Untitled Sermon

How did God prepare Moses to be His man to lead the Hebrews out of the Egyptian bondage? He prepared him not in a day but over time (80 years), not through 1 event, but through a process. Through times of safety and times of trials.

Moses lead more than 2 million people at a time when there was no cell phone, no email, not even a speaker to amplify his voice. But to be able to do that it took him 80 years.

Illustration: leader who step out of safetyMany leaders in the Bible are moving from a place of safety to a place of Faith (and back again sometimes):

Others before him have waited years for God to prepare them:

Noah waited 120 years for the flood

Abraham waited 25 years for the Promised Son, Isaac

Joseph waited 14 years in prison for a Crime he didn’t commit

Job waited we don’t know how long, but maybe a lifetime.

and Moses waited 40 years in Midian before leading Israel (actually 80 years if you count that he was 40 yo when he flew from Egypt).

We often think, or at least I long thought that the 40 years in Midian were the years to prepare Moses for God’s work. But lately i realized that even his first 40 years were part of the process of becoming one of the strongest leader in history.

Today I want to look at what happen during the first 80 years of the life of Moses. As we go through different events of his life I want to emphasize the process he went through that made him ready to accomplish his work for the LORD.

I want to look how his life alternate period of safety, risk taking and acts of Faith (his or others) and his beginning as a humble leader.

We all know the story of Moses and how he became the leader of the Hebrew nation (2 million + people). Let’s look at it again:

Illustration: leader who step out of safety

Today we will go into to 4, and to understnd how God prepared Moses to be the leader he became. Let’s start with the events surrounding Moses birth:

"And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.” tells us of the order of the king. He was trying to control the population of the Hebrew, he was threatened by their number. That’s the context of Moses birth. Born to be hidden to be safe.

And safe he was for 3 months. tells us after 3 months he couldn’t be “hidden anymore” () Hence he was safe and then he was not. 3 months is not a random age. It’s actually the time a baby need to become imprinted with its parents (especially the mother). During the first 3 months of life the brain of a infant increase its connection by 20% (it will take years to get the rest of the 80%). It is the time it takes for a baby to start smiling on purpose or to start communicating on purpose rather than crying (which is at first their only mean of communication).

So Moses stayed safe with his mother, Jochebed, for 3 months. This was a first safe zone that he had to go out of. Because of the order of Pharaoh, his mom decided to let God handle his future. She was no longer able to give him safety. Here we have an act of Faith of Jochebed: trusting God “was not afraid of the king’s commandment.” . She put her child into the ark on the river. At that point “she commited her child to the care of God (PP 243). And that act of Faith got him saved as the angels directed Pharaoh’s daughter (PP 243) toward the baby.

Here we have an act of Faith of Jochebed: trusting God “was not afraid of the king’s commandment.” . She put her child into the ark on the river. At that point “she commited her child to the care of God (PP 243). And that act of Faith got him saved as the angels directed Pharaoh’s daughter (PP 243).

Then Miriam end up bringing him back to Jochebed to nurse. God rewarded Jochebed faithfulness. Once again, Moses was safe in the House of his father: “She faithfully improved her opportunity to educate her child for God. She felt confident that he had been preserved for some great work, and she knew that he must soon be given up to his royal mother, to be surrounded with influences that would tend to lead him away from God.” PP 243

During that 12 years Jochebed “endeavored to imbue his mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence.” PP 243.

“She showed him the folly and sin of idolatry, and early taught him to bow down and pray to the living God, who alone could hear him and help him in every emergency.” (PP 244).

White, E.G., 1890. The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, Pacific Press Publishing Association.Once again the period is significant: 12 years old.

Once again the period is significant: 12 years old. What does that remind you of?What happen in Jerusalem in around 10 AD? Go to . Jesus at the temple.

What does that remind you of? Go to . Jesus at the temple.

King James Version Chapter 2

And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

“Among the Jews the twelfth year was the dividing line between childhood and youth. On completing this year a Hebrew boy was called a son of the law, and also a son of God.” (DA 75.1)

This is the age the Jesus showed his maturity for the first time. (and still his for the Jews: Bar Mitzvah happend at the 13th birthday). during these first year the spiritp of prophecy tells us that:

White, E.G., 1898. The Desire of Ages, Pacific Press Publishing Association.”This is the age the Jesus showed his maturity for the first time. 12 yo was the line between childhood and manhood for the Hebrews (and still his for the Jews: Bar Mitzvah happend at the 13th birthday). during these first year the spiritp of prophecy tells us that:

“From her lips and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly things. The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel He was now taught at His mother’s knee. As He advanced from childhood to youth, He did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His instructor.”

White, E.G., 1898. The Desire of Ages, Pacific Press Publishing Association.It is the time that it took him to be ready for its first public recorded speak. It showas the hard worl of His motherThink about the Jews and the Bar Mitzvah, which is the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood (even if it came much later than Moses time). There is something here. 12 yo is the age when you supposed to be able to use the knowledge of God you earned to deepens your relationship with Him.

Back to Moses, during this 12 years of safety, he became connected with “the Source of all power, the Lord God of hosts. He rises grandly above every earthly inducement, and trusts himself wholly to God. He considered that he was the Lord’s. While he was connected with the official interests of the king of Egypt, he was constantly studying the laws of God’s government, and thus his faith grew. That faith was of value to him. It was deeply rooted in the soil of his earliest teachings, and the culture of his life was to prepare him for the great work of delivering Israel from bondage. He meditated on these things; he was constantly listening to his commission from God. {Lt21a-1893.17}

Then Moses went to the palace of Pharaoh and receive a civil and military training: . He was a great military leader and at that point he knew that God had plan for him: “Angels instructed Moses also that Jehovah had chosen him to break the bondage of His people.” PP 245

Egypt, in that age the greatest kingdom of the world, offered its highest position of honor to Moses. But he did not accept the alluring temptation; “for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” [Verse 27.] “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.” “A day in thy courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” [, , .] {Lt21a-1893.16}

Then Moses went to be Pharaoh’s Daughter’s son and he moved to the palace until he was 40 yo. . During his years within the Egyptian he learnt to be a great military leader (Youth Instructor’s Jan 29, 1903), tells us that “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”and he was successful.

Although it look like a period of safety, was it really one? He had all the wealth and his physical needs were met as the heir apparent of Pharaoh, but his spirituality was tested during this years. We tend to focus on the event at the end of the 40 years when he slew the Egyptian, but what happened before that. Sister White told us:

“By the laws of Egypt all who occupied the throne of the Pharaohs must become members of the priestly caste; and Moses, as the heir apparent, was to be initiated into the mysteries of the national religion. This duty was committed to the priests. But while he was an ardent and untiring student, he could not be induced to participate in the worship of the gods. He was threatened with the loss of the crown, and warned that he would be disowned by the princess should he persist in his adherence to the Hebrew faith. But he was unshaken in his determination to render homage to none save the one God, the Maker of heaven and earth. He reasoned with priests and worshipers, showing the folly of their superstitious veneration of senseless objects. None could refute his arguments or change his purpose, yet for the time his firmness was tolerated on account of his high position and the favor with which he was regarded by both the king and the people. {PP 245.3}

At that time Moses knew his destiny: “Angels instructed Moses also that Jehovah had chosen him to break the bondage of His people.” (PP 245). He stayed connected to his people: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. “ .

The strength of Moses was his connection with the Source of all power, the Lord God of hosts. He rises grandly above every earthly inducement, and trusts himself wholly to God. He considered that he was the Lord’s. While he was connected with the official interests of the king of Egypt, he was constantly studying the laws of God’s government, and thus his faith grew. That faith was of value to him. It was deeply rooted in the soil of his earliest teachings, and the culture of his life was to prepare him for the great work of delivering Israel from bondage. He meditated on these things; he was constantly listening to his commission from God. {Lt21a-1893.17}

White, E.G., 1890. The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, Pacific Press Publishing Association.”

Moses stayed in that environment until he was 40 yo. And he felt compassion for his people, he felt resentment at the sight of the injustice and oppression. He knew his calling, but he let his military training and his temper lead him into believing the deliverance will come by force. Just as did the Jews when Jesus came during a time of peace (the PAX ROMANA). He assumed that it would be by force, then he though he was ready, he acted:

“One day, while thus abroad, seeing an Egyptian smiting an Israelite, he sprang forward and slew the Egyptian. Except the Israelite, there had been no witness to the deed, and Moses immediately buried the body in the sand. He had now shown himself ready to maintain the cause of his people, and he hoped to see them rise to recover their liberty.

“He supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not.” .

They were not yet prepared for freedom. On the following day Moses saw two Hebrews striving together, one of them evidently at fault. Moses reproved the offender, who at once retaliated upon the reprover, denying his right to interfere, and basely accusing him of crime: “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?” he said. “Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?”

