Choose to Believe
A Life of Choices • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 47:29
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· 270 viewsWhen Moses' normal life was interrupted by something extraordinary God was doing, he took the time to ask some important questions. Find out what those questions mean for us as we choose to believe that God can do the impossible through us.
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Today, we are looking at one of the most well-known moments in Moses’ life.
For us to understand where we find Moses in this story, we need get up to speed on what has happened.
When we left Moses last week, he was a child who was being raised as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son.
As he grew up in palace life, he would have been trained in reading, writing, leadership, combat, and more. These were all skills that God was placing in him that he would eventually need.
However, at 40 years of age, he got ahead of God’s plan.
One day, he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave. He was filled with rage and killed the Egyptian, likely with a single blow.
When Pharaoh heard, Moses had to flee from Egypt and ended up in a land called Midian, where he settled for 40 years.
He went from being a potential heir to the throne of Egypt to a lowly shepherd, watching his father-in-law’s sheep on the back side of the desert.
Now, we pick up the story with an 80 year old Moses, and here’s where it gets good.
As we look at the choices Moses made in this passage, I want you to challenge you to choose to believe that God can use you to do the impossible.
What God was about to ask of Moses was impossible for Moses to do. Yet, it was what God was capable of doing through him if he would let him.
As you and I move through our lives, we are going to find moments where God confronts us with something that he desires to do in and through us. The choice we must make, as Henry Blackaby describes it, is the choice to go on with God or stay where we are.
It is unlikely that it will be another burning bush experience for us, but there will be a decision ahead of us that forces us to choose in light of the fact that God can do the impossible, and he may very well use you to do it.
It may not be even something that seems impossible as much as something that makes you uncomfortable. It is a choice to obey God in a way that makes you nervous or scared.
It is in those moments that we see what we truly believe about God, and when we choose to go on with him, we see him do more than we could ever imagine.
That’s true of us as individuals, it is true of our families, and it is true of us as a church.
When confronted with that kind of decision, we may be tempted to ask some of the same questions Moses did.
Let’s look at them together as we go through this passage.
Start reading with me in ...
Moses’ first question is both reasonable and critical for us as we seek to join God in the impossible.
First, he asks:
1) What’s going on?
1) What’s going on?
Moses noticed something unusual, and he turned aside to look.
He had been a shepherd for a long time, and I am sure he had seen brush fires, but he had never seen anything like this.
As he watched this one particular bush that was on fire, it just kept burning and burning, yet it never burned up.
That would make you stop and look, wouldn’t it?
When Moses noticed something unexplainable going on, he stopped what he was doing to figure out what was going on.
We may not get to see a burning bush in our lifetime, but at the same time, we can train ourselves to notice where God is at work.
Unusual circumstances and opportunities often are indications that God is at work in a unique way.
Let me give you a word of caution here, though: We are really good at connecting dots that don’t actually line up.
I remember as a teenager, there was a girl in the youth group that I really liked. It was amazing to me how well I could convince myself that she liked me too!
“You know what, she parked next to me today. That’s a good sign!”
“Oh man, she stood next to me when we were all talking after church. She likes me, no question!”
It took some time, but eventually, I figured out that she didn’t like me like that at all!
In my head, though, I pulled together bits and pieces and convinced myself that things were different than they really were.
It is possible for us to have our heart want something so badly that we see things that seem to be coming together that really aren’t.
That’s why, as we see something extraordinary, we need to investigate them in light of God’s word.
In the study Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby mentions a number of things we find in Scripture that only God can do:
Draw people to Himself
Cause people to seek Him
Reveal spiritual truth
Convict the world of guilt about sin
Convict the world of righteousness
Convict the world of judgment
There is certainly more that God does than just that list, but those are key ways that only God can work.
When you see things that are out of the ordinary lining up around you, especially when they involve people being drawn closer to God who aren’t following him, then turn aside and try to figure out what is going on.
When God brings a fresh conviction into your heart about giving up an addiction or making a bold step to do what he is calling you to do, or your neighbor stops you for a conversation that seems to be heading towards spiritual things, slow down and investigate what is up.
When you are reading your Bible and a particular verse jumps off the page at you and helps you understand your life in a new light, or convicts you about a sin you have been committing, or reminds you of who God is, then recognize that God is at work and take a deeper look.
I remember as a teenager, there was a girl in the youth group that I really liked. It was amazing to me how well I could convince myself that she liked me too!
