Faith for Future Reward

Introduction: In the 1950s, Johns Hopkins professor Curt Richter conducted an experiment comparing domesticated and wild rats. It was a gruesome experiment, and frankly, I don't know who thinks to do some of these things, but in the experiment, Richter took jars, half-filled them with water, placed the rats inside, and watched them drown. The idea was to measure whether or not there was a difference in the time it would take the domesticated rats to drown versus the wild rats. After conducting his experiment, he found that the majority of the domesticated rats were willing to tread water for days.

On the other hand, the wild rats did not have anywhere near the longevity of the domesticated rats. As Richter dropped them into the water, one by one, they all met the same fate. Within minutes of entering the water, all 34 of the wild rats gave up and died.

"Why are all these rats dying?" Richter wondered. "Why do wild rats die within minutes while tamed rats will endure for days at a time?"

And so, he adjusted his experiment. He took similar wild rats and put them in the jar, but this time he rescued them from drowning just before he expected them to die.

He then gave them a brief time to recover and placed them back into the water. But this time, the rats did not give up after a few short minutes. This time they endured similar to the domestic rats.

"In this way," he wrote, "the rats quickly learn that the situation is not actually hopeless. After elimination of hopelessness, the rats do not die."

When the wild rats learned that hope was possible, they had a reason to decide to endure.

Now, if there was anyone who needed hope and a reason to endure, it was Moses. There is a saying among pastors that pastoral ministry can be "death by a thousand cuts." Not here, of course. Pastor Brandon and I have both observed and commented to one another that we have a tremendous amount of unity here, and that is only by the grace of God. And I think we are all extremely thankful for that, but some pastors out there feel nitpicked to death.

Some say to their pastor, "You preach too short." Others say, "You preach too long." You're too shallow. You're too deep. You're too ugly. Who knows what some say or why they say it. But regardless of what any pastor faces in ministry today, I don't think any of them can hold a candle to what Moses faced. God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt, and as soon as he does, do you know what they say to him? "Thanks, Moses! What?! Did you bring us out here because there weren't enough graves in Egypt?"

And they continually railed on him for the next 40 years, and, of course, the shocking reality of it all is that this is the life Moses chose. He grew up in Pharaoh's household. He had access to prestige and power, but he rejected it all and chose to serve the people of God. Why? Well, it shouldn't surprise you at this point in the series, but we'll say it anyway. Moses chose to reject all that Egypt had to offer by faith.

Like Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph before him, Moses bore witness that Jesus is better than anyone and anything.

Read Hebrews 11:24-29

Hebrews 11:24–29 NKJV

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.

Transition: Moses grew up as a prince in Egypt. As the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, he had the privilege of wealth, culture, and all the pleasures of an advanced society. According to Acts 7:22, he was highly skilled and educated, much like us today. We live in one of the wealthiest civilizations in one of the most technologically advanced societies in all of human history. And like Moses, our faith demands that we evaluate our life's priorities. This morning, Moses' life calls us to evaluate the priorities and motives of our own lives by rejecting the prestige and power of this world for the surpassing perfections of Christ.

Faith Rejects the Prestige of this World

Read Hebrews 11:24-25

(ἠρνήσατο) Refused - purposeful denial

Matthew 10:33 “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Luke 22:57 “But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.””

Acts 3:14 “But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,”

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

(ἑλόμενος) Choosing - to prefer between two options

(συγκακουχεῖσθαι) Suffer - to identify through suffering

Isaiah 63:9 “In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.”

(ἔχειν, ἀπόλαυσιν· ) Enjoy pleasures - to have

1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”

(ὀνειδισμὸν) Reproach - insults

Romans 15:3 “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

(θησαυρῶν) Treasures - treasury

Transition: As a member of Pharaoh's royal court, I am sure Moses' Egyptian friends thought that Moses had absolutely lost his mind. Perhaps they said, "Moses, don't you know the people of Israel are slaves. You don't want to be one of them, do you?"

"Moses, you can have all the pleasures of Egypt and live like a god, and you want to identify yourself with them."

"Moses, don't you realize you are giving up everything for nothing?"

But before things get better for Moses here, they become worse. Not only does he reject the prestige of Egypt, but he also antagonizes the power of Egypt.

Faith Rejects the Power of this World

Read Hebrews 11:27

Hebrews 11:27 NKJV

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

(κατέλιπεν) Forsook - left with finality (repented)

John 8:9 “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”

(φοβηθεὶς) Fearing

Matthew 10:28 “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.”

Wait a minute, wasn’t Moses afraid when he initially fled from Egypt?

Exodus 2:14 “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!”

What was Pharaoh initially afraid of that caused him to enslave the Israelites?

Exodus 11:2-3 “Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.”

Exodus 12:38 “A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.”

Exodus 11:4-8 “Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.”

Transition: By faith, Moses rejected the prestige and the power of this world? And while all of Moses’ Egyptian friends might have scoffed at him, saying, “Don’t you know you are giving up everything for nothing?” he knew, in light of eternity, that he was giving up nothing for everything. Moses’ faith was not grounded in the passing pleasures of this world, but it was grounded in the surpassing perfections of Christ.

Faith Prefers the Surpassing Perfections of Christ

Identifying with the reproaches of Christ is more valuable than all the treasures of this world.

Read Hebrews 11:26

Hebrews 11:26 NKJV

esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

(ἡγησάμενος) Esteeming - to hold the opinion that one thing is more valuable than other

Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

1 Thessalonians 5:13 “and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.”

By faith, Moses valued the reproach of Christ to be more valuable than the treasures of Egypt.

Did Moses know about the Christ?

John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Philippians 3:4-8 “though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”

How could Moses resist all the treasures of Egypt? Because, by faith, he knew there was a greater reward.

Identifying with the power of God provides greater protection than all the powers of this world.

Read Hebrews 11:27

Hebrews 11:27 NKJV

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

(ἐκαρτέρησε) Endured - to persist in a decision

(ὁρῶν) Seeing

Exodus 3:2-3 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

How could Moses reject all the power of Egypt? Because, by faith, he knew that the hand of the invisible one is mightier than all of the powers of this world.

Identifying with the salvation of God provides greater assurance than all the presumptions of this world.

Read Hebrews 11:28-29

Hebrews 11:28–29 NKJV

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.

(πεποίηκε) Kept - observed

Passover

sprinkling of blood

(διέβησαν) Passed - moved from one geographic location to another

(πεῖραν) Drowned - an idiom for presuming to be able to do something and failing

Conclusion: Why were the wild rats in Richter’s later experiments able to survive longer than the wild rats in his starting experiments? They could survive longer because they knew that there was life beyond that jar, and as difficult as it was for them to tread water, they would not give up when they knew there was hope.

How was Moses able to reject the prestige and power of Egypt and endure a life in the wilderness leading a group of ungrateful idolaters? He could make those choices and endure his time in the wilderness because he knew there was life beyond this world. His eyes were fixed on the riches he would have in Christ.

Are you wondering this morning how you are going to endure? How will you provide for your family when the price of everything seems to go up 7% every couple of months? Where will you find hope when the leader of the free world warns of coming food shortages? Where do you look when all the news talks about is war, disease, and coming famine? Well, like Moses, you are called to prioritize your life by looking to Christ. The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Moses looked to his reward in Christ, and in so doing, when he crossed the Red Sea, a mixed multitude lifted their voices in praise to the God who saves. Our time in this world is temporary. When you are moved from this world and enter into the kingdom of God, will you have laid down your life and endured in such a way that would lead others to freedom in Christ?