Pastor Jeff on the Radio

Guest (Male): You're listening to Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub with Pastor Jeff Ministries. On today's program, Pastor Jeff begins his message, "God's Powerful Orchestration," from the series Exodus, and shows you how God sovereignly orchestrates every detail of your life to prepare you for the purpose He created you to fulfill.

Our mission is to challenge people to respond to the word of God, and you're in the right place to grow in your walk. We invite you to visit pastorjeff.com, where you'll find a wealth of resources and can sign up for Pastor Jeff's weekly devotional emails delivered right to your inbox. Now, let's hear today's message from the word of God with Pastor Jeff.

Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub: We love to see organizations and teams come together with great success. If we're talking about a team, we love to see a team that comes together and all of a sudden all the parts continue to fire as one, and the team wins a championship, and we love to see that. We love to see it when an organization comes together and does something with excellence. We love it, if we're in drama, when a team comes together and puts on a play, and it's outstanding. We love all of that.

But sometimes we wonder, okay, who's really leading this, and is that person that's leading it that important? How important is the coach to the football team, or how important is the conductor to the orchestra? I was talking to some of our members that are in orchestra and I was asking that question this week. I'm like, is the conductor really that important? Because when I've gone and seen an orchestra, they're passionate, they're flying around, but I think, could I just be up there flailing and all those people are good enough it wouldn't matter anyway?

And they said, no, they're super important. And here's why. Because they've spent time training each of us what our part needs to sound like, and they've brought different instruments out and toned different instruments down, and they're bringing enthusiasm for the whole room. And what's going on that you can't see while the orchestra's playing is they're reminding us of everything that he's been teaching us all along so it comes together as a whole. And for those of you that like the symphony, you'll know that when it all gets put together and all those individual instruments come together, there's a wow factor in when it happens.

But the same is true spiritually. For many of us as Christians, we ask this question all the time: what's God's purpose for my life? Why am I here? What should I be doing? What shouldn't I be doing? I'm kind of frustrated with the whole thing. How do you really know? And today, I want to talk to you about the greatest orchestrator that's ever been. He's the God of the universe, and He's orchestrated everything in your life just for what you need that not only is for you but fits a collective whole that makes this world a better place.

You know, we read in Psalm 139 that every life is fearfully and wonderfully made, that God put that life together in your mother's womb and He knit you together in such a way where you're unique. In Ephesians 2:10, it says that you are God's workmanship. That means you're His masterpiece. We're His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

It means this: God created you, He gave you all your strength, He gave you all your weaknesses. God's decided on the amount of days that you're going to live, and God has orchestrated according to Acts 17 the very times in which you're going to live. So God has destiny and purpose for you, and yet for many of us, we wonder, okay, what is it? Let me in on it. I just want to know. If you've ever wanted to know how God wants to use your life or how God is using your life in a special way, I believe that God has a word for you today.

I want to encourage you to open your Bibles up to Exodus chapter two. And as you're turning to Exodus chapter two, I want to remind you of where we've been. Because in Exodus chapter one, we saw the Israelites in plight, in slavery. And the more they began to serve God, the more difficult it became for them. As a matter of fact, the Pharaoh made their labor harder. And as we left off in chapter one, you'll remember that because of the Pharaoh's great fear of Israel, what he decided to do was to tell the Hebrew midwives, "Hey, when the Hebrew ladies give birth, if it's a baby girl, let her live. If it's a boy, kill it. Throw it in the Nile, drown that baby."

They didn't listen. So he made an edict to the entire nation, letting them know that when the baby girls were born, okay, but when the baby boys were born, they're to be drowned. That's where our story left off. It looked bleak. Sometimes in our life, situations look bleak, don't they? Sometimes we look around our world and we say it looks bleak, it looks hopeless. The government doesn't seem to be on God's side, they're not helping us. The educational system doesn't seem to be on our side, it's not helping us. Look at our economy, it's not as strong as it once was. We see all these things in the news, and then we begin to think, where is God? Have you ever wondered where is God? I got good news for you: He's as alive as He's ever been and He's still orchestrating all of the events that are taking place.

