Get Ready

Jesus’ Hands - Broke $30k - Raised $30,029.69 on the way to $40K.

School is starting back - each church in our pastor’s group has adopted a school and we have adopted Gray Elementary. We will have a prayer walk there NEXT Sunday evening @ 5:15 PM. We’ll meet at the school. Please come. It’s important.

New Church year starts August 4th. All of our Wednesday activities will kick on on August 7 - and we still need some workers.

On Wednesday night, we need 2 kindergarten workers - I know what we are asking - almost every Wednesday evening for 9 months. But the Lord is calling someone.

On Sunday morning, we need 12 people for our preschool worship service rotation. This does not require any preparation work. Activities for the kids will be in place for you to pick up and use when you arrive. Depending on the number of people who are on the rotation, right now its every 6 weeks. We would like it to be once a quarter or 4 times a year.

PRAY FOR THESE THINGS

Our time is coming. Get ready to share Jesus.

I have a philosophy that I live by that I call getting hit by a 2x4.

You know a 2x4 is a piece of lumber, right? Like you build houses with?

If for some reason you got hit by a 2x4, well, it would pretty much get your attention.

So here’s the deal.

We pretty much live our lives on autopilot.

We have families, jobs, school, extra-curriculars, life.

And humans tend to perform best when we have a routine.

Change scares us.

Have you ever gotten a new job? How long did you ponder that?

You need a new car? How long do you mull over that?

Going to college? Choosing a major?

Choosing to go to work instead of going to college?

How big are the butterflies?

All of that to say this: my philosophy is I get so comfortable in my daily routine, that the Lord has to take a 2x4 to me to get my attention.

I’ve prayed, “Whack me across the nose Lord, don’t let me miss You.”

And the Lord has been gracious enough to do that

And here's how.

When I hear something once that makes me stop and think, I will go hmmmmm, and keep going.

When I hear it twice, that’s my 2x4, I stop and ask, “Lord, is that you?”

Well, here we are.

June 29th we had the Save Our Students conference.

I know I’ve talked a lot about it, it was a very big deal for me.

I am thoroughly convinced that one conference is in the process of changing more lives than we’ve ever seen - maybe in our lifetimes.

The entire focus of the conference was, “Be Ready to Share Jesus.”

If you attended you were reminded that the primary problem in our society is the lack of hope.

And they have no hope because they don’t have Jesus.

So we reminded everyone, the church has hope.

We have Jesus and they need to know Him.

We reminded people of the gospel and how to share it.

We taught people how to share Jesus with challenging children.

We taught people how to help the most hopeless people how to have another day so maybe one day we can share with them our hope.

I heard Jesus telling me, “Ya’ll need to be ready. I’m sending them your way.”

So we did the conference and I leaned back and said “Good. We’re ready.”

Then we get to today’s text - Exodus 18:1-12.

This is the 2x4 for me.

The Lord said once, “Be ready to share Jesus” and I went “Hmmm, wonder what the Lord is up to.”

And then within a few weeks, the text the Lord led me to choose to preach over 6 months ago says the same thing to me.

“Be ready to share Jesus.”

I am not a prophet and don’t claim to be.

But I can tell you, the Lord has hit us with a 2x4.

I can’t help but believe that Jesus is saying to us that the fields are white unto harvest.

Jesus says in Matthew 9:37–38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.””

I believe we are about to be the Lord’s field hands.

Our time is coming. Get ready to share Jesus.

Kids, I want you to pay a lot of attention today to this story.

It’s about a family and how the Lord showed them who He was.

And the way the Lord showed them, was by Moses telling his story of how the Lord worked in his life.

You are very young but as you learn the Bible and listen to the stories of your family and your teachers at church

You are going to start to see how the Lord is working in your life.

And how He calls you to be a follower of Jesus.

Our three words to help you follow along are Jesus, Story and Rescued.

Let us all hear now the Word of the Lord from Exodus 18:1-12

Exodus 18:1–12 ESV

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

One of the most important things that we could ever remember is this:

Had the Lord not acted, we would have never known Him

Look at verse 1 - Exodus 18:1 “Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.”

We’ve met Jethro before remember - Moses was running from Pharoah.

