Dealing with Disappointment | Led by Fire - #4 | Pastor John Lindell

[Music] we're watching moses as he is being set up by god as he's being developed spiritually for that moment when he is going to be led by fire i think it's safe to say that nobody starts out or very few start out being led by fire instantly we have to grow we have to mature we have to develop we're going to watch moses as god is taking him on this journey from a place where he feels like he's so messed up his life god can never use him and now watching as god calls him as god works with him as god takes him on a journey of spiritual development and growing in his understanding of who god is and what god wants to do in his life until finally you have moses leading the nation of israel they're being led by fire and he is experiencing the presence and the glory of god like he never would have imagined that's what this series is about for you and i that god wants to do the same thing in our life that god wants to develop us that all of us are in a process we're in on a journey and god doesn't want any of us to stay where we're at spiritually god wants to grow us god wants to develop us god wants us to come to a place where we not only behold his glory but where we're led by the spirit of god in a way in a dimension and a power that we never imagined that's what this series is all about this morning we're going to pick it up in exodus chapter 5 and the title of the message is dealing with disappointment and this is very instructive for us because honestly when we think of following god and we think of being led by fire probably the last thing we anticipate to ever happen is that we would be disappointed i mean when you're following god full on how could you be disappointed if god is at work in our life then why would we be disappointed but we're going to watch the lord take moses through a season where moses was very disappointed and we're going to see god work in his life and i would suggest it's very relevant for you and i because honestly in a in a room of this size with a congregation the size of james river at the north campus and the joplin campus in the west campus and i i would suspect that there's more than one person and as you've come to church today or as you're joining us for this service in your heart you're more than a little disappointed with god that you trusted god you believed god but it didn't work out like you thought you prayed that person would be healed and they weren't you prayed that your marriage would be strengthened and to this point it hasn't been you're praying for that situation at work that it would be resolved but it seems to have gotten worse and on the outside you're smiling and you're singing maybe you're lifting your hands but on the inside it's very very hard for you because honestly you're a bit disappointed with god now as we look at the message today what i'm gonna what i want us to see is there are three occasions and and there could be more than this but within the text that can cause us to become disappointed with god first of all disappointment happens when our situation gets worse ever had that happen where you prayed for an answer you trusted god and then it got worse you believe that god would change a circumstance but then it got worse or you're believing god to do something maybe for your own healing or somebody else's and you're watching them and it seems they're getting worse i mean all of us can find can think of times when we've been disappointed we're talking uh in between service and and uh i was just thinking of a time back in 1993 some of you weren't even born back then so bear with me but um back in 1993 where we're in the building over where the evangelical free church is there's two buildings there's the big building and then the little building on the hill and that was the first permanent location that little building for james river church we built the building and we were in the service and it was back back in the 90s we got a lot more snow than we get now i mean we had some big storms i can remember in 93 we had so much snow like we got a 10-inch snow and i had to get up on the roof and shovel it off i was calling guys in the church and there are a few that came over and we were up there shoveling snow off the roof because we were gonna get another eight inches so it was like it was like snowing all the time in in that winter and and uh we were going to have this big healing service and so in in preparation for it i had fasted 14 days so i was really excited i was looking forward to seeing what god was going to do and and we had to you know the choir was in its infancy in those time in those days and we had a song waymaker uh that christ church uh used to do and and uh so we were all ready and we get in there into the surface and it starts snowing and i mean the place is just like empty i mean people aren't aren't coming out because it's snowing and on that hill i can remember after service going out and we were having to push cars up the driveway to get people to the top of the hill so they could pick up their family it was just i mean it was it was very disappointing not very many people healed and i can remember going home and thinking hey what's what's up with this how is it that you do all that fasting you do all that praying you you you advertise it you're ready for it and then you have a big snowstorm i mean god can't you couldn't you've waited till monday we'd all been much happier you know here's the thing when things turn out in a way we didn't expect and i would suggest that when