well i invite you to turn this morning to hebrews chapter 11 hebrews chapter 11 we are continuing uh our study in this great chapter um nearing the end of end of it so we are on the second section here of our study of moses and we will begin at verse 23 our text is verses 27 through 29 page 1195 in the bibles that are in front of you beginning at verse 23 let's give our attention this morning to the word of the lord by faith moses when he was born was hidden for three months by his parents because he saw they saw that the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king's edict 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 he considered the reproach of christ greater wealth than the treasures of egypt for he was looking to the reward in our text by faith he left egypt not being afraid of the anger of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible by faith he kept the passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them by faith the people crossed the red sea as on dry land but the egyptians when they attempted to do the same were drowned and there will end the reading of god's word this morning well we have spent some time now in hebrews chapter 11 and you know by now hopefully that each section here is emphasizing some particular important aspect of what it means to live by faith in this life and the struggles that come with that in light of the light of life's very different hardships that come at us there are all kinds of variety of hardships and challenges that come. And we come to a very peculiar section today to sort of pull out the theme that is here so that we see that and help us understand. It really is speaking today about helping us and giving us a perspective about how to overcome fear in this life as we live by faith. What an important concept, overcoming fear. I believe that's the particular emphasis here in these verses of 27 through 29 and the answer that it supplies as it helps us through this the author helps us through this is a very encouraging one that is intended to to bless us and encourage us to again press forward by faith in this life through all the challenges that come at us what we are essentially studying in this section is when we're thinking of that big concept of fear in this life what are the things that that make us most afraid well there are many things that we could consider but this section is sort of immersed in the idea and the challenge of fear in the context of the world's hatred the hatred of the world particularly when it shows itself in authorities and in kings and in leaders and in rulers who turn against us for who we are as the children of god this particular section however gives us something to hold on to when these larger fears do come upon us faith he says here you'll notice has an overcoming quality an overcoming quality that we want to think about a little bit today it overcomes that in life it overcomes obstacles it overcomes these challenges that come at us even the most the larger fears of life in a situation like this when the king's edict turns against us what fears do we have what fears overcome us why do we fear why do we live in fear Hebrews says something surprising, Hebrews 11 here before us today, that in the surprising, in the face of fear, it is intended to help you. Faith is intended to be a blessing to you in overcoming fear. And that's what I want to wrestle with and look at this today. And the way that I think you'll see this is how the author traces the life of Moses. In this particular section, what we've seen is how he traces from birth all the way we're going to look at today all the way to the crossing of the red sea and so as we've been tracing that life there are certain themes that are developed and these themes are connected and you'll notice here today that the way that faith overcomes fear you'll notice is in these three sort of ways that are emphasized in this particular text in that faith sees god that's kind of a striking claim isn't it faith sees god faith celebrates the lord and faith follows the lord and that's how we're breaking down this particular section today that faith sees faith celebrates and faith follows and that's important for us as we consider the whole of the christian life this section again is following the story of moses and we begin today i would love to go back and look at those verses again that we considered last week i thought they were so uniquely powerful uh in considering how faith was passed to um moses how that encouragement was the faith of his parents and how faith became real in him as a son but notice here in verse 27 we pick up today where it says by faith he left egypt not being afraid of the anger of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible that's a lot in that verse there's a lot of ink spilled as to what particular incident is the author thinking of here in moses's life you know that that's the beauty of hebrews 11 what makes this a preacher's dream is that you get to work through this the main point is said and you get to go back and see where it was enacted and where this happened in the life of the saint well what is the particular event that he has in mind in this case by faith moses forsook egypt not listen fearing the wrath of the king well a lot of authors think that what the author of hebrews is thinking about is when moses finally left egypt when after all those plagues moses pulled them all out calvin takes that position a lot of writers take that position i don't that sounds so arrogant why would i say that because pharaoh was begging