In those big moments, when God seems to be doing something unique and he is preparing to do something unusual, we may find ourselves asking the next question Moses asked...
“You know what, she parked next to me today. That’s a good sign!”
“Oh man, she stood next to me when we were all talking after church. She likes me, no question!”
It took some time, but eventually, I figured out that she didn’t like me like that at all!
In my head, though, I pulled together bits and pieces and convinced myself that things were different than they really were.
It is possible for us to have our heart want something so badly that we see things that seem to be coming together that really aren’t.
That’s why, as we see something extraordinary, we need to investigate
2) Who am I?
2) Who am I?
Pick back up in 3:4-10.
Now, Moses gets a picture of what God is going to do, and it is even crazier to him than a burning bush.
God’s people have been in Egypt for over 400 years, and now God is saying that Moses is supposed to go and get them out.
Last time he was in Egypt, the Pharaoh wanted him dead. Although that Pharaoh is gone now, Moses has certainly lost his edge.
After all, he is 80 years old! He has been a shepherd for the last 40 years.
His next question makes sense. Look in verse 11-12...
Wouldn’t you be asking the same question?
“God, who am I that I should do this? What makes you think I am qualified to lead them out? Don’t you know what happened the last time I tried to help?”
I love God’s response.
We could list all kinds of reasons why we think Moses would be a good candidate. After all, having been raised in the palace, he would have learned everything he needed to know about how to lead a group of people.
Yet, that isn’t at all how God responded. He didn’t start listing off Moses’ credentials and expertise; he simply assured Moses that he would be with him every step of the way.
When you are faced with a decision to choose to believe God can do something uncomfortable or impossible through you, you might ask the same question.
“But God, who am I? I can’t teach a Sunday School class. My home isn’t nice enough to host a small group. I can’t go on that mission trip or help in the nursery. I can’t share the gospel with people at work, or there is no way we could foster or adopt.”
Who are you? The simple answer to this is that you are the person God desires to use.
The simple answer to this is that you are the person God desires to use.
God isn’t giving you this opportunity because you are the best one for the job. In fact, you may be able to list a dozen other people who would do better than you at it, and you might be right.
However, God’s choice to use you is like salvation: God didn’t save you because of anything in you. It wasn’t because you are good enough to earn it or because he saw something big he could do through you in the future. He saved you because he wanted to display his grace and glory by drawing you to himself and offering you salvation in place of your sin.
His choice to use you is the same. He often chooses the unlikely just to show how incredible he is. Read with me this incredible passage that Paul uses to describe what God is doing:
Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.
Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,
so that no one may boast in his presence.
It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
1 cor 1:16-
1 cor
When confronted with the opportunity to join God in the impossible, you may want to ask, “Who am I?”
Get excited about the fact that you are the person whom God has loved enough to give this opportunity to.
That gets better if we understand the answer to the next question Moses asked:
3) Who are you?
3) Who are you?
Pick up in verse 13-15.
As we have been seeing, it doesn’t really matter who we are. What matters is who God is.
Moses needed to clearly see who this God was that he was going to follow.
When he asked God, “What is your name,” God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.”
That is in all caps, but it doesn’t mean that God is angry and shouting like it does on the internet.
This is capitalized because this is God formally declaring his name to Moses and to God’s people for all time.
We have mentioned this before, but remember that every god has a name. You don’t often think about it, but you have heard of gods like Odin and Thor and Jupiter and Ares and Zeus. In the Old Testament, you often read about Baal and Asherah.
So, what is God’s name? He declared that his name is a unique form of the Hebrew verb “to be”.
He is the I AM, the God who was and is and is to come.
He is the God who is the source of everything that exists. He is the author of life who has existed from eternity past.
He is the God who is the only uncreated being, and he is the only one who is truly just, good, powerful, and gracious.
Everything else in all creation derives its existence and power from the God who is I AM.
That’s the God who was promising to deliver his people from a powerful king.
He is the same God who made and kept promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their forefathers.
So, who is it that is calling you to join him in his work of redeeming all creation?
The very God who created, sustains, and directs everything that exists.
What could possibly happen that he couldn’t handle? He is the eternal God, the author of life, and the one who engineered all the systems of the world.
He is the one who hung the stars in the sky and made birds and fish and animals and people.
If he can do that, then what can’t he do?
What an honor to be used by him as a part of his plan!
That should settle the question of, “How can I do the impossible?”
You can’t, but the I AM can!
