Fear Factor: “Moses—The Fear of Failure” (Exodus 3-4)
M. Cameron McDonald
February 22, 2004
Intro.
ILL: I STAND BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE. FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS I HAVE BEEN MENTALLY COMPILING A LIST OF THINGS THAT I FAIL AT REGULARLY. ALLOW ME TO OPEN UP WITH YOU AND SHARE A FEW THIS MORNING:
• Experts say you should drink 8 glasses of water a day—I don’t always do that.
• Dentists say you should brush your teeth after every meal and floss everyday—I don’t do that.
• I have been told numerous times that I should never allow my gas tank to get below half full—I am always reminded of this fact when I am walking down the side of the freeway to the nearest exit with a gas station.
• Nutritionists say that you are supposed to eat your weight in terms of grams in protein every day, you are supposed to stay as far away from Carbohydrates as possible, and you are supposed to eat at least 3 square meals per day, if you get in the habit of skipping breakfast, and then have a big lunch and a light dinner, that is a known cause for adult onset diabetes—if that is the case than most days I am on the fast track to this disease.
• As a good rule of thumb one should never allow their checking account to get below a $100 balance—fail at that.
• You are supposed to make your bed up every morning, dust once a week and vacuum couple of times a week—I fail at that as well.
• If you are a man you are not supposed to allow your body fat percentage to rise above 17%--I stand before you today with a 24% body fat percentage and a tendency to low ball that when I tell people in public, or at church on Sunday mornings.
• You should as a Christian read your Bible every day—there are days and even weeks that go by when I never crack my Bible except to study for sermons.
• I am supposed to be on the job by 8:30 every morning—there are times when I show up around 8:45, truth were known sometimes closer to 9.
• Doctor’s say that the average adult should get no less than 8 hours sleep per night—right now I am operating on ___
• You are supposed to always do the speed limit and not get road rage—I don’t even think I will go there.
• You are supposed to have at least 3 months salary set aside at any time for an emergency fund—If truth were known I probably owe 3 months salary at any given time.
A. This morning we are talking about overcoming the fear factor of Failure
a. And I am making this point not to show you what a detestable human being I am but to simply show you that we as human beings fail on a regular basis, or at least I do.
b. And a fear of failure can be a good thing, if it motivates you to do something about it and make some positive changes.
c. Since compiling this list I have decided to try and do every thing on this list correctly for one week, to see how well I can do—So I tried it but I stopped mid-week because I was afraid I would fail.
d. But fear causes many to be overly protective, refusing to dream, to stretch, to try something new and exciting. They’re always asking what if I bomb out, what if the project doesn’t go well, what if we fall flat on our faces.
e. Fear inhibits people and restricts their giftedness. They have trouble being themselves because they are terrified of failure.
ILL: WHEN I WAS A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL I HAD AN AFTER SCHOOL JOB OF KEEPING SCORE FOR THE FRESHMEN AND J.V. GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GAMES. ONE DAY THE PERSON WHO WAS TO SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM FAILED TO SHOW UP, SO IN THE HEAT OF THE PRESSURE, I RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO DO IT, ACOPELLO. HALFWAY THROUGH THE SONG MY VOICE POPPED AND I WAS SO DISTRACTED BY THE SNICKERING I HEARD IN THE STANDS THAT I COMPLETELY FORGOT THE WORDS TO THE SONG, SO I SANG THE FIRST VERSE TWICE. THAT FAILURE WAS A GOOD THING BECAUSE IT LIMITED THE PLACES I SING TO THE SHOWER, THE CAR, AND TIMIDLY IN CHURCH.
f. But fear makes your hands tremble when you have that 12 point buck in your sights on that cold morning in the dear blind, or their voices tremble when they speak to people, or their voices crack while singing the national anthem.
g. And fear can ruin people’s personalities. It makes some people irritable, critical, joyless and so uptight they’re hard to live with.
