Making God'y Choices Series

***Start off with Choose Your Own Adventure***

Throughout our lives we are going to have to make a lot of decisions. Most often when we are thinking about what direction to go or what decision to make we try to make the decision that is best for us. In our culture we are told that picking the job that pays more is best. We are told that sitting next to the smart kids in class is best so we can cheat. We are told that we need to play two sports, take AP classes, and get straight A’s is best so we can get into a good college. The question that I want to think about tonight though is, “Is choosing what our culture says is best always actually the best thing?”

To explore this question I want to look at a decision that Moses made that most definitely went against the culture. Open your pew bibles to Exodus 2 we are going to look at verse 11-15 in pieces so please keep the Bibles open and follow along.

In this passage, Moses had to make a choice. ***Read vs. 11*** On the one hand Moses could choose to ignore the beating and walk away. On the other hand Moses could choose to intervene for the Hebrew, who was one of his own people. If Moses chose to ignore the beating we would have continued to gain power and wealth in Egypt. He would have enjoyed a glorious life with many treasures and other worldly pleasures. If Moses chose to intervene and save the Hebrew he would be giving up the luxurious lifestyle that he was raised in. He would have been choosing to be recognized with the Hebrew slaves instead of the Egyptians. Moses’ whole life must have flashed before his eyes as he tried to figure out what to do. After some thought though Moses makes his decision. ***Read vs. 12***

In Hebrews 11:24-26, Moses is commended for this choice. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Moses understood that choosing what the culture said was best was not what God thought was best. In fact in these verses in Hebrews, it says that if Moses had chosen to ignore the beating and live comfortably as an Egyptian, it wouldn’t have been just a worse decision, it would have been sin! Anytime in our lives when we reject God or the things that he teaches us, we are disobeying God which is what sin is.

Moses knew that it was more important to follow God than to follow the Egyptians rules and standards. He had the same understanding that Joseph and his parents had; the understanding that this earth that we live in is not our home or final resting place. At the end of verse 26 in Hebrews 11 it says that Moses made his decision because he was looking forward to his reward. Moses knew that at some point God was going to honor the promise that he had made to bring all of the Hebrews to the Promised Land and he knew that that land would be better than anything he could have experienced in Egypt.

As I talked about the last couple of weeks, we too have a promise of a land that will be better than anything than we can experience here on earth. We too have a choice before us to decide whether or not we are going to associate ourselves with the people or things in this world that are seeking after pleasure, comfort and riches. Or are we going to associate ourselves with the people and things that have their mind set on heaven and a relationship with Christ.

We can choose the first, live out our lives and then be left with nothing when we die because we don’t have a relationship with God. Or we can choose the second and be left with absolutely everything when we die because we get to live out eternity in heaven with Christ. That’s your choice to make!

Let’s go back and look at the next two verses in Exodus 2. Moses had made the best decision to associate himself with God and with the Hebrews but then something bad happened. Moses became proud! In Acts 7:25 we read that after Moses killed the Egyptian he “thought his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them.” ***Read vs. 13*** Moses sees this fight break out, so he puffs out his chest and goes and confronts the man beating up the other man. “Hey there, why are you hitting this man? You should be like me and choose to work with God’s people.” The man reacts harshly. ***Read vs. 14a*** This put Moses in his place and he became scared. ***Read vs. 14b***