Moses: The Choices of Faith

If you want to travel to a foreign country, you don't have to have a passport, because that passport gives you the right to cross over. Dr. Tony Evans says holding on to the passport of faith in Christ may not be easy, but it comes with unimaginable rewards. If you make that choice, you get to see Him who cannot be seen in a way you've never seen Him before. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author and speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. Life is all about making decisions.

Some are obvious and easy, others more difficult and costly. Dr. Evans says that faith quite often falls in that second category, so today he'll offer some biblical motivation to help us make the more difficult but wiser choices. Let's join him. When it comes to living by faith, our hero today is Moses, who had to make choices. Because if you're going to live by faith, you have to make a choice. It's going to require a decision.

It won't just morph out of nowhere. You're going to have to consciously say, I choose to live by faith. And in Hebrews 11, verses 23 through 28, the section is dedicated to the greatest leader in the history of Israel, and that is the man Moses. And he wants to teach us today about the choice of faith if we're going to live by faith. Verse 23 says, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. The king had made an edict that all the babies under two who were male were to be killed because he wanted to stop the proliferation and growth of God's people in Egypt. But it says Moses' mother and father, parents, by faith did not fear the king's edict because they saw Moses was a beautiful child. It says, by faith they made a decision to operate their son based on God's plan, not on the culture's plan. They said, we're not going to acquiesce to the culture because our child has God's stamp on him. So Moses was born into a faith family, so he got a faith stamp. He got branded with the faith. They put Moses in a basket, sent him down the Nile River, and Pharaoh's daughter saw him and noticed he was a Hebrew. There's only one way she would have known he was a Hebrew.

He was circumcised. And to make a long story short so we can move on, Miriam saw Pharaoh's daughter pick him up out of the water, went and said, don't you need a nurse to help you raise this boy? Went back and told her mama, Pharaoh's daughter needs a nurse.

Why don't you apply for the job? Jacobin, Moses' mother, got hired by Pharaoh's daughter to raise her own son in the palace. So she got paid to raise her son. Because that's how God works when you make the right choice. In verse 24 to 26, we're introduced to the word by faith again. Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing, see choice, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy passing pleasures of sin. Faith makes a choice.

It not only chooses God's plan, it chooses God's priorities. Now, we're told this decision to fully follow God was made when Moses was 40 years old, because it wasn't until he was 40 that he came to grips with making the biggest decision of his life. He knew he didn't belong here, but he hadn't made the full commitment of faith. He was like a part-time Christian. Sometimes Hebrew, sometimes Egyptian.

Sometimes following the Hebrew God, sometimes hanging out with the Egyptian pantheon of gods. But when he approached age 40, he made a radical decision. At age 40, he was no longer going to be an undecided voter. At age 40, he was no longer going to be shucking and jiving and shifting. He was going to make the biggest decision of his life at age 40. And it says he made a choice.

He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He said, no, I'm going Hebrew all the way. For some of us here today, God is still waiting for us to make a faith choice, to stop dancing between two worlds, to stop living between two worlds, to stop being secret agent Christian spiritual CIA representatives and covert operatives. God is still waiting for some of us to come out the closet and declare who we are—yes, responsibly, yes, appropriately, yes, non-bombastically, but it shouldn't be vague, hidden in the mist. He made the choice, even if it meant to endure, verse 25, ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He said there is going to be some difficulty and some suffering in this choice.

Now, if you make the faith choice to be fully identified with God and His people and no longer to be defined by the world—you're in it, but you're not to be defined by it—once you make that choice, there will be ill-treatment. He says he knew that once he came out the closet and said, I am a Hebrew and I'm not going to hide it anymore. I'm not going to keep my faith hidden anymore, that that was going to be a problem because his career could be in jeopardy. His promotion could be in jeopardy. His income could be in jeopardy.

His friendships could be in jeopardy because he no longer would be defined by the culture, nor its standards. He said the pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the reward. He said he considered the shame that comes with spiritual association, because Jesus got in trouble because of his association with the Father. Jesus was crucified.

He says it was the same principle operating in the Old Testament with Moses. By faith, he said, if I have to be fired from my job, I'll bear the reproach, not because I'm not working hard, not because I'm not doing my job, but because I refuse to steal, but because I refuse to compromise. Because I bear the reproach, I will bear the reproach. But the reason I'm willing to bear the reproach is because there's a reward. So God is not asking you to give up something for nothing. So you may feel like a loser, and in some sense, from the world, if you choose to live by faith, you might actually be a loser. You might actually not get that promotion, not get that job, not get that raise, not get that property, not get that whatever it is.

