Moses: From Mess to Mission
I didn't know this morning whether to wear a short-sleeve shirt or sweater. So I wore both. It's so much more comfortable today, isn't it? Nice that the modern conveniences, add so much to our lives and we don't begin to notice them until we get, if we lose them for a week. So that's kind of a blessing to us. I look for those. Funeral home fans, especially last Sunday afternoon and they just think it's pretty rare.
Pink that I've seen some in this building somewhere and I want you to know that if you don't really are, we could split the money but they
Are quite a quite expensive antiques. But also dates is very much when you say you've done that and seen that because it's almost a part of another Century. I change my sermon last week and was going to finish it up today, but I'm not going to do that because I put it off till next week because the things I have that last week, fit really nicely with the Easter and so I'm going to just change that and it. And so we're go to Whole New Direction. Today, I have any of you seen this show The Testament, the story of Moses, it's a Netflix show. Is I seen about half of it and it's a very interesting. I remember, as a boy, Going to see The Ten Commandments and we got in the line around the building and stood in line and stood in line is still in line. And finally we got up there that guy still and take these are some of the last 10 tickets so you'll probably wind up on the front row and so that's what happened. We ran up in the front row to the Ten Commandments. Too late, even bigger that way. Then it was a fascinating process and they said they said we don't know but they undertook a study to find out and often times all three of us sat and talked and looked and all the way back to being 7 years old. I can remember how special those evenings were when we just looked in the Bible to see what God was telling us. Terry had a different view of it. She saw the movie Somewhere going up, but she was in that generation of teachers Bible school and then Christian School teachers that when she got students in fourth and fifth grade, they'd already seen the ten commandments so they knew the story of Moses and Terry would say, okay, we want to go back to the Bible, if you want to hear the Bible story and I kind of her starting point was What kind of snake did? Moses's staff turn into and they said because the visual Impressions were so strong and Teresa's, really doesn't tell us what guy says basically in Exodus for that, it's a Ferocious Viper. And that would make sense that it could be a cobra. But in chapter 7, with the encounter, with the with the Pharaoh, it refers to it is that tiny Which is. A monster. Which is right? It's a cobra monster, we don't know cuz you see them. The screen doesn't make it true. And that challenge has only grown more for us. And certainly if you look at the series, you'll be reminded that again. What are the things I really like about this series? As it's very emotional in terms of the relationships and it misses parts of the story and you'll do. What do you think about? And then I can feed that back in and it's a very effective way of up doing all that. But this morning I buy forces think about Moses. I think there's a lot of things that we can apply to Moses that we sometimes don't seem to think of I have a cartoon of Moses at the Olympics and I didn't put it up here, too disrespectful. But you know, Moses is setting. They're fixing to be in the 50-meter freestyle and he is open to the pathway and runs down the middle of the middle of the swimming pool there. Are people in the comments who said, that's not fair. He would have been disqualified. You Can't Touch This.
It was just a thought.
He's a critical person in that are in religion, because, you know, he is the only guy has fully presented in Judaism Christianity and Islam. Lots and lots of information, extra biblical information about Moses and I mentioned some of that as we go along today,
Four things in and I'm not recommending the series unless you are interested in it and unless you're willing to move those dissections that you have to do with any man-made media. But there are four things that jumped out of swing at me. One of them. Is it? Moses is a mess. We see this foundational character as we look backwards. And we have a tendency to think that Moses was always, that guy. But as you look at Moses across his life and his development, we see very different characters. The mature. Moses is very different, from the young growing developing Moses, he grows up into urls. Impacted by two cultures. Is he an Egyptian? Or is he Hebrew? You know, of and Miriam comes in. And after Pharaoh's daughter, has taken, Moses from the Nile. It says, I haven't heard something for you in his own mother. Serves his nursemaid, he has this wonderful opportunity to know a lot about both heritages but we don't have any idea how long that lasted or how long those people were able to be together with a teaching that went on but you see is Moses becomes an older man but around 40 years according to the word he's kind of Divided, I think he feels for the Hebrews and yet his actions, complicate, his life, pretty much. He's so impulsive. If he commits murder and it complicates his life in a very, very large way.
You sometimes unstable.
