What's in your Hand

Exodus 4:1 (KJV 1900)

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

What Is That In Your Hand?

Exodus 4:1-5 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. [2] And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. [3] And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. [4] And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: [5] That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

The first three chapters of Exodus tell the story of a nation in captivity, under bondage to the Pharaohs of Egypt. Moses got so upset about it that he killed an Egyptian, then fled to Midian. Finally, God appears in the burning bush to give Moses the promise of deliverance. What is his reaction? “They will not believe me!”

God doesn’t promise deliverance without effort – He wants Moses to do something, Moses only sees the negative aspect of what God has called him to do.

So God asks “What is that in your hand?”

All Moses has in his hand is the simple shepherd’s staff / walking stick; he has been using for forty years.

No one would ever have imagined that this simple shepherd’s walking stick, would hold so much potential to bring the level of deliverance thatGod was talking to Moses about!

But we all know the story how that same simple rod or Walking stick was used by God miraculously to…

confront the magicians of Pharaoh’s court

turn the waters of the Nile River into Blood

bring plagues of frogs, lice, hail, and locusts upon the land

cause the waters of the Red Sea to stand up like a wall, then

collapse on the Egyptians after Israel passed through

bring forth water from the rock at Horeb

bring victory to Israel in battle as Moses held it high in prayer

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND Today?

God isn’t asking for something in someone else’s hand

God isn’t asking for something you don’t already have

God isn’t asking for something impressive

God is just asking for what you have right now!

What would have happened if Moses had refused to give God what was in his hand?

A nation would have stayed in slavery

Thousands of Israelites would have been killed

Moses would have never become a great man of God

WHAT DID GOD ASK MOSES TO DO?

Throw it down-Surrender it/Lay it on the alter-Let Me do something with it!

Pick it up after God has changed it (that’s the scary part!)

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND TODAY?

Miriam had her tambourine

A Little boy had five loaves and two fishes

Mary had her jar of precious ointment

Dorcas had her needle and thread

Widow had her jar of oil

David had his slingshot

Samson had the jawbone of a donkey

Shamgar had an ox goad-Slew 600 Philistines -Judges 3:31 “And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.”

Another Widow had her two mites

Gideon had his lamps, pitchers and trumpets

Israelites had their singers at the front of the army

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND TODAY?

God isn’t asking for something in someone else’s hand

God isn’t asking for something you don’t already have

God isn’t asking for something impressive or flamboyant

God is just asking for what you have right now!

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND TODAY?

Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.

C. T. Studd, “Only One Life”

But the Christian must say, “What’s mine is a gift from God—I’ll share it!

Warren W. Wiersbe

Charles Thomas Studd (Missionary)