Sufficiency in Christ

Introduction

Ben Smith Questions:

What types of insecurities and incompetencies did you face as a wrestler and as a coach?

Where and who did you find sufficiency to overcome your insufficiencies?

Why do you think we can often struggle with looking and focusing on our insufficiencies too much instead of looking to the sufficiency of the Lord?

In a similar way, Moses was also insufficient in himself to accomplish what God was calling him to in delivering the Israelites from Egypt. But like Ben God was gracious and able to provide Moses everything he needed to accomplish the task God gave to him.

Today, I want you to see that no matter how inadequate you may feel in life, God has provided all the grace you need in Christ to be successful in whatever he calls you to.

The Insufficiencies of Moses

Context

God encountered Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3.

God demonstrated his glory and holiness. . . revealed that he is the great I AM.

God called Moses to deliver his people from Egypt.

But Moses responded in Exodus 4:1 “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”

You see Moses heard God’s call but he struggled with thinking that he did not have what it took to complete the task.

He believed that he did not have what it took to be a leader and the people of Israel would not listen to him.

There were two reasons for this feeling of inadequacy. . .

Moses was insecure

He had not seen his people in over forty years. . . and the last time they saw him, he was fleeing in shame from committing murder.

He did not feel qualified to lead the people and conquer the greatest world power of the day because he was a simple second-rate shepherd.

He was insecure in thinking the people would not believe him when he told him that God had appeared to him. . . for why would God appear to a murderer and a rebel like Moses?

Moses was not only insecure, but he was also incompetent. . .

Moses was incompetent

Moses told God that he could not fulfill his command because he could not speak well. . . he literally stuttered and stammered when he spoke.

Exodus 4:10 says, “But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

God had called him to speak to the people, but this was something that Moses could not do. . . he was not gifted in this area of speaking.

By looking at his failures, his past, his insecurities, and his incompetencies, the fear of failure set in, and he knew he did not posses the strength to deliver the Israelites.

Have you ever felt like Moses?

I know I have felt like this many times. . .

Yet, in these times, we must remind ourselves that fulfilling God’s calling is not about our sufficiency for the task; rather, it is about God’s sufficiency.

It is not about our weakness but it is about God’s strength. . . and this is exactly what God revealed to Moses when he was struggling with his insufficiency. . . for God told Moses that he is the God who is sufficient.

The God Who Is Sufficient

God demonstrated his sufficiency in two ways by responding to Moses’ two complaints and in adequacies.

First, God Empowered Moses to Serve

Moses was afraid and insecure about his leadership capabilities and if the people would listen to him. . . so God provided him with three signs to demonstrate that his power was with Moses and would enable him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt.

Exodus 4:2–9 “The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

With each sign, God demonstrated his power over Egypt and their gods and proved that he was with Moses and would deliver the people.

The Cobra was a symbol of Pharaoh’s pride and power. Yet, the staff of Moses swallowed up the cobra that the magicians later produced.

Leprosey was a disease that was rampant in Egypt. Yet, God demonstrated that he is in control and has the power to heal this disease.

The Nile was life itself to the Egyptians, yet the Lord could turn it into blood and take it away instantly with his power.

Not only would the Israelites believe God was with Moses with these signs, but Moses was also empowered by knowing that God was with him and would give him the power to conquer Pharaoh and deliver the people from Egypt.

Moses’ insecurity was answered with the sufficiency of God’s power.

Second, God Equipped Moses to Serve

Moses complained that he did not have the ability to speak adequately and lead the people. . . but the Lord reminded him that he had created him and given him a tongue and a mouth to be able to speak and lead the people.

Exodus 4:11–12 says, “Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

God made clear that he had made and equipped Moses with the ability to serve him and the people.

This shows us that God will always equip us with the tools we need to serve him and be obedient to what he calls us to.

God will not call us to something that he will not provide the tools necessary for us to complete the task.

God did not downplay Moses’ insufficiencies or act like they were not there, but rather he highlighted Moses’ insufficiencies by demonstrating his sufficiency to provide what Moses needed.

