The Choices We Must Make
Hebrews 11:24-27
Hebrews 11 is a chapter about people of faith and the choices they made in living by their faith. This is an observation we should not pass by too quickly. You see, it is the choices that we make in life that reveal to us who and what we are living for.
When we like Noah make the choice to believe and do hard things in obedience to God’s Word we demonstrate that God’s will is most important to us.
When we like Abraham make the choice to leave our comforts, conveniences, and treasures to follow God to a place we have never been and to a lifestyle that is empty of all our creature comforts, conveniences, and treasures we are making the point that God is all we desire and need.When we like Moses’ parents make the choice to defy the ungodly demands of a government that is hostile to God so as to risk everything—we demonstrate that God is our King and our greatest treasure in life and we aren’t really risking anything at all of eternal importance.
Our choices in life tell a lot about us. Perhaps you heard about George Gallup’s book—The Day America Told The Truth in which he asked the question what would you do for 10 million dollars? He found that 25 % of Americans would be willing to abandon their families for that kind of money. 25 % would be willing to abandon their church as well—my guess is that would do that for a lot less. 23 % would become prostitutes; and 7 % would kill a stranger. Interestingly enough, when he asked the same question but dropped the amount to 3 million dollars—the results stayed pretty much the same. Now its not hard to see that the choices people make in response to questions like this really do reveal a great deal about the people making such choices—don’t they.
Today, I want us to consider the choices people who love God and who are living by their faith will make and who by making such choices do indeed prove that they believe God and desire Him more than anything or anyone else in life.
Go with me to Hebrews 11.
1. If we wish to live by faith we must choose between pleasing man and pleasing God. (24)
Most Old Testament scholars agree that Moses was probably about 5 or 6 years old when he went to live with Pharaoh’s daughter. Therefore, he was with her for about 34 years--for far more years than his own mother. It would be hard to believe that some emotional attachment did not form between the two. In fact there must have been some bond between them in the sense that everyone else considered him to be her son.
But when Moses came of age—when he had grown up—he had a choice to make—to either continue on the path his step mother had planned for him or to refuse this path and choose rather to return to the people of his real mother whom he probably had not seen for years.
Even though the Bible spares us the details—the decision must have been hard. Not only was he choosing to give up a glorious future—his decision would also disappoint and crush the heart of the woman who had become his mother since he was a little boy.
It wasn’t an easy decision. None of them are when they involve having to hurt or disappoint someone else in order to do what you know to be right. But, Moses made this decision by faith, verse 24 tells us. In other words he believed God and put his stock in what he knew God wanted him to do rather than in his emotions and what his heart was perhaps screaming out to him to do.
This was a hard thing to do but Moses did it and he did it by faith because he new that to stay and make a decision that, while sparing another’s feelings, violated God’s command would be sin. Keep in mind that in Moses’ case one of the passing pleasures of sin would have been avoiding the inner agony of making a decision that would hurt and cause pain to his stepmother. The easy thing to do would have been to avoid the hurt and simply live out her dream for him rather than God’s. But Moses did what people who live by their faith do—he did the hard thing and chose God and God’s ambitions for him over another’s.
Before moving on from this point, let me address the fact that Moses' did not just haphazardly make this decision when he came of age. No,way. You see, Moses had a mother--his real mom--who trained him in regard to who he really was, who his people were, most importantly, who His God was. And she did all this life transforming training in the few short years she had with him, from birth to about five or six years of age. Moms, don't diminish the spiritual influence you can have for the Lord in your child's life when they are just toddlers.
Listen to me. You can't have it all at the same time. You cannot have a successful career and a successful family at the same time. The Bible is very clear on where you should when you have children at home and especially small children. Titus 2:3-5 tells us that older godly women are to be teaching younger Christian women to stay home and be workers in the home so that God is not dishonored. Read it for yourselves and if you don't like it--send God the email--not me!