moses to leave egypt by the end he wanted him out it was an easy go in that sense pharaoh was begging and it's out of order here if you would have to go out of order in tracing the life of moses to make the case that what the author is thinking of is at the end of it all then moses forsook egypt so they think carefully about this then again by faith moses forsook egypt not fearing the wrath of the king what's the only other option it's this exodus 2 where we were last time one day when moses had grown up he went out to his people and he looked on their burdens he saw an egyptian beating a hebrew one of his people he looked this way and that and seeing no one he struck down the egyptian and hit him in the sand when he went out the next day behold two hebrews were struggling together and he said to the man in the wrong why do you strike your companion he answered who made you a prince and judge over us do you mean to kill me as you killed the egyptian then moses was afraid and thought surely the thing is known when pharaoh heard of it he sought to kill moses the moses fled from pharaoh and stayed in the land of midian and he sat down by a well now i think you see the dilemma in this here this is an interesting dilemma the passage says moses here in exodus 2 was afraid that pharaoh uh was afraid and that pharaoh was furious at moses and that he was a dead man for killing the egyptian but the author of hebrews comes along and says no by faith he did not fear the wrath of the king but that's not what you would take from exodus 2 is it it seems to say that moses was filled with fear hebrew says he was not now this is one of those maybe discrepancies that people would come along and say see the bible is incompatible with itself it contradicts itself i love moments like this i think this is exactly what the author wants to have us wrestle with this is really important about overcoming fear there's something that's being taught to us that the new testament authors are looking at these old testament passages and thinking about under inspiration of the spirit how the saint got through it what was moses afraid about well moses was afraid when he did this murder that everyone found out about it and that everyone knew about it. But I think the author here is capturing something very important about faith that is meant to help us. He was filled with fear. He was filled with fear. And the very point is is that it was precisely faith that helped him to overcome the fear of the king. It was faith that helped him overcome the fear of the king. How? Well, number one, he learned it from his parents. Remember, this is why I said last week, it's so important, parents, that we have conviction about things and that we pass that to our children. You cannot go through this life and have no conviction about worship, about the faith, about life, and think it will just automatically happen. God uses means, and one of the most important means is parents to children. We looked at that. You can go back and listen to that. It's such an important, that was the whole sermon last time. But faith itself has this quality of fearlessness. That's not to say that we never experience fear in this life. I would guess that if I were to go around right now and I were to survey many of you, there are many fears in your hearts right at this moment. Health, sickness, we can go right down the line. Marriage, children, your sheep. The only thing we know about sheep is they live in a lot of fear. We fear many things. Pastor fears many things. I'm a nervous guy if you didn't know that. We worry all the time. We have fears about the future. Some of you are really, really worried about the future. You have a fear of death. Right now, what grips Christians terribly in life is a fear of the government. It's just the reality. That's what's happening. See, this is where these Hebrew Christians were. The same scenario strategically is introduced by the author here for their context. It's been presented that, notice here, the king of Egypt was now persecuting them. Huh, that's just what was about to happen in first century with these Hebrew Christians. If you didn't bow to Caesar and say that he's Lord, you were a traitor to the empire. He demanded loyalty upon the pains of death if you didn't give it. Who's not going to have real fear at this moment? I mean, this is where we have to be honest about life. We're not Stoics. We do have emotions. We do experience real fear. In fact, if I went through this right now with all of you, many of you are struggling with anxieties that is accompanied by fear. Moses was not some superhero who was emotionless and fearless. I think that's why the author took us here. He had to face his fears to be a leader in Israel. And so do you. And so do you. Remember, we're tested right at that which is most important to us. That's what we looked at with Abraham. And through that comes a lot of fear when those testings happen. How did he get through? This is the enduring and the overcoming quality of faith that I'm talking about here that the author wants us to grapple with and think about. That he wants us to see in Moses' life. A lot of people don't overcome in life. I remember a few years ago, Joshua Harris. He wrote the very well-known book on marriage. And one of the biggest bestsellers out there in Christianity. And not so much on marriage, even about helping dating. It was about dating. Popular stuff. He denied the faith. And became an unbeliever. And said, I'm just tired of the defeat. I'm tired of the lack of progress. I'm tired of no victory. This