0.000 1.000 DANNY: ... (H) 1.810 6.310 ... This morning we're gonna be looking in the book of Exodus, 6.310 9.787 ... And we've been talking about uh= (Hx), 10.741 11.478 ... Vision. 12.415 13.701 ... And hearing from God. 14.438 16.820 ... (H) I was trying to come up with a definition, 16.820 17.290 in fact I, 17.290 19.602 I looked it up in the encyclopedia for vision. 20.220 21.137 (H) A=nd (Hx), 22.132 23.891 ... there is definitely a definition, 23.902 24.552 .. several, 24.935 25.283 ... uh=, 25.310 26.859 and I didn't really like any of them, 26.969 28.429 ... (TSK) (H) uh=, 28.600 32.157 .. (TSK) .. so I th=ought I'd.. try to come up with one of my own. 33.939 37.684 ... (TSK) ... Jim Larson was uh sharing a quote, 37.951 38.990 ... from Yogi Bara, 38.990 39.610 last night, 39.610 41.024 and I wanted to @share @that this morning. 41.007 44.349 (H) He says you gotta be careful when you don't know where you're going, 44.364 45.977 .. because you might not get there. 48.588 49.730 ... . 51.269 52.115 .. And vision, 52.115 53.413 really has to do with, 53.866 56.274 (H) having an idea of where you're going. 58.033 62.095 ... Our mission is a goal or task which one is destined to accomplish. 64.825 66.139 (H) ... Our vision, 67.886 68.324 ... and here's the -- 68.324 69.894 here's the definition I came up with, 70.198 71.370 ... you can write this down, 71.370 71.864 but uh, 71.963 73.959 .. (H) uh don't use it unless you, 73.970 74.450 ... uh, 74.450 75.114 .. agree with it. 75.468 75.903 AUD: .. [@@@] 75.903 77.191 DANNY: [(TSK) (H)] [It's mentally] seeing, 75.877 76.637 AUD: [@ @ @] 77.310 78.680 DANNY: where one hopes to be, 78.680 80.525 .. in a specific period of time. 80.876 83.035 .. (H) It's in your imagination, 83.040 86.714 in your ... hopes (Hx), 86.839 88.376 ... that you're looking ahead. 88.698 91.922 ... And h- ... trying to see where you will be, 91.934 93.828 .. in a specific period- period of time. 93.831 95.975 .. So our vision for the next few years. 95.813 96.779 Our vision for, 96.794 97.835 (H) uh, 97.879 100.100 ... the ... (TSK) next ten years. 100.100 100.499 Whatever. 101.310 101.700 (H) Uh, 101.700 102.634 what is our vision. 105.121 106.300 ... As a church planter, 106.300 107.465 Pastor #Queen came, 107.918 112.385 ... (TSK) (H) ... having grown up here, 112.385 114.234 and having gone off to- .. to school, 114.620 115.671 ... to seminary, 115.798 117.310 .. (H) God brought him back, 117.310 118.305 to start a church. 119.268 121.430 ... And he began to seek God's .. uh vision, 121.475 122.670 .. for .. the church. 122.670 124.975 (H) And through his own personal experience, 124.975 128.255 and through (H) ... the Scripture, 128.375 130.090 ... (TSK) and God gave him a vision, 130.600 134.035 ... for a church that was committed to being a part of what God was doing, 134.170 137.300 (H) ... a church that was, 138.075 140.750 ... invested in building the Kingdom of God. 143.465 146.225 ... By caring for people where their needs were, 146.225 149.755 ... and by sharing the truth, 150.015 151.980 ... of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 160.720 162.965 ... (TSK) .. Our vision is, 162.965 166.285 .. is a direction of involvement toward a final destination. 172.680 174.820 ... When I started thinking about missions, 174.820 179.445 I .. thought immediately of ... the Blues Brothers. 179.850 180.160 ... You know, 180.160 180.920 and Dan Ackroyd, 180.920 181.350 ... comes out, 181.350 182.750 I forget what his character was, 182.750 183.580 but he says, 183.705 185.385 .. . 187.735 189.230 ... . 191.250 192.550 ... (H) In fact, 192.550 194.230 let me clarify it a little more. 196.040 198.135 ... The church has been given a mission, 198.910 202.850 ... but our mission is not for us to go and decide what we're gonna do, 202.710 205.550 ... (H) our mission is to participate in, 205.550 207.975 an to carry out ... God's mission. 207.975 209.665 .. Because you see Go=d, 209.685 211.190 ... is on a mission. 215.095 217.395 ... God's mission is to build His Kingdom. 