Insight for Living

Speaker 1

Imagine going for a hike in the mountains. Along the trail, you come across a bush that's on fire. From the flames, you hear the voice of God vividly mapping out a plan for your life.

Well, according to Exodus chapters three and four, that's precisely what happened to Moses. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll will examine the Old Testament record.

In doing so, we'll discover timeless wisdom on hearing God's voice, consenting to his sovereign plan, and trusting him along the way. Chuck titled today's message, "God's Will, God's Way."

Speaker 2

Okay, tucked away in the third chapter of Proverbs are a couple of verses that many of you know by heart. And I want to start there and sort of in the backdoor fashion, get into Exodus chapter four. So turn first to Proverbs chapter three. Let's look at a couple of verses so familiar to us that maybe we have, in the process of a few months, lost the significance of them. I'm referring, of course, to verses 5 and 6, Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Remember those verses. This proverb is what I often call a before and after proverb. Certain things are to take place beforehand so that afterward something might occur. Look at the before part, verse 5. We are to trust in the Lord with all our heart. That suggests relying on him, letting him take the lead, having first place, taking over the controls, the steering wheel, our lives, and to do it with all our hearts. Not to be done half-heartedly. It's to be done without reservation.

Solomon adds a warning now. Be careful not to lean on your own understanding. That means don't bring in the crutches and lean on them, those crutches that you have designed and made to handle the situation. Stay away from your own self-made crutches. Don't lean on them. Lean on him and in the process acknowledge him. This is all part of the before. The word acknowledge is from a Hebrew term that could mean to recognize in all your ways, recognize him. You've got your part. Now we are told to trust, and it's to be with all our heart. We are told not to lean on our own crutches. We are told in every way, recognize him. Realize he is in charge.

Now the after: he will make your paths straight. The word means smooth. He will smooth out your path. He'll take away the obstacles. He'll make that path of righteousness smooth, without obstacles. He'll take care of those barriers when you come to them. Now, there's a twin proverb that fits these two verses perfectly, and I want you to turn to that one. Proverbs 16, verse 7. Proverbs 16, verse 7. When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. That's a great promise. When your path is smooth and you're walking in obedience, he will make even your enemies to be at peace.

Let me illustrate that. We've got a fellow in our church who is single and has tried for some time to buy a new home here in Fullerton. He told the Lord from the very beginning, "Lord, this is your project. This is going to be your home. And so I am not going to worry and fret and connive and manipulate and deceive to get that home in my name. I want it very much. But, Lord, I refuse to let it be the God of my life. You're going to take care of every barrier."

Now, if you have built a home, you know something of the barriers and obstacles that he came across one after another, right down to the very last day when he was getting ready to sign and the loan company called him and said, "I'm sorry." They called his name. "I'm sorry." Over the telephone, they said, "But your salary is insufficient. We are not able to loan you the money." But you know what he did? Instead of turning to panic and doubt and anger, he said, "Lord, no." He didn't say this over the phone. He said this to the Lord after he hung the phone up. "Lord, now this is going to be your home. And if you don't want me to have it, that's fine. But I pray that somehow it might take place, but it's your problem."

And would you believe that? In a matter of hours, his phone rang again. Same loan company. They said, "Something has happened. For the first time, we have made a mistake." That must be a wonderful thing to be able to say, "For the first time, I made a mistake." They said, "We have misjudged. We have, in fact, made some mistakes in our figuring. Your salary is certainly sufficient. Do you still want the home?" As soon as he hung up the phone after telling them, "Absolutely I do," he called me and he said, "I've got to rejoice with somebody. So you're the first one that comes to my mind." And he told me what God had done.

I said, "You know, there's a proverb that says, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even the loan company to be at peace with him." He said, "Where is that proverb? Where is it?" Yeah, that's true on every level. When your ways please the Lord. Now, it won't always work out in your favor. You won't always get the home. Okay. You won't always get the car. You won't always get the degree at the time you planned it in your college education. You won't always hold the job. So don't misread this. It isn't a bargaining tool where you can manipulate God.

But it's beautiful when you say, "Lord, I am not going to sweat day after day, hour after hour, this whole process. It's your baby, and I'm going to walk in obedience as best I can see, before your word, before your will, I'm going to do it your way." It's remarkable how he takes care of the barriers when they come and often does it in the most surprising fashion. You could have never looked back and figured out a better plan. But at the time, it seems even illogical.

Now, in the case of Moses, chapter four of Exodus, we come to that juncture in his life where he made that kind of a decision. He said to the Lord in so many words, "Okay, if you want to use me as your instrument of deliverance, then, Lord, I am at your disposal." Remember last time we looked at Moses? He gave four great excuses, great in the sense of being heavy excuses as he viewed them, and not one of them turned God away. God continued to give him an answer. He brought up another excuse. God gave him an answer. And yet another, four separate times, until finally Moses gave in. "All right, Lord, you want to use me, I'm available. I'm ready to be used."

