Rooted in Faith: Choices of Faith

Did you know that we make about 35,000 decisions every day?  Assuming that most people spend around seven hours a day sleeping and thus blissfully choice-free, that makes roughly 2,000 decisions per hour or one decision every two seconds.  In fact, while I was sharing this with you, you were deciding whether to keep listening, whether you liked my hair-cut, whether you liked the temperature in here, or whether thinking about the choices you make is something relevant to your life.

I think they are, and more importantly, God thinks they are too, because we live in a world of competing choices.  You can choose to live for yourself or live for others. You can choose to make a name for yourself or live under the radar. You can choose to seize the day or just get through the day.  You can choose to be kind or be critical.  You can choose to love your neighbor or ignore your neighbor.  But the point is this: Every choice you make determines how you live. And if the Bible is true when God says, “The righteous will live by faith,”then your faith in Jesus Christ will play a big role in the choices you make everyday.

Now I’m not talking about deciding what you’re going to eat for lunch, or what you’re going to wear to play golf in the morning.  And I’m not talking about the choice I’m trying make between buying a Taylor Made M6 or Cobra King F9 driver.  No, what I’m talking about are the choices we make that set us apart as God’s people; the choices we make that show our God is real, and the choices we make that reveal there really is more to life than meets the eye.

So the big question today is this: What determines the choices we make? Well that’s what we’re going to look at today as we continue to learn what it means to be rooted in faith. So if you brought your Bible, let me encourage you to find Hebrews 11:23-28, where God’s Word reveals how our faith can determine the choices we make.  So let’s begin by looking at the first of Moses’ choices of faith:

Faith Chooses God’s Family over Worldly Fame:   By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Hebrews 11:24  Now if you’re not familiar with Moses’ story, Moses was born into a Hebrew family during the time of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt.  Egypt’s Pharaoh, worried that the Hebrews were becoming to numerous, made an edict declaring that all newborn Hebrew boys were to be thrown into the Nile.  But that didn’t happed to Moses.  In Hebrews 11:23, we read: By faith Moses’ parents hidhim for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

Moses was born into a family with a strong heritage of faith. They believed in the promises of God. They believed God would rescue them from slavery and return them to the promised-land.  And somehow, they believed Moses just might has a part to play in that.  So three months after his birth, Moses’ parents put him in a waterproof basket and placed him in the Nile near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed.  Moses sister Miriam stood by and watched as Moses was found by the princess and taken to be raised as her own child.  And knowing that Pharaoh’s daughter needed someone to nurse this boy, Miriam volunteered to help and went and got her mother, Jochebed to nurse the infant.

And so Jochebed nursed Moses during his formative years.  And she took advantage of those years to form a faith in Moses – faith that never left Moses. Even though Moses would grow up in Pharaoh’s court and receive the best education and privileges in life, Moses knew who he was.  He was a Hebrew who knew he promises of God.  So when Moses reached the age of forty, he faced a crucial decision.Moses had to choosebetween becoming a full-fledged Egyptian or joining his own people Israel.  And Moses made his choice. He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  And he knew the cost of his choice.  His choice meant giving up a royal title; giving up a life of privilege; and giving up the potential to sit on the throne of Egypt.

Why did Moses choose to turn his back on Pharaoh’s family?  He already had a family. He knew who he was.  He was a child of God. And that identity shaped his faith.  So much so, that even the most powerful, wealthy and privileged cultures ever known was not strong enough to hold on him.

It was Moses’ faith that made this choice. He believed God had a better plan for him than all the privileges of Egypt. And the same choice Moses faced then faces us everyday.  Our culture is one of the most powerful, wealthy and privileged cultures ever known. And everyday our culture tries to squeeze us into its mold – to get us to identify ourselveswith the privilege, power and wealth found here.  And the message is clear: live for yourself and you’ll get the life your looking for.  And most of us grew up with that mantra, building our identity on a false narrative that doesn’t deliver.