217.395 219.695 . 219.720 225.035 ... (H) To bring the world of lost people into a real and personal love (H) relationship, 225.085 225.990 ... with him. 226.705 227.450 ... Through faith, 227.450 227.995 in His Son, 227.995 228.965 Jesus Christ. 232.795 233.305 ... You know what, 233.305 234.465 if our vision, 234.465 236.800 ... does not include reaching lost people, 236.800 238.200 and caring for lost people, 238.200 239.900 (H) then it's not God's vision. 239.900 241.600 Because the Bible is very clear, 241.600 244.200 that Go=d ca=res about lost people. 244.245 244.615 AUD: Yes. 245.440 249.580 DANNY: ... God loves (H) .. people who don't have it all together. 249.580 250.225 AUD: Yes. 250.225 252.580 DANNY: ... God loves people who are hurting. 252.580 253.095 AUD: Yes. 254.160 256.200 DANNY: ... God loves people who are suffering. 256.200 257.050 Who are seeking. 259.645 260.750 ... And if our vision, 260.750 261.900 as Uptown Baptist Church, 261.900 262.815 doesn't include. 262.815 263.500 .. In fact, 263.500 265.650 if our vision as individual .. Christians, 265.650 267.000 with a relationship with Christ, 267.000 268.205 does not include, 268.205 270.450 (H) ... reaching out, 270.450 271.240 and touching, 271.355 274.235 ... the lives of lost hurting .. dying people, 274.275 276.620 (H) . 284.535 286.415 ... (H) Because God's plan, 286.415 287.125 .. is, 287.125 288.250 .. and has always been, 288.250 289.580 to use .. his people, 289.580 291.590 .. (H) to carry out His mission. 292.210 293.350 ... And we're gonna see that, 293.350 294.880 as we look at Moses. 295.130 297.850 ... (TSK) (H) Beginning in the first chapter of Moses. 297.850 298.955 I'm not gonna read -- 299.385 300.570 ... I am gonna read some of it, 300.570 302.160 but I'm not gonna read all the way through, 302.160 303.355 ... because we're gonna try to, 303.355 305.140 .. breeze through the first four chapters. 305.690 308.495 ... (H) Let's look how God was involved in Moses. 308.495 311.365 ... Or how God involved Moses in His mission. 317.055 317.550 ... #Gary 317.550 319.085 one of the things I want us to do, 319.325 319.880 ... uh, 319.880 321.100 on building beautiful day, 321.100 323.145 is build a taller ... podium. 324.470 325.990 MANY: ... (LAUGHTER)[=] 325.990 328.300 DANNY: [Write that on one of those sheets of paper back there]. 329.490 329.750 ... We- -- 329.750 331.350 we need it about right here. 331.455 333.695 MANY: .. (LAUGHTER) 334.625 335.140 DANNY: ... Oops. 336.990 338.230 ... (H) Okay. 339.105 340.880 ... (TSK) (H) First thing we're gonna see, 340.880 343.905 .. is that . 349.430 350.665 ... As we read in -- 351.465 353.700 ... actually as we get to= the second chapter, 353.700 354.485 we'll see that, 354.675 355.195 ... Uh, 355.195 357.290 Moses was not only preserved, 357.290 358.460 .. but he was prepared. 359.290 361.415 ... Uh for his part in .. God's mission. 361.580 364.030 .. We have to go to chapter one to get a little background. 365.285 367.645 ... Read with me in verse six of chapter one. 368.635 370.770 ... (H) . 435.230 435.955 ... The king, 435.955 437.030 or the Pharaoh, 438.000 439.190 ... was a little upset. 439.190 439.850 Because, 440.065 441.100 ... the Israelites, 441.100 442.260 who were their slaves. 442.400 443.770 .. who were their servants. 445.280 447.015 ... As they took a census, 447.015 447.785 .. they realized, 447.785 450.035 that the Israelites' ... n=umbers, 450.205 451.595 ... were= catching up. 452.465 453.455 ... With their own. 453.455 454.585 .. Of the Egyptians. 454.810 455.860 .. And this was upsetting, 455.860 458.250 because he saw this as a .. national threat. 459.825 461.665 ... (H) ... From his perspective, 461.665 462.060 they w- -- 462.060 462.565 .. they r- -- 462.595 462.950 .. you know, 462.950 465.640 he just (H) knew that they were gonna grow to a number, 465.640 467.180 and they were gonna outnumber the Egyptians, 467.180 468.665 and then they were just gonna take over. 468.720 469.200 .. You know, 469.200 471.770 if any (H) other countries decided to attack, 471.785 472.570 (H) Uh, 472.570 472.800 and, 473.195 474.650 ... to= .. to battle, 474.650 475.260 .. uh, 475.260 476.205 .. the Egyptians, 476.205 478.450 that he just knew that the Israelites were gonna join them, 478.450 480.340 and were gonna .. overthrow from the inside. 