The Sermon Within

Moses was a man who was asked to do something bold and dangerous. God commissioned him to confront Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be freed. But Moses doubted his ability to do the job.

Exodus 4:1, “They will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you…”

God, however, thought differently. He gave Moses tools to prove to the people of Israel and the Egyptians that he was indeed sent by God. From his staff, which was miraculously turned into a snake when he let go of it and turned back into a tool for guiding sheep when he picked it up again, to contracting leprosy and being healed from it all by putting his hand in his coat, God gave Moses what he needed to prove His power. But Moses still didn’t feel up to it. His next complaint was his lack of speaking ability.

Exodus 4:10, “O Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have been, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” (NLT)

But God’s response to Moses is something we should remember as well. He asked Moses, “Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Many times we fail to speak up and share our faith because we feel like Moses—inadequate. Yet Jesus gave a similar bit of encouragement to the apostles in Luke 12:8-12, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ‘for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.’”

The scenario Moses found himself in is not unique to him. Even though we may not be leading people out of Egyptian slavery, we may be setting them free. Many people are in spiritual bondage because of their choices, because of their environment, or many other reasons, and our words may be the light they have been looking for.

Never underestimate the power of talking to someone whenever God is behind our words. Think of the encouragement that Paul gave to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

You may be the only Bible some people ever read, so live powerfully for God. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).