18/02/2024
LESSON 7
Sunday, 18TH FEB. 2024
TOPIC:
MOSES ANSWER TO GOD'S CALL
BIBLE TEXT: Exo. 3; Matt. 28
MEMORY VERSE: 1Thess. 5:24
"Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
FOCAL PASSAGE: Exo. 3:4, 6-14; Matt. 28:18-20 (NKJV)
Ex 3:4-14
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
INTRODUCTION:
The cry and groaning of the Israelites drew the attention, compassion and respect of God and He remembered His covenant with their fathers. This led to the call of Moses to the ministry. Although Moses had lost the dream of delivering his people with the passage of time, God had not forgotten them.
"Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb".
THE LESSONS:
A. MOSES' CALL AND RESPONSE: (Exo. 3:4-11)
The call of Moses created the awesome realization that there was an unseen personality behind the great sight who knew him well and could call his name distinctly. If Moses could run away and hide from the Pharaoh of Egypt, there was a personality that he could not hide from, (Heb. 4:13). Moses must have realized that this was the God of the Hebrews whom he learnt about in his childhood. Therefore, he answered with absolute surrender: "Here am I." His response was similar to those of Abraham, Jacob and Samuel (Gen. 22:11; 46:2; 1Sam. 3:4). God wants us to answer likewise to-His-call today.
Moses was warned as he approached the presence of God to avoid undue familiarity which brings disrespect (Exo. 3:5). He was commanded to put off his shoes as a mark of respect and submission to God's presence. The place where he stood is holy and should therefore, not be polluted. By the same token, believers should respect their places of worship and avoid irreverent acts and attitudes. Did you understand this?
Moses must have been a caring shepherd who wanted the best pasture for his father-in-law's flock. A man who diligently and faithfully took care of his father- in-law's flocks for forty years without any record of misdeed could be depended upon by God to lead Israel to the land of promise. The patience, meekness and discipline needed by Moses to lead the often unruly and difficult children of Israel seemed to have been acquired during his 40 years of waiting and tending animals.
Those were years of humble preparation for a nobler task. As Moses occupied himself with this humble occupation at hand, God exalted him to lead His people and to maintain a special relationship with Him. Christians should be busy doing something worthwhile for a living while they wait on God to open doors of higher opportunities. Other people who were called by God while they were busy included Gideon, Elisha, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and others.
B. MOSES COMMISSIONED: (Exo. 3:12-14)
God made Himself known to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses knew very well the splendor of God's glory; therefore, he began to look beyond the flocks of Jethro under his care to the bo***ge and deliverance of the children of Israel in Egypt and how to take them to Canaan. (Why not, if not!).
The call and commission of Moses show that God is interested in the human race and still seeks to bring them out of the bo***ge of sin and Satan. If anyone sincerely surrenders to Christ he will be delivered from the bo***ge of Satan, sin and sickness (2Cors. 5:17). Moses became the choice of God for the deliverance of Israel like Christ who came to the world as God's choice for our salvation (Rom. 5:6).
At the time of Moses call and commission, he seemed to have lost the vision for the mission which he earlier imposed upon himself and failed therein. He no longer felt competent for the task (Exo. 3:11). His fear and objection to the commission was due to human shortcomings such as:
(1) his escape from Egypt and living in asylum in Midian;
(2) lack of military training or weapons;
(3) there was no standing army to mobilize to combat Pharaoh; and
(4) the Egyptian army was one of the strongest in the world at that time.
The thought of human limitation for mission work is still the problem of many believers today. But we can depend on the Lord for our finances, businesses, family needs, educational pursuit career success church growth, breakthrough in ministry, and others. May God really help us!
SUMMATION:
Matthew 28:18-20-Here we found the resurrected Christ Jesus authoritatively commissions us Christians to "go", and make disciples for Him. Those who believe should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then, to bring them into the church, teaching these new converts to keep ALL that the LORD has commanded us to do. The LORD finally promised faithfully to abide with us forever and ever-Amen.
Moses answered and obeyed. How are we believers of today obeying the command of the LORD?
God bless CASBC!!!!!!!