"1 But Moses protested again, "What
if they won't believe me or listen to
me? What if they say, 'The Lord never
appeared to you'?" 2 Then the Lord asked
him, "What is that in your hand?" "A
shepherd's staff," Moses replied. 3
"Throw it down on the ground," the Lord
told him. So Moses threw down the staff,
and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped
back. 4 Then the Lord told him, "Reach
out and grab its tail." So Moses reached
out and grabbed it, and it turned back
into a shepherd's staff in his hand. 5
"Perform this sign," the Lord told him.
"Then they will believe that the Lord,
the God of their ancestors-the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob-really has appeared to you."
6 Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Now put your hand inside your cloak."
So Moses put his hand inside his cloak,
and when he took it out again, his hand
was white as snow with a severe skin
disease.[a] 7 "Now put your hand back
into your cloak," the Lord said. So
Moses put his hand back in, and when he
took it out again, it was as healthy as
the rest of his body. 8 The Lord said to
Moses, "If they do not believe you and
are not convinced by the first
miraculous sign, they will be convinced
by the second sign. 9 And if they don't
believe you or listen to you even after
these two signs, then take some water
from the Nile River and pour it out on
the dry ground. When you do, the water
from the Nile will turn to blood on the
ground."
10 But Moses pleaded
with the Lord, "O Lord, I'm not very
good with words. I never have been, and
I'm not now, even though you have spoken
to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words
get tangled." 11 Then the Lord asked
Moses, "Who makes a person's mouth? Who
decides whether people speak or do not
speak, hear or do not hear, see or do
not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now
go! I will be with you as you speak, and
I will instruct you in what to say." 13
But Moses again pleaded, "Lord, please!
Send anyone else."
14 Then the
Lord became angry with Moses. "All
right," he said. "What about your
brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he
speaks well. And look! He is on his way
to meet you now. He will be delighted to
see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the
words in his mouth. I will be with both
of you as you speak, and I will instruct
you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be
your spokesman to the people. He will be
your mouthpiece, and you will stand in
the place of God for him, telling him
what to say. 17 And take your shepherd's
staff with you, and use it to perform
the miraculous signs I have shown you."
18 So Moses went back home to
Jethro, his father-in- law. "Please let
me return to my relatives in Egypt,"
Moses said. "I don't even know if they
are still alive." "Go in peace," Jethro
replied. 19 Before Moses left Midian,
the Lord said to him, "Return to Egypt,
for all those who wanted to kill you
have died." 20 So Moses took his wife
and sons, put them on a donkey, and
headed back to the land of Egypt. In his
hand he carried the staff of God. 21 And
the Lord told Moses, "When you arrive
back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform
all the miracles I have empowered you to
do. But I will harden his heart so he
will refuse to let the people go. 22
Then you will tell him, 'This is what
the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn
son. 23 I commanded you, "Let my son go,
so he can worship me." But since you
have refused, I will now kill your
firstborn son!'" 24 On the way to Egypt,
at a place where Moses and his family
had stopped for the night, the Lord
confronted him and was about to kill
him. 25 But Moses' wife, Zipporah, took
a flint knife and circumcised her son.
She touched his feet[b] with the
foreskin and said, "Now you are a
bridegroom of blood to me." 26 (When she
said "a bridegroom of blood," she was
referring to the circumcision.) After
that, the Lord left him alone. 27 Now
the Lord had said to Aaron, "Go out into
the wilderness to meet Moses." So Aaron
went and met Moses at the mountain of
God, and he embraced him. 28 Moses then
told Aaron everything the Lord had
commanded him to say. And he told him
about the miraculous signs the Lord had
commanded him to perform.
29
Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt
and called all the elders of Israel
together. 30 Aaron told them everything
the Lord had told Moses, and Moses
performed the miraculous signs as they
watched. 31 Then the people of Israel
were convinced that the Lord had sent
Moses and Aaron. When they heard that
the Lord was concerned about them and
had seen their misery, they bowed down
and worshiped." (Exodus 4)
Thought:
Currently I'm reading Exodus, and
the life of Moses is once again
capturing my heart and thrilling me with
how many leadership situations parallel
what you and I do as ministry workers.
(I do believe that every Christian is
called into a ministry of some sort and
a big part of ministry is leading &
mentoring others. So if you're not
currently serving in a minstry, excuse
the expression, Get Off Your Butt & Get
Into The Game!)
Anyway, the more
I read about the life of Moses the more
excited I am to know that God's faithful
didn't always lead the most faithful of
followers. My excitement comes from the
fact that there's something about the
pain of others that makes me feel better
about my own situation (yes, it's sick,
but it's true).
In Moses'
reluctant leadership position he faced-
(1) Questioning, (2) Conflict,
(3) Criticism, (4) Challenge, (5) Too
much to do
That sounds like my
job description as Pastor here at Eagle
Pointe Church. Can you relate to that?
Yet in the midst of all that he went
through he's listed in the Faith Hall of
Fame (Hebrews 11).
Why was he a
leader of faith? Not because he was
perfect, but because he did what God
told him to do. He obeyed God and acted
in response to God's promises. He didn't
lead the Israelites out on his own
initiative, personality, or power (which
really gives hope to someone like me).
He had faith that God would show up in
the midst of the questioning, conflict,
criticism, challenge, and busy role.
Even with a strong faith, there are
times when life & ministry are
difficult.
I recently received
the following e-mail from a youth pastor
at another church:
"I have a 2
children, a marriage, and a job outside
of my church's youth ministry. I have
only 18 youth and 4 very busy volunteers
outside of this ministry. The church
adults just don't get it when I seek out
mentors for the teens. I have a limited
budget. I am alone and discouraged.
Please say something to me that makes
sense because I want to stop the bus and
get off."
My guess is that Moses
said some similar words- "I am alone and
discouraged-I want to stop the camel and
get off." But, somehow Moses kept
trusting that God was who He said he was
and that He would do what He promised to
do.
The People You Lead-
I really believe that no matter
where you are reading this today, if you
are in ministry, that there are probably
people in your life causing you some
pain (like Pharaoh) and complaining
(like the Israelites). But, there are
probably also some people out there who
have unique gifts that are willing to
help you (like Aaron) and some who have
wisdom that you don't have (like
Jethro). And, in the mix of the good and
bad, we serve a God who is just as
powerful today as the God who filled
Egypt with frogs, boils, locusts and
other nastiness. The God who parted the
Red Sea is the same God who allows you
and I to be used by Him to lead those He
loves from the slavery of the world to
the power of the Cross.
What a
journey it is.
I know I don't
have the faith of Moses-but, today-I
have the faith of Howard and I'm going
to trust that God is who is says he is
and he'll do what he has promised to do-
today I believe that and I put my faith
there.
I'm not sure about
tomorrow and I'm not sure about next
month either. But I've got faith for
today and I want to encourage you to
have faith for today as well. It's
amazing what God can do with our faith.
Questions to consider:
***Are you obeying God's ways or
trying to follow your own- or someone
else?
***Do you consider
yourself faithful because of how good
you or those you're leading are? Or, do
you consider yourself faithful because
you are diligent to the task God has
called you to?
***Are you tired
of having faith in God's work in your
life or ministry?
***Do you have
faith that what you do every week
matters? Or, do you struggle going back
to the same thing week after week and
wonder if it's making any difference?
Where is your faith today?
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