Faith - Hebrews 11:23

every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile.

So if you find out that a son has been born to a Hebrew family, throw him into the Nile River. Now, a man named Amram was married to a daughter of the Levites named Jacobin, and these were Moses' parents. And it says that when his mother conceived and bore him, it says in Exodus 2 and 3,

when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

After three months, she put him in a basket. She floated him down the Nile. Meanwhile, his older sister was watching the basket float down the Nile. It just so happens that the daughter of the king of Egypt was bathing with her maidservants and saw the basket, opened it up, and pitied the crying child. Moses' sister just happened to be there at the right moment to say, do you need somebody to nurse the child? And so in Gasarinti, he was able to be taken back to his mother and nursed until he was of age to go back and be raised in Egypt. Now, I have a very small snippet of this story in Hebrews 11, 23, and I think consequences. And I think a way that we can respond to that is that faith is characterized, bold faith is characterized, by fear in God rather than man, and by treasuring what God treasures. And so the first principle we're going to look at is fear God, not man. And the main idea there is that a faith-filled fear of God opposes a faithless fear of man. And you can just look at the Hebrew midwives. Here you are standing before possibly one of the most powerful men in the world, and he commands you to do something, and they disobeyed. So fearing God, they disobeyed the king, trusting their lives and the lives of the sons of Israel in God's hands. You can look to Jacob and Moses' mother. Fearing God, she disobeyed the king, trusting her life and the life of her son in God's hands. I think something that can be important for us to see in the Christian life is that fear and faith meet in a right relationship with God. You see this in Matthew 10, 28-31, where Jesus says,

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. So do not be afraid. You are more valuable than many sparrows.

I think many times when I've read this passage, I've seen those two things as very separate, and maybe been confused as to why they're next to each other. tell me that I should remember that God cares about me? What's the connection? I think Jesus here bolsters our fear of God over man by encouraging you that God cares for you. So not only would I rather face the wrath of man than to face the wrath of the Almighty, Powerful, Holy God, but believing that He is my Heavenly Father Believing in His love for my soul emboldens me to face the wrath of man without fear, but rather with faith in God. We see this in the life of Moses' parents. Hebrews 11.23 says,

They were not afraid of the king's Edith.

I think similarly to them, when we look at God's provision, Jesus doesn't promise that sparrows won't fall to the ground, but he says that not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. And He encourages us,

do not be afraid, you are more valuable than many sparrows.

So I think looking at God's provision, when our lives, our life, our livelihood, our reputation, our families, when they're threatened because we fear God, we can know that God is with us and that He will provide for you. So be encouraged. I think the conclusion to that point is fear God rather than man, knowing that God cares for those who fear Him. Returning again to that question, how do we have bold faith when we are threatened with costly consequences? Fear God rather than man. I think secondly, we treasure what God treasures. The main idea here is that things of great value are worthy Again, looking at Hebrews 11 verse 23, it says,

by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful.

What's interesting is Stephen, when he's being persecuted and he is retelling the history of Israel, he tells the story of Moses and he says in Acts 7.20,

in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house.

It's interesting, so the author of Hebrews says that his parents saw that he was beautiful, and Stephen says he was beautiful in God's sight. It could be that there's a connection there. Perhaps Moses' parents recognized more than his cuteness and his physical beauty. Perhaps they saw that there was a favor and a divine purpose on his life. to know for sure, but this much is clear that Moses' mother's actions display not only a fear of God, but a maternal love, a treasuring of what God treasures. She recognized the value of her son's life. And when you recognize the great value of something, you recognize that that thing is worthy of great risk. It's worthy of great sacrifice. This is a kingdom principle That informs the entirety of our faith. This is why Jesus tells a parable of the man who finds a treasure in the field. He goes and he sells everything that he has so he can buy that treasure. He was worthy of that risk because this was of greater value. This is why we die daily and we take up our crosses to follow Christ. Because we have something of greater value than to fear death. our earthly death and losses. And this is why we put the interests of others before our own, as Moses' parents did, when they hid their child, not fearing the king's edict, not fearing the most powerful man in the land, not fearing the costly consequences. There are other examples I can think of in history. This is why during World War II, Corrie Ten Boom and her family hid Jews in their house in Holland, not fearing the king's edict. Or why Richard and Sabina Wernbrandt, who were Jews themselves after Germany lost the war, hid Nazi soldiers in their home in Romania and shared the gospel with them, not fearing the king's edict. This is why Christians for our almost 2,000 And I think it can be really easy to think of that as, oh, that's a modern, western, you know, culture war issue. But no, even before 400 AD, there are multitudes of quotes from early church leaders condemning the practice of abortion and upholding the value of unborn and newborn children, even when the Roman government approved of such practices. I don't have time to get to those tonight, but if any of you are interested, I have a document full of those quotes and I could send that to you. So practically, for our body, I think we should encourage our brothers and sisters who are involved in the Way Truth Life ministry. What they're doing week in and week out is calling mothers and fathers to value what God values, both their lives and the life of their child. They're calling them to fear God more than they fear the costly consequences that they perceive in having a child. And that is the specific ministry that God has called them to, and we ought to encourage them. But each one of us, undoubtedly, each one of us will face situations where we are threatened with consequences, whether they're great or they're small, for obeying the Lord, for standing up for righteousness, for valuing what God values. And I think it's important for us to be mindful decisions in these moments go beyond us. The fruit of our faith goes beyond us. When you think about the faith of Moses' parents, in God's sovereignty, he And yet he would put such a value in the heart of his mother that through her faith, God would work through that to raise up a man to deliver his people Israel out of slavery. And so similarly, I think when we decide to make those small decisions of faith, to trust the Lord in the midst of consequences that look costly, we can know that the fruit of that will go beyond us. So, my encouragement to you, brothers and sisters, is to take to heart these two principles that embolden our faith when we are threatened with costly consequences. To fear God rather than men, and to treasure the things that God treasures, knowing that your Heavenly Father cares for you. Gracious Father, I thank you for your love for us, that you care for us. And though Paul says that we are like sheep to be slaughtered, yet we can rejoice that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Lord, that knowing that you send us out as sheep among wolves, yet we can rejoice that you have promised to never Lord, I pray that you would strengthen our faith to be bold in the midst of costly circumstances and consequences, Lord. To believe your promises and to trust that you are with us. and that you will deliver us when it brings you glory and when it is good for us. And that nonetheless, oh Lord, that our lives are safe and secure in your hands. For we are more valuable than the sparrows which you care for, than the lilies of the field which you clothe, oh God. We are more valuable than many of these to you. We praise you for your kindness, and for the boldness that you give to weak people. In Jesus' name.