I like the title more (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Contents
People will want to do what they love more than anyone else. You will want a better home, a better salary, a better environment, and a better life. But is what I am thinking and pursuing right now really worthwhile and right? Is God pleased? You will need to examine whether it is beneficial to your spiritual life. Because sick people often look for only things that are harmful to their body. Rather, it is said that most of the sick people tend to prefer things that are not good for their body. Because there is pleasure and joy in sin.
A person who has grown up in faith chooses and decides on something better. "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter" (verse 24). When a person is not mature, they do childish things, do childlike things, and behave childlike. When we are not mature, the things we like more are childish, and the things we like are natural. When Moses was not growing up, it was good to be the son of Pharaoh's princess, the food she fed, the clothes she wore, the palace she provided, the knowledge and culture she learned in Egypt, and more. But when Moses grew up in faith, these things didn't seem better.
When you are not mature, you may not know what is really better or what is really better. That is why we can live life thinking that what is not good is good.
When I was young, I would fight over nothing, shed tears over nothing, and lose my peace of mind. But when you grow up, that's not the case.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, I hope that your faith will grow. I hope your personality will grow. I hope your humanity will grow. Please don't be like an immature, premature baby.
The world sees Christians and says, "What fun do you have?" They think their life is more interesting. But we Christians know. It means that the days of sin looked much better until they were saved. The Bible does not deny that there is pleasure in sinning. So, when you do not have faith or your faith is not mature, you can fall into the fun of the world and live your life thinking that it is better. We used to be like that too. But I believe that people who have matured in faith will like what they really should like.
Having something you like more and choosing to have it and enjoy it means rejecting what you don't like and throwing it away. "He refused to be called the princess's son" (v. 24b), "but preferred to suffer with the people of God rather than the pleasures of sin" (v. 25). Moses not only refused to be called the son of a princess, but also said that he had forsaken the pleasures of sin. Sin is also fun. But it must be in the absence of faith. As his faith grew, Moses refused to live the pleasure life in Egypt. Living a sinful life in Egypt does not necessarily mean committing some kind of moral and barbaric act. That is, living away from the will of God. We must decide whether to live our lives our own way or according to God's will.
Moses was determined to follow God's will. There is a price to be paid for following God's will. Abraham gave up his life in Ur of Chaldea in order to follow God's will. You have to pay a price to make your dreams come true. People dream, but they don't pay a price. Therefore, a dream without payment becomes a dream and a dog dream. To make your dreams come true, you have to pay the price for your dreams. Hudson Taylor said that he had a dream of missionary work in China since the age of 15. So, from that time on, to go to China, he first trained his language and then trained to eat. And he was trained to sleep on a hard floor. I started to pay the price at the same time I dreamed. This is important.
Pastor King, a human rights activist, dreamed of days when black children and white children ran on the hills and lived shoulder to shoulder together. For this he gave numerous speeches, marched and campaigned for human rights. And in the end, he had to give up his life. Dreams don't just come true, they come true when you pay the price. A dream without payment is a dog dream, and a dream with payment is a real dream.
The writer of Hebrews today said that Moses ?쐁ould live for something better??because he looked to the rewarder and the reward. Moses knew that God would reward his faith. The Egyptians reminded Moses of what he had lost, but God reminded him of what he gained. And he made him realize that what he gains is incomparably greater than what he loses. Although this reward may not come immediately, it will surely be given to us someday. Paul, believing this, confessed, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
This week is Martyr's Day. The Korean church was built on the blood of martyrs. Through the ancestors of faith who shed the blood of martyrdom for the salvation of our people and the kingdom of God, today's Korean church exists and our nation exists. The expansion of the Lord's church and the kingdom of God is achieved through the growth of faith and generous sharing, serving, and sacrificing oneself for the better.