Sermon
# 68 Hebrews
Notes
Title: “SEEING HIM”
Text: Hebrews 11:24-27
Subject: Moses’ Faithg
Date: Tuesday Evening – November 27, 2001
Tape # W-71b
Introduction:
Moses was pre-eminently a type of our Lord Jesus
Christ. In fact, he seems to have known that he was specifically raised up by
God as a type of his coming Savior. This is not commonly the case. In fact, I
do not know of another example. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joshua, Boaz, David,
Solomon, Hosea, and Jeremiah were all typical of the Lord Jesus; but there is
no indication that they knew it. Moses, on the other hand, seems to have known
his typical significance (Deut. 18:15-18).
(Deuteronomy 18:15-18) The LORD
thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 According to all
that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly,
saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see
this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And the LORD said unto me,
They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will
raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put
my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him.
Moses as a Type of Christ
Not only was he typical of Christ as our great Prophet, by
whom God makes himself known to, teaches, and directs his people in this world,
-- Moses was typical of our great Savior in many ways.
·
He was the meekest man in the earth.
·
Yet, never was there a man more courageous and bold.
·
For the sake of his people and the glory of his God, Moses hazarded
everything.
·
He delivered Israel from Pharaoh and from Egypt at the time appointed
by God.
·
Moses was a mediator between God and his people.
·
He was the only man by whom God spoke to men.
·
He led the chosen nation through the wilderness to Canaan.
·
Yet, he could not bring Israel into Canaan, the land of their promised
rest and inheritance (typical of heaven), because he also represented the law.
As a type of the law and justice of God, there are
many things to be seen in Moses’ actions and in his death.
·
He smote the rock out of which flowed the water of life in the
wilderness of death; “and that Rock was Christ.”
·
He smote the rock a second time and died because of it. – The law,
having once smitten Christ, is dead!
·
He could not enter into the land of Canaan with Israel, because
salvation cannot come by law (Rom. 8:4).
Still, this man Moses was a man of great faith. As
such he is held before us as an example to follow in Hebrews 11:24-27. In verse
23, we read of the faith of Moses’ parents in hiding him. In the four verses
before us tonight the Holy Spirit describes Moses’ own faith in Christ.
(Hebrews 11:24-27) By faith
Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of
God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had
respect unto the recompense of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt,
not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is
invisible.
The title of my message
tonight is found in verse 27. – “Seeing Him!” Oh, may God give us
grace to see him!
Proposition: It was seeing the invisible
God that gave Moses’ faith and sustained him in faith; and it is only as see
see him by divine revelation that we can have faith and walk in faith.
Here are seven specific things the Holy Spirit tells
us about Moses and his faith, by which he instructs us in this matter of faith.
I.
First, because he believed God Moses
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (v. 24).
(Hebrews
11:24) By faith Moses, when he was come
to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
When he
openly and publicly took the part of the Israelite against the Egyptian, Moses
publicly identified himself with the people of God. The Holy Spirit tells us
here that when Moses’ did this thing, when he slew the Egyptian, he did so as
an act of faith. – This is what we do in believer’s baptism. We publicly
identify ourselves with Christ, his gospel, and his people.
·
He preferred Israel to Egypt.
·
He preferred being an Israelite to being the most prestigious, powerful
man in the world.
·
He preferred the care of God’s church and people to his own honor and
well-being.
II.
Second, believing God Moses’ chose
the afflictions of God’s people (v. 25).
(Hebrews
11:25) Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season;
A. It is true, he was chosen of God to be one of his
own; but Moses’ chose to be numbered among God’s people.
At first glance, this might not seem to be a very
difficult choice for anyone to make. After all…
·
These were the chosen, redeemed, peculiar people of God.
·
These were the people to whom alone God gave his Word and ordinances of
divine worship.
·
God himself was with them.
·
Canaan was promised to them.
B. But Moses’ counted the cost and chose
rather to suffer the afflictions of God’s elect than to enjoy the pleasures
that were his in Egypt.
He knew that the afflictions they endured were hard
afflictions indeed; but he also knew that they were afflictions endured as the
people of God.
·
Divinely Appointed
·
Fatherly Chastisements
·
For the Glory of God
·
Temporary
·
Spiritually and Eternally Beneficial
(1 Peter 1:3-9) Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be,
ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even
the salvation of your souls.
III.
Third, because he believed God Moses
esteemed the reproach of Christ to be far greater riches than the treasures of
Egypt (v. 26).
(Hebrews
11:26) Esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the
recompense of the reward.
He
considered it his greatest wealth and honor to be allowed to bear the reproach
of Christ…
·
Christ’s Personal Reproach
·
The Reproach of His Word
·
The Reproach of His Worship
·
The Reproach Endured by His People
(1 Peter 2:19-24) For this is
thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering
wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for
your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for
it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For
even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us
an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not
again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed.
IV.
Fourth, believing God, Moses had
respect unto the promises of God (v. 26).
(Hebrews 11:26) Esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had
respect unto the recompense of the reward.
That is to
say, he believed it, looked for it, and anticipated it (2 Tim. 1:7-12).
(2 Timothy 1:7-12) For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor
of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel
according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with
an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But
is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel: 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a
teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these
things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.
·
The Deliverance of Israel out of Their Bondage
·
The Blessings of Canaan
·
Eternal Glory
V.
Fifth, verse 27 tells us that – “By
faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.”
Though it may have reference to Moses leading Israel
out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, I do not think that is the primary thing
referred to here. Rather, this sentence speaks of Moses’ flying away to Midian.
The deliverance of Israel as a nation is described in verse 29.
After he
had slain the Egyptian and taken up the cause of Israel, Moses made no effort
to appease Pharaoh’s wrath. His fleeing was not an act of cowardice, but of
obedience to the will of God. There he must wait for God to send him for the
work to which he was ordained. He must be trained in the prophecy school of
hardship, isolation, and trouble in the Midian desert.
Pharaoh,
was a roaring lion, but Moses did not fear him. Those who are called by
the grace of God, out of a state of darkness and bondage, and out of a strange
land, forsake this world, and everything that is near and dear, when it is in
competition with Christ; not fearing the wrath of any temporal king or prince;
nor of Satan, the prince of this world.
VI.
Sixth, verse 27 tells us that, because Moses believed God, “he endured!”
Faith perseveres. Faith never quits. Faith endures;
and endures to the end.
·
The Trials of Providence
·
The Afflictions of the Gospel
·
The Rod of Chastisement
·
The Warfare in Our Souls
VII.
Seventh, the cause of Moses’ great faith, the thing that sustained him to the
end, was just this: Moses had seen
and lived seeing him who is invisible (v. 27).
(Hebrews
11:27) By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
This was not a one time sight, but an
ever-increasing sight, a sight which guided, sustained and refreshed this man
Moses unto the end. He saw the Lord God in Christ.
·
In the Word He was Taught
·
In The Bush
·
In the Paschal Lamb and Sprinkled Blood
·
In Salvation Experienced – The Red Sea!
·
In the Tree at Marah
·
In The Manna
·
In the Rock
·
In the Cleft of the Rock!
A. It was a spiritual sight – “By
Faith.”
B. It was a glorious, but
humbling sight.
C. It was a transforming sight.
D. It was a separating sight.
E. It was an inspiring sight.
F. It was a sustaining sight.
(Exodus 33:13-19) Now therefore,
I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I
may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this
nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with
thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy
presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein
shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is
it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy
people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And
the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for
thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he
said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before
thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on
whom I will show mercy.