God’s Arm Is Not Shortened

THE LORD’S ARM IS NOT SHORTENED

Num. 11:23

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: THE AGGIE AND THE SHEEP

1. An Aggie was really tired of being made fun of, so he decided to take off his Texas A & M shirt and start wearing an SHSU shirt.

2. He drove ½ way to Huntsville and saw a farmer and a flock of sheep and thought, “Man, a sheep would make an awesome pet!”

3. He got out and walked over to the farmer and said, “If I can guess how many sheep you have, can I take one home?”

4. The farmer, being a bit of a gambler himself, said, “Sure.” The Aggie looked at the flock and guessed, “157.”

5. The farmer was amazed – he was right! So the Aggie in an SHSU shirt, picked one out and got back into his car.

6. Before he left, farmer walked up to him and said. “If I can guess what school your from, can I have my dog back?”

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/3853307 Video about how God provides, Abram & Isaac, Moses & serpents, Rich man & the beggar Lazarus, Christ as our atonement.

B. TEXT: Number 11:1-2, 4-6, 10-13,18-23

11 Now the people complained…in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. 4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said.… “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost….6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” 10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the Lord, “13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’” 18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord…”’ 21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” 23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

C. THESIS

1. Even Moses was vulnerable to doubt. Here he is telling the Lord he doesn’t think God can pull off something!

2. We’re going to look at some of Moses’ insurmountable challenges, 6 proofs God’s reach isn’t shortened today, and confront situations in our lives that look impossible.

3. The title of this morning’s message is, “God’s Arm is not Shortened.”

I. MOSES’ IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION

A. A MIRACULOUS EXODUS

1. Moses had been through a lot. Even as a baby he’d been a “basket case.” He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was Israel’s first taste of freedom in over 400 years!

2. Moses led them across the Sinai Peninsula to the Eastern arm of the Red Sea. There they were stopped by the Sea.

3. Pharaoh and the Egyptian Army gave pursuit and Israel was pinned down between the mountains and the Sea.

4. But God sent a column of fire to keep the Egyptians from advancing all night. Moses prayed for God’s help.

5. God opened the Red Sea and had the Israelites pass through to the other side. Eventually the Egyptians also tried crossing it, but they were drowned when God allowed the waters to return to their place.

B. MOSES’ BIG TASK

1. Certainly that would be the end of Moses’ troubles, right? No, Moses’ challenges were just starting. Moses soon found he had an even bigger challenge than the Egyptians to face – one that wouldn’t go away, but had to be faced every day for 40 years (14,600 days he would face it!)

2. What seeming impossible situation? He was responsible for feeding the 3½ million Israelites and caring for all their other needs.

3. Something as simple as water is a big deal. The volume necessary to satisfy the thirst of the Israelites and their cattle is estimated at 20,000,000 gallons for ONE DAY! That would require a freight train with 628 tanker cars, 6-7 miles long, just to bring water! (or an Olympic pool almost a mile long). Where do you find that in a desert?