WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.759 Man, what a good song to have before the sermon. 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:09.759 Because my hope is, is that what I say is the 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:13.080 word of God. And what I hope that I'm doing is 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:15.599 illuminating God's will for our life in the, 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:18.260 you know, please reveal your will for me. I believe 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:21.320 he has revealed his will for us. In fact, in 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:23.719 a lot of churches, they sing that you've revealed. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.879 your will, because I believe he's revealed his 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.859 will for us as a collective. Now, each of us 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:32.320 in our own individual lives, maybe we still haven't 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:35.420 figured out what we've been called to, but as 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.140 a group, as a collective, we know what the will 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:39.719 of God is. And we're going to talk about that 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.259 this morning, but I just need to say, because 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:45.259 I mean, I've got this feeling like I can remember 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:50.340 when I, in 2019, LSU was on this national championship 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:53.719 run and I got to go to my first LSU game. And 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.840 Eliza got me a ticket or tickets for her and 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.280 I to go. And we watched LSU play against Auburn. 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:01.240 And if you're like a super football fan, you 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:04.680 may remember this. But it was the closest game 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.280 besides maybe the Alabama game that LSU played 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.780 that season. It was just a fight. And I remember 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:12.819 sitting there and I'm thinking, we might lose 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:16.739 this game. Sure enough, we win, and I can remember 00:01:16.739 --> 00:01:20.299 the feeling I had when the game ends, the game's 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:22.920 over, we won, and it was just electric in the 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:24.719 stadium, and I'm feeling, you know when you're 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:26.819 in a stadium or maybe you're in a concert and 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.719 you can feel just like this electricity in your 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.239 body, right? That's what I'm feeling right now. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:34.760 It's what I felt when a guy came out of the water 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.299 last week. It's what I felt when I was doing 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:38.180 the welcome last week, and I think I said the 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:41.019 word excited 25 times, but I couldn't tell you 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:42.739 that there was going to be a baptism that afternoon, 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.140 but I wanted to tell you. you because there's 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:48.579 nothing that fires me up more than seeing someone 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:51.900 snatch from the grip, the grasp of Satan. There's 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:54.319 nothing that fires me up more than seeing somebody 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:56.500 give their life to Christ. You know, like when 00:01:56.500 --> 00:01:58.099 you were a kid, maybe you went to church camp 00:01:58.099 --> 00:02:00.000 or you went to a youth conference or whatever. 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:01.959 And when you come back, you're on the spiritual 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:05.280 high. But then like a week later, it's gone or 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.340 two weeks later, I'm on a spiritual high right 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:09.479 now. And I got to be honest, I had been discouraged 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:11.439 because I was kind of running on empty for a 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:13.740 little bit. And then I see a guy in the the water 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:16.439 and I'm back up on top and I'm feeling that. 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:18.319 And here's what I'm going to challenge you to 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.020 do. Please don't let me get empty. Let's get 00:02:21.020 --> 00:02:23.340 some more people in the water. Not because it's 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:25.080 cool to see people in the water, but because 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.680 it is a joyous thing in the eyes of God when 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.520 somebody gives their life to Christ and joins 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:35.080 the family of God. Can we do that? We talk about 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:38.900 revival. In fact, last week was the 225th anniversary 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:42.800 of the Cane Ridge revival. And at that moment, 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:46.340 in that space, something amazing happened. Truly, 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:49.039 revival broke out, and the Protestant church 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:52.789 took over the southeast of this country. And 00:02:52.789 --> 00:02:55.229 I believe we can do that again. And it starts 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:57.610 with one guy getting in the water and then other 00:02:57.610 --> 00:02:59.449 people saying, hey, can I tell you about the 00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:01.830 gospel? And then more people getting in the water. 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:04.169 And next thing you know, we are changing this 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:06.990 nation or as the song that we just sang said, 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:10.110 we are flooding the nations with the glory of 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:14.289 God. Can we do that? Okay, it doesn't sound like 00:03:14.289 --> 00:03:18.039 we can do that. Like I'm up here, like I'm excited 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:19.900 right now and I think y 'all are still asleep. 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:22.460 What can I do to wake you up this morning? Are 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:24.740 y 'all excited about what God could possibly 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:29.139 be doing right now? Okay, can we just, we can 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:31.819 take that with us, right? Let's take that with 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.460 us. Let's take this excitement. Me being excited 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.060 up here doesn't do much of anything except like 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.680 get y 'all fired up. Drew Brees got in, what's 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:42.680 the word? He was put in the Hall of Fame yesterday. 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:44.740 Greatest quarterback of all time. Debate with 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:47.139 somebody else. I won't argue with you. Drew Brees 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:49.800 got inaugurated into the Hall of Fame yesterday. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:52.860 And I spent some time yesterday watching some 00:03:52.860 --> 00:03:56.120 of his pregame hype speeches. And Drew Brees, 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.020 what a motivator of men. Like I said, the greatest 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:04.199 of all time. I'm sitting on my couch in my PJs 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:05.919 watching these hype speeches, and I'm getting 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.560 fired up. And I should have watched some this 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.120 morning. So this is my Drew Brees pregame hype 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.960 speech to you guys. Let's go take this nation 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:16.879 over. Let's take this world over for the kingdom 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:20.819 of God. Amen? Okay, I think y 'all fell asleep 00:04:20.819 --> 00:04:23.560 again. That's fine. All right. Now, that wasn't 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:25.220 a part of the sermon. I just had to say that 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:28.339 because I feel like I'm in the stadium and the 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:29.920 electricity is running through my body right 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.000 now. So let me center myself. Let's center ourselves. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.439 Let's pray again. Father God, thank you for today. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:36.620 I thank you so much for the good news and the 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:38.620 excitement that it can bring to our lives. And 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:41.199 God, quite frankly, I'm just going to say, if 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:43.779 we don't get excited about the gospel, we may 00:04:43.779 --> 00:04:46.379 not really understand it. So God, my prayer is 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:49.079 that we understand it, that we feel it, and that 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:51.740 we are just as fired up about the good news. 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:54.829 taking over someone's life as we are about a 00:04:54.829 --> 00:04:57.389 touchdown or as we are about a promotion or as 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:00.089 we are about a graduation. God, will our lives 00:05:00.089 --> 00:05:04.250 show excitement for what Jesus Christ has done 00:05:04.250 --> 00:05:07.660 everywhere we go? Father, this morning, my prayer 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:10.019 is that I would preach your word. My prayer is 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:12.339 that your word would get into the hearts and 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:14.800 the minds of the people in this space and that 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:18.019 we would go out into this world and change the 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:21.259 nations. And God, I mean that plural. I hope 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:24.519 we can take over this world for you and only 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:27.620 you. God, it is by your glory, by your grace 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.399 that we are allowed to be here and we thank you 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:31.600 for that. May your word be proclaimed and may 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:33.560 our lives be changed. It is in Jesus' name we 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:36.170 pray, amen. All right, everybody take a deep 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:40.509 breath. Okay, I'm trying to calm down. I don't 00:05:40.509 --> 00:05:42.329 know if it was the coffee, the good news, the 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:44.569 Holy Spirit, what, but I'm up, all right? So 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:46.509 I'm gonna try not to yell at you this morning, 00:05:46.629 --> 00:05:49.370 all right? So over the last few weeks, what I 00:05:49.370 --> 00:05:52.230 have been, or I've been planning this idea in 00:05:52.230 --> 00:05:54.389 your minds and trying to hammer it home that 00:05:54.389 --> 00:05:58.750 God is the only one who gets to define your worth. 00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:01.490 And not only does God define you as priceless, 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:07.089 Do we have a clicker? There it is. Okay, not 00:06:07.089 --> 00:06:10.889 only does God define you as priceless, but he's 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:13.750 gone to great lengths to prove that he believes 00:06:13.750 --> 00:06:15.569 you are priceless. He's gone to great lengths 00:06:15.569 --> 00:06:17.790 to prove that he means it. We talked about what 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:21.209 Jesus did last week and how Jesus giving his 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:24.550 life, him dying on the cross, being buried, rising 00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:26.470 again, ascending to heaven, going into these 00:06:26.470 --> 00:06:29.350 communities, living among us, how that proved 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:34.000 that God does believe you. In all of your sin, 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:36.600 in all of your shame, in all of my evil, wicked 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:40.779 ways, he believes we are priceless. He created 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:43.100 this whole universe with us in mind. And from 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:46.540 the moment we messed it up, he saw us as so valuable 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:48.920 that he couldn't just let us go. He couldn't 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:51.720 just let this burn. Like I mentioned the idea 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.579 of if you had that really expensive baseball 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:55.439 card and you run back into the burning house 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.040 to save it because it is just that valuable for 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.120 you. That is what God did. He sent Jesus into 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:03.740 this world to pay the price to buy us back from 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:06.939 sin and set us free to walk in a new, eternal, 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:09.600 abundant life. If you believe that, can we just 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.759 say amen? But the lesson doesn't stop there, 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.160 at least it shouldn't. It should never stop at 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:17.480 just God loves me, he thinks I'm great. Because 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:19.680 we still need to answer some very important questions. 00:07:19.699 --> 00:07:22.079 Questions like, if I'm worth so much to God, 00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:24.839 then why don't I feel, or why do I often feel 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.819 so worthless? Or what does worth even mean? Or 00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:31.660 maybe, how can I be so valuable to God if I don't 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.379 even have or feel like I have a purpose in this 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:37.410 life? And those are all valid questions. Those 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:40.529 are all really important questions to ask and 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:43.029 answer, but those questions aren't unique to 00:07:43.029 --> 00:07:45.829 you. And I hope you don't feel that way. I also 00:07:45.829 --> 00:07:47.389 hope you don't feel like those questions are 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:50.730 new to us in our current context. The Bible, 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:53.149 this compilation of letters, historical accounts, 00:07:53.470 --> 00:07:56.350 songs, poems, and testimonies written way back 00:07:56.350 --> 00:07:59.069 in ancient history is full of people who had 00:07:59.069 --> 00:08:03.040 reason to ask those same questions. And these 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:06.019 people, they all struggled with their worth just 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:08.860 like we do. All of these Bible characters, these 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:10.779 figures that we learn about in Sunday school, 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:14.459 we sing the songs about, they all had their moments 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:16.839 of struggling with their worth just like we do. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.019 The reason is, is because this is a very human 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:22.180 problem. This is just the circumstances we live 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:25.220 in. And as I will continue to say, it all stems 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:28.600 from that horrible, hate -filled, spiteful liar 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:32.279 named Satan. And so we think about these Bible 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:35.080 characters, these real people who face real problems 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:38.159 in a real world just like us, and we see in them 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.000 what we see in us. They could look at the details 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.100 of their lives. They could look at the circumstances 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:48.080 of their lives and probably not feel very priceless. 00:08:49.069 --> 00:08:51.230 They too struggled with their value and their 00:08:51.230 --> 00:08:53.330 worth. And today, I want us to look at just one 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:55.529 of those figures, one of the most well -known 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:57.529 men in all of the Bible and all of Christian 00:08:57.529 --> 00:09:00.009 history and Jewish history, and his name is, 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:03.250 maybe you guessed it, Moses. And so this morning, 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:04.990 we're going to spend some time in Exodus chapter 00:09:04.990 --> 00:09:07.879 2 and a little bit in Exodus 3. If you've been 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:09.860 in church before or you know a little bit about 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.980 the Bible, you're likely familiar with Moses. