Hebrews 11:23-31

Good morning, everyone. Open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

So, I'm aware that this is one of the most favored passages in Hebrews 11.

! So, no pressure.

I will endeavor to be faithful to the text and preach to my heart as well as yours this morning.

So, even though I just prayed, just pause with me just for a moment.

It's just good for me to get up here and to recognize that the presence of the Lord is here

and that He is ready to speak to the hearts of His people through His Word.

Lord, we are very gracious that You have brought us here.

So, help us to put our mind's attention and our heart's affection on You

to worship You in spirit and in truth.

And that You would help me just only be an instrument in Your hand

to love Your people well and to inspire faith in them through Your Word, Lord.

So, we put this in Your hands. In Christ's name, Amen.

Amen. So, Hebrews 11.

I think that it's a very timely chapter that we're in

because I feel like in my own life, I've been way too focused on the natural,

way too focused on what I can see with my eyes and not with the eyes of faith.

I've been so focused on the temporal and the earthly rather than the eternal and the unseen.

And I am very thankful that I've kind of landed in Hebrews 11.

There will be a connection between this week and next week.

Next week, I'm also really looking forward to.

But just as a broader context, I want us to...

Our text will be Hebrews 11, 23-31 today.

But as just a broader context, I want us to think about

what the author is trying to say to us in Hebrews 11.

And, like, why the history lesson?

Why is he going back to look at all these different people who have gone before us,

particularly in the Old Testament, to inspire that kind of faith in us?

He wants to motivate those who are professing faith in Christ

to look to these examples for endurance and persecution.

He wants them to obtain God's unseen future promises.

And so, as it says in Hebrews 6-12,

he wants them to be imitators of those who, through faith and patience,

inherit the promises.

So, just a couple of selective verses before we get to our main text.

So, look at Hebrews, just the beginning of the chapter, Hebrews 11.

It says,

Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.

Jump down to verse 6.

And without faith, it is impossible to please him.

Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

And, jump maybe over to verse 13.

We've been talking about Abraham and Sarah.

And it says,

All these died in faith, not having received the things promised,

but having seen them and greeted them from afar,

and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Verse 16.

But that is, they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

And therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,

for he has prepared for them a city.

And so, it's in these verses that we kind of come on down to, verse 23.

But faith, I've been trying to put together, paste together,

just sort of what I really think Scripture teaches faith is,

to live by faith, to walk by faith.

Because if you ask many people to define it,

it's kind of like one of those things that a lot of believers just stumble to even explain.

It's like, well, you just, you know, you just got to have, you just got to trust God.

And it's like, all right, good, trust God.

So, here's sort of a rough definition, I believe,

that fits the biblical description, what we're looking for.

But follow this.

Faith is a settled confidence that something in the future,

something that is not yet seen,

but has been promised by God,

will actually come to pass,

because God will bring it to pass.

I'll do it one more time.

Faith is a settled confidence that something in the future,

something that is not yet seen,

but has been promised by God,

will actually come to pass,

because God will bring it to pass.

And this is so obvious of the way that a lot of people portray faith,

sort of a blind faith,

a leap of faith.

Nathan's illustration a long time ago worked for me.

I grew up watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,

where he like did the little boot,

the boot thing and just, you know,

fell like on the bridge.

And that's just not what we're talking about.

We're talking about a confidence.

We are persuaded,

convinced that these things are true,

that God has spoken,

he has promised,

and he will deliver on what he promised.

And so God is not a liar.

He is not a man.

He should not tell the truth.

So real faith is the sure confidence

that our sovereign,

wise God is trustworthy,

that he will bring to pass what he says,

that he will never leave or forsake his people.

And we're just so not used to that in our world,

in our own lives,

our relationships.

But such faith in the unseen realm of God

provides confidence that we need to endure.

And the first few verses I read here

meant a lot to me

because they were instrumental,

I think, in my conversion

when I was 18 years old.

And when my body,

my physical body was falling apart

and my hope in the physical world

and this temporal world was falling apart.

And so it was huge for me at this time.

But we're looking at the example of Moses today,

of Joshua,

and the people of Israel.

So we'll start,

we'll pick up in verse 23.

It says,

By faith,

Moses,

when he was born,

was hidden for three months by his parents

because they saw that the child was beautiful

and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

By faith,

Moses,

when he has grown up,

refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,

choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God

than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

He considered the reproach of the Christ's greater wealth

than the treasures of Egypt,

for he was looking to the reward.

By faith,

he left Egypt,

not being afraid of the anger of the king,

for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

By faith,

he kept the Passover

and sprinkled the blood

so that the destroyer of the firstborn

might not touch them.

And by faith,

the people crossed the Red Sea

as on dry land,

but the Egyptians,

when they had attempted to do the same,

were drowned.

And by faith,

the walls of Jericho

fell down

after they had been encircled for seven days.

