Sermon Notes 3-13-11

Text: Exodus 4:22-27 (King James Version)

22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

25Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

27And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

There is no shortcut to salvation. In the text, God comes to check on Moses, and the baby has not been circumcised. As a backdrop, Moses has brought his wife Zipporah out of Midian and she does not know the God of Moses. Moses' intention was to go around what God wants him to do because he is too busy; as we think we are.

We must put some work in with God. How is your prayer life, Bible life, church attendance?

We cannot short-circuit the process.

Before you (Moses) can pronounce judgment on Pharaoh- be sure your house is in order.

Before you begin to quote scriptures to others, be sure you are standing on solid ground.

Remember, judgment begins at the house of the Lord.

Has your life been changed by the Word of God?

What are you doing to continue to do what God has asked you to do?

We must:

1. Learn to be persistent in our faith.

   We must learn to stand on our principles even when they don't look like they are working.

   We must learn to be faithful before our God.

   We must be persistent through our situation and circumstances.


2. Learn to be resistant to the temptation to follow other people.

   We don't know what they have been through to get where they are.

   We don't know what they may have had to compromise.

   Did they make a deal with the Devil?

   Do not cut down on your principles or standards.

   Don't you compromise on your values, because God is looking at you.

  Stand for something that is pure and holy in the eyesight of the Lord.

  Zipporah is being true to who she is, and she still has some wild ways.

  Moses was supposed to uphold the Lord's standards for her.


We must be able to sacrifice something on the altar of sacrifice for the Lord to be pleased with it.

Sacrifice is the price of salvation!


Illustration: Gideon. Get down to the qualified people.

The Lord needs people who are not looking for status or symbols.

Are we willing to put in the work to rebuild the foundation of the church?

We need to be willing to put some skin in the game.

We need more than Sunday-morning kind of faith.

Can you make sacrifices over and above your Sunday-morning visit?

Where is your faith on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday?

Unless you (we) are willing to put some skin in the game, we will never be able to build for the Kingdom.

3. We must learn to exist the way God sees us, as people of faith.

    Faith is a quality that runs through our complete lives.

    Faith moves, shapes and mold us!

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." 1 Corinthians 13:13 (King James Version)

Faith is part of the engine that drives God's people.

This is not a short work, it is lifelong.

Remember, Moses did not make it into the Promised Lane, but he was faithful to his work and his calling.