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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000132S
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00:07 #S069 - Why Me? (Part 1)
00:20 Exodus 00:21 chapter four and verse number six. 00:24 As we get into the word of the living God 00:26 today, Exodus four in verse six. 00:32 You all remember last week we're dealing with Moses 00:34 for the last couple of weeks that he's putting up excuses. 00:37 First week, he says, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh. 00:41 Last week you said, They won't believe me, 00:43 but there are still some excuses that God 00:47 has to help him process with faith. 00:49 Furthermore, the Lord said to him, 00:53 Now put your hand in your bosom. 00:56 And He put His hand in his bosom. 00:58 And when he took it out, 01:00 behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 01:04 And he say, Put your hand in your bosom again. 01:07 So he put his hand in his bosom again 01:10 and drew it out of his bosom, 01:12 and behold it was restored like his other flesh. 01:17 Then it will be if they do not believe 01:20 nor heed the message of the first sign 01:23 that they may believe the message of the latter sign, 01:26 and it shall be 01:27 that if they do not believe even these two signs 01:31 or listen to your voice, that you shall take water 01:33 from the river and pour it on dry land. 01:37 The water which you take from the river will become blood 01:40 on the dry land. 01:42 Then Moses 01:43 said to the Lord, another excuse. 01:47 Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, 01:50 neither before you, since you have spoken to your servant. 01:54 But I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. 01:58 So the Lord said to him, Who made man's mouth 02:03 or who make the mute? 02:05 The deaf, the seal or the blind 02:09 have not heard the Lord. 02:12 Now, therefore, go 02:15 and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you will say. 02:19 Have you all noticed that God doesn't give suggestions 02:23 and that God didn't give recommendation? 02:27 But then in verse 13, 02:29 but he said, Oh my Lord, 02:32 please send by the name of 02:35 whomever else you may send. 02:38 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against the mouth, 02:43 and he said, Is not Aaron, the Levite, your brother? 02:45 I know that he can speak well. 02:48 And look, he is coming out to meet you. 02:51 And when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 02:54 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. 02:58 And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, 03:01 and I will teach you what you shall do. 03:03 So he shall be spokesman to the people, and he himself 03:06 shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to Him as God. 03:12 And you shall take this rod in your name 03:15 with which you shall do the sign. 03:18 But again, I'm 03:19 going to emphasize verse 13, but he said, Oh my Lord, 03:23 please send 03:24 by the hand of whomever else you may send today. 03:30 Sent for just a little while. 03:31 I want to talk to you under the subject. 03:34 Lord, why me? 03:38 Lord, why me? 03:40 Let's pray together, 03:42 Father. 03:45 Would you 03:47 permit hope to explode in this room? 03:52 Father. 03:53 I pray for that soul that is tethered to their fears 03:58 that they may be loosed 04:00 to that person who is intimidated 04:02 by their assignment may be emboldened. 04:07 And Lord, I pray that every slavish hold 04:11 that excuses have upon us as a people, 04:15 that we would be freed from this day. 04:18 May faith 04:19 be multiplied exponentially in the hearing of the word. 04:22 Would you please hide me in the shadows of the cross that 04:25 Jesus alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard? 04:30 And at the end of our time together, 04:31 let Jesus alone be free. 04:34 Bless us to the dead. 04:35 We ask in the wonderful name of Jesus. 04:38 Let them that believe. Say together. 04:39 Amen. Amen. 04:41 You may be seated in the house of the Lord again, talking 04:45 under the subject. 04:46 Why me? 04:53 You know, Church, there is 04:55 a powerful phenomena 04:58 that occurs in the body 05:01 whenever a bone suffers a break or a fracture. 05:06 Whenever a bone is broken, it goes through three phases. 05:10 First, 05:11 there is the inflammatory phase where there is much swelling. 05:15 Second, there is the reparative phase. 05:18 And third, there is the remodeling phase. 05:22 But there is something very powerful that happens 05:24 in that second or reparative phase. 05:28 What the body does is it sends a an abundant 05:31 calcium supply to the area of the break, 05:35 and it forms what is called a callus. 05:38 And for a short while, 05:40 that bone is stronger in the healing process 05:44 than it was before the break ever took place. 