"What is God looking for?"

Day 4: Someone That Speaks His Word

Introduction:

When reading through the Bible, oftentimes we see that when God has something really, really important to say, He chooses a man to say it through. We look at people like Moses, Joshua, and the prophets, and we see this pattern very clear. God chooses to speak through men.

Wonder why this is? Does God have stage fright? No, definitely not. Rather, God chooses men to speak on His behalf because it is His goal to allow men to partner with Him on what He is doing. God set it up to where we have 1) free will, 2) authority/dominion here on the earth, and 3) have influence* in God's work here on the earth (*we'll talk more about this in a later entry -- for now, just take the example of Abraham interceding for Sodom - Genesis 18:16-33). So it is very important to God that we get involved with what He is wanting to do. So much so that He is constantly looking for someone He can talk to about things He wants to do.

Verses:

Exodus 3:14-21 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.

Explanation:

This story is a powerful representation of this principle, that God works alongside man to accomplish things on the Earth. Here is Moses, a person who, by all accounts (if you read the previous chapters), shouldn't really be used by God. He's a murderer, a coward, a bit of a hypocrite, and currently, he is hiding and wandering in the wilderness. Yet, God shows up and starts talking to him about plans to free the people of Israel.

A very important part of this story is that God is instructing Moses on what to say, but then gives Moses a promise. He says "I will stretch out My hand." God is inviting Moses to take part in His story and if that wasn't enough, God is saying that He will back Moses up with His power. How amazing is this?

So, long story short, Moses goes. If you haven't read the story, feel free to read the entire first 15 chapters of Exodus. It truly is a fantastic adventure. The awesome part is that God lives up to His side of the bargain. Moses goes and confronts Pharaoh, and God backs him up. It's a great principle to learn early on in your walk with the Lord, God is faithful, you need only to trust in Him, and He'll do the rest.

Since this story is about the Exodus and freedom of the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt, it can be easy to distance ourselves and say that it doesn't really apply to us as New Testament Believers, since we may not feel that we have a message like that, or a mission to carry out. The Bible is very clear that our mission, and commission, is about telling the world that God's Kingdom is at hand, sharing the good news of the Gospel, and making disciples of all nations (see the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20). Jesus is alive and well and we should have the courage to talk about it - just as Moses found the courage to talk with Pharaoh!

Activation:

This week, share the Gospel with someone. It doesn't have to be super spiritual or even eloquent. God says do not worry about what you'll say, He will give you the courage and words to say it (Luke 12:11-12). Just start with, "This is what Jesus means to me...", tell your testimony, and (like with Moses and the power of God) let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Paul talks about this, to some degree, in 1 Corinthians 2:4 "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." You don't have to worry about the "hard" part of convincing them. You just need to "demonstrate" the Gospel. Tell people about the Gospel and demonstrate it with your life. Tell them your story, and live it out in front of them.

Pray this with me:

Jesus, thank You for the gift of salvation, the invitation into abundant life with You, and for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven near to us. Give me boldness to share with those around me the good news of the Gospel and the Kingdom. I want to fulfill the Great Commission You have entrusted to all believers. Help me to do that. In Jesus' name, amen!