CRITICAL FAITH

Hebrews 11:23-28

Besides Jesus our Lord there hasn’t been a man of God so inspiring to believers as Moses. His impact on believers in the Old Testament era and New Testaments era has never been matched. For by reading about Moses we see that he came close to the LORD in unprecedented fashion. His personal relationship with God and his ministry to the Israelites has become the perfect example of spiritual success. His life is a standard for believers who aim high. And his greatness gives us vision for our personal growth. But how did a man like Moses grow to such greatness? Today’s passage tells us of four moments of critical faith that shaped his life.

The faith of his parents when Moses was a baby.

The faith of Moses when had “grown up”.

The faith of Moses when he left Egypt

The faith of Moses when he kept the Passover.

Of all the acts of faith to mention the ones listed in Hebrews are the least spectacular. These are more like common acts of faith that all believers partake in. And this is the author’s point. Instead of putting in Moses’ amazing act of faith like the striking of the rock to bring forth water or healing the waters of Marah with a piece of wood we see a common list that is accessible to all people. For not everyone is destined to have a huge ministry but everyone is required to perform the acts of faith mentioned. This was probably done with the audience of the book in mind. For as we have heard in previous messages; the original recipients of the book of Hebrews were a troubled group who were barely hanging-on to their faith in Christ. The author therefore makes Moses’ life of faith more accessible, taking him off the pedestal so a person struggle with faith can be encouraged by his example.

SETTING-UP FOR SUCCESS (V.23)

Let’s read v.23

23By 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.

This first moment of critical faith has to do with the faith of Moses' parents when he was born. You may be familiar with the book of Exodus and how Pharoah was fearful of the growing number of Jewish males. So he ordered them to be killed at birth: Exodus 1:22,

22Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Notice that there are two threats in the edict from the king: one is explicit, that Jewish baby boys are to be killed; the other is implicit, that if you disobey this command and keep a Jewish baby boy alive, you will be disobedient to the king's law and risk your own life. In other words, parents had two choices: they could kill their sons and save themselves, or they could try to save their sons and risk their own lives. There was no middle way. This was a life and death matter but his parents didn’t “fear the king’s edict.” Instead they held to faith and believed in God. How could they be certain that their plan would work? If we look back at Hebrews 11:1 we will remember, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Moses’ parents couldn’t see how God could keep a crying baby from detection for three months. But they had faith that God was able to do it and that God wanted to do it.

How did they know God wanted to do it? When Moses’ parents looked at him the passage says, 

they saw he was no “ordinary child”. What does that mean? Was he some kind of “super baby”? No. The greek word used here means “beautiful” and most translations say, “they saw he was a beautiful child”. Maybe Moses had above average looks for a baby but the point is that his parents saw that he was precious and they loved him. This love gave rise to a faith in God who protects. Though the circumstances were scary and they didn’t know how to pull it off, they put their confidence in God who would certainly help them. It worked great for three months. But as we read in Exodus, after three months were up Moses’ mother acted again in faith by putting Moses in a basket where Pharaoh’s daughter would find him. He grew up in Pharaoh’s household and was educated in all the knowledge and wisdom of Egypt. This education would later become important in his ministry. Therefore, to set their son up for success Moses’ parents had to act by faith multiple times. What they did was not so miraculous for any parent can have faith on the count of their children. 

These days there are a lot of conversations about how to protect our children from the evil influences of our modern Egypt. The questions go around because no one really knows what to do but the answer is clearly stated in the passage. “By faith” they did something. Making decisions by faith in God, not fearing other’s opinions or negative consequences is the best thing we can do for our children. So not being overbearing because of fear and not being a push-over because of pressure we can plant the blessing of faith in the lives of our children too.

REFUSING EMPTY PROMISES (V.24-26)

The critical acts of faith by Moses’ parents carried Moses forward for forty years. But let’s read verses 24-26. 

24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

For a long time Moses was presented with an offer and promise bidding for his attention. The fork in the road that he faced was this: On the one hand, the opulence, arrogance, and power that came with being an Egyptian prince; on the other hand, the people to whom he had been born, who were slaves. That was the stark divide in front of Moses.

Wherever Moses went everyone knew him as “the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”. He was identified by this association. It must have been written on his business card. People recognized him and respected him because of it. This identity was the key to indulgence and power. He didn’t give up that ID for forty years because it was the better choice. What ever changed his mind and made him refuse to be called “the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”.

The helpful thing in this text is how those concepts are described. The expression “short time” eventually sunk into Moses head and he realized that all the pleasures of sin would only last for a “short time”. This awoke him to the true value of his identity as “the son of Pharaoah’s daughter”. He realized the fleeting status of such a life and decided to refuse being known as “the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”. He therefore took on the Identity of an Israelite and chose the life of being mistreated that came along with it.

Verse 26 says, “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.”

Simply stated, by faith he looked at his life on earth through eyes that see eternity and it flipped his world upside down. Seeing eternity and his short time on earth dramatically changed his value system. Now instead of valuing fast pleasure he valued suffering for the sake of Christ. The reason being he saw a “reward” for his struggle (an eternal reward) in the future. This isn’t anything really so awesome and it is a basic realization on true believers come to. Moses changed his identity and was willing to suffer “mistreatment” for it. (PERSONAL STORY / “Bible Buddies”) — This is called your testimony.

BURNING BRIDGES (V.27)

Let’s read verse 27 together.

27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

The bridges had already been burned between Moses and Egypt. It had happened in his heart. Not yet geographically, but spiritually and morally he was gone already. Now the question was, would he endure in this chosen path of disgrace for the sake of Christ? Or would he cave in - like so many cave in today to their Egypt - the passing pleasures - of this world? Was Moses' new identity a spurious decision or would he live it out at any cost. Verse 27 says, Yes. "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”

This verse here actually covers the second forty years of Moses life, the time he spent in the land of Midian in the house of Jethro his father-law. During these forty years he lived as a herder of sheep. He had a family and went to Bible study with his father-in-law. This was the forty years of hard-training where Moses’ edgy character was broken down. This training was unbelievably tough for a man who had lived as a prince of Egypt. Verse 27 says he “persevered because he saw him who is invisible”. Once we leave Egypt and begin a new life we must focus on “persevering” through the time of training. Those who drop out during this time are those who lose sight of “him who is visible”. We therefore must keep our eyes fixed on “him who is invisible” from first to last. 

KEEPING THE PASSOVER (V.28)

Look at verse 28,

28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. 

The event being described here is the tenth and final plague against the land of Egypt. After this plague the entire nation of Egypt was knocked down including Pharaoh himself. This plague was unique in that it contained a “destroyer” of the firstborn. Before the plague hit. Moses was told to slaughter a lamb and put the blood on the door frames of the homes. All the people were ordered to do this. This lamb would protect the Israelites from the judgement that God was bringing against all of Egypt. For God was going to flush Egypt down the drain. If the Israelites didn’t put the blood of the lamb on the door frames and keep it they would suffer from the destroyer along with the Egyptians.

To keep the Passover and the sprinkling of blood is analogues to preaching the gospel and holding firm to the gospel. Moses taught the people the power of God’s Passover lamb to save them from the destroyer. He taught people the power of the lamb’s blood and instructed them in how to apply it and to eat it. In essence, by faith in gospel, Moses taught others how to be saved. This isn’t a fancy miracle, this isn’t something that a lot of people would speak highly of but it is the legacy of Moses’ faith — “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood.”

One Word: Critical Faith