You can step back and get one way or the other. We are studying Hebrews 11 this summer and looking at faith in action, and tonight we're going to continue that. So if you have your Bible open there to Hebrews chapter 11. Real faith in action, not just an idea, not something going on in our mind, but a true conviction of heart that works its way out in in a life. Tonight, we're going to take up Moses. Moses, it's worthy to note that in this chapter. Of Hebrews 11, Moses follows five by faith statements. That's how the author of Hebrews kind of works through the different individuals. And Moses gets five by faith. Abraham just gets three by faith and everyone else on the list gets one by faith. And then some like David, you know, David, he just gets kind of mentioned by name. You know, he's kind of thrown out there in a group of people. But Moses is mentioned in five different instances by faith. Now, for obvious reasons, Moses would hold a highly respected position in the mind of the Hebrew people, the Israelites. Though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are kind of the progenitors of the Israeli people, Moses was the first leader of their nation. He was the prototype deliverer for the once or the soon to come Messiah, and he was also the giver of the law and the and the mediator, as it were, of the the old covenant. I mean, he it's through him. God formed the nation of Israel and brought them into a covenant. So Moses in particular would hold a special place in the heart to whom the author of Hebrews is writing. to the 12 tribes dispersed abroad. And so to highlight Moses' faith would kind of drive the lesson home. and would have significance. So let's just take up each one of these facets, though. Though Moses may not have a particular place in our heart, not being Jews in and of our heritage, he has been highlighted and kind of pulled out and made significant in this chapter. So I just want to look at each one of those and not miss anything. I just want to see the various facets of faith. And you see the headlines there on the outline sheet. And we're just going to look at each one of them. Look at verse twenty three. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. Now, this is the faith to do what is right. This is a facet that we see. Now, this is not actually Moses, but it's but it's called. It's interesting how the author of Hebrews refers to it. He doesn't say, by faith, Moses' parents did something. He said, by faith, Moses, but obviously referring to the action themselves of Moses' parents. Moses wasn't. of making any decisions by faith at that at that point. But turn back with me to Exodus. We're going to come back and forth to Hebrews 11 and Exodus, where Moses' life is described. So hold there in Hebrews 11, but turn to Exodus chapter one and let's see exactly what's going on as Moses' parents, why this is an action of faith. The background of the story is Verse 8, after Joseph, who we looked at last week, a new king arose over Egypt. This is Exodus 1.8. and who did not know Joseph. And he said, Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we come. Let us deal wisely with them. Else they will multiply in the event of war. They will join themselves to those who hate us and fight against us and depart from the land. So there is a problem. The Israelites were extremely blessed by the Lord and they were growing in number. And so the kings of Egypt said, We've got to do something. And so they basically took them into bondage. This is one race dominating another race. And they took them into bondage. Now, verse 11 says they appointed taskmasters over them, afflicted them with hard labor and cause them to build storage cities. OK. Um, towards the end of it, then you see what happens is they realize that, well, we cannot stop these people, even though we've put them in bondage, they continue to grow and spread out all over the land. So the plan is that we're going to kill their children. We're just going to genocide here. And so they instructed the verse 15, the Hebrew midwives, um, to put to death the male children of Israel. But the midwives feared God, and they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded in verse 17, when the king of Egypt called them into account and said, Why have you done this thing, verse 18? Why have you let the boys live? Now, I'm not certain whether the midwives were lying here or whether this was a true statement, but they said, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous, and they give birth before the midwife can get to them. OK, so no hospital needed, no midwife needed. They're giving birth, probably lying there to Pharaoh. As a matter of fact, verse 20 says God was good to the midwives on the count of this. And the people multiplied and became very mighty because the midwives fear God. They established he established households for them so that what that plan of Pharaoh wasn't working. And so. Verse 22, Pharaoh commanded all his people, which would include the Hebrew people under his rule. Every son is just speaking about the Hebrew people. It wasn't doing this to the Egyptians. Every son who is born to you, you are to cast into the Nile and every daughter here to keep alive now. Just think for a minute about the political savvy or lack of savvy that this pharaoh. Here he has a slave nation working in his midst and he is commanding them to basically wipe out all the working population of the next generation. Because if you eliminate all male children born, then you're just wiping out all of your laborers, at least, you know, 20 years down the road you are. But in order to understand this, you have to understand the straits that the Egypt Egyptians were in. And we see in Chapter one, verse 12. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread out so that the Egyptians were in dread of the sons of Israel. OK, they don't have an option. They realize something is happening here and they are going to take over our land. So the plan was not just he wasn't trying to eliminate the laborers. He was trying to get the Israel Israelites to intermarry with the Egyptians so that they just become one people. OK, if we can't beat them, we'll join them. And so we'll wipe out all of their males. And so the females will have to intermarry with us. And then they won't be they won't try to take us over because it will be just one people. But boy, they're getting all the slave labor. They just, you know, passed on the buck to future generations. You know, all the tax burden and everything else. And you kind of see this happening in our own nation, you know, pass the buck to future generations. They won't we won't get cities built, but at least we won't get conquered, I guess, is what Pharaoh thought. So the question is, how then did Moses' parents exercise faith in this situation? Look at chapter two. A man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son. We know that they already had two children previous to this, Miriam and Aaron. But the woman conceived, bore a son, and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. How was the faith of Moses' parents demonstrated? You know the story. They couldn't hide him anymore after three months. She put him in a basket in the Nile River, told Miriam to follow along the basket. The daughter of Pharaoh found him, took him as her own son. Moses' mother nursed him until he was weaned, and then he became the son of Pharaoh's daughter. This particular action that the writer of Hebrews pulls out that they've refused to follow the king's edict. Literally, they were not afraid of the king's edict. They did what was right. And look, if you're a minority ethnic group in a nation that has enslaved you and you are in the ancient Near East, if you disobey the edict of a king, even if the edict is to kill your own children, then your life is forfeit. I mean, he'll come and kill you if he if he realizes you have not obeyed his command, he will kill you. You have no court to appeal to, no one to seek protection from, no grievance to file, you know, with the labor board or anything like that. If you are found with a male child born in your house, you are disobeying the edict of the king and you will die. That's it. Period. But they refused. I find it interesting, the description of why they refused. I mean, look at verse two. And when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. Now, is that a strange statement? Do you read strange statements in the scripture from time to time and you say, well, so if he came out ugly, she would have tossed him or. Now, the Hebrew word for that's translated here, beautiful is Tove. It's a very common word in the Hebrew scripture. It simply means good, acceptable, pleasant, appropriate. It's good. It's Tove. The same reason about why they didn't toss him in the Nile was is repeated in Hebrews 11 because he was Tove, acceptable. What was, in other words, when they saw their child, it was agreeable to them to keep him. It was not agreeable. It was not pleasant. It was not appropriate for them to toss him in the Nile. In other words, what they are realizing is, is there is a value to life here. God is the giver of life and we are not going to treat life as if it's cheap, even if it means we have to forfeit our own life to do it. They did not fear the king's edict. They valued what God had appointed in life was important and not the king's edict. They were not they were willing to. by faith to refuse to do a moral wrong, even if they put their own necks on the line. And that's the that's the essence of faith is that they were willing to uphold a moral good, a moral right. Because God had established that right, he was the giver of life and this king had no right to take it like this. And so we're going to stand with God, not with the king, even if it puts our own life in danger. So by faith, they refuse to go along. They refuse to fear the king's edict. There's something else worth noting here, and it gives me hope. And that is this. Their faith did not demonstrate itself like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to obey the king's edict. You remember Daniel's three friends? The Nebuchadnezzar made a big statue and said everyone in the land has to bow down to it. And these three Hebrews said we refuse. And they made a public statement. They were standing in the midst of the courtyard. Everyone bowed and they stood standing. They made a very public statement. And when the king confronted them and gave them another opportunity to bow down, you remember how they responded? He said, if you don't, you're going into the fiery furnace. And they said, our God is able to rescue us even from the fiery furnace. But even if he does not, we will not obey your edict. OK, we will not bow down and worship your guys. I mean, talk about some man faith. I mean, they had serious, bold, public faith. That's not like Moses parents. Moses' parents, they hid the kid away. They didn't stand at their doorway and say, we're not throwing our son in the Nile. No, they hid him quietly. They just did what was right in quiet, without a grand, bold statement. They just did what was right. You know, and I appreciate that because oftentimes in our lives we have to make decisions to do what is right and it doesn't take a grand, bold stand. Sometimes we have to make a bold stand, a very public acknowledgment, but many, many more times and also for just seemingly regular people just to do what is right without a grand public demonstration of it. They just hid the child. And then when his presence became an actual danger to their other children and the whole family, they, in faith, put him in the Nile, in a basket, entrusting him to God's care, hoping he would be rescued. So a faith to fear God and to do what's right above any earthly king, to refuse to comply with an edict that's