GO tell it FROM the Mountain – of MIRACLES

rickshriver

Rock Family Church of Morgantown WV

Revival • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Exodus 3–4

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Intro – Moses meets God – Here I am

On the mountain of God’s Word, 2 main things occur:

1. You face God

2. You face yourself

Both should see the same image.

· But what happens when they don’t?

· One side is right, and one side is wrong.

· Hint: God’s side is always right!

The sooner we see ourselves as God sees us, the sooner victory comes, not only for us but for others God calls us to help.

III. TheMisgivings of Moses (Ex. 3:10–4:23)

A. The protests (Ex. 3:11–15; 4:10–17)

Should not this once in a lifetime encounter with the Creator of the Universe been sufficient to convince a person to follow the Lord’s leading? Should not our commitment and appreciation for the Lord’s kindness compel us to go anywhere for God and do anything He asks us, regardless of where it takes us or who we may have to face?

Have you ever sworn to God that you will go anywhere and do anything for Him?

How would you react if God accepted your proposal and chose to send you on a mission that was needed by others, but not wanted by you?

Do not our prayers actually mean, “Lord I’ll go anywhere, but there” or “Lord I’ll do anything, but that.”

Unfortunately, even in the light of a face-to-face encounter with God, Moses is about to make five excuses as to why he cannot or will not follow God’s command to help others.

What later ensued was a 5-round battle of God and man trying to convince each other that:

· their cause was just, - Moses wanted to stay when God said

· they had the right man, - God said yes and Moses said no

· their way was better

Despite Moses’ repeated protests and misgivings, he could not convince God to change His mind.

1 – Revival Miracles Bring SECURITY

Answer – God ACCOMPANIES You

First objection – from “here I am” to “No I won’t”

From “I won’t go alone” – to “I will go with you”

From “No I can’t” – to “Yes we can”

– from solo to duo

a. Moses says that he is not important enough to appear before Pharaoh.

Exodus 3:11 NLT

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?”

Protested = A combination of H559 “to speak” and H413 “against”

Protest #1 – based on insecurity

Confrontation #1, yourself = “Who am I?”

Issue: From “Here I am” to “Who am I?”

· How quickly we change our praise in the face of challenges!

· Moses is starting to sound as if he is already in the Egyptian “valley” even while he is still on the “mountaintop” with God!

· In the parable of the Sower, Jesus warned how the hard soil was immediately robbed of God’s seed because it did not mix what it heard with faith.

· Modern application – how many of God’s people have a “divine encounter” with Jesus during a church service, only to get upset before they reach the parking lot!

· For example, In a corporate setting of a Spirit filled church service, Christians regularly hear a prophetic Word about how much God loves them and inform them of a great call from the Lord upon their life. While most believers would choose to end the story at that point, sometimes God’s call involves a level of personal sacrifice that is contrary to our selfish human nature. I call this a “conflict of interest”, when man’s interest for “self” conflicts with God’s interest for others.

Kingdom principle: Don’t argue with God! Simply let your yes be yes!

Since God’s promises are yes and amen (2 Cor 1:20) for us, should not our promise to God be the same?

b. The Lord tells Moses that he will be with him and will bring him back to Mount Sinai.

Exodus 3:12 (NLT)

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.”

God’s presence brings security through empowerment

Doubt is a WET BLANKET to Revival Fire!

Revival fire can only burn as strong as the fuel is dry.

God is trying to set Moses on fire, but Moses’ excuses are like wet blankets to God’s plan.

Personal challenge: Do you see yourself as God sees you?

We need to repent of seeing ourselves as anything less than God’s assessment of us.

Personal Application

If God be for us, who can be against us?

2 – Revival Miracles Bring AUTHORITY

Answer – God AUTHORIZES You

Second objection

Authority comes from a name

Moses’ name is mud, So God lends His Name

a. Moses complains that he holds no authority.

Exodus 3:13 (NLT)

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?”

Audience = PEOPLE

Within minutes of the Lord calling Moses audibly by name, Moses went from “Here I am” to “I am nobody”.

Moses is immediately opposing the very God he was welcoming.

Perhaps Moses thought that God would choose to not reveal His name, thereby giving Moses a technical excuse to not go to Pharaoh.

Confrontation #2 – Your God

b. The Lord tells Moses that he, the “I Am,” is his authority.

Exodus 3:14–15 (NLT)

14 God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.

Personal Application

In His Name we cast out devils

3 – Revival Miracles Bring AUTHENTICITY

Answer – God EMPOWERS You

this is God for real… Third objection (Ex. 4:1–5)

a. Moses insists that the people will not believe him.

Exodus 4:1 (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’?”

b. The Lord turns Moses’ staff into a snake and tells him that the people will believe him when they see this.

A – Revival Brings Miracles of NATURE

Exodus 4:2–9 (NLT)

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.

God was using the snake as a metaphor to teach Moses to confront and gain victory over his real enemy, Pharoah.

God did not tell Moses what would happen beforehand

We need to be ready for anything when it comes to revival!

Revival often comes in unexpected forms.

Moses misinterpreted what I was trying to do. Since the snake represents a natural enemy, Moses responded in a very human way, through self-preservation, even in the presence of God following the commands of God.

How many times we, as believers, jump back from being used of God?

Let’s learn from Moses and not “jump back” when God is trying to move forward.

Let’s not limit God with our human reasoning but may He always find hearts that are yielding to his ways, his time, and his plan.

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.

Confrontation #3 – Your enemy

Through this experience, Moses began to realize that God is not trying to hurt but help him.

Moses now begins to understand God’s unorthodox approach to the solution of the problem.

The resulting revelation would cause Moses to draw toward God versus “jump away” from God, thereby fostering boldness in the face of his adversary.

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.”

SIGN

226 אֹות [ʾowth /oth/]

1 sign, signal. 1a a distinguishing mark. 1b banner. 1c remembrance. 1d miraculous sign. 1e omen. 1f warning. 2 token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof.[1]

B – Revival Brings Miracles of HEALING

Leprosy on hand healed in cloak – v 6-8

C – Revival Brings Miracles of JUDGMENT

Water from the Niles turned to blood on the ground

Prophetic of the coming judgment of slaying God’s children

This is the only curse not reversed – SEVERE

Sometimes God says things (implies) without words

With revival comes judgment on the unrepentant – Acts 5

9 And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

4 – Revival Miracles Bring DELIVERY

Answer – God SPEAKS THROUGH You

Fourth objection (Ex. 4:10–17)

a. Moses complains that he is not a good speaker.

Exodus 4:10 (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.”

Confrontation #4 – Your Past

Moses’s speech was impeded by the trauma of fear and rejection in his past.

It is possible that Moses would have gone anywhere but Egypt!

b. The Lord tells Moses that Aaron, his brother, will be his spokesman.[2]

Exodus 4:11–12 (NLT)

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.”

We must allow God to speak to us before he can speak through us.

People can readily discern if someone’s speech is based upon intellectual study versus spiritual conviction based on personal experience.

Let us all be able to echo the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I’ve been to the mountain top!

You and God are a majority

5 – Revival Miracles Bring UNITY (company)

God ASSISTS You

5th objection

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.

Angry

2734 חָרָה [charah /khaw·raw/] “

become angry, be incensed, displease” “grieved” furious,

1 to be hot, be kindled. to burn, kindle, to heat oneself in vexation.[3]

The other Hebrew word used in conjunction with anger is nostril.

It seems as if God snorted in anger!

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Since faith pleases God, then faithlessness displeases God.

Obviously, Moses crossed a line. God’s love is infinite, but his patience is not. He is long suffering, but He is not all suffering.

Have you ever angered God through repeated refusal?

If so, then repent today and get on God’s winning team.

Compare Moses’ negotiating with God compared to Abraham’s 6 times for the city of Sodom (Genesis 18:22-33) God listened to Abraham because it would have saved lives.

God would not listen to Moses because it would have cost lives.

Aren’t you glad that God did not give into Moses’s protests?

We cannot even imagine the horrific outcome.

We are not waiting on God, God is waiting on us!

If God’s plan does get accomplished, it is man’s fault, not God’s.

Revival is delayed because of man’s excuses!

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.

16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.

17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Grace Factor: God will send help to the helpers!

Life Lesson: Don’t Argue with God

[1]Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship. [2]Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible(Ex 3:10–4:17). Tyndale House Publishers. [3]Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

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