you're walking with christ often things don't turn out like we expect and we have to we have to live with that where we hold things loosely i'm not saying they don't turn out great i'm not saying the best is not yet to come i'm just saying that oftentimes our expectation and our picture of the future is not the same as god's expectation and his his picture of the future first of all god wants to do a work in you and i yeah more than anything he wants to work in us and what he does in us really i would suggest is rarely known to us there may be times when when god takes us through a season and we have a grasp of what he's doing but in my experience of walking with god through the years it's often been only in looking back that i see what god has done in me which at the time i was not aware of but god is is very much concerned about our own spiritual development and that i would suggest is a greater priority to him it's not that he doesn't care what happens to us but far more he cares about what happens in us second god wants to work in ways that go far beyond what you and i can imagine that his ways are higher than ours there he sees a much bigger picture he has a scale and a scope that we cannot really fathom because we are locked in time and space and within the confines of humanity and so we do not fully comprehend what he's doing that's why no matter what happens in our life no matter what happens as we're praying there's nothing about what i'm saying that would in any way suggest it doesn't pay to pray or that god does not answer prayer or that god does not do good things but what we have to accept as a foundation of our walk with god and his working in us is that he is sovereign he is in control that that he he is in charge we're not and whether we understand what's happening in us or around us is secondary to the fact that god is at work he is on the throne and he is working in you and the one who started to work in you is faithful to complete the work in you now as we come to exodus chapter 5 moses and this is when it can get hard moses is doing exactly what god has told him to do and he really didn't want to do it in the first place but he's doing god's work he's going to go to pharaoh the king of egypt the most powerful man in the world of his time and as he goes to him he's going to talk to pharaoh and you have to understand understand this that the egyptians viewed the pharaohs as gods as deities pharaoh himself would have viewed himself as a god he bought into his own pr very possibly many of the pharaohs were demonized they were trained in the arts and the magic of the egyptians they were trained in how to do different things we're going to watch some of the magicians around pharaoh do things very possibly pharaoh could have done those things himself and now moses is going to him and look at it in chapter 5 verse 1. afterward moses and aaron went to pharaoh so they've met they've had a great time together god has explained to aaron his brother hey god's going to rescue the israelites from from slavery in egypt and they're high-fiving and they've had a great time together but now they go to pharaoh and they say this is what the lord the god of israel says let my people go so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert now here's what pharaoh says look at this pharaoh said who is the lord that i should obey him and let him go here's what you have to understand pharaoh's never heard of him and in the in the ancient way of understanding a god the way you evaluated the strength of a god was by how they cared for the people who worshipped them so if your god was really strong you could tell by how strong that nation was so in pharaoh's mind he's a god and the gods of the egyptians must be way stronger than any other god because the egyptians rule the world the ancient world that area on the other hand the god of the israelites can't be much because those people have been slaves for almost 400 years what kind of god if he had an ounce of power would let that happen to people so he's saying listen i don't who is he i mean his people are slaves he can't be much of a god who is he that i should obey him why would i listen to a god who can't even help his own people and let israel go i don't know the lord i'm not going to let them go verse 3 then they said the god of the hebrews has met with us now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the lord our god or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword and here right now they're introducing to pharaoh the reality that he is going to personally experience over the next several weeks as god unleashes his power in a way the world has seldom seen and moses is doing exactly what god told him to do but now watch what happens and we're going to read uh verses 4 through 18. the king of egypt said to moses and aaron why are you taking the people away from their labor get back to your work then pharaoh said look the people of the land are now numerous and you're stopping them from working and that same day pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foreman in charge of the people you are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks let them go and gather their own straw but require them to make the same number of bricks as before don't reduce the quota they are lazy that is why they're crying out let us go and sacrifice to our god make the work harder for the man so that they keep working and pay no attention to the lies then the slave drivers and the foreman went out and said to the people this is what pharaoh says i will not give