Unlikely. You Want me to do What, Lord? If you missed the sermon, you'll find the podcast at

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1 Unlikely You Want me to do What, Lord? If you missed the sermon, you'll find the podcast at Bottom line - God uses unlikely people like Moses to be great heroes. Scriptures - Exodus 3:1-12 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses And he said, Here I am. Then he said, Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of

2 Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Icebreaker Who is your favorite superhero? Why is it that you re drawn to them? Questions: 1. Moses was an unlikely hero because of a few reasons: He was 80 years old He was a shepherd (who was hated by the Egyptians) He worked for his father-in-law He was a murderer

3 What about you, and your story, makes you an unlikely person that God would use? 2. Have you ever sensed God calling you to something? Or someone? How did you know it was God? What did it look like when you followed? Or refused? 3. Read Exodus 3:4 together as a small group. Often God s call isn t for us to take a MASSIVE step of faith. It s for us to take the NEXT step. Brother David said, You can t stay where you are and go with God. What step of faith do you think God could be calling you to take? 4. Read Exodus 3:7-10 together as a small group.

4 God doesn t call us to small" things. His plans to build the Kingdom are not small. If they were, we would be able to accomplish them in our own strength. What gifts has God given you that can be used to build the Kingdom? How are you tempted to use that gift and operate in your own power? What would it look like if you operated with that gift, and without God? 5. Being in the center of God s will is rarely safe. How was this true for Moses? How have you seen this true in your life? CLOSER: Spend some time praying for our church. Our upcoming church year is going to be amazing as God continues to use us to make a Kingdom impact. Ask for God s favor on our pastor, our church, and our city.

5 You Want Me To Do What Lord? (Unlikely, pt 1) Exodus 3:1-12 FOR THE LEADER: Sermon outline Introduction Brandon Braun tells of 15 yr old Aitzaz Hasan Moses is an unlikely hero but you have to admit he is one of the Bible s great heroes Background - Family Tree - Israel Prospers (1:7) - A New Pharaoh (1:8) and His Hatred of Jews - Moses birth and preservation (2:10) - Moses gets ahead of God - Flees for his life (2:15) - Meets his wife God calls Moses Stand and read 3: Angel of the Lord (2) {67x} - Holy ground (5) - Moses was afraid (6) - Time for God to deliver His people (7-9) - Tells Moses he will use him to do it (10) How unlikely was Moses for this job? Shepherd (Loathsome to Egyptians) - Works for his father-in-law (Jethro) - Murderer

6 God, in His sovereignty, had been preparing him. What about you? Have you sensed God calling you to do something but you just can t see it? Do you feel unlikely, unworthy, inadequate? You want me to do what Lord? Good You re just the person God is looking for (1 Cor 1:27-29) 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (ESV) 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. Star QB, beauty queen, Phi Beta Kappa? The good news is God can use you, but it will be hard. It all starts with your relationship with Christ. I. God Continually Calls Us To Take The Next Step. (3:4,10) Exodus 3:4 (ESV) 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses And he said, Here I am. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. A.That s the pattern with God. B. You can t stay where you are and go with God. C.He delights in pushing us out of our comfort zone.

7 II. D.The next step is the best place to be E. Is He using us or growing us? Both He calls us not just to a task alone, but into a deeper relationship as we perform that task. Look at 3:4 repetition of endearment. Illus. Why won t you take the next step? God Never Calls Us To Anything Small. (3:7-10) Exodus 3:7-10 (ESV) 7 Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. A.Moses assignment is huge but any assignment for God is huge. B. None of God s plans are small, none are anything less than plans that will build the Kingdom, defeat evil, and redeem lost people. C.If He did, we would do it in our own strength and not depend on Him. D.We would get the Glory. E. Anything we do for God we do for His Glory and that s big

