Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Exodus

Exodus 2:11-25 11/02/03

Introduction: A pilot had turned off his radio in order to elude the enemy. But as he came across the channel, he turned it on again and began turning the dial to find the proper frequency. His plane was almost out of fuel, and he was terrified of what might happen if he ran out and did not find his way back home. As he turned the dial, he broke out in a sweat. Finally, he caught a faint signal and adjusted the dial. The signal came in strong and clear. He changed his flight path to the signal and landed safely at the airport.

    We're all trying to do that in life. We're trying to pick up those signals that tell us who we are, what direction we ought to be headed, and where home is. As we fiddle with the dial and adjust the signal receiver in our lives, we begin to hear in the stillness and the quietness, a voice telling us where home is. We are able to readjust our direction and head home.

  That's the promise of the call of God in your life. If we will be still, wait, listen, and make the necessary changes in life, we will know which way to go.

Ah, but that’s the problem, isn’t it? We have to be still, we have to wait, we have to listen and we have to choose to change.
Not as easy as it sounds, especially for people so driven by the now, by the tyranny of the urgent, by so much clutter in their lives that not only is it increasingly more difficult to hear God’s voice and leading, many have stopped trying.

Besides, our culture has told us that whatever you want is really not worth waiting for when there are so many other options to choose from. Don’t wait, choose something else. Get it or do it…NOW! But for the Christian, called by God to life, to lead and to follow, this is bad advice.

ILL: Richard Hendrix said ‘Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.

Transition: In our text this morning, we will find this was true for Moses as well. Turn to Ex. 2:11.

Exodus 2:11-15 ‘Called to Lead’ (directive)
Read: Ex. 2:11-15

40 yrs have passed since vs 10. Moses is a grown man who I believe realizes he has been called by God not only to life, but to lead. He has had 40 yrs of training in the art of leadership in the house of Pharaoh.

According to Heb. 11:24-26, Moses had left Pharaoh’s home and had chosen to live with his people, the Hebrews. Moses was ready to fulfill his call by God to lead... or was he?

ILL: John Milton once said ‘They also serve who only stand and wait.’

From vs 11-15 it seems that although Moses knew he was called to serve God, he didn’t wait for instructions from God. In fact, it looks like he didn’t want anyone, even God to know what he was doing. Notice the text says before he killed the Egyptian, he looked around to see if anyone was watching.

While Moses’ motivation for his encounter with the Egyptian may have been commendable, his method and timing were not.
What started out with a great delivery (Moses’ call to life) ended in a great retreat, when he failed at his first attempt at leadership. Instead of being a leader of God’s people, Moses ended up running for his life, away from his people, away from his responsibility.

You see, Moses didn’t know it but he was too big for God to use.

Application: Moses, like so many today who have been called by God, tried to fulfill the call on his own: without the power of God or direction from God. Like most of us, when he failed he went into hiding. Ever been there?
 
    Have you ever failed God so badly that you thought you would never get over it?

    Have you ever failed God so badly that you thought you would never be called by God to do anything again?

    Have you ever failed God so badly that you not only ran from him, but from God’s people by either going to another church or by not going to church at all?

Well, there’s good news. Moses will learn what we all need to learn if we are going to be used effectively for the Lord in whatever he calls us to do. Moses will come to learn that God’s work does not depend on his ability to perform but on God ability to perform in and through him.

Is this something you have been struggling with? Are you allowing God to work in and through you or are you taking his call and running…ahead of God?

Sometimes we can try so hard and our intentions are good, but we don’t seek God’s face, we don’t wait for him to speak… and we fail.

The truth is we have put the cart before the horse. We trie to lead before we learn to follow. Notice the order in the message…vs 11-15 is Moses’ call to lead, vs 26-25 is Moses’ call to follow. That’s why Moses failed.

The truth is we can never be an effective leader for God until we are a faithful and passionate follower of God.

Transition: Moses jumped ahead of God, and failed. He then ran away to the land of Midian and he is rests at a well, perhaps for a breather before heading on.or so he thought. God had other plans.

Exodus 2:16-25  ‘Called to Follow’ (progressive)
Read: Ex. 2:16-25
 
Moses, unknowingly got something right here. It has been said  ‘When you do not know what to do, wait.’ Moses, not sure what his future now holds, perhaps even doubting his call by God, stops, sits and waits…but not for long.
God intervenes.

7 daughters of a priest of Midian came to the well to water their flock and were harassed by rival male shepherds. Moses interceded for them and they get to water their flock first and get home early. They return home and tell their father, the priest of Midian, Reuel or better known as Jethro, who was a descendent of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:1-2) It is believed Jehtro was a priest of the One True God.

In a very brief exchange of words, the text tells us Moses became part of Jethro’s family. For the next 40 years, Moses would live in the home of a godly man, learning the ways of spiritual maturity and godly leadership. It was Moses’ time to follow God by waiting, listening and learning.

But Moses was not idle. He learned to be a shepherd. He learned how to live in the desert. He would need that later.

Meanwhile, back at the Egyptian ranch, so to speak, Pharaoh had died and his successor was even harder on the Hebrews. God’s people cry out to their God for deliverance.  And God hears their cries for help. Perhaps Moses had forgotten about Israel, but God hadn’t.

 He was at work.
 He was preparing a place for them.
 And he was preparing a deliverer who would lead  them out of bondage.

Conclusion

God was preparing Moses. He was getting Moses to the place where Moses could accept God for who God is. The Great I Am. Moses needed to know that it would not be Pharaoh who would deliver the Israelites from bondage in Egypt…it was God who would do it. Nor would it be Moses work, but God’s work of deliverance.

We need to constantly re-emphasize that. Ministry, answering God’s call by doing what he says is not ‘my’ ministry or ‘your’ ministry. It is God’s ministry.

 Perhaps you are in active ministry and you need to do more waiting, more listening to God, more following of God’s Word and will?

 Perhaps you need to let others teach and help you. Moses was trained in the best schools in the world, how could Jethro, an insignificant priest in the desert help him? He did help Moses. But it took humility in Moses to accept it.

 Moses had Jethro, you have Wes, Gary and I as Elders to help you grow spiritually and minister effectively. But it will take humility on your part to admit you need help and to seek it out. We are here, we want to help.

Regardless of how you have responded to God’s call in your life in the past, regardless of the failures of your past, God’s grace is there to heal wounds, bring forgiveness and give direction.

Before you take another step as you respond to the call of God in your life, take a moment, many moments in fact,
 
 be willing to be silent
 be willing to listen to God’s voice
 be willing to make the changes necessary to faithfully follow God.
 And remember, God has a place for you…he will lead you there…will you follow?