WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.839 Well, good morning, church. Turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 4. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:11.120 As you're turning there, before we delve into the Scripture this morning, let me also point 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:17.140 out an announcement that's in the middle of your bulletin. It says, two services pilot plan. 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:24.400 Easter Sunday is in six weeks on April 1st, and beginning on Easter Sunday and going through the 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:29.939 middle of May, we will have not one but two morning services each Sunday. You might ask, 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:34.539 why are we doing this? Well, as you may have noticed, our church building continues to get 00:00:34.539 --> 00:00:40.039 fuller and fuller, which is a good problem. So we rejoice that the Lord continues to bring people 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:44.820 to our church, and we want to make space for more people to come and hear God's Word 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:50.420 and know the Lord Jesus Christ and be part of our church community. How will it work? Practically, 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:54.859 there's a little diagram that sort of talks about our current routine with Sunday school at 9, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:01.960 church at 10, and coffee time at 11.30. It's going to switch. So we'll have 9 o'clock will be the first 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:07.159 service, and 11 o'clock will be the second service, and coffee time will be in the middle, down in the 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:12.240 fellowship hall. There will be children's church, just like there is during this service, during the 00:01:12.240 --> 00:01:17.620 9 o'clock service for children through grade 3. And then the Sunday school classes that we now have 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:23.280 from 9 to 9.45 will happen during the second service, starting at 11. And those will be for 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:27.560 children and youth and adults. If you're at the congregational meeting, that's a little change. 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:32.859 We will have an adult Sunday school in the second service. So for the summer, we're going to go back 00:01:32.859 --> 00:01:37.800 to our current routine with one service at 9 and Sunday school, or one service at 10 and Sunday school 00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:44.159 at 9. And then we're going to evaluate, should we continue this two-service thing into next fall on a 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:50.479 more ongoing basis? And if so, what adjustments should we make? So what does this mean for you? 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:56.359 We want you to think about Sundays as a time to worship God and serve God's people. If you're a 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:00.699 regular attender here, and if you're not already involved in a ministry team, we would love to have 00:02:00.699 --> 00:02:06.019 you plug in somewhere. There are lots of places that you can help. Children's ministry, ushers and greeters, 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:11.780 coffee hour, AV team, music ministry, rides ministry. There's a place for everyone to serve. 00:02:11.780 --> 00:02:18.199 And this is part of living out our calling as the body of Christ. So in two weeks, on March 4th, 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:23.780 you'll have an opportunity to sign up so that you can be prepared, if you're not already serving in a 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:28.340 Sunday morning ministry, so you can be prepared to serve beginning in April when we go to the two services. 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:35.099 Having said that, let's go to the book of Exodus. Today we're looking at chapter 3, 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:41.699 verses 10, verse 10, until the end of chapter 4. It's a long passage. Two weeks ago, the last time 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:48.579 we were in Exodus, Pastor Nick talked about the first half of Exodus 3, where God appeared to Moses 00:02:48.579 --> 00:02:57.379 in the burning bush, and he revealed himself as the Lord. And he called Moses by name and called him, 00:02:57.579 --> 00:03:04.419 and then we come to verse 10, where he calls Moses, commissions Moses. Today what we're going to focus 00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:12.579 on is Moses' response to God's call. So read with me beginning at chapter 3, verse 10, and we're 00:03:12.579 --> 00:03:19.079 going to read through the middle of chapter 4 right now. Chapter 3, verse 10, come, God says to Moses, 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:24.359 I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:32.299 But Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:40.080 Egypt? He said, God said, but I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:45.240 you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:49.720 to God, if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:56.680 and they ask me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. 00:03:56.680 --> 00:04:02.680 And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:06.939 say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:12.379 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am 00:04:12.379 --> 00:04:17.759 to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:21.759 them, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared to me, 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:26.379 saying, I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:30.680 bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:35.420 the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey, 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:42.100 and they will listen to your voice. And you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:46.639 and say to him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now please let us go a three days 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:51.800 journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. But I know that the king of Egypt 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:56.139 won't let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand, so I will stretch out my hand. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:05:00.439 And strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it. After that, he will let you go. 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:06.180 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And when you go, you won't go empty. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.620 But each woman shall ask of her neighbor and any woman who lives in her house for silver 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:15.159 and gold jewelry and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:23.339 so you shall plunder the Egyptians. Then Moses answered, but behold, they will not believe me 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:29.319 or listen to my voice. For they will say, the Lord did not appear to you. The Lord said to him, 00:05:29.359 --> 00:05:34.959 what is that in your hand? He said, a staff. And he said, throw it on the ground. So he threw it on 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:40.679 the ground and it became a serpent and roses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, put out your 00:05:40.679 --> 00:05:45.539 hand and catch it by the tail. So he put out his hand and caught it and it became a staff in his hand 00:05:45.539 --> 00:05:50.179 that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:55.280 and the God of Jacob has appeared to you. Again, the Lord said to him, put your hand inside your 00:05:55.280 --> 00:06:00.540 cloak. And he put his hand inside his cloak. And when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:06.379 like snow. Then God said, put your hand back inside your cloak. So he put his hand back inside his cloak. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:10.280 And when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. If they will not believe 00:06:10.280 --> 00:06:15.399 you, God said, or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:20.060 even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:24.639 dry ground. And the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:33.400 But Moses said to the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have 00:06:33.400 --> 00:06:40.620 spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue. Then the Lord said to him, who has made 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:47.100 man's mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:52.840 and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to speak. But he said, O my Lord, please send someone 00:06:52.840 --> 00:07:00.280 else. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, is there not Aaron, 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:06.100 your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you. And when 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:10.100 he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:13.920 And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:19.920 He shall speak for you to the people and he shall be your mouth and you shall be as God to him. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.120 And take in your hand this staff with which you shall do the signs. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:39.819 I fled him down the nights and down the days. I fled him down the arches of the years. 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:47.259 I fled him down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind. And in the midst of tears, I hid from him 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:55.199 and under running laughter. Up-visted hopes I sped and shot precipitated a down, 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:02.980 titanic glooms of chasmed fears from those strong feet that followed, followed after. 