By Faith Moses Wasyed Not

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. They're giving a testimony of what their lives were, and we are to see them and observe what is taking place in their lives. [00:00:36] We talked about Enoch, and we said that his faith walked with God. Last night we said that Noah's faith worked for God and His kingdom. The man we'd like to talk about tonight is a man called Moses. Now, I know that we're going to need to skip over a number of these names, and we don't have enough evenings to look at all of them. We could with prophet look at Abraham and talk about how that his faith caused him to go. He went where God called him to go. [00:01:09] We could talk about Sarah and her faith, how her faith caused her to wait upon God. But tonight we're going to look at Moses and how his faith caused him to not waste his life. By faith Moses wasted not. He wasted not. Will you stand with me as we read the text scripture? Hebrews chapter 11, verse 23 through, let's read through verse 28, I believe, yes. [00:01:44] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to use, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward, [00:02:17] by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch him. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Thank you again, Father, for your word. Father, tonight we just invite you to interpret your words to us. [00:02:47] Teach us, Lord, what the example of this man of faith wants to teach us. His report. Show us his report tonight. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. By faith, Moses wasted not. By faith, Moses made some decisive, definite choices for his life. And consequently, because of those choices, his life was not wasted. [00:03:21] We could say, according to verse 24, that's where I get the thought that his life was not wasted. But we could also say that if we looked at verse 27, that by faith Moses wavered not. Because he made a decision for God and he was not going to waste his life, That gave him strength later in life that he didn't waver from what God wanted him to do. We said last night that Noah's faith was mixed with fear. [00:03:56] And that was one of the motivating forces in his life, the mixture of faith and fear. Now, what would we say tonight that might have been some of the motivating forces in Moses' life as it relates to his faith? Why did he choose not to waste his life? What was some of the driving force in his life? [00:04:27] I think we can very clearly see it as we look at, what is it, verse 26, the last part of verse 26. And if you notice in your Bibles, at least in mine, that's one sentence from verse 24 through the end of verse 26. He had respect unto recompense of the reward. He was not going to waste his life because he could see what the end of his life was going to be. He had respect unto the recompense of that reward. [00:04:59] Through faith, Moses had foresight into the future. He wasn't living just for the present, the here and the now. But he had respect unto that reward in the future. He respected that. That was at least one of those factors in his life that caused him to continue on. I'd like to just do a little study of this text tonight. Look at verse 23. And actually, in reality, this would have been more the faith of Moses' parents, Amram and Jochebed, [00:05:34] whose, his parents, they were not afraid of the king's commandment or to hide their child because they saw it was a proper child. And so their faith, in a sense, was somewhat a fearless faith in that they just did what they felt God was calling them to do. Now, sometimes maybe we underestimate, and last night we talked about how that Noah and his faith, the mission of his faith was to the saving of his house. [00:06:10] And it appears that possibly the faith of Amram and Jochebed was transmitted to their son, Moses. And so he was a very faithful man as well. There were some seeds dropped, very possibly, in the life of Moses in the short time that his parents had him, that grew into a fruitful faith. Verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years. [00:06:47] What does that mean? When he was come to years? According to Vines, it means when he was grown up. When he came to an age of manhood. When he came to a time in his life when he was able to make decisions, important decisions for his life. Yes, as I said, Moses' parents probably dropped some seeds, but those seeds began to become fruitful in his life. And now he's at an age where he makes some decisions for his own life. [00:07:20] He came to years. Brothers and sisters, true, genuine faith has no grandchildren. I appreciate what was shared tonight in the devotional, that we may have a godly heritage in years gone by, But every one of us must come to years When I personally, when you personally make a decision for Christ That's where Moses was He came to years To that time in his life [00:07:51] When God began to speak to his heart And he says, I choose God It is counterproductive, brothers and sisters For us as parents, evangelists, missionaries Whoever we are, and as much sometimes as we would like to force and caress our sons and daughters into a relationship with Jesus Christ, they must come to years. They must come, all of us must come, to a place in life when we sense the Spirit of God speaking to us. [00:08:31] And I personally decide, I will serve you. I will commit my life to you. I will surrender my life to you. Consequently, we live in a country, my wife and I and family do, where 95% of the people are what they call Catholic. And they put a lot of weight as it relates to their religion and their faith [00:09:02] on what happens about two or three weeks after they're born. It's called a christening. And that gives them right or entrance into glory because they've been christened. Well, those poor children have not come to years, and there is no way that they can make a conscious decision for God. My dear friend, who's been coming to our church some time now, the past few weeks, several months ago they laid one of their handicapped children, who was passed on just shortly before she was born, to rest. [00:09:39] And I said, brother, and he certainly is a born-again believer now, but you see that baggage that's behind