SCRIP EX: Jesus told a parable about a one-talent man who said to his master, “I knew that you were a demanding investor and I was afraid, so I hid your talent in the ground and did nothing with it.” The master said, “You wicked and lazy servant. The very least you could have done was to invest it with bankers. Cast him into outer darkness.”
h. Fear of failure is evidence of mistrust, and selfishness that displeases God.
SCRIP: (2 Tim. 1:7) “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” (He wants there to be a healthy assurance about us that brings out the most in us.)
B. This morning I am continuing the series Fear Factor.
a. For the past couple of weeks we have profiled various people in the Bible who have had a fear of something.
i. Two weeks ago we talked about Adam and Eve and how they had a fear of God.
ii. Last week we talked about Leah and her fear of rejection.
b. You know the fear of failure is a little different than the fear of rejection, which we discussed last week.
a. The fear of rejection has to do with how people feel about us.
b. The fear of failure has more to do with not meeting the standards we set for ourselves.
c. Well this morning I can’t think of anyone else who illustrates the struggle to over come the fear of failure better than Moses. So we are going to take a look at a snapshot in his life, and his fear of failure.
d. This snap shot is found in Exodus 3 and 4 its page ____ in the pew Bibles in front of you.
e. Moses was not necessarily afraid of rejection by people.
a. When he was 40 years old he had attempted to lead the Israelite slaves in revolt but they had rejected him.
b. He was so dejected by this failure that he fled for his life to Midian.
c. But while he was there God challenged him to be a deliverer and Moses tried to weasel out of the job because he was afraid of failure.
f. So I hope today we can see how Moses had to overcome his fear of failure, and how God worked in spite of this phobia, and maybe we can learn some lessons and draw some conclusions about this all too common trepidation that we all experience
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I. God’s Call
A. The story of God calling Moses is one that I am sure you are all familiar with.
a. Moses was out one day tending to his father in law’s flock when an angel of the Lord appeared to him from the flames of a burning bush.
NOTE: Now I want to quickly mention this because I think it is significant to point out that God calls people who are busy, I didn’t say necessarily productive, but busy: Gideon was threshing grain (Judges 6), Samuel was serving in the tabernacle (1 Sam 3), David was caring for sheep (1 Sam 17:20), Elisha was plowing (1 Kings 19:19-21), four of the apostles were managing their fishing business (Mark 1:16-20), and Matthew was collecting taxes (Matt 9:9).
b. So Moses was busy tending to sheep when he notices this bush and goes over to check out this strange sight—a bush that is consumed with flames and fire but is not burning up.
c. But when he gets over to the bush God speaks to him from the bush.
SCRIP: Lets start in vs 5. " EX 3:5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. EX 3:7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
d. Being busy does not give you an excuse to ignore God’s call and this was a huge task, and without a doubt the last thing in the world Moses wanted to do.
e. He wanted to kick back and spend his golden years, shepherding lazily wasting away his days out in the pastures. No way would he want to go back to Egypt face the most powerful, ruthless leader in the world at that time. After all he was older now and he may have felt a since of entitlement to his lifestyle.
a. I spent the first 40 years of my life in Egypt, and through a series of one bad event after another I left that country never to return again and since then I have been shepherding the last 40 years.
b. And I would be willing to bet that he was content, and comfortable just doing that for the rest of his days.
c. And many people today say “I spent the last 40 years working hard every day, and through one bad experience after another, I am calling it quits, after all I am entitled to a retirement and I am going to spend the rest of my days in the pastures of the golf courses, or simply doing things my way for the rest of my life.
NOTE: I just want to make it clear right now that the word retirement should not be in the Christian’s vocabulary. You can do a Bible study on the word retirement, go ahead actually, it will be the fastest Bible study of your life because the word retirement is not in there; it’s not in the Bible. There does come a time in life where you may redirect your focus, but to do nothing for the rest of your life but play golf or sit around quilting when you reach a certain age is foolish, and wasteful.
f. But Moses was thinking no real worries, no major concerns, I’ll just kick back and take life easy for a while, but what he didn’t understand was that all his life God was preparing him for this one assignment.
