Moses

For when your problems overwhelm you… 


“abandon safe and live by faith.”


(Exodus 3:1-5, 7, 10) Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 


There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 


So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" 


And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." … 


The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. … 


So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. 



SAFE WILL KEEP YOU… 


1. Trapped in the past. 


(Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG) Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. 



2. Satisfied with today. 


(Exodus 2:11) One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 


3. Afraid of tomorrow. 


(Exodus 4:13) But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” 


FINAL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT 


 To live by faith, recognize that God is already at work in you. 


(Hebrews 11:23) 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. 



 To live by faith, refuse to be defined by anything but God.



 (Hebrews 11:24-27) 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. 



 To live by faith impacts others around you. 


(Hebrews 11:28-29) By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.  


Steve Blair, Church of the Highlands
  
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/moses

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/3-18-12.pdf

When a Set Back Feels like a Failure

When you think that it is too late for you, God is just beginning.

Let's listen to the words of Jesus. 

Mark 8:34-37 (MSG) Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,

 

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.

 

You’re not in the driver’s seat; Iam.

 

Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. 

Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. 

Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. 

What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?

What could you ever trade your soul for?

Christ is with us in the areas that we fall short. 

I try to put God in a box that makes sense to me. 

God is in control no matter how things appear. 

Please read Psalm 23 in the Message Bible. 

 

I was in despair.

I said, God if there is one ounce of mercy in You, please take me home. 

How can God be in control when everything is out of control? 

God, how can you be in control and good? 

My mom told me.  

Life is a test.  

You have a heavenly Father watching over you.

  

I was determined that I'd be the perfect Christian, and it almost killed me! 

I tried to get God to love me.  

I tried to earn it.  

It's possible to be very well known, and desperately lonely.

I was afraid to be fully known in fear of being rejected. 

I was locked in a mental ward, and cried out to God in despair. 

I was afraid of everyone. 

The Bible is not a book of words, but a book of life. In times of desperation, start there. 

   

These were desperate times in the Bible.

Elijah had spoken of a drought, and a price was on His head. 

Read 1 Kings 18. 

It was 1 man against 850 men on Mt. Carmel.  

The 850 thought that their god wanted their blood.  

Other religions want us to bleed for their god.  Christianity is about a God who wanted to bleed for us. 

Elijah stepped out in faith. 

God showed up, but Elijah's life was in danger.  

God is in control no matter how things appear.

God answered by fire to consume Elijah's sacrifice, and the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah perished.  

Elijah ran straight to Jezreel. Where King Ahab and Queen Jezebel lived.

After God had showed up in such an incredible way, Elijah must have thought that they'd repent, or the people would have cast them out. 

Instead nobody cared. 

Jezebel sent Elijah a message that he would be dead in 24 hours. 

Have you ever felt let down by God? That nothing makes sense.   

Perhaps you have a child that you've prayed and prayed, but they want nothing to do with your Jesus. 

                               

Elijah had a servant not because he was rich, but because he was prophet.  

He let him go because Elijah was done!

1 Kings 19:3-4 (NKJV)

3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.  

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. 

And he prayed that he might die, and said, 

“It is enough! 

Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

No matter how bleak it might get. God is in control no matter how it might seem. 

God is with you even if you can't see his plan.  

(In your deepest pain, remember that your life is not yet over).  

1 Kings 19:5-6 (NKJV)5 Then as he (Elijah) lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.” 

6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. 

So he ate and drank, and lay down again.

(The enemy assaults us when we are hungry, angry, lonely,tired = h.a.l.t.) 

(In this passage, God countered the demonic assault of Elijah with a meal.  God gave him rest and a meal).

God gave him no judgement.  He gave a gentle touch, and a heaven cooked meal.  
                                                   

1 Kings 19:7 (NKJV)  

And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, 

“Arise and eat, 

because the journey is too great for you.”

The angel of the Lord is called a Christophony.  

It is an Old Testament manifestation of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus.

Elijah would not have known that.  

The Christophony would not have looked like a heavenly being, but like a man. 

He had no idea that God in human form woke him up with a touch, a meal, and much needed rest.  

God meets us where we are and not where we wished that we would be, and he offers grace. 

Psalm 23:6 A 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life. 

God stoops down to meet us where we are. 

The shepherd always knows where to find us.

Grasp hold of this.

When you think that it's all over, with God it is just beginning.  

When Elijah woke up, he headed for Mt. Sinai.  The mountain where Moses met with God. 

There he took cover in a cleft of a rock.  There God asked Elijah a question. 

1 Kings 19:9 B.  But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 

When God asks us a question, He's trying to get us to reflect what are my decisions that have taken me to this place.  

God asked Adam and Eve where are you for that same reason. 

What are you doing, and where are you doing it?  

Are you hiding from God?

There was heavy winds, a earth quake, and a fire, but the cleft kept him safe.  

Just as it had sheltered Moses. 

God told Elijah that there was always a plan in place.  

