Standing Firm in Faith: Persevering Through Trials by Fixing Our Eyes on Christ

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Tennis, Dictionary, Dictionary, Dictionary, Dictionary

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I'll put it like here.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay, where you're sitting comes to space.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
We're done.
[00:03:39] We're first.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning church.
[00:04:15] I hope everyone's doing well today.
[00:04:16] I just want to introduce the spirit choir who's going to be opening us up with the prelude.
[00:04:21] So let's listen to them and prepare our hearts for worship.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Praise, praise, praise the Lord, praise God's holy name.
[00:05:22] Praise, praise, praise the Lord, praise God's holy name.
[00:05:23] Praise God's holy name, hallelujah, praise God's holy name.
[00:05:25] Praise God's holy name, hallelujah, praise God's holy name.
[00:05:30] What's, what's lost, now I've found, Praise God's holy name.
[00:05:56] What's, what's lost, now I've found, Praise God's holy name.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise God's holy name, Hallelujah, Praise God's holy name.
[00:05:59] Praise God's holy name, Hallelujah, Praise God's holy name.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I once was lost, but now I'm found
[00:07:08] Finally Christ was born.
[00:07:29] He comes as praise to see God's face.
[00:07:34] Alleluia!

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise God's holy name!
[00:07:57] Praise God's holy name!
[00:07:58] Praise God's holy name!
[00:07:58] Praise God's holy name!

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Good morning, everyone.
[00:08:20] It's my joy and pleasure to welcome you all here today to First Presbyterian Church of Mooresville where our mission is loving God, loving people, and making disciples.
[00:08:27] What a wonderful way to jumpstart our worship service today.
[00:08:31] And as we begin, I invite you now to join me in our call to worship from Psalm 1.
[00:08:37] You can follow along on screen or in your bulletin.
[00:08:43] Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful.
[00:08:53] Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law they meditate day and night.
[00:09:00] They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season with leaves that do not wither.
[00:09:07] Everything they do shall prosper.
[00:09:10] It is not so with the wicked.
[00:09:11] They are like chaff which the wind blows away.
[00:09:16] Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, nor the sinner in the counsel of the righteous.
[00:09:23] For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.
[00:09:29] Join me now in our prayer of invocation.
[00:09:34] Eternal God, in your loving wisdom you set us beside the fountain of life, like a tree planted by running streams.
[00:09:44] Fill us with a love of your wisdom, that we may bear fruit in the beauty of holiness, through Christ the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:09:54] Amen.
[00:09:55] Please stand as we sing our first hymn.

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:10:31] Amen

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
of Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity, Holy Trinity
[00:11:24] and Great and Mighty Lord.
[00:11:49] Then we will reach the Savior and say the love we bring, and we will know your favor, they say, as I did.
[00:11:59] We'll join you in the sorrows that question those who sin Do you marvel at your beauty and find in your ways A name, a truth, a duty, a sacrifice

[00:12:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Amen.
[00:12:38] Let us now affirm our faith together using the Apostles' Creed.
[00:12:42] And I would ask you, O Christian, what is it that you believe?
[00:12:46] I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.
[00:12:59] He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.
[00:13:04] He descended into hell.
[00:13:06] The third day he rose again from the dead.
[00:13:09] He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:13:15] From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:13:18] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[00:13:30] Amen.
[00:13:31] You may be seated.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Give us the wings of faith to rise within the veil and see the saints of earth how great their joy
[00:14:23] In Christ the wings of men to raise within the veil and see the saints of earth how great their joys are.
[00:14:49] In the light of thy dear glories be We ascend once there between They with united prayer Ascribe the conquest
[00:15:18] They mark the footsteps that he trod his heel, Inspired their breast, and following
[00:15:58] Well, thank you all very much.