is a sham. And so, he apostatized. That's what the author is worried about. Right here. Maybe some of you felt that. I'm sick of sin. I'm sick of the warfare. I'm sick of this threat of judgment that looms over. And you just get to a point where you say, I don't see a point to this. It just seems easier to not have to deal with any of this. In this life, you're going to see many apostasies. That's the concern in the book of Hebrews. Here's what he's saying to you today. Faith overcomes. How so? You're looking at everything wrongly. The fact that you care, the fact that you're in the fight, shows faith is overcoming. It's easy to drop out of things. The question is, how did Moses overcome? there was something that um we looked at last time that he was taught by his parents they overcame fear how so hebrews says when he fled egypt there was no fear of the wrath of the king he experienced fear about it being widely known but he overcame by looking at the king and saying i don't have to fear him why how did he get there that's the question how do we overcome fear did you notice what it said he endured in seeing him who is invisible that is such a crucial statement in hebrews 11 he He endured in seeing him who is invisible. Faith said, why am I fearing this little peon of a king? Is not my king with me? What can he do to me? It's what John Knox said when Bloody Mary was coming after him. One doesn't fear the queen when he's been on the knees before the king. The king of kings. Faith gives us the eyes to see everything differently. It gives you eyes. Why would I fear him? I don't even need Elisha to open up my servant's eyes right now to see the army of horses all around us right now protecting us. He has promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. That means he's with me. By faith, I see clearly. It's by faith that I'm given courage and boldness and strength to overcome the fears of this life. And what an encouragement to us. You know, how many things have you faced that you can't bear? It's in these moments that we come to the throne of grace to worship and your hearts and your minds are directed to God and your minds are refreshed in the gospel and and his word and and all those doubts and all those fears turn into trust as you're forced to face these things and you know god is with you through this i've seen so much of this in the ministry you know the power that rests upon people in what would be moments of giving up an incredible fret and fear when the worst of news has given to them or the most difficult things have happened to them in those moments you would expect and you would go home and you would say I don't know how they're going to make it yeah we do God's power rests upon them as their faith trusts they see God Faith sees God. It endures in seeing him. And that's the beautiful thing that's emphasized here. If we see him, notice the progression in this story here with Moses. Then we celebrate him. Verse 28. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Do you think it's a coincidence that Scripture here says he saw him and then connects that to the Passover? It's not a coincidence. By faith, Moses overcame and did not fear the king, but by faith he did properly fear and see the true king. And that's why the Passover mattered. Remember what God did. the judgment of the king of heaven and earth was coming upon Egypt. And as I said in the reading of the law, there's a serious understanding that needs to be among us. Judgment's coming. Judgment's coming. But it was a judgment that was deserved universally. And the question that everyone should have been asking was, does anyone fear the true king? Who's the true king? Does anyone fear the wrath of the true king in the midst of all this? Who has the power to kill both body and soul in hell? The tenth plague was decreed. The angel of death, the destroyer, was coming and he would pass over the homes where the blood was sprinkled on the doorposts. Notice how in this whole section we've been talking about the wrath of the king of Egypt. Who was talking about the wrath of the king? Who feared him? Here's where faith will really show. Here's where faith will shine brightest. Here is true faith. What did God do for them? He did something overwhelming. He commanded the Passover that the perfect lamb's blood would be shed and put on the doorpost and then they would do what? Celebrate his deliverance. So as they celebrated the blood of the lamb, the destroyer would pass them over and give them life. What a God we have, beloved. Instead of unleashing his fury on us, a fury that is deserved, he instead gives us a feast to celebrate. Faith overcomes by seeing him who is invisible. And in seeing him, we lay hold of Christ, who is the Lamb of God, who was given, who shed his blood to take away the sin of the world. And by his blood, we have been passed over and we pass from death into life so that we never face wrath. Hebrews says, it's Hebrews' way of saying, Moses embraced Christ by faith and that this is the faith that feared and pleased God. It embraced the promises in partaking of the Passover. Now, how important is that for us for the supper? Think about it. There's a lot of fear right now. There is a lot of fear right now. Remember when Jesus instituted the sacrament? He's standing there. He's sitting with them. He says, one of you is going to betray me. And they all in great fear said, is it I? And sorrow came over them. And as that sorrow and fear overcame his sheep, Jesus took bread. And he said, take, this is my body. And he took the