The Courage of Faith – Part 1 (Overcoming Your Fears)
Hebrews 11:23-31 (23-26)
February 7, 2016
Well, I know it has been several weeks since we were able to study Hebrews together having taken a month to refocus on missions.
But this morning I want to return to that study together
And continue looking at this amazing book.
Let me quickly pull you back in to focus regarding this letter.
If you will remember the book of Hebrews was written to struggling Jews.
They were those who had at least made a public profession of faith in Christ,
But now because of persecution were considering defecting from Christ.
The writer of Hebrews has been pleading with them not to do that.
He started with the theology of the issue.
Reminding the Jews that Jesus was greater than anything they ever had in Judaism.
• Jesus is greater than the prophets
• Jesus is greater than the angels
• Jesus is greater than Moses
• Jesus is greater than Joshua
• Jesus is greater than Aaron
• Jesus is greater than any sacrifice ever made
• Jesus’ covenant is a greater covenant than the old one
When you study the first 9 ½ chapters
It is clear that Jesus over Judaism is the obvious choice.
But that really sums up the problem.
THERE IS STILL A CHOICE TO BE MADE
Knowing Jesus is the right way is one thing,
Choosing to follow Him is a different issue altogether.
There have been many throughout the ages
Who have known the truth about Jesus and yet chose not to follow Him.
So having proven the facts the writer is now calling for ALLEGIANCE.
To be more specific the writer is calling for faith.
His basic request was seen in chapter 10
Hebrews 10:19-25 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
That is really the main request of the writer of Hebrews.
Jesus is the real deal so:
• Draw near to God through Him
• Hold fast to Him no matter what
• Encourage others to do the same
However to make that decision
These Jews would need one weapon in their arsenal above every other.
THAT WEAPON WAS FAITH.
Hebrews 10:36-39 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
And then the writer set out to describe exactly what he meant
When he asked for faith.
He followed with what we call “The Faith Chapter”
As I told you when we began the study, it easily breaks down into four main points.
1) THE REWARD OF FAITH (11:1-7)
NAMELY THAT FAITH OBTAINS GOD’S FAVOR.
Abel, Enoch, and Noah were all people who were justified because of their faith.
They were granted righteousness.
2) THE FOCUS OF FAITH (11:8-22)
NAMELY THAT FAITH OBSERVES GOD’S PROMISES
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were all people who were given a great promise from God and none of them ever received it.
Yet, despite having not received it, they continued to focus on the promise.
THIS MORNING we continue this study with the third reality of faith.
3) THE COURAGE OF FAITH
NAMELY THAT FAITH OVERCOMES YOUR FEARS
There is a foundational reality about your Christian walk
That every believer ought to know, and it is this.
FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH
• This is why Jesus comes down so hard on the disciples for panicking when He slept in the boat.
Matthew 8:26 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”
• This is why Jesus came down so hard on things like “worrying”
Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
• This is why the Bible says over and over, “Do not fear…”
Fear is the opposite of faith, and I can almost guarantee you that
Any time God asks you to walk by faith
The enemy will almost instantly counter attack with fear.
God says, “Do this”
Satan says, “But what if”
We are called to be those who DO NOT LOOK at
The present circumstances, the possible dangers or the potential failures. We are called to simply trust that God can handle all of those things.
This was the epitome of what Paul meant when he said,
“We walk by faith, not by sight”
And we could really scour the pages of Scripture with example after example after example of this crisis of faith where people had to choose to either walk by faith or give in to fear.
It is everywhere.
But the writer of Hebrews has already given us
The examples he wants us to examine.
When he wanted us to see the REWARD OF FAITH,
He showed us the saints of old and how they were made pleasing to God by their faith.
When he wanted us to see the FOCUS OF FAITH,
He showed us the patriarchs and how they kept believing even without seeing.
And when he wants us to see the COURAGE OF FAITH,
He takes us to a group of slaves living in Egypt and how He called them to rise up and trust Him for deliverance.
So let’s look at the courage of faith.
We can easily divide this section into three periods or three separate actions.
#1 THE CHOICE OF A SLAVE
Hebrews 11:23-26
When you read these 4 verses
They are all set during the period of Israel’s slavery in Egypt.
Exodus 1:8-11 “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. “Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.”
The glory days and prosperity of Joseph are but a faint memory.
There is a time period of nearly 400 years between
The end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus.
Joseph is in afterthought.
We lament today how people are forgetting the values of our founding fathers, and that was only 240 years ago. Let’s see where we are in another 160.
Israel is now bound in slavery.
And there is a king who so fears Israel that
He has actually hatched a plan to strip them of their power.
His first plan was to contact the Hebrew midwives and to tell them that when the Hebrew women give birth, if it is a male then the midwives should kill him.
