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For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and out a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
Fear is the opposite of faith.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:24-27).
PRINCE OF EGYPT
• Moses was born an ISRAELITE (Exodus 2:1-2).
• The Israelites were SLAVES in Egypt at the time of Moses’ birth (Exodus 1:11).
• Pharaoh ordered all Israelite male babies to be KILLED (Exodus 1:22).
• Moses’ mother floated him down the Nile in a BASKET (Exodus 2:3).
• Pharaoh’s DAUGHTER found Moses and made him her son (Exodus 2:10).
BY FAITH
1. Earthly perspective: Moses gave up EVERYTHING for NOTHING.
What Moses gave up:
a. POWER
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (Hebrews 11:24).
b. PLEASURE
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time (Hebrews 11:25).
c. WEALTH
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 (Hebrews 11:26).
d. SECURITY
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27).
2. Spiritual perspective: Moses gave up NOTHING for EVERYTHING.
What Moses gained:
a. Temporary TROUBLE
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God... (Hebrews 11:25a).
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ... (Hebrews 11:26a).
b. An eternal REWARD
...he was looking ahead to his reward (Hebrews 11:26b).
c. The APPROVAL of God
...he persevered because he saw him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27b).
3. Moses’ decisions were guided by FAITH.
By faith... (Hebrews 11:24, 28).
a. Decisions guided by faith often appear FOOLISH to the world.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
b. Decisions guided by faith sometimes bring SHORT-TERM pain, but always bring LONG-TERM gain.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
SOMETIMES YOU WIN BY LOSING
ILLUSTRATION: During the 1983-84 NHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost more games that any other team. But with the worst record comes the #1 draft pick. In 1984, Pittsburgh selected future Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Lemieux went on to lead the league in scoring six times and was the biggest reason why the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. And when the Penguins were in serious financial trouble in 1999, Lemieux purchased the team, enabling the franchise to remain in Pittsburgh. Sometimes you win by losing.
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26a).
God’s way isn’t always the EASY way, but it’s always the BEST way.
