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July 15, 2021 6:00 am
Have you ever laid awake at night and wondered who am I really me when all the lights go out when there's no one to impress no expectations to manage. Do you ever ask yourself, who am I and why am I here the answer to that question is, can be found in today's message stick around. Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with shipping Living on the Edges of international discipleship ministry featuring the Bible teaching program chip tackles the question people been asking forever struggling with. Who am I is, but for many it's an exercise in frustration spirit is hope though, because according to what you share. We can get a clearer picture starting today. So let's join them know for part one of his message. Learning to come to grips with the real you from Exodus chapters 2 through four.
You ask and answer very personal question that we all unconsciously under the surface are always asking, but often it never comes up to the front and that is this who do you really think you are not what you want other people think you are not what you think other people think you are, but I mean when you take off whether it's the makeup or the job or the success or the hurts or the pain with the abuse and you peel away all the stuff and you look in not just to the mirror. The mirror of your soul. Who are you who do you think you are. The question is not an easy one to answer as there are many factors and many people who try to tell us who we are. To complicate matters are desperate longing for approval drives us to seek to look and act and be what we think others want rather than discover who we really are. I like to tell you that if you're in a like over 50 or over 40/60. You'll have to deal with this but you will grapple with this, all the days of your life.
Who are you really and how clear you get on answering that question. How accurately will determine the quality of your relationships and the contentment to see an awful lot of people doing a lot of stuff and lots of areas looking for peace and contentment because, down deep, they don't know who they are and if the truth is known. They don't like they are raises the question so hot. How do we how we come up what factors develop this kind of invisible picture this MRI. We have of who we really are and how do we get that our family background, our environment or personalities. The significant others role models from her childhood. The values and belief systems were taught all play a critical role in the formation of identity so just when you when you list those it gets pretty complex.
You want to have fun with some people that you like in your trust and have a great discussion just sit down over coffee sometime this week and see who the top three people and you know, for good or bad in the top three major events that shaped the snapshot that comes out. This is down deep who you really think you are.
So here's the question you want to tackle with you so who are you really if you open your teaching notes working to jump in to Exodus to get some answers. When you look at the life of a man named Moses who had quite a journey trying to figure out who he was, at 1 Point He Thought Way to hide himself almost blew it at another point he thought Way to love himself and almost blew his here's the key is one thing and stem if you don't get a sober self assessment and understand who you really are, not who you want to be or not who you think you are you will never fulfill the divine calling God has for you. God made you in a certain way. You need to know who that actually is because you're made for a purpose. You are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, a good work that he has for you.
The before the foundations of the earth. He's got a job for you to be the most thrilling, the most fulfilling in the most impactful and he made you in a certain way to fulfill that.
But you know who you are, you miss Moses almost missed notice as we open it up it says Moses journey reveals how to come to grips with the real you and you know I want to underline the word journey.
This is a journey. This is like oh I really now know who I am.
I got it all down with one service was great. Moses parents childhood education and experiences were God's preparation for him to fulfill his divine design edge look in Exodus look look at chapter 2, I love the way this opens up for those of you maybe like me that didn't grow up in the church and I never open the Bible and I did know a lot of the stories the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt for about 400, 430 years and Joseph was the great deliverer, and then he died.
And then there were a bunch of pharaohs that came and now they don't remember who Joseph is and here's all they know they got all these Hebrew slaves and and and there's so many of them there afraid that these Hebrew slaves are. You have a revolt and take over Egypt and so they decide you know what the boys got a die. So if you have a little boy you know infanticide we kill all the little boys. The girls are okay. And then you get the story of the these parents notice chapter 2. During this time a man and a woman from the tribe believe they got Levi got married.
The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
She saw what a beautiful baby he was and kept them hidden for three months but when she could no longer hide and she put little basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and she put the baby in a basket and laid it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile River.
The baby sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen and then later we find that the baby gets adopted and he grows up as the Prince of Egypt and he has the best education.
The best of food the best of everything. He becomes very powerful leader. Now it's interesting what I like about this is, as we open chapter 2. During this time, how would you like your biography to read like this a man and a woman. God is going to introduce probably the key character of the Old Testament and he wants to know the lineage when he wants to know what kind of pedigree work on a platform where you come from, what your DNA well. This guy came from a man and a woman. I think that's there for purpose. I like it observe that a lot when into his life. He had parents that were godly. They were willing to risk their life rather than killing. He had parents that were risktakers.
