The End of Yourself | Bro. Alex Mason

And I like. Better than God's.

Children get together, they feel so good just being here again.

Feels good to be in the house. Of the Lord.

Tonight, Amen. Amen.

Thank you for your faithfulness to the House of the Lord today.

Just want that sweet presence to continue.

On. This service you can stand and

turn to Exodus 3 and 11. I'm grateful and honored to

speak and grateful to pastor and his wife for their love and

mentorship and my wife and I's lives.

And I do not take this lightly. And I'm very grateful and I love

my wife and she is just the rock star of a wife.

And there is, there is nothing that I can't bring to her in

concern, in thought, in prayer that she does not help me tackle

or tackle herself. And she is a.

Superwoman. You can clap to that superwoman,

love her so much. Exodus 3 and 11 says in Moses

said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that

I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

Verse 12 says, And he said, Speaking of God, certainly I

will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that

I have sent thee. When thou hast brought forth the

people. Out of Egypt ye shall serve God

upon this mountain. Pastor, you mind praying

Everybody said Amen. You may be seated.

Thank you for standing for an honor the reading of the word.

So we're coming in the middle of a story here with Moses.

And this this story is one that is a turning point for Moses's

life. And with this, he has gone

through the wilderness and he the desert and he encounters the

burning Bush. And this is in the middle of his

encounter with God. And, and God had said, you know,

this is holy ground and take off your sandals and this is holy

ground. And he's standing there amongst

talking, communing with God through the burning Bush

experience. And Moses was at the end of

himself, at the end of himself. But it wasn't just a whole

chapter later of what transpired 40 years earlier where we see

what got him here to begin with. Exodus Two chapter chapter 2 and

verse 11. It says.

And it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown, that

he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens, and

he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew one of his brethren, and

he. Looked this way and that way.

And when he saw that there was no man, he.

Slew the Egyptian. And hid him in the sand and when

he went. Out the second day, behold two

men of the. Hebrew strove together and he

said. To him that did.

The wrong. Wherefore.

Smitest thou thy fellow? And he said.

Who made thee a Prince and a judge over?

Us intendest thou to? Kill me as thou killest the

Egyptian. And Moses feared and said surely

this. Thing is known now when Pharaoh

heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses.

But Moses? Fled from the.

Face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down

by a well. This was the beginning of his

40. Years of desert his 40 years of

something that was unknown to him.

Moses was born into a Hebrew family during a time of.

Intense persecution, yet miraculously adopted and raised

in the comfort of Pharaoh's palace and and Moses.

He grew up. He grew up with the best

education. He grew up with the best the

grandiose of wealth and power that Egypt had to offer.

He had unique position of privilege and influence, fully

aware of his Hebrew heritage and then the.

Suffering of his. People One day as we read, Moses

saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, one of his own people,

and in a burst of anger and misguided sense of of justice,

he killed the Egyptian and and he hid his body in the sand it

was in this moment that Moses thought that he could save his

people through his. Own strength and his own.

Actions and much like Moses who thought that he could achieve

this, this hefty feat of delivering his whole people

through his efforts does not get far.

We often seek the most easy and direct.

Path for our. Goals and hopes and aspirations

in life, and we fall short because we were doing it with

our own strength. Consider if you will, the

mountain climber who could save time and energy if they just

went to the summit of the mountain in a helicopter.

If you want to see this beauty, then just go up in the

helicopter. If you want to experience the

summit. Would it not be easier?

But the ultimate purpose that the climbers have is conquest.

It is it is. It is not about efficiency or

ease. Sure, sure, they're wanting to

reach the top, but there is a desire to do it by testing and

deepening their character and their discipline and their

resolve. God, as we know, created all of

existence, was spoken word. He could just as very well in

things in our world. He could have just created

scientists, mathematicians, athletes, musicians, snap of the

finger from nothing. But he doesn't.

