Sermon Tone Analysis

*Thomas** S. Myers*

 

*DOING GOD'S WILL GOD'S WAY*

*Exodus 2:10-15*

 

            Having just graduated from college the former student wanted to take a summer break by getting away from all the pressures before entering his new job.

His choice was to hike throughout Alaska.

After hiking several day's, he came across a cabin in the remote forest.

The resident of the cabin was an elderly mountain man who had lived in the cabin for years.

He was invited in for dinner.

One look at the dishes revealed that the dishes had not been washed.

Food was still crusted on the plates.

The old mountain man seeing the college graduates hesitation said, "That is the best cold water can do out here son."

The college student was hungry and it had been days since he had eaten a home cooked meal and not wanting to offend the mountain man he ate off the dirty plate.

After the meal was over the college student offered to wash the dishes, but the elderly mountain man refused his help saying, "No, cold water will take care of the dishes."

The mountain man then gathered up the dishes, opened the front door to the cabin, and whistling said, "Here cold water, come on boy."

He then placed all the dishes on the ground and the mountain man's dog, named cold water licked the dishes.

Things are not always as they appear to be.

Moses was convinced it was God's will for him to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt.

And he was convinced that it had to be done his way.

It is one thing to know the will of God, but it is an entirely another thing to do the will of God your own way.

We are going to look at the life of Moses as he attempted to do God's will his way.

One thing that I want you to see in Moses is that he was highly qualified.

Look at *ACTS 7:22*:

 

*1**22** **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.

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, 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 is Moses' way of doing God's will.

He just bulls his way through.

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.

While a seminary student, Bob Campbell accepted a special favor from his supervisor.

If he did a little construction work on his supervisor's house, instead of the work project, he could take the next day off with pay.

Bob could use an extra day to study Greek and Hebrew for the seminary, so he accepted the offer.

He was enjoying the free day studying when the phone rang.

It was the owner of the construction crew, wanting to know why he wasn't at work.  Bob Campbell had stettled in that he was doing God's will by having a day studying the Bible, while in fact he was doing God's will his own way.

When we attempt to do God's will our own way, it always backfires.

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.

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.*

Look at *EXODUS 2:15* to get a good look at Moses.

 

*15 **When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down 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?"

You don't have to do anything wrong to loose your business, all your prophets 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.

I was listening to David Jeremiah's radio program and he told the story of a very successful businessman.

He said that the businessman was a Christian.

And David Jeremiah believed that he was.

He had done a great deal of good work for the Lord.

He had founded ministries and funded them with his own money.

He was well known in his community.

He had a wife and a family.

From all outward impressions, he was a model of a godly Christian businessman.

But financial difficulties took over his empire.

And as hard as it was for David Jeremiah to believe, the man conspired with two underworld characters to force his wife off the road and shoot his wife in the head.

The police suggested that he was involved in the brutal murder.

All the evidence pointed towards him.

The week before, he had taken out a very large insurance policy on his wife.

His own testimony was filled with inconsistency and holes.

Today, he is serving time for the murder of his wife.

Some would say he couldn't be a Christian and do something life that.

I'm not telling the story to debate whether he knows the Lord.

I'm just illustrating the story that even a person who seems to know the Lord can stray from the will of God.

How does it happen?

How did it happen to Moses?

How does it happen to us? 

 

*FIRST -- IT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRY TO DO GOD'S WILL IN OUR OWN WISDOM AND STRENGTH.*

Look at *EXODUS 2:12** *at Moses' actions just before killing the Egyptian.

*12** **Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

(NIV)*

           

            Moses never looked up.

There is not a word of prayer.

There is not a mention of a counsel with God.

Do you know why?  Moses is bright.

He has already proven his ability in the class room and the battlefield.

So when it comes to being the deliverer Moses, thinks, "I can handle that too."

I can not remember who it was that shared a vital principle with me, but I wrote it down several years ago.

Let me share it with you.

"We ought to go to the private place with God, before we go to the public place for God."