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0:20 Egypt, 331 BC. 0:23 Alexander and his troops ride deep into the western desert, and they have run out of water for the men and the animals. 0:29 And finally they reach the oasis of Siwa and the temple of the god of the sun and the air, Amun. 0:36 The high priests of Amun greet Alexander as a god. 0:39 We talked about that yesterday. 0:40 They call him the son of Amun. 0:42 Alexander walked into Egypt and assumed the title of Pharaoh and the title of a son of God. 0:50 But centuries earlier, another man walked out of Egypt and gave up the title of prince. 0:56 So, guys, yesterday I read you a poem from Lucan describing the destructive wake of Alexander the so-called great. 1:02 I left off yesterday by telling you to keep two questions in mind for this week, and I'll repeat them now. 1:07 Whose glory are you building and whose name is on it? 1:11 And then today kicks off the first of four days where we're going to look at historical figures from the Bible that were concerned more about glorifying God than themselves. 1:20 So today let's talk about Moses. 1:22 And there are a lot of very interesting things about Moses' life. 1:25 We know that he grew up in Pharaoh's house. 1:27 Even in the New Testament, in the book of Acts, chapter 7, verse 22, it says that he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 1:37 So Moses grew up in a God King's house. 1:40 He had a royal education, a royal table, and a royal future. 1:44 His entire life was laid out for him, right? 1:47 And it was going to be a pretty sweet life given what most people went through during that time in human history. 1:52 And here's such a vital point as we focus in on this. 1:56 Moses had everything that Alexander would later cross a desert in order to get. 2:03 Alexander dedicated his entire life to conquest and titles. 2:08 And Moses seemingly had everything, and yet he walked away from all of it. 2:15 So the writer of Hebrews, likely the Apostle Paul, said this about Moses in Hebrews 11, verses 24 through 27. 2:22 By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 2:33 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 2:41 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 2:48 Now I think looking at the verbs here in this passage are very, very important. 2:52 It says that Moses refused, he chose, he considered, he endured. 3:00 Because look, some people squander away their possessions of privilege or of wealth, right? 3:05 But that's not what happened here at all. 3:07 So there were scales, and on one side we had Egyptian treasure and titles, and on the other scale, on the other side, was serving Yahweh and the reproach of Christ. 3:19 Moses considered the options, he weighed them out, and he chose reproach. 3:25 The reproach weighed more. 3:27 And we have to key in on one word from Hebrews 11, 25 here. 3:32 Fleeting. 3:35 I mean, what he was getting, it wasn't fake, it was real, but it wouldn't endure, right? 3:40 And look, you can't say Moses wasn't an ambitious guy. 3:44 Even in that Hebrews passage, it says that he was looking to the reward. 3:48 He was a hungry guy, but he just knew which treasure would last. 3:53 And look, this choice seemingly cost Moses everything. 3:56 He worked for his father-in-law in the desert for 40 years, and then he spent the next 40 years leading a nation of whiners through the wilderness. 4:03 But then look at what he asks for in Exodus 33, verse 18. 4:08 Please show me your glory. 4:11 He's talking to God there. 4:13 And guys, that is a striking difference between Moses and Alexander. 4:17 Alexander wanted the world to see his glory. 4:22 Moses wanted the world to see the glory of God. 4:25 And he also wanted to see that for himself. 4:28 But now let's go back to the story of the golden calf. 4:30 I'm sure most of you know that by now. 4:32 We see that described in Exodus 32. 4:34 You can go read that for yourself today. 4:35 But God offers to wipe out these dumb Israelites and make the great nation from Moses instead. 4:42 So a nation with Moses' name on it. 4:46 So I mean, Alexander would have taken that deal in a New York minute, but he he named a bunch of places after himself, right? 4:52 He had all these places named after himself, Alexander. 4:56 But this was Moses' response in Exodus 32, 32. 5:00 But now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written. 5:07 So this was Moses' message. 5:10 Erase me, save them. 5:14 And look, every man listening to this, even our five percenters out there, shout out to the five percenters. 5:18 We all have an Egypt of some kind. 5:20 I mean, maybe you're in a relationship where your desires and lusts are the center point of the relationship and not God. 5:26 Maybe you're engaging in a lifestyle that looks and smells like death, but you seem to like it. 5:32 Maybe you're on a career path or trajectory that will lead you to trading your integrity for more zeros in your bank account. 5:39 I mean, whatever you're drawn to, the reality is that the pleasures are actual, they're real, but they're also fleeting. 5:46 Alexander spent his entire life, and honestly, his entire life was defined by the fact that he was striving for temporal pleasure and glory. 5:54 Moses was willing to give up treasure, positions, and guarantees that others may be saved and that Yahweh would be glorified. 6:03 He didn't get the trappings of this world, but he did get eternity with his creator. 6:09 And guys, you need to weigh out your options the same way that Moses did. 6:13 And you need to understand that the reproach of Christ will always outweigh what you can gain on this planet.