And shame on you husbands who are putting pressure on your wives to work outside of your homes because you need help paying for your toys. Listen, you will either pay now--in terms of less toys and less wants if mom stays home or you will most definitely pay later when the kids are teens if mom works out of the home and I guarantee the cost will be much higher and harder than you ever would have or could have imagined.
Moms, follow the example of Moses' mom and make raising your kids to know who they are and Who God is a priority that is more important than a few extra bucks at the end of the month or keeping your hand in your career.
2. If we wish to live by faith we must choose between earthly and heavenly rewards. (25-26)
According to some historians and experts in the study of Egyptology, the Pharaoh who ordered the Hebrews to kill their male babies had no sons of his own. Thus, when Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, he stood in line to possibly become Pharaoh’s successor. This is a possible theory. The other possibility is that Pharaoh’s daughter already had a son named Ramses II who because he was older than Moses was in line to be the next pharaoh. Nevertheless, Moses was in line to be a man of great influence in Egypt. You see, to become a member of Pharaoh’s family made you in a sense to the Egyptians as more than just a man—in their minds you became a sort of semi-divine god.
Phenomenal power, prestige, exaltation, and even the worship of the people were his by virtue of the fact that he was now the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. But as we saw in verse 24, he refused all this when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. And in verses 25-26 we are told that he made this choice to give up all Egypt could offer him for two things: first, for the privilege of experiencing mistreatment with the people of God and second, to share in the disgrace and reproach of Christ. The reason he wanted to experience mistreatment rather than be the on the one giving it out and the reason he wanted to share in Christ’s reproach rather than be the one reproaching Christ was because he “was looking to the reward”.
That is what verse 26 says. His primary motivation in giving up Egypt to obey and pursue God was the reward. His motivation in making this tough decision that caused him to be willing to risk his future for Christ by serving the people of God was that he was looking to the reward.
In other words, he was not living for the dot of temporary earthly treasures and pleasures but for that which would last forever and never diminish in value, joy, or pleasure. In fact, all of the people in Hebrews were making their decisions based upon what would be the best way to maximize their investment in eternity and for eternity. They were living for the rewards God promised in Heaven rather than the rewards promised on earth.
Many believers balk at the idea that we should be living and making decisions in order to gain eternal rewards saying instead that we should just serve God because we love Him and are thankful for everything He has done for us. Well, I have no problem and neither does the Bible with living our lives for the Lord because we love Him and as an expression of thanksgiving to Him for all He has done for us. But, I do have a problem and so does the Bible with telling people that it is an improper and unbiblical motivation to be serving the Lord and making much of Him with our lives in order to receive great, eternal, and spectacular rewards from Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ. In fact, in Hebrews 11 alone, we are told at least five times that the great people of faith were indeed motivated by the expectation of future heavenly rewards and glory to live lives and make decisions that demonstrated God was their greatest treasure and pleasure in life. (Look at verse 10, 14, 16, and 35)
Now, when you consider the essence of all heavenly rewards and the fact that what is of value on earth in terms of treasures and pleasures has absolutely no value in heaven—you will begin to understand why it is not a contradiction to live a life that makes much of Jesus in order to receive heavenly rewards. You see, earthly treasures and pleasures make much of us. They are the things we reward ourselves with for whatever reason. But heavenly rewards are not the kinds of things that make much of us because in heaven the only One made much of is God.
Heavenly rewards not like earthly trinkets. They will not even necessarily be things. I mean what could you ever possess or wear or drive or live in when you get to heaven that would be worthy of comparing with the beauty, splendor, grandeur, majesty, and infinite breathtaking, mouth-watering experience of actually being in the physical presence of God Himself. In other words, the rewards of Heaven are not so much things as they are opportunities—opportunities to enjoy and experience God Himself relating to you face-to-face so that you are filled with such an incomprehensible and uncontainable sense of happiness, peace, security, excitement, and adventure that absolutely nothing you could be given in terms of riches, prizes, possessions, positions, and pleasures even matter. And if indeed the rewards of Heaven are really opportunities to experience and enjoy to the fullest capacity you are able—Jesus Christ, God Almighty Himself—then these opportunities are simply for the purpose of receiving one reward—in fact, the only real reward there is—God Himself.