They had faith. He had parents will learn because of what he does. Later that was whispering in his ear who God was. Yahweh, the promises, the deliverance and then he had parents that were willing to say you know what if this is God's will for you live in Pharaoh's house. Then so be it. And here's what you need understand your parents, your background, your physical DNA.
Some hardships she went through as a kid some difficulty. Your birth order with the were first or second or third or sixth in the family. God sovereignly uses your parents, your background, the lows, the highs the difficulties the pain we experience all of that for a sovereign God is preparing you for your Ephesians 210 divine assignment Moses would need to know all about Egypt and Pharaoh in the gods and how they thought of how they work. When he would deliver later Moses would need a great education, Moses would need great parentage to be a risk taker be willing to do something all those factors made a big difference in his life now. I majored in psych and undergraduate and graduate work along with changing my majors and some other things but it's Lisa's been helpful to observe life and when I begin to look back and I encourage you to do this, not in some sort of although I'm a victim. I came out of this background, I've been through this difficult times. I'm not talk about that, I'm talking about looking at your family of origin realistically and realizing a lot of that made you who you mean and I don't know about you, my dad's name was not Jesus. My mom's maiden name was not Mary mean they were great people. My dad's dad died when he was 13. My dad at 16 1/2 was in Guam Iwo Jima.
He went through horrendous things he had nightmares until he died at 8586 and my dad love me to know how to express but I had to I had to learn okay.
My dad really love me but the way he love me was I want you to be successful because he thought being successful make me happy. So I got like forays into B. We had talked about that be when I went to for foreign baseball. We had talked about the two times I counted out the looks on. Here's what you understand.
You pulled your head up don't put your foot. The bucket unit stay downloadable. I mean, I'm thinking that I got to you. When I got a degree it was with that's real nice. When you get your doctorate can we, my capital party or dislike celebrate this for like 34 seconds first know he loves me. And this is my dad was a great guy but what I understand built into not only the physical DNA God gave me. I came from a home where performance excelling and getting people's approval was the way it felt like love, why did you with that and I had to come to grips with my natural tendencies are a certain way.
This is the family I came out of this is the era that I grew up and I grew up in the late 60s and the 70s graduate from high school in the 70s. There were things going on in the world you need to think that through. What were the values what were the beliefs who are my heroes and you have to overanalyze it they got a get clear on it. I came to a little summary apart from Christ between my family background in the DNA that God sovereignly deposited me. I grew up to be a highly motivated, deeply insecure, hard-working, overachiever will guess what now I know what I'm working with. So what are you working with. I mean it. It was sorta hard to come to grips with men you are insecure I am. But what I learned is that what else is that despite different ways and I think you are for for some of you you're not an overachiever.
Your underachiever for some of you, your parents were like that. I don't know what it is but here's what you need understand you Moses parents childhood education experience as regards preparation.
God wants to use it all for good. He's in control.
It's true of Moses.
It's true me is true of you.
Second, Moses warped view. He was too high of himself prevented him from fulfilling God's purpose for his life. Look at Exodus to picking up at verse 11 verse 11 it says that many years later, in the Bible escape years pretty quickly.
So he went from baby to 40 years old. Moses had grown up and went out to visit his people, the Israelites and he saw how they were doing forced labor during his visit he saw an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrew slaves. After looking around to make sure no one was watching. Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day as Moses was out visiting his people again. I'm in his you know he's got these roots. He's got these these Hebrew concerned but you know he is the Prince. He is the man he's next guy for the throne is got the wherewithal and he sees these two Hebrews are doing what you doing hitting your neighbor like that Moses said to the one that was in the wrong and then get this line up at the sidelines.
My Bible who do you think you are the interesting question is who do you think you are the man replied.
Who appointed you to be our Prince and judge do you plan to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday Moses is badly frightened because he realized that everyone knew what he had done and sure enough, when Pharaoh heard about it. He gave orders have Moses arrested and killed but Moses fled from Pharaoh and escaped to the land of Midian. Moses thought too highly of himself that here's what's interesting in this is true of you and true me.
