BACKGROUND:Moses’ parents are listed among these great people of faith. Through their faith they recognized that God’s hand was on Moses and that he was an unusual child. As a result, Moses’ parents disobeyed the king by faith, not being afraid of what the king might do to them if he discovered that they had been hiding their child for three months. Pharaoh had commanded that all male children born to the Hebrew slaves were to be killed. God used these parents’ courageous act to place their son, the Hebrew of his choice, in the house of Pharaoh.
Moses’ great faith was also revealed through his difficult decision. Through God’s providence, Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter as a member of Pharaoh’s own household. Although Moses had been given a great Egyptian education, wealth, and status, he rejected this heritage and chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. Moses knew he could not participate in a comfortable and easy life while his fellow Hebrews were enslaved. Because of his faith, Moses knew that earthly comfort was not the ultimate purpose of his life.
Moses’ great secret was that he looked ahead to the fulfillment of God’s promises. Moses illustrates that faith requires individuals to put their own desires aside for the sake of Christ. He was motivated by looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him. Since this reward would come from his Lord, Moses was willing to suffer for the sake of the Messiah. Although Moses did not personally know Jesus Christ, Moses suffered for the sake of doing God’s will and for the sake of proclaiming God’s way of redemption to the Hebrews; thus, this passage speaks of Moses’ suffering for the sake of the Messiah. Because God’s history of salvation and redemption continued until Christ, Moses’ suffering is linked to the cause of Christ. Rather than make Egypt and this world his home, Moses left the land of Egypt and kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. By faith, he was certain of what he could not see.
Moses’ faith encouraged him to be God’s spokesman to the Hebrews. Through this faith, Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover. This incident occurred as the last of a series of plagues that devastated Egypt. The Hebrews followed God’s instructions, given through Moses, to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. The “blood” was from a lamb slain as part of the Passover meal. That night the firstborn son of every family who did not have blood on the doorposts was killed. The lamb had to be killed in order to get the blood that would protect them. (This foreshadowed the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, who gave his blood for the sins of all people.)
The people of Israel leaving Egypt provide the next example of faith. It was by faith that they went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. The sight of the Red Sea parting and the requirement to walk into the seabed between walls of water must have been terrifying. But through Moses’ leadership and their own faith, the people of Israel walked ahead and were delivered from Egypt.
As the people of Israel took the path through the Red Sea, the Egyptians followed, but not in faith. As a result, all the soldiers in the army drowned. This example of the Egyptians would be a warning to those who considered drifting from Christ. God severely punishes those who do not live by faith in him. Those who walk in faith, even into “seas” of difficulty or fear, will find their faith rewarded.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
In today's passage, we're going to look at whom I consider to be the greatest leader of the Old Testament and that is Moses. When you look at people in the Old Testament who made an impact, it's hard to find anybody who made a greater impact that Moses. He freed a nation from slavery after 400 years. He was used by God to give us the Ten Commandments. He wrote the first five books of the Bible. Few leaders have made as great an impact with their lives and ministry as Moses. God used Moses in a tremendous way. Why? Why of all the people did God choose him?
I think that God chose Moses because of the choices Moses made. Moses made four critical choices that determined his destiny and they're choices that each of us as leaders in the church have to make in order to be used by God in a great way. Choices determine your character. Your character is determined by day to day decisions and problems and issues that you are confronted with. And when you make the choice on those daily issues the accumulative effect of those produce the character in your life. As we look at the life of Moses there are four questions I believe every follower of Christ must ask.
I think that God chose Moses because of the choices Moses made. Moses made four critical choices that determined his destiny and they're choices that each of us as leaders in the church have to make in order to be used by God in a great way. Choices determine your character. Your character is determined by day to day decisions and problems and issues that you are confronted with. And when you make the choice on those daily issues the accumulative effect of those produce the character in your life. As we look at the life of Moses there are four questions I believe every follower of Christ must ask.
#1. The first question is what I call the Identity Question.
Every follower of Christ must first ask the question, Who am I? This was especially essential for Moses since he had an identity crisis early on. He was born Jewish and yet he was raised Egyptian in Pharaoh's palace. As he grew up he had to decide, What am I really? This was going to have a major consequence in his life. In fact it would affect the rest of his life. Here was his choice: He could pretend that he was Pharaoh's grandson in which, if he accepted that he would have fame, he would have fortune, he would have a luxurious lifestyle, he would have a great career. Or, on the other hand, he could admit his Jewish roots and if he did, he would be disgraced, humiliated, thrown out of the palace and forced into slave labor.
If you were confronted with those two choices, what choice do you think you would make? Moses did not hesitate, but he made the choice to admit exactly who he was, to confirm the identify that God had given him because he was a man of integrity. He refused to live a lie. He made his decision that affected the rest of his life.
