If I Only Had the Courage

Sermon Notes: Sunday, October 27, 2019

Exodus 4 Common English Bible (CEB) Signs of power 4 Then Moses replied, "But what if they don't believe me or pay attention to me? They might say to me, 'The Lord didn't appear to you!'" 2 The Lord said to him, "What's that in your hand?" Moses replied, "A shepherd's rod." 3 The Lord said, "Throw it down on the ground." So Moses threw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Reach out and grab the snake by the tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a rod in his hand. 5 "Do this so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, Abraham's God, Isaac's God, and Jacob's God has in fact appeared to you."





Do you ever feel like you have a lack of courage to do what God is leading you to do? When God sent Moses a message at the burning bush encounter, Moses was scared. Excuses where made as to why he didn't think he could do what God was asking of him. I make excuses all the time as well. We often feel like we aren't equipped for the call God has for us. Look at Moses' life. His very tribe had been persecuted and taken into slavery. Moses was raised as a price and now was working as a shepherd. God shows Moses that he already has everything he needs to help deliver the people of Israel. God would use his common everyday shepherd's staff as one of the tools to deliver the people of Israel. God has already given us what we need. Yes, those common everyday things we already have, when used with God in prayer, can be used to bring about justice, hope, and help lead people to Jesus. With God, we can have courage that we already have what we need. God will use our skills, past experiences, and those common everyday tools that we already use.

For more on the topic of dreaming God's dream for your life, check out Dare to Dream, Creating a God Sized Mission Statement for Your Life, by Mike Slaughter. This book has inspired this sermon.

Pastor Andy
Associate Pastor