you any more straw go get your own straw wherever you can find it but your work will not be reduced at all so the people scattered all over egypt to gather stubble to use for the straw the slave drivers kept pressing them saying complete the work required of you for each day just as when you had straw an israelite foreman appointed by pharaoh slave drivers were beaten and asked why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today is before then the israelite foreman went and appealed to pharaoh why have you treated your servants this way your servants are given no straw yet we're told make bricks your servants are being beaten but the fault is with your own people pharaoh said lazy that's what you are lazy that's why you keep saying let us go and sacrifice to the lord now get to work you will not be given any straw yet you must produce your full quota of bricks so here's moses he's doing god's will in god's way and things have gotten worse now let me just suggest something to you that i think it is very instructive and very practical for all of us there are times when you and i will pray for something and it will seem to get worse there are some of you and and you you've been praying for something and from the day you started praying for that son that daughter that circumstance at work maybe whatever it is and now all of a sudden it is actually worse than it was at the start and i've had people who say to me you know pastor i'm just thinking maybe i need to quit praying about this or we're thinking about it because it seems like the more i pray the worse it gets what i want to suggest to you is you have to take into account there is a spiritual warfare that is taking place in that circumstance and in your life and the enemy knows the power of god and he knows what will happen because as you keep praying when that answer comes that is going to strengthen you in a way you can't begin to imagine but the enemy knows all too well and he's going to do everything he can to try to discourage you so that you'll back off so that you'll stop praying you'll stop believing and you'll live in disappointment relative to your relationship to god i would suggest there are a lot of things that never happen in people's life not because god does not want to do it but because people stopped when they got discouraged and disappointed so that now when i talk about healing or i talk about giving and god's blessing or i talk about god answering prayer there's some of you and you are your life is so marked by disappointment that what happens is whenever you hear me or you hear somebody else speaking about god in terms of his power and his promise and what he does immediately your mind goes to well i can think of a time he didn't do that for me and what's happened is you have settled into a mentality of disappointment with god and i want to suggest to you it will be nearly impossible for you to see the power of god on the scale you see it in other people's lives or god would like to produce in your own life as long as you are sitting on the fence wavering saying maybe maybe not sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't or i remember when this happened you know disappointment with god can become a permanent state in a believer's mind this this is why you have to come to terms with it and the place to start is the sovereignty of god and the spiritual nature of the world that there is a battle that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and god is in charge and just like that time when i fasted and prayed for a healing service it didn't happen do you think nothing happened because i fasted and prayed no i i was thinking about it i think there were a lot of people healed over the years because i fasted and prayed i just had imagined god would heal in one service and god said no i'm going to heal in a variety of ways over the years to build my church not mine his but what i thought was god's way of working and and what i expected he had a much bigger way of working i'm just saying when it goes from bad to worse be careful that you don't decide it's not worth serving god there's a second cause of disappointment disappointment happens when our expectations aren't met this is very similar i mean on the one hand things go from bad to worse or maybe it just didn't turn out like you thought look at it in verse 19. these are like four men realize they were in trouble when they were told you're not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day when they left pharaoh they found moses and aaron waiting to meet them and they said may the lord look upon you and judge you you have made us a stench to pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us can you imagine how aaron and moses are filling at this time aaron especially knows exactly what this means he's been living in egypt all these years to have to feel absolutely terrible they feel like they're the cause of the suffering of these men and moses returned to the lord and said oh lord why have you brought trouble upon this people is this why you sent me ever since i went to pharaoh to speak in your name he has brought trouble upon this people and you have not rescued your people at all here's what moses is saying you've let things get worse i didn't want to come in the first place and and now if it's a mess now let me say this about moses because this is very encouraging to me and i believe it would be to anyone who gives some thought to this moses is walking by faith but he doesn't have a strong faith yet i mean he's there's going to come a day when his