Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.
In the last lesson we learned how God had a plan for Moses from the beginning of his life. And God used some unusual and difficult circumstances to accomplish his plans for Moses. In this lesson, we are going to see how Moses made a bad assumption: he thought God was wrong and told him so.
But first, let’s catch up on Moses’ story.
Moses made some bad decisions
When Moses became an adult, he had all the advantages that came with growing up in Pharaoh’s house. Of course, he was also a Hebrew. It seems that when he got older he got a sense that God wanted him to lead the Hebrew people. But instead of waiting for God’s leading, Moses killed an Egyptian officer.
Instead of following Moses, the Israelites turned on him. He fled from Egypt and went to the wilderness, humiliated and afraid.
Moses met God in the wilderness
Many years later, God met Moses in the wilderness. He appeared to him in a burning bush. God forgave and restored Moses and appointed him to lead the Israelites. God was ready to fulfill the promise that he made to the Israelites centuries earlier that he would lead them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. What was Moses’ response to all this?
Moses said “no” to God
Incredibly, Moses didn’t want any part of God’s plan. He didn’t think that anyone would respect him or listen to him. He didn’t think that he was a good enough speaker to go before Pharaoh or the Israelites. And he wanted God to appoint someone else to lead the people.
But God had chosen Moses and he wanted to use him. Eventually, Moses gave in and agreed to lead the people. But it was a big struggle for Moses to say “yes” to God.
Don’t say “no” to God
We say no to God too in all sorts of ways. When we choose sin over honoring God, when we ignore God, church, Bible, and prayer, or when we refuse to do the right thing, we are saying no to God. We are telling God that we don’t want to follow his plans and purposes for our lives. As Christians, we need to learn to say “yes” to God.
Romans 6:13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
There may be lots of reasons why we want to say “no” to God. But we will only find happiness and security when we learn to say “yes” to God’s desires for our lives.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Describe a time when you refused to listen to a parent, teacher, or a coach even though they were right. What did you learn from the experience?
- Have you ever tried to run away or ignore God like Moses did after killing the Egyptian? Explain what happened.
- What are some ways that we say “no” to God? What happens when we act like this?
- Read Romans 6:13. What does it mean to “give yourselves completely to God”?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
