This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Making Of A Leader" 11/3/2013

THE MAKING OF A LEADER

Exodus 3:7-17

GOD KNOW'S YOUR TROUBLE

 V:7. "The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings."

 A. Israel grew to be a nation in Egypt as slaves.

     1. God promised Abraham that his descendants would spend 400 years under

         bondage in Egypt.

     2. When the 400 years were over, God selected Moses to lead Israel to the promise

         land.

 B. God knows your condition.

    1. God is aware of where you are in your condition.

    2. God knows the cause of your condition.

    3. God knows how your condition is affecting you.

 C. Even though you are suffering, you are God's people.

    1. Your suffering is the preparation for a greater blessing.

    2. It is strange how God works, but He knows best.

  

 8 "So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite."

 A. There is a time for bondage and there is a time to be free.

    1. When the time is right, God acts swiftly.

        a. We were all in the bondage of sin before our meeting with Jesus Christ.

        b. Moses was a type of  Messiah for Israel.

    2. God in spirit form revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai.

    3. God comes down to our level to communicate His plans to us.

 B. God gave Moses focus.

    1. He gave Moses purpose.

    2. He gave Moses the promise of success.

 C. God does not give us junk.

    1. The promise land was valuable.

    2. The promise land was fertile ground.

    3. The promise land was productive.

    4. God has given us a promise of Heaven.

 D. God allowed the promise land to be cared for by people whose beliefs were foreign

 

     to Him.

    1. Someone may be maintaining what God has for you.

    2. Just because you don't possess what you desire from God, does not mean He

        does not have it in store for you.   

 

GOD HEARS YOUR PRAYERS

9 "Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. "

 A. God acts on our prayers.

     1. God heard their cry.

      a. It is important that we tell God our problem.

      b. We must continue in prayer because God does not act on our time.

      c. The only thing we can be sure of is that He is able to work out our problems.

   2. Our prayers flow from us on earth to God in heaven.

      a. God examines our condition.

      b. God singles out those who cause us trouble.

      c. God knows all the details of those who wronged  us.

 

GOD HAS THE SOLUTION

 V:10.  "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."

 A. God has work for us to do.

     1. God will send us into difficult situations.

     2. We must be prepared to speak the Word of God at His direction to anyone.

        a. It does not matter how high up in the organization a person is, we must be

           prepared to speak at God's demand.

      3. Moses was sent to the top dog, the Pharaoh to present the Word.

 B.  God may select someone to handle your problem.

     1. The solution to your problem may be in the hands of someone from your past.

         a. God may select you to handle someone else's problem.

     2.  God called Moses to return to Egypt which he left 40 years earlier.

          a. He still had family in Egypt, but he was forced to leave because he killed

              an Egyptian.

          b. Moses was raised by the Pharaoh's daughter, so he was familiar with the

 

             Pharaoh  and his family.

 C. God uses our training, our skills and our connections to do His will.

     1. Moses was educated in the Pharaoh's house.

     2. He may have had some military training.

     3. After fleeing from Egypt, Moses spent 40 years watching over the Priest

         of Median's flock.

     4. He learned to be a follower and a leader. 

 D. He had a connection with the Lord.

      1. Moses was called on to use his training and his talents to carry out The Lord's

 

         plan.

      2. Just because you have been kicked to the curve by people in high places, does

 

          not mean that you are not valuable to the Lord.

      3. Perhaps, Median was Moses place of training for God's work.

         a. During the 40 years in Median, God was preparing Moses for the role He

 

            would play in bringing  His people out of Egypt.

         b. It may be that your present position is a training ground for future work for

 

            God.

            

 

YOU PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN GOD'S PLAN

V:11. " But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"

 A. It is important that you know who you are in the Lord.

     1. Don't ever discount your worth to the Father.

     2. Every believer has been called by the Lord to do important work.

 B. Who are You.?

      1. The Lord's servant.

 C. Where should you go?

      1. Where God directs you.

 D. What is your purpose?

      1. Give God the glory by serving Him.

 E. By asking the question  " Who am I", Moses discounted his worth.

      1. He was discounting his abilities.

      2. He was discounting his effectiveness.

      3. Moses discounted himself on two fronts.

          a. His effectiveness before the Pharaoh.

          b. His effectiveness as a leader of people.

 F. God is the source of all power.

     1. What is impossible for us, is possible with God.

     2. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

     3. Our problem is not doing the job but how we see Christ working in us to

         accomplish His will.

         a. Jesus said, "If you abide in me and My Word abide you, ask what you will

            and it will be done for you". John 15:7

         b. Moses had been given a directive from God.

         c. All he needed to believe was that God would be the  source of his success.

 

V:12. " And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."

