Discipleship School - Exodus 4

intro

attitude - you are doing me a favor by being on tonight despite your busy schedules . . . but you are not doing God a favor, He is doing us a favor by having this Bible Study for us

attention grabber

what calling, duty, responsibility, role that you have that seems too hard?

you have legitimate excuses as to why you cannot complete it successfully

parent, spouse, calling from God . . . . encouraged tonight to have faith, not excuses.

Chapter 3 Review

Moses had given up on his calling, living out his life as a shepherd

but after 40 years, God calls to him from a burning bush

God shares his name

God promises to deliver the people and they will be wealthy when they leave

The friend of Moses Game

If you were a friend of Moses

you don’t have a bible

you don’t know the end of the story

or much about God (his god)

but you know Moses full story up til now

birth, saved from the Nile, upbringing in palace, wanting to deliver his people, killing Egyptian, running away

you believe that Moses heard from his God through a burning bush . . . and you believe that this experience happened to him

Moses says help me come up with a list of reasons to go or not to go

Reasons to go

always what you wanted to do

this seems perfect for you

Israelite, but raised in Egyptian palace

you can navigate both worlds

do you really feel that you were created to be a shepherd? (your backstory)

burning bush is pretty good evidence

what do you have to lose (out here in this wilderness)

you say this is the God of your ancestors that did all these great things in the past, maybe he can do it now

What do these have in common? some type of faith in God

Reasons NOT to go

still a warrant for your arrest

people might not listen to you - they don’t know you like that (you were raised in palace)

you’ve already failed before - been there, done that, don’t relive the past, you had your chance

you could get killed

burning bush is one thing, but freedom from Egypt is another - you think your God is strong enough

Why would Pharoah listen to you?

you are too old

What do they have in common? no faith/trust in this God

Chapter 4 - The Excuses

Exodus 4:1 NLT

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

Excuse #1 - What if people won’t listen to me?

Legitimate: When God calls you to something, the situation is the problem (people, circumstances, resources, or all three)

What was God’s response? - Three miracle signs: rod, leprosy, water to blood

God provided

Lesson: God already has the legitimate logistical problems worked out

Exodus 4:10 NLT

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

Excuse #2 - I am not a good speaker

Legitimate: When God calls you, you are a problem (faults, shortcomings, and weaknesses)

What was God’s response?

He did not say, “you talk real good!”

I made mouths . . . .in other words, I am aware of your weaknesses, I made you

your problem will not be a problem because I will be with you

and I will tell you what to say

Lesson: God’s presence overcomes your faults and weaknesses and shortcomings.

Exodus 4:13 NLT

But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

Now we get to the truth behind the excuses - I don’t want to go. I don’t want to do it. Pick someone else.

(probably for some of the reasons we came up with earlier)

Most of our excuses are born out of “I don’t want to”

“I don’t want to” is born from a lack of faith, lack of trust in God

lack of faith that the change will be worth it

lack of faith that God will come through

trust that God knows what he’s doing

trust that God knows best

faith that God will take care of you

Therefore, excuses are a indicator of a lack of faith . . . even if they are legitimate . . . have faith,not excuses

God’s emotional response - anger

without faith it is impossible to please God . . . which means when you don’t have faith, you are displeasing God

Examples of 40 years in wilderness

Jesus always chastising his disciples for lack of faith

God’s practical response

alters the plan to include Aaron

“not the perfect plan” God wanted

but God will work with us

also, God is not surprised, Aaron is already headed that direction

There is a price to pay when your lack of faith keeps you from following God’s perfect will

a lot of the people who “made it” despite getting outside of the will of God for a time . . . are paying for it

Aaron ended up being more of a problem than a blessing - golden calf, complained about Moses’ wife, Moses accused of playing favoritism, probably took high priesthood from Moses’ family

It seems that Aaron helps Moses at the end of this chapter, but after that it seems that Moses does most of the talking (he gives lots of great speeches)

V. 18-20 Moses heads back to Egypt

Moses’ journey is way bigger than he could ever imagined or think

plagues, red sea, bread from heaven, water from rock, battles, tabernacle, 10 commandments, glowing face from being in presence of God, the great law giver, writer of the first 5 books of the Bible, people studying about him thousands of years later . . .

this is so big that eve false religions try to use Moses

your role is bigger than what you think

Also God removes one of his fears, after Moses takes a step of faith . . . he tells him, “the people who want you dead are dead”

God gives some instructions . . .

Exodus 4:22–23 NLT

Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’ ”

we are given the why for the 10th plague

We get a picture of how God looks at things

Israel is his firstborn son

Egypt enslaved his son

Egypt also tried to kill the boys

Egypts, you didn’t get a way with it (neither do we)

I still believe Civil War was a result of slavery - you made all of these families suffer, I will make your families suffer

America will not get away with abortion

Exodus 4:24–26 NLT

On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.

Moses had not cirumcized his son as all Jewish men were supposed to do - part of the agreement with God that Abraham made.

God was about to kill him . . . . wow!

his wife figured out what was going on and did the deed

guess: maybe she did it because Moses was on his sick bed and about to die and couldn’t do it

Why did this cause God to get so angry

circumcision was the first act of faith in God’s Covenant for every Israelite father

if Moses didn’t have faith in step 1 . . . .

lack of faith is what always got God stirred up

have faith, not excuses

V. 27-31

Moses met with Aaron

then they met with the elders of Israel

they listened to Moses and Aaron just like the Lord said they would

people worshipped God.

Summary Lesson

if you are giving God excuses, it boils down to you just don’t want to do it

you don’t want to do it because of a lack of faith/trust

but have faith and not excuses

cut off recording

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