When he gets out there with the sheep and he finally sees the burning bush, he's just a carbon copy of a fraidy-cat. You know, find somebody else. I don't want to do it. It's you don't see that strong character that you Sometimes kind of already think of is Moses. He's filled with excuses. Until we're looking at a multicultural, fugitive murderer, who's scared to death. Who does that describe? Barbie pool. You ever feel like you're a mess? You just don't know how to go forward, you know you need to you know you want to and you look at your life and you see the things that aren't exactly like you want them to be or maybe radically from what you want them to be and you literally and I think people do look into the mirror and say I am a mess. I need help. And we see in Moses, this man that God puts his hands on and says, follow me, follow me. Let me, let me help you. I have a task for you. I have a job for you. I have a plan for you. I have a purpose for you. Let me work on you. We also see in Moses at life is hard.
One of the things I like so much about the series was that, you know, I was just feels Egyptian and runs off to the land of Midian. And the series actually put it out how dangerous that would have been. I mean this guy is alone from the royal family. He's going to go into very very of threatening territory. He says nobody to tell me which way to go, he's just very much in a vulnerable state. We kind of just say, yeah, well there's a treacherous journey and that was hard for him and then he starts to experience other kinds of of danger. He's, he's giving challenges to deal with a new personal and social relationship at least Challengers or something coming so quickly. But it looks like you don't even have time to breathe. Like, you're something else. Here's something else. Here's another Choice. Another conflict. Another complication? What you going to do? What do you do? What do you do?
And again, I can feel them really to that. Just so very much. Just can we just stop for a minute? We just slow down. Take a break and look at everything and then start trying to make the decisions. Sometimes we can do that. Sometimes you can't. Sometimes the decisions are being so fast and furious that they have to be have to be done with. May want to stop the world and get off, but you don't have that opportunity.
You like it, this baby lay down and go to sleep.
During the terrible tragedy that happened last summer in the Texas Hill Country. One of the speakers speaking to those who had lost people in that terrible. Be in said, you'll never get over it but you will get through it.
Is that true?
It isn't in my world. I know people who haven't gotten over it. I know people who walked away from bedrooms. 40 fifty years ago and their life kind of stopped at that moment. I know people who had tragedies. I know people who Are still in institutions because they were overwhelmed by the things that life threw at them. The real word needs to be, he won't stop to say that you will get through it, but you can get through it. There are resources, there is your god. There is his people and there is opportunity and that those moments when we get that a place where we can say stop the world, I want to get off. We can get through this. We can manage it. We have what we need in order to do that, God brings people into our lives, primarily family. And the other thing is really great about the Moses story that I never really had focused on, was the important role that family plays in his life.
His mom has to put him in a little basket and set him loose on the Nile River. Technically, she is obeying the law by Cassie given to the Nile. She's praising God. That somehow he'll be safe and she leaves her sister to watch from afar. This wonderful thing happens.
Daughter of Moses finds him and wants to keep him and she whines up being his sweating her since I've been mentioned earlier, we don't know how long those relationships went on, but Moses has at least a connection back to his heritage. He has family, presumably in this very cultured entitled world that he gets to see from.
Was where does he spend this 40 Years of his life from the age 40, the age of 80 before he was back. Delete the children of Israel. He spends that for years with his in-laws. He marries. He has two sons of his own. He has his own family and Jethro, his father-in-law is the priest of Midian. He's going to be Moses as Mentor, Moses helper, even later in life, you're going to find zipporah and family being with Moses. You're also going to find Jethro coming and interacting with BOCES, even after he's the leader of the Israelites. These people Became his family. It looks like. that's a movie, maybe thinking your in-laws and there's a lot of joking about, you know, those kind of people wouldn't give the mother-in-law and father-in-law Zen and the like, kind of stuff, but I can tell you from my life, my in-laws are some of the most impressive and any of the people that I got the privilege to be around I think there are other people sitting in this room who will say that to you're blessed by the family, you married into Nights are always true but it certainly can be in there times when it is.
I told you before about that, had to go to the cat to the vet. And just enjoy his cats tonight, we get inherited it when she passed and, and you're bringing your brother's cat to the vet. Yeah. My mother cats. My mother-in-law is real. Nice lady in my life. In-laws, the people that got to breathe into her life and, and some things are good blessings to us. I'm not explaining this well and I apologize. I'm going to do it better than that.
