Hebrews 11:23-27; Exodus 2:23-3:10 (ESV)

Hebrews 11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. … Exodus 2:23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. 3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Intro: How have you faced pressures against following Jesus?

UNBELIEVING OPPOSITION
How can pressures from this world be oppressive (if not enslaving)?

DIVINE GUARANTEES
What guarantees have we been given by the Eternal King?

CONFIDENT FAITH
How is faith both a turn and a trust?

YOU CAN PRAY WITH US …
1 - Worship the LORD for His Holiness, especially in comparison to any created thing, person or experience. Praise Him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for His surpassing worth.

2 - How have you lived as if the treasures (or pleasures) of this world are better than Jesus? Confess your unbelief to Jesus, asking Him to forgive you for rejecting Him, and that He would renew your heart to see Him in light of His true worth.

3 - Give thanks to Jesus for how He is powerful to save us (vs. our impotence or the inadequacy of created things to last or satisfy). Thank Him for His compassion to us in our bondage to sin, death and hell.

4 - Who do you know that is entranced by the things of this world (and therefore blind to Jesus)? Pray for them, asking the Lord to open their eyes to the vanity of all created things vs. Jesus’ enduring worth and glory.

5 - Ask the Holy Spirit to bear in you His fruit of love and peace, especially in the face of opposition from this world. Pray for His strength and power to sustain you as you seek to live faithfully for Jesus.