482.880 484.999 (H) ... So the next part of the chapter, 484.999 486.095 he begins to= (Hx), 486.095 486.485 you know, 486.485 487.490 first of all he b- -- 487.480 489.305 he .. works the men very hard. 489.305 490.840 He said man if I work these guys ha=rd, 490.840 492.575 there not gonna be going home to their wives, 492.575 493.225 and there not gonna be, 493.225 494.180 (H) uh=, 494.180 496.110 (H) ... having babies. 496.065 496.600 AUD: .. [@@] 496.250 496.510 DANNY: [You know, 496.510 497.890 I] guess that was part of his plan. 497.890 498.920 That's his first [strategy. 498.380 499.055 AUD: [@@] 498.945 500.435 DANNY: so] let's make it hard for them. 500.430 501.250 Let's @really @work, 501.250 502.290 (H) work em, 502.000 502.625 AUD: @@[@] 502.570 504.210 DANNY: [so that] they're too tired to go home, 504.210 504.290 and, 504.290 504.910 .. [and uh], 504.510 505.025 AUD: [@@] 504.970 505.765 DANNY: procreate. 505.765 508.315 MANY: (LAUGHTER)[=]= 507.210 508.225 DANNY: [We'll use that word]. 510.780 512.185 (H) But that didn't work. 512.185 512.530 Cause they st- -- 512.530 513.585 They continued [to -- 513.285 516.775 MANY: [(LAUGHTER)] 514.070 514.970 DANNY: .. They @Continued -- 514.970 516.120 (Hx) (H) They continued to d- -- 516.120 516.840 to uh], 516.840 517.695 .. have babies. 517.695 519.255 And they [continued to] multiply. 517.725 518.265 AUD: [@@] 520.530 523.085 DANNY: ... So he g- devises another plan. 523.085 524.850 .. He goes to the midwives. 524.850 526.695 ... You know the Israelites had midwives. 526.695 527.600 They didn't have doctors, 527.600 528.000 but they had, 528.000 528.670 (H) uh, 528.675 529.145 women, 529.145 529.999 ... who when a, 529.999 532.545 when ... one of the Israelite women were gonna have a baby, 532.545 533.890 then these midwives just come in, 533.890 535.790 and help .. in the labor process. 537.395 539.545 ... (H) ... Or in the birthing process. 541.130 543.350 ... And so he goes to the midwives and says, 543.350 543.820 .. listen. 543.820 544.895 Here's what I want you to do. 545.015 545.835 ... you go, 545.835 546.255 and you go ahead, 546.255 547.415 and you do your part, 547.415 548.999 .. and you help these .. these mothers, 548.999 550.415 (H) but if they have a boy, 550.415 551.645 ... I want you to make sure that, 551.645 552.540 .. that boy dies. 553.070 553.860 ... If it's a girl, 553.860 554.860 you go ahead and let it live. 556.220 557.290 ... And that was his plan. 558.160 559.375 ... Well the midwives, 560.700 561.050 ... you know, 561.050 561.695 what could they say, 561.695 563.030 this is the .. the Pharaoh, 563.030 564.320 .. (H) so they agreed to it, 564.320 565.265 but then they didn't do it. 565.695 566.890 ... Because they feared God, 566.890 568.010 more than they did Pharaoh. 568.080 570.050 (H) And when uh he calls em, 570.050 570.895 he says what's going on. 570.895 571.999 They're still multiplying. 571.999 574.360 @@ [There's still boys being born here]. 572.555 574.385 AUD: [@@@@ @@@@] 575.320 577.220 DANNY: (H) ... what is going on. 578.860 580.120 ... The midwives said, 580.040 580.760 .. well these, 580.760 581.760 .. these mothers, 582.270 584.220 ... they're having the babies without us. 584.370 584.730 .. You know, 584.730 585.750 they're not telling us. 585.750 586.850 And they're just going ahead and having em. 586.850 587.180 They're s- -- 587.180 588.780 .. (H) sturdy women. 588.780 593.075 MANY: ... (LAUGHTER)[=]= 590.550 590.970 DANNY: [It says, 590.970 592.135 .. they don't need us]. 593.540 595.565 .. And so Pharaoh comes up with another plan. 595.565 598.415 It ends up in the ... final verse of this chapter. 598.595 601.480 .. (H) ... Verse twenty-two. 601.480 602.905 . 