Just a stick

Joke: Two caterpillars are escaping a spider. They climb up a branch and get to the edge, but realize they are now trapped. .

“Hold on tight!” says the first caterpillar and he quickly chews through the branch.

It snaps and they begin to fall, but he grabs two protruding twigs and uses them to steer the branch through the air with grace and finesse.

“That’s amazing!!” says the second caterpillar. “How in the world are you doing that?!”

The first caterpillar scoffs.

“Really, am I the only one in the whole forest who knows how to drive a stick!?”

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Today we are going to be in a familiar scripture Exodus chapter four.

I will start in verse 2. . .

Exodus 4:2–3 (NLT) – Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”  “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. 3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

I must admit when Moses jumped back. . .he wouldn’t have been the only one.  (Tell story about Christine and snake at cottage).

Exodus 4:4 (NLT) – Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

It turned back from a snake into a rod, and I want to talk to you for just a few moments, on being Just a Stick.

After 400 years of Egyptian bondage, God finds Moses in the desert and speaks through a burning bush, and says, “Go set my people free.

He didn’t take any leadership training classes.

But hear this church, if God calls you He will give provide the things necessary to do what He asked you to do.

All he was equipped with was a stick and some sandals. And that is just what he needed.

Moses began making excuses as to why he couldn’t do what God was calling him to do.

Thinking what he had was insignificant, not good enough.  God asks, What is that in your hand?

I wonder how many of us think what we have to offer is insignificant.  I’m here to tell you just give to God what you have and he can use it for His glory.

A boy offered his lunch and it fed a multitude.  David used a small stone to defeat Goliath.  Samson killed 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.

And with a stick and some sandals, Moses has an encounter with God.

He was full of fear. I remember when God called me to preach. I was terrified.  I would start every message singing instead of a joke because I’m no Luther Vandross.   Ok for you younger folks he was really popular in the 80’s.   ( Talk about why, school as well).

And maybe your calling is not preaching, it may be something else in some other field, but quite often, you will have to confront fear if you’re going to fulfill the purpose and call of God upon your life.

And Moses said, “Well God, I can’t do this.” And he offered God a catalog of excuses and God said back to him, “What’s in your hand?”

And he said, I’ve got a stick. Just a simple a shepherd’s staff.  It’s something Moses used everyday.   He’s thinking it’s nothing really, God’s thinking, I can use that.

And God said, Take that stick and throw it on the ground, and when he threw it on the ground, the Bible said, it turned into a snake.

It became sensational, it became supernatural. And when he threw the stick down and when it turned into a snake, Moses ran from it.

Moses said he wasn’t eloquent in speech, somewhere along the way he picked up a stutter. I don’t know where he got that stutter from exactly, but maybe it was when God said, Pick the snake up by the tail,

Maybe that’s where the stutter began for Moses, and Moses said, W-w-w-w-w–what did you say, God?”

And then God said, Pick it up by the tail.

Now I’m not a snake handler, but I’ve watched enough YouTube videos about those that are, and seen enough outdoor shows on TV to know if you’re gonna handle a snake, you don’t want to grab it by the tail.   The snake can whip around and still take a bite.

The tail is the little end. You want to get it by the head, the big end

Maybe God was saying, You handle the little end, and I’ll handle the big end.

You do what I’m asking and I’ll take care of the details.

God said, I want you to pick it up, I want you to confront your fear. I want you, if you’re going to fulfill your call, if God’s going to use you, you’re going have to trust me with the details.

The very thing you’ve been running from, God is saying, Confront it.

Sometimes God will make you confront your fear.

And the Bible said, Suddenly, this stick when he picks it up, that stick became a serpent, when he picks it back up it becomes a stick again.

And I want you to see something so powerful in this text.  That stick that was so common, that stick that was so ordinary, that stick that was so average, when he relinquished it, when he took his finger prints off of it, when he took what he had and he gave it to God, suddenly it became sensational.

Suddenly it became supernatural, suddenly it could do things that it could have never done while it was in his hand.

And the point that I want to make is this, sometimes we think we have to be sensational for God to use us. Super talented, super good looking, super brilliant, super amazing, super spiritual, and really what God is looking for is something simple and ordinary, average and common.

He’s looking for someone to simply let go of what they have and let God use it for His glory.

The problem is so often we want to trust in our ability, our strength, our understanding, our, our, our all the while God is just asking us to give it to Him.

Because sometimes, all God needs is a stick.

When they’re standing at the Red Sea, and Pharaoh and his army are coming after Moses and the Israelites, God says, Take that stick and hold it up.  And He parts the Red Sea. Because sometimes, all God needs is a stick.

