Choosing God over Egypt

Think about it as the Faith Hall of Fame.

You know, it talks about by faith, by faith, by faith.

And it was not just extraordinary people,

but it was by faith of ordinary people that made a difference.

And we see here in the book of Hebrews in chapter 11,

that shone forth with many people.

You know, I want you to understand,

the ones listed here in Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

weren't superheroes.

You know, they weren't above everybody else.

You know, I want you to understand,

they were ordinary people.

They were able to accomplish extraordinary things,

not of themselves, but because of faith in God.

Trusting the Lord.

You know, and it ought to encourage us

as we think about this idea of by faith.

And this morning, we're going to look at Moses.

Moses, you know, and Moses is looked upon

as probably one of the greatest prophets

in the Old Testament.

You know, Moses, God used him mightily

for many things that seem unconceivable to us.

I mean, we couldn't even understand

some of the things that took place in Moses' life.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't imagine,

you know, even having your walking stick

turn into a snake.

I mean, it's like some of you,

that'd just creep you out, you know?

It's like, if it turned into a snake,

you'd never pick it up, you know?

But you see him cross the Red Sea.

You see prayer up on the mountain with the Lord.

I mean, Moses had an amazing life

when you talk about by faith.

But, you know, we can ask ourselves a question.

Why was God able to use Moses so effectively?

You know, that's a question we ought to ask.

Why was God able to use Moses

in all those things?

And I want you to pay attention here

as we read this morning.

We're going to look at Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

We're going to start in verse 23.

But as you stand together,

if you found that passage of Scripture

here this morning,

we're going to look here,

but listen for that dynamic

and that connection of faith.

Faith, it's important.

Look here at verse 23.

It says this,

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 years,

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 under the recompense of reward.

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 them.

By faith, they passed through the Red Sea

as upon dry land,

which the Egyptians are saying to do were drowned.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning,

Lord, as we take a few moments here

to look at the life of Moses

and not just all the things,

but specifically how faith and trust in you

and trust in what your promises have given to us, Lord,

that makes a difference.

Lord, just as they made a difference in Moses' life,

Lord, this is a lesson for us today.

Lord, as we answer these questions,

even in our own life, Lord,

maybe there's been,

we've wavered or, Lord,

we just don't understand what it is

to truly live by faith.

Lord, I pray you might be encouraged today

to see and look and examine ourselves

in this area of faith, Lord,

as we see Moses choose you over Egypt.

And Lord, I pray that you just encourage

and strengthen here in Jesus' name.

Amen.

May be seated.

You know, have you ever thought about that?

Why was God able to use Moses

in such a significant way?

You know, I think as we look here at this passage,

there's four basic questions

that get answered for us.

There's four very basic questions of life

that need to be answered by every individual,

not only for yourself,

because, you know,

sometimes the world promotes self.

But I want you to understand,

you need to understand who you are before God.

Because that answer to that question,

that idea of who am I?

You know, people search today

to answer that question.

Who am I?

What are my choices?

You know, sometimes people get the idea,

well, I'm just locked into this.

There's nothing I can do to change it.

I want you to understand,

God tells us that you have a choice.

You have a choice in life

of what you're going to do.

What are my choices?

And third, what is important?

You know, we all have a priority

or hierarchy of importance in our life.

What things take priority?

What things supersede everything else?

You know?

Because if something takes priority,

you know what it does?

It does exactly that.

It pushes something else out.

You know, there's probably a lot of people

just waking up this morning

that pushed a lot of sleep out

to watch an event last night.

We won't make mention of it.

Maybe it would be a depressive thing.

It's not a depressive message.

Because there's hope in God.

Far beyond those things.

But fourth, what are my goals?

What direction am I going in life?

And these questions are dealt with

because Moses had to choose

between God and Egypt.

God and Egypt.

You know, Egypt in the scripture

is often a picture of sin

and the old life.

You know, today we have the same dynamic.

You have to choose between God

and the life this world desires

and pushes you towards.

You have a decision to make

of what you're going to do.

You know, Egypt is anything

that offers you the world without God.

You know, Moses had the world by the tail.

I mean, you think about where Moses was.

He had the world.

Royalty in the richest kingdom

in the world at the time.