8 III. IV. F. God is never the beneficiary in our relationship. G.He is the giver He gives us assignments that require dependence on Him and then gives us what we need to accomplish them. (Col 1:29) 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Wherever God Calls Us To Be Or Whatever God Calls Us To Do Is What s Best For Us. (Psalm 143:10) 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground A. Not the safest or easiest. B. But the best because it s God s plan When You re Looking For An Excuse, Any Excuse Will Do A.Excuse #1 I m a nobody. (3:11) Exodus 3:11 (ESV) 11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? B. Excuse #2 I don t know enough. (3:13) Exodus 3:13 (ESV) 13 Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to them? C.Excuse #3 I might fail. (4:1) Exodus 4:1 (ESV)

9 1 Then Moses answered, But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, The Lord did not appear to you. D.Excuse #4 I m inadequate. (4:10) Exodus 4:10 (ESV) 10 But Moses said to the Lord, Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue. E. Excuse #5 I m not the right man, send someone else. (4:13) Exodus 4:13 (ESV) 13 But he said, Oh, my Lord, please send someone else. Illus. He had a faith problem but he also had an obedience problem. At the end of the day, he just didn t want to do it V. Whatever God Calls You To Do He Will Equip You To Do. (Phil 4:13) Philippians 4:13 (ESV) 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. A. You might be a nobody, but I ll be with you and I m somebody. (3:12) Exodus 3:12 (ESV) 12 He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. B. You may not know enough but I know everything. (3:13-15)

10 Exodus 3:13-15 (ESV) 13 Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to them? 14 God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. 15 God also said to Moses, Say this to the people of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. God is not a was or a will be but I AM C. You might fail, but I won t. (4:2-8) Exodus 4:2-8 (ESV) 2 The Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? He said, A staff. 3 And he said, Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, Put out your hand and catch it by the tail so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand 5 that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you. 6 Again, the Lord said to him, Put your hand inside your cloak. And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, Put your hand back inside your cloak. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 If they will not believe you, God said, or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. D. You might be inadequate, but I m not. (4:11-12)

11 Exodus 4:11-12 (ESV) 11 Then the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak. E. You might not think you re the right person but I do and my opinion is what matters (4:14-17; mention 3:18-22) Exodus 4:14-17 (ESV) 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs. Conclusion Toby Fleming Video

12 Biblical background 3:1 wilderness. An uncultivated area but capable of sustaining grazing. According to 34:3 and Num. 10:11, the wilderness of Sinai sustained Israel s flocks for a year. Horeb and Sinai are terms that possibly distinguish Horeb as an entire range from Mt. Sinai (19:18, 20; cf. Deut. 4:15). mountain of God. This term describes the mountain as a sanctuary, a designation that anticipates ch. 19. Moses is now eighty years old (7:7) and has been in Midian forty years. 3:2 angel of the Lord. This was a theophany, a visible manifestation of God (v. 4). See note Gen. 16:7. fire. A frequent biblical symbol for God s presence (13:21; 19:18; Gen. 3:24; 1 Kin. 18:24, 38); it particularly expresses His allconsuming holiness (Heb. 12:29). 3:3 bush. A real bush was illumined with supernatural fire. God is transcendent, but reveals Himself in the bush to call Moses. 3:5 holy. The spot was made sacred by God s presence. See 19:23; 24:2. The question of how to approach the holy God is central for Exodus. It is resolved in the symbolism of the tabernacle. 3:8 Canaanites. The inhabitants of the Syro-Palestinian coastland. Hittites. See note Gen. 10:15. Amorites. See note Gen. 10:16. Perizzites. Possibly the peasantry located in central Palestine (Josh. 17:15). Hivites. See note Gen. 10:17.

13 Jebusites. The original occupants of Jerusalem, later dispossessed by David (Gen. 10:16 note; 2 Sam. 5:6 9). 3:10 Pharaoh. Probably Thutmose III ( b.c.). 3:11 Who am I. Moses felt inadequate for the task, as did Gideon (Judg. 6:15) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:6). This is the first of his four objections (v. 14; 4:1, 10). 3:12 sign. God s call will be confirmed by His future action. God will be with Moses to bring him back to worship ( serve God ) on this same mountain. Having served the Egyptians, Israel will become God s servants in covenant worship. Reformation Study Bible Generously provided by Ligonier Ministries