The Call to GO!

Goodmorning Rock Family!

Bibles out …

EXODUS 4.

Intro:

Who in here enjoys working out?

Lifting weights? Running? Hiking? Playing sport?

Even if your not that into working out…

I think all of us would agree that…

Being physically active Its good for us right?

Your doctor, the person with the most medical authority over you…

Your doc will tell you to work out…

we know we are supposed to do it…

BUT when it comes time to actually go workout we can struggle cant we?

We start to make excuses…

Im too tired…

Im too busy…

We know we are supposed to go and do it…

We know its whats best for us…

We know we will benefit from it…

But we still make excuses…

We are going to see something similar to this today in God’s word…

As we dive into Exodus Chapter 4…

We are going to see the Lord call Moses to GO…

And Moses give every excuse to why he can’t

Before we do that…

Recap:

-Moses keeping Jethro’s flock on Mt Horeb (Siani)

-See’s a bush burning but not consumed

-There he sees “The Angel of the LORD”

-The Lord say this to Moses “I have seen, I have heard, I know the afflictions of my people”

-”And I, The Great I AM, have Come down to deliver my people out of the hands of the Egyptians”

-Then the Lord gives Moses a commission in Exodus 3:10 “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.””

-Moses says “Who do I tell them is sending me?”

-God responds with His name “I AM THAT I AM”

And God tells Moses that He will bring His people out of Egypt…Using Moses as His instrument to do it

That brings us to Chapter 4 this morning…

YALL READY TO GET INTO THE WORD THIS MORNING SAY “AMEN”

THERE ARE 5 TRUTHS THAT WE WILL DRAW FROM THIS TEXT of Moses’s calling to GO…

And the first truth we see is this…

When the Lord calls us to GO…

P1- We may feel Uncertain about the outcome. (v. 1-9)

Read V 1-9

Moses knows he is supposed to do something…

He knows HE is supposed to GO

Excuse #1

Moses tells the Lord “they will not believe me or listen to me”

3 SIGNS:

-Staff to a snake and back

Shepherds use staffs to move massive flocks of sheep from a barren area to that with food and safety…

Moses being a shepherd would have carried one

The first thing God shows Moses is the power He has through the instrument Shepherds use to to move a flock…

Moses is preparing to move God’s flock out of Bondage and into freedom…

Likewise, being a shepherd, Moses would have worn a cloak…

-Hand in cloak to a leprous hand and back

-Nile river water on dry ground to blood

These signs are to be proof to the people of Isreal that the Great I AM has sent Moses to rescue them!!

But what we must see here is the Lord is showing is his ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY over the outcome of Moses’s calling to Go!!!

REMEMBER…

The Lord already told Moses in Exodus 3:18 “they (the Israelites) will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’”

Now He is showing him why they will listen…

They will see and they will know that I AM sent you!!!

The Lord is showing Moses…the outcome of your mission is in my hands…

How many of us in here have ever made this excuse???

I know God is calling me to GO… (And where) BUT:

What if it goes badly?

What if I fail?

What if Im persecuted?

What if they don’t listen to me?

We may not be certain about the outcome of what we are called to do and where we are called to do it…

BUT…we must remember…GOD IS CERTAIN ABOUT THE OUTCOME

HE HAS ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY over ALL.

The outcome is NOT in our control…

Its in the Lords control…

SO Moses feels uncertain about the outcome…The Lord shows Him He is in control of the outcome…

He gives Moses three incredible signs to show…

Moses should be good to GO right?

WRONG!

Keep reading with me

READ V. 10-17

When the Lord calls us to GO…

P2- We may feel unequipped. (v. 10-17)

Excuse #2

I am not eloquent…I am slow of speech…I am slow of tongue

I am not a speaker…He says…

I am not equipped Lord for the task that you have given me!

This is a lame excuse though because when we read Acts chapter 7…

The Lord tells us in His word…Acts 7:22 “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.”

In any case…

Moses says I am not equipped for this task Lord…

How many of us have ever been here?

Im not the right guy for that Lord.

Whats Gods response…

I AM!!!

I will equip you!!!

I MADE mans mouth…

I MAKE man mute, deaf, blind

I WILL BE WITH YOUR MOUTH!!!

I WILL teach you what to say!!!

I…I..I…NOT YOU…I

I have come down…

I will bring my people out…

I will harden Pharaoh's heart…

I will give you signs and wonders…

I AM…

Church its NOT ABOUT YOU!!!

How good you are,,,your skills,,,your talents…

GOD EQUIPS YOU…

THE ONLY TALENT THAT YOU CAN PRODUCE FOR GOOD IS JUST GOD WORKING THROUGH YOU CHURCH…

Its not your words Moses…they are my words coming out of your mouth…which I made…which I control!!!

The apostle Paul talked about this very subject in…

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

So GOD TELLS MOSES “I will be with you!”

But still Moses responds in fear of inadequacy…

Oh My Lord…PLEASE SEND SOMEONE ELSE….

