Remember Moses
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Readings: Jeremiah 31.31-34 Hebrews 12.18-24 Matthew 5:1-12
"The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you" : This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. - Exodus 3.1
We remember All Saints (Nov 1) All Souls (Nov 2) and all those who gave their lives (Nov 11) that we might live in peace and in joy. Last week, we remembered Abraham for his pioneering spirit and for his friendship with God. Today we remember Moses as the shepherd, the leader of God's people with patience and power in fellowship with God.
Moses was destined to lead God's people who in every generation are like sheep always wandering looking for better pasture and encountering dangers of all sorts from disappointments to death ! As the shepherd of a flock, he was called by God while busy caring for his flock. That was to be his ministry just as Peter, the fisherman who was called to be the fisher of men. If you are busy with your computers, God calls you to launch out into Cyberspace !
God seems to call the busy people rather than the idle ones. Gideon was busy threshing by the winepress. Saul was busy searching for his father's asses. David was busy caring for his father's sheep. Elisha was busy ploughing with his 12 yokes of oxen. Nehemiah was busy in the royal palace. Amos was busy tending his fig trees. Peter and Andrew were busy fishing, James and John mending their nets. Matthew was busy collecting taxes. God's servants do not sit and wait for something to happen. They are at work that's nearest to their hearts. Moses was brought up in Egypt and he was to serve God in Egypt, not to sit still when people are in bondage.
Now picture Moses in his shepherd's clothes standing in the throne room of the powerful Pharaoh, speaking on behalf of a minority group of slaves who had no rights and demanding from him with unsurpassed courage: "Let my people go"! Whose people actually ? How many times did Moses appeal to Pharaoh? How much patience he had when pressurized by his own folks? A colossal task for him!
When God called Moses he was full of doubts and fears. What was responsible for the change in his attitude? Notice the repeated "I" in Exodus 3.11. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and (that I should) bring the sons of Israel, out of Egypt?"
God's answer: " But I will be with you, and this shall be a sign for you that I have sent you." That was the secret sign of success. So with courage he spoke to all: "I AM has sent me to you". That is the secret of all the great things. He was able to do the impossible. He had to be the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Home Affairs, of Law, of Health, of Welfare and of Religion all in one go! His name begins with a "M" if one may muse about it.There was no short cut in each ministry and for more than 40 years he served with much patience waiting for God's wisdom and direction. No one could have done as much as that unless God had been with him.
As remember Abraham for his being faithful to God, we remember Moses for his fellowship with God. For Moses, as it was for Abraham, God was his friend, his courage and his strength. Significantly, we read in Ex. 33.11: "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."
Finally, we need to remember that our God is "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob"...the God of your fathers: - the God of one generation after another.
On this my last Sunday with you physically and legally, I wish you to remember that fellowship with God is the power of sacred success. May this be so among you and the rising generation? Don't stop at Moses. Moses gave the Law: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
May God, the great "I AM" be with you always.
LUKE OOI