00:08:04.039 --> 00:08:12.939 But with unhurrying chase and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, majestic instancy, 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:23.160 they beat. And a voice beat more instant than the feet. All things betray thee who betrayest me. 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:30.980 This is the beginning of Francis Thompson's poem entitled The Hound of Heaven. It's a poem about 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:39.399 running away from God. And it's a poem about God running after us, doggedly pursuing us with his 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:45.159 steadfast and fierce love. And that's what we see here in God's conversation with Moses. 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:53.039 God says to Moses, come, I'm sending you. And Moses has five objections. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:05.259 311, who am I? 313, who are you? 41, they won't believe me. 410, I'm not eloquent. 00:09:05.259 --> 00:09:09.919 413, oh my Lord, please send someone else. 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:19.659 This morning we're going to look at Moses' resistance to the call of God in the part we've 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:25.220 read so far. And then we'll look at the second half of chapter 4, where Moses finally obeys. 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:32.600 So let's look first at Moses' resistance. Let's consider Moses' objections and God's responses one 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:40.820 by one. First, who am I? Chapter 3, verse 11. Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:47.159 children of Israel out of Egypt? This is an entirely reasonable and good question. God had just said, 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:52.379 if you look up in verse 7 through 9, God had just said that he would deliver the people of Israel and 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:59.600 bring them up out of Egypt. God had said the same thing back to Jacob back in Genesis. I myself will go 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:03.840 down with you to Egypt and I myself will bring you up again. So Moses is saying, wait a minute. 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:10.200 God, you just said you were going to do this. Now you're asking me to do this. I can't do this. 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:18.420 You're God. I'm a human being. Who am I? This is a perfectly right and reasonable question for any human 00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:28.240 being to ask when we're in the presence of a holy God. Who am I to stand in your presence? Who am I 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:36.459 to be called your ambassador? Who am I that you would choose me and give me an important task to play, 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:45.899 an important role to play, an important task to carry out? Now look at God's response. Verse 12. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:53.699 Notice first what God doesn't say. God doesn't say the silly things that modern Americans like to 00:10:53.699 --> 00:11:06.439 repeat. You're good enough. I believe in you. You can do it. I know you can. No. God says simply, 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:14.679 but I will be with you. It doesn't matter who you are. What really matters is who I am. 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:24.579 And that I am with you. And that's a word of enormous comfort that God speaks over and over 00:11:24.579 --> 00:11:29.139 to his people throughout the scriptures. Here to Moses and then to Joshua. God says to Joshua in 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:34.459 the beginning of Joshua chapter 1 verse 5, just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 00:11:34.979 --> 00:11:40.699 Be strong and courageous. We could give many examples throughout the Old Testament in Isaiah, 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:45.700 in Haggai, in many other places. But in the New Testament, Jesus says the same thing. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:50.600 When he's ready to ascend back up to heaven, he says to his disciples, 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:59.200 go and make disciples of all nations, and behold, I am with you always. To the very end of the age. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:03.240 So God comforts and reassures him. 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:10.700 But perhaps Moses is thinking, okay, you're saying that you'll be with me, but who exactly are you? 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:17.720 That brings us to a second objection or question in verse 13. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:22.080 If the people ask me your name, what should I tell them? In other words, who exactly are you? 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:29.200 Prior to this incident, it's not exactly clear what Moses or the rest of the Israelites in Egypt 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:37.740 believed about God. Had they faithfully handed down the traditions from Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:46.040 about the one true God who had made a covenant and made promises to his people? Or over the hundreds 00:12:46.040 --> 00:12:52.820 of years of being in Egypt, had they little by little accepted the pagan ways of worshiping many 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:58.920 different gods that were common in Egypt and throughout the ancient world? The Bible doesn't tell us. 00:13:00.060 --> 00:13:04.259 We can't be totally sure. Perhaps Moses is anticipating a question that he thinks the 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:11.120 people will ask him, or perhaps he's asking the same question. Who are you, Lord? 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:18.560 And again, like Moses' first question, this is a good question. We shouldn't fault Moses for asking 00:13:18.560 --> 00:13:24.560 this question. It's not a bad question to ask then or now. It's the same question Saul asked on the road 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:30.059 to Damascus. The reading we heard earlier when he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:37.119 persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Maybe you're asking that question. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:44.239 Maybe you have a sense that there's something or someone out there, but you're not even sure what to 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:54.460 call it or what that being is like. You're saying, who are you, God? That's a great question to be 00:13:54.460 --> 00:14:01.600 asking. And this is a great place to come because the book of Exodus is written to answer exactly that 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:05.039 question. And as we continue through it, I hope that you'll see what the Bible says 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:14.639 about who the one true God is. God's answer here to Moses is, I am who I am. In other words, 00:14:14.740 --> 00:14:21.240 he is the self-existent, uncreated one, the source of all that is and was and ever will be. 00:14:23.059 --> 00:14:29.480 And he's also the God who made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who makes and keeps 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:36.200 his promises. That's the God we're talking about here. That's what Pastor Nick's sermon focused on 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:42.940 two weeks ago. You can listen to it on the website if you weren't here. And then God goes on in verse 00:14:42.940 --> 00:14:48.899 16 to 22. He gives Moses a preview of upcoming events and upcoming responsibilities. First, Moses 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:53.080 must speak to the elders of Israel, verse 16 and 17. Then they have to go to the king of Egypt, 00:14:53.180 --> 00:14:57.120 but the king won't let the people go, so God will strike them, Egypt with plagues. Eventually, 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:03.960 the king will let him go, and the people will take all kinds of gold and jewelry and clothing that 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:08.759 are freely given to them with them, a sort of payback of all the wages that they had been denied 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:14.480 for years when they were enslaved. But that brings us to Moses' third objection. 00:15:16.740 --> 00:15:26.340 Chapter 4, verse 1, but they won't believe me. Again, an understandable objection given Moses' past 00:15:26.340 --> 00:15:32.180 experience. The last time Moses had tried to intervene on behalf of the people of Israel in chapter 2, 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:38.240 he tried to settle a dispute, and the people rejected him. They said, who made you a ruler and 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:46.379 judge over us? Moses says, how can I know they'll believe me now? They haven't seen me for years. 00:15:47.180 --> 00:15:54.000 They rejected me the last time I was with them. Moses is scared and nervous about how the people will 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:00.059 respond, and most of us would be too. And if you read the rest of Exodus, the people don't always 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:09.720 respond positively. They don't always believe him. They don't always follow him. But there's a problem 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:18.320 with Moses' third objection. If you look in chapter 3, verse 18, God says, they, that is the elders of 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:27.280 Israel will listen to your voice. And what does Moses say in chapter 4, verse 1? But they won't listen to 00:16:27.280 --> 00:16:38.460 my voice. Moses is directly contradicting what God has just said. He's letting himself be controlled by 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:48.500 his past failure and his present fear instead of trusting God's word and God's character and God's 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:55.960 promise for the future. And yet, look at the Lord's response to Moses. God doesn't just ignore his 00:16:55.960 --> 00:17:02.320 objection or dismiss it. He gives Moses three authenticating signs to perform for the Israelites. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:09.100 Moses' staff becomes a snake. Moses' hand is afflicted and then healed of his skin disease. And third, 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:15.720 the water from the Nile will turn to blood. Each sign visibly demonstrates God's authority. 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:23.500 The first sign demonstrates God's authority over Pharaoh, actually. The snake was the most prominent 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:30.740 symbol of the Egyptian Pharaoh. If you look at pictures of Pharaoh's headdresses or crowns, 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:37.559 they looked like a snake. It was a symbol of royalty and deity and authority in ancient Egypt. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:47.420 And so, the first sign demonstrates that God has authority over that. The second sign demonstrates 00:17:47.420 --> 00:17:52.420 God's authority over disease and affliction. And notice, as with the first two signs, there's a 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:57.319 pattern of judgment followed by restoration. And that's what we see in Exodus, that God is the God of 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:02.019 righteous judgment, but He's also the God of restoration and redemption and salvation. 00:18:03.439 --> 00:18:09.039 And then the third sign demonstrates God's authority over nature. The Nile River was revered 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:16.399 in Egypt as the giver and taker of life. But God is saying, no, I am the true, the giver and taker 00:18:16.399 --> 00:18:24.059 of life, the one who made all things. So, each of the signs points to God's authority, but in each case, 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:33.480 God uses something very ordinary to do something extraordinary. In ancient Egypt, the pagan priests 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:41.720 would cast magic spells using secret formulas that supposedly gave them power over nature and over the 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:50.639 gods. But this isn't like Egyptian magic, what God tells Moses to do. There are no secret spells. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:55.920 Moses. Moses just obeys God's command. In fact, Moses doesn't seem to know what's going to happen. 00:18:56.420 --> 00:19:02.660 Verse 3, he throws the staff down and becomes a snake. Moses runs away. He ain't expecting that one. 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:10.460 And then he puts his hand in his cloak and it says, behold. That means look. It means he's 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:16.980 surprised. It's afflicted with a skin disease. And then he puts it back and behold, again, it's healed. 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:25.720 He doesn't know what's coming next. He simply obeys God's word. So, all the signs display not 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:31.880 Moses' power, not Moses' wisdom, not Moses' greatness, but God's power and God's wisdom and God's greatness. 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:40.680 But that's still not enough for Moses. He's got a fourth objection. Chapter 4, verse 10. 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:47.779 I'm not eloquent. Now, scholars have debated about this one. Probably will continue to debate 00:19:47.779 --> 00:19:53.000 until the second coming. Did Moses have a speech impediment? Had he lost his command of the Egyptian 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.460 language while living abroad? Was he saying he lacked diplomacy skills? Or I think most likely, 00:19:57.560 --> 00:20:04.039 was he just being modest and self-deprecating in a culturally recognized way? I am not worthy of 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:11.680 being your mouthpiece. Something like that. Whatever exactly Moses meant, the tone of God's response 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:20.639 shifts a little bit. Don't you think? God starts to get a little in Moses' face, as you might say. 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:27.960 He starts launching questions at Moses. Who made man's mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:38.900 Is it not I, the Lord? You see, God has made you and he can use you with all your natural limitations, 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:48.920 even with your physical disabilities or deformities. He can heal you or he can manifest his glory even 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:55.860 through your weakness. Twice in verse 10, Moses points to his own inadequacies. He says, 00:20:55.859 --> 00:21:01.799 I am not eloquent. I am slow of speech and of tongue. And then twice in God's response, 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:08.500 God points to his own all-sufficiency. Is it not I who made you? I will be with your mouth. The question 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:18.839 is, which I is the more important one? Moses or God? Is it my feeling of inadequacy, my lack of skills 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:25.579 and preparation, my past record, or God's sufficiency and God's creative power and God's promise for the 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:37.379 future? Which matters more? In verse 12, God tells Moses for the fourth time, go. He said it already 00:21:37.379 --> 00:21:44.259 back in chapter 3, verse 10. It's translated come in the ESV, but it's the same verb. And then in 316 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:49.339 and 318, he said, go, gather the elders, go to the king of Egypt. And finally, God says, now, therefore, 00:21:49.339 --> 00:22:01.000 go. Enough questions, enough objections, time to get up and go. But then in verse 13, we come to Moses' 00:22:01.139 --> 00:22:11.279 fifth and final objection. Oh, my Lord, please send someone else. Now, Moses phrases this about as politely 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:18.819 as you can in Hebrew. Literally, it's, Lord, please send by the hand of whom you will send. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:29.039 But the meaning is very clear. Anybody else but me. And here in verse 14, for the first time, it says, 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:36.099 the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. God was not angry at any of his other questions or 00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:44.819 objections. But he does get angry at this one. Because Moses has run out of legitimate questions. 00:22:44.959 --> 00:22:50.579 He's run out of reasonable objections. God has answered them all. And Moses can't hide his underlying 00:22:50.579 --> 00:23:00.019 resistance any longer. He just doesn't want to do it. There's a time to ask honest, humble questions 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:06.480 in light of God's holiness. Who am I? There's a time to ask honest questions in light of our ignorance. 00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:13.660 Who are you, Lord? We've seen God patiently address Moses' doubts and fears when Moses said, 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:19.440 they won't believe me. And we've seen God powerfully urge him on when Moses tried to disqualify himself. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:23.940 And still after all this, Moses just wanted to say no. 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:29.240 Can you relate to Moses? 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:36.279 Let me speak to you for a minute if you're not yet a Christian. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.460 Maybe you've been asking questions about God for a long time. 00:23:42.820 --> 00:23:46.900 Some of them might be sincere questions, good and honest questions like the first two. 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:51.820 Sometimes you might admit there are fearful questions 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:56.179 that sort of border on lame excuses like three and four. 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:00.960 But despite what attracts you to Christianity, 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:10.139 is there also underneath your questions a part of you that just doesn't want to say yes to Jesus? 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:14.319 Maybe you're afraid of what your life will become 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:18.960 if you actually commit to following him. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:23.960 Maybe you don't want to give up your sense of self-sufficiency and autonomy. 00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:29.299 C.S. Lewis described his own internal resistance to God 00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:32.100 in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy. 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:35.200 A little bit of his background. 00:24:35.340 --> 00:24:38.000 As a child, he had been brought to church and taught to say his prayers. 00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:41.120 But then when he was nine, his mother died. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.240 And his father sent him away to a boarding school. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:48.140 The headmaster of the boarding school was later deemed insane. 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:51.299 At that boarding school, he became an atheist. 