You know, I don't know about you,

but by worldly standards,

he had everything.

He had everything

somebody would desire to have.

But I want you to understand,

he had to settle a few things in this.

You know, we're going to look here

this morning because I think

the first thing that Moses had to settle

was his identity in God.

He said, I have to be his.

You know, I think that's important

to understand.

Whose are you?

Who do you belong?

Who am I?

Am I his?

Now the question is,

do you live like it?

You know, I want you to understand

identity is a struggle

for a lot of people today,

but I want you to understand

God already settled it.

God already settled who you are.

You know, the world says,

look inside and discover yourself.

And the Bible tells us

that you are not your own,

that you are bought with a price.

You know, what a difference we find

in the world between that and God.

God made you for his purpose

and his plan.

And Moses had to deal with this

in the first part of his life.

You know, I want you to understand

as you read through this four

or five quick verses here,

we think that, hey,

this is just a short thing.

I want you to understand

this, what he's talking about here

was over 80 years of Moses' life.

It was not quick.

It was not fast.

But it was a walk

and a direction that he chose.

He said, I'm going to have

an identity in Christ.

Notice how he had

an identity crisis.

Notice what he said here

in verse 24.

It says, by faith,

Moses, when he was come to years,

refused to be called

the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

You know what?

He had a choice to make.

Am I going to be identified

with Pharaoh's daughter

or am I going to be identified

with the people of God?

He had a decision to make.

A big decision

because notice that next verse

in verse 25.

He says that's choosing rather.

Rather.

You know?

Choosing rather.

I want you to understand

he had to settle

who he is.

Was he going to be an Egyptian

or was he going to be

a Hebrew,

God's people?

He had to make a decision.

Today we have

that same decision.

Are you going to be

a person of the devil

and of this world

or are you going to be

a person that says,

I want to be identified

with God?

That's a distinction

that's a clear

as can be.

Because you're either one

or the other.

You know?

We find here,

if you remember,

that in Egypt,

the baby Hebrew boys

were condemned to die.

So Moses' mother

puts him in

a little basket

with pitch on it

and sends him out

and Pharaoh's daughter

finds him and says,

oh, I'm going to have compassion.

And you know what?

She knew he was

a Hebrew child.

But she takes him in.

She raises him up.

Gives him the best education.

The best training.

The best of everything

that was available.

I mean,

I imagine that

when Moses said no

to being identified

with Pharaoh's daughter,

you know what?

He probably gave up servants

and all sorts of things

in life

when he made the choice.

All the creature comforts

of life,

he gave up.

But we find here

that it was impact

of his parents in this

because verse 23 says,

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.

You know,

when you have faith in God,

God has a way

of working things out.

Moses was supposed

to be dead.

Moses' parents

had faith

and you know what?

God made a way

for Moses' mom

to raise Moses early on.

When she turned him

over to the Lord,

she had no idea

what was going to happen.

She didn't have any idea

how God was going

to work it out.

That's faith.

Faith is not knowing

the answer beforehand,

but trusting,

knowing what I ought to do

and leave the results

to God.

Faith is trusting God.

So Moses here

was taught by his mom

at a young age

about the things of God

and he was taught

as a teenager

about the things of Egypt.

And he had a problem

because Moses had to decide,

he had to decide

in his life,

who am I?

A choice that will impact

the rest of your life.

A choice that makes

a difference

in everything

that you ought to do

in this life.

Because think about it,

if he said,

I'm an Egyptian

and faked a heritage

or connection there,

he would live

a life of ease.

He would have

an outstanding career.

He'd be raised

as a royalty

in Pharaoh's house.

He would have fame

and fortune.

But if he said,

I'm a Hebrew,

he's going to lose everything.

You know,

think about the faith

of Moses to say,

what I can have in God

is greater than

what Egypt has to offer.

Egypt is enticing.

You think about the gold

and the silver

and the servants

and the position

and everybody respected.

I imagine when Moses

walked down the street,

it's like the Red Sea

parted for him.

I mean,

that's the kind of authority

he had.

People would just

get out of his way.

But Moses had

an identity crisis

he had to make.

Because notice,

I want you to see here,

it says,

when he was come of years

in verse 24,

notice that word there,

refused.