And so when our story left off last week, it's left us in a bleak place, and so we get to Exodus chapter two. God has just told us through His word that when baby boys are born, they're to be killed. Notice how chapter two starts off. "Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi." The Levites were the priestly house that led the worship. It said, "The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months." Now, it doesn't mean that when the baby was born, she saw him and if he was ugly, she was going to discard of him.

It means she saw him and she's like, "It's a boy, it's my boy." It's like every mother when they see their child for the first time. "This is my son" or "this is my daughter." When she saw the child, she had to hide him. Why did she have to hide him? Because all baby boys were to be killed. She knew she had to hide him, she hid him for three months. Why? Because even though the government said you should kill your boy, she said, "This is my son. God gave me this son. I'm hiding him." So she hides him for three months, and notice verse three.

"But when she could hide him no longer..." Babies grow, don't they? Babies make sounds, babies are difficult to hide. "When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile." Now, covering this in tar and pitch, this is the same pitch that was used to create the ark. When Noah created the ark, he covered it in tar and pitch which saved them from the waters. This is the same type of thing that's happening here. This wicker basket's being covered because it's going to save him from the water.

Why? Because Moses was to be dumped into the water, instead he's going to be protected from it. They put him in the banks of the Nile. And it says this: that Moses' sister, his older sister, stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. Now, providentially, here's what happens in verse five. Notice what happens. "The daughter of Pharaoh," the one who's issued the edict that all baby boys should be killed, "she came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her."

So providentially, here's what happens. Moses' mother decides, "I've got to save my son. There's no way I can hide him anymore." She takes a wicker basket, covers it in tar, places him in the Nile so that it's floating among the bank among the reeds, and there he is, and just so happens that at that time, Pharaoh's daughter comes down to bathe, her maidens are walking along the shore while she takes her bath. She sees the basket, she says, "Bring that to me."

So that's exactly what happened. They brought it to her, and in verse six, "When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying." Now, do you think that Pharaoh's daughter is aware of the edict that her dad has made for the entire nation for Hebrew boys? One hundred percent she is. So she opens this basket, she sees this boy, what should she do if she's going to obey her dad? Take the basket and turn it upside down and let him float to his death.

But that's not what happens. It says when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying, and she had pity. That's the word compassion. That means she saw a need and she's going to do something about it. Jesus lived with pity, He lived with compassion. When He saw a need, He did something about it. She said, "This is one of the Hebrew children." She knew who it was, she knew what the laws of the land were, and yet she says this, "This is one of the Hebrew children."

"Then his sister," Moses' older sister who's been standing on the bank, "said to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?' Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Go ahead.' So the girl went and called the child's mother." Do you see the irony here? Moses' mother sets Moses in the bank because after three months she can't hide him anymore. The Pharaoh's daughter comes to bathe, the one who's the daughter of the king who's issued the edict to kill all the baby boys.

She sees the basket, says "What is this?" They bring her the basket, she opens it up, she sees the baby boy crying and said, "This is a Hebrew baby boy." At which time Moses' sister over here says, "Hey, shall I go call one of the Hebrew women to nurse him?" She said, "Yeah, that'd be a good idea." So she goes and says, "Mom, can you nurse my brother?" Is God providential or what? Now check this out, it gets even better.

"Then Pharaoh's daughter said, 'Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him." Moses' sister says, "Mom, come here." Mom comes, she's like, "Hey, can you nurse this boy?" She says "Yeah." She's like, "Okay, I'll pay you to do that." So not only is his life going to be spared and Moses' mother is the one who's going to nurse him, but she's going to get paid to do that. And Moses is going to be with her until he's weaned, which at that time would have been about the age of three or four.

