The CHALLENGE OF GOD's CALL-IX—Exodus 3:1-22
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Exodus records the significance of God’s call to Moses.
Answering God’s call presents a significant challenge.
To What does God’s call present a challenge?
16 challenges of/to God’s call.
We have found in previous weeks that,
God’s call presents a challenge to...
1. Our OCCUPATION(:1)
2. Our OBSERVATION(:2-3)
3. Our AVAILABILITY(:4)
4. Our APPROACH(:5)
5. Our AWE(:6)
6. Our COMPASSION(:7-9)
7. Our INABILITY(:10-11)
8. Our POWER(:12a)
9. Our FAITHFULNESS(:12b-13)
10. Our PROBABILITY(:14-15)
11. Our COMMITMENT(:16-17)
12. Our LEADERSHIP(:18a)
13—God’s call presents a challenge to...
Our DEMANDS(:18b)
Explanation:(:18b)Requests/Serve God/How does this effect others?
:18—“Then they will heed your voice; & you shall come, you & the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; & you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; & now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ ”
That they are to openly approach the king, desirous of “going” to serve(“sacrifice to”) the true God rather than Pharaoh’s god is surely courageously & forcefully assertive.
We would have been tempted to say, ‘Let me go so I can live my own life,’ rather than “let me go so I can “serve” on another plane.
“& you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; & now, please, let us go...”
Pharaoh will be told, in no uncertain terms, the name of YaHWeH—crucial to His identity as the ever existent God—& that this YaHWeH is the “God of the Hebrews.” Thus Pharaoh will be given the option & opportunity to choose & abide in YaHWeH God.
Their request would begin with just that...a request! “Please/“We beseech thee”/“We pray you,” etc. Very softened in recognition & respect for Pharaoh’s authority & seeming wisdom.
“let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ ”
Though they are asking, their request will be out of the question for Pharaoh. “Three days’ journey” is an idiom meaning something like ‘A major journey with indeterminate time concerns.’—NAC
Even a literal “three days’ journey’ one way would put Pharaoh’s entire work force(600,000+ men(Ex. 23:27)) far away from the reach of Pharaoh & Egyptian culture(“into the wilderness”), untended by their ‘masters.’
Ex. 9:1(+:13; 8:1, 20; 10:3)—“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh & tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve[dbe] Me.” “Met”—hrq kaw-raw’—Niphal Perfect—1) To encounter, meet, befall, happen, come to meet—1b) (Niphal)—1b1) To encounter, meet(without pre-arrangement), 1b2) To chance to be present, 1b3) To come to meet. Strong—a primitive root; To light upon(chiefly by accident); causatively--To bring about; specifically--To impose timbers(for roof or floor).
“Us...We”3X——
“Please/Beseech Thee”—an naw—1) I (we) pray, now, please—1a) used in entreaty or exhortation. Strong—a primitive particle of incitement & entreaty, which may usually be rendered: "I pray," "now," or "then"; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction. Used 9X.
“Go”(See :11, 16, 21; & 10—“Come”)—Kly yaw-lak'—
“Days’”—Mwy yowm—
“Journey”—Krd deh'-rek—1) Way, road, distance, journey, manner. Strong—A road(as trodden); figuratively--A course of life or mode of action, often adverb.
“Wilderness”(See :1—“Desert”)—rbdm mid-bawr'—1) Wilderness—1a) Pasture, 1b) Uninhabited land, wilderness, 1c) Large tracts of wilderness(around cities), 1d) Wilderness (fig.); 2) Mouth. Strong—from rbd in the sense of driving; A pasture(i.e. Open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication--A desert; also speech(including its organs).
“Sacrifice”—xbz zaw-bakh’—Qal Imperfect—1) To slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice. Strong—a primitive root; To slaughter an animal(usually in sacrifice).
Argumentation:
Deut. 28:1-2, 13-14ff.—“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you & overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:”....“And the LORD will make you the head & not the tail; you shall be above only, & not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, & are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
Deut. 28:15, 20, 45-48—“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments & His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you & overtake you:”.....“The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, & rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed & until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.”.....“Moreover all these curses shall come upon you & pursue & overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments & His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign & a wonder, & on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy & gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, & in need of everything; & He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.”
Js. 4:1-6—“Where do wars & fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust & do not have. You murder & covet & cannot obtain. You fight & war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask & do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers & adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Prov. 25:21-22—“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.”
Rom. 12:19-21—“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Mat. 4:8-11—“Again, the devil took Him[Jesus] up on an exceedingly high mountain, & showed Him all the kingdoms of the world & their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down & worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, & Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, & behold, angels came & ministered to Him.”
Deut. 10:20—“You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, & to Him you shall hold fast, & take oaths in His name.”
Josh. 24:6-15—‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, & you came to the sea; & the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots & horsemen to the Red Sea. So they cried out to the LORD; & He put darkness between you & the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, & covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, & they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, & I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, & sent & called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. Then you went over the Jordan & came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you--also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, & the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. ‘I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. I have given you a land for which you did not labor, & cities which you did not build, & you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards & olive groves which you did not plant.’ “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Rom. 12:9-11—“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;”
Jer. 29:4-7—“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses & dwell in them; plant gardens & eat their fruit. Take wives & beget sons & daughters; & take wives for your sons & give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons & daughters--that you may be increased there, & not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, & pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”
1Tim. 2:1-6—“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence. For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”
You may have Personal Demands which do NOT honor God.
