Hall of Faith Grand Finale, Hebrews 11:30-40

 

Outline:

1.    National Faith; 30

2.    Individual Faith; 31

3.    Mountain Moving Faith; 32-35a

4.    Martyrdom Faith; 35b-38

5.    Grand Finale of Faith; 38-39

Hebrews 11:30-40
 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

National Faith

This was their first battle inside the Promise Land.

This was Israel staking a claim to their God given land, taking a stand, as one united nation under God.

This was like our Revolutionary war in 1775.

Joshua’s walk around Jericho and shout was, like our, Paul Revere ride and call.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell. Obviously, the walls didn’t have faith, but they fell by the faith of those who circled them for seven days.

In Joshua 6, the Lord told Israel to march around Jericho once a day for six days, and on the seventh day march seven.

As they marched, they were not to speak a word.

The warriors would lead, followed by seven priests blowing rams horns, then priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and then, behind them were more warriors for the rearguard.

On the seventh day on the seventh lap when the priests blew the trumpets Joshua told the people to shout for the Lord had given them the city.

At the sound of the trump and the shout of the people the walls of Jericho fell down flat and Israel utterly destroyed Jericho.

The falling walls was no small feat. The city was lined with double walls totaling a rise of over 40’.  Archeologists have found that the walls fell outward making a natural ramp for Joshua and crew to go straight up into the city; exactly as the Bible says.

Additionally, they’ve discovered in the ruins a layer of ash and full vessels of grain; evidencing the city was all at once utterly destroyed and burned. Once again, confirming exactly what the Bible has said.

By Faith Israel Marched:

1)    In unity.

2)    In silence (without speaking).   

3)    In obedience.

Unity

In unity they marched. Not randomly, separately, individually, but together, united, as one force, of one mind.

The power of unity is a palpable force, for good, or evil.

God acknowledged this at the tower of Babel when He said the people are one, and of one tongue, now nothing they imagine to do will be impossible to them. Gen. 11:6.

In John 17, Jesus prayed five times, “Father, make them one.”

In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were united, together, in one accord, the Holy Spirit came, the Church was born, the world has never been the same.

Jesus promises, whenever you come together, in My name, I’ll be there, in your midst.

United by faith they marched, and the walls of Jericho fell.

Our United States, stands or falls according to how united we are in the faith. (Christian faith).

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams.

Silence

As the trumps were sounding, they were marching, as silent knights. They were not to speak a word. The Lord in His wisdom knew if they were talking, they’d be complaining, outshouting the trumps, talking doubt, dousing faith and feeding fear.

We’re sitting ducks. This makes no sense. This is stupid. Those horns are so irritating...

That kind of divisive, faith robbing, grumbling, would’ve stole their unity, their faith, and the victory.

Dad always said, “If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all.”

The Lord puts it like this:

Be slow to speak and quick to listen, James 1:19. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only that which is edifying. Eph. 4:29

They marched in unity, they marched in silence, and they marched in obedience.

Obedience

The Lord commanded when they march, in what order they march and what they do while they march.

They obeyed.

Church recipe for a successful, joyful, walk of faith. Walk in unity, with a bridled tongue, obedient to the Lord.

They might not have enjoyed it, but they put one foot in front of the other, stayed the course, stuck together, remained silent until it came time to be heard, then they let out an earth shaking, wall dropping victory shout, that landed them in the Hall of Faith, and has us talking about them to this very day.   

National Faith is powerful and world changing. We’re blessed to be in this country, where currently our administration promotes, not persecutes, our faith and freedom.

Folks from all over the world flock here to pursue the American dream.

We must be ever grateful and never take this for granted. For there are those (from without and within) that seek to destroy the American dream and our way of life. They are of their father, the devil, who hates Truth and liberty.

Charlie Kirk often said, “The American dream dies the moment we forget Who gave it to us.”

Ronald Reagan told us the moment we are no longer one nation under God, we will be one nation gone under.

Israel shows that all too well in their very next battle after Jericho, they fell to the little city of Ai, due to the sin of one man (Joshua 7).

Which brings us to our next verse.

National Faith is powerful and important but doesn’t exist without Individual Faith.

³¹ By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

Individual Faith

By faith the...what?

Harlot. Hooker.

