When you were a kid did you ever dream that you were a part of the royal family? Maybe a day dream that one day a king or queen would drive up to your house and offer to adopt you? A fantasy that you could leave all the cares and concerns of being common folk behind you and just have to worry about what crown to wear and whether you should hunt fox or partridge on any given day.
That day dream was a reality for a man name Moses. Maybe you know the story. We all know the story of Joseph and his coat of many colours. The story begins in Genesis where we discover how Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up as governor of Egypt, how he brought his family to him and how they enjoyed the benefits of being kinfolk of the boss. But in the four hundred years that had elapsed the Egyptians had become fearful of this ever enlarging group. Listen to the introduction Exodus 1:1-10 These are the sons of Jacob who went with their father to Egypt, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Joseph was already down in Egypt. In all, Jacob had seventy direct descendants. In time, Joseph and each of his brothers died, ending that generation. But their descendants had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so quickly that they soon filled the land. Then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He told his people, “These Israelites are becoming a threat to us because there are so many of them. We must find a way to put an end to this. If we don’t and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”
And so began the first of many persecutions for the Jews. And in an attempt to destroy the people of God, the pharaoh issued orders to kill all the male children belonging to the Jews. Of course you all know how when Moses was three months old his mother placed him in a pitched basket and placed him in the bulrushes. And we all know how the Pharaoh’s daughter found him, and how his mother became his nurse maid, I mean I don’t have to tell you any of that do I?
So I won’t. But I will tell you that this young Jewish boy was raised as the grandson of the pharaoh and as such enjoyed all of the privileges, and perks of being one of the most powerful men in Egypt.
He had all of the wealth, resources and benefits that the palace of pharaoh could offer. And hey, any way you slice it, it sure beats working for a living.
But as the man said, all good things must come to an end. And Moses came to a place where he had to make a choice. There came a time that Moses had to decide, am I an Egyptian, or am I a Jew. And it was a decision that no one could make for Moses except Moses. Moses had the ability, the opportunity and chance to decide who he would serve, and what nationality he would claim.
The story is found in the book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible. Just a little background; tradition tells us that Moses was the Author, and that it was written around 1440 B.C. as Moses nearing death reflects back on his life. The book of Exodus covers a time frame from approximately 1526 B.C. to 1406 B.C. and it was written to remind the Israelites how God had rescued them.
And so it is in the book of Exodus that we see Moses at the forks in the road of life.
In the New Testament we are told in Hebrews 11:24-28 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt. He was not afraid of the king. Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.
Every person here at one time or another will have to make a decision over which direction they will take. Will it be the high road or will it be the low road, will it be the left path or the right path. Moses had come to a place in his life that he had to make a choice, and the author of Hebrews tells us 11:24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
A fork in the road of life, a time when it is no longer enough to be the grandson of pharaoh. A place where he can no longer compromise on his stand, but must decide which path he must follow. A decision must be made or a decision will be. By not pursuing his Hebrew lineage then Moses will have made the decision to be an Egyptian. Often we simply refuse to move, but we have to move. Life doesn’t just stand still, and we can’t allow our indecision to become our decision. After all it was Yogi Berra who said “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
And so Moses made a decision, and in his decision were two very distinct elements. And every decision we make in life has two parts. What the Chinese would call the yang and the yin. The yang being the positive, and the yin the negative.
1) Moses Decision Had A Negative Aspect. He Refused There was something which Moses said no to. He came to a fork in the road and to one fork he said a vigorous no. He decided not to follow that course. By saying yes to his Jewishness he was saying no to his royalty. In saying yes to his natural people he was saying No to his adopted people.
People say, I don’t want to be negative, but it’s a fact of life, in physics there is a principle that says, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” And so in life when we say yes to one thing, we are in effect saying no to something else. In life there are nos to be said and there is no way to get around it.
2) Moses Decision Had A Positive Aspect. He Chose just as Moses said “no” to one direction for his life, he said “yes” to another direction.
Now some people come to a fork in the road and say no to one direction, but won’t commit themselves to the other direction. But we have to realize that even if you are on the right track you’ll get run over if you just stand there. Decisions have to be made in life, every day. And once you make that decision then you have to be ready to carry through with it.
To simply decide without taking appropriate action is wasting your time and your resources. There has to be movement with that thought. In choosing to become a Christian there is also a negative response in saying no, and a positive response in saying yes. And our Christian walk is entirely dependent on both decisions.
In Acts 3:19 Peter tells the people Now turn from your sins that’s the negative and turn to God That’s the positive and you will be forgiven. Now there is no such thing as cheap grace, both aspects of the conversion experience must happen for us to become a child of God. All too often either the negative or the positive aspect of Christianity is emphasized to the neglect of the other.