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.259 But let me just give you a little bit of a background. 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:17.860 So in the time Moses was born, this is about 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:21.399 400 years after the Israelites, the Jewish people, 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.360 went into Egypt. So you remember, if you know 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:27.240 the story of Joseph, Joseph brings his family 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:29.720 to Egypt. They live. They set up shop. And now 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:31.759 they are, because Joseph is like second in command 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.220 of Egypt. And so his family is in a good spot. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.860 And so the Jews, they stay in Egypt and they're 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:39.820 doing well. Well, some things change. Next thing 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:43.059 you know, the Jews are enslaved in Egypt. And 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:46.259 so we've got 400 years past from Joseph to Moses 00:09:46.259 --> 00:09:49.179 where the Israelite people are slaves in Egypt. 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.940 And now there is this decree put out by the Pharaoh 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:56.720 saying if there's any Israelite boys born, we're 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:59.080 going to throw them into the Nile River to drown 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:02.120 them. This was an attempted genocide by Pharaoh 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:03.659 and the Egyptians. He wanted to get rid of, he 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:05.320 wanted to make sure that the Israelites were 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:08.559 not able to grow so much that they would be able 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.659 to overpower Egypt or take over Egypt. But this 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:16.620 guy Moses, he's born, there's this decree, throw 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:19.389 the baby in the river. Well, Moses' mom... She 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:22.669 ain't going for that. So she instead makes this 00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:24.769 basket. She places him in the basket where he 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.970 would float and ended up floating into the life 00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:30.970 of Pharaoh's daughter. And Pharaoh's daughter, 00:10:31.029 --> 00:10:33.509 she would end up raising Moses as if he were 00:10:33.509 --> 00:10:36.210 her own child in her home, which is the king's, 00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:39.009 the Pharaoh's palace. And so Moses is raised 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:42.169 in royalty. But through the providence of God, 00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:46.190 Moses actually was cared for by his mother, his 00:10:46.190 --> 00:10:48.750 birth mother. And so he's being raised in Pharaoh's 00:10:48.750 --> 00:10:52.029 palace by his Jewish mother, who was a servant 00:10:52.029 --> 00:10:55.509 for Pharaoh's daughter. Now, now that you have 00:10:55.509 --> 00:10:57.129 that backstory, I want to take you to Exodus 00:10:57.129 --> 00:10:59.809 2, where we see an interesting development come 00:10:59.809 --> 00:11:03.309 up in Moses' life. And this is what we read in 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:07.279 Exodus 2. One day when Moses had grown up, he 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.539 went out to his people and looked on their burdens, 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:12.879 and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.879 of his people. So at some point in Moses' life 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:19.820 as he's growing up, somebody told Moses where 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:23.200 he came from. Somehow he knew that he was not 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.659 an Egyptian, but he was... an Israelite. Maybe 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:29.360 it was his mom, his birth mother who was living 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.360 and taking care of him. Maybe she said, you know, 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.440 you're in the Pharaoh's house and the princess, 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.899 yeah, she's your mom, but you're really my son 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:39.639 and you're an Israelite. Or maybe he just, I 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:41.840 don't know if there was like some physical differences 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:44.360 that they could look at and say, yeah, he's obviously 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.399 not an Egyptian. I don't know how Moses found 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:51.559 out that he was Jewish, but he knows because 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:54.320 he goes out. He's on the town and he's in the 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.679 city and he sees his people. And it says he saw 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:01.779 their burdens. He looked out, he saw their struggles. 00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:05.980 And not only did he see their struggles, but 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:09.659 he saw an Egyptian beating one of his own. So 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:12.799 Moses knows who he is. And I don't know, maybe 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:15.779 the moment where Moses finds out he's a Jew is 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:18.480 kind of like Luke Skywalker finding out who his 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.980 dad is. And it's like this. moment of dread and 00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:25.240 fear. And it's like, no, what do you mean I'm 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:28.139 not Egyptian? Does that mean I'm not going to 00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:30.399 be? Because think about Moses likely could have 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.799 been Pharaoh. So does that mean I'm not going 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.279 to be Pharaoh? Does that not mean I do have to 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:37.879 move out of this royal palace? Like, have you 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:39.759 heard the stories of people who find out way 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.580 late in life that they're adopted? Maybe she'll 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:43.960 watch this. I don't know. But my mother -in -law 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.279 found out at like 50 years old that she was adopted. 00:12:46.880 --> 00:12:50.039 Isn't that crazy? Everybody knew except for her. 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:52.620 And so it's like this moment of questioning, 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:57.179 who am I? What is my life actually about? Where 00:12:57.179 --> 00:12:59.600 did I come from? What's my story? What's my background? 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:06.379 But Moses, he knows now that his lineage is a 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:10.220 people that are enslaved to the very nation that 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:13.059 he has been a benefactor of his entire life. 00:13:14.730 --> 00:13:17.870 I want you to imagine how that would feel. You're 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:21.110 dressed and living in the home of the most powerful 00:13:21.110 --> 00:13:25.549 man in the world, but knowing that you are never 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:29.529 truly going to be one of them. You'll never be 00:13:29.529 --> 00:13:33.950 like Pharaoh. You'll never be royalty. You'll 00:13:33.950 --> 00:13:37.009 never be what you would like to be or what you 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:40.580 were supposed to be. I can only imagine the kind 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:43.139 of mental punch that that must have been for 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:46.740 Moses. Not only finding out that you aren't who 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.720 your setup says you are, but also you're feeling 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:53.870 a connection to your real people. So you're finding 00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:56.470 out that you're not royalty, and then you're 00:13:56.470 --> 00:13:58.029 finding