So the mother is going to get to pour into him everything for those first three years. And all of us know, if you've studied anything about raising children, those first years have so much to do with the development of a child. And here Moses' mother is the one that's going to get to do that. And it says in verse 10, "The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son; and she named him Moses, because she said, 'I drew him out of the water.'" Moses literally means to draw out of the water. Pharaoh's daughter is now claiming a Hebrew boy as her own son. Do you see any irony here? I mean, here's the first thing you need to understand: that God orchestrates the unique pathway for your purpose.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Pastor Jeff Ministries and today's message, "God's Powerful Orchestration," from the series Exodus, showing you how God sovereignly orchestrates every detail of your life to prepare you for the purpose He created you to fulfill.

We'll get back to Pastor Jeff in just a moment, but first, generous listeners like you make this ministry possible. And when you give this month to share teachings like the one you're hearing today with more people around the world, we'll send you 21 Days of Power: Becoming a Person of Prayer, Faith, and Fire to help you begin 2026 with a posture of radical dependence through fasting, scripture, and heartfelt prayer. It's a perfect pairing for Pastor Jeff's Lifeline series this month. Request your copy today when you give to Pastor Jeff Ministries. Just go to pastorjeff.com. Now, let's get back to Pastor Jeff for the conclusion of today's message.

Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub: God always orchestrates the unique pathway for your purpose. Now check this out, I love this. When we left off, we saw what Satan was doing: he was trying to kill all the baby boys. Let me just tell you something about Satan. Satan can never, ever stop the work of God. Did you know that? No matter who Satan tries to influence, Satan never has the last word. Satan can't stop the work of God. God is sovereignly at work all the time.

Now check this out, I love this. The king feared the Hebrews so much that he made an edict to the Hebrew midwives saying, "You have to kill all your baby boys when they're born." They didn't listen, so he made an edict to the nation that said all Hebrew baby boys that are born need to be killed. That's where our story left off. It's bleak. The government is against Israel. God says, "Really, that's the way you want to play it? Okay."

God orchestrated in such a way that He said, not only will a Hebrew boy be born to lead, but you will raise him in your own house. Is God awesome or what? I mean, it's interesting that this king is so fearful that the Hebrews are going to rise up and turn against him that he wants all the boys to be killed, and so God says, "Seriously, that's the way you want to play? I'm going to let him be raised in your house. The very one that's going to deliver them all, you're going to raise him. You're going to feed him, you're going to take care of him, you're going to be the one that provides for him."

That's how God works. God is always working to orchestrate the pathway for your purpose. It means this: who were you born to? What blessings were you given? What things didn't you have? What things did you have to struggle for? God brought you into this world with the parents He gave you at the time He gave you for good, bad, or indifferent all because He's using all of that for your purpose and your destiny.

And yet for many of us, because we compare ourselves to this idealistic, here's what it means to be a perfect Christian world, that we look at other people and we say, well, I didn't have these parents and I didn't have these teachers and I didn't have these coaches and I didn't have this and God must have forgot about me and how come I'm not going to ever be like them because... That's the wrong way to view it. If you view it from God's perspective, God gave you everything you need to fulfill the destiny He has for you.

Is that good news or what? I mean, God has providentially brought you into this world and He says this as He looks at each one of you: "You're my masterpiece. When I created you, I was up in heaven saying, whoa, check this out." He made you male or He made you female. He brought you into the world the way that He wanted you to be in the world to create you, and the first part of your life are those formative years that He was forming things for you to be able to see the world clearly through your lens.

And the older you get and the more you look back on it, the more you'll realize that was God. And instead of complaining for maybe what you didn't have, if you start thanking God for what you did have, you'll see things with that lens and you'll give praise to God for what He did. My mom tells the story all the time about how when I was five years old, had a choice to go to the public school down the street or a Lutheran grade school down the street the other way.

