Sermon Cloud

Introduction
Christianity is a religion of blind faith. That’s what much of the world tells us. The world in general sees Christians as foolish, as naïve, as gullible, even deceived. I have been told on multiple occasions that what I believe is ludicrous and that in order to believe it I have to be blind, I have to be trusting in a blind faith. And there was a time when I would have argued against that accusation. There was a time when I would have tried to show that accusation is false. But not anymore. Because I’m starting to believe that the accusation is true. I’m starting to believe that Christianity really is a religion of blind faith and that Christians are people of blind faith -- and that that’s okay. This is made clear in Hebrews 11. Turn there with me if you will.

Moses’ Blind Faith
Hebrews 11 is a chapter all about faith. It begins with a definition of faith. In verse 1 the author defines faith as this, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is being sure – not of what we feel with our senses – but of what we hope for. Faith is being certain – not of what we observe – but of what we do not see. That sounds a little like blind faith, doesn’t it? Through the remainder of Hebrews 11 the author reminds us of many who came before us that displayed this faith in their lives. He tells us about Noah who built an ark though there was no evidence of a coming flood. He tells us about Abraham who left his home though he had no idea where he was going. And then he spends some time reminding us of Moses and of his faith. Let’s read this together in verses 23-29.

The author of Hebrews commends Moses for his faith…for his blind faith. Seriously. What Moses did was ridiculous. If we’re judging Moses simply by what we can see then Moses is kind of crazy. He’s like the ancient Hebrew equivalent of Paula Abdul. You watch him and you just can’t help but scratch your head in confusion. I mean think about it, Moses is the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He is the grandson of the most powerful leader in the world. The power of the kingdom is his to enjoy, the pleasures of the kingdom are his to enjoy, the women of the kingdom are his to enjoy, the riches of the kingdom are his to enjoy. These are the things that we chase after. These are the things that we hope for. These are the things that we think will make us happier than we are right now. And Moses has them. Moses has them and what does he do with them? He abandons them. He rejects them. He lays them aside. Verse 24 says he “refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”. He refused the status, the power, the comfort that was given to him. And instead, he chose to suffer. Verse 25 says, “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” Moses had what we want and he willfully exchanged it for the very thing we don’t want. He had the pleasures of this world and he exchanged those for the sufferings of this world.  Who would want to do that? That’s bananas! Yet the Bible applauds him for this. No wonder people call Christians foolish, naïve, gullible, and deceived.      

If we’re judging Moses’ decision simply by what we can observe then his decision is a very poor one. And this apparently misguided decision was not a unique event in Moses’ life. It was part of a larger pattern of similar decisions. Verse 27 reminds us of another of Moses’ questionable decisions. Moses gathered the Israelites and fled from Egypt against the wishes of Pharaoh, the most powerful leader of the most powerful army in the world. That fact alone is troubling. But this is even more troubling. Verse 27 says that Moses did this while “not fearing the king’s anger.” What’s wrong with this guy? What’s wrong with this guy that he would willfully rebel against the most powerful man in the world and that he would do so without fearing the king’s angry response? This must be the blind faith the world talks about. Christians believe things that they have no evidence for and this leads them to think, say, and do things that contradict basic common sense.

The author of Hebrews gives us two more examples of how Moses did this. On one occasion, while the people of Israel were still slaves in Egypt, he instructed each family to slaughter a lamb. It couldn’t be just any lamb, either. It had to be a year-old male without defect. They were to slaughter this lamb at a specific time on a specific night. Then he told them they were to take some of its blood and put it on the sides and the tops of the doorframes to their homes. Moses assured his people that God was going to go through the land of Egypt striking down all of the firstborn. But if the people of Israel did as Moses said and put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts God would pass by their houses and spare their lives. Again, this sounds borderline crazy, doesn’t it? If I stood up here and told you that you would die tonight unless you killed an animal and rubbed its blood over your front door would that sound like the most reasonable thing to you? You’d probably think I’d had one too many Red Bull’s or something and I doubt you’d listen to anything else I said. But that’s just what Moses did. Later, he did something that appeared to be even more nonsensical. He gathered the people of Israel together and he led them out of Egypt. As Pharaoh and his mighty army trailed behind them Moses walked his people directly to the Red Sea. He promised to free them from their slavery but in the process he stuck them between a rock and a hard place. In front of them was the uncrossable Red Sea. Behind them was the insurmountable army of Pharaoh. According to what they could see death was certain. But Moses told them not to worry. God would save them, he assured them. God would make it so that they could cross this uncrossable sea on dry ground. Again, if I led you into that situation. my words wouldn’t be all that reassuring to you. It’s safe to say you might think I’m stupid. Even more stupid than you think I am now. And I imagine that’s how much of Moses’ audience thought of him. He is thinking, and saying, and doing things that seem to go against all common sense, that seem to contradict all reason. If you want to make the case that Christianity is a religion of blind faith and that this blind faith leads you to think, say, and do foolish things then talking about Moses would be a great way to make your case. It really would be…except for one thing….he was right.  

