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"THE FRUITS OF OBEDIENCE"

EXODUS 4:18-31

INTRO: God had just met Moses at the burning bush. The great call of Moses

had just taken place. God wanted Moses to be His messenger, to go

and to delivery His people from slavery. But Moses did not want to

go. He did not want to live a life of service and witness, a life obligated

to God. He wanted to be free to live life like he wanted, to do his own

thing. Standing there before God, Moses made up excuse after

excuse, arguing against God’s call. Many times we do the same thing

when we don't want to obey God. Moses argued so long and so much

that he angered God. In righteous anger, God insisted that Moses go.

Moses was to be God's messenger. No excuse, no argument was valid.

Moses was to surrender to God's call. What would he do? We know

from the Scripture that Moses did finally surrender and follow God's

will for Him.

God has much He wants to do in and through His people, but He

can't do those things in and through us until we surrender to Him

and obey Him! There are many blessings connected with obedience

which can only be realized by obedience. Moses found out that God's

blessings come to those who obey. May we find out the same! I want

to speak on this subject, "The Fruit Of Obedience."

(1) OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD'S ASSURANCE

EXODUS 4:18-19—“And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in

law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my

brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they yet be alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life"

A. MOSES’ OBEDIENCE WAS FOCUSED. Moses obeyed God, surrendered to

God's call (v18). He left the desert and went home to take care of business

matters. He began to lay plans to return to Egypt. He had worked for

Jethro for forty years and there were loose ends that needed to be tied

before he left. He just could not leave Jethro hanging without making

arrangements for a replacement. The point is this Moses showed respect to

his wife's family. He asked Jethro 's permission; he made arrangements

before he left.

God's call demands first loyalty, even before family (Matthew 10:37-38;

Luke 9:23). But we must always show love, kindness, and respect to those

we are called away from. And we must try to help them to understand

God's call as well as we can.

"Jethro had taken him in while a fugitive from Egypt, had given him his

daughter to wife, and had provided him a home for forty years. Moreover

Moses had charge of his flock. It would have been grossly discourteous

and the height of ingratitude had Moses gone down to Egypt without first

notifying his father-in-law. This request of Moses manifested his

thoughtfulness of others, and his appreciation of favors received. To be a

Christian is to practice Christliness, and Christ ever thought of

others."[A.W. Pink](Joseph G. Butler. Moses: Emancipator of Israel. p. 148).

B. MOSES’ OBEDIENCE WAS FRUITFUL. Once Moses obeyed God, after he

had made arrangements to go to Egypt, God gave Moses great assurance.

God gave Moses the assurances of safety, security, and protection (v19).

God told Moses the men who had sought to kill him were now dead. There

was now no reason to fear. Moses had been a wanted man in Egypt for

killing an Egyptian official forty years earlier. Pharaoh had put the order

out: arrest and execute Moses. I'm sure like any of us, as Moses made

preparation to go back to Egypt; he was afraid what might befall him there.

But God is faithful! Despite the execution order hanging over his head,

Moses was obeying God. He had surrendered to God's call and going forth

as God commanded. Thus, God met Moses to give him assurance: his

enemies were all dead. There was no need to fear!

The FIRST FRUIT OF OBEDIENCE IS: ASSURANCE! When we surrender to

God's call, surrender to do His will, it is then that God's Assurance sweeps

over our souls. God assures us that He will take care of us when we obey

Him!

There are FOUR ASSURANCES we have when we obey God:

➢ The Assurance of God's Presence (Hebrews 13:5-6; John 14:21; Isaiah 43:2).

➢ The Assurance of God's Power (Psalm 29:11).

➢ The Assurance of God's Pleasure (Exodus 19:5; James 1:25).

➢ The Assurance of Answered Prayer (John 15:16).

(2) OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD'S GUIDANCE

EXODUS 4:20-23—“ And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them

upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took

the rod of God in his hand. And the LORD said unto Moses, When

thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders

before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his

heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto

Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou

refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”

A. MOSES’ OBEDIENCE WAS FULL. Moses was obedient to God, fully

obedient (v20). He had set out to make a permanent move to Egypt: he

took his family with him which included his wife and two sons. When we

obey God's will many times it includes great sacrifices. We must be willing

to forsake all for Christ (Luke 14:33). "When you follow Christ it must be a

total burning of all your bridges behind you." Billy Graham (Albert M.

Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary & Classical. p. 195).