05:48 It is as if the body set up compensation for the broken 05:54 and got sins extra to the weak to make the weak part strong. 05:59 In other words, God is the one who supplies for that, 06:03 and God set it up to make up the difference. 06:05 And friends, this medical phenomenon 06:08 is simply a role playing for a spiritual truth 06:12 for God doesn't just call perfect people. 06:15 How many of us know that God calls broken people 06:19 and the Scripture is clear that God says, I'm 06:22 going to allow my strength to be made perfect in your weakness, 06:27 so that if you're willing, God will send such a radical 06:31 deposit to the area of your brokenness. 06:35 He'll send area extra to the area of your weakness 06:40 so that your weakness begins to operate like a strength 06:44 because you serve the God that make up the difference. 06:49 You serve the God that supplies what you lack. 06:53 And this is critical for those on the excuse list 06:55 journey, because too often we point to our lack 07:01 as a reason why we cannot grow and why we cannot progress. 07:05 But I need you to know 07:06 that you serve the God that makes up the difference. 07:09 In other words, church 07:10 God will send such a strong anointing and favor 07:15 that your deficit becomes a surplus. 07:19 If you're willing, God will turn your financial 07:21 lack into financial abundance. 07:25 God will operate in your fears 07:28 and give a favor that is greater than your phobias. 07:31 God will take the enemies who are against you 07:35 and make them the footstool that actually elevates you. 07:39 God will turn your support desert into a support stream. 07:43 And I need somebody to stop looking at what you don't have. 07:47 I need you to stop focusing on what you don't have. 07:51 I need you to recognize that you serve the God 07:54 that make up the difference. 07:57 You serve the God that will supply what you lack. 08:00 Are you with me today? 08:01 CHURCH And so, friends, as we go back here to Exodus 08:05 chapter four, 08:06 our text 08:07 today is filled with some very simple lessons of faith. 08:12 But the first thing it teaches is that if you ask God to speak, 08:18 you've got to be willing to hear. 08:20 Let me say it again 08:21 that don't ask the Lord to speak. 08:25 If you're not willing to hear. 08:28 In other words, I want to just lay this out 08:31 before you ask the Lord to show you something. 08:35 Ask the Lord for eyes to see what He's going to show you 08:39 before you ask the Lord to speak. 08:43 Pray for ears to hear what the Spirit is about 08:46 to say to the Church. 08:48 Because I am convinced that our primary issue 08:53 is not the ability to hear what God is saying. 08:57 Our struggle is to be able to abide with what God is saying. 09:01 And friends, as you look at this conversation 09:04 unfold, what becomes clear is that Moses 09:07 does not have a lack of clarity about what God is saying. 09:13 He's simply struggling to abide with what God has said. 09:17 And see, often it is the case where some will say, Pastor, 09:21 the Lord will have to come down himself 09:23 and tell me to do X, Y and Z. 09:27 But the truth is, this is exactly what has happened. 09:30 God has come down and given signs. 09:34 And yet Moses steals drives against the wheel of his maker. 09:39 And what I'm learning, church, is that it doesn't matter 09:41 how powerfully God reveals something. 09:45 If I'm not open to hearing what He's saying, 09:49 I will misinterpret the will of God. 09:52 In other words, could God make this any clearer? 09:56 I mean, look at this thing. 09:57 God shows up in a bush that cannot be consumed. 10:02 God doesn't 10:03 speak through the stills, small voice of the spirit. 10:06 He speaks in audible tones 10:09 that can be heard with the ears of Moses. 10:12 He's in a place where he drops the rod 10:14 and it becomes a serpent. 10:15 He picks up those serpent and it becomes a rod. 10:20 He puts his hand in its bosom and it becomes leprous. 10:23 And when he puts it in again, it becomes very keeled. 10:27 And I need somebody to understand that the issue 10:29 is not his ability to hear what God is saying. 10:33 His issue is his unwillingness to abide 10:36 with what God is saying. 10:37 And even though he has infallible proofs, 10:41 he still comes to God with another excuse 10:44 about not being able to talk. 10:46 I hear me today. 10:47 Church as the as we stated in the book, 10:50 one of the most dangerously spiritual 10:52 things a believer can do is have a made up mind, 10:58 not. I know that feels like heresy to some 11:01 because you've 11:02 been told your whole life to have a made up mind. 11:06 But it is dangerous when you've created 11:08 a spiritual lead on your thinking, 11:11 because there is something about us 11:12 as humans where it's dangerous when you choose the path. 11:17 When you create your own script. 