that's morally wrong. That's the faith of Moses' parents. OK, second thing we see is from verse flip back to Hebrews 11. Now the faith to choose sides. Choosing this is what what the writer of Hebrews says, but by faith, Moses, verse 24, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater reward or greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. Now, to me, this is a this is a profound statement of exactly the kind of what what most sticks out about. Moses and really most sticks out in the writer of Hebrews because he expands on it and he and he pulls this out and pulls more out of and more explanation of it. It says he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing to endure ill treatment with the people of God. OK. The son of Pharaoh's daughter. He is in the royal house of the ruling nation in the world at that time. OK, Egypt. Everything he has, everything. That he would ever want. But he chose rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God. OK, remember what Joseph did? At the end of his life, Joseph also was a high ranking official in the Egyptian government and remained there until the end of his days. OK, but what did Joseph do at the end of his life? What is he commended for in verse twenty two when he was dying? He said, Don't build a pyramid for me. I don't belong here. My promise, my my true person is with the promise that was made before with God and his people. And so I'm going to you go bury me in the land of that Israel will once have and will have in Canaan. This is the same this is the exact same thing Moses was doing. He Joseph chose to endure ill treatment. You put bury me with the slave people. Because that's the people of God rather than bury me like a king in Egypt. It's an interesting statement that the writer of Hebrew says, choosing to endure ill treatment with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. And it's intrigued me to say what was so sinful about being a son of Pharaoh's daughter. Because that's the contrast, he refused to be called sons of Pharaoh's daughter, and that was is equated in the the verse twenty five with enjoying the passing pleasures of sin. What was so what would have been so sinful about being the son of Pharaoh's daughter or remember how this. Chapter started. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Paul would say in First Corinthians, anything that is not of faith is sin. To remain in Pharaoh's house when God had called him to go out to his people would have been sin. Not besides the sinful things that were going on in Pharaoh's house and in the nation of Egypt, it was a pagan land and all the ritual and all the religion that was exactly opposite of true faith and the one true and living God, the multitude of gods. Besides all that, simply God had called him. to another thing and such a remain there in Pharaoh's house to to to continue asserting his citizenship or his heritage there when God had called us heritage to be with his own people. It makes you ask the the question, why do I want what I want? You know, what do I want out of this life? I mean, this is what we're talking about, not eternal things, but this life. Moses refused to enjoy all the things of this life because God had called him to something else. Why do I want what I want? Do I want what I want because it it's pleasurable and enjoyable in this life, or do I want what I want because God has called me to live in a certain way for him and to do certain things? This is the choice that Moses had to make. Nothing wrong with some of Egyptian life, nothing wrong with some of American life. The question is, why do I want what I want? Is it because God is calling me to that or is it because I just like the things that I have to live for passing pleasures? That's a sin. Understand that not to enjoy some of the passing pleasures as they happen to come along in life, but to live for to make choices for the passing pleasures in life that is to not live by faith. And we know that because of the way that the writer of Hebrews concludes verse 26. He chose not to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin. And here's why he didn't, because he considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. And that phrase looking to means it actually means looking away from the word is exact is actually look away from. But what it means is you're looking away from everything else and you only have one thing in your mind. And so the essence of that word is you've blocked everything else out and you only have this one thing. And what is the one thing he had was focusing on the reward? Considering the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was focusing in on. The reward that was the one thing in his mind, the promise that God had made. Now, it is interesting. I just want to read from a from a commentator, Donald Guthrie, because I thought he made a great statement about this. It's surprising that the reproach is said to be suffered for Christ. Isn't that strange? Moses didn't know anything about Christ. Christ hadn't come yet. And so how can the author of Hebrews say that that Moses was actually considering the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt says this. It is surprising that the abuse is said to be suffered for Christ, for this seems like a reading back of Christian conditions into the time of Moses. It is not, however, entirely inappropriate for a writer who has many times throughout this epistle invested the Old Testament allusions with Christian significance to do the very same thing here. He's taking the sacrificial system earlier in the in the book of Hebrews, and he is saying this is the how it was fulfilled. This is this is the true meaning behind these things. All that Moses suffered was in the cause of God's plan of salvation for his people, culminating ultimately in the abuse which was heaped upon Christ himself, of which the writer is acutely