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That was really beautiful.
[00:16:26] Just some announcements for us.
[00:16:29] It is detailed in your bulletin today, so I won't go into them in depth, but just encourage you to look at them.
[00:16:35] First is the mission trip that is heading out to Western North Carolina.
[00:16:38] The missions committee wanted me to share that only four people have signed up for it, and they would just love if we could send a few more on this team to go bless those that are still recovering from the hurricane that devastated the Western North Carolina region.
[00:16:54] So that team is going out on November 8th.
[00:16:56] If at all you feel led in any form of manual labor, I've been told that it's going to be painting, to putting up some insulation, to repairing some wooden pieces.
[00:17:06] However you will feel led to give, if you are feeling led to go and to serve with the team from our church, Mark Ramsey will be heading up that team.
[00:17:14] His email is detailed there in your bulletin.
[00:17:18] From there, the church picnic, friendly reminder, is today.
[00:17:21] It'll be over at Cornelius Road Park following the service today at 247 Cornelius Road.
[00:17:28] The Membership and Outreach Committee informed me that it is a beautiful sunny day out there and it feels wonderful, so I highly encourage you all to come out for us to fellowship together as a body.
[00:17:37] And speaking together as celebrating something together as a body, First Presbyterian Church is celebrating its 150th year as a church here in Mooresville.
[00:17:47] And that is a time to celebrate and to remember all of the goodness that the Lord has done here with this church in our history.
[00:17:53] And so that will be the United Service on November 9th here in the sanctuary at 1115.
[00:17:59] And I highly encourage you to join our luncheon following that service where we will share more, some stories,
[00:18:05] and what God has done and the session and the church will share a bit of what what we have in vision for the next um season of this church
[00:18:15] Speaking of service, the Children's Ministry has asked if we could seek any volunteers for a nursery to serve the families here of this body.
[00:18:24] If you feel led to serve, to give of your time, even if it's just one Sunday, that would be a true blessing to be able to provide a nursery during the service so that young families can go and drop off their kiddos and they can
[00:18:36] And then lastly, for Wednesday night together this week, we'll have our regular program of dinner and our Bible studies and classes, but it'll also be costume night.
[00:18:53] And so if you have a costume that you want to put on whether you're young or
[00:18:57] Not that young, but you still want to participate.
[00:18:59] I'm going to be doing it.
[00:19:00] There'll be some others doing it.
[00:19:01] It'll just be a fun time for all of us to hang out, dress up, and there'll be a little costume parade at the end of our dinner time.
[00:19:08] With all that being said, please join me now for a time of prayer.
[00:19:20] Lord, we thank you for all that you are doing and have done in this church.
[00:19:26] We thank you for the ministry of children, of youth, young adults, and families, and Lord, we're just grateful that we have the opportunity to serve the full breadth of life here.
[00:19:42] From those new to the faith to those wise and seasoned among us, you have demonstrated your faithfulness.
[00:19:49] And we pray, Lord, your blessing over this place that it may continue to show and demonstrate your faithfulness.
[00:19:56] Help us to be a light to our neighbors, to our families, to our community.
[00:20:01] And would your name be glorified and exalted in this place always.
[00:20:06] Brothers and sisters, let us now take this moment to silently confess our sins before our holy God.
[00:20:33] Jesus Christ,
[00:20:34] Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and hear our prayer.
[00:20:43] Father, we can get so bogged down with our shame and guilt in this life.
[00:20:49] We can also get bogged down with our pride and arrogance in doing the things that we want to do instead of desiring and seeking out what you will and desire.
[00:21:01] Father, forgive us in the name of your Son.
[00:21:03] Cleanse us, restore us, and redeem us.
[00:21:06] Where we have fallen short, please, Lord, show up and pick us right back up and set us on the path of righteousness for your name's sake.
[00:21:18] But I am filled with hope every day and comfort and joy in knowing that the truth of your word and the truth of your gospel is forever.
[00:21:28] That all who proclaim and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, your word says that we will be saved.
[00:21:40] And so Father, today we lean on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
[00:21:44] We lean on the power of his resurrection, the power that now has restored us into right relationship with you.
[00:21:51] And today we proclaim the King of kings and Lord of lords lives and intercedes for us in heaven.
[00:21:58] that we may become more like Him every single day.
[00:22:03] For all those in the hearing of my voice, if you believe in the name of Jesus and repent of your sins, the Bible says plain and simple, we are forgiven.
[00:22:13] Hallelujah.
[00:22:16] Lord, this day, I am humbled and honored to get to lift up this congregation before you.
[00:22:23] I pray, Lord, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that you would move powerfully among your people.
[00:22:30] That all men and women would constantly, every day, rest assured in your presence, in your power, and in your calling over their lives.
[00:22:39] We are all experiencing good seasons and bad seasons, peaceful times and troubling times.
[00:22:46] Many of us have come here today with burdens on our hearts and our minds, distractions that are trying to pull our attention away from you, with anxieties and fears, with sicknesses and physical ailments, with loss and grief, with anger and strife and bitterness in our hearts.
[00:23:08] But Father, we're here.
[00:23:11] And so, Lord, I give and entrust these people, these brothers and sisters, into your hands.
[00:23:17] For you alone are good.
[00:23:19] You alone are holy, but you alone are more merciful than anything else.
[00:23:27] God, you are compassionate and slow to anger and rich in love, and that is who I pray to.
[00:23:32] That is whom I lift these people up to.
[00:23:35] May their lives and their cups be filled and run over.
[00:23:40] May they be filled with your peace and your joy.
[00:23:42] May they be filled with your healing and your provision so that none of us would be left without an excuse and have all the more reason to continue to glorify the God who gave himself up for us because he loved us.
[00:23:59] We worship you, Lord Jesus.
[00:24:02] We worship you in this place, and when I lift up this church and all churches that gather today in the name of Christ to worship you and to glorify you as one body, Lord, I pray that the gospel may continue to reach to the lost, may be a light unto the nations, and I simply pray that we may be faithful to our part in that kingdom work.
[00:24:22] We can't do it without you, and we don't want to.
[00:24:27] We ask your blessing on First Presbyterian Church and all people who step foot in and out of this place.
[00:24:32] And may Mooresville be blessed, Lord, by the presence of God for your glory, for your kingdom.
[00:24:39] We pray all these things in the most holy name of Jesus.
[00:24:42] And church, let us now pray that prayer he taught us to pray.
[00:24:46] Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen and amen
[00:25:15] One more thing before we sing our next hymn that I forgot to mention as part of our announcements.
[00:25:19] Over in the parlor you'll find these purple sheets that is simply a work on behalf of the prayer team that just asks you if you have been here for a while and the Lord has blessed you in any way, shape, or form, we're collecting those stories to just pray and to praise God for what God has been doing in our lives as a church family.
[00:25:38] So it's simple, you just pick one up, you can fill it out, there's space to write it out, and then you can leave it in the prayer box and they'll take it,
[00:25:44] They'll take care of it the rest of the way.
[00:25:48] And with that being said, let us now stand as we sing our next hymn.

