40 years feeding sheep. This is a man who was well trained in all of the knowledge of Egypt. When you read in Acts chapter 7 of his background and all the learning that he was a man mighty in word, a man mighty in deed, he was raised in the palace, he had the best education, and he graduates with his diploma and his job is tending sheep. probably a little overqualified for what he was doing. And he does it for 40 years. And part of that is God's training him to not be self-sufficient. That I really believe Moses thought that the children of Israel would follow him, he's gonna deliver them, he goes out, he kills this Egyptian, he goes out the next day and they say, well, who set you up as the boss? and he goes into the desert for 40 years. And one day he's walking along and he sees this bush on fire and it's not burning up. And he checks his planner and, you know, today is feed sheep. Yesterday was feed sheep. And tomorrow is feed sheep. Says, I think I can watch this bush for a few minutes. I've got a few minutes free, I'm gonna watch. And the Lord confronts him. And in that situation, what we have is Moses offers a number of excuses as to why he is not the person to serve God. You ever felt that way? And it's fascinating to read those because, first of all, he says, who am I? And the Lord does not turn around and say, oh, Moses, don't say that. I made you. You are somebody. Say it 10 times with me. No, the Lord says, I will be with you. Says, Moses is not who you are, it's who I am. And then he comes up with another excuse. He said, well, I really don't have authority. So when I go back and they say, who sent you? What do I say? And the Lord says, tell them I am has sent you. And again, he turns the focus to the Lord. And you see this going on, he's fearful. He says, I'm not talented. The Lord said, well, who made your mouth? I'll give you the words to say. But the verse I want to draw your attention to is in Exodus chapter 4, look at verse 2. So the Lord said to him, what is in your hand? And he said, a rod. A regular shepherd's staff. I mean, this was not an impressive rod. This was just what Moses used every day. And the Lord, when Moses is saying, well, you know, I'm just not the one. I don't have the authority. I don't have the abilities. I don't have any of this going for me. The Lord said, Moses, what's in your hand? And, of course, as you know the story, he says, well, throw it down. But the Lord simply asked Moses to give him what he had. You're gonna be going to different places this summer. You're gonna be involved in church ministry. Some of you, you've got a job lined up, and you're just gonna be faithful, and God's gonna bring people across your path. And you say, well, I just, I really don't have anything. What's in your hand? Will you use what God has given you? You've been equipped this year. You've gone through this year. You've pressed on. Sometimes you probably wondered if you were going to make it. So what's in your hand? Will you give it to the Lord? See, because in all of this, what it really came down to was Moses was struggling with surrender. says, the Lord says, I will teach you. And ultimately, Moses says, well, send somebody else. Because he was struggling with the willingness to be used of the Lord. Don't allow that to be the struggle. But sometimes we wrestle. Say, Lord, I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I want to do that. And I really do wonder for Moses, it's like, OK, you know, I can handle sheep. This rod and sheep seem to work okay, but he's going to go back in and he's going to have to try to lead out people who aren't real surrendered. But the Lord said, Moses, what's in your hand? What's in your hand? Are you willing to give God what you have, your abilities, your talents, your availability? and go and make disciples. Say, well, you know, there are other people who are better trained, they're more articulate, they have abilities, and they have talents that I don't have. No, go make disciples. Just go make disciples. I will be with you, the Lord said. So take what's in your hand, Take the Word of God. We've talked about that in our chapels this week. Take that sword. Set the goals as Pastor Nathan has encouraged you and challenged you. Get into the Word. Don't take a vacation from the Lord. And go and make disciples. Let's pray for one another. but be willing to be used. Isn't it amazing when you look through Scripture and see what God used when people gave it to him? Hannah, who brings a son, says, Lord, use him. And we see what God does with Samuel. David, another shepherd boy, who got pretty good with a sling, but was willing to use it to do major battle because he allowed God to have it. This very poor widow who has two very small coins, but she gives them to the Lord. The little boy with his lunch, just a few loaves, a couple of fish, and he gives them to the Lord. Say, you know, I just don't have that much. What's in your hand? See, in every one of these illustrations, these situations with Moses, Moses kept saying, you know, I'm just not the person for these reasons. And every time the Lord directs the focus back to him. I will be with you. I will go with you. I made your mouth. I will give you the words to speak. I will empower you. Give me what's in your hand. As you go this summer, give God what's in your hand. Be surrendered. Give him your heart. Say, Lord, use me. Use me where I'm serving. Use me in my family. Be an encouragement to your parents. to your siblings. You go home and get involved in your local church. Be an encouragement to your pastor. Don't go home and sit in the pew. That's going to be a discouragement to your church family, and frankly, it's a bad reflection on us, because we're training servants. Go and serve. Your church family's been praying for you. They're excited to see you come home. And they want you to be involved. And you will be an encouragement to the other children, the young people in your church. They look up to you. So what's in your hand? Be used of the Lord. Let's pray for one another. And we look forward to what God is going to do. Share with us testimonies, prayer requests that we can uphold one another. But be willing to be used of God. and we will see the great things that He does, that it truly will be to His glory. Let's pray together and then Dr. Bryson is going to come and lead us in may the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day, that that truly would be the prayer of our heart as we go forth this summer. Lord, we thank you for bringing us to this point. We thank you for a good semester, for the growth the spiritual decisions that have been made, the life decisions that have been made, or the ups and downs that have been teaching times for each of us. Lord, as we have had to rely upon you, and often we wonder, what can we do? Lord, I pray that you'd help each one to be willing to give what is in their hand. their time, their abilities, that they would be available. Or that we would be students of your word. I pray that you would protect our student body, our faculty and staff from the attacks of Satan. As we realize that there is a battle raging, Lord, we pray that we would not hear stories of defeat, but stories of victory. that we would walk close to you each day, that we would ponder and practice biblical principles, that we would be victorious. Lord, that we would live in such a way as to bring honor and glory to you, to hear, well done, because we have used what you have entrusted to us, that which is in our hand. And for this, we'll give you the glory and praise in Jesus' name.