He was right to lead the people to the Red Sea. Because God did part it and they did cross on dry land as the Egyptians drowned behind them. He was right to have the Israelites slaughter lambs and apply their blood to the doorposts. Because that night all the firstborn in Egypt died, but the people of Israel went unharmed. He was right to willingly lay aside the power, and pleasures, and riches that were his as the grandson of Pharaoh. Because he would receive far greater power, far greater pleasures, and far greater riches by suffering with the people of God for the sake of Jesus Christ. So is Moses’ faith a blind faith? Yes, it is. Moses’ faith is most definitely a blind faith. But it’s not the blind faith that the world says is part and parcel of Christianity, the blind faith that believes something false simply because it wants to believe in something. That’s blind faith at its worst. Moses’ blind faith is blind faith at its best. Because Moses didn’t do these things in spite of what he didn’t see. He did them because of what he saw. Verse 26 says that he “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.” He traded the pleasures of this world for the sufferings of this world because he saw something else, something greater. He saw the reward of knowing Jesus Christ. Verse 27 says, “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” He chose not to fear the things that common sense said he should most certainly fear because he saw something else, something greater, he saw the God of all power, the God of all love, the God of all compassion. Moses saw these things. Yet Moses’ faith was absolutely a blind faith. His faith was blind in that he saw the hope of Jesus Christ so clearly that he was not distracted by the things of this world that are so easy to see and so difficult to ignore. Because he so clearly saw what others do not see he was able to do what others are unable to do: he was able to become blind to the things of this world. Instead of seeing the pleasures of Pharaoh’s kingdom he became blind to them and saw the pleasures of God’s Kingdom. Instead of seeing the terrible power of Pharaoh he became blind to it and saw the glorious power of God. Instead of seeing the foolish and ridiculous nature of rubbing a lamb’s blood on a doorpost he became blind to it and saw the God who would save them from the destruction they deserved. Instead of seeing the impossible challenge of the Red Sea he became blind to it and saw the God who would free them from the horrors of slavery. Moses’ faith was a blind faith. It was blind to the things that are so easily seen because it saw, with clarity, the One who is Lord over all of those things. Is Christianity a religion of blind faith? Absolutely. Are Christians supposed to people of blind faith? Absolutely. I pray that I, I pray that we, would be people who are marked by our blind faith, by our ability to focus our eyes on Jesus Christ and ignore the things that can persuade us to look elsewhere. 

Our Blind Faith
I understand that you might think that’s asking for a lot. “It’s one thing to believe God exists,” you say, “but it’s quite another to do what Moses did. You’re asking me to do what Moses did? You’re asking me to willingly exchange the power, and pleasure, and riches of this world for suffering and rejection? You’re asking me to not be afraid of the things that can overpower me? You’re asking me to not be afraid of the things that can kill me? You’re asking me to follow Jesus even when it’s most difficult, and most painful, and most costly?” Yes, that is what I ask of you, because that is what God asks of you. But you still may object. You say, “Well, the reason Moses was able to do that was because Moses had something that I don’t have. Moses had signs to direct him and to show him that God was with him. Moses had the burning bush. Moses had God pass by him. Moses had the staff that God turned into a snake.” You’re right, he did. But Moses would switch places with you any day. Because even with all the signs he received he knows that you received a sign far greater. You’ve received the sign of God in the flesh. You’ve received the sign of the cross. You’ve received the sign of the empty tomb. You’ve received the sign of the Holy Spirit. Moses looked forward to the day when God would come to save his people from their worst enemies and from their worst slavery. You get to look backward to that. You get to look backward to the day when God laid aside his riches and his glory and became like us, and came to us, in order to save us in Jesus Christ. You get to look backward to this same Jesus living a morally perfect life – the life that you should have lived but have failed to live – he lived this life in your place. You get to look backward to Jesus Christ willingly laying down his life for you as he is crucified for all to see. You get to look backward to Jesus Christ – in his perfect innocence – willingly taking upon himself all of God’s wrath and judgment for your sin. You get to look backward to this crucified and lifeless Jesus becoming alive again as he was resurrected from the dead in power. You get to look backward to Jesus – through his resurrection – defeating all of the enemies that enslave you: death, sin, Satan, the Law. You get to look backward to Jesus ascending into heaven, sitting down at the right hand of God, and pouring out the Holy Spirit of the living God to fill, and indwell, and empower his people.

God is not asking you to be like Moses, Moses would be the first to tell you that he was just as flawed as you and me. God is simply asking you to look where Moses looked. Look to your Lord and Deliverer. That’s how he did what he did and you have an advantage over him -- because you get to look back to Jesus Christ who lived the life you could not live, died the death you should have died, and rose from the dead defeating the enemies you were powerless to defeat. Look to Jesus Christ and his cross and you can become blind to the things of this world. You can become blind to the security and insecurity of the economy, and your savings account, and your job because you see the cross where Jesus has made you eternally secure. You can become blind to the wealth and riches that the world offers because you see the cross where Jesus purchased for you all of the riches of his glory. You can become blind to the temptations and the pleasures of this world because you see the cross through which Jesus brought you to the right hand of God where there are pleasures forevermore. You can become blind to what people think about you, what people say about you, and how people treat you because you see the cross through which Jesus made you acceptable to the God of the universe and approved by the God of the universe.

Christian, non-Christian, all of us choose to focus our eyes on something. And all of us choose to be blind to something. And so the question we must ask ourselves – not just today but every day – is where will we choose to focus our eyes. Will we choose to focus on the temporal things or on the eternal things? Will we choose to focus on the created things or on the Creator of all things? Will we choose to focus on the things that will one day be destroyed or will we focus on the One who will save us from destruction? Our answer to that question will determine how we live and for whom we live. Our answer to that question will determine whether we are truly secure or insecure, truly rich or poor, truly victorious or defeated, truly accepted or truly unacceptable.