Availability As Portrayed By The Life Of Moses

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Greetings to each one in Jesus' precious name. I'd like for us to take a little bit of a history trip in the word of God. Thinking about a time when God needed someone to fulfill a task, perform a task. [00:00:38] And it wasn't just a small task. It was an enormous task. It was something that almost looked impossible. And he needed somebody, as we would say, someone with many qualities, very talented. Someone that was highly respected. Someone that could communicate well. We might say very diplomatic. He was able to be convincing. Someone that could inspire people, encourage them. And someone that was very strong. Someone that was able to stand alone in the face of tremendous opposition and still stay where he was. [00:01:24] He needed some geographical knowledge It would help to have military experience He was to be a counselor, a judge, and many other things One who could solve a lot of problems, complex problems And he needed a tremendous amount of patience That's the kind of man that God needed He needed a great man, as we would say But I don't, according to scriptures, I don't see that he was looking for that type of a man. [00:01:59] He was looking for a special quality. And that quality was a simple quality of availability. Someone that is available to be used by God. And he found him. He was on the hillsides of Mount Horeb, herding sheep. His name was Moses. And I don't think, I don't know what you think of Moses, or when you hear of Moses, what comes to your mind, but I think of him as a tremendous leader. He's known as the meekest man on the face of the earth. [00:02:38] I see a strong man, a faithful man. And the task that was at hand was simply to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. And I am not sure if I can completely grasp the enormity of such a task. For number one, if we think of the amount of people at that time, And it says in Exodus, after Joseph died, that the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and waxed exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them. [00:03:17] Now there arose a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph, and he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. They were becoming more in number and strength than the Egyptians themselves. And by the time of the Exodus, the scriptures say there were 600,000 men. I'm not sure if I can imagine that many men. But let's say, for instance, we would count the men here this morning. [00:03:49] And then we would count the entire attendance. Probably a very conservative figure in the amount of children of Israel because it says, 600,000 men plus women and children, a million and a half would be a very conservative figure as far as the amount, and plus you had cattle and all of that. To coordinate such a thing was an unbelievably large assignment. If we put it to today's world, maybe we could think of the city of Indianapolis, including the metropolitan area, the population is a million and a quarter. [00:04:37] So if we'd add another 250,000 people on top of that, that would give you a brief idea of the amount of people. That this was. And not only was it such a large assignment because of the people, they were enslaved at the time. They were enslaved by an Egyptian ruler who ruled with an iron hand and he, in his mind, he owned them. They were to be there, and to get them released, impossible. [00:05:11] He had no appreciation for his country's history that had been saved by these people, or by Joseph. He was ruthlessly cruel, and in man's way of thinking, to coordinate, to convince, impossible. Well, let's take a look at the life of Moses. and I'd like for us to note some of the obstacles in his life that it seemed God willingly overcame. [00:05:43] Moses was born in a very difficult time. He was born when there was a decree out to kill or throw into the Nile all the baby boys. But yet he survived. His mother, as we know, at three months made a little basket, pitched it, and put it out to the Nile. And when Pharaoh's daughter came down, her daily bathing or whatever she was there for, saw this little ark, asked her servants to bring it, and here was a little Hebrew boy. [00:06:22] He was crying, and she had compassion on him, and about that time Miriam comes out and asks if they wouldn't want a nurse for it, and of course brought her mother, and things were arranged to take care of him. And I don't know, can you ladies visualize a little bit, maybe some things that might have gone on through Jochebed's mind as she carried baby Moses home, realizing that he was no longer hers and that she only had a few more years of time with this young son. [00:07:07] And I imagine that every day was a gift And every day she taught him many things of his heritage Of the God of Israel And how the many miracles that he had wrought The covenant that he had made with Abraham And at one source it said something about that she had him for 12 years I couldn't verify that in the scriptures But at one point in time, he had to leave. And he went into Pharaoh's. He was raised in Pharaoh's household. And going from probably a very shandy shack of something to the house of the Pharaoh was