THIS?

WHEN WE THINK WE KNOW GOD’S PLAN

Exodus 4:2 (NLT)

2 Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

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STORY: GRACE BAPTIST DEFENDERS (YELLOW AND GREEN) (PANTS) (SLEEVED SHIRTS)

SOMETIMES IMPRESSIVE CONTENTS COME IN LESS THAN IMPRESSIVE PACKAGING.

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Today we are looking at the story of one of the most popular characters in the history of scripture. (MOSES)

REMEMBER THAT MOSES STORY IS PREDATED BY THE MASS MURDER OF EVERY MALE BORN HEBREW CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 2

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ATTACK WHAT’S STRONG

WHY DID PHARAOH FEEL THE NEED TO TAKE SUCH A DRASTIC STEP?

Exodus 1:9–10 (NLT)

9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”

WE ARE OFTEN FRUSTRATED BY WHAT SHOULD FLATTER US.

We think the enemy attacks us because of our weakness.

HE ATTACKS US BECAUSE OF OUR UNREALIZED STRENGTH!

WHEN THE ENEMY DISCOVERS OUR WEAKNESS IT IS A RELIEF TO HIM…HE IS MORE AWARE OF OUR POTENTIAL THAN HE IS OUR PITFALLS

He’s seeking who he “MAY” devour…your defeat is not certain…HIS IS!

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STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE - Moses knew the inner workings of the enemy…we can too

DON’T FORGET WHO THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS IS.

How did the author get the info on what was being said behind closed doors.

As a member of the royal household…he was privy to information that others were not.

It pays to have inside knowledge to the planning room of the enemy.

OUR ENEMY CANNOT MAKE ONE STRATEGIC MOVE WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERMISSION OF GOD

MOSES HAD INSIDE KNOWLEDGE AS TO THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE ATTACK OF TH ENEMY…AS DO YOU AND I

THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS TO PREPARE US FOR THE ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY.

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ISRAEL’S SHORT END OF THE STICK - Joseph delivers…we get enslaved

Imagine being the nation of Israel...

The whole reason you are in Egypt is because your forefather…Joseph was the saving grace to the nation and their food supply during a famine

They repay you by saying…hey thanks…now do all the work we don’t want to do and receive no pay for it.

So the people who are responsible for their existence…become the recipients of oppression and slavery.

THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SITUATION THAT CALLS FOR RECTIFICATION.

But nothing happens for four hundred years.

THAT’S THE NARRATIVE THAT WE OFTEN LOOK AT WHEN WE CONSIDER THE STORY OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL.

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THE REAL STORY - while they were in bondage…they were building.

But the real story is that for four hundred years…a group that started out as Joseph, his father, and his eleven brothers…multiplies into a nation that outnumbers the inhabitants or Egypt.

THEIR SEASON OF BONDAGE WAS ALSO A SEASON OF BUILDING

Don’t let a season of struggle convince you that nothing is happening…God was setting up their deliverance for four centuries.

GOD IS NOT SLACK AS SOME MEN COUNT SLACKNESS

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OUR ENEMY IS AN ACCIDENTAL PROPHET - Moses = to draw out

FINALLY THIS MOMENT COMES WHEN THE NATION OF ISRAEL EXPERIENCES MASS MURDER OF THEIR CHILDREN.

But these descendents of Levi have a baby in this season and enact a divine plan of protection.

SHE HIDES HIM IN THE BASKET

PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER FINDS HIM

PAYS MOSES MOM TO WATCH HER OWN SON.

Only God sets up a situation in which you get paid to manage your miracle.

When Pharoh’s daughter takes Moses to be her son…she names him prophetically.

Exodus 2:10 (NLT)

10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”

MOSES = TO DRAW OUT

Sometimes our enemy will put a name on us that actually serves to prophecy his own defeat.

HE CALLED ME A PORN ADDICT: I GET TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE FIGHTING THE SAME ADDICITON

HE CALLED MY WIFE DEPRESSED: WE GET TO WALK PEOPLE THROUGH THE BATTLE OF DEPRESSION

What has the enemy been naming you lately? More thank likely he’s accidentally prophecying the means through which you will defeat him.

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OUR LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS OF GOD’S ULTIMATE PLANS - Moses is the next Joseph.

MOSES HAS THIS DIVINE CALLING TO BE THE ONE WHO “DRAWS OUT” THE NATION OF ISRAEL.

I’m sure he became a legend among the people of Israel.

WE”VE GOT SOMEBODY IN THE PALACE NOW...

Their hope finally had a string of logic to grab ahold of.

Have you ever been hoping for something that God spoke to you but not had any idea how it was going to happen?

Maybe its the healing of a sickness.

Maybe it’s the salvation of a family member.

