Friday, January 13, 2012
By Faith... Moses, Part 9 of 54
TEXT: "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward" (Hebrews 11:23-26).
IDEA: God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him.
PURPOSE: To help listeners take comfort that God uses all sorts of people to carry on His mission on the earth.
Have you ever played Trivial Pursuit? Do you do very well at it?
There is a Trivial Pursuit game based on the Bible. In it these are some of the questions:
- What was the name of Moses' brother?
- What was the name of Moses' sister? (Exodus 15:20, Numbers 26:58-59)
- What are the names of Moses' parents? (Exodus 6:20)
[There is some reason to believe that Amram and Jocabed were not the immediate parents but the ancestors of Aaron and Moses. The word bore may mean "was the ancestor of" as it does in other places in the Old Testament.]
I. The parents of Moses were ordinary people, but they had faith in an extraordinary God.
We don't know how they came to faith in Jehovah or when.
The only proof of their faith is that they refused to obey Pharaoh and hid their son from him. Do you think they were the only parents who did that?
How do you think Moses learned about God's promises and believed in the God who gave them?
His mother became his nurse until he was old enough to turn over to Pharaoh's daughter. How long might that have been?
What do you think she told Moses about God's dealings with the people of Israel?
II. God often chooses ordinary, commonplace people who play a minor role but who contribute in a major way to God's work.
Paul spells that out in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, 'he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.' "
Why is it significant that Paul writes that God chose those people? Would it be the same if Paul wrote that those people chose God?
Paul doesn't say that God didn't choose any wise people. He did choose Moses. Acts 7:22 tells us that "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action."
CONCLUSION:
God uses all sorts of people to serve Him. No one is unqualified.
