The Fortitude of Faith

Hebrews chapter 11, we'll begin reading in just

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

a moment at verse 23. I entitled this morning's

message, The Fortitude of Faith. because it really

speaks to the courage that faith enables us to

have as the people of God. Webster's dictionary

defines fortitude as the strength of mind that

enables a person to encounter danger, to bear

pain, or to face adversity with courage. So we're

gonna see that in the life of Moses and some

others that are named here in the passage that

I'm gonna read. But I want to share an illustration

of fortitude that I learned about when Jan and

I traveled to Scotland many, many years ago.

We came across a statue in a garden about two

Scottish sisters. There was an angel behind them

as they studied and prayed over the word of God.

And we came to kind of get an understanding of

why these two girls were memorialized in that

way. And it's really a story not only of these

two sisters, whose names were Margaret and Agnes

Wilson, but it was also about an older friend

of theirs, also named Margaret, Margaret McLaughlin.

And it's a story of steadfast courage. Margaret

and Agnes, again, were born in Scotland mid to

late 1600s. They lived during the reign of King

Charles II, a time when believers who refused

to conform to the king's imposed church laws

were labeled as rebels, traitors, and they were

marked for death. So these people, they were

known as covenanters. Well, they believed in

the absolute authority of Christ over the church,

and they rejected, as we do today, any government

interference in matters of faith. Of course,

Margaret and her sisters, growing up in this

kind of household, heard the scriptures. They

worshiped together with their family, of course,

in secret, and all the while witnessing the brutal

prosecution or persecution of those who remained

faithful to Christ. By the time Margaret was

18 years old, worshiping Jesus had become even

more dangerous where she had been brought up.

So she and her younger sister, Agnes, left home

and really connected with a group of other believers

that were worshiping secretly out in the middle

of a forest. But eventually, the two sisters

and their 63 -year -old friend, this is where

the elder Margaret comes into the story, the

two sisters and their 63 -year -old friend Margaret

were captured by the authorities and placed in

prison. And they were sentenced quickly to death

by drowning. That was the punishment for refusing

to renounce their faith. Margaret's father, of

course, heard about the fate of his daughters

and he did everything that he could do to rescue

them. He appealed to the authorities of his day.

He raised money to try to secure bail for his

two girls. But when it came down to it, he was

only able to secure the release of one daughter,

the younger one, Agnes. And so Margaret was left

to suffer execution along with the elder, Margaret

McLaughlin. And it was on May 11th, 1865 that

these two women were taken to a place called

Solway Firth, a coastal area where the tide would

soon rise. The authorities tied the older Margaret

farther out on the beach, forcing the younger

Margaret to watch her drown, hoping that the

horror of it would break. Her resolve, as a matter

of fact, one witness supposedly said that at

a certain point, one of the authorities asked

her almost mockingly, what do you see? And this

is what the young Margaret said. She said, I

see Christ wrestling there. Faith, the conviction

of things not. I see Christ wrestling there.

She continued to stand firm. Other witnesses

said that she recited the 25th Psalm, and then

she loudly declared that nothing could separate

her from the love of Christ, not even death.

Even her family that day, and we can understand

this, they begged her to renounce Christ and

to pay homage to the king, but as the water continued

to rise around her, Margaret refused to deny

her savior. Her final words. that were recorded

on that day, I am Christ's. Let me go. With that,

the waves overtook her and her earthly life ended.

She was 18 years old. Now many would say, and

I believe many said on that day, that Margaret

displayed only foolishness. She could have easily

recanted her faith, gone home with her family.

I would say, however, that what Margaret displayed

is fortitude, the fortitude of faith that we're

gonna learn about this morning, read about this

morning. She trusted herself entirely to Christ,

believing that his kingdom is worth more than

anything this world would ever be able to offer

her. And the question that I want us to kind

of ask ourselves today is, do we have that kind

of faith? And if so, where does that faith come

from? Or even if you can say, well, no, I'm not

sure I have that kind of faith. Where does that

kind of faith come from? That kind of fortitude,

that kind of courage come from? And of course,

the answer, as we're gonna see, is that kind

of courage comes from faith. Faith in the Lord

Jesus Christ, this gift of God that we have been

granted if we are believers. As we're gonna see

from the life of Moses, faith produces an enduring

courage to pursue the purposes of God, even when

our obedience to those purposes demand sacrifice,

suffering, or perhaps even death. So with that,

let's read Hebrews chapter 11. We're gonna read

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

verses 23 down through verse 31. And if you don't

have the words in front of you, they're here

at the front of the auditorium on the screen.

