Who Is in Control - God or Man

[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. Again, it's good to be with you. I trust that my voice holds out for the evening. I had a little difficulty this week with laryngitis or something like that. [00:00:37] I appreciate your coming out on what is sometimes referred to as the devil's night. In a series of meetings, often Saturday night has that reputation. And we appreciate all of you who are here. We'd like to say a few more words about FCM. We talked a bit about that last evening before Brother Clyde spoke. FCM, the Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites, is an organization dedicated to calling the church to the truth. [00:01:21] and the emphasis has been redirected in the later years here redirected to strengthen those things that remain and thus our ministry is primarily to those churches and individuals that would identify themselves We need to be warned and admonished and encouraged to remain faithful to the truth as God has revealed it through the scriptures. [00:02:07] Now for our consideration tonight, and we don't want to keep you late on Saturday night, so we will try to cut to the chase as they say. For our consideration tonight, I would like you to turn with me to Exodus chapter 3. First of all, and we want to look at several scriptures early in the going here. Exodus chapter 3, as a basis for our consideration, and we'll be looking at this passage repeatedly this evening, [00:02:53] we come to the subject, who is in control, God or man? is a very basic subject to the issue of open theology or the open view of God which Brother Clyde referred to last evening that is taking the church in a whirlwind as far as an alternate, we believe, false teaching. [00:03:27] Basically the premise being that God cannot know everything and he does not know in any kind of exact terms what the future holds. He does have a general idea and he knows what is going to happen at the end but he cannot predict what you and I are going to do tomorrow. The problem with this view is that it makes God extremely small and tends to make man extremely big. [00:04:06] And Brother Clyde referred to that and presented biblical truth relating to those questions last evening. We come to the next step tonight, and that is, who is in control? Is it all? Is it God or man? And I would like to address that looking at Exodus chapter 3 together with a number of other passages. And in doing that we are not exhausting what the scripture has to say. [00:04:38] We're really only scratching the surface. But I hope to stir up your minds so that you will continue to investigate this subject and see what God does say about it. So our purpose tonight is rather to introduce rather than to exhaustively teach the issues. Exodus chapter 3 and we will begin at verse 10 and we will look at several different parts of this passage going into chapter 4. [00:05:10] but for the sake of of time we will not read the whole passage so I will address the verses as we read them Exodus chapter 3 verse 10 God is speaking to Moses as he met him in the wilderness while keeping the flock of of Jethro. And God says, come now, verse 10, 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? And he said, God said, [00:06:06] verse 12, 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. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say to 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 [00:06:40] said unto Moses I am that I am and he said thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel I am has sent me unto you now notice chapter 4 verse 1 And Moses answered and said, Behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. [00:07:16] and verse 9 of chapter 4 and it shall come to pass if they will not believe also these two signs and the context between these verses deals with the signs that God gave Moses if they do not believe or will not believe also these two signs neither hearken unto thy voice that thou shalt take of the water of the river and poured upon the dry land, and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. [00:07:55] Verse 10, And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, But I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? [00:08:28] Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. [00:09:00] And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee. And when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth, and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people, and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth. [00:09:32] and thou shalt be to him instead of God and I notice verse 27 and the Lord said to Aaron go into the wilderness to meet Moses and he went and met him in the The issue before us tonight as to who is in control is described by those who study such things [00:10:12] as the issue of the sovereignty of God on the one hand versus the autonomy of man on the other. I know that there are conflicts as we relate to the truth of God. There are things in the Bible that we do not fully understand. We are finite. God is infinite. [00:10:42] If I understand the Bible correctly, with such statements as heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away, that the word of God is eternal, if I understand that correctly, we will still be rejoicing, Even studying the truths of this book in eternity [00:11:14] For us to think that we can fully understand the things that on the surface appear contradictory Is for us to think too highly of ourselves Now the Holy Spirit is the interpreter and he can guide us And we can learn all that we need to know from the scripture. But to say that we perfectly understand it is to be proud. [00:11:49] It is to say that we can understand God perfectly. And the finite cannot understand the infinite perfectly. So as we have these two positions, the one, the sovereignty of God, it does have things about it, even though the Bible teaches it, and we will look at that in just a moment. It does have things about it that we don't understand. On the other hand, over