him, she still carries it with him. I said, where do you think your child is tonight? Where do you think she is today? Well, I'm not sure, because she wasn't christened. He said, I'm sure she's not lost. But whether she's with Jesus, he wasn't quite sure yet. I'm praying that he'll come to that time. Well, I understand that all of us come to years. We come to years, to the year that God speaks to our hearts and we make a decision for Him. [00:10:22] I'm thankful tonight that there are some in our fellowship that have come to year and they are true Anabaptists because they've been re-baptized. They were christened and now they've been re-baptized. True Anabaptists in faith. They have come to hear that God spoke to their hearts and told them through the Spirit that they're sinners and they're lost outside of knowing Jesus in a personal way. Moses came to years and he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughters. [00:10:58] He refused. Let's think a bit about now when he refused, why he refused, and what he refused. Well, we just explained when he refused, when he came to years. That's when he refused. When he came to his senses and God spoke to him. But why did he refuse? Why did he refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter? A daughter. Well, as I said earlier, one reason was at least he had respect and to recompense the reward. He saw the reward at the end. And he said, I cannot be Pharaoh's daughter. I cannot be called her daughter. [00:11:43] You see, Moses had foresight into the future. We know at the end of Moses' life, God took him on top of that mountain called Pisgah. And there God allowed him to see into the promised land. He could see over into the promised land. He could not enter the promised land, but he could see into the promised land. And it's as though God also, in a sense, through Moses' faith, here at this time in his life when he'd come to years, he was on a mountaintop and he was seeing into the future. [00:12:19] A physical experience for him that he could see the end and the reward. And so he says, that's why I cannot be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I must refuse to be called her son. Faith allows us vision into the future by faith. Did you notice verse 27? It says, For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. [00:12:52] He saw the one who is invisible. Now how did he do that? 1 Timothy 1 says something like this, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever. Amen. He saw the invisible. He saw the invisible God, as it were. You see, God gave us an organ in our body that allows us, in a sense, as it were, to see God. [00:13:25] Not our eyes, but our heart. What did Jesus say? Matthew 5 and verse 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God Is that only future? No Brothers and sisters, if our hearts are pure If our hearts are of faith There's a sense in which we can see into the invisible And God shows himself to us At least in some form or other I believe maybe that's where Moses was here [00:13:55] Whatever he could see through faith into the future. And he says, that's why I cannot be called son of Pharaoh's daughter. I will not waste my life because I know there's a reward at the end. I cannot afford to waste my life, he would have said. Number three, what was he refusing? We talked about when he refused, why he refused, but what is he really refusing now? [00:14:31] Three things. Position, power, and pleasure. Position, power, and pleasure. And if we're honest tonight, and remember I said that we need to never move, we need to never try to put these heroes of faith aside as men and women unlike us. They were human. They were like us. Like we are tonight. But every one of us, if we're honest, position, power, and pleasure, this soul would love. This heart would love in its natural state. We'd love that. Moses said, no. I give it up. Position. He was giving up a princely. Position. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Acts 7 and verse 22 says, Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in words and deeds. He was mighty in words and deeds. [00:15:39] According to Josephus, Moses may very likely, could likely have been the next man on the throne. But he said no. He was learning all the wisdom of Egypt. He was, or he attended as it were, the Oxford of Egypt. That's where he was. Mighty in words. A statesman. Mighty in words. That's position. That's position. A man that was mighty in words, mighty in deeds. [00:16:17] And if you make a study of that, it means he was a man that could do great deeds. He was a soldier, a powerful soldier. That speaks of power, doesn't it? Position and power. Again, referring to Josephus, he says that there were times that Moses was commander-in-chief, as it were, of the Egyptian armies. That's power. That's what he had. And all of the pleasures were his. [00:16:51] He could have had them. The pleasures, and it says the treasures. We live in a world that's pursuing pleasure. Their hearts are bent on pleasure. And I suppose Moses could have and would have possibly enjoyed pleasures. But he said, no, I cannot afford to pursue pleasures. And Egypt in its day was corrupt and immoral. [00:17:22] And Moses' heart may very well have desired that. But when he came to years, he said, no. Maybe if you better understood when we talk about what he was refusing, if we did some comparing, he refused a palace for a tent. He gave up a palace to dwell in a tent. He exchanged luxury for a hard life. He exchanged respect and honor for hate, hatred and contempt. [00:17:55] He exchanged treasures for poverty and want. He exchanged from the society of the learned and the elite to the ignorant and the deprived. That's what he was exchanging. That's what he was giving up. But he saw that the pleasures of sin are but for a season, but for a short time. So what if he lived, and as he did, 120 years? [00:18:27] He said it's a short time, but for a moment, in light of eternity, but for a short time. And Moses understood clearly that he could not have one foot in the palace and the other foot in a tent. He understood that his position, power, and pleasure, he could not enjoy that and still at the same time identify and be with God's people. He said, I