276
T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
June 1932
always have the presence o f the Lord with him. Our Lord never sends His servants on any errand without going with them. Every servant o f Christ is called into association with Him. W e sometimes overlook the unspeakable honor conferred upon us when we are called for any ser vice for the Lord. 2. Moses was called to be the represen tative o f God. God had a message for Pharaoh, and Moses was selected to deliver that message. Thus he became God’s am bassador. He had merely to go and speak the words God would give him, and his service would be performed. And to day, all the Christian has to do is to act as an ambassador for God, speaking the words which are given as God’s,message to the world. As long as we hold ourselves to be merely messengers sent with a message, the work is easy, and the burden is light. It is when we attempt to bring to the world some message o f our own that Christian service becomes tiresome drudgery. 3. Moses was called to perform God’s works. God would bring the people out of the land o f bondage, but He said to Moses, “ I will send thee . . . that thou mayest bring forth my people.” It was God’s work, to be performed by God’s power, but Moses was the one who should be the instrument for doing the work and the one through whom the power would flow. Thus Moses was called to a high and honorable position for and with the Lord. And the Christian today is called to noth ing less. God has a work to do upon the earth, and to do that work, He calls His own people into fellowship with Himself, He asks them to allow Him to do His work through them. If the Christian will only remember that the work is God’s and the power is God’s, the service will be ren dered efficiently and joyously. II. T he E ncouragement for M oses (3:11-15). Awed by the greatness of the task to which he was called, Moses drew back, saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and bring forth the children of Israel out o f Egypt?” But he was imme diately encouraged by the promise of God, “ Certainly I will be with thee.” He would experience no dearth of power, when ac companied by the Lord Himself. Moses might be nothing, but the Lord was every thing. He would go with Moses into the presence o f Pharaoh. No one needs to hesi tate to obey the call o f God to service, be cause he feels insufficient. Every believer is wholly insufficient in himself; but with the Lord, there is all sufficiency. Moses expressed reluctance to face the people, lest they should not believe that God had sent him. The Lord replied by telling him His name, “ I AM TH A T I AM .” This would be enough to satisfy the people. But God had a further word o f encouragement for His servant. He re minded him that he was sent by the One whose faithfulness to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was everywhere well known. So to day, the Lord answers all objections and pours out abundant encouragement as He invites the Christian to go to the people to whom He sends, and to speak, the mes sage which He gives. III. T he A bility of M oses (4:10-12). Moses*still hesitated to accept the honor offered, and appeared reluctant to go in obedience to the Lord’s command. He
BLACKBOARD LESSON“ Câll to ServiceJ o r CRrisb / — A PROMISE STRENGTHENf HELP .UPHOLD
4 :10-12. For what reason did Moses continue to hesitate ? What did God prom ise him? Was this enough for him, or did he still require human aid? Discuss the proverb, “ Whom God calls, He enables.” Golden Text Illustration A young man who was driven out of western China during the riots, years ago, was the treasurer o f our mission there, and there were others farther up than he who needed silver to pay their way out. He saw that they were cared for, and then started down the river himself. The rioters over took him, boarded his boat, and he jumped overboard. They began to spear at him in the water. He would dart under the boat and come up on the other side, only to find another spear shot at him. Down he would go again, and up again, only to be speared at again, until his case became hopeless. Finally, he struck out for the shore, and as he stood in the face o f the surrounding mob, the chief said, “Let him go,” and they melted away. A t Northfield, when he was asked to tell his story on Missionary Day, he said, “ Some friends were curious to know what particular text o f Scripture came to me when I was down under that boat. Scripture text? ‘The Lord himself was there.’ ” And every one who heard him speak knew that He, the Lord, was there indeed.—H. C. M abie . A Bush on Fire E xodus 3 :l-5, 9-12 Memory Verse: “ Certainly I will be with thee” (Ex. 3:12). Approach: When Moses grew to be a man and looked about and saw how cruelly his people were being treated by the Egyp tians, it made him angry. One day he saw For years Moses herded sheep in the wil derness. He no longer thought, of being a leader o f his people to help them get away from Egypt. But God still had this plan for his life. One day, God did a startling thing. As Moses was walking along herding his sheep, suddenly he saw a burning bush. The strange thing about it was that, al though the bush was on fire, it didn’t burn up. Moses stopped to look more closely. God had used this way of making Moses stop and think. From the bush God spoke to Moses. He told Moses that he was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses remembered what had happened years be fore in Egypt, and he was afraid to do it —afraid his own people would not follow him, afraid that he could not persuade Pharaoh to let the people go. Moses had forgotten a very important thing. It was this: I f God gives one of His children a piece o f work to do, He will also give him the power to do it. So God gave Moses some signs which he could use to show his brethren that God had sent him to deliver them, and He gave him Aaron, Moses’ brother, to help him to persuade Pharaoh to let the people go. an Egyptian beating one of the Israelites. He was so angry that he slew the Egyptian. Then he had to flee from the country and hide in the wilderness. So instead of helping his people, he only made the Egyptians more cruel than ever to them. L e s s o n S t o r y :
SINCERE SERVICE ï ACANS SURRENDERED SELF
raised the further objection that he could not make a proper address, that he was “not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant.” But this objection was met with the re minder that He who made man’s mouth could also make man speak. It is God who allows a man to speak, or who shuts a man up to dumbness. Moses had but to rely upon the God who was sending him in or der to find sufficiency to do and to say all that was required. Then the Lord gave Moses the direct command to go, and He reiterated His promise to him : “ I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” So it is with the Christian today; God is ever calling to a higher service, and to every objection that is raised, He says, “ I will be with thee, I will empower thee, I will teach thee.” There can be no excuse for not engaging in the work to which God calls. But Moses further objected until, at last, God gave him his brother Aaron to assist him. But we must note that even with the coming of Aaron no extra power was given. The power was merely divided be tween these two men, so that Moses was just the same as though he had gone alone in the first place. He missed the full honor which might have been his, as many a Christian is missing it today. Lesson Questions 3 :10. What was going on in Egypt dur ing the time that Moses was in the wilder ness? What does the word “come” imply? T o what great work did God call Moses? Vs. 11-15. On what ground did Moses demur the first time? With what words did God meet his objection? What fear did Moses next entertain regarding the people to whom God sent him? How was this removed? What significance is there in the name by which God made Himself known? What encouragement did He grant to His servant? Carry On Some one told the story o f the cross, Long ago on old Judaea’s plains; Others took the tidings on to Rome, Preaching there, in dungeons and in chains. Some one crossed the ocean to the isles, Spread the story with a heart aglow ; Others carried it to desert sands, Toiling over mountains heaped with snow. Down the ages has the story come, Ringing out its challenge all the way; Told by loyal folk in every clime, Shall we fail to pass it on today? — S elected .
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