Maybe its the paying of a bill.

Maybe its the career you feel your called to.

You put your faith in God believing he is able…but then you just don’t know how.

THEN SOMETHING LOGICAL COMES ALONG.

MOSES WAS THE LOGICAL REDEEMER OF ISRAEL…A JOSEPH LIKE ASCENSION TO POWER WAS THE LOGICAL MEANS.

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WHEN LOGIC GOES OUT THE DOOR - Moses leaves the palace and goes to the desert to be a shepherd

Exodus 2:11–12 (NLT)

Moses Escapes to Midian

11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.

Just like that....the logical plan of redemption is out the door.

The next day it comes to Moses attention that his secret is not a secret and he freaks out and runs away from the place He’s been called to make a difference.

He settles in the wilderness and marries a wife…has a son…and becomes a shepherd.

This was not on his vision board.

The nation of Israel was longing for well spoken, strategic minded, leadership guru, deliverer....

But Moses the one destined to “draw out” was a stuttering shepherd from the country.

He had all the opportunity in the world…but now logic would say that his season of opportunity has passed and he would go down as the story of what could have been.

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I WONDER IF YOU FEEL THAT WAY?

I WONDER IF BFA FEELS THAT WAY?

We had potential…we were going places…we were going to change our community.

But then finances changed. Then COVID hit…then my wife left me…then my job situation changed.

Whatever the case may be many of us have allowed circumstancial variants to convince us that our present location somehow negates our GOD GIVEN DESTINY

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GOD WILL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE - Burning bush in the backside of the desert

I LOVE THIS STORY BECAUSE MOSES IS THICK IN THE HEART OF HIS SEEMINGLY FAILED EXISTENCE AND GOD SHOWS UP.

Exodus 3:1–3 (NLT)

Moses and the Burning Bush

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED GOD IN THE PALACE…I MIGHT HAVE EVEN EXPECTED GOD IN THE ISRAELITE CAMP.

But Moses is out in the middle of nowhere…you can’t get much farther away from where he was supposed to be.

GOD MEETS HIM THERE.

GOD WILL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE!

IF YOU’VE STRAYED FAR

IF YOU’VE GROWN COLD

IF YOU’VE FORGOTTEN YOUR PURPOSE

IF YOU’VE CEASED TO BE PRODUCTIVE....GOD WANTS TO ENCOUNTER YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE

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OPEN YOUR MOUTH - Declare who is on your side…and what He is about to do.

As God is speaking to Moses…the former palace resident living in the back part of the wilderness watching sheep... he gives him his credentials...

YOU’RE GOING TO TELL PHARAOH THAT “I AM” SENT YOU.

THE FIRST STEP TO ACCOMPLISHING HIS PURPOSE WAS DECLARING WHO HAD SENT HIM AND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO.

A LIFE CHANGING STEP THAT MANY OF US NEED TO TAKE IS TO LEARN THE POWER OF OUR WORDS.

When you speak negativity over your life long enough…eventually the prophecy will come true.

THE FIRST OBJECTIVE GOD GAVE TO MOSES IN REGARDS TO HIS PURPOSE WAS TO DECLARE THE FACT THAT THE PRESENT REALITY WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS WITH.

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WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND? - God’s focus was not on what was able…but what was available

Even a moment like that can feel like it is leading to something extraordinary.

We think if its from God its going to be big, flashy, and impossible to miss.

but Moses further protest with God show us a very important truth about how God wants to move in this generation.

Exodus 4:1–2 (NLT)

Signs of the Lord’s Power

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

WE ALL THINK THAT THE ACCOMPLISHING OF OUR PURPOSE IS GOING TO INCLUDE SOME DIVINE MOMENT WHERE IN SOMETHING THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY THERE IS GOING TO APPEAR.

God didn’t tell Moses to go acquire anything....HE SAID WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND?

The moment that scares the enemy more than anything is the moment we stop waiting for God to give us something for revival…and realize the ingredients are already in place.

GOD ISN’T GOING TO GIVE US WHAT WE NEED…HE’S GOING TO GRACE WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE

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God wants us to stop looking for our miracle in a new edition…THE MIRACLE WILL COME THROUGH UTILIZATION…NOT ADDITION.

It was a staff from the wilderness that

served as a tool to show Pharaoh Moses was legit

served as the tool to see the Red Sea Part

served as the tool to see water come out of rock

What if Moses had refused to leave the desert of Midian until God gave him a more impressive tool?

WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND?

What neighbor kid could you mentor

What need is there to serve on Wednesday night

What elderly person could you minister to

What co worker could you share Jesus with.

WHEN WE ASK GOD HOW WE CAN PROVE HIS POWER >>>> HE WILL LIKELY ASK US WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND.