Exodus 4:1-9 (NKJV) 1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say,
‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ” 2 So the LORD said to him, “What [is] that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take [it] by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6
Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand [was] leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.”
So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his [other] flesh.
8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.
9 “And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour [it] on the dry [land.]
The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry [land.]”
Moses was the greatest Prophet in the Old Testament
Moses was a great military leader.
Josephus says when he was nourished in the palace, he was appointed general against the Ethiopians and conquered them.
We want to explore a little bit about Exodus chapter 4, verse 1-9 and how that would apply to us today.
God gives Moses 3 signs
1 The Rod
2 The leprous Heart
3 The Nile Turns to 🩸 Blood.
The Rod verse 1-3
God had already told Moses that they would heed his voice and he would be with him.
V2 God ask Moses what is that in your hand?
Moses “ A Rod”
God tells him to cast it on the ground.
Moses seemingly without a second thought does so.
But Wait Moses has had 40 years to think about this!
Let’s look at it!
That rod represents Moses life for 40 years he’s been a shepherd this great mind.
This genius, this awesome military xeex ex has been shepherding on the backside of the desert for 40 years.
God wants him to give it all to him all his life.
maybe he’s feeling that spirit of rejection.- Acts tell us he knew his calling when he killed The Egyptian.
His own ppl rejected him.
His family , His Career, everything he has got.
Has got to be cast down at God’s feet.
•His singing
•Mechanical abilities
•All his money.
Acts 7:22 (NKJV) “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
When he was a big shot he was mighty in words now he can’t even talk.
Moses is hurt and rejected by his own people .
Is that anything like church hurt?
This Rod also represents Authority and protection!
Are you giving your all?
I have a story to tell of (Me and Jody)
10 words. / “ Are you sure this is what you want to do.”
I knew we had to give all
•The cigarettes would hit the pavement
•The booze was overThe battle was on.
Tonight we cast it down!
Israel is very small on the map.
At their greatest time, they were walking in only 10% of the boundaries the Lord had set.
10%
I feel that’s what we’re walking in about 10%.
We cast our Rod down tonight.
Faith and obedience are inseparable.
(Like Dolly and Stormy)
And they complement each other like a car and gas or strings and a guitar or a gun and ammo.
Faith demands an action.
The altar can hold me up
I have to sit now I have faith
The more I do – I know that I know that I know
So we cast it down
He cast it down it becomes a serpent.
All that we have, all that we are without casting it at Jesus feet is like a serpent in our hand.
But there’s much more
Authority
Pharaoh’s and all of Egypt displayed the 🐍 cobra on their headdress.
They believed the cobra protected the kingdom.
Moses serpent is going to swallow up the magicians!
God is in charge and Egypt has no protection.
It’s over now.
The more we surrender the more authority we have.
The Cobra was A symbol of the avengers of the sun god Ra
Egyptians believed the Cobra protected the kingdom.
God will not be mocked and he will avenge his people.
Moses was told to take it by the tail giving God complete control.
Once we surrender everything in our lives to him, he may return to us whatever fits his plan for our lives, but we are no longer possessors, we are just stewards.
Luke 14:33 (NKJV) “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
2nd sign is the Leprous ❤️ Heart
Read v 6-8.
Leprosy speaks of sin.
But God takes a sin infested Heart and cleanses it.
There can be no greater sign to this world than that of a Born Again heart.
You’re a new creature now .
You may struggle with some things but that old man is a rebel . He’s an intruder . And he’s gotta be dealt with as such.
Trials /Sanctification
When God try’s us it’s a great thing .
It means he is trying us for a greater purpose.
Before we can go on we’ve gotta pass the test.
Chastisement is different it means there must be repentance.
Job 23:10 (NKJV) But He knows the way that I take; [When] He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
The Goldsmith turns up the heat and removes the dross repeatedly.
Until he can see his face in it.
Turning the Nile to Blood.
There is a time when God’s judgement must come.
toThe Judgement of water Blood. Ex 4:8-9
Nile
•Flows thru 11 countries
•Egypt would have never happened without it.
Enormous flows thru the northeastern corner of the African continent.
Millions of people depend on it.
Every yr in July – august monsoon rains would flood , flow down and cause a really big mineral dump on either side.
Making it really fertile.
The Nile was the Life of Egypt this is why they worshipped it.
The hand of protection is gone.
Hand and vacuum
What comes in the vacuum?
Baalism.
Gender confusion
Sex trafficking
Why do you think they ignore the border ?
The fentanyl?
Why do you think they are blowing up the economy?
Why do you think the world embraces everything that the Bible stands for?
If we embrace evil we will wage war on the good
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?( Ps 11)
You can cast down your rod.
God is looking for those who would give everything to him.
Cast down your rod
What’s the one thing that’s costing you the anointing?
Cast it down
Let him have all of your life.
The devil is not lukewarm