Sermon Central
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God Is The Source Of Our Boldness Series
Contributed by Bobby Oliver on Apr 16, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: We can be bold because God knows everything, God can do anything, and God is greater than the world.
God is the Source of our Boldness
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- As we study, we’re asking the question, “What can we learn about honoring God from this passage?”
- Last week, we asked the question, “Why do we doubt?”
- We saw through the example of Moses that we doubt when we’re overwhelmed, we doubt when others doubt, and we doubt when we forget.
- Moses was overwhelmed because Pharaoh refused to let his people go, and instead increased their workload, so that caused him to doubt.
- Then, the people doubted and were upset with Moses, blaming him for their extra workload, so that caused him to doubt even more.
- Then, Moses also had forgotten about God’s Promise to deliver his people and bring them to the Promised Land, so that caused him to doubt even more.
- But God was patient with him, and today, we find Moses moving forward with boldness, once again going before Pharaoh.
- Of course, that boldness wasn’t something Moses stirred up on his own…
- No, God was the source of his boldness.
- I’m reminded of a time years ago when I had to confront someone close to me about their sin.
- I was only about 22 or 23 years old at the time, and I hadn’t had to do anything like this before.
- Unfortunately, the sin this person committed was not something that could remain hidden or just be brushed off to the side.
- I remember experiencing all sorts of emotions.
- Anger, confusion, disappointment, to name a few…
- I prayed, and asked God to let me out of going to this person, but the more I asked, the stronger the confirmation became that I needed to confront them.
- So the day came when I finally confronted this person, and I remember God giving me a boldness to say what needed to be said.
- It was very painful to do, but once I started, God gave me the words, and He strengthened me to say what needed to be said.
- Sadly, what I said to him was not received well at all…
- This person became very angry at me, and called me judgmental and a Pharisee…
- That was one of the most difficult days I’ve ever experienced in my life, but I know that God gave me the boldness to say what needed to be said!
- So let’s look at 3 reasons that we can have boldness when God wants us to do difficult things.
I.) He Knows Everything- Vs 1-7
- A few years ago, the floor in our laundry room had rotted and fallen in.
- I’m not a carpenter or a handyman, so I didn’t know what to do.
- I figured I could hire someone to do it but didn’t have the money at the time.
- This was just before Aaron was born, so Sherri’s parents were up visiting, and when her dad, Paul, saw the problem, he said, “I know how to fix that.”
- He proceeded to give me the instructions on what to do, but I must have had a blank stare on my face because he said, “You know what, I’ve got lots of time. Let’s do this project together.”
- So he and I went to the store to buy the needed supplies and as he was giving me instructions, he was helping me with the project.
- When I first looked at that rotted out floor, I thought, “There’s no way I can do this!”
- But when dad offered to help, and actually did it with me, I no longer feared the project…
- I was confident I could do it because dad knew how to do it, and I couldn’t mess it up with the expert there.
- So every measurement I made and every nail I pounded was done with boldness instead of fear because dad knew what steps were next, and he could see the finished product in his mind.
- Moses up to this point has struggled with doubt and fear as well, but now, God is telling him it’s time for action.
- So here in chapter 7, we no longer see Moses questioning God with his doubts…
- No, we see Moses moving forward with boldness because God is with him.
- Just to give Moses added confidence, God tells him exactly what’s going to happen…
- He also tells him what he needs to say, and how Pharaoh will respond…
- It’s all step by step, so nothing will be a surprise to Moses.
- God starts by saying, in vs 1, that He has made Moses as God, or as a god, to Pharaoh.
