I had talked several weeks ago about being filled with the Spirit and our needing to be practicing the things of being filled the very powerful, spiritual, and practical gifts and fruit.
It is not always easy to grow in our faith, in fact I would say it is rarely easy…Paul puts it this way to the Romans
Romans 5:3-5
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (NKJV)
Most don’t want to hear that this is how we gain hope in any situation but if we are filled with the love of God we can walk through it….however we need to understand God does gift us but he trains us as well…
Psalm 144:1
Blessed be the LORD my Rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
That’s something many who are upset with all that is going on in our nation will love to grab onto but if you are going to do that you also have to keep it in context…look at the follow up verse 2
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my (the) people under me.
Yes, we are trained for war… by learning to place our trust completely in Him, learning to rest in Him, allowing Him to do the heavy lifting and our portion is to choose to put ourselves in His hands
Moses was trained to be a prince of Egypt, he learned to understand the language and the culture which was part of what was needed but it wasn’t like the movie or Disney flick
Exodus 2:15
And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses.
What was Moses called to do? Hindsight is always 20/20 but Moses didn’t know God’s call but his character, one act of kindness, opened a door to change his life..
Exodus 2:18-21
When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”
19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.”
20 “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.”
21 Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
Moses was simply acting out of his nature, his character, the character that reflected the Lord. With that God opened the door and he found favor with the prince of Midian, a shepherd, who had seven daughters one of whom became his wife…Acts 7:30 tells us Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd in the wilderness then this happened…
Exodus 3:1-4
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
4 When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
Why did this happen? Moses learned humility while in the wilderness….
- he submitted to a foreigner as his boss and father -in- law
- He learned the value of every job placed before him…from being a prince to caring for sheep could have been quite a drop in prestige but he learned the value and that everything has value when you do it for the Lord….
- He learned to keep his trust in God above men
How does that play out for us?
- Do you know the call on your life? That’s OK, Moses didn’t even know he had a call on his life but he maintained a life of integrity and good character
As Christians we always have to realize God is with us, he is always for us. No matter what life may through your way…. A bad boss, a mundane job, challenging health or family issues, financial struggles always remember you are living for God and that he is looking for you to be willing to prove your character, not to Him he already knows you better than you know yourself but to yourself….that was the whole idea behind God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac
- Do you realize everything, no matter how big or small, everything that you do has value. How does shepherding teach to lead people?
What are you doing that may feel mundane? Where you think what value is there is my doing this?….story scrubbing grease and varnish out of the generators and not realizing the guys were watching my work ethic
Ecclesiastes 9:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” (NKJV)
The New Testament version Colossians 3:23,24
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
Being a parent is daily and is hard work but the fruit of being a good parent is great kids. Being there for them
My Dad was a cost analyst for US steel hated it but it was a tool to build relationships and share Jesus
Whatever you are doing like tending sheep may be teaching you leadership, warrior skills (David and the lion and bear) patience, grace, love…it is not always about the task but the lessons grasp while being faithful to the task.
- He realized men don’t control His future, God does and our actions and reactions open us to the blessings of God.
Proverbs 18:16
A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. (NKJV)
AND
Psalm 37:23
The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (NLT)
There were times when at my previous job I was bored to tears, times when bosses took away title and position, times when I wasn’t sure if I would have a job tomorrow. The Lord taught me during those times that my hope and my trust for my future needed to be in Him. My security did not come from the whims of man but the relationship with the Lord
So what does all this mean?
I want you to think about where you are right now….the frustration, trials, boredom, battles, the learning, growing, blessing that you are in….I believe all of this is part of your journey to being ready for what the Lord is going to do.
If we will embrace what we are walking through, not as the end all but all part of the journey to where the Lord is taking us, then we will be prepared for the fulfillment of God’s plan for our lives…..
In our confusion, frustration, anger, fear we can give God all kinds of excuses, these excuses negate the work the Lord has done, Moses tried…
God has spent 80 years preparing Moses, Exodus three tells us God was going to deliver the people, God was going to lead them to a land flowing with milk and Honey, God was going to set them free, He was going to do it through the man he had prepared….but Moses negating God’s preparation, not seeing God in the learning to shepherd, not seeing God in learning the language and customs of the Egyptian court, not seeing God in the day to day begins to question God and God says “I am who I am”
God is about to call you to change the world, He may walk you through a few more things in preparation. Look for the Lord in the season of difficulty, trial, learning battle, grace, mercy, love, blessing…see his hand, don’t complain, thank Him for allowing you to learn to trust Him and see Him in all things.
Moses had no idea what God had planned however he lived a life of good character in front of everyone for 40 years then at the right time when Israel was ready and He was ready God released him to do what he was created to do (sometimes the frustration of your journey is not about you alone but God could be readying others as well)
Don’t miss your opportunity…This morning if you feel you are in a rut, if you feel you have been going nowhere, perhaps you feel you have no purpose, perhaps you need to just be reminded the Lord is I AM and he is in control
Our nation, like Israel in Moses time is crying out for help. God has been preparing you to be that help, to be that deliverer. Come get prayer!
Great things are coming, allow the Lord to show you how he is preparing you