Faith That Gives Up
Griffith Baptist Church – 1/11/09
A.M. Service
Text: Hebrews 11:23-26 (Exodus 2:1-15)
Key verse: Hebrews 11:25-26 - 25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
Premise: Faith is exercised best when we give up what is most precious to us and rely on God.
The Introduction
Nobody likes a quitter, do they?
o We all have respect for the person that fights on to the very end, beats the odds and comes out a winner.
o We like being winners!
But what if you had a coach that told you that in order to win, you needed to lose. Our coach does.
Matthew 16:24 – Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
John 3:30 – He must increase, but I must decrease.
James 4:6 – . . . God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Philippians 3:8 - Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
That doesn’t sound much like the worlds approach to winning, does it?
A little girl was once given a gift from her daddy of nice play jewelry for her birthday. She loved her daddy very much and considered this a very special gift. She would play everyday with her new plastic jewelry as if it was the real thing. She played dress up, she would wear it to the dinner table, going out or to church. Her favorite was the fake pearl necklace. To everyone else, it looked fake, but to her, it was her most choice piece. She would never give it up for anything in the world.
Many times we are like that little girl, always holding on to the tangible things in life when God offers so much more. Missionary Jim Elliot said this very famous quote - He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. (Powerpoint picture and quote)
With Moses, some challenges were before him and his parents that forced them to make choices and build on their faith in God.
One of the best secrets to having a better, more productive faith is to let go, or give up four barriers that are obstructing our faith walk.
o Satan loves these barriers because he wants to weaken us.
o God is telling us to eliminate these barriers because He wants to strengthen us.
o The path you choose will make all the difference in the world.
There are three barriers that we need to give up to have a more satisfying and productive faith.
Body
1. Give up the entitlement mentality – 23
A. Moses parents gave up posterity for a greater return - Gave up Moses to save his life, only to be given back by Pharaoh’s daughter to keep the Hebrew child and nurse it.
i. Having Moses was not a right, it was a responsibility
ii. Children were a gift from God, not a possession
B. We live in an entitlement culture
i. We are “rights” driven
ii. We even have those on the fringe who have claimed special rights
iii. The problem with rights is when they go to far, they become self-centered and extreme
C. What we have, we have by grace:
i. Salvation (Eph. 2:8-9)
ii. Gifts – Romans 12:3 - For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
iii. Life itself
iv. God thinks in terms of giving to His children
v. We have to think in terms of acting responsibly with those gifts
D. Give everything to God – its His anyway!
2. Give up control – 24
A. Moses gave up power for a greater responsibility
i. There were three guys talking in a restaurant. Two of them were talking about the amount of control they have over their wives, while the third remained quiet. After a while one of the first two turned to the third and says, "Well, what about you, what sort of control do you have over your wife?" The third guy said "I’ll tell you. Just the other night my wife came to me on her hands and knees." The first two guys were amazed. "What happened then?" they asked. "She said, ’get out from under the bed and fight like a man’."
ii. He was in a position to rise quickly in Egyptian politics
iii. He could have even been the next Pharaoh
iv. This would mean:
a. Unlimited power
b. Unlimited wealth
c. Unlimited influence
v. Moses decided following God and His people was more important than prestige
B. Today, it is all about control:
i. We are taught to control our emotions, finances, and future.
ii. We are told to take control of our life and our career.
iii. We even bring it into our spiritual life:
a. It as if we put God on a string, as if He can only go so far
b. We don’t want Him to go to far without our permission
c. BUT, God works best for us, without us
d. He works best when His control takes precedence and we follow it
C. God wants us to stop trying to control what He wants to do:
i. True control rests in trusting God to work through us in our weakness – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - 7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
ii. Trading the world’s best for God’s best wins every time
iii. Trust God for the results
3. Give up desires that distract – 25-26
A. There are two main aspects to desire, pleasure and prosperity:
i. Moses gave up the pleasures of the flesh for a greater result - 25
a. It was a temptation to go the easy way, but that is not always the right way
b. Moses could have had what made him the most comfortable
c. But comfort, ease and pleasure does not translate into happiness
d. Moses gave up the pleasures of Egypt to identify with his people, Israel.
e. Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-16 – conclusion in verse 16
ii. Moses gave up prosperity for a greater reward - 26
a. Egypt had vast wealth and was the leader of the world at that time
b. They had conquered countries and ruled a vast domain
c. This is why Pharaoh was so concerned that Israel would join forces with Egypt’s enemies and overthrow them, so he tried to eliminate the young Hebrew male population and decrease their size.
d. The plans of God cannot be thwarted by human means – Proverbs 19:21 - There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand
B. The world lives so much in the here and now:
i. What will make me the happiest?
ii. What can I get out of life and watching out for #1
iii. There are sinful affections that we should put away – Colossians 3:5 – Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Instead we are to . . . – Colossians 3:2 - Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
iv. There are desires that may not be wrong but are misplaced and overtake us:
a. Money – Is money a tool or a driving force that you constantly think about and strive for?
b. Possessions – to we buy for necessity or to keep up with the world’s idea of success
c. Good reputation – to reflect Christ rightly or to be cool and accepted
d. A Sunday school teacher who asked her group of children if any of them could quote the entire twenty-third psalm. A little four-and-a-half-year-old girl was among those who raised their hands. A bit skeptical, the teacher asked if she could really quote the entire psalm. The little girl came to the podium, faced the class, made a little bow, and said: "The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want."
C. We need to look at our desires differently:
i. Any legitimate desire that draws you away from keeping God first place becomes an illegitimate and sinful desire.
ii. Our faith is grounded in God’s power and not anything else - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - 1And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
iii. Our desires need to be governed by godliness – 1 Timothy 6:6-7 - 6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
About that little girl and her fake pearl necklace. Well, one day, her father came home with a nicely wrapped gift for her. It was not her birthday or Christmas or any other special day. He told her she could have the gift, but he first wanted the pearl necklace she had. She began to cry. Why would daddy ask me to give up my very favorite gift from him? She ran to her room in tears. She cried out loud, “This is my necklace and I’ll never give it up no matter what!” The next day, her daddy made the same offer again with the same conditions and sadly, with the same results. This happened for several days until finally, her mother talked to her and said, “You know, your daddy loves you very much. It is breaking his heart that you won’t trade him your necklace for his gift. Just trust your daddy and see what happens.”
The little girl thought it over and the next day, reluctantly went to her father. As she approached, she held out her favorite pearl necklace in her little trembling fingers. As her father picked her up and put her in his lap, he took the old necklace from her and replaced it with the gift. As tears fell down her cheeks, she slowly and sadly opened the gift he had for her. As she opened the box, inside was a beautiful, shining, pure white string of real pearls that he had bought for her. At that moment, her face went from sorrow to joy, for her trust in her dad gave her something of greater value in return.
Conclusion:
What are you holding back from God?
What fading pleasure are you afraid to give up?