out that the people that you actually 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:01.070 come from, they are seen as scum by the people 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:03.490 that you've been raised by. Can you imagine the 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:06.490 type of mental torment this must have been for 00:14:06.490 --> 00:14:09.490 Moses? And maybe you've been there in your life 00:14:09.490 --> 00:14:11.409 where you found out that you aren't who you thought 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:16.970 you were. In fact, you're a lot worse. And as 00:14:16.970 --> 00:14:19.269 the passage says, Moses looked on the burdens 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:23.830 of his people. And I read that as he felt for 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:26.429 them or maybe the old Bill Clinton line, I feel 00:14:26.429 --> 00:14:30.970 your pain. And so in a sort of radical attempt 00:14:30.970 --> 00:14:33.669 to step in and help his people, I want you to 00:14:33.669 --> 00:14:35.809 look at what Moses does in verse 12. Remember 00:14:35.809 --> 00:14:38.149 there was an Egyptian man beating one of Moses' 00:14:38.350 --> 00:14:42.389 people. Moses isn't having it. Moses looked this 00:14:42.389 --> 00:14:45.809 way and looked that way and seeing no one, he 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:48.590 struck down the Egyptian and hit him in the sand. 00:14:49.129 --> 00:14:52.360 He sees this Egyptian. hurting one of his people, 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:55.159 one of his cousins, or he doesn't know. This 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:56.679 could be his brother for all he knows, but he 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:58.940 knows he's being beaten and he's not going to 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.779 stand for this. So he does what maybe any of 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.580 us would do. He steps in. But I want you to notice 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.059 the text says that Moses didn't want anyone to 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:09.299 know. He looked and he looked and he made sure 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:12.149 that nobody was looking. He made sure that nobody 00:15:12.149 --> 00:15:15.090 could see, and then he tried to cover up what 00:15:15.090 --> 00:15:17.850 he'd done. He does this, one, because he knows 00:15:17.850 --> 00:15:20.830 that this is wrong, and this is a sin. At this 00:15:20.830 --> 00:15:22.870 point, we don't have the law of Moses yet, because 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:24.289 that's not a thing. We don't have the Ten Commandments, 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:27.049 but Moses has definitely heard the story of Cain 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:30.090 and Abel, where Cain kills Abel, and so Moses 00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:34.029 knows this is not right to kill somebody. So 00:15:34.029 --> 00:15:36.870 he knows this is wrong, it's sin, but also... 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.820 Because he knows that there will be some harsh 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:46.139 consequences for killing an Egyptian man. But 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:48.360 obviously people find out because what's done 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:51.519 in the dark always comes to light. And in verse 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:54.879 13 and 14, we see this scene where two Jews are 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.559 fighting and Moses tries to split them up. Moses 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:00.259 kind of goes into social justice warrior mode 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:02.179 or whatever, like he thinks that he's got to 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:04.600 solve all of the conflicts of the world. So Moses 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:06.379 tries to step in between these guys that are 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:08.500 fighting, but they look at him and they say, 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:09.940 oh, what are you going to do? You're going to 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:13.639 kill us too? And can you imagine the feeling 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:19.419 in Moses knowing people know what I did? People 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:24.700 know. They know I'm a murderer. They know that 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:28.240 I've sinned. And they think this is what I do. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:31.759 And at that point, Moses gets paranoid. He feels 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.139 like if they know the word must be spreading, 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:36.419 and sure enough, the word was spreading. And 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:39.559 word does get to Pharaoh. He finds out and he 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:42.879 sets out to kill Moses, further proving that 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.399 just because Moses had grown up in Pharaoh's 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:49.220 house did not mean he had much worth in Pharaoh's 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:52.039 eyes. And I want you to look what Moses does 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:56.080 then in verse 15. Moses fled from Pharaoh and 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.539 stayed in the land of Midian, and he sat down 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:02.779 by a well. See, in just the span of a few days, 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:08.700 Moses went from prince to fugitive. He goes from 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:15.059 royalty to outcast. Moses himself didn't change. 00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:18.230 He's still Moses, still the guy that grew up 00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:19.910 in Pharaoh's household, still the guy that was 00:17:19.910 --> 00:17:23.869 raised in royalty, but he did something that 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:27.539 tarnished his image. And so all of a sudden his 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:31.079 life is in ruins. He's on the run. He was already 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.299 struggling with where he fit in. And now he knows 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:35.839 for a fact he has no place in either his biological 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.900 family or his adoptive family. And so he just 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.619 sits down at a well in this foreign land. And 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:43.859 I just want to stop there for a moment and ask 00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:46.640 you what you think he was thinking while sitting 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:50.460 at that well. Maybe a better question is what 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:52.599 have you thought about when you were sitting 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:56.359 at your well? And I don't know what your well 00:17:56.359 --> 00:17:59.319 in a foreign land is, but I know you've sat at 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.720 one, maybe not physically, but is it possible 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:05.079 that you've had to take a seat somewhere after 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:08.579 trying to escape harm or trying to escape your 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:13.039 unwanted circumstances or even worse, your consequences? 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:17.299 Is it possible that you've put yourself in a 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.200 position in life, you've done something, you 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:22.359 found yourself in a place where you just have 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.380 to run? And you just have to try to hide. And 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:27.920 you find yourself sitting at a well, just trying 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:29.680 to breathe, catch your breath because you've 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:32.380 been running and you're giving up and you just 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:36.339 need to sit for a moment. And when it's in that 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:38.460 place where you're sitting and you're alone, 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:41.480 alone with your thoughts, where you have to deal 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:44.420 with the circumstances and the consequences of 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:49.559 your life. And at that moment, sitting there, 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:54.240 what do you think? How much do you feel like 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.440 you're worth? See, it didn't matter how privileged 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:02.440 Moses' upbringing was. The