Act in faith, do something, say ‘YES’ to God!

7 truths about Experiencing God

5 of the 7 Truths, relate to God

1/ God is working in our Life even when we don’t know it
2/ God takes the initiative to draw us to Himself
3/ God invites us to join Him in His purposes
4/ God speaks to us
7/ We will see what God will do

2 of the 7 Truths, relate to us

5/ We struggle with God – we say ‘NO’ to God!

Saying ‘NO’ to God is not a good idea

Moses disobeyed God 3 times and God punished him

Finally, God withheld the one thing from Moses that he desired – enter the Promised Land with the People of God

Like Moses, (If we continue to be disobedient to God) we will see others being blessed by God, but we will not be blessed!

6/ We act in faith – we say ‘YES’ to God

As you can see, experiencing God is very simple

Act in faith, (do something) say ‘YES’ to God!

When we say ‘YES’ to God we are changed, we become mighty ‘men and woman of God’

James 5:17 ‘Remember Elijah? He was a man, no different from us…he prayed …and God answered his prayers…’

* Give yourself to God in prayer, every day, and see what God will do…through you!

Acts 4:13 ‘…Peter and John had no education or special training,…boldly they spoke…these men had been with Jesus…’

* Spend a quite time, alone ‘with’ the Lord, every day, and see what God will do…through you!

Luke 1: 80 John the Baptist ‘…lived in the desert…’ (Clothed in animal skins, eating honey and insects)

Luke 7: 28a ‘No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer…’

Jesus went on to say…Luke 7: 28b ‘…yet, even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

* Surrender your plans for your Life and see what God will do…through you!

Why don’t we see more of what God will do?

Because we only give God part of our life, not all of it

Quick prayers, when we remember

No time ‘with’ the Lord before we start our day

Our plans for our lives come first

Let’s change that today!

Galatians 2: 20 ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’

See what God will do

Let’s see what we can learn about experiencing God from the Life of Moses

1/ God is working in our Life even when we don’t know it
2/ God takes the initiative to draw us to Himself
3/ God invites us to join Him in His purposes
4/ God speaks to us
5/ We struggle with God
6/ We act in faith

Moses acted in faith, he went to the King of Egypt and commanded the King to release God’ people Exodus 5: 1

But the King refused to let them go!

Exodus 5: 2 ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey Him…’

God said to Moses Exodus 6: 1 ‘Now you will see what I will do…’

7/ We will see what God will do

So, what did God do?

Through Moses God brought 10 disasters upon the Egyptians Exodus 7-11

The Nile River was turned into blood/they were invaded by frogs, flies, insects and locusts/All their animals died/The Egyptians became sick with skin infections/their crops were destroyed by hail/darkness covered the land for 3 days/All the first born children of the Egyptians died suddenly

Do you remember what the King of Egypt said about the Lord?

Exodus 5: 2 ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey Him…’

After the Egyptian King saw what God could do he believed in the Lord and let God’s people go free Exodus 12: 31-32

God’s people passed through the Sea

But, the King of Egypt changed his mind and pursued the people of God to the Sea where all his armies are drowned

When God’s People saw what God could do they were filled with joy, danced and celebrated and worshipped the Lord Exodus 15: 1-2

Faith – Just do something!

let’s see what we can learn about experiencing God from the Life of Moses

1/ God is working in our Life even when we don’t know it

2/ God takes the initiative to draw us to Himself

3/ God invites us to join Him in His purposes

4/ God speaks to us

5/ We struggle with God

God said to Moses Exodus 3: 10 ‘So now I am sending you to Pharaoh. Go! Lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt’.

Moses ‘struggled’ with God, making many excuses why he should not go

6/ We act in faith

What is acting in faith?

Acting in Faith means doing something!

Q. Was Moses acting in faith when he was struggling with God?

No – he was making excuses, doing nothing

When he finally gives in to God’s will, he acts in faith, does something,

Moses acts in faith – he collects his family and goes to Egypt Exodus 4:20

Moses Acts in faith – he commands the King of Egypt to release the people of God Exodus 5: 1

Moses Acts in faith – he leads the People of God out of Egypt and through the Red Sea Exodus 14: 22

So, how about you? Just like Moses, it is time to stop making excuses – it is time to do something, it is time to act in faith

Just like Moses, God will fulfil his purposes through you!

Exodus 6: 1 ‘Now you will see what I will do….’

When we do something – act in faith we will see what God will do!

Struggling with God

What we can learn about experiencing God from the Life of Moses

1/ God is working in our Life even when we don’t know it

2/ God takes the initiative to draw us to Himself

3/ God invites us to join Him in His purposes

4/ God speaks to us

5/ We struggle with God

Why did Moses struggle with God?

God said to Moses Exodus 3: 10 ‘So now I am sending you to Pharaoh. Go! Lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt’.

Immediately, Moses made 5 excuses Exodus 3: 11, 13, Exodus 4: 1, 10, 13

I’m not good enough, I don’t know what to say, people won’t accept me, I’m too dumb, send someone else

God answered Moses 5 excuses Exodus 3: 12, 14, Exodus 4: 8-9, 11, 14-17

I will be with you, this what you will say, I will show them my power through you, I will help you, I will send your brother to assist you and I will help you both

Did God ask Moses to ‘go’ or did He command him to ‘go’?

Exodus 3: 10 ‘…I am sending you…’

Commanded him to go

God isn’t asking you to serve Him; He is commanding you to serve Him!

We think God gives us a choice to serve Him, He does not!

Exodus 4: 14a ‘…the Lord’s anger burned against Moses…’

What do you think will happen to you if God is angry with you?

You will…Suffer, Get hurt – Might even die before you time

Exodus 4: 24 ‘On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped for the night. There the Lord met him and was about to kill him…’

If you continue to make excuses He will certainly withhold His blessings in your Life

You will see others getting blessed, but you will not

He will withhold the one thing you desire in your Life

What was God’s plan for His people?

On their journey to the Promised Land Moses disobeyed God again! Numbers 20: 7-11

Numbers 20:12 ‘Then the Lord spoke to Moses …Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this People into the land I have given them.’

Moses died on Mt. Nebo

He saw his blessing, but he could not have it!

Dear Friends, yes, part of Experiencing God is to struggle with God

Stop struggling – obey Him!