That means to reject,

to deny,

or totally disown.

He refused

that dynamic

of being called

the son

a Pharaoh's daughter.

He refused.

He cut it off.

Instead,

he wanted to go

with what God had

for him to do.

You know,

I want you to understand

there's something

amazingly freeing

about knowing

that you're in

the Lord's hands.

Because the cares

and the things

of this life

can slide by

that it's not

that you're unaffected

by them,

but the fact

that they don't affect you

like they do

everybody else.

Things aren't there.

You know,

we understand

that picture clearly

as we look

at Moses' life.

He made a decision.

He refused.

He cut himself off

from being

an Egyptian leader

and instead

he chose

to live

in truth.

He had a choice

to do.

Am I going to lie

or am I going

to tell the truth?

You know,

our identity

in Christ,

we have to have

the same question.

You know,

I believe today

you have a lot

of Christians

because you can

be a believer

and want to live

in Egypt.

That you want

to live in the world

the same way

you have people

who want to play

religious

and are lying

to themselves

and lying to God

because they think

they're going to

get to heaven

because of what

they are.

You know,

the only way

to heaven

is through

Jesus Christ

and what He is.

Who He is,

not who we are.

But notice

that freeing element.

You know,

think about David

as he was praising God.

He says this,

I will praise thee

for I am fearfully

and wonderfully made.

God didn't make

a mistake

when He made you.

God made you

for a purpose.

You know,

oftentimes we lose sight

because of lack

of identity

that we can belong

to God.

At the moment

of salvation,

the Bible says

you become a child

of God.

You've been adopted

into His family.

You've been placed

from one family

to another.

The day you choose

to call upon Him

to save you,

it changes everything.

As we'll look and see,

it's not something

you're born into,

but something

you choose to do.

I want you to know here,

Moses could have

pretended all his life

and lived comfortably

in Egypt,

but he would have missed

what God

made Him for.

You know,

I think we miss

things God has for us,

His blessings,

His fulfillment

of many wonderful things

when we still want

to live in Egypt

instead of live

for Him,

to be identified

with Him.

We need to be His.

The second key

is choosing God

over Egypt

as this,

is to be responsible.

You know,

to be responsible.

Accept responsibility

responsibility

for your own life.

You know,

Moses accepted

responsibility

for who He is.

Today,

we live in a generation

that want to make

excuses for everything.

But when you understand

that you are responsible,

you know,

we love to blame

somebody else

for the situation

of our life.

It's because of my parents

or it's because of something

that happened to me.

Now,

those things can have

a big impact.

I'm not downplaying that,

but I'm saying

those things

don't identify you.

They don't make you

who you are.

You don't have to be

anchored to them

and make excuses.

I can't because.

I want you to know

that you need

to accept responsibility.

Oftentimes,

we say,

well,

it's not my fault.

But you know what?

Notice here,

it says,

Moses chose.

He chose.

Moses.

You're not predestined

to live in Egypt.

The only thing

you're predestined to

is to be with God

after you call upon

Him as Savior.

Predestination

is our security

that says,

if you,

whosoever shall call

upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

He's going to fulfill it.

He's going to be

the one to do it.

It's not up to us

any longer.

He says,

I'm going to secure you.

You know,

when we think about this,

He chose,

but He also refused.

There's a negative

and a positive.

He said He's refusing.

That's a negative.

And in verse,

and then we find,

it's marked by a positive,

choosing.

The word literally means

to select or to decide.

Here's the principle

to apply.

The negative

is followed by the positive.

God never just says,

don't do this,

don't do that,

don't drink or cuss or chew

or run around

with girls that do.

Yeah,

that used to be

an old saying.

If your girlfriend chews,

that's something

in another discussion.

You haven't been

to West Virginia.

We have some here

that probably says amen.

And I'm not saying

your girlfriend chews.

We'll just get that

out of the way now

so nobody misinterprets anything.

I'm not making

any accusations.

But the principle

is this,

if you're going to take

something out of your life,

you need to put something

into your life.

He didn't just refuse

to be identified.

He chose to identify

with God's people.

He chose to identify

with God.

In other words,

he says,

I'm going to replace

those things of Egypt

with the things of God.