Scripture says this, 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.

For by faith, when he was grown up, Moses 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 Christ greater

wealth than the treasures of Egypt. for he was

looking to the reward. There's a theme in these

men and women of faith, isn't it? They're looking

for something beyond what was right in front

of them, visible to their eyes. 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, sprinkled the blood so that the

destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea on dry

land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted

to do the same, were drowned. By faith, the walls

of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled

for seven days. By faith, Rahab, the prostitute,

did not perish with those who were disobedient

because she had given a friendly welcome. to

the spies. Let's stop there and pray, and then

we'll look at some things that I believe this

text will help us to more clearly understand.

Father, we are thankful today for the faith that

you have given us. Thankful, Father, for this

wonderful relationship that you have initiated,

that we now enjoy with you, your Son Jesus Christ,

the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us.

Lord, we are so blessed. And I pray today, Father,

that you would open our hearts, our minds, Lord,

to receive this message from you that we might

be encouraged, inspired to be people of fortitude,

courage, Lord, to face the adversity that will

no doubt come to those who profess Christ as

Savior and Lord, and to do it steadfastly, hopefully,

with determination. and earnestness, Lord, we

just pray you would do that. And Lord, again,

help us, as we see in the lives of Moses, as

we read about these two young girls in Scotland,

help us to take a stand in our day, to stand

firm, to trust you, looking forward to our heavenly

home, and Lord, really our home upon the new

earth, which is our promise from you. Our assurance,

in Jesus' name we pray, amen. The first few verses

there, by faith when Moses, when he was born,

was hidden for three months by his parents because

they saw the child was beautiful and they were

not afraid of the king's edict. So it's really

not so much about the faith of Moses as most

of the rest of this passage is. This is about

the faith of Moses' parents and I just wanna

stress right now, again, we, parent by faith,

all right? And that shouldn't catch any of us

who are parents by surprise. Parenting is an

act of faith, or at least it should be an act

of faith, and we parent in the strength or with

the courage that God's gift of faith. gives us,

because it's not easy to be a parent, is it?

I mean, you think about the days in which Moses

was born. This was a day when Israel were slaves

in Egypt. They were being badly mistreated, persecuted,

and Edict had gone out from the king that all

male children who were born were to be tossed

into the Nile River to drown or to be eaten by

the crocodiles. And yet, in spite of that, the

turbulent times that existed for the Hebrews

who were living there in Egypt. Moses' parents

chose to get married. They chose to have children.

Moses wasn't the only child. There was Aaron,

his brother, Miriam, his sister. You know, I've

heard people, well, I've heard people with my

own ears say, you know, the times in which we

live, I just wouldn't even want to bring a child

into this messy world. That is not a statement

of faith. You know, as messy as our world might

be, you know, if we were able to look back upon

the life that these Hebrews were living in Egypt

under the slavery and the cruelty of Pharaoh,

much worse than anything we could possibly imagine

right now, we parent by faith. God has told us

that children are precious. They're valuable.

They're important. They are not a liability,

but they are an asset. Blessed is the man whose

quiver is full of them, the scripture says. So

despite the turbulent and the perilous times

in which they lived, Moses' parents chose to

marry and to have children and to raise those

children, as we would say today, in the fear

and admonition of the Lord, telling them about

this great God that they served. this great family

of God that they were a part of. And so what

I would say is that Moses' parents, by this statement

here of faith, hiding him from the authorities,

not afraid of the king's edict, lets us know

that they saw the real value of this child. And

not just Moses, but his brother Aaron, his sister

Miriam, they saw the value of their children.

And of course this whole idea that they hid him

because They saw that the child was beautiful.