And by faith,

Rahab,

the prostitute,

did not perish with those who were disobedient

because she had been given

a friendly welcome to the spies.

So,

underneath all of this,

before we walk through this,

I want to give you just two true statements.

One of them is that

through our faith in God

and his wise providence,

he can and does work miracles

to help and deliver his people.

And I hope that you believe that.

I hope that God's even allowed you

to see that in your life.

Through faith in our God

and his wise providence,

he can and does work miracles

to bring deliverance

and help to his people.

And then next week,

we'll actually unpack this one a lot more,

but God and his wise providence

does not always

work miracles for our deliverance

from suffering,

but rather by faith,

he sustains his people

through their suffering.

So,

we're going to unpack this,

I guess,

in just three sections,

but we'll look at the faith of Moses first.

Number one,

by faith,

Moses.

And

we see that in verse 23 through 29.

And

as I've said before,

Moses is one of my favorite Bible characters.

I think I identify a lot with him.

He was

not this

great,

huge,

leading the charge

kind of guy.

He wasn't extremely

charismatic,

you would say,

like Joshua or David,

and I kind of identify

with him.

He was the reluctant leader

and

preferred to be more of a number two guy

often

and not a great public communicator.

Don't really feel that I am either.

But I agree

with a lot of the things

that he says and does.

But in verse 23,

if you want to look at verse 23,

we see first

his

preservation.

Moses' preservation

in verse 23.

And what did this

have to do?

It didn't have to do

as much with Moses

as it had to do

with the faith

of Moses' parents.

If you remember

from Exodus

Exodus 1:22

chapter 1,

verse 22,

it said,

Pharaoh commanded

all his people

saying,

every Jewish

son

who is born

you are to cast

into the Nile

and every daughter

you are to keep

alive.

So this cruel,

you know,

wicked,

demonic edict

of Pharaoh

to

destroy

all

the baby boys

and to spare

the daughters

and have them

cast into

the Nile.

And so

Moses' parents

were faced

with

a decision.

Do we

give in

and give up

our child,

obey the king's edict

and then

we're spared

or

if we refuse

then our lives

could be at risk.

There's only two options.

If we refuse

to obey this edict

then our lives

will be

endangered as well.

So they had

those two choices,

kill their sons

or save themselves.

Right?

Or try to save

their sons

at risk of their own lives.

And that's huge

because

their faith

demonstrated that

they knew

what God

had promised

that one day

they would send

someone to

deliver them

from bondage.

And they

chose rather

to not give in

to that fear

of death

and torture.

And they said

we're going to

not do this.

This is not what

our God

would have us do.

He would have us

look to him

and trust him.

And so they said

in the face of that

terror

we will not

give in.

We will not

kill our son

for fear

of our own

lives

but we will

trust in

our God

and death

will not

control us.

So

he was

preserved.

He was put

into the Nile

in the basket

as we know

he floated

down the river

to where

Pharaoh's daughter

who I believe

historically

was Hapshepsut

and was taken

into

the Pharaoh's

household

and raised

in that context.

And we see

that really

in our next

few verses.

So that's

Moses'

preservation

and

verse 24

through 26

we see

his identification.

So who did

Moses choose

to

identify

himself

with?

The Egyptians

and Pharaoh's

household

or with

the people

of Israel.

And

I want you

to

there's just

a couple

places for

you to

look today.

But flip

over to

Acts chapter

Acts 7 · chapter mention

7 to

kind of

give us

a broader

picture of

what's

going on.

Acts chapter

Acts 7 · chapter mention

7 and

this is

when

Stephen

is giving

testimony

and going

back and

sort of

explaining

the redemptive

story and

how

crisis

had come.

Acts chapter

Acts 7 · chapter mention

7 we'll

look at

verse 20.

all right

and he

says this

starting

in verse

20.

At this

time

Moses was

born

and he

was

beautiful

in God's

sight

and he

was brought

up for

three months

in his

father's

house

and then

when he

was exposed

Pharaoh's

daughter

adopted

him

and brought

him up

as her

own

and Moses

was instructed

in all

the wisdom

of the

Egyptians

and he

was mighty

in his

words

and deeds

and when

he was

forty years

old

it came

into his

heart

to visit

his

brothers

the

children

of Israel

and seeing

one of

them being

wronged

he defended

the oppressed

man

and avenged

him by

striking down

the Egyptian

he supposed

that his

brothers would

understand

that God

was giving

them salvation

by his

hand

but

they did

not

understand

and on

the following

day he

appeared

to them

as they

were quarreling

and tried

to reconcile

them saying

men

you are

brothers

why do

you wrong

each other

but the

man who

was wronging

his neighbor

thrust him

aside saying

who made

you a

ruler and

judge over

us

that's

going to be

repeated in

the life of

Moses a lot

do you want

to kill me

as you killed

the Egyptian

yesterday

at this

retort

Moses fled

and became

an exile

in the land

of Midian

where he

became a

father of

two sons

so

Moses'

