3 Things God Says When We Take A Risk | Exodus 4:18-23

Exodus brings Moses to the place where the talking is over and the walking has to start. Moses has heard the pre incarnate Christ speak from the bush. Moses has said all the things a person says when God calls somebody to something big, “Who am I?” “What if they don’t believe me?” “What if I already failed at this?” God has answered every excuse, not by telling Moses that Moses is impressive, but by saying, “I will be with you.”

Kingdom risk is not the same thing as jumping off a roof with an umbrella. Godly risk is the terrifying obedience that comes after listening to the Lord and knowing that the next step might still feel like walking toward Egypt with a lump in the throat. Moses has to walk with his wife, his sons, a donkey, and one ordinary stick. Yet Exodus stops and names that stick differently. The shepherd’s staff has become “the staff of God.”

The staff shows how God takes what is average, ordinary, and weak, and does great things through it. Moses does not carry a king’s weapon or a polished symbol of power. Moses carries the thing he already had in his hand. God is going to use that staff to confront Pharaoh, announce plagues, split the sea, win battles, and bring water from a rock. The point is not that Moses is strong. The point is that weakness laid bare becomes the place where God’s strength gets seen.

God also tells Moses that Pharaoh’s heart will be hard, and that sounds like bad news on the way to a miracle. But Exodus is showing that God is not surprised by Pharaoh’s resistance. God is not taking a kind, innocent man and turning him evil. God is letting Pharaoh be Pharaoh, letting his heavy, stubborn, obstinate heart run its course until Pharaoh knows he is going against the Creator of the world. Moses can face resistance without assuming failure, because God is still in control when Egypt says no.

God’s deepest word to Moses is fatherly love. Israel is called God’s firstborn son before the Ten Commandments, before conditions, before Israel has done anything to earn it. Relationship comes before religion. God is not building slaves who only bow from fear. God is calling sons and daughters into a family, and Christ brings that promise all the way home, inviting Gentiles too into the same inheritance through faith.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Ordinary sticks become God’s staff The staff in Moses’s hand was not impressive, polished, or powerful. God did not need Moses to bring something extraordinary, because God’s power was going to make the ordinary carry holy weight. The disciple who stops hiding weakness may find that weakness becomes the very place where God’s strength is no longer confused with human skill. [13:21]
• 2. Godly risk still feels terrifying Moses had signs promised to him, but he still had to walk toward Egypt. The presence of God does not always remove the fear that comes with obedience, and faith is not proven by a lack of trembling. Kingdom risk often begins when a person moves forward with peace from God and a very real awareness that everything could fall apart without Him. [08:52]
• 3. Hard hearts drift toward Pharaoh Pharaoh’s hard heart was not just an ancient political problem. A heart can become heavy through apathy, routine, and the quiet refusal to seek the presence of God instead of merely the information of God. God’s warning is serious because a person can become more and more resolved in the wrong direction while still looking strong on the outside. [29:13]
• 4. Sonship comes before commandments God called Israel His firstborn son before He gave Israel the law. That order matters because grace is not a paycheck handed out after obedience, but the family name spoken before obedience can even begin. The Father’s love does not make sin small, but it changes the courtroom into a household where confession meets mercy instead of mere condemnation. [31:28]
• 5. Resistance does not equal failure God told Moses ahead of time that Pharaoh would say no. That meant Moses could face opposition without assuming he had missed God or ruined the mission. The God who sends His people into hard places remains active even when the first visible result looks like rejection.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:29] - Dumb Risks And Kingdom Risks
• [03:04] - Resigning To Start A Church
• [04:44] - Moses And The Risk Of Obedience
• [07:39] - Moses Leaves The Burning Bush
• [12:22] - God Will Do Something Great
• [13:21] - From Shepherd’s Staff To God’s Staff
• [20:52] - God Is In Control
• [22:10] - Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart
• [31:08] - God Loves Like A Father
• [33:23] - Relationship Before Religion
• [39:16] - A Church On The Cusp
• [41:34] - Prayer For Bold Faith

Bible Reading

Exodus 4:20
“So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.” [09:45] [13:21]

Exodus 4:21
“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.’” [22:10]

Exodus 4:22-23
“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son."’” [31:59] [33:34]

2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Observation questions

1. In Exodus 4:20, what ordinary details are mentioned as Moses heads back to Egypt, and what stands out about the way his staff is named?
2. According to Exodus 4:21, what does God tell Moses to do before Pharaoh, and what does God say Pharaoh’s response will be? [22:10]
3. In Exodus 4:22-23, what family language does God use for Israel, and what warning does He give Pharaoh?
4. What are some of the specific things that ordinary staff will later be used for in Moses’s story? [13:21]

Interpretation questions

1. The shepherd’s staff becomes “the staff of God.” What does that change in name suggest about how God uses ordinary things and ordinary people? [13:21]
2. God tells Moses ahead of time that Pharaoh will resist. How does that help explain the difference between opposition and failure in obedience? [29:13]
3. God calls Israel His firstborn son before giving the commandments. What does that reveal about the order of relationship and obedience with God? [33:23]
4. “My power is made perfect in weakness” connects closely to Moses carrying only a staff. Why is weakness often the place where God’s power becomes easiest to see?

Application questions

1. What is the “Egypt” in front of you right now—the conversation, decision, confession, change, or act of obedience that you know you need to walk toward even if it still feels scary? [08:52]
2. Moses did not begin with something impressive; he carried what was already in his hand. What ordinary gift, opportunity, weakness, or responsibility in your life might God be asking you to place in His hands? [13:21]
3. Resistance does not always mean a person missed God. When have you been tempted to treat a closed door, a hard conversation, or someone else’s refusal as proof that obedience was a mistake? [29:03]
4. A hard heart can grow through apathy, routine, and settling for information about God without seeking His presence. Where does that danger feel real in your life right now? [30:28]
5. God’s love starts with sonship, not performance. In what part of your life do you still tend to relate to God more like a slave trying to earn approval than a child who is already loved? [37:10]
6. Christ meets people in weakness, not just in polished strength. What is one weakness you are usually tempted to hide that may actually need to be brought into the light before God and trusted believers? [19:47]
7. If God truly loves His people like His own children, how could that change the way you handle failure this week—especially your next moment of sin, fear, or disappointment? [41:34]