cup. And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink of it all of you for this is the blood of my covenant which is poured out, now listen, for many, for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom. Take it. Take it. Eat. This is my blood for you. This is my body for you. It was the answer to their fear. The word and the sacrament. What a blessing. By faith. This is what pleases God. that you would see him and that you would celebrate him in the midst of this. Which kind of emphasizes the importance of worship together, doesn't it? Faith sees him, faith celebrates him, and faith follows him. One more encouragement today. Faith that follows, this brings us full circle here with Moses' faith. By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. Whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. It's an amazing event that makes it into, with Israel, the hall of faith here. We're struck with the surprising insight of the author. Because if you went back and read Exodus 14, that was a whole event that seemed to be, again, littered with fear. Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he sent the chariots after them. And you remember what happened. Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you've taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what you said in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians. For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than die in the wilderness. Moses said, Fear not. Stand firm. And see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you'll never see again. The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is be quiet. it the Lord said to Moses tell the people to go to go forward lift up your staff stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground see the connection Moses's story began with the faith of his parents in a moment of great fear paths to Moses. Here was Moses' courageous faith that inspired Israel and their fear to go forward. If I had time, I'd preach on how important it is for the leaders to have strong faith and how that affects people. Fear not. Stand firm. See the salvation of the Lord. He'll work for you this day. And all of a sudden, the waters of the sea rose up. Two giant heaping walls. And the Israelites stood at the brink of that. And Moses, leading them by faith, said, watch the deliverance of the Lord. Those waters are not coming on you. Trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him. And they all passed through safely. And then the Egyptians got to the edge. No faith. And as soon as they went in, the whole thing came down on them and drowned them. The encouragement is the whole story. By faith, we pass through the waters of death and are brought into life. Moses exhibited faith, and we look to the much greater than Moses, don't we? This is a whole picture of passing through the final judgment, if you will. That you're going to escape that by faith. And because of that, we follow the Lord. And I think that's where the author leaves us today. Is this emphasis on passing through. We're passing through. We're following him to where he's leading us. And that leads us right into chapter 12. let us run with endurance this is what's coming the race that is set before us looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of god by faith we follow him all through life and we escape death in the final judgment and he promises to pass us through safely to the other side so that's the larger picture today beloved by faith moses overcame fear by faith moses celebrated salvation in his fears he overcame by faith in celebrating him he followed him right on into eternal life and this is how he wants us to live this is the call of god upon our lives to live this way. This is not just theory. He's bringing you to the place of fear so that by faith you would overcome it and that you would celebrate the Lord's provision for you, that you would celebrate his Christ, that you would celebrate his forgiveness, that you'd celebrate his shed blood for you, and that you follow him knowing he's going to pass you through the judgment safely and land you on the other side. What a blessing the life of faith is. You want to trade that? You want to give up? You want to say no thanks to that? What a blessing faith is. This is why I gave the call at the last sermon, choose Christ. By faith, Moses chose Christ over all the fleeting, passing pleasures of sin in this life. Faith. Faith that God will reward and that He gives this promise that soon you're going to see Him face to face. We don't do so now. We live by faith, but we see. We see. We see God and we celebrate Him and we follow Him. So may you be encouraged in whatever place you are today. Whatever struggle, whatever fear, whatever discouragement, whatever hardship. He's brought you to the brink of it. So that you would overcome by faith. That's His working. That's His power in you. Be encouraged. We will trust Him. For He is our God. He is our salvation. We will not lose heart. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for encouraging us with these wonderful words of what it means to live by faith. Grant us, O Lord, faith to trust You. We're so weak. And in our fears, may they be overcome by Your mercy and Your grace as we look to the promises and we celebrate the work of Christ and we follow all the way through knowing that from beginning to end, the Alpha, the Omega, Salvation belongs to the Lord. And what a reason we have to celebrate as we endure in seeing Him who is invisible. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.