He creates children who take on those roles over time over.

Process. God doesn't make us fully Christ

like in the moment that we are born again.

He helps conform us to the image of Christ gradually, like clay

in the Potter's hand. 2nd Corinthians 3 and 18 says, But

we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the

Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even

as by the Spirit of the Lord in our spiritual lives, as our

profession, as in our professional lives and sports

and hobbies and whatever, we improve and excel by handling

failure and learning from it. We don't have enough people talk

successful people talk about their failures in life.

We don't have enough people saying, I messed up.

Only in cultivating discipline, endurance and patience do we

find satisfaction and reward truly.

And those qualities are most developed through some form of

difficulty, some form of I just. Can't stand this anymore.

Do we really think that the mountain climber is?

Always happy that they're. Training and enduring, what

they're doing to hopefully make the summit.

It's not a guarantee. The helicopter is a guarantee

the the training and enduring. Is not a guarantee.

Some die upon the path, just like there isn't an easy button

for the mountain climber to just take the helicopter.

The intent of the difficulty in things that we.

Go through is to. Look for what God could

accomplish through it. Romans 828 says, And we know

that all things work together for the good through them that

love God to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Why do we go through pressures and suffering in peril?

Well, Second Corinthians one and nine says, But we had the

sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in

ourselves but God, which raises the death.

What that means to me is that I should trust not on my own

strength, but I should trust on His strength for us to turn

toward God. Unfortunately, sometimes nothing

works like issues in your life. God isn't looking for your

checklist. He's not looking for the things

that are all going to just make you happy.

He wants you to learn what it means to surrender to His will.

What he wants is this. You used to want certain things

from him and you would bring and you would pray your checklist.

What he wants is that you just want him.

James One and two says, My brethren, count it all joy when

you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that

the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be

perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

This passage does not mean I'm going to leap for joy when

things are going wrong, but what it It doesn't mean that I'm not

going to weep because I don't know how God is going to see it

through or he's going to provide.

But it does mean that through all of it, I'm going to trust

that God has got this, not myself.

God has got this. What we face many a times is a

little itch. It's an itch that we've faced

for many years and it's gone on and gone on.

And it's the itch of the selfishness of mankind thinking

like Moses that we can, we can do it on our own.

You look around at the world throughout time and especially

today, and you tell me that humanity.

Isn't selfish. You can sit and you can see the

endless examples, crazy spending, the politicians in

their constituents. We despise the self-serving

culture of corporate greed, the injustice of unnecessary poverty

and hunger. When there's people in the world

that have more money to do with when what they know what to do

with, we get ticked off. That.

But we do it ourselves. It may be in a smaller scale,

but we do it ourselves. It may be I'm not lending things

out unless I get a deposit. I'm going to do you a favor.

But I'm you have. One for me too.

I'll take credit for things even though the whole team did it.

It's about my problem. I don't want to hear yours.

Or like Moses, I can do this on my own.

I don't need any help. We're all guilty of it.

We're all guilty of being selfish.

The generality of selfish is putting yourself first.

A quote from Professor J Hoffman says if you don't think most of

humanity is selfish, try going shopping early on Black Friday

or try yelling fire in a crowded theater and driving anywhere.

These days one sees horrific display of selfishness, drivers

aggressively competing to get ahead of each other because they

have more important things to do than you.

The selfishness of mankind goes back, way back to Genesis.

The Garden of Eden was a great beauty and of 0 sin.

And then we have the serpent that brings forth the deception

that convinces mankind to bring sin into the world.

Genesis three and seven says in the eyes of them both were

opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig

leaves together and made themselves aprons.

It says that the eyes, their eyes were opened.

They realized that they were naked.

What happened? Well, simply in a moment

humanity became self. Humanity became self-conscious.

Sin ushered in the rain of self-awareness, self concern,

self-reliance and selfishness. It all started with this willful

disregard for God's command. We all fight the desire to think

of self in a way of lifting up ourselves or in a way of

thinking that we can do it without God.

