St. Thomas Conference: 1998
Table of Contents
David's Mighty Men
Philippians 2:1
Philippians 2:9
Philippians 2:25
Going Back to Jerusalem Where the Lord Was
The Life of Moses
Address—G. Hayhoe
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
#309 Jesus before thy face we fall, our Lord, our life, our hope, our all. For we have nowhere else to flee. No sanctuary, Lord, but Thee. 309.
Oh.
Shall we pray for our blessed?
When I was asked to speak at this meeting, I asked the brother was at a young people's meeting and he said it's an address to Christians. So I hope that there will be something here that will be for young as well As for old. What I have before me is the life of Moses. And I think we can trace that life from a babe, from a young man to an old man. And we see something that I think speaks to each one of us according to our age. And we trust that by the Spirit of God we will be encouraged.
And also that there may be that too, which will speak to our consciences, giving us more desire to live, to please that blessed One who loved us and gave himself for us. So I'd like to go back to the very beginning of the life of Moses in Exodus chapter 2.
Exodus chapter 2 and verse one.
And there went a man of the House of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bare a son. And when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and dobbed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child there in. And she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off.
To wit, what would be done to him? Well, here we see the very beginning of this story and it's very interesting. There's a lot of young people here. Perhaps you're thinking of what we have brought before us here. A man of Levi, and he chose a wife of the daughters of Levi. I think most of us know that the tribe of Levi was the Levitical tribe. It was the one that was chosen too specially ministered to the Lord.
00:05:00
They were taken out of all the whole 12 tribes.
Tribes and they were the special ones who were to devote their lives. They were not actually given any inheritance of their own. Their inheritance, the Bible tells us was the Lord. And so I want to speak to encourage you to your young people here. You come to these meetings and you have an opportunity of meeting friends. You know you have a lot of opportunities of meeting friends in your schooling and in your perhaps daily.
Work or whatever you may have contacts with the world and you could see perhaps.
That's what you consider are some very nice young people in the world, but they have no heart for Christ. They have no desire to please Him. Or you may even find one who does love the Lord, but doesn't desire to walk in the path of obedience to His word. But here it seems to me that what is brought before us here was the choice which this person made. Amram, I believe his name was, and his wife's name was Jochebed. And they were.
Apparently of one mind and they united in marriage and all I would say this a prudent wife is from the Lord. If you're going to have the right one in order to help you to go on for and follow the Lord, you need to seek to put the Lord first in your own life. It doesn't just happen by chance. You know you need to do a lot of praying about this, but if you pray.
The Lord is far more interested in your good and your happiness and blessing.
Than your parents are, or anyone else. I'm sure your parents are interested, but the Lord is far more concerned. He wants to bless you. Why did the Lord Jesus come down from heaven? Oh, he came down because he wanted us to know his heart of love. He wanted us to dwell there in the Father's house. He wanted to make us eternally happy. And he came down as we had in our chapter, left that place in glory, came down humbly.
Himself was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So here we find this couple, we're not told in this particular chapter about the birth of Aaron, but they had a son before Moses, and that was Aaron. And he was also apparently blessed by being in this home, because we find Aaron afterwards wonderfully in a position of the high priest in Israel.
The one who served the Lord in that particular capacity.
And Saul, I would say this was a very happy, godly household, but I wouldn't say that they were living in the easy times. They were living in very difficult times. You know, we like times to be easy. It's very nice when we have liberties like this to meet together. It's nice that we live in this land, but there are Christians in other lands who don't enjoy the liberties that we enjoy. We should be more thankful. We should pray more for the powers that be which are ordained of God.
That these liberties might be preserved to us, it's a great blessing. Well, he lived in a very difficult time, but they weren't frustrated, didn't say it's no use. We can't help but we're living in such a difficult situation that there's no use trying to bring up our children in a way pleasing to the Lord. Everything's in disorder in the land and in Israel too, but they had this purpose of heart.
And I think this is a lovely family and I believe.
We might say it all began by the faith of the parents because they acted to please the Lord. Oh, when this child Moses was born, things were still more difficult than they had been. Yes, they had the son before Aaron. They also had a daughter whose name is Miriam. Each one of these personages, this family stand out so brightly in their particular generation says about David Janelle, he.
His own generation by the will of God. And you live in a different generation than what I was brought up in, but you can serve your generation according to the will of God. You can find that help from the Lord, no matter how difficult the situation in which you live. But when this child was born, says here they saw that he was a goodly child.