He stopped at this well in the middle of nowhere and some shepherds were harassing some girls and Moses rescued the girls.

The girls were Jethro’s daughters so he invited this homeless Egyptian into his home and Moses ended up working for Jethro

And he married one of Jethro’s daughters - the one named Zipporah.

And Moses and Zipporah had two sons - one we knew about earlier and one we just found out about in verse 4.

When the Lord called Moses at the burning bush to go to Pharaoh, Moses packed up everyone and headed towards Egypt.

However, somewhere along the way, he sent his family back to Jethro.

Moses probably got to thinking about the fact that going before Pharaoh was going to be dangerous.

Although the Lord was with him, Moses also knew he had killed a man in Egypt and things could go south real fast.

So he sent his family home for their safety.

Now here we are at least 6 months, probably more later.

People traveling to and from Egypt would have passed by Jethro’s place.

Little snippets of news would trickle back.

And I suspect, just like us when someone we care about is a long way away from us

We hang on every piece of news we hear.

So verse 1 says, Jethro heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people...

If God had done nothing, Jethro would have heard nothing.

I think this is the most important point for us to know and it really gets glossed over.

Had the Lord not acted, we would have never known Him.

Paul says in Ephesians 2:1

Ephesians 2:1 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

We’ve covered this - dead means dead.

You couldn’t choose Jesus because you weren’t looking for Jesus.

You didn’t know to look for Jesus until Jesus showed Himself to you.

We either ignore this or make arguments about it, but the truth is the truth.

You did nothing to get yourself saved.

Without being told, you didn’t know you needed to be saved.

You thought the life you were living was life enough.

And even if you were looking for something, you had no idea what you were looking for.

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It wasn’t until the burning bush that Moses knew about Yahweh - that Moses was saved so to speak.

Moses at the burning bush committed himself to following Yahweh wherever Yahweh went

And Yahweh committed to be Moses’ God, to lead him and protect him and provide for him.

I’ve heard people say, “Well, if I had a burning bush, things would be different for me.

Let me share something with you - you’ve had something better than a burning bush.

When Jesus came to you.

Maybe you spent years in the church or maybe you met a street evangelist or your grandma talked to you at the kitchen table.

But on a particular day at a particular time, the Lord Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit showed you all He had done for you.

In that instant, your eyes were opened and you realized that the Christmas story was your story.

That Baby in the manger was there because of you.

All of Jesus miracles - all of the coloring sheets you did if you went to Sunday school - you realized those miracles were there for you to know.

When Jesus was arrested - it was for you.

When Jesus was beaten - 39 lashes of the most miserable abuse a person take - you realized you were the cause of it.

You realized your filth - you understood that sin is no joke.

That it not more fun to laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.

Because your sin - your sin - your sin required Jesus to suffer abuse.

Jesus hanging on the cross became more than an Easter play to you.

You didn’t understand it at the time, but Romans 6:3 happened to you

Romans 6:3 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

You didn’t realize that the sadness you were feeling was the sadness of your own death - that what you thought was good - wasn’t.

It hurts a lot to finally admit, that as good as I say I am, I am still poor and wretched and blind.

It was at that moment, when you repented, when you confessed your sin and committed your life to Christ just like Moses did.

It was at that moment you were saved.

It was relief you felt when Jesus stepped out of that grave.

It was at that moment Jesus’ words became real: John 14:19

John 14:19 ESV

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

Because Jesus lives, you also will live.

Moses only had a burning bush.

He prayed and the Lord spoke to him.

He followed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.

But you have something better: 1 Corinthians 3:16

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

If you belong to Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit living in you.

No clouds to follow.

His very life gives power to your life.

You can’t argue with that.

You can’t tell me I’m wrong or this is a matter of interpretation.

It is written in the very Word of God.

It is truth - and if you believe it you are saved.

This you must know.

This must be real.

This is not something to give an intellectual nod to.

Jesus must have changed your life.

And if He did,

He worked in your life and you have a story to tell.

Exodus 18:7–8 “Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.”

I kind of geek out on this because they followed the bedouin rules.

Jethro came to the camp but didn’t enter the camp - he waited to be invited in.