That's something, of course, that's taken from

the Old Testament scriptures. And it simply means

that what Moses' parents saw in him was that

there was something unique, something special.

Perhaps even God had revealed to the two of them

that he was going to use Moses in a unique way,

and as he ultimately did, to deliver the people

from Egyptian bondage. But for us today, they

simply saw that their child. was a child of God,

created in the image of God. And that God's purpose

for that child was to bring honor and glory to

his Heavenly Father. And so they protected him

and they provided for him for as long as they

could. And then by faith, you know, you think

about this story, they wove a basket and covered

it with pitch so that it would be as waterproof

as possible. And they set that little baby three

months old into that basket and floated him down

the river. Of course, all of this with a plan.

They hoped that they would float him down into

an area where Pharaoh's daughter routinely came

to bathe, that she would discover the child and

upon discovering the child that she would look

favorably upon the child, And she took the little

baby into her own family and even asked Miriam,

Moses' sister, is there someone that could serve

as his mother, his handmaid? And of course, the

woman that was chosen was Moses' own mother.

So she got to raise her son in a time when Hebrew

boys were being drowned routinely in the river

and all of this in the in the Pharaoh's palace.

These parents trusted God. They were people of

faith, and they trusted God more than they feared

Pharaoh. That's the idea. You know, there are

things in our world, and let me tell you, Pharaoh

was a person to be feared. In his day and time,

he had absolute power of life and death to decree

life for one, death for another. But let me tell

you, God is always more powerful than the most

powerful ruler in the world. Moses' parents knew

that and they trusted God and they did what they

believed was right. They feared Pharaoh but not

more than they trusted God. So by faith, Moses,

when he was born, was hidden for these three

months by his parents. They were not afraid of

the king's edict. And then we jump ahead. About

40 years, the life of Moses as it's described

in scripture could be carved up into three 40

year periods. The first 40 years as he grows

up as the Prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's house.

But look what it says here. It says, by faith

Moses, when he was 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 Christ greater wealth." Now,

just think about that for a minute. He considered

the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the

treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to a reward.

The Christian life is a life of persistence,

alright? We persist. We are persisting by faith.

And again, the idea of persisting means that

we have to make choices. We choose a position

and we remain resolute in spite of opposition.

And of course, the position that we have chosen

as Christians is to follow Jesus, to serve Jesus,

to honor Jesus. to recognize Jesus as King of

Kings and Lord of Lords. Well, let me tell you,

Moses lived in a day when to do that could bring

about your swift death. And it's still that way

in many parts of our world today. But Moses growing

up... in the palace of Pharaoh, and we can't

even hardly imagine the splendor and the opulence

that this man grew up in. Again, Egypt was the

greatest civilization on earth. Everything that

was available in that day was available to Moses,

the greatest education, the greatest food, the

greatest philosophers. I mean, everything that

could possibly be offered was offered to him.

And yet it says when he was grown up, you know

the words grown up there. I'm a big believer

in growing up. Right? I mean, we're supposed

to grow up. Lots of people in our day, I think,

are refusing to grow up. It's important that

we grow up. Moses grew up, the Scripture says.

And those words literally mean that when he had

become great or powerful, or respected, or important.

That's the idea here. Moses had grown up as the

Prince of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh's

daughter. Some historians believe that the Pharaoh

who was currently in power in Egypt didn't have

any sons, and that therefore if Moses had stayed

in Egypt, he might have become the next Pharaoh.

He was next in line to the throne perhaps. But

one way or the other, as the son of Pharaoh's

daughter, He was a man of great wealth, a man

of great power, a man of great influence. He

was a great man. That's what those words when

he had grown up. So in other words, and again,

at this time we believe that Moses was about

40 years old. He had experienced everything that

Egypt had to offer. Again, the education, the

wealth, everything. And it was at this point,

the Bible says this, that he refused to be called

the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing, and

notice that, he made a conscious choice. He made

a decision. He chose to be mistreated with the

people of God rather than enjoying the fleeting

pleasures of sin. As Christians, our life is

all about choices, right? Now we believe in the

sovereignty of God, correct? We believe that

God is ultimately in control of everything. But

the reality is you and I make choices every day

about how we're gonna live, how we're gonna serve

the Lord, how we're gonna honor the Lord, if

we're going to serve the Lord, if we're going

to honor the Lord. Moses was faced with those

very same choices, and he made his choice. He

took his stand. And let me tell you, I can assure

you that it was not a popular stand in Egypt.