I thought we were in the Hall of Faith chapter. What’s a hooker doing here?

Religious folks try to scrub HIStory, to fit their sanitized, sanctimonious, sanctuary. So, they say, “harlot” doesn’t really mean “harlot” it means Inn Keeper.

However, the word the Holy Spirit chose in the original text is; zanah: (zaw-naw'). It means to commit fornication, to be a harlot.

Not exactly the definition for Inn Keeper.

So, by their hypocritical sanctimonious snobbery, they call God a liar.

We just believe God says what He means and means what He says.  

And we thank Him for loving us enough to tell us the raw, honest, truth.

God looks past the hard and broken life of a harlot and sees the soft and searching heart of a woman.

Could it be, that He searched all of Jericho and saw the hungry eyes of someone searching; heard, the faintest cry of a hurting heart, from a harlot.

That’s all it took.

After that, no raging Jordan river was too wide. No walls of Jericho were too high. He would reach her, come hell or high water…or rejection, or slander, or beatings, or, an old rugged cross.

He sent His spies on a mission. They thought they were there to spy out the land, but really, they were there to seek and to save, a lost soul, the one the world calls, a harlot, but He calls, His daughter.

One individual with faith.

Like the woman at the well. She thought He was there for water, but He was there for her.

Like here, like now, He is where you are... for you.

This is the heartbeat of CHRISTmas—Immanuel, God with us.

Then, He does one better and reveals His great love by weaving Rahab into His family tree, the ancestry of His Son.

Matthew 1:5. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king.

King David, mentioned in the Bible, 971 times, second only to Jesus. A man after God’s own heart, ancestor to Christ. The mighty King David, great, great grandson, of the harlot, Rahab.

Okay now, just in case you don’t remember the setting of the story about Rahab. Let’s fill in some gaps.  

Joshua 2. Joshua had sent two spies into the Promise Land to spy out the land.

They snuck into Jericho, the oldest city in the world, and found the oldest profession in the world, the harlot, Rahab.

Somehow the king of Jericho found out and sent men to Rahab’s to capture the spies.

She hid the spies then helped them escape with a scarlet rope out her window, on the city wall. Before they left, she said, I know the LORD has given all the land into your hands....remember me, and spare my household. They told her they would if she kept that scarlet rope tied in the window.

Wait! You may be thinking, we just talked about how the walls come crashing down.

If Rahab’s house is on the wall—ruh roh.

If only those walls could talk.

Well, actually they do.

Archeology caught up with the Bible during the German excavation of Jericho in 1907–1909. They found on the north side a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. 

What? Really?

Yes.

So, does that mean...?

Yep. This is very likely the remains of Rahab’s house.

The Bible is so awesome. HIStory told in advance.

God is awesomer.   

Rahab’s scarlet rope, as blood on the first Passover doorpost, caused death to pass-over.

The harlot, Rahab, born, in a godless pagan culture, destined for destruction, on the wrong side of the river, in the wrong profession.

The harlot, Rahab, great great grandma to King David, ancestor to Christ, heroine of the faith, mentioned multiple times in Scripture, (Old Testament and New) and honored in the Faith Hall of Fame.

Like Jesus kept His scars as badges of honor reflecting His great love, she kept her name, the harlot Rahab, as a ray of hope for every lost sinner looking for a place to call Home.

This CHRISTmas, tell Rahab’s story. Invite a lost sinner to come Home.

Now the pendulum swings to another type of faith hero.

The Mountain Movers

³² And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again...

These are those that make the news, followed by television crews.

Through these we witness Mountain Moving Faith.

The Power of His Resurrection. Philippians 3:10a

The thrill of victory.

But don’t look too closely or you’ll see they’re just regular folks.

Then again, maybe we should look close to see that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

So, we idolize no one, but Him.

For whatever reason, according to God’s Divine sovereignty, He used them, worked through them, to move His plan forward for His glory.

Now, we pause, slow down, and shift our focus on those, who rather than moving mountains, climb them, die on them.

They are those unsung, yet heroic faith heroes, endued with the intense Anointing, the passionate Power, of the Faith of Martyrs.

³⁵ ...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

Through these elite faith heroes we witness a greater love, obtain a better resurrection, of whom Jesus spoke when He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

These, tried as though through fire, have the honor of experiencing the intimacy and intensity of knowing the fellowship of His suffering. Philippians 3:10b.