When this is mentioned in the book of Acts, it says he was a.
A proper child and I believe in the margin or in Mr. Darby, it says fair to God, fair to God. Our children are fair to God. You know, when he gives them to us, he wants them to grow up in the privileges of a Christian home and to for for his glory. And so they looked on this child and they said he spared a God. We don't want to see him carried away with all the influences of what is around. And they made for him a little.
00:10:05
Bulrushes seems to me that they placed him in those waters of death. They recognized that the only way of blessing for this boy was under the protection of the Lord, that he could take care of him, and the way the Lord did. It was quite remarkable. We know that he was afterwards brought into the court of Pharaoh. Perhaps we could turn now to the book of Hebrews, and we'll see a little more brought out about him.
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
And beginning at the 23rd verse.
By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
For he had respect under the recompense of the reward. By faith he persuaded Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned.
Sure, we're all well acquainted with this.
11TH chapter of Hebrews is often called a faith chapter because in this beautiful chapter God brings before us right from the beginning with Abel, right on down through Israel's history, Different ones he mentioned, some only by name, some of them He tells us quite a bit about them. He chose to tell us quite a bit about Moses and Moses decisions because life is made full of decisions.
We know there's a verse in the Bible that says.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision and to know everyone of us are making decisions every day. We get up in the morning, we decide the clothes we're going to wear. We decide where we're going to go. We decide the friends that we're going to have. And most of all, the most important of all, Oh dear young people, have you decided for Christ? Do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior? Have you received him? That's the greatest and most important decision of your life.
And then after you have received him, we know the popular expression is go to the Church of your choice, but that's not the way God would direct us to say, now I've saved you. Just make a choice for yourself about how you're going to worship me and how you're going to plan your life. That's what they'll probably tell you in school. You choose what line of profession or work that you're going to take up, and that's a decision that's up to you.
And you may get a little bit of help, but they they.
Are the ones who say in the finality it's your own decision, but is it really or should you say even as to your occupation. There's a verse that says let every man abide in the same calling for any is called with God with God. Be very sure dear young people when you're choosing what you want to get into what line of work that is a line of work where you can abide with God.
There are some things that if you take them up, you may find a great hindrance to following the Lord. Very difficult to be faithful in certain callings, and that's why it says that in First Corinthians Chapter 7. But here we find Moses now because we're talking about this family.
And he has been taken from that little arc of bulrushes where he was placed, and he has been taken and brought into Pharaoh's court.
Happily, and because of Miriam, isn't it nice to see the influence that she had? And Sue acted so wisely, she said, could I choose a woman of the Hebrew women that will look after this? And she chose the child's own mother. You know, there's a lot of little decisions. They may seem very unimportant at the time, but they may be very far reaching not just brothers, but sisters.
Here, because I'm sure that Miriam's influence was a tremendous influence on the life.
Little Moses and she went and called his own mother, and she had the privilege while his child was small, of telling his child things that I'm sure, although they're not recorded in the Scripture, I am sure that they made a great impression on his mind. Because it says when he came to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for.
00:15:27
And I think probably as he was growing up, his mother was saying to him, you know.
You have to be brought up there in the court of Ferrell. God has ordered that this is so and but I want to tell you that there are the people of God in this land of Egypt. There are those who acknowledge the true God, the God of Israel and told him a lot of things that formed impression on his childish mind. And all I want to say, you know, we who are older sometimes, and I confess this when there were the growing years of my own family.
There's only things that press on you to try and make a living for the family and trying to do things that first thing you know, you find yourself neglecting the important thing, far more important than your job. Those little children that have souls that are going to live as long as God lives for all eternity and tell how important, how needful that you should teach them and instruct them in the right ways of the Lord.
Well, perhaps his mother.
The time came that she was no longer there and probably had no longer a direct influence over her boy.
Because 40 years passed by, 40 years, I always say he's forgotten all the things, but he hadn't forgotten them. But what was he doing during those 40 years? Well, he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. And so, you know, there's a lot of things you have to learn in your job and so on. You have, you have to have a certain amount of acquaintances.
Things and what's going on and preparing yourself. And this all took place in the life of young Moses. And in fact, he was very bright apparently, because it says he was mighty in words and deeds. He was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and so that now he was a very accomplished person.