Certainly not around the palace of Egypt. The

Prince of Egypt, the son of Pharaoh's daughter,

is now choosing not to be called the son of Pharaoh's

daughter. How inconsiderate of him. Is he not

thankful for all that we have provided for him

over these first 40 years of his life? Can you

hear the tongues wagging? Moses stood firm in

his decision. He had a reputation. People throughout

Egypt knew who he was. They knew the power that

he wielded. They knew the respect that he garnered.

They knew what an important guy he was. But the

scripture says that he chose to be mistreated

with the people of God rather to enjoy the fleeting

pleasures of sin. I love what Charles Spurgeon

said about this decision of Moses. Of course,

Charles Spurgeon was preaching from the old King

James Version of the Bible, and so the word mistreatment

in the King James' affliction, that he chose

to be afflicted with the people of God. Charles

Spurgeon said this, affliction, nobody would

choose. But affliction with the people of God?

That's another business altogether. Affliction

with the people of God is affliction in glorious

company. With the people of God, that is the

sweet which kills the bitter. of affliction.

So yeah, none of us would choose mistreatment.

We don't want to be mistreated, do we? We don't

want to be afflicted. We don't want to be persecuted,

but to be persecuted with the people of God.

To be afflicted with the people of God. To be

mistreated with the people of God. Let me say,

nothing wrong with making a choice like that.

Choosing to stand with my brothers and sisters.

And I want you to notice that the scripture here

uses a word that we need to pay attention to.

In verse 26 it says, he considered the reproach

of Christ's greater wealth than the treasures

of Egypt. The whole idea behind that word, considering,

means he gave careful thought to. This was not

some decision. He didn't get mad at his mother

one day and say, okay, I'm through with you guys.

I'm gonna go to return to the people that I'm

really a part of. No, he gave careful thought

to this decision. out his various options. He

did the math, some would say, today. And then

he chose not to be called the son of Pharaoh's

daughter, but rather to suffer mistreatment along

with his brothers and sisters in Christ. And

of course, this gives us evidence that his mother

was very much involved in his upbringing. The

only way that he would have ever learned that

he was a Hebrew, that these... people of God

were his people, that he would come to the place

in his life where he chose to make such a decision

as this, again, reveals the importance of parenting

by faith, raising our children in the fear and

admonition of the Lord, teaching them who they

are, who they are in Christ. And of course, it

seems as if Moses' parents had done that. And

so at 40 years old, he makes this very important

decision by faith, choosing to align himself

with the slaves in the land that he might very

well have become the ruler of if he had only

made another decision. And notice this also,

verse 26. He considered the reproach of Christ

greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. Moses

had no real knowledge of Christ, right? I mean,

Christ wouldn't be born for a thousand years.

But he knew that God was sending a Messiah. Again.

His mother, somebody taught him about this coming

one that God would send. Remember, we've been

stressing throughout this entire study of Hebrews

that the Old Testament saints were saved exactly

the same way we are, by grace through faith.

Only they are looking forward to the coming of

Christ. And again, Christ simply being the Greek

equivalent to the Hebrew word Messiah, the anointed

one of God. Moses looked forward. to the coming

of Christ. That's what this says. And he chose

to suffer the reproach of Christ, considering

it greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt,

for he was looking to a reward. To suffer as

a slave of Christ is greater than being the prince

of Egypt. That's what he decided. to suffer with

the people of God is greater wealth than I will

ever have as the prince of Egypt. You know, the

apostle Paul came to the very same conclusion

in his life in Romans 8, 18. He said this, he

said, for I consider, there's that word again,

I consider that the sufferings of this present

time are not worth comparing with the glory that

is to be revealed in us. And all of us need to

come to that place in our own lives where we

make this same decision. We need to come to this

same realization. that anything that is demanded

of us in this life, any sacrifice that we are

called upon to make, and we're called upon to

make plenty of them, right? Any suffering that

we may have to endure, even at the risk of our

own lives, none of that is worth comparing to

the glory that is to be revealed in us. And when

we come to the point that we make that determination,

when we have thought it through, when we've done

the math, Let me tell you, it'll change the way

we live. We'll live with a holy boldness. We'll

live with a fortitude, a courage, a strength

that most people will never know. And of course,

all the while looking to the reward, like Abraham,

Moses did not have his hope set on worldly things.

