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Choices of Faith (Heb 11:24-27)

If you have your Bibles, it'll be great if you could turn there – Hebrews chapter 11, and this morning, I'd like to begin with a rather lighthearted story.

A story is told of President George Bush being in an airport one day, and he met this elderly man with long flowing robes, and a staff in his hand. So George Bush was a little bit curious and went to look for him and said, “Sir, can I get to know you?” Well, this elderly man shunned him, avoided him, didn't want to have any eye contact with him. And so George Bush said, “Do you know who I am? I'm President George Bush.” And the man says, “I know who you are.” “But why won't you talk to me?” “Well, because I am called Moses and the last time a Moses spoke to a bush, he was sent to the desert for 40 years.”

Of course, that's not the real story, but today we're going to learn about Moses. Moses is one of the great characters of the Bible. He's a spiritual giant, a wonderful servant of God who God used to bring the nation of Israel out of Egypt, to the very brink of the Promise Land. He's a great man and we want to study the reason for his success. What is his spiritual secret? What makes Moses, Moses? Now, there may be many answers today like his humility, his meekness, and so on and so forth. But there is one aspect of his life the author of Hebrews picks out and it is faith. The author says:

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin [added by pastor: or the pleasures of sin for a season, in the King James]. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
(Hebrews 11:24-27 ESV)

So here, the author of Hebrews highlights the life of Moses to be a life of faith, and looking at the choices that Moses made for himself, this morning, I want to share with you what it means to have choices of faith because some of you might be at crossroads of life – whether it's your career, whether it's your family, whether it's life in general, you are going to make some major decisions and the Word of God today might be helpful for your consideration. So we are going to look at how Moses chose and I pray we will learn principles then that we may choose by faith in our lives. How did Moses choose? Very interestingly, I want to share with you three thoughts.

1. What he Refused

Number one, look at what he refused. You know, sometimes we think faith is about getting some things, doing some things but maybe, before we do something, think about what you have to give up in order to do something. So, first of all, look at what Moses refused, what he had to give up, what he had to surrender, what he had to say no to.

The author tells us Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. The author also says he refused the fleeting pleasures of sin, and in a way, Moses also refused the treasures of Egypt. He said no to these things. Now for us, reading these words we might think this is very far away, very ancient, has no relevance. But think about it for you and what it means for you right here, right now. To refuse absolute power, to refuse pleasure which this world really lives for, to refuse all the possessions you've ever wanted in life, that's what Moses had to give up.

Timestamp 0:04:25

If you think about it, very few people gave up as much as Moses did. Some of you might have given up on your career, some of you might have given up on a car or a house, you might say, “That's a great sacrifice.” But Moses gave up Egypt – the most powerful kingdom, probably, in his time. I mean historians, some of them tell us that the Pharaoh at that point of time had only one daughter and the daughter had only one son, the adopted son Moses. So Moses could have been one of those who will be next in line to be the Pharaoh but he gave it all up. He could have enjoyed everything this Egypt has to offer – food, wine, women, pleasures. He could have all the gold and jewelry, treasures that would make the whole world worship him, but Moses said no to it all.

He said no not because he was getting old and can't enjoy these things. You know how it is, when you're ninety or hundred years old, you're going to die, then you say, “I'm going to give my things up to God.” No, he was not. He was at the prime of his life. He was forty years old when he had to make a choice and very decisively, turned his back on power, pleasures and possession. And he did it because he believes God. He did it because he knows it is not God's will for him to live on in Egypt, to enjoy the pleasures of sin there for a season. He knew it was God's will for him to move, to leave Egypt and you know this is what faith is all about.

This faith sometimes demands that we must be willing to give up the things that have thrilled our hearts. I ask you today, “Are you willing to leave if God calls you to leave?” You say, “Now, this is something only for Moses, ancient times.” Not really, look at the apostles. When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to full-time discipleship with Him, He said:

… “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him... Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
(Matthew 4:19-22 ESV)

Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. The implication is obvious to Peter, Andrew, James and John. They did not say to Jesus, “Yes Jesus, we will follow You sometimes but let us also fish sometimes. Jesus, we will follow You but let us take care of our father and our mother and our family.” No", Jesus said, “Follow me,” and they immediately left their nets, their boats and their father. In other words, they left all their means of livelihood, they left those who are most dear to them, because that's what it means to have faith and discipleship to Jesus Christ, the willingness to leave if God does call us to leave.