conscious throughout this entire epistle. So the writer of Hebrews is recognizing that all true people of faith, as the world reproaches them, That just culminated in the world's rejection and reproach of Christ. And so Moses, in the line of faith, being a person of the faith of Abraham, being a true believer in God, he was feeling the reproach as he chose sides and he stepped away from all that the world had to offer him and chose rather to endure ill treatment with God's people. He was, as it were, absorbing the reproaches that ultimately Christ himself would feel in the accomplishment of God's salvation plan, Moses was going to be a significant player in God's salvation plan, and he chose that rather than the pleasures of Pharaoh's house. To live for passing pleasures. To the denial of the eternal purposes. That's what we're talking about here to live for passing pleasures to the denial of pursuing eternal reward, eternal purposes. That's wrong. That's sinful and greedy and idolatrous. And that's what we must be careful of. That's what we must learn from Moses. By faith, he chose sides and he chose the right side. He stepped away from the things of this world. I mean, consider Moses fate. Had he not. Where would he be? He'd be at the bottom of the Red Sea right now because God had chosen to deliver his people. And it chosen to destroy the Egyptians, wasn't this the same choice that we're given in the scriptures? God has chosen to bless those who follow Christ and commit and devote their lives to him and to his purposes. Everything else, every other person is going to endure the eternal wrath and punishment, not only physically on this world, but eternally in hell. And the time that we spend on the passing pleasures is just going to get burned up anyway. And that's why Moses understanding this and how he understood that, I don't know. But the author of Hebrews says he did, choosing to endure ill treatment with the people of God rather to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Greater not because they were much more in extent, but greater because they would endure the treasures of Egypt would just pass away. He was looking to the reward, the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises. And so he based his life on that. He chose sides. He chose he chose to stand with Christ. We have choices, don't we? In many occasions, sometimes they're dramatic, sometimes they're just in the everyday decisions that we make about things and what we do and what we focus on. Why do we want what we want? That's the question. Do we want to live for Christ or do we just live for pleasing ourself in this world? It all hinges on verse twenty six. Do you have a single view? Have you have you looked away from everything else to look towards the reward that Christ has promised those who are faithful to him and in him? This is the faith to choose sides next. Number three, they're the faith or faith in taking the lead. I'm at times God will call many of us to step out and take lead. Take the lead on his behalf in some circumstance. Maybe it's in your family. Maybe it's in a discipleship relationship of someone else. Maybe it's in a relationship with an unbeliever and you're taking the lead and leading them spiritually. Maybe it's as an elder or a pastor or a teacher in the church in any capacity, you're you're taking a step of leadership there in this role, you're going to be stepping out to accomplish something for God's purposes and you're going to call others to follow you in doing that to one degree or another. And look, they may or may not want to follow you. This is where the faith in taking the lead comes into play. OK, like Moses, look at what verse 27 says, By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. For he endured as seeing him who was unseen. This is what Moses now when he says he by faith, he left Egypt, this is not Exodus to leaving Egypt when he had killed an Egyptian that thought I heard that the king had heard about it, and so he got out of town and went to Midian for 40 years. That's not what the writer of Hebrews is referring to. He's talking about the leaving of Egypt with the people of Israel as God had delivered them after the 10 plagues. By faith, he left Egypt. And you say, whoa, what kind of faith does that take? I mean, bad God had decimated Egypt. Well, not exactly. God had sent plagues again and again and again on Egypt. But what had happened every time after the plague? Well, Pharaoh's heart was hardened against the Israelites. And what did Pharaoh typically do, especially early on in the process when his heart was hardened against the Israelites? He increased their labor. He said, now you'll I'm not going to give you any straw. You grow your own straw, but you've got to keep making the same amount of bricks. And then he would increase their quota of bricks there. The people, because of Moses insistence on letting my people go standing for God and speaking for God, taking the lead on behalf of the Jewish people, the Jewish people, their burdens were increased all because of Moses. And so when Moses said, OK, folks, look, it's time to go, we are leaving. Now is the time many of them did not want to go. And they when they got out to the Red Sea, you see just how much they didn't want to go because they start accusing Moses. See, what did you do? You brought us out into the wilderness here just to die. We could have died in Egypt. Moses, you're leading us astray. You're not a good leader. And on and on. This is where faith comes in to take the lead. As a leader, you'll be stepping out to accomplish something for God's purpose and calling others to follow if they don't want to follow. It takes faith to stand in front and say, God says to do this. That's what we're going to do. Regardless of what the crowd. around you thinks. What is needed in spiritual leadership? And it's faith is a trust in God, an understanding that God's