His hope was not in the riches that Egypt could

provide for him, but rather he too was looking

for that city that has foundations, who's designer

and builder. is God. We have many responsibilities

in this world right now today, don't we? But

we need to live our lives with a singular focus

upon the life that is to come. We need to live

in light of the truth that Christ is going to

return, that we will indeed be caught up to meet

him in the clouds if we're still alive on that

day, never to be separated from him again, and

that the earth as we know it is going to be resurrected,

and that we're going to live eternally on that

resurrected earth with our brothers and sisters

in Christ from every generation, from every country,

from all around the world over all these years.

Millions, billions of Christians worshiping and

serving the Lord together. What a reward to live

in a place where there is no sin, no death, no

unrighteousness. That was the reward. Moses determined

it was greater than any wealth Egypt would ever

offer him. Have you made that decision in your

own life? There's nothing in this world more

valuable, more precious, more pleasurable than

what we will experience in eternity. Verse 27,

by faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the

anger of the king. I believe this refers, although

there's some debate about this, I believe this

refers to Moses fleeing after he killed the Egyptian

who was beating the Hebrew man. And it says,

by faith he left Egypt. And what's interesting

here, it says, as it says of his parents, not

being afraid of the anger of the king. He wasn't

afraid of the king. Now if you read the Exodus

account, the minute he killed that Egyptian and

then buried him in the sand, he began wondering

if somebody saw him, and it says he was afraid.

So the Bible doesn't really, well it never does.

The Bible never contradicts itself. So how could

Moses have been afraid and yet not feared the

anger of the king? And again, I believe it all

has to do with faith. He did this by faith, by

faith. In his faith overcame his fear. We've

talked about that. Faith overcomes our fears.

It's not that we won't go through life and be

fearful of certain things. I mean, just the uncertainty

of the future can bring a certain level of fear

into our lives, right? But faith overcomes our

fears. That's why Moses' parents chose to be

married and to have children in a time when it

was a risky thing to bear children, especially

young boys in Egypt. That's why Moses could decide

that the Being mistreated with the people of

God, aligning himself with God's people and God's

purposes was far greater wealth than anything

that Egypt would ever offer him. And it's why

he could continue to persevere through the days.

Again, as Moses leaves Egypt here, he's about

to spend 40 more years in God's schoolhouse being

trained because he was indeed a beautiful boy.

He was a special kid. He was a unique young man.

He was going to be God's deliverer. And that's

exactly what he did. He left Egypt by faith,

not fearing the king's anger, even though when

Pharaoh heard of it, the Bible tells us in Exodus,

he tried to kill Moses. For he endured. The scripture

says, as seeing him who is invisible, isn't that

what we've been talking about? Faith is the conviction

of things not seen. Moses endured. How could

Moses leave Egypt? Leave his people. Leave the

family that he had known. Leave everything that

was familiar to him. How could he do that? And

not be afraid, but he did it in faith. and his

faith overcame his fears. That faith in Moses

produced a courage, same kind of courage that

it'll produce in us. And of course, as we see

in the life of Moses and we see in the life of

our contemporaries, it encourages and inspires

the people around us as well. He endured as seeing

him who is invisible. What does Paul say in 2

2 Corinthians 5:7

Corinthians 5 verse 7? For we walk by faith.

and not by sight, right? You see, the principles

by which Moses lived his life are the same principles

of faith that we need to live ours by. We walk

by faith and not by sight. It goes on to say

he kept the Passover, and of course we remember

that. That last night in Egypt, God had said,

I'm gonna bring the 10th plague upon the people

of Egypt, and unless you do what I tell you to

do, everyone's in danger. You need to slay a

lamb. You need to spread the blood over the doorposts

of your homes and when the death angel sees the

blood he'll pass over you. And of course the

next morning we know that there was a great outcry

of anguish in Egypt because every firstborn throughout

the land of Egypt was dead. Even the livestock.

