Manifesting God's Power
Hi friends. Let's begin with a question: How did God manifest His power through Moses life? How did the Lord release His power through Moses ministry? We find the answer to that in verse 10: So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. The answer is "obedience."
It still amazes me that through very simple acts of obedience Moses annihilated the mightiest empire on earth. Through very simple acts of obedience Moses demolished the most powerful kingdom on the planet at that time.
How did God, through Moses, bring down the Egyptian empire?
"Moses, lift up your rod." "Moses, stretch out your rod." "Moses, lower your rod."
How hard can that be?! Just through very simple acts of obedience Moses annihilated the mightiest empire on the earth.
Understand: ministry is not me doing a work for God; ministry is God doing His work through me.
I am not called to try and dream up great things to do for God; I am simply to walk in obedience to the Lord, allowing Him to manifest His power through me.
God is the one who has His plan for my life. My part is being in that intimate place with God so I can recognize His voice when He speaks to me. When I obey, God performs the supernatural.
Here is the ministry-pattern: God speaks; I obey; God performs the miraculous.
Now going back to Moses, did Moses always walk in simple obedience in carrying out the will of God?
Exodus 2:11-15 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that way and seeing no one, he killed him and buried him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" The man said, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." When Pharaoh heard of this he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian.
So looking at the passage above, what is Moses problem?
He tried to accomplish God's purpose without moving in God's plan.
What is God's plan? Moses, I speak, you obey, and I perform the supernatural.
Can I just say I have been walking with the Lord for many years and have had the privilege to serve in ministry for many years, and there are times I have seen people's gifts and talents just get in God's way. I have seen people in ministry lean and trust in their gift and talent more than they trusted the Lord. Instead of walking in simple obedience to the Lord, they took their gift and talent and ran with it, trying to accomplish great things for God, and in doing so they spent a lot of time and energy doing things God never called them to do. I guess the point I am trying to make is that sometimes God has to reduce us to simple obedience before He can use our gifts and talents the way He desires.
This is not always the case. I do not want to discourage anyone from using their gifts and talents for the Lord. But there are times when we are putting our trust more in our gifts and abilities that God has to humble us and reduce us to a simple walk of obedience. Then He can use them to their fullest potential in the ministry He has for us.
Let's look at something in the New Testament.
Luke 5: 4, 5 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep for a catch." Peter answered, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word I will let down my net for a catch."
Jesus is in Peter's boat preaching to the crowd on the shore and when He was through He looked at Peter and said, "Sail your boat into the deep and let down your net for a catch." Peter, in total exhaustion of body and spirit because he had been out fishing all night, replied, "Jesus, we have worked all night trying to catch fish." If we listen closely to what Peter is saying, he is telling Jesus, "Jesus, we are experienced fishermen. In fact, you could even call us experts. We have all the knowledge and know all the methods for catching fish. We know when the sun sets here, you fish over there. And when the sun sets over there, you fish here. No disrespect intended, but there is nothing you can teach us about fishing." But I am so glad Peter humbled himself and said, "Nevertheless, we will take the boat out again and go fishing."
And when they obeyed the Word of Jesus, what happened?
Vs. 6 "And when they had done so, they caught a large number of fish and their nets began to break.
Paul would call this exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think.
And what was Jesus teaching His very soon to be disciples in this?
I don't move in your abilities; I move in your obedience.
Yes, I will use your abilities, but it's not your abilities that move my hand, it is your obedience.
Very soon I am going to call you to be 'fishers of men,' and here is how ministry works:
I speak; you obey; I perform the supernatural.
Isn't it wonderful ministry can be that easy? Yes, there is a lot of hard work involved, but fruit comes out of simple obedience. Our part is to love the Lord with a sincere love, and to nurture our relationship with God. It's out of this intimate relationship with God that we will discern when the Lord is speaking to us. When He speaks, we obey, and the Holy Spirit performs the miraculous.
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