Richard Ellis Talks

Richard Ellis: What's your excuse? "Oh, I was going to do such and such for God, but He made me mad, so I'm out. I'm done with that crazy God. He didn't do what He was supposed to do. He was too mean to me." Like three-year-olds. "He didn't have the right to do that. It's not fair." God can do whatever He wants to do. He's God.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. Richard's style is unlike anyone else's, where he shares the life-changing message of the gospel in a way that's real, refreshing, focused, and fun. We know that life is pretty challenging these days, but these talks will help you meet those challenges head-on with biblical truth, encouragement, and direction.

Now, if you're not able to stick around with us for all of today's talk, you can always listen to, download, and even share this entire message with a friend right from our website, RichardEllis.com. So, let's jump right in with today's talk. Here is Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today's message is "Holy Moses." Moses, if you want to just put these things in your Bible, highlight this. Exodus chapter two, and I'm going to just jump through a bunch of stuff here, so don't think we're going to read all of this. But in Exodus chapter two, Moses gets born.

If you know anything about the Bible, maybe you don't much, but Moses is the guy that was born and the Pharaoh wanted all the little kids—there were too many people, too many slaves at least. And any little boys born, kill them or throw them in the river was the specific instruction. Well, the parents hid him for a while and then technically did what they were supposed to, but they just built a little ark out of bulrushes, put tar on it, and put the baby in the river, in the ark, though.

Pharaoh's daughter found him. Long story short, she says, "Well, I'll take him in, find somebody to nurse him." Well, oddly enough, the mom had milk, so imagine that. So, bring the mom in, and Moses is saved. Moses grows up in Pharaoh's house, 40 years there, probably 20 years getting an education, maybe another 20 fighting battles, military kind of stuff.

But he learns all the Pharaoh stuff, all the Egypt stuff, and ends up killing some guy trying to protect the Hebrew people where he came from. That was his people. He runs away, ends up out in the desert for 40 years, then God shows up. This is the guy at the burning bush. He's told by God, "Let my people go. Go to the Pharaoh." All these miracles happen.

They leave, they sin, 40 years in the wilderness, they're stuck out there. They get the Ten Commandments out of him. He's the one that builds the Tabernacle, basically God's mobile home in the desert. Before the Temple was born, there was a Tabernacle. Anyhow, Moses is a pretty big dude in the Bible. But let me take you to Exodus chapter 17, and I'm going to highlight just a couple of things that happened—maybe two or three things that happened to Moses and explain to you where we're going a little bit.

Let's start in Exodus chapter 17 and verse one. "Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people contended with Moses and said, 'Give us water that we may drink.' So Moses said to them, 'Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?'"

"And again the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, 'Why is it that you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?' So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.' And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go.'"

"Look at verse six. 'Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'"

What was the problem with the complaint, first of all? This is to me, to you, to us. What are you thinking? What are we thinking? Look at what God has done for us. These people have been in Egypt for 400-and-something years. Finally, God sends Moses a deliverer. Crazy, miraculous stuff happens. He gets them out of there, plunders the Egyptians, takes all their stuff. They get out and you think, "Well, He brought us out here to die of thirst."

Why would He have gone through all of that trouble to dump you in the desert? Of course He's going to provide you something to drink. But here they are. God's left us. Why would you tempt God with these stupid complaints? Why do we do this to God? And Moses is getting frustrated. "What do I do?" He says, "I'll literally go stand before you there on the rock. Hit the rock, water will come out of it, and the people will drink." And once again, they'll see something miraculous.

Was God going to provide water anyway? Absolutely. But He keeps having to show up and prove to us over and over and over again. What more do we need more than Jesus, God in the flesh, coming, living a sinless life, dying on a cross, being buried and raised from the dead? What do you need more than that to prove that He loves you? But we forget. God hasn't done anything for me lately.

