When Life Does Not Make Sence
WHEN LIFE DOES NOT MAKE SENCE
EXODUS 2:10
At time's life does not make any sense. Many times there is no explanation, no under- standing as to why this crisis or why that crisis. But at times, God pulls back the curtains of his sovereign will, and He allows us to see why we are in a crisis. Such will be the case as we look at the life of Moses.
Moses once lived in a palace, but as we look at Exodus 2:15 now he lives in a desert. Moses once was a ruler and a leader of men, but soon he will be a ruler and leader of sheep. He has no idea that God was preparing him for an even greater ministry. We are going to pull back the curtains of heaven, and we are going to see how God used Moses' desert experience as preparation for incredible service. I do not know if you are going through a crisis, but for Moses it was preparation for being used greatly by God. And may I suggest that if you are going through a crises God is preparing for future service.
Alan Redpath while pastor of Moody Memorial Church put it this way "When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible person and crushes them."
Everything I have to say today as it relates to the life of Moses has to do with that statement. If the truth were known many of us would admit that we are impossible people. I mean our slogan in life is, “I want it my way.”
And until we are divinely crushed, until we are broken to the place of submission of God's will, God will not use us in that particular manner for which he has called us.
A. W. Tozer put it another way, "It is
doubtful that God can use anyone greatly until He has hurt them deeply."
There are times when God has allowed deep and severe trials. And when you are in those trials you will wonder about the justice of God. There will be times when God will kick the crutches out from under you. There will be times when God will take away your comforts and remove all your rights. And you will wonder why?
It may be that in God's great plan He wants to use you in a great way. In the life of Moses that is exactly God's intention. God is going to crush Moses. Today we will experience the brokenness of being crushed.
A. MOSES LIFE, PRIOR TO BE BROKEN BY GOD – RAISED FOR SUCCESS.
One thing that I want you to see in Moses is that he was highly qualified. Look at ACTS 7:22:
122 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Pharaoh’s daughter had actually trained and reared young Moses to be the Pharaoh of Egypt. Since Pharaoh had no son, Moses was next in line to be the pharaoh elect. So his new mother was molding him into an Egyptian.
Moses was trained in all the Egyptian sciences, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine, philosophy, law, music, sculpture, painting, and the broadest knowledge of Egyptian literature. He was being groomed to be the next pharaoh. And the results were incredible. Look at the results in ACTS 7:22.
ACTS 7:22:
122 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
Do you see the word "powerful" in the New International Version, ("mighty" in the King James Version)? The Greek word is dunamai, from which we get our word dynamite. Meaning this, Moses was very powerful in communication and action. He was an incredible debater and a military hero.
Here is Moses is highly qualified, but utterless useless for serving God.
A historian tells us that Moses led the Egyptian Army in numerous military campaigns, and he was always victorious. Moses had all the ability, all the intellect, and he had all the education. He was highly qualified to be a leader, but he was entirely useless when it came to doing God's will, God's way. Look at:
ACTS 7:23-29
23 "When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.
Moses, in attempting to do God's will, kills an Egyptian. That’s Moses' way of doing God's will. After all Moses thinks, I am the champion of Egypt. I'm a hero. I can do no wrong. So he just kills the Egyptian.
Now he is trying to do God's will, his way. So many sincere Christians try to do God's will their way. I have seen where some will sincerely hold back their tithe for their own purposes, thinking that they are sincerely doing God's will, but they are sincerely wrong. Others will spread rumors discrediting someone so they can accomplish their own purposes. EXODUS 2:11-12 illustrates that.
EXODUS 2:11-12
11 NOW IT CAME ABOUT IN THOSE DAYS, AWHEN MOSES HAD GROWN UP, THAT HE WENT OUT TO HIS BRETHREN AND LOOKED ON THEIR HARD LABORS; AND HE SAW AN EGYPTIAN BEATING A HEBREW, ONE OF HIS BRETHREN.
12 SO HE LOOKED THIS WAY AND THAT, AND WHEN HE SAW THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND, HE ASTRUCK DOWN THE EGYPTIAN AND HID HIM IN THE SAND.
Did you notice? Moses looks to the left, then he looks to the right, he looks behind and he looks in front of him. And he sees one. So he kills the Egyptian. But three is one direction that he failed to look. Do you know what it is? He did not look to God.
Remember, Moses is highly trained, but completely useless in serving God.
There is no mention of God in his deliverance plan. There is no mention of prayer. Why didn’t Moses pray about being the deliver?
I believe he did not pray to God about delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, because he is bright. He has already scored high in the classroom and he did not pray about that. His has proven his ability on the battlefield and he didn’t pray about that. So when it comes to delivering the Israelites, he can handle that too.