611.195 613.235 ... So he's ordering his people to go. 613.235 615.550 .. And every boy that is born to the Israelites, 615.550 616.535 ... to .. to kill em. 616.535 617.550 Throw em in the river. 622.070 624.030 ... Well Moses was born about this time. 630.275 632.845 ... And this is how God preserved ... Moses. 634.930 637.475 ... Now Moses's mother ... loved her child. 638.510 639.735 ... And she didn't want to throw him in. 639.735 641.350 I don't think any of the mothers did. 641.350 643.145 ... And she wasn't gonna do it herself, 643.145 645.575 .. (H) and she was one of these that had the baby, 645.575 646.700 without telling anybody, 646.700 648.005 except her immediate family. 648.320 650.515 (H) ... And Moses already, 650.515 651.655 ... when he was born, 651.655 653.690 .. had an older sister and an older brother. 657.615 658.600 ... And the mother, 658.600 659.670 .. now when I was growing up, 659.670 660.570 and I heard this story, 660.570 661.999 I just assumed that the mother, 661.999 664.180 (H) was hiding the baby in the reeds. 664.180 665.255 And that's where she was hiding him. 665.255 666.420 But it says for three months, 666.420 667.425 she hid the baby, 667.425 669.835 (H) didn't say anything about the %= .. the -- 669.835 670.540 in the river, 670.540 670.885 or in the, 670.885 672.240 in the uh .. basket. 672.240 673.080 (H) Uh, 673.080 674.590 but then when he was three months old, 674.590 674.999 .. she j- -- 674.999 677.680 she .. was assuming that she was gonna get caught pretty soon, 677.680 679.950 (H) .. and so she devised a plan. 679.950 682.050 .. And it doesn't say here that she devised a plan, 682.050 683.000 (H) .. but, 683.000 683.765 believe me, 684.570 686.285 ... This mother knew what she was doing. 686.930 688.875 ... She b- .. she m- .. got a basket. 688.875 690.625 ... She .. perhaps made the basket. 690.625 691.410 ... Probably did. 691.410 692.660 (H) and then she put, 693.005 694.585 ... what they call pitch, 694.585 695.305 or tar, 695.305 696.235 .. (H) uh, 696.235 696.740 on it, 696.740 698.410 so that it .. would float. 698.410 700.305 ... So that water wouldn't come up through it. 700.305 702.285 (H) And she put .. a blanket, 702.285 703.065 .. put the baby in it, 703.065 704.100 ... wrapped the baby in it-, 704.100 705.290 (H) and she told -- 705.750 706.999 .. she brought it down to the river. 706.999 709.075 .. Now she didn't just go anywhere in the river, 709.075 711.335 .. (H) She brought it to a specific place. 711.335 713.635 .. Not just because there were reeds there, 713.635 714.990 (H) but because, 714.990 717.445 .. the Pharaoh's daughter ba=thed .. there. 718.960 720.750 ... And this was a selected place. 720.835 722.440 (H) The mother took the baby, 722.440 723.710 (H) put the baby, 723.710 725.640 put Moses .. (H) in the water. 726.345 728.585 ... And told her sister to keep an eye on it. 729.370 730.775 ... To keep an eye on him so that, 730.775 732.105 (H) nothing bad happened, 732.105 733.365 (H) but also, 733.365 734.635 there was an- another motive, 734.635 736.070 that we'll get to in just a second. 737.145 738.185 ... (H) So the w- -- 738.185 740.360 so Moses was floating along in the water. 741.930 743.805 ... The Pharaoh's daughter came down to -- 743.805 745.195 to take her bath (Hx)? 745.195 747.180 ... And she sees the basket. 747.180 750.185 .. And she sends her servant out to get the basket and bring it to her. 750.445 752.285 (H) And she opens it up, 752.285 753.100 there's Moses, 753.100 754.180 and he begins to cry, 754.180 757.340 (H) and .. Pharaoh's daughter felt sorry for Moses. 758.705 760.600 ... And she just decided to keep him. 761.150 761.535 ... It said, 761.535 763.485 she realized said this is an Israelite baby. 763.925 765.785 ... (H) . 