Notes from Sunday's Message

Here are some general notes from my message this past Sunday.

Title: omg-idk
Opening Video: Cingular Texting Commercial

INTRODUCTION: There is nothing more frustrating then trying to do something you’re not equipped for. You see this mother trying to talk with her daughter and she can’t even understand her. She doesn’t speak her language. So often we find ourselves in a situation like this, but rather than admitting we have no idea what's going on we try to play it off and act like we know what's going on.

Moses found himself in a similar frustrating situation here in Exodus 17.

TEXT1: EXODUS 17:4-6

TRANSITION SENTENCE: Moses was faced with millions of frustrated people. They knew they needed water, but didn’t know how to get it. Moses being the smart man that he was went before God with this problem. God consequently speaks to him and gives him instructions for how to find water for the people of Israel.

As he obeys the word of the Lord and strikes the rock with his staff, water comes flowing out.
There are three principles we can learn here from Moses.

1. Moses goes before God. (omg)
A. He didn’t try to rationalize where water would be.
B. He didn’t put together a committee to explore the odds water would be over the next sand
dune.
C. He went to God. He went to the one that has all the answers.
D. So often we go everywhere else, and God is our last option.
a. Well God, I’ve gone to this specialist and that one. I’ve had a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
opinion and it looks like You’re my only hope now – You’re my last resort!
E. Make Him your first option! It will save you a lot of headaches.
2. As Moses went before God, He didn't come with all the answers. (idk)
A. We all have that little kid in us that thinks we know-it-all.
3. Moses obeys the commands of God.
A. God calls us all to holiness, and holiness is not so much about perfection as it is obedience.
a. Obedience to God is not doing what we think is best or what seems best to us, it
is doing what God instructs us to do.
b. Obedience forces us to compromise what we want or desire for what God wants or
desires.
TRANSITION SENTENCE: Moses was facing a similar situation in Numbers 20. The Israelites are complaining as usual and they have no water. Isn’t it great when we face a problem that we’ve seen God answer before? It gives us greater faith, because we know, “God did it once and He’ll do it again!” What a great lasting effect obedience to God has on our lives. It gives us victories in our past that compel us onward over our future obstacles. But as we’ll see here in this passage, there is one BIG mistake we can make when we are standing before a mountain God has conquered for us in the past.

TEXT2: NUMBERS 20:2-11

I. We see Moses did what we talked about earlier.
A. He went before God.
B. He understood that he didn’t know-it-all.
C. Here’s the problem, though, rather than obeying the word of the Lord for that time, he became dependent on the word God had given him in the past.
D. Do you know that God can be his greatest enemy?
a. Trying to obey what God has instructed in the past rather than hearing from
God this time is just as bad as obeying some cult or false God!
b. Understand this, God always desires the same results, the same end. But His means to that end are always changing.
E. Just as in both of the situations Moses went before God because the Israelites needed
water – the situations were very similar.
F. Well, lets look at what happened with Moses because he didn’t obey God’s word for that
time.

TEXT3: Numbers 20:12

A. God has given us numerous promises throughout scripture. Promises like:
a. “I know that plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you.
Plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jer29:11)
b. “…I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
B. These are great promises that we can take to the bank. We know God does not go back
on His word. It is reliable - unchanging.
C. But when we aren’t obedient to the voice of God we place ourselves in jeopardy of
experiencing the fulfillment of those promises.
D. Moses never experienced the Promised Land because of his disobedience. Because of his
dependence on the word God had given him years before.
E. God desires us to live lives of obedience not perfection.
F. When we aren't willing to obey what God instructs us, we will always find ourselves living outside the Land of Promises.
CONCLUSION: Sure that’s how it was done back then, but God has a fresh word for today. A fresh direction for today. His ultimate goal and end will always be the same, but we must be willing to hear from Him for today. We must be willing to go before God individually admitting we don’t have all the answers, listen and then be obedient to what God tells us. But we as a church of individuals, as a family, must, must, must, be willing to listen to the word of God from our pastor and be obedient to that. Because disobedience to the word and direction God gives His Anointed will always result in us standing outside that Land of Promises wishing we had just obeyed.