Sometimes we get our assignment right this is what I'm supposed to do, but we try do it in our own energy Moses Blakely says I here's what I put, he thought, I'm capable I'm able. I'm educated and guess what I'm the prints on the man. You know what I call the shots here mean there's Pharaoh the most of us right where you guys doing and so he had confidence in himself is warped view was he had power, prestige, and his abilities, his education and his background gave him the right to call the shots and he tried to do God's will was God's will his way in his energy and his power and because of that, this overinflated view of who he was. He almost missed. That's true of us think will Joshua Fleming I got this education and then I got that and I moved up and I did this I spent all these years and I do some I hardly think my motives are right. I think I think Moses motives right.
The boy his methodology was wrong and got had to teaching something, but sometimes we don't just have a too high view of ourselves that prevent us from fulfilling our divine calling. Sometimes it's too low and so Moses warped view too low of himself almost prevented him from fulfilling God's purpose for his life. I'm gonna try and walk through very very quickly Moses to low view of himself and he basically has four excuses you can read this later on your own, but I want you to pick it up if you will, and chapter 3 Moses was one day he's tending his flock.
She's been out with the sheep.
He's got a new world is got a new wife. He thinks his life is over. He's hiding entities out on this rocky terrain. He sees this bush in the bush is on fire but is not burning and the angel of the Lord is in the bush. He comes near the bush and the angel of the Lord speaks to Moses and he says you're on holy ground. He takes off his sandals and he hides his his face in his hands and is in the very presence of God and he's overwhelmed and what is good. Here is I've heard the cry of my people.
And guess what those instincts to rescue them were right, and I'm to use you to rescue them.
I want you to go be my deliver. That's a real short overview of most of chapter 3 and then a conversation picks up and we pick it up in old let's see about verse 10 he says now go.
This is God speaking Moses for I'm sending you to Pharaoh you will leave my people the Israelites out of Egypt now before he was you thinking snap man. I got that covered.
Now listen to them but Moses says who my interesting question is before they asked him who you think you are and now it's like, who my excuse. I'm a nobody.
No one can ever use me. I'm a failure.
I blew it. I don't I'm nothing. How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. How many times a too low view of you has kept you from doing you might be a real small voice and got them to do this much in addition neighbors to Christ.
Just have them over for dinner, whom I you know what I want you to take this to whom I then God told him I will be with you. Here's the solution to whom I I'll be with you and this will serve as proof that I sent you when you brought the Israelites out of Egypt. You'll be right here on this mountain, your worship basically got a who you are is not important. What's really important is who my and I'm can be with you will then we get excuse number two Moses is not convinced, but he protect he protested if I go to the people of Israel and tell them the God of your ancestors has sent me they won't believe me they will ask which god are you talking about what's his name, then what you tell in excuse number one was, you know, I'm a nobody excuse number two is that I'm a smart enough you can ask me questions I don't know how these people over for dinner but talks about someone about the Lord. Here, you know, if I take the step think I'm just not smart enough to go to Bible college stuff for Mangino is one guy told me I'm never been to college at all. Said you run this huge company, and that your college was a really big deal for you, wasn't well.
I know what I'm sort uncomfortable in those often the two love you I'm not smart enough.
So how does got into that God replied I am the one who always is her literally. I am that I am just tell them that I am the ever existent one is the idea go Amy Jesus will quote this later in Greek when he talks to people who think he's claiming to be God and he'll say before Abraham was I am. And he reaches back in this text. Below are the God of your ancestors got Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob. You tell him I sent you. Now go and call all the leaders of Israel, tell them the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Skip down verse 18 humor. He reassures and again you have to be smart enough, the leaders of the people of Israel. There can accept your message and then he says I promise even the Egyptians will treat you well when you leave the silver and gold and then we skip the chapter for me. Get excuse number three so God reassures him I'll be with you all take care of it to chapter 4 then, but Moses protested again. Look, they won't believe me they won't do what I tell them they'll just say the Lord never appeared to you so okay Lucy. I'm a nobody tzedakah never use me I'm not smart enough not on the credible me him and that I was me.