766.815 767.730 AUD: @@@@ 767.730 769.505 DANNY: (H) ... And so she, 769.675 770.910 .. she decides to keep him. 770.910 771.870 .. We=ll. 772.185 773.260 ... Here's what .. pha- -- 773.260 773.565 uh, 773.565 774.680 Moses's sister did. 774.680 775.930 ... That was her cue. 776.385 778.335 .. (H) She comes out from hiding, 778.335 778.820 and says, 778.820 780.435 (H) .. Oh, 781.065 782.430 ... whatever your name is, 782.430 784.135 @@@ [(H) @@@ (H) 782.865 784.600 MANY: [(LAUGHTER)] 784.155 784.555 DANNY: says], 784.555 784.999 .. oh, 784.999 786.355 mighty princess. 788.400 789.760 ... Allow me=, 789.760 792.100 .. to get a nurse for .. the baby. 792.100 794.100 ... I know of an Israelite nurse, 794.100 796.770 that can take care ... of this baby. 797.050 797.970 ... Guess who. 798.725 800.160 ... (H) . 801.150 803.075 ... So she goes and gets= .. the mother. 803.075 804.310 (H) Now. 804.310 809.065 ... Why do I think this is something that ... the mother knew about. 809.700 810.955 ... Cause it ends up that, 810.955 811.565 .. . the mother, 811.565 812.535 .. not only, 813.660 815.055 ... had her child, 815.055 816.320 ... to stay alive. 816.770 819.005 (H) ... But she also, 819.005 820.430 ... got to take care of him, 820.430 821.735 ... and got paid for it. 821.735 827.285 MANY: .. (LAUGHTER) 829.040 830.800 DANNY: .. So God not only spared his life, 830.800 831.850 but He provided, 831.945 832.345 .. uh, 832.345 832.935 for -- 832.935 833.990 ... for that whole family. 833.990 836.110 .. (TSK) (H) But especially for Moses. 836.110 838.015 ... (H) So we see how, 838.015 839.320 ... God preserved, 839.320 840.165 ... Moses. 843.920 846.630 ... We also see how God .. prepared Moses, 846.630 848.455 .. (H) because in the % -- 849.665 853.340 ... Moses's life is kinda divided into three (H) .. stages. 853.340 854.660 Each being forty years. 854.660 856.390 The first forty years he was in Egypt. 856.390 859.895 ... (H) The second forty years he was .. a shepherd. 859.895 864.905 .. (H) ... And the third forty years he was l=eading the people out of Israel. 867.695 869.545 ... And in this first forty years. 870.245 873.155 ... Moses .. got the best training, 874.610 876.250 ... in the world at that time. 877.850 881.850 ... (H) .. His foundational training came from his mother. 882.605 884.070 ... Cause as the nanny, 884.955 886.405 ... and that's what she was at that point, 886.405 887.395 even though she was his mother, 887.395 888.230 she was his nanny, 888.430 892.900 .. (H) ... She .. trained him ... in the foundations, 892.900 893.385 ... uh, 893.385 893.895 trained him, 893.895 894.995 taught him who he was, 895.405 898.085 ... (H) taught him about his Hebrew origin, 898.360 901.470 ... and the customs of the Israel- ... Israelites. 902.775 906.510 ... Taught him the foundational belief ... in .. the true God, 907.795 911.360 ... (H) taught him of God's promise to Abraham, 911.360 914.175 (H) to multiply .. his descendants, 914.175 915.590 .. and make a .. mighty nation, 915.590 916.395 ... of them. 921.215 923.960 ... (H) Probably the first four or five years, 923.960 926.625 ... the bulk of his time was spent with his mother. 927.485 928.300 ... And he, 928.300 929.935 ... I'm sure she told him that, 930.685 931.415 ... that uh, 931.415 932.235 she was his mother, 932.235 932.990 his real mother, 933.420 935.215 ... and and about what had happened, 935.215 936.245 cause we wouldn't know about it, 936.245 937.200 .. (H) uh, 937.200 938.290 .. if .. she didn't. 940.855 943.180 ... But not only did he get this religious training, 943.180 948.005 ... (TSK) and this foundational .. belief .. (H) in a r- in a real God, 949.010 949.900 ... but he also, 949.900 952.915 was exposed to the best education that Egypt had to offer. 953.130 954.970 .. Exposed to the wisest teachers, 954.970 957.565 and the best culture offered in the world at that time, 957.565 962.265 (H) he learned about the politics and customs ... of the courts, 963.615 965.300 ... of course this would help him later on, 965.300 966.540 .. when he had to come back and, 966.540 967.245 .. and uh, 967.245 969.955 .. and deal with the courts from .. a different perspective, 972.380 975.815 ... but that first forty years was spent .. in being trained. 