Yet before you can turn to God you have to turn away from sin. Heed the words of the prophet Isaiah 59:2 But there is a problem—your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
And so because sin separates us from God, we need to turn away from it, but remember in that response once you have turned away from sin your life remains a void until you fill it with God. So you turn from one to the other. Following God is as much a decision as it was for Moses to align himself with the Hebrews.
Just as Moses didn’t have to make a conscious decision to follow Pharaoh, he was already doing that, in the same way it doesn’t take a deliberate act to follow Satan. We are born with that bent toward sin. We are born walking a road to hell. Our very nature is a nature of rebellion toward God, and toward life. Evidenced as I have said before in children. You don’t have to spend a lot of time teaching a child rebellion. You have to teach you kids to say please and thank you, but which one of you taught your kids to say no and won’t and to lay on the floor and throw a tantrum?
We have to refuse to walk the devil’s way any further, and we have to decide to walk the path that God would have us walk. And when we make that decision there will be things in our life that we have to say no to. And that is the negative aspect of Christianity, the saying no to sin. Get it
But it has to happen because Christianity is a new life, a different life, and there are old habits and old life styles that we have to put our foot down over and say “no more.” And it is as we mature in our Christian walk that more of these areas are pointed out.
But let’s not get caught up in the negatives, lest we become like the Pharisees. There are people out there that when you inquire about the nature of their Christian walk, man they whip out a long list and start, why I don’t dance, or go to movies, or smoke or chew, or cuss or drink or play cards. And the list goes on and on. And that’s it; if you don’t do the 400 things on their list then you’re a Christian. The big problem is that most of the list concerns externals. Not that they aren’t important, but let us not put too big of a premium on the big ticket sins, while neglecting things like anger, envy, lust, hatred, gossip and stuff like.
But there is also a positive element of Christianity, you can’t just dump all the old things and not replace them. Peter didn’t just tell us to repent, he also told us to turn to God. And we need to walk with him daily. Colossians 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Galatians 5:22-23 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
There will always be the negatives in the Christian walk, and that is part of the disciplined life. But there are piles of positive things to do. And if you concentrate on the dos then often the don’ts will take care of themselves. Get it?
You don’t have to make a conscience effort to stop hating once you start loving. You don’t have to concentrate on your temper when you are concentrating on your patience. Your bad habits will start taking care of themselves when you start taking care of self control. When you start down God’s road you have made a conscience decision to leave Satan’s road.
3) Moses Decision Had A Cost there was much to be given up.
Hebrews 11:26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him.
Moses gave up earthly wealth to gain a heavenly kingdom. Folks don’t be deceived; the decision to follow Christ is never a cheap one. Not if we are going to be whole hearted about it. We will have to give up things, and we’ll have to lose things, and they won’t always be material things. Moses gave up his place in society, and went from the highest position in the land to a common criminal on the run. There are stands that we will have to take as a Christian that won’t always make us popular. Moses’ decision must have broken the heart of the ones who loved him, including the woman who chose to raise him as a son.
There are people who won’t be able to cope with your conversion; I lost some close friends when I got saved because they just couldn’t accept the change in me. You say, “Well brother they couldn’t have really been friends.” Oh yes they were.
But eternal life must be worth some sacrifices. If God has given us so much, there must be something we can give back to God. But today people don’t want to hear about sacrifice, they don’t want to be challenged about sacrifice and they certainly don’t want to sacrifice. We want what religion we can buy with the five bucks we throw in the plate on a Sunday.
4) Moses Decision Had A Reward.
Hebrews 11:26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him.
It’s true that when you compare the life that Moses chose, first tending sheep in the wilderness and then tending Israelites in the wilderness it would appear that he got the short end of the stick, so to speak. He no longer had the perks that the palace had to offer, he didn’t have all the privileges of being grandson of the Pharaoh instead he became a fugitive leading a group of ungrateful people across a barren desert. And I’m sure that there were times that Moses wished that he was back in Pharaoh’s court, just enjoying all the perks of being the King’s grandson. But ultimately what he received was far greater. You probably can’t name the Pharaoh that tried to kill Moses, you probably can’t name his other grand children, but you know who Moses is. He is one of the heroes of both the Jewish and Christian faith, and he has eternal life.
There will be times that you will make decisions because of your faith that will cost you money, friends or position and you will look around and see people who have no faith and no ethics and no scruples and they have everything they have rejected God and his will and his ways and yet . . . you ever feel like the Prophet Jeremiah when he said Jeremiah 12:1 Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy?
Let me remind you of a couple of things, first of all the game’s not over yet and secondly not all of God’s accounts are settled this side of eternity. So don’t give up. Listen to God’s word Galatians 6:9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.
And finally Colossians 3:24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ.
So where are you at today? Any major decisions that you need to make? How about the decision to serve God?
Hope you enjoyed this message, PowerPoint may be available contact me at denn@bccnet.ca
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