expectations aren't met but he's going to trust god in a way that is incredible and it's going to change how he approaches god but what's so interesting here is he does the one thing even though he doesn't have a strong faith he does the one thing that we should always do in moments when we're disappointed with god and that is talk to god amen listen if you want to move beyond your disappointment with god you've got to tell god how you feel and understand he's okay with that you don't find him rebuking moses you don't find him saying moses you know what you you you have no discernment what's the matter with you i've done this he doesn't do any of that god's not defending himself he's not rebuking moses god is listening to moses and god is going to work in moses life but the place to start in dealing with your disappointment with god is to say god listen i don't understand i don't understand why this happened i don't understand why this happened i don't understand why this happened and i don't know what you're up to and i don't know what you want from me and then having done that listen for god's response that leads us to the third thing i want you to notice disappointment happens when we forget who god is and what god has promised if we forget who god is and what he's promised here's what you're going to watch god do moses pours out his complaint and god responds now listen god could respond in a variety of ways to you god might speak to your heart in that moment god might in your reading lay a verse or a scripture or passage god might use this story to help you god might send a friend to you god might work in a circumstance in a way that shows you but i i can tell you this god will speak in a thousand different ways but god does speak in exodus chapter 6 and verse 1 then the lord said you catch up moses pours out his complaint then the lord said i mean over 300 times in niv it says and the lord said god speaks to people if you're going to be led by fire you have to believe that to be true god speaks he speaks in a variety of ways he speaks to people differently havilah talked about that wednesday it was a powerful message you really need to listen to it if you weren't here but god speaks in a variety of ways to people moses pours out his disappointment god speaks you tell god what's on your heart god will speak now watch what he says then the lord said to moses now you will see what i will do what's so interesting about this is moses is almost when you when you read what he says to god you get the sense like he's ready to throw in the towel he's ready to give up if he quits now he misses out on everything if he stops believing god now it's over for him if he goes back to media and says i give up i quit god i'm disappointed i don't understand what you're doing i don't know why you've let this happen and god i'm out he misses everything when in fact now he is on the brink of seeing the power of god in his life in a dimension he never imagined possible you know i have to be honest as i was studying this this phrase and these words left off the page to me because i couldn't help but believe there are many people that are watching this message listening to this message and that god is saying to you that this is a rhema moment this is a word for right now that some of you have been very disappointed with god and you felt like giving up but you're right on the moment where right now you're going to see god do something don't stop now don't quit now you're right at the moment of seeing god do something powerful something you never imagined the lord said to moses now not tomorrow not the next day not five years from now not 50 years from now was there anything in that moses is seeing in the natural that would indicate the circumstance is going to change what's the answer no everything about pharaoh's response said it's impossible everything about what was happening to moses physically and that he was looking at said it's getting worse but that was the moment when god was saying no it's not right now i'm going to work don't quit don't stop now you'll see what i'll do to pharaoh because of my mighty hand he will let them go because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country oh moses you think pharaoh is the last word he is not the last word my mighty hand is the last word listen in your situation god's mighty hand is the last word and when it looks like nothing is going to happen you might be on the verge of everything happening now you will see what i will do then we come to verses two through eight and it's very interesting because those verses are bracketed by a phrase i'm going to show you this i am the lord so remember when when in exodus chapter 3 moses says to god who shall i tell them sent me what is your name and the lord said i am the word lord yahweh means i am i am the i am i am the i am i am i am i'm the present tense god i'm right there right now with you he's not the i was he is the i am he is the god who is right there with you i am the i am at the end of those verses i am the i am in the middle of those verses i am the i am this is so important because what matters most in all of our situations is not who we are but who he is not what we can do but what only he can do and god comes and says i am the i am i am the eternal promise keeping powerful god i am i am the i am i in the past he says this won't take time to look at it he says i revealed myself to abraham to isaac and to jacob as god almighty that the hebrew is el shaddai the god who can do absolutely anything but now i'm coming to you and i am