976.050 977.480 ... And he was trained well. 978.155 979.780 ... And he had great knowledge. 980.530 981.775 ... A lot of knowledge. 982.325 983.395 ... That he was uh, 983.500 985.235 ... that .. God provided for him, 985.235 986.760 through these ... means. 988.800 990.700 ... And then for the next forty years. 990.700 991.715 he was exiled. 991.715 992.865 ... From Egypt. 993.760 994.500 ... Because, 994.500 995.410 in order to -- 996.250 997.040 ... thinking, 997.040 999.470 ... that because he was an Israelite, 999.865 1000.825 ... by birth, 1001.535 1001.895 ... uh, 1001.895 1005.165 and seeing ... an Israeli being .. abused, 1005.630 1005.995 ... uh, 1005.995 1006.830 he stepped in, 1006.830 1009.010 and he killed the Egyptian that was abusing him, 1009.010 1012.840 (H) .. thinking that no one else knew except this person that he had saved, 1012.840 1014.480 .. (H) he buried him, 1016.815 1018.220 ... and then a few days later, 1018.220 1018.400 you know, 1018.400 1019.865 thinking well it's .. it's all cool, 1019.865 1020.790 .. nobody knows, 1020.790 1021.845 I'll just .. go on. 1021.845 1023.490 (H) He tries to help, 1023.490 1026.085 ... or tries to intervene between two other, 1027.110 1027.640 ... uh, 1029.340 1030.215 ... Hebrew, 1030.215 1032.185 ... that were arguing amongst themself and, 1032.185 1032.720 .. and, 1032.720 1034.935 ... he tries to be a peacemaker, 1034.935 1035.515 and they say, 1035.515 1036.205 (H) you know, 1036.205 1037.340 who made you judge, 1037.495 1038.635 ... w- what about this, 1038.635 1040.195 you just killed the guy the other day, 1040.195 1041.145 (H) Uh=, 1041.145 1042.605 and he realized that people knew. 1042.605 1043.840 ... And he realized if these- -- 1043.840 1044.890 .. if these men knew, 1044.890 1047.500 (H) then probably Pharaoh was gonna hear pretty soon, 1047.500 1048.290 and so he left. 1048.290 1049.040 He fled. 1049.040 1050.260 .. (H) He ran. 1051.270 1052.835 ... He went out into the wilderness. 1062.670 1064.740 ... After a few days of .. uh walking, 1064.740 1066.525 he ... comes upon a a scene, 1066.525 1069.930 where these two young ladies are herding ... their father's sheep, 1069.930 1071.210 (H) and uh, 1071.210 1071.780 some, 1072.515 1073.090 ... uh, 1073.090 1074.145 .. mean guys, 1074.145 1075.525 (H) who knows, 1075.525 1076.775 I don't .. remember who it was, 1076.775 1077.150 but anyway, 1077.150 1078.425 they came up and tried to, 1078.425 1079.395 .. to= uh, 1079.395 1081.475 ... take advantage of the .. two ladies, 1081.475 1082.670 trying to take care of the sheep, 1082.670 1083.905 (H) and uh, 1084.865 1087.320 % ... and I I assume they were trying to steal the sheep, 1087.320 1088.360 or trying to steal the women, 1088.360 1089.005 .. either way, 1089.510 1089.960 ... uh, 1089.960 1090.395 but, 1090.395 1091.630 .. Moses intervened, 1091.630 1092.585 and he ran them off. 1092.585 1094.100 ... And saved their lives. 1094.100 1095.920 and saved .. their .. livestock. 1095.920 1098.655 (H) And so they invited him to come with them, 1098.655 1099.675 to .. to their home, 1099.675 1101.295 and they told their father what had happened, 1101.295 1103.000 and he invited Moses to stay with them, 1103.000 1104.900 (H) Moses ends up marrying. 1105.270 1105.850 ... uh, 1105.850 1107.300 .. one of the young ladies. 1107.300 1109.645 .. As #Ken ... shared with us the other day, 1109.645 1111.006 it was a .. a mixed marriage, 1111.006 1111.695 because these, 1111.695 1112.150 .. uh, 1112.150 1113.685 .. this family was Black. 1113.685 1123.755 .. (H) ... So for the next .. forty years. 1123.755 1125.375 ... he becomes a sheep herder, 1125.375 1126.655 for his father-in-law. 1126.655 1128.745 ... Who was a .. a Midian priest. 1131.815 1133.250 ... And during that forty years, 1133.250 1135.345 he he g- gained some other training. 1135.345 1136.905 .. First of all he became an outdoorsman. 1136.905 1139.420 He became used to being out .. in the wilderness. 1139.420 1141.000 ... And that's gonna be important for him, 1141.000 1142.915 for his ... final forty years. 