Finding the Faith of Our Heroes
Part 8: Live by Faith Like Moses
Hebrews 11:24-29; Acts 7:17-25; Exodus 2:11-15;
Exodus 11:4-7; Exodus 12:1-14
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared October 13, 2023)
MESSAGE:
*Today in Hebrews 11:24-29, we will study the faith of Moses. Of all the heroes in the Old Testament, nobody stands out more than Moses. What an amazing life he lived: 40 years living as an elite royal in the richest, largest empire Egypt had ever seen. Then Moses lived 40 years living in Midian as a shepherd, and 40 years leading God's people out of slavery in Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land. (1)
*So, in God's Word we get to see Moses leading the Children of Israel across the Red Sea on dry ground. We see him on the mountain with God as the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments. And God used Moses to give us the first 5 books of the Bible. How did Moses do these things and much more? He did it by faith. And today we will see some of the greatest results of godly faith.
1. FIRST: GODLY FAITH HELPS US MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES IN LIFE.
*For his first 40 years, Moses had it all from the world's point of view. As the grandson of Pharaoh, Moses probably had access to more earthly treasures that Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos put together. Moses had it all.
*When Stephen the deacon was on trial, he gave this background in Acts 7:17-22:
17. But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
18. till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
19. This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
20. At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.
21. But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
22. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
[1] BUT BY FAITH, MOSES CHOSE GOD'S PEOPLE OVER UNGODLY PRESTIGE.
*We see this truth in Hebrews 11:24 where, "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." And by faith Christians, we will do the same kind of thing.
*We will choose to identify with God's people over ungodly prestige. That's because faith in God changes our values. We begin to love the people we may have ridiculed before. And our habits begin to change. We begin to feel guilty over the fleshly things we used to enjoy. And we begin to enjoy holy, fruitful things that used to seem like superstitious foolishness.
*Paul explained these truths to Christians in Romans 6:20-23, where he said:
20. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
*The end result is a natural distancing from ungodly people. It probably won't be as dramatic as it was with Moses. But over time we will gravitate to new friendships as our interests diverge. Not that we will be perfectly sinless after we trust in Jesus, but the Holy Spirit will bring us under conviction for our sins. And we can stand on 1 John 1:8-9 where God's Word says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Thank God for the mercy of the cross! By faith Moses chose God's people over ungodly prestige, and Christians, by God's grace, so will we.
[2] NEXT, BY FAITH MOSES CHOSE GODLY SUFFERING OVER UNGODLY SIN.
*This truth is in Hebrews 11:25, where Moses also chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin." Why? Partly because Moses had a new perspective on time. He began to compare the brief time we have in this world with everlasting life in Heaven.
*Verse 25 in the KJV says Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." And I like that translation because it compares our whole life to a season, just 3 months, a very short time indeed. And compared to eternity, it's no time at all.
*The Bible stresses this reality in many places. Listen to part of King David's prayer from Psalm 39:4-8.
4. "Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.
5. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
6. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
7. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
8. Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish."
*In Psalm 90:8-14 Moses himself was praying to the LORD and said:
8. "You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh.
10. The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12. So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.
14. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!"
*Faith in God awakens us to the truth that we will only be in this world for a very short while, so we have to make the most of our lives while we can. As Billy Graham said, "We ought to live each day as if it were our last. Someday it will be." (2)
*Moses chose godly suffering over ungodly sin, and Christians, by God's grace, so will we. As Paul said in Romans 8:18, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
[3] NEXT, BY FAITH MOSES CHOSE THE REPROACH OF CHRIST OVER WORLDLY RICHES.
*In Hebrews 11:26 God's Word says Moses was "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward."
*The "reproach of Christ" is the harsh criticism, slander, and shame heaped on the Lord and His followers by those who reject Jesus. The Lord explained this to His disciples in John 15:18-19. There Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
*We can see more and more of this venomous hatred in our own country today. And as bad as the pain of this reproach can be, Moses knew that it is worth more than all of the treasures of Egypt. And by faith, now we can see that the cross with all the rejection it brings is still worth more than all the riches in the world. Praise the Lord!