After slaying the Egyptian, he realized that he had not understood God’s plan. He tried to take think under his control. He acted rashly, he wasnt ready yet. The people were not ready to be saved yet either, but he wasnt , so he fled from Egypt and became a shepherd.

“The Lord directed his course, and he found a home with Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian, who was also a worshiper of God. After a time Moses married one of the daughters of Jethro; and here, in the service of his father-in-law, as keeper of his flocks, he remained forty years.”

Another time of safety. This time, after the home school of his mother who introduce him to God, the academic school of the Egyptians which gave him skills in leadership, came the private school of God to learn to be the humble servant he was to become to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. He learn more about God doing har work in the desert of Midian.

“He was no longer planning to do a great work, but he became very humble; the mists that were beclouding his mind were expelled, and he disciplined his mind to seek after God as his refuge. He recognized the presence of God in his surroundings. All nature seemed to be filled with the presence of the Unseen One. He knew God as a personal God, and as he meditated upon His character, he grasped more and more the sense of His presence. He found refuge in the everlasting arms. God talked with Moses face to face, as a man speaketh with his friend. The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone into his heart, and into the chambers of his mind. God was his refuge, God was his dwelling place, his home.” {Lt21a-1893.18}

At that time Moses knew his destiny: “Angels instructed Moses also that Jehovah had chosen him to break the bondage of His people.” (PP 245). He stayed connected to his people: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. “ .

Moses stayed in that safe environment until he was Forty yo. He assumed that it would be by force (Applying the egyptian part of his heritage).

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

.He assumed that it would be by force (Applying the egyptian part of his heritage).

Anon, 2009. The Holy Bible: King James Version Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.He assumed that it would be by force (Applying the egyptian part of his heritage).

Then what happened: He took things into his own hands: He stopped relying on God, he killed the Egyptian. And the 2 Hebrews rebuked him for his attitude “He supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not.” .

He has to unlearn many of the things he learned during the 28 years spent in the palace “It would require on the part of Moses himself a struggle as for life to renounce error and accept truth, but God would be his helper when the conflict should be too severe for human strength”

To do that God gave a true safe place, just as he did when he let him stay with Jochebed during the first 12 years of his life. “Time, change of surroundings, and communion with God could remove these impressions.”

Then God deemed him ready to serve and He called him at the burning bush. and this time Moses wasn’t so sure anymore. But that’s another story.

Today we saw that it took 80 years for Moses to be ready to hear from God directly. He was guided, alternating time of safety and trials to help him grow through a process. He had to learn and unlearn through the process. He has to reflect and connect with God, He had to humble himself and reach out to God for guidance, learn not to lean on his own ways but on the ways of God and His law.

As I was preparing this message this week, i started reflecting on how did I get here. How God guided my major events of my life and the different periods of my life, alternating safe time when I grew and trials when I truly learned guided me through a process, and how He still does.

When my son, ask me to pray when we are playing outside, it reminds me how much we need to pray. When Joel thanks God for the table, the bowl, and basically the whole kitchen and also the tractors of the farm, the bulldozers and the big trucks, of course. When Joel tell me about the stars at night and want to check they are still here, because I told him that they were put here by God to give us light. All that reminds me how much I took things for granted for years and I still do. All this show me that God works in our lives, but we need to humble ourselves to see how much more he does for us every day. Just like for Job He his the invisible hand that prevent Satan to kill us. But it’s up to us to rise our eyes toward Him and accept His gift grace.

Today as we close, My appeal to you is to I want you to look at your life, your journey to come to Harltand, and in Hartland. Think about the time of safety He gives you and the Faith it requires to move out of those. Count the blessings that God put on your way to help you grow and prepare your for the great things he has for you. Because every thing we do for Him is great, even the smallest task because His work in our Salvation.

Let’s pray:

LORD God, the God of my Fathers, Give my friends here an healthy discontent.

Draw them to out of the safe zone so that they may live every day in Faith.

Make them wholly dependent on You, so that they can do things greater than themselves and be whole in You.

so that they can do things greater than themsleves.

In the name of your glorious Son Jesus I pray

Amen

Anon, 2009. The Holy Bible: King James Version Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., ) . But he kept his faith during this period of safety once again and the lesson learned from his mother were not forgotten (PP 244).

White, E.G., 1890. The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, Pacific Press Publishing Association.”

White, E.G., 1890. The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, Pacific Press Publishing Association.

White, E.G., 1890. The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, Pacific Press Publishing Association.”

Anon, 2009. The Holy Bible: King James Version Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

Anon, 2009. The Holy Bible: King James Version Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Untitled Sermon

From Safe to Faith then to Saved