God has called you for purpose and He is training YOU.

Lyrics

Sermon Notes:

God has called you for purpose & He is training YOU.

E gals no 48.
Exodus 4:2-3 The 1st lesson - our identity is in God - we go in His Name.
God asked Moses to throw down the rod that was in his hand. This was not just about laying down what was important to him but a test of laying down his identity. When Moses picked up the rod it would be called the “rod of God”. A reminder that our identity is not in what we have or do but in God.
God will use our natural gifting but He wants us to give it over to Him (what we have in our hand) and He will anoint it and so equip us with supernatural gifts and abilities.
Exodus 4:18. The 2nd lesson - we are under authority.
Moses asks his father in law for permission to leave because he recognised that he was under his authority. There is Godly authority in the family, in our jobs and in Church fellowship. Colossians 3:18-4:1 & 1 Thess 5:12-13. We are to humble ourselves. James 4:1& 6-7. However ultimately we are accountable to God. In this case Jethro sent Moses away in peace!
Exodus 4:19. The 3rd lesson - God calls even when we have unfinished business. In fact He uses our past experiences to equip us for the future. It is ok to go back to face the past. The Lord reassured Moses that all the men who sought his life were dead. Jesus destroyed our enemy when He died on the cross so it is safe for us to go back to the wounds of the past and get healing. The enemy is powerless to harm us. By going back Moses was going forward.
Exodus 4:21-23. The 4^th lesson. God wants us to believe Him.
As the sun hardens clay and softens wax (the outcome depending on the material not on the sun) so the Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh “Israel is my firstborn son and if you don’t let him go I will kill your firstborn son!” This was a prophetic statement. Whilst God hadn’t told Moses “everything” that would happen and He doesn’t tell us everything - “there is joy and peace in believing.” Romans 15:13.
Exodus 4:24-26. The 5th lesson - Do NOT be intimidated by the enemy.
On the way to do what God told him to do - the Lord moved to kill Moses because he had not circumcised his son! How could Moses go to Pharaoh and demand that Pharaoh obey God’s command when Moses himself had not obeyed! The circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant - it was a sign of cutting off the flesh life! It was important! Zipporah understood what was happening - perhaps she was the reason their son had not been circumcised at eight days old - in her culture they circumcised at puberty before marriage - so she knew what to do & she called Moses “a bloody husband”. We overcome through the “blood” of Jesus. Rev 12:11.
Had Moses failed to act because he was intimidated by his wife? Satan often intimidates us through the people closest to us.
6^th Lesson. Do not give Satan legal ground.
Moses had moved out in obedience to God’s call - but in disobedience to God’s law. The Lord knew Moses was leaving himself wide open for Satan to have legal ground in his life and God warned him - before - the enemy got to him. God allows us leeway for a while but the time comes when He says enough is enough! Walk in obedience to God or we give the enemy legal ground in our lives and though God is full of compassion & is long suffering He will have to deal with our sin if we don’t. 1 Cor 11:28-32.
7^th Lesson. Walk in obedience NOW.
Moses was moving to do God’s work but he was moving in personal disobedience - this is dangerous - our flesh needs to die to our own desires and fear of others! Allowing ourselves to be intimidated by the enemy will ultimately cost us! Better and easier to obey immediately. It would have been excruciating painful for Moses’ son to be circumcised as an adult.
Exodus 4:27-31. 8^th Lesson. Commit your way unto the Lord. Psa 37:5
Moses met Aaron in the desert and told him all that God had commanded. Then they met with the elders ….and they believed what God had said. Exodus 3:17-22. It was a confirmation of the prophecy given to Abraham Genesis 15:13-14 . The prophecy had not happened yet. Often in life we will have many words of confirmation before the thing that God promised takes place!
Exodus 5:1-2 & 5-13 & 19-23. 9^th Lesson. Things do not always turn out as we expect. Pharaoh said “who is the Lord - I don’t know Him!” The result was increased hardship with the leaders being beaten so the people laid the blame on Moses. Leaders - expect complaints and blame. In turn Moses laid the blame on Jehovah. He asked God “why”.
If something is tough it does not mean that God has forsaken us or we are out of His will. Things were literally getting heavier for the Israelites with no straw in the bricks they were heavier to carry. 5:7-10 Satan knows how to make life heavy. However as Pharaoh hardened his heart against God this eventually led to another kind of heaviness that the Israelites could not see.
There are 3 different words for “harden”. In Exodus 7:14 the word is “kabod” meaning “heavy”. Sin eventually results in a heavy heart.
Exodus 6:1-8. 10^th Lesson. God is enough!
God took time to remind Moses that He was not only the I AM but He was “El Shaddai - the God who is enough” - and He was going to :-
1. Bring them out from under their burdens! Take away their load!
2. Rescue them from bondage. Break their chains!
3. Redeem with an outstretched arm! Reach out to buy back their freedom.
4. Take them as His people. Make them His own responsibility.
5. Be their God. Offer Himself to be their all sufficient God.

And still they did not believe! Exodus 6:9-12.
Lessons for life.
God calls us to give ourselves totally to Him & recognise our true identity is in Him. (e.g. baptism) Then we will walk in the Spirit.
We should not allow Satan to have legal ground in our lives.
Are we allowing ourselves to be intimidated? Satan will use people and circumstances to try and stop us from obeying the call of God.
Walking in obedience does not necessarily mean an easy ride but it does mean eventual success!
Whatever our difficulty - we have a God who is enough.
Are you doubting the call of God on your life because things are not going the way you planned? Trust that God is training you for something bigger than you ever thought possible! Ephesians 3:20-21.