Seeing the Invisible

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 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. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27

Faith allows us to see beyond the moment. Moses looked beyond the moment while in Egypt to something better down the road. The decision he made to put off “the pleasures of sin for a short time” was made because of his ability to look beyond the moment. He said “no” to sin so he could say “yes” to his future in Christ. Our ability to say “no” to self at the present moment is our greatest tool for saying “Yes” to God’s blessings in the future.

We say “No” to fear, in order to say ‘Yes’ to love.
We say ‘No’ to unfaithfulness, to say “Yes” to intimacy in our marriage.
We say ‘No’ to letting our career consume us, so we can say ‘yes’ to family.
We say ‘No’ to impurity to say ‘Yes’ to purity of heart.
We say ‘No’ to deceit to say ‘Yes’ to the freedom that comes from truth.
We say ‘No’ to that extra purchase to say yes to debt free living
We say ‘No’ to laziness, to say ‘Yes’ to strong character.
We say ‘No’ to sin so we can say ‘Yes’ to Christ.

Willingness to Wait

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:10-12

Can I really say ‘Yes’ to tomorrow & ‘No’ to today? This same spiritual challenge is what is at the heart of becoming a spiritual person. It’s not just the character issue of ‘denying self’; it’s about whether your heart can see what’s right around the corner.

When it comes to taking a stand against the captivating sins in our lives, many of us fall continually because we refuse to say ‘Yes’ to God’s grace. God’s grace becomes our great instructor in denial of self, when we are willing to be trained by it. Saying ‘Yes’ to God’s grace means, we are willing to wait for an eternal glory that far outweighs ‘the pleasures of sin for a short time’ (Hebrews 11:25)

Men Who Saw The Invisible:

• Abraham — Genesis 22:1-19
• Jacob – Genesis 32:22-32
• Moses — Exodus 3-4
• Ananias — Acts 9
• Jesus — Matthew 26:36-46

Men Who Saw The Visible:

• Ananias & Sapphira – Acts 5
• Rich Young Ruler — Mark 10
• Lot — Genesis 19
• Prodigal Son — Luke 15

Other Scriptures:

• Luke 9:23-25
• Hebrews 11:24-27
• Psalm 30:5 —
• Hebrews 12:2-3
• Matthew 6:24

Questions:

• Do you handle the word ‘No’ very well?
• What happens when you hear the word no?
• What areas in your life would you consider out of control if any?
• Talk about one thing you have wanted to change for a while:
• Possibilities: Weight, debt reduction, savings, better job, fruitfulness, marriage intimacy, relationships, character.
• Name one thing, if you said ‘No’ to that would begin to change your life for the better and the it’s corresponding ‘Yes’ that you need to pray about and focus on.