1142.915 1145.165 (H) ... Another thing he's, 1145.165 1145.545 is, 1145.545 1147.705 .. the area where he herded the sheep, 1147.705 1150.515 was a .. a huge ... area. 1150.695 1152.700 ... And uh he got to know the terrain, 1152.700 1153.915 He got to know his way around. 1153.915 1157.445 .. And that was important because he was gonna spend his final forty years, 1157.445 1158.675 (H) in that same area. 1158.675 1160.065 and it was important that he knew where there-, 1160.065 1162.160 (H) the w- .. waterholes were and, 1162.160 1164.310 and where the dangerous .. areas were. 1164.310 1165.505 .. (H) ... Uh, 1165.505 1167.390 ... and so God .. prepared him. 1170.885 1173.655 ... (H) God also= has .. prepared us, 1173.655 1174.835 and is preparing us, 1174.835 1175.455 ... for h- -- 1175.455 1176.420 for our part, 1176.420 1177.685 ... in God's mission. 1180.335 1182.585 ... God is continually .. building character. 1182.585 1183.205 And I think, 1184.340 1187.100 ... this .. middle forty years for Moses, 1187.100 1187.560 was a=, 1187.560 1189.775 was a time where God really built character. 1189.775 1191.885 Cause he no longer had everything he wanted, 1191.885 1192.400 ... uh, 1192.400 1193.740 at his fingertips, 1193.740 1194.510 (H) uh, 1194.510 1195.705 he had to learn some things. 1195.705 1196.330 He had to learn. 1196.330 1198.990 .. He had to (H) learn how to depend on God. 1198.990 1201.090 ... ON this God that he had learned about. 1201.500 1202.520 ... From his mother. 1207.975 1210.660 ... And God is interested in building character in us. 1210.660 1211.925 .. as individuals. 1213.625 1214.110 ... In fact, 1214.110 1216.855 God is more concerned about .. our character, 1216.855 1217.770 than what we do. 1218.880 1219.980 ... And how we do it. 1221.585 1223.195 ... And so a lot of what we experience, 1223.195 1224.380 we get frustrated with, 1224.380 1229.215 .. but God's ... purpose .. is to build character within us. 1229.935 1233.695 ... And so when we're trying to decide w- which we should do or not do, 1233.695 1235.445 .. something that we're tempted to do, 1235.445 1236.810 (H) we need to remember that, 1236.810 1238.440 God's more concerned about our character, 1238.440 1240.437 (H) and we should .. be obedient to Him, 1240.437 1242.640 because that's how He builds .. our character. 1248.315 1250.220 ... I believe that God has created, 1250.220 1251.190 .. and preserved, 1251.190 1253.275 .. and prepared Uptown Baptist Church. 1253.730 1255.460 ... To be involved in His mission. 1258.225 1261.170 ... To be involved in reaching out to the unloved and the hurting. 1263.830 1265.385 ... To be an influence. 1266.400 1268.105 ... to the community of Uptown, 1270.015 1271.370 ... for the Kingdom of God. 1273.640 1275.437 ... To be a beacon of light, 1275.437 1276.935 ... for those who are lost, 1280.135 1282.363 ... and as our sign says on top, 1282.363 1286.450 .. to proclaim that ... Christ died for our sins. 1289.670 1292.615 ... God has also created and prepared Uptown Baptist Church, 1297.975 1302.400 ... to be a model for urban .. church .. missions to the world. 1307.540 1309.393 ... And that wasn't .. our reasoning, 1309.393 1311.155 we didn't set out to do the things we do, 1311.155 1312.585 so that we could be a model, 1312.585 1316.220 (H) .. or so that we could ... get ... publicity, 1316.220 1321.145 (H) ... But God has saw- seen fit to use us in that way. 1321.145 1323.490 (H) And this is not for our pride, 1325.590 1328.345 ... this is just ... a reality. 1328.525 1331.805 ... I'm amazed at how ... people from all over the world, 1331.805 1333.130 have have come, 1333.130 1334.100 (H) to the city, 1334.100 1335.737 and they've come to Uptown Baptist Church, 1335.737 1337.400 because they heard about us somewhere else, 1337.400 1338.420 in another country. 1338.670 1339.825 ... or they read a book, 1339.825 1342.365 .. uh that talked about Uptown Baptist Church. 