Remember these are notes. Please don't expect good flowing English.

FAITH OF OLD MEN AND MOSES.

•           The feeling of being unfulfilled is very common.

•           We wonder `

•           Have I really changed the world for the better?

•           or has my life been in vain?

•           Have you ever wondered that?

•           Common cause of depression.

•           Message Today Is About Faith 

•           How It Reaches Its Fruition In Old Age.

•           Hebrews 11 is the marvellous chapter on FAITH.

•           It tells us of  men of faith who did trust God.

•           It mentions Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham.

•           Then it goes on to those who followed Abraham.

vs.20-22: By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

•           These three men gave their blessing in old age - near to death.

•           These blessings given in faith.

•           Isaac : Behold now I am old and I do not know the day of my death. - BLESSING.

•           Of Jacob (We read): Now the time came for Jacob to die and so he gave his blessing for the future.

•           Joseph: I am about to die but God will fulfil His promises to our  descendants.

•           Each died not seeing the promise fulfilled.

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•           Links In The Chain.

•           In our own lives we may not see our dreams come true

•           many of our  hopes may never be realised.

•           But if we belong to God in Christ

•           we will be links in the chain of God's purposes

•           and therefore have our place in His eternal kingdom.

•           FAITH is

•           to put ourselves in God's purposes,

•           to see the world through His eyes,

•           and be prepared that our life time may not see all these  purposes fulfilled

•           although we will see the processes of God's purposes in the story of the world unfolding before our eyes.

•           The feeling of being unfulfilled is very common.

•           So many  wonder `

•           Have I really changed the world for the better

•           or has my life been in vain?

•           Common cause of depression.

•           We should know:

•           We cannot reach our FULL potential in this life.

•           We are sinners in a world of sinners.

•           We make mistakes, have regrets.

•           Illness and other circumstances hinder us.

•           Many different pressures and loyalties upon us -

•           Church, - work, -  family,  - friends,   -  hobbies etc.

•           Feel guilty that we have not done our duty to all these competing good causes.

•           If we live by the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and  Joseph,

•           then we must not let our hearts condemn us.

•           God knows all those things. He knows our hearts.

            1 John 3:19-20 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (NIV)

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•           God's promise to the patriarchs was

•           Blessing to all peoples and lands.

•           This would be fulfilled in their future history.

•           Patriarchs (Ab, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph)'s faith would be fulfilled:

•           beyond their own life time

•           - and even then not completely fulfilled until

•           the end of the age

•           - heaven and earth brought back into fellowship heavenly city.

•           So as their own deaths drew near

•           - still far from seeing the completion of what they had hoped for.

•           Isaac - nomad

•           Jacob- exile in Egypt.

•           Joseph - foreigner in Egypt.

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•           Next great man of faith after Joseph is Moses

•           and he is the next one mentioned here in Hebrews 11.

•           Moses the greatest of all the leaders of Israel.

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Story:

•           Born to Israelites in Egypt -

•           Israelites were slaves.

•           Pharaoh: 

•           New Born Israelite babies to be killed.

•           Moses was hidden in bulrushes.

•           Princess from palace finds him

•           she brings him up as Prince.

•           After various adventures he leaves Egypt.

•           In the wilderness

•           - Burning Bush which is not consumed.

•           God's call: I am the God of Ab, Isaac and Jacob

(PAST).

FUTURE:

•           I want you to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

•           bring them to the Promised Land. (People and Land).

•           Long, exciting story of

•           Plagues,  

•           Escape,  

•           Red Sea,  

•           Wilderness,

•           10 Commandments, 

•           Disobedience,  

•           Wandering for 40 years

•           then entrance to the Promised Land.

•           BUT Moses is not allowed to enter.

Though the greatest saint of OT, still a sinner

•           Israelites enter

•           but God never allows them to settle for long.

They must learn that the Promised Land is only a pointer to God's final purpose at he end of the age – the meaning of The Feast of Tabernacles.

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•           Greatest king was David.

•           He decided he was going to bring all the former promises to fulfilment

•           by building a Temple in Jerusalem.

•           God says No!

•           You have been too violent.

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SO:

•           There grew up a hope in Israel

•           that One Day God would bring a righteous King,

•           Prince of  Peace

•           in Him alone

•           Israel would realise its final destiny.