You say, “Pastor, you're very radical. You're very extreme. How could you say that? Can't I just be a Christian who comes to church on Sunday morning and also have my own career, my own life and pursue the pleasures of this world and because this is what I want, can't God give me what I want? You're too extreme.” I don't think I'm extreme, I'm just saying what Jesus said:

… He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23 ESV)

It's all or nothing. Being a Christian, is not someone who says, “I can come to church on Sunday and Sunday morning I'll give to God, but the rest of my time is for me to pursue my Egypt, to work hard so that I can be the most powerful person in my company, so that I can have all the treasures and Ferraris I want, so that I can enjoy my life. I can be a Christian, I can still live in Egypt.” No, discipleship to Jesus is a call to deny myself; take up the cross, the instrument of death, of suffering, of shame.

Timestamp 0:09:17

You know, this is a picture of what it is… In a very graphic way, we follow Jesus by denying ourselves, taking up the cross. But maybe some of us get a little bit tired or a little bit weary and we say, “No, I don't want to take up such a heavy cross.” So we say, “Can we cut the cross a little? Lord, if it's too heavy for me, please cut it down a little.” And if God doesn't do it, then you do it yourself. And you start to cut the cross, you say, “I don't want to suffer so much, I don't want to deny so much, I don't want to sacrifice so much,” and so you walk away happy. Yay! I don't have to sacrifice so much, I don't have to deny myself so much, I don't have to suffer so much and you go along the journey again.

And after a while, you say “Well, I think it's still a little bit too heavy so please cut it down a little more, I'll be able to carry it better.” So God doesn't do anything, you go ahead and do it again yourself. Lord, thank You so much, thank You for this wonderful kind of Christianity I can have. I know about the apostles giving it all up, I know about Moses sacrificing his life, I know about Abraham sacrificing Isaac but for me, no need to be so hard core, little bit will do.

So we're happy until... we arrive at the final point of our lives and we see everyone get across [using their sufficiently long cross as a bridge to heaven], and here we are, having the wrong kind of Christianity our whole lives [Ahh, it's too short I can't cross…]. Spurgeon said, “There are no Crownbearers in Heaven who were not Crossbearers here below.” The world and the church, by and large, has believed in a certain brand of Christianity that is not found in the Bible. What is the brand, you say. The brand is this, the brand of Christianity people are selling you today is, all you need to do is to say a sinner's prayer, believe in Jesus and you can have eternal life and live any way you want, you're saved.

Now, let me be clear: Salvation is not earned by our sacrifice; salvation is received by simply repenting and believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. But true salvation is a result of faith and real faith results in discipleship, results in the willingness to refuse the things of this world. That is real Christianity. I wonder what kind of Christianity you have believed in today.

If you think you can be called a Christian, come to church on Sunday and live any way you please, then maybe you have not understood what it means to follow Jesus. You want to have the crown above, you want to be one of those who have eternal life, then it must be that in this life, you have proven, you have shown you follow Jesus. And if you want to follow Jesus, you have to inevitably carry your cross. I'm not saying all of you quit your jobs and abandon your wife and leave your kids, no. But if God calls you to, question is: Will you be willing to do it?

D.A. Carson, a well-known teacher of the Bible today, he wrote a book called “Basics for Believers”. It's an exposition on the Book of Philippians and in that book, he wrote something about how people want a cheaper gospel, just a three dollars' worth of gospel, he says. And someone put it out into a cartoon form and Carson says, “I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.” So people come to church, don't give me too much gospel, all right? Don't give me too much Jesus, don't give me too much of Christianity, just three dollars' worth of gospel, enough for me to go to heaven, “gow liao” [in Hokkien means] “enough already”, don't give me too much.

So he goes on to say, “Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted”, that I am so committed to Christianity or to Christ. “I don't want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.” I want Jesus, but let me hang on to my sins.

“I certainly don't want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture. I want ecstasy, not repentance; I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don't want to love those from different races – especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.”

Timestamp 0:15:06

What's your gospel like? People want a cheap Christianity but the price won't come down. You know what it means to be a follower of Jesus? It's all or nothing. It's all or nothing. "Wah, Pastor, you're too extreme. I don't want this anymore." Well, at least you know. This is what Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) No half-heartedness, no one who could say: I love God and I love Mammon.

