Moses: The Friend of God - From Bad to Worse
Life of Moses • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
Ever had a day that went from bad to worse…started off bad and just went downhill
(ILL) guy read a book about how to improve his marriage…I am not doing a very good job…I come home from the factory, I am stinky and smelly, I walk through the back door, plop down in the easy chair, grab a drink, grab the remote, and I just sit there like a bump on a log all night, that’s not right, I want to do better…came up with a plan…my wife will never expect this…one day after work he rents a tuxedo, showers at work, puts it on, buys a dozen roses, parks in the front and rings the doorbell and he was going to sweep her off her feet and take her out…she comes to door and just starts crying…what’s the matter…what a day this has been, I woke up with a headache, our daughter called from college and has wrecked her car, school has called and our son has been suspended for fighting, the washing machine has sprung a leak and we have 2 inches of water in the basement, then your mom just called and she is coming for a 2 week visit and I have come to the front door and you are standing there drunk
Moses and Aaron were on the mountain top…having a great time…met after 40 years of separation…they have each shared with each other about how Yahweh has talked to them and been assigned to deliver the PPL…they went and talked to the elders of the PPL and they loved it
Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
After all of that everything went downhill from there…from bad to worse
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ”
Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ ” So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
I don’t think Moses thought this was going to happen…the day before everyone was worshipping PHA dismissed him…his own PPL rejected him…that was not how it was supposed to go
THE CALL OF GOD DOES NOT GUARANTEE IMMEDIATE SUCCESS (divine commission)
God will call you and give you a very clear vision but that does not mean it is going to happen right then
Evil will not give up w/o a fight…Moses did exactly what God wanted him to do and it went from bad to worse
Can you remember a time in your life when you had consequences for obeying God?
Disobedience brings consequences but so can obedience
Ex. = someone was talking bad about you…you went to talk to them and instead of things working out they blew up…you trusted God and you gave generously and your fridge broke
You remember times like that and it did not make sense…things didn’t get better but in the short term they got worse
God told Moses that He was going to strike PHA down…God told MOS that PHA would not let them go right away
PHA did not know Yahweh and did not care to know Yahweh
PHA = I am the god that determines destiny and well being, I am the only god they need to know
PHA makes the oppressor look like the liberator and the liberator look like the oppressor
Satan will use circumstances to make God look bad…”God is making your life terrible and I am making it bearable”
It was a bad day for MOS…remember he had baggage…40 years later he tried to rescue them and they rejected him
Imagine what came to his mind when they rejected and cursed him this time…I am sure this brought back memories
Moses = “why go through this if they are going to reject me again”
Mountain top experiences are great but we do not get to stay there…we must be faithful to God even when it is out season…sometimes the harvest is dry…sometimes the fruit is hard to see…sometimes ministry is hard and dry
Sometimes we do everything that God wants us to do and it doesn’t appear to get any better
Your Commitment to God is Tested in Times of Waiting. (genuine submission)
If you are really surrendered to God then you will find out if it is true when you are waiting
(ILL) Philips Brooks…minster…usually very calm and content but one day he was very tense…what’s wrong…I am in a hurry and God isn’t
Has anyone else here ever left a message for God and He hasn’t called back yet?
Been asking for healing in your marriage…been asking to move in the heart of your kid…we have all been there
It takes a lot of faith to wait on God especially when other PPL are being critical of your faith
It is not easy to be a leader for God…will you remain faithful when the PPL you are trying to help are being cruel
Most of us get angry and strike back at those PPL
(ILL) Broken Bow, Nebraska…truck stop…trucker was in there eating…3 Hell’s Angels walk in…one grabs his burger starts to eat…French fries…drink…he just got up and left…they said to the waitress…he is not much of a man is he…can’t answer that but he is not much of a truck driver b/c he just drove over 3 motorcycles
How we usually respond = you give it to me and I will give it back…Instead of letting others have it…let God have it
Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
That is a very bold thing to say…the last time he was rejected he ran away…this time he is running to God
God did not rebuke him for that prayer…He just takes it…He understands the difference between a hurt prayer because you do not understand and a hurt prayer b/c you have not obeyed
God can handle tough questions when the problem is I don’t understand instead of I am not surrendered
Moses was surrendered but he did not understand
Why was God doing it this way…why take so long…it could have only taken 1 week
God Wanted Pharoah to become an Example.
Moses and Aaron on their own cannot stand up to PHA
Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
…PHA wants to know who this Yahweh is…God said “ok, I will show you who I am”
God wants the whole world to know who He is and He is going to use this story to show the world for all time who He really is and what He is capable of
For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
God has a purpose for PHA…Hs is going to use him to show the world who Yahweh is
PPL will always rebel against God and say “who is this God”…and God is going to use PHA as His answer Moses will understand later what God was up to It happens to us…things are hard and we do not see God is moving but He is…later we see why the wait was good but in the middle of it we had no idea what was happening
You must be willing to give God permission to chart the path that will bring Him the most glory even if the path is longer and harder than you wanted to walk
God Wanted Israel to Learn Dependence.
God uses delays to empty our hopes in this world
Think of a time when you put your trust in God but you also put your trust in other things
The longer the delay lasts the more you realize that others things are empty of hope
Deliverance was not based on Moses but it was based on God
When they left, the PPL did not praise Moses but they praised YAH, no one was impressed w/ Moses
Hold up your hand if you want greater faith…do you know what you are asking for
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
If you want more faith then you need patience and you cannot have patience without trials
Delay is one way that God uses to put us on our knees so that we can see how big God is
It is not important to know why we are waiting but it is important to know who we are waiting on
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
What did God say to Moses on this terrible no good bad day…
God said “I AM”
He said this 5 times…we must fix our eyes on God…He is in control even if it looks like the Pharaoh’s are calling the shots…they come and go but God is I AM and He always is and He makes things right If your name is I AM then you are never late…right on time
God said “I WILL”
He is going to accomplish His purposes no matter what…I AM will accomplish…I AM will finish…I AM is I WILL
He did not explain His game plan…it was enough for Moses to hear I AM and I WILL
Is that enough for me and you?…where will you run when things go from bad to worse?
That is the answer that Moses got on a very bad day…I AM and so I WILL
God’s Ways Rarely Fit in our Schedule.
You might be in an out of season time in your life…just because there is a delay does not mean that God is not there
There might be a delay because of disobedience…sometimes you might be obedient and you still have to wait
Do not interpret the rejection of the request as the rejection of the person
Obedience to God means we obey His go’s and stops Remember 3 things if you are having to wait on God
#1 God is working on a plan that will bring Him the most glory
#2 Your waiting is a great time to grow in your faith
#3 God has had to wait on you a lot more than you have had to wait on God
God Always Finishes what He Starts.
Take a look at the creation…no such thing as a half made sun…or a sky that did not get finished
Take a look at redemption…did all the Hebrews escape Egypt
Take a look at the cross…was the way finished…can we get to God now
Take a look at the church…we still have a ways to go but one day we will be finished
God does not give up even when we do…Easter tells us that the worst things are never the last things…it may go from bad to worse but PHA does not get to write the last chapter…that is God’s job
Someday your test will become your testimony…just like Moses you can stand up and say “I did not understand at the time but now I clearly understand what God was doing”
(ILL) funeral for a preacher who had been at his church for over 20 years…several preachers spoke at the funeral…great speeches…one guy wanted to say something…I have seen him almost every day of my life for almost 20 years and I have never seen him in a hurry
Just be content to wait on God…wait on God…take heart and be strong