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Dilemma
Hebrews 11:23-29 – Today when we talk about having “a situation,” we are often saying that we have a dilemma. We will face dilemmas in our lives, situations that require us to make a decision.
Is your faith going to factor into the decision that you make? Will you look inward? Will you look back at situations you’ve had in the past? Will you look at other people and the way they’ve responded to similar situations?
Moses was born into a world that “required” that he be killed. Moses’ parents however decided to go against the kings edict and keep the child.
We as parents can’t give our children faith. We wish we could! We can however, by God’s grace, create an environment that makes it easy or difficult for our children to come to faith.
Decision
Moses made a decision to follow the God of his birth parents, to identify with the people of God. This decision had a huge impact on his life. He was choosing to not be the son of pharaoh’s daughter. He was choosing to identify with the slaves of Egypt.
What motivated him to do this? Our text tells us that it was his faith that helped him make this decision.
Our decisions are often based on the safe thing or fear of what might happen. Fear of loss of status. Fear of failure. Fear of humiliation. The decisions made out of fear are often the wrong decisions.
Fear doesn’t have to paralyze us. Faith shows us the reality of the obstacle ahead and the power of God that is available to help us overcome it.
We need to understand that God is there for us and he is dependable and loving… and make our decisions based on that.
Three things that Moses did here.
- He identified with the people of God.
- He did it for the sake of Christ.
- He looked ahead towards the reward.
Delay
Acts 7:23-34 – Moses experienced a time of delay between his decision to identify with the people of God and when he was asked to act.
This time was useful to Moses. He learned about God. He raised a family. He learned patience and reliance on God. The decision to only trust God and not his own abilities was learned while in the desert.
There is no real shortcut to this… we often need to learn to rely on God through our own desert experiences.
Demonstration
Exodus – Moses had to come to grips with God asking him to go and lead the people out of Egypt. Moses had a hard time coming to grips with this, but again it is his faith in God that allowed him to respond to this task.
God is asking us to throw down our rods and to pick up his working in us. God wants to work in us and through us… if we are willing, by faith, to allow him to.
Disappointment
Numbers – The story of Moses doesn’t end here. Towards the end of the journey with the children of Israel Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it.
Because he didn’t obey God, Moses was not allowed to lead the children of Israel into the land of Canaan.
Moses was special because of his faith in God. Moses failed in the end to trust God… and his humanity shows here as the people got to him, they got under his skin. Moses had had enough of this ungrateful people.
Failure to have faith in God as we make decisions will lead to failure.
Moses was allowed to look over into the land of Canaan. He was a great man of faith, but he was also very human – just as we are.
Conclusion
How do we apply this to our own lives and the decisions that we make?
Are we going to look up when we have decision to make? Is our faith in God and his goodness and his love and his power? Will we trust him and his intentions?
May God help us to make decisions based on our faith in God…