1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,680 Now, would you open your Bible with me please to the book of Exodus where we have been looking 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,160 at the life of Moses. 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:17,160 Today we come to the fourth chapter which we conclude in our study. 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:24,680 I'll begin reading in verse eighteen. 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,240 Exodus four, verse eighteen. 6 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:35,280 Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, Please, 7 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,400 let me go that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see if they are still 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,080 alive. 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,600 And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 10 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:52,640 Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking 11 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,140 your life are dead. 12 00:00:55,140 --> 00:01:01,280 So Moses took his wife and sons and mounted them on a donkey and he returned to the land 13 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,200 of Egypt. 14 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,840 Moses also took the staff of God in his hand. 15 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:13,480 And the Lord said to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh 16 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,200 all the wonders which I have put in your power. 17 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:23,160 But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 18 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:31,640 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. 19 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:36,280 So I said to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me. 20 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,000 But you have refused to let him go. 21 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,200 Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn. 22 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:51,760 Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to 23 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,440 put him to death. 24 00:01:54,440 --> 00:02:00,040 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet. 25 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:06,240 And she said, You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me. 26 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,980 So he, God, let him, Moses, alone. 27 00:02:09,980 --> 00:02:16,640 At that time she said, You are a bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision. 28 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:22,240 Now the Lord said to Aaron, Go to meet Moses in the wilderness. 29 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:27,440 So he went and met him at the mountain of God, and he kissed him. 30 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,960 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him and all the 31 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,200 signs he had commanded him to do. 32 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:41,260 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel. 33 00:02:41,260 --> 00:02:45,640 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. 34 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,320 He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. 35 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,200 So the people believed. 36 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,960 When they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that he had seen 37 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:03,520 their affliction, then they bowed low and worshipped. 38 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,640 Would you bow with me, please? 39 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:14,600 Our Heavenly Father, I pray this morning that we will understand that you are concerned 40 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:23,120 about us too, and that you see the burdens that we carry. 41 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:28,360 I pray this morning as we look into your holy word that the Spirit of the Lord would break 42 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:37,380 through those burdens, that He would pierce to our hearts and there deliver your concerns 43 00:03:37,380 --> 00:03:39,240 for us. 44 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,480 And may we hear and follow through. 45 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:50,960 In Jesus' name, amen. 46 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:58,560 When we live making excuses, we make our lives inexcusable. 47 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:03,520 Moses discovered that excuses don't make it with God. 48 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:09,900 Forty years of shepherding sheep had become comfortable to him. 49 00:04:09,900 --> 00:04:18,480 So God's appearance at the burning bush on Mount Sinai and the renewed commission, which 50 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:26,440 spelled change for Moses, were met with a series of excuses, the last of which, as we 51 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:34,720 have studied before, exposed his obstinacy and his unwillingness. 52 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:41,120 Despite Moses' reluctance, however, God answered every excuse that he gave. 53 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,080 Moses said, I can't. 54 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,920 God said, you can. 55 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,440 Moses said, I won't. 56 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,120 God said, you will. 57 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,720 And he did. 58 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,680 God promised His servant Moses everything that he would need to do the task he had given 59 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,800 to him. 60 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:09,880 God said, I am that I am, and I send you. 61 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:18,760 That name, I am that I am, is one that connotes God's eternal existence, but more than that, 62 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,640 it also tells us of His entire sufficiency. 63 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:31,200 That name, Jehovah or Yahweh, means I am all that is necessary, Moses, as the occasion 64 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,680 arises, I am all that you need. 65 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:43,760 The man or the woman who is obedient to the call of God and who does the will of God will 66 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:49,080 always have the provision of God. 67 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:56,640 God will always be all that we need as we walk in His will. 68 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:08,200 Moses had left Egypt 40 years before as God's man, but he was disappointed, fearful, confused. 