Greetings again my Brethren. Let us continue this month looking at how God raised up a “nobody” to be used greatly in His service. Remember God never calls the qualified, He qualifies (or approves) the ones He calls. This month we will look at two more objections Moses (as we do also) raised that God replied to. The first objection is lack of credentials. In other words Moses was not from the right side of the tracks . We lack the political and financial connections and influence to help God out. You know God needs our help (and He does to a certain degree) to make things happen. It is not about talent or ability it is about pedigree. Well Moses lost his palace pedigree when he identified with his earthly family, but at the same time his heavenly pedigree was established. For this to happen we must be willing to throw our earthly life away to win the life of Christ. We see this truth play out in the 4th Chapter of Exodus. The Bible says, “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. 2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:” (Exodus 4:1-4) Now I do not know about you my friend, but to reach out and take a snake (not knowing if it is poisonous or not) by the tail is a foolish if not stupid thing to do, but God was after something more from Moses. I have heard message after message taught on these verses that focus on the miracle of the rod to snake then back to the rod, but that was not really the miracle transformation. It was Moses not the snake. When Moses grabs the snake his hand makes a base for which the snake can secure himself and strike Moses knew this. Moses moved in obedience to God at the risk of his own life. My friend we must put it all on the line as Moses did. And what was Moses’ reward? The “Rod of God” the symbol of Moses’ spiritual authority on earth. he used this rod to part the red sea, cause water to come from a rock (twice), and even placed it in the Ark of the Covenant. Moses choose to lose his life so that He could find the life God had for him. So too in our lives. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25) greatness in God has nothing to do with pedigree or greatness, but are we willing to lose our life so that we can find it in Christ. The last area we will look at in being a “nobody” is the lack of eloquence. Back in Exodus we read,
“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.
11 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?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:10-12) We see today on Christian TV and some churches the eloquent and affluent speakers strutting “their stuff” across the stage dressed in $1,000 suits and alligator shoes shaking their fist in the air as their diamond rings and Rolex watches glisten in the stage lights. And what a message, delivered with all of the tricks and ploys to get our emotions involved. Smoke and the light show fills the stage as the strobe light rolls across the congregation. Sadly is what you see in many churches. Well dressed, well spoken, well cultured men and women able to look good for the camera. Funny John the Baptist wore a coat of animal skins not what the eloquent of his day would wear. He was not well spoken, but direct and to the point. Yet God used him in spite of his lack of culture and status in the community. Moses said I am not an eloquent man, but God said I will have nothing to do with that. God replied to Moses, “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? Wow what a rebuke. You know a good rebuke will carry us a lot further in God than a good blessing? It was like when Moses asked who God was and He replied tell them “I AM THAT I AM.” Well here God reminds Moses He is the One who can make man: talk or not talk, see or not see, hear or not hear, He the LORD God does it all and if Moses needs something He will make it happen for Moses. Did you know God does not love Moses more than He does us? Please notice God’s statement in verse 12, “I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” The same promise God gave to the disciples and us. “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12) It need not depend on our eloquence, pedigree, speaking ability, or intelligence, but on our ability to learn what the LORD wants to teach us.
Next month we will look at how God trained Moses for instantaneous, unquestioning obedience. What is in our heart to object to when God calls. Listen closely my friend do you hear Him call now?
