PREPARATION FOR DELIVERANCE

BY THE END OF THE LESSON,  WE WILL:

EXPLAIN why Moses was hesitant to answer God's call; CONFESS fears that hinder us from saying yes to God; and PRAY for help in overcoming fears that prevent us from obeying God completely.

 

KEEP IN MIND

"Go, and gather the elders of Israel, and say unto them, The LORD God your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:16-17).

 

AT-A-GLANCE

1. God Hears the Israelites' Cries for Help (Exodus 3:7-9)

2. God Command Moses to Go to Pharaoh (v. 10)

3. Moses' Doubts, God's Assurance (vv. 11-12)

4. God Responds to Moses (vv. 13-17)

 

IN FOCUS STORY

Jeff's parents had him when they were young and unmarried. His grandmother raised him and took him to their small  storefront Apostolic church. When she died, he ended up "in the system" and away from the church. Years  later, he decided that the fast track to money was better for him-and dealing drugs was the fastest way he knew. His associates didn't know his background, so they wondered about his  love for Gospel music. Jeff loved the references to God's love and often asked God if He really loved him despite what he did. If his associates had known of his conversations with God, he would have been out of business.

It was near Thanksgiving when he found himself in the hospital after someone tried to kill him. Jeff kept thinking about the song "Never Would Have Made It." Drifting off to sleep, he was gently awakened by a voice that lovingly called out his name and told him that his career as a drug dealer was over. There was a new plan for his life. Jeff responded, "God, if that really You, please reveal Yourself." In just a few minutes, Jeff was speaking in tongues. The nurses came in to see what was going on, and one recognized what was happening. Jeff received the Holy Ghost in that room that day. The nurse gave him the address to her church, and he was baptized in Jesus' Name soon after his release. From that moment forward, Jeff lived a life dedicated to Jesus, and his testimony blessed hundreds, young and old. He went on to change lives with the message of the Gospel.

God has call for each of us, regardless of our past. In today's lesson, we will explore Moses' call to serve God.

 

THE PEOPLE, PLACES, and TIMES

CHILDREN of ISRAEL. The people of Israel whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had established a covenant relationship with these ancestors. The covenant is an agreement based of faith.

MOSES. His name literally means "drawn out." A Hebrew woman gave birth to him. After Pharaoh issued a decree to kill male babies, the Hebrew woman placed him in a homemade basket on the river. One of Pharaoh's daughters found him and raised him as her own. God chose Moses to lead the Children of Israel from slavery to freedom.

 

BACKGROUND

God heard the Israelites' pleas to be delivered and told Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of slavery.

Now in the desert after fleeing Egypt, Moses was married and working with his father-in-law, Jethro. When God appeared and commissioned him to deliver the Israelites, Moses expressed doubts about his abilities and questioned God. God assured Moses that "certainly I will be with thee"

(from Exodus 3:12). God told Moses what to say to the Israelites to assure them that God had indeed heard their cries for help. "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you....The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob" (from vv. 14-16).

 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. Why did God call Moses (Exodus 3:7, 9)?

2. What would be the means by which God would deliver Israel (v. 10)?

3. What excuses did Moses give (vv. 11, 13)?

4. How did God respond to Moses' fears and doubts (vv. 12, 14-17)?

 

 

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. Moses had been willing to "step up" for the Children of Israel earlier in his life. Why do you think he reacted with fear and doubt when the actual call to action came?

2. If Moses was to the spokesperson, why did God send him to elders? Are there any implications in this for our leadership roles?

3. Jeff, the former drug dealer in the In Focus story, received the Holy Ghost in his hospital room. Is there anything that would keep God from hearing pleas for salvation?

4. In the In Focus story, a nurse heard Jeff and reached out to him. Was it coincidence that she was there? What does this tell us about God's plans for our lives?

 

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

Unfortunately, every day, people, who need God die without having heard the message of salvation. Even more unfortunately, many in the church world- including Apostolic churches-either give up on people who are living a live of sin and crime or don't even try to engage them because the are "too far gone." Interestingly, we display this same distance to people who seem too rich, too successful, or too powerful to be following God. The call of Moses tell us that God  is not finished with people just because they don't measure up to our standard or are not like us. As people who are baptized in Jesus' Name and filled with the Holy Ghost, what does God expect us to do with the truth He has entrusted to us?

 

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Review Moses' life if Exodus 2 and 3. While Moses was obviously shocked that God would call him, what has God been doing in his life to prepare him to step into his place as a deliverer of Israel? What can we learn from this that is applicable to our lives? What are your next steps to making this a reality?

 

(Except from Apostolic Light)