probably a very difficult thing or something very different for Moses at that time. [00:08:03] And I can imagine that Pharaoh's grandson was by all means not neglected. I'm sure he had the best teachers in the land come in and tutor him. He was a prince. He was the daughter's, Pharaoh's daughter's son. And I'm sure he learned mathematics and medicines and military science and history and geography. The Egyptians were not, I should say the Egyptians weren't intelligent people. [00:08:35] If we go there today, there's things that have, there's buildings that are constructed that today we have no idea how they got such large stones or how they constructed those with manpower. We don't even have the power available today to do that. So they were a very intellectual people. And as it gives indication in Acts 7 verse 22 that Moses excelled. [00:09:10] He wasn't just the average. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. We might say he had a bachelor's degrees with honors in anything that you could get a bachelor's degree from. He was a prince and a talented one and I'm sure there might have even been thinking about him in line for the throne. This didn't only happen in a year or two, but he was here for 40 years and I'm sure that he was very respected and people bowed down to him as he drove around in his chariot. [00:09:47] But he came to a turning point in his life And I'm sure as a youth being trained at home under Jochebed And the things that his mother taught him And here he was getting things from the Egyptians or training I'm sure there was many times of conflict in his heart and mind He couldn't forget his natural heritage as a Hebrew, and yet he was very learned as an Egyptian. [00:10:23] And I don't know, can we say that it might have been a battle of the heart versus the mind, and it finally came to a critical battlefield of where he had to make a decision. And I don't know, did he look out and see all the opportunities that he could have as an Egyptian And yet, his own people were suffering He couldn't forget it He had all the wealth, the power, the prestige that he could probably, that anyone would have wanted [00:10:59] But he couldn't forget his brethren And in Hebrews 11, it says how he made that choice, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He made that choice. And I think as he made that choice is when he decided to go out to visit his brethren. And I'm sure as he thought about his brethren out there suffering, there are many plans and schemes that might have went through his mind how he could deliver his brethren out of this tremendous bondage and unfairness. [00:11:43] He went out there to visit his people in Goshen there. And as he was walking out there, he saw an Egyptian beating up on one of his brethren. And of course, this was unfair And he wasn't going to let it happen He looked both ways and went over and smote that Egyptian Killed him, buried him By his hand, he was going to deliver Israel He maybe didn't have all the plans down pat [00:12:15] But here was a start and he was going to do it In Acts 7.25 John 5 says he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not. He was a talented prince and he was going to do it. Even God was going to help him. It was his plans. But did God call him at this point? I don't see any indication in the Bible that he did. [00:12:48] He kind of took it in his own hands and decided that God's going to help him. He had the answers. Well, we see how that so very much backfired right in his face. And the next day as he went out again, he saw two of his brethren fighting and he asked, What's the problem? Why are you doing this? And one of them replied, Who made you a judge? or something else too, I forget, judge or ruler over us. [00:13:22] Are you going to kill me too? And I think Moses then realized that this thing was known, that the murder that he had committed was getting out. Well, Pharaoh wanted to kill him at this time too. And this is, I don't know how he got away, but he fled to the land of Midian. We think about Moses' status as being high to very low overnight. [00:13:53] I mean, he went from a prince to being a fugitive of the law in Egypt, rejected by his own people who he was trying to help. I'm sure many times he might have thought what a foolish mistake he made. And it's interesting to note, he was 40 years at this time, and for the next 40 years, it was quite probable that he was a shepherd. [00:14:24] He went from a prince to a shepherd. For 40 years, he was in the land of Midian before the burning bush experience. It took 40 years that he was trained, taught in the courts of Egypt, but it also took 40 years to untrain him. And I'm not against education when I point that out. [00:14:59] I think he was very much available at 40 years old, but he was available with his own plans, with the help of God, to help him. But there was a different type of availability at age 80. The true availability is when we're able to say, here I am. I don't have an idea how. It's going to have to be you, God. And that's kind of where we find Moses at this point. [00:15:32] I like to read in Exodus chapter 3, the burning bush experience. Exodus chapter 3, I'd like to read the first 15 verses. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked. [00:16:06] And behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither, but put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. [00:16:44] Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows, and have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, to bring them up out of a land, and unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, [00:17:20] unto the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And 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? [00:17:58] And he said, Surely 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. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. [00:18:30] And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me to you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Do you notice the change in heart in Moses' response when God asks this of Moses? [00:19:05] All of a sudden, he has nothing to offer. He is of nothing. He says, who am I? Why? What am I going to say? They won't believe me. He didn't have anything to offer. He didn't feel worthy. Can we learn any lessons from this? You know, in the kingdom of God today, there are still many tasks that need to be done. [00:19:37] God's looking for individuals who will work for Him, who will be the type of individuals who will be available. And I think we all desire to be available. But of what availability are we? Yes, I have a little bit of experience. This is something I can maybe do. I have a little bit of expertise in that area. I'm available if we can do it the way that I think it ought to be done. [00:20:17] Is that the kind of availability that God can use? I think God is looking for the availability that says, as Moses said, who am I? Lord, I'll go. Here I am, but I don't have a clue where to go. I don't have anything. You're going to have to show me the way. In Hebrews it says, by faith, Moses. [00:20:48] Jesus, and he relied solely on the hand of God. I think that's where God can use us, where we can be usable. Paul had to come to this experience himself as well. He was knocked down by a light, and then later in Philippians 3, he lists his credentials. All those things that he had been, and he had a nice list of them. What things were gained to me, those I count of loss for Christ, yea, doubtless I count all things, but loss for the excellency of the power, excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dumb, that I may win Christ. [00:21:38] No, I don't think those years of learning in Egypt were wasted for Moses. And I think he probably used some of the things that he learned in his wilderness experience. Probably many valuable things. But he no longer relied on them to accomplish it. And that's where we need to get to a place where we no longer rely on ourselves. [00:22:11] We don't have anything. We're unable. And in humbleness, we need to plead to God for His direction. And I don't think it, as we can see in this situation, to God it doesn't matter so much our different background. It doesn't matter if we've made a mistake in the past, even if we've been rejected by those we maybe want to help, and it doesn't even matter if we're 80 years old. [00:22:51] If we come to Him in true availability, if we're longing or if we're giving up of ourselves, it's where we can be used of Him. He's looking for those types of individuals to use in his kingdom. I'd like to look at a little bit here now of how God called Moses. I think we can learn some lessons here in the burning bush experience. The first thing that he saw was the angel of the Lord appeared in the flame there. [00:23:27] The call of God always is accompanied by a divine presence. We can see in the Old Testament of different times, or in the Old Dispensation I should say, of times when God used fire, He used light, and different things to show and assure them of His presence. Today, we have the Holy Ghost within us, and that's part of the Trinity, a divine presence within us. [00:24:09] As John 16 says, that this Comforter or this Holy Ghost is guiding us in all truth. And I hope that you've, at some point in time, had the blessing of experiencing that, of where you felt the call of God, and you felt unable, and yet you willingly gave and said, And here am I. There's a peace. There's something that comes when an inner feeling of peace, when we place ourselves in God's hand and we can sense that divine presence with us, even though we have no idea how it is all going to work out. [00:25:00] And there's blessings that come from that, that I hope that you've experienced. Another thing that caught his attention was, he saw the bush burning, but it wasn't being burnt, or it wasn't consumed as it says here. Sometimes I wish for that type of dramatic thing today. But we can learn from this experience and we have, like I said, we even have even more than that. [00:25:39] We have the Holy Ghost within us. So I don't think we need to look at that in it that way. I see this as a sign of his preserving power. You know, Moses was going to face tremendous difficulty, tremendous fire, and yet, as he gave himself over to God, allowed God to use him, he always made it to the other side. Across the Red Sea, across the Jordan, when there was wars, different things, he always made it through. [00:26:18] And that's the assurance that we can have today. Whatever we face, the difficulties that we face, the fire that we face, we can be assured that God will also sustain where He has called us. And that's a blessing. He will preserve and He will prevail. We don't have always the idea or don't know how, but His promises are true. Moses was made aware that the place where he was standing is holy ground. [00:26:58] He was asked to take his shoes off his feet. For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. I think the call of God is a place of holy ground. It's not something to be taken lightly. To be disrespectful about, to shrug it off. You know, we do well to see it as a holy calling. When we feel a nudge of the Spirit, when there's a task at hand, [00:27:34] do we just kind of sit still until that feeling goes away? Do we disregard it? Do we seek to find out whether or not we should be available for that task? We sang in that song just before the message, prompt to serve the God I love. It can be in different ways. Maybe it's teaching a Sunday school class. [00:28:08] We sense that as holy ground. Maybe lending a hand to someone in need, we sense it as holy ground. God is there. Accountability on how it's done, we sense that this is as unto God. God didn't only want to reveal himself in this situation, but he had a mission for Moses. And his mission was go. It was to do something, to go, and he had specific ways of how he told him to go. [00:28:46] First of all, he was to go and tell them that God had heard them. God had seen them. He knew their oppression. He knew how hard they had it. God heard their cries. And therefore we can know that God is a God that feels. He knows what we're going through. I think that should be a part of our mission today, is to share hope. [00:29:19] To share that people need to know that God cares about them. We sing the song, Tears Are Our Language, that God understands. He sees the brokenhearted. He hears when they cry. And he wants all men to be free of that bondage, if they're in. He sees and cares. Moses had a mission. His message was to share that God cares. [00:29:55] He was also to tell Israel to give them a message of promise to remind them of the covenant that God had made with them to Abraham that Canaan, the land of Canaan, was theirs. Even where they were at, that they should be encouraged in knowing that Canaan land was to be theirs. It was a land of milk and honey. and we today have promises of God [00:30:31] and we sang in relation to that where will you be in a million years? We have a promise of His return. It will happen. He will come again. He is coming to receive His own in 1 John 2.25 and this is the promise that He has promised us even eternal life. You know, we live in a dark world Where many people live in difficulty or live in bondage and we need to, our message needs to be one of hope, of promise, of knowing that God is going to return, but also the promise that he has given the provisions available that we can be ready for his return. [00:31:18] Even in amongst our own people, we can be the type of encouragement that we can be to each other during times of difficulty where we can help focus on the promises of God that he will see us through. We can see in the responses of Moses that he was human. I can hear him saying, they won't believe me. [00:31:51] They won't listen. Lord, don't you know I'm an outlaw? I can't talk, I'm not eloquent, I'm slow of speech. What happened in those 40 years? He had been mighty in word. This is the reply of God in verse 14. And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me to him. [00:32:27] The use of I am there denotes the expression of his character as one of dependability and faithfulness. verse 15 and Elohim said moreover to Moses thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel the Lord Elohim of your fathers the Elohim of Abraham the Elohim of Isaac the Elohim of Jacob has sent me to you [00:32:58] Elohim expresses his greatness his mighty power that was used in creation His sovereignty It contains the idea of a governing power And this was what was needed God wanted to make it clear That this mission was His mission And by His authority Not by Moses' hand [00:33:30] We can hear Remember, or we can probably feel along with those experiences today too, but we can have the promise, and that is by the power and the authority of God that He will see us through. We can expect victory. We can expect strength that it takes to complete the task if He calls us to it. Even though we don't have words, the Bible says He will give us words. [00:34:06] But we need to remember that it's God's authority. It's through God's hands. It's God's work, not ours. And then, when the task is completed, we need to, or, and there's times when we stand back and marvel at how God has worked. Then that praise and that honor and glory needs to go to God because it was Him. It was through Him. The question I'd like to leave with us this morning is, there are many opportunities abounding. [00:34:43] Am I available? True availability? Can I see in myself or can I take the mission that God has given, that God gave to Moses and apply these to myself? And as I see opportunities, am I usable in God's hands?