Faith In Action (Fathers Day)

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Faith In Action (Fathers Day). He will be reading out of Hebrews 11:23-29.

And every story is not a David and Goliath. And sometimes you’re at the point of a sword, and sometimes you’re at the point of loss, and sometimes you’re in the midst of suffering and persecution. But yet, in that crisis, will you stand strong? Happy Father’s Day. This is Mike Sanders, and I am the senior pastor of the Open Door Church, and I’m glad to bring to you this broadcast today.

And it is Father’s Day, and we wanna be an encouragement to all dads. And so I’ve entitled my message faith in action. Every dad ought to have a faith that is active. So we hope that you’ll be encouraged and challenged in this message. We’re gonna be in Hebrews chapter 11, looking at verses 23 through 29.

So let’s grab our bibles, and let’s begin to study. If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to turn with me in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23 through 29. It’s gonna be our text. This Father’s Day, I would like us to learn about faith in action. Faith in action.

When you come to Hebrews chapter 11, you come to the great faith chapter of the Bible. Hebrews 11 has been called the roll call of the heroes of faith. And when we come down to verse 23 through 29, we are introduced to one of those heroes of faith and his name is Moses. And Moses exemplifies for us a faith in action. He is a man of God who stands as a model for every man, every father, and yes, every person present today on making sure that our faith is moving forward in action.

You know the story, how God delivered Israel from Egypt during the time of Moses. He led the people through the desert for forty years, providing for them miraculously along the way. After forty years, God led them to the promised land where they settled in the land that God had given to them. Acts chapter seven, Stephen gives a narration, an overview of exactly what the Lord was doing. He said in verse 34 of Acts chapter seven.

I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt. That was the calling that was on the life of the man Moses. He was called to be an instrument of God to deliver the people out of slavery, out of bondage, into the land of the promise that God had given them.

Where they would experience the true freedom that is only found in their Messiah. This moment of the calling was so holy and so momentous that Moses took his sandals off. For he recognized from the angel that the land and the ground that he stood on was holy ground. And Moses began that journey of leading the people. And there was a lot of detours.

There was a lot of struggles. There was a lot of ups. There was a lot of downs. There was frustration. And even one time Moses was so angry that he smoked the rock out of his anger.

But yet in all of that journey, God used the life of Moses to influence and an impact a whole generation for God. A generation that would march in to the promised land with the man Joshua that Moses had mentored, that Moses had discipled, and Joshua then would lead the people to take on the different battles of this land that was given to them. So when we come down to verse 23, we see that Moses makes the Hall Of Faith, and we recognize the scripture says in verse 23, by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith, they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. Now I want us to see in the life of Moses, as well as his parents, faith in action. So let’s first look at the parental faith in verse 23. It says again that by faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents.

As soon as Moses breathed his first breath, his life was in danger because Pharaoh had sent out an edict. He had given a, if you would, an ordinance or some kind of a command from the government. And the command was that every firstborn child should be put to death. And this certainly would be a sign of Moses’ life to come. How that his life would always be in danger and that God would call Moses to be courageous and to take risks and to step out in faith all of his life.

But where did it begin for Moses? And this is what I want all dads to get, and this is what I want all moms to get, that Moses’ parents’ faith kept them from killing Moses as they have been instructed by the Egyptian government. How important it is for us to understand that Moses’ parents were people of faith in Yahweh. They understood that he was no ordinary child, that he was a unique child, that he was blessed of God. Favor was upon his life.

When you come down to verse 23, and it says that the reason that they hid him was because they saw he was a beautiful child. In the Hebrew, he’s not talking about appearance, but there was a uniqueness to Moses. There was a glory upon Moses. There was something special, a favor from God upon Moses. And this is something that was so startling to the parents that the Bible tells us that by faith, they hid Moses and they hid him for three months.