And then there came into his mind these decisions.
And so we have here the first decision that we read about here in this chapter, it says.
He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He now took his place in association not with the proud nation of Egypt, but he took his place in association with the despised and rejected people of God. And I ask you, dear young people, and I ask each one of us, as we get older, do we desire to be identified with the people of God? Do we realize that we are identified with that one who? The Bible?
Was despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We take our place to be identified with him and with his people. I know that when you go to school, if you if somebody asks you, well, what church do you go to? Takes courage, doesn't it, to say we're gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Doesn't take courage to mention the name of some system that man have set up.
People are usually quite proud of the fact as soon as you meet them almost they, they want to talk to you about their church and what's going on. And they're usually quite pleased and anxious to acknowledge the name of some man or some system. But it does take courage, doesn't it? But oh, it's worth it. He chose to be identified with this devise and rejected nation, nation that were just slaves, slaves there in the land of Egypt. And I want to.
This to you too, dear young people. The world will make you a slave. They'll take up all your time, they'll take up all the wisdom that you've got, and they'll use it to build something in this world.
Bible says in First Corinthians 7 here bought with a price, be not the servants of men. We ought to and we should earn an honest living. The Scripture says that we ought to provide things on us in the sight of all men. But we are servants of the Lord. We are servants of the Lord, and in even doing our job we are servants of the Lord. Well, the time came was what was Moses going to do? Was he going to call himself?
00:20:01
An heir to the throne.
Of Egypt, a person with a good education on top, as it were. Or was he going to identify himself with those people who were making bricks and were slaves and were kind of looked down upon in the land of Egypt? He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. How could he do that? How could he first refuse because I believe there.
Different things that are mentioned here about him. First of all, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I think up till that time, if anybody said he, who are you, he'd say, oh, I'm the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I've been educated in the courts of Pharaoh. But the time came when he had a different answer. He said, no, I'm not the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I belong to that.
Company of people that you're looking down upon their slaves, but they're the people of God.
They're the people of God. And he took that position. And so he he refused. And then he chose, he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. You say, well, we're having a very good time here. And dear young people, I love to see you have a good time. God intends that we should, as the Bible says, He's given us all things richly to enjoy. But I also want to say that here, when he made this decision, he chose to be identified.
It says he's yeah, he refused. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. You might have said we chose to have a good time with the people of God, but that isn't what the Bible says. He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. Well, in this land we have a great many liberties, and we can be very thankful for them. But while I'm talking to you.
There are young people who live in other lands who don't have the same privileges that we enjoy.
That is, if they want to be loyal to Christ, they really suffer because the country in which they live is not favorable toward a confession of Christ. And some of them have to suffer. And it costs something for young people in those possessions, in those lands to identify themselves. But I want to say that it will cost you something too, if you decide that you're going to be identified with the people of God.
Even alone is made.
Be a difficult lot. It's very nice, as I say, at a time like this, But some of you when you go back home, it's not quite so easy because very few in the little meeting where you are and you say I'm awfully lonely. I don't have friends that I can have a nice time with. You suffer affliction with the people of God. You could step out with the world, They'd welcome you, they'd throw their arms out wide and say, sure, we'll give you a good time.
Yes, you could make that decision, but Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. So he refused, and he chose.
Then it goes on to say, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. There was something that he esteemed, there was something that he really valued, and that was.
The reproach of Christ tells us in Hebrews chapter 13. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach, And may we ever be ready to accept the reproach of Christ, be willing to despise, be despised and rejected, just because we belong to Him.
That's really what baptism is. I know that very often. I think it's.
Looked upon perhaps rather lightly as an ordinance, but it says in Galatians, as many of you as were baptized under Christ have put on Christ and have sometimes said, perhaps you'd understand baptism a little better if when a person was baptized, we put a placard and just wrote Christ on it and says now for now on you're to wear this over your chest wherever you go, and it says Christ.
I think we would understand baptism a little better if we did that.
Because baptism doesn't make any change inwardly. It's an outward thing, but it certainly is a place that we take in this world in which we take on the name of Christ. So it says here.
He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Well, some may not have an opportunity to get very much of the riches of this world. Some jobs don't pay so well, some have a very difficult.
00:25:05
Difficult time making ends meet. And I feel for you, dear young people today because it's very hard to find a job that's of any kind of permanency where you can earn an honest living. It really is becoming more and more difficult. But I say, do you really value those things? You don't have to have a great deal in this world, it says.
There are greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Paul could have made his mark in the.
In this world, I have no doubt because I'm sure he was a man of great ability, but he decided to identify himself with the despised people of God, and the Spirit of God allows us to hear a little bit of what he went through. Thrice. He was beaten with rods, he was stoned, he was shipwrecked. He was made as the filth of this world. It says he went about a man who could have been.
Very, very largely.
Accepted in the circle of the Jewish people, and he gave up all that, and he suffered for Christ.
Yes, He made a decision, He chose that he would identify himself. And so with Moses, it says, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Did He get a reward down here? No, we know that even afterwards when he.
It left Egypt and LED the people of God that they always understand him. Did they appreciate him? Oh no. It says they envied Moses, the servant of the Lord. He had a difficult time. Yet I want to say this about Moses. He had an deep love for the people of God. I think it's so beautiful to find on every occasion he was there as an intercessor, they said, and did what they liked to him, but he was always there as the intercessor for them. He wanted to do what he could for.
For them, and yet it says here He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. There's not one thing that has been done for the Lord that will lose its reward in that day. I'd like you to turn back to.
Acts Chapter 7.
Here we find.
Stephen in talking to the people.
Of Israel.
Says a little bit more about him here in Acts 7 verse 20.
In which time Moses was born and was exceeding fair.
And nourished up in his father's house three months. And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. And when he was full 40 years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptians, for he supposed that his brethren would have.
Understood that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not. And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sir, ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee A ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?
Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the.
The land of Midian where he had two sons. Here we find a little bit about Moses. When he left the court of Pharaoh, then he thought he would try to set things right among the people of God. And when he saw the one of these Egyptians misused one of them, why he was very angry and he stepped in and tried to set things right. Well, brethren, there's a lot of things we can't set right. We just have to leave them. We just have to leave them, pray about them.
You know, God is able to turn the hearts in one of the Psalms. I think it's 105th if I remember. I'm not too sure, but it mentions there. It's always been interesting to me. In the same chapter it talks about Abraham, and it says about Abraham that when he was more or less alone in the land where God called him, the land of Canaan, the Bible says he suffered to no man, no man to do them harm.
Yeah, he reproved kings for their sake.
And in the same Psalm, it says he turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants. God turned their heart so they wouldn't do anything harmful to Abraham. And in the same Psalm, it says he turned their hearts to hate his people. You say, would God really do that? Yes, God is able to protect you. He's able to. But He also may allow things that are very difficult in trying, and we need to take those things from his hand too.
00:30:24
You say, why did God do that? Why would he turn their hearts to hate his people to deal subtly? Well, you know, the people of God would have settled down in Egypt. It was at first quite a pleasant land for them. They came down and they were given the very best of the land. You know, the Ramses, it still vest the land over in Egypt that was given to the children of Israel to raise their flocks and to get along. But then the time came when God didn't want them to stay there any longer.
And he stirred up the nest, and sometimes things go on pretty comfortably for a while, and then the Lord stirs up the nest. We can thank him, We can ask him to change people's attitudes. But remember, he doesn't always make people's attitudes favorable toward us, but he's always with us. He was with Moses when they turned against him. And he tried, as we see here, to set things right with his brethren. Why did he do wrong? Why do you acting?
He's your brother. And he tried to set it right, but he thrust him away. Moses might have become very, very disappointed indeed. He did. He said it's no use. And perhaps you say, well, I've tried. I've really tried to get along. I've done what I could, and I'm not appreciated. Some people feel that way. They're not appreciated. But I want to tell you this.
The Lord values every little thing that you do for him. Oh how?
Good it is to be content with His valuation of your actions. When Mary anointed the feet of the Lord Jesus, not only Judas, but all the disciples said this ointment might have been sold for 300 pence and given to the poor.
But what did what did Mary say?
He didn't say a word, she didn't say a word. But who did say something? The Lord. The Lord said Let her alone. She hath wrought a good work on me.
He said you have the poor always with you, but now you have not me, you have not always. And sometimes you just have to leave things and be satisfied with the Lord's approval. The Lord's approval is everything. And he said wherever this is told in the whole world, this that she has done shall be told from the Marriott memorial of her. But Moses got discouraged if the people it says.