That could very well happen. But the reason he made the decision was he knew about a reward. Now, I know what you're thinking. Yeah, I know in heaven we're going to get a reward, and I know all that and the sweet bye and bye, but I'm trying to make it here in the nasty here now. He's not talking about heaven here. See, Mama was whispering in his ear. Let me tell you what Mama was saying. Mo, let me tell you what the God of our people has said. The God of our people told our four parents, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he got this promised land. He got this promised land. He's got this place called Canaan, and that he's going to take us there.

Mo, let me tell you what else God told us. He wants you to lead him. You say, how do I know he knew he was supposed to be the leader?

Because Acts chapter 7, when Stephen talks about it, says, supposing that his brethren understood he was to deliver them. Now, he messed up. He made a mistake.

He killed the Egyptians. He acted outside of God's will independently of God. He made mistakes along the way, because it says he's supposed. But where did he get that supposition from?

It was a reward. He heard about the promises of God, and he says, that promise is better than this identification in the culture. Now, I don't know what God's plan is for you. You don't know what God's plan is for me, but here's what I'm trying to tell you. What I'm trying to tell you is, don't lose God's reward because you're looking for the culture's recognition, because the culture will pick you up and then spit you out. He was willing to identify, and he knew that there would be a reward, and that is, he would experience the plan of God for his life. And yes, there is eternal reward, but there is the temporal plan of God fulfilling his will in your life. And then, considering the reproach of Christ, I am willing to be identified with him, and like Esther, she said, if I perish, I perish.

I'm not gonna hide it any longer. So you must choose God's priorities. You must choose him over the culture, him over that ungodly relationship, him over that drug, him over that situation, him over your own pride. It is, you must choose him, and the shame comes with the choice, because there is shame. That is, rejection that can come with the choice, and the Bible doesn't want to hide that from you.

Dr. Evans will be back with more of our message in a moment. You know, the Bible tells us without faith, it's impossible to please God, but with faith, there's no limit to what God can do through us, and that's what Tony's brand new book is all about. Kingdom Heroes examines the powerful faith journeys of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11. These heroes were ordinary people who became some of the most familiar characters in the Bible simply by believing God and staking their lives on the fact that he was telling the truth. By studying their lives, we see what it looks like to walk in the assurance of God's love and can be inspired to embrace and demonstrate that same confidence in our lives. Faith didn't go out of style in the Old Testament.

It's still as powerful today as ever, and God still honors those who trust him. We'd love for you to be one of the first to receive this new book from Dr. Evans, so if you contact us and make a contribution to the ministry right away, we'll send you as our thank you gift Tony's book, Kingdom Heroes, the companion Bible study, and all 13 messages from the two-volume audio series we've been hearing from today called Heroes of the Faith. Just visit us at tonyevans.org to make your online donation and request.

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That's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will be back with more of today's lesson right after this. It was my first time meeting Jesus in the Bible. That's what one student is saying after studying bibliology through the Tony Evans Training Center, taught by renowned theologian Dr. Tony Evans. These online courses feature compelling and exclusive video and audio teaching, plus an interactive Scripture-based curriculum you can access online or through the mobile app. Sign up now at tonyevanstraining.org. Take a course with Dr. Evans and explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere.

tonyevanstraining.org. Ah, but that leads us to verse 27, because faith means choosing God's presence. By faith, He left Egypt. By faith, He left Egypt. The secular culture, not fearing the wrath of the King, for He endured as seeing Him who is unseen.

It says, by faith, He left Egypt, His home. But look at that next phrase. It says, and He endured.

To endure means to hang in there, to not throw in the towel, even though it looks bad. But for 40 more years, He's leading sheep, because He gets a demotion. Now watch this. As seeing Him who is unseen, the verse says. When exactly did He see the one you can't see? At the burning bush.

You remember the story of Moses at the burning bush? He's hanging around for 40 years, and he's not hearing much of nothing, you know? He's just hanging in there because he made this decision.

He's paying for this decision, even the mistake in it. And when he's 80 years old, he looks over and sees a bush that does not burn. The bush is on fire, but the leaves are still green, and nothing's falling off. And he looks. When you read about this in the book of Exodus, it says, he was traveling and leading his sheep in the mountain of God. So he was still hanging out with God, even though he wasn't hearing from Him. He was still in God's vicinity, even though he'd gotten a demotion, and even though he's now leading sheep rather than leading Egypt.

Even though he's been demoted, he's hanging out in God's vicinity. While hanging out in God's vicinity, he sees a bush that's not being consumed. And he says, now, I haven't seen a lot of wilderness fires, but I ain't never seen one like this, where the fire's burning and the leaves are still green.

I've never seen one like this. And then he says, I must turn aside and look at this thing closer. When he turns aside and looks at it closer, Moses, Moses, take off your shoes. This is holy ground.