These see beyond this life, to Jesus, and like Jesus, endure their cross, for the joy set before them.

These faithful martyrs don’t fit in this world.

The world has nothing to offer them.

They have an unspeakable joy, an intense satisfaction, from being dissatisfied with this life by seeing the one just over the hilltop.

For them this world is not worthy.

³⁹ And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

The Grand Finale

What is this Something better?

Since it’s Christmas time, we’ll use a Christmas analogy.

They saw the Present wrapped under the tree.

We saw, the Present unwrapped and up on the tree.

Now, we see and know His Presence internally, personally, eternally.

All of Hebrews, all of the Bible, points to Him, “Something Better”

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we pray for eyes of faith, to see beyond the present to Your glorious Presence. And with our eyes fixed on You, we will endure our cross, and walk by faith, to the joy set before us of seeing You, face to face.

Thank You for the honor of loving You, forever.

Amen.

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The Journey to the Manger

 

We’re all on a journey.

Dessie’s journey just crossed the threshold of 90 years young.

Her friend Shirley, also around 90, just crossed the threshold to forever young on streets of gold.

You are blessed if your journey, crossed their journey.

If you could zoom up and look at the journey of their lives, you’d see through all the twists and curves, peaks and valleys, joys and sorrows, their journey followed the nail pierced footprints of Christ.

Dessie is still making tracks, blazing a trail straight to Jesus.

Shirley’s journey on earth is through; she’s heard those glorious words: “Well done”. 

There’s another journey that crosses all our journeys.

Joseph and Mary’s from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

It’s likely their journey was around 90 miles, took around 9 days, give or take, depending on how round young virgin, around 9 months pregnant, handled the journey.

We’re all on a journey.

Depending on how we respond to their journey when it crosses our path, determines if we are blessed, or cursed.

The Beginning

Their journey began long before they were ever born. With a different couple. Way back in a garden.

Adam and Eve were presented with an impossibility.

God said: Don’t eat from that tree, if you do, that very day, you’ll die. Genesis 2:16-17.

The sneaky snake hissed, “No you won’t.” Implying, God lied, God made a mistake, God didn’t mean what He said. Genesis 3:4-5.

That is impossible! Preposterous! God cannot lie! Would not lie! Will never lie! He is Truth.

But the couple, instead of saying, “Impossible! Preposterous!” They forsook God’s Word, looked at the fruit, licked their lips, took the bait and the bite.

In that instant, His Presence that clothed them from the inside out, departed.

God is Life.

Separate from God, by definition, death.

There they stood, naked, ashamed, dead, dead, dead.

Oh, their bodies kept walking and talking but they were dead men walking.

You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live inside a body.

Just because your heart is beating, doesn’t mean you are living.

They were dead, just like God said.

Don’t doubt it, try to redefine it, make it fit in your logic, or you’ll be doing just what they did.

So, they were dead, but God is good and He doesn’t give up on His kids so quick.

So, He showed up in the garden with an eviction notice, because God is just.

 And a new wardrobe, because God is merciful.

And a plan, because God is Love and Love never fails.

The plan was to:

Kick the legs out from under the sleezy, slimy, sneaky, snake.

Make labor hard for both, birthing a life, and making a living.

AND, for the grand finale, The Master Plan, to fix what we broke, He would...

become a Baby.

What? Seriously?

Yep.

Matthew 1:18-25; quotes Isaiah 7:14, saying all this was done so that which is written would be fulfilled:

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. MEANING GOD WITH US

That’s what CHRISTmas is all about, because the best presents are HIS PRESENCE.

The Lord laid out the plan like this:

Genesis 3:15.
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

With those words to the serpent God was saying, there’s coming a day, when the Seed of the woman will crush your head (which implies a virgin birth, because women do not produce seed). And you, slimy, sleazy, serpent will bruise His heel; referring to Christ’s crucifixion.

With that opening declaration, the battle was on between the serpent and the Seed.

God wasn’t quiet about His plan. Through the ages, over and over He spoke of it through various people in various ways.

Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

His plan was doable because God saw that, ahead through the ages, there were enough faithful folks to carry out His plan.

Are you faithfully walking out God’s will and plan for your life, today? Do you know what it is? You can. You should. It’s the only way to true joy and peace.

