-- Sunday, 4/11/10 -- WHO IS REALLY DOING THE WORK -- Exodus 3:1-10
J.R. & Bonnie Ricks
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WHO IS REALLY DOING THE WORK -- Exodus 3:1-10 NIV
A very interesting fact is revealed in this story of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. That fact is, no matter how much we want to believe to the contrary, God does not need us for anything! He did not need Moses to get the Israelites out of Egypt. In verses 7-10, He says, 7"I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey - the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
As we can see in verse 8, God had come down from heaven to rescue His people and to lead them to what would come to be called “The Promised Land.” He did not need Moses to free His people… He was just going to allow Moses to go along and participate in what He, God Almighty, was doing. He could easily have freed Israel Himself, but He gave Moses the blessing of being the leader who would take them out of Egypt, then lead them through the wilderness for 40 years.
Of course, Moses’ instant reaction was, “Who me? I can’t do that!!! I don’t speak well! I’m not prepared! You need to pick someone else for this job!” Just like anyone else faced with such a seemingly overwhelming task, Moses could only see his own inability to accomplish something so huge, never giving a single thought to the idea that maybe GOD would be the one really doing all the work. Instead, Moses most likely was having the typical human reaction, thinking he might be the only chance Israel had to be free! And if that was true, what if he messed things up? He would cause Israel to stay captive in Egypt forever! Oh, no, God better find someone else for this monumental task!
Moses was no different from people today… We all can be really amusing sometimes… How many times have you heard someone say something like, “If you don’t witness to him, he won’t ever be saved!” “You may be her only chance at salvation, so you’d better do this one right!” Think about that for a moment… Is God so weak that He has to depend on you or me for someone else’s salvation? And if we blow it, that person will end up hell?
Of course not! Like we said, God does not need you or me to do His work… like Moses, He just enjoys allowing us to participate in what HE is doing! In fact, He really WANTS us to participate in what He’s doing.
Then, does this mean we don’t have to worry about witnessing to the lost since God doesn’t really need us, and is doing all the work Himself? Of course not, again! God gave Moses a job to do – his part in what God was doing, and He intended for Moses to do it to the best of his ability. It’s the same with you and me… God gives us things to do for His Kingdom and His glory, and He expects us to do them to the best of our ability… the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20 being just one of them. At the same time, we should never grow so arrogant as to think that God would leave someone else’s salvation in our hands!
Just remember, God has everything under control… He is working constantly, and He enjoys allowing us to work with Him and for Him. So, when He gives you something to do, then do it to the best of your ability. But if you mess it up, don’t worry! You can’t stop God’s plan for someone else any more than you can stop His plan for you!
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