feeling of worthlessness 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:06.160 had found him, just as that feeling finds all 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.480 of us. At some point in your life, whether it 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.640 was in your teenage years when you're trying 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.920 to figure out all the things you have to figure 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.940 out as a teenager, Whether it was in your young 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:20.259 adult life where you've gotten married and things 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:22.059 aren't working as you thought they would, or 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:24.240 you have kids and things aren't going as they 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.240 thought they would, or you're trying to have 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:29.940 kids and it's not going, or whatever it is. You 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:32.460 get older and you're in a job, you're in a career, 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:35.809 but you get let go. You had this nice social 00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:37.609 group and all of a sudden they don't like you 00:19:37.609 --> 00:19:41.410 anymore. I don't know what you have done or where 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:43.910 you have been, but I know that at some point 00:19:43.910 --> 00:19:46.690 in all of our lives, we find ourselves sitting 00:19:46.690 --> 00:19:52.019 at a well wondering, what am I worth? It finds 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:54.700 everybody. It does not matter. There are two 00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:56.960 things in this world that I know to be true. 00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:59.660 One, the feeling of emptiness, hopelessness, 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.779 and worthlessness finds everyone, and death finds 00:20:02.779 --> 00:20:04.700 everyone. And then there's the thing about taxes, 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:07.990 right? So we know those things to be true. So 00:20:07.990 --> 00:20:10.430 the first thing we have to do is name that. We 00:20:10.430 --> 00:20:13.450 have to identify that we all will struggle with 00:20:13.450 --> 00:20:15.410 this if we are not currently struggling with 00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:17.190 this. And the truth of the matter is there's 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:19.349 about 100 people in here right now. I know somebody 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:22.150 in this room might just be feeling this right 00:20:22.150 --> 00:20:28.349 now. You may be surrounded by privilege. You 00:20:28.349 --> 00:20:30.470 may have always been well fed and well cared 00:20:30.470 --> 00:20:36.960 for, but somehow you still feel worthless. And 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.680 you ask yourself, if I'm not good enough for 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.119 them, then who am I? If I don't have this, then 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:44.700 what do I have? If I can't do that, then what 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:47.799 am I worth? And sure, it's okay to be sad for 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:49.940 a moment, but hear me when I say this, you are 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:53.319 not meant to stay that way. You aren't meant 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.430 to stay sitting at the well. I'm going to go 00:20:56.430 --> 00:20:58.289 on a Drew Brees thing again because he's the 00:20:58.289 --> 00:21:00.509 greatest of all time. Drew Brees, I was listening 00:21:00.509 --> 00:21:03.069 to his Hall of Fame speech yesterday and he talked 00:21:03.069 --> 00:21:05.509 about, I see Rick shaking his head. We can debate 00:21:05.509 --> 00:21:09.410 later, Rick. So he's talking in his Hall of Fame 00:21:09.410 --> 00:21:11.309 speech about how in his junior year he hurt his 00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:14.529 knee. And his whole life was about athletics. 00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:17.390 I mean, he was one of those guys that played 00:21:17.390 --> 00:21:19.529 a sport every season, baseball, football, soccer, 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:22.349 softball, not softball, football. I mean, all 00:21:22.349 --> 00:21:24.769 of the sports, right? He played all of them. 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:28.079 And so he was always, his identity, as he said, 00:21:28.140 --> 00:21:31.380 was an athlete. Well, he hurts his knee. He can't 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:33.740 play sports anymore, at least not for a while. 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:37.680 And he said he was in church. And it was in church 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:42.000 that he found out that he came to know the truth 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.799 that his identity was not as an athlete, that 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:50.319 it was as a child of God. And so I just want 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:53.329 to say. If you are sitting at your well this 00:21:53.329 --> 00:21:56.089 morning feeling like if I can't do that, then 00:21:56.089 --> 00:21:58.289 who am I? If I can't have that, then what am 00:21:58.289 --> 00:22:00.450 I? If you are feeling that way this morning, 00:22:00.589 --> 00:22:03.910 I need you to hear me. Your identity is not that. 00:22:04.049 --> 00:22:06.769 Your identity is not Egyptian. It's not royalty. 00:22:06.869 --> 00:22:11.710 Your identity is child of God, and that is priceless. 00:22:12.329 --> 00:22:16.180 And so get up. out of that seat. Stop feeling 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:18.579 sorry for yourself. It's okay to be sad for a 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:20.059 moment. Let me just go ahead and say that again. 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:23.319 It is okay to feel the hurt. In fact, it's a 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.119 healthy thing. There's a song, I love it, and 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:28.180 one of the best lines ever written in music, 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:31.140 and again, argue with somebody else, is laughing 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:33.059 ain't a pleasure until you know about crying. 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.059 And you can't understand the joy that God brings 00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:39.359 until you understand the sorrow that this world 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.599 gives you. And so Moses is feeling the sorrow 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:46.710 that the world gives him, but he doesn't stay 00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:50.369 there because you can't stay there. You have 00:22:50.369 --> 00:22:53.009 to get up. And I want you to see how Moses gets 00:22:53.009 --> 00:22:55.589 up in Exodus 2, verses 16 through 22. It's a 00:22:55.589 --> 00:22:57.349 little bit longer. Bear with me. If it's underlined, 00:22:57.490 --> 00:22:59.690 read it, please. Now the priests of Midian had 00:22:59.690 --> 00:23:02.130 seven daughters, and they came and drew water 00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:05.359 to water their father's flock. The shepherds 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:08.000 came and drove them away, but Moses stood up 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.220 and saved them and watered their flock. When 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:13.700 they came home to their father rule, he said, 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:16.019 how is it that you have come home so soon today? 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.240 And they told him what Moses had done. He said 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:22.160 to his daughters, then where is he? Call him 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.940 that he may eat bread. And Moses was content 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:27.940 to dwell with the man. And he gave Moses his 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:30.990 daughter Zipporah. She birthed a son, and he 00:23:30.990 --> 00:23:34.130 named him Gershom, for he said, I've been a sojourner 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:38.009 in a foreign land. First thing, ladies, how would 00:23:38.009 --> 00:23:41.309 you feel if your dad just gave you to some random 00:23:41.309 --> 00:23:44.569 guy all because he did some random act of kindness? 00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:46.970 Oh, that guy held the door open for you, honey. 00:23:47.349 --> 00:23:51.170 There you go. I'm kidding, but seriously, overnight, 00:23:51.349 --> 00:23:54.569 Moses' situation changes. He finds a new home. 00:23:54.670 --> 00:23:59.480 He finds a wife, and here he finds purpose. which 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.579 ultimately helps Moses regain a sense of worth. 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:07.220 And work can do that. Acceptance can do that. 