Moses's thinking was skewed to think that he, a mere man, could

single handedly help his people and free them from bondage of

Egypt. One Egyptian at a time.

He was being selfish and thinking he could do that

without God after he slayed the Egyptian.

Moses one, once a Prince of Egypt, is now fugitive in the

desert, leaving behind the comforts and the privileges that

he once knew. For the next 40 years, Moses

lived this simple life as a shepherd tending to Jethro's

flock. The desert became a place of

humbling for Moses, where he was stripped of his pride, his sense

of entitlement and his self-reliance.

The desert, my friends, can be that for you, because sometimes

we have to go to a place of humbling, a place of breaking,

where we are stripped of everything that keeps us where

we're at in our selfish nature. Moses started to go from being a

man who took matters selflessly into his own hands to a man

whose character and dependency was preparing him.

For the mission from. God, in this barren and harsh

environment, Moses, he, he reached the end of himself.

He had no more power, he had no more influence and he had no

more control over the circumstances that were in his

possession. He had to come to terms with his

limitations and failures. And it was this place of

brokenness and humility that God chose to reveal himself to

Moses. See, see, we, we think we get it

confused sometimes We think that God is going to reveal his plan

and, and calling on our life when everything has fallen into

place. Once everything has fallen into

place, God's going to come. Thus saith the Lord and the call

comes and we go out mighty God isn't he good?

But in reality, when you look at the times in scripture and and

even still today, you see God revealing himself to people when

they are at the end of themselves.

After a long 40 years of wilderness, Moses had a divine

encounter that marked the turning point in his life.

It was about It wasn't about what he could do with his own

strength, but what God could do through.

Him. The desert humbling had prepared

Moses to be a vessel for God's power.

And purposes. He had reached the end of

himself, and it was there in his weakness and his humility, and

he probably felt so small, considering that he was growing

up in the palace and now, 40 years removed from killing an

Egyptian, now he just feels like the shell of a man that he used

to be. That's when he discovered after

the end of himself. He discovered the beginning of

God's extraordinary plan for his life.

Just like Moses, we face our own desert experiences and times of

struggle and hardships, and it seems insignificant in the grand

scheme of things. I just don't know why and it's

easy to feel like this time is wasted.

There's so many other better things that could be going on in

my life. God, why am I is my time being

wasted with this? Or maybe we feel like we're

being punished. God, why?

What have I done? But these are the times when God

is preparing us for something greater.

Think about the deserts in your life.

Those challenging seasons where you felt stripped of your usual

strengths and your usual comforts.

It could be a. Period of unemployment, a

difficult relationship, a health crisis or any other numerous

things. You felt stripped of everything.

We have to understand that just as the mountain climber doesn't

take the easy way up the mountain, these times are not

wasted. The times that they are

conditioning themselves to be able to find the summit one day

is not wasted. Just as Moses's years in the

desert prepared him to lead his people, your desert experiences

are shaping you to fulfill. God's unique purpose.

For you. And only you.

In these moments of humility and.

Dependence. You are being molded like clay

into a vessel that God wants to pour into.

He wants to pour His power into you and the call.

It is often in our weakness that we become most.

Usable by God. I think of the song that is sung

by Danny Gokey. You're making a masterpiece.

You're shaping the soul in me. You're moving where I don't see.

And all I am is in your hands. All I am is these broken pieces,

the shell of a person that I used to be.

I'm cracked. I'm tattered.

I don't know what. To do but all.

I am is in your hands. All I am is in your hands, God.

We cannot fall prey to that itch of selfishness.

Don't let it. Over shadow?

What God wants these deserts? Can go a couple different ways

and you observe it in people, you begin to look and you begin

to look for God's plan and purpose through all of it or you

start to despise and act in rebellion against God because

seemingly. He doesn't care about.

