Acts 7:22 – And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Acts 7:23 – And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

Hebrews 11:24 – By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

Hebrews 11:25 – Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Hebrews 11:26 – Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Hebrews 11:27 – By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Hello readers, talking about wasting our lives today. I had a thought from the life of Moses the other day. You know, what stops us from believing on Jesus Christ and obeying him in our lives can often be because we feel we are wasting our life if we do that. We feel it’s the end of our life if we follow God, if we identify with Jesus Christ, if we are known as a Christian. If we become that person. The fact is, getting saved has a cost. Willingness to pay that cost separates between those who are Christ’s disciples and who aren’t. Following Jesus Christ… it costs me my parties, and fun, and pleasure, and what I want to do and what I feel I’m entitled to in life. If I’m not truly saved I’ll feel I’m wasting my life. Many young people get resentful because they’re missing out on the fun, and because their Christianity has no heart realty at all while they long for the world inside. Maybe you feel like following Jesus Christ would ruin your life, it’d end it. Imagine being known as “that Christian guy”. You’re no longer one of the world, and because you’re not of the world anymore, the world hates you.

Well, we have the example of Moses from the Bible. Does your heart stir upon the reading of God’s word? Moses was a Hebrew child who grew up as an Egyptian. But at some point, he thought, I’m wasting my life here in Egypt. See, we think we’ll be wasting our life if we follow Jesus Christ whereas Moses thought… I’m wasting my life not following God. I’m wasting my life here in Egypt. I’m not an Egyptian and I don’t want to be. If you believe on Jesus Christ, you have no business being an Egyptian, you won’t get anything done for God living in Egypt. Your little worldly Christianity, serving God from inside an Egyptian palace, that’s not where God wants you. When are we going to get to the point of enough is enough of wasting our lives in Egypt as Egyptians?

We know that one of the ways that Satan will stop you and I from ever doing anything for the Lord is because he’ll make us think it’s wasting our life to follow Jesus. I’ll lose out on all the fun. I’ll lose out on all the pleasure. Don’t think Moses didn’t weigh it up. He grew up as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, don’t think there wasn’t a cost to the decision he made and the path he chose to take.

You may feel like your life is over if you follow Jesus Christ. That’s why you won’t follow him. And that in fact may be true. Life won’t be over, just that Egyptian life will be over. Are you prepared to die to your life? You’ll never be raised with resurrection power until you experience a death first. A death to the old you.  You see, you can’t serve God, you can’t follow him as an Egyptian. Moses was an Egyptian. Oh sure, he was learned and mighty, he had position and power, he had it all… but God doesn’t use Egyptian, he took Moses out of Egypt to call him and send him with his power and authority rather than all the Egyptian ways and means. There is an end to a life if there is going to be a following God. That end is the end of your Egyptian life. Are you prepared to end your high life in Egypt?

The truth is, you’re actually finding true life, such a better life when you follow Jesus Christ. Satan will hide this from you. You know, when you’ve grazed in the field of sin for a while, and you find new pasture of knowing God, it is actually the better way. You can live in darkness, or you can live in light… which do you prefer? The Bible says God’s commandments are not grievous. We go back to our sin, but we don’t really love it. It’s more a master of us than a friend of us. It’s using us rather than fulfilling us. It’s driving us rather than leading us to green pastures and still waters. What will keep you is when you know God, when you’ve tasted of his goodness, when you’ve tasted of his grace and mercy and truth… that’s when you’ll know to choose the path of life.

You know what, I’m sure there were many that would’ve said, hey Moses, you’re such an idiot, you’ve wasted your life… when he forsook Egypt, when he came out as a Hebrew. Why are the only people coming out these days sodomites? Shouldn’t Christians come out for Christ? But I’m sure they said, hey Moses, you would’ve done a lot more good in the palace than leaving that life to be a stupid Hebrew. You would’ve been much more use to us staying as an Egyptian, working from inside the palace to improve our condition and our lives. Many Christians are like this today, they think they’ll help others by being like everyone else, by going with the flow. But no, you will impact others by obeying God and there is power in separation. John the Baptist had power, and he had a different diet, different clothing, he lived apart. God uses those separated unto himself. Moses left off being an Egyptian to be a Hebrew To be one of them. You know… one of them… said in that nasty tone. Said with that look of disappointment and disapproval which will make your heart sink if you’re not truly looking unto Jesus. You don’t follow Jesus Christ because you don’t want to be one of them, you don’t want to be identified with God and God’s people.

See, we often have it back the front. We think Moses was wasting his life when he forsook Egypt, forsaking all that wealth, opportunity, power and pleasure. But he thought he was wasting his life doing that. It didn’t fulfill him. There came a point where he said, enough. I’ve had enough of Egypt. I’ve had enough of the Egyptians. I’m not an Egyptian. We would think he wasted his life, but what he considered a waste and what we consider a waste are two very different things. Remember Jacob and Esau? For all the fault you may find in someone like Jacob, he really wanted the birthright, but Esau couldn’t care less for it. Moses wanted to follow God, he wanted more than the Egyptian thinking, speaking and doing and ending. Egypt was a place of death, think of Egypt and the first thing you think of is dead mummies. See we think the life is in our dead lives, but no, our lives are death until we believe on and follow Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of life.