against that would be the case where man rears his head and fist to God and says, [00:12:35] I, man, am in control of my situation. And so there are the two views And I suggest to you tonight that the one is biblical And the other is not Man is not in control Of his circumstances or his situation As much as he would like to be Now let's just look rather quickly at several passages [00:13:09] of scripture to lay some foundation for what we would like to say tonight. So if you will look with me beginning at Acts 2. Acts chapter 2. And here in a sermon, the Apostle Peter speaks. Acts chapter 2, verse 23. Speaking of Jesus Christ, Peter says, [00:13:45] Him, that is Christ, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible he should be held of it. Notice here that the cross was not an accident, that men operated with wicked hands according to their free will. [00:14:27] But they fell into, if you will, the overall plan of God And God foreknew everything that was going to happen there And so in fact while man operated freely in the crucifixion of the Lord It was in detail according to God's foreknowledge and within his plan. [00:15:04] So did man crucify Christ? That's what it says, with wicked hands. Was the crucifixion a detailed part of the plan of God which he foreknew would happen? Absolutely. Christ came to be crucified. That was determined beforehand in the plan of God. You ask me, do I understand all that? [00:15:38] No. But it's true, because the scripture says so. Now look with me to Isaiah chapter 14. Isaiah chapter 14. Verse 26 and 27. [00:16:11] This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Again, we see the intent of God and the control of God over the events of history. And so in answer to the question, who is in control, this in its context speaks of God. [00:16:50] But it does not speak of God apart from the instrumentality of men. For the armies are involved in this context. But it is God that wills. and man in his free will operates freely but God is in ultimate control. Our Heavenly Father does not make anyone sin. We sin all by ourselves [00:17:24] but he knows what we're going to do because he's God. He never violates us. God never drags anybody kicking and screaming in order for them to fit into his plan. He leaves us totally free, but he does know everything we're going to do. [00:17:58] Let's look at Isaiah chapter 46. Isaiah chapter 46 Verse 10 And verse 9 introduces you to who is speaking [00:18:30] Speaking of I am God, there's none like me. Now verse 10. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country, Yea, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will do it. [00:19:06] Who is in control there? God. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. speaking again of God if you read this context in Christ verse 11 of Ephesians chapter 1 in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him now notice what it says who worketh all things after [00:19:55] of his own will. Now, who's in control there? God. Doesn't even say some things, does it? Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Turn with me to Numbers chapter 23. Numbers chapter 23. verse 19 numbers 23 19 God is not a man that he should lie neither the Son of [00:20:51] Is there not a man that he should repent? Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? See, the very character of our God is changeless. He is in ultimate control of all things. Bible teaches about Christ that by him everything is held together and it's by the constancy of his person that things continue to work in the galaxies as we can observe them even to the point of keeping time by them. [00:21:47] God is in control. Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Verse 29 [00:22:22] 1 Samuel 15, 29 And also the strength of Israel, in reference to God, will not lie nor repent. For he is not a man that he should repent. God is in control. He does not change. And that is a problem. Because elsewhere in the scriptures, particularly in Genesis, [00:22:57] it speaks of God repenting that he made man. at the time of the flood. So what did take place there? Or in Jonah it speaks of God repenting. And yet this passage together with many parallel passages says God doesn't do that. We'll try [00:23:29] I'm going to try to give you some clues to the answer to that as we go forward, but we want to establish, first of all, the clear teaching of Scripture that God does not change. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. Just have a couple more passages to look at in this foundation section. Hebrews chapter 1. Verses 10 and 11 [00:24:10] And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest. They all wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. [00:24:45] God is always the same. A parallel passage in Hebrews, Jesus Christ, the same. yesterday, today, and forever. Finally, a turn with me to Psalm 102. Psalm 102. Psalm 102. Beginning at verse 25, this is the Old Testament foundation of the passage we just read. [00:25:29] Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and of the heavens, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment as a vesture. Thou shalt, or shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same. Thy years have no end. These are a few of the statements about God in the scriptures. [00:26:05] They speak about God not changing. They speak about God in control. They speak about God knowing all things. Now let's go back to our Exodus passage. And I would remind you of the basis of some of the truths in this Exodus passage. [00:26:47] Moses has tried to do something on his own, that is deliver his people. Got himself in great trouble due to his sin And is on the back side of the desert In Midian, caring for sheep Enduring 40 years of training And at the end of that He has a burning bush experience And out of that comes this conversation that he has with God [00:27:22] Nothing that happens to us happens by accident. It is all usable by God in our lives. That does not mean that the things that happen to us are all very nice. It