•           So there was a longing in Israel for the Messiah to come.

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•           Then in the fullness of the time the Messiah did come,

•           but they did not recognise Him.

What had happened is that they had become proud and self-righteous in their religion.

So they were blind to the personal presence of God in their midst.

•           CRUCIFIED  HIM.

•           But in doing so

•           they fulfilled the very Scripture

•           that said that it would be through His suffering

•           that salvation would come to the world

•           fulfilling God's ancient  promise to Ab Is, Jacob, and Joseph.

•           When the  time comes for Jesus to leave this world,

the faithful remnant of Israel - the disciples, started the task of taking the message to all nations  until the day the Messiah would return in glory to Israel and the world..

•           the disciples themselves get an inkling of this wonderful plan

•           so  just before Jesus  returns to heaven

•           they ask Jesus an interesting Question

•           He gives them and interesting answer:

            Acts 1:6-8  6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

•           You Will Not See The Fulfilment Of The Promise

•           But You Must Be The Links In The Chain Of The Story:

•           Of God's Purpose To Save The World.

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•           Lets look back to Moses.

1          What was the link joining him to the faith of the past?

            Hebrews 11:23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

HIS PARENTS!

•           Have we given our children a LINK with the faith of the past?

•           so that they may pass it on to  future generations?

•           Once the link is broken

•           it is very hard to restore  in future generations.

•           People complain about the behaviour of younger people

•           but it is earlier generations

•           who have not passed on FAITH to them -

•           not taught in  either school or home -

•           it is they who have broken the link.

What Is One Reason We Haven't Passed On The Faith?

Too Fond Of The Fleeting Pleasures Of Materialism - so:

Hebrews 11:24-26 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. (NIV)

Identified with God's people rather than the pleasures of sin.

Jewish tradition tells us that Moses had tremendous prospects - next to Pharaoh.

We really have to live for other things than fleeting prosperity.

To be identified with Jesus MAY mean smaller bank balances, houses, car.

2          Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

•           `Seeing Him who is invisible'.

•           Theme of this chapter:

•           everything we see with our eyes is temporary.

•           Faith is the knowledge of things unseen.

•           So our final purpose is something which we  won't see until

•                       after we leave this world.

•           So Moses perseveared as `seeing Him who is unseen'

•           (Eye of faith)

•           That is what we must do!

•           vs26:  `Moses did this for the sake of Christ.'

•           YET Christ lived on earth 1450 years after Moses.

•           Yet He was still with Moses.

VS. 28 reminds us that Moses instituted the Passover - sprinkled the blood of the lamb Jesus interpreted the Passover as bearing witness to His own self-sacrifice when His blood would be shed.

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Numbers: `Moses was a very MEEK man -  more meek than any  man on the face of the earth.

In the Gospels we read Jesus inviting us:

`Come unto me all..... for I am MEEK and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

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                                    Moses was  very powerful:

Deut 34:10-12 10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt-- to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (NIV)

Jesus said `All Authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.....'

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Something else:

•           After Israel had sinned God said to Moses:

•           I will blot them out and make from your descendents a great people and fulfil my promise through you.

•           Moses: No!

•           Blot ME out and save them.

•           Punish me instead of them!

•           I will receive the judgement instead of them.

•           Of course God did not grant that request though He did forgive Israel.

•           He knew that there would be another who would bear the sins of Israel.

•           In their place

•           and in all our places

•           be cut off from the `land of the living'

•           In his earthly life Moses did not see it

•           but he was a necessary link in the chain

•           that would lead to Christ.

•           `He endured as seeing Him who is invisible'.

•           What About You And Me?

•           What is it that makes us endure?

•           Is it merely the fleeing pleasures of this world?

•           This passage tells us that:

•           Moses put loyalty to God's people before the fleeting pleasures of sin of wealth.

•                       They will let us down.

•           Or is it FAITH in Him that makes us endure?

•           He who has invited us to be

•           part of His purpose for the salvation of the world.

•           If we accept that we still won't see:

•           all our dreams come true in this life,

•           but we will have the satisfaction of:

•           being part of the chain that:

•           joins the beginning of God's  purposes of love

•           in the creation of the world to

•           the fulfilment of them at the end of the age.

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