“Here’s your Sign!”
Exodus 4:1-17
When Moses saw the burning bush he was immediately attracted to it; not because the bush was burning but because it was burning and could not be consumed. A fire that never burns out and a bush that is never consumed…led Moses to realize that this fire was special…it was from God. It was the fire of God and God was about to speak to him. When he spoke he was on holy ground. He said, remove your sandals…. I don’t want anything standing between you and me.
God then said to Moses these 3 things (1) I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers and I am concerned (2) so I have come down to rescue them and bring them out of slavery and take them into a new land, the promised land (3) I am sending you to free the people.
So Moses now has a calling on his life. A calling to become a leader. And God has made the calling very clear. To recap he said I have seen their misery, I have come down to free them and I am sending you on my behalf. Moses understood exactly what God wanted him to do . When God places a calling on our lives; when he makes His will known to us and it is absolutely crystal clear, what do we usually do? Simple. We ask questions. Lord I know you said this but what about this? Or Lord I know you want me to do this but what if something happens.
It is the age old problem every one of us have as believers of wanting to walk by sight instead of walking by faith. So we ask question after question until many times we talk ourselves completely out of making a commitment. Like the little boy whose mother ask him, why is it you always answer a question with a question. He said do I do that? We all do when it comes to spiritual matters.
This happens for a variety of reasons. (1) Our faith is God is lacking. Perhaps we are new in the faith or perhaps we have been a follower of Christ for a long time but our faith has not grown to the point where we can lead. (2) Our faith in ourselves is lacking. Simply put, we lack confidence. Sometimes we suffer from low self esteem and as a result we have a very hard time believing we are actually capable of leadership. For others it may have to do with their personality. You’re quiet, you prefer to be alone. Maybe you are an introvert instead of an extrovert. Or it may be due to your family history. Members of your family put you down for so long that you have trouble believing you can do anything; certainly you can’t lead. So you take a seat in life and you stay on the bench. Or (3) Our faith in our talents and our gifts is lacking. Let’s face it. None of us are gifted for everything. That’s why it takes all of us to do God’s work. So don’t try to do everything, just do something. Some of us have gifts in certain areas that we have never used. They’re like birthday or Christmas gifts and we have never bothered to unwrap them and use them.
Now this is the big truth I want you to take with you today. When God speaks it is our job to listen. We do not need to interrogate God. We do not need to question his motives. We just need to trust and obey. Why? Because there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. That could be a song!
So his job here is to trust and obey. Our job is the same. So what does he do? Same thing. He asks questions. Lord, what if they don’t believe me? What if they won’t listen to me and what if they say the Lord did not appear to me? In summary what he was asking was this…..what if people doubt my ability to lead? Perhaps a better question to ask is not if, but when. When people doubt my ability what do I do?
God has this amazing ability to see right through us. He knows our every thought even before we express it so one thing we should know is this…you can’t fool God. And God knew at this point that Moses was experiencing doubts about his ability to lead. So God says OK Moses how can you know if you can lead?
Here’s your sign. He gives him 3.
Look at the first one. Vv. 2-5. This is the sign of the shepherd’s/leader’s staff. Over and over in the Bible and in the church today the shepherd’s staff is seen as a sign of leadership. Moses, David and many others who became leaders started as shepherds. Shepherds have a following. Sheep. All of us are like sheep. You may not like that designation because sheep aren’t always the brightest of animals but consider this….in another passage God refers to man not as sheep but as mules. Because we’re stubborn. So the term “sheep” begins to sound better. So shepherds have a following. They use a staff and the staff was used in at least two ways (1) to gently prod the sheep along when they needed it; sometimes leaders have to do that and (2) to rescue sheep when they get into trouble. To bring them home.
God uses the staff here for a very simple reason. Moses was holding one in his hand. He says to Moses and He says to all of us this…what is that in your hand? What do you have at your disposal that God can use? Only you can properly answer that question.
God told Moses to take it and throw it on the ground…and when he does it becomes a snake. Moses does what many of us would do; he runs from it. God tells him to pick it up and it then turns back into a staff. As long as Moses kept the staff in his hand it was useful but the moment he laid it down it became something that was useless; even harmful. Here’s the lesson. When God gives you a gift, don’t ever put it down. Always use it for His glory.
Look at the 2nd one. Vv. 6-8. This is the sign of the shepherd’s/leader’s hand. Leprosy was certainly the most dreaded of all diseases in those days. You could lose an entire limb….the people who had it lived in great fear and that person became a social outcast. People were required to wear a bell of sorts around their neck and ring the bell when they entered a public place so that people would know not to come near you.
Every one of us has the ability to do certain things with our hands…we can teach others, affirm them, pat them on the back and encourage them. We can use our hands to prepare a meal to take to someone who is in need. We can use them to write a check to bless someone in need. We use them to shake someone’s hand and welcome them to this place of worship. We use them to clean this building so that we look prepared when people arrive. Here’s the lesson. There is great power in our hands to do good. Make sure you use them for the right things/reasons. If we fail to do so they might be rendered useless. That probably sounds harsh but these gifts God gives us work like a muscle does in our body. If you use it, it will grow; if you fail to use it you will lose it.
In the gospel of Luke 19 we find the parable of the talents…in this parable a wealthy man calls ten of his servants and he gives them all an equal sum of money. When he returned he called them together and said, now tell me what you did with what I gave you. The first one earned ten more. So he puts him in charge of ten cities. The 2nd one earned 5 more so he puts him in charge of 5 cities. The 3rd one says I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. He then tells those standing by to take the one away and give it to the one who had earned 10 more. You can imagine the response. Lord why does He need more? Ever feel that way? How come they’re so gifted? Here’s the deal. V. 26. Again…use it or lose it.
Now, look at the 3rd one. V. 9. This is the final sign…the sign of the shepherd’s/ leader’s future. Moses’ first miracle in Egypt would turn out to be turning the water in the Nile to blood. This very thing. Now we would think this would be enough…there is one difference in the first two and the last one. The first two were only witnessed by Moses. Moses could tell them about it but at this point they would not see it in person. Now in the 3rd one he tells him what to do and we get the impression that this miracle will be done in front of the people. It’s one thing to describe a miracle God has done in your life; it’s another to show them one. So that should be enough. Nope. Now Moses has more questions, more arguments but these don’t relate to the people and what they will think, the argument relates to his own feelings of inadequacy. Vv. 10. When I read this to me it is as though Moses is saying Lord don’t you realize you’ve got the wrong guy. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?
The Lord replies. V.11. Two promises Moses, the leader gets directly from God. I will help you speak…give you the confidence you need AND I will teach you what to say. Moses would never lack for words to speak as a leader. Now after all of this…..we would think Moses would now be prepared, but listen to what he says, “O Lord please send someone else to do it.”
Moses now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what God was telling him to do. His final response is “just get somebody else.” All too often that is exactly what we do. Not me, Lord. Get somebody else. So He does. Look at v. 14.
It is amazing what great lengths God will go to use us especially when he doesn’t even need us. It is amazing how many question we can ask when He makes everything crystal clear and how many excuses we can come up when we should feel privileged that He has called us.
What is God asking you to do? I have been asking you to pray this simple prayer, Lord if you want me to be in a place of leadership in this church, I am willing. What if Moses had just prayed that prayer. Whatever you want Lord I am willing? Would you pray it today and allow God to speak to you about your place in leadership in this church?
Last week, one young man came forward and said yes toJesus. Made Him the Savior of His life.