[00:26:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
But I know whom I have believed in and been persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've believed in, how to live for that
[00:27:12] Or how believing in His Word would be secure.
[00:27:28] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
[00:28:17] of Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:28:55] All these we believe.
[00:29:20] But I know whom I have believed and have persuaded that is able to keep that which I've committed and to be against them.

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Please be seated.
[00:29:36] A couple things I want to draw attention to.
[00:29:38] Please keep Kathy Irwin in prayer.
[00:29:40] She's part of our church choir, not here this morning.
[00:29:43] Her husband passed just a couple days ago, Joe.
[00:29:47] And there will be a memorial service here in the sanctuary on Tuesday at two o'clock.
[00:29:54] So please keep Kathy in your prayers.
[00:29:58] And then also keep Jody Stutz.
[00:30:00] She goes to the 10 o'clock service.
[00:30:03] Her father passed earlier this week, also Joe.
[00:30:06] They're having a private ceremony just with the immediate family that will take place this afternoon later on after the picnic.
[00:30:15] Things happening in the life of our church.
[00:30:17] Two people are now entering into God's kingdom with the Lord, but if you know them, please make an effort.
[00:30:22] It's just a prayer or a little note.
[00:30:25] I think that goes a long ways as we comfort our brothers and sisters during this time.
[00:30:30] Our passage this morning is Hebrews chapter 11, verses 23 to 28.
[00:30:39] When I was entering ministry 30 years ago,
[00:30:44] How old were you in 1995, Moses?
[00:30:49] He was one.
[00:30:49] Moses was one.
[00:30:50] I read a book by Steve Farrar entitled Finishing Strong and he spoke in his intro of 1945 being a great year for the Christian community because three rock star evangelists emerged.
[00:31:12] Now most of you know
[00:31:14] One of those three.
[00:31:16] Who would that be?
[00:31:18] Billy Graham.
[00:31:18] He emerged through Youth for Christ 1945.
[00:31:22] There's another fellow by the name of Chuck Templeton.
[00:31:26] Anyone know that name?
[00:31:28] So he was part of that crew.
[00:31:31] Chuck Templeton, in 1946, the National Association of Evangelicals published an article on men who were best used for God in the previous decade.
[00:31:44] And it went out to Chuck Templeton.
[00:31:47] He was labeled as the Babe Ruth of Evangelism.
[00:31:52] And that group didn't even mention Billy Graham.
[00:31:56] And then there's a third fella.
[00:31:58] Anyone heard the name Bron Clifford?
[00:32:02] I'll read an excerpt from the book.
[00:32:05] Farrar writes, quote, At the age of 25, young Clifford touched more lives, influenced more leaders, and set more attendance records than any other clergyman his age in American history.
[00:32:21] National leaders vied for his attention.
[00:32:23] He was tall, handsome, intelligent, and eloquent.
[00:32:27] Hollywood invited him to audition for the part of Marcellus in The Robe.
[00:32:34] It seemed as if he had everything.
[00:32:38] Now within five years of 1945, by 1950, Chuck Templeton was no longer in ministry.
[00:32:49] He went in to pursue
[00:32:50] Life in Media, TV, Radio.
[00:32:54] He was a newspaper columnist and he had gone to seminary but during his time there he rejected Orthodox Christianity and felt as though he could no longer trust the claims of Jesus Christ.
[00:33:11] And he no longer believed in the physical resurrection.
[00:33:16] Later, there's a famous interview, if you've ever read the book by Lee Strobel, Case for Christ, where he interviews Chuck Templeton in his old interview.
[00:33:30] He was asking questions about his Youth for Christ years, and at a certain point, Templeton paused.
[00:33:36] He welled up with tears in his eyes and said, I miss Jesus.
[00:33:44] Now,
[00:33:46] Whatever happened to Clifford?
[00:33:48] I'm going to read another excerpt from the book.
[00:33:50] It says this, By 1954, within a decade of that year where these three superstars emerged, By 1954, Clifford had lost his family, his ministry, his health, and then his life.
[00:34:08] Alcohol and financial irresponsibility had done him in.
[00:34:12] He wound up leaving his wife and their two Down Syndrome children.
[00:34:16] At just 35 years of age, this once great preacher died from cirrhosis of the liver in a run-down motel on the edge of Amarillo.
[00:34:27] His last job was selling used cars in the panhandle of Texas.
[00:34:31] He died, as a colleague put it, unwept, unhonored, and unsung.
[00:34:39] Some pastors in the Amarillo area took up a collection among themselves in order to purchase a casket so that his body could be shipped back east for decent burial in a cemetery for the poor.
[00:34:56] Again, the title of the book was Finishing Strong and he was emphasizing not how a person starts his life, but how
[00:35:06] A person finishes is the part that matters the most.
[00:35:12] Now, it's been 30 years since I read this book.
[00:35:16] And I can attest, when I was starting off in ministry and had been part of camping ministries and going into youth ministry, at the summer camp that I worked at, there were probably 50 colleagues, my wife Jody and I, probably had 50 colleagues all going into ministry or pursuing ministry, or at least they felt called to ministry.