Look again at Hebrews 11:26. Note specifically what the last phrase says—“for Moses was looking to the reward.” The Greek word misthapodosian is singular talking not about many rewards but one reward. It is also accompanied by the definite article, which is designating it as a specific and identifiable rather than unspecific and unidentifiable reward
Thus, all of heaven’s rewards culminate and find their final and perfect expression and experience of joy and pleasure in receiving to the degree one is able and capable the reward of experiencing and enjoying God.
Why do I say—that the reward of heaven is to experience and enjoy God to the degree or capacity we are able to. Because—the reward for making decisions by faith that make much of Christ and demonstrate His supremacy over everything is a greater capability and ability to experience and thus enjoy God. Again, Heaven is not the experience of new and better things—it is to experience God unfettered by sin to the fullness of your capacity to enjoy Him. As we have said before—everyone in Heaven will be as happy and as joyful as they can be—bar none. But everyone’s capacity to enjoy God will be different—based upon their rewards for faithfully making much of Him.
When we live our lives by faith in the promises of God and make decisions that demonstrate we would rather have God than anything earth can offer us--so as to be able to experience and enjoy the reward of God Himself to the fullest capacity that we are able—then who are we really making much of—ourselves or God?
So—we see that true biblical faith causes us to make our decisions with eternity in view—with the Judgment Seat of Christ in the foreground. And isn’t it interesting that Moses besides the heavenly rewards he is enjoying also received the earthly reward of being honored in history for his choice. Can you tell me the names of the Pharaohs? Probably not. You see, had Moses chosen to remain the son of Pharaoh’s daughter he would only be known to us a name on some mummy in a museum. But, instead his name is well-know throughout the world but more importantly his name is recorded in God’s Word as a man who lived by his faith by choosing eternal heavenly treasure over temporary earthly riches.
CONCLUSION
So how about us? Where do we stand when it comes to living by our faith so as to make choices that prove God is more important to us than our loved ones and our earthly treasures? Do our life choices reflect this kind of attitude or do they reflect that Christ is not really our greatest treasure and pleasure in life? Do our bank accounts, purchases, investments, relationships, dreams, ambitions, priorities, TV & movie viewing habits, internet surfing, hobbies, church attendance, work ethic, ministry involvement, time spent sharing the gospel with others, and the effort we invest in our Bibles and prayer demonstrate that God is our greatest treasure and pleasure or that our greatest treasure and pleasure in life has very little to do with God at all?
Those who live by their faith will say “Yes, what I choose to do with my time, my money, my possessions, my relationships, and everything in my life is all about pursuing and demonstrating to others that Jesus Christ is my greatest treasure and pleasure in this life and the life to come.
Others of you may say—“No, that is not what my life choices demonstrate at all. In fact, the only thing the choices I have made and am making in life really demonstrate is that I am in love with earthly trinkets and making much of me and my pleasure, my convenience, and my own security. And Mark, I just can’t get a grip on this living for eternity thing because I just can’t see why Christ is so valuable to you. If that’s where you are today—you are exactly right when you say—you can’t see why Christ would be so valuable to those of us who are desiring to live our lives to demonstrate that He is. But you see, the reason why you can’t fathom why anyone would live their life so as to make much of Christ and demonstrate His supremacy over all things is because you can’t see Christ. Look at verse 27. Here is your missing link—you haven’t seen Christ yet. Because if you had seen Him and if you are seeing Him—you’d have no trouble at all understanding what I am talking about.
If this troubles you and you are sitting there wanting to live for something bigger than yourself and more important than earthly trinkets and which won’t wear out, burn out, or rust out—and you are wanting to know the only One Who can give you eternal and abundant life overflowing with joy irregardless of the troubles you face—and you are tired of carrying around a load of guilt that constantly pushes you to try to make yourself acceptable to God and others—You need to get down on your knees and cry out to God to show you Jesus—because once you see Him with the eyes of a new heart that now can see—you’ll never be the same again.
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