Pain
Exodus 3:1-4, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock ato the backside of the desert, and came to bthe mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And cthe angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of da bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.[1]
Exodus 3:7-10, “And the Lord said, hI have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their icry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And kI am come down to ldeliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land munto a good land and a large, unto a land nflowing with milk and honey; unto the place of othe Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, pthe cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.[2]
I. Kept Flock
A. Father-in-Law
B. Father
II. Kept Burning
A. Flame
B. Function
III. Kept Seeing
A. Fate
B. Future
Introduction: After I had graduated from Bible College and was ordained into the ministry, I was commissioned as a corporate chaplain. The ministry that I served went into the marketplace where people were working. We handed out little books called “Daily Bread.” Now my daily devotions include listening to the “Daily Bread” devotional each day. The June 6th devotional was entitled “No Wasted Pain.” It touched me especially that day and is the basis for this message.
Now my chaplaincy is with Moncure Fire Department. When called, I go and speak to those who are standing by not knowing what pain their loved ones are going through.
We all suffer pain. Jesus did. There are all types of pain. Why do we suffer it? Today we will talk about Moses and the pain that he suffered. We know the story of a young baby who was thrown into the river only to be rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter and later raised in the household of the king by his own mother.
Moses started his life in pain, yet God rescued him and used him in ways that nobody would have imagined. In all that Moses did, none of it was his plan. None of us want pain nor do we expect to have pain and yet we all know pain.
As the story of Moses goes, Exodus 2:11 “And it came to pass in those days, hwhen Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their iburdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 *And kwhen he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee †a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But lMoses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by ma well.” [3]
Scripture: The scripture is Exodus 3:1-4 and then Exodus 3:7-10
Prayer:
Message: The title of today’s message is “Pain.” The outline of the message will be displayed as we go along. Moses thought that he was about to die again. Pharoah had wanted to have him killed before he was even born. Through what many might think as coincidence, Moses was raised in Pharoah’s home like a prince. He wasn’t though and he knew that he wasn’t.
Do you suppose Moses was always kind of looking over his shoulder to see then the next thing might be there to get him? Do you ever feel that way? If you’ve had extended illness and recovered, I expect you know the feeling.
The bottom finally dropped out. Moses might have thought it was finally over. He still had the heart of a shepherd. We fast forward to chapter three and find Moses keeping the flock of his father-in-law. Read verses 1-4 with me.
Have you ever gotten to a place where you thought, “This is it?” I have learned in my few years on earth that God has a sense of humor. Just when you think that you are in a rut so that you can put the locomotive on autopilot and cruise down the tracks, something comes along and boom!
Can you imagine what Moses thought when he saw that angel? Minding the business of his father-in-law and thinking he knew what was in store tomorrow and many days after, the Angel of The Lord appeared and took him to a bush that was burning, and the fire would not be quenched.
So what does this mean? First, Moses had a burning desire in his heart to shepherd his people out of the abuse and carnage that he saw in Egypt. Though he was Hebrew, he was raised as an Egyptian aristocrat. He had a place, but he felt a strong urge of purpose to lead his people.
That fire didn’t stop when he found that herd of sheep. He still had that fire to serve. He had served his wife’s father faithfully but now it was finally time to serve his Heavenly Father by serving his people.
When Moses turned his attention away from the flock to the fire, God called him. Notice here that Moses recognized that voice. Samuel was confused when he heard God call him. Samuel thought Eli was calling him. Moses knew God’s voice and said, “Here am I.”
God uses pain to draw us from one place to the next place. We know from the Bible that Enoch walked with God and God took him; it doesn’t say that Enoch stood in one place with God. We walk from one thing to another keeping and fulfilling the purpose that God has for us.
A colorful speaking politician was asked his opinion of society. The reporter tried to get him to speak about the government’s lack of compassion as more and more funding is being cut from the overinflated federal budget. The politician responded by saying something to the effect, If people want to get back on their feet, they first need to get off their butt.
Senator Kennedy is a little abrupt sometime and I toned down his response. The apostle Paul had a so-called thorn in his side and God did not remove it. Instead, God told Paul that His grace was sufficient for him.
It says that Paul prayed three times for the affliction to be removed. He did not want that fate of being saddled down with pain and yet God left him with it. We pray that our future is better than our past. We feel the pain of believing that it is not going to be any better than it is now and that often terrifies us to the point of paralysis.
Please keep in mind that the prophet does not forth tell things that he/she knows nothing about. The prophet experiences the pain that he/she speaks of and then God speaks the truth through the prophet.
I’m not here to tell anyone else to get off their butt. Maybe God has a reason for you being where you are, where I am. Paul wrote countless letters of encouragement during his incarceration. Today we text, call, email, very few letters are mailed anymore. Whatever form of communication you choose, encourage each other. God has a better future for us all. It is called heaven.
Moses was in great pain for many years and yet he would continue for many more years and would have much more pain. The pain that he felt from the people who were unappreciative of being God’s chosen overwhelmed Moses to the point that he lashed out against God. He was supposed to wave the rod above the rock so that God’s mercy would be recognized when the water rushed out. Instead, Moses struck the rock. The water came but Moses lost his privilege of leading the people into the promised land. He died on the mountaintop where God buried him.
Was that Moses’ fate? Is that where the story ended? He was angry and he acted on the pain that he felt. He wasted himself in pain..
Fast forward now to Mark’s gospel chapter nine, “9 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come awith power.
2 bAnd after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding cwhite as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.[4]
You can read the rest for yourself. Moses was there on that mountain overseeing the Promised Land. Moses was there with Jesus. That is where we will all be one day if we realize the future that God has in store for us. Paralysis is not our future. Being with God now and forever is our fate because He sees and He cares.
Invitation: Song, “Does Jesus Care.”
a Ps. 139:9 (Heb.).
b ch. 4:27. & 18:5. & 24:13. Num. 10:33. 1 Kin. 19:8.
c Isai. 63:9. Mal. 3:1 (Heb.). Acts 7:30, 31. See Gen. 18:2.
d Deut. 33:16.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ex 3:1–4). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
h ch. 2:23, 24, 25. Neh. 9:9. Ps. 106:44. Acts 7:34.
i ch. 5:6, 10, 13, 14.
k Gen. 11:5, 7. & 18:21.
l ch. 6:6.
m Deut. 1:25. & 8, 7, 8, 9.
n ver. 17. ch. 13:5. & 33:3. Lev. 20:24. Num. 13:27. Deut. 26:9, 15. Jer. 11:5. & 32:22. Ezek. 20:6.
o Gen. 15:18–21.
p ch. 2:23.
[2] Ibid, Ex 3:7–10). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
h Acts 7:23, 24. Heb. 11:24, 25, 26.
i See ch. 1:11.
* B.C. 1531 Heb. 1650? Gr. Comp. Acts 7:23.
k Acts 7:26–28.
† Heb. a man a prince. So Gen. 13:8 marg.
l Acts 7:29. Heb. 11:27.
m Gen. 24:11. & 29. 2.
[3] Ibid, Ex 2:11–15). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a So Matt. 24:30. & 26:64. ch. 13:26. & 14:62. Luke 21:27. & 22:69.
b To ver. 8, Matt. 17:1–8. Luke 9:28–36.
c See Matt. 28:3.
[4] Ibid., Mk 9). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