does not mean that God is the author of sin. or badness or hurt but it does mean that everything that happens in our lives [00:28:00] is usable for the good and the passage that we're looking at is one of the passages that teaches that very strongly it's built upon the foundation of something that happened In Genesis 50 and verse 20 where Joseph is responding to his brethren thinking that [00:28:31] they were thinking that maybe he would take out his frustration on them after their father died because they had sold him away into slavery. He spent time in prison and all the negative things that happened to him. And Joseph responds in that case by saying, As for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. [00:29:08] Well, that is not to say that the bad things that happened to Joseph were somehow good. They weren't. It's not to say, as the Calvinist tends to say, and the common humorous anecdote about the Calvinist in such a case like this is illustrated by the story of the Calvinist who fell down the stairs and hurt himself really badly. [00:29:44] And he got up, shook himself off, dusted himself off, and said, I'm glad that's over. Basically, everything that happens is a part of the plan of God, and I can't do anything about it, so I'm just glad it's over. That's not where we are. It's not where the Bible is. The issue is that even the bad things that God allows to happen as he allowed those things to happen to Joseph [00:30:15] can be used and will be used as we are open to it for the good, the eternal good. And God is not sitting up there biting his nails wondering whether we're going to get through it or not. He's not worried. He is in ultimate control. And he knows that it will turn out all right in the end. [00:30:49] Now Joseph's brothers did not do a good deed, you see, in throwing him into a pit and selling him to the slave traders. And they suffered for their sin. But God used all of that. and that's the picture I hope we can get tonight [00:31:21] that God is in ultimate control he does not usurp our responsibility he does not dismiss it we operate according to our free will he did not make those brothers sell Joseph into captivity he did not do that they thought that up all by themselves but he used that and it was a part of his ultimate plan Now, you may ask the question, well, what if they hadn't done that? And Joseph hadn't got to Egypt, and hadn't been there to interpret the dreams and all that. [00:32:02] What if they hadn't done that? And we would all agree, I hope, that God didn't make them do it. But they did it. and God knew they were going to do it and included it in his plan from eternity now if they had chosen not to I'm sure there would have been some other way to save the people [00:32:32] but that's rather an empty argument because the fact is they did and God knew that they were going to but he in no way made them do it because God is infinite He knows every detail of everything that's going to happen. He knows what you're going to do tomorrow. And you can despise that and hate that all you want. But he still knows what you're going to do tomorrow. I'd rather take comfort in it. [00:33:06] And I think that is the intent of the person of God for us. He knows what I'm going to do tomorrow, but I'm responsible for it. And I do it with my own free will. And he doesn't tamper with that. But he does know, because he knows all things. And the scripture says that he does. So as we wrestle with these issues, [00:33:37] Let's be very honest and frank. They are, you know, they are incomplete to our frail, limited human minds. But that does not mean that we do funny work with God's word. And so as you think about the background with Joseph of the events that now bring us into Moses' life, I would like to review with you the principal issue with Moses. [00:34:14] Moses started making excuses as we read in chapter 3. He made one excuse after another. They won't listen to me. They'll say, who do you think you are? and then he gets to his last excuse essentially and that's what we would like to meditate on a little tonight beginning at verse 10 of chapter 4 Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent [00:34:47] I can't talk very well and I talk very slow, he says and what I'd like us to notice is God's response because it does reflect this issue of who is in control. And in our flesh, our sinful flesh, we don't like God's reply very well. Verse 11, Exodus 4, [00:35:20] And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb? or deaf or seeing or blind have not I the Lord now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say I say we don't like that very well especially we Americans that that worship the perfect man and the [00:35:58] God says, I made the dumb, deaf, seeing, blind. That doesn't feel very good, does it, when you first think about it? But we are answering the question, who is in control? And the scripture gives us a fairly clear answer. And John 9, the Lord is asked, why was this man born blind? [00:36:43] Did his parents sin or did he sin? And you remember the Lord's reply, neither one. but that God might be glorified in him. I cannot answer all of the questions. I won't even try. But I think we can assert the facts. [00:37:19] Facts are that it is somehow within the plan of God for the good that all things happen, especially in the lives of those who love God. That is what Romans 8.28 says. And so, I will not try to lessen the pain of those circumstances that happen in your lives that are very painful. [00:37:56] of children or of having children that are born blind or whatever this passage says. That is painful. On the other hand, we do have the comfort of the scriptures telling us that it is not as a result of our sin, that it is not just some part of fate [00:38:29] but God means those things ultimately for good in our lives. I often say to counselees, stop taking credit for that. And they'll be talking about some issue in their lives and blaming themselves. [00:39:01] And there's a time to blame yourself. I'm not saying there