Me and the. Latter there my.

Friends, that is the enemy that we look at in the mirror every

single day, Luke 9 and 23 says. And he said to them all, If any

man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his

cross. Daily.

And follow me, Paul said. I die daily.

If I may self dies daily we. Have to get to the end.

Of our self because. When we do, we make room for

God. Jesus, there's a powerful.

Excerpt from a devotional I would like to share with you.

It's called The End of Me by Kyle Eidman.

It says, dear me, I've known you for as long as I can remember.

I once hear there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

And yes, that's us, though I doubt that's what the proverb

was talking about. I've been close to a lot of

people, but you and me, we have quite an attachment.

Looking back, it's fair to say I've treated you pretty well.

As a matter of fact, more times than I can count, I put you

ahead of anything and everything else.

Agreed. As we were growing up, I tried

to make sure you were always at the front of the line.

I saw to it that you got the biggest cookie on the plate, the

best parking spot, the comfiest chair in any room that we

entered in school. I noticed the little things that

you like and I went after them. You always loved the tension, so

I did everything in my power to see that you got it.

You. Still like the spotlight, so

I've maneuvered to keep you in its glare.

Now that we have the Internet, I have more.

Tools I post. Only the pictures that I show

that you at your very best, anybody would think that you're

living the dream. Have you seen the comments

people write about you when you've struggled or had a hard

time? I've done my best to keep that

our little secret. I've tried to make you happy,

and sure it was. It was a little easier to keep

you happy when you. Were a cute little tyke.

Then as we grew older, I had to be a little more discreet.

You wanted to keep winning and getting your way, all the while

looking humble and unassuming. That gets tricky, not to mention

tiring. As a matter of fact, you never

seem to care about dull stuff like.

Bills and and. Consequences and what happens

tomorrow. I've said more than a few harsh

words on your behalf to certain people and you never warned me

about the mess. You never told me I couldn't

unsay what I've said. I love you me, but I can't keep

living for you. You always insisted that if I

just keep you happy then I'd be happy.

As simple as that. But you know what?

It's not as simple as that, and it never really has been me.

I let you be in control and sit in the driver's seat, but it's

clear you can't be trusted. You keep insisting you know the

way we should go, but it always seems to be a dead end.

I've looked into some other options and I've decided to

begin a journey down a different path.

It's narrow and it's difficult and not many choose it, but it

leads to real, abundant life. However, and there is no easy

way to say this, I can't take this path if I bring you along.

So me, this is the end of you. Sincerely me.

It wasn't until Moses had been through his desert that he could

say in verse eleven of our opening passage, Who am I that I

should? Go to Pharaoh.

And that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of

Egypt. I don't think 40 years earlier

if God had come to Moses when seemingly he thought that he

could do it himself, I don't think Moses's response would

have been, who am I? I think it would have been a

little something due to the tune of Do you know who I am?

But instead Moses asked in verse 1340 years later.

And he said, And they shall say to me, What is his name?

What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am

that I am. And he said, that Thus shalt

thou say to the children of Israel, I am have sent me unto

you. Getting to the end of yourself

might be one of the hardest things you have to do in your

life, but if you do it, you stop worrying about who am I and you

start worrying about. The I am who?

It is so. Sweet to trust in Jesus.

There's going to be uncertainty, there's going to be.

Difficulties. Jesus.

We know it. We grow up.

We listen to the Bible stories that Sunday school teachers so

graciously teach us, and we know that you know what happened

after. Moses had this.

End of himself and he found the plan of God for his life.

He demonstrated the power of God to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

With God he parted the Red Sea. He communed on the mount with

God and received the 10 commandments, and he was in

God's presence for so long that it was so long that his face

shined and he he had to be covered.

Can you imagine being in God's presence for so long that you

just emit the glow? Jesus.

Don't be deceived and think that God could have gone to.

Moses right after Moses. Killed the Egyptian.

