PAIN BEFORE PLEASURE
Hebrews 11:24-26
Each of us must occasionally face the question: WHAT AM I LIVING FOR?
Why am I here?
Why doesn’t God just take people out of here when we trust Christ?
We can get so “caught up” in daily life that we start running on “auto-pilot”
We put one foot down after another--live one day after another--and slowly move through life, until one day we wake up and realize, it’s all over! No more days left to plod through!
At that point we ask ourselves, “Is that all there is to life?”
“What have I lived for?” “Why was I here?”
That’s why it’s valuable to ask ourselves now--before we get to the end--Why am I here?
Why did God make ME?
Is life ONLY about getting up in the morning, going to work, earning a pay check, and sitting down to watch some “reality” show on the TV?
Is the only thing that matters how MY toys compare to my friends’ toys?
Is it all about how successful I am in my business or profession?
Or, how my kids turn out?
In retirement, is the standard how many trips we make?
How many places we’ve visited?
Why are we here? What’s our purpose?
WHAT ARE WE LIVING FOR?
Summer => "Walking with the saints" - Real people who walked with God.
Their success as well as their failures–People who walk with God have BOTH-
We look in on their lives to see how it worked for them.
We look at reasons for their greatness, as well as causes for failure
Then discover lessons they teach US, about godly living TODAY.
We began with those mentioned in Heb. 11-the "heroes of the faith"
I’ve spent a lot of time considering the life of Moses.
I want to share some of the things I’ve learned by watching him.
The "how to" age. You can go to the local bookstore and find a "how to" book about most anything.
We’re going to consider insights from the life of one who knows how to be a man of God.
Sometimes He did well at it — sometimes, not so well.
GOD considers Moses a man of faith.
He lists Moses among the heroes of faith, Hebrews 11:24-26
He wasn’t perfect! –and neither are we!
BUT, He trusts God.
He serves as an EXAMPLE for us to imitate in our walk with God.
Moses can tell us how to do it.
He can show us the way.
He’s “been there and done that!” –so he serves as an example for us!
Moses’ situation:
Last week: Moses’ parents trusted God and placed their beautiful, one-of-a-kind son in His hands--releasing him to care of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and felt compassion for him.
She took him home and adopted him as her own son.
Egyptian history helps us understand the possible significance of these events in world history. (If I’ve identified the time slot God used for this story)
Hatshepsut was the only child of Tutmose I and his official wife.
Thus she was the only official heir.
She was married for political reasons to Tutmose II, weak and sickly son of another wife.
He died shortly after taking the throne.
Since they had no children, the logical candidate to become king was the child of another wife, who was only 10 when his father died.
Hatshepsut was a strong woman and soon took charge of the throne.
Her adopted son might have been given preference over the son of another woman.
Moses may have represented such a threat.
(IF we’re correct in identifying Hatshepsut as “Pharaoh’s daughter” in this account.)
After 21 years under her control, Tutmose III managed to get independent control of the throne.
There’s considerable evidence that Tutmose hated Hatshepsut.
That hatred could explain Pharaoh’s reaction to Moses, when he got the chance to take action against him, and get rid of him–and the threat he represented.
Moses chose to identify with his people and risk losing his royal heritage.
Hebrews -addressed to Christian Jews, suffering because of Christ.
Many have returned to Judaism. —Others are considering it.
Writer’s purpose: to exhort US to endure persecution.
Rather than turn back, he exhorts us to continue growing in faith.
Message of Hebrews
Negatively-[warns us] It’s dangerous to go back to Judaism.
Going back won’t solve the problem.
Judaism has nothing to offer. It’s bankrupt!
If Jewish people in 1st C. church reject the truth and go back to Judaism, they’ll be subject to God's judgment which is about to fall on IsraelPositively-Jesus is better than Judaism.
Proper response: remain faithful, trust Him, endure persecution (10:19-13:25).
TWO ALTERNATIVES:
TRUST GOD
TURN BACK.
11:1-12:1 Great cloud of witnesses–godly people who trusted Him in hard times– encourage US to follow in their footsteps.
These people risked their lives because they trusted God.
They testify: It’s worth it to trust God!
"O may all who come behind US find us faithful-may the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey!"
WORKING DEFINITION OF FAITH 11:1-3
1. Faith is an assurance of what we hope for 11:1
Starts with discontent with status quo. Yearns for more
It’s confidence that what God has promised WILL come to pass.
2. Faith is a conviction about things we can't see.
It’s certain, even though we can’t reach out and touch it!
Rom 8:24-25: “By this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
We can’t see what God is doing. But we trust Him anyway.
v. 3 Things we see in the universe were made out of what was not visible.
v. 7 Noah believed God when he was warned about things that had never been seen
v. 8 Abraham had never seen the place God was sending him.
v. 13 All these people died without seeing what God had promised;
they only saw them from a distance.
v. 27 Moses persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.
