Purpose over Past
[Exo 4:10-12 NIV]
10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

This morning I would like to look at the life of Moses and explain how our purpose prevails over our past.
Moses was given many names in the bible.
- Friend of God. – Exodus 33:11
- Man of God – Deuteronomy 33:1
- Servant of the Lord – Deuteronomy 34:5
- Deliverer – Acts 7:35
- Prophet – Deuteronomy 18:15
Out of all the names that Moses was given in the bible, the one that is interesting is a friend of God.
The Bible says in Exodus 33:11
“The LORD would speak to Moses’ face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
Moses maintained an intimate relationship with God – so much that he would forever be known as God’s friend.
Moses also heard from God, on Mt.Sinai about The Law and The Tabernacle.
Even though Moses was not perfect, he was used greatly of God and had a relationship with God.
It didn’t just happen overnight; Moses went through a process to have the relationship he had with God.
Let’s look at his life and how we can learn that our purpose is not determined by our past.
- Moses made a desert decision.
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
As Moses grew up, he saw two men fighting. He went over to the Egyptian and killed him.
Moses didn’t think anyone saw, but the next day he saw two Hebrews fighting and he asked them why are you guys fighting?
Then one replied are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian.
Moses was afraid and thought, me killing that Egyptian must have become known.
Not only that but Pharaoh heard of it and tried to kill Moses.
So, Moses fled and went to live in Midian.
Now as Moses as in Midian sitting by a well, he comes to the rescue of the Priest of Midian’s daughters.
The priest told his daughters go get the man and let him come and eat with us.
Moses must have explained his situation to the priest of Midian.
You see what had happened was. The priest understood and let Moses stay with them.
Moses ended up staying there and taking care of the Priest of Midian’s sheep in the desert.
Moses ended up tending those sheep in the desert for 40 years.
This can seem to be a downgrade to a man who was prince in the court of Pharaoh and had a great education, yet he is satisfied with taking care of sheep in the desert.
After all, it was the decision that Moses made that got him there.
How many people do we know that are satisfied with living in the desert, because of decisions we have made in the past?
How many people do we know that feel they don’t deserve anything better than living in the desert, because of the decisions we made to get us there?
Perhaps that is where Moses found himself.
Yes, I used to be in the palace, but it was my own decision that got me in the desert.
Even though Moses was a shepherd in the desert, he took care of the sheep that was in his care.
Even though his bad decision put him in the desert, he still wanted to take care of what God had put him in charge of.
He still wanted to be faithful to his responsibilities without position or title.
That is a good sign of a Man of God or a Woman of God in the making. It is when they are faithful and productive right where God has them.
He could have had the attitude of don’t you know I used to live in the king’s palace and now you want me to take care of sheep.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Nope. He was faithful with the responsibility as if God gave it to him.
Moses didn’t need a title or position to perform his duties.
Moses knew his decision is what made him end up in the desert, but he still had a heart for God.
He still had a call on his life.
God still had a plan for his life.
Have you ever made a decision in life that puts you in a desert?
Have you ever made a decision in life even after being saved that put you in a desert?
Hello.
Moses was in the desert.
As Moses was in the desert taking care of his responsibilities, he had an encounter with God.
2. God speaks to Moses in the desert.
Exo 3:1 NIV] 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
[Exo 3:2 NIV] 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
One day as Moses was in the desert taking care of the priest of Midian’s sheep, he sees a bush that is on fire.
He goes over to see what is happening, because the fire in the bush didn’t go out.
It wasn’t so much the bush being on fire that got Moses’s attention, but it was because the fire in the bush didn’t go out.
Moses probably looked a few times at the bush and then he eventually said let me go check it out and see what is happening over there.
As Moses goes over to see what is happening, God speaks to him from within the bush.
See it wasn’t a big deal that the bush was on fire, but what got Moses’ attention was that the fire in the bush didn’t go out.
[Exo 3:3 NIV] 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.”
One Commentator said – The bush burned, and yet did not burn away: an emblem of the church in bondage in Egypt.