In this 7th chapter of Matthew of the Acts rather.
It says.
In the 35th verse this Moses soon they refused, saying, who made thee A ruler and a judge? The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel that appeared to him in the Bush. I just want you to notice the difference, the difference. He tried to be a ruler and a judge, but after he had spent 40 years in the school of God, then he was a ruler and a deliverer.
He was a ruler and a deliverer. Put a change.
Well, this brings us to the point that we've kind of skipped over Moses got discouraged and he went back and he said, no, he's trying people don't want me. And he goes back to the backside of the desert. He keeps sheep back there. He's he's spending his time. Someone has said in the 1St 40 years of his life, he was learning to be somebody and now he was in the school of God. And brethren, we never graduate from the school of God. We're.
Always in the school of God, which low learners it took him 40 years to become to somebody in Pharaoh's court, but it also took him 40 years to be emptied of himself on the backside of the desert.
And Genoa tells us as we read, that when he came out of Pharaoh's court, he was mighty in words and deeds. But when he had spent 40 years in the school of God, he said, I can't talk. I can't talk. The Lord said, I'll send you. And he says, I can't talk. I'm a man of slow speech. He learned that he was nothing. And brethren, we can't talk unless the Lord gives us something worthwhile to say.
We can do a lot of talking, but it's not going to amount to anything unless it's what the Lord gives us to say.
And so when he had been emptied of himself on the backside of the desert, then the Lord appears to Moses in the Bush and he said, I've surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters and I know their sorrow. Moses thought, why is God letting the people be oppressed like this in the land of Egypt? And he's not doing anything about, I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to set these things that right.
00:35:16
But after he had learned in this in the school of God, then the Lord meets him and he says, I've seen it all, Moses, I've seen it all. You think I haven't seen it? I've seen it, but my time has come now that I'm going to send you. Oh, Moses said I can't talk. He said, I'm going to send you and I'll teach you what to say. You know, Moses didn't value this opportunity.
And I just suggest this little thought, he said. I can't talk and.
The Lord said, well, all right, I'll let someone else come in. And he, he had said, your brother Aaron can talk. And so I'll, I'll let him go. And we find that Aaron did some of the talking. But Aaron was a hindrance, as we know. He led the people at Mount Horeb. He led them to worship the golden calf. And sometimes as the Lord gives us something to do, do it yourself. Do it yourself.
And so that's what Moses was learning. Now he's learning in the school of God.
God And so the Lord sends him back, and he had seen all the affliction of the people of God, and now he sends Moses to deliver them, and he uses him. And it says here.
In this Hebrews, pardon me, it's in Hebrews Chapter 11. I just want to read that again.
Greater Richards, for he had respect under the recompense of the reward. The 26th verse of the 11TH of Hebrews.
For He endured as seeing him who He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible, that is, He needed to have his eye upon the Lord. He endured. So you find different things about Moses. I just like to point them out. First of all it says He refused, and then He chose, and now He esteemed the reproach of Christ.
He forsook Egypt, He endured, He kept the power of the passel.
All these lovely things are recorded about Moses, and now we find him. Here He is. He is going to lead the people out of the land of Egypt. But it says this to me is quite interesting, this 28th verse. Through faith He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the person the first born should touch them.
Moses here kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood.
That is Moses himself, great personal he was. He needed the blood to shelter him. And every one of us here who know the Lord Jesus is our Savior, we are sheltered by that precious blood. Doesn't matter who it is, whether it's the youngest person, a boy that was just saved yesterday, or whether we have been saved for years and years, there's still only one thing that shelters us from judgment and that is the precious blood of Christ.
Oh, is there anyone here that's not under the shelter of the blood of Christ? Oh, May God grant that you will turn and receive him as your Savior. When God instituted this feast for the people of Israel, He didn't say when I see that you belong to the nation of Israel. He didn't say when I see how good you are. He said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Are you under the shelter of the blood?
There's not even the amount of your faith. If there was a one of the children of Israel that were doubting, we'll say, but still the blood was on the door. His home was just as safe as the one where there were no doubts, as someone has illustrated. You know, if you had gone to these different homes in Egypt and you'd passed a home where there was no blood on the door and you said, have you heard that there's going to be a destroying Angel passed through the land of.
Egypt tonight and when? He said we're pretty good people. We're not as bad as some other people in this locality and we think we're quite good enough. Would that home be safe? No, no, It would be exposed to judgment.