Peabody prices that our lives at Sr biological family. We marry, and we expand that family, but we always have a spiritual family that God brings us back to, and connects us with people say good morning. Sometimes people do what they supposed to say. I don't get anything out of it. And my response is always, but somebody else may get something from you. You may need to be there as the encourager, but the helper just your presence. There is encouraging a lot of ways. We're all in this together and it made me that at your moment of strength, it really don't need somebody else as much as in your moment of need. How to change in the other direction.
I took Moses, because Moses was willing to be the man that God wanted to be. And I think Moses Regency Apex of his service to God after the children of Israel are free and after they start that long journey, they get all the way to the Red Sea. Too far. For anything to be turned around, now they're they're out a international are there, you know, they're past the boundaries, be in a good situation. And it's somewhere on the horizon comes up just a little bit dust.
And don't, you know, that over the next 2 hours, people were looking for him.
In the dust. Yeah, looks like it to me. And finally, there's enough dust kicked up in the people get close enough to the folks get this. I know that's how you roll. You got in his armies is Chariot. 600 chariots. And they are here to put them in. Do this whole situation.
As Pharaoh approached the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to. The Lord said to Moses, was it? Because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die. What are you doing To Us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you with Egypt? Leave us alone. Let us serve you Egyptians. It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians in to Die the desert. Am I supposed to say? This murderer. Fugitive fraidy cat always didn't help. Make it missing, sup up from time to time. These words are just some of the strongest. Where'd you find this scripture? Moses answered the people. Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the Deliverance. The Lord will bring to you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see. Again, the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still grab a sword. Grab a weapons. Let's make a flight here. Let's try to build some defensive positions Moses's Justice. Where You Are? And God's going to take care of it, but Moses, there's destruction on the horizon. Just just relax. I see what God does.
How much would your world be better if you had the courage to say that? All the time, the stress legal to go off in our world, in our lives, and our circumstances, and our relationships. It's the end of the world.
and we have opportunity to say, Disappeared. Just stay there, just a minute. And let's see what God really has in mind with this situation.
People at your work. People you share family with a brother and a church to fill for fearful people of the world may need that guy. Israelites needed, Moses in that moment. And I think all of this, and all of this leading, and all of this training and all this work experience literally reaches the Apex in the moment. How did Moses? I would have thought. Where's the highest point to jump off into the Red Sea to me?
He let him be like God mold him to the point. Working was useful, totally completely by God. You all heard that story, the little boys in my class and he's home. And his mother says what they talked about it. So he
And she said, she really say that and he says no, but if you didn't believe that, you won't believe what she had to say, either. The story is too extreme for that.
Since the moment of man, look at the moment, that man comes to the Earth. God has been announcing a scheme of redemption. All the way to the Garden of Eden. There's a plan for your Redemption. There is a messiah. The Son of God who is coming to rescue and save you. I had never thought about it before. And if you know, some different information, I'd be glad to share it for you to share it with me. But it just dawned on me. Every single.
So, every single molecule, every single bit of genetic material is gathered on the beach or the Red Sea.
what if Moses I mean, what if they roll rides down in Slaughter's, all of these people Is there anybody else? Not that we know of. it looks like God is saying I am in totally completely and this one moment and it turns out as We Know, Very positively. Everything I have invested in bringing you some patient is riding on. What happened to you? Moses with all his flaws. Arrives at the point where God can work through him. Isn't that what we really want to do? We really want to be when I arrive at the point, God can work through us. Would you go with me?
The God, our Father in heaven. We thank you for the example of Moses. Father, we thank you for sharing his weaknesses. We thank you for sharing your struggle trouble. Struggles, we thank you for sharing the teaching strategies that cause his face to increase. Father, we thank you for sharing the explanation. The example about a powerful, man, he ultimately became Because it gives us hope and motivation and inspiration. Father, we ask that. We may take the tools that you provide step into the opportunities that are created for us. I know you might Excel and moving in the direction that we can grow. We pray this to your precious son. Peace. Amy.
This morning is always sweext in the good news of Jesus Christ. We offer an invitation and if you need to respond to the invitation, but we encourage you to do that. I'll be standing sing this song together.