And my mom says she had prayed and prayed, and we didn't go to a Lutheran church, we went to a Methodist church, which meant they would have to pay tuition to send me to this Lutheran school. And wouldn't you know it, they didn't have any room. I was on a waitlist. And on the Thursday before school started on a Monday right before kindergarten, the principal called my mom and said, "Mrs. Schwarzentraub, if you'd like to enroll your son, we have one space available for him to go to our school."

And my mom prayed about it with my dad and they placed me in that school. Now for me, I look back and say when I was five years old, one of my favorite classes was religion class. One of my favorite things to do was learn Bible verses. That's where my theological education began at the age of five. Was that an accident or was God providentially moving on my parents' heart to place me in a school where I could begin my theological education at the age of five? I think it was the latter.

When I think back about my parents, my mom who is the most driven person that I know who told me I could do everything, just go live your dreams, and my dad who is the most shepherding, kind, laid-back person I know, God used both of them in my life in different seasons to help grow who I was. And guess where I was born? You probably all want to visit there on your next vacation: Peoria, Illinois. I'm sure it's on your list.

It's really interesting because when I study my history and I know what Peoria, Illinois is like, it's not a place that you're going to want to come visit. You might drive through it sometime if you're on Interstate 74 and that's about it. But here's what I can tell you about it: it's a test market for everything. Before any company sends out a product, they always bring it to Peoria first. They say if you can play in Peoria, you can play anywhere.

And the reason they say stuff like that is as I think back about my neighborhood we had the Lutheran family across the street, the Catholic family catty-corner, the Jews right next to us, we went to a Methodist church, there were Democrats, there were Republicans, there were independents, everybody thought differently about everything and yet we all played baseball together and all got along. Do you know what that taught me at a young age? You don't have to think like everybody else and you can still be civil towards people.

Isn't that interesting? That's where I grew up. That's how God taught me some of those lessons. As I grew and God used me as an evangelist, I've been in every kind of church you can imagine. I've been in Pentecostal churches where after the service people are slain in the spirit, they're falling down, they're covering them up if women are wearing dresses so you can't look up their dress. I've been in churches where they don't believe the Holy Spirit really exists anymore even though they say that He does.

I've been in every kind of church, big, small, whatever, and here's what I see: there are genuine people in almost every church that love the Lord Jesus Christ. Why has God given me that experience? Because He wanted me to see the world clearly through my lens. What has God done with you? You see the world clearly through your lens. There's certain things that rise up in you because of your foundation. And God is the one that orchestrated that and God is the one that's wanting to use that.

Why was it that Moses was born a Jew in a time where baby boys shouldn't even live and then be raised in Pharaoh's house? Could it be that God had a plan for his life that He was trying to build something into Moses for a greater purpose than Moses even knew? One hundred percent, yes. And the reality is He's done the same in your life. Christian, listen to me.

Instead of complaining about the hurt and the pains and the heartaches that you went to, start thanking God that He was sovereignly working through all those to give you a crystal clear lens that's going to help in your destiny to help other people see things clearly the way that you do. Amen? And this is what I think, too. I mean, I think back... was God using Moses at his birth? Was God doing something significant in him? Was God doing something in me at the age of five? Yeah.

So please don't tell me that God doesn't use kids ministry or God doesn't use student ministry. Most of the people that will come to Christ will do so before the age of 13. Is it important that we pour the life of Christ into our young people? One hundred percent, absolutely, yes. Because God is already starting that work. He's done it in your life, however old you are, that's when He started the work in your life. When He was knitting you together in your mother's womb and He was orchestrating a pathway for your purpose.

Chapter two verses one through 10 in the book of Exodus give me goosebumps. What the world says won't happen and God says, "Oh yeah? Watch this. Let me show you how awesome I am." When the world says that you won't be something, God says, "I created you for divine purpose. I put you in all the circumstances that I put you in because I have a pathway for your purpose." God orchestrates the unique pathway for your purpose. Number two is this: God orchestrates the unique design for your calling. The unique design for your calling.