No man can serve two masters. No man can, not no man won't, no man can. It is impossible. If Jesus is your Lord, you cannot be living for the things of this world. If you're living for the things of this world, you cannot have Jesus as your Lord. No man can serve two masters. Moses made a choice thousands of years ago. By faith, he said no. It's a big loss, Moses. Yes but I say no, because I believe God. So, what would you be called to refuse today? Making some choices in your life, career decisions, how would it shape you?

2. What he Resolved

But you know Moses was extreme. Not only did he refuse power, possessions, pleasures, look at what he resolved, look at what he chose, what he decided to pursue. The Bible tells us, he decided to be mistreated with the people of God, to bear reproach and to face the wrath of the king – amazing.

You know Moses could have been someone who said, “I'm not going to chase after the things of this world. I don't want to be king. I don't want to be Pharaoh. I don't want to be worshipped but let me be an ordinary Egyptian, let me be an ordinary citizen in this land.” That will be quite all right, that will be a huge sacrifice, don't you think? But that's not what he went for.

He went from the highest peak in terms of the world, to the lowest depths. He went from someone who could be the Pharaoh, to be of absolute power, to be a slave. He went from someone who can have all the pleasures of sin to someone who will suffer. He went from someone who has all the possessions of the world to someone who will just have scorn and reproach. He went from the highest peak to the lowest valley. What an amazing choice!

Who would make such a choice? A man of faith like Moses. He would bear with the wrath of Pharaoh, he would bear with the constant complaints of the people of Israel. Why would he want to do this? Well, because he saw Him who is invisible. He chose the path of slavery and suffering and scorn because he knew that was what God wanted him to do, he understood why, he understood who he is living for. That's why he bore with all the mess.

Many years ago, I was working as a houseman in a hospital. Houseman is the most junior doctor who will do all the rubbish work nobody wants to do as a doctor, and I was working… Some of you might already know, I was working in a colorectal department. You know what's colorectal? Colorectal means your big intestines and your rectum – colon and rectum. So this is the smelly, dirty department of the hospital lah, where you deal with all the messy, smelly, dirty stuff. So you have patients with colonic cancer, you have patients with diarrhea, you have patients with constipation. It will come to that ward and we would treat them.

Timestamp 0:19:35

So one day, there was a round going on and we went to this elderly lady. I was just new to the ward and we went to this elderly lady who was all bunched up. She was there wriggling. She's ninety plus years  old, I think. She was all bunched up and she was in agony and we were wondering what's the problem and they said, “Oh, she has had this chronic constipation for a long time.” Now for old lady, chronic constipation can be very miserable because their constipation is not one or two days like ours. Theirs can be for months and indeed for her, it's been a long while since she last passed motion. So you can imagine how bloated, swollen she has been feeling and the doctors have actually given her all kinds of medicine to purge but she couldn't, even stuck medicine up the rectum to stimulate the movement but couldn't; it's all stuck inside.

So we were all, in a sense, wondering what else could be done. The senior doctors then made a decision and he wrote down “manual evacuation of faeces”. I thought what high-class therapy that was. I didn't know what it meant, I mean I never learned those words in medicine, never heard about this kind of therapy. We always gave medicine, prescribed medicine, “manual evacuation of faeces and then, by HO” – “xiao liao” [means “going mad” in Hokkien], what is this? By HO? By me? I mean, what am I supposed to do? Don't worry, the nurses will teach you. And so the nurses briefed me on it. She said, “Very simple. All you need to do is manual evacuation of faeces, conceptually simple. Just use your hands and relieve her of her agony, please.”

So I had to do it, it's ordered in the notes and so the nurses helped me prepare. They laid out all the aprons, mats. I gowned myself two times, put on a mask in case it spurts onto my face, put on gloves two/three layers, I remember. And here we go... W-h-o-a…, wah, reach in. I mean, she's old and all her muscles are lose, and so it's easy to reach in, in a sense. Wah, it's very impacted, very hard and you got to navigate, you know, navigate the point where you can get your hand above… or I don't know whether I got it or I created it lah, I don't know. But anyway, went in and I had a huge pull and the first batch, huh, the first batch is hard and compacted. And then went in again, pull out, it's huge, it's hard and compacted. And then, after some pulls, a tsunami took place. Wah, all the stuff that has been brewing and stewing there for months, fermenting and stewing within came out.

