The Hero of the Story
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, January 14, 2025.
Sermon text: Exodus 2
God perfectly prepares us to fulfill His purpose for our lives
Acts 7:20–22
[20] At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, [21] and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. [22] And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
God often calls us out of our comfort zones to fulfill His purpose
Hebrews 11:23–27
[23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. [27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
“In this story, however, Moses did not become the hero, the legitimate agent of God, until he burned all the bridges between himself and the wealth and power of the Egyptian court.” He gave up position, pleasure, and prosperity, and by doing so he rejected three of the world’s biggest temptations: narcissism, hedonism, and materialism.”
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory
God does the work through us; we can’t do it alone
Acts 7:25
He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
God doesn’t give up on us even when we fail
“He was a failure as a deliverer of his people, a failure as a citizen of Egypt, unwelcome among either of the nations he might have called his own, a wanted man, a now-permanent resident of an obscure place, alone and far from his origins, and among people of a different religion.”
—Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, The New American Commentary
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: Exodus 2
God perfectly prepares us to fulfill His purpose for our lives
Acts 7:20–22
[20] At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, [21] and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. [22] And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
God often calls us out of our comfort zones to fulfill His purpose
Hebrews 11:23–27
[23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. [27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
“In this story, however, Moses did not become the hero, the legitimate agent of God, until he burned all the bridges between himself and the wealth and power of the Egyptian court.” He gave up position, pleasure, and prosperity, and by doing so he rejected three of the world’s biggest temptations: narcissism, hedonism, and materialism.”
—Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory
God does the work through us; we can’t do it alone
Acts 7:25
He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
God doesn’t give up on us even when we fail
“He was a failure as a deliverer of his people, a failure as a citizen of Egypt, unwelcome among either of the nations he might have called his own, a wanted man, a now-permanent resident of an obscure place, alone and far from his origins, and among people of a different religion.”
—Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, The New American Commentary
Discipleship Questions:
- What are some specific ways that God prepared you to fulfill His purposes in your life?
- Describe a time in your life when leaving your comfort zone enabled you to fulfill God’s purpose?
- What areas of comfort might God be calling you out of this year in order to fulfill His purpose?
- What are some examples of things not working because you tried to do it without God?
- How has God used mistakes and failures in your life to help you grow?
- What does it look like to trust God and embrace our role in His story?
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