In Hebrews 11:24 it says, "By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” The word "refused" there in Greek literally means "to reject.” It means to disown, no turning back, slam the door shut and put a dead bolt on it. So Moses refused to live a lie. He insisted on being what God made him to be. And no amount of peer pressure could sway him from that.
This is very important because this is the first issue you have to deal with as a leader. The point is, God made you for a purpose. And only you can be you. As I've said many times before, when you get to heaven, God isn't going to say, "Why weren't you more like Billy Graham? Why weren't you more like John Wayne? Why weren't you more like...?" He's going to say, "Why weren't you more like you?" Because only you can be you. You are one in five billion. There's never been anyone like you. If you don't be you, who's going to be you?
The point is, God made you for a purpose and being successful equals being me – being yourself. That's the first foundation. Quit trying to be like everybody else. I know when I first entered into the ministry, I had a deep desire to mimic the models in ministry that I admired. I tried to preach like them, I tried to dress like them, I tried to use words and phrases, even hold my Bible the way they did. But I eventually discovered that was ineffective. The only thing I could be that God could use was to be me. So quit trying to be like anybody else. Settle the issue of identity – Who am I?
#2. The second question you must answer as a leader is the Responsibility Question.
The responsibility question is this: What will I do with my life? You have to stop making excuses, you have to stop blaming other people and take the initiative if you're going to be a leader and decide what does God want me to do with my life and then get on with it.
Hebrews 11:25 says, "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." It says, "he chose". I think that, next to salvation, the greatest gift that God has given you is the ability to choose. He's given you the freedom to choose. That's why we're different than animals. God made us in His image and we have the freedom to choose. As a leader, your leadership will be based on the type of choices you make. That is the responsibility question. What will I do with my life? What will I do with my ministry? Your future is determined by your choices.
v. 23, as a child, God chose Moses. But in v. 25, Moses had to choose God. Big difference. God chose Moses even before he was born to be the liberator, the savior, the deliverer of the nation of Israel. He chose him even before he was born. But Moses could have short-circuited that plan by not choosing God.
So God has chosen you for ministry. Do you remember John 15? Jesus says, "You have not chosen Me. I have chosen you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain." God chose you from the foundation of the world. He chose you to be saved and when He chose you to be saved, He chose you to be a minister. But you must make the choice yourself to choose God's will for your life.
I'm free to choose my response to life. Nobody can ruin my life except me. God won't ruin it. The devil can't, if you're a child of God unless you make choices. So it's your choice. Even what other people do to you. Nobody can ruin your life except you if you've given it to God.
Every follower of Christ must first ask the question, Who am I? This was especially essential for Moses since he had an identity crisis early on. He was born Jewish and yet he was raised Egyptian in Pharaoh's palace. As he grew up he had to decide, What am I really? This was going to have a major consequence in his life. In fact it would affect the rest of his life. Here was his choice: He could pretend that he was Pharaoh's grandson in which, if he accepted that he would have fame, he would have fortune, he would have a luxurious lifestyle, he would have a great career. Or, on the other hand, he could admit his Jewish roots and if he did, he would be disgraced, humiliated, thrown out of the palace and forced into slave labor.
If you were confronted with those two choices, what choice do you think you would make? Moses did not hesitate, but he made the choice to admit exactly who he was, to confirm the identify that God had given him because he was a man of integrity. He refused to live a lie. He made his decision that affected the rest of his life.
In Hebrews 11:24 it says, "By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” The word "refused" there in Greek literally means "to reject.” It means to disown, no turning back, slam the door shut and put a dead bolt on it. So Moses refused to live a lie. He insisted on being what God made him to be. And no amount of peer pressure could sway him from that.
This is very important because this is the first issue you have to deal with as a leader. The point is, God made you for a purpose. And only you can be you. As I've said many times before, when you get to heaven, God isn't going to say, "Why weren't you more like Billy Graham? Why weren't you more like John Wayne? Why weren't you more like...?" He's going to say, "Why weren't you more like you?" Because only you can be you. You are one in five billion. There's never been anyone like you. If you don't be you, who's going to be you?
The point is, God made you for a purpose and being successful equals being me – being yourself. That's the first foundation. Quit trying to be like everybody else. I know when I first entered into the ministry, I had a deep desire to mimic the models in ministry that I admired. I tried to preach like them, I tried to dress like them, I tried to use words and phrases, even hold my Bible the way they did. But I eventually discovered that was ineffective. The only thing I could be that God could use was to be me. So quit trying to be like anybody else. Settle the issue of identity – Who am I?
#2. The second question you must answer as a leader is the Responsibility Question.
The responsibility question is this: What will I do with my life? You have to stop making excuses, you have to stop blaming other people and take the initiative if you're going to be a leader and decide what does God want me to do with my life and then get on with it.
