It Is In His Hands Series

IT IS IN HIS HANDS

Exodus 4.1-31

S: Change

C: Trust in God

Th: Movin’ On Up!

Pr: TRUST GOD TO MAKE IT WORK.

Type: Inductive

I. “WHAT IF?” (1-9)

II. “I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” (10-11)

III. “NOT ME!” (12-13)

IV. GRACE (13-17)

V. FEET AND HANDS (18-23)

VI. A PROMISE TO KEEP (24-26)

VII. “I TOLD YOU SO!” (27-31)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• God wants to change you into something remarkable.

• Stop resisting and be willing.

• Trust God; He knows what He is doing.

Version: ESV

RMBC 24 February 08 AM

INTRODUCTION:

Last week, when we studied Exodus 3, we saw that…

1. Moses had cold feet at a fiery bush.

While shepherding in the wilderness, Moses’ attention has been turned away from his flock when he comes across a bush that is burning without being consumed.

When he gets to the bush, he also discovers that it talks, for God is in it.

It is here that Moses is called to return to Egypt to fulfill his responsibilities as the deliverer of his native people, the Hebrews.

There is one major problem, though.

He does not want to do it.

He wants to stay in Midian, where he feels safe and secure.

He has settled down.

He has a nice wife.

He has two sons.

He gets along real well with his father-in-law.

Life has been good.

He does not want to go back to Egypt.

He left there under a cloud of suspicion and failure.

They want to kill him there.

Naturally, he is scared.

Which proves that…

2. Fear can really confuse us.

ILL Personal

I am an example of that.

I have a fear of water.

There are multiple reasons.

I had a bad experience as a child during swimming lessons, and did not return to them.

Later, as a teen, I almost drowned during a required swimming class.

That was embarrassing.

It does not help, either, that my flotation point is about three feet under the water.

It is really hard to get air that way.

So for me, the definition of swimming is simply this: staying alive in the water.

Many of you know that Dondra and I went to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary.

One of the things Dondra really wanted to do is parasailing.

One of the things that Paul really did NOT want to do – is parasailing.

Guess what we did?

We went parasailing.

So Dondra and I went high in the air above the ocean.

Dondra had a great time.

She laughed, loved the breeze, and was enjoying the ride.

She had no fears.

I, on the other hand, held on for my very life.

I possessed a very “rational” fear that the cable was certainly going to break, and we would go tumbling into the ocean, and we would become shark food.

Well, that did not happen.

We made it back into the boat, safe and sound, even though I was sure we would not.

O how fear confuses things.

In the same way, Moses was confused.

He is worried.

He is anxious.

He is fearful.

And so, his reaction to what God is doing in his life demonstrates that.

But here is what he needs to learn, and so do we…

3. TRUST GOD TO MAKE IT WORK.

You and I need to evaluate the truth of this statement in our lives.

Do we really trust God?

Do we really believe Him?

Can God say something to us, and then that be all that needs to be said?

When God says it, does that settle it for us?

Moses really struggles at this point, for when we came to the end of our study last week, God has guaranteed him success.

So what is his response?

It is another question!

OUR STUDY:

It is…

I. “WHAT IF?” (1-9)

God says to Moses, “They will listen.”

It is a guarantee.

But how does Moses respond?

He says, “I got that, but what if they won’t listen?”

You have to shake your head on that one, because, apparently, he is not listening.

For…

4. Moses is getting hypothetical.

I did not say hysterical, but hypothetical, though perhaps you could make a case for the former.

Let’s hear God’s response in the text…

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” (2) The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” (3) And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. (4) But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail” — so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand — (5) “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” (6) Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. (7) Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. (8) “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. (9) If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”