TEXT: Exodus 4:1-12
TITLE: “Who Gave Man His Mouth?”
SERIES: Questions God Asks
TOPIC: God’s Power to Enable those He calls!
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, August 10, 2008
PROP.: I want Christians who are struggling with doing what God asks them to do, to KNOW that God is big enough to see them through! God is big enough to use you for His glory!
INTRODUCTION: Today we continue in our sermon series Questions God Ask. Last week, we looked at the first Question If this is your first time joining us, you might be wondering: “Why does God ask questions? He knows everything!” And I would say, You are exactly right! God knows everything! So why does he ask questions?
Let me explain it to you by telling you this story:
Paul Shriver is a friend of mine. He’s married to Kathy who runs a day care in their home. Paul is a school teacher so he is home during the summer. He frequently calls me during the summer and he called me this past week to tell me a funny story.
Paul was in the basement in his office. He heard Kathy tell one of the day care kids (her name is Reese) to go to the bathroom and wash her hands to get ready for lunch. A little while later, he heard Kathy say: Reese! Reese…how many squirts of soap do we need to wash our hands? Reese said, “one.” Kathy said, “How many squirts of soap do you have on your hands?” Reese explained: “26” Kathy has been teaching Reese to count. And apparently, she’s gotten very good at it!
I tell you that story to help you understand WHY God asks questions. He asks questions to help us reflect. To help us see truth!
Last week, we looked at God’s question: “Where are you?” We learned that this is the most important question. This is the question God cares about the most! I hope this sermon challenged you to walk WITH God instead of hiding FROM God!
This week, God asks the question: Who Gave Man His Mouth. Our text comes from Exodus 4:1-12 Please be turning there.
BACKGROUND OF MOSES:
To help you better understand and appreciate this story, let me give you a glimpse into the life of Moses.
--Moses was a miracle child. He wasn’t a miracle child like Isaac, Samson, Samuel, John the Baptizer or Jesus, but the fact that he survived was a miracle.
--He was born to Jewish parents in Egypt during Israel’s enslavement and in the middle of when the Egyptians were killing all of the Jewish baby boys. Moses’ parents successfully kept Moses hidden until they couldn’t hide him anymore.
--That is when they came up with a plan to to put Moses in a basket, place him in the Nile and let God take care of him. And God looked after Moses, and brought him to the princess of Egypt. So this son of a Hebrew Slave grows up in the Palace of Egypt.
--He benefits from an Egyptian education and learns the way of the Egyptians royal court. For 40 years, Moses has the benefits of Egyptian royalty.
--But somewhere along the way, Moses learns that he isn’t an Egyptian, let alone a physical descendent of Pharaoh, and that he is in fact the descendant of slaves.
--Moses begins to believe that he was meant to help his people. This comes to a boiling point one day when he sees an Egyptian task master beating a Hebrew slave. Moses kills the Egyptian to help the slave. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. That is until Moses realizes that the murder is not as secret as he though it was. So he takes off into the desert to escape the wrath of Pharaoh.
--In the desert, he meets a girl, becomes a shepherd and has a family. For the next forty years, Moses is a nomadic shepherd learning the ways of the wilderness. His thoughts of power, prestige and heroism vanish and he is taken over by the day to day duties of life. That is, until one day he sees a strange sight:
--Moses and his flock of sheep are all alone at the base of Mt. Sinai when he sees a bush that is on fire! But it never burns up.
--Moses turns aside to see this sight and God calls to him from within the flames of that burning bush.
--Moses is told that God will strike the Egyptians and that Israel will plunder Egypt without a fight. And that Moses was going to be the face to this amazing operation! What an amazing task set before this now humble shepherd: to face the most powerful man in the world!
HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT WAY? The job is too big that you are asked to achieve? That you are under-qualified and not ready?
That brings us up to our text this morning…let’s see how Moses responds to God’s request:
Exodus 4:1-12:
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ’The LORD did not appear to you’?"
2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so 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 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, [a] like snow.
7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."
10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
Do you get a sense of what God was wanting to do? He was wanting to use Moses in a BIG way! Moses was going to be forever known by his people as the guy God used to free them!
Why wouldn’t Moses want to be a part of that? Why was Moses hesitant?
Well, because…
I. When faced with a God given challenge, our natural response is:
Going to be the same as that of Moses…Let me tell you something of the challenges of God. You see, God never wants to do something easy.
The scriptures tell us:
1st Corinthians 1:27
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
That doesn’t sound easy, does it?
God doesn’t have a Staples Button!
