INTRODUCTION
- There are famous people in the Bible who made an impact with their lives – ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary tasks because they did certain things.
- The goal of this message is to for you to see what God can do in your life and for each of us to take the steps necessary to accomplish the task God has set before us.
- Today we're going to look at Moses who I consider to be the greatest person in Old Testament
- He received the 10 Commandments from God.
- He led the children of Israel out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
- And he wrote the first five books of the Bible – An amazing man!
- Why did God choose Moses? Because Moses chose God.
For the life of a man to count, he must do what Moses did. They are foundation to his success in life.
1. DISCOVER WHAT GOD MADE YOU TO BE – v. 24
- Consider this word "refused" – It means to disown, reject, to leave no door open. - Moses insisted on being what God made him to be and no one could convince him otherwise.
- Moses was born a Hebrew slave but he was raised as Pharaoh's grandson in Pharaoh's palace which was the most opulent place in the world at that time.
- Moses had an identity crisis – He had to decide: “Am I Jewish or am I Egyptian? Am I a slave or am I royalty?”
- The major consequences of his decision would affect the rest of his life.
- If he chooses to say, "I'm Pharaoh's grandson,” he has fame, fortune, a life of luxury, a promising career, and is heir to the throne.
- If he chooses to say, "I'm Jewish born of Jewish slaves," he'll be rejected, despised, thrown out, humiliated and will live the life of a slave forever.
Now what application does this have for you and me? - God made you for a purpose – He wants you to be you.
- The first secret of success is to be yourself – Quit trying to be somebody else.
- Quit trying to be somebody you're not – Quit trying to conform: look like everybody else, drink like everybody else, talk like everybody else, buy the same thing everybody else has – Be yourself – Discover what God made you to be.
2. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN LIFE – v. 25
- If your life is going to count, if you want to make an impact with your life, it's your choice, not mine.
- God chose Moses as a baby but at some point Moses had to choose God - It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up… – Hebrews 11:24a
- A mark of maturity is when you start accepting responsibility for your own life.
- That's a mark of maturity – When you stop blaming other people.
- As a baby it was OK for Moses to live off of his parents' faith.
- But when he had grown up he had to make that decision on his own.
- He had to go God's way because he wanted to go God's way.
Three facts of life:
a. You can’t live off of other people's spiritual commitment.
- You've heard people say, "My parents were Christians" or "My dad was a missionary" or "My husband/wife is a believer."
- So what? You need a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
- Some of you are teenagers; it's time to grow up! Some of you are 40 and need …
- You need to quit living off the spiritual apron strings of your parents and get your own faith – When Moses grew up, he chose.
b. You can't blame others for the direction of your life.
- Society says the exact opposite – It says "It's not your fault, you're a product of your environment. Blame other people for your messed up life."
- But you can’t blame other people for the direction of your life – It's your life.
- You can't control all the circumstances but you can choose how you'll respond.
c. No one can ruin your life except you.
- I'm free to choose my response.
- You might have had the worst upbringing possible, you might have suffered through an abusive situation, there might have been a horrible tragedy that you’ve been through, and I’m very sympathetic to all that.
- But as real and tragic as these experiences are, they will not ruin your life.
- The only one who can do that is you, but you have a choice to do differently.
3. ESTABLISH A VALUE SYSTEM FOR YOUR LIFE – v. 26
- If you're going to make your life count you need to settle the issue of what is really important -Clarify it in your life.
- Moses clarified his values and priorities
- Moses thought this thing out and made a decision to do what was right.
- He evaluated his options, considered them, and weighed them in the balance.
- It is the same thing that each of us must do.
- We need to establish whether we are going to accept God’s value system or not.
- You need to sit down and seriously consider What in the world am I living for?
- What are you living for today?
- Moses regarded what is important and what is not important.
- Most people have never done that and that's why they're failures at life.
- They don't know why they are, they don't know what they want to accomplish in life, and they don't know what's really important.
- You need to establish values in life, things that you can build your life on, the things that will be important to you.
- Why? The fact is that if you don't decide what is important in your life, others will do it for you.
- What is ironic is that Moses, by the world's standards, already has everything the world had to offer:
- He had power – He was heir to the throne of the most powerful country of the world at that time.
- He had pleasure – Every whim would be satisfied in the palace of Egypt.
- He had possessions – The wealth of the world was concentrated in Egypt.
- Moses had it all but he walked away from it.
- Like Moses, we need to learn to say with conviction, "I'm not going to be sucked up into this world's system, the rat race, the hollow lifestyle that says life consists of pleasure, passions, possessions and prestige. I'm not going to buy into that.”
- That's the kind of person Moses was and that's why he made an impact with his life. - He went against the flow.
Moses’ Value System:
a. God's purpose is more valuable than popularity.
- “God has a plan for my life. I'm going to lead these people to freedom.”
- He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
- Moses said, “I'd rather fulfill God's purpose and do what He's told me to do than be in this place of power and prestige.” He wasn't impressed by popularity.
b. People are more valuable than pleasures.
- (Moses) chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. – Hebrews 11:25
- I like this verse – The Bible always tells the truth.- It says there is pleasure in sin – The Bible says sin is fun.
- But it's only fun for a season, for a short time – It doesn't last.
- Moses could have temporary pleasure being the next Pharaoh of Egypt or he could go do what God had called him to do and help the people who were in pain, who needed to be set free.
- He could have stayed there in pleasure and today no one would even have known Moses' name
c. God's peace is more valuable than possessions– Hebrews 11:26
- (Moses) thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him.
- He rejects the world's pleasure – Now, he rejects the world's treasure.
- But he knew that no possession could give him inner peace.
- He would have been miserable not doing what God wanted him to do.
- Peace comes not from the things you own; peace comes from being in the center of God's will, being what God made you to be, and doing what God made you to do.
- That's where peace comes from.
- Your values are determined by your vision
– Whatever you're looking at is what becomes most important in your life.
4. NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE GOAL – v. 27
“Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible”.
- You must visualize your goal, and focus on it – You constantly keep it before you. - Why is vision so important? Because the secret of success is persistence.
- And the secret of persistence is vision. - Vision draws you on so that when you want to give up, you don't.
- You have your eyes on the ultimate reward.
- You know that Moses spent most of his life waiting?
- From the time that God gave Moses the vision, the dream of setting free an entire nation after 400 years of slavery to the time it was fulfilled and they were ready to go into the Promised Land was 80 years.
- Could you wait that long and not give up?
- Moses spent 40 years in Midian just waiting for God to say "Start!"
- Do you ever get tired of waiting on God? Do delays ever tempt you to give up?
- Have you learned the difference between "No" and "Not yet"?
- Have you learned that God's delays are not God's denials?
- One of the tests of faith is "How long can you wait?"
- You must keep your eye on the vision, the goal, on what counts in life so you don't get discouraged.
"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off the goal."
- What are you looking at – the obstacles or the opportunities? The problems or the One who overcomes the problems?
- It's all a matter of vision, what you focus on with your life.
- That's the key to endurance and perspective.
Conclusion
1. Identity – Who am I? v.24
2. Responsibility – What am I going to do with my life? v.25
3. Priority – What is the most important thing in life? v.26
4. Difficulty – How much am I willing to commit to what I'm going to give my life for? v.27
See if there are some areas where you need to grow, and then seek God’s help.