You see,

refusing and then

seeing the choosing

makes a difference

because believing

in God,

believing in Christ,

is not a negative

religion.

Christianity isn't

about the don'ts.

It's about what

God wants you to do.

We get hung up

on the don'ts.

That's what you're leaving,

the lying,

the stealing,

the adulterous thoughts.

That's the leaving

and we're coming over here

to the blessings

and the fulfillment

and the enjoyment

and the peace

and the love

that God offers.

You're choosing

something different.

You know,

think about this.

Ephesians talks about,

Colossians talks about

putting off the old

and putting on

the new.

That principle

plays out here

with Moses.

He said,

I'm putting off Egypt

and I'm choosing

to walk with God.

I'm choosing

to do what God

would have.

I'm going to be

responsible for it.

But when Moses grew up,

it says he had to choose

God and his people.

And he made that choice.

I want you to see here,

it wasn't an intellectual choice.

Well,

let me sit down

and write out

the positives for both.

Then let's write out

the negatives for both.

You know,

when Moses chose

to follow God,

he knew there was going

to be some negatives

in this life.

You know,

if you follow God,

some people aren't

going to like you.

You know,

that's a reality.

Let me give you

a little clue.

If you follow Jesus,

you're going to be

with somebody

who other people

didn't like too.

There's a lot of people

that didn't like Jesus.

You don't get crucified

because everybody loves you.

They hated him.

Jesus tells his disciples

that the world's

going to hate you

if you follow him,

but you have something

so much more to gain.

It was by faith.

And it starts

when you put their faith

in Christ

and surrender

your life to him

because you can't

have it both ways.

You'll either please God

or you'll please yourself.

Notice when he made a choice,

it says,

when he was come of years.

You know,

I want you to understand

that there comes a time

in your life

where you have to make

a decision.

Who am I

and what am I

responsible for?

You know,

one of the problems

is today everybody

wants to put off

responsibility.

You know,

I've seen this

generational shift

in my lifetime

from an 18,

19 year old

expected to take

full responsibility

for their life.

Oh no,

you can wait

until you're 30.

No,

you can wait

until you're 40.

You know,

now we got 60 year old

children running around.

Why?

Because they never

took responsibility.

Moses,

when he was come of years,

in other words,

when he came

to an understanding,

I imagine

that Moses

started struggling

with this

when he was

in his late teens,

identifying,

who am I?

You know,

that's when most teenagers,

you know,

teenagers,

years and early 20s,

people struggle with that.

Who am I?

What am I going to do?

What direction of life

am I going to take?

You know,

what am I going to have

for a job?

Where am I going to do?

Where am I going to live?

What all this stuff?

I mean,

you have all these decisions

to be made.

And when he came of years,

in other words,

when he came to the point

with himself

to understand,

I have to take responsibility

for myself.

I have to take responsibility.

He made an act

of responsibility

in his life

because you can't blame

somebody else.

You know,

it's not my fault.

You know,

people blame the environment.

You know what?

Adam and Eve sinned

and they were

in the perfect environment.

You know,

Cain killed Abel

and they were

the only two around.

They had the whole world

to separate from.

Environment doesn't dictate

who you are.

Not when you take responsibility.

You know,

you can't live off

somebody else's

spiritual commitment

because you can't blame

somebody else

for the direction

in your life,

physically

or spiritually.

Especially spiritually.

You know,

people try to play off

all the time.

You'll go out

and talk to people.

It's amazing.

Well,

my grandpa

was a Baptist preacher.

And it's like,

well,

what hell of beans

does that make?

That and a full tank of gas,

you'll get out of Lincoln.

People say,

well,

my parents were Christians.

You know what?

You can live

under the most godly parents

and still be a dead

and dying sinner.

It has to make a decision

about who you are

before God.

You know,

one of the things

of understanding

who you are before God

is understanding

where you are

and what you are

because most people

are caught up

in their own goodness.

But being caught

in your own goodness

isn't taking responsibility.

Realizing that you have fallen,

that you have sinned,

that you have come short

of the glory of God

is a responsibility

that makes a difference

because that's the moment

of responsibility

you realize

you're responsible

for your own sin.

The devil didn't make you do it.

That's another wonderful lie

of the devil.