will give it up, give all of it up. [00:19:00] It cannot be mixed in my life. It must be clear. I make a choice for God. Verse 26 says, He esteemed the reproaches of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Esteemed the reproaches of Christ. I don't know if I understand this correctly or not. Help me. But how did Moses understand anything about the reproaches of Christ? The reproaches of Christ. [00:19:31] I don't know if I understand all of that. But Moses, a type of Christ, what did Jesus give up? Thrown the Father in heaven. He came to this sin-cursed world. Reproach. Moses was a man that knew something about reproaches. Yes, just the very fact that he forsook Egypt to identify with God's people, with Israel, meant that he was to be railed, chided, disgraced. He was. [00:20:12] How can we take this man of faith and the record and report that he gives to us tonight and bring it right down, funnel it right down to us here in this sanctuary tonight? What is He telling us? What is the life of Moses reporting to us here in Hebrews chapter 11? Friends, the pleasures of sin are but for a moment. But for one moment. [00:20:43] And all of us are going to come to some time when we're going to come to years. And God's going to speak to our hearts. And we're going to be like, as it were, at a crossroads. We're a fork in the road, and we're going to take either one direction or the other direction. And I tell you, brothers and sisters and friends, that the ends of those roads are eternities apart. If you take the one route, it's going to end up in hell with the devil and his angels. [00:21:13] And all that's dark and sinful and wicked and evil forever separated from anything that is pure and holy and good. You go the other direction and it's exactly the opposite. All that which is pure, right, just, and good. Now, do you want to waste your life for the pleasures of sin, but for a moment? but for a season. [00:21:46] The prophet Moses himself speaking to the voice of God, Deuteronomy 30, verse 19. He says, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you. What I have set before you, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live. It's our decision. We're going to either choose life or we choose death. There is no middle road. [00:22:19] And Moses was at this position in his life. He had to choose. Either was he going to serve God out of faith or was he going to go to pleasures of sin but for a moment. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, death and evil. There are but two ways. Just two ways. Let me illustrate tonight what I'm talking about as it relates to wasting our lives. [00:22:55] Johnny come to school the first day of school and he came to school with a brand new red pencil. He cherished this pencil. He liked the pencil. First day at school, class is called to order. The teacher says, let's sharpen our pencils. Johnny, the first day at school, didn't know how to sharpen a pencil. So the teacher says, Johnny, may I help you sharpen your pencil? [00:23:29] Johnny says, no. No, I'll sharpen my own pencil. I know how to sharpen pencils. I think I can take care of it myself. So he gets his knife and he begins to whittle away at his pencil. He's going to be sharpening his pencil. He works at it a while. He thinks he has it. It's not very good. You see, that's the way we are. Sometimes we think we have it. [00:24:01] We just about have it. But we really don't. So he keeps fiddling away at it. He keeps cutting. Pretty soon the teacher comes. Could I help you sharpen your pencil? You see, you've already used up about half of your pencil. No. No, I'll sharpen my own pencil. So he keeps cutting away. Keeps cutting away his pencil. [00:24:35] He's making a mess of his pencil, but he keeps whittling away. Finally, the teacher comes to him again. He says, Johnny, I'd love to help you sharpen your pencil. Will you let me sharpen your pencil? He begins to cry. He says, yes. Will you help me sharpen my pencil? So the teacher takes his pencil. He begins to work at it. There's rough edges on it. It's difficult. [00:25:08] But she eventually, after a good bit of time, she gets his pencil to where it's nice and sharp and he can use it. What has Johnny done with his pencil? He's wasted it. He wasted his pencil. Finally, he says, yes, I'll take help. Dear young people, and all of us here tonight, [00:25:40] the lesson is, when I take my life into my own hands, and I come to the years when God begins to speak to my heart, and I say, no. I can live my own life. I will live my life as I choose. I will enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Friends, we're wasting our lives We are destroying our lives And I can show you many, many young men and women [00:26:11] Whose brains have nearly been fried because of drugs, alcohol, moral abuse And all the rest that's out there They've destroyed their lives They've wasted them Will we? Will we allow God to help us and bring our lives together so that they can be useful for Him and His kingdom? Make a decision of faith as Moses did and said, Yes, I choose to identify with God's people and to forsake the pleasures of sin that are but for a moment. [00:26:54] but for a season. I beg of us tonight that we seriously consider where we are going to end up. There are only two ways. There is no middle road. We may try to convince ourselves there might be, but there isn't. May God give us a vision as Moses had to see the reward at the end. to think and to see into the future. [00:27:29] Let's bow our heads for prayer. Our loving Heavenly Father tonight, I thank you for your word. I thank you for its clarity. I thank you for the example of Moses. Moses speaks to us clearly that he made a choice for God, for you, Father. And he made such a difference in his life. Lord, I pray that if there's anyone here tonight, [00:28:01] the sound of my voice, who you're speaking to tonight, they've come to years now, and your spirit begins to minister to their hearts in its kind and gentle way. I pray that you would give them courage To make a decision even as Moses did And say yes Lord I will follow you I will surrender to you [00:28:32] And allow you to be Lord of my life In the name of Jesus we pray Amen For more information visit www.fema.org