[00:35:35] and my guess would be there's less than a dozen now that are still in ministry still believers but we even know a few of them that have either deconstructed or renounced their faith our theme this morning in Hebrews centers in on perseverance so important
[00:36:01] To the Christian faith.
[00:36:02] Wouldn't you say that life can hit a Christian hard?
[00:36:05] You come to faith and you can have the joy of the Lord and you can have all this passion and then you get that first storm or something that may entice you or something that may just knock you off your feet.
[00:36:21] The whole concept of perseverance that we'll look at this morning.
[00:36:28] Literally, the Greek that...
[00:36:31] The most literal translation for perseverance is to hyperstand or to hyperstay.
[00:36:38] To plant your feet, to stay the course, to stick with something.
[00:36:44] Nothing can knock you down.
[00:36:45] It's a long run, it's staying fast, it's standing firm.
[00:36:52] And I can tell you this, you don't persevere on human effort.
[00:36:57] You can't do that apart from faith.
[00:36:59] A gift from God is our faith.
[00:37:05] Perseverance must be tied into faith.
[00:37:07] The big idea this morning is this.
[00:37:09] We're going to look at four aspects of faith essential to perseverance, essential to standing firm, essential to finishing strong.
[00:37:21] Don't we all want to hear that?
[00:37:22] Well done, good and faithful servant.
[00:37:27] I'm going to say a prayer.
[00:37:28] We'll read the passage.
[00:37:30] Please join me.
[00:37:35] Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your word.
[00:37:40] I also thank you for the gift of faith.
[00:37:45] Lord, as we face the storms and challenges in life, it's easy to get off course.
[00:37:52] Open our hearts and minds to what you may have to
[00:37:55] To teach us or share with us this morning.
[00:38:00] And may we not only learn more about you and about your purposes for our life, but may we draw closer to you.
[00:38:09] We give this time to you now, in Jesus' name we pray.
[00:38:11] Amen.
[00:38:14] Hebrews 11, beginning with verse 23.
[00:38:17] By faith, Moses was hidden by his parents for three months
[00:38:22] After his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
[00:38:29] By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
[00:38:42] He considered abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward.
[00:38:51] By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king's anger, for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible.
[00:39:00] By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
[00:39:10] This is the word of the Lord.
[00:39:14] Again, four aspects of faith essential to perseverance, standing firm, finishing strong.
[00:39:21] Point number one, you can find this from verse 23.
[00:39:23] Faith is not human fear.
[00:39:28] Human fear is a very real thing.
[00:39:31] I think a lot of believers sometimes, if you're not careful, can be driven more by fear than you are by your faith.
[00:39:39] Fear can create a spirit of defeat.
[00:39:44] I think of the author of Hebrews as he's writing to that culture back then.
[00:39:47] It was a persecuted culture.
[00:39:50] They knew persecution.
[00:39:51] They knew what it was to be fearful.
[00:39:54] The original church in Jerusalem, they tried to stamp that out.
[00:39:58] Culture tried to get rid of them.
[00:40:01] And what happened?
[00:40:04] It spread.
[00:40:05] Christianity.
[00:40:06] Messianic Jews left Jerusalem and they went into the countryside and new churches were being established in Judea and Samaria and then they tried to stamp that out and now you had Gentiles and Jews that were committed to the faith and someone I saw once give an illustration they took a watermelon and they said that the attempts to destroy the church is like trying to destroy this watermelon and they smashed the watermelon on a field
[00:40:37] Now, they destroyed that one watermelon, but what do you think happens when you smash the watermelon?
[00:40:43] Seeds spread everywhere.
[00:40:44] You end up with 100 watermelons.
[00:40:46] And that's what was happening with the early church.
[00:40:50] I love this quote.
[00:40:51] Many of you have heard it.
[00:40:51] Tertullian said this, quote, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
[00:41:00] Now, that was the cleaned up, or that's the paraphrased version.
[00:41:03] If you want to know the original quote,
[00:41:05] The original version was this, quote, this is Tertullian, The more you reap us, meaning mow us down, the more you reap us, the more we spring up.
[00:41:18] The blood of the Christians is seed.
[00:41:22] So the early church, they knew what fear was.
[00:41:27] Eleven of the twelve original disciples, if you count Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot,
[00:41:34] 11 of the 12 died for their faith.
[00:41:37] Now the Apostle Paul who once persecuted the church and then became a leader in the church, he also died for his faith.
[00:41:47] This morning we're encouraged through the example of Moses' parents.
[00:41:53] God-fearing people don't allow fear to drive you.
[00:42:00] Allow faith
[00:42:06] It's easy to be driven by fear in today's world, to forget the old life.
