Exodus

I have a joke for you this morning…. Pharaoh was an avid swimmer. Out of all the swimming moves (the doggy paddle, the back stroke, the forward stroke), what was one he dreaded the most? The Dead Man Float. [PAUSE]

VIDEO CLIP

This morning, We are starting a series on THE EXODUS.

The Exodus basically means the exit.

Usually when we hear about the Exodus, we oftentimes hear the account of Moses and the Israelites; the account of Pharaoh and the plagues. We know that an account is a major event when it makes it to the children’s church curriculum. The Exodus is almost always included in children’s church curriculum and Sunday school. It is a defining moment for the people of Israel, the Hebrews.

Before we get to the Exodus,

Joseph - Sold into Slavery

Joseph - Interpreted Dream (Seven years Famine, Seven Years Harvest)

The Hebrews - Multiplied

New Pharaoh - Did not know of Joseph or what he had done

The Hebrews - Enslaved

The Hebrews - Baby boys killed

Moses - Saved in waterproof Basket

Moses - killed Egyptian

Moses - Fled to Midian

Moses - Married Zipporah

Moses - Burning Bush Experience

we have to take a look back at the account of Joseph. Joseph, a son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers. He ended up in Egypt. While he was in Egypt he interpreted a dream for the king. The dream was that Egypt would have 7 years of harvest followed by 7 years of famine. Joseph saved all of Egypt from starvation. He was later reunited with his family and they found place in Egyptian society. The Hebrews grew and grew and multiplied and multiplied. They soon were starting to outnumber the Egyptian people. Joseph had died and several generations had gone by. There came to power in Egypt a pharaoh who did not know what Joseph had done. This new pharaoh noticed the increase in the Hebrews and was concerned that they would overthrow the Egyptians. The Israelites were placed into slavery. The Egyptians were made the Israelites work long and hard. They were oppressed. The Israelites kept on increasing and increasing. Pharaoh had ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill every male child that was born. The midwives were Godfearing and would not do so. Pharaoh then ordered every male child 2 and younger be thrown into the Nile and killed. Even in their oppression, they still cried out to God. Moses mother hid him as long as she could and then made a waterproof basket for him. She put him in the river. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and she had compassion on him. Pharaoh’s daughter paid Moses’s mother to nurse him. Moses grew up in an in-between status. He wasn’t fully Egyptian, but he wasn’t fully Hebrew either. He didn’t fully belong to either group it seemed like. Fast forward into his adult life, Moses killed an Egyptian after seeing him oppress one of the Hebrews. He was fearful that he would be killed, so he ran away. Fast Forward even more and we find that Moses is in Median. He marries Zipporah and has a son. Moses’ life is very different now. He is a shepherd for his Father-in-law. He is building a family of his own. He begins to form and settle into this new identity of shepherd, of husband, of father, of son-in-law.

All while this is happening, the Pharaoh had died and another had risen to power.

The Hebrews groaned because of their slavery and cried out to God for help.

This is not part of the sermon this morning, but one thing that we can learn from the Israelites/ the Hebrews during this time period is that

Whatever the oppression is that we face in life, whatever the heartache, whatever the toil, whatever the injustice, whatever the ailment is that holds us back, We should still cry out to God for help. God heard their request. He saw their pain. He heard their screams and groans calling out for mercy and relief and for deliverance.

This morning, I want to look at Three different observations of the events that happened in the life of Moses.

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. 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. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” 13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”

(NLT)

1 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. 3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back. 4 Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand. 5 “Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.” 6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease. 7 “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

Th LORD even gave Moses a second sign to perform that involved water from the nile on dry ground turning into blood.

(NLT)

10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” 11 Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” 13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” 14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.

Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

The First Observation is that Moses was called to a specific task.

Think about all that had just happened to Moses. He was in the middle of the desert, saw something that was burning and went to check it out. It probably never crossed his mind that when he got there, a voice would come out of the bush calling to him. If this wasn’t shock enough, He is speaking to the creator of universe… God almighty. His specific call was

“Go to Pharaoh and bring my people out of Egypt.”

Remember Moses had run away from Egypt. He was trying to get away from that past. You know… God will sometimes use your past so that others can be part of what he is doing in the present and in the future. This morning, Just like Moses, God is still calls people to a specific task, some possibly with nothing special, some broken, some disorganized, some hurting, some that think they have no worth. Is it possible that God is calling you to a specific task this morning? Maybe it is a calling to minister, to lead a ministry, to tell you neighbor or co worker or classmate about Jesus. Maybe it is a calling to lead a specific person to Jesus. God called a murder, a person who ran away from his problems, a person who was settling down after chaos to be the one to lead his people out of Egypt… away from there oppression… into the promised land.

Not only was Moses called to a specific task, he was Equipped for service.

2nd Observation: Moses was equipped for service.

God not only called Moses to the task, but gave him the tools to follow through with the task. The staff was a tool that would be used time and time again to perform signs. Moses was told what to do with the cloak to perform the signs that God had told him to do.

When God calls, God equips.

Sometimes, God equips through our natural gifts such as a natural ability to sing or to teach …and other times it is through developed gifts such as learning an instrument or taking formal instruction. Everyone that is called to a task has a gift that can be used to follow through with the task they are called to.

God called Moses and Equipped Moses.

The final observation is the excuses were given and excuses were rejected.

It was obvious that Moses was trying to get out of what God had called him to do. He first claimed that God had the wrong person. He then claimed that there must be a better person. He then claimed that the people wouldn’t believe him. He then made an excuse that he couldn’t speak correctly.

God answered each and every one of Moses excuses and didn’t accept them. When God calls and equips, excuses are not accepted.

If God has called you this morning, know this… “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable… they will not be withdrawn.” . Excuses are not accepted. Obedience is a must.

This morning, I want to ask you several questions to reflect on.

Is God calling you to do something specific for Him?

If God is calling you, Are you receiving and developing the gifts that he has given to equip you?

Have you been making excuses for not following through with what he has called you to do?

If God is calling you, Are you receiving and developing the gifts that he has given to equip you? Have you been making excuses for not following through with what he has called you to do?

It may be that this morning, you have to step out in faith and say, “LORD, I don’t know what the future holds, but here I am, use me, equip me, fill me, send me, shape me, speak through me.”

It may be this morning, that you need to step out in faith and say, “I’m done making excuses…”