NOTE: You know I think it is interesting that God didn’t call Moses to this seemingly impossible task until he was 80 years old. You know what that tells me? That tells me that no matter how old you are, or what your situation is in life, God is not through with you yet. He still has a plan for you, and what I have understood from this passage and from my Christian walk is that God is always calling us to something.
B. So I want to ask you this morning what is God calling you to do?
a. He may not be calling you to task equal in proportion to Moses’, but He is still calling you to do something.
NOTE: He probably won’t appear to you in a burning bush, or speak to you audibly. So how do you know it’s God calling you and your overly sensitive conscience or even the devil? Well there are two questions you can ask yourself.
1. Is the call you feel consistent with God’s word? God would never call you to do something outside of his biblical commands. He would never ask you to divorce your mate, steal from another, or lie, or neglect your family. His call is always consistent with the Bible.
2. Secondly, is that call confirmed by Godly people who know you well?
b. But God is calling you to something.
EX: Maybe it’s to adopt a child from out of the country, to give them a hope, and a life, and to raise them up in a Godly environment so that one day they will know Christ and could lead others to Him.
ILL: I HAD LUNCH THIS PAST WEEK WITH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A MISSIONARY IN POLAND, AND HE JUST RECENTLY GOT BACK FROM A 3 WEEK TRAINING SESSION IN COLORADO WHERE HE TOLD ME OF A COUPLE THAT HE HAD MET WHO HAD 22 CHILDREN. 4 OF THEM WERE BIOLOGICALLY THEIR OWN, AND THEY HAD ADOPTED 18 MORE, AND ALL 18 HAD DOWNS SYNDROME.
c. That is incredible, and you know what God could be calling some of you to a task similar to that, maybe not to adopt 18 Downs Syndrome children, but maybe one or two healthy children from the Ukraine or from China.
d. I cannot help but wonder what this world would be like if Christians took the call of God in their life seriously and began to act in humble obedience to whatever task it is that God is calling them to, I mean imagine what this world could become, if we just were a little more sensitive to what our lives are about.
e. Our lives are not about us, they are about serving God. Our lives are not about us being happy and living in this bubble world where we never get out of our comfort zone. A life that is all about us and our security and comfort is not the victorious New Testament Christian life has called us too.
f. Our lives are for sacrifice to what ever God wants, whenever God calls us to do it.
EX: Maybe God is calling you to go on a short-term mission trip. Perhaps you have never extended your life beyond the boundaries of the Ohio River, to see the other parts of the world that God is doing great works in and contribute in that work for a short period of time.
g. Friends’ Mission trips will enrich your life like you would never believe, if for nothing else they will teach you to be more thankful to God for what you have, than ever before and teach you new and exciting ways of creatively expressing your appreciation for what God has done for you.
EX: Or maybe God is calling you to get married or to confront a sin in your life that you know has been there for far too long. You know it is God’s will for you to confess it to Him and repent of it, but your pride and your love of that sin will not allow you to do it.
EX: Maybe God is calling you to invite a friend to church, or to confront a loved one who has fallen away.
h. Whatever it is, one thing we can all be sure of is the fact that God is calling us all to do something.
i. But a lot of us are afraid of doing what He has called us to do, we are afraid that we will fail, we are afraid that we are wrong in interpreting God’s will and what we think He has laid on our hearts is really wrong.
j. But friends if you keep backing away from challenges because you are afraid that you will fail means, you don’t lack confidence in yourself—you lack confidence in God.
QUOTE: Warren Wiersbe: “The Will of God will never lead you where the power of God can’t enable you, so walk by faith in His promises.”
k. Let’s take a look at Moses’ response to God’s call.