When Moses heard he was there, he went outside and greeted him.

First he bowed, then he kissed him on each cheek.

Standing outside they exchanged pleasantries - how are you? How have you been?

And then they went into Moses tent.

At that moment, the relationship changed.

Outside the tent, they were acquaintances renewing old feelings.

Inside the tent they became family again.

And Moses had a story to tell.

Now admittedly, Moses story is pretty dramatic.

I would expect Moses to tell the story with the passion of Tom Hanks’ character in the movie Cast Away.

It came out at Christmas time in the year 2000.

He had been marooned on an uncharted desert isle when his plane crashed.

Sole survivor - was there for like, 4 years, I think.

But ended up being rescued.

When he told his story, can you imagine the intensity of his words?

As he told his story, do you reckon you would have been able to see the pictures he was painting in your mind?

I suspect so.

Because he was rescued.

He was going to die, alone and separated from all he loved.

But then he wasn’t.

Because he was rescued.

Listen to verse 8 again - “Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.”

You see that word delivered?

If you are reading from the New American Standard (2020), the New Living Translation or the CSB, you are reading a different word here.

You are seeing, “And how the LORD had rescued them.”

While we were yet sinners, right?

You and I have been rescued.

The church is the gathering of the survivors.

We are here as the body of Christ having a survivor reunion every Sunday and on Wednesday and every time we can get together.

To celebrate our rescue and to give thanks to our rescuer.

And to be reminded - there are a lot of people still on the uncharted desert isle.

And if they are not rescued, they will die, alone and separated from all they love.

Many, many, many, many of them have no clue they are lost

And they won’t listen to you if you try to tell them - so you just move on.

Because the Lord is not ready for them yet.

But some of them know something isn’t right

And some of them are starting to look - and that should ring a bell to us.

We did the same thing.

And we did the same thing because Jesus was waking us up, He was making us alive

He was starting to show us who He was.

They are right where you were.

When Jesus brings someone into your life that knows something isn’t right

Think about you and how you got to where you are right now

And do for them what someone did for you, tell them the story of your rescue.

From the heart.

You’ve been rescued from death - let that passion show.

Tell them your story.

Look at verses 11 & 12 - Exodus 18:11–12 “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.”

Now there is something buried here we need to dig out.

How is Jethro recognized other than being Moses’ father-in-law?

Jethro was a priest of Midian.

We have no clue who the gods of the Midianites were but listen to his profession of faith.

“Now I know that YAHWEH is greater than all gods...”

That means all of the gods in the world including the gods he had been the priest for.

Think of it this way

What if the Mormon bishop one day stood up and said, “Now I know that YAHWEH is greater than all gods...”

And he walked away from the LDS church and joined a Baptist church?

They’d be quite the stir wouldn’t it?

The priest of Midian became a YAHWEH follower.

He REPENTED of the direction of his life.

From that moment, He followed YAHWEH.

Pretty dramatic stuff.

But repentance is always dramatic.

Sometimes it’s very visible - drug addict, criminal, serial adulterer.

Sometimes it’s more subtle - been in church all of my life but I’m no longer simply going to church.

I’m a survivor, I’m a part of the church, I am part of the rescued, and following Jesus is my new life goal.

Here’s your 2x4.

If you are a Jesus follower, you have rescue story.

Think of it that way and start rehearsing it in your mind.

Remember the goodness of the Lord.

Remember His mercy - for crying out loud, you know you - what sins did He forgive you?

What life did He rescue you from?

You know God didn’t lie when He said: “Every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.”

Because you know the inclination of your heart - and you know the evil that lurked there.

So if you are a Christ follower, Jesus rescued you.

Tell your story like a person who was rescued from a desert isle, who was going to die alone and separated from all you loved.

Because that was going to happen to you and now it’s not.

Jesus rescued you.

We wouldn’t be hit with the 2x4 if Jesus wasn’t about to do something.

Someone is going to ask you about Jesus.

When someone asks, will you be ready?

You may be here this morning because you are looking for something.

We’re going to pray and then we’ll stand and sing.

While we are singing, come ask me my story.

I’ll be happy to tell you the story of my rescue.

And how you can be rescued too.

Let us pray.