The reason for the lack of commitment we see today among God's people is

that we are unwilling to make that sacrifice! We want God, but we want to

hang onto the things of the world too! "If Jesus be God and died for me,

then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." --C.T. Studd

(Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary & Classical. p. 179)

B. MOSES’ OBEDIENCE WAS FAR-REACHING. Moses' obedience bore fruit

again. As Moses continued to obey God, God continued to meet his need.

God this time met a very special need in Moses' life: the need for guidance

and direction (vv. 21-23). Moses needed to know exactly what to do when

he reached Egypt and appeared before Pharaoh. And he needed to know

before he reached Egypt so that he might have time to meditate and plan

the meeting. This need God now met, and how God's heart must have

flooded with joy. For His servant was now obeying Him, obeying Him

despite all the excuses. And so God was able to meet with His servant and

give him clear guidance and direction on what he must do.

God told Moses to do three things:

1. He was to go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles God had given him

power to do (v21).

2. He was to be aware that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened so that he

would not let the people go (v21).

In the book of Exodus, Pharaoh's heart is said to be hardened.

Sometimes God hardened, sometimes the Bible says Pharaoh hardened

it. Three different Hebrew words are used for "hardened". These words

speak of a heart that is firmly set against surrender to God's way; of a

heart that is so evil it cannot make sense of good sense such as good

counsel or Divine revelation; and of a heart that is cruel, harsh,

obstinate, and unfeeling. The "hard" heart is an awful condition for the

heart to be in, but many souls through their rejection of God and His

Word end up with a heart like that (Joseph G. Butler. Moses:

Emancipator of Israel. p. 156).

Maxie Dunnam gives an excellent application of this:

"This is serious business. It is soul business with eternal

consequences. To refuse the gospel call upon our lives at any level is to

lay another brick in our wall of resistance to God's grace. That’s the

reason little decisions-responses to what appear to be minor calls-are

important. Our obedience to everyday calls of God is the discipline that

equips us to respond faithfully when the big calls come." What are

those everyday calls?:

➢ "to repent; as soon as you sense some sin in your life, repent, come to Christ, be genuinely sorry, beg His forgiveness."

➢ "to give a cup of cold water in Jesus' name."

➢ "to speak up for that friend or neighbor who is being maligned by gossip."

➢ "to tithe your income as God has called each of us to do."

➢ "to witness for Christ every time the opportunity arises.

➢ "to live holy lives; to be recognized as set apart, refusing to participate in the immorality that is rampant in our time-cheating, infidelity, deceit, fornication, lying."

"God's call comes to us in some form everyday. Every day we have the

opportunity to respond to Him. Though it may not be noticeable to us,

refusing these calls will gradually harden our hearts!"

3. He was to proclaim that Word of God to Pharaoh. His message was to

include three points:

➢ Israel was "God's Son, even His firstborn" (v22). The eldest son was given a special place of honor and respect. He received a double portion of the family inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17). The law of redemption applied to him in a special way (Exodus 13:11-15). He was looked upon one who would succeed his father as head of the family. He was given preferential status (Genesis 43:33), authority (Genesis 27:37), and responsibility (Genesis 37:22).

➢ Pharaoh was to free Israel so that she could serve and live for God (v23).

➢ If Pharaoh refused, God would slay the first-son of Pharaoh (v23).

Moses was faithful in obeying God's voice and went as He was called.

There is a strong lesson for us here: If we do not obey and surrender to

God's call, then God cannot guide and direct in our lives. Why?

Because He would be indulging and giving license to disobedience,

rebellion and sin. But when we obey, then God can guide and direct in

our lives! This He promises in His Word!

PSALM 25:5, 9—“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the

God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. The meek will he guide

in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”

PSALM 143:10—“Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit

is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.”

John 16:13—“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide

you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he

shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”

OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S ASSURANCE, OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S GUIDANCE and thirdly…

(3) OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S HAND OF CHASTISEMENT WAS REMOVED

EXODUS 4:24-26—“And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the

LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp

stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and

said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then

she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.”

A. THE REASON FOR THE CHASTISEMENT. When we surrender ourselves

to God and His will, God desires our all! God doesn't want us to hold

anything back in our service to Him! What now happens to Moses stands

as a warning to all believers and servants of God. Moses was obeying God

and was on his way to Egypt when God's hand of chastisement fell upon

him (v24). Why? Because he was deliberately disobeying God in a

particular area of his life, a critical area. Look at what happened: Moses

and his family had stopped and set up camp for the night. Then Moses

suddenly became very sick and was about to die. The Scripture says God

had met with Moses and was about to slay him (v24). This means God was

chastising and correcting Moses, and the chastisement was severe: Moses

was about to die. Moses had surrendered to God's will and was on his way

to obey God's call. What could Moses be doing that was so bad? What was

Moses doing that God was so displeased with that God was willing to stop

using him and take him on home to heaven? The Scripture tells us:

Moses' wife had apparently objected to circumcision, bitterly objected to it.