Now this very act of disobeying the government, of disobeying the pharaoh would cost them their lives if it was discovered. And yet, these parents demonstrated great faith in the midst of a crisis, and it’s easy to imagine that this one act of faith that they took as mom and dad shaped their son’s life forever. And I want you to know moms and dads that our children are watching us, and that they are watching how we respond in crisis, how we handle situations, how we handle difficulties and problems in our life. And it is our responsibility that even though we may not understand it, that we are always called to be a people of faith. And as a result of the strong faith of Moses’ parents, they were able to impact the life and influence their son, who would go on to be a great man of God, and a great person of faith, and a instrument in the hand of the holy God, our righteous God, our savior, Yahweh, Jehovah, however you wanna term His name in relating to giving praise and honor to Him.

And today, moms and dads, you as well can influence your kids. You can influence them for Christ. And I know some of you say, Well, you know, I got a little bit started late, pastor, and maybe I haven’t had the chance, and maybe I haven’t had the opportunity. Well, listen, friends, start where you’re at. Make a commitment in your heart today.

From this moment on. I’m gonna live a life of faith. I’m gonna live a life of courage. And my children are gonna see faith in action in my life. In every aspect of my life, they are gonna watch my life and they’re gonna see that I’m gonna stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, I want you to note something. I want you to know that the government is not always right, that there are times that the government is wrong. And listen to me, we have a higher calling. The head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Can God’s people say amen?

Amen. And we are to follow Christ. Now, we do everything we can. The government says, Mike, you need to have exit signs at the entryways. They all worked the last I checked.

And if they don’t work, you let me know, and we’ll get on top of it tomorrow morning. But let me tell you something. We wanna make sure that we follow the ordinances, the guidelines, the codes, everything like that. But when the government tells us to do something that violates the word of God, when the government says, hey. You cannot gather together.

When the government says, hey. You have to do something against what the Bible teaches. That’s when in the moment of crisis that God is calling on his people to stand up in courage and to stand for Christ and say, we have a higher authority in our life. It’s higher than the government of this world. Amen.

And that’s what I’m talking about. You see, well, I took my kids to church, but the key influence on the life of your children is in the moment of crisis. Are you retreating? Are you stepping in? Are you stepping up?

Are you being that man of faith? Are you being that person of courage? And your children get to see faith in action. Now, we’re all gonna have problems. There’s never gonna be a day in your life that you rise up and you’re problem free.

How about that one? Now, a lot of people hope they’re gonna have a problem free day, and as soon as they have a problem as their day begins, they have a meltdown because they thought that they were gonna have a problem free day. But if you would get up every day and say, Lord, I know there’s gonna be some challenges. I know there’s a lot of flawed people around me. It’s not me God, it’s everybody else.

Amen? And, but I want you to know this, that you’re gonna have challenges in your life, but what are you gonna do about it? How are you gonna handle it? And what kind of faith is going to be demonstrated that your children can see? Faith is obeying God when I don’t understand it.

You know, there’s a lot of things we’re not gonna understand in life. Okay? I don’t have all the answers. And I want you to know many times people have asked me why. And I said, I don’t know.

I wish I did. I wish I did. But you know what? Faith is obeying God when I don’t understand it. The evidence of faith in my life is always obedience.

Will I obey God? Unfortunately, for too many, they build their faith on their feelings. They build their faith on their circumstances. That every time their circumstances change, they’re all messed up. And every time their feelings are down, they’re down.

Friends, we have feelings that are up and down. It’s just part of the human nature. Right? Okay? And there are gonna be things you’re excited about, and there’s gonna be things you’re gonna be frustrated about.

But you know what? Don’t ever stop living for the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t ever stop being a person of faith and courage. Now, how does faith produce courage in our life? How does faith produce courage?

Now, I want you to jump back in Hebrews chapter 11 verse one real quickly, because I think that gives us the answer. That helps us to understand. Faith, I’m in verse one of chapter 11, Hebrews. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let me help you.

Faith emboldens us to be courageous, because it is the assurance of what God promises that is better than anything than the world can promise me. So I have an assurance of the promises of God. I have faith in God, things that maybe I cannot see or know that I cannot touch or even taste, but they are promises of God and I know the promises of God are better than the promises of the world. The promises of the world will fail you, and they will let you down, but the promises of God are as sure as the sun is shining today, and the sun will rise tomorrow in the providence of God, as every time you see that sunshine, you remember that our God is a faithful God who keeps his promises. And I want you to know that when you build your faith on the promises of God, you will be a person of courage today.