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II. Moses’ Excuses
A. Moses did not want to accept God’s call.
a. He had gotten comfortable in his situation in life.
b. And so he argues with God and gives Him 5 reasons why he cannot go and do what God had called him to do.
B. The first excuse Moses gave Him was just a weak one.
SCRIP: vs 11, “But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" EX 3:12 And God said, "I will be with you.
a. He was telling God that he lacked the credentials to go, he didn’t have the status to accomplish such a task.
b. But what Moses thought about himself, or what others thought about him was really not important. God had spoken and that was really all Moses needed for assurance that he was the right man for the job.
C. So quickly Moses throws up another excuse.
SCRIP: 13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ "15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
a. You know God’s name is so powerful, that it encompasses everything, so God says just say “I AM” sent you, and they will understand.
b. God also says this is the name that all generations will call me by.
c. And this is so true, we sing a popular song today some 300 generations later, called “The God of Jacob.”
d. And then what I love about this story is that God not only tells him who it is he is to say who sent him, but he also lays out a strategy, He’s got a game plan as to how this will be accomplished.
SCRIP: 3:16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land…flowing with milk and honey.’18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.:21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
D. But even a good game plan and God’s name was not enough to get Moses rolling so he puts up a third excuse.
SCRIP: 4:1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, `The LORD did not appear to you’?"2
QUOTE: Warren Wiersbe points out, “They will not believe me,” really means, “I do not believe you.”
a. Moses was concerned about his credentials before the Jewish elders so God gave him 3 signs to convince the elders that he was truly God’s chosen servant
SCRIP: 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."
b. The staff that Moses had was used for a lot of good things, but it could also turn into a snake that scared him.
NOTE: That is like a lot of inanimate objects today, you know money is like Moses’ staff, it can be used for a lot of good things, to donate to charities, to tithe, to buy food to eat and a shelter to live in, but money can also be used for evil, to buy drugs or prostitutes, or to gamble. And many Christians today feel that Hollywood is a snake, but Mel Gibson has grabbed that snake by the tail and produced a movie The Passion of the Christ that opens this Wednesday, and I want to challenge all of you to go see it this weekend, and overcome your fears, and swallow your pride and invite that un-churched friend or family member and take them to see it, and then afterwards grab a bite to eat or go out for some coffee make yourself available to talk to them about what they have just seen. But go see it this weekend, opening weekend is the only weekend that counts by Hollywood’s standards and we want to make sure that we as Christians have their attention.
QUOTE: According to USA Today,17 million people go see movies every weekend; 135 million go to church.
c. This is a time where we can really make a difference so go see it.
SCRIP: vs 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, 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.
QUOTE: J. Vernon McGee said, “The great message here is that when Moses put his hand into his cloak, that represented his inner life, his heart.
SCRIP: Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.”
d. So Moses put his hand inside his cloak and it came out leprous. He put his hand into his cloak again and it came out clean.
e. Out of your heart will ultimately come out who you really are.
f. God wanted that rod in the hand of a man yielded to Him. He wanted that man’s hand to move in the same direction as his yielded heart.
g. God wants to equip every believer with power to accomplish His call in your life, but He wants your heart first, when you surrender your heart to Him, then He can give you the power because He has the assurance that you will use it for His kingdom.
SCRIP: vs 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."
E. So God was giving Moses supernatural powers to convince them, but Moses still didn’t seem interested in the assignment so he gives God a 4th excuse.
SCRIP: 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."
a. The fear of failure paralyzes your potential.
b. Moses said, “God, I’m not a good speaker.” That probably wasn’t altogether true.
EX: Josephus, a Jewish Historian, wrote that Moses had been a general in Pharaoh’s army during his earlier years, so Moses had experience leading people and speaking in front of many men. EX: Stephen related in Acts 7 that Moses was “powerful in speech and action.” Moses had the necessary ability to be God’s spokesman, but insecurity had paralyzed him.
c. But feelings of inadequacy and the fear of failure can be extremely paralyzing.
