Quote from Forum Archives on July 20, 2004, 12:39 pm

Posted by: jpeters <jpeters@...>

SERMON SEEDS FOR JULY 19, 2004

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WHERE ARE THE HEBREWS STUDIES THAT JACK STARTED?

They have take a brief respite, but Lord willing, next week’s Seeds will include the next installment in the series.

 

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Exodus 3-4

Excuses

Old Testament Treasures #2)

 

(This series will eventually include 39 outlines, one from each book of the Old Testament. Personally I am bringing the series in the morning services in the summer. Sometime I plan to move them to the evening service. Of course, every one of these messages is self contained and can be preached individually.)

 

An excuse is a reason we give for not doing what someone else expects us to do.  We not only make excuses for missing church, but for missing work, school, and meetings.  We also make excuses for bad behavior and for bad attitudes, and for not getting a job done on time or for not doing homework.

 

One of the worst times we make excuses is when we feel God impressing us or calling on us to do something.

We find all sorts of reasons for not doing what God wants us to do.  And there will be things that the Lord will call on you to do.  In fact he has probably called on you to do at least one of the following things at some point in your life:

 

·        To share your faith with someone who needs to know about Jesus.

·        To help out in an outreach program at church.

·        To perform special music in church or to lead a musical group in church.

·        To participate in a praise team or band.

·        To do something nice for someone.

·        To teach a Sunday School Class.

·        To lead a Bible Study.

·        To go to Bible College or Seminary.

·        To be a Christian School teacher.

·        To be a missionary.

·        To be a pastor.

·        To go on a short term missions trip.

·        To confront a fellow believer about a sin in his life.

·        To be a peacemaker between two believers.

·        To teach or lead a Bible study.

·        To give more to church or to missions or to a special project.

·        To help someone who is having a difficult time.

·        To be an officer in the church, a trustee, a deacon, or an elder.

·        To be an officer in the Sunday School.

In some cases you simply did what God called you to do.

In other cases you simply made excuses for not doing what God called you to do.

 

Making excuses is nothing new.  Some of God’s choicest servants in the Bible made excuses when God called on them to do something.  One of the people who made excuses when God called him was Moses. 

Moses was the little baby that was placed in the bulrushes by the river, when the Egyptian king, Pharaoh, had ordered all male Israeli babies be killed.

Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and ended up growing up in Pharaoh’s court, receiving all the education of Egypt.

Moses tried to help his people who were in bondage in Egypt by killing an Egyptian who was beating an Israeli slave.  He also tried to make peace between two Israeli’s.

 

He discovered that what he had done to the Egyptian was known and he fled for his life.  Pharaoh was not happy in the least. Exodus 2:15

 

Moses ended up a fugitive in the land of Midian where he became a shepherd taking care of the sheep of the man who became his father in-law, Jethro.   

 

Moses spent forty years in the wilderness, taking care of sheep.  Meanwhile the children of Israel were having a miserable time as slaves in Egypt. Exodus 2:23-25

 

God decided that it was time for the children of Israel to be delivered from their bondage in Egypt.  God decided that the man who was going to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt was Moses.  God appeared to Moses in a burning bush that would not burn up and called Moses to be God’s representative before Pharaoh and to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:9-10

 

It is at this point that Moses began to make excuses for not doing what God wanted him to do.

You and I use the same excuses today when God calls us to do something and we don’t think we should.

In this passage there are five excuses for not doing what God wants you to do.   

 

EXCUSE #1 – I AM UNWORTHY

 

Exodus 3:11 - And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

 

Moses was saying “Who am I?”

Of all Moses’ excuses, I think that this one was the most legitimate.

Moses came from a nation of slaves.

He had botched an attempted deliverance before and was at least guilty of manslaughter, if not murder.

   

You and I are all sinners.

 

We have failed God in the past.

Because of our sins we don’t deserve to be used of God.

But if you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

He had changed you, and He had planned for you to serve Him. Ephesians 2:8-10

 

God has plans for you, just as He did for Moses.

At the very least, you are called to a life’s pattern of good works to be done for God through your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.   

 

Are we worthy of such a thing?  Of course not!  But that’s what God’s grace is all about.

The Apostle Paul never got over the fact that he, a persecutor of the Christians would be used of God to spread the Gospel of his Son. 1 Timothy 1:12-15

 

Getting back to Moses, I think that we need to see God’s response to Moses claiming to be unworthy. Exodus 3:12

 

Moses might not be worthy to serve.

You might not be worthy to serve.

But when called Moses, God said, “I’ll be with you.”

When God calls us He says, “I’ll be with you.”

 

In fact God doesn’t want us to be free-lancing.

God wants us to be depending on Him to accomplish whatever He has called us to do. Isaiah 41:10, Zechariah 4:6, John 15:5

 

EXCUSE #2 – I AM UNKNOWING

 

Exodus 3:13 - And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

 

Moses is pleading ignorance here.  He is pleading his own ignorance as well as the ignorance of the Israelites.