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:10.579 And when you are both working and you're accepted, 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:15.140 your sense of worth grows. There's been a lot 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.460 of studies done about church involvement. And 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:21.059 some of the stats point to the people that are 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:23.880 most active in their church are the ones who 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:27.099 most enjoy their church. And when I say active, 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:28.920 I don't mean the people that attend the most. 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:30.940 It's the people that are involved in a ministry, 00:24:31.099 --> 00:24:33.140 the people that are serving in a ministry, the 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:35.900 people that are active, the people that are working. 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:39.970 And if you're working in a church, then most 00:24:39.970 --> 00:24:43.170 likely you are accepted for the work you do in 00:24:43.170 --> 00:24:46.470 that church. And then you know how your feeling 00:24:46.470 --> 00:24:49.190 of worth grows because you feel like you have 00:24:49.190 --> 00:24:51.390 a responsibility and you feel like people need 00:24:51.390 --> 00:24:53.529 you and they count on you. And that is a good 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:55.690 feeling to have. Now, that shouldn't be your 00:24:55.690 --> 00:24:58.130 motivation for doing good things, but it's a 00:24:58.130 --> 00:25:00.730 nice thing to know that you are appreciated, 00:25:00.890 --> 00:25:03.609 that you have purpose, that you have worth. And 00:25:03.609 --> 00:25:06.390 so now Moses, he's found new work in a place 00:25:06.390 --> 00:25:10.450 where he's actually being accepted. This is Moses' 00:25:10.710 --> 00:25:15.589 moment of deliverance. He'd been from the awful 00:25:15.589 --> 00:25:18.829 state he'd just found himself in not long ago, 00:25:18.950 --> 00:25:24.329 delivered. I want you to remember when Moses 00:25:24.329 --> 00:25:26.490 was sitting at the well, fearing for his life 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:30.329 and unsure about what would become of him. The 00:25:30.329 --> 00:25:34.799 doubt. The feeling of worthlessness. The feeling 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:37.839 of I don't know what to do, where to go, who 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:41.099 I am, what I will be, what will become of me. 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:45.700 And all of a sudden he has a life now. He's delivered. 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:47.339 And there's a purpose for his deliverance. I 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:49.220 want you to watch what happens. During those 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:52.019 many days, the king of Egypt died and the people 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:54.240 of Israel groaned because of their slavery and 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.099 cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from 00:25:57.099 --> 00:26:00.880 slavery came up to God and God heard their groaning. 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:03.440 And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:06.880 with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:11.380 of Israel, and God knew. I think it's interesting 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:13.920 that this passage is right there in the beginning 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.470 of Moses' story. It's almost like, as I said 00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:19.230 before, we read the passage that there was a 00:26:19.230 --> 00:26:21.789 purpose for this deliverance, that there was 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:24.410 a purpose for Moses getting a new life, getting 00:26:24.410 --> 00:26:26.910 a new wife, finding purpose, finding acceptance, 00:26:27.190 --> 00:26:30.150 finding a place of belonging, his sense of worth 00:26:30.150 --> 00:26:33.210 growing. And then we have this thing just transplanted 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:35.150 right in there about how the Israelite people, 00:26:35.250 --> 00:26:37.009 yeah, Moses is getting his life together, but 00:26:37.009 --> 00:26:38.890 they're still suffering and they're crying out 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:42.089 to God. And I love this idea that God hears their 00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:45.029 groaning and God saw the people and God knew. 00:26:46.410 --> 00:26:50.470 Here's the deal. I believe that God rescues us 00:26:50.470 --> 00:26:52.730 not just to prove that we're valuable to him, 00:26:52.809 --> 00:26:56.569 but because he has a desire to use us for valuable 00:26:56.569 --> 00:27:01.289 purposes, that God has big things for us to do. 00:27:01.769 --> 00:27:04.430 And right here, it would seem, based on the story 00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:06.630 that we're in and the placement of verses 23 00:27:06.630 --> 00:27:09.769 through 25, that God delivered Moses so that 00:27:09.769 --> 00:27:13.349 Moses could be used for something. But what could 00:27:13.349 --> 00:27:15.609 it be? If you know the story, I need you to just 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:17.730 act like you don't know for a moment. Look at 00:27:17.730 --> 00:27:22.910 verse 25. God knew. What did God know? Well, 00:27:22.930 --> 00:27:26.950 God saw what Moses saw. The oppression, the pain 00:27:26.950 --> 00:27:30.170 of his people, his children, his chosen race. 00:27:30.609 --> 00:27:35.609 And God hears their cry for rescue. The same 00:27:35.609 --> 00:27:38.289 cry that Moses heard when he saw the Egyptian 00:27:38.289 --> 00:27:43.980 man beating his family member. And Moses responded 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:48.160 to the cry. But Moses quickly found out that 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:50.339 he couldn't rescue all of them by himself. And 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:53.059 he ended up a fugitive for his effort. His rescue 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:56.319 effort was worthless. So maybe he was worthless 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:58.019 or so he may have thought. But the truth for 00:27:58.019 --> 00:28:00.460 today that I need you to take with you is God 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:03.359 doesn't make worthless things or worthless people. 00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:06.690 He doesn't do that. We read in Scripture, every 00:28:06.690 --> 00:28:10.009 good gift comes from God. Only good things come 00:28:10.009 --> 00:28:12.109 from God. All things work for good from God. 00:28:12.269 --> 00:28:15.230 God doesn't make worthless things. He only makes 00:28:15.230 --> 00:28:19.410 things of high value with high purpose. God saw 00:28:19.410 --> 00:28:21.990 the people of Israel and He knew. He knew not 00:28:21.990 --> 00:28:24.690 just that He was able to rescue them, but He 00:28:24.690 --> 00:28:28.490 knew how and who He would use to rescue them. 00:28:28.690 --> 00:28:31.869 He had a plan. But first, He had to convince 00:28:31.869 --> 00:28:34.980 Moses. Maybe you've heard the story of Moses 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:36.920 and the burning bush, but if not, let me give 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:38.579 you the Cliff Notes version. You can find this 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:41.140 in Exodus 3. Basically, God takes the form of 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:44.000 fire, a burning bush, but not consuming it. That's 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.319 pretty cool. And he appears to Moses while Moses 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.660 is out in the back country tending the sheep. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:53.240 He appears to Moses this way, and God tells Moses, 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:58.119 essentially, hey, I see the suffering of my people, 00:28:58.180 --> 00:29:01.150 your people, Israel. And I've come to rescue 00:29:01.150 --> 00:29:03.250 them, and I've come to deliver them to a land 00:29:03.250 --> 00:29:06.549 of abundance. And Moses hears this, and he's 00:29:06.549 --> 00:29:10.670 like, yes, finally. Thanks, God. Can I go too? 00:29:12.130 --> 00:29:14.130 But then God told him how he would do it, and 00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:17.009 now this changes things for Moses. God's like, 00:29:17.049 --> 00:29:20.009 I came to rescue my people, and you're going 00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:23.869 to help me do it. And all of a sudden, Moses 00:29:23.869 --> 00:29:28.529 has to think about some things. Yes, sir, think. 00:29:29.369 --> 00:29:31.329 about what God is going to do. I want you to 00:29:31.329 --> 00:29:34.609 watch this interaction between God and Moses. 00:29:34.910 --> 00:29:38.750 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should 00:29:38.750 --> 00:29:41.170 go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel 00:29:41.170 --> 00:29:45.309 out of Egypt? He said, But I will be with you, 00:29:45.390 --> 00:29:47.549 and this shall be the sign for you that I have 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:50.190 sent you. When you have brought the people out 00:29:50.190 --> 00:29:52.450 of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. 