[00:42:13] Something drew you to the Christian faith and you were once imprisoned, right?
[00:42:18] And whether it would be shame or guilt or recognizing my way of doing things doesn't bring fulfillment, it doesn't bring peace.
[00:42:26] And I've known people passionate and joyful and then life hits them and it's easy to fall back.
[00:42:36] It's easy to be driven by fear.
[00:42:39] Fear can create a spirit of defeat.
[00:42:42] Meanwhile, faith gives strength to stand up to a king's edict.
[00:42:49] I'm using this morning's passage as an example.
[00:42:52] Verse 23, By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth because they saw that the child was beautiful.
[00:43:01] Now any parent can say, and sometimes I'll see babies with the most wrinkly, you know, they might not be the most pleasant to look at, but every parent thinks their child is beautiful, yes?
[00:43:14] Now this example here of the translation, not only do they view their child as beautiful, but they saw something special about Moses.
[00:43:22] An edict had gone out by the Pharaoh who was feeling threatened by the growing population of Hebrews that any young boy under the age of two needed to be thrown into the Nile to be fed to the crocodiles.
[00:43:37] Do you think
[00:43:39] When the parents of Moses were hiding him for those three months, do you think they experienced fear?
[00:43:46] I think so.
[00:43:48] They were fearful.
[00:43:49] What if he cries too loud and they discover, we may lose this precious child.
[00:43:54] Now, although there's that human fear that's attached to something like that, you know one thing they didn't fear?
[00:44:02] It says right here.
[00:44:04] They didn't fear for their own lives.
[00:44:10] They were willing to break the king's edict for what they felt was of God.
[00:44:17] They couldn't really see what God was going to do with Moses, but something was special, something was beautiful, and they risked their own lives to hide this child, and God had a very special plan for Moses.
[00:44:30] Hebrews 11.1, Now faith is assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen.
[00:44:37] They persevered.
[00:44:40] The parents of Moses.
[00:44:41] They endured the trial.
[00:44:42] They trusted that God was in control with a perfect plan for their child.
[00:44:48] So again, faith conquers human fear.
[00:44:52] Be driven by faith, not fear.
[00:44:54] Faith is a gift from God.
[00:44:57] Fear is very real in our human existence.
[00:44:59] Second point I want to make is this.
[00:45:02] Faith determines life's options.
[00:45:07] If you look at verses 24 through 26,
[00:45:10] Faith determines life's options.
[00:45:15] The pleasures and treasures in life can lead to selfish idolatry.
[00:45:22] Pleasures and treasures.
[00:45:24] Verse 24, by faith, quote, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter.
[00:45:33] It's interesting.
[00:45:35] You know the story where he's hidden in the bulrushes and he's discovered by the Pharaoh's daughter and she takes him into the palace and he's literally raised in royalty in the palace.
[00:45:45] He had a royal education.
[00:45:46] He had privilege.
[00:45:47] He had all the treasures at his fingertips.
[00:45:50] He could have become like Joseph.
[00:45:52] Remember Joseph?
[00:45:53] The multicolored robe?
[00:45:55] Who rose to be the second most powerful person in all of Egypt.
[00:45:59] That could have been Moses.
[00:46:03] What we learn in scripture was there's a little phase where his actual mother was a nurse to him even though he's raised by the Pharaoh's daughter and we believe that he had a sense of his Hebrew identity through that and so we have this internal struggle
[00:46:24] that didn't come out until he was age 40.
[00:46:27] He knew his Hebrew identity, he knew the comforts of the palace, he knew he had these two worlds that at a certain point were about to collide, and it happened one day, it surfaced when he was out and saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating on a Hebrew slave.
[00:46:48] And he killed the Egyptian.
[00:46:52] Moses was identifying with his own culture, his Hebrew heritage.
[00:46:57] He killed the Egyptian.
[00:47:00] Next day he recognized the word and got out because there was a little squabble between two Israelites and they were like, who are you to judge?
[00:47:06] Are you gonna kill one of us too?
[00:47:11] So he had reached a crossroads in life.
[00:47:17] He could, believe me, he could have cleaned up the mess, yes?
[00:47:20] Could have gone back to the Pharaoh and said, hey, this Egyptian was being disrespectful.
[00:47:24] He could have clung on to that life, even though he had his moment of losing it.
[00:47:32] Or he had a choice, and he was considering the two, to identify with God's people.
[00:47:41] So the pleasures and treasures of the palace versus the ill treatment and the abuse and all the
[00:47:52] That which is attached, he would become a fugitive.
[00:47:55] And we read here that he went, he threw in his lot with the Jews.
[00:48:03] Now can you identify with that at any level, the choices we make when it comes to serving God?
[00:48:09] You know deep down the difference between living for God and living for self.
[00:48:14] Remember what Jesus said when he taught?
[00:48:17] He said you can't serve both God and mammon.