Okay, watch this now. He gets a personal word from God, because God didn't say y'all. He said Moses.

So that's a personal word. Take off your shoes, because right now, the leather between the ground and your feet has got you too high. Take off your shoes, put your feet on the dirt, because you're a creature in front of the Creator.

So you're too high. Humble yourself, take off your—I don't even want any leather between me and you right now. I want you to hit the ground, because I've got a job for you to do, and that is to tell Pharaoh, let my people go.

Watch this now. He didn't get a personal word until he had first done two things. He didn't get a personal word until he left Egypt. So as long as you're still hanging out in Egypt, don't expect to hear from God. As long as you're still holding on to the Word, don't expect to hear from God.

Don't expect a personal word. You can come to church and hear a general word, but don't expect to hear God call your name if you're still obligated to Egypt. The second thing that led him to his personal word is his willingness to endure until he got one. He hung out in God's vicinity until he got God's Word. He hung out with God until he heard from God.

And when he heard, it was a doozy. So let me tell you, when you're getting ready to hear from God, if you've left Egypt and if you're enduring—you ready for this one? If you've left Egypt and you are enduring, let me tell you when you can expect to hear from God. You can expect to hear from God when something happens in your life that doesn't make sense.

A bush that's not burning. See, that doesn't make sense. When there's a contradiction in your life and something doesn't make sense, listen carefully, because God right now just might be calling your name for the next stage of His ministry. Finally, it says in verse 28, by faith, He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. That was a Passover. God told Moses to tell Israel to take a lamb, kill it, paint the blood on the door, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. The deaf angel's gonna come and slay the firstborn child and the firstborn beast of all the Egyptians because of their refusal.

But you tell my people to paint the blood on the door from the lamb, and when I see the blood, when the deaf angel passes over and he sees the blood, I will pass them by while I judge the culture. Now, the problem with that instruction is that that was an unprecedented instruction. They had never been given an instruction like that before.

Nobody had ever been told to apply the blood like that before. So it was instruction that didn't make sense. That's why faith is proven by obedience, even if you don't understand the instruction. If you don't understand why the instruction, you understand what to do, but you don't understand why God's got me doing it this way. This doesn't make sense.

This doesn't feel right. I don't think—my mama didn't tell me that like that. No, no, look, you can philosophize all you want, but if that blood is not on the doorpost, you getting ready to lose somebody in your house.

Just do what I said, even though it doesn't make sense, and leave the rest to me. So you're a Jewish family. You're sitting in the house. You're slaying the lamb. He says, tell the folks to eat the lamb quickly.

This is not a gourmet meal. You eat that lamb real quick. So you're sitting around the table, and you're the oldest son. You're the oldest son now, and God's going to kill the oldest son.

So you got one question. Dad, what do you do but our door? You got the blood on that door?

Suppose Dad says, oh, you don't have to worry about that. I believe in God. No, it's when I see the blood, I'll pass over you.

Moses had to get the people to believe God, even though they were given the instruction they had never heard before. May God help our church through our leadership believe God so much that we tell you what God says regardless of how weird it sounds, because that is God's saving message. When I see the blood, I'll pass over you. When I see you've applied the blood of Jesus to your heart and to your life, I will pass over you. Dr. Evans will be back with a final word about a step of obedience you can take right away.

So stay with us. First, today's lesson is part of Tony's current series called Heroes of the Faith. Don't forget, for a limited time, we're offering the full-length version of all 13 lessons in this two-volume series on CD and digital download, along with Tony's brand-new book and Bible study guide, Kingdom Heroes.

They're yours as our way of saying thanks for your contribution to this ministry. Just visit tonyevans.org to get the details. And while you're there, be sure and sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional. That's tonyevans.org. Or you can call our Resource Center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our friendly team members assist with your request. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222.

Tony is back now with a final thought for today. If you want to travel to a foreign country, you're going to have to have a passport, because that passport gives you the right to cross over. If you're here today and you haven't accepted Jesus Christ, you don't have a passport.

You don't get to make the trip. May God help you to make the choice to trust Christ as Savior and follow Him as Lord, even at the cost of the culture, because if you make that choice, you get to see Him who cannot be seen in a way you've never seen Him before. You can get answers to your questions about trusting Christ when you visit tonyevans.org and click on the link that simply says Jesus. There, Tony will explain everything you need to know to help you start a new life in Christ. Making choices isn't so bad when you have all the information needed to weigh your options. But when you're pinning your future to nothing more than blind trust, it's another story. The Bible calls that faith. And next time, Dr. Evans will talk to us about why it's always a risk worth taking. I hope you'll join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative, celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.