isn't. But oftentimes people load on themselves a whole bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with them. And I'll just say, stop taking credit for that. And I do think that that's what we sometimes do. You know, we have something very negative that happens in our lives. And we say, it's all my fault. It's all my fault. If I'd only done this different, this different. And we do need to accept responsibility for where our free will leads us. [00:39:35] That is certainly true. On the other hand, isn't it wise, according to the scriptures we've looked at, isn't it wise to ask the question, What does God have in this for me? What is God trying to teach me through this? And it isn't that God is simply trying. [00:40:10] What should I try to learn through this would be a better way to put it. Our view of God is much too small. And that is why today we have this error running rampant that, you know, man can take care of all these things and God is simply learning from us as we go forward. That's error. Clearly so. If you pray, listen to me now, if you pray, you believe in the sovereignty of God. [00:40:50] Don't you? If you believe you're in control of it all and God is just a good buddy then why pray? Let him watch. I don't mean to be sacrilegious. And so in this text When Moses, in his free will, refuses the call of God to go directly to the people and prepare them to leave Egypt, [00:41:36] Moses said, it's all in my mouth, God, I just can't get it done. And God said, I made your mouth, fella I know what you can do And I'll be with your mouth It's almost as if God says I know your slow speech, Moses That's the way I made you I intended you to be slow of speech I want them to listen carefully to your slow speech [00:42:08] But no, Moses says no And so this side of the passage you have the sovereignty of God expressed Yes, I made man's mouth And it fits into my plan For you That your mouth is slow I'm going to do it. [00:42:48] And God doesn't box his ears and say, oh, yes, you are. God does not drag us kicking and screaming to his plan. That's not how the thing is played out. Now, God is very capable of bringing the hornets to encourage people along, as he demonstrates later in the Old Testament. But, he never drags anyone kicking and screaming. The hornet song, probably some of you have heard it. [00:43:21] I remember hearing it as a boy, and I don't have a copy anymore. But, what do the words say? God never makes you go against your will. He just makes you willing to go. And so it is, God's working with us. He does not violate us. To say that God is sovereign does not mean that he drags anyone kicking and screaming against their will. And you have it perfectly illustrated in this context. [00:43:58] God said all right and notice what he says verse 14 the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and they said is not Aaron the Levite thy brother I know that he can speak well also behold he cometh forth to meet thee and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart if you carefully study the use of the You will get the definite impression that God had already started airing out on the journey to meet Moses before they had this conversation. [00:44:40] And so God wasn't surprised when Moses said, no, I won't do it. I have to have somebody talk for me. That didn't catch God off guard. He already had things flowing along in his overall plan, his overall control of things. Aaron was on the way. And Aaron was going to do the talking. Now was that how God called it to be? No. [00:45:15] And Moses is going to suffer because of Aaron several times in the future. And I believe that's because Moses refused the call of God. But it doesn't change the overall plan of God and it doesn't change God's issues of control. It isn't as if God has to make a new plan because you refuse to do something. [00:45:47] It isn't that God has to go back to the drawing boards. It isn't that when Adam sinned, God says, oh no, I don't know what to do. What are we going to do now? That never happens. And to support that, before Adam sinned, logically, you needed no salvation. Isn't that right? And so if you look at it simply humanly, Adam sinned, the plans messed up, so now we have to do something different, we have to provide salvation. [00:46:23] But what does the Bible say? Why? It says that Jesus is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. That was a part of God's plan eternally. Adam didn't catch God off guard. Adam didn't change the plan of God. But he operated in his perfectly free will. You see, the two truths are taught in the scripture, illustrated in the scripture. [00:47:01] Can you bring them together like this and say they really fit together? I can't. I doubt that you can. But they're both true. God is sovereign. He is in control. And man is responsible. And he does have a free will. Those are both true and God is ultimately guiding the world in his plan and he knows every single thing that is going to happen and he knows it perfectly and in detail. [00:47:39] Another tangent of this passage deals with the man Pharaoh. And we get really involved when we study Pharaoh because it speaks about God hardening his heart. And that certainly makes it seem that it is God meddling in Pharaoh's free will. But if you study the passages carefully, including chapter 9 of Romans, where this is brought up again, [00:48:09] I think you will fairly easily conclude that Pharaoh, of his own free will, refused to let the people go. He rejected the word of God. He assigned the miracles of God to magic and several other such things. And he set himself up for an Esau-type relationship with God. [00:48:51] It's interesting, in Romans, those two come together, Esau and Pharaoh, in the same context. And in that case, when someone hardens themselves against God irreversibly, it can actually be said that God says okay, and God, as it says in Romans 1, gives them up to a reprobate mind. [00:49:24] And it can be said then that God actually hardens them. And I think that is the explanation for Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a free will. He could have let those people go. God knew he wasn't going to. He says so ahead of time. But he was given an opportunity, more than one. And when he finally would not, God actually made it worse for him. [00:49:57] as Esau who came to a place in his rejection as it says in Romans and Hebrews where his rejection was so intense and so final that he crossed the line and it said then he sought repentance with tears and could not find it. So there is a time when God says okay you can have it all your way. and I'll even harden you in it but apart from that extreme the door is open [00:50:40] or mercy is open it's open to us and God allows us to operate in a free will he knows a perfectly free will but he knows what we're going to do because he knows He knows the end from the beginning, and there is nothing that He does not know. Now this issue that was raised earlier about repentance, where the Bible actually does say that God repented, when the Bible also says, as we read in the foundation passages [00:51:20] for this evening. God does not repent. Now, we know it can't be both. And this is one of the great controversies of Scripture. In the case of Nineveh, where it says that After Jonah preached, they came to repentance in sackcloth and ashes, and then God did not destroy the city as he said he would. [00:52:05] That repentance is a picture of God, and listen to me now, is a picture of God being the same. He didn't change. God's the same. God brings judgment upon evil, always. He responds in mercy to repentance, always, except in a case like Esau and Pharaoh. [00:52:38] And that is over after they've gone and gone and gone in their rebellion. But apart from that, always God responds to repentance. So in the case of Nineveh, who changed? God didn't change. He's the same. The people changed. And so God responded in his sameness. This judgment upon sin, mercy on repentance. [00:53:18] The situation in Genesis is a little different, where sin had come there in Genesis 6 to the point where man's thoughts were continual sin and rebellion and violence. And it says God repented that he made man. [00:53:54] A careful analysis of that in the light of such a passage as Ezekiel 18.31 where God says of the people of Israel, Why will ye die? It's a question. Why will ye die? and he's talking in that context of Ezekiel about salvation and about coming to him and they wouldn't come and the Lord says, why will you die? [00:54:29] It's the grief of God over having provided for salvation and them not coming. They insist on being judged They insist on dying eternally I don't think it's a question that he doesn't know the answer to Because the scripture tells us that God knows all the answers It is rather a token of his grief [00:55:02] That he wants a relationship with man And he experiences this rebellion Why we die And I think that is a picture of what you have in Genesis 6 Not that God is about to change his mind Not that he didn't know that man was going to go into this continual violence and all that [00:55:32] But it just grieves him so That he, God, who is always the same and who must judge sin and who must judge sin massively as in the flood of that passage. He says, why? And it's not that he doesn't know the answer. He's communicating that grief to us. [00:56:05] For all the wonders of his grace are there. And in their free will, they run away from that which would save them eternally. I think that's the tone. It's rather the tone of the issue, rather than just taking the thing, oh, God changed his mind. When the scripture clearly says God doesn't change his mind, he's always the same. It's that very rigid truth that God is. [00:56:40] Man changes, and so it appears at first glance that God changed, but actually, man is the one that has changed. I call us to a high view of God. The view that God says himself, I am the Lord, I change not. [00:57:12] And a recognition that we are lowly creatures, broken creatures. And that we yo-yo all over the place. But we have a constant in God. I call us to recognize that and to realize then when condemnation comes man brings that upon himself. [00:57:46] He in a sense leaves God with no choice because God is who he is. He's righteous, holy, and just. And so, do we say God is to blame for sending people to hell? No. It's almost as if they send themselves to hell. God always the same. He cannot do anything but judge sin in one way or another. [00:58:23] and either Christ pays the price or the judgment falls on us. So people in a sense, in that sense, send themselves to hell. It isn't nearly the idea that some would present that God is unfair. No, he's perfectly fair and right. and righteous all together. [00:58:58] So God made all of us. God made us with our idiosyncrasies and God will use all of those things even blindness for the good. So let's not blame ourselves or take credit ourselves for some of these things [00:59:36] but let's look to him for what he can do through us with our limitations. Who's in charge? Man or God? I submit to you that God clearly says that he is in charge. And we're called to bow the knee to him and trust him implicitly. [01:00:09] And recognize that the one with whom we have to do is perfect, he is loving, and kind. but he is perfect and he knows us completely as brother Tom read earlier we've been searched he knows us completely and I would not have it any [01:00:39] other way let's pray thank you father for your word as we have talked tonight about the principles of your word as we think of the call of Moses. Impress upon us the application of that passage in being open to your will and to your plan and to your call, whatever that may be. [01:01:11] Help us to realize that you are the sovereign Lord of the universe. And you're high and holy, and we are small and lowly, but that you want a relationship with us that transcends all other relationships, and we want that too, by your grace. Guide us in it, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. [01:01:48] Thank you for watching!