Now the second thing I want you to see this morning is the personal faith of Moses. So we saw his parents’ faith, now we’re back in verse 24, and now we’re transitioning to Moses’ faith, and we see that it says, by faith, Moses, when he became of age, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’ faith included two critical things that are important for our faith. First, there was a refusal, meaning that he refused or we could put it like this, he renounced his status as a member of the royal household. Now there is a lot of misnomers about Moses among Christians.

There are many of you think that he was a stumbling fumbling idiot that could barely articulate his words. But Acts chapter seven helps us to fully understand that Moses many times in the presence of God was playing possum, and that he was trying to fool God that he could not communicate, that he could not fully speak. But Moses went to the finest schools of Egypt. And Moses was being groomed and he was being mentored to be the potentially next Pharaoh. He was gonna be a world leader.

He was gonna be the man who would take the place of the current Pharaoh. He was gonna be the person that was going to be stepping in and taking over the world and the kingdom of Egypt. But friends, remember the Bible says that Moses was beautiful. More than just his appearance, he was a man who was favored of God. And at his mother’s knee, he learned about the principles of God.

He learned about the word of God. He learned about everything that was involved in understanding the heritage of his faith. And the moment came where Moses had to make a decision. Would he follow the path of a world’s identity or would he go down the path of the identity in his Messiah and God’s people, and would he follow what he knew was in his heart, and what he was designed for, and what God purposed in his life? And the Bible tells us in verse 24 that when he became of age, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

That’s huge because the moment he walked away and said, I’m no longer identifying myself with this family, but I am identifying myself with the people of God. Moses understood there would be great sacrifice and there would be great loss. A willingness to suffer loss is evidence of your faith in Jesus Christ. Jump to verse 34 of Hebrews. Notice again, when we read let me give you this context before we read the verse.

But when we read Hebrews, we tend to stop, and we say, wow, that was awesome. There were some great people of God, And look at all that they accomplished. But friends, when you read Hebrews chapter 11, don’t forget the final verses. Because we read about great people of God who lost, who suffered, who dealt with opposition and persecution. Look again at verse 34.

They were quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Verse 35, women received their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trials of mockings and scourging, yes, and of chains and of imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword, they wandered about in the sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented.

And I love this verse. Verse 38. Of whom? The world was not worthy. Friends, part of your faith and action and showing courage is that there are gonna be times you’re gonna stand up for God and you’re gonna suffer loss.

You’re gonna have to sacrifice some things that maybe you’ve enjoyed, but God is bringing you to that moment, that crossroads in your life and saying, Are you willing to follow Me? Or do you wanna follow the world? And that’s exactly what was before Moses, and that was exactly what was before God’s people. Every story is not a story of resurrection. And every story is not a David and Goliath.

And every story is not a story that victory was seen on this side of heaven. Sometimes the victory is not experienced until the other side of heaven. And sometimes you’re at the point of a sword, and sometimes you’re at the point of loss, and sometimes you’re in the midst of suffering and persecution. But yet, in that crisis, will you stand strong? Will you stay strong?

May God help all of us that as we refuse the world’s identity and embrace the identity of Jesus Christ that we will stay strong even in persecution. There was not only Moses’ refusal, but there was his rejection, verse 25. So choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. In Moses’ refusal, he had to decide his identity. In Moses’ rejection, he had to decide whether he would enjoy the pleasures of sin or he would enjoy the stigma of following the Messiah.

To identify with the people of God, Moses rejected all the wealth, all the pleasures that came with being a part of Pharaoh’s household. Remember that the stigma of God’s people was like this, Exodus one eleven. Here’s what they did. Therefore, they did set over them taskmasters, meaning the people of God. The Egyptians were taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.