Notice verse 11. Now we're fast-forwarding about 36 or 37 years here. Moses is about the age of 40 when this takes place. Now sometimes we read the Bible like, what happened? Like where'd he go to grade school and where'd he go to high school and what kind of grades did he get? We ask the same questions about Jesus and we don't get a lot of information about his childhood. Luke and Matthew tell us about his birth and that's about it, then he's 30.

The other two gospels, he starts at 30. Why? Because the Bible wants to highlight what's most significant. Someday when we get to heaven we can ask Moses about his education in Pharaoh's home, but the Bible's not as concerned with that as it is with telling us about what was going on in his heart at the age of 40. Notice verse 11. It says, "Now it came about in those days when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren." Notice how it talks about Israel, the Hebrews, as his brothers.

"And looked on their hard labors, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren." I mean, it's repeating it here. Moses looked on their hard labor and here's why he looked on it: because he wasn't a slave, he was living in the palace. He knew he had been born a Hebrew. His mom for the first three or four years of his life was rooting into him all that he was as a child of God, all that he was as a child of Yahweh, who was the God that their family served.

He understood Israel to be his brethren. And he comes out at the age of 40 and he sees all the slavery and here's what he notices on that specific day. There's an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and he views that as if you're beating one of his very own brothers. Notice what happens next. Verse 12. It says, "So he looked this way and that." Now that doesn't mean he was learning to cross the street and was doing like this and this.

It means he was looking around to see is anybody else looking because of what I'm about ready to do? Because I'm going to take this guy out. And notice there, he looked this way and that when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. So what'd he do? He has on his heart that he's a deliverer even though he's still walking in the flesh and he's not doing it God's way. He strikes down the Egyptian and then he realizes, uh-oh, I just killed an Egyptian. That's not good.

So what's he do? He buries him in the sand. How good's that going to work? How many of you know that the Bible says that your sin will find you out? Even when you try to cover up your sin, it still comes up. I've had my kids ask me from time to time, we'll be talking about something, they'll say this, "Dad, what if you never find out about it?" At which time I'll lay my hand on whatever kid said that and I'll say, "Dear Jesus, I pray that whatever sin my child sins, that you would make it known to not only me but everybody in authority over them."

And they hate that prayer. But the fact is you can't hide your sin because it's like a beach ball under the water. You can put it down for a while but it just keeps... eventually it's going to come up, right? So Moses kills the Egyptian, hides him in the sand. It's not going to go well. Notice what happens next. It says this in verse 13. "He went out the next day; and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other, and he said to the offender, 'Why are you striking your companion?'"

Now two Hebrews are fighting. He's like, "Guys, guys, we're brothers, we're family. Why are you doing this to one another?" It's parents telling your kids, "Why are you fighting with each other? We're family, right? Why are we fighting with each other? We're in the church together. Why are we... we're together." And what's he get back? "Who made you prince or judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"

Then Moses was afraid and said, "Surely this matter has become known." So he goes out, he sees two Hebrews fighting the next day and he's like, "Hey, we're on the same team here. Like why are you guys fighting with each other?" Can I just tell you this? Sometimes other people see your divine calling before you ever see it in yourself.

Guest (Male): Thanks for listening today. That was Pastor Jeff with his message, "God's Powerful Orchestration," from the series Exodus, showing you how God sovereignly orchestrates every detail of your life to prepare you for the purpose He created you to fulfill.

Thanks for joining us for today's program. Quick reminder before you go. When you give a gift to support Pastor Jeff Ministries today, we'll thank you by sending a copy of 21 Days of Power: Becoming a Person of Prayer, Faith, and Fire. This is more than a devotional. It's a 21-day journey into God's presence designed to ignite a personal revival. So request your copy today at pastorjeff.com when you give to help others experience God's presence, peace, and power. That's pastorjeff.com. We'll see you next time.