Wah, you could imagine the aroma that filled the ward. It was, to my memory, one of the smelliest things I could ever experience. It was smelly, it was dirty. I say, "What in the world is this all about?” And then suddenly I realized… I had a change in my perspective and I rejoiced. [Pastor, taking a deep breath in, then said] It's nice, it's nice. I suddenly remembered why I was a doctor. I was not a doctor to enjoy my life. I was there to relieve patients, to help people and when I saw her relief on her face, she was like so happy. “‘Gum seah', thank you, thank you.” [“Gum seah” is an expression of gratitude in Hokkien.] I was happy because I remembered why I was here, and now this mess doesn't seem so bad after all.

Moses had to deal with his own kind of faeces. I think, graphically or pictorially, he was thrown faeces to his face. The people of Israel didn't appreciate Moses, complained about him, fought against him, had given him a hard time. The pharaoh must have been really harsh on Moses but you know, he chose this path because he knew who he was serving and why he had to do it.

Timestamp 0:24:27

You know faith allows us to choose things very differently than if we would not have faith, because you see something that the world doesn't see. You know someone that the world doesn't know. That's why it causes you to do things and serve in ways that nobody could understand. Why would Moses give it all up? God, he believes in God. He has such a confidence in God and His Word, regardless of circumstances and consequences, he will obey. Marvellous man.

3. What he Reasoned

Look at what he refused, look at what he resolved, and finally I say to you, look at what he reasoned. Look at what he reasoned. I want to say this, I think living by faith is not living by feelings. If Christians live by our feelings, by how we feel, by how we see things with our eyes, then there's very little possibility for faith, because faith primarily is not by what you feel, but by how you reason.

Look at this: “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Heb 11:26) The word there is “he considered”. Literally, he esteemed, he thought it through, he  calculated, he reckoned. So Moses made such amazing choices because he had already done his sums in his mind. He had already considered, weighed in his mind: this is worth it.

Now, I may not feel like doing it. I may not feel like giving up pleasure and ease, and suffer with the people of Israel, but it doesn't matter how I feel. I know this is the right thing to do, I know this is the worthwhile thing to do. Occasionally, he must have those pangs: “Ah, how I wish I'm still back in the palace. Ah, how I wish the people are not so difficult.” But very quickly, I think, his mind would inform him, “Hey, didn't you do the calculations? Didn't you do the assessments? Haven't you reckoned that the reproach of Christ, the sufferings you bear for the sake of the Gospel is greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt?”

I worked as a doctor, as I've already shared, for many years, six years and then I decided to be in full-time pastoral ministry. And truth be told, people always ask me, “Don't you feel it's a sacrifice, don't you feel it such a ‘sayang',” they say, “such a waste?” [“Sayang” means “what a pity” colloquially.]  “Don't you miss being a doctor?”

Well, the reality is I do feel it sometimes, especially when I see my friends doing well in their careers right now. Some of them are called professors now. I can't imagine, prof something. I mean he's like the naughty boy but he's prof something, prof something, prof… Wah, big practice, wah, fancy cars, nice life as it were, having gastronomical delights all the time. Does it hit home? Yeah, it does… Sure… (Bam. Bam. Bam.) But it doesn't last long, because though it hits me, my mental sums come up. I have already considered serving God far greater wealth than the treasures of Singapore or SGH [refers to the Singapore General Hospital] or Mount Elizabeth Hospital – way better, no comparison. And so it hits me but very quickly, I walk away with joy. I think I made the right choice. It's okay, I reckon it to be true.

Faith is about knowing, not about feeling. Too often, Christians live by how they feel; they'll never get anywhere. If Moses lived by how he felt, Abraham lived by how he felt, he would never sacrifice Isaac, he would never leave Egypt. Faith is that confidence in God and His Word that will result in obedience. And Moses kept believing, he “endured” (Heb 11:27). This is a word that appears only once in the entire New Testament, right here in Hebrews 11. It's a root… it comes from a root word that means be strong, to hold on firmly and that's what Moses did. He endured, he held on firmly to his God. Forty years is a long time, folks, especially with a bunch like the Israelites, but he hung on there because he saw God, he believed in Him.

Timestamp 0:29:58

Look at what he refused, what he resolved and what he reasoned, and so it could be said, “Moses chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible.” He lived by faith and not by sight. Now, some of you will say, “Ah, pastor, I know this is Moses. Moses very special guy. He could do all this. I can't. I'm not Moses.” Yeah, you're not Moses but if you have faith, you can do what Moses did.