And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Ramessesus. And what I’m trying to say to you is this, they bore this stigma of being in bondage, and the stigma of being in slavery, and the stigma of being a people who were looked down upon and were rejected by the world, and they were just used as stepping stones for other people to obtain their wealth and to obtain their desires. And Moses, who was at the top of the ladder, being ready to step into the position of Pharaoh, had to make a decision. Would he go back and identify with the people of God at the bottom, or would he stay in the palace and enjoy the pleasures and the wealth and the sin of the Egyptians? It was before him, and he learned from his mother’s knees that he was truly a Hebrew.

He was part of the family of God and that he was to follow Christ the Messiah. And so Moses gave up pleasure. He gave up pleasure to live a life of virtue and honor to His God. That’s why it’s so significant. That’s true faith in action.

And every day, you and I have to make a choice. Every day, choices stand before us. Will we glorify God, or will we glorify the world, ourself, and our own desires? Will we do what’s right, or will we follow the values of the Bible and the word of God and our savior or will we follow the values of the world? It’s all before us, little decisions.

And you say, what’s the big deal, Mike? What’s the big deal about these little decisions? Let me tell you what the big deal is, is that eventually, you’ll be in a crisis, and eventually, you’ll face a big decision. And those little decisions will only pave the way for whatever your big decision is going to be. And that’s why every day, you have to make that choice in your life.

Am I gonna do the thing that honors God? Am I gonna follow Christ? Because in choosing to identify with the people of God, Moses was rejecting the values of the world and of Pharaoh. And that very decisive action of Moses foreshadowed a future decision by our own Messiah. We see in chapter 12 and verse two, excuse me.

And remember this, the Bible says of chapter 12 of Hebrews, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, and notice despising the shame. It was embarrassing to die on a cross in the Roman culture. It was a shame to be put on a cross and crucified. Only the worst of the worst criminals faced the ultimate death penalty of the cross. In the Old Testament, it was a curse.

So no wonder that Jesus not only bore the curse of the cross, he bore the shame and the embarrassment of the cross upon him. But why did he do it? The Bible says, for the joy that was set before him. What was that joy? It would be your salvation and my salvation and the salvation of all who would come and receive Christ and turn away from this world and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.

It was that joy. He was willing. He was willing to take on shame for you. He was willing to take on embarrassment for you. He was willing to take on the curse of sin and the wrath of God, and he did it all for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can the church give praise to Jesus Christ this morning? Amen. I mean, Jesus did all that for you. He did it for me. We ought to be shouting from the mountaintop what Christ did.

Moses was foreshadowing what was to come. Now, I want you to also see the perceptive faith of Moses in verse 26, and I want you to see what the Bible says here, that he esteemed, meaning Moses valued the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. He looked to the reward. You see, Moses had a conviction for a greater wealth, a greater treasure. Not the treasure of the world, but the treasure of the Messiah.

Now, it’s easy to misunderstand the text here a little bit, because when the Bible says that Moses esteemed or he valued the reproach of Christ, we certainly think in terms from the back end of everything because we’re always looking back. But Moses was looking forward, for Jesus had not yet come to this earth and He had not yet died on the cross. But what Moses had always heard from his mom and from his dad and from his family was that a Messiah was coming. And what was so beautiful is that the parents gave Him the full scope, like the prophets had taught, that in Isaiah that the Messiah would be a suffering savior, that He would be a savior who would not only just bring victory and He would one day rule and reign from the seat of Jerusalem and all the beauty of that, but that he would come and give his life for his people. And that it was that reproach that Moses learned from his parents, and it was that that instilled in the heart of Moses.

Look at verse 26. Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. I wanna know, is your faith perceptive? Do you have the ability to discern and distinguish the greater riches? When we think think about the ills of society and all the problems in America, we can just bring it all right back to the home and the breakdown of the home and the lack of fathers having faith in action and being active in their lives of their families.

And so it’s important for dads to step up, be strong, be bold, be courageous for the Lord, and to be able to speak up for him when it is necessary. And that’s what faith in action is all about. And so, dads, I hope that you will continue to follow these principles and apply them to your life. We want to pray for you. So if you got a prayer request, go to our website, hopeworthhaving.com, and click the contact button.

Type out your request, and I will spend some time praying for you. So take advantage of that opportunity. This is pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.