Noah who found grace in the eyes of the Lord and built the boat to save his household—and thereby, the world.

Abraham believed God and offered his beloved son, Isaac.

Jacob’s son Joseph forgave his brothers saying, “what you meant for harm, God meant for good.”

By faith Moses considered the afflictions of following Christ of greater reward than the pleasures of sin.

David was a man after God’s own heart.

Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Jesus came as a Babe.

Isaiah 9:6-7.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

And then, he followed up by saying:

Isaiah 7:14.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

We’re not done.

Queen Esther went to the king, saving the Jews from slaughter saying, “If I perish I perish”.

Malachi prophesied, 400 years prior:  

Malachi 4:5-6.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord .⁶ And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

John the Baptist came like Elijah, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “prepare the way of the Lord.” John 1:23.

We can’t forget our dear Joseph who believed and obeyed the command of the angel and married dear Mary, and called her first born Son, Jesus.

And then there’s sweet Mary, who said, “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word.” Jesus echoed this sentiment saying “Not My will but Thine...”

They all obeyed by faith and carried God’s plan forward.

None of them, were forced.

Today, God’s looking to you, to look to Him who is invisible, trust what seems impossible, and carry His plan forward.   

The Journey is Impossible (and that’s the easy part)

Luke 1:26-38: Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

What God asks Mary (and us) to believe is the impossible.

You will not have had sex with your fiancé Joe, or anyone; yet you will conceive and bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.

That’s impossible!

Matthew 1:18-25: Mary & Joe, break-up and make up, thanks to an angel and a dream.

Joseph is a just man, he loves Mary and doesn’t want to shame her publicly and run the risk of her being stoned to death for cheating on their betrothal. So, he figures he’ll just break up with her privately.

But an angel shows up in a dream and says Joe, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bring forth a Son. You shall call His name Jesus. He will save His people from their sins.

Joe could’ve said. “How can Mary get pregnant without—by... huh? what? That’s impossible!”  

Is God asking you to conceive the impossible? (To conceive the impossible we must get our, mind, reasoning, logic, out of the way. God is under no obligation to fit into our logic).

The impossible part is the easy part, because only God can do the impossible. So, it’s all Him.

What He asks of us is to believe and conceive.

Perhaps it would help to add a statement of faith to our prayers. Something like, “I believe I received when I prayed.” Or “I believe I conceived when I prayed.” Not that there’s any magic formula in words, but words are seeds. Therefore, seeds of faith produce faith, just as seeds of doubt produce doubt.

When Mary was presented with her impossible journey she simply said:  

Luke 1:38. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”

And just like that, Divinity entered humanity.

The Light of the world was in the dark womb of woman.

The serpent crushing Seed (from Gen. 3:15) was planted inside the virgin Mary.

Matt. 1:24-25. No words were ever recorded from Joseph in the Bible. He simply sprang into action. He jumped out of bed and wed his dear Mary.

Silent Joseph, speaks volumes. It wasn’t about him. But about protecting, providing, promoting, pursuing, God’s will, God’s impossible plan and purpose.

Okay, that’s the easy part, the impossible part, now comes the hard part.

The Journey is Hard

Luke 2:1-7: Journey to Bethlehem. Jesus born in a barn.

Not always, but usually, for most, conception is easy. What comes after, that’s a different story.

To conceive correctly is to willingly, joyfully, receive and accept, to faithfully protect and nurture, to patiently provide time and space for the Seed to grow and develop and mature until the right time for birth.

That ain’t so easy.

It’ll take patience, perseverance, and endurance.

Joseph and Mary, by faith, believed and conceived God’s plan.

They probably had some difficult conversations with mom and dad and family.     

They undoubtedly had to deal with rumors and whispers and snickers behind their backs.

But that was just the beginning.

They yielded to God’s will and were weaving their plans around His.

Can you imagine sweet Mary sewing baby clothes and blankets, while Joseph prepares a place for them, along with baby crib and rocker too.

It was hard, but happy and good.

Then, they got blindsided.

The Roman government demands they register for some stupid census, a tactic to take more taxes!

But that’s not the worst part. They command all return to their ancestorial homeland.

How could this happen?

Mary is carrying, God. Joseph is building a house for Him.