69 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,920 But we also read in Hebrews that he was at the same time believing. 70 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,520 It says in faith he left Egypt. 71 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:23,440 You see, beneath those human reactions of fear and confusion was a deeper truth about 72 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:31,440 Moses, and that was that he actually was leaving with his faith in God intact. 73 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:37,720 There were those reactions, those superficial feelings that he faced and fought with, but 74 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,280 down deep in his heart he was still trusting God. 75 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:50,840 And it says in Hebrews 11, he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 76 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:58,080 His eye of faith was fixed on God, the invisible God. 77 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:02,600 Isn't it reassuring to know that when you and I have those human reactions to our own 78 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:08,800 situations and predicaments that God sees more deeply into us than we may be able to 79 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,440 see at the moment ourselves? 80 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:21,040 For when we are also fearful or doubtful or anxious, God is able to probe into the depths 81 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,720 of our spirit and see what is even more deeply true about us than those immediate reactions 82 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,280 that we may have. 83 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:41,360 Moses left Egypt as a man of God, and now he is returning to Egypt as a man of God. 84 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:43,980 Are you a servant of the Lord? 85 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:47,320 Are you a man or a woman of God? 86 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,100 You say, well, I hope I am. 87 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:58,360 If you are a saved individual this morning, by that I mean if you have placed your faith 88 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:04,840 in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as your salvation, if you have trusted Him who died 89 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:12,520 for you and rose again from the dead, if you are His by grace through faith, if you are 90 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:18,360 saved, you are saved to serve. 91 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:24,960 There is no such thing as a person being saved who is not also to serve the Lord. 92 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,720 The two go together. 93 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:33,600 For a person to say, I am saved, but I'm not serving the Lord is to admit to being a contradiction 94 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:39,640 in his own life, at least at that moment, because God has saved us to be His men, His 95 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,840 women in serving Him. 96 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:49,980 If you are a servant of the Lord today because you belong to Jesus Christ, don't allow an 97 00:08:49,980 --> 00:08:58,280 initial failure or some early disappointment to discourage you. 98 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:05,200 You see, God is up to more than the projects He may assign to you in life. 99 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:10,320 God's real purpose is preparing servants. 100 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:17,120 And so if you seem to fail in a project or you feel you've come short in an assignment 101 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:23,880 God has given you, don't sit around and mope about that. 102 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:29,240 Understand that more important than that project to God is you. 103 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:36,280 His real business is preparing you to serve Him for all of eternity. 104 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:41,120 Don't allow some initial failure to lead you into a wilderness. 105 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:42,640 Endure. 106 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,300 Stick with it. 107 00:09:44,300 --> 00:09:46,040 Don't give up on God. 108 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:51,320 Fix your eye of faith and trust on Him who will not fail. 109 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:58,760 Always remember that He is big enough to use your failures and mine and our successes as 110 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,960 well for our good. 111 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,520 He will use them. 112 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:09,140 And He perhaps will even use our failures more significantly in our lives than those 113 00:10:09,140 --> 00:10:12,880 things that we call our successes. 114 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:18,420 This morning I may well be talking to a servant of God who, like Moses, has spent some time 115 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:21,760 in the wilderness. 116 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:29,920 And after that time there, you now hear the voice of God freshly. 117 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,640 God has given you a new assignment, a new plan. 118 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:41,720 My exhortation to you today is to obey the voice of God, putting aside any excuses. 119 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,440 Perhaps you are like Moses saying, God, I can't. 120 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,880 My friend, believe that through God you can. 121 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,880 You can do it. 122 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:59,160 As we observe God's man, Moses, going back to Egypt to the unfinished task, we learn 123 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:07,520 some valuable lessons which all servants of God should keep in mind as they serve God. 124 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:15,920 Tip number one is this, being a servant of God does not preclude human courtesies. 125 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:23,120 Don't you appreciate the way that Moses handled this when he got back to home? 126 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:29,800 It says that he went to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, please, let me go that I 127 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,880 may return to my brethren who are in Egypt. 128 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:44,280 Moses observed here, of course, a custom that was a basic part of a patriarchal family system. 129 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:51,600 He went to the oldest member of the family and in a proper oriental way asked permission 130 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,080 of him to return to Egypt. 