Sermon Tone Analysis

In 1 Corinthians 10:6 Paul said, in reference to the events of the Old Testament, "These things occurred as examples for us..." The things that happened to Moses happened for a reason, and one of those reasons is so God can teach us more about himself.

God had big plans for Moses, and God also has big plans for you.

He used Moses in a great way, and he wants to use you in a great way.

It appears that Moses always had a sense of God's call on his life, but it took him some time to determine exactly how he was to fulfill it.

As we look at how Moses came to discover God's will, it will help /you /discover God's plan for your life.

Moses' story teaches us...

I.

Your Entire Life Has Been Leading Up To God's Call

A.     The Birth of Moses.

§  Moses' mother, in a desperate attempt to spare his life, placed him in a basket.

§  God answered her prayer; Moses was discovered in the Nile by the Pharaoh's daughter.

B.     The Education of Moses.

§  Stephen's speech in Acts 7:20-22 tells us more about the early life of Moses.

§  Stephen said Moses was "powerful in speech and action."

C.     The Early Ambition of Moses.

§  At 40, Moses had the desire to rescue his people from the torment of their Egyptian captors.

§  He thought the Hebrews would recognize he could rescue them, but they did not.

(Acts 7:24-25)

§  It appeared that his dream to save the Hebrew people had gone up in smoke.

D.     The Re-Education of Moses.

§  For the next 40 years Moses tended flocks belonging to his father-in-law.

§  This 40 years as sheep-herder was a time of character building.

§  God was waiting for the day when he could use Moses in a great way.

E.      The same is true for each of you.

§  There is a reason you were born into the family into which you were born.

§  There is a reason you grew up in the geographic area you in which you grew up

§  There is a reason you are alive in this generation.

F.      Take a fresh look at your failures.

§  Maybe you had a dream for what you could accomplish, and right now it appears that you have fallen desperately short of the mark (or made mistakes that caused you to want to give up).

§  Maybe something painful in your childhood or past - "Why did I have to do through this?"

§  God can use the events of your life—even the mistakes, or things beyond your control—to mold your life in such a way that it will bring him glory.

II.

God will wait until you're ready to be used.

A.     God calls people who are already busy.

§  *David* was tending sheep.

*Gideon* working his wine press.

*Matthew* was a tax collector.

§  Peter, James, John, Andrew were successful fishermen.

B.     God will prepare you.

§  *Ezekiel* had trained to be a priest, but 5 years before entering that ministry, he was captured and deported to Babylon.

He was never used as a priest, but he was mightily used of God.

§  The years spent in the desert proved to be a crucial time in Moses' preparation for leadership.

§  The man God spoke to through the burning bush was not the same man who had run from Egypt

§  God was waiting for Moses to be ready to be used.

§  When the time arrived, you see a tremendous difference in Moses' attitude.

C.     God has a plan for your generation.

§  Consider the cries for help from your friends.

They don’t cry out blatantly, but do you have any friends who act a certain way because they want more than anything to be loved?

Do you know anyone who changes whenever certain people are in the room to impress them?

Those are cries for acceptance.

Do you know anyone who steals compulsively, or lies compulsively, or cheats without conscience?

That’s a cry for help.

§  God’s plan for this generation is for every person to be set free from the slavery of trying to live up to some standard that will always be out of reach.

He’s trying to set all His people free, all of them, from the slavery of chasing a pleasure or an acceptance that’s always based on something that they’ve done or something that they can do to be accepted.

His desire is freedom for His people.

§  I don’t know why He chooses to do things the way that He does.

I don’t know why He decided to use a shepherd to set His people free, but He did.

§  He chooses ordinary people who can’t seem to find a good thing to say about themselves, and He tells them to go tell a king that it’s time for His people to be free.

§  Coming to hear the voice of God is a discipline.

The world screams at us every single day, the busyness, the rat race, the grind, the whole life cycle thing is faster than we know what to do with, and every bit of it seems amazingly and undeniably urgent.

§  It seems like right now is the only thing that’s real, and right now you’ve got to do a project, get ready for a date, catch up with a friend, and do the dishes.

§  As you do those things, the bushes burn around you and God continues to cry out for someone to lead a generation out of slavery.

§  God wants you to have a personal relationship.

But He wants to do that so that you’ll be bold in being a part of setting your entire generation free.

You’ll find best that God is right there meeting your ever need, that He’s most personal, when you’re stepping out, helping Him free His people.

D.     God has big plans for you

§  There is much you can accomplish in life for his glory, but he won't send you into battle until you're equipped for the fight.

§  There are times when you wait on God's timing—that's part of doing God's will God's way—but don't make God wait on you.

§  He cannot use you until you're ready, so, get ready: Be absolutely devoted to God...absolutely determined to do his will...absolutely dependent on his strength in your life.

The sooner a person comes to this point in his life, the sooner God can begin to use him.

III.

God's Dreams Are Bigger Than Yours.

A.     Moses had a vision to help his people.

§  Forty years before God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses had a dream to rescue.

§  He had no idea how big this dream would become because at this point it was just his dream.

§  The simple truth is, our plans are smaller than God's plans.

§  We dream of having a little bit of success in life because a little success can be quite comfortable.

§  But God's vision will take you beyond your comfort zone and challenge you to do something bigger than anything you could have imagined.

B.     Moses needed God’s vision.

§  Moses never could have accomplished all that he accomplished without the miraculous power of God in his life.

§  That's the different between God's plans and our plans.

§  We make small plans, God makes big plans.

§  It is impossible to have more vision than God.

§  It is impossible to have more faith than God.

§  It is impossible to have more courage than God.