Pulpit Today

Moses was the first man in Scripture to ask God to identify Himself.  He did this twice.  At Mount Horeb, the invisible God called Moses from a burning bush and commissioned him to appear before Pharaoh and demand Israel’s release.  Seeing no one, Moses looked into the flames and asked, “Who are you?  Whom should I say sends me?”  God said, “You can tell anyone who asks, “I am that I am” sends you.  That Name was enough.  Egypt withered, the waters waned, and Israel escaped bondage.  But once delivered from Egypt, Israel stood in the heat of the desert.  Now Moses confronted another task.  Before Pharaoh he was the Emancipator, but once in the wilderness he was Israel’s provider.  It worked the first time, so Moses repeated his request, “Lord, you told me to lead these people, but I need more information about you.  Show me your glory” (EXO 33:18)).  Moments later, Moses watched God pass by from a cleft in a rock and heard God elucidate the glories of His Name.  Again Moses discovered that God’s self-proclamation was enough to lead Israel into the Promised Land.  Do you realize what Moses’ two requests teach us?  Moses knew that a person with an assignment from God needed a revelation of God!  Our successes do not reside in who we are; they reside in who God is!

The Apostle Paul, unsurpassed in apostolic blessing, understood this when he wrote, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant” (2 COR 3:5-6, NASB).  The Scriptures make clear that the entirety of our earthly existence is “sown in weakness” (1 COR 15:43) and relies on divine enablement to accomplish our mission.  Man’s flesh is circumscribed with inescapable weaknesses apart from God’s supply.  The weakness of our praying is made effectual only through the touch of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26).  The prophet Daniel discovered that the powers of hell, which capture and ruin nations, are only contravened through the dispatch of angels who wage war in heavenly places.  Men can confront sinners with passion and truth, but unconverted souls are only transformed when the Spirit of God arrives to convict, convince, and convert.  Mountains move, miracles occur, signs and wonders appear, not through man’s genius, but only through the power of the Risen Christ who said, “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

What has God called you to do?  Whatever that assignment is, everything about your humanity suggests you are enervated and inadequate to accomplish it.  But that’s okay, because your successes will arise only as you know your God, His greatness, and His glory.  Seek Him.  Learn of Him.  Let Him.  The glory of God is around you.