Numbers 20. Turn over there. Numbers chapter 20 and let's start with verse one again here. Different story, sounds very similar. You'll see the differences. "Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there." Miriam is Aaron's sister.

"Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying, 'If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.'"

"So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the rod...'" Look at these instructions. Same thing as before, but a little tweak here. "'Take the rod, you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together...'" and the simple words in verse eight, "'speak to the rock.'"

What did He tell him before? The first time it was strike the rock. You say, "Dude, you need to get out more. You're reading, you're dissecting the Bible too much." You're about to see how dissecting the Bible and paying attention can make all the difference. "Take the rod, you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together, speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water. Thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock and give drink to the congregation and their animals."

So Moses took the rod before the Lord as He commanded him. Verse 10. "And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them..." Now, I don't know where all this came from, but this is where it gets wacky. Moses reacts to what they've done instead of responds as a leader, and here's where it falls apart. He says to the people, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?"

Now, who's with him? Aaron. Now he starts talking about, "Are we going to have to bring water out of this rock for you?" He's angry, he's upset. Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. You say, "Well, all's well and good. It worked out." Not so much for Moses.

Look at verse 12. "Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore...'" and this is one of the most amazing, astonishing, sad in some ways verses you'll ever read in the Bible, this little phrase. Verse 12. "'...you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'"

What was his punishment for, instead of speaking to a rock, hitting it twice? His trip would end at some point and everything that God had used him to get them out of Egypt, take them through this wilderness, and he was, as far as we know up to this point, he was the one going to take them into the Promised Land. And because he just didn't speak to the rock—he struck it twice in anger—it's over.

Now, why am I reading you this story? A couple of things, and I'll read you some more what Moses said later. It is very important for you to know what God says, and it is very important for you to do what God says. And if He hasn't come after you severely as He did Moses in this case, it is only because of His mercy and He doesn't think you're at a place where you could handle what He could do to you. And in this case, in Moses' life, very severe on a technicality it would seem.

You say, "Well, I'm doing all kinds of junk and I'm getting away with everything. I don't know what you're talking about." I believe the margins come in. If you go back and read in Exodus chapter four when God even picks Moses, when He comes after Moses and says, "Burning bush," starts talking to him, does some miraculous things—put his hand in his deal, it comes out leprous, put it back in, it comes out; throw your rod down, it turns to a snake, pick it up.

He's doing wild stuff showing Moses. Tell them the "I Am that I Am" sent you. There's no way Moses cannot believe. But in Exodus chapter four, "Then Moses said to the Lord, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'" God's picked him, said, "Here's all the stuff you'll need." He said, "Oh, I couldn't do that, couldn't possibly be me. I'm not a good speaker."

And look at verse 11. "So the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.'" No excuses, just do it. But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." You need to get somebody else.

And look at verse 14. "So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and He said, 'Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people, and he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall do the signs.'"

Because Moses wouldn't trust Him, believe it, he had a whole other person put between Moses and the people. Now, the reason I read you all that is in verse 14, it says the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. What was the consequence? It wasn't as severe as it was where I just read that he wouldn't lead the people into the Promised Land, because the stakes get higher.

When you're disciplining a two-year-old, you don't do the same thing to a two-year-old that you do to a 12-year-old. The stakes are higher and you have to put things in place to slow people down. It gets higher and higher, the price gets more expensive all the time. Now go down to verse 22 of Numbers chapter 20.

"Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 'Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son, for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.'"

Verse 27. "So Moses did just as the Lord commanded." You think he's learned his lesson? "And they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain and they moved on."

I'm going to interject something here that I think is astonishing. If you're Moses and you've lived 40 years in Egypt, you've lived 40 years in the wilderness, God's talked you into this "let my people go" thing. You go see Pharaoh, you get all these people, and from the get-go they're a bunch of complaining, sorry, who knows what? "Why did you take us out here to die? It's horrible." It's a terrible bunch of people to lead.