God meets up with Moses at the bush and calls him back to his original task.
That task was to be a deliverer for God’s People.
Even though Moses found himself in the desert because of his own decisions, God still had a purpose for his life.
God still had a calling on his life.
How many here are grateful for the Grace of God?
I think it is important for you and me to know that bible doesn’t say Moses I see your righteousness, Moses I see your intellect, Moses I see your abilities, or Moses I see your skills, so I have called you to deliver my People.
Nope. The bible says.
[Exo 2:24-25 NIV] 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Then in Exodus Chapter 3:1 the bible says:
Exo 3:1 NIV] 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
[Exo 3:2 NIV] 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
God called Moses because He had heard the cry of His People.
God needed a vessel that He could fulfil His Covenant through.
I think it is important for you and I to know that the call on our lives is not because of anything that we have done or anything we can do.
It is not because of our abilities, it is not because of our righteousness, it is not because of how intelligent we are.
The call that God has on our lives is so that He can show Himself faithful to His Covenant.
God made a Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He wanted to fulfill that Covenant.
God used Moses’s life to fulfill the covenant that God made.
The bible says God remembered His Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
Exo 2:24-25 NIV]
24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
So now God is looking is for a person He can fulfill His Covenant through.
God was looking for a willing vessel that He can show His faithfulness through.
God was looking for a person that He can fulfill His Promise through.
Why? Because He is a Covenant keeping God.
He wasn’t looking for a perfect person, if that was the case, then Moses would not have been chosen.
I shared with you earlier why he was in the desert in the first place.
So, Moses was far from perfect.
Not only wasn’t Moses perfect, but what about Elijah?
What about Jonah? He was on the run.
What about Rahab? She was a prostitute.
What about Paul? He would persecute the church.
God still used their lives.
The call that God has on our lives is not because of anything we have done or because of our goodness, but because God wants to show Himself faithful to his Covenant.
All He needs is a willing vessel.
Just like God was looking for a vessel back in Moses’s day, He is still looking for a vessel today.
You may be here this morning and find yourself in a desert because of a decision you have made.
I came by to tell you this morning that God has a purpose for your life.
God has a plan for your life.
This altar is going to be a burning bush experience for some of us this morning.
God is going to speak to you and place a call upon your life.
He is going to show you why He created You.
The desert is not your end destination.
You may be a university student who was studying, but now a bad decision has you in the desert.
You may be a father or Mother, but now a bad decision has you in the desert.
You may be a business owner, but now a bad decision has you in the desert.
You may be a young adult, but now a bad decision has you in the desert.
I have good news; the desert is not your final destination.
The bush is on fire and God wants to share His plan and His purpose for your life, with you.
I am not only talking to the unsaved this morning, but I am also speaking to those of us who are saved.
You love God, but somehow you have a made a decision that has you in the desert.
Well, there is good news this morning.
The call of God upon our lives is not because of our goodness, not because of our experience, not because of our intellect and it is not even because of our title.
The call of God upon our lives is because God wants to Glorify His Name.
God wants to be faithful to His Covenant.
The call that He gave you years ago, is still there.
The purpose that God have you years ago, is still there.
God is going to give some of us a FRESH call this morning from the burning bush.
He is going to remind you of the call that He has on your life.
Yes, you may be in the desert like Moses, but God still has that call upon your life.
Because He is a Covenant keeping God.
Remember that promise He gave you years ago?
Well, God still wants to fulfill it.
Moses was in the desert 40 years, but God still had a plan.
This morning you may be here and feel like the call is not there anymore.
The good news is. He is not looking for a perfect person.
He is not looking for someone who has it all together.
He is not looking for someone who hasn’t even been in a desert, but He is looking for someone that He can fulfill His Covenant through.
God is still looking.
Why? Because He is a Covenant keeping God
He said in the last days I will pour out my Spirit.
Is there anybody here that is willing to allow God to pour out His Spirit on you?
This morning you are going to hear a fresh purpose and fresh call.
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