revealing myself to you as the god who is right there with you and keeps all of his promises i'm going to drive i'm going to cause pharaoh to drive you out of the land i'm going to cause you when you go to plunder the egyptians i'm going to show my mighty power in a way that is undeniable and you can count on it because i am the i am i am the one who keeps my word i am the one who makes the promise and keeps it oh moses you can trust me get ready because now i'm going to show my power and then what he does in those verses is he gives what theologians call the seven i wills of exodus chapter six i will do this i will do this i will do this i will do this i will do this here's what i want you to think about relative to that moses has almost crossed the line of complaining got out and get it know i don't know why he called me i didn't want to come in the first place you've only it's only gotten worse i did what you said it's not working out he's disappointed what's god's response moses i am the i am i'm going to work and i will do this i will do this i will do this i will do this i will do this i will do this all that to say god can handle your frustration go to him in prayer and then listen for what he says and don't be surprised if he speaks a promise here's why i say that because there's some of you and when he starts to speak a promise if you're not careful you won't believe it you say well you know i don't know is that really am i hearing from the lord yes you are this shows us how god deals with people it shows us how god deals with us it shows us how god wants to work in your life how god wants to speak to you god as we come to him as we talk to him you're discouraged you're disappointed he gets it we have a high priest the writer of hebrews says who's touched with the feelings of our infirmities he knows what it's like to be human he knows what it's like to be disappointed he knows what it's like to sorrow he knows what he he gets life but he brings life he brings himself and he brings his promises into our situation in the midst of our trials what we need more than anything is a revelation of who god is and a promise from him of what he's going to do look at these seven i wills first promise the i will of deliverance i'll bring you out from under the yoke of the egyptians moses don't be disappointed i am the i am and i'm gonna i'm gonna snap this yoke look at the second promise the i will of liberty i will free you from being slaves then moses you're going to go from being slaves to being soldiers to entering the promised land i will do it the i will third promise of power i will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment moses you're not going to be the one who's going to have to make it happen you know i see a lot of times we think we're the ones who have to make it happen god's the one who makes it happen when we know who he is and we know what he does and we're listening he's going to give us a promise that says i'm going to take care of everything third promise the i will of relationship i will take you as my own people listen what does god want from you and i relationship you know what god wants from you he just wants to be in relationship with you if you've never given your heart to jesus you're missing out on the greatest relationship known to mankind if you got disappointed somewhere and you stop walking with the lord you're out of relationship with him what god wants is relationship he wants you to know him and to know his power and enjoy the fellowship of his company that leads us to the fifth promise the i will of friendship i will be your god i'm gonna be your friend i'm gonna be right there i'll be your god as opposed to all the gods of evil i'll be your god and i'll show you my power we have the i will of number six blessing i'll bring you to the land i swore with uplifted hand to give to abraham to isaac and to jacob seventh promise the i will of inheritance i will give it to you as a possession he's the gift-giving god do you get it he's a god who in the middle of our disappointment understands and says i'm here who here's who i am and i'm going to do something powerful i mean that's how god loves to work in our life whenever you're entering a a trial listen god gave moses and we could go back and look at it in exodus chapter 3 i think it's verses 18 through 22 and then beyond god tells moses exactly how the game's going to play out he tells him once you're going to go he's not going to listen i'm going to do mighty acts of power he gives moses this promise but you know what happened to moses moses forgot two things he forgot who god was or is and he forgot what god said he was going to do and if you forget what god's promised to do you'll become disappointed you know it's the promises of god that fuel our faith it's the promises of god that give us joy it's the promises of god that hold us steady [Music] and if you'll think back in your life if you're walking with the lord if he gave you a promise live in that promise hold on to that promise believe that promise and be careful not to assign your own expectation to that promise because what god wants to do is very different than what you and i might expect hey everybody thank you so much for joining james river church on our youtube channel our prayer is that you were encouraged and your faith was strengthened today and we want to let you know that we want to connect with all our online 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Id: 1urUKn73klc

Length: 35min 58sec (2158 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 21 2020