God is Able

Exodus: Called Out • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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All of Scripture and even all of creation is anchored upon this truth, God is able. God was able to create all of creation with nothing more than a word. God is able to redeem the most broken, desperate and wicked of His creation through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. God is able to bring even the most proud and mighty to their knees with His presence. God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever hope for or imagine. If God is able, who are we to question His ability?

Notes

Transcript

Man’s Contrasting Response

Exodus 4:18–23 NIV

Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.” Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

Throughout the story of Exodus up to this point, we have seen the many different response of man to the person, nature and actions of the Lord. Pharaoh saw the hand of God’s blessing upon the Hebrews and he responded with such fear and trembling that he ordered baby boys to be thrown into the Nile. Moses saw the hand of God at work in his life from the time he was a boy and his response was to rely on his own strength and embark on a plan of his own doing to deliver the people of Israel. He looked for the Lord’s blessing and support of his plan instead of seeking the plan that God had in mind.

The majority of the time our response to God is made from the perspective of us as the governing authority and the Lord as the subservient one.

We look at people around us like Pharaoh whose heart had grown hard to the Lord and we cast judgment

We fail to see in our selves that our partial obedience is still disobedience

God’s Unchanging Nature

Exodus 4:24–26 NIV

At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

God’s unchanging nature serves as the foundation for his justice. Unlike our justice system that seemingly ebbs and flows based upon the interpretation of laws and situations, God’s justice is perfect and unswerving.

Partial obedience is no obedience at all. Moses had failed to uphold the covenant of circumcision made between Abraham and the Lord back in Genesis .

We have been sealed in the Lord by the mark of Jesus’ blood just as the mark of circumcision identified previously.

God’s Faithful Ability

Exodus 4:27–31 NIV

The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

God is able. In fact, he is more than able. He will do immeasurably more than we could ever hope or imagine because He is infinite. He knows all the details and is the mover, creator and orchestrator of all things. If this is true, why do we keep holding to our plan? Why is our obedience so difficult to follow through on?