. Disobeying had many attractions. Among other things, it would have been a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable in the short run. It is hard enough to stop seeking worldly things. It is even harder to give them up once we have them, and Moses had a great many of them by the time he was forty.
I don’t believe we have any reason to believe he was involved in any immoral practices, but he enjoyed the pleasures of an extremely comfortable life. He had the best of everything. These were not sins in themselves. Joseph enjoyed the same pleasures in the same place, while being perfectly obedient to God. But they would have been sin for Moses, had he decided to stay in the Egyptian court, and he forsook them for the sake of God’s call.
It took faith for Moses to give up his place in the palace, but he could do so because he saw the fleeting nature of prestige, pleasure and possessions. Faith in God helps us to look beyond the world’s value system to see the eternal values of God’s kingdom.
3. He said “No” to possessions and “Yes” to God’s peace. There are some things in life that are more important than things. You have seen those credit card commercials that give the prices of certain things and then names one thing that is priceless, well one of those priceless items is when you know you are in the center of God’s will. You cannot buy that peace of mind. It is priceless!!
Can you buy happiness? If I had the money I would buy a Harley Davidson and that would be happiness. You can buy happiness for a short time. If I had a Harley, I assure you I would be happy. But after some time, the new would wear off and I would need to buy some chrome to put on it and the “screaming eagle” mufflers. This is buying happiness but it is a temporary thing. It does not last.
The Bible says that Moses “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” The word “esteeming” or “considering” involves careful thought, not quick decision. Moses thought through his decision, weighing the pros and cons. He weighed what Egypt had to offer against what God offered. When he reached his decision it was well founded and certain. God’s offer was infinitely superior in every way. Moses believed that the worst he could endure for Christ would be more valuable than the best of the world.
He did not want popularity, pleasures, or possessions because he knew they did not last. The problem many people face today is that they have so much to live on and so little to live for! Jesus said in Luke 12:15 “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” In other words, the good life has nothing to do with being rich, so beware of greed.
If along the way of our lives God happens to make us rich, wonderful. If in His wisdom he keeps us poor, also wonderful. It should make us no difference; as long as we are in His will He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It made Moses no difference. For forty years he enjoyed the riches of Egypt. For the rest of his life he forsook them, because they interfered with his obedience to God and would have prevented his receiving immeasurable greater riches when it came time for eternal rewards.
Moses is a hero of faith because he gave up these three things which most people spend their entire lives trying to accomplish and achieve. Why did he do it? The end of verse 26 gives us the answer. He was looking to the reward. He was looking ahead with eyes of faith and living in the light of eternity. God’s reward is always greater than the world’s.
Rick Warren said in the Purpose Driven Life, “Your happiness is determined by your character. Your character is determined by your choices. Your choices are determined by your values. Your values are determined by your vision…what you have your eyes on.” Notice that there is always something determined. There is a decision or choices that are being made. Right choices are made on the basis of right faith.
The last question Moses settled was:
III. WHAT ARE MY GOALS?
Hebrews 11:27 “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” What were his goals? I believe it was to leave Egypt with a full determination to follow a better way. Moses kept his eyes on the prize. He never took his eyes off the goal.
After expounding on the primacy and excellency of faith and giving us the long list of OT men and women who illustrated it, the Hebrew writer goes on to tell us in Hebrews 12:1-2.
Patience is required. One of the lessons that almost every one of these heroes of faith had to learn and one that the Lord tries to teach all of us is this: to learn to wait. Waiting time is not wasted time. We must learn to see the hand of God in the times of waiting. One of the greatest tests of faith is this principle. Isaiah 40:31 says “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Jesus did the same thing that Moses did. He looked beyond the problem of our sin and saw the possibilities. He saw beyond the pain of the cross and viewed the profit. He went to the cross because He knew that in dying for our sins the end result would be the salvation of millions of people. And in Jesus’ mind people are more important than pleasure. As we close consider the following questions:
Do you need to be yourself? Do you need to quit being somebody your not. God has a purpose and plan for you so be yourself.
Have you accepted responsibility for your own decisions? Folks, we have and we will continue to face some tough choices. Your choices will be based on your values? Have you determined what your values are? What about your priorities? What is worth dying for in your life? What is worth being uncomfortable for? By clarifying and internalizing your values you will not have to respond to pressures but rather to your priorities.
Do you have goals established? Have you got a clear vision? Find God’s purpose for your life and focus in on it. Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Never give up! Make Christ the center of your life!
If you have never made the decision to invite Christ into your life, I would love to talk with you about making this great decision. Every one of you can be a hero like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. They were just ordinary men who allowed God to use them in extra-ordinary ways. You can be a hero if you chose to live a life of faith. The choice is yours. Let’s pray!