Why did He allow this to happen?

“Mary’s about to pop! How on earth can she travel that rugged terrain? It’s not right! Can’t You do something about this?”

Joseph perhaps said to the Babe in her belly.

“We trusted You with the whole virgin birth thing, but this, this, this is too much!

“The shortest route straight through the hill country is way to rough and dangerous for Mary.  

“Even if we take the Jordan river valley, which is smoother and closer to water, it’s still a long hard week and a half or two at least of travel. Not to mention the dangers of bandits and wild animals.

Lord God, You know everything, why in the world did You plan the pregnancy to happen now?

Lord, surely you don’t want to happen to Mary what happened to Jacob’s beloved Rachel who died on the side of the road to Bethlehem giving birth to Benjamin.”

What a scary thought.

Have you ever had that happen?

Just when you’re starting to get in the groove, things are going smooth and BAM life happens!

Do you blame God? You could’ve stopped this?

Question Him? Why would You let this happen?

Only God knows, but remember, God doesn’t possess people to control them like the devil.

He allows free will while watching and lovingly weaving His wonderful ways through the wicked ways of man.

So, maybe, just maybe, Joseph wouldn’t have listened to another angel telling him, the Baby is the Messiah and the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, to fulfill prophecy.

Maybe the only way for Joe to go was to weave the timing of all this into the greedy census of Rome.

We won’t know this side of heaven.

We do know this side of heaven, God is good, and we can trust Him with all the circumstances of life.

So, off they go, Joseph and round young virgin heavy with Child.

On their journey they probably passed thousands of olive trees. Perhaps, ate from many of them. For pregnant Mary it might’ve been better than pickles and ice cream.

As they skirted Jerusalem from east to south they may have passed through an olive garden still around today with some of the oldest olive trees in the world, over 2,000 years old.

The garden is called Gethsemane, which means Olive Press. Where olives were pressed under heavy millstones until the precious oil would flow like blood.

Where Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed, under such excruciating pressure would sweat, great drops of blood.

These timeless trees bear silent witness that the crushing journey our timeless Savior took, was not in vain, and still bears much fruit to this day.

Likewise dear Saint, the impossible hardship of your journey for Christ, is not in vain, don’t quit, stay the course, you will reap a harvest to the glory of our Lord.

On the last leg of their journey did Mary ride the donkey down the Mount of Olives, toward Jerusalem? Foreshadowing what the Child in her womb would do a week before He’d hang on an old rugged cross and say of His journey in this life, “It is finished.”   

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, please help us, in our journey, to follow Your nail pierced footprints all the way to heaven.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.  

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By Faith Moses, Hebrews 11:23-29

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.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

Disobeyed, refused, forsook, are probably not words we’d use to describe Hall of Faith heroes.

But the Bible does.

By faith, Moses’ parents disobeyed the king’s command—kill your kid.

By faith Moses refused to be called what was politically correct—son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

By faith he forsook the nation he was in for the nation he was of.

Here, they are recognized for their faith, not by working miracles, or speaking, “Thus saith the Lord”, but by standing against tyranny, for obeying, The King, rather than a king.

Walking by faith is a journey to courageous.

By faith Moses kept the Passover.

By faith, they passed over the Red Sea.

Faith grows and flows.

It passed over from parent to child, from child to man, from man to entire nation, from the nation of Israel to the world, passing over 3,476 years and countless miles from around 1451 BC to you and me, here and now.   

Your faith passes over to others, like seeds from a tree.

By faith Moses...

Moses, the third most mentioned in Scripture.

Jesus (1,281 times)

David (971 times)

Moses (803 times)

Moses, lived to 120. A life split in thirds, by forties.

Forty years thinking he was somebody in the palace.

Forty years thinking he was nobody in the desert.

Forty years, God showing how He can make somebody out of nobody.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden...

Why was he hidden?

Because he was born with a target on his back, simply for being a Jew.

Why?

Because it wasn’t like the good old days when the pilgrims of Israel immigrated to Egypt. Back then, Jacob’s son, Joseph, was the big man on campus, second only to Pharaoh.

Why was Joe so well known?

Because God used Joe to show Egypt how to not only survive but thrive through the hardest seven years of famine their world had ever known.

