Category Archives: Exhortation

Day 22: “Send Someone Else!”

Christian, Exhortation, God, Lent 2016, Meditation

Day 22: “Send Someone Else!”
Passage: Exodus 4:13-17

Moses concluded his prayer before God in the wilderness by saying, “O My Lord, please send someone else” (Ex. 4:13). In other words, he said, leave me alone. Go away. Please send someone else.

Then the Scripture goes on, “then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” – but not so angry that God leaves him. God said “No!” to Moses’ request to leave him alone, but, nevertheless keeps pursuing Moses, even through Moses’ doubts, fears, and rudeness! And says, “What of your brother Aaron the Levite? You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do. Now take in your hand this rod with which you shall perform the signs.”

And Moses does it.

And staggeringly, he becomes this liberator, this general, this builder of a new nation from scratch. That is how a cowering figure becomes a towering figure of history.

I personally take enormous comfort in this prayer that this is the prayer of one of the most important person in Israel’s history whom God used to change the course of human history. Without this prayer, I would not be able to be honest with God on a daily basis and share my fears and doubts. This played a huge part in my sense of God’s call to the gospel ministry.

There are many believers – beyond the ones reading this today – who think exactly the same way as I did; who are cowardly and fearful, and need to hear that God has the power and passion to give you gifts, and has already done so, to help you take whatever that step is to fulfill the call of God for you. This is not unusual for great men and women of God. This is where we often start. And God will take whatever we offer in our prayers and use it as part of an ongoing conversation so that through us, His will is fulfilled on this earth, as Jesus would say, “as it is in Heaven.” Whatever God is calling you to do, God can provide.

Sometimes the call of God is a complete change in your life. You are “here” and you must go “there.” Sometimes that’s how it is, as it was with Moses: go back into the fray, from out in the middle of nowhere, go back in!

But for most people, the call of God is to be exactly where you are and to stick with it when there are obstacles in the way or relationships which are difficult or other problems that come – to be faithful-in-place. Not just because you have to, but because God calls us to be Christ’s followers right where we are, supplying whatever we need for the call of God to be fulfilled.

Take some time now to thank God that, in moments when we are fearful, cowardly, and doubtful in our prayers, God says, “No, I won’t give up on you. You are the one I want!”

Day 21: “I Cannot Speak!”

Evangelism, Exhortation, Lent 2016, Meditation

Day 21: “I Cannot Speak!”
Passage: Exodus 4:10-12

Communication takes place when thoughts are exchanged between two parties. When effective communication takes places, marriages tend to be strengthened, friendships solidified, and business relationships flourish. It is an art that can be learned, and those who harness this skill usually succeed in life.

Prayer is a form of spiritual communication between believers and God, and when Christians pray, their relationship with God grow. While he was praying to God, Moses tried to avoid what God had called him to do by claiming that he cannot speak eloquently before people (Ex. 4:10). He humbly recognized who he was before God and also his own morality in his prayer. Moses was afraid that he would mess up when he speaks before the Pharaoh and the Israelite nation. Even though Moses was raised in the palace of Egypt, he was not quick witted and so he thought he would be inadequate for the task God was calling him out for.

God then reassures Moses that clear communication and speech is only given by God to human beings, and that he will give Moses words he needs to speak before Pharaoh and the Jewish nation (Ex. 4:11-12). In fact, Moses was the perfect man to stand before Pharaoh and be the deliverer of God’s people because he was raised in Pharaoh’s household and knew the ways of the Egyptians. God has already providentially worked in Moses’ life to mold him into just the right person for the work of delivering Israel. All Moses had to do was to know, trust, and obey God if he was to be an effective communicator.

Throughout the Scriptures, God often uses people who appear weak or unworthy to accomplish His mighty work. God desires to use humble people who intimately knows and completely trusts God as His chosen vessels to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. If people respond in a belligerent manner to the message being proclaimed, believers must continue to love and express kindness toward them. They are to pray for the people who oppose them: “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you” (Luke 6:28). Above all things, all believers must remember that they are sinners whom Christ died for whenever they share the gospel (Romans 5:8).

Do you love God enough to look past your own convenience and comfort zone? Do you love mankind enough to let yourself to be used by God to reach them with the good news? Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9). By biding our time and praying for them we stand ready to be used by God to bring them into fellowship, not just with us, but with God in Christ as well. In every discussion or connection with others – especially during the Lenten season – let us remain humble enough and dependent on God to reach them for Christ.