00:29:53.150 --> 00:29:57.430 Who am I? You ever ask yourself that question? 00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:01.029 I sit up here and tell you, go tell somebody 00:30:01.029 --> 00:30:02.450 the gospel. I sit up here and tell you, invite 00:30:02.450 --> 00:30:03.990 somebody to church. I sit up here and tell you, 00:30:04.009 --> 00:30:05.849 you need to be making disciples. We need to be 00:30:05.849 --> 00:30:07.309 making disciples. And you're like, well, who 00:30:07.309 --> 00:30:11.789 am I? What can I do? I don't have that many friends 00:30:11.789 --> 00:30:14.470 that aren't Christians. How can I bring the gospel? 00:30:14.589 --> 00:30:17.029 They all go to church already. Or, well, yeah, 00:30:17.150 --> 00:30:19.130 you know, I'd like to, but my friends, they know 00:30:19.130 --> 00:30:22.789 about how I talk. Or they know what I do. Who 00:30:22.789 --> 00:30:30.210 am I? Moses kind of, he goes on this. This excuse 00:30:30.210 --> 00:30:35.549 -making rant. And I would say this is the longest 00:30:35.549 --> 00:30:38.269 recorded list of excuses in the Bible as to why 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:41.190 God shouldn't use somebody. I'm not worthy. What 00:30:41.190 --> 00:30:43.390 will I say? They won't believe me. They won't 00:30:43.390 --> 00:30:47.069 listen. I'm not a good speaker. And then he straight 00:30:47.069 --> 00:30:50.710 up insists that God send someone else. God send 00:30:50.710 --> 00:30:56.740 anybody who's trying to convince God. that he 00:30:56.740 --> 00:31:00.079 couldn't possibly want him because he was worthless, 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:04.759 as if God didn't know who he was calling. You 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:07.680 know, worthless people don't do big things. Not 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:11.460 in Moses' mind. But God doesn't see us like we 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:15.779 see us. God doesn't see us. as worthless, first 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:19.160 of all. God doesn't see us for our speech impediments. 00:31:19.259 --> 00:31:21.539 God doesn't see us for our lack of ability to 00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:23.740 memorize scripture. God doesn't see us for our 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:26.319 cussing problem. God doesn't see us for our addictions. 00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:29.660 God sees us as his children. Now, all of those 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:33.539 things he sees. Yet he still chooses to love 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:37.160 us, as Truman said. Yet when we were still sinners, 00:31:37.339 --> 00:31:40.920 God still sent Christ for us. He still calls 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:43.519 us. He still tries to rescue us because he doesn't 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:46.460 see us as worthless. He just sees us as priceless 00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:50.660 people who somehow got themselves stained. But 00:31:50.660 --> 00:31:53.160 you know what Jesus can do? He can wash away 00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:55.980 every stain. And if you can take a stain out 00:31:55.980 --> 00:31:58.460 of something that is valuable, it is still... 00:31:58.680 --> 00:32:02.700 And that's what God sees. He sees our true worth. 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:06.519 And when we can see and we can become sure of 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.700 our worth to God, we will begin letting God use 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:14.099 us for big things. And the big thing that God 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:17.160 has called us to is not too dissimilar to what 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:20.680 God called Moses to here. God called Moses and 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:24.740 us to the same thing, delivering his children 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:31.569 from a wicked world. As I said earlier, God has 00:32:31.569 --> 00:32:36.349 revealed his will for us. It is to go into this 00:32:36.349 --> 00:32:40.509 world and partner with God on the greatest rescue 00:32:40.509 --> 00:32:44.710 mission of all time. And I want you to notice, 00:32:44.910 --> 00:32:49.849 God didn't call some warrior king. He didn't 00:32:49.849 --> 00:32:53.029 call a foreign army to deliver his people. He 00:32:53.029 --> 00:32:56.000 didn't call the most... well -known leader, the 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.140 well -known businessman, the well -known... He 00:32:58.140 --> 00:33:01.079 didn't do that. He chose somebody that nobody 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:04.619 would have wanted or expected. The Egyptians 00:33:04.619 --> 00:33:07.000 wanted him dead. The Israelites saw him as an 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.359 outsider. But God takes Moses and puts him in 00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:14.039 the middle of both of them, a man of worth, negotiating 00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:17.960 on behalf of God to set his people free, to show 00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:22.539 how much God's people are worth to him. It was 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:26.039 Moses. that God would use to first demonstrate 00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:29.779 how far God would go to remove his children from 00:33:29.779 --> 00:33:34.619 slavery and redeem us. And as Moses became faithful 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:38.000 to God, he was more and more convinced of how 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.680 much he was worth. Ultimately, God exalts Moses 00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:44.759 to not just be deliverer, but the leader of over 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:48.579 a million people. And just like Moses was deemed 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:51.980 valuable and priceless in God's story, so are 00:33:51.980 --> 00:33:55.660 we. Like I said, God wants to use us for big 00:33:55.660 --> 00:33:59.599 things. He wants to use us for a really great 00:33:59.599 --> 00:34:02.880 cause. And our big thing is just like Moses' 00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:06.240 in Matthew 28, verses 19 through 20. Jesus gives 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.070 us... our deliverance mission. This is what he 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:11.750 says. Go therefore and make disciples of all 00:34:11.750 --> 00:34:14.489 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father 00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:17.309 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 00:34:17.309 --> 00:34:19.610 them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:34:19.690 --> 00:34:22.789 And behold, I'm with you always to the end of 00:34:22.789 --> 00:34:25.510 the age. Sounds kind of like what God told Moses. 00:34:25.889 --> 00:34:29.889 God said, Moses, go. And when Moses is given 00:34:29.889 --> 00:34:33.889 his excuses, God says, I'll be with you. And 00:34:33.889 --> 00:34:37.920 Jesus here says, go. And before the disciples, 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:40.380 before those listening ever get a chance to make 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:43.880 their excuses, Jesus says, I'll be with you. 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:48.840 So as Moses stood before Pharaoh, empowered by 00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:51.539 God to deliver his people, we proclaim the good 00:34:51.539 --> 00:34:54.260 news, the gospel message, and we make disciples 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:57.179 of Jesus, freeing and delivering them from slavery 00:34:57.179 --> 00:35:01.630 because God... sees us as valuable, as indispensable, 00:35:01.969 --> 00:35:05.230 as priceless, and he sees us as an integral part 00:35:05.230 --> 00:35:11.150 of his plan. The puzzle needs your peace. We're 00:35:11.150 --> 00:35:13.929 not just valuable people who are in need of saving. 00:35:14.110 --> 00:35:17.289 We're valuable people who get to help God in 00:35:17.289 --> 00:35:22.590 the saving. And as I said, when you are accepted 00:35:22.590 --> 00:35:27.090 and you're working, your sense of worth grows. 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:30.780 There's a lot of people who are dissatisfied 00:35:30.780 --> 00:35:33.599 with church. Just being honest. There's a lot 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:35.820 of people who are dissatisfied with church. I 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:37.619 don't get anything out of church. I go because 00:35:37.619 --> 00:35:40.900 I know I'm supposed to. I go because I have to. 00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:44.320 I go so that I can get my parents off my back. 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:46.199 There's a lot of people that are dissatisfied 00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:50.099 with church. Can I tell you the truth? And I 00:35:50.099 --> 00:35:52.199 kind of hinted at it earlier. The people that 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:54.420 are dissatisfied with church are the ones who 00:35:54.420 --> 00:35:57.030 are working the least. They're the ones who are 00:35:57.030 --> 00:36:00.090 not living in the call that God has given to 00:36:00.090 --> 00:36:04.710 each and every one of us. But the people that 00:36:04.710 --> 00:36:08.550 are working, they can't get enough of it. The 00:36:08.550 --> 00:36:10.570 people that are working cannot be here enough. 