Because that’s not the narrative that forms the identity of God’s people:  Our privilege is found in being adopted by God.  Our power is foundin being united with Christ. And our wealthis found in the riches of God’s grace to us in Jesus.  We don’t have to identify ourselves with the trappings of our culture, but with our identity in Christ. For when your identity is based on how God sees you, then the seductions of the world loose their power over you – and you can live by faith.

That’s how faith works to shape our choices. That’s how Moses lived by faith.  It looked like he had it made.  But he said “NO” to privilege and power.  And all those around him thought he was he was throwing away his life. But he believed God had something better for him. That’s the first choice faith makes.  It’s based on our relationship with God, knowing not only that we are His beloved, but also that His plan for us is better than anything the world has to offer.

Now, let’s look at the second choice faith makes: Faith Chooses God’s Promises over Fleeting Pleasures: Now Moses’ first choice automatically led to his second choice.  He saw how the Hebrews were mistreated.  He saw how harshly they were treated as slaves. He even stepped and tried to save a Hebrew slave from mistreatment, but in the process, he killed an Egyptian and then tried to cover up his crime.

But this text tells us, He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Hebrews 11:25 Why would Moses do that?  Why would he give up his cushy lifestyle, knowing full well he would face the same treatment as his fellow Hebrews?

Moses made this choice to face suffering with his people, because the alternative, turning a blind eye to his fellow man’s suffering would to be an even greater sin.  You see, Moses believed God’s Covenant promise to Israel.  He believed God’s Word to Abraham, that Israel would be a great nation and would be a blessing to the nations.  So he trusted in the promises of God rather than enjoying the pleasures of the palace.

That’s another way faith works to shape our choices.  Trusting in God’s promises doesn’t mean that life is always going to be easy.  That is why over the last two hundred years, Christian men and women have given up riches, given up comfort, and chosen to go to foreign lands where they were often mistreated, misunderstood and even martyred for the cause of Christ.

Like Moses, wealth and comfort can tempt us to turn a blind eye, to ignore the needs around us.  We’ve been commanded to love our neighbors, to do good to all people.  And yet we live at a time when it’s easy to retire from serving or loving people who need Jesus.  So everyday we are tempted to compromise our faith by giving into the fleeting pleasures of sin.  But Moses refused to compromise.  So he chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

So this is a tough one. How might we do the same?  For some, God may be speaking to you about how you might serve the poor around us.  For others, God may be prompting you to investigate going on a short-term mission or just going across the street learning to love your neighbor.  But for all of us, God wants us to see how sin can keep us from living by faith; primarily the sin of unbelief. This is why the writer of Hebrews concludes this teaching on living by faith with this command: “throw off the sin that so easily entangles.” Hebrews 12:1.  And unbelief, lack of faith in God’s promises may just be what’s tripping you up – why you struggle to live by faith.  Moses wasn’t going to turn his back on his people, so he gave up a life of pleasure to obey God and join his people.  That was his second choice of faith, and now a third:

Faith Chooses God’s Rewards over Worldly Treasures: Of course, the moment Moses made his choice to leave the privilege and pleasures of palace life, he knew he would be ridiculed for his choice.  But he wasn’t looking for the applause of man, but the applause of heaven.  Look at the next verse: He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:26

Now I want you to see something here.  God’s Word says that Moses gave much thought to his decision.  That’s what the word “regarded’ here means.  It means Moses gave his choice careful thought. This was not a quick decision.  He weighed the pros and cons. He weighed what Egypt had to offer against what God offered.  And he concluded that what God offered was infinitely superior in every way.

I like how John MacArthur words Moses decision. He writes: “From the worldly standpoint, he was sacrificing everything for nothing.  But from a spiritual standpoint, he was sacrificing nothing for everything.  He renounced the world’s power, honor, and prestige for the sake of God, and knew that for so doing he would gain immeasurably more than he would lose, for he was looking to the reward.” 