[00:48:22] Mammon's not simply money, some translations say money, but it represents something much broader.
[00:48:29] We all, we can relate to the, you've been blessed, everyone in this room has been blessed.
[00:48:34] Time, talent, treasure, and you can cling on tight and say this is mine, I've worked hard for it, and I'm gonna glorify me.
[00:48:45] Or you can see it for what it is.
[00:48:47] The Lord has blessed me.
[00:48:50] I'm gonna use this for His glory.
[00:48:53] Yes, you can be a doctor, you can be a dentist, you can be a firefighter, you can be a missionary, you can be a pastor.
[00:49:00] But you relate, you don't cling tight.
[00:49:03] That leads to idolatry, the benefits in life.
[00:49:07] They're choices that we make.
[00:49:10] What do you prioritize?
[00:49:14] My mother wrote a book
[00:49:16] God bless you all.
[00:49:34] centuries ago she had been an understudy she had trained she was an artist and she was training under someone have you heard the name John Ruskin famous artist she had been training under him he saw promise in her there were correspondences between the two but she also she had grown up with privilege and wealth and she lived in England and she felt this pull on her heart this tug on her heart because she had gotten involved with the YWCA
[00:49:59] Young Women's Christian Association.
[00:50:01] She had a heart for ministry and for women and then she felt this call to go into the mission field and she threw it away.
[00:50:10] She was considering the two options in life.
[00:50:16] Do I want this art for me or do I use this art in the service of the Lord?
[00:50:23] She went to Algeria.
[00:50:24] A Muslim country, chauvinistic towards women, and through her giftedness she found a seat at the table.
[00:50:32] My mom wrote a book, Passion for the Impossible.
[00:50:35] There's a film attached to it, the woman from Downton Abbey, the main character is the narrator on that.
[00:50:40] And the effort with the group of people is to restore and tell the story of Lilius Trotter, a very gifted woman.
[00:50:50] who chose to follow God versus make a name for herself.
[00:50:56] Pleasures and treasures can lead to selfish idolatry.
[00:50:59] Faith considers what is pleasing to God.
[00:51:02] Verse 26, he, Moses, considered abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.
[00:51:10] That term considered, he literally assessed and weighed the cost.
[00:51:17] Do you notice the gospel glimpse as well?
[00:51:21] Jesus is mentioned here.
[00:51:25] Moses considered and fixed his eyes on Jesus, at least the promise of Jesus.
[00:51:37] Which leads to the third point I want to make you can find in verse 26 and 27.
[00:51:41] Faith provides godly vision.
[00:51:45] Weak eyes return to that which is comfortable.
[00:51:50] Yes?
[00:51:53] When you've made big choices, you've thrown in your lot with God, there'll be tests, there'll be temptations, there'll be distractions, there'll be storms in life that will undoubtedly cause you to second guess, to question your convictions, maybe even question God.
[00:52:07] And we have this tendency to go back to the familiar, to go back to the comfortable,
[00:52:14] I'll be vulnerable here.
[00:52:15] In 1995, my wife and I followed what we felt was a firm call to go to New England.
[00:52:22] I enrolled in seminary, and in doing that, there was a lot of prayer that went into it.
[00:52:26] I had been a full-time coach, baseball, a full-time teacher, I had done summer camp, my wife and I,
[00:52:32] I had prayerfully discerned this was a major thing.
[00:52:35] I talked to the principal of our school.
[00:52:36] I stepped down as a teacher.
[00:52:38] I talked to the head of the camp by stepping down from camping ministries.
[00:52:42] And it took a lot of weighing the costs, praying, talking to pastors in our life, talking to Christians that we respected.
[00:52:53] Cross-country 3,000 miles.
[00:52:55] I went first because we were engaged and then we got married in December.
[00:52:58] I had to, when I got to New England, take out a $12,000 loan back in 1995 because I didn't have a job yet.
[00:53:06] I found a dishwashing job, worked at a restaurant, found a little church in Quincy, Massachusetts, and they happened to have a manse that nobody was using.
[00:53:17] So I lived in that manse for two months with one piece of furniture, a futon.
[00:53:23] And then people were getting ready for Jody to join me.
[00:53:26] There was a wedding in December, and then when they saw that there was only a futon in the home, someone donated or loaned furniture in this four-bedroom house for as long as they could.
[00:53:37] And we never had to take another loan.
[00:53:39] And the Lord was providing.
[00:53:41] But let me tell you this.
[00:53:43] At the end of our first year, and if Jody was here, she gives me permission to share this, she cried almost every day our first year in New England.
[00:53:54] It was cold.
[00:53:56] She's a Southern California girl.
[00:53:58] We felt like the people were cold.
[00:54:01] We didn't understand the culture there, and they didn't really embrace us right away.
[00:54:06] So, in a very human way, we didn't really like the people at first.
[00:54:11] They seemed cold.
[00:54:12] The weather seemed cold.
[00:54:14] Ministry was hard.
[00:54:15] We were humbled.