Illustration:
An employee who also sets a priority upon Sunday worship/A new employee may not be able to get away with having a Sunday-free schedule/But as a seasoned employee, do we prioritize that day?/Does the boss know you would prefer not to be at work on Sunday?/Do they know that worship is important to you?/Why don’t they know that?/Our DEMANDS
Our American government under the Obama Administration/Our ‘privileges’ as Christians are steadily being eroded/Our Representatives are to represent Our DEMANDS
Leadership Seminar thru the Florida Baptist Association/A lawyer basically explained the legal hoops which the church, pastors, & membership, have to jump thru in order to maintain true worship/In order to keep from having the demands of homosexuals forced upon us to marry them or have them become active members/Our DEMANDS
Demanding of others what will satisfy your worship & service needs(not felt needs)
?What do we Demand of others?—Godliness, Honesty, Faithfulness, Love, etc.
Application:
?God’s call present a challenge to Your DEMANDS?
?When is the last time your DEMANDS mirrored God’s?
?Has God’s call Challenged you?...Or do you Challenge God’s call?
14—God’s call presents a challenge to...
Our REJECTION(:19)
Explanation:(:19)
:19—“ “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.”
YHWH is certain that Pharaoh will “not let” Israel “go,” even though His “hand” would be heavy upon the nation of Egypt. Herein Moses is given a taste of the difficulty that he & Israel will face in leaving Egypt. Thus Moses must be strong in his faithfulness godward.
Is there here, a small degree of tension in Pharaoh’s unwillingness to bend? There still the possibility that Pharaoh could willingly turn to God. The tension is in the facts that, 1)Yes Pharaoh has freewill, Yet at the same time, 2)God is sovereign. All men are created with free will, even Pharaoh. Though it is known that Pharaoh was created, sustained & tolerated by God for purposes of His divine glory(Rom. 9:13-24).
Looking ahead—This will not happen immediately. There will be trouble before release(5:1-21). Thus begins Moses’ ministry on a stressful note. the ultimate Challenge—Trust God or the king!
Ex. 5:1-4—“Afterward Moses & Aaron went in & told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert & sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses & Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”
“Sure”(See :7—“Know”)—edy yaw-dah'—
“King”(See :18)——
“Let...go”(See :21)—Ntn naw-than’—Qal Imperfect—1) To give, put, set. Strong—a primitive root; To give, used with greatest latitude of application--Put, make, etc..
“Mighty”—qzx khaw-zawk'—1) Strong, stout, mighty. Strong—Strong(usually in a bad sense), Hard, bold, violent.
What does God have to wreak in your life in order to bring about His perfect will? Argumentation:
1Sam. 8:7—“And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you[their demand for a king in the manner of the world]; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
**Lk. 10:2-16(:10-11, 16)—“Then He[Jesus] said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; & greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ “And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating & drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, & they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, & say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ “But whatever city you enter, & they do not receive you, go out into its streets & say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ “But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre & Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth & ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre & Sidon at the judgment than for you.” “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, & he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
**Jn. 12:44-50—“Then Jesus cried out & said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words & does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, & does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say & what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
**1Thes. 4:1-8—“Finally then, brethren, we urge & exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more & more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk & to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification & honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of & defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you & testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”
Jn. 13:20—“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; & he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
Illustration:
The Outdoor Channel—Watching Mountain Goats on the crest of a hill in rocky mountains/The sun had disappeared behind the ridge but not set—Beautiful sight/The hosts of the show tracked the goats over many miles up & over sharp hills/Only with the aid of binoculars(not the naked eye), they spotted a big billie on a steep slope, resting against some rocks in an area just barely big enough for its body—A Handsome creature indeed!/Then the hunter shot the goat/The goat stands up turns around & the hunter shot him from the other side/The goat then walks down the slope a little way, turns its back to the hunter lays down & dies/Somehow that almost turned my stomach/I almost started to cry/The hunters could have merely watched the grandeur of the wild goat as they lived their lives/But they chose to kill it!/Our REJECTION
Homosexuality thrives on the determination that ‘come what may, I am determined to fulfill my desires in that particular way, because it feels right...for me’/Not realizing the cauterizing effect it has on one’s own perspectives of right & wrong/It can only be entertained thru a rejection of God’s desire/These will invent what they consider valid ‘reasons’ for doing what they do/They simultaneously apply these same ‘reasons’ in their denouncing conservative evangelical Christians & Christianity as narrow & stupid/Our REJECTION
Searching for or Finding ‘true’ love...but looking in the wrong places/A common malady/The problem is that while maintaining a lifestyle apart from Christ, we very ‘naturally’ look to those crossroads which we frequent in that separation/Thus there is a tendency to avoid or refuse certain other avenues such as those whom God has chosen by their faith/Our REJECTION
Arriving/Getting somewhere miserably or joyfully/Our REJECTION
Having a street-side mailbox versus a P.O. Box/I necessarily miss the interaction with others in town...Faces I don’t see every day...Concerns of which I am unaware/So dogged determined to have my own way that I missed the blessing & reality of the God-given moment/Our REJECTION
The reason our country is governmentally drifting & walking farther away from the word of God is because the Church as a whole has lost God’s ‘mighty hand’ of power!/Our REJECTION
Application:
?God’s call present a challenge to Your REJECTION?
?When is the last time you REJECTED God?
?Has God’s call Challenged you?...Or do you Challenge God’s call?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Action:
God’s call presents a challenge to...
13. Our DEMANDS(:18b)
14. Our REJECTION(:19)
1. Our OCCUPATION(:1)
2. Our OBSERVATION(:2-3)
3. Our AVAILABILITY(:4)
4. Our APPROACH(:5)
5. Our AWE(:6)
6. Our COMPASSION(:7-9)
7. Our INABILITY(:10-11)
8. Our POWER(:12a)
9. Our FAITHFULNESS(:12b-13)
10. Our PROBABILITY(:14-15)
11. Our COMMITMENT(:16-17)
12. Our LEADERSHIP(:18a)
Pts. 13-14 Presented 03/15/2015pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