11:20 When you are the narrator of your own purpose. 11:23 And how many of us know I'm telling the truth? 11:25 That when I script it one way, it's 11:29 hard for me to see it unfold in a different way. 11:33 And see, that's the problem with Moses. 11:35 He had already made up in his mind 11:38 that he was never going back to Egypt. 11:41 He made up in his mind that he was going to live in Midian, 11:45 that he would die in Midian, that he would never depart 11:48 from Midian. 11:49 And the reason he's resisting the plan 11:53 was because he did not construct it. 11:57 You see, this is our era of church. 12:01 Often times we will choose a path 12:04 and then pray for guidance. 12:07 We will choose a path 12:11 and then say, Lord, show me where to go and see. 12:14 The problem with that approach is that at that point, 12:17 when you are already choosing the road, 12:20 you are not asking the Lord for revelation. 12:23 You are simply seeking the Lord for a confirmation. 12:26 I don't really want to know God's opinion. 12:29 I just want God to rubberstamp what I've already decided 12:33 and say. 12:34 I need somebody to hear me on this cause. 12:35 Tell me, young brother, 12:36 if you've already decided she is the one 12:40 you couldn't hear God if he said she's not the one. 12:45 In other words, if you've already decided that 12:48 he's just a friend, then you can't hear God. 12:51 If He says that he might be more than a friend. 12:54 In other words, 12:55 if you've already decided not to get the surgery, 12:58 you can't hear. 12:59 If God says that's your path to healing. 13:03 In other words, if you've already 13:04 decided on Spelman or Howard, you can't hear. 13:07 If God says, Oh, good, is where I want you to be. 13:11 And see, I need somebody to know that the greatest barrier 13:15 to divine revelation is a made up mind. 13:18 You see, too often we invert the order. 13:21 We make up our minds before God has spoken. 13:25 But the truth is, you make up your mind once God has spoken. 13:29 We make up our mind based upon our preference. 13:33 But you settle your mind based upon his promise. 13:36 There are times 13:37 where we make up our minds based on what's convenient. 13:41 But to make up your mind on your spiritual convictions 13:45 and the church, there are times where our world is imploding. 13:49 We're making our decisions come to a marvelous ruin, 13:53 where we are being buffeted by the choices of our own making. 13:57 And what happens is when our world begins to collapse. 14:00 We get to a place where we cry out to the Lord 14:03 and we wonder why God is not speaking. 14:06 We are stressed because God is not talking. 14:08 But what I've learned the hard way 14:09 is that the only time God stops speaking 14:13 is when we stop listening. 14:17 In other words, Church, I need somebody to know 14:20 that the greatest key for being able to hear the Word of God. 14:24 It is not necessarily your moral perfection. 14:26 It is not necessarily your ardent, prayerful ness. 14:30 I need you to know that the primary trait of being able 14:32 to hear God is to maintain an open ness 14:37 to whatever God has to say. 14:38 You are hearing the pastor today. 14:40 All right. Real quick, let me say it this way. 14:42 In other words, here I have three types of vessels 14:45 here on this table. 14:47 Zoom in real quick and see. 14:48 I am at a place where I want to pour something into a vessel. 14:54 But I need you to recognize 14:55 I can't pour nothing into this vessel 14:59 because it's a closed vessel. 15:02 Oh, you're acting brand new. 15:04 In other words, I got a lot to give, 15:06 but I can't give it to a vessel that's already close. 15:10 But then I want to give it to this vessel. 15:13 But this vessel is so full 15:15 that it ain't got no room to receive. 15:17 Y'all missing it today. 15:19 In other words, I can't give nothing to a closed vessel. 15:23 And see, the problem 15:24 is, is not that you can't hear God say forgive. 15:29 You're just close to forgiveness. 15:31 You're close to moving. 15:33 You're close to adjusting. 15:36 And the reason some can't hear God do certain 15:38 things is because you're so full of your own opinion. 15:43 You're so full of your own ideas. 15:46 You're so full of what somebody else has to say. 15:50 And so I need you to know that there is a third vessel, 15:52 if not better, than the other vessels. 15:55 The only advantage is that it's open and it's empty 16:00 and it's available to receive what I have to pour. 16:05 And can I suggest 16:06 that God is looking for some available vessels? 16:10 He's looking for some open vessels. 16:12 He's looking for some empty vessels to receive 16:15 what he has to say. 16:19 Are you hearing the word today, church? 