And when they are at the bitter waters of Mara, and the people are thirsty. After being in the wilderness, God says to Moses, Take a tree branch, get a stick and put it in the bitter water, and the bitter water becomes sweet because sometimes all God needs is a common, ordinary stick.

And when the widow woman’s about to die and she’s going to prepare her last meal for herself and for her son, she’s gathering sticks when the prophet comes up and gives her a formula for a miracle in her life.

Because sometimes when God’s going to do something magnificent and powerful  all He’s looking for is someone who’s just a stick.

And when they were building the school of the prophets, and one of the men was swinging the only ax that they had and the ax head flew off and went into the Jordan River.  God said to the prophet, Take a stick and touch the river.  And when he touched the river with the stick, the Bible said that the ax head, it didn’t say it just floated, it said it swam.

Because sometimes all God needs is a common, ordinary stick.

And when God’s ready to redeem the world, He’s gonna let His son die on two sticks because all God needs is a stick.

And there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. His name is Jesus.

And I know what your thinking, Jesus isn’t ordinary.  And I get it that’s true He was the Son of God.  But He didn’t come down as God.  He left His divinity and roped himself in flesh and was born in a manger.

Sometimes all God needs is the common, the ordinary, the normal, a simple shepherd’s stick.

Quit sayin’ you’re inadequate. Quit sayin’ you’re not smart enough. Quit sayin’ you can’t do it. Quit sayin’ it’s too big and you’re too small. All God needs is a stick.   All He needs is what you already have.

David was offered the armor of Saul and after putting it on says, doesn’t feel right.  Takes it off and uses what he already had.   Just allowed God to use what was already in his hand.

And God has already evaluated your excuses and He says, If I needed something sensational or spectacular, I would have chosen that but I chose you, and all I need is a stick.  All I need is what’s in your hand.

All God needs is a stick.

And now with what he had, Moses was ready for the test.

And so he goes to Pharaoh and he says, God said, Let my people go, and Pharaoh responds, Why should I listen to you?

And Moses, I think he had a little spring in his step when he walked in there. Full of confidence because he experienced that miracle from God just a few days ago.

It’s like, have you ever had to take a test when you were in school and you really prepared for it?  You studied and knew that you knew.  It’s a good feeling. I never had that, so good for you.  But ou just walk in, I got this.

On the other hand, I did this more often then not, taken one that you were not prepared for?

Well, he was ready for this one. And so the moment that Pharaoh said, Why should I believe you he pulls that stick out.

Can you see ’em?  He throws it down in front of all the people and Pharaoh, and suddenly, God takes that ordinary, common, average stick and performs the supernatural and it becomes sensational, it’s a snake.

Pharaoh however isn’t impressed. he yawns, and calls for his magicians.

Now let me just say this a magician can’t do a miracle. They do trickery, slight of hand.

I don’t know but He calls his magicians and they, by slight of hand, do a trick and throw down and mock the same miracle.

Now let me add this, the enemy will imitate the real.   Our enemy, the devil has the ability to counterfeit what God does.   he is a deceiver and he does it to confuse.  That’s why Scripture tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

That’s why we need to know what God said.

I heard something this week that was so good.   I don’t know who it was that said it and I probably won’t get it word for word but this is good church.   Listen, when God said do not eat from the fruit of this tree he only said that to Adam because Eve wasn’t even around yet.

And where Adam messed up is he didn’t transfer the values that God entrusted Him with.

So, often we blame Eve but honestly Adam didn’t do his job.

And for that reason, this is why sin is not ascribed to Eve.   Scripture says, Eve was deceived.

Adam sinned because what he should when Eve was deceived and brought the fruit to Adam is he should’ve knocked that piece of fruit out of Eve’s hand and told her I’m not going to let you mess up what we have.

So, because Adam at that point would have known the penalty of death, he should have called out to the Father and said, I know what the penalty of my wife’s disobedience is, but I don’t want it to happen to her, do it to me instead.

Hear this church, this is good.  Did you ever wonder why Christ is called the second Adam?  It’s because Christ did what Adam should have.  Adam should have died for wife, instead he choose to die with his wife.

I’m so grateful for Christ who died for His bride, the church.   Amen.

Now back to our story. . .

And it looks like they’re doing the same thing.  And maybe the enemy was trying to get Moses a little shaken.   After all he run from the snake the first time.

And the truth is many of us would have run away because we thought how could that be.  I know that God it for me, but how is it they did the same thing.

And when Moses is about to have a panic attack, Moses’ serpent starts swallowing up the trickery, the deception, the lies. His snake started eating the other snakes.

Let me just pause here and  say there’s a lot of folks that will tell you that there are multiple ways to God.  There’s Buddha, there’s Mohammad, there’s New Age.   I’m here to tell you that Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life.  There’s only one Lord and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord. He’s the King of Kings, He’s the Lord of Lords. And He’ll swallow up all of His opponents.