[00:54:16] We'd been in these big ministries and thousand-member churches, and now we had this little ministry with like, there were weeks where three kids were coming to youth group.
[00:54:24] We both were in youth groups with hundreds of kids.
[00:54:26] There were like three kids, and then parents didn't care what our background was.
[00:54:29] Just like, you guys, you know, it was humbling.
[00:54:33] They didn't care what we did before.
[00:54:34] They just cared what we were doing here, and we weren't showing results right away.
[00:54:39] It was hard.
[00:54:41] And towards the end of that year, it was like May,
[00:54:44] I called my former principal, or the dean of students at the school, and I was like, do you have any teaching jobs still open?
[00:54:53] He said, we do, we even have a chaplaincy, but you had me convinced that God called you out there.
[00:55:00] I called the camp, said, are there any camping positions open?
[00:55:03] They said, there are, but you and Jody had us convinced that God wanted you out in New England.
[00:55:09] Jody called her parents and her friends, all lived in Southern California, thinking, oh, they certainly want me back.
[00:55:15] And they said, well, we thought you two had thrown in your lot out there.
[00:55:19] And they're questioning our motives.
[00:55:23] Are you just coming back because it's comfortable?
[00:55:26] You're feeling uncomfortable?
[00:55:30] And we're convicted to stick to it, to persevere.
[00:55:35] And we realized we couldn't do it in our strength.
[00:55:37] We needed to tap into His strength, day at a time.
[00:55:44] He was faithful to provide.
[00:55:47] I don't know if you can relate at any level.
[00:55:49] It's so easy to go back to what's familiar and to what's comfortable.
[00:55:53] Faith provides godly vision.
[00:55:56] We guys return to that which is uncomfortable.
[00:55:58] Faith gives eyes to see what seems impossible.
[00:56:01] When Moses threw in his lot, he responded to God's call versus the comforts of the palace.
[00:56:08] Scripture says this, verse 26, He was looking ahead to the reward.
[00:56:15] He was looking ahead to the reward.
[00:56:16] Verse 27,
[00:56:18] For he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible.
[00:56:24] That's a paradox.
[00:56:25] How do you see him that's invisible?
[00:56:27] He was looking ahead.
[00:56:28] Literally, his eyes were fixed on he who is invisible.
[00:56:34] That's eyes of faith, right?
[00:56:36] Faith is assurance of things hoped for, convictions of things not seen.
[00:56:46] I think so often in life when we're being hit with stuff, we relate in Mooresville, it's like, from a human standpoint, when you're in bumper to bumper traffic, isn't that frustrating?
[00:56:59] And then when things are coming at you, you can't see past the car in front of you, you're slamming the brakes, you're frustrated, you're...
[00:57:08] When you trust in God's vision, He has eagle vision, He can see the big picture.
[00:57:15] He sees how to navigate the traffic and the back roads and the main roads and so often we're just living bumper to bumper rather than trusting His wisdom is above our wisdom.
[00:57:29] One last point.
[00:57:32] Faith shows obedience to the Word of God.
[00:57:36] You find that in verse 28.
[00:57:39] I'm gonna take this from a biblical scholar
[00:57:42] Raymond Brown, he says, Godly direction may seem strange or costly.
[00:57:49] Verse 28, by faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood.
[00:57:56] Now that initial Passover was unprecedented.
[00:57:59] Doesn't that seem strange?
[00:58:00] Can you imagine the instructions being given to Moses?
[00:58:02] You're gonna need to slaughter a lamb and take the blood and put it on the doorpost if you want to save
[00:58:10] Your firstborn son from the angel of death.
[00:58:14] Can you imagine Moses like, this is strange and it's costly.
[00:58:17] You're slaughtering an animal which was valuable to families back then.
[00:58:23] But they trusted in God's word, they obeyed God's word.
[00:58:29] Not only Moses but all of the families, the Hebrew families did so as well.
[00:58:40] Now what was the result of trusting, having faith?
[00:58:45] First of all, their firstborn son was spared whereas all the Egyptian sons died.
[00:58:51] There's wailing in the morning and then the Pharaoh said, just leave, get out of here.
[00:58:57] Your God is far more powerful than anything.
[00:59:01] Pharaoh was fearful and sent the Israelites out.
[00:59:08] And then God performed miracle after miracle.
[00:59:12] Yes, miracle after miracle.
[00:59:17] And then within 40 years, it took a little while, they reached the Promised Land.
[00:59:23] Godly direction may seem strange or costly, but faith will lead you to the Promised Land.
[00:59:28] And let me tell you, culture can do a number on church folk.
[00:59:32] You're probably feeling that now.
[00:59:35] The cultural battles.
[00:59:37] They will want to convince you that the Bible is not trustworthy.
[00:59:42] It's archaic.
[00:59:44] It's not relevant.
[00:59:47] And culture will like to clean up God a little bit.
[00:59:51] He's evolved.
[00:59:53] Let me ask you a question.
[00:59:54] Do you think the last 2,000 years to become more loving than he used to be?
[01:00:03] Do you think his moral core has changed?
[01:00:07] When it comes to anything that he lays out in scripture, do you think the death on the cross for Jesus was unnecessary?