I don't have the credentials. I don't have the platform the never never listen to me and so God says okay what might Moses say what I authenticate people by just not what they need out there someday, some way.
Let me take something it's very common to you. You've used all your life see that Stephanie can you put on the ground and of really profit them so he drops it out comes a snake you took and what you grab it. This is probably very hard.
The very first time we should grab this this viper by the tail touches the to payment comes the staffing he said so like if they if you think any credibility would think about and I think Moses facial expression equipment.
I'm not really sure that work got his okay okay okay okay that's plan a plan B if they don't listen that Moses you know that little little got on the put your hand and kicked a good couple backout. What is leprosy all my lands Jesus to get back is gone see if they don't believe planning about the staff go with the hand that is really powerful, like if that's not good enough will go to the Nile.
I got a deal will turn all that into blood. Here's what I want to know your credibility is the issue you trust me and get your focus off yourself and all take what you already have. By my power and by my great and I'll use you in ways you never learning to come to grips with the real you series momentum how to ignite your faith based on Romans 12 momentum flushes out the structure of chips series true spirituality but exploring the lives of some of the most famous men of the Bible from Abraham and Moses to Joseph and Daniel Tripp helps us appreciate how these guys lived out the practicalities of true spirituality in the process. Triple ignite the momentum of your faith journey. Mental is one of those series you're going to want to keep handy listen to from time to time, so let me remind you that accessing momentum is easy with the chipping remap chipping or whether it's phone calls or emails or letters we hear from thousands of people and one of the most common things we hear is I feel spiritually stuck just trying to figure out what my next step is what the Lord wants me to do, what would you tell him what I'd say is way to go. I mean that's the kind a heart that God is looking for and we have a brand-new resource that I think will help people go from I'm walking with God, and I think I think I'm where God wants me to be that I'm just not making a difference is by a friend of mine named Lance which is called leaving ordinary behind 25 days to an extraordinary faith by extraordinary faith. It doesn't mean that your bigger or greater more wonderful. It just means that when you study the lives of people with an extraordinary faith. You know the Abraham's the Daniels the Joseph, the Moses, the regular people in Scripture what was how did they see God. How did they catch the kind of faith that allow those ordinary people to do extraordinary things. That's this devotional if you want to make a difference. You really just long to say God use me, use me in ways greater than right now. This devotional take you 25 days to an extraordinary faith. Check it out. Thanks to all this devotional called leave ordinary behind is written by chips friend and fellow pastor Lance Witt for limited time, you'll find this brand-new resource discounted when you go to LivingontheEdge.org or tap special offers on the chipping remap for additional information. Just give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 as we close today's program I have to tell you we've gotten to the first half that sorta lays it out and were right to the edge, but what we haven't really discussed is will how do you discover who you really are. I we learned how the influences make us who we think we are. We've seen how it's happened in the life of Moses and I would just observe nothing about this when God wanted Moses to learn who he really was.
He allowed a failure to occur mean you know God could've prevented something that Moses makes a big mistake. He allowed a period of time to happen and then an event that sparked this reevaluation of who he wasn't, in his case was a burning bush for you. It might be someone walk out on or it might be a child's in the hospital or it might be you lost your job, or it might be your house is upside down and your realizing.
Oh God, I need your help. And that's leading you to begin to explore deeper relationship with God and you just happen to catch me today realizing while this is big. I need to know who I am in our next broadcast were to really talk about how specifically you can learn that and so please if you can't get it at this time the same time on the radio. You can get on the podcast but here's what I would tell you you want to get some action right now and get some help go to LivingontheEdge.org and there is a video there that talks about a sober self assessment and it will start you on a journey of thinking clearly, accurately, of who God really made you to be and here's what I tell you what you can discover it's great you are different in a very positive and wonderful way than anyone else on the planet and it's for a reason. Go discover who you are, the grace of God as part of the ongoing ministry of Living on the Edge we got a study tool for you called are 12 online. The short videos and interactive tools are designed for deeper life application of Romans chapter 12 the sober self assessment video chip just mentioned is part of this online collection that you will find helpful as a companion study to our current series momentum so I hope you'll check it out@livingontheedge.org/R 12 that's LivingontheEdge.org/R 1212 for chip and the entire team here, this is Dave Drewry saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge