Tag Archives: Moses

Faith

Whom God Chooses…Part I – More or Less


One thing’s for sure, if you don’t really want to serve God, don’t tell Him you do, and don’t answer Him when He calls. Another thing is for sure; If He plans on using you for His purposes, He will make sure it happens. One way or another, God will prepare you for that call. The question you have to answer is: Will you allow God to prepare you?


 

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Heb 11:24-27)

Moses is an example of someone who took matters into his own hands…frequently. Humble in birth, but raised as a Prince of Egypt, Moses was at home with power and privilege. When Moses first set foot in the Hebrew Camp, to join his fellow Hebrews, it was obvious he had an agenda, and planned on exercising that agenda. He killed an Egyptian Slave Driver for beating a fellow Hebrew. He felt he had done the right thing, but was later rebuked by his own people for trying to break up a fight between two other Hebrews. His newly found family feared Moses was going to kill them too. Wanted for murder, and no longer feeling safe among his people, Moses fled for the wilderness.

From Prince to pauper, Moses ended up shepherding sheep near Mount Horeb. Moses had to learn to serve instead of being served. Moses had to learn the patience it takes to be a shepherd of sheep. 40 years after leaving Egypt, the Living God called Moses out of that land to return to Egypt to lead the Hebrews out to the Promised Land.

It took God 40 years to get Moses out of Moses’ way so he can serve the Living God. Moses was brash, fiery and temperamental. God needed 40 years to get the agenda out of Moses and work into him a patient humility that would later lead him to free the Hebrews from bondage.

How long will it take me to reach the end of me before I am of any use to God?


 

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; … And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
(Jon 2:1-2 & 10)

God told Jonah to run over to Nineveh and preach the message of repentance. Jonah high tailed it out of town and went straight toward Tarsus. That is the other way from Nineveh. Jonah had such a low opinion of the Ninevites that he figured God had gotten it all wrong. Besides, the Ninevites scared him.

Jonah booked passage from home to Tarsus on the first fast boat he could find. God brought a storm. The sailors were scared. Jonah admitted he had disobeyed God and recommended the sailors throw him overboard. (He was not being brave, he knew he stood a better chance overboard than in the hands of the angry sailors). A whale swallowed Jonah.

Jonah had a few days inside the whale to think things over. Life inside a whale is not exactly a luau and grass skirts. He was miserable, scared, and alone. He found himself caught between certain digestive problems, and God.

God called Jonah for a reason. The evidence of that is what was recorded in Nineveh when Jonah preached there. Jonah was so consumed by his fears, his opinion of others, and his lack of respect for what God intended, that he decided that his agenda was more important than Gods, and his opinion meant more than God’s.

Is my agenda and opinion standing in the way of my being able to walk in the authority of God? Am I in the belly of the whale because I value my view more than Gods? Have I brought this disaster on myself, when all I had to do is obey God? I need to recognize that my understanding of things is not the same as God’s. And if I want to be used by Him, I need to see things His way.


 

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of them all, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As he went out to the gateway, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.” Again he denied it and swore with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” After a little while the people who were standing there came up and said to Peter, “Obviously you’re also one of them, because your accent gives you away.” Then he began to invoke a divine curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered the words of Jesus when he said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Then he went outside and cried bitterly. (Mat 26:69-75)

Before any of us beat Peter up, how many times have we been in a situation where we had the opportunity to stand for our faith, just to act as if we never heard of Jesus?

Hands? Anyone?

Yea, me too. Sucks, doesn’t it?

Before Peter could be of any use to Jesus, Peter had to understand that the only way any of us can represent Christ is to stop trying to do things out of fear. I cannot please man and please God at the same time.

When push comes to shove, we cannot fake a relationship with Jesus. We either have one or we don’t. Circumstances and pressure will show what is really in our hearts.

Perfect love casts out all fear. Does the love of God reside in me so strongly that I fear nothing man can do? When we love someone…really and truly love them, it shows in the little things we do. In order for me to be guilty of being like Jesus, my love for Him must be strong enough that my actions do not betray Him. Anyone can talk the talk, but it takes real stones to walk the walk.