He gets out there, and because he hits a rock on a bad day, hits it twice, he didn't speak to the rock—give him a break. Now he can't go into the Promised Land with them. And now his buddy Aaron is dead. You know what we might do, what I might do? Quit. You can have them. You're too hard. It's not fair. This is ridiculous. You can't pull my number, tell me I can't go in just because I hit a rock a couple of times. Are you nuts, God?

I was going to ask this at the end, but I'm going to go ahead and ask it now. What's your excuse? "Oh, I was going to do such and such for God, but He made me mad, so I'm out. I'm done with that crazy God. He didn't do what He was supposed to do. He was too mean to me." Like three-year-olds. "He didn't have the right to do that. It's not fair." God can do whatever He wants to do. He's God.

See, we hate this crap with our kids, then don't be your kids with God. I don't like that. I don't want to eat that. I don't want to go there. It's too hot. It's too cold. I want some more ketchup. You see, we think it's all funny until they're doing it. Shut up, sit down, eat your food. See, part of the reason God gives us children is so that we'll understand what He puts up with us every day.

What is your excuse? "Well, I was on a great path and I did something wrong and God smacked my hand and I didn't like it and so I'm out. I quit. I'm going to do what I want to do the way I want to do it and if God doesn't like it, tough." You know, not tough on God, tough on you. You flipped off the God of the universe. How's that working out for you?

Now, here's what hit me hard about this man Moses. It tells me something about who he is and who this God is and the relationship that they had, that he, in spite of finding out because I hit a rock twice I'm not taking the people into the Promised Land, but you know what? I'm taking them as far as I can.

And until I do die and God pulls my number, I'm going as far as He tells me to take them because my job is to do that. Whether I'm disappointed or not, whether I've done something stupid or not, whether something bad has happened to me or not, my job is to do my job. You say, "Well, I don't like what happened to me." You're going to have to get over it or you're screwing up the only life you've got with your whining and moaning and complaining, and God wants to use you in spite of what you've done.

So you're divorced, get over it! What are you going to do to change it? So somebody died and you're angry, you can't bring them back from the dead! You say, "But you haven't named my thing yet." Then why don't you name it? Why don't you tell God what it is? He knows anyway. "You know what, God? I shut down because of this. Because I did something and now I'm a failure and now I can't finish."

Who says you can't finish? You know what I love watching? I love watching these NBA games, especially basketball, because you can foul out of a basketball game. You want to find out something about a basketball player when he fouls out, he's still up on his feet cheering the bunch who's still in the game on because he's still on the team. He's not sitting on his butt with a towel over his head or in the locker room, "Well, I fouled out, I'm out." He's still on the team. You're still on the team! I don't care what you've done or what's happened to you. You're either going to do the deal that God left you here—if He's so done with you, why are you still breathing? If there's breath, there's hope. There is a reason.

And you say, "But you don't know how bad I failed." You know what, I can read you for hours and hours, the biggest screwups on the planet made the Bible! All right, now keep tracking with me on Moses. Deuteronomy 32, and let's jump down to verse 44. And you've got to read 32:1-43 because Moses writes this song.

It's just astonishing. He got disciplined, but he kept moving. And look at what he says in verse 44. "So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel." Notice something else that's happened here without you seeing it. Moses lost his blanky. Aaron died. Now how's Moses going to talk to these people? He's got to suck it up and get over it.

Not only is he not going to the Promised Land, now he can't tell Aaron to tell the people what's going on, and he's got to get over his fear and get up and tell them himself. Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, and he said to them—now look at this. This is a man about to go out and this is how he finishes. "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe."

He learned something about carefully observing. When God says something specific, you better pay attention and do what He says. You say, "Oh, we got close." Close doesn't work. "All the words of this law." Verse 47. "For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess." Pay attention to these words. You're going to need them. Your life is at stake.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, "Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people..."