 

The Children of Israel probably knew more about the gods of Egypt than they did their own God. They needed education!

 

There are times when God will call you to say something, and you will claim ignorance.  You will use as an excuse the fact that you don’t know what to say.  God had an answer for Moses and He has an answer for you.

   

In Exodus 3:14-22, God tells Moses exactly what to say and encourages Moses that they will listen.  Exodus 3:14 is most significant.

Exodus 3:14 - And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 

Moses is to tell Israel, “I Am” has sent me.

This is the Word, Jehovah.

And when people want to know who has sent us, it is still “I AM”, the self sufficient God who exists entirely on His own.

 

“I AM”   

·        God is real.

·        God is eternal.

·        God is personal.

·        God is alive.

·        God is everywhere.

·        God is constant. Vs. 15

·        God is involved. Vs. 16

·        God is powerful. Vss. 17-22

 

EXCUSE #3 – I AM UNAUTHORIZED

   

Exodus 4:1 - And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

 

Moses was authorized by God, but he was afraid that Israel would not listen to him.  He was afraid that they would not believe that he was God’s messenger.

That is one of our worries when God calls on us to preach, teach, or lead in some way.  We are afraid that people will not accept our leadership.   

    

4:2 – God asks Moses what is in His hand.

         Moses answer was quite simple, a rod.

         God went on to use that rod to show Moses’ authority.

 

4:3-4 – The rod became a snake.

 

4:6-7 – His hand would turn to leprosy and then back to normal again.

 

4:9 – Water from the Nile would turn to blood.

 

God asks you, “What is in your hand?”  What abilities do you have?  He will use those abilities to prove that you have authority from God.

If your ministry is from God, God will authenticate what you do. Jeremiah 1:6-8, Ezekiel 2:5, Matthew 28:18-20

 

EXCUSE #4 – I AM UNABLE

  

Exodus 4:10 - And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

 

Moses appeals to what he saw as his handicap, slow of speech.

Let me tell you something my friend. Every servant of God has some sort of handicap.

·        He or she may have some sort of physical handicap such as speech, eyes, mobility, or sickness.

·        He or she will never have all the spiritual gifts.

·        The gifted preacher is not always the gifted visitor.

·        The gifted visitor is not always the gifted administrator.

·        The gifted administrator is not always the gifted teacher.

·        God limits us, so that He will get the glory!

 

2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

 

The answer God gave Moses is a good answer for you and I.

 

Vs. 11 – God says, “I made you this way.”

 

Vs. 12 – God says “I will empower you to do what I want you to do.”  

 

EXCUSE #5 – I AM UNWILLING

 

Exodus 4:13 - And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

 

Here was a man who had seen the glory of God in the burning bush.

Here was a man who had just talked intimately with God.

Here was a man who had God all his objections for going and doing what God wanted him to do.

Here was a man in verse 13 who basically told God that he was unwilling or unavailable!

 

Beware that you are not the same way.

Notice that God’s anger is finally kindled in verse 14.

Exodus 4:14 - And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

 

Aaron would be sent to help, but later, Aaron would cause Moses problems.

Make sure that you do not kindle God’s wrath by refusing to go and do what he has called you to go and do. 

Remember, God chastens those He loves when they do not obey.

 

Vs. 18 – Moses finally got going.

 

What is it God wants you to do?

GET GOING!

 

Don’t make any of these excuses!

I AM UNWORTHY

I AM UNKNOWING

I AM UNAUTHORIZED

I AM UNABLE   

I AM UNWILLING

 

Expanded version of a previous outline.

 

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PRESENT!

 

No matter where we go or what we do God is always present.  Psalm 139:7

 

GOD IS PRESENT WHEN WE ARE REJECTED – Hagar – Genesis 16, 21:1-20

 

GOD IS PRESENT WHEN WE ARE REBELLING – Balaam – Numbers 22-24

 

GOD IS PRESENT WHEN WE ARE RUNNING – Jonah – Jonah 1-2

 

GOD IS PRESENT WHEN WE ARE REVELING – Daniel 5

 

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LESSONS FROM REBELLIOUS ISRAEL

Psalm 81

 

Nations today can learn from the rebellion of Israel.

 

RETURN TO GOD Vss. 1-5

REFLECT ON GOD'S DELIVERANCE Vss. 6-7

REJECT FALSE GODS Vss. 8-9

REACH OUT IN PRAYER Vs. 10

RECOGNIZE THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE Vss. 11-16

 

Sermon Seeds A17

 

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Mark 4:35-41

A TRYING STORM

 

A TEAM EFFORT – Vs. 35

When Jesus said to go to the other side, He wasn’t sending the Apostles alone. He was going with them.  Wherever the Lord sends us, He goes with us.

 

A TERRIBLE STORM – Vss. 36-37

 

A TROUBLED CREW – Vs. 38

 

A TRIUMPHANT MASTER – Vs. 39

 

A THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTION – Vs. 40

 

 

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FAITH’S DIPSTICK

 

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

A dipstick is used to measure the amount of oil in an engine.

