HEBREWS 11.23-29 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. 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin

HEBREWS 11.23-29 for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would

HEBREWS 11.23-29 not touch the firstborn of Israel.  29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

HEBREWS 12.1,2 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We have a race, and we will do two things… 1 2 Run and quit Run and never quit • true test of a runner is when they hit “the wall” • quit or keep going? • only the well-conditioned press through “the wall”

EXODUS 5.1-5 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’” 2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us

EXODUS 5.1-5 take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

EXODUS 5.22,23 22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Moses Keeps Going Back to God

EXODUS 6.1-8 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”  2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to

EXODUS 6.1-8 them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the

EXODUS 6.1-8 Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give

EXODUS 6.1-8 to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

God said that He is with Moses Moses goes before Pharaoh and is bold and confident Moses hits “the wall” and the people were angry with him Moses wants to quit This story hinges on Exodus 5.22,23 because Moses keeps going back to God again and again

Two things we must do to persevere Pray persistently 1 Examples of persistence… t • Luke 18 / The Persistent Widow • Luke 11 / the Persistent Neighbor

Two things we must do to persevere 1 Pray persistently t Examples of persistence… • If you can persist with gov’t officials and neighbors, then you can persist with a God who loves us and cares for us • growth can only happen with perseverance

Two things we must do to persevere 2 Finish the race and do not quit! • identify the greatest challenge to your life today • be challenged and do not quit! • do what Jesus commands — and persevere

Two things we must do to persevere 2 Finish the race and do not quit! • be like Moses and be consistent in prayer • get a “cloud of witnesses” to cheer us on and not allow us to quit