WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.120 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.240 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:10.320 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:18.000 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.640 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:36.399 Today I want to talk about one of the great heroes of Scripture, Moses. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:44.079 His life story is found in the Jewish scriptures, what we often call the Old Testament, in the books of Exodus and Numbers. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.560 Moses came into the scene at a very interesting point in Israel's history. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:58.640 About 400 years earlier, they had fled to Egypt to escape a massive famine, and once they were there, they set up shop and they never left. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:09.280 Eventually, the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, enslaved Israel, put them into forced hard labor, and made them earn everything that they had. 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:11.519 They had lost all hope. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.159 They had lost their national identity. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.799 They had lost their dreams of the future. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.959 When things seemed so dark, they got even worse. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:30.959 The population of Israel had exploded, and Pharaoh was afraid that if they continued to grow, that they would rise up and overtake Egypt, fight for their own freedom. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:37.280 He put a law in place that every male child that was born would be put to death. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.400 Now some of the mothers rebelled. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.200 One of these brave women was the mother of Moses. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.000 When she first saw her beautiful baby boy, she knew that God had given him a purpose and there was a plan for his life. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:51.680 She did what she had to do. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:59.760 She hid Moses for about three months, and when she could hide him no longer, she put together a plan that was the ultimate act of faith. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:09.840 This moment in his young life not only introduces us to where the name Moses comes from, but it also sets up a major theme in the life of Moses. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:12.000 The theme of water. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:13.360 Here was the plan. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.800 Moses' mother took a small basket. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.840 She covered it in tar and pitch. 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:22.560 She made it buoyant and waterproof. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:30.479 She laid Moses inside of it and sent it down the Nile River, trusting that God would see her baby through. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:35.120 Interestingly, the Hebrew word for this small basket is the word tabah. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:37.680 It only shows up one other time in Scripture. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.800 And it's the actual name of Noah's ark. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:49.439 It was to protect Moses, to not only save his life, but to one day set free all of Israel. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:59.039 His small basket floated down the Nile, guided by the hand of God, and eventually landed right in front of Pharaoh's palace. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.919 It was there that Pharaoh's daughter saw this small basket. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:10.400 And when she opened it, the surprise of a lifetime, a small Israelite boy. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.159 Moses' name means drawn out. 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:16.400 Drawn out of the water. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:26.479 That was, on one hand, such an obstacle to survival, and at the same time was the very means by which his life was spared. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.560 The name Moses literally means drawn out. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:46.000 Moses was drawn out of the water by Pharaoh's daughter and was raised in the palace as one of her own. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:50.560 By the time Moses was an adult, he had like a split identity. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:54.800 On one hand, he was part of Pharaoh's family by association. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:58.719 He'd been raised in the traditions and the customs of Egypt. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.280 On the other side, by birth, he was one of the Israelite slaves. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:14.879 It all came to a head one day when he saw one of the slave drivers beating one of the Israelites, and he went to stop it and ended up killing one of the Egyptians. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:22.079 Moses was afraid for his life, and so he fled out into the wilderness and started a brand new life. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:23.519 He got married. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:29.040 He had an incredible father-in-law, and he took care of the father-in-law's sheep. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:31.600 Life honestly was good. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:33.519 Moses was satisfied. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:39.680 But God still had plans for the young child that he had rescued from the water. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:46.800 It's here that we're introduced to the main tool that we see Moses using throughout his life. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:54.399 One day, as he was out shepherding the sheep, he saw a bush that was engulfed in flames and yet was not burning. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:55.759 It was quite a spectacle. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:57.279 He had to go check it out. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.040 And when he got there, from inside the flame, God spoke to him. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:03.680 He told him that he had a plan for his life. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:13.920 He gave Moses a new mission to go back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and to demand that Pharaoh let God's people go. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:18.079 Now Moses did not want any part of this. 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.959 Egypt was the last place that he wanted to show up. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:27.360 And besides, he already had a laundry list of excuses of why this would never, ever work. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.639 And yet, God had chosen him. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.519 He asked Moses, What is it that's in your hand? 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:37.839 And what Moses had was a simple shepherd staff. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:42.639 God wanted to display his power to give Moses confidence that he would be with him. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.439 He said to throw his staff down, and as he did, it transformed into a serpent. 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:49.600 Moses was freaked out. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.560 He ran away, but God said, Grab it by the tail. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:57.040 And when he did, Scripture says it turned back into a staff. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:01.759 It was simply the power of God displayed in Moses' life. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.560 Now Moses had a tool. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:13.519 He had something that God would use to give him the confidence to move forward, the confidence that God is who he says that he is. 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:17.279 Reluctantly, Moses goes back to Egypt. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.079 He demands that the Pharaoh let the Israelites go. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:30.560 Of course, the Pharaoh has no interest in letting go of a million people that represent free labor and a huge part of the Egyptian economy. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:33.759 And so God begins to bring plagues. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:46.399 And in almost every one of these plagues, Moses' staff is involved in some way, whether he reaches it out to the sky and darkness comes or sticks it into the river and turns it all to blood. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.199 After ten of these plagues, Pharaoh relents. 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:58.480 He allows the Israelites to leave, to head back towards the land that God had given them. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:01.040 To head back to the promised land. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:12.800 And Moses, the baby who was drawn out of the water, raised in the Egyptian palace, spent years wandering in the desert, was the leader. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:20.480 He was in the front, capturing the hearts of the Israelite people who followed him to freedom. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:25.519 However, it wasn't long before Pharaoh realized exactly what he had done. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.439 He was filled with regret. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:33.279 He gathered all of Egypt's army and sent them after the Israelite people. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:39.120 God was leading them, leading them to freedom, leading them to the promise. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:46.160 He also led them right to the edge of the Red Sea, a massive, impassable body of water. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.439 No one was too concerned about it because they thought they had time. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.680 They'll figure out a way across it or they'll navigate their way around it. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:59.040 Everyone was just so excited to be leaving their slavery and bondage behind. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.920 It was at that point that Pharaoh's army came and pressed down upon them. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:05.920 They had them surrounded. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:19.920 And to be Moses, who could have died at birth, who could have died in the Nile River, who could have died as a nobody out in the wilderness, who could have been killed when he confronted Pharaoh and demanded for the Israelites to be set free. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.959 And now you have to choose your death. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:25.199 War or water? 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:28.720 Once again, we have this thread through his life. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.000 Water at this moment is the ultimate opposition. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:34.960 All of Israel begins to cry out to God. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:40.960 Such incredible opposition, but through faith, such incredible opportunity. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:48.559 And now Moses had a tool, something God had given Moses to remember that God was on his side. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:52.720 God spoke to Moses and said, Stretch your staff over the water. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:57.840 And as he extended his staff, Scripture says that the waters parted. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.840 Israel walked across the sea on dry ground. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.159 They got to the other side to freedom. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:12.639 And when Egypt followed them back in, the waters collapsed, defeating the Egyptian army and securing Israel's freedom. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:18.000 Once again, Moses was saved from water to water. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:31.679 Moses and the Israelites had been drawn out of the Red Sea. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.559 Now they are on the way to the promised land. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:36.080 There's only one problem. 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:38.639 They're in the middle of the desert. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.320 They have no food, and more importantly, they have no water. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:46.720 And the Israelites do what they would continue to do for the next 40 years. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:48.159 They complain. 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:52.320 They go to Moses and they say, Why did you bring us out of Egypt? 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:56.480 I know we were enslaved, but at least we had three meals a day. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:00.879 At least our children weren't going to die of thirst. 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.799 This was a real problem. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:06.559 You have to have water to survive. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.480 Water is the problem. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.039 Water is the obstacle. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.759 And once again, water will be the answer and the opportunity. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:30.799 God tells Moses to take his staff, to go to this large rock that was in the center of the camp, and in front of the congregation, to strike the rock with his staff. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.559 And when he did, it gushed forth with water. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:39.840 Water enough for everyone in Israel to be saved. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:43.440 And at this point, his staff is almost like the silver bullet. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.320 It's like, what can this tool not do? 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:52.480 We see the major theme over and over, from water to water to water. 00:10:52.639 --> 00:11:03.200 We see God's favor displayed through the confidence that Moses has, given by the oddest of all things, a simple shepherd's staff. 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:20.480 Moses and Israel wandered the desert for 40 years, and finally they were right on the edge of the promised land. 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:27.679 Everything that they had worked for and dreamed about, it was all right there about to come true. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:29.440 There was only one problem. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:31.919 By now you can probably guess it. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.000 There was no water. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:43.039 They found themselves in this critical moment where if they didn't find water soon, people literally would begin to die of thirst. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.639 And of course, right on cue, all of Israel began to grumble and complain. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:50.879 Why did you bring us out here? 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:53.519 Why didn't you let us die in Egypt? 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.840 On and on they went. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:06.879 For 40 years, God had been good to them, had sustained them, oftentimes miraculously, and they still had such little faith that God would provide. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:10.159 Water once again was opposition. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:15.039 And water once again would have the chance to become opportunity. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:27.919 All through these years, from the desert to Pharaoh's palace, all the way now to the wilderness, God had given the confidence that Moses needed. 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:32.159 And he gave it to him in a tool, his staff. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.279 God spoke to Moses and said, Here's what we're gonna do. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:37.279 I need you to grab your staff. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.039 I'm gonna guide you to this rock. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.000 I'm gonna gather all of Israel in front of you. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.120 And at this point, it's like old hat. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.039 Moses knows exactly what's coming. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:47.840 Got it, bro. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:50.639 Got the staff, get the crowd, line them up. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:55.039 And then God says, I want you to speak to the rock. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:59.360 And when you speak to the rock, water will come forth. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:05.759 It all looked the same, it all felt the same, but this time the staff would not be used. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:12.320 God asked Moses to simply speak to the rock and his power would be displayed. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:14.480 Now I don't know exactly what happened. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:23.759 I don't know if Moses was just so frustrated with these people who for 40 years had such little faith, complained at every opportunity. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:29.120 I don't know if maybe Moses didn't listen well, if he just had lost his patience. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:40.320 But Moses gathered Israel, grabbed his staff, approached the rock, and in anger struck the rock, not once, but twice. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:42.480 Now God was good. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:49.200 Water came rushing forth, but there were dire consequences to Moses' lack of obedience. 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:59.279 God told Moses that because he did not follow through, because he had not obeyed God, that he would not get to enter into the promised land. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.919 For all of these years, through all of these obstacles, God had been good. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:08.960 He had given Moses a staff, and Moses had used the staff again and again and again. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.000 Why not just have him strike the rock again? 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:14.960 You see, Israel was moving into a new season. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.799 They were no longer going to be wanderers in a wilderness. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:24.320 They were getting ready to cross into the promised land, the land of their ancestors. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.960 They were moving into a new season. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.799 New seasons often require new strategies. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:38.000 Moses would die in the wilderness, and God brought up a new leader for Israel, a man named Joshua. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:42.000 And right at the edge of the promised land, there was a problem. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:43.840 Of course, it was water. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.759 This time the Jordan River. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:50.720 Now there was no staff that Joshua stretched out to part the waters. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:53.279 They were moving into a new season. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:59.840 God needed a new strategy, new ways of seeing things and learning to trust and rely on God. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:03.440 He asked Joshua to walk into the water. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:07.440 And as they walked in, the waters parted. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:12.080 All throughout Moses' life, he ran into the same theme of water. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:15.279 He was very comfortable with water worries. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:20.799 Over and over, God had taken opposition and shown him opportunity. 