identification

but think

about this

if this

life is it

if this

temporal world

is it

why in the

world would

he leave

such privileges

that he had

in Egypt

why

he was

perfectly

set up

for life

earthly

status

privilege

and pleasures

all that he

could really

enjoy

but why

did he

choose to

identify

rather

with

the people

of Israel

and so

even that

being

a

adopted

son of

Pharaoh's

daughter

so

but in our

text gives

the answer

he chose

to do so

because

of the

fleeting

pleasures

of sin

right

we see

that

and

it's

important

to note

that

I think

we kind

of

betray

sin

is

unpleasurable

and it

is

but

we got

to

understand

that

the

pleasures

of sin

are very

real

they feel

good

in the

moment

when we're

indulging

in them

but

they're

short-lived

they're

vanity

they're

fleeting

they don't

remain

and so

Moses

I think

had learned

this in

his context

like

I've enjoyed

40 years

of this

kind of

stuff

and you

know

what

it is

not

what I'm

looking

for

and

instead

he

chose

to

bear

the

reproach

of

Christ

and he

considered

it

greater

riches

the

reproach

of

Christ

and so

think

about

how

Moses

serves

as a

foreshadow

or prefigure

of Christ

and all

these

things

so

remember

make all

the connections

in your

mind

our

Lord

Jesus

his

parents

also

fled

a

wicked

king

seeking

to

destroy

all

the

boys

all

the

baby

boys

in

Bethlehem

and yet

he was

preserved

just like

Moses

was

preserved

he

was

the

king

of

kings

who

humbled

himself

leaving

all

his

heavenly

glory

and

majesty

behind

and

seeking

to

rather

identify

with

us

his

people

and

coming

to

take

on

human

form

and

take

on

our

weakness

he

came

to be

with

us

and

then

like

Moses

he

suffered

on

behalf

of

his

people

Christ

suffered

on

our

behalf

and

so

Moses

serves

as a

model

for

believers

to

endure

that

kind

of

reproach

and

so

we

need

to

take

note

of

this

that

he

saw

that

there

was

reward

in

the

future

for

the

faith

that

he

would

have

in

the

God

of

Israel

and

he

fled

the

temporal

pleasures

of

sin

so

some

of

us

may

be

stuck

even

as

believers

in

a

pattern

of

sin

that's

just

destroying

!

us

and

remember

that

they're

fleeting

they

don't

remain

and

that

if

we

have

Christ

we

have

the

one

thing

that

will

not

ever

leave

right

he

is

there

forever

and

nothing

can

take

him

away

and

he

is

not

going

to

leave

us

or

forsake

us

so

look at

verse

27

back in

Hebrews

11

it

talks

about

Moses

separation

how

he

left

the

land

of

Egypt

and

he

did

this

by

faith

he

wasn't

afraid

of

the

anger

or

wrath

of

Pharaoh

but

he

endured

as

seeing

him

who

is

invisible

and

I

really

think

this

is

implying

this

idea

that

he

saw

through

the

eyes

of

faith

like

we

do

the

God

of

Israel

and

he

endured

the

wrath

the

wrath

of

Pharaoh

and

he

fled

into

the

wilderness

right

for

40

years

and

in

that

time

God

was

prepping

him

preparing

him

for

what

was

ahead

and

even

though

Moses

did

come

to

see

some

physical

manifestations

of

God's

presence

like

the

burning

bush

and

the

fire

and

the

cloud

and

all

these

things

he

still

looked

upon

God

through

the

eyes

of

faith

and

so

by

faith

he

left

Egypt

and

verse

28

we

see

that

by

faith

his

salvation

came

by

faith

he

kept

the

Passover

so

remember

remember

guys

like

the

story

they

have

been

telling

commanding

Pharaoh

to let

the people

go

and

he

has

refused

he

hardened

his

heart

he

stood

his

ground

and

they

kind

of

warn

him

like

if

you

don't

let

the

people

go

something

worse

than

ever

before

is

going

to

come

and

he

refused

so

as

judgment

God

sent

one

more

plague

to

kill

all

the

firstborn

the

angel

of

death

the

destroyer

to

execute

that

judgment

yet

we

read

that

God

graciously

provided

a way

for the

Israelites

to be

spared

and

we

read

that

they

were

to

take

a

lamb

without

blemish

I'll

read

this

to

you

out

of

Exodus

12

such

beautiful

pictures

for us

to

see

it

says

then

they

will

take

some

of

the

blood

of

the

lamb

and

put

it

on

the

doorpost

and

the

lentil

of

the

houses

in

which

they

eat

it

it

is

the

Lord's

Passover

for

I

will

pass

through

the

land

of

Egypt

that

night

and

I

will

strike

all

the

firstborn

in

the

land

of

Egypt

both

man

and

beast

and

all

the

gods

of

Egypt

I

will

execute

judgments

!

