What's More Valuable

1.  God's purpose is more valuable than popularity.

As Pharaoh’s grandson, the heir to the throne, that's a position of popularity.  But Moses wasn't impressed.  Don't ever sell your life out for popularity because it doesn't last.  One minute you're a hero, the next minute you're a zero.  It just doesn't last.  One of the things you have to learn as a leader is to hold in your hand lightly both praise and criticism.  Because one minute they love you and the next minute they hate you.  One minute you're doing great and the next minute you're doing lousy.  You must learn, if you're going to be effective in ministry, to live for an audience of one.  Really what matters is, What does God think about this?  Because you cannot play to the crowds.  

I make people happy all the time and I upset people all the time.  It's part for the course.  The pioneer takes the arrows.  If you're going to call the shots, you take the shots.  You hold both criticism and praise lightly.  Like chewing gum: You chew on it but you don't swallow it.  

2.  People are more valuable than pleasures.  

 Moses is on Easy Street.  He's got a royal lifestyle.  Any whim he wants is going to be satisfied.  Immediately.  But in order to do right, he had to choose discomfort over pleasure.  Do you realize that all the discomfort we've been through as a church, all the discomfort. Saying, I want to have a ministry without discomfort is like saying, I want to have a baby without my tummy getting big and going through labor.  It's an impossibility.  It's par for the course.  

Notice why did he give up for people.  v. 25 He chose to be mistreated "... along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasure of sin for a time."  He did it for the sake of people.  He said I want to do this to help others.  

That's why we put up with inconvenience in ministry – to help others.  That's called service.  The problem is a lot of people only want to serve God when it's convenient.  But a lot of ministry isn't convenient.  A lot of ministry isn't exciting.  It's just ministry, service.

3.  God's peace is more valuable than possessions.  

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as greater value than the treasure of Egypt because he was looking ahead.  Moses knew that no possession could give inner peace.  Peace comes from doing God's will.  

Americans think it's life, liberty and the purchase of happiness.  There will be an awful lot of Christmas spending in the next couple of months.  I wonder if they'll still be elated in January when the payments come in.  It says, Don't worry about your possessions.  A man's life does not consist of the abundance of things that he possesses.  

It's amazing that Moses gave up the very things we spend our lives trying to get.  What motivated this man?  V. 26 “He was looking ahead to his reward.”  The reasons that he was able to have his values right – values are determined by perspective.  Or your values are determined by your vision.  And Moses was a man of vision.  So he had his eyes on the future reward, not on the measure, treasure, pleasure of today.  

WHAT TYPE OF WORDS ARE WE SPEAKING?

The words that we speak, are they life or death? 

Do they give us hope or discouragement? 

Since we are held responsible for every word we speak, I think we had better listen very carefully to what we are saying, not just to our brothers, but also to ourselves. 

Notice what Jesus said: 

Mt.12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned". 

Let us look at the words, justified and condemned a little more closely. 

By being Justified -- we are being freed from all blame, we are without guilt and we are shown or proven to be right. 

Condemned means -- to be pronounced unfit for use, guilty. 

By our own words we can be free from blame and without guilt, or we can pronounce ourselves guilty and unfit for the use of God. 

If it is the Word of God -- it is Life, it is freedom. 

If it is ourselves speaking -- it is death, and words of death will destroy, kill everyone that hears us; and not only they who hear us, but ourselves as well. 

Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

So what do we love -- Life or death? What are we eating, and what are we 'living' on? Is it Life or Death? It is one or the other. 

Proverbs 18:21 again, it says that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." 

And in 18:20 "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled." 

Is our belly satisfied and filled with life, which is Christ, and live; All evil comes forth from the heart and proceeds out of the mouth. 

Jer 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?.

Mat 12:34  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" . 

Mat 15:18-19 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" 

I myself want to live. What about you? I know the answer to that. We are all wanting to live, and not just live but to live life more abundantly.

So now that we know we are all wanting to live, let us look at some of the scriptures that speak of those things that give us life:

Proverbs 10:20 "The tongue of the just is as choice silver", (silver speaks of redemption & righteousness),( see also Proverbs 25:4-5 and Psa. 12:6).

Prov. 15:4  A wholesome tongue is a tree of life", and we know that Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life -- ever living (Rev. 2:7).

Prov.10 :11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life" , and 

John 4:14 tells us that He (Jesus) is the water for the thirsty. 

Jesus also said, John 7:37 "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink" .

Prov. 10:13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found..." , 

Prov. 24:3-4 and with wisdom the house is built" .

Prov. 10-21 The lips of the righteous feed many"  and Jesus said, "Feed My sheep" (John 21:15-17).

Matthew 12:33-35, Jesus says, "The heart is the tree and the words are the fruit." Simply stated, the words that come out of our mouth, whether we mean what we say or not, indicate the condition of the heart. Be careful with what you allow in your heart, eventually it will come out.