What is that in Your Hand?

Scripture:
 Exodus 3:1-10 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
 Exodus 4:1-5 “1Then 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. 4Then 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.”

Introduction:
 Moses was a great man of God and did many mighty exploits as He followed God in obedience to His word. However, Moses was like most of us. He did not know the value of what was in his hands until revelation came from God. He had resigned himself to life as usual, nothing extraordinary, just getting by from day to day, and then God revealed Himself. God is revealing Himself to people in these days in order that they may be a Kingdom people ready to fulfill His will in the earth. We have something valuable to offer to the world and the truth of the matter is they are waiting for us come forth in demonstration of the Kingdom of God.
 Romans 8:19 “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”
 
I. God reveals Himself in order to show us that we have something valuable in our hands.
A. We cannot know the true value of what we have in our hands until we get a revelation of God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
B. God first prepares the person He is calling by allowing Him to experience what is needed to bring about transformation.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
C. God does what is necessary to get your attention. How distracted we are will determine what God will use to wake us up.
D. If God can get our attention, He will speak to us. He is a speaking God.
E. The devil will do everything he can to keep us from receiving the kind of revelation that will make us a threat to his kingdom.
Hebrews 10:32 “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings:”

II. How do you find out the value of what you have in your hand?
A. We must turn from our regular routine, pursuits and activities to a place of seeking God. (Vs. 1-3)
B. We must listen and pay close attention to what God is saying. (Vs. 4-5)
C. We must set ourselves aside for cleansing from all the impurities of the past. (Vs. 6-7)
D. We must see that God has a desire to reach out to the hurting ones of our community and world. (Vs. 8)
E. We must allow God to open our eyes and ears to the needs that are all around us. (Vs. 9)
F. We must allow God to use us to accomplish His purposes to reach and transform the lives and to change situations all around us. (Vs.10)

III. Why are we so slow to answer God’s call to Kingdom service?
A. We just don’t feel that we are worthy.
B. We don’t feel that we know enough about the situation, the people, or how God works to establish His will. We don’t think we know enough about God.
C. We don’t think we are charismatic enough to get people to listen and pay attention to us.
D. We’re afraid for our reputation. Maybe they won’t listen to us nor believe what we say.

IV. What do you have in your hand?
A. You cannot take credit for it as God has given you whatever you have.
I Corinthians 4:7 “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
B. God has already created in the spirit the good works that can be accomplished by using what is in our hands.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
C. It’s time to put what is in our hands on the ground before God so that He can use it in any way He pleases.
D. God is calling us to use what He has put in our hands to further establish the Kingdom of God.
Luke 16:15-20 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”
E. Let’s not wait to offer what we have in our hands, but let us do it today.