A Terrible,no Good, Very Bad Day Series

MOSES: FROM DOUBT TO DELIVERANCE

A TERRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

Sunday October 20, 2002

Scripture Reference: Exodus 5 & 6 various verses

Intro.

A. Here is a really dumb question, “Have you ever had a really bad day?” If you are tempted to answer “no” to that question please let me know so that we can call the mortuary to come pick you up because if you have never had a bad day you are most definitely dead!

B. There is a children’s story called Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, no good very bad day. Let me share it with you. []

C. What we are going to learn from the life of Moses today is that even if you are a Christian, even if you are doing your best to fulfill God’s will for your life it does not mean that the road of life will always be smooth. [] I like the way Mark Lowery described it in one of his comedy routines. He said that Jesus gives us “Abundant Life” (stretching his arms wide)

Trans. Let’s look at how even someone like Moses can have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I. THE BAD DAY BEGINS.

To get a true prospect on what is about to happen to Moses we need a little background. What Moses is about to learn is that what goes up must come down.

A. What Goes Up Must Come Down.

1. Look with me at 4:29-31 (read). What we find here is that Moses and Aaron and the other leaders of the Hebrew people have just come back form a wonderful bible conference. We don’t know for how long but let’s say it has been a few days. Moses has been sharing with them about his life and the miraculous ways in which God has been working in him. He told them about the burning bush experience and how God literally spoke his name from within the bush and called him to come and be used to deliver the Hebrew children from this cruel bondage and slavery they were in.

a) Now can you imagine the atmosphere of this setting? I think it would not be hard to describe it as electric. I think there was a lot of shouting, a lot of people saying “Amen” and “Praise the Lord”. I would be willing to bet that these people were pumped up. I would also bet that they felt pretty invincible as they came away from that conference. They were probably saying, “Watch out Pharaoh, it’s our turn now.” “You have kept us in slavery all these years but now we are going home."

b) [] It reminds me a little bit of what happens so often when we send our teens away to camp. They have a great week of spiritual emphasis. Often times they go forward and confess their sins maybe even accept what they feel is a call of God upon their lives. As they head down the mountain they feel invincible. They feel like saying watch out school. I am going to be a radically saved Christian for Christ on my campus. I am going to share my faith with boldness and when I do, people are going to respond and revival will break out on my campus. It’s exciting, isn’t it?

2. Guest what? What goes up must come down. Your feelings that were sky high all of a sudden seem to come crashing down to the ground. ** Now what I want you to know here is that nothing has happened to you that was wrong or sinful, and don’t let the enemy tell you that what happened to you wasn’t real. I am sure that it was, just as it must have been with Moses and these leaders. But here is what you must understand. Your feelings will always be changing but GOD DOES NOT CHANGE! We will see this more clearly as we move along.

Trans. After this great conference Moses and Aaron get an audience with Pharaoh.

B. An Audience With Pharaoh.

1. Look at V.1-2 (read). Now all through this series I have been challenging you to try and put yourself back there in the time when this first happened. Try to set aside the fact that you know the story and the outcome, but try to imagine what it was like to be there as this all unfolds.

a) I for one find it intriguing that they even got an audience with Pharaoh. Remember who we are talking about here. This is Pharaoh, the god of the world. He held life and death in his hands; at least he thought he did. Try to put this in a modern day prospective. It would probably be something like me going up to the White House and requesting an audience with the President. After the security guards are done laughing I am sure they would tell me to go away. The fact that an unknown sheepherder gets an audience with the ruler of the world is amazing in and of itself. Maybe when Pharaoh was told this guy was there he was so impressed with his gall that he was willing to listen to what Moses had to say.