I'm exempt

because the devil

made me do it.

You know what that's saying?

It's not my fault.

The decision you make

is a decision you make

and a decision

you have to have

responsibility for.

Moses understood

his responsibility.

You know,

matter of fact,

sometimes we get

caught up in

things we think

we're responsible for

and we try to do

and we even get ahead

of God

and do things

that we ought not to do.

You know,

think about Moses.

What got Moses in trouble?

I really think

when you read

through Moses' life,

the dynamic

of choosing

to be identified

with the Hebrews

instead of the Egyptians

was a struggle

and a dynamic

that took place

over a course

of a long time.

Maybe 10 or 15 years

in his life.

Now,

I think Moses

got tired of waiting

and he saw

an Egyptian

striving with a Hebrew

and said,

I can do something

about this.

You know,

we need to be careful

because sometimes

we take responsibility

for things

that's not our place

to take responsibility

for.

Because what did

Moses do?

You guys all

remember the story.

What did Moses do?

He killed the Egyptian.

You know,

look over here

in Acts chapter 21.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

It says,

when he was cast out,

Pharaoh's daughter

took him up

and nourished him

for her own son

and Moses was learned

in all the wisdom

of the Egyptians

and was mighty

in word and deeds

and when he was

a full 40 years old

it came into his heart

to visit his brethren

the children of Israel

and seeing one of them

suffer wrong

he defended him

and avenged him

that was oppressed

and smote the Egyptian.

You know,

Moses said,

hey,

I'm going to take

some responsibility

but you know what?

When we take

hold of things

that it's not our place

to take a hold of

without God's authority

it causes a problem.

Moses got ahead of God.

We're going to read

a little later

in verse 25

that Moses said,

well,

didn't they know

I'm the one

God's going to use

to set them free?

You know,

sometimes we get ahead

of God

and get in trouble.

Let me give you

a little clue.

The best place

to be in life

is not behind God.

It's not in front of God

but to be beside Him.

To walk with Him.

You don't set the pace.

You let the Lord

set the pace.

That's understanding

the responsibility.

The fact is

is nobody can ruin

your life

ultimately

except you.

I want you to understand

Satan doesn't have

enough power

to ruin you.

The choice is yours.

It's either

to understand

that God loves you

and wants what's best.

When you love Him

the Bible says

if you love God

you'll keep His commandments.

His instructions.

Because you know

what it is?

It's like safety

parameters

that say,

hey,

this is what's

going to give you

what you need

in this life.

This is what's

going to protect you.

No matter what

happened in your past

you have the freedom

to choose

how you're going

to respond.

You know,

sometimes people

have things

happen in their life

and they get bitter.

They get angry.

It's not the way

I thought it was

going to be.

You know what that is?

That's childish.

I'll just say it.

Bitterness and childishness

walk hand in hand.

Responsibility says

I'm going to turn it over

to the Lord

and be better for it.

I'm going to serve God.

Think about Joshua.

Joshua 24 15

tells us this

and it says

and if it seem evil

unto you to serve the Lord

choose you this day

whom you will serve

whether the gods

which your fathers served

which are on the other side

of the flood

or the gods of the Amorites

in whose land you dwell

but as for me

and my house

we will serve the Lord.

You know what?

Joshua took responsibility

and said

I don't know

what you guys

are going to do

and I can't control

what you're going to do

but I'm going to be

in control

of following the Lord

and I'm going to serve the Lord.

He took responsibility

for what he needed to do.

Nobody could make

that choice for them.

Nobody can make it for you.

What choice you have

been putting off

and putting off

is a choice too.

You know most people

don't think

doing nothing

is a choice.

If I kick the can

down the road

I can decide later.

You know what you just

decided to do?

You decided to kick the can

down the road.

Didn't solve anything

but you need to be his.

Be responsible.

Accept responsibility

for your own condition

before God

and what you're going to do

with God.

Thirdly I think

we see here quickly

we need to have some values.

Establish a value system.

You know the Bible

gives us

a set of direction

and values

that we need to follow.

God tells us

what's going to be best.

What's going to guide

my life.

That's what we're talking about.

What's going to be

the guide for my life.

You know everybody's

guided by something.