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:54.579 At the age of 17, he wrote to a friend, 00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.039 I believe in no religion. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.140 There is absolutely no proof for any of them. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.400 And from a philosophical standpoint, Christianity is not even the best. 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:05.500 But his story didn't end there. 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:06.640 He was a voracious reader. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:13.259 And he found himself drawn in by Christian authors like George McDonald and G.K. Chesterton. 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:18.620 While studying at Oxford, he found himself talking with thoughtful Christian scholars like J.R.R. Tolkien. 00:25:19.560 --> 00:25:22.100 And he found himself wanting what they believed in. 00:25:23.540 --> 00:25:24.240 He wrote, 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:39.539 Then one evening, 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:55.579 That threw him for a complete loop. 00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:59.180 Could Christianity actually be true? 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:03.279 Not just what I want, but what's real? 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:10.799 But at the same time, as he was increasingly drawn to Christianity, he still resisted. 00:26:11.399 --> 00:26:12.180 He wrote this, 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:17.299 Agnostics will talk cheerfully about man's search for God. 00:26:18.139 --> 00:26:22.519 To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse's search for the cat. 00:26:24.339 --> 00:26:29.279 Remember, I had always wanted, above all things, not to be interfered with. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.839 I had wanted to call my soul my own. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:38.500 I had been far more anxious to avoid suffering than to achieve delight. 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:42.079 I had always aimed at limited liabilities. 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:46.920 Of course, all that was threatened by the potential demands of an infinite God. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:50.740 You must picture me alone, he wrote, 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:59.039 in that room in Oxford, his study room. 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:00.920 Night after night, 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:05.099 feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:11.940 the steady, unrelenting approach of him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:17.200 That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:25.580 In the spring term of 1929, I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed. 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:30.519 Perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:35.779 I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing. 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:41.900 The divine humility, which will accept a convert even on such terms. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:48.400 Who can rightly adore that love, which will open the high gates to a prodigal, 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:56.040 who is brought in, kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape. 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:03.220 That's you, will you give in? 00:28:05.360 --> 00:28:06.620 Admit that God is God. 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:08.720 And kneel and pray. 00:28:10.060 --> 00:28:10.420 Today? 00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:17.040 Listen to this invitation from the conclusion of the poem that I read at the beginning. 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:22.480 Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee? 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:24.180 Save me. 00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:26.180 Save only me. 00:28:27.080 --> 00:28:29.840 All which I took from thee I did but take, 00:28:30.600 --> 00:28:32.259 not for thy harms, 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:36.860 but just that thou mightest seek it in my arms. 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:42.300 All which thy child's mistake fancies as lost, 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:44.580 I have stored for thee at home. 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:45.640 Rise. 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:47.300 Clasp my hand. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:48.419 Stand and come. 00:28:49.879 --> 00:28:50.799 Jesus says come. 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:54.639 He's the one you've been looking for all along. 00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:57.759 Because he's been looking for you all along. 00:29:01.159 --> 00:29:02.460 But maybe you are a Christian. 00:29:04.220 --> 00:29:08.399 Maybe you've responded to God's call to salvation in Christ. 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:12.880 But maybe you've been resisting God's call to service. 00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:19.400 These are two of the main ways we see the concept of calling worked out in the New Testament. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:21.840 It's God calling us to believe and belong to Jesus. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:24.640 And God calling us to serve him. 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:26.000 To a mission. 00:29:26.800 --> 00:29:29.720 To actively live and work for him. 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:34.620 And ultimately these two callings are part of the same package. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:37.440 You really can't separate them too much. 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:39.799 They sort of happen right here together for Moses. 00:29:40.100 --> 00:29:42.059 They happen in a package deal for Paul too. 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:45.440 He gets his conversion and his calling all at once. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.720 But maybe you are a Christian and you're saying in some shape or form, 00:29:52.220 --> 00:29:55.019 there's some area of service that God has put before you, 00:29:55.079 --> 00:29:59.139 or you're being asked to take on a good thing, 00:29:59.140 --> 00:30:00.320 and you're saying, 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.580 Lord, anybody else but me. 00:30:03.860 --> 00:30:05.759 Please, no, not that. 00:30:07.660 --> 00:30:11.740 But look at what God does in verse 14 to 17 in response to Moses' resistance. 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:13.440 God doesn't get rid of him. 00:30:13.540 --> 00:30:16.759 God doesn't say, forget you, I'll ask somebody else. 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:23.560 No, what he does is he finds somebody else to stand next to Moses. 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:27.259 He does find someone else. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:28.680 He says, Aaron's going to come. 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:32.900 And Aaron will stand with you, and he can even speak for you. 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.840 Ironically, Moses ends up doing most of the talking later on. 00:30:39.280 --> 00:30:42.520 But God says to Moses, you won't be alone in this endeavor. 00:30:43.340 --> 00:30:46.400 Moses had Aaron and later the elders of Israel on his team. 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:49.920 And later on, Jesus would send out his disciples two by two, 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:52.320 perhaps so they wouldn't be alone, 00:30:53.320 --> 00:30:55.060 so they wouldn't so easily get discouraged, 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:57.440 so they'd have accountability in carrying out their mission. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:02.000 Sometimes when we're nervous and scared and resistant to God, 00:31:02.059 --> 00:31:03.700 in the face of God's call to service, 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:06.860 God sends a brother or sister in Christ to stand with us, 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:09.320 even to speak with us and for us, 00:31:09.320 --> 00:31:12.059 to give us courage and accountability and perseverance. 00:31:12.600 --> 00:31:15.340 He doesn't leave us to carry out our calling alone. 00:31:15.339 --> 00:31:18.699 Psalm 103 says, 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:37.140 Then God said, 00:31:37.140 --> 00:31:38.860 In verse 17, he says, 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:39.720 Take this staff. 00:31:41.020 --> 00:31:43.100 Verse 20 calls it the staff of God. 00:31:44.100 --> 00:31:46.700 Just a regular shepherd's instrument. 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:50.680 But one day God would use it to part the Red Sea 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:52.700 and bring water from a rock. 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:56.240 You see, God equips all those whom he calls. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:01.039 God will not call you to some area of service 00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:04.920 and leave you without it 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:06.559 and then refuse to equip you. 00:32:07.700 --> 00:32:09.440 He'll give you what you need. 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:17.220 So far we've seen Moses' resistance to God's call. 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:22.380 That's the first half of our message this morning. 00:32:22.380 --> 00:32:26.300 But the rest of chapter 4, we see Moses' obedience. 00:32:28.020 --> 00:32:29.560 I'm just going to summarize some of this section. 