*Again, by faith Moses chose God's people over ungodly prestige. He chose godly suffering over ungodly sin. And he chose the reproach of Christ over worldly riches. By God's grace, Christians, so will we!
2. GODLY FAITH HELPS US MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES IN LIFE. IT ALSO HELPS OVERCOME OUR FEARS.
*Verse 27 says this about Moses: "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
*I am so glad that God decided to put this verse in His Word. I say that because a casual look at the original story could lead us to think that Moses fled because he did fear the wrath of the Egyptian king. Exodus 2:11-15 says:
11. Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13. And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, "Why are you striking your companion?''
14. Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?'' So Moses feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!''
15. When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
*From a human point of view, Moses had a lot to fear. The mighty Pharaoh was hunting for Moses to charge him with treason, murder, or both. Exodus 2:15 tells us that Pharaoh was seeking to kill Moses. And Exodus 2:14 tells us that Moses was afraid, at least at first. But Moses' faith overcame his fears, because God had already revealed to Moses that the Lord was going to use this man to deliver the Children of Israel from Egypt.
*We know this because Acts 7:23-25 says this about Moses: "But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand."
*Moses got the timing wrong. He was 40 years too early, but even at the age of 40, he had faith that God was going to use him. Moses' faith overcame his fears. But if that is true, then why did Moses flee Egypt? Why did he leave it? The answer must be that by faith, Moses was following the Lord's leadership to Midian over in Arabia about 250 miles away.
*There Moses would spend the next 40 years learning how to be a godly shepherd, so he could eventually shepherd the Children of Israel. There Moses would meet his future wife Zipporah who would later save his life. There he also met her father, Jethro, who later gave Moses some very wise advice.
*Midian was also only a short journey from Mount Horeb or Sinai, where 40 years later, Moses would meet and talk with the LORD. There God appeared to Moses as an unquenchable flame in a burning bush. And after Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, they would return to the same mountain when the LORD gave Moses God's Law. (3)
*By faith, Moses was surely following God's guidance to Midian. His faith overcame his fears. And godly faith can overcome our fears today! Also remember what King David said in Psalm 56:3-4: "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?"
*Also remember Christians that there is a time for us to flee from persecution. We know this because in Matthew 10:23 Jesus told His followers, "When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
3. BUT GODLY FAITH HELPS US OVERCOME OUR FEARS. IT ALSO FINDS SALVATION IN THE SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB.
*We see a picture of the real sacrifice in vs. 28: "By faith he (Moses) kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them." Faith trusts in the saving power of the blood.
*The story of the Passover is found in Exodus 11. Please listen to part of the story in vs. 4-7 from the New Living Translation:
4. Moses announced to Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will pass through Egypt.
5. All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest slave. Even the firstborn of the animals will die.
6. Then a loud wail will be heard throughout the land of Egypt; there has never been such wailing before, and there never will be again.
7. But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites."
*Now more of the story from Exodus 12 in the New Living Translation:
1. Now the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land of Egypt:
3. "Announce to the whole community that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice.
5. This animal must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no physical defects.
6. Take special care of these lambs until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then each family in the community must slaughter its lamb.
7. They are to take some of the lamb's blood and smear it on the top and sides of the doorframe of the house where the lamb will be eaten.
11. Wear your traveling clothes as you eat this meal, as though prepared for a long journey. Wear your sandals, and carry your walking sticks in your hands. Eat the food quickly, for this is the Lord's Passover.
12. On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn sons and firstborn male animals in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!
13. The blood you have smeared on your doorposts will serve as a sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14. You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord."
*That was about 1,400 years before Jesus was born. And the blood of those lambs was a picture of what Jesus would do for us when He died on the cross for our sins. Down through the centuries countless more lambs were sacrificed as a symbol of what Jesus would do on the cross.
