The Power Of God Displayed Through A Willing Servant. Exodus 4:1-31 Series

2026.01.18. Sermon Notes. The Power of GOD Displayed Through a Willing Servant - Faith, Obedience, and Leadership Under GOD’s Call

Exodus 4:1–31

William Akehurst, HSWC

KEY WORDS: Obedience, Faith, Covenant, Holiness, Leadership, Weakness, Surrender, Deliverance, GOD’s Sovereignty

SCRIPTURES: Exodus 4:1-31, Exodus 3:10-14, Exodus 3:18, Genesis 17:9-14, Acts 7:22, Isaiah 6:1-8, Jeremiah 1:5-9, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 11:23-29, 1 Timothy 3:2-5, Philippians 2:8

BIG IDEA

GOD reveals HIS power and holiness while patiently guiding and shaping HIS servant. Obedience, not eloquence or strength, is what GOD requires to accomplish HIS redemptive purpose. GOD works with imperfect people addressing fears and developing faith by encouraging obedience with available resources for HIS glory.

INTRO

Exodus 4 continues the divine commissioning that began in Exodus 3. Israel has cried out under the weight of slavery, and GOD’s response is not an army, not a strategy, but a man…Moses. Moses is now 80 years old. Once confident, educated, and powerful in Pharaoh’s court, he has spent forty years humbled as a shepherd in Midian.

This chapter reveals the tension between GOD’s patience and GOD’s holiness. The Lord reassures Moses with signs, provides help through Aaron, yet makes unmistakably clear that delayed obedience carries serious consequences.

Exodus 4 reminds us of a foundational truth:

GOD does not call the qualified; HE qualifies the called - but HE expects obedience.

Moses’ struggle is not ignorance of GOD’s power; it is fear shaped by past failure, rejection, and self-doubt. GOD patiently transforms hesitation into faith, excuses into obedience, and ordinary tools into instruments of divine power.

CONTEXT RECAP: GOD HAS ALREADY SPOKEN (Exodus 3:10–14)

Exodus 3:10-14

10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

GOD has already promised Moses:

• “I will certainly be with you.”

• “They will heed your voice.”

• “I AM WHO I AM has sent you.”

Moses is not lacking revelation - he is wrestling with trust.

I. MOSES’ DOUBT AND THE DANGER OF SUPPOSITION (Exodus 4:1)

Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ”

“But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice…”

Moses’ second objection flows directly from his past rejection forty years earlier (Exodus 2). The word suppose reveals speculative fear - imagining negative outcomes despite GOD’s clear word.

GOD had already said in Exodus 3:18, “They will heed your voice.”

Exodus 3:18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

Supposition (supposing) contradicts promise. In other words, Doubts go against what God has promised.

POINT

Honest doubts may be brought to GOD, but lingering in fear after GOD has spoken leads to disobedience.

APPLICATION

How often do we stop short of obedience because of imagined outcomes? Many believers remain spectators rather than participants because they live in the word suppose instead of the word sent.

TRANSITION: Moses’ Concern: “They will not believe me nor heed my voice.” (v.1)

And GOD Responds…

II. GOD CONFIRMS HIS CALL WITH SIGNS (Exodus 4:2–9)

Exodus 4:2-9

2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A rod.”

3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD GOD of their fathers, the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of Jacob, has appeared to you.”