SCRIP: The Apostle Paul learned how to overcome his own sense of inadequacy when he wrote, "Not that we are adequate to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God." (2 Cor. 3:5,6)
d. You see Paul understood what Moses did not, God was saying and is saying “of course you are in adequate, I know that better than you because I made you! But nonetheless, I am adequate and I am the one who is calling you to this task and no matter what I you and I will make it through this together.
ILL: I READ THIS PAST WEEK ABOUT HOW NFL HALL OF FAME QUARTERBACK JOHNNY UNITAS COULD HAVE THOUGHT HE WAS INADEQUATE AS HE WAS CUT FROM THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS AND SENT HOME WITH $10 FOR BUS FARE. THEY SAID HE WAS TOO SKINNY, TOO SLOW, AND DID NOT HAVE THE ARM STRENGTH NEEDED FOR THE NFL. BUT JOHNNY NEVER QUIT, HE FINALLY MADE IT WITH THE BALTIMORE COLTS, AND IN HIS FIRST GAME WITH THE COLTS, HE THREW AN INTERCEPTION ON HIS FIRST PLAY AND FUMBLED ON THE NEXT TWO SERIES. BUT JOHNNY NEVER GAVE UP. IN ONE GAME, HIS NOSE WAS BROKEN, HE HAD A CONCUSSION, AND HIS TEETH WERE KNOCKED THROUGH HIS LOWER LIP. HE TOLD THE COACH, I’VE GOT TO GET BACK IN THE GAME.” THE COACH SAID, “WHY?” JOHNNY SAID, “LOOK AT THE SCOREBOARD, WE ARE BEHIND”. SO UNITAS PACKED SOME MUD ON HIS LIP TO STOP THE BLEEDING AND RETURNED TO THE HUDDLE AND SAID, “JUST BLOCK AND WE WILL WIN THE GAME.” THEY WON BECAUSE JOHNNY UNITAS NEVER QUIT WITH ANY EXCUSES OF INADEQUACY.
QUOTE: Warren Wiersbe points out, “Moses completely missed the message of God’s name and God’s miraculous power. “I AM” is all that we need in every circumstance of life, and it’s foolish for us to argue, “ I am not.”
F. But Moses still argued that he was not, by trying one last excuse.
SCRIP: 13 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
a. Moses finally threw up his hands and admitted, yeah so what you are with me, you sent me, they will follow me, you made my tongue so I can speak, but let me be perfectly honest with you God, “I just don’t want to go no matter what!”
b. Well this brutal honesty was going to cost Moses, not because he was too honest, but because that honesty reflected a corrupt heart.
c. Moses had been burned in his past experiences in Egypt, he was just wanting to let by gones be by gones and just get on with his life.
d. He didn’t want to dig up his past.
EX: This would be like today POW’s from World War 2 going back to the Philippines or back to Germany and confronting them with the atrocities of their brutality and demanding payback.
e. And Moses wanted no part of this so he told God to find someone else, and this upset God.
SCRIP: vs 14, “Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."
f. Now at first we see Aaron coming and think this is a good thing, but this is really a mixed blessing.
g. Remember Moses and God were more than enough for the task, but God sent Aaron in His anger, because that was what Moses was requesting.
QUOTE: One commentator said, “When God in His anger gives us what we selfishly want, that gift rarely turns out to be a blessing. One of the most painful judgments God can send is to let His people have their own way.
h. And Moses had to learn this the hard way, remember when Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the 10 commandments and he was gone for forty days, and the people were impatient and thought he was never coming back, so they began to go back to their pagan ways and imitate what they had seen in Egypt, and Aaron is the one backing the idea of building the golden calf to worship.
NOTE: Moses submitted one objection after another as he spoke toGod at the burning bush: “Who shall I say sent me?” God said, “Tell them the I AM sent you.”