Sometimes we don’t live by faith because we are living for what we can get in this life.  We loose track of the big picture.  We forget the teaching of Jesus who says,“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21  Moses saw the big picture. Moses’ heart was with pleasing God.  He would rather live for Christ, then be the richest man on earth.  His value system was a kingdom value system, and it was this kingdom value system that dictated his choices.  Can we say the same? Do we make our choices in light of the rewards of eternity or in light of what they can do for us today?  There’s a tension here and we can all feel it: we are constantly being pulled toward the treasures of the world or the treasure of God’s smile. But choices based on faith choose eternities rewards over the rewards of earth. That’s the third choice faith makes.  Now the forth:

Faith Chooses Invisible Realties over Instant Gratification: By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:27 Now when you read this account in Exodus, it appears as though Mosesfled Egypt to save his life, but as this verse points out, it was not because he feared the anger of the king.  Rather, he fled by faith, because he knew God would fulfill his promise to deliver Israel. Of course, Moses would have to wait on God’s timing for that deliverance.  So for the next forty years, Moses lived in obscurity as a shepherd in the desert.  But he never wavered in his faith.  Why?  He saw Him who was invisible.

Moses chose to wait on God to bring about His promise.  He had learned his lesson.  He had tried to bring about God’s deliverance his way, and that failed him.  Now he was content to wait on God to fulfill His promise.  That’s what faith does.  Faith resists the temptation to make something happen now, but waits on God.  And I would submit, this may be one of the hardest aspects of faith for us.

We are all part of the instant gratification culture.  If we want something, we can get it in one or two days from Amazon.  Instant information is at our fingertips. If we don’t someone who can give us instant service, we’ll find someone who can.  We want instant relief, instant results and instant pudding! And we want God to work on our timetable.  We want Him to heal our friends, save our nephew, change our spouses! We want Him to take away our pain, take away trials, take away our struggles, and do it now.  But God doesn’t work on our timetable.  So we need to become more like Moses, who saw the invisible and waited for God to work.

So how do we do that? Hebrews 12:2-3, tells us how, by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith.For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. We began our faith journey by trusting in Jesus, and keeping our eyes on Jesus will help us go the distance.  For when you keep your eyes on Jesus, He can give you peace and contentment while you wait.  Are you waiting on God to do something in your life right now?  Fix your eyes on Jesus; keep your focus on the invisible realities of God’s Word, trust in His promises.  God is faithful and He will give you contentment while you wait.

And finally, Faith Chooses God’s Provision over Human Resourcefulness: In Exodus 11, God told Moses He would bring one last plague on Pharaoh and Egypt.  After that plague, Pharaoh would let Israel go.  This plague would be traumatic.  God would go throughout Egypt and the firstborn son of every household would die. On that night, God instructed all of Israel to keep the Passover.  Each household was to choose a year old lamb without defect and slaughter it, eat the Passover meal in haste, and cover the top and sides of their doors with the blood of the lamb.  This was the Lord’s instruction: “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Exodus 12:12-13  And that’s what Moses did. He understood that all Israel needed God’s help to be saved. So He led Israel to trust in God’s provision.  And so we read:  By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. Hebrews 11:28  Israel was helpless to save themselves, so they trusted in God’s provision.

That’s what faith does. Faith accepts God’s provision, nomatter how strange or pointless it may seem to human understanding. God saved Israel that way then, and He saves us the same way today. As God’s Word says, When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6. God knows we are helpless to save our selves. So He provides the lamb. He gave His one and only Son to shed His blood for us to save us. So just as Moses acted in faith and covered their doors with the blood of the lamb, God gives us Jesus so that we might let the blood of the lamb cover us. Faith accepts God’s provision.  Faith always accepts God’s provision.  But the choice is always up to you, to act on what God provides.

So let me ask you, have you accepted God’s provision for your salvation?  Have you accepted Jesus?