Sad part is

that sometimes it happens

and they allow

the choice

to be implied

upon them.

Instead of saying

I'm going to be responsible

and make a choice

of what's going to guide

my life.

That I'm going to

guide my life

by a set of principles

that God

has established.

It requires

some serious thought

because you have to

ask yourself

what's really important.

You know

Moses was faced

with a choice.

He said

what is really important.

Is it more important

for me to enjoy

the luxuries

of Egypt

or is it more important

for me to identify

with the things

of God?

That priority

made a difference.

Think about it.

He clarified

his values.

He thought it out.

I want you to understand

it wasn't just

a random thing.

Look back in the text

here and look

at verse 26.

Notice what it says here.

It says

esteeming the reproach

of Christ

greater riches

than the treasures

in Egypt

for he had respect

under the recompense

of reward.

Think about that

for a moment.

He esteemed.

The word literally

means to count

or to consider

to evaluate

the value

or the worth.

It says

he reproached

the reproach

of Christ

greater riches

than the treasures

in Egypt.

You know

he said

I'm going to have

something

that's going

to guide

my life.

My value system

was I'm going

to place God

at a higher value

than the things

of Egypt.

The things

of this world

you know

what are the values

for life?

What are values

that guide your life

right now?

What are those values

built upon?

Are the world standards

setting what you value?

You know

most people

in the world

are frantically

searching for three things.

Pleasure,

possessions,

and power.

That becomes

their value system.

By the world standard

if you take

those three things

and then look

at Moses

Moses made it

according to the world.

He rose

from the place

of a slave

to a place

of authority.

He rose

from being poor

to having all

the wealth

of Egypt.

He rose

from being

a nobody

in a river

to a place

of prominence

and pleasure.

He had

everything

the world

wanted

but he esteemed

the things

of God

higher than

the things

of Egypt.

Knowing

that there

was a cost.

You know

you need to know

that to follow God

takes a commitment

that says

it cost him

everything

for me

and what am I

willing to do?

What's it willing

to cost me

to follow the Lord?

To be obedient

to him?

You know

here's a lesson

in Moses'

life

we all have

to focus on

when you establish

the value system

for your life

you have to learn

to say no.

Every time

you choose

something in life

there's automatically

turning away

from something else.

Jesus said

in Matthew 6

no man can serve

two masters

for either you

will hate the one

and love the other

or else you'll hold

the one

and despise the other.

You know

there's a principle

for you

if you say yes

to one thing

you're going to have

to say no

to something else.

Now I want you

to understand here

something very important

because we ought

to say yes

to serving the Lord.

We ought to say no

to anything

that hinders

or is against

the things

of God.

If you're going

to make a commitment

to follow God

if you're going

to leave Egypt

of your life

and say I'm going

to follow God

you need to understand

who you are in Him

how you get there

by being saved

you have to take

responsibility

for yourself

and you have to say

my values

are going to be values

that are going to be

eternal values

because it's one thing

to recognize something

it's another thing

to do it.

I want you to understand

it's not really yes

until the no

takes effect.

Let that sit in

for a moment

it's not really a yes

until the no

takes effect

because until

you reject

put off

intentionally put on

the new

it's living in just

the thoughts

but you know

the Christian life

isn't just intellectual

it's action.

You know

if you try to say

yes to two things

at the same time

you know what the Bible

calls you?

Double minded.

You know what else

it says?

James says this

a double minded man

is unstable

in all his ways.

You know

life is shown

that's pretty true.

Somebody who tries

to say yes

to everything

is pretty unstable.

It's important

I want you to notice

the value system

of Moses

because there's three

things he decided

quickly this morning.

One is God's purpose

is more valuable

than popularity.

You know

look at verse 24

it tells us this

that he refused

to be called

the son of Pharaoh's

daughter.

Do you think

the title

of Pharaoh's

the son of Pharaoh's

daughter

held a little

authority

and position

in Egypt?

I mean

you consider

what's happening

there.

He had the kind

of popularity

that most people

would say

I'd give my right

arm for that

to be treated

like royalty.

But you know

what?

Moses understood

that popularity

passes.

You know

if you've been

lived very long

you'll find out

what's popular

passes pretty quickly.

Fads

and fickle people.