“What if they don’t believe me and scoff at me?” God said, “I’ll give you miraculous power so that you will gain credibility.”
“But I am not a good speaker!” God said, “I made your tongue. I’ll help you, and I’ll send your brother Aaron to help you.”
Finally Moses just pleaded, “Lord, I don’t want to go. Please send someone else.”
i. Such feelings of inferiority can cause paralyzing fear that hinders us from following God’s call.”
j. God didn’t cure Moses’ fear of failure complex by saying, “Moses, let’s talk about your upbringing in the palace. Let’s get in touch with your inner potential.” God’s anger was kindled against Moses and He said, “You go and do what I command.” Moses finally swallowed his pride and surrendered to God’s authority in his life. He decided to take a step of faith and obey.
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III. Moses’ Success
A. So Moses finally did what God commanded Him to do, and he experienced, fantastic success.
a. He went to the Hebrew slaves and said, God has sent me to deliver you from slavery. They said, “You’re an answer to prayer. We’ll follow you and be loyal to you, so lead on!”
b. He went to Pharaoh and when he saw the rod turn to a snake the king said, “Moses you really do speak for God, take the people and go.
c. The 2 million slaves left, celebrated God’s goodness and in two months occupied the land flowing with milk and honey and lived happily ever after!
B. No, not at all, that’s not the way it happened, it wasn’t that simple. Moses experienced one disappointing set back after another.
a. The Israelites were terrible followers. They were rebellious and caustic. They blamed Moses for giving them false hope and increasing their workload.
b. Pharaoh scoffed at the idea of releasing the slaves. His court magicians mimicked God’s miracles. He threatened Moses and only after God sent 10 horrible plagues did he reluctantly, temporarily let the slaves go.
c. There was the entrapment by the Red Sea, the threat of starvation and dehydration, and cowardice once they reached the Promised Land.
d. For 40 years Moses experienced one set back after another, one embarrassing failure after another. And to top it all off, he never got to go into the Promise land himself. He went up into a mountain and died and God buried him there.
C. But quickly 4 lessons I hope we have seen and learned today are:
a. 1. We need to understand that fear is normal, it can even be positive.
i. If Moses would have leaped at the challenge and said, “Sure Lord, no problem. I’ve been hoping someone would see my talents wasting away here; I can do it.
ii. We’d smile and say, “He doesn’t know what he is getting into. He is really naïve.
iii. When Moses was frightened, he was being realistic. There was danger, disappointment, and death lurking out there.
iv. We need to understand that fear is normal and sometimes an appropriate reaction, God can use it for good.
1. If you are afraid to fail, it may motivate you to prepare more, pray harder, and have a more humble spirit.
2. Sometimes over confidence is our worst enemy.
ILL: IN HERMAN MELVILLE’S CLASSIS MOBY DICK, STARBUCK, THE FIRST MATE SAYS, “I WILL HAVE NO MAN IN MY BOAT WHO IS NOT AFRAID OF A WHALE.” BY THIS HE SEEMED TO MEAN NOT ONLY THAT THE MOST RELIABLE COURAGE WAS THAT WHICH ARISES FROM THE FAIR ESTIMATION OF PERIL, BUT THAT AN UTTERLY FEARLESS MAN IS A FAR MORE DANGEROUS COMRADE THAN A COWARD. (Chpt. 26)
QUOTE: Sir Lawrence Olivier was once asked what it took to be a great actor. He said, “Humility enough to prepare and confidence enough to pull it off.”
v. Fear is normal and is even a positive motivator to preparation.
b. 2. A second lesson is to confront your phobias. Don’t let fear prevent you from taking risks.
i. When you fear doing God’s will, don’t run from it face it. Obey God’s call.
ii. Month’s later when you look at that adopted child in the crib or you come back home from that mission trip, you will feel God’s pleasure, and hear Him whisper, “Fear not, I am with you. Well done good and faithful servant.”
c. 3. Thirdly, Expect failures, its an inevitable part of success.
i. When Moses obeyed God, he encountered some major setbacks, his success wasn’t instantaneous and it’s wasn’t without some failure
ii. Failure doesn’t mean you are outside the will of God. Failure isn’t final it’s an inevitable step to success.