Then you come to another one and the blood is sprinkled there, and you walk in and say, why is the blood sprinkled there? And he tells you what has taken place and how the Lord has said he's going to pass through the land of Egypt and every home for the blood was sprinkled. He said, when I see the blood I will pass over you. And you say to him, I want to ask you a very personal question. Do you have any doubts?
00:40:08
Well behind his head and said, well I'll have to say I'll be glad when the midnight hour's pass.
I'll feel better when the midnight hours passed. Well, then you go to the next home and you see the blood sprinkle there, and you go in and you ask them the same questions. And they say, well, the Lord told us that we were to kill the Passover lamb, we were to sprinkle the blood, and we have done that. And you say the same thing to Him. Would I like to ask you a very personal question? You got any doubts?
Why Certainly not, God says.
And when I see the blood, I will Passover you. And we're just resting on His word. We've done what He told us to do, and we've sprinkled the blood. Was that all more safe than the other? No. But wouldn't you rather live in the one that was? In the second case, one of the devil's ways of attacking us is to try and.
Put doubts into our minds.
You know the enemy does that and he can't rob you of salvation. He can't bring doubts into your minds and make you very unhappy. Well, we see this about Moses. And now he keeps the Passover. He doesn't set himself up as being any better than the rest. He needed the same shelter. And it doesn't matter who it is, we need the same shelter. We all join together to sing that hymn, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
That's the only thing that can make us say, will we see these decisions then?
Taking place in Moses life and then they come out into the wilderness and Moses has to begin the last 40 years of his life as someone has said he's learning that God is everything and the people often blamed him when he came to the place where there was no water they said why did you bring us out into this place where there's no water and there wasn't any manna when there wasn't any food for them they said you just brought us out here to.
Parish and he got blamed for a lot of things, but what did he do? He constantly looked to the Lord. Brethren, I'm just saying these things because I think we learn a lot of lessons from the life of Moses. We see if I can go back, there's his family. He's being brought up there. He's a proper child. He's been sheltered from all the influences that are around as long as they can.
He gets his education, but he decides that the priority.
In his mind is the deliverance of the people of God, and he attempts to do this in his own strength and he's rejected.
And then the Lord takes him to the backside of the desert. I think as we trace these things, we can see experiences in our own lives, and the Lord is leading us on through these things. And so I speak to you, dear young people, be very thankful if you've got a Christian father, a Christian mother who seek to bring you up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And may the Lord give those of us who are parents that faith that counts upon him and puts as a priority for our children not.
Education, but that they might know the Lord, that they might give him His rightful place in their lives. Then we see the time coming in Moses life, when he has to make decisions too, chooses rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He has respect to the recompense of the reward now. He is being used of God now to take the people out.
Did they appreciate? Did they?
Thank him when they got into the wilderness. Now I see over and over again they blamed him. But I think it's very lovely to see the heart of Moses.
The time when they fell into the worship of the golden calf, and the Lord said, I'm going to have to deal with this people because I brought them out and they're now falling into the worship of the golden calf. And Moses says, take this people, blot my name out of thy book, but take this people for thine inheritance.
How did he react? You know, we we talk about our actions, but how are our reactions? He could have easily said, well, I have done everything for them. It's useless and I just give them up now he said said, blot my name out, but take these people. I love the people of God. I want to see them blessed. That's the whole burden of my heart. And he went on and all through those years of murmuring, it tells us.
They have you turned to the.
106 Psalm I think it is.
00:45:04
From 28th verse 106 some.
They joined themselves unto Belle Pier, and they and ate the sacrifices of the dead. They provoked him to anger with their inventions, and their plague break upon them. Then stood up Phinehas and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed, and that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations.
Forevermore they angered him. That's Moses also at the waters of strife, so that it went I'll with Moses for their sakes, because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
We see here at the end Moses had been so patient, Bible says he was the meekest man in all the earth, but he got so provoked at right at the very end of his life, pretty near. It tells us here that when they acted the way they did, it says they provoked him to anger because they were blaming the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, speak to the rock, not smite the rock. The Lord Jesus was smitten.
