In this sermon What Is that In Your Hand, God doesn’t promise deliverance without effort. The first three chapters of Exodus tell the story of a nation in captivity, under bondage to the Pharaohs of Egypt. Moses got so upset about it that he killed an Egyptian, then fled to Midian. Finally, God appears in the burning bush to give Moses the promise of deliverance. What is his reaction? “They will not believe me!” God doesn’t promise deliverance without effort – He wants Moses to do something, so God asks “What is that in your hand?” All Moses has in his hand is the simple shepherd’s staff and walking stick he has been using for forty years. He doesn’t think it holds much potential to bring the kind of deliverance God is talking about!