Hello and welcome to the second in our series in the book of Exodus. We're in Exodus chapter 2. Have your Bible ready if you can. Well, reading in chapter 2 of the book of Exodus, it says here that it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren and looked on their burdens, and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. Notice two references here. to his brethren and their burden. Obviously, he was concerned about it. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no man, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together, and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou killest the Egyptian? And Moses feared and said, Surely this thing is known. Now Moses got a little bit ahead of God. God has a training program here for Moses. It's going to take him 40 years to train Moses. And none of us want, you know, we've said many times in this broadcast, God's never in a hurry, he's never late. I'm usually always in a hurry and always late. But here's Moses, he's in a hurry. He's got it in his heart, he wants to do something for his brethren, and that's commendable, but he is running ahead of God. And so he says here in verse number 15, now, when Pharaoh heard this thing, it says, he sought to slay Moses, But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well." Well, it's been quite a first night out, quite a bit different from the palace. Now we find him here, and he's from the wealth of Egypt, sitting on a well in the wilderness, and maybe he's contemplating a little bit if he did the right thing. verse 16 says now the priest of midian had seven daughters and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock and the shepherds came and drove them away but moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock now here's a man with some character He's going to do right at any cost. He stands alone here against these shepherds. It's not right. Come in here and do this. And when he sees something that isn't right, it's in his character to fix it. Well, God has a training program, as we mentioned, and it's beginning right now. Moses didn't take too long to get him out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of Moses. Now, he had been taught, Acts 7 and 22 tells us that Moses had learned, he was learned in the ways of the Egyptians. Now, Egyptians' wisdom is no good in God's work. The Bible says in Isaiah 55 verse number 8, God says here, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Now Moses, he's going to settle in here. What he does, he gets kind of comfortable here in family life. It says in verse 18, And when they came to rule their father, he said, how is it that you're come so soon today? And they said, an Egyptian, not an Egyptian, but he looked like one, an Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and also drew water enough for us and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him that he may eat bread. And Moses was content, it says, he was content to dwell with the man, and he gave him Zephora his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger In a strange land. Well in 23 we read it came to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and they cried and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And he looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Now in chapter three, we get to verse one here, and there's a focus on the fact that Moses is looking after sheep. It says, Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, And he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even unto Horeb. Now there's some very important things in this little verse. First of all, Moses is keeping the flock. The Bible says in Genesis 46 in verse number 34, every shepherd is an abomination under the Egyptians. Keep in mind that he has been taught and has been learned all the ways of the Egyptians. now he's out here and he is looking after some sheep he kept the flock verse number one he led the flock verse number one and then not only to the desert but to the back side of the desert and it says he came to the mountain of god that is very important Very important, the mountain of God, a particular place. Well, here we have Moses on the backside of the desert looking after sheep, an abomination to the Egyptians. Now, here's the lesson. If you care what the world thinks about you, you're disqualified from God's service. It's just that simple. Well, he kept the flock, he led the flock to the backside of the desert, he's at the mountain of God. What a tremendous contrast we have here to the palace where he was living not too long ago. Here in the wilderness, the backside of the desert, at the mountain of God, There's no Egyptian influence. There's no Egyptian peer pressure. There's no peer pressure from anybody. He's out there with a handful of sheep. He's not worrying about, what will people think about me now? This is where God needed to get Moses as part of his training program. What will people think about me? You know, we worry too much about that some years ago. When I was traveling, I was going from coast to coast on a regular basis here in Canada, and I had a pastor contact me one time and he asked me this question, what do pastors in Canada think about me? And I told him, I hate to burst your bubble, but they're not thinking about you at all. We get too concerned about what people think about us. And if you're going to be concerned about what people think about us, then we're disqualified from God's service. It's just that simple. Well, we got Moses. He's been 40 years out here. in the wilderness, and it says in Isaiah 28 and 16, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. You know, we want to get things done in a hurry. Now, God always has a wilderness training school. for those that he wants to use. And he doesn't give us much information about what went on. John the Baptist, he was out in God's wilderness school, and we don't have any information about what he learned. Paul went to Arabia. Joseph spent 22 years in God's training program. Moses spent 40 years. Maybe he's a slow learner. I don't know. But in any event, There's nothing said. It's too personal a record. God doesn't give us what he teaches these people during that time, but he prepares them for his service. Now, we said it's important, this reference to the mountain of God, back here in the book of Exodus, when God wanted to meet with Moses and tell him what he wanted to do concerning Israel, he met with him on that specific mountain. In Acts chapter 9, after Paul, who was called Saul at the first there, you remember, he got saved, and God was going to use him, and he will send Paul to that same mountain, the same mountain, to give him instructions concerning what needs to be done in the local church age. A careful study of when Moses met on that mountain with the Lord, it was Christ that he met with back there in the Old Testament, and with Paul, it was Christ that he met with on the mountain. Now, we're going to switch over to Acts chapter 9 here for a little bit. It's important to make the comparison here of these two men. In Acts chapter 9, in verse number 3, as he, that is Paul, journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the bricks. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Now, he's going to get some directions here as to what he should do. Now, God's training program for Paul. Like Moses, Paul will spend time in God's wilderness school. Like Moses, Paul will become an abomination in the eyes of those who were once his companions. Like Moses, Paul will meet with God and get instructions concerning how things ought to be done, and he will meet on the same mountain where the Lord met with Moses. And so we read in verse 7 of Acts chapter 9 and the men, which journeyed with him, stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul rose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus, and he was three days without sight, neither did he eat or drink. In verse 18 it says, And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. When he had received the meat, he was strengthened. Then Saul saw certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. What an amazing change! We're going to start here and look at a very important timeline in the life of Paul the Apostle. First of all, he went to Damascus, the Bible says, looking for any this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. Second, he met Christ. It says, as he journeyed, he came near Third, he met with Ananias and received his sight, and the Bible says in verse 17 he was filled with the Holy Ghost. Then we read he was certain days at Damascus. We read then Saul was certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus, and verse 20 says straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. In verse 22, it says, Saul confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ. And then we read, he continued preaching for many days, and many days were fulfilled, and the Jews took counsel to kill him. Well, in verse 25, we read, he escaped for his life. It says there that then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket, he went then to Arabia and then back to Damascus. And he tells us about that in Galatians 1, verse 17. He says, neither went I up to Jerusalem, to them which were apostles before me, but I went unto Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Now, three years in Damascus, Three years he spent there, and then he went to Jerusalem. In Galatians 1 and 18, he tells us that. He said, then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him fifteen days. What an interesting fifteen days that must have been. Well, in Acts chapter 9 verse 26, it tells us Saul came to Jerusalem. He assuaged to join himself to the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas, thank God for Barnabas, he took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Now, we're going to have to pick this up in our broadcast again tomorrow. Be sure and tune in as we look at this timeline and compare him with Moses. It's an interesting study. Be sure and tune in. We'll try to make it plain, and we will try to make it simple.