Secondly

God's people

are more valuable

than pleasures.

Look at verse 25

he says

choosing rather

to suffer affliction

with the people

of God

than to enjoy

the pleasures

of sin

for a season.

He chose

pain and discomfort

over pleasure.

He chose

discomfort

over ease.

Why?

Because he chose

rather to suffer

the afflictions

with God's people

being identified

with God's people

was more valuable

to him

than the pleasures

and the riches

of Egypt.

You know

and often times

the pleasures

of this world

hold people's

enticement.

We chase things

that are contrary

to the things

of God.

He understood

the reproach

of Christ

his rejecting

the world's measure

the world's pleasure

and the world's treasure.

He said

what I have

in Christ

is greater

than what

the world offers.

You know

when you really

understand value

it makes a difference.

When he understood

that the reproach

of Christ

being identified

with Christ

was critical.

But thirdly

we hear

God's peace

is more valuable

than possessions.

You know

some things in life

are priceless.

Good night's sleep.

The older you get

the more you understand

that.

Pricelessness

of a good night's sleep.

You can spend

a fortune

and still not get

a good night's sleep.

Good night's sleep

has nothing to do

with money

or what you possess.

But when we

understand

that we can be

in the center

of the will

of God

you can't buy

that peace of mind

that's priceless.

You can't purchase

lasting happiness.

You know

you think about

our Declaration

of Independence

it says

life, liberty

and the

purchase of happiness.

It says what?

The pursuit.

Because

purchased happiness

is going to pass

pretty quickly.

You know

we live in a world

that people think

what they buy

or what they possess

is going to make

them happy.

If I just

had

this.

But it's not

going to make you

happy.

What Moses

did

he understood

that I don't

want pleasure

I don't want

possessions

he says

I want

what Christ

has to offer.

Luke 12

says

for he said

unto them

take heed

and beware

of covetousness

for a man's

life consisted

not of the

abundance of

things which

he possesses.

You know

we can

spend our

whole life

acting like

that's not

true.

Because I want

you to understand

wealth is not

the problem.

You can be

rich

and serve

God.

you can

be poor

and serve

God.

You know

the good

part about

it?

You both

can receive

the same

recompense

of reward.

As a

believer

there's only

one thing

you ought

to desire

to hear

when you

come before

your Savior.

You know

we sang

about what

a day

it will

be

when my

Jesus

I will

see.

I don't

know about

you but

you know

there's only

one thing

a believer

ought to

desire

is when

you see

Jesus.

our

response

is going

to be

thankfulness

and gratitude

for the

one who

saved us.

But what

you ought

to desire

to hear

is well

done

thou

good

and

faithful

servant.

It's a

matter

of values.

He

understood

the

reward.

You know

I want

you to

understand

he was

looking

ahead

not at

the

present

because

notice

you need

to have

some

vision.

You know

one of

the things

we need

today

is some

vision.

Never

take

your

eyes

off

the

goal.

You know

what

happens

when you

take

your

eyes

off

the

Lord

you

start

following

things

that

aren't

godly.

When

you

take

your

eyes

off

the

Lord

Moses

continually

remembered

his

purpose.

He

was

persistent.

He

focused

his

attention.

constantly

kept

it

before

him.

You

know

some

of

us

used

to

have

vision.

We

started

out

right.

But

now

we

have

forgotten

what

God

What

did

Moses

do?

Seeing

him

who

is

invisible.

Who

is

that?

That's

God.

Seeing

the

Lord.

Moses

never

took

his

eyes

off

the

Lord

and

his

reward.

Why

does

it

matter

if

we

live

for

the

Lord?

Because

we

never

make

progress

without

problems.

Sometimes

we

just

can't

see

straight

so

that's

when

we

need

some

vision.

Our

vision

comes

from

trusting

keeping

our

eyes

upon

the

Lord.

To

say

God

is

the

one

who

can

walk

me

through

this.

He

is

the

one

that

has

a

solution.

Moses

knew

there

was

going

to

be

problems.

There

was

for

his

life.

Just

to

think

of

a

few.

How

am I

going

to

move

2

million

people

across

the

desert

with

no

food?

That's

a

pretty

big

problem.

There

was

lack

of

water.

How