1350.330 1351.365 ... God has crea- -- 1351.365 1354.595 also= .. created an prepared you and me, 1355.250 1356.845 ... to be involved in His plan. 1358.610 1361.935 ... First of all He's called us each to a love relationship with Him. 1362.630 1364.805 ... Some of us have accepted that call, 1364.805 1366.580 ... and some .. are still struggling with it. 1367.565 1368.550 ... But still, 1368.550 1371.455 ... He wants to have a love .. relationship, 1371.805 1373.925 .. with each person that is in this room. 1382.090 1384.661 ... He's brought us together from many backgrounds, 1384.661 1386.501 .. many very different backgrounds. 1386.501 1387.785 .. to be a family. 1387.785 1390.967 .. (H) A family of followers ... of Christ. 1393.660 1396.515 ... A family to be involved .. in God's mission. 1398.095 1399.765 ... Building the Kingdom of God. 1404.265 1405.944 ... I was talking to #Greg on Friday. 1405.944 1406.610 #Greg #Gey, 1408.145 1409.199 ... and he was sharing wi- -- 1409.199 1410.786 somehow we got in a conversation, 1410.786 1412.257 and he was saying something about, 1412.257 1415.961 he ... he really needed (Hx) .. intellectual stimulation, 1415.961 1418.200 because he tended to be more intellectual, 1418.200 1420.702 (H) .. and we were talking about why, 1420.702 1422.600 some people were intellectual and some weren't. 1423.570 1426.585 ... And God just ... flashed in my mind. 1426.585 1427.604 And I said #Greg. 1427.604 1428.780 .. You know God, 1429.260 1430.837 ... created you to be intellectual, 1430.837 1433.300 so that you could relate to others who are intellectuals. 1433.300 1435.420 So that you could share %with them on their level. 1435.420 1438.320 (H) Because Go=d didn't create us for our purpose, 1438.320 1440.770 .. God created .. us for His purpose. 1440.770 1442.565 (H) And that's something we have to keep, 1442.565 1443.395 (H) ... in -- 1443.395 1444.270 .. before us. 1444.270 1445.569 .. God has created us, 1445.569 1446.645 m=ade us like we are. 1446.645 1449.490 Allowed us to experience the things that we have experienced. 1449.490 1451.745 (H) ... For his purpose. 1452.585 1454.645 ... And it's for us to= seek Him, 1454.645 1456.550 and to know what His purpose is. 1459.320 1460.900 ... #Papa #Joe has been a, 1460.900 1463.435 .. a very strong influence in this community. 1463.740 1466.150 ... (H) Not because of his education, 1467.855 1470.124 ... his educations came from the streets. 1476.760 1480.390 ... And as he came to ... a relationship with Jesus Christ, 1480.390 1481.685 he came from a background, 1481.685 1483.333 .. that w- had survi=ved, 1483.333 1484.345 from the streets. 1484.340 1487.340 ... (TSK) (H) ... He was an alcoholic. 1488.580 1489.375 ... Now w- how- -- 1489.375 1491.180 why= has God use him. 1491.180 1492.630 ... He wasn't educated, 1493.035 1494.965 ... he didn't go through special training, 1495.965 1497.260 ... it's because, 1497.545 1499.480 ... God prepared him, 1499.480 1501.815 ... with the experience of his life, 1501.815 1506.690 (H) so that he could reach out to other people who are .. going through the same experience. 1507.125 1509.660 ... So you can't say well I don't have an education. 1509.660 1510.207 Or I don't -- 1510.207 1511.132 I can't speak. 1511.132 1512.295 or I can't do this. 1512.295 1514.970 (H) You have to know that whatever .. God has given you, 1514.970 1518.440 Whatever (H) experience that God has brought you through. 1518.440 1520.085 .. That He wants to use it. 1520.500 1521.480 ... To reach people, 1522.350 1523.375 ... for His Kingdom. 1527.625 1529.565 ... The second thing I want us to know, 1530.110 1533.550 ... (H) ... from this st- .. story of Moses, 1533.550 1537.195 is that God reveals His mission ... to His servants. 1529.710 1562.792 >ENV: ((SIREN_BEGINS)) 1539.900 1543.060 DANNY: ... The first that God prepares His servants for His mission, 1543.075 1547.575 ... the second is that God reveals His mission ... to His servants. 1547.955 1550.135 ... We have to go to= Exodus three, 1553.840 1556.530 ... and see how God gets Moses's attention. 1558.375 1559.185 ... (H)