16:22 So as we move 16:23 a little further into this word, the second thing 16:25 I need you to know technically in the speeches 16:29 is that when you are thankful to be spared, 16:33 you're more open to being used. 16:37 Okay? 16:39 When you are thankful 16:41 that God spared you, 16:45 you're more open to God using you. 16:49 Now I need you to be reflective on your own life 16:52 journey as we unpack this particular statement. 16:56 You see oftentimes, friends, we look at this story 16:58 as the day God called Moses. 17:02 But I need you to be clear that Moses has been called 17:05 since the day of his birth. 17:07 This is not the day got called Moses. 17:10 This was simply the day God cornered Moses. 17:14 It was a day where he simply left. 17:16 No exit. 17:17 There is no escape route. 17:21 This is simply where he skeet shoots all of Moses excuses. 17:25 And I need somebody to hear me on this, 17:27 because some of us 17:28 are kind of thinking that maybe God right now is calling me. 17:31 No, you been called since you were born. 17:35 But this season and this season of prayer 17:38 is simply where God is cornering you. 17:40 He is sequestering you, and He is removing 17:43 all of the excuses from your growth and progress. 17:46 Are you hearing me today? 17:49 Now, the reason this is critical, 17:50 if you recall, friends, 17:51 that Moses was born in the midst of a Hebrew genocide. 17:55 Y'all remember that? 17:56 You remember that Pharaoh, in anticipation of a deliverer, 18:02 decided that they were going to take all of the male children 18:05 and cast them into the river. 18:07 In fact, his goal over time was to dilute the dying 18:11 Hebrew race by destroying all of the men, 18:15 and in time they would impregnate the women 18:17 with Egyptian seed 18:19 because there would not be any Hebrew males for them to marry. 18:24 And if you recall, God raised up a group of bold midwives 18:29 who would not obey the command, and they preserve 18:32 some of the boys of whom Moses was one. 18:36 And it's crazy because Moses is in a space 18:38 where when he comes to Israel, he ought to notice 18:41 that there are hardly any men his age. 18:45 In fact, all of the men are older than him. 18:49 Most of the men are actually younger than him. 18:51 Because Moses survives 18:56 what should have consumed him. 18:59 In other words, his very existence is an anomaly. 19:04 His very being is against the odds. 19:07 Moses is a monument that God can keep you 19:13 in. What should have killed you? 19:16 Oh, I need to think about this for a moment. 19:19 I need you to 19:21 look at all of the things that God spared Moses from. 19:24 Not only did 19:25 He spare Moses from the slavery as a child, in addition, 19:29 he spared Moses 19:31 from the genocide and from being thrown into the river. 19:36 And in addition to this, when Moses mom put him in a basket 19:40 and sealed it with pits and put him in a rushing 19:43 river, God spared him from being drowning. 19:46 God spared him from crocodile attacks. 19:49 God spared him from hippopotamus. 19:52 And not only did despair and then once he killed the Egyptian 19:57 God stabbed him when he fled from the face of Pharaoh. 20:01 In other words, friends, you would think that after 20:03 all of that, that he would be mindful and grateful of the fact 20:08 that it was the hand of God that spared him. 20:11 And see, some of us still have missed our South. 20:13 You see, some of us don't see ourselves as special 20:18 because like Moses, we're looking at what we lack. 20:21 But I need you to know that you are special. 20:23 If you've been spared. 20:25 No, no, no, no, no. 20:26 If you've been spared, you are special to God. 20:31 Stop looking at your talent. 20:33 Stop looking at how much money you've got in the bank. 20:36 Stop looking at what you drive. 20:38 If the hand of God 20:39 spared you, it's because you are special to God. 20:44 Do I have any smartphones in this room today? 20:46 Oh, God. 20:48 But the truth is, there are some men in this room 20:52 that grew up in that part of town where not only did 20:55 you have to get past a gang, 20:57 you had to also get past the police. 21:00 And you are still here because God stands here. 21:04 There are some ladies in the room 21:05 that have survived some abuses that are unthinkable. 21:10 But you are still here because the hand of the Lord spared you. 21:14 There are some of us 21:16 that have survived the type of cancer that kills most people. 21:21 But you're still here because God's failed you. 21:25 There are some that almost got in the wreck, 21:28 or you actually got into the wreck, 21:29 but you walked away without a scratch 21:32 because the hand of the Lord's Prayer to 21:35 your mother was supposed to go to the abortion clinic, 21:39 but she changed her mind 21:40 at the last minute because God spared you. 21:45 You should have overdosed back in the day, 21:47 but God kept you and spared you. 21:51 I know you all praise Him with me, 21:52 but some of us should have AIDS crawling all over our bodies. 