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:31.940 In verses 18 to 20, the beginning of this section, 00:32:32.040 --> 00:32:33.280 we see Moses leaving Midian. 00:32:33.340 --> 00:32:35.640 And the key word in these verses is, 00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:36.880 Go back. 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.820 Four times in these verses we see that verb. 00:32:40.440 --> 00:32:42.760 Moses goes back to Jethro, his father-in-law, 00:32:42.840 --> 00:32:45.160 who's also his employer, asking for permission. 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:47.420 Please let me go back to Egypt. 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:49.060 He doesn't give all the details, 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.460 but his request is clear enough. 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:51.480 Jethro says, 00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:52.100 Go in peace. 00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:52.779 The Lord says, 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:53.459 Go back. 00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:56.459 You're no longer on the Egyptian FBI Most Wanted list. 00:32:56.719 --> 00:32:58.819 So Moses packs up his family and goes back. 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:00.939 After all of Moses' objections, 00:33:01.099 --> 00:33:02.459 after all his stubborn resistance, 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:04.259 he finally obeys and goes. 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:05.919 And at the end of this section, 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:07.259 verses 27 to 31, 00:33:07.379 --> 00:33:08.819 Moses arrives back in Egypt. 00:33:09.159 --> 00:33:09.899 He meets Aaron. 00:33:10.119 --> 00:33:11.619 They gather the elders of Israel. 00:33:11.879 --> 00:33:13.299 Aaron speaks on Moses' behalf. 00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:15.199 And just as God has said, 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:16.500 the people believe. 00:33:16.899 --> 00:33:18.199 And verse 31 tells us, 00:33:18.199 --> 00:33:20.279 They bowed their heads and worshiped. 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:25.619 They're no longer bowing their heads under the unbearable burdens of slavery. 00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:29.559 They're willingly bowing their heads to worship the one true God. 00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:33.379 But then there's, 00:33:34.019 --> 00:33:35.399 in the middle of this section, 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:38.240 verse 24 to 26, 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:41.279 we have a mysterious incident that occurred 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:43.839 somewhere between Midian and Egypt 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:46.339 at a lodging place on the way. 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:49.399 And we're going to sort of park here 00:33:49.399 --> 00:33:51.099 for a while, 00:33:51.240 --> 00:33:52.299 for the rest of our message. 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:54.119 Look down at verse 24. 00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:55.899 Let me read verse 24 through 26. 00:33:55.959 --> 00:33:57.279 At a lodging place on the way, 00:33:58.119 --> 00:33:59.019 the Lord met him 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:00.679 and sought to put him to death. 00:34:02.239 --> 00:34:03.519 Then Zipporah took a flint, 00:34:04.459 --> 00:34:05.559 that is a knife, 00:34:05.919 --> 00:34:07.479 and cut off her son's foreskin 00:34:07.479 --> 00:34:09.500 and touched his feet with it 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.199 and said, 00:34:11.279 --> 00:34:13.239 Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me. 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:15.380 So he let him alone. 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:17.440 It was then that she said, 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:18.319 a bridegroom of blood, 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:19.559 because of the circumcision. 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:22.759 Now these verses have left many people 00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:23.820 very confused. 00:34:25.600 --> 00:34:28.360 Perhaps God included passages like this 00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:29.280 that are perplexing, 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:30.960 partly just to humble us 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:31.880 and make us realize 00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:32.940 that we don't know everything. 00:34:34.180 --> 00:34:36.260 But I think we can make some sense of it 00:34:36.260 --> 00:34:38.720 by looking at this passage in its context. 00:34:40.420 --> 00:34:41.800 Verses 22 to 23, 00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:43.040 God says to Pharaoh, 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:47.420 Israel is my firstborn son. 00:34:49.640 --> 00:34:50.340 He says, 00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:53.920 If you refuse to let my firstborn son go, 00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:54.640 behold, 00:34:55.019 --> 00:34:57.460 I will kill your firstborn son. 00:34:57.780 --> 00:34:58.500 In other words, 00:34:58.660 --> 00:35:01.079 Pharaoh's firstborn son is in danger 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:03.180 because of Pharaoh's, 00:35:03.180 --> 00:35:04.460 or will be in danger 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:07.059 because of Pharaoh's ongoing disobedience 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:08.320 to God's commands. 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:11.640 What we see in verses 24 to 26 00:35:11.640 --> 00:35:13.840 is that Moses' firstborn son 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:14.720 is in danger 00:35:14.720 --> 00:35:16.180 because Moses 00:35:16.180 --> 00:35:18.620 has failed to obey God's command. 00:35:18.619 --> 00:35:21.619 Now let me explain 00:35:21.619 --> 00:35:23.480 where I'm getting that. 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:25.339 Many people think 00:35:25.339 --> 00:35:26.079 that verse 24 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:27.259 is referring to Moses. 00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:28.819 Okay, 00:35:28.839 --> 00:35:29.500 if you think that, 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:30.420 it would go like this. 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:31.599 The Lord met Moses 00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:34.000 and sought to put Moses to death. 00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:35.319 And then Zipporah, 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:36.159 Moses' wife, 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:37.059 took a knife, 00:35:37.239 --> 00:35:38.159 circumcised her skin, 00:35:38.259 --> 00:35:39.639 and touched Moses' feet 00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:41.000 with a bloody foreskin. 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:41.420 So, 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:42.239 verse 26, 00:35:42.339 --> 00:35:44.000 God let Moses alone. 00:35:44.420 --> 00:35:46.099 So that's a possible interpretation. 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:47.659 The main reason 00:35:47.659 --> 00:35:49.279 in favor of that 00:35:49.279 --> 00:35:50.799 is that the rest of this episode 00:35:50.799 --> 00:35:51.679 is about Moses. 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:54.639 But, 00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:55.579 Moses' name 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:56.980 actually never appears 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:58.920 in these verses, 00:35:59.059 --> 00:36:00.719 verses 24 to 26. 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:03.299 In the middle of verse 25, 00:36:03.420 --> 00:36:04.940 the ESV interprets 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:07.199 verse 25 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:07.779 as a reference 00:36:07.779 --> 00:36:08.799 to Moses' feet, 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:09.900 but if you look at the footnote, 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:10.719 it says in Hebrew, 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:11.679 it's just his. 00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:12.819 Okay, 00:36:12.820 --> 00:36:13.559 so it's interpretation, 00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:15.300 but no, 00:36:15.539 --> 00:36:16.580 the only male 00:36:16.580 --> 00:36:18.100 who is clearly identified 00:36:18.100 --> 00:36:19.840 in verse 24 to 26 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:21.800 is Zipporah's son. 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:23.980 That is Moses' firstborn son, 00:36:24.100 --> 00:36:24.420 Gersh, 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:25.500 whose name was Gershom. 00:36:27.580 --> 00:36:28.059 So, 00:36:28.160 --> 00:36:29.100 I think it's better 00:36:29.100 --> 00:36:30.600 to understand the hymn 00:36:30.600 --> 00:36:31.760 in verse 24 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:32.680 and verse 26 00:36:32.680 --> 00:36:34.720 as Moses' firstborn son. 00:36:36.100 --> 00:36:36.580 Gershom, 00:36:36.700 --> 00:36:37.640 Moses' firstborn son, 00:36:37.680 --> 00:36:38.580 was in danger 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:40.219 because Moses 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:41.259 had failed to obey 00:36:41.259 --> 00:36:42.019 God's command 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:43.279 to circumcise him. 00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:44.840 Now, 00:36:45.099 --> 00:36:46.119 you might say, 00:36:46.699 --> 00:36:48.239 why is circumcision 00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:49.380 such a big deal 00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:52.099 that God would, 00:36:53.079 --> 00:36:54.279 that he would be, 00:36:54.380 --> 00:36:54.840 someone would be 00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:55.659 in mortal danger 00:36:55.659 --> 00:36:57.500 for not following through 00:36:57.500 --> 00:36:58.119 on that command? 