Difference Makers-Part 3- Moses

Introduction

Exodus 3:1-10- God’s plan for Moses

Moses is a man that could easily be considered one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was a man hand chosen by God to deliver the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

There is no question that Moses was a “Difference Maker”. It was Moses that led the children of Israel out of Egypt. It was Moses who led them through the midst of the Red Sea on dry ground. It was Moses that would meet with God and deliver His law to the people. It was Moses who would build the tabernacle in the wilderness where the presence of God would dwell.

Why is it that Moses was so greatly used of God to make such a tremendous impact upon his generation and the generations that followed?

Moses certainly was not the most likely candidate for God to use, he certainly was not the most talented or the most eloquent man and yet God hand selected him for the task of leading the nation of Israel.

If we desire to be used of God to impact our generation we must, like Moses, display:

Humility (Exodus 3:11 & Exodus 4:1 & Exodus 4:10 )

Moses enters into a conversation with God and in the midst of the conversation Moses’ humility is on full display almost to the point that it seems Moses has absolutely no self-confidence.

If you were to examine the lives of men and women that have been greatly used of God throughout the ages, you would find that each of them displayed an unusual humility even in the midst of their great successes.

Humility must be rightly understood for it is not as some would have us believe to think less of one’s self but rather it is to have a right estimation of one’s self recognizing both ability and inability.

Moses response to God has often been the response of those servants of God whom God has called to places of great influence and responsibility.

Notice his first response to God’s call- “Who am I?” This is a question that every servant of God will ask when God calls. We may think to ourselves that surely there are men or women who are better suited to the task than we.

Moses did not arrogantly assume that he was the prime candidate for the leadership role that God was calling him to. So many Christians have the sense that God is somehow lucky to have them and that they are doing God a favor by serving Him when in reality God does not need any of us and could certainly accomplish all that He desires to accomplish wholly independent from us.

Moses recognized that he was not a man that others would be quick to follow and that his influence would not be sufficient to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

Moses also recognized that he did not have the eloquence of oratory to speak to Pharaoh and to the people of Israel.

The man or woman who arrogantly believes that they are sufficient in themselves to make a great impact on this world will find themselves sorely disappointed.

We must simply understand that we are wholly insufficient to impact this world in any meaningful way without God.

We must also be careful that we do not allow ourselves to slip into a false humility that says “I can’t do anything and I am good for nothing.”

God simply desires that we would recognize our insufficiency so that in turn we will learn to rely upon His all-sufficiency. God can never use a man or woman who is not absolutely convinced that they need God.

Naturally Moses humility, as he recognized that he was not qualified for the task that God had called him to do, led to his:

Dependence Upon God (Exodus 3:12-20 & Exodus 4:8 & Exodus 4:11-12 )

Moses humility caused him to question whether he could truly do as God had instructed him. He had a difficult time believing that he was capable of accomplishing the task that God has laid before him.

Ultimately God had to teach Moses that he could depend upon Him to be with him and to enable and empower him to stand before the people and before Pharaoh and to lead the people out of Egypt.

As we see Moses embark upon the mission that God has called him to, we will quickly recognize that Moses had learned to depend upon God.

Exodus 5:1- Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh then Exodus 5:22-6:1- Moses learns to simply continue to depend upon God.

We must learn as Moses did that the best thing that we can do is to simply depend upon God to keep his promises and to work in and through us to accomplish the task that He has set before us.

Moses knew that without God there was absolutely no chance that Pharaoh would let the people go. He also believed that God would use him and would empower and enable him to ultimately lead the people out.

Every time that Moses appeared before Pharaoh he was depending upon God to work. Every time he raised the rod and induced some miraculous event Moses was depending upon God. When he cast the rod to the ground Moses was depending upon God to turn it into a serpent. When he raised his staff at the brink of the Red Sea he was depending upon God to part the waters. When he smote the rock with the rod he was relying on God to cause water to come forth.

If we are to be mightily used as a “Difference Maker” in our generation we must also learn to depend upon God. We must be willing to prove God and we must understand that though we are insufficient to the task, with God we are made more than sufficient.

God may call you or I to some seemingly impossible task but we know that if it is God who has called us, He will empower and enable us to do what he has called us to do.

So often you and I allow our own insufficiency to discourage and hinder us from doing what God has called us to do. It is important that in humility we recognize our own insufficiency but this should lead us to an awareness of God’s sufficiency.

We can depend upon God and we can trust that He will be with us as we face seemingly insurmountable odds. In the end God enabled and empowered Moses to do more than he likely ever imagined was possible but Moses recognized that it was God who was ultimately responsible for the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage.

It is God’s desire today to bring each of us to a place of greater dependence upon Him!

God is likely saying to each of us “When are you going to quit relying on your own strength and you own abilities and start depending upon me?”

Moses learned to depend upon God and his dependence led to his:

Precise Obedience (Exodus 4:2-9 & Exodus 4:17 & Exodus 4:20 & Exodus 7:6 & Exodus 7:8-10 )

Here God is teaching Moses obedience. So long as Moses obeyed God he knew that he could rely upon God to work in a supernatural way.

Notice that in this passage God gives Moses very specific instructions and Moses responds by doing precisely what God says.

This would become the pattern for Moses life as he intercedes with Pharaoh for the Israelites’ deliverance and as he leads them through the wilderness and to the brink of the promised land.

Every step of the way Moses and Aaron deliberately followed the instructions given to them and watched God do many miraculous things as a result.

This carries over even into the building of the tabernacle in Exodus 39- Lord Commanded Moses used 9 times and culminates in Exodus 39:43 and then again in Exodus 40:16- set in order exactly as God commanded.

Moses had learned that it was best to obey God and to do so precisely. So many times we are convinced that we know a better way or that things don’t have to be exactly as God commanded so long as they are close enough.

If we are to see the supernatural power of God at work in our generation we must learn to obey precisely doing exactly as God has instructed.

If we will not obey precisely we should not expect God to work miraculously. When God gives us instruction we must listen intently and follow even in the smallest details.

Moses did not do things the way he deemed best but instead he was determined to do exactly as God instructed. Then and only then will we know what God truly can do in and through our lives.

We must learn that partial obedience is not enough, we must learn that delayed obedience is not enough, we must learn to obey God immediately and totally.

If we have a desire to be used of God to make a difference, we must seek God’s face and follow his instructions to the smallest detail so that He may able to use us as he desires.

We may not understand God’s instructions and we may not feel that the details are important but if we go our own way we will only see the results that we can produce and we will never know what God can do!

Conclusion

Moses was used mightily of God to make a difference in his generation and for the generations that followed. Will you follow the same pattern and humble yourself before God recognizing your own insufficiency and learning to depend upon God’s all sufficiency?

Will you determine to obey God down to the smallest details so that He can use you as He desires to?

We must learn that our capability for making a difference is utterly dependent upon God and if we want to be a “Difference Maker” we must let God have his way with our lives and obey His voice even when we may believe we know a better way, even when we cannot understand why, even when we it seems impossible.