Moses: Leaver, Leader, & Lawyer
Bible Characters • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsMoses left all behind to do God’s will, decided to be a leader for God, and followed His law.
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Transcript
Introduction:
Do you ever use IMDb? IMDb stands for “Internet Movie Data base.” It is a website, but they also have an app (I have it on my phone).
While watching a movie or TV show, if you see an actor or actress and wonder, “what have I seen him/her in before?”, the IMDb app allows you to look him/her up and find out.
The database is organized by actor/actress, but also by movie/TV show.
When looking up a movie/TV show, the top-billed cast is listed first. The top three listed are usually the stars.
For example, in Star Wars, the top three listed are Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher.
If you could look up the Bible on IMDb, which “characters” would be the top three?
Certainly, Jesus would be number one, but who else?
How would you even figure that out? Perhaps you could see whose names are mentioned the most in scripture
The top two most mentioned names in the Bible are Jesus and David (Between 900 to 1000 mentions each).
Who is number three? Moses! His name is mentioned around 800 times. No one else is even close to that top three.
Moses, the subject of today’s lesson, is one of the three most influential people in salvation history!
He’s someone we need to know about, and someone from whom we can learn!
Our text will be Exodus 3:1-10.
Moses is the featured individual in Exodus through Deuteronomy, but perhaps the most important moment of his life was this incredible experience on Mount Horeb.
At this time, Moses had already lived a longer life than many (Exodus 7:7).
Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
He had already tried in a misguided way to embrace his life’s purpose in killing the Egyptian, and when that failed, he ran and hid for four decades.
God takes this wannabe deliverer-in-hiding and turns him into one of the three most influential people in the Bible!
In this lesson we will (re)introduce ourselves to Moses focusing on three significant things that he did. For each of these accomplishments we will have a key word beginning with the letter “L”.
Moses Left All Behind To Live for God
Moses Left All Behind To Live for God
Sermon Illustration - J.K. Rowling
We love the idea of a “rags to riches” story—someone who has been brought up in or suffered through extreme poverty only later to become a success.
J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter novels is one such example.
In the years before publishing her first book, Rowling was unemployed, received government assistance, and suffered mental health issues.
Today, she is one of the most successful writers of all time.
Rowling is certainly not the only “rags to riches” story. There are many in the world today, throughout history, and in Scripture.
Moses is a biblical “rags to riches” story. Moses goes from being Providentially spared to being truly privileged.
Exodus 1 describes Pharaoh’s cruel attempts at population control, culminating in his command that all male Hebrew babies be killed.
By the heroism of his mother, the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter, and, most importantly, the hand of God, Moses is not only spared but raised as royalty!
We frequently use the word “Privilege” today to describe advantages that someone has that are not shared by others. Moses was privileged to be raised as Pharaoh’s grandson and receive an Egyptian education (Acts 7:21-22).
and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
In spite of his privileged upbringing, Moses’ heart was with his Hebrew brethren (Acts 7:23). Moses left his privilege behind, sacrificing it to associate with slaves.
Moses turned against the Egyptians in the defense of a mistreated Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-12).
One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Even though his action was misguided, it does show his willingness to sacrifice his privilege for the peril of his people
Not only that but, Moses also later left a comfortable life in Midian to return, at God’s command, to lead God’s people.
After fleeing Egypt and joining up with Jethro, Moses was married with children and living happily in Midian.
Yet, he sacrificed the comfort and safety of Midian to return to Egypt and fulfill God’s call.
The writer of Hebrews identifies Moses’ acts of sacrifice as acts of faith (Hebrews 11:24-27).
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
As Christians, we need to recognize that our faith calls us to leave things behind, sacrificing them for Christ.
Jesus’ interaction with potential followers during His ministry shows this.
He called on various individuals to leave things like the comforts of home, earthly relationships, and material wealth (Luke 9:57-62; Luke 18:18-30).
These are hard lessons for 21st century Americans who value time, money, and family.
However, Jesus set the bar even higher than that for ALL of His followers.
In Matthew 16:24 Jesus demands His disciple to “take up his cross.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
We think of a cross as an implement of salvation, but in the first century it had a very different connotation.
Jesus is not saying we will be killed as His followers (though that is always a possibility), but that we must give up our life in entirety for Him. Like Moses who left everything (twice) to put himself in danger, we must sacrifice all for Christ.
Moses was a Follower of God and Leader of Man
Moses was a Follower of God and Leader of Man
We don’t know how much leadership was on Moses’ mind when he killed the Egyptian, but when God actually called him to lead he was very reluctant.
For almost two chapters, he made excuses or objections (five in total) that culminate in his final request for God to please send someone else (Exodus 4:13).
Finally, after many objections, Moses made the decision to trust God and become God’s leader.
Eventually, he decided that God would take care of him no matter what happened.
Trusting God, Moses became a model leader who is described in Hebrews as “faithful in all his house” (Hebrews 3:5). Moses lead faithfully in spite of numerous challenges.
Moses faced opposition from within and without.
He was opposed by the enemies of God’s people—most notably Pharaoh, who was likely the most powerful man in the world at the time.
