What is in Thine Hand?

How God Can Do the Impossible with the Likes of Us

Exodus 3 & 4

DATE: 25 Mar, 2001   AM         PLACE: BBC Blarney

 

I.         Introduction (1Sam 17:40, 50)

 

A.     One of my favourite people in the Bible to study beside our Lord Jesus is Moses! Simply because of his character, and what God did with such a man. It shows itself over and over in the lives of people like John the Baptist later on, and then in the apostle Paul.

B.     Well, I would like to see whatever God did through Moses, and John, and Paul, that he would be able to do it through me, and through all of ye as well!

C.     And do you know what makes it so neat? To know that God delights in doing the impossible, through folks like us!

D.     How does this relate to Mother’s Day? You will see. I just know we need this, and every Mom in this room needs this truth for their home!

E.      It is not what is NOT in our reach, or in our list of talents or abilities that will give us the victory, but just simply what is already in our hands, if it is yielded to God!

 

II.    Message

 

A.     God’s Call (Exod 3:1,2)

 

1.       Do you know what kind of person God seems to call to use (1Cor 1:27-29)

 

a.      The foolish

b.      The weak

c.      The base, the lowest

d.      The despised

e.      The nothings! Wow! Very humiliating isn’t it?

 

2.       Do you know what that means? It means that God can use:

 

a.      The rebellious

b.      The defeated

c.      The strugglers – the ones who struggle to follow

d.      The secret ingredient is that THEY ARE FOLLOWING!

 

3.       Jesus didn’t call great and faithful folks to follow Him

4.       He called normal, FAITHLESS men, so that he could teach them how to have faith, and follow Him! AMEN!

5.       Moses gets a call on his mobile out in the desert. Do you realise what kind of a person Moses was at this point?

 

a.      Moses is a rebel. Don’t be too hard on him though; he is very much like all of us in this room today!

b.      Moses is angry, as you will see.

c.      But God has a job for him to do

d.      Let me introduce God’s principle here (2Cor 4:18)

 

1)      We see a man running from God, who has been mad at God for 40 years, and living in rebellion to God’s word

2)      God sees a leader, who will break, and become great

 

6.       Thank God for God’s call folks! Everyone in this room is being called by God to do something for Him this week, this year, and with your life! And he can do great things as we shall see!

7.       Notice that at first, Moses didn’t know God was calling him. Hmm

 

B.     God’s Word (Exod 3:3-6)

 

1.       Is withheld from us until we give God our attention – Tough truth

2.       Is directed right at individual people – this Book speaks to ME (Rom 15:4)

3.       “IS” the place of holiness

 

a.      When God speaks, it is because God is there

b.      If God is there, then that place is HOLY

c.      That’s why your Bible is called the HOLY Bible!

 

4.       Is for the purpose of revealing the character of God – what God is like – you wouldn’t know it at all without the Bible!

 

C.     God’s Work (Exod 3:7-10)

 

1.       He takes the time to notice things folks

 

a.      Affliction

b.      Sorrows

 

2.       He comes our way to do something about it all

 

a.      Bring real freedom – the Jews were in slavery

b.      Bring the Jews to a better land – the promised land

 

3.       He chooses to use people like Moses to accomplish His work, which means God must do the following work:

 

a.      Transform a rebel into a faithful and loyal soldier

b.      Mould a man out of a confused child

c.      Create real courage where once was only a show

 

4.       THAT is the work of God I want done in my life!

5.       Remember, God was calling Moses to do an impossible task

 

a.      As every mother and father in this room is called

 

1)      To train up young men and women PURE, and ready for God’s service

 

b.      As every pastor is called

 

1)      To train young and old alike to serve God every day

2)      To keep God’s people clean and unspotted from the world

 

c.      These are IMPOSSIBLE tasks, especially in this day and age, yet as we shall see, we are sufficient for these things

 

D.     God’s Obstacles (Exod 3:11-18). There are three main obstacles to God using us: Pride, Ignorance, and Vision

 

1.       Pride

 

a.      Moses had ONE major besetting sin – pride

b.      He was working so hard to cover-up his frustration with God. Moses’ past made him so mad at God!

c.      He wanted God to say he was sorry for “letting him down” back there 40 years earlier when Moses killed an Egyptian

d.      He wanted somebody to recognise just how great he really was, like they used to back in Egypt!

e.      This whole exchange is God’s way of gently conquering Moses’ pride. He had let Moses “stew” for 40 years – whew!

 

1)      Everyone in this room is probably mad at some one, or some thing – and it is hindering our lives!

2)      But God says, We have a job to do!

 

2.       Ignorance (Ex 3:13-15)

 

a.      God needed to get some vital information to people

 

1)      That he cares

2)      That He hasn’t been idle – there is a big plan in operation

3)      That God’s will won’t fail

 

b.      Notice that Moses, just as all the Jews, did not have a personal relationship with God

 

1)      Didn’t even know His name – People don’t know the name of Jesus is so precious a name. Don’t know Jehovah!

2)      Didn’t know they could fully trust the Lord

3)      What happened? The people had gone for 400 years without a preacher, and it was hindering God’s work with them

 

3.       Vision (Ex 4:1-4). What we see, versus what God sees. Again, Moses was only able to see what he could see. So God goes about retraining Moses’ “eye”-sight! This is so good

 

a.      God asks Moses to identify what was in his hand

b.      Moses sees, A shepherd’s rod

 

1)      He has carried it with him for years, if not decades

2)      He only knows of it as a comfortable stick – but that is all

 

c.      God tells Moses to cast in on the ground and see what it can become

 

1)      A serpent – a BIG serpent (causes even Moses to flee from it)

2)      A tool to get the job done

 

4.       Notice the easy parts for God

 

a.      Getting others to see and follow, once He has YOU!

b.      Conquering Pharaoh and the whole Egyptian empire

 

E.      God’s Victory (Exod 4:5) What is in YOUR hand? God works with what we HAVE. What do WE have?

 

1.       Our children – they were given to you to do a great job

 

a.      We need to quit seeing tasks only as done by individuals

b.      But more powerfully as families - teams

c.      If we don’t the homosexuals, and perverts, and ungodly will bring God’s swift judgment on this world

d.      God give us the courage to use our families for souls!

 

2.       Your job – no job is a right! Quit whinging and complaining, and let God show you WHY He put you in that job

3.       Your health – what health we have is a gift, to be used for God’s service

4.       Your Bible – probably no greater tool! Without which this world lives in darkness! Use what is in your hands!

5.       Your church! The fact that a bunch of sinners, can come together, and allow the Lord to assemble them into a mighty army by faith is a MIRACLE that the world YEARNS to see!

6.       Your experiences – these are the things that have made you what you are.

 

a.      Moses constantly was wishing to live in the past

b.      Moses only knew what he wished to be

c.      But Moses had been moulded into a shepherd. It was sufficient

 

7.       Do you see, that you have some things IN YOUR hands, that if they are seen for what they really are, you will start to do what God has called you to do? It is through THESE things God will do the impossible with US (Ex 4:17)