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:01.559 But when God made a covenant 00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:02.299 with Abraham 00:37:02.299 --> 00:37:03.279 in Genesis 17, 00:37:03.279 --> 00:37:04.340 this is what he said 00:37:04.340 --> 00:37:05.440 to Abraham. 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:06.340 He said, 00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:07.239 this is my covenant 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:08.939 which you shall keep 00:37:08.939 --> 00:37:11.099 between me and you 00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:12.059 and your offspring 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:12.819 after you. 00:37:12.959 --> 00:37:14.239 Every male among you 00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:15.799 shall be circumcised. 00:37:16.119 --> 00:37:17.079 It shall be a sign 00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:17.679 of the covenant 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:19.719 between me and you. 00:37:21.099 --> 00:37:22.519 He who is eight days old 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:22.919 among you 00:37:22.919 --> 00:37:23.919 shall be circumcised. 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:25.259 And then he said, 00:37:25.459 --> 00:37:27.139 any uncircumcised male 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:28.059 shall be cut off 00:37:28.059 --> 00:37:28.719 from his people. 00:37:28.819 --> 00:37:29.679 He has broken 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:30.679 my covenant. 00:37:31.879 --> 00:37:32.219 So, 00:37:32.279 --> 00:37:32.939 in the Old Testament, 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:34.259 circumcision represented 00:37:34.259 --> 00:37:35.379 cutting off 00:37:35.379 --> 00:37:36.659 or putting away 00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:38.359 everything that was 00:37:38.359 --> 00:37:39.940 displeasing to God, 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:40.699 unclean 00:37:40.699 --> 00:37:42.079 and displeasing to God. 00:37:42.699 --> 00:37:44.199 And dedicating oneself 00:37:44.199 --> 00:37:45.259 to God fully 00:37:45.259 --> 00:37:46.619 for the task ahead. 00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:48.179 It was like saying your vows 00:37:48.179 --> 00:37:50.059 and signing a marriage license. 00:37:50.699 --> 00:37:51.599 You can't get married 00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:52.859 without doing those things. 00:37:53.859 --> 00:37:54.739 It was a sign 00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:55.579 that you were in 00:37:55.579 --> 00:37:56.779 on God's promises 00:37:56.779 --> 00:37:57.359 to Abraham, 00:37:57.619 --> 00:37:57.859 Isaac, 00:37:57.940 --> 00:37:58.339 and Jacob. 00:37:58.440 --> 00:37:59.519 And if you were a male, 00:37:59.759 --> 00:38:00.980 there were no exceptions. 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:03.679 But here's the problem. 00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:05.119 Moses is the one 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:06.079 whom God has chosen 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.059 to lead His people 00:38:07.059 --> 00:38:07.619 out of Egypt. 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:08.779 And yet Moses 00:38:08.779 --> 00:38:10.359 had failed to follow through 00:38:10.359 --> 00:38:12.500 on this most basic requirement 00:38:12.500 --> 00:38:14.299 in his own family. 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:15.739 He was supposed 00:38:15.739 --> 00:38:16.980 to circumcise his son 00:38:16.980 --> 00:38:18.359 at eight days old. 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:19.500 But Gershom 00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:20.920 was much older than that. 00:38:21.039 --> 00:38:22.039 Verse 20 indicates 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:22.719 that Moses had 00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:24.339 at least two sons 00:38:24.339 --> 00:38:25.059 by this time. 00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:26.039 There are two sons of Moses 00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:27.019 that are named in the Bible. 00:38:27.779 --> 00:38:28.619 So, Gershom 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:29.420 had a younger brother. 00:38:30.699 --> 00:38:31.739 And Moses had lived 00:38:31.739 --> 00:38:32.880 in Midian for 40 years. 00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:33.359 So, depending 00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:34.460 when he married Zipporah 00:38:34.460 --> 00:38:35.320 and when they had kids, 00:38:35.400 --> 00:38:36.180 Gershom could have well 00:38:36.180 --> 00:38:37.059 been an older child 00:38:37.059 --> 00:38:38.620 or even a full-grown adult. 00:38:42.240 --> 00:38:42.640 Thankfully, 00:38:43.240 --> 00:38:44.099 verse 25, 00:38:44.200 --> 00:38:45.660 Zipporah steps in 00:38:45.660 --> 00:38:46.420 and saves the day. 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:47.420 She circumcises him 00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:48.000 on the spot. 00:38:48.660 --> 00:38:49.240 She realizes 00:38:49.240 --> 00:38:50.180 what needs to be done 00:38:50.180 --> 00:38:51.200 and she does it 00:38:51.200 --> 00:38:53.059 and she saves the day 00:38:53.059 --> 00:38:54.360 and God's wrath 00:38:54.360 --> 00:38:54.980 is turned away. 00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:57.200 Now, 00:38:57.700 --> 00:38:59.460 that's basically 00:38:59.460 --> 00:39:00.360 what's going on. 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:02.140 what do we take away 00:39:02.140 --> 00:39:04.420 from this mysterious incident? 00:39:05.460 --> 00:39:06.380 Five things. 00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:07.519 We'll conclude 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:08.140 with these five. 00:39:09.740 --> 00:39:10.260 First, 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:11.420 we see a warning 00:39:11.420 --> 00:39:11.980 to Moses 00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:13.660 that he is not exempt 00:39:13.660 --> 00:39:14.820 from obeying 00:39:14.820 --> 00:39:15.740 the Lord's commands. 00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:18.820 Sometimes religious leaders 00:39:18.820 --> 00:39:20.559 can be tempted 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:21.140 to think, 00:39:21.500 --> 00:39:23.480 I'm doing so much 00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:24.019 for God. 00:39:24.599 --> 00:39:25.480 I've sacrificed 00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:26.079 so much 00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:26.680 to be obedient 00:39:26.680 --> 00:39:27.220 to Him. 00:39:27.219 --> 00:39:29.119 I can skate by 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:30.699 in one or two areas 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:32.579 that are relatively minor. 00:39:34.299 --> 00:39:35.939 I can intentionally, 00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:37.739 willfully neglect 00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:39.959 some of God's commands 00:39:39.959 --> 00:39:42.419 because I'm sacrificing 00:39:42.419 --> 00:39:43.639 and obeying so much 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:44.359 in other ways. 00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:46.739 That's a recipe 00:39:46.739 --> 00:39:47.859 for disaster. 00:39:47.860 --> 00:39:51.260 It has caused 00:39:51.260 --> 00:39:52.180 harm 00:39:52.180 --> 00:39:53.820 to countless 00:39:53.820 --> 00:39:55.960 churches 00:39:55.960 --> 00:39:58.180 and communities 00:39:58.180 --> 00:40:00.800 when a pastor 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:01.780 or someone else 00:40:01.780 --> 00:40:03.519 lets that mindset 00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:04.559 sink in. 00:40:06.059 --> 00:40:07.019 The only way 00:40:07.019 --> 00:40:08.039 to lead God's people 00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:09.240 is to lead 00:40:09.240 --> 00:40:09.960 by example 00:40:09.960 --> 00:40:11.720 of what Paul calls 00:40:11.720 --> 00:40:12.360 sincere 00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:13.460 and pure 00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:14.900 devotion to Christ. 00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:14.960 Christ. 00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:16.860 So it's a challenge 00:40:16.860 --> 00:40:17.400 to all of us 00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:17.940 who are leaders, 00:40:18.380 --> 00:40:19.519 first of all. 00:40:20.860 --> 00:40:21.340 Second, 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:23.840 we see that 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:24.380 even though 00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:25.280 Moses' son, 00:40:26.380 --> 00:40:27.400 or possibly 00:40:27.400 --> 00:40:28.059 Moses himself 00:40:28.059 --> 00:40:28.619 if you interpret 00:40:28.619 --> 00:40:29.200 it that way, 00:40:29.380 --> 00:40:30.559 was in grave danger 00:40:30.559 --> 00:40:31.940 for disobeying 00:40:31.940 --> 00:40:32.800 the Lord's command, 00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:34.160 the Lord provided 00:40:34.160 --> 00:40:35.340 sufficient time 00:40:35.340 --> 00:40:36.160 for the error 00:40:36.160 --> 00:40:37.019 to be corrected. 