The Lord is angry with Moses for his unfaith…

But though God is angry with Moses’s unfaith…GOD IS EVER FAITHFUL…

He says Dont worry Moses…I know all things…I knew this would happen…I already have your brother Aaron on the way!

He will speak for you…

Even though we may feel unequipped to GO as we are called God equips us...

Even when our faith comes up short…

The Lord sends support…

BECAUSE HE EQUIPS US FOR THE MISSION HE CALLS US TO GO TO!!!!

And not only does He equip us…

When the Lord calls us to GO…(He also)

P3- He prepares the way. (v. 18-20)

READ V 18-20

Excuse #3

I gotta go check with my father inlaw first!!!!!

What about the men in Egypt that want me dead for murdering the Egyptian?

Jethro says “Go in Peace”

All those men who sought to kill you…

They are all dead says the Lord…NOW GO!

When the Lord is pushing us to GO

He will open up the way…

(Ruby lung story… Told us she would die…We prayed…God laid the path before us)

(Our church planting story…we prayed…God opened doors before us)

HE PAVED THE WAY!

So look at what we have just seen…

God calls Moses to GO…

He controls the outcome…

He Equips us for the work…

He prepares the way…

Whats our role???

As we will see next…

When the Lord calls us to GO…

P4- We are to obey Him every step of the way. (v. 21-28)

READ V 21-28

God tells Moses to GO to Egypt and do the signs He has given to him.

And to tell Moses to tell Pharoah…”You have my first born Son”

“Let my son go…if you don’t…I will kill your first born son”

Explain to Pharoah how important the people that he abuses are to the LORD of all!

Israel is my first born he says…

God is telling Pharoah There are repercussions to NOT obeying my commands…

The Lord is so gracious even to Pharoah…He gives him a warning…

He tells Him OBEY ME OR ELSE…

And as we move forward into verse 24 we see some pretty odd text...

All of a sudden the Lord sought to put Moses to death!!!!

What?!?!?

Why would God call Moses…then want to kill Him?!?!?

The reason is this…we find out here that Moses’s first born isn't circumcised…

The Lord just got done showing us if Pharoah didn’t obey His command…He would bring death…

The Lord commanded all His people in Genesis 17. To be circumcised

Genesis 17:9–14 “And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.””

We serve a just and holy God church…

A God that Paul tells us shows no partiality…Because He is just and Holy….

He has told Moses to GO

Moses has been making excuse after excuse…

God has had grace for those he loves…

BUT when it comes to the covenant…OUR JUST GOD STICKS TO HIS COMMANDS…

Here is what we have to see here Church…

When we are called to GO…We don’t do it our way….We do it God’s way…

When you are called to GO…The bible tells us things will get tough…

You will be persecuted…you will often be walking into hostile territory…

Where those against the gospel will be trying to find fault in you!!!

So the Lord shows us here

YOU ARE TO GO AND OBEY MY COMMANDS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!

OBEY MY CALL TO GO…OBEY MY COMMANDS WHEN YOU DO…

AND WHEN YOU DO THAT…

The Bible shows us next what will happen…

READ V 27-31

When the Lord calls us to GO…

P5- Our obedience leads to His glorification. (v. 27-31)

AFTER ALL THE EXCUSES

AFTER ALL THE DISOBEDIANCE

MOSES GOES!!!

AND OUR FAITHFUL GOD SENT AARON JUST AS HE SAID HE WOULD

SO MOSES MEETS AARON

AND TELLS HIM EXACTLY WHAT THE LORD HAS COMMANDED THEM TO DO

THEY GO AND DO AS GOD COMMANDED BOTH OF THEM

AND LO AND BEHOLD WHAT HAPPENS????!!!!

THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LISTENED!!

JUST AS GOD SAID THEY WOULD!!!

AND THE ISREALITES RESPOND IN WHAT WAY…

GOD HAS SEEN OUR AFFLICTION!!!

AND THEY BOWED DOWN AND WORSHIPPED THE LORD!!!

THEIR OBEDIENCE LEADS TO GODS GLORY!!!

BIG IDEA:

WHEN THE LORD CALLS YOU TO GO…PLACE ALL YOUR TRUST IN HIM…AND GO!!!

WHY???

BECAUSE HE IS FAITHFUL CHURCH

God call all of us to GO!

Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

2 Corinthians 5:17–20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

AND WHEN HE CALLS US TO GO…

HE HAS ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OVER THE OUTCOME…

HE EQUIPS US TO DO HIS WILL…

HE PAVES THE WAY FOR US…

AND ALL HE ASKS FOR IS OUR OBEDIENCE…

AND THAT LEADS TO HIS GLORIFICATION!!!!

Whats stopping you?

WHATS STOPPING YOU FROM GOING???

WHAT DO YOU FEAR???

WHAT EVER IT IS…

The LORD is telling you today through HIs word today…

I HAVE CALLED YOU TO GO!

I know the outcome…I am in absolute control…

I will equip you…

I will make the way…

Do as I command…

And it will lead to my glory!!!

LETS PRAY!!