EXODUS 2:12
12 SO HE LOOKED THIS WAY AND THAT, AND WHEN HE SAW THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND, HE STRUCK DOWN THE EGYPTIAN AND HID HIM IN THE SAND.
When we attempt to do God's will our own way, in our own strength, it always backfires.
Moses is wrong, but you could not convince him that he is wrong. You say, how do you know that?
Look at Acts 7:25:
25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.
When you are wrong, say you are wrong. Don’t let days and weeks pass. Because the passing of time will move you to deny the truth.
I heard this story about someone who sent the IRS a letter. It said, “I haven’t been able to sleep because last year when I filed out my income tax return, I deliberately misrepresented my income. I am enclosing a check for $150.00, and if I still can’t sleep I will send you the rest.
We will do anything in the world to keep from admitting we are wrong.
Do you think Moses is sincere? Sure he is, but he is not in touch with God. So he hides the evidence.
You know that was the same thing that Adam did when he sinned. He tried to cover up is sin. And he didn’t cover up his wife first.
The very next day, after Moses kills the Egyptian. Watch what happens.
Acts 7:2628
26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, `Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' 27 "But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, `Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian.
The very next day, the hero of Egypt runs for is life. Only one day has passed since the public was pinning medals on him. Now he runs for his life.
I want you to notice very closely in Exodus 2:15. Notice where you find Moses.
Exodus EXODUS 2:15
15 WHEN PHARAOH HEARD OF THIS MATTER, HE TRIED TO KILL MOSES. BUT MOSES FLED FROM THE PRESENCE OF PHARAOH AND SETTLED IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, AND HE SAT DOWN BY A WELL.
He is stilling by a well. Here is Moses, the champion of Egypt sitting in the sand, by a well, as a murderer.
To get a good picture of what Moses is feeling as he sits by the well, imagine being highly successful and losing everything. Or imagine being happily married, but one day as you are at work, you are served divorce papers. Those of you who have been there, know that when you are by the well, it is a lonely place.
You can not imagine it, unless you have been there. The question most often asked is, by people who are by the well is, "How did it happen?" How did I lose everything? You don't have to do anything wrong to loose your business, all your profits can be embezzled, or you can be swindled by a shady business partner. In Moses' case, he sits by the well, it is not by the actions of others, but attempting to do God's will his own way.
If the truth were know, there are many sitting by the well. Well intentioned people, who have attempted to do God’s will their own way. And they have ended sitting by the well of discouragement.
What do you think Moses is thinking as he sits by the well of discouragement? I think he may thinking he is a failure.
Here is pharaoh’s elect, the man who in Acts chapter 7 says is, “POWERUFL IN SPEECH AND ACTION,” sitting by a well, feeling like a complete failure. All his dreams of being the champion, the deliverer of Egypt seem to be gone.
When he fled Egypt, I wonder, what he took with him? If he took his medals or trophies, how useless they most look now.
So here he sits by the well. All alone, feeling completely useless. No longer feeling highly qualified.
I want to say something about being by the well of discouragement.
First – When you are by the well of discouragement, it is essential that you trust that God knows what He is doing in your life.
JEREMIAH 29:11
11 ‘FOR I KNOW THE PLANS THAT I HAVE FOR YOU,’ DECLARES THE LORD, ‘PLANS FOR WELFARE AND NOT FOR CALAMITY TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.
Press on in spite of your present heartaches. Some of us have been by the well, and we can sit there and we can grumble, we can complain or we can trust that God knows what He is doing in our life. It will not be easy, but it will be right.
Second – When you are by the well of discouragement, don’t surrender to self pity. Do not quit. And do not complain. Recognize that when you are by the well, that God is still at work in your life.
PSALM 142:5
5 I CRIED OUT TO YOU, O LORD; I SAID, “YOU ARE MY REFUGE, MY PORTION IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.
Third – Acknowledge to God that you accept is sovereign plan for your life.
PSALM 139:1-4
1 O LORD, YOU HAVE SEARCHED ME AND KNOWN ME.
2 YOU KNOW WHEN I SIT DOWN AND WHEN I RISE UP; YOU UNDERSTAND MY THOUGHT FROM AFAR.
3 YOU SCRUTINIZE MY PATH AND MY LYING DOWN, AND ARE INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH ALL MY WAYS.
4 EVEN BEFORE THERE IS A WORD ON MY TONGUE, BEHOLD, O LORD, YOU KNOW IT ALL.
Fourth – Recognize that when you are down to nothing, God is up to something.
Moses, who was powerful in speech and action, is now in the position of being molded by God to do God’s will, God’s way. Are you?