Yet, Moses stood firm before him time and time again with God’s demand: “Let my people Go!”
Even worse, he was opposed by his own followers—God’s people.
For forty years, they made Moses’ leadership difficult with murmuring and complaining (Exodus 15:24, 16:2, 17:3; Numbers 11:1, etc.).
At times they even rebelled against Moses’ leadership (Numbers 13-14, 16).
On one occasion the opposition came from his own family (Numbers 12).
Moses faced discouragement and frustration with the burden of leadership (Numbers 11:11-12)
In spite of the opposition and discouragement, Moses always stood faithful as their leader.
He even on more than one occasion tried to stand in the gap between them and God’s wrath (Exodus 32:11-13; Numbers 14:13-19).
The key element that made him a good leader was his love for God’s people.
Whether we consider the secular world, the church, or the home, good leadership today is desperately needed and rarely found.
Though not in the same way as Moses, each of us has received God’s call to leadership. In some way (often in multiple ways) every Christian is called to be a leader (in the church, in the home, in leading others to Christ, etc.).
What can we learn from Moses about leadership?
While it is only natural to be reluctant and think of reasons why we can’t lead, we must have the faith to fulfill this awesome responsibility. We must remember that the same God who was with Moses, will be with us no matter what we face (Hebrews 13:5-6).
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
When we face opposition (from within or without), like Moses we must stand steadfast in the Lord’s will (1 Corinthians 15:58). A good leader will not abandon God’s will just because someone else doesn’t like it.
Leadership is hard.
We will, like Moses, get frustrated and discouraged.
Even the best leader struggle sometimes.
Above all else, the key element of leadership is to love those we lead and seek what is best for them.
Moses Loved God’s Law
Moses Loved God’s Law
Sermon Illustration - Name Synonymous With
Hear John Madden, and you think football (or video games)
Hear Michael Jordan, and you think basketball.
Hear Albert Einstein, and you think genius.
What do you think when you hear Moses?
The name Moses is synonymous with law.
The law of Moses was his claim to fame!
Moses was given the incredible responsibility of delivering God’s law to His people.
Moses took the law from God’s mouth to the people’s ears.
This was a big job. There was a lot of material.
It was not just the 10 Commandments.
There was all the “case law” (the application of the commands and principles to the daily lives of the people).
There were all the instructions regarding sacrifices, food, clothing, keeping clean, feast days, the tabernacle, the priesthood, etc.
Moses faithfully delivered the law to the people. This was arguably the most significant event in salvation history prior to the birth of Christ.
We are not lawgivers or mediators, but we can still learn from Moses’ lawgiving role.
Under the New Covenant Jesus is the successor to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).
Jesus mediated the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15), and delivered the new law (John 13:34; Galatians 6:2).
On Jesus’ behalf the Apostles also fulfilled a similar role to Moses in revealing and recording the New Covenant.
Paul uses the word “stewardship” (Colossians 1:25-28) to describe his apostolic role in revealing the New Covenant.
We don’t do what Moses did in the sense of giving or mediating the law, nor do we do what the apostles did in revealing and recording the New Covenant.
However, we DO still have a role in delivering God’s word to the people—taking the gospel from God’s mouth to the people’s ears.
Sermon Illustration - Delivery Companies
If you hear UPS, Fed Ex, DHL, USPS, what do you think? What do they all do?
They deliver packages.
Their job is to take a package from a sender and deliver the same package to the receiver.
They are successful when they take the same package in the same condition from the sender to the receiver.
That usually happens, but not always. We all probably have horror stories about a mis-delivered or mistreated package
Moses’ was kind of like a delivery man.
He delivered the law from God to the people.
He was faithful because he delivered what God gave him to the people exactly as God gave it to him.
As Moses faithfully delivered the law to the people, we faithfully deliver the gospel to those who need to hear it.
In Colossians 1:25-28, after discussing his stewardship, Paul describes how he fulfills it.
Colossians 1:25–28 (ESV)
of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Paul explains in verse 28: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
We are not apostles, but we also preach (talk about) Jesus—warning and teaching every man and trying to help men become “perfect” (mature Christians).
Like Moses (and the apostles), we are responsible for taking exactly what God has given us (the gospel) and sharing it with the people.
Let us be good delivery workers and deliver exactly what we’ve received in a timely manner!
Leave, Lead, Love
Leave, Lead, Love
Summary: Moses is one of the three most significant people in all of salvation history. We can learn from three significant things that he did.
Moses Left both his privileged upbringing and the comfort of his new life in Midian to do the Lord’s work with the Lord’s people. We must leave (sacrifice) all we are for the service of Christ.
Though reluctant Moses became God’s model Leader. We must overcome any reluctance we have and imitate Moses’ good leadership in whatever areas are appropriate in our Christian life.
Moses fulfilled the incredible responsibility of delivering God’s Law faithfully to His people. We are not mediators or law-givers, but we do have the incredible responsibility of delivering God’s message to those who need to hear it.
Invitation: Moses was reluctant. Moses tried to do God’s will and made mistakes.
Are there any here today who have been making excuses instead of embracing the Lord’s will?
Are there any here who have tried to please God, but made mistakes?