Meet with God, Face the Giants
The cowering lowly Moses who ran from the first sign of terror in his life has come storming back into Pharaoh's court and demanded the release of Egypt's most valuable commodity - the slave labor force of the Israelites.
Exodus 5:1-3 (ESV) Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ta feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
What changed Moses from the man we saw at the beginning of chapter three to this man standing before the most powerful man in the world and speaking with such authority?
He met with God. Look at Verse 3: "The God of the Hebrews has met with us."
God's leaders must be people who have been in the presence of God. Notice all the great callings of the Bible. Whether it be Moses a few chapters back, Isaiah in Isaiah 6, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or in the New Testament, Peter, John and Paul. These men had MET with God. The council of the elders attested in Acts 4:13, "they recognized that they had been with Jesus." They did not just go to school and get trained. They did not have special talents or abilities. All of those things are worldly institutions built on the prescriptions of human opinion. There is no substitute for meeting with and being in the presence of Almighty God.
Meeting with God is even more important than serving Him. We learn this from Luke 10. Martha SERVES in the kitchen preparing to give to others a meal. Mary sits at the feet of the Master from heaven. When Martha does something we'd so - complains about how much work she's done compared to Mary, Jesus offers this stunning answer:
Luke 10:41 (ESV) But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. 5 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
In the mind of Christ who is our God, Mary made the better choice to meet with Jesus while Martha struggled to serve Jesus.
That word portion shows up in Psalm 16. I will quote from the NLT for it's beauty here and put the equivalent word in bold print:
Psalm 16:5-8 (ESV) Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! 7 I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
Exodus 5:1-3 (ESV) Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ta feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
What changed Moses from the man we saw at the beginning of chapter three to this man standing before the most powerful man in the world and speaking with such authority?
He met with God. Look at Verse 3: "The God of the Hebrews has met with us."
God's leaders must be people who have been in the presence of God. Notice all the great callings of the Bible. Whether it be Moses a few chapters back, Isaiah in Isaiah 6, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or in the New Testament, Peter, John and Paul. These men had MET with God. The council of the elders attested in Acts 4:13, "they recognized that they had been with Jesus." They did not just go to school and get trained. They did not have special talents or abilities. All of those things are worldly institutions built on the prescriptions of human opinion. There is no substitute for meeting with and being in the presence of Almighty God.
Meeting with God is even more important than serving Him. We learn this from Luke 10. Martha SERVES in the kitchen preparing to give to others a meal. Mary sits at the feet of the Master from heaven. When Martha does something we'd so - complains about how much work she's done compared to Mary, Jesus offers this stunning answer:
Luke 10:41 (ESV) But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. 5 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
In the mind of Christ who is our God, Mary made the better choice to meet with Jesus while Martha struggled to serve Jesus.
That word portion shows up in Psalm 16. I will quote from the NLT for it's beauty here and put the equivalent word in bold print:
Psalm 16:5-8 (ESV) Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! 7 I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
The Lord ALONE is our "portion" or "inheritance". Think of that word "inheritance." To have a rich inheritance from a predecessor is often the root of great confidence in our world. But here the Bible says the Lord is that for us! The implication is clear from the Psalmist's words, when the Lord is our portion, nothing can shake us. There is confidence formed in your heart from time spent in the presence of the Lord.
This is what Jesus came to do. He came to undo the curse of sin. What was the first action of man in the Garden after sin? They were "afraid", they "ran" and they "hid" - all terms of fear. Jesus came to open the doorway so that God and man might be together again. And in this equation, WE are the chief beneficiaries. We are emboldened. We are empowered. We are ENCOURAGED to speak and do what God has said.
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