 A. The first thing we need to know is that God is with us on any mission we do for Him.

    1. To be a servant of the Lord, you must be willing to serve.

    2. To be a servant of the Lord, you must make yourself available to serve.

    3. A servant of the Lord must be willing to face opposition to the mission, but trust

 

       the

        Lord to provide a way through the problems.

    4. A servant of the Lord must trust God with the outcome of the mission.

    5. A servant of the Lord must see the mission as a success before he get's started.

 B. A servant of the Lord must worship Him all throughout the mission.

    1. When the mission is accomplished, the servant should set a time and a place to

         worship the Lord.

    2. We must give God the credit for our success.

    3. Moses started on the mountain worshipping the Lord and He was told to return to 

         the mountain and worship the Lord.

    4. Worship of the Lord is the key to our success.

       a. Worship at its best is complete submission to the Lord.

       b. Worship involves devotion, dedication and service.

    5. For Moses to take on God's mission, he had to give up his life for God.

      a. Moses had to drop sheep herding and take up people herding.

      b. Moses had to move outside of his comfort zone and move into a new unfamiliar

         position.

      c. What is unfamiliar to us is common to God.    

 

STUDY TO KNOW GOD

V:13. "Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"

 A. It is good to know who you are working for.

     1. We should spend time getting to know the God we serve.

     2. Anytime you start talking about God, you should know what you are talking

 

        about.

     3. You must be able to communicate who God is.

 B. We should try to anticipate questions that will arise about God's mission.

     1. We must be comfortable in saying that the God who sent me is the "I AM" God.

     2. In Egypt, there were many gods with many names.

     3. There is but one true God.

         1. The God we serve is the creator.

         2. The God we serve is the authority.

         3. The God we serve was not made with human hands.

     4. The God we serve is the Alpha and the Omega.

         1. The God we serve is omnipotent.

         2. The God we serve is omniscience.

         3. The God we serve is omnipresent.

 C. Many people know about God, but don't know God.

     1. Many people have heard about works of God, but have not made Him their God.

     2. Many people see God's glory but don't give Him the Glory.

     3. When we anticipate what people don't know about God, we can get prepared to

         enlighten them.

 

 V:14. " God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you".

 A. God defined Himself as the "I AM".

      1. The Word "I AM" is the Hebrew word "hayah" which means exist, to become, to

          happen.

         a. Some commentators translate "hayah" in the future tense, "I Will Be Who I

 

            Will Be".

      2. God is the Self Existing One.

      3. God made everything happen.

      4. God is what everything is to become.

 B. We really cannot describe who God is.

      1. All we can say is God Exist and He makes everything happen.

      2. Who is the Lord of your life?  The Lord of my life is one who made me happen.

      3. The Lord of my life is one who caused me to exist.

 C. Here is where faith come to a reality.

     1. I can't describe God. I can't see God. I can't feel God, but I know He exist.

     2. I can see God's glory in His creation.

     3. I can see God's power in His creation.

     4. I know some of what God has done in my life.  

     5. I attribute my existence to God.

 

V:15. " God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, '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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

 A. God is the God of all generations.

      1. He is the God of all past generations and all future generations.

      2. God is the eternal self existing God.

      3. The Word Lord is the Hebrew word Yehovah which means self existing.

      4. The Word God is the Hebrew word Elohiym which means supreme.

      5. God is the Self Existing Supreme Authority.

 B. We should be careful to always state what God says He is; the Self Existing

 

      Supreme God.

     1. We should make God a memorial in our hearts.

     2. He is not just the God we sing or talk about. He is the God of our mind and soul.

     3. God is to be remembered and praised.

 

BECOME A WILLING SERVENT

 V:16.  "Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt"

 A. We have the awesome job of telling people who God is.

      1. We have a responsibility to tell others that God cares about them.

      2. We should tell others that God is their present help.

 B. People in trouble, need a word from you about God's promise to rescue them from

     their enemies.

     1. God is concerned about every detail of our lives.

     2. God knows the injustice that has been done to us.

     3. God knows who causes of our trouble.

     4. Every believer need to be encouraged that God is the solution to their troubles.

 C. The mission of God should begin with the leaders of the Church.

    1. God give His leaders His vision.

    2. God gives His leaders His vision to carry out His will.

    3. God chooses the faithful and the obedient to lead.

 

V: 17 "So I said, I will you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey".

 A. God has a set time for our deliverance.

     1. God told Abraham that his descendants would be in bondage for 400 years.

     2. When the time was up, He sent Moses to deliver them out of bondage and into

          the promised land.

 B. What God has for us may be in the hands of someone now.

     1. They are just holding it until God gets ready for us to possess it.

     2. Someone is holding a job that God has for you.

     3. Someone is holding a house that God has for you.

     4. We have to get ourselves ready for God's promised blessings.