And Moses? Would have not.

He wouldn't have been the man for the.

Job at that point. It took the.

Desert to make Moses the man he was supposed to.

Be for the plan of God on Moses to be acted out correctly.

Acted out correctly. There is times and seasons that

we go through and we just don't get it because we get our self

in the way and we think we can do it ourself.

We have to relinquish control. We are always focused on

control. What can I control?

Literally. Game systems have controllers.

Your TV has the remote control. We are obsessed with.

Control Jesus. Music can begin to come.

Deserts are difficult. I'm not saying that.

What Moses went through was easy. 40 years to begin with.

It's a long time, but I can tell you that deserts.

At the end of it, and even on the cusp of God's plan.

Moses. He had a direction, he didn't

necessarily know the end. You're not going to have this.

Thus sayeth the Lord, and then just everything's going to be

perfect. Jesus, I.

Want to tell you. My wife and I have been in the

desert. Jesus.

Please understand my heart right now.

For a few. Months.

And it was. Desperation and I didn't know if

I had done something wrong. If we had done something wrong.

And I would sit every morning during.

This And I would go to the couch and I pray and ask God, and I

weep, Why? What did I do?

Where? Do I go?

And it was in those moments. Then I started to.

Find the end of myself. When I found the end of myself,

that's when I started to see him move.

In moments in my life, it was then.

That I started to see what he could do.

And it wasn't until then where I felt there's something going to

happen and when. I felt that I was like, I'm

going to get. An answer We went to church

camp. And as you know, we.

Were very involved and I was just.

Praying that if. Anywhere we could receive it

then, because it felt. Like so long.

That Tuesday. Night of camp.

I was praying to God and I asked God.

I told him. I said God please.

I will have a Jacob spirit. I will not leave this campground

without an answer on my side. I will not leave without an

answer. God in the day services kept.

Going in the night. Services kept going and the day

service on Friday came and the minister started speaking about

the call in the cup and then it just started to

sweep in and all to call. My wife couldn't I.

Come up to the piano and it just started to sweep all over me and

I knew this was the day. I knew this was the day.

The end of myself wasn't for nothing.

Because I found the. Beginning of what God has for

me, and it was there that God.

And impressed. On people to speak to us that

whole day and the common thread was open doors.

Walk through the open doors and it was there and I got the

answer I was waiting for. Because what you don't know?

In that. Season we were filling out.

Job applications like crazy. Within four weeks time I'd say

we did 3. 150 to 400 applications with nothing.

One of the last applications I did.

This. Is all glory to God.

Please understand. That I didn't think.

I was qualified. I didn't think it.

Meant would amount to. Anything but I.

Threw it in there. And got it open the door before

camp as an option. And it was.

There when I found the end of myself at camp that.

God spoke go through the open doors and so by the grace of

God, I'm going to do that and I. Have the honor.

And privilege. I have the honor and privilege

to teach to our Christian Academy high school.

I am God. I don't even know what he's

going to do yet, but when I tell you that I know where the desert

leads. You've got to have grit and.

Determination to see it through. You've got to keep.

Pushing. On it may cost you everything,

but he's faithful. It may be everything you have to

get to the end of yourself, but he is faithful.

I wonder if we could. Come to an altar tonight.

If we could find the end of our self, I don't know what God has

planned. I know the direction.

But. I don't know the end and I'm

trusting him for that. I'm trusting him for that.

If you're in your. Desert.

Right now you don't know what the next step is.

Keep going until the desert makes.

You who you need to be, maybe? You need to break down some

things within you. That you haven't.

Given up to God. Yet.

And you need to tell yourself that it's over.

Maybe you've gone through your desert and you've received the

plan that God has for you, and you don't know what the next

step is. Call back to recollection.

Your birding. Bush experience.

Call back the experience that God showed up to show you the

way, and remember what was. Spoken to you.

And to your spirit, God help us find the end of ourselves.