And then He tacks this on: "...because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel." And in case you're about to complain why you're not going in, I'm going to remind you you did not do what I told you to do.

I have stood on Mount Nebo. One of the popes showed up there years ago and they built some little platform you can go up on. You drive up to this—it's not like a 30,000-foot mountain, but it's a pretty high spot. You can stand on this platform and you can look across the valley. You can see Jericho, and you can see the hills—Israel on the other side.

And Moses went up somewhere near that very same spot and looked across that valley and saw it but never got to enter it because he hit a rock twice when he was supposed to speak to it. Now you say, "Well, God's merciful. Big deal. We got grace, we got Jesus, it's all cool, right?" He's still a holy God, and He means what He says when He says it. And there is consequence.

And if I went row by row, seat by seat, started with me, and said, "What has been the consequence of your sin? Was it worth it?" I promise you, no, no, no. Did God bring good from it? Maybe yes, yes, yes. Are you making up all excuses why you can't go on? In a lot of cases, yes. But a lot of people keep moving because God is a God of mercy and works in spite of this. But if you haven't screwed up your whole life yet, you don't have to join the ranks. Why don't you prove God right and obey Him and trust Him?

Now, I am going to take a minute and read you one of the coolest things to me in all the Bible. And one of the places this is mentioned is in Luke chapter nine. So go to the New Testament. This is Jesus on the planet, Jesus with His disciples, way down the road, hundreds of years down the road.

Luke chapter nine, verse 28. "Now it came to pass, about eight days after these things, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah..."

"...who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'—not knowing what he said."

"While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen."

Now here's what's cool. Moses dies. Jesus is still in heaven. Moses knows Jesus. Jesus on the earth, Mount of Transfiguration is what we call it, and Moses sets foot on the Promised Land just like that. And they talk about Him dying and what's about to happen in Jerusalem, His decease. Even in heaven, they knew what was coming. At least Moses and Elijah did.

Now, this stuff to me is extraordinary because from my perspective, it is the mercy of God even after death when Moses got to stand here. He didn't get to take them in, God told him that, but he did get to go, if only for a moment.

Now let me go back to my question. What is your excuse? What has happened to you? What have you done that is so screwed up the world and your life that you will not let go of it for the glory of God? And you will pay, your family will pay, and all the people that could be impacted by your life will pay because you refuse to let go and just get on with it. Think about that.

Guest (Male): Before Richard comes back to wrap things up for us today, I'd like to share a couple of important things with you. Let me encourage you to take a minute and check out our website, RichardEllis.com. You'll find today's talk right there in the talks page, along with all of Richard's audio and video messages. You can even forward them to a friend so they can hear them too.

You'll also find the prayer wall to add your prayer requests, a link so you can connect with us, the contribute page for you to be able to give to this ministry, all of our social media links, and much more. So check it out, RichardEllis.com. And Richard's back now to wrap up today's talk.

Richard Ellis: Let us pray. And our Father, I thank You for Your word and I thank You for these men who looked like they had reason to be finished, but finished anyway. Father, no matter what we have done, what we have brought on ourselves, or even what You have allowed, we cannot control these things, Father. We cannot change the past.

We can only make decisions about our future and about today. And I pray for people that are holding onto stuff, big stuff, heavy stuff, simple stuff in Moses' case, just simply not doing what he was told, but he knew better, Lord, and we know better. God, help us do whatever we can while we can in spite of the screwups of our lives and finish what it is You've put us here to do, and use even our disobedience, if that's what it is, to teach others and to go on and live as You intended, aware that every word counts and obedience bears fruit.

And Father, for those today that need courage, that need strength, that need hope, that think it is all lost and that there's no way You could use them anymore, I pray that You'd give them a glimpse of hope, a shot of oxygen from heaven, and that they'd breathe again and live again for Your honor and Your glory. We love You, we thank You, we praise You, we worship You, and pray all of this in Jesus' name who makes it possible. Amen.

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