Because there is no other name given unto men whereby we must be saved.

Let me also add that the enemy will lie to you and tell you your not good enough, will never do enough, he will twist the Scripture to deceive you but God is going to swallow up the lies, the deceptions.

And the truth is church, you will never be good enough, you can’t do enough.  But here’s the thing, it’s not about you and what you do.   It’s about Jesus and what He did.  And because of what He did I became the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.   Because of what He did I am forgiven and free.  Because of what He did I am more than a conqueror.   Because of what He did I’m a new creation.

And so are you.

So, Moses does this amazing thing in front of all the people. But the greatest part of this miracle, is not that God can take something simple, common, ordinary, and put His anointing upon it.

Or that His presence can transform it into something brilliant and sensational and give it supernatural success, and let it swallow up it’s competition.

The greatest part of this miracle is not that the stick could turn into a snake, but the greatest part of this miracle is that that stick could go back, after God used it in such a miraculous way, to being just a stick.

Maybe the secret to the supernatural and God using us and giving us supernatural success in our business, in our home, in our family, in our life, in our ministries, is when He uses us and when He blesses us, and when He gives us authority to swallow up and become successful and blessed.

When he throws us down on the stage of life, in front of everybody, and God does something miraculous.  After people say, Oh my, would you look how God’s using them.  Look how He’s blessing that business man. Look at his ministry.  Look how prophetic he is.

After all that, can you go back, after He’s blessed you, used you, to just being a stick?

Can God use you supernaturally more than you ever dreamed, and it not change who you are?   Can God bless you and it not change who you are?

I started out common and ordinary, and now that God has blessed me, used me in His Kingdom.  I must never forget I’m just a stick.

In other words can I still stay humble and not let my ego get in the way.

Sometimes the most supernatural thing you can do is just be natural after God’s used you in a supernatural way.

I have heard of so many ministries that started out just sticks? They had nothing, and God blessed them and they gave what they had.

And for many of them It was not much at all when they started.  And He anointed it and blessed it.  But somehow, they could never go back to being the same person. Suddenly, they get the big head, they get full of themself. They get arrogant.

I wonder how many business people when your business was tiny and normal and common, and average, and you started coming to church and getting your mind renewed on the word of God, and He blessed your life.  Then when you didn’t need Him as much because He’s blessed you, your boat became your place of worship.

The challenge is not Can God find somebody that He can bless? The challenge is, can we go back to being a common, ordinary stick and have the same humility and the same dependency upon God that we had before He ever did anything with our life?

I look at how God’s blessed my life.  And I don’t ever want to forget what God looks for is not our excellence, our brilliance, our pride, or our arrogance. He just looks for a stick.   Something seemingly small and insignificant that we are willing to hand over and say I don’t know how you can use this but I’m yours do with me as you wish.

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (NLT) – Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy* when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,* things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

Has God blessed you? That ought not to take you further and further away from God. It ought to make you want to serve more than ever before.

Because a lot of people were twice as better off when they had half as much. Because they were depending on God and praying and coming to church, and steadfast about reading their Bible, having devotions, but now that you’ve been blessed, can you go back to being a stick in the good times and the bad times. Can you seek God the same no matter the details.

Now I want to close with this thought, and I want you to listen carefully.

You’re gonna have more stick days in your Christian walk with God than snake days.

Snake days are the sensational, Miracles like wow, God I prayed and a door opened and I got a promotion and all that.   That’s awesome, that’s a sensational day.   I love when I see the miraculous move of God.

But most of life is stick days. Most of marriage is stick days.

My wife and I we’ve been married 42 years. We’ve got four incredible kids.  But most of our marriage is stick days. Ordinary days.  Oh don’t get me wrong God has been with us, helped us, blessed us.  But most are just ordinary days.

I have been blessed to see God use me to prophesy, to heal, to preach.  And God has blessed me in so many ways.  And Imam thankful and long for more.   But I must never forget it’s all about Him.  I’m just a normal guy that tells bad, but clean jokes.

Maybe the reason God can’t bless more people with supernatural success that swallows up the competition is because he can’t trust us to go back to being that simple stick.

Let me close with this. I never read where God used that stick again. Nope thats not right let me rephrase that. I never read where God used that snake again. But I do read where he used that stick again.

Listen God is looking for the ordinary, common folks.

The secret to Moses was he was meek and humble. He kept going back to being a stick, and God used him over and over and over again.

And that’s the key God is looking for people He can touch and raise up in this hour.   That will allow God to work through them and give Him all the glory.  It’s not about us, it’s about Him.   It’s not about what we have or can do, it’s about what Jesus did do.

Give God whatever you have and let Him use it, but stay humble a He does.