Sunday Worship Service February 11, 2024

Prelude
Call to Worship 2 Corinthians 12:9
Hymn JBC # 215 Go to dark Gethsemane
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Testimony for membership transfer
Scripture Exodus 4:1~17
Prayer
Sermon “Sign that God provides”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 297 I hear the Saviour say
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude


Today, we will listen together to God’s message from the Old Testament’s [book of Exodus].
The Lord God chose the man Moses as the leader to lead out the Israelites from Egypt where they spent a life of slavery.
In today’s scripture, Moses answers God [What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say “The Lord did not appear to you”]?
“They” refers to the Egyptians primarily Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Prior to this, God told Moses [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and leave Egypt]

God personally revealed Himself, talked to Moses, promised [I will be with you], even encouraged him and yet Moses hesitated.
　What is Moses so afraid of? Surely, the king of Egypt is (an absolute) a big authority.
To stand before someone so powerful, much more to ask that king [please let the Israelites flee from Egypt] must have needed a great courage.

However, God was with Moses. If Moses could have paid attention to God’s magnificence and power, he shouldn’t have feared, hesitated and refused God’s command to this extent. Nevertheless, what was Moses so afraid of?
It seems that one of the things that Moses was afraid of was the matter of “change”. If we think of it, Moses had lived as a shepherd for 40 years until then.
Moses didn’t want to live such life. By wondrous fate, Moses, born into a Hebrew family was taken in by the princess of Egypt and brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace.

However, when Moses was 40 years of age, wanting to help an Israelite who was his countryman, killed an Egyptian that oppressed that man.
For that reason, Moses whose life was sought after by the Egyptian king, fled from Egypt, got married in the land of Midian, had children and there, lived the life as a shepherd.
Detailed matter on what sort of life did Moses have for 40 years in the land of Midian is not written in the bible.
If we try to imagine the 40 years that Moses lived in the land of Midian as a shepherd (also as a husband and father), there must have been some hard times but certainly there must have been many happy moments as well.

In my opinion, we can also imagine that to Moses, his life as a shepherd in the land of Midian was settled and happy.
　God’s command to Moses was a demand to give up entirely the life that he (Moses) got used to. It was one that required a great “change” to Moses’ way of life itself.
As expected, we feel secured if we remain in a condition that is settled and got accustomed to. In various meanings, it requires energy to “change”.
However, if God commands and guides us, it is my prayer that we can accept “change” fearlessly more than the settled one that we got used to.
And it seems that there was also another factor that made Moses so afraid of change besides turning his back from the life that he became accustomed to.

It is his age. Moses was brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace, at the age of 40 fled Egypt, went to the land of Midian and there spent his life for 40 years as a shepherd.
That means, in today’s scripture, when God revealed Himself to Moses and commanded him [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and flee Egypt], Moses was 80 years old.
To my idea, it’s no wonder if Moses would think [At this age, it’s impossible for me to be the leader of such numerous Israelites, go to the king of Egypt and persuade him.]
However, if God uses us even at old age, it’s strength rather than weakness.

In today’s scripture, God asks hesitating Moses [What is that in your hand?] What Moses had in his hand was a rod (walking stick).
The fact that Moses held a stick demonstrates that he was of old age, and I think it’s also a symbol.
God commanded Moses to cast that stick on the ground. Then the stick became a serpent, Moses wondered and fled from it.
God said to Moses, “Put out your hand and take the serpent (changed from stick) by the tail”, and as Moses did so, the serpent turned back to stick as it was.

God said (v. 5) [If you do this, they will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.]
It says that a stick turns to serpent by God’s power which serves as a sign and becomes apparent that “God has used Moses”.
At this point, I think the first “sign” that God initially showed Moses, by using the stick that was in his hand has a profound meaning.
Even the stick, which is a sign of old age, that is, even the aged Moses will be greatly used if used by God.
In my opinion, being old to Moses was one reason to hesitate in obeying God’s command, however, it is well to bring before God as is even the weak point that we consider.

It is my prayer that we walk a life of faith believing that if we bring even our weaknesses before God, He will greatly use them far beyond our thoughts.
　After that, God also showed a sign letting Moses to put his hand into his bosom and that hand became leprous, and when he put back his hand into his bosom, his hand was restored.
Again, in verse 9, in case the Egyptians won’t believe even with those two signs, God moreover provided a sign that the water of Nile River will turn into blood.
God provides all things that we need. Let us walk the life of faith trusting God who gives or provides the things that we need when it’s necessary.

　And yet, however, although the Lord God had provided so many signs, Moses couldn’t obey and refuses God’s calling.
Let me read the words of Moses in verse 10.

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

Moses said [Basically, I am not good at speaking. I’m not good at talking. You command me to go and talk to the king of Egypt, but still, I’m not a good talker.]
　In my opinion, here is demonstrated our figure that set the limits of our own abilities by ourselves, saying “I can’t do this”, and underestimate ourselves whom God plans to use.
Hence, the Lord said to Moses as follows.

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
We can do things more than we think through the Lord’s help and guidance.
The Lord himself promises here that He will teach us what we must speak, what to do or should say.
I think the real reason why Moses hesitated so much to obey God’s command was because he couldn’t believe in himself.

Thinking that he wasn’t that young anymore, that he didn’t have the ability, etc., Moses couldn’t believe in himself.
The important thing here is that we don’t remain in a condition where “we can’t believe in our self” but to believe God more than our own. To believe God who uses us is important more than our self.

If we just believe ourselves or our own ability, and try to believe only our own, there eventually is just limit and despair.
However, when we rely on and acknowledge the magnificence of God who uses us and not looking at ourselves, great thing far beyond our imagination becomes possible (through God’s power).

Jesus says as follows. John 14:12.
　　 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

When we believe the Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can do magnificent work as Jesus did.
　We can walk the life of faith by believing and relying on God who gives us such strength.

In fact, in today’s passage, Moses still opposed God and said [Pardon your servant Lord. Please send someone else.] (verse 13)
It is written in verse 14 that even God was angry at this. However, God is of everlasting love.
Even as He was angry, God told Moses [I will send to you Aaron your brother who speaks well, for you who is not good at talking].
God promised that He will send Aaron, Moses’ brother as his speaking partner in place of him.

Just as Moses will be to him as God, he shall entrust God’s word to Aaron, and Aaron who is entrusted that word shall tell the people, they were introduced to each other by God as brothers of faith to help one another.
Even us don’t walk the path of faith alone. We never do even evangelism by oneself.
As each one make the most of each other’s spiritual gift given from God, while we respect, support and complement each other, let us walk the life of faith and do evangelism as well to spread the kingdom of God.

The church is a gathering of such brothers/ sisters of faith, a family of faith. Just as God had introduced Aaron to Moses, similarly, church’s brothers and sisters are given as family of faith that should help one another.
As one of this family of faith provided by God, let us respect one another and walk together the life of faith even from now on.