the one who is the true leader of his people. I, as the physical leader of whatever group of people, my family, this discipleship relationship and teaching capacity leader within the church, I'm going to follow God. Regardless of what the people think of me, it doesn't look it doesn't matter how much charisma or dynamo you have. That doesn't mean anything unless you have faith to do what God says to obey him. If you don't have that kind of humble. faith to obey God over the desires of the crowd and to tune your ears to hear the voice of God in any particular situation, the voice of God through his word, then you don't have the faith to step out and lead like Moses is being put forward as an example here. You may lead people all right, and they may follow you. But if you're not leading them to do what God has called them to do, then you're no leader for God, you're not leading in his stead. You're leading for yourself so that people would recognize you. And can I just say this is a great bane on the church at large today. In many quarters, the church will put forward a person as a leader among them who may have some leadership abilities, but they don't have true faith to just do what God says. And that's a bane on the church. And it is it is heading the church in the wrong direction. Can I just say there are many fathers and husbands who do the very same thing in their own families, and it's a great bane upon a family life. When a father will not have the faith to say we're going to do what's right, even if everyone doesn't agree, we're going to do what's right, I'm going to call you to God's standards. We need we need powerful leaders, not powerful in their personal I mean, Moses really wasn't a powerful person, he couldn't even speak well. He had great faith in God to step out and a willingness to believe God to take the lead and say, I will do what God has commanded me to for what God's given me, the leadership God has has given me. Even if God calls his people to take some radical steps that upset the status quo of the people you're you're leading. What we need is men and women. of faith, willing to lead to accomplish God's purpose, homes, churches, ministries, even in our nation to take political office and business position and to lead well for God's purposes in that arena. OK, the faith to take the lead, Moses is a great demonstration of that. And number four, you find in verse twenty eight, And this is the faith to follow warnings, and that may seem strange, but let me explain. Look at verse twenty eight. By faith, he kept the Passover. And the sprinkling of the blood so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. OK, this is reference to the last plague in Egypt, obviously, and the Passover, the original Passover, Moses and the Israelites at that time were given a strange warning. God's going to send his angel to destroy all the firstborn in this land. And to ward off that plague, you must kill a lamb, put its blood in a bowl, put some hyssop in there and sprinkle on the doorposts and on top of the door, the lamb's blood, and that will ward off the death angel. We know that to be true, but imagine hearing that for the first time. You just feel like, well, that doesn't make any sense. That's weird. That's a little kooky. I mean, that's strange. This is some kind of hocus pocus here, Moses. What is this? You know. How could that help besides Moses, is this some sort of threat you're saying God's going to kill our first born if we don't do this? I thought you were, you know, you and your God were on our side. What do you mean God's going to come against us and attack us if we don't do something? This is a threat. I don't like being threatened. I like to make volitional choices. I don't like people coming and threatening me. It makes me feel threatened. It makes us feel manipulated and seems to compromise my autonomy as a decision maker. If you come and threaten me like that. You know, don't threaten me. Give me instruction. Fine. Give me some options to choose. Fine. Don't give me a warning. Don't come in like you're going to do something to me if I don't. They'll tell me, you know, some impending danger if I don't do what you say. See that that what is that mindset that says that about us, we don't like to be threatened, we don't like to be warned. It's pride. It's pride that says, you give me all the options and I'll make the best decision. Don't warn me. Don't threaten. Does God threaten? Does God warn? You bet he does. He warns continuously through the scripture and says, if you do this, this will come upon you. I mean, just turn back one page, if you're there in Hebrews 11. Chapter ten, verse twenty six, maybe one page of my chapter ten, verse twenty six, for if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth. Here's the warning, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Verse thirty one, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God. That's a warning. That's a threat. If you do, if you continue on willfully sinning after you have received the knowledge of the truth. It's terrifying to trample underfoot the grace of God like that. OK, to insult the spirit of grace, I mean, yes. Faith responds to warnings because faith is humble enough, not filled with pride to recognize and give God his position as the supreme potentate, the supreme king of the universe. And when he says, beware, if you trespass like this, severe punishment will come. Then a humble person of faith will respond to that warning. Faith takes actions merely because the Lord says to do it. It recognizes who he is and it recognizes that he's not being malicious in threatening or warning. He's being gracious by telling us ahead of time and giving us warning so that we might comply. Faith is believing his promises, yes, but it's also heeding his warnings. Sometimes we struggle with with how God speaks to us. And we just need to be careful of why we