So those questions lay a foundation for us: We recognize that something extraordinary is going on, and we realize that the God who crates everything is inviting us to do something with him, although it really has nothing to do with us.
That then leads us to Moses’ next question:
4) How do I do this?
4) How do I do this?
Throughout this passage, God has been giving Moses the big picture of what he wants him to do: Moses is to go to the people of Israel and to Pharaoh and lead God’s people out of Egypt, even though he will face great opposition.
Moses was still concerned about how he was going to get Pharaoh and the people to believe him, so he asked God for more specifics about how he was going to convince them to believe him.
That’s what we see in chapter 4:1-9.
God gave Moses three signs to use to show that this really was God doing it.
First, he could throw his staff on the ground and it would become a snake. When he grabbed it by the tail, it would immediately become a staff again.
Not only that, he could put his hand in his robe and it would instantly develop a serious skin disease. He could do it again and it would be healed.
If that wasn’t enough, he could take water from the Nile River, pour it out, and it would turn to blood.
When God is calling us to obey him, it isn’t wrong to ask for specifics of how he wants us to do what he is calling us to do.
Sometimes, like with Moses, he lays the plan out so we can see how he is going to work before he does.
This isn’t going back on what we have said so far, though, because this is still completely God’s doing. He is just graciously letting Moses know what is going to take place.
If you notice, though, God doesn’t tell him everything that will take place before Moses will be able to leave and take the people with him.
God doesn’t tell him, for instance, that it is going to get worse before it gets better. When Moses first confronts Pharaoh, Pharaoh actually makes things harder on the Hebrew slaves, and they get mad at Moses.
There is no mention of the plagues or of the amount of time the Israelites would wander in the wilderness or complain about his leadership.
God gave him just enough information to take the next step, and that is what he usually does with us.
Isn’t that what we see through the people he worked through in the Bible?
God told Abraham to move his family to a place God would show him. He didn’t tell him where he was going; he was just supposed to start moving.
God didn’t tell Gideon how he was going to defeat Moab through him, he just told him to start by tearing down his family’s altars to false gods.
God didn’t tell Paul all the specific ways that he would use him, he just told him that he was going to suffer in ways that would bring honor to God.
God doesn’t typically give us all the details of what will happen if we choose to trust him. That’s why we take a step of obedience with him, doing what he told us to do until he tells us to do something different.
You may not have any idea where the money would come from for you to go on a mission trip, but you sense him calling you to go, so you take the step to get more information.
You may not know how you could make it through school, but God seems to be directing you clearly towards a career path, so start filling out the application.
You may not know how you could handle the challenges of fostering children, but you sense God may be moving there, so you look up various agencies and start talking about it.
You may not know how to bring up Jesus in conversation to your co-worker, so you start praying that God would open their heart and begin with little things like, “How can I pray for you?”
God laid out the first step of the next chapter of Moses’ walk with him, and so far, things have gone pretty well.
Now, we have an idea of what God is up to, who we are, who he is, and how he wants to work through us, at least for the first step.
From here, we don’t want to copy what Moses did.
If you pick up in verses 10-17, you see that Moses still wasn’t sure.
“God, I still can’t do it. Send someone else.”
What Moses said in that moment revealed more about what he believed about God than what he believed about himself.
God had shown him time and time again that it wasn’t about Moses and what Moses could do.
Because Moses refused to trust God fully, he had to speak through Aaron and missed the opportunity to be the direct mouthpiece between God’s people and Pharaoh.
Don’t make the same mistake Moses made.
Listen: God created the universe from nothing just by speaking. Do you think you add anything to the equation that he doesn’t already have?
God is stronger, he is smarter, he is better than you in every conceivable way. He knows what he is doing and why he wants to use you at this time to do what he desires.
Instead of being afraid of failing, why not be excited about getting to be a part of what God is doing?
Moses’ failure reminds us of something even greater, though: He wasn’t the perfect deliverer that God’s people needed.
Yes, he would lead God’s people out of their slavery in Egypt, but he wasn’t good enough to deliver them from their slavery to sin.
They would still grumble and rebel, and there is no way that stammering, doubting Moses could change their hearts.
Only God could do that.
Moses points us to the one whom God would send to deliver any who will call on his name from slavery to sin.
Where Moses failed, Jesus would one day succeed.
The same God who spoke to Moses from the bush would one day die on a cross so that you and I could be freed from sin and serve God as we were created to do.
Have you trusted him today?