00:36:10.610 --> 00:36:13.110 They cannot be doing enough. That's why people 00:36:13.110 --> 00:36:15.510 that are working and serving, they sacrifice. 00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:18.949 They give up time. They're willing to do that 00:36:18.949 --> 00:36:21.869 because they know that what they're doing is 00:36:21.869 --> 00:36:24.389 an outpouring of the work that God has put in 00:36:24.389 --> 00:36:27.409 them. We work out of salvation, not for salvation. 00:36:27.750 --> 00:36:30.789 And when you know that you have been saved, that 00:36:30.789 --> 00:36:32.909 you are priceless, and that God has called you 00:36:32.909 --> 00:36:36.050 to something really big, you are glad to do something 00:36:36.050 --> 00:36:38.769 really big. So can I tell you something this 00:36:38.769 --> 00:36:40.210 morning? And I wasn't planning on saying this, 00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:42.050 but I'm going to say it anyways. If you're not 00:36:42.050 --> 00:36:44.309 happy about church, maybe you need to get off 00:36:44.309 --> 00:36:48.050 your tail. And elders, I hope I'm okay to say 00:36:48.050 --> 00:36:49.969 that. If not, I'll take the reprimand later. 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:54.019 And I say that because I have dealt with that 00:36:54.019 --> 00:36:57.079 feeling in my life where I felt like I wasn't 00:36:57.079 --> 00:36:59.239 doing enough. There was a brief period of time 00:36:59.239 --> 00:37:01.099 in my young adult life where I stepped out of 00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:04.719 ministry and I sat in the pew every Sunday morning, 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:07.940 worshiping, listening to the sermon, and I would 00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:11.960 come out like, yeah, this is, that's great. But 00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:15.230 I felt like I was missing something. Like I felt 00:37:15.230 --> 00:37:17.369 like I was, there was something that I wasn't 00:37:17.369 --> 00:37:19.690 doing. There was something that wasn't being 00:37:19.690 --> 00:37:21.949 fulfilled. There was something that just wasn't 00:37:21.949 --> 00:37:26.389 being done right. And so Buddy Bell was here 00:37:26.389 --> 00:37:28.429 a few weeks ago and I talked to Buddy after our 00:37:28.429 --> 00:37:30.130 small group, which by the way, if you haven't 00:37:30.130 --> 00:37:31.630 signed up for a small group, please do because 00:37:31.630 --> 00:37:35.170 we launch in a week from next Sunday. So I'm 00:37:35.170 --> 00:37:36.789 talking to Buddy after our small group and I'm 00:37:36.789 --> 00:37:42.369 like, Buddy, I'm here. I'm engaged. And I feel 00:37:42.369 --> 00:37:47.170 like I enjoy my job. I enjoy the music that I 00:37:47.170 --> 00:37:51.150 get to go out and play. But I'm just not, I'm 00:37:51.150 --> 00:37:54.789 feeling like something's missing. I feel dissatisfied. 00:37:56.230 --> 00:37:58.889 And Buddy said, well, yeah, you spent five years 00:37:58.889 --> 00:38:01.489 in ministry doing everything you could for the 00:38:01.489 --> 00:38:03.769 kingdom, and then you just decided to occupy 00:38:03.769 --> 00:38:06.869 a pew. Now, he didn't say it in those exact words. 00:38:06.989 --> 00:38:10.030 He's not as eloquent as I am, right? But he said 00:38:10.030 --> 00:38:12.710 something like that. Something to the effect 00:38:12.710 --> 00:38:17.389 of, Donovan, you need to get off your tail. And 00:38:17.389 --> 00:38:19.710 that is kind of how I ended up back in ministry. 00:38:20.630 --> 00:38:23.389 Because I realized that I wasn't doing what I 00:38:23.389 --> 00:38:26.210 needed to be doing for the kingdom. And so I 00:38:26.210 --> 00:38:28.849 say that to you to say, and visitors, if you 00:38:28.849 --> 00:38:30.949 just heard that, I'm not talking to you. I hope 00:38:30.949 --> 00:38:32.349 you'll get plugged in. I hope you'll connect. 00:38:32.550 --> 00:38:34.750 But that was a message just for these people. 00:38:34.929 --> 00:38:36.469 I heard a preacher say, I used to love Sunday 00:38:36.469 --> 00:38:38.289 night church because Sunday night was when you 00:38:38.289 --> 00:38:40.659 really got to talk to the church. to the members. 00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:42.780 Well, we don't do Sunday night church, so I just 00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:44.380 got to talk to everybody here, visitors, disregard 00:38:44.380 --> 00:38:46.840 everything I just said, until you become a member, 00:38:46.900 --> 00:38:48.739 and then that stands for you get off your tail, 00:38:48.840 --> 00:38:51.440 all right? But members of the Blairsville Church 00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:56.699 of Christ family, you may be here, and you may 00:38:56.699 --> 00:38:59.179 be hearing me say, God loves you, God sees you 00:38:59.179 --> 00:39:03.059 as priceless, and that is absolutely true, but 00:39:03.059 --> 00:39:05.039 you may be wondering why you don't feel that, 00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:07.480 and why you don't feel that when you come into 00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:11.980 this building. And the truth is, is when you 00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:14.820 are not using the gifts that God gave you, when 00:39:14.820 --> 00:39:16.920 you are not living out the call that God has 00:39:16.920 --> 00:39:19.539 put on our lives collectively and individually, 00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:24.880 you will feel empty. And so you have something 00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:28.780 to offer to the kingdom, to the world, because 00:39:28.780 --> 00:39:33.559 God has a big thing for you to do. He has a big 00:39:33.559 --> 00:39:36.579 thing for us to do. And this is why I get so 00:39:36.579 --> 00:39:39.099 excited when I see somebody give their life to 00:39:39.099 --> 00:39:42.000 Christ. This is why I get so excited when I come 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:44.340 in this space and I see people that are starting 00:39:44.340 --> 00:39:46.559 to change. This is why I get excited when I see 00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:48.599 my life starting to change because I know that 00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:52.159 God is at work and that makes me fired up. It 00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:54.000 gives me that feeling like I'm in the stadium 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:56.780 and the electricity is moving because God's will 00:39:56.780 --> 00:40:00.380 is being fulfilled. And so can I just please 00:40:00.380 --> 00:40:04.010 encourage us to take... the big mission that 00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:07.409 God has for us. And let's go do it in an incredible 00:40:07.409 --> 00:40:12.409 way. Whatever you do in word or in deed, do all 00:40:12.409 --> 00:40:15.050 in the name of the Lord. And if you're going 00:40:15.050 --> 00:40:16.389 to do it in the name of the Lord, you better 00:40:16.389 --> 00:40:19.590 do it well. And so God has given us a mission. 00:40:20.489 --> 00:40:24.389 As a church, as individual members of the body, 00:40:24.550 --> 00:40:27.329 it is just time for us to accept the mission, 00:40:27.369 --> 00:40:30.510 stop making excuses like Moses did. And just 00:40:30.510 --> 00:40:34.030 trust that God not only sees you as valuable 00:40:34.030 --> 00:40:38.389 enough, but he's also there to empower you along 00:40:38.389 --> 00:40:44.389 the way. God has done big things for us in the 00:40:44.389 --> 00:40:48.590 salvation he gives through Jesus. And now, working 00:40:48.590 --> 00:40:52.289 out of a place of worth, we get to do big things 00:40:52.289 --> 00:40:56.510 with God. Notice I didn't say for God, with him. 00:40:57.110 --> 00:41:00.460 And that's good news. And I hope you hear that. 00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:03.320 I hope you take that and run with it this week. 00:41:03.400 --> 00:41:06.119 And I hope that when you start doing it, you 00:41:06.119 --> 00:41:09.719 feel the same electricity, the same fire. And 00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:11.480 I'm just going to say, I think that is the spirit 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:13.940 stirring. I hope you feel that when you work. 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:17.460 We're not working for worth. We're working out 00:41:17.460 --> 00:41:19.840 of our worth. And that's what we get from the 00:41:19.840 --> 00:41:22.559 story of Moses. At least that's what I get. And 00:41:22.559 --> 00:41:24.940 I hope you see it too. I'm not going to give 00:41:24.940 --> 00:41:26.860 an invitation, although the invitation is there. 00:41:27.469 --> 00:41:29.050 But I'm not going to do the whole speech thing. 00:41:29.449 --> 00:41:32.210 If you need prayers, if you need to give your 00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:34.610 life to Christ, if you are worried about somebody, 00:41:34.710 --> 00:41:36.869 if you're struggling, if you're hurting, whatever 00:41:36.869 --> 00:41:39.489 it is that you need, we would love to pray with 00:41:39.489 --> 00:41:42.369 you. We would love to get you in the water. Wherever 00:41:42.369 --> 00:41:45.130 you're at, know that the invitation is open. 00:41:45.170 --> 00:41:47.289 Please come as we stand and as we sing.