struggle with that. We should rather say, oh, yes, Lord, warn me, warn me, remind me, put up danger signs in my life so that I will avoid what I naturally would otherwise be blind to. The people of Israel, in this instance, they heeded the warning. And not even a dog barked in Goshen that night. The Lord protected them because they acted on faith and they did what Moses told them to do, what God had delivered them to. But that's attributed to Moses here. Number five, verse twenty nine faith to speak boldly. By faith, they pass through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land. And the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. OK, I don't see any speaking boldly here. Well, let's go back to Exodus 14 and see exactly what happened. I want to the writer of Hebrews says, by faith, they pass through the Red Sea kind of shifts from Moses to the people Moses was leading. But I want to zero in on Moses part in this whole passing through the Red Sea. And see how his faith came came out. Let me just begin it at verse eight. So they move out of Egypt after the Passover. The Lord then hardened the heart of Pharaoh again, the king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel. This is Exodus 14, eight. As the sons of Israel were going out boldly, then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, his army, they overtook them camping by the sea. Beside these names that I can't pronounce in front of Baal Zephron, as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them and they became very frightened. So the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. They saw the Egyptian army bearing down on them and they cried out to the Lord. And then they said to Moses, is it because there was no graves in Egypt that you've taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you while we were still in Egypt, saying, leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness? I mean, you see that see these people. They didn't want to go with Moses, they were they weren't confident in him, but I want you to see how Moses responds, man. Look at verse 13. But Moses said to the people, do not fear. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. And I want to ask you a question. Had the Lord said anything to him yet? Do we see any record of the Lord speaking to him and telling him what he's about to do? No, that comes in verse 15. Do you see the confidence of Moses? God had promised that he was going to take these people into the land. And what looked like in front of them a humanly impossible situation, they've got to see in front of them in the Egyptian army bearing down on them with horses and chariots, and they're just a bunch of people on foot. They have no way to stand against this army. It's a mountain that needs to be moved. But look at Moses confidence. He speaks boldly to the people and says, Look, I know what God's promise. I know the predicament we're in. So God's got to do something here. And look how God responds. Then the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch your hand out over the sea and divide it. And the sons of Israel shall go through in the midst of the sea on the dry land. As for me, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and horsemen. And we know the rest of the story. But I just want you to see the faith of Moses to speak boldly before he he had a specific instruction from the Lord. He knew the character of God. He knew the promise that he made. And by faith, though he couldn't see it, he didn't know what God was going to do. He spoke very boldly to the people of Israel and he chastised them and said, do you do not fear? You stand by and you just be quiet. God is going to do something here. This is the the faith to speak boldly, not in presumption. upon something that God had not specifically promised. I fear people do that too much. They push the envelope and they're they're making God say things he never has promised. But if God has promised something, surely faith responds to that and says, hey, God's promised it. And so you don't have to worry. You don't have to fret. God said he would do this. He will. A reckoning of the promises is true, so much so that. We're willing to bank our reputation on it, because if God didn't come through here, I mean, they're going to string Moses up, they're going to throw him out to the Egyptian armies, first and foremost. This is faith, this is the faith of Moses, the faith to speak boldly when we know that God has promised faith to follow warnings, willing to take the lead. The faith to choose sides. I'm going to stand with the people of God. The implications of that are daily faith to do what's right, even if it's going to cost us and cost us dearly. Let's pray. God, what we need. It's not a new revelation from you. We have the revelation. What we need is not more promises. We have given us every precious promise in the scriptures that apply to us. What we need is faith. We need a true trust in you to believe that though we cannot see what is going to happen, we are willing to act because of your character and because of your word. We need a boldness and a confident tenacity. To have a single vision for the reward. That you have promised that those who are faithful and let that consume us. I want to pray that you would put within the lives of us individually a true kind of faith. Help us to take a small step. Maybe not in in great boldness, like Moses on the edge of the sea or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but just the simple boldness of Moses' parents to do what is right. Lord, I pray that you would buy this faith as it works its way out in our lives. that your son would be glorified, that your gospel would go forward, that your people would be a shining light like a city set on a hill, that the Bible Church of Wausau would be known, not for our sakes, but for your sake, O Lord, for your glory in this place.