*His blood is the only thing in the whole universe that can wash away our sins. Let me give you 3 amazing reasons why Jesus' blood is precious to Christians.
[1] FIRST: THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST BRINGS US NEAR TO GOD.
*In Ephesians 2:12-13, Paul tells Gentile Christians that before we trusted in the Lord "at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ."
[2] THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST IS ALSO PRECIOUS, BECAUSE IT GIVES US PEACE WITH GOD.
*In Colossians 1:19-20, Paul explained, "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (that is, it pleased the Father that in Jesus Christ all the fullness of God should dwell), and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
[3] THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST IS ALSO PRECIOUS, BECAUSE IT JUSTIFIES US BEFORE GOD.
*In Romans 5:8-9, Paul said this to all Christians: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (4)
*For these and many more reasons, faith trusts in the saving power of the blood of our crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
4. GODLY FAITH FINDS SALVATION IN THE SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB. AND IT BELIEVES THAT GOD WILL MAKE A WAY FOR US.
*We can see this truth in vs. 29: "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned."
*One unforgettable scene from "The Ten Commandments" movie was the water piled up hundreds of feet high on both sides, as the Children of Israel crossed through the Red Sea on dry land. Of course, that really happened one day. There's no reason to doubt it. If God couldn't perform a little miracle like that, then He wouldn't be God. But He is the Lord God Almighty! Nothing is too hard for Him! By faith God made a way for the Children of Israel, and by faith God will make a way for us.
*Gladys Aylward was a wonderful, long-time missionary to China in the 1930s and 40s. During that time, the brutal Japanese army invaded Yangcheng, and Gladys was forced to flee. With only one assistant, she led more than 100 orphans over the mountains toward Free China.
*During this dangerous journey, Gladys struggled with despair as never before. After a sleepless night, she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. Then, a 13-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story about Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
*Gladys listened fearfully; then desperately cried out, "But I am not Moses!" "Of course you aren't," the young believer said, "BUT JEHOVAH GOD IS STILL GOD."
*When Gladys and the orphans made it through, they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, the LORD is still God, and we can trust in Him. God made a way for Gladys Aylward, and Christians, we can trust that God will make a way for us! (5)
*Best of all, -- we know by faith that Jesus Christ already made a way for us to live with Him forever in Heaven. That's what Jesus did for us on the cross. God's Son, Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross for our sins, just as God prophesied He would. Then Jesus rose again from the dead, just as God prophesied He would. Now Jesus offers to forgive our sins and save anyone who will put their faith in Him.
CONCLUSION:
*Do you have this kind of faith? Do you have the faith that knows God made a way to take us home to Heaven? If not, put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today. Trust in what Jesus did on the cross for us. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Call on Jesus to save you now, as we go back to God in prayer. And keep trusting God to make a way, even through the worst times of life.
(1) New Kingdom (1549–1069 BC) - Main article: "New Kingdom of Egypt" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt
(2) Billy Graham quote from "Houston Chronicle" - 04/14/2007, p. F 4 - Source: "In Other Words" - June 2007 #2 - produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
(3) Sources:
-"Map of Moses Moving to Midian" - Headwaters Christian Resources - https://headwatersresources.org/map-of-moses-moving-to-midian/
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Exodus 3:12 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-https://doubtingthomasresearch.com/maps-mount-sinai-egypt-midian/
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Horeb
(4) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ" by Charles McCall - 1 Peter 1:18-19
(5) THE HIDDEN PRICE OF GREATNESS by Besson and Hunsicker, as recounted in "How to Start a Church Fire" by Paul Powell published by Texas Baptist Leadership Center, Inc. Dallas TX - Source: SermonCentral sermon "HE KNEW" by Rodney Buchanan - Psalm 22:1-31 - 10/27/2002