To measure our faith we may use the Word of God as our dipstick.

MINIMUM FAITH – John 3:36

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

MISSING FAITH - Luke 8:22-25

Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. [23] But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. [24] And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. [25] And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

MUSTARD SEED FAITH - Luke 17:3-6

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. [4] And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. [5] And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. [6] And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Please note in this passage that “mustard seed faith” is in the context of forgiveness.

 

MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH - Mark 11:22-24

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. [23] For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. [24] Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

MARVELOUS FAITH - Matthew 8:8-10

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. [9] For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. [10] When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

   

Only twice does Jesus marvel.  The other time is mentioned in Mark 6:6.

 

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Romans 12:17-21

GETTING EVEN

 

As Christian in our behavior as we want to be, we still will face times when we want to take matters into our own hands and "get even" with someone who has hurt us.  Romans 12:17-21 reminds us that we should let God take vengeance as He likes.  Our responsibility is kind behavior.

 

PRINCIPLE FOR PEACE - Vss. 17-18

PROMISE OF VENGEANCE - Vs. 19

PROCEDURE TO FOLLOW - Vss. 20-21

 

Sermon Seeds A17

 

 

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Hebrews 3:18-4:13

REST

HEBREWS STUDY #7   

                                                           

s        What are some things that make unsaved people lack rest?

s        What are some things that make Christians lack rest?

s        What Scriptures tell you that God wants you to be at rest?

s        Why is it a tragedy when we Christians do not have rest?

 

In Hebrews 3:18-4:13 we are both warned and encouraged.  We are warned lest we not enter into God’s rest.  We are encouraged to enter into His rest.

ELIMINATE DOUBT – 3:18-19

 

Ø     How did Israel show its unbelief in the wilderness? Numbers 13:25-14:10

Ø     What was the penalty for their unbelief? Numbers 14:11-23

Ø     How do we see that the penalty for unbelief has not changed today?

Ø     To eliminate doubt we must have faith.  What basic Christian disciplines bolster faith?

Ø     Besides Jesus, whose examples of faith can we follow in the Bible?

ENGAGE FEAR – 4:1-4

 

ü     What kind of fear is to be avoided? Proverbs 29:25, Luke 12:4

ü     According to verse 1, what kind of fear is a healthy?  Why is it healthy?

ü     What is an even more important fear to have according to Luke 12:5?

ü     According to verse 2, the children of Israel had good news preached to them.  They were to go into the Promised Land and conquer it in God’s power.

ü     The Gospel did not profit them because faith was lacking.  Often people think if they give mental assent to something, they have faith.  What key ingredient of faith goes further than mental assent?  Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks of it.

ü     According to verse 3, whose rest is offered? Why is that significant?

ü     According to verses 3-4, when did God’s rest begin?  This rest continues today because it is not a rest from activity, but rest from a completed project. 

ü     Verse 4 is quoting from Genesis 2:2.  Every other verse that refers to a day of creation says “And the evening and the morning were the (number) day.”  Because Genesis 2:2 does not say this, it implies that God’s rest concerning creation continues on. R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews, Volume I, An Anchor for the Soul, (Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books, 1993), p. 110

ü     Fear is to be engaged lest we miss God’s rest through unbelief.

ENTER REST – 4:5-11

à       Vss. 3 and 5 are quoting Psalm 95:11.

à       Verse 6 – Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience. (NASB)

à       The disobedience practiced by the children of Israel was caused by their unbelief.  How is disobedience a proof of unbelief?

à       What is required for us to enter into God’s rest?

à       There is a rest for us to enter into that most of Israel did not according to verse 9.

à       Psalm 95:7 is quoted in verse 7 to show that rest is available today.  What causes the hardened heart that is to be avoided?

à       The logic of verse 8 is that if Joshua (Jesus in KJV) had given true rest in the land of Canaan, there would not be need of another kind of rest today.

à       The rest that Joshua gave in the land of Canaan was only a type of the rest that is offered by the Lord Jesus.  True rest comes in Him.

à       The rest promised in verses 9-10 is a “Sabbath” rest for the people of God.  When will we ultimately experience that rest?

à       Revelation 14:13 - And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

à       Verse 11 – Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. (NASB)

à       What must we be diligent to do if we are going enter into spiritual rest now and eternal rest later?

EMBRACE GOD’S WORD – 4:12

F   Because God’s Word is quick and powerful and sharper any two edged sword, we should be diligent to believe it and follow it.

F   God’s Word judges us now if we will let it.  It will show us when the thoughts and intents of our heart are wrong.  We should embrace the Word to let us show us our disobedience and unbelief.

F   We will be judged according to God’s Word at the final judgment. We should embrace it now by believing it and obeying it.

EXPECT EXAMINATION – 4:13

P  How is this verse a sobering warning about the future?

P  How is this verse a sobering warning for right now?

 

 

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