The whole point of Hebrews 11 is not for us to look at these heroes and w-h-o-a, we could never be like that. No, the whole point of Hebrews 11 is to say, look at the examples of faith. These exhibit the qualities of faith and if you really have faith, you would live in similar ways, maybe not in the same circumstance but exhibit the same qualities that you will in your life choose to turn your back on things in this world that God doesn't want you to have, that in your life you may choose the path of suffering and difficulty in ministry towards God, that in your life you would have this struggle between feelings and knowing and deciding, because that's what faith does. It's a living power.

So I close with a story of Gladys Aylward. She was a missionary to China some 50, 60 years ago. She was in 阳城 [Yangcheng County of Shanxi] and at that point of time, there was the Japanese war and invasion and so she had to bring or save some hundred over orphans out of 阳城, but things were very difficult. She fell into despair. She was depressed and she was going to give it all up. She couldn't see any hope in that situation until there was this 13-year-old girl, orphan girl who said to Gladys, “Don't you remember Moses? Moses had an impossible situation, but he trusted God and he crossed the Red Sea.” Gladys heard that and said, “Yes, I know Moses did that but he is Moses, I am not.” The girl says, “Yes, he is Moses, you are not. But Jehovah is still Jehovah today.”

The key of Christian living is not who you are but who your God is and faith… let me take away the word Moses and let me say, “Faith chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible.” I pray that would be true for your life today – choices of faith, that's what we aim for. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

The Bible says we live by faith and not by sight. Maybe for all your life you've been choosing based on sight – what looks nice, what looks easy, what looks profitable, what looks pleasurable. But this morning, maybe God is saying to you, “Trust me, trust me. Yes, it might look like there are storms all around, but trust me and step out of the boat of your life and walk on water. Trust me. I know you have fished all night and you have caught nothing but trust me. Let down your nets one more time and see if I will fill your nets with fish.” Faith is that confidence in God's Word, regardless of consequences and circumstances, that results in obedience to Him. It's only possible if you see and you know His Word.

Timestamp 0:34:31

My friends, if God is calling you to make some decisions in life, let me ask you: “Are you going to choose based on what you want or are you going to choose based on what He says?” Because if you choose based on what you want, there is probably nothing you need to refuse, just lap it all up. But if you want to make decisions of faith, maybe there are things that you need to say no to, no to a fat pay check. Now, nothing wrong with being well-paid, nothing wrong. But if God is calling you to leave Egypt and you know these are the entanglements of your life and He's calling you to leave, then would you be willing to leave? What would you refuse?

Maybe God is calling you to… some of you may be called to missionary work, I do not know. But you wouldn't go because life is just too comfortable here in Singapore. What would you be willing to give up? Faith, real faith denies myself and takes up the cross daily.

Maybe today you are fearful of scorn and shame. God is speaking to you over the past weeks and months, you've been hearing the Word of God, you know the Gospel that Jesus died to save you from your sins, you need to repent and believe Him and you said, “I want to believe that but I'm scared because I'm scared my parents will oppose me. I'm scared my friends will laugh at me. I don't want to choose the path of scorn.” Let me tell you, real faith says, “I am willing to suffer shame and scorn. Let the world laugh that I am a follower of Jesus, but I know, I know He is the way, the truth and the life.”

Some of you today are tempted to throw in the towel and say, “I'm not going to serve God anymore.” But Moses bore with all the difficulties because he saw Him who is invincible, he saw God. Let faith arise in your soul, let your mind be meditating on His promises and may you rise with that courage to say, “I will do Your will, oh God.” Jesus, our Saviour, chose the will of God. I can be very sure to tell you, He didn't quite feel like going to the cross in the garden of Gethsemane but you know, even our Saviour lived by faith. He commended Himself to the Father and did the Father's will. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame. May that be true for you too.

Father, this morning we are thankful for Your Word. It's so absolute. It's so radical. It's such a high demand, but we dare not dilute it nor give it any discount. We want Your Word to be known in its full measure, and I pray that Your Spirit will grant us that conviction to believe and to obey to its full measure.

May we daily in our lives live by faith to carry the cross, to suffer, if need be, shame and scorn. Banish from our minds that the Christian life is to have our best life here and now, but give us clear focus and clarity in the reward in the future, in the eternal life that is to come. I pray for friends who are here who do not know Jesus as yet. Lord, may they truly know who Jesus is, not just an ordinary man but the God, the very God, the Son of God who came to die for our sins. Grant them faith and repentance toward Him today. Thank You for this time. Bless Your Word to each heart. We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

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