Day 20: “Suppose They Say?”

Evangelism, Exhortation, God, Inspiration, Lent 2016, Pastoral Advice

Day 20: “Suppose They Say?”
Passage: Exodus 4:1-9

Moses’ first two protests were formal by nature, properly expressing his humility before such a great assignment. But here, Moses presents his third objection with a hint of uncertainty concerning God’s promise: the possibility of being rejected by the Israelite masses. Knowing God’s divine name itself does not validate Moses’ claim to be divinely commissioned, for since the days of Jacob no Israelite had professed to receiving a theophany. In other words, Moses was saying, “Suppose they did not believe or listen to me when I tell them about you?”

God was prepared to reassure him with three distinct signs he could use to overcome the doubting people he was bound to encounter. The first sign was an ordinary shepherd’s crook supernaturally transforming into a serpent, only to be changed back to its original state once Moses took hold of its tail (Ex. 4:3). The second sign was that of Moses’ hand becoming encrusted, or flaky (not necessarily leprous as identified in Lev. 13-14) that supernaturally returned back to normal once he took it out of his cloak the second time (Ex. 4:6). The third sign, which was to be performed only inside Egypt and foreshadowed the first of the ten Egyptian plagues, was the transformation of Nile River from drinkable water to blood (Ex. 4:9). Every sign points towards God’s complete sovereignty over harmless things by supernaturally changing it into something harmful and then changing it back. Moreover, it demonstrated the matchless power the Israelite God would have over the Egyptian gods who supposedly controlled the nature.

All believers are commissioned by God to deliver those who are in bondage to sin, to set people free with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as God gave three signs to Moses to overcome his fears, God wants us to overcome three areas we tend to fear in this world:

Satan (Ex. 4:3)

In the first sign, Moses threw down the rod at God’s command and it became a snake. As a shepherd living in the wilderness for forty years, he knew enough to run from the snake. But God told him to stop and grab it by the tail – which required a great amount of faith!

The snake has always been a symbol of the Devil. Moses probably have known the power of Devil was real in Egypt (remember how “powerful” the magicians were in the land of Egypt – they could also do the signs and wonders). Moses needed to know that his God was greater than the gods of Egypt. Later on, the rod-turned-snake would swallow the magicians’ snakes. God used this sign to show Moses that he could provide for all of his “spiritual needs.”

In a similar manner, God promises His people that He would overcome our adversity, the Devil, and meet all our spiritual needs. 1 John 4:4 says that God has already overcome the Devil because He is infinitely greater than our adversity.

Sickness (Ex. 4:6)

Moses was eighty years old when God called him to go into Egypt. He used the second sign to show Moses that he could take care of all his “physical needs.”

People live in constant fear of their health and death. The greatest fear of most people eighty years old is that of “falling down.” Who is going to help me back up if I should fall? The “I AM” will!

Later in his life when he was one hundred and twenty years old, Moses’ natural strength had not abated and vision not dimmed one bit (Deut. 34:7). This is an amazing testimony to how God has provided for all of Moses’ physical needs!

For believers, Jesus assured his disciples in Matthew 6:25,26: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Whatever befalls in your lives, God will continue to provide and care for your physical needs.

Sin (Ex. 4:9)

Moses might have been afraid of the failure of past memories and what he had done that forced him out of Egypt. He knew that he was a murderer and thus a “sinner.”

God knew that too; with this sign, God tells Moses that when he pours the water of the Nile River upon the ground, it would become blood. Blood is associated with the forgiveness of sins; for present-day believers, this forgiveness is found in Jesus Christ alone. God used this sign to help Moses overcome his “emotional needs.”

There are many people that would serve Christ, but are afraid to say anything to others because of their fear of being reminded of their past failures. God sent Moses to the Pharaoh to tell him about who God was. The message that believers must give to the world is not about them, but rather about God’s extravagant grace and of His insurmountable power to save to the uttermost. It is because of God’s grace believers are commissioned to serve Him in a ministry and to have the privilege to proclaim the good news to people.

God can change your life, and he wants to use your life for His service. He can help you overcome your greatest fears and unleash your potential to reach the lost world with the gospel message. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that our fears have been replaced with spiritual strength, extraordinary love, and a rational mind: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” When you are assailed with fear and doubt when he commissions you, do you run to God in your prayers and depend on Him as the source of your strength, or are you prone to run away from and not allow God to use you as he sees fitting?