My sermon notes from sunday are online, I preached on Moses and included the five solas of the reformation.
Heb 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.
Heb 11:24- 29 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned
1. What is meekness?
Meekness is putting the needs of others before my own short term interests. Moses refused to remain a prince of Egypt whilst God’s people suffered. BUT as God is no man’s debtor, meekness is in truth enlightened self-interest looking for a future reward.
Do we always identify ourselves as Christians and stand up being willing to be mistreated? Do we tend to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin or do we endure- seeing the invisible.
My Uncle said he would continue to praise the lord when diagnosed with cancer. HE believed God could heal him but he did say “I am in a win-win situation”. He wanted to live, but was willing to die as he knew the treasures of heaven were greater than the most extravagant pleasures the world can offer.
2. How is it achieved?
Coming to the end of ourselves.
The writer of the Hebrews praises Moses desire to not enjoy pleasures whilst his people suffered. But Moses acted out of line- he tried to save them himself.
Christian’s who are aware of the need can sometimes be like this- too enthusiastic. God remembers Moses in honor and in Hebrews ‘forgets’ to mention the death of an Egyptian.
We can make mistakes which might even put other people off us- I know I have done this kind of thing, but as an old evangelist said ” I like the way I do it better than the way you don’t”
We need to be willing to be used.
God doesn’t need you, but he will use you.
Moses the brash man who killed an Egyptian and started trying to fix it, became the humble shepherd who said to God ‘send someone else’
But GOD calls the meek to act to bring liberty. This is the essence of the gospel.
Moses brought salvation, Jesus came to do the same, and we too are called to act on behalf of others
Is 61
Heb 3:5-6 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Acts 3: 18-23 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
What does it achieve?
What do we need to listen to? What is our message? What do we put our faith in?
The Cambridge Declaration A Statement by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelical 1996 5 SOLAS of Reformation affirmed.
Sola Scriptura-Scripture Alone
“In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God.”
You might be surprised to hear a good charismatic say this “The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God’s grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.” (Cambridge declaration)
Acts 17:11-12 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed”
Solus Christus- Christ Alone
Heb 9:19-26 “when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Sola Fides – Faith Alone
Sola Gratia- Grace Alone
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God
Grace is why, faith is how
Soli Deo Gloria – For the Glory of God Alone
When we consider all this, the meekness of Moses should be easily understandable. The fugitive made into the liberator of God’s people. When we recognise it is the call of God, not our decision that led to us being saved we should be able to say with Paul-
1 Cor 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, [2] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being [3] might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
JOURNEY OF FAITH- CALLED by GOD
R U in Egypt- God CALLS you out and will deliver you then
God calls you to a visible demonstration of your salvation- baptism in our case, the Red sea for the Israelites
Then there is the desert where Egypt is got out of us- God calls us always to keep going on- if we double back the call comes again- closer to me come to me come….
The rest of the promised land still meant a need to obey God, but there was a sense of having proved him some liken this to the Holy Spirit’s baptism.
Questions
1. How can we practice meekness which is ” putting the needs of others before my own short term interests.”
2. How can we make sure that we are not depending on ourselves but rather God? What kind of experiences help us to learn this lesson?
3. What do you think Adrian meant when he said “God doesnt need you, but he will use you”?
4. If there is time why not ask someone to share their story of how they have drifted away from God and returned to him or how they were first saved?
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