There came a day when Moses thought, hey I’m wasting my life. Forty years old, what’s this life about? What’s what I’m doing worth? How long am I going to go on like this? In the world’s eyes he was doing well, in the world’s eyes he had it made… but he felt nah, this isn’t me. This isn’t fulfilling, this isn’t my purpose, I want to live a life following God. I want to be that person. You see, he identified with the Hebrews. Don’t think that was a light thing. He was identifying with a people that the Egyptians hated, they were those filthy slaves they were trying to kill off. Becoming a Christian can be hard, because identifying with Christ… that takes courage and commitment. Why would we ever be afraid of being called a Christian?

There was a girl in the Bible, Esther. They didn’t know she was a Jew. She kept that little bit of information close. There came a point where she had to come out for who she really was. To stand with her people, but more importantly, the God of her people. It would’ve been a waste of her life to miss her calling, to not go in to see the king to plead for her people. So often we feel following God and obeying him is what will be a waste and the end of our life… but the truth is we are wasting our life right now and living in death when we are living in disobedience, in rebellion, going our own way. There comes a time you gotta say, if I die I die, but I’m going in, I’m going to obey Jesus Christ.

Why did it take Moses so many years? Maybe he thought about it day by day, but he put it off. We often entertain doing right, but don’t do it. He was comfortable in Egypt. He had it made there. It’s easier to go with the flow. It’s easier to do what you’ve always done. But he couldn’t escape God’s word in his life, the seed that had been planted. See, unless the seed of God’s word has been planted and found good ground in your life, nothing is ever going to happen. The life of faith, the flight from Egypt… it starts with the seed of God’s word. That small seed produced a great man of God.

As the years go by we look back and it’s waste, waste, waste. Vanity, vanity, vanity. The Bible is written so you don’t need to look back and say vanity! At some point we are going to have to identify with our God. What’s the worst someone can do at the end of the day? Out you for being a Christian? Out you for believing God’s word? Often our fear is far worse and has a lot more torment than what we actually go through for witnessing to others or standing on God’s word in our lives.

Finding a life following Jesus Christ is finding life truly. That’s why Moses forsook Egypt. He knew he was wasting his life there, and one day he decided no more, not another day. Just think, if he hadn’t left Egypt, God wouldn’t have used him to deliver his people, he wouldn’t have used him to give the commandments, write books of the Bible, lead his people through the wilderness. See, all the great things in Moses life, they come after this decision point in his life.

You may feel it’s the end of your life if you follow Jesus Christ. If you go public with it like Moses did. Hey you’re in good company in Moses’ company. You won’t follow God because you feel it’s the end of your life, that comfort zone you are in, that habit you are in. Forty years went by because that’s what happens when you don’t do anything, years just go by and you go nowhere. It’s not the end of your life when you choose to follow Jesus Christ, it’s the start of your life, it’s the finding of your life. Matthew 16:25 – For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

It’s a waste of life in Egypt folks. Your Egyptian life, your Egyptian identity, it’s going to have to end before there will ever be the burning bush, the call of God. Oh Moses you wasted your great opportunity in the palace. Oh Moses you blew it. But Moses forsook Egypt because he knew he was wasting his life there. He saw how empty their lives truly were, he weighed up the reproach of Christ against the pleasures of sin that last for a season… and he chose the reproach of Christ. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. That’s mind boggling. Maybe we need a new attitude to being rejected by others for the sake of the gospel, indeed Jesus said to leap for joy when we are persecuted. We get to share in the sufferings of Christ, because we also will be glorified with him. It’s a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ.

Yes it’s a new life, that old Egyptian identity has to go. Yes it is the end, but it’s finding something better. So it’s not really the end, it’s the beginning. Satan will always stop you from launching out into the deep like Jesus commanded his disciples to do, because we’d rather stay on the shore nice and safe and comfortable in what we know, with who we know, doing what we know, doing what we’ve always done. There was a big crowd on the shore, not many launched out. Moses came out for who and what he truly was, he was a Hebrew, and he chose the Lord God of Israel.

We do need to develop an appetite for what’s right. So often we battle with sin because we love it, but it’s so much better, it’s a far better life knowing God and his word and his blessing and his presence… and when you know that, you won’t want sin so much anymore. A higher, a better life is found in following the Lord Jesus Christ. Stop listening to Satan’s lies, stop listening to your flesh. It’s not for you, it’s against you. Satan is an adversary, he’s against you ever launching out.

The thing is, at the end of it, you’ll be thankful God did separate you from Egypt, you’ll be glad and it’ll be worth it. You see, the stuff you have trouble dying to now, you’ll wish God had taken it out of your life sooner by the end. Pharaoh turned on Moses. Once you’re out of Egypt, you’ll wish you had left sooner. The plagues were on the Egyptians, in Egypt your life will be plagued by sin, by darkness, by lies, by deceit, by waste, by vanity. You see, that life you have so much trouble letting go, it’s plagued. It is worth it to follow Jesus Christ. Often the cost seems so high, the ramifications so severe, we are bound by fear, afraid of uncertainty, and in truth we just don’t really believe God’s word. Forty years go by… there’s a time for decision. Moses said enough is enough, I’m not wasting my life here in Egypt anymore. He stopped hiding who he was, he stopped pretending who he wasn’t, he stopped wasting his life. You’re so afraid you’ll waste your life, and miss out, and your life is over if you follow Jesus Christ… the truth is, you’re wasting your life and missing out not following Jesus Christ. It’s not a waste, it’s not over… to follow him.

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