 

…Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. (Act 7:58)

33 A.D. – The conversion of Saul

44 to 46 A.D. – Apostle Paul’s First Missionary Journey begins

From the time Saul was converted on the road to Damascus, to the time He was able to serve Christ as an apostle, Paul needed 11 years to learn what the completed work of the Cross meant to all mankind. Three of those 11 years were spent being taught directly by Jesus Himself. Imagine all that seminary learning and religion he had to unlearn. In order for Paul to be useful as a servant of Christ, he had to see that all his higher education and religious upbringing amounted to nothing but a heaping pile of “dung”.

Am I so full of my religious notions and education that I am useless to the call of Christ? Has my religious conviction and intellectual pursuits become a weapon I use to beat genuine believers to death with? Am I so busy being righteous that I am scaring the lost further into the depths of darkness? How long will it take Jesus to empty my cup of all the nonsense I think I know about God, so I can actually be used of God? Let my claim, Lord, be, only Christ and the Cross, and Him risen.

THE PROBLEM OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

The problem of following Christ means I have to be emptied of my agenda, I have to be willing to obey when he calls, I have to see things the way He sees things, I have to understand His love and the power of His grace so that I can give that away freely. I cannot let the arrogance of what I think I know get in the way of what God wants me to really know. I have to know that I cannot change unless He changes me. I cannot grow unless He grows me. I cannot become less of me unless He takes that part of me away that does not belong to Him.

If it is my heart’s desire to answer the call of the Lord, I have to become More of Him, and Less of Me. It is not until I come to the end of me that I can see the beginning of Christ in me.

Let God empty you of you. Let Him fill you with Him.

Will you have More or Less?

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. perkins


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The Return To God: Part IV – God Will Send You …


I recently re-read the book of Exodus. Imagine how mind blowing it was to be Moses and go through all that. I got the following things out of that story of Moses on the Mountain with God (Exodus Chapter 3).

God will send you to do a task.

The craggy earth gave way to what appeared to be good grazing ground, and a pool of water. Mount Horeb was considered a holy mountain, but Jethro, his father in law, happened to have exclusive rights to that stretch of real estate. One minute, you are a prince of Egypt, and here you are, 40 years later, herding sheep that don’t even belong to you. But, since you married the bosses daughter, you need to do your share.  Ahh  Zipporah, what a babe. Moses knew he had really lucked out when he married her. In their more frisky moments, he called her “Zippo“, because she was such a fiery wench. Little did Moses know that Bikers all around the world would be lighting their cigarettes with a lighter named after her. Her fiery disposition could, however, be a bit difficult to deal with. She was a hometown girl, and had a good gig what with her dad being the High Priest of Midian, AND a wealthy land owner. She wasn’t all that impressed with that whole, “I USED to be a Prince in Egypt.”, thing. Oh well, the land of the Midianites wasn’t so bad, and life was sure simpler out here than it was in Egypt. OK, maybe people didn’t blow trumpets and bow every time you entered a room, but still, being the son-in-law of the boss had its’ advantages.

The sheep were irritable and wanted to stop, and were giving him little irritated glances that told him “A Shepherd SHEPS, so step on it!!” He let them find the grass, and decided he’d grab some water, eat a snack, and maybe relax a bit. But as he was walking to the pond, he saw a thing he never had seen before. A bright light, looking like fire, inside a bush, and the bush was not being burned.  He definitely wanted to check that out, as all he had been seeing for days was the rear ends of sheep. The change of scenery was inviting.

He approached the burning bush with some sense of amazement. The closer he got, the faster he wanted to go. This is where he later wondered if he’s been better off taking that left turn at the base of Horeb. He heard a voice call to him, “Moses, MOSESSSSS!” (Well that’s how it sounded when Charles Heston was Moses, OK!) His left brain, the logical side, said in way that nasally way most tax accountants use when they tell you, “you cannot possibly deduct dental floss as a business expense!”, his left brain told Moses , “Shut up Moses! Don’t say anything, maybe the voice will think you didn’t hear it!“, but his Right Brain, not even being aware there are rules or social graces, said, “Here I am!!“. The left brain gave the right brain a glare that could melt tungsten. Left brain went off sulking as Moses took off his Mountain Climber Flip Flops.

We know what happened here, that God told Moses He had not forgotten His people, and that He was their God. That He had heard their cries for help, and that their Egyptian task masters were being cruel, and it was time for all that to come to an end. Then He told Moses this:

“Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 ESV

Except for the sounds of a flame not consuming the bush, the only other sound that could be heard was the sound of sheep, nervously chewing the grass, and anticipating their first opportunity to be irritated at Moses, again. This will become a common theme in Moses life over the next 40 years. We can only hope he is taking good notes.

After looking around to make sure he wasn’t being mistaken for another Moses that might hopefully be standing right behind him, and seeing that he was, in fact, the only human being careless enough to go tromping around the Holy Mountain, Moses stood there with his mouth open, as if his jaw muscles had grown too tired to keep working, and were taking a coffee break.

He thought a myriad of thoughts that kept leaping and tripping all over each other. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Left Brain had not quite decided to let the whole Right Brain shouting out loud thing go just yet.

So, God waited.

He created Moses, just like he created the rest of us. He knew that Moses would need a moment to collect himself, and to get his thoughts, such as they were, under control.

Moses finally got a grip on himself enough to ask God some questions.

What ever it is that God asks you to do, He will be with you.

 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He (GOD) said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:11- 12 ESV

See, Moses hadn’t been a prince of Egypt for some time, as Zippo was often reminding him. Besides that, there was that whole, “I murdered an Egyptian Guard” thing. Zippo was always telling him, “Moses, Moses, that was such a long time ago. You don’t even look like the Moses on the wanted posters. THAT Moses was young and handsome! YOU look like…well, lets just say that you have a lot of inner beauty, OK? ”

Once Moses got past all the excuses he could think of to NOT be deliverer of Israel, Friend of God, Law Giver, and Holy Land tour guide, he realized all he had to do now was convince Zippo that: He had a nice chat with the Living God on a mountain, and God wants him to go back to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaved and lead them to Caanan so they can take the land back from the remnants of the fallen ones, and call it Israel.  All I will say of that is that the ensuing conversation is where Zippo earned her reputation for being fiery. No one dared cross her after that.

God will empower you to do that task.

Moses said to God, “Ok, so let’s say that I actually get past the guards at the gate, then get past the security check point at the palace, and get past the palace guards that guard the throne room of Pharaoh, let’s say all that actually happens. I just go up to Pharoah and say “Let My People Go!” and he’s gonna go “OK, Sure!”??

I am going to look all jumped up and crazy. How is anyone going to believe a thing I say?

The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” (Moses) said, “A staff.” And (the LORD) said, “Throw it on the ground.” So (Moses) threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—” Exo 4:2 – 4 ESV

Moses was dumbfounded. THAT was some very cool stuff the Lord had in mind. Then Moses asked “Will this trick work on Zippo??”

God will never tell you to do something except that he will be there to see it through.

God let Moses practice that “stick to snake” miracle out a few times, just to make sure he got the timing down, and that Moses didn’t grab the wrong end of the snake. While he was warming up to this idea, he asked God, “So, I am going all by myself to confront an entire nation in order to free the Hebrew slaves?” God reminded him that, no, Aaron will go along to serve as Moses’s mouthpiece, but what’s more important is that GOD will be there all the time. He told Moses:

“So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” Exodus 3:20

Don’t be afraid to do what God has called you to do.

“Let me get this straight,” said Moses as he practiced picking up the snake again. He got it backwards the try before and threw the snake down instead of throwing the stick down. That almost turned out wrong.

“After you do all these to miracles in Egypt, the Hebrews will let me lead them out of the land of Egypt and just follow me out the gates?”

At the risk of being overly redundant, God said: “And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. “ Exodus 3:18 -20 ESV

The Blessings don’t begin until you have walked in your purpose from God.

By this time, Moses was beginning to buy in to this whole, “Deliverer of Israel from Egypt” thing. He told God he will do it, had the afore mentioned “discussion” with Zipporah, and put his sandals back on. God told Moses he had made the right choice and assured Moses:

“And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:21-22 ESV

OK, So I am not Moses:

But I am a child of God.

I was created for a purpose.

Now that I have returned to God, God will show me that purpose.

I may not be asked to do the mighty acts of Moses. But I know that the acts I will do will be because God will be there to work through me. He will lead the way for me. He will be ever present through the good stuff and the bad times. He will empower me to do the things he has asked me to do. The degree of the power I see God work will be in proportion to the degree I have faith in He who sent me.

This is the same for you.

No matter how crazy it sounds, do whatever God asks you to do. You will be blessed.

 

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