Calvary, you'll never have to be smitten again. And so he said to Moses, all you've got to do is speak to the rock. Isn't that lovely? And so the Lord Jesus has died. He's accomplished that work of redemption. We're sure of glory through what he has done. But now we can speak to the rock and we can look up to him. And he said, Moses, you just speak to the rock, the waters will come out. His heart was full of desire and blessing for his people. And if they would just speak, if he would just speak to the rock, the waters would come.
But Moses got angry. He lost his patience and he said, must we fetch you water out of this rocky rebels? And the Lord said, Moses, you failed to sanctify me. You made it look as if I was the one who didn't want to bless my people, and I do want to bless them. And for Moses, because of that, he wasn't able to lead the people into the land.
He asked the Lord afterwards. He said, Lord, let me lead the people into the land I've brought.
Come out from the land of Egypt. I want to lead them into the land. And the Lord said, no Moses, you lost an opportunity. And may I say this, it's very easy for us. And we've seen people that have gone on with the Lord for many years and they get discouraged. Something happens maybe in the assembly and they say I I give up. I've tried my best, I've done everything I possibly can and it's no use. It was use.
The Lord is still a patient, gracious God, And when Moses is.
His patience with the people of God. It says the Lord said you fail to sanctify me in the eyes of the people and Moses pled with the Lord and the Lord said no Moses, you can't lead them in because you've lost your patience Now may I say this because I'm talking to young and old. I've tried to encourage you, dear young people while you're young to make decisions for the Lord in middle life too, that you'll esteem the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt and when we.
Older, there are dangers too. We can get discouraged. We can decide, well, it's no use. Say I've tried and I just give up. Don't give up. The Lord doesn't give up. One brother said to another brother. He said, if I was the Lord, I just give up the brethren. But the Lord doesn't give them up brethren. He loves his own, having loved his own, which were in the world. He loved him unto the end. And somebody gave me a little article called The Provoked Spirit, and it was.
Saying how Moses, after Saul faithfully serving the Lord at the very end of his life, he lost his patience with the people of God and he lost that wonderful privilege of leading into the land. But there's a bright spot too. Moses is in the land, in the Mount of Transfiguration, and there we see him, Moses and Laos, the two discouraged servants. Remember how Elias said they've broken down their altars and they've just turned their back on me and I only have left?
My life 'cause I am the faithful one. And the Lord said, well, you, you can go and choose another one because I have another person and he, I'll use him. And he said he was to go and choose Elijah, Elisha rather. And Elisha was the man of grace and was blessed of God to his people. Moses got discouraged and he couldn't lead the people into the land. But I say again, there he is on the mount of Transfiguration. What are they talking about?
About the people and how badly they acted.
They spake of his decease that he would accomplish at Jerusalem. The cross is the center of two eternities. It's the ground of all our blessing, brother, young and old. It's what Jesus did on the cross. And because of that, He is never going to change in His love to anyone who has put their trust in Him, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And if we're going to be some use among the people of God, we have to always continue to love the people.
00:50:18
We may not agree with all our ways, but we are to love them. We have no excuse not to love them. Because if the Lord loved me, a poor failing thing that I am, surely He can love his people. And may the Lord grant that each one of our hearts will be stirred in affection for the Lord Jesus, and that He will keep us, help us in those decisions that we have to make in life. I say again, tracing right from the very beginning.
You dear young people, you're here. Be careful. The partner. You're partner. You choose.
Choose one that wants to please and follow the Lord. When your family comes, shelter them and seek to bring them up and the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And when you see them decide to give up something for the Lord's sake, just rejoice at it. But keep on and serve the Lord, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And Paul could say.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord will the righteous judge will give.
In that day, and not to me only, but to all them that love, his appearing love is appearing the time when everything is going to be set right. For I believe the appearing brings in the results of the judgment seat of Christ when he makes manifest all that's done for him and there's many that there's shall I say there may be a lot of wood, hay and stubble in our lives, but there's going to be something preserved in the life of every Christian and one of the most beautiful verse.
This was to me is in that Second Corinthians chapter 4, where it says, And then shall every man have praise of God? God's going to pick out of every believer's life something that he can reward. May the Lord grant that there'll be more when we think of all that He's done for us.
I wonder if we could sing that little hymn? Jesus, thou alone art worthy Ceaseless praises to receive For thy love and grace and goodness rise o'er all our thoughts conceive.
#82.
But have they asked him too much to stand and sing this number 82?
War.
My precious name.
Praise, praise and praise and kill.
C.M.
Sight to the Blind
John 3:16