Sunday Sermon Notes

A visiting preacher came to our church this past Sunday, and his sermon was so good. As I was ferociously taking notes during his talk, it dawned on me that I just had to share all this goodness on my blog! 


You all have been there through our families journey on, and then off the mission field. You've heard more than your fair share of my sob stories of failure, disappointment and regrets. Here I am, more than a year later, and there are still pieces of my heart that need healing. (am I a broken record, or what?!) The sermon that this guy (wish I could remember his name!) preached was so healing for me. It resonated so strongly and gave me hope.  I'm gonna go ahead and mainly just type out my notes... I hope this encourages some of you as it did me!

He started by setting the stage for us of Moses' life. Here this child is SAVED out of a mass murder by the wisdom of his mother who places him in the basket in the river where he is found by none other than Pharaoh's daughter. He's taken into Pharaoh's household and raised as a prince, basically. And because God loves the mother heart (which He created!) He allowed Moses' biological mother to be his wet nurse. Talk about AMAZING. Well, the preacher said that perhaps Moses' mother spoke to him about how he was to be the deliverer of his people. Perhaps she spoke vision over her son's life as she nursed him. Perhaps she prepared him for greatness even from such a young age.

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Well then, when Moses grows up, he gets angry and kills a man in a fit of rage. He is sent out from Pharaoh's house into the wilderness where he....HERDS SHEEP. Real great, huh? No doubt in that time, Moses accumulated pain and feelings of failure. For 40 years he led sheep in the wilderness. So much for "deliverer". So much for greatness. He led these sheep in the middle of nowhere, far from the people he was created to deliver. For FORTY years..... UNTIL! One day, God broke through his routine with a burning bush. God presented His plan to Moses one day that could have been like all the others. And Moses had to make a choice. To continue in the routine of 40 years, or to get up and to walk into God's plan for him.

"Out of the brokenness of our disappointed dreams, we must ask, 'WHO IS THE LORD, AND WHY MUST I OBEY HIM?'"


We must know the God we serve for who He is. God has had a calling for us since before He created the world. We can keep ourselves from that calling by "camping" in places that hold us back.

When Moses returns to Egypt and requests that Pharaoh allow him and his men to go make a sacrifice to God in another land, Pharaoh attempts to strike a deal with them--to bargain. He first tells them "yes, go, but make your sacrifice still here in Egypt." When Moses says, "No we must go out from this land" Pharaoh comes back with "Well, then leave your women and children here." When Moses says, "No we must bring our wives and offspring." Pharaoh returns with, "Fine, then leave your livestock." Moses replies, "Not a hoof must be left behind, because we do not know what God will expect as a sacrifice." The point of this conversation is that Pharaoh was attempting to anchor Moses and the Hebrew people to Egypt. He wanted something to always be there to call them back.

There's always something that draws you back and anchors you to "Egypt". But you must PICK UP ALL YOUR ROOTS AND GO WHEN GOD CALLS YOU. We don't know what God is going to ask of us--we just have to lift it all up with open hands. IT MUST ALL BE AVAILABLE TO HIM.


There is no time for looking back. No time for "dual citizenship".

You will NEVER possess your promised land with your heart still attached to "Egypt".


Being filled with the Holy Spirit is living in such a way that we allow the Spirit of God to do everything He wants to do in every part of us. If I ask to hear what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life, don't you tell me about an experience you had 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 1 year ago, even a day ago. Tell me what God is doing RIGHT NOW...TODAY!


There is no such thing as being able to say "No, Lord". Because the moment you've said no, then He is no longer your Lord. There is only "Yes, Lord." 


God's expectation for His people is to love Him with ALL THEY ARE (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) Understand the traps that are attempting to hold you back. Moses did.