Hebrews 11:25 says, "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." It says, "he chose". I think that, next to salvation, the greatest gift that God has given you is the ability to choose. He's given you the freedom to choose. That's why we're different than animals. God made us in His image and we have the freedom to choose. As a leader, your leadership will be based on the type of choices you make. That is the responsibility question. What will I do with my life? What will I do with my ministry? Your future is determined by your choices.
v. 23, as a child, God chose Moses. But in v. 25, Moses had to choose God. Big difference. God chose Moses even before he was born to be the liberator, the savior, the deliverer of the nation of Israel. He chose him even before he was born. But Moses could have short-circuited that plan by not choosing God.
So God has chosen you for ministry. Do you remember John 15? Jesus says, "You have not chosen Me. I have chosen you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain." God chose you from the foundation of the world. He chose you to be saved and when He chose you to be saved, He chose you to be a minister. But you must make the choice yourself to choose God's will for your life.
I'm free to choose my response to life. Nobody can ruin my life except me. God won't ruin it. The devil can't, if you're a child of God unless you make choices. So it's your choice. Even what other people do to you. Nobody can ruin your life except you if you've given it to God.
So the responsibility issue is, What am I going to do with my life? Joshua 20:4 says, “You may choose for yourself today whom you will serve, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." He's saying, I'm facing the same issue that Moses made. Joshua was his successor. Joshua watched Moses be a man of choice, be a man of character, a man of integrity. He saw it work and years later he's making the same decisions. He's saying, As for me and my house – I don't care what you guys think, we're going to serve the Lord.
#3. The third issue is what I call the Priority Question that every leader must eventually face and we see it in Moses' life.
The Priority Question is this: What is really most important? If you're going to be used effectively by God you've got to establish some kind of value system. You clarify your values, your morals, your ethics, your priorities. This is what Moses did. He decided what was important. v. 26 "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." Notice the word "regarded" which means I made a moral choice, a value judgment. And notice the word "value". It says he considered, he regarded. The word "regarded" literally means “evaluate”. It's the word that's used of weighing in the balance. It means to judge the value of something. This is not something you do quickly, a snap judgment. You are seriously considering, What is the direction of my life and what are going to be my values?
If you were asked by somebody, "What are the values that you are basing your life on?" Could you name them? You ought to be able to say, These are things that are important to me. You don't lie, you don't steal, those kind of things. Basic values of life. The fact is, if you don't decide what's important in your life, other people will do it for you. They will decide what's important and they will force their values on you.
We, in America, are right now in a values war. Don't let anybody kid you about it. We are in a values war. And we know who's behind it. (It's not the Democrats. Come on and smile - I ripped the Republicans last week) It's Satan. He is the god of this world and he is trying to warp the world to his value system.
What is the world's value system? The world's value system is summed up in these three verses. The only good thing you can say about the devil is he's consistent. He doesn't have any new tricks. The same three tricks he pulled on Adam, he pulled on Jesus. The same three tricks he pulled on Jesus, he pulled on Moses. They're the same three he pulls on you. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the world, the pride of life. We see these in v. 24, 25, 26. The world's value system.
In v. 24 - "Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter." He's talking about power and prestige. That's the first value of the world. Power and prestige. One of the values of the world is, I want to be famous, I want to be looked up to. I want power. I want prestige. Why else would people pay fifty bucks for a card that's gold when they can have one that's green that doesn't cost that much. People want to have a certain color card so they can say, I have prestige. I have power.
The second standard of the world is in v. 25. Pleasure. "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than joy the pleasures of sin for a short time." In v. 24 he rejects the world's measure – they're standard of evaluation, being famous. In v. 25 he rejects the world's pleasure.
In v. 26, he rejects the world's treasure which is possessions. Power, pleasure, possessions. Measure, pleasure, and treasure. "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasure of Egypt." All of the wealth of the world in that day was concentrated in Egypt. And it would have been Moses. He was in line for it. And he walked out the door from a position of prestige (the measure of the world), all the pleasures of the world he could have in the palace of Egypt, and he rejected the world's treasure – the world's value system.
It's ironic. Those things were all offered to Moses and by these standards Moses had it made. But he walked away from it. It's interesting to me that he walked away from the very three things that most people spend their entire lives trying to get. He walked out the door. That's why God used him. He knew that these things don't last.
This is very important. You must understand that as a leader in ministry, in order for you to say, Yes, to God there are things you must say No to. You cannot say Yes to the world and Yes to ministry at the same time. It doesn't work. Jesus said it like this, "You can't serve two masters. You'll either hate one or love the other." The problem with a lot of Christians is not that they're not willing to serve in ministry but it is that they're afraid to say no to the world's value system. Compromising only makes you miserable. It's like trying to sit on a fence. Ouch! You need to learn to say No. I refuse to be sucked in again. I'm going to go against the flow. I'm going to reject what the world says is important.
I pray God's word gave you some things to chew on this morning. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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