21:58 But we have been spared 22:01 by the hand of the Almighty God. 22:05 Can we just take a moment 22:07 and praise him that we've been spared? 22:11 Can you praise him 22:14 that the weapon was flawed but it did prosper? 22:18 Can you praise him? 22:19 That he should have ended a long time ago. 22:22 But you're still here. 22:24 Oh, act like you have always been right. 22:28 But you are here because you have been kept 22:33 by the hand of God. 22:36 But what's this church? 22:37 This is the point. 22:39 The most spared people 22:42 ought to be the most relieved people. 22:45 Because bad people 22:47 are just so grateful to still be here. 22:51 To stand for. 22:52 No, I should have been dead a long time ago. 22:55 And they realize that I'm in the bonus. 22:59 Today is an extra day. 23:02 And because you realize it should have ended back. 23:05 Did you just say to the Lord, whatever life I have left, 23:10 however many blessed you give, 23:13 I'm going to give them for your glory. 23:17 Are you here? 23:17 Me today? 23:18 Turn to me up, Edmund, and see. 23:22 This is a crazy thing 23:25 because at this juncture 23:29 in Moses life, he hadn't connected the dots. 23:34 He don't even realize what God has done for him. 23:38 He thinks that He survived the slavery and the genocide 23:42 and being an exile and a fugitive and the river. 23:45 He thinks these are just random coincidences 23:48 that happen to work out in his favor. 23:52 But Moses, like some of us, doesn't realize he's not lucky. 23:54 He's blessed, he's not fortunate. 23:57 He's called the hand of the Lord has simply been upon him. 24:02 And see, I need somebody to realize this immovable truth 24:05 that you were spared. Not for your comfort. 24:08 You are 24:09 spared so that your life might be lived 24:13 to for the glory of the Almighty God. 24:16 You are hear me today at church 24:17 and say I need somebody to know that this is not 100% true. 24:22 But there is much accuracy to what I'm about to say. 24:25 You see, oftentimes what you've been spared from 24:29 is an announcement of what you ought to be ministering to. 24:33 Okay. 24:36 In other words, I need to know 24:38 we find our purpose very often in our former pain. 24:43 So where God has delivered us, he calls us 24:46 to become deliverers. 24:48 I you hear me today? 24:49 Church 24:50 Because the truth is, 24:51 there is no one that is a stronger advocate for cancer 24:55 like those that are survivors of cancer, 24:59 that there is nobody a stronger advocate for domestic violence 25:03 like those that have come out of that tidal abuse. 25:07 There is no greater advocate for mental health 25:09 like those that have come on the healing journey. 25:12 There is no greater prison minister like former 25:15 prison occupant. 25:17 There is nobody that can preach to a drug addict 25:21 like those that have once been delivered. 25:24 And what I'm saying to somebody today is you've got to learn 25:26 how to rightly appropriate your end. 25:29 Slow it. Don't get so say 25:34 that you 25:35 forget where God brought you from 25:39 has got draw anybody in this room. 25:42 I'm mighty, mighty, mighty long way. 25:45 Maybe you won't deliver some drugs. 25:48 Maybe you won't deliver from alcohol. 25:51 But maybe you've been religious your whole life 25:53 and you got delivered from self-righteousness. 25:55 Almighty, why did you do that? 25:58 Thank you for joining us for The Breath of Life 26:02 Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleair Snell. 26:05 We hope and pray that you have been blessed by this 26:08 third message in the new sermon series Ex Useless. 26:14 Join us next week for part two of the message. 26:17 “Why Me?” 26:19 You don't want to miss. 26:21 Hello, I'm Pastor 26:23 Snell, speaker director for The Breath of Life 26:25 Television Ministry. 26:26 This ministry was established to take the gospel of Jesus 26:30 Christ throughout North America and across the globe. 26:34 My goal is to make Jesus Christ 26:38 known through the preaching of the word. 26:41 I need you to know that we need your financial partnership 26:45 in order to make sure that the Gospel can go into every hill, 26:50 into every rural county, and into every inner city. 26:53 And we can only take the gospel as far as the gifts 26:56 that you lend to us. 26:58 We thank you for your financial partnership in the past, 27:03 and I'm asking that you continue to be a financial partner 27:07 with this ministry going forward. 27:08 Here are some ways you can give. 27:11 You can give online at our website 27:14 at WW w breath of life dot TV. 27:17 You can send your gift by mail to Breath of Life. 27:19 P.O. 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Revised 2024-08-07