So, fresh off the burning bush experience, Moses began to experience what it was to trust in the Lord with all his heart and to stop leaning on his own man-made crutches. It's marvelous how God made his way smooth. That's the story of tonight's study. In Exodus 4 and verse 18, Moses comes from the burning bush and begins to make known to his closest family members God's plan for his life. Look at verse 18. Then Moses. Then, by the way, notice then that means after the burning bush experience, after God made it clear he was to be the instrument of deliverance, then Moses departed. He departed from the bush. He returned to Jethro, his father-in-law.

And he made a request of his father-in-law. Remember Jethro, by the way? He worked for Jethro. Not only did he live in the same home, most likely, but he worked, he kept his father-in-law's flocks. He married Jethro's daughter, and by this time they had two sons. The daughter's name was Zipporah. And he and Zipporah, having married, lived perhaps under the same roof with Jethro. And he worked for his father-in-law. The father-in-law was the employer. Now he wants to sever ties with his home, that is where he is living and with his work. So he comes to Jethro and he says to him, "Please let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt."

Now that's a very gracious act. Let me say that when you know that God is saying to you, "This is the direction I want you to go." Now listen carefully. You have been going in one direction. And through a series of events, time spent in God's word, through the wisdom of some counselors that you have sought, it's clear that God's changing your direction. Let me say that that needs to be communicated to your family. This is especially true if you are younger. Now, your family has not had the benefit of the burning bush. You follow me? They have not heard the voice of God. They don't know what God has said to you. They still feel you should be going in one direction and you're talking about going in another direction.

So you need to be gracious enough to give them some helpful information on how God has changed your direction. You need to do that with your employer. He's been faithful to give you work, to provide you with a good job, consistently staying with you, and maybe giving some promotions. It is unwise for you, no matter how zealous you may be, to leave as if on a lark, saying, "Well, they'll find out when they get my note or when they see I haven't showed up next Monday morning, they'll know I'm gone." Or, "Hang it, my mother and dad aren't walking with God. They'd never understand."

Now wait a minute. Before Moses took off for Egypt, he went to Jethro and he said to his father-in-law, "Please may I go?" And now I notice that the father-in-law's response was to Moses, verse 18. The last three words, "Go in peace." The Hebrews have a lovely expression that most of us who are Gentiles know by now. It's the word shalom. That's the word he used. He said, "Moses, shalom, peace be on you." The Living Bible paraphrases it, "Go with my blessing." I like that. Moses, not only am I saying that's fine, I'm saying go with my blessing.

I want to say two things about this matter right now. First of all, when God crystallizes in your mind a plan for your life, be very, very sensitive in the way you communicate that to others. Don't assume that they know all you know in the process, with tenderness and care and concern communicated. This is especially true for those led into missionary endeavors. How very many obstacles are created by one's own self, because without wisdom, he rushed or she rushed into this plan. And without the parents' backing, to say nothing of their blessing.

The second thing I want to notice is that this plan flowed. When you are in the center of God's will, it flows. It doesn't have to be forced. It flows. He said, "Jethro, may I go?" Jethro said, "Go in peace." May I paraphrase the proverb? When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his in-laws to be at peace with him. You have problems with your in-laws? Are your ways pleasing the Lord? It may take some time, but God's word is at stake. He makes even his in-laws to be at peace.

Let me tell you, it's a very humbling experience to be caught up in the rapture of God's will when you are there. Well, I think Theodore Epp put it best when he said, "Once a person is satisfied that he is in the center of God's plan and God is working out his will through him, that person is invincible." Some of you feel like that. You know you're in the center of his will. You feel invincible. I want you to know that's the most humbling place to live, but the best place.

Now, verse 19. Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, that's so gracious of God to do it there. "Go back to Egypt." Look, the Lord reaffirms the plan. "Now you go to Egypt, for all the men who are seeking your life are dead." Isn't that gracious? Remember when Moses left Egypt 40 years before Pharaoh and some of his men sought Moses' life? Now here we are 40 years later, and God says, "Moses, go back to Egypt." What would be a worry on his mind in thinking about returning? Those men back in Egypt that wanted his neck? Sure it would. And that's part of the reason he was reluctant to go back.

But once he acquiesced, said, "Lord, I'm available. I'm going to trust in you with all my heart. I'm not going to lean on my own understanding in all my ways. I'm going to recognize you." Then the Lord said to him, while he was still in Midian, "Oh, by the way, Moses, you know all the men that sought your life, they're dead." Oh, wow. Isn't that a great relief? Tremendous thought. You know, God personally cares about the things that worry us. He cares more about them than we care about them. Those things that hang in your mind as nagging, aching, worrisome thoughts.

First Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all those anxieties on him because he has a care for you." He cares. You are his personal concern. He cares about those nagging, aching thoughts that just are like anchors. And he removed an anchor from Moses' heart. In verse 19, "Moses, don't worry about those men. They're all dead." He probably sang something like, "Praise God, from whom all corpses flow." You know, something like that. How great to have them out of the way. What a relief. The worry is gone.

So he saddled up the donkey, verse 20, took his wife, his sons, mounted them on the donkey, and took off for the land of Egypt. What a sight. It must have looked like a gypsy stuck a few things in the back of the donkey. Here's his wife, who hadn't been to the burning bush. Here's his sons, and now they're on their way, leaving a good job, security, the familiarity of that land of Midian, going back to the uncertainty of the Exodus. What faith! You stepped out on faith like that. Lately you made a move that, you know, five years ago you never dreamed you would have made. Made a couple of decisions that are just incredible as you think back over them.

Who of us could have patterned our lives looking back five years? Think about that. Where were you? All right. Got it set in your mind? You didn't have the slightest idea that the next five years would be like they've been, did you? Isn't God great? You struck out just like Abraham, not knowing exactly where you'd be going. Just like Moses. That's his plan. He honors an obedient walk. That's the whole theme of tonight's message. He will honor your faith if you will trust him in that kind of a walk.

So he took his wife, took his sons, and he took the staff of God in his hand. Look how verse 20 closes. What staff? The staff of God. Wait a minute. That's the same staff that verse 2 tells us was Moses' staff. God said to Moses in chapter 4 and verse 2, "What's in your hand?" He says, "A staff." He didn't call it the staff of God, but now it says in verse 20 he took the staff of God. What happened between verse 2 and verse 20? Miracle.

Remember, that's the staff that God said throw it down on the ground. And he threw it down on the ground and it turned into a writhing snake. And God said, "Take it by its tail." And he touched it by the tail and held it up, went back into a staff. But now it was the staff of God because God had touched it. This isn't just busy work with the text, friends. Let me say that when your life is marked by God, whatever you use for him becomes his property. You're working in an office of a Christian organization or wherever it may be. Your hands, the type, become the hands of God. You become a faithful witness on a campus. Your voice becomes the voice of God. You use your home in a very special way for his glory. You give it to Him. You dedicate its use for his glory. It's the house of God. Just like the staff.

Moses took the staff that God had touched and he made his way to Egypt. F.B. Meyer writes this: "Imagine the setting forth that day, Zipporah sitting on the donkey, perhaps nursing a little babe newborn while that husband and father walked beside and in his hand was the sacred rod, only a shepherd's crook, but now the rod of God destined to be employed for deeds of transcendent power, always reminding Moses that what weak things could do when wielded by strong hands behind them." I imagine he held fast to that staff because it was a reminder of God's presence.

Speaker 1

Well, hold that picture that Chuck Swindoll has painted in your mind because there's much more to share with you when we continue his message. The title of this study in Exodus, chapters three and four is God's Way. We've also set aside some time at the close of today's Insight for a Living to hear a personal comment from Chuck, so stay with us.

First, I want to remind you that in addition to this daily teaching series, Chuck has written a full-length book on the life of Moses. It's called A Man of Selfless Dedication. It contains 20 chapters and it's written in the engaging style you've come to expect from Chuck Swindoll. To purchase a copy, just call us at 800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/store.

If you'd prefer to listen to Chuck's teaching on Moses instead of reading a book, you'll be glad to know his classic preaching series is recorded on audio CD, and you can purchase all 20 sermons by calling us or going online.

Well, today is November 19th, and we're approaching the final weeks of 2024. Along those lines, we want you to know we are committed to walking by your side every day in 2025 and beyond.

Speaker 3

Here's Chuck as we finish another year of ministry together. I can assure you that my personal passion for preaching and teaching has only intensified with the passing of time. In fact, I'll be honest here. I don't believe I've ever felt stronger about seizing the day every day. Because I truly believe that current events signal the soon return of our Savior.

Over the lifespan of Insight for Living Ministries, we have witnessed a litany of catastrophes. Some were national disasters. Others were violent acts of wickedness. Think about it. Tsunamis wiping complete islands off the map and swallowing families into the sea. Then there were earthquakes, smothering innocent people with debris. There were two commercial jets flying into the Twin Towers, creating apocalyptic chaos and horrible destruction. There have been senseless shootings, too many to count. Plus, racial tension that has escalated. Political parties are polarized, and our citizens are feeling confused. Some are downright angry. Times like these cause us to conclude, yes, we are really living in the end times.

Well, through all these disasters and through all the cultural turmoil, Insight for Living has remained constant, delivering a constant reminder that God is sovereign and in full control. By teaching God's word, we serve as a calming voice of stability, pointing people to the Savior.

And now let me urge you to invest generously. Do that so that we may turn up the volume on the gospel, guiding more and more people directly into the truth. In these last days, your donations, large or small, will truly make a difference. Let's do this together. And let's do this now while there's still time.

Remember Jesus' words: we must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the One who sent us, for the night is coming, and then no one can work. Thanks for hearing my heart today. I so look forward to hearing from you soon.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Chuck. There are a number of convenient methods to respond to Chuck Swindoll. First of all, here's our phone number: 800-772-8888. Or you might find it quicker to give your gift online at insite.org/donate. Our mobile app also includes an easy-to-use donate function if you prefer to send a check in the mail.

Here's our address: Insite for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, TX 75034. Again, that's Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034. You can also call our toll-free number any time of day. Here's the number again: 800-772-8888 or go online to insite.org.

I'm Bill Maier inviting you to join us when Chuck Swindoll continues his message on finding and following the Will of God right here on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, "God's Will, God's Way," was copyrighted in 1975, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1998, and 2024, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.