[01:00:18] This morning I woke up and I was just reading, I used to get a newspaper, now I just kind of read the headlines online, and there was an article that caught my attention on Joe Rogan.
[01:00:30] Do you know the podcaster?
[01:00:32] Joe Rogan, who is not a believer,
[01:00:36] In this article, it said he's been attending church.
[01:00:42] And he's curious, and he's fascinated by Christians.
[01:00:44] He's not a believer, he's not a Christian.
[01:00:47] But he's trying to figure out why intelligent people are taking time out of their lives to go on a Sunday morning and listen to the Bible.
[01:00:56] and he's been in a setting where they are taking the Bible seriously and he's fascinated and he's come to the point, he said in this article, that he believes that, you know, there's a lot of stuff we get thrown at, a lot of theories and he goes, I think, you know, Jesus Christ is a historical figure so we gotta deal with that.
[01:01:16] And he goes, and the same people who intellectually believe in a big bang but they say a resurrection is impossible, he goes, I'm finding maybe there's something more to this Christianity thing
[01:01:29] He's not willing to dismiss the possibility of Christ's resurrection.
[01:01:37] Because there are a lot of intelligent people that just dismiss that.
[01:01:40] They'll believe in the Big Bang.
[01:01:44] For me personally, if there was a Big Bang, probably God did create it.
[01:01:48] But that's a side thing.
[01:01:52] So I ask you the question.
[01:01:55] If culture begins to get the best of you,
[01:01:59] When you second guess, or maybe you're enticed by something, how do you respond?
[01:02:06] Here's my challenge.
[01:02:10] Plant your feet.
[01:02:11] Not in human strength, but plant your feet when it comes to faith, when it comes to perseverance.
[01:02:15] Plant your feet, stand firm, lean into your faith, combat fear.
[01:02:23] There are things that are terrifying when it comes to life here on earth.
[01:02:28] Don't be driven by fear.
[01:02:30] Be driven by faith.
[01:02:32] Consider your options.
[01:02:34] There are a lot of ways to do life.
[01:02:36] Are you going to do it your way?
[01:02:37] Or are you going to do it His way?
[01:02:40] Fix your eyes on Jesus.
[01:02:41] I know it seems like a paradox.
[01:02:44] You can't see Jesus.
[01:02:45] Have eyes of faith.
[01:02:46] Fix your eyes on Him, the forerunner.
[01:02:49] He's led the way for us.
[01:02:53] Fix your eyes on Him and trust in God's most holy and perfect
[01:02:59] There are very brilliant people, much smarter than me and many of you, that trust in the words of Scripture that has held the test of time.
[01:03:09] That's my challenge this morning.
[01:03:12] Don't be discouraged.
[01:03:14] Again, persevere, stand firm.
[01:03:16] It's a marathon, not a sprint.
[01:03:19] Let's close our time in prayer.
[01:03:28] Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your Word.
[01:03:36] We thank you for the gift of faith.
[01:03:38] We thank you for the gift of your Son, a fulfilled promise who paved the way for each person here.
[01:03:48] In Christ, we're a new creation.
[01:03:50] In Christ, we are considered your children and we can call you Father.
[01:03:58] In Christ we receive an eternal inheritance.
[01:04:04] I pray for the person in this room that may feel a little beat up with the storms of life.
[01:04:13] The person in this room that may have been knocked down and having trouble picking his or herself up.
[01:04:21] I pray for the person who's easily distracted or enticed.
[01:04:27] Lord, may we
[01:04:29] Like the great people of faith before us, may we keep our eyes fixed on you, on your son Jesus.
[01:04:35] He's our hope.
[01:04:36] We praise him this morning.
[01:04:38] We worship him this morning.
[01:04:40] We express hearts of gratitude.
[01:04:42] What a blessing it is here to be here and to worship, to have that peace, to have that fulfillment and purpose in life.
[01:04:51] Again, we worship you and pray all these things in the name of your Holy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
[01:04:57] Amen.

[01:05:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[01:05:37] Amen.

[01:06:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Thank you for joining us.
[01:06:32] We leave this place in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[01:06:48] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
May the love of God our Father be with each and every one of you now and forever.
[01:06:50] Amen.

[01:07:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' love and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest drain But wholly lean on Jesus' name On Christ the solid rock
[01:07:34] All other ground is sinking sand And darkness veils His lovely face
[01:08:07] All of the ground is simple sand, All of the ground is simple sand,
[01:08:36] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy,
[01:09:04] When he shall come with trumpet sound, Only a yearning in him found, Dressed in his righteousness alone,
[01:09:38] Christ the Son in the flesh slain All of the world we sing his name All of the world we sing his name
[01:10:30] The Anniversary!

[01:10:59] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Happy Anniversary!
[01:11:21] Let us pray.

[01:11:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let me just take that button.