Back then the God of Israel was revered. He directed Joseph, and Joseph, indirectly, directed Pharaoh.

But then, about 400 years passed from when the pilgrims of Israel landed on the Plymouth Rock of Egypt, and a new Pharaoh arose that did not know Joe, or the God of his fathers (Ex. 1:8).

Think of the parallel. Four hundred years. Same length of time since our pilgrims landed on our Plymouth Rock, December 21, 1620.

Back then our leaders revered the God of Israel too.

Now, there’s new Pharaohs in their ivory towers who do not revere, or know, the God of our Founding Fathers.

Okay, back to our Bible story. Within 400 years from Joe to Mo the people of God grow so strong that the new Pharaoh’s frightened.

If they unite with our enemies against us, they’ll defeat us (Ex. 1:9).

Speaking of frightening, did you know the Pharaoh of the Exodus is still around and displayed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo.

The mummy is identified by many scholars as the very Pharaoh Moses spoke to, Ramesses II.

So, frightened Pharaoh set taskmasters over them and forced them into slave labor.

But the more Egypt afflicted the children of God the more they multiplied, the stronger they grew.

So, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the male Hebrew babies.

Imagine that. Big brave warrior Pharaoh (alleged to be some kind of god), sent women to slaughter babies.

HIStory proves all leaders who slaughter babies to be demonically driven.

It’s not difficult to discern the good guys from the bad.

If the side you stand with promotes abortion—you’re on the wrong side. Period.

So, frightened Pharaoh ordered all baby boys butchered.

That’s why Moses was born with a target on his back.

HIStory also reveals how the enemy acts when God is about to perform a mighty deliverance.

Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of all male Israel babies.

And Moses was born and rose and performed a mighty deliverance of God’s people from the bondage of Egypt.

Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children two years old and under.

And Jesus was born and rose and performed a mighty deliverance of His people from the bondage of sin.

Today, the demons of pharaohs and herods order the biggest slaughter of babies the world has even known. 

And you were born, dear Saint, to rise and declare the day of the last trump when the Lord will perform the Greatest Deliverance of His people the world has ever known.

For yet a little while and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Hebrews 10:37.

Moses’ parents were ordered to kill their son, but they disobeyed, unafraid.

If you keep your eyes on The King, then a king’s commands are not so scary (or news report or doctor’s report or bills or meeting family for the holidays, or the “c” word, cancer, or the “d” word divorce, or more so, death...)

If we simply focus on obeying the commands of The King of kings, we won’t be deceived by a king, into killing our baby, mutilating our children, thinking Johnny is really Suzy, and Tommy is actually a cat.

So, Mo’s folks disobeyed a king to obey The King.

But they couldn’t hide little Moses forever. So, after three months they put him in a basket and floated him in the river where Pharaoh’s daughter was taking a bath. (Exodus 2:2-3).

Perhaps a wise form of: “If you can’ t beat ‘em, join ‘em”.

The little Pharaoh princess found little Mo in the basket as he wept. Perhaps like a child finding a lost puppy, Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Daddy can I keep him?”

Moses’ sister snuck out from the bulrushes, “Do you want me to find someone to nurse the baby?” Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Go”.

So, she brought Mo’s mom and Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Nurse the child for me, and I’ll pay you.”

So, mom got paid to nurse her own son.

God’s plans are mind-blowingly awesome.

But, many times, mind-blowingly hard and painful. Once the child grew and was weaned, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.   

Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:8-10. (Moses means: to draw out).

Little did she know that one day through Moses, God would say, “Let My people go!” and would draw His people out of Egypt.

One day soon God will say, in a way, to this world "Let My people go" and the dead in Christ will rise, then we who are alive and remain shall rise to meet them in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Hallelujah! 1 Thes. 4:15-17.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

Who told Mo his mom wasn’t the pharaoh princess?

His Parents? Pharaoh’s daughter? The Grapevine?

Either way, Moses didn’t have an identity crisis. He knew who he was and refused to identify with who or what the world called him.

Did you know the value of a penny by the copper it’s made of  is worth 4-5 times more than a penny?

Who God’s made you, what He’s put in you, is more, much more than the world gives you credit for.

God calls you a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, the light of the world, salt of the earth, kings and priests, beloved. 1 Peter 2:9, Matt. 5:13-16, 1 John 3:2.

Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

Mo chose the people of God as His family.

We’re blessed if our earthly family is also our heavenly family.  

Jesus asked, Who are My brothers and sisters and mother? Then, pointing at His disciples said, “Those that do the will of My Father.” Mark 3:33-35.

We too must choose.

Ø Spirit or flesh

Ø Word or world

Ø God or sin

Ø Eternal Reward or passing pleasure

Moses, as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, had the power and position to do anything he wanted.

Lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Egyptians were so far advanced.

They had already, fairly accurately, calculated the distance to sun.

Already figured the earth was round.

The architecture was astounding.

Their embalming mumification process still baffles us to this day.

Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. Acts 7:22.

He had access to the very best the world had to offer.

Yet, Moses saw something greater, in a band of slaves.

He chose to endure the brief affliction of this life for greater riches and eternal Reward

Today Moses is happy, overjoyed, with no regrets.

One glimpse of glory makes all the world’s treasures boring.

Mo knew, as we should too, that it’s better to be a janitor in the House of God than a prince in a palace without Him. (Like David said in Psalm 84:10).

²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

He looked beyond reproach to the Reward

Like Christ who endured the cross for the joy set before Him.

Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Moses forsook Egypt, his worldly family, his earthly treasure and training and position, to follow the One who is invisible.

Saying “I do” is also saying, “I don’t “ to all others. Forsaking all others.

This is Covenant.  

Seek first (foremost, above all) the Kingdom of God... Matt. 6:33.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30. (Also: Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Matthew 22:37-40, Luke 10:27).

To forsake all the world’s treasures, to not fear all the world’s powers, Moses looked beyond the visible king to the Invisible One.

To Greater Riches, Eternal Reward, to that which is unseen.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

Where are your eyes?

Lift your eyes, as Moses, seeing Him who is invisible.

By faith he forsook.

By faith He endured.

²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

By faith He obeyed and kept the Passover.

By faith, and fear of consequences. "lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them"

If we don’t obey, it’s death to pay.

Consequences are good.

Godly fear is good.

Noah being warned of God, moved with Godly fear and built the boat to the saving of his household. Heb. 11:7. And thereby to the saving of the world.

To disobey God is death.

Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Death is not His will. It’s not what He wants.

The thief comes to steal, kill, destroy, I've come to give Life and Life in abundance. John 10:10.

It’s not His will any perish. 2 Peter 3:9.

He takes no pleasure in death of wicked. Ezekiel 33:11.

But it’s according to His Divine Justice System established in the garden after man sinned.

God established the death penalty.

So He could pay it.

In full.

Himself.

With His own blood.

Tetelestai!  

Moses obeyed even if it made no sense to his natural mind at the time.

Obedience brings understanding.

Now, for us, this side of the cross, we understand.

Now, we see Jesus the Lamb of God slain to wash away the sins of those who repent, receive and obey Him.

The blood only saved those who obeyed.

God brought life from death. His specialty.

The obedient, covered by the blood lived. Death passed over.

For those who weren’t, (obedient) it didn’t (pass over).

God made a separation between His family and the world, between the obedient and disobedient.

²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

After the Passover, they passed through the Red Sea.

Here, God paints the picture clearer.

Before, anybody under the roof with the blood of the lamb on the doorpost was safe from the death angel.

But now, just going through the motions doesn’t offer the same protection.

Israel passed through the Red Sea safe and sound on dry ground.

Likewise, the Egyptians passed through and were drowned.

Going through the motions isn’t enough.

It’s not about motions, it’s about motives.

One was obedient to God.

The other, going through the same motions, but obedient to Pharaoh.

One seeking freedom.

The other seeking slavery

God sees the thoughts and intents of hearts and discerns between good and evil.

One was saved.

The other drowned.

Today, the Lord calls us to come out from among them, to be different from Pharaoh’s army. Separate from Egypt. In the world not of it.

You are the salt of the earth the light of the world, let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matt. 5:13-16.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, please help our faith in You to grow and flow refreshing and nourishing others. You see the thoughts and intents of our heart, so, will you please prune and root out any thorns or stones or selfish ways, that stunt our growth. Alert us when we’re going through the motions, but our motives are messed up. Help us Lord, to simply, purely, walk with You.

Thank You for the honor of loving You, forever.

Amen.

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