When Idi Amin ruled Uganda, God’s people were killed or tortured for their faith.
As they stood before firing squads, they spoke of God’s love to their executioners.
Smiles filled their faces; their songs filled the stadiums where they were martyred.
Many people were attracted to Christ as the result of their witness.
Those who died had one common belief: they were going to be with Jesus.
They believed “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
Their future was secure;
They could see beyond this life to that which Christ had promised.
They were able to see the present through the eyes of the future.
Circumstances may look grim.
What we see may not LOOK encouraging.
Faith believes in more than what we touch and see.
Faith is assurance we will receive what we trust God for.
Faith is believing what God says, when we can’t see the evidence.
3. By faith, godly people gain approval from God 11:2
Faith counts on the God for approval—NOT on tangible things, nor people’s opinions.
Our approval doesn’t depend on our effort—God’s approval is result of FAITH!
4. By faith, we understand the real force behind the universe. 11:3
People without Christ never come to same conclusions
because faith enables us to understand what life is all about.
Scripture affirms God’s creative power: He spoke and it came into being.
However, this conclusion is based on faith.
You’ve probably heard the story of the child telling a friend: “Faith is believing something that you know couldn’t be true!”
Mencken: “Faith is an illogical belief in the occurrence of the impossible.”
Faith isn’‘t like that!
Faith isn’t checking our brain at the door!
Faith is reasonable response to God who has spoken, and proven Himself trustworthy.
But it’s NOT based on evidence you can SEE.
Heb. 11:4-40 presents a long list of people who trusted God.
One of the outstanding people in this list is Moses.
What do we learn about godly living from Moses’ example?
What does he teach us about our reason for living?
BECAUSE MOSES TRUSTS GOD HE GIVES UP HIS ROYAL HERITAGE 24-26
Moses was forced to choose between his royal inheritance
and his own people, still in bondage.
He could’ve chosen to walk away from them and escape the pain.
He chose to identify with God’s people, even though they were slaves
Moses chose to cling to GOD rather than to his inheritance.
Clinging to the invisible God is worth more than what we can SEE around us! REALLY?!!
ENDURING SUFFERING WITH GOD’S PEOPLE IS BETTER THAN ENJOYING THE WORLD’S PLEASURE 25
When we identify with God’s people, we will suffer persecution.
2 Tim 3:12: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Pleasure that comes from identifying with the world is temporary.
Any pleasure we can imagine was his for the asking!
Moses realizes that the enjoyment of living their way is short-lived.
It `oesn’t last; it can’t satisfy!!!
Faith chooses adversity over disobedience.
Moses could have chosen disobedience, knowing that God wanted him to identify with His people and deliver them from Egypt.
Suffering is better than pleasure—when you’re suffering for Jesus’ sake
ENDURING CHRIST’S SHAME IS BETTER THAN ENJOYING THE WORLD’S TREASURE. 26a
What the world looks at as disgrace and shame is true riches.
Being embarrassed for Christ’s sake is more profitable than all the treasure the world offers.
Shame is better than treasure.
OUR PERSPECTIVE CHANGES WHEN WE FOCUS ON OUR REWARD 26b
[ Next chapter: better yet to focus on the “rewarder!”
“Focusing on the reward” reminds us of introduction where we’re told about faith that pleases God.
It believes God exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
That’s the faith that motivated Moses and pleased God.]
Moses fixes his eyes on the end of the story.
His faith isn’t based on the present–on what he can see–but on the future.
Moses is so sure of what God promised that he can take his eyes off the privileges and look forward to what God promised to do for His people in the future.
Viewing life from the perspective of eternity–
fixing our sight on the award which lies ahead–
will change our values.
Paul: “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
How does focusing on eternal values affect our life today?
What practical difference does our faith in God make in real life today?
When we see life from the perspective of eternity,
suffering and shame for Jesus’ sake
become more valuable than pleasure and treasure.
Like Moses and the others who trusted God, we could choose to “go with the flow,” compromise with our culture--act like everybody else; live our life from one day to the next, or we could take a risk, trust God, and be used by God to accomplish something significant for Him.
What are WE living for?
Will WE compromise--blend into the woodwork and avoid the pain?
Or will we take a stand for what’s right, and risk the pain.
What’s OUR treasure?
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be also.”
What are we living for?
We could choose to act like everybody else; live from 1 day to the next, or take a risk, trust God, and be used by God
What are WE living for?
The bottom line throughout this chapter is faith.
What are we trusting in? What are we depending on?
Moses wasn’t depending on what He could see.
He was trusting God--the Invisible one.
He believed what God promised.
Therefore, He was willing to let go of everything, and follow Him!
He was willing to take a risk--because he knew He could trust God in the dark!
What about US?