But the Israelites who were covered by the blood

were safe. Moses led them out of the city and

of course he led them to the Red Sea and of course

There we think they're trapped again. Pharaoh

has changed his mind. He gathers his troops together,

his chariots, and he comes after the people of

Israel, and Moses stands there on the banks of

the Red Sea, and he tells his people to be quiet,

to simply believe, and they'll see the wonders

of God, and of course God parts the Red Sea.

The Bible says they walked across on dry land,

and then as the Egyptian army tried to come across,

as the scripture tells us right here, they didn't

do so well. They were drowned. God did this great

thing, performed these great miracles through

his great man of faith, Moses. And for these

early Christians, the point was very, very clear.

What the writer of Hebrews is trying to illustrate

through the life of Moses is that to fall back

on Moses, to fall back on the old way of doing

things, To fall back from Christ would be to

abandon the very means of salvation by which

Moses and the Israelites were delivered. So don't

do it. Again, whatever sacrifice you have to

make, it's worth it. Whatever suffering you have

to endure, it's worth it. Even if it costs you

your life or the life of your children, it's

worth it. Can't even be compared to the glory

that awaits us. By faith, the people crossed

the Red Sea on dry land. The Egyptians, when

they attempted to do so, were drowned. By faith,

the walls of Jericho fell down after they had

been encircled for seven days. By faith, Rahab,

the prostitute, did not perish with those who

were disobedient because she had given a friendly

welcome to the spies. The last point is prevailing,

prevailing by faith. Where is the victory in

this life of sacrifice, suffering, and even death?

Well, it's in faith, our faith. Faith is the

victory, right? These victories that we are reading

about and will continue to read about in Hebrews

11 were the people of God's by faith. It was

by faith that the people crossed the Red Sea.

It was by faith that the walls, can you imagine

Joshua leading his army? These well -trained

soldiers. against this great walled city of Jericho,

and his military strategy is we're going to walk

around the city six days, and we're gonna shout,

and on the seventh day, we're gonna walk around

seven times, and then we're gonna blow horns

and shout, and that oughta do it. Sounds a little

ridiculous, doesn't it? But the walls of Jericho,

the scripture says, fell down flat. Faith, by

faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they

had been encircled for seven days. And then you

can't forget Rahab, right? We learn of Rahab

as Joshua sends spies into the city to kind of

do some reconnaissance and they meet this woman

of the night and she welcomes them and she protects

them and she hides them from the authorities

and she lets them down in the middle of the night

so they can escape a capture. and she asked them

to do one thing for her in honor or in gratitude

for my service to you. Will you protect me and

my family on this day that you conquer Jericho?

Rahab was absolutely certain, you can read the

story, she knew that Jericho was gonna be defeated.

That impregnable city was gonna be defeated.

She knew it because she had come to believe,

to have faith in the God of Israel. Of course

the scripture tells us here, reminds us here.

She didn't perish with those who were disobedient,

because by faith she had given a friendly welcome

to the spies. She had trusted in God. And so

this great victories, and the victories that

would be won in the days ahead, were won by faith.

And let me tell you church, victory in our life

is gonna come as a result of our faith. Faith

in our Heavenly Father, faith in His Son, Jesus

Christ. Faith in the Word. of God. By faith,

we too will prevail. So the question I want to

ask you is this. Is your faith in Christ? Are

you trusting in Him and Him alone? Do you see

Him as more valuable? And even do you see the

reproach of Christ, the persecution that comes

with following Christ as a greater treasure than

anything this world could possibly offer you?

If so, let me tell you, your future is bright,

victorious. triumphant, but only if you're in

Christ. So if you've never trusted Christ as

Savior and Lord, I want to invite you to come

in just a moment when we finish this service.

Come down here to the front and let's talk about

your future.