Letting your Faith do the Walking Part 12
Moses Faith; A Self-Denying Faith
Hebrews 11:24-28
Introduction
Following Christ is not easy, not if a person is going to truly follow Him. Why? Because His call is contrary to what most people think. His call is a call to love, joy and peace, but it is not a call to a life of ease, comfort, and plenty. The call of Christ is not to physical and material health, and wealth. On the contrary, the call of Christ is to a life of self-denial and self-sacrifice. If a person is truly going to follow Christ, it costs him everything he is and has. And Christ makes no exceptions.
Moses is a prime example of a man who gave up all that the world had to offer in order to follow God and His promises. His faith was a self-denying faith. Tonight will see what we can learn from the life of Moses.
Read Scriptures: Hebrews 11:24-28
I. Moses Chose to follow God, and lead God’s people rather than enjoy what the world had to offer.
Vs. 24-25 “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.”
Moses was a prince, the son of the daughter of Pharaoh. He had everything that a person on earth could ever want: education and knowledge, fame and wealth, possessions, power and authority.
But Moses gave it all up. He sacrificed everything for God and His promises, the promised seed, and the promised land.
The day came when Moses had to make the most critical decision of his life. He faced as large a crisis as any man could face. Was he going to be identified as an Egyptian all the days of his life or was he going to become identified with the people of God? Was he going to persue the pleasures of Egypt and this world or pursue God? When Moses was forty years old according to Acts 7:23 he faced the crisis and made the decision.
The point is this: Moses gave up all the pleasures and enjoyment of Egypt and the world—gave it all up. He sacrificed everything for God and His people.
You and I are faced with the same choice, to leave the world, and not be identified with the world or come to Jesus and choose to be identified with Jesus and His church.
II. Moses had a faith that looked forward to the reward.
Vs. 26 “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 believed in the promises which God had given to Abraham and his people, the promised seed and the promised land.
The word “regarded” means that he considered or he weighed his options, he thought about the matter; he made a deliberate decision to suffer with his people and to inherit the promises God made to them rather than enjoy the riches of Egypt. This means that he chose the sufferings of Christ, the promised Savior, over the riches of Egypt. He considered the reward of God’s promise to Israel greater than the reward of earthly riches.
We must do the same thing in our lives, we weigh in the balance if I do this, then this is the consequences, but if I choose to follow Jesus, and obey His word then this is my reward.
III. Moses had a strong fear of God and not Man.
Vs. 27 “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
Exodus 2:13-15 “The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.”
It seems that Moses fled because he feared Pharaoh; however, Hebrews says that he “left Egypt, not fearing the King’s anger.” Is this a contradiction? No, the answer is given in Acts 7:23-25 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.”
Moses sensed and knew his mission on the earth—that he was to free Israel in God’s time. The people would not follow him then, but he believed that God would arouse the people to follow him in due time.
Imagine the terrible disappointment Moses must have felt. His people were suffering as slave-laborers under Egyptian bondage, and he had stepped forward to lead them in a rebellion for freedom. But they rejected his leadership, and he had been forced to flee for his life. The disappointment must have been very heavy.
Imagine this Moses sensed and knew that God had called him to deliver His people Israel, he knew his calling, but there he sat in Midian, and there he sat for forty years. How easily he could have lost his sense of call. But he did not; he continued to believe in God and His promises. Moses endured in faith despite all the circumstances. What a great example.
IV. Moses believed God’s message of Salvation
Vs. 28 “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”
This verse refers to the great day of deliverance and salvation of Israel. God had lead Moses to prepare Israel and Egypt for the deliverance of His people. God was now ready to save His people from the bondage of Egypt (a symbol of the world). God has pronounced judgment (the taking of the first born) upon the people of Egypt for their injustices and cruelty. As He prepared to execute the final judgment, those who believed God were instructed to kill a pure lamb and sprinkle its blood over the door post of their homes. The blood of the innocent lamb would then serve as a sign that the coming judgment had already been carried out. When seeing the blood, God would pass over that house.
Symbolically, the Passover pictured the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior. The lamb without blemish picture His sinless life, and the blood sprinkled on the door posts pictured His blood shed for the believer.
Moses great faith is clearly seen, he trusted in God’s plan for the blood of the lamb to protect his house from the wrath of God.
Conclusion
As we close tonight I want to ask you the same question have you trusted in God’s plan for the blood of the lamb to protect you from the wrath of God on sin and his coming judgment. If not you can do so tonight.
