Series: Jesus Is Better- The Better Way [#4]
GOD’S CAPED CRUSADER
Hebrews 11:20-28
Introduction:
Hebrews 11:20-23 (NIV)
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.”
Every Super Hero we know has had to find out who they are and make some choices. Batman had to choose whether to be rich and famous or fight crime. He had to look at the “big picture” and see what was important. This morning, we are going to look at “God’s Caped Crusader”.
Hebrews 11:24 (NIV)
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.”
Let’s ask ourselves 4 important questions that every Christian should ask themselves.
1. Who am I?
Have you ever wondered why God put you here? Most of us have a good “Church” answer; but don’t you wonder sometimes about what God had in mind when He created you?
Many of us live from day to day, hour to hour- Just surviving. We get up, go to work, go home, go to bed, and do it again; until finally we die. How depressing. None of us will ever be “Super Heroes of the faith” with that philosophy on life.
God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. The 1st thing we must do to find out that purpose is become part of His family. That only happens through salvation.
Once we are saved, we no longer belong to ourselves but to God. We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and God would not pay that high of a price just to let you waste away.
As God shapes you into who you are supposed to be, you must…
? Be yourself.
As Moses did, you must refuse to be anyone other than who God called you to be. Stop trying to imitate what you think is great and trust God to do great things through you.
Hebrews 11:25 (NIV)
“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”
2. What are my choices?
As we allow God to grow us, we are going to have to make choices. We can sum up any situation into 2 choices: The right choice or the wrong choice. How simple, but true. The right choice is always choosing God’s ways and the wrong choice (sin) is always choosing Satan’s ways.
Although enjoying the pleasures of sin would have been easier, Moses chose to be obedient to God. Sin is fun for a while. If sin wasn’t fun, no one would be tempted by it.
As God shapes you into who you are supposed to be, you must…
? Be responsible.
As God’s children, we must stop making excuses and remember that through Christ we will survive these challenging times in our lives.
Hebrews 11:26 (NIV)
“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.”
3. What is important to me?
In order for you to fulfill your God given purpose, you must decide what matters to you the most. Solomon tells us over and over in the Book of Ecclesiastes that worldly things are meaningless. He tells us great intelligence is meaningless, pleasures are meaningless, fun is meaningless, work is meaningless, position in society is meaningless, etc… If you want to get depressed, read Ecclesiastes in one sitting.
What did Jesus tell us about priorities? We know the rich young ruler couldn’t follow Christ because he couldn’t give up his wealth.
As God shapes you into who you are supposed to be, you must…
? Have some values.
A person doesn’t just simply put God 1st by saying so. There must be a foundation of godly values that we operate from. For example, if serving God is going to be a priority, then you probably ought to know what God expects. How are you going to know what God expects you to teach to your children unless you read the Bible and find out? How are going to know what God expects from you at work unless you read the Bible and find out?
As the old saying goes, “If you can’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”. You to need to live by God’s standards and stand up for those standards when they are challenged.
Hebrews 11:27 (NIV)
“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
4. What are my goals?
Moses was focused on God. His goal was to please God. Moses was looking forward to that day that he received his eternal reward.
As God shapes you into who you are supposed to be, you must…
? Have some vision.
What is your goal? If you will set your eyes on Jesus, you will not only be able to set clear goals to being a “Super Hero of the faith”; but you will reach them.