But the Hebrew midwives feared God and did not do it,
So the king went with plan B.
Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
It was a universal law for all the Hebrew people.
And I should also remind you that
The life of a slave was not all that valuable
So the penalty for disobeying such an order was almost always death.
And in steps Moses’ parents.
Amram and Jochebed
Exodus 2:1-2 “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.”
Now certainly every mother would have had affinity for their baby.
Every mother thinks their child is beautiful.
But that is not what the writer of Exodus was insinuating.
Steven makes it clearer for us in his speech to the Sanhedrin.
Acts 7:17-20 “But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH. “It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. “It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.”
Moses was “lovely in the sight of God”
That is to say, Moses was chosen
Moses was God’s deliverer
Amram and Jochebed could see that God had plans for this boy.
It was far more than just the normal and natural heartaches
Of being commanded to kill your child.
And they had a decision to make.
Trust God and defy the king or obey the king and stay safe.
It is a big decision.
(23) “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.”
They chose not to fear “the kings edict”
But to trust that God knew what He was doing.
That may not seem like a big decision,
But on the day that you face the death penalty for obeying God, you’ll understand the enormous amount of faith Moses’ parents demonstrated.
• These two slaves had absolutely no leverage on their side.
• They had nothing to protect them from the punishment of Pharaoh.
• AND YET THEY CHOSE FAITH OVER FEAR.
They are a tremendous example
For the recipients of this letter and for us as well.
But that wasn’t the only slave the writer of Hebrews highlights.
He also fast-forwards 40 years to the day when this Moses grew up.
(24-25) “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,”
This Moses (as you know)
Grew up as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He had all the comforts of Egypt on a silver platter.
But somehow (an explanation that isn’t given in Scripture)
Moses knew that he was a Hebrew.
In fact Moses seemed to know that he was God’s deliverer.
Acts 7:23-25 “But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.”
Somehow God made it clear to Moses that he was not to be an Egyptian,
But that he should be a Hebrew.
AND HE HAD A CHOICE TO MAKE.
Keep the comforts of Egypt or seek the blessings of the people of God.
The Rich Young Ruler had the exact same decision
And he chose to stay rich.
How hard would it be to walk away from the life you’ve known?
The comforts you loved; the plans, dreams,
And aspirations that have been yours?
That is the very decision Moses is making.
Will you leave your reputation, your comforts, your opportunities, and trade it all for the life of a slave?
Moses said “Yes”
Exodus 2:11 “Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren…”
And I want to stop here for a second
Because the application is just too evident.
The writer of Hebrews is writing to a group of Jews
Facing precisely this dilemma.
They’ve been enjoying the life of Judaism
And all the privileges associated with it.
Now they are being asked to forsake all of that
(and to potentially put themselves in harm’s way)
To follow Christ.
THIS IS THE VERY CALL OF SALVATION.
Leave your life, to become a servant (slave) of Christ.
Jesus said:
Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
What a question! What a thought to ponder!
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Jesus was saying, “How much would you take to go to hell?”
And of course you answer – NOTHING!
But then look at the other question.
“Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
There He asks, “Then what would you give to stay out of hell?”
People assume they are already headed to heaven
And as long as they don’t sell out to the devil then they’ll be fine.
But that is not true.
People are already slaves of sin and are already condemned
And therefore must consider the cost of having their debt paid.
They must consider how much it would cost to redeem them from hell.
That’s what Jesus wanted to know.
How much would you pay to not have to go to hell?
• Would you pay $100?
• Would you pay $200?
• Would you give up your job?
• Would you give up your friends?
• Would you give up your relationship?
• Would you give up your reputation?
Well, it’s important that you answer because those are exactly the stakes.
Let me read it again:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
Jesus was reiterating that following Him costs you everything.
You don’t get to keep anything.
That is why salvation is explained through the euphemism of death.
That’s why we baptize,
It symbolizes the death of the one who came to Christ.
Paul said:
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Romans 6:3 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?”
The decision to follow Christ is the decision to surrender all.
It is the decision to yield total control to Christ.
It is the decision to turn your back on you.
And let me emphatically say, any decision less than that
IS NOT SALVATION.
CHURCHES ARE FILLED WITH PEOPLE
Who make sentimental and shallow decisions regarding Jesus.
They believe He exists
They believe He died
They believe He can take them to heaven
But they refuse to totally submit their lives to Him.
Such sentimental and shallow faith is not salvation.
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Moses faced the decision of genuine salvation.
Choose this life or the next.
Can you feel the fear he must have been confronted with?
• What will Pharaoh do to me?
• What is like to be a slave?
• What will I do without these comforts?
Oh I’m sure Satan hit Moses with every fearful thought in the book,
BUT MOSES OVERCAME WITH FAITH.
The writer of Hebrews gives us insight into his thought process.