You're not my last servant, but there are 7,000 others.

We try to put God in a box, but he won't live there. 

However, let's look at another mountain in Luke.  

Luke 9:28-31 (NLT)  

28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 

29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 

30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus.

31 They were glorious to see. 

And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

There they are Jesus, Elijah, and Moses talking face to face. 

Jesus took the fire, the furious winds, and the earthquake, so we could hear the grace filled whisper. 

I love you.

Notes taken from Shelia Walsh guest speaking at Saddleback Church.  

When It Looks Too Late For A Comeback

As long as you're breathing, you can still have a comeback.  

You may have lost a job, a spouse, or a house, but comebacks are based upon God Himself.

  

Moses was supposed to be killed as a baby, but was saved by Pharaoh's daughter, which was his first comeback.

His second comeback happened at age 80.  Here's how it happened.  

  

Acts 7:23-29  (NLT)

23 “One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. 

24 He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. 

So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.

25 Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.  

26 “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. 

He tried to be a peacemaker. 

‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. 

Why are you fighting each other?’

27 “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. 

28 ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ 

29 When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. 

There his two sons were born.

Acts 7:30 (NLT)

30 “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.

Exodus 3:1-2 (NLT)

3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,the priest of Midian. 

He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,the mountain of God. 

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. 

Moses stared in amazement. 

Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.

In the midst of his routine.  

When Moses least expected it.  

He was surprised by God's invitation.  

What made the bush extraordinary?  

It wasn't the bush, but God presence within the bush that made it special. 

Exodus 3:4-5 (NLT)

4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, 

“Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” 

Moses replied.

5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. 

“Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

The first thing that Moses heard was God speaking his name.  

It is a holy place wherever God shows up.  

Moses had a lot of questions for God.

Let's hear Moses ask his questions.

God said that I want you to go back to Egypt and set my people free.

1. Moses said, Who am I?  

He said God, I'm not qualified.  

What you want me to do is greater than my qualifications. 

It's not about who you are, but who is with you. 

The answer is not who you are, but who God is. 

It's not the bush that made it important. 

It was God's presence in the bush.  

It's not you, Moses, but my presence in you. 

Exodus 3:11-12 (NLT)

11 But Moses protested to God, 

“Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? 

Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 God answered,

“I will be with you. 

And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: 

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

God's answer: I will be with you.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (NLT)

5 (Paul writing) It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. 

Our qualification comes from God.

You can choose comfort and control, or you can choose God's presence. 

2. Moses asked, Who are you, God?

Exodus 3:13-14  (NLT)

13 But Moses protested, 

“If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 

‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, 

‘What is his name?’ 

Then what should I tell them?”

14 God replied to Moses, 

“I am who i am.  

Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” 

When God says, I am... the one who can meet any need that you have.  

I AM your provision (Jehovah Jireh)

I AM your victory (Jehovah Nissi)

I AM your peace (Jehovah Shalom)

I AM there (Jehovah Shammah)

God's answer: What is your need?  I AM the one who can meet it. 

We live in "I wish for" world.  

God says, I AM who you wish for.  

3. Moses asked, What about them?   

I tried to be their Savior before, and they rejected me. 

Exodus 4:1-2  (NLT)

4 But Moses protested again, 

“What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? 

What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the Lord asked him, 

“What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

What things or people are keeping you from your purpose?  

It may be the tape in your mind of family or friends who are long gone.

God's answer: What's in your hand?

God took what Moses knew to help him.  

Exodus 4:3-4 New Living Translation (NLT)

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. 

So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

4 Then the Lord told him, 

“Reach out and grab its tail.” 

So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

You take what's in your hand, and put it into God's hand, and see what He can do with it. 

We break free when we realize that we can't give God what we don't have, but God can take what we do have.  

God is not looking for extraordinary people, but ordinary people who put themselves in God's hand, so God gets glory. 

4. Moses asked, What about this? 

  

Exodus 4:10-11 (NLT)

10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, 

“O Lord, I’m not very good with words. 

I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. 

I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

11 Then the Lord asked Moses, 

“Who makes a person’s mouth? 

Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? 

Is it not I, the Lord?

Moses felt handicapped.  

God's answer: I'm in control.

God says since I made your mouth.  

I can surely speak out of it. 

Sometimes, God removes the handicap, but sometimes He speaks in the midst of the handicap.  

If you can't get a miracle, be a miracle. 

Your handicap isn't in control. God is in control.  

What if Moses said no?  He wouldn't have seen the Red Sea split, or the Manna, or the 10 Commandments.  

What's your next step towards God's purpose in your life?

Hebrews 11:26-27 (NLT)

26 He (Moses) thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. 

He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

Are you hearing God call your name right now?  

Joel 2:12A (NLT)

12 That is why the Lord says,

    “Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.

  

Say Lord Jesus, please take my mistakes and my failures.  

Be my Lord.  

Please save me Lord Jesus. 

You are the only one who can.

Notes taken from Tom Holladay, Saddleback Church