00:40:38.579 --> 00:40:39.420 It's sort of like 00:40:39.420 --> 00:40:40.000 God was saying 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:40.480 to Moses, 00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:41.460 look, 00:40:41.940 --> 00:40:42.820 this area 00:40:42.820 --> 00:40:43.380 of obedience 00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:44.300 has been neglected 00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:45.960 far too long. 00:40:46.700 --> 00:40:47.680 We need to fix 00:40:47.680 --> 00:40:48.640 this now. 00:40:50.260 --> 00:40:51.100 And sometimes 00:40:51.100 --> 00:40:51.820 the Holy Spirit 00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:53.100 does the same thing 00:40:53.100 --> 00:40:55.539 for Christian believers. 00:40:56.660 --> 00:40:58.460 He presses home 00:40:58.460 --> 00:41:00.200 one of God's 00:41:00.200 --> 00:41:01.720 clearly written 00:41:01.720 --> 00:41:02.740 commands in Scripture. 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:05.760 Christians sometimes 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:06.360 call this 00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:07.300 conviction 00:41:07.300 --> 00:41:08.780 of sin. 00:41:11.260 --> 00:41:12.160 Maybe you've been 00:41:12.160 --> 00:41:12.680 neglecting 00:41:12.679 --> 00:41:13.980 one of God's 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:14.980 clear commands 00:41:14.980 --> 00:41:16.419 in the Scripture 00:41:16.419 --> 00:41:17.679 for a long time 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:19.539 and you know it. 00:41:21.319 --> 00:41:22.460 Don't wait 00:41:22.460 --> 00:41:23.719 any longer. 00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:26.059 If you're a Christian 00:41:26.059 --> 00:41:26.480 believer 00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:27.599 and you haven't 00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:28.159 been baptized, 00:41:28.559 --> 00:41:29.559 why are you waiting? 00:41:29.940 --> 00:41:30.819 God commands it. 00:41:30.820 --> 00:41:33.300 If you're harboring 00:41:33.300 --> 00:41:34.000 a root of bitterness 00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:35.100 against someone, 00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:35.980 confess it. 00:41:36.980 --> 00:41:37.980 If you've deceived 00:41:37.980 --> 00:41:39.280 someone or lied 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:39.780 to someone, 00:41:40.120 --> 00:41:41.180 go tell them the truth 00:41:41.180 --> 00:41:41.860 even if it was 00:41:41.860 --> 00:41:42.880 a long time ago 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:44.640 and you hope 00:41:44.640 --> 00:41:45.360 they forgot it. 00:41:46.740 --> 00:41:47.539 If you're in a 00:41:47.539 --> 00:41:48.300 sexually immoral 00:41:48.300 --> 00:41:48.900 relationship, 00:41:49.240 --> 00:41:50.000 break it off. 00:41:51.120 --> 00:41:51.940 Don't delay. 00:41:54.840 --> 00:41:55.720 Several years ago, 00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:56.700 I was visiting a friend 00:41:56.700 --> 00:41:57.140 who was 00:41:57.140 --> 00:41:58.880 a relatively new 00:41:58.880 --> 00:41:59.220 Christian. 00:42:00.180 --> 00:42:00.820 He had been 00:42:00.820 --> 00:42:01.660 addicted to pornography 00:42:01.660 --> 00:42:02.640 for several years. 00:42:03.740 --> 00:42:04.460 But he hadn't 00:42:04.460 --> 00:42:05.019 really taken 00:42:05.019 --> 00:42:05.880 decisive action 00:42:05.880 --> 00:42:06.480 to stop. 00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:08.640 He might have said, 00:42:08.720 --> 00:42:08.960 I don't know 00:42:08.960 --> 00:42:09.760 how I could stop. 00:42:10.519 --> 00:42:11.240 In desperation, 00:42:11.619 --> 00:42:12.340 he prayed 00:42:12.340 --> 00:42:13.099 for deliverance. 00:42:14.059 --> 00:42:14.900 A few days later, 00:42:15.320 --> 00:42:16.180 he got mugged 00:42:16.180 --> 00:42:17.619 walking down 00:42:17.619 --> 00:42:17.960 his street 00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:18.420 in Washington, 00:42:18.519 --> 00:42:18.840 D.C. 00:42:19.860 --> 00:42:20.539 Three guys 00:42:20.539 --> 00:42:21.119 took his laptop 00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:21.840 and ran off. 00:42:24.260 --> 00:42:25.260 I'd kid you not. 00:42:25.260 --> 00:42:27.480 He said, 00:42:27.520 --> 00:42:28.040 I guess God 00:42:28.040 --> 00:42:28.940 answered my prayer. 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:31.540 I was doing 00:42:31.540 --> 00:42:32.260 Teach for America. 00:42:32.380 --> 00:42:32.920 I was too poor 00:42:32.920 --> 00:42:33.500 to buy myself 00:42:33.500 --> 00:42:34.080 a new laptop. 00:42:34.680 --> 00:42:35.640 I had to borrow 00:42:35.640 --> 00:42:36.440 my housemates 00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:37.760 and work in the 00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:38.300 common room. 00:42:40.500 --> 00:42:41.500 The issue was solved, 00:42:41.580 --> 00:42:42.320 at least for a time. 00:42:44.600 --> 00:42:45.140 Don't wait 00:42:45.140 --> 00:42:45.880 until you get mugged. 00:42:48.580 --> 00:42:49.160 Don't wait 00:42:49.160 --> 00:42:49.960 for some near-death 00:42:49.960 --> 00:42:51.140 experience like Moses 00:42:51.140 --> 00:42:51.660 or his son 00:42:51.660 --> 00:42:52.560 experienced here 00:42:52.560 --> 00:42:53.520 before you're moved 00:42:53.520 --> 00:42:54.080 to repent. 00:42:55.260 --> 00:42:56.560 If you persist 00:42:56.560 --> 00:42:57.520 in a pattern of sin, 00:42:57.580 --> 00:42:58.200 you're not only 00:42:58.200 --> 00:42:58.920 putting yourself 00:42:58.920 --> 00:42:59.400 in danger, 00:42:59.520 --> 00:42:59.920 you're putting, 00:43:00.260 --> 00:43:00.900 you're endangering 00:43:00.900 --> 00:43:01.720 other people 00:43:01.720 --> 00:43:02.860 who depend on you 00:43:02.860 --> 00:43:03.300 as well. 00:43:05.700 --> 00:43:06.620 So that's the second 00:43:06.620 --> 00:43:07.300 thing we see. 00:43:09.580 --> 00:43:11.220 A call to repentance. 00:43:12.460 --> 00:43:12.900 Third, 00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:15.120 we see a woman 00:43:15.120 --> 00:43:15.720 of courage. 00:43:17.160 --> 00:43:18.120 Zipporah stepped in 00:43:18.120 --> 00:43:19.280 at just the right time. 00:43:20.700 --> 00:43:21.700 Whether it was Moses 00:43:21.700 --> 00:43:22.340 or his son 00:43:22.340 --> 00:43:23.060 who was in danger, 00:43:23.060 --> 00:43:23.640 this episode 00:43:23.640 --> 00:43:24.320 does not reflect 00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:25.220 well on Moses. 00:43:25.600 --> 00:43:26.920 Moses is completely 00:43:26.920 --> 00:43:27.620 passive here. 00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:28.540 He does nothing. 00:43:28.760 --> 00:43:29.440 He says nothing. 00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:31.440 But thank God 00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:32.100 for Zipporah. 00:43:32.860 --> 00:43:33.580 She was truly 00:43:33.580 --> 00:43:34.480 Moses' helper, 00:43:34.620 --> 00:43:36.160 his strong ally. 00:43:37.420 --> 00:43:37.940 Decisive, 00:43:38.260 --> 00:43:38.640 fearless, 00:43:39.160 --> 00:43:39.520 competent 00:43:39.520 --> 00:43:40.280 in an emergency, 00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:41.260 and above all, 00:43:41.400 --> 00:43:42.220 obedient to God. 00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:43.120 She saw what needed 00:43:43.120 --> 00:43:43.700 to be done, 00:43:43.820 --> 00:43:44.700 and she did it 00:43:44.700 --> 00:43:45.520 without hesitating. 00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:46.600 Praise God 00:43:46.600 --> 00:43:47.600 for women of faith 00:43:47.600 --> 00:43:48.100 and courage 00:43:48.100 --> 00:43:49.020 like Zipporah. 00:43:50.560 --> 00:43:51.060 Fourth, 00:43:51.059 --> 00:43:53.940 we see that salvation 00:43:53.940 --> 00:43:54.960 comes through 00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:55.759 the blood. 00:43:57.159 --> 00:43:58.659 The end of verse 25 00:43:58.659 --> 00:44:00.579 is perhaps 00:44:00.579 --> 00:44:01.219 the most difficult 00:44:01.219 --> 00:44:02.079 part of this passage 00:44:02.079 --> 00:44:03.099 to understand 00:44:03.099 --> 00:44:03.719 and interpret. 00:44:03.719 --> 00:44:05.599 Zipporah touched 00:44:05.599 --> 00:44:06.539 his feet 00:44:06.539 --> 00:44:08.699 with the bloody foreskin 00:44:08.699 --> 00:44:10.159 and said, 00:44:10.879 --> 00:44:11.639 surely you are 00:44:11.639 --> 00:44:12.480 a bridegroom 00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:13.419 of blood to me. 00:44:15.439 --> 00:44:16.199 Whose feet 00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:16.839 does she touch? 00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:19.439 What does bridegroom 00:44:19.439 --> 00:44:20.099 of blood mean? 00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:20.899 The phrase appears 00:44:20.899 --> 00:44:21.519 nowhere else 00:44:21.519 --> 00:44:22.079 in the Bible 00:44:22.079 --> 00:44:23.480 or in ancient literature. 00:44:23.899 --> 00:44:24.859 It's hard to even know 00:44:24.859 --> 00:44:25.839 how to translate it 00:44:25.839 --> 00:44:26.519 or if this is even 00:44:26.519 --> 00:44:26.980 the right way 00:44:26.980 --> 00:44:27.779 to translate it. 00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:30.000 But what is clear 00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:32.600 from this mysterious verse 00:44:32.600 --> 00:44:35.240 is the saving significance 00:44:35.240 --> 00:44:35.760 of blood. 00:44:37.060 --> 00:44:37.980 It's the blood 00:44:37.980 --> 00:44:39.880 that turns away 00:44:39.880 --> 00:44:41.400 the wrath of God. 00:44:42.620 --> 00:44:43.480 Zipporah touched 00:44:43.480 --> 00:44:44.460 his feet 00:44:44.460 --> 00:44:46.460 with the bloody foreskin. 00:44:47.420 --> 00:44:48.320 In Exodus 12, 00:44:48.500 --> 00:44:49.980 the same verb is used 00:44:49.980 --> 00:44:51.480 when Moses instructs 00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:52.040 the Israelites 00:44:52.040 --> 00:44:53.060 on Passover night, 00:44:53.640 --> 00:44:55.060 kill the Passover lamb, 00:44:55.960 --> 00:44:57.060 take a bunch of hyssop 00:44:57.059 --> 00:44:58.259 and dip it in the blood 00:44:58.259 --> 00:44:59.119 and touch 00:44:59.119 --> 00:45:00.400 the top 00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:01.739 and both sides 00:45:01.739 --> 00:45:02.599 of the door 00:45:02.599 --> 00:45:03.699 with the blood. 