131 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:56,420 He was polite. 132 00:11:56,420 --> 00:11:58,320 He was proper. 133 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,560 He was not demanding. 134 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:01,920 He was not presumptuous. 135 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:02,920 He was not self-assuming. 136 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,280 That's good for us to note. 137 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:12,600 Although we live in a different culture today, it is important for God's servants nonetheless 138 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:18,680 to observe courtesy in their relationships. 139 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:27,480 Sometimes our well-meaning zeal can lead to ragged relationships and even to offense that's 140 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:28,480 unnecessary. 141 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:35,440 I think, for example, of that young person who makes a new commitment on a retreat or 142 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:44,200 at camp and then returns home to announce it to his family in a manner that makes everybody 143 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:52,440 else feel a little bit uncomfortable or does it with words that instead of creating support, 144 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,000 create antagonism. 145 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,880 Moses has received a direct commission from God. 146 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:06,560 This is the first appearance of God in 430 years. 147 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:11,440 When he gets back home, notice the humility. 148 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,120 Notice the politeness. 149 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:18,160 Notice the courtesy with which he handles his commission as he tells his family about 150 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,240 it. 151 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:30,240 I think, too, of those who are active, for example, in political circles. 152 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:34,240 In the last few years, especially here in Minnesota, Christians have gotten involved 153 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:42,800 in political processes like perhaps they haven't before in the state's history. 154 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,880 Many have done this with a great deal of enthusiasm and zeal, and that is good. 155 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:54,760 The problem is that that can be misunderstood by those who have been around a while in the 156 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:00,560 political process, unregenerate people. 157 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:09,000 Sometimes the zeal and the enthusiasm of Christians can even be the cause of bitterness or alarm 158 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,800 to those who are unsaved because of the demeanor of the Christians. 159 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:20,440 Humility, propriety, courtesy, thoughtfulness, these are always appropriate for the servant 160 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,640 of God. 161 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:27,800 Let us not enter into any relationship or any arena of responsibility pushing our way 162 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:34,680 in, demanding what we want, being self-assuming and presumptuous. 163 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:42,240 But if, in fact, we have heard the voice of God, let's follow the example of Moses and 164 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:47,960 remember common courtesy in our relationships with other people. 165 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:54,440 That is an investment that pays a good deal of dividends in the end. 166 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,320 There's a second lesson that I see here for the servant of God. 167 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:04,400 It is this, being a servant of God does not preclude human feelings, verses 19 through 168 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,400 23. 169 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:14,440 Now while we have noted what Moses said to Jethro, it is also interesting to see what 170 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,920 he did not say to Jethro. 171 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,920 He did not tell him the whole story. 172 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,920 He did not mention to him the commission from God. 173 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:33,120 Was there still some doubt in Moses' mind as to whether he would succeed, whether the 174 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,640 people would hear him? 175 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,120 Possibly so. 176 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,520 He merely said, I need to go back to Egypt to see if my people still live. 177 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:46,320 He said nothing about what he was going to do in Egypt by God's design. 178 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:52,440 Is Moses here showing that natural human sense of doubt and anxiety? 179 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:54,800 Perhaps so. 180 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,680 You see, being a servant of God does not preclude that. 181 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:07,200 And then I notice in verse 19 what God says to Moses, go back to Egypt for all the men 182 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,080 who were seeking your life are dead. 183 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:17,800 It seems to me it suggests that Moses has some fear. 184 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:23,440 Perhaps underlying some of the excuses that he has already tried with God was a deep-seated 185 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:29,880 fear that if he went back to Egypt, his life would be in jeopardy. 186 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:35,920 He was afraid he would be killed by Pharaoh or some of those who knew about him and what 187 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,280 he had done in the past. 188 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:45,760 You see, being a servant of God does not preclude that servant of God having human feelings. 189 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:49,160 The greatest of God's servants are still human. 190 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:53,460 They have feelings, battles, and struggles. 191 00:16:53,460 --> 00:17:01,200 The best of God's people are still people at their best. 192 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:06,920 What did Moses have to lean upon as he perhaps struggled with these feelings of doubt and 193 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:07,920 fear? 194 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:18,480 Well, it says that he took the rod of God in his hand, the staff of God in verse 20. 