QUOTE: Bob Russell said, “Failure is the greatest teacher in the world. It gives the test first, and the lesson afterward.”
d. 4. And one final lesson is that we need to redefine success in terms of doing God’s will.
i. If you determine success by worldly standards you can be overcome with fear or ultimately be disappointed and discouraged.
ii. But God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts.
iii. By the world’s standards, Moses’ life appeared a failure. But from God’s perspective Moses was a great success because he walked in trust and obedience.
SCRIP: (Hebrews 11:24-27) By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
iv. All Moses’ fears were based on himself, all Moses’ successes were based on God—What God accomplished through him.
v. We need to define success in terms of obedience to God’s call instead of any human standard.
Conclusion:
ILL: ABOUT A YEAR AGO I WAS IN HAITI ON A MISSION TRIP, AND I REMEMBER THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS THERE I HAD A FEAR OF GETTING BITTEN BY A MOSQUITO, NOT BECAUSE OF THE WEST NILE VIRUS, BUT WORSE, I HAD HEARD THE HORROR STORIES OF THOSE WHO HAD GOTTEN MALARIA. NOW I KNEW WHERE WE WERE STAYING THEY HADN’T HAD CASE OF MOLARIA IN 5 YEARS, BUT I HAD A SNEAKING SUSPISCION THAT I WAS GOING TO BE THE ONE TO BREAK THAT 5 YEAR STRETCH. WE WERE GIVEN SOME ADVICE; DON’T HANG OUT WHERE THERE ARE PUDDLES OF STANDING WATER.
WELL EVERYNIGHT BEFORE DINNER WE WOULD TAKE TURNS TAKING THE WATER JUG TO THE WELL TO GET WATER. ON THE 3RD NIGHT THE LOT FELL TO ME, SO I RELUCTANTLY TOOK THE JUGS TO THE WATER WELL AND WHEN I GOT THERE I NOTICED SOMETHING, A HUGE SWARM OF FLYING INSECTS. MY WORST FEARS HAD COME TRUE, THERE WERE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF MOSQUITOS SWARMING AROUND THIS PUMP. SO I LOOKED BACK TO THE DINNER HALL AND THOUGHT OF AS MANY EXCUSES AS I COULD COME UP WITH ABOUT WHY I DIDN’T RETURN WITH ANY WATER, BUT IN MY MIND NONE WOULD SUFFICE. SO I BIT THE BULLET AND I BEGAN PUMPING FOR WATER AS HARD AND AS FAST AS I COULD. MY HEART WAS POUNDING, SWEAT WAS DRIPPING, NOT BECAUSE IT WAS HARD WORK BUT BECAUSE I KNEW BEYOND A SHADOW OF THAT I WAS GOING TO GET BIT AND MOLARIA WOULD SOON SET IN. BUT ABOUT HALF-WAY THROUGH MY MISSION, IT DAWNED ON ME THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT I HAD TAKEN MEDICATION AHEAD OF TIME JUST IN CASE I WAS BIT BY A MOSQITO CARING MALRIA. WELL I WAS ECSTATIC, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT NO MATTER WHAT I WAS GOING TO BE FINE. I WAS TEMPTED TO HANG OUT THERE ALL NIGHT.
And as Christians, no matter what our fears are we have been inoculated by the power of the blood of Christ, so that no matter what we can conquer our fears without the worry of getting hurt by the enemy.
A. Maybe right now its time for you to over come your biggest fear, and that is humbling yourself enough to walk down this aisle during the invitation and meet Jerry upfront and be baptized into Christ.
B. If this is you conquer this fear today and meet us down front as we stand and as we sing.