She gave Moses so much strife that he gave in to her. He put his wife and

her objections before God. In order to keep peace at home, he gave in to his

wife. Thus he disobeyed God and did not circumcise his son (v25).

Remember three critical facts about circumcision:

1) It was a sign of the covenant between God and man. It was given to

teach man to have no confidence in the flesh. The true believer, by

circumcision, symbolized his confidence in God and not the flesh.

2) It was a sign that a man trusted God, that he was a true follower of God.

A true believer in the great promises of God.

3) God Himself stressed its importance. Genesis 17:10-14 tells us that

God commanded Abraham to circumcise every male child on the eight

day after birth. Any uncircumcised male was to be cut off and separated

from the people; he was not a believer and follower of God. He had

broken the covenant of God.

➢ How could Moses teach the covenant to the people unless he circumcised his own son?

➢ How could Moses lead the people unless he himself obeyed God?

➢ How could Moses teach people to love and obey God unless he loved and obeyed God?

➢ How could Moses teach people to put God first in their lives if he put his wife first?

On and on the questions could go, but the point is this: God had to

correct Moses. The very man God had chosen to be the great lawgiver to

the world was disobeying God in one of the most basic commandments

of God, that of bearing the sign of the covenant, circumcision.

B. THE REMOVAL OF THE CHASTISEMENT. Moses' wife circumcised their

son, but it is evident she did it anger, disgust, and with a rebellious spirit

(v25). She took the foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet as he lay there

dying. She angrily cried out, "You are a husband of blood to me." Here is a

great warning to each of us about letting someone-a husband, wife,

mother, or father-keep us from serving God with our all! God then

removed His hand of chastisement and saved Moses (v26). Moses recovered

and apparently sent his wife and son back home, back to Jethro. Her

bitter rebellion against God almost cost him his life. And her continued

rebellion would have been a great hindrance to God's purpose in the

ministry of Moses.

We must obey God in all areas of our lives. We must not hold anything back; we must surrender everything we are and have to God. If not, then God has no choice: He must chastise and correct us. God must discipline us when we disobey and go astray. God must keep us from harming and hurting ourselves, from destroying our lives, our testimony, and our witness for him. God must chastise us, make us sit up, take notice, and correct us before we go too far.

Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-7; Revelation 3:19

OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S ASSURANCE, OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S GUIDANCE, OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD’S HAND OF CHASTISEMENT IS REMOVED, and finally…

(4) OBEDIENCE, THEN GOD FUFLFILLED HIS PROMISE

EXODUS 4:27-31—“And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness

to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and

kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who

had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And

Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the

children of Israel: And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD

had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had

visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their

affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

A. THE PREPARATION OF THE FAITHFUL. While God was calling and

dealing with Moses, He was also working on the heart of Moses' brother

Aaron. Calling him and preparing him to serve right alongside of Moses,

just as God had promised Moses. God had called Aaron to go into the

wilderness and meet Moses (vv. 27-28). This he obeyed and I'm sure the

reunion was glorious. Aaron shared all that had happened to the family

during Moses’ 40 years of absence. Then Moses shared with Aaron God's

call and the power God had given him to work miracles and signs before

the people. After the reunion they both journeyed together.

B. THE PROMISE FULFILLED. When they came to Egypt, they obeyed God:

They gathered all the elders of Israel together (vv. 30-31). Aaron then

shared all that God had told Moses, he was Moses' spokesman. Moses

performed the miracles. God's wonderful promise to Moses was fulfilled: the

people believed and they bowed down and worshiped God (v31). Their

hearts were filled with joy, hope, and expectation. God's deliverer had

come!

When we obey God, God fulfills His promises-always. First Obedience, then

fulfillment. Obedience always bears fruit, the fruit of God's presence, love,

and blessing.

Joshua 1:8—“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but

thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do

according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way

prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Matthew 6:33

John 15:14

CLOSING: When we obey God, great blessings follow! We have God's

assurance. We experience God's guidance, God's hand of

chastisement is removed, and God's fulfills His promises! These

are the fruits of obedience! Will you faithfully obey God? God

wants our obedience; not our promises of obedience! If we want

revival in our lives and in our Church and community then we

must obey God in all!

"…Revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to

God." --Charles C. Finney (Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-

Contemporary & Classical. p. 143).

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