195 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,920 How wonderful it was that God provided for him that staff. 196 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:28,440 Isn't it interesting that at first it was his staff, Moses' staff, and then became 197 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,720 the staff of God? 198 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,080 That suggests to us that what we have in our hand as we give ourselves to the Lord for 199 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:41,000 service becomes God's. 200 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:46,240 In Moses' case, it was just a staff, a shepherd's crook, but here it is called the staff of 201 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:47,240 God. 202 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,240 It was not what we represent to Moses. 203 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:54,960 It was a tangible evidence of God's promise to him because the staff was going to turn 204 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:55,960 into a what? 205 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:02,120 It was going to become a snake in the sight of Pharaoh. 206 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:07,360 And then Moses was going to pick it up again and it would become a stick, a rod. 207 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,200 It represented to Moses the promise of God. 208 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,400 He had that to lean upon. 209 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:17,560 It seems to me that there is an application to you and to me as we serve God today. 210 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,360 You and I have promises to lean upon, too. 211 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:26,520 And God has graciously put those down in writing for us in this book. 212 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,840 Here we have the word of God. 213 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:38,280 To you and to me, this becomes our staff, our rod to lean upon as we struggle with human 214 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,480 feelings in our service for God. 215 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:50,000 When we face doubt and we face fear, this book provides for us the support that we need. 216 00:18:50,000 --> 00:19:00,480 It is filled with the promises of God that he will fulfill for us as we serve him faithfully. 217 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:06,040 Then God graciously gave to his servant on that occasion a fresh word. 218 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:13,240 I do not believe that these quotations attributed to God here are a condensation of what he 219 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,520 said on the mountain. 220 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:22,880 I believe that this is a fresh appearance of God to Moses in Midian. 221 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:29,220 First of all, God gives to Moses a reminder. 222 00:19:29,220 --> 00:19:35,080 He says, when you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders 223 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,680 which I have put in your power. 224 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:43,200 So as Moses struggles with these feelings of doubt and fear, God reminds him, I have 225 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,960 given you a job to do. 226 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:50,680 And do not neglect a bit of it. 227 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,280 Following the reminder, God gives to him a sobering realization. 228 00:19:55,280 --> 00:20:03,880 He says, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not let the people go. 229 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,800 Thanks a lot, God. 230 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:13,120 God wants Moses to know well in advance what Pharaoh's response will be. 231 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,800 God is here predicting it. 232 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,520 There are those who have struggled a great deal over the hardening of Pharaoh's heart 233 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:24,640 by God. 234 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,600 Is this not unfair of God? 235 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,840 Is God here limiting Pharaoh's ability to respond? 236 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:33,180 No. 237 00:20:33,180 --> 00:20:36,880 As you look at this in the light of the whole context of what happens in the book of Exodus 238 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:42,320 and as you look at it in the New Testament where it's referred to in Romans, you find 239 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:47,280 that it certainly is an evidence of God's sovereignty doing what he pleases to do. 240 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:59,440 But God does this judicially in response to Pharaoh's hardening of his own heart. 241 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:06,560 Pharaoh began the process by his own wickedness, hardening his heart. 242 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:11,320 And therefore God judged him and hardened his heart supernaturally. 243 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:17,720 And that process took place again and again and again and again. 244 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:23,080 It is true that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, but God did that judicially in response 245 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,000 to the hardening of Pharaoh's own heart. 246 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:33,880 There is a terrible warning here for anyone who hardens his heart toward God. 247 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:40,360 It is true that God desires to save the lost. 248 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:44,040 God loves the sinner and desires to save him. 249 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,400 He has long suffered, not willing that any should perish. 250 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:56,640 But never forget that God also reserves the right to judge the sinner whenever and however 251 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:01,640 he pleases. 252 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,640 God is a holy God. 253 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:12,760 And it is not unusual that when an individual hardens his heart toward God, that God then 254 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:18,380 reaches down and hardens that heart even more as a judgment. 255 00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:24,960 There is a terrible warning, an awful warning to any of us, lest we should harden our hearts 256 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:25,960 toward God. 257 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:36,880 Oh, may our hearts be quick to hear Him and to respond to Him when we hear His word. 258 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:42,780 Then God gave a word of revelation, verses 22 and 23. 259 00:22:42,780 --> 00:22:45,920 God calls Israel a new name here. 260 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:55,280 Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. 261 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:00,120 That was a very special name to the Egyptians. 262 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:09,200 For the firstborn son of the Egyptians was not only special, but students of ancient 263 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:16,520 Egyptian culture tell us that the firstborn was even considered sacred. 264 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,720 Sacred. 265 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:25,640 So not only was this a special relationship, it was a sacred relationship. 266 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:32,640 And God is saying regarding the people of Israel, this is my firstborn. 267 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:41,080 These are the people I have set apart for myself, my son. 268 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:46,640 Then God says to Moses to say to Pharaoh, let my son go that he may serve me. 269 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,040 But you have refused to let him go. 270 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:54,600 Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn. 271 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,000 See what God is doing here? 272 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,360 God is saying you will not release to me that which is sacred, then I will take from you 273 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:07,480 what you think is sacred. 274 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:08,960 Here's a new word from God. 275 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:14,360 Moses was to deliver to Pharaoh. 276 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:19,560 God's servants are human and we will have human feelings. 277 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:26,240 The important thing is that we do not allow our service to be hindered by our human feelings, 278 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:33,320 whether they be feelings of fear and doubt or inadequacy as Moses faced or some others. 279 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:41,600 God graciously uses people like Moses, like you, like me, who are imperfect and who are 280 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,440 still growing. 281 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,280 The key to it is our heart. 282 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:50,880 Let our heart be right toward God. 283 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,680 Is that the bent of your heart, my friend? 284 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:02,960 Desiring to obey God, is that your desire to please Him? 285 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,480 Being a servant of God does not preclude human feelings. 286 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:12,160 Lesson number three, being a servant of God does not preclude God's discipline. 287 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,960 Greater responsibility demands deeper cleansing. 288 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,120 Leaders have to set an example. 289 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:25,480 That is why in the New Testament, I believe, we see in 1 Timothy 5.20, elders who continue 290 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:36,440 in sin rebuke in the presence of all the church so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning. 291 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:43,920 Anyone who has a position of leadership, an office in the church of God is even more accountable 292 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,800 than the rest. 293 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:55,680 Here we see that Moses had neglected a basic responsibility for a son of Abraham. 294 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,560 He had failed to circumcise one of his sons. 295 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:07,080 The thought is that his second son, Eliezer, was probably born about the time that he left 296 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:13,800 for Egypt and that he failed to circumcise him. 297 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,400 Whether it was one of the sons or both of the sons, the point is that he had failed 298 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:24,480 to do something that was absolutely basic for anyone who was a son of Abraham. 299 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:33,360 Perhaps he had done this, that is, not circumcised his son, at the insistence of Zipporah. 300 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:40,320 Perhaps for some reason this was something she did not want or she found distasteful. 301 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:45,200 But I want you to notice that God held Moses responsible for it, even if that were the 302 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,480 case. 303 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:54,600 Because Moses is the head of his home and God disciplined him. 304 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,840 Did God mean to kill Moses? 305 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:01,800 No, I don't believe he did because if God had meant to kill him, he would have killed 306 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:07,440 him. 307 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,240 Would God have killed him if there had not been obedience? 308 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,720 I believe the answer to that is yes. 309 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,200 What happened here? 310 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,200 Well, this is a mystery. 311 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,260 We can only guess. 312 00:27:23,260 --> 00:27:31,200 But as it reads here, it seems to me that God in a visible physical form met Moses along 313 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:32,200 the way. 314 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:36,360 There are some who feel that Moses was struck here with illness. 315 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,400 I don't believe that to be the case. 316 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:46,120 It may have been, but I personally believe that God came to Moses and was going to kill 317 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:52,520 him, came to him physically. 318 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:54,920 Nothing had to be said as to what needed to happen. 319 00:27:54,920 --> 00:28:00,200 Zipporah took the flint and did the deed and made the statement, you are indeed a bridegroom 320 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,160 of blood to me. 321 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:12,040 A statement that seems to be one of distaste for this whole thing. 322 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:16,240 She is disgusted with what has to take place. 323 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,200 But nonetheless, she did it. 324 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,880 She did it to save her husband's life. 325 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,040 And God then says, let him alone. 326 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,560 Let Moses alone. 327 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:35,000 Being a servant of God does not preclude God's discipline. 328 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:42,080 If anyone is serious about serving God, he'd also better be pretty serious about God's 329 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,560 holiness. 330 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:57,120 Because position, fame, acclaim, none of that places one beyond the reach of God's discipline. 331 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:03,520 I hope there's not a one of us here today who would say anything less than we want to 332 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,560 serve God with everything we've got and everything we are. 333 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:15,520 When we do that, let's remember that as we serve God, obedience is required. 334 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:24,320 If we don't deal with our obedience by confession of it, repentance, God will intervene in our 335 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:29,960 lives with discipline, as he did with Moses. 336 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:34,240 None of us is beyond the reach of God's discipline. 337 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,400 And then a fourth lesson. 338 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:45,280 Being a servant of God does not preclude others' partnership. 339 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,720 We might think that Moses could handle this all by himself. 340 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:53,760 I mean, we picture him as a great patriarch, standing before the people with the rod of 341 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:59,640 God in his hand and stretching out his hand, and they see splits. 342 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,160 Couldn't he do it by himself? 343 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,360 I don't believe that was God's intention from the beginning. 344 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:13,120 In fact, it's interesting that when God announces to Moses back in earlier in this same chapter 345 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:19,380 that he is going to allow Aaron to be the spokesman for Moses, he says to him, he is 346 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:24,360 already coming to you. 347 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:31,560 This seems to say that even at the time God was appointing Moses to be the leader that 348 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:36,840 he was, he was providing for him the support people he was going to need. 349 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:43,800 And Aaron got the extra responsibility of being the spokesman because of Moses' excuse. 350 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:49,760 But God was already in the process of putting together a team to help Moses. 351 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,960 All of us need that. 352 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:57,480 Being a servant of God does not preclude others' partnership. 353 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,560 We need others. 354 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,160 God has not created us to be lone rangers. 355 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:08,240 We all need a tanto or two. 356 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:15,400 He calls us in the New Testament members of the body, which suggests to us that we have 357 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:21,180 our individuality and at the same time we need others to do what we cannot do. 358 00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:22,820 We are interdependent people. 359 00:31:22,820 --> 00:31:26,800 We are complementary in our giftedness. 360 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:33,460 None of us can do everything, nor does God expect us to. 361 00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:40,480 Moses went back with Aaron to Egypt and they assembled there the elders of the sons of 362 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:41,480 Israel. 363 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:47,960 Now elders in that day were not what elders are today in the church, but they were leaders. 364 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:54,820 They were the elder people in the families, like Jethro. 365 00:31:54,820 --> 00:31:58,980 They were the oldest ones of the sons of Israel. 366 00:31:58,980 --> 00:32:04,560 They were gathered together that they might learn what God's plan was from God's servant 367 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:05,560 Moses. 368 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:11,460 And together then they were to bring this to the people and they did. 369 00:32:11,460 --> 00:32:17,400 Being a servant of God never means that you can stand alone and you don't need others. 370 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:23,120 In fact it means that we have to have others around us, every one of us. 371 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:27,640 And we need to support each other and encourage each other. 372 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:38,080 When we see weaknesses in another, not attack, but go to assist, that's God's plan. 373 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:44,440 Are you willing to be a partner? 374 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:51,080 To be a partner to someone else requires humility on your part, on my part. 375 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:57,520 It means that we must have within us a spirit of cooperation. 376 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:06,240 Essential for those who would be a partner as well as a servant of the Lord. 377 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,320 Moses had tried to lead the people out of Egypt 40 years earlier. 378 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,680 He had failed. 379 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:20,360 Now pruned, disciplined, and newly commissioned, he returns to Egypt. 380 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:30,360 But in those 40 years he had learned not to lean upon his own resources, but to lean on 381 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,640 God's resources. 382 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:39,000 Servant of the Lord, is that where your trust is today? 383 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,680 How quickly our resources will lead us into a wilderness. 384 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:49,360 If we trust ourselves we will spend some time in the wilderness learning that we can't 385 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,560 do it alone. 386 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:59,240 And we don't have the abilities and the resources in ourselves to do what God has planned for 387 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,240 us to do in our lives. 388 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:06,000 God wants us to learn to lean. 389 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:11,440 Learning to lean upon Jesus. 390 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:17,800 The result of the servant of the Lord going back doing his work was that the people believed 391 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,960 they bowed low and worshiped. 392 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:30,440 Now sadly that was not their only response, but at least it was their first response. 393 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:31,440 What did they come to believe? 394 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:37,800 That the Lord was concerned about them. 395 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:41,920 There are some people sitting right here this morning that are wondering if that's true 396 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:43,760 this morning. 397 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,360 Is God concerned about me? 398 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,480 My friend, yes He is. 399 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,040 He's concerned about you. 400 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:56,040 And He knows the afflictions, He knows the burdens, He knows the battles that you are 401 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,040 in this weekend. 402 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:03,640 He understands the pressures in your home and your marriage. 403 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,840 He knows what you're facing with your work. 404 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,000 The people that you associate with. 405 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,760 He understands the pressures of your finances. 406 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:19,320 He is concerned. 407 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:22,640 What He wants you to do is to believe that. 408 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:27,440 And as the people of Israel to bow low. 409 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,680 Humility. 410 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:37,160 Instead of standing up and trying to do it on my own, I bow low and I worship. 411 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:46,080 And I express by that, God my trust is in you. 412 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:52,280 My friend, God loves you and He is concerned. 413 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,640 Will you let Him handle that battle? 414 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,040 Will you commit to Him right now in faith? 415 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:04,560 Will you bow low and worship and say, Oh God, I can't handle this by myself? 416 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:09,760 And He will say, I know my child, I didn't intend for you to. 417 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:14,480 And when you say, God I trust your resources. 418 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,800 God, I'm looking to you to provide for my needs. 419 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:23,240 He will say, my child, you have them. 420 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,040 Because I am that I am. 421 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:30,320 I'm the same yesterday, today and forever. 422 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,720 I never change. 423 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:41,480 As I was all that was necessary for Moses, I am all that is necessary for you as the 424 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:43,480 occasion arises. 425 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,480 Trust me. 426 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,480 Let's bow together. 427 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:58,640 I want you to express to the Lord that trust right now. 428 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:02,320 Will you as it were bow low and worship? 429 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:03,680 Oh believe Him. 430 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:07,200 Believe that He is concerned because He is concerned. 431 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,240 It's true. 432 00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:15,040 It matters to Him about you. 433 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,120 Tell Him about your troubles. 434 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,760 Bring to Him your burdens. 435 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:34,840 And if there be someone here who is not a child of God, perhaps you think that by serving 436 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:36,400 God you are going to be saved. 437 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:38,880 No, my friend, that's reversed. 438 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:43,880 We are saved first that we might serve. 439 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:48,880 We don't serve that we might be saved. 440 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:53,680 Will you put aside your own efforts? 441 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:59,560 Will you acknowledge before God your sin? 442 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:05,360 Will you look to the Savior who died and rose again for you? 443 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:08,000 Receive Him into your heart and trust Him. 444 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,680 Right now, right where you are seated, I urge you to do it. 445 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:16,680 Reach out by faith and tell Him your need. 446 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,120 Believe Him. 447 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:27,720 Father, I thank you that you are the great I AM and that there is not a need that is 448 00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:35,520 in the life of any person in this worship center this morning that cannot be met by 449 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:39,280 your resources. 450 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:44,760 Thank you for being all that you are. 451 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,080 Thank you for giving that to us. 452 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:53,320 And, O, may we learn to lean upon you, not upon ourselves. 453 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:57,400 And as we go from this service this morning, having worshipped, having heard from you and 454 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:05,100 from your word, may we go of faith with our strength being in the Lord. 455 00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:11,160 May we lean upon the promises. 456 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,160 Teach us to lean hard. 457 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:21,000 In Jesus' name, amen.