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:30.000 Of course, all along the way, Moses had his staff, something to give him confidence, something that he felt like he could rely on. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:34.559 However, the staff itself was never magic. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:38.559 It never had any kind of real spiritual power. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:44.320 It was always meant to simply be a reminder of the God who was with him. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:51.039 Over time, it seemed Moses may have confused the source with the staff. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:57.360 The source of the power and provision, the miracles that they saw was God. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:05.600 His power, his favor, and provision was on Moses and was working for the good of the Israelite people. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.480 Moses confused the source with the staff. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:14.399 And so he swung when he was supposed to speak. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:20.559 Maybe there have been times where you see a theme throughout your life. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:26.000 Something that constantly comes and brings fear and suffering. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:33.279 Perhaps for you it's relationships and all throughout your life, over and over again, you've struggled and struggled and struggled. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:38.639 Maybe it is addiction, maybe it's career, maybe you've never felt like you were smart enough. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.440 Maybe you've never felt like you were good-looking enough. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:45.200 We all have these things that recur in our life. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:51.120 Things that show up that are massive obstacles to our success in our future. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.480 I want to suggest that we all also have a staff. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:17:03.200 We have something that we have found in this world that when things go bad, we look to for the source of our hope. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.759 What is your water? 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:15.119 What are the things that continually come up that seem to be blocking you and the destiny that you want to live out? 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:17.519 And what is your staff? 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:24.960 You can discover it quite simply by asking, what do I turn to when life gets hard? 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:32.400 You see, Moses saw water, water, water, obstacle, obstacle, obstacle. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:46.720 But God was with him, and we have a God who can turn our suffering into significance, who can turn our obstacles into opportunities for the world to see just how good our God is. 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:55.759 But we can never confuse our staff with the source of our hope, the source of our provision. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:00.799 Maybe for you, your staff is your wealth, it's the thing that you rely on. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:04.720 When your bank accounts are high, your confidence follows. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.279 Maybe for you it's your possessions. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:15.759 And as long as you have the newest, the latest, the greatest, the best, the most expensive, you feel like all is good in the world. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:22.160 When you're full of anxiety and depression, just swiping that card makes it all melt away. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.799 Maybe it is your relationships. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:33.119 Maybe you are relying on your marriage so much that you are putting your hope in your spouse instead of in your savior. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.880 We all have a staff. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:45.680 For some of us, it's our addictions, the things that can give us just the little bit of relief that we need to forget just how bad the obstacles in our life are. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:49.680 Maybe God today is moving you into a new season. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.359 And new seasons require new strategies. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:19:05.599 Maybe whatever your staff is that has got you through your water worries, whatever the thing you put your hope in that's got you through your obstacles to this point needs to shift. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.960 See, the truth is we don't need a staff when we have a savior. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:13.839 God was trying to teach Moses something. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:20.880 Take the staff out of the equation, speak to the rock and see that your faith isn't in anything of this world. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:25.519 Your faith is in the one who created this world. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:38.799 I wonder if you would be courageous enough and honest enough to evaluate your life, to try and see the themes that have threaded through your life, the common obstacles that you have faced. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:44.079 I wonder if you would be courageous and honest enough to ask, what is your staff? 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:47.519 What have you been putting your hope and your faith in? 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:53.440 When you think about your future, what is it that you hope will secure that future for you? 00:19:53.759 --> 00:20:16.160 If you want to live the life of purpose you were created to live, if you want to move from where you are in the wilderness of life into the life of promise that God has for you, if you want to move into a new season, it's gonna require a new strategy to no longer put your hope in the staff, but to put your hope in a savior. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:22.960 Thanks so much for listening to the message today. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.319 If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.519 You can rate and review or share it with your friends. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:38.319 If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv. 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:40.799 There you can learn how to take next steps. 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:48.720 You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit, and you can also give financially to help push this movement forward. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:52.480 Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.