00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:06.400 When he sees the blood, 00:45:06.679 --> 00:45:07.860 the Lord will pass 00:45:07.860 --> 00:45:09.259 over the door 00:45:09.259 --> 00:45:11.799 and the destroying angel 00:45:11.799 --> 00:45:12.840 will not destroy 00:45:12.840 --> 00:45:13.880 that house. 00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:15.980 And that's exactly 00:45:15.980 --> 00:45:17.019 what we see here 00:45:17.019 --> 00:45:19.619 in this very compact narrative. 00:45:19.619 --> 00:45:21.119 The blood is applied 00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:23.900 and God's wrath is averted 00:45:23.900 --> 00:45:25.759 and the firstborn son 00:45:25.759 --> 00:45:26.299 is saved. 00:45:27.059 --> 00:45:28.079 That's exactly 00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:28.900 what's going to happen 00:45:28.900 --> 00:45:30.659 in chapter 12 00:45:30.659 --> 00:45:32.159 when we get to the Passover. 00:45:33.820 --> 00:45:34.799 And of course, 00:45:34.900 --> 00:45:35.259 ultimately, 00:45:35.759 --> 00:45:37.719 this mysterious incident 00:45:37.719 --> 00:45:39.579 points us 00:45:39.579 --> 00:45:41.400 to the greatest 00:45:41.400 --> 00:45:44.420 and most perfect sacrifice 00:45:44.420 --> 00:45:44.840 of all. 00:45:46.420 --> 00:45:47.340 Jesus Christ shed 00:45:47.340 --> 00:45:48.440 his blood on the cross. 00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:51.679 We were under God's wrath 00:45:51.679 --> 00:45:53.139 because of our sin 00:45:53.139 --> 00:45:53.779 and rebellion, 00:45:53.780 --> 00:45:55.160 but Jesus stepped in 00:45:55.160 --> 00:45:56.260 and he shed his blood 00:45:56.260 --> 00:45:57.400 and when his blood 00:45:57.400 --> 00:45:58.580 is applied to us, 00:45:59.380 --> 00:46:01.080 when we identify 00:46:01.080 --> 00:46:02.280 with him by faith 00:46:02.280 --> 00:46:04.540 and he claims us 00:46:04.540 --> 00:46:05.460 as his own, 00:46:06.019 --> 00:46:08.340 we're saved 00:46:08.340 --> 00:46:10.280 and we can go on our way 00:46:10.280 --> 00:46:10.900 rejoicing 00:46:10.900 --> 00:46:12.640 and without fear 00:46:12.640 --> 00:46:13.480 of condemnation. 00:46:14.620 --> 00:46:16.100 Hebrews 9 says, 00:46:16.099 --> 00:46:17.420 how much more 00:46:17.420 --> 00:46:19.460 will the blood of Christ 00:46:19.460 --> 00:46:21.519 who offered himself 00:46:21.519 --> 00:46:22.679 without blemish to God 00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:24.019 purify our conscience 00:46:24.019 --> 00:46:24.960 from dead works 00:46:24.960 --> 00:46:27.759 to serve the living God? 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:33.259 Saved by the blood. 00:46:35.259 --> 00:46:36.599 Fifth and finally, 00:46:36.599 --> 00:46:40.420 Moses didn't need, 00:46:40.860 --> 00:46:42.579 Moses didn't just need 00:46:42.579 --> 00:46:43.380 God's mercy 00:46:43.380 --> 00:46:44.159 in the midst 00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:45.279 of his resistance. 00:46:46.159 --> 00:46:47.400 He also needed 00:46:47.400 --> 00:46:48.179 God's mercy 00:46:48.179 --> 00:46:48.779 in the midst 00:46:48.779 --> 00:46:50.079 of his obedience. 00:46:52.480 --> 00:46:53.460 You see that? 00:46:55.119 --> 00:46:57.059 Moses finally agreed 00:46:57.059 --> 00:46:59.039 to work for God, 00:46:59.179 --> 00:47:00.500 to obey God, 00:47:00.559 --> 00:47:01.460 to go back to Egypt 00:47:01.460 --> 00:47:02.599 and do what God said, 00:47:02.860 --> 00:47:05.019 but God still had more work 00:47:05.019 --> 00:47:05.759 to do in Moses. 00:47:06.599 --> 00:47:07.819 in the process. 00:47:08.799 --> 00:47:10.719 And that's really good news 00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:11.819 because what it means 00:47:11.819 --> 00:47:12.900 is that God uses 00:47:12.900 --> 00:47:14.159 imperfect people 00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:15.920 who don't have it 00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:16.639 all together 00:47:16.639 --> 00:47:18.119 to carry out 00:47:18.119 --> 00:47:19.119 his work in the world. 00:47:21.299 --> 00:47:22.000 Last week, 00:47:22.039 --> 00:47:22.420 I went over 00:47:22.420 --> 00:47:23.319 to the 180 Center 00:47:23.319 --> 00:47:24.759 where they're hosting 00:47:24.759 --> 00:47:25.400 the Warming Center 00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:25.980 for the Homeless 00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:26.420 this winter. 00:47:27.259 --> 00:47:28.380 And they run a day program. 00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:28.779 They were doing 00:47:28.779 --> 00:47:29.659 conflict resolution. 00:47:30.599 --> 00:47:31.559 It was great. 00:47:32.139 --> 00:47:32.460 Honestly, 00:47:32.519 --> 00:47:33.440 we could all learn something 00:47:33.440 --> 00:47:34.119 by going there 00:47:34.119 --> 00:47:34.880 and just observing 00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:35.440 what they do. 00:47:35.440 --> 00:47:36.619 This is with the guys 00:47:36.619 --> 00:47:37.539 in their recovery house 00:47:37.539 --> 00:47:38.139 who are recovering 00:47:38.139 --> 00:47:38.700 from addictions 00:47:38.700 --> 00:47:40.519 and they use 00:47:40.519 --> 00:47:41.720 Peacemaker Ministries 00:47:41.720 --> 00:47:43.760 and those principles. 00:47:44.980 --> 00:47:45.780 It's pretty good. 00:47:46.240 --> 00:47:47.340 But I know there's a poster 00:47:47.340 --> 00:47:47.900 on their wall 00:47:47.900 --> 00:47:49.220 that caught my eye. 00:47:50.360 --> 00:47:51.320 And I want to conclude 00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:51.760 with this. 00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:52.860 The poster says, 00:47:52.980 --> 00:47:54.260 Do you seriously think 00:47:54.260 --> 00:47:56.800 that God can't use you? 00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:00.099 Noah was a drunk. 00:48:00.980 --> 00:48:02.159 Isaac was a daydreamer. 00:48:02.159 --> 00:48:03.539 Jacob was a liar. 00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:05.139 Joseph was abused. 00:48:05.619 --> 00:48:06.639 Gideon was afraid. 00:48:07.259 --> 00:48:08.539 Rahab was a prostitute. 00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:09.980 David had an affair. 00:48:10.659 --> 00:48:11.859 Abraham was too old. 00:48:12.420 --> 00:48:13.619 Jeremiah was too young. 00:48:14.319 --> 00:48:15.480 Elijah was suicidal. 00:48:16.319 --> 00:48:17.599 Jonah ran away from God. 00:48:18.259 --> 00:48:19.460 Martha worried about everything. 00:48:20.159 --> 00:48:21.739 The disciples fell asleep 00:48:21.739 --> 00:48:22.420 while praying. 00:48:23.239 --> 00:48:24.420 Peter denied Christ. 00:48:25.059 --> 00:48:26.019 Lazarus was dead. 00:48:26.019 --> 00:48:34.539 And then it quotes this verse 00:48:34.539 --> 00:48:36.679 which I'll conclude with. 00:48:36.679 --> 00:48:37.460 Brothers and sisters, 00:48:37.619 --> 00:48:38.659 think of what you were 00:48:38.659 --> 00:48:39.539 when you were called. 00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:41.920 When God called you 00:48:41.920 --> 00:48:42.880 to belong to Jesus 00:48:42.880 --> 00:48:44.739 and to serve Him. 00:48:45.360 --> 00:48:46.659 God chose the foolish things 00:48:46.659 --> 00:48:47.079 of the world 00:48:47.079 --> 00:48:48.139 to shame the wise. 00:48:48.920 --> 00:48:50.239 God chose the weak things 00:48:50.239 --> 00:48:50.659 of the world 00:48:50.659 --> 00:48:51.619 to shame the strong. 00:48:51.759 --> 00:48:52.960 God chose the lowly things 00:48:52.960 --> 00:48:53.500 of this world 00:48:53.500 --> 00:48:54.820 and the despised things 00:48:54.820 --> 00:48:56.360 and the things that are not 00:48:56.360 --> 00:48:58.160 to nullify the things that are 00:48:58.160 --> 00:48:59.920 so that no one may boast before Him. 00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:02.260 It is because of God 00:49:02.260 --> 00:49:03.920 that you are in Christ Jesus 00:49:03.920 --> 00:49:06.200 who has become for us 00:49:06.200 --> 00:49:07.140 wisdom from God 00:49:07.140 --> 00:49:08.200 that is our righteousness, 00:49:08.780 --> 00:49:09.080 holiness, 00:49:09.380 --> 00:49:10.120 and redemption. 00:49:11.620 --> 00:49:11.900 Therefore, 00:49:12.100 --> 00:49:12.840 as it is written, 00:49:13.640 --> 00:49:15.059 let the one who boasts 00:49:15.059 --> 00:49:18.300 boast in the Lord. 00:49:19.840 --> 00:49:20.960 Amen and amen. 00:49:21.080 --> 00:49:21.480 Let's pray. 00:49:21.480 --> 00:49:25.099 God, we thank you 00:49:25.099 --> 00:49:26.679 for your mercy to Moses. 00:49:27.719 --> 00:49:28.800 We thank you 00:49:28.800 --> 00:49:31.860 for answering all his questions. 00:49:32.860 --> 00:49:33.900 We thank you 00:49:33.900 --> 00:49:35.579 for exposing his resistance. 00:49:36.340 --> 00:49:37.019 We thank you 00:49:37.019 --> 00:49:38.079 for sending him help. 00:49:39.179 --> 00:49:40.079 We thank you 00:49:40.079 --> 00:49:44.000 for turning his heart 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:45.679 that he was obedient to you. 00:49:46.800 --> 00:49:47.900 We thank you, 00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:49.440 Lord, 00:49:49.579 --> 00:49:51.079 that for showing your mercy to him 00:49:51.079 --> 00:49:53.219 even in the midst of his obedience 00:49:53.219 --> 00:49:55.960 in an area that he still needed 00:49:55.960 --> 00:49:56.639 to make right. 00:49:58.940 --> 00:49:59.340 Lord, 00:49:59.380 --> 00:50:00.719 as we come to the communion table, 00:50:01.819 --> 00:50:03.259 would we take all these truths 00:50:03.259 --> 00:50:03.699 to heart 00:50:03.699 --> 00:50:06.219 that you have saved us 00:50:06.219 --> 00:50:06.819 by your blood, 00:50:07.819 --> 00:50:09.799 that you call us 00:50:09.799 --> 00:50:11.420 to belong to you 00:50:11.420 --> 00:50:12.619 and to serve you. 00:50:14.559 --> 00:50:14.960 Lord, 00:50:15.019 --> 00:50:15.360 would you, 00:50:16.579 --> 00:50:17.400 as we take the bread 00:50:17.400 --> 00:50:17.840 and the cup 00:50:17.840 --> 00:50:18.380 with those, 00:50:18.639 --> 00:50:21.619 would your spirit 00:50:21.619 --> 00:50:22.500 make those truths 00:50:22.500 --> 00:50:23.619 real to our hearts? 00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:25.980 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:50:26.519 --> 00:50:26.760 Amen.