God's Responds to Moses' Doubts

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’,a 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

I. God hears the prayers of his people.

But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’,a 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.

When we pray, we have confidence that God hears our concerns and responds in His will.

6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore,g to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him. Illus: One of the themes we see in scripture is the blanket promise that when we pray God will give us what we pray for. There is an assumption that we must see with these promises… prayer moves our hearts to mirror the heart of God. Prayer teaches us to desire what God is doing. If we pray, and God does not fulfill our prayers as we ask, it is not God who is wrong, but we are. God is working out a plan bigger than us, and so God uses our prayers to align us with what he is doing. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! When our hearts are alined with God’s will, we will see God’s hand at work.

10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

When we pray, and our will is alined with God’s, we will see God do miraculous things.

12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?”,i 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

God’s response to our doubts.

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him. Illus: Have you noticed the way we pray lately. Let’s talk honestly about it. Prayer time around the church tends to be listing those we know are hurting and sick. Scripture teaches that we should pray for such things, but prayer should be so much more than praying for the hurting and sick. If our prayer times are limited to praying for the sick and hurting, then we will not be grasping the fullness of power God has given us in prayer. When we pray, we should be praying to know the heart of God. When we pray, we should be praying specifically for spiritual things in people’s lives. We should be praying as a church for the lost by name. We should be praying for as a church for wisdom. Are we not seeing God work among us because we are not praying as God wants us? : 22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received, it and it will be yours.

II. Our primary prayer should be for men still trapped in sin.

Response #1: We are not God, and He is.

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’,a 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

16 If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.

Our doubts are a form of idolatry.

When we see a brother or sister trapped in sin, we have a responsibility to pray for them.

16 If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. Illus: Shooting straight, when we see a brother or sister in sin, our first response is not prayer. It is gossip. We look at our brother caught in sin and talk about them. We might even tell the person we are “praying for them” because we want them to know we empathize with their problems. How much time do we really spend praying for the spiritual wellbeing of our brothers and sisters in Christ?When we begin to pray about spiritual things, God will do 2 things. 1. He will give us wisdom in how we might walk with our brother or sister in Christ, and 2. He will work according to his will to free our brother or sister from their sin. : 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord.

There comes a point where man closes himself off to God, and God allows him his choice.

Illus: We think far too highly of ourselves and far too little of God. That's idolatry.

16 If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. Illus: What does scripture mean when it says “there is a sin which leads to death”. It means that the person who is living in sin can so refuse the spirit of God in their lives that God will eventually stop working in their life. If a person rejects the spirit of God in their life, then they must ask whether they are genuinely saved. When a person is living in a lifestyle of sin, ignoring (or rejecting) God’s spirit, then is God really working within them. :  “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”

When we doubt we are limiting God in our power. We are still thinking that strength is found in what we do for God.

III. God can work in any life, except those who have rejected him completely.

We think God is dependent on us.

BUT God is not dependent on us, we are dependent on God.

17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death.

God is not limited by us, we are empowered through God.

Are there places in your life where you have rejected the voice of God?

It is time you stopped focusing so much on yourself, what you can do, and what you are limited to AND started looking to God who can accomplish anything He desires.

Illus: We do not need to confess every sin to have our sins forgiven, but God uses our confession to work in our lives. It is healthy for every believer to dwell on the sins in their lives, confess them to God and pray that God’s Spirit would free us from those sins. : Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands.

Illus:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

and do not rely on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

and he will make your paths straight.

7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Are you missing the mighty works of God, because you are too busy looking at yourself?

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’,a 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

Illus: Have you noticed the way we look at the world these days? (pull out phone)

We are viewing the world through a 5 inch screen. But here is the kicker… most time we are taking pictures… not of the wonder of the world around us… but of ourselves.

So when we take a picture of the something, we are far more focused on our smile, or double chin than on than we are on what we actually went to see.

Is this how we view God… do we try to selfie God? That we say we are looking at him, but truthfully, we are really looking at ourselves.

This is why God’s first response is to remind Moses… I am the Lord.

Illus: (describing the way most people work)

21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Response #2: God always finishes what he promises.

6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore,g to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

God’s work is all about what God does.

6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore,g to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.”

Illus: Henry Blackaby wrote a bible study about moses 20 years back called “Experiencing God” The fundamental idea beneath experiencing God is…. Find out where GOd is working and join him.

Think through this with me…. God was not sitting in heaven thinking “I sure hope moses will get on board with my plan because I need him.

God chooses to use moses, but God did not need moses.

Frankly, If moses continued to reject God, God still would have worked.

The same is true for us today.

God is not sitting in heaven thinking, I sure hope FBC Vidalia will serve me because I need them.

For us, the question is not whether God needs us, but instead whether God uses us.

Are we available, or are we so focused on ourselves that we will miss what God is doing?

Illus:

20 For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.

God’s work does not depend on our faithfulness.

9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

Illus: I am a believer that God will either work through us, or despite us. Will our story be one where we see the hand of God move in spite of our hardness and disobedience. Will God work despite out doubts?

OR will we be a people who have such a right understanding of God that we will see the extraordinary power of God?

Illus:

7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

Response #3: Your doubt is not an excuse to not go.

10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?”,i 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

A. When God calls people to His mission, it is not optional for them.

Illus: God has given us His mission. It is to bring the gospel to people who don’t know him, and then teach them to follow HIM.

This needs to happen through the ministries of this church, but it needs to happen in your daily life as well.

The gospel is non negotiable… are you on board?

Illus:

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Why is doubt a form of idolatry?

What does God’s mission look like in your life?