Moses’ Problem and Ours

You see, the issue was not that Moses had insufficiencies but that his focus was on his insufficiencies rather than upon God.

In essence, when we wallow in what we lack, we are actually being self-centered.

It is all about the perspective that we have when we face trials, adversity, and difficulties.

Moses continued to be self-centered, even after the Lord empowered him and equipped him to serve. . . in verse 13, he continues to focus on himself and plead with the Lord to send someone else besides him.

God was not pleased with Moses’ pride and lack of faith. . . but in his grace he provided once more a tool for him to use to accomplish his mission.

God told Moses that Aaron, his brother, would come with Moses and speak for Moses to Pharaoh.

Once more, God showed that he was sufficient to help Moses in his insufficiencies.

Now, it is easy for us to point the finger at Moses and think. . . “how could you doubt the Lord after all he has done for you?”

But. . . we follow Moses’ lead and do this all the time when we focus improperly on our own strengths or weaknesses.

We can often think we are either self-sufficient in ourselves and don’t need God’s help. . . or we are too focused on our inadequacies, wallow in our self-pity. . . and doubt God’s power to help us.

So What Is God Calling On Our Lives?

Ultimately, God’s calling for each of us is to “be holy as he is holy.”

To be holy means to be morally perfect.

Now, lets pause for a moment. . . can anyone in here say that they have been morally perfect in thought, word, and deed for their entire lives up to this point? if so. . . raise your hand.

Now if you raised your hand. . . you just proved my point, because you just lied!

So if this is God’s calling for each of us. . . how sufficient are we for this task?

The Bible teaches that in our natural state, we are completely insufficient in ourselves to complete this task because of our sinful hearts and nature that we were all born with.

You see, God originally created humans good and they had a perfect relationship with God.

But as you know the story, Adam and Eve chose to doubt God’s goodness, reject his love, and decided to worship themselves instead.

When this happened, sin entered the world and separated all humanity from God. . . and everyone who came after them was infected with this disease.

This is why I don’t have to teach my little girls how to throw fits and bite each other. . . they do this naturally because they were born with a sinful nature!

Romans 3:10 makes clear that there is no one righteous, not even one. . . and verse 23 states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And here is the bad news, because God is holy and good and hates what is evil, he will righteously punish our sin. . . which means his righteous judgment is on each and everyone of us. . . the payment for our sins is death.

So, what can we do? We cannot meet God’s perfect standard, we are separated from him because of our sin, and under his wrath. . . and there is nothing we can do to change this. . .

How can we escape this dilemma?

We must do as Moses did. . . we must turn our eyes away from ourselves and our own insufficiencies to the God who is sufficient, particularly the person of Jesus Christ!

You see, God, being in rich in mercy, even when we were dead in our sins and transgressions, sent his Son, Jesus Christ to become a man. . . and being fully God and fully man, Jesus was sufficient to completely obey God’s law. . . and he did that in our place.

Then, he was completely sufficient to take our punishment on the cross and die for our sins.

But praise God the story does not end there. . . because Jesus was also sufficient to conquer sin and death by rising from the grave!

Now, Jesus sits at the right hand of God and he is the sufficient high priest to bring us to God and intercede on our behalf.

But. . . for his perfect life to count for you, for his blood to cleanse you of your sin, you must repent of your sin and place your trust in him alone.

You must take your eyes off of yourself in seeking to be right with God and you must trust in the sufficiency of Christ.

You must lay aside false gods that you may be holding onto, whether it be wrestling, popularity, success, aspirations, and lay them all at the feet of Jesus. . . because these gods are sufficient to save you. . . only Jesus’ grace is sufficient to save you and cleanse you of your sin.

From Bondage to Liberty: The Gospel according to Moses The Sufficiency of Christ

As believers we have many callings. We fill roles as children, parents, spouses, and employees. We need to look to God for strength and sufficiency in all of these areas of our lives. But the most important calling we have is to be holy. This demands that we look to the Christ who is sufficient, that we look to him “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20).

Let’s pray. . .