(26) “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
When Moses looked at the hardships of serving God,
He saw the value in the end.
Namely because “he was looking to the reward.”
(that is back to that focus of faith we talked so much about)
The point is that Moses saw the true value.
Jim Elliot (the missionary speared to death in Ecuador) said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
There lies Moses’ logic as well.
And incidentally I remind you again that this is the message of Jesus.
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Those are such powerful parables from Jesus.
And they are so fitting.
First we have a TREASURE HUNTER
• In those days banks were not reliable so your greatest treasure you buried in the ground and gave yourself a map to be able to find it.
• The problem was that during the Old Testament Israel was exiled to Babylon for 70 years.
• A lot of treasure was buried and forgotten or lost.
This was a man who made his living looking for buried treasure.
And if you want more proof that this is so, just realize that he is looking for treasure in a field he does not own.
And on this day he hit the jackpot.
He found a great treasure and immediately hid it again.
Then what did he do? (he bought the field)
How much did it cost? (everything)
Do you see the parallels to salvation here?
It cost him everything.
But let me remind you,
• We are not dealing with a philanthropist here.
• We are not dealing even with an honest or admirable man.
• We’re dealing with a man whose only objective is to get rich.
Now it doesn’t make sense that a man who loves money that much
Would so quickly give up everything he has.
Unless that treasure is worth far more than everything he already has.
This calculating man saw that it was
And couldn’t make the decision fast enough.
Get the point?
Following Christ will cost you everything, but if you’ll just look to the value, you’ll see that it is more than worth it.
Next we have a TRAVELING SALESMAN
We find “a merchant seeking fine pearls”
What was he? (“a merchant”)
• He was not a collector
• He was not a museum curator
• He was “a merchant”
His goal was to buy pearls that he could sell for a profit.
He, like the treasure hunter, was after money.
And I promise you he knew the value of a pearl.
My dad was a horse trader, and it really was quite amazing to watch him on the job.
• He could spot a defection on a horse before it was even fully out of the trailer.
• He could tell you if a horse would ride or not before you ever put a saddle on it.
• He knew if it had been shot up with bute
• He knew if it had signs of cancer
And it would blow me away, but he could tell you what that horse weighed within about 5 pounds just by looking at it.
He knew horses, that’s how he knew how to make money on them
When he bought and sold them.
This man knew pearls.
And he finds one “of great value”
So what did he do? He “sold all that he had and bought it.”
Why would a man whose goal was to make money,
So freely get rid of everything he had?
Because the pearl was worth more than the total sum of his entire life.
THE POINT?
If everyone could clearly see the value of Christ’s offer,
Even the wicked would instantly jump on it.
So what’s the problem?
Instead of operating by faith they operate by fear.
• All they see is the cost…
• All the see is the danger…
• All they see is the inconvenience…
They never look to the payoff.
I’ve had conversation after conversation
With people who have taken this road.
I had two ladies in my office at separate times last week
Seeking benevolence help.
• Both of them admit they don’t go to church.
• Both of them admit they live with men who aren’t their husbands.
• Both of them admit their life is not the life that God desires.
I told them each about Christ.
I told them each about these parables of Jesus.
And I asked both of them if they would be willing
To give up their relationship in order to gain Christ.
And to my knowledge, neither has.
Jesus said, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
I asked, “Would you give up your relationship in exchange for your soul?”
And they said, “No”
It is fear of the unknown
It is fear of the “what if?”
THAT WAS THE DECISION MOSES WAS FACED WITH.
And Moses chose faith.
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
And here we are back to the Hebrews of this letter.
Which will it be?
• Do you want Christ, who is clearly greater, or do you want
Judaism because it is more comfortable?
And everyone in here would give sound advice to these Hebrews.
Everyone in here would tell them, “Take Jesus!”
BUT HERE IS THE KICKER.
• You don’t get to make the decision for other people.
• You only get to make the decision for yourself.
What is your Egypt?
What is it that Christ threatens to cost you?
• For James and John it was their father’s fishing business.
• For Matthew it was his tax collector’s booth.
• For the rich young ruler it was his money.
• For Paul it was his reputation.
• For the Hebrews it was their tradition.
What is it for you?
In order to follow Jesus I’ll have to…
And that is when the fear rushes in.
• Do you suppose Amram and Jochebed thought about the cost of defying the king?
• Do you suppose Moses considered the cost of leaving the courts of Pharaoh?
INSTEAD OF GIVING IN TO FEAR, THEY CHOSE THE PATH OF FAITH.
We see the choice of a slave.
Next time we’ll look at the next examples of the courage of faith.
This morning I simply want to encourage you
To NOT allow fear to dictate your life,
But to instead trust God.
• Trust that He can do what He says.
• Trust that He will do what He promises.
• Trust that His reward is worth it.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