So maybe you can you relate with Moses? God wants to use Moses to achieve something awesome! Moses gets the privilege of being a part of God’s awesome plan! And what was his reaction to God’s big plan?
Moses first answers by saying:
A. “What if…?” (vs. 1-9)
We get scared at the large task before us. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be impossible! There are too many things that could go wrong!”
Moses does what all of us have done when God asks us to be a part of something bigger than us -- He has his doubts!
--Moses doubts that anyone will believe him! He says in verse 1:
"What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ’The LORD did not appear to you’?"
So what does God do? God doesn’t just give him ONE miracle, but TWELVE!!
--Staff into a snake
--Hand turned into a leprous hand
--And not only these three things miracles, but God provides 10 other miracles!
We call them the 10 plagues.
WHAT DOES GOD SAY? HAVE FAITH!
WHAT IF is always in opposition to FAITH!
Have you played the “what if..“ game? Your imagination will run wild with the “what-if” questions! And I truly believe it is Satan who lies and reminds you of everything that could go wrong!
God is BIGGER than our “what ifs…”
I believe firmly that if God is asking you to do something for his glory, He will provide whatever it takes to see that it gets accomplished!
But you need to know this morning, that God is BIGGER than our doubts!
Then Moses says:
B. “But God…” (vs. 10)
Moses focuses on his own limitations rather than God’s limitless power!
A. Moses’ limitation
“I’ve never been an eloquent speaker…”
Moses didn’t think he was qualified or capable to speak to Pharaoh.
B. Our limitations
God, I would love to give but I can’t afford to…
God I would love to serve, but I don‘t have time…
God, I would love to teach, but I don’t know enough…
If this is your response to God this morning after God has called you to do His will…then you need to pay special attention to God‘s response!
II. God’s Response: (vs. 11 & 12)
Whenever we come to God with questions, he WILL respond!
And God responds by saying:
A. “Who gave man his mouth?” (vs. 11)
God addresses the doubts of Moses with a single question.
And with God’s single question, He reminds Moses of two key truths:
God is the creator. God is the provider!
First…
1. God is the creator!
God is the one who made Moses just the way he was. God knew exactly what he was getting when he wanted to use Moses. Moses wasn’t perfect, but God wanted to use Moses despite his imperfections.
And God wants to use you despite your imperfections!
Also, Moses needed to know that
2. God is the provider!
God who has LIMITLESS resources will supply what is lacking. We have already seen how God prepared Moses for this assignment. God orchestrated his plan with Moses since his birth! Placing him in the care of royalty.
Not only does God remind Moses that he is the creator and provider…God also tells Moses…
B. “I will help you…” (verse 12)
That little phrase should have been enough for Moses! Moses wasn’t alone in this deal. God would always be with Moses. There’s great comfort in knowing that you’re never alone especially when you’re in way over your head!
God will help you!! And with His help, you’ll be unstoppable!
The new testament confirms this truth time and time again!
---Acts 5:38,39 “…For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
--Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
So if God has called you to do something that you believe is impossible; take heart! God enables those He calls! God is always with you! You won’t be working alone!
ILLUSTRATION: Does the army recruit only those who know how to fly a black hawk helicopter? Do they only recruit those who know how to fire their weapon? No, they equip those willing to be used! In God’s army, it’s the same way. God will equip those willing to be used!
CONCLUSION: So what’s the point of today’s sermon? How does it apply to our lives? It is not easy to do something we don’t feel qualified to do. It is also not easy to do something we don’t want to do, especially if what is being asked of us is going to require more than we are willing to give!
We can justify our actions, but God wants us to stop and consider the bigger picture! This is the question I have for you this morning: Are you doing all that God has asked you to do?
God has something He wants to do through each one of us. It might be as simple as inviting a neighbor to church or it might require a great act of faith in becoming a missionary and moving to the other side of the world.
Do you have your own story of how God was wanting you to do something big with you and you trusted God fully despite your doubts and disbeliefs you did what God asked you to do?
I do! And let me tell you…my belief that God is real…God is powerful…and God is BIG was only confirmed!
Won’t you take a calculated risk with God? Don’t miss out on what God and you can do together!
We come now to our time of decision. If you have a decision to make whether that be to become a Christ follower or rededicate your life…won’t you allow God to answer all of your “What if…” questions? Won’t you allow God to use you despite your limitations?
Don’t let our hymn of decision be the theme for your life! Don’t be ALMOST persuaded…be CONVINCED that God wants to do something big with your life!
