Confrontation With God

Confrontation With God

Exodus 3:1-12

Introduction:

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, "do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king."

"I understand," said Henry. "The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you."

"Then I will tell you what to do," said Prior Richard. "Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you." When King Henry died, a statement was written: "The King learned to rule by being obedient."

When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we’ll rule together with him.

Steve Brown, Key Biscayne, Florida.

Transition:

We live in an age where many hold to the old motto: "Don’t fence me in." That is, they do not want to be told what to do, how to do it, muchless where and when to do it.

There is a problem with authority today whether it be in the home, school or the workplace. Today, many have grown tired and bored with their job as well as their role in society. They always look for shortcuts and an easy way out.

Many question God and His love...."Lord, if You truly loved me, You wouldn’t keep me in a place or situation like this." They assert that adverse conditions means that God doesn’t love or care about them.

That simply is untrue. Oftentimes, God will place us in less desirable situations in order to use us to accomplish His purpose and will in the lives of those around us.

All to often, we short-circuit God and His plan by asking Him to deliver us out of those circumstances. We may even question whether we truly heard from God. Surely God wouldn’t place me in this situation.

Well, in our text today, we read about a man whom God has placed in an undesirable situation. Keep in mind that Moses had been out in the wilderness for 40 years.

In that 40 year period, God was molding and stretching Moses in order to make him able and available to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

Let’s take a closer look at the call of God in the life of this great leader. Notice that within the call of God in our lives:

I. God Calls Us In The Right Place…(vs. 1-3)

A. When we are busy.

B. When we are alone.

C. When we are in worship.

II. God Calls Us To The Right Attitude… (vs. 4-6)

A. Humility

B. Submission

C. Urgency

D. Faith

E. Obedience

III. God Calls Us At The Right Time… (vs. 7-12)

A. When God Is Ready

1. God is with us in times of trouble.

2. God sustains us in times of trouble.

3. God instructs us in times of trouble.

B. When We Are Ready

1. We must be broken.

2. We must be listening.

3. We must be willing.

Conclusion:

Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ’71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.

Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."

Source Unknown.