when

I

strike

the

land

of

Egypt

that's

Exodus

12

11

through

13

so

Moses

celebrated

the

Passover

before

seeing

the

deliverance

that

it

would

bring

from

the

destroyer

and

it

serves

as

a

foreshadow

of the

true

deliverance

that

we

in

Christ

are

to

receive

because

judgment

is

coming

one

day

and

I

tremble

to

think

about

it

and

in

a

similar

way

God

will

execute

judgment

and

he

will

bring

ruin

upon

those

who

have

stood

against

him

and

been

disobedient

to

his

word

and

so

in

Christ

as

Paul

says

in

1st

Corinthians

5

Christ

our

Passover

lamb

has

been

sacrificed

so

when

judgment

comes

and

we

are

seen

washed

in

the

blood

of

the

lamb

we

will

be

passed

over

and

so

by

faith

Moses

knew

that

if

he

did

this

and

was

obedient

to

the

command

of

God

that

they

would

be

spared

and

so

we

have

that

command

to

repent

and

believe

the

gospel

to

come

to

Christ

to

be

washed

in

his

blood

so

that

we

can

endure

to

the

end

so

by

faith

his

salvation

and

then

underneath

this

we

see

he

and

his

people

deliverance

in

verse

29

verse

29

by

faith

the

people

crossed

the

Red

Sea

as

on

dry

land

but

the

Egyptians

when

they

attempted

to

do

the

same

were

drowned

and

one of

the

most

I

would

say

probably

one

of

the

most

like

crazy

visuals

you

can

see

in

display

of

God's

power

and

the

scripture

God

parting

the

Red

Sea

which

I

believe

is

probably

in

the

Gulf

of

Aqaba

I

would

guess

come

talk

to

me

later

if

you

want

to

nerd

out

but

we

see

I'll

read

you

this

passage

out

of

Exodus

14

they

were

standing

at

the

Red

Sea

trapped

right

trapped

and

Moses

said

to

the

people

fear

not

stand

firm

and

see

the

salvation

of

the

Lord

which

he

will

work

for

you

today

for

the

Egyptians

whom

you

see

today

you

shall

never

see

again

for

the

Lord

will

fight

for

you

and

you

only

have

to

be

silent

good

words

just

the

Lord

will

fight

for

us

we

will

stand

and

see

his

deliverance

so

Moses

was

delivered

his

people

were

delivered

and

they

were

spared

so

we

have

these

awesome

pictures

of

Moses

to

look

to

for

an

example

of

faith

such

wonderful

faith

and

then

it

goes

on

so

it's

kind

of

going

through

the

storyline

right

across

the

Red

Sea

went

into

the

promised

land

but

some

stuff

happened

and

they

wandered

in

the

wilderness

until

that

generation

had

passed

and

we

see

our

second

point

so

that

was

by

faith

Moses

but

number

two

is

by

faith

Joshua

and

the

people

of

Israel

right

so

verse

30

by

faith

the

walls

of

Jericho

fell

down

after

they

had

been

in

a

circle

for

seven

days

and

I

think

this

is

one

of

the

places

I

wanted

you

to

look

at

Joshua

chapter

five

really

quickly

Joshua

chapter

five

we

see

that

he

has

this

divine

encounter

before

going

to the

city

of

Jericho

they

have

crossed

the

Jordan

river

they

set

up

the

memorial

stones

and

their

faith

is

being

strengthened

by

seeing

God

part

the

river

Jordan

as

he

did

the

Red

Sea

so

Joshua

chapter

five

look at

verse

13

this

is

right

before

the

siege

it

says

when

Joshua

was

by

Jericho

he

lifted

up

his

eyes

and

looked

and

behold

a

man

was

standing

before

him

with

his

sword

drawn

in

his

hand

and

Joshua

went

to

him

and

said

said

to

him

are

you

for

us

or

for

our

adversaries

and

he

said

no

but

I

am

the

commander

of

the

army

of

the

Lord

now

I

have

come

and

Joshua

fell

on his

face

to the

earth

and

worshipped

!

and

said

to

him

what

does

my

Lord

say

to

his

servant

and

the

commander

of

the

Lord's

army

said

to

Joshua

take

off

your

sandals

take

the

sandals

off

your

feet

for

the

place

where

you

are

standing

is

holy

and

Joshua

did

so

so

some

people

believe

that

this

was

what

they

call

a

Christophany

an

earlier

appearance

of

the

Son

of

God

possibly

before

his

incarnation

the

arguments

for that

I think

are strong

I won't

go far

to say

it

but

if

you

look

at

where

it

says

that

he

is

the