Introduction:
"When God is ready to do what seems to be the impossible He takes what appears to be the improbable and transforms it into the improvable."
It has been said of the Church: "20% of the people do 80% of the work of the Church." It has also been said of the Church that: "20% of the people give 80% of the money to support the work of the Church."
Whether or not those are accurate statements should be tested in relation to many factors. However, the goal of God for His people is that everyone use the gifts He has placed in their hands. If in the life of Moses we learn "how to become the person God can use," it is also from the life of Moses that we learn "how to use what God has placed in our hands." And so, the serious question is:
"What is that in your hand?"
This is that potent question God asked Moses one day. Moses was in something of an argumentative mood as God was dealing with him about what God wanted him to do. He had just heard God say:
"I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go." (Exodus 3:20)
God had asked Moses to be the person to lead the Israelites out of the Egyptian captivity, and bring them into the Land of Promise, the Land of Canaan. The text of Scripture indicates clearly that Moses was not in favor of God's plan. Moses responded to God's statement of His intention with a very weak statement:
"But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'" (Exodus 4:1)
Therefore we note the serious question God posed to Moses: "What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2)
Moses' answer is interesting: "A rod." (Exodus 4:2) In essence Moses said to the LORD: "Just a stick!" He could have added: "It isn't really worth very much." For that is what he was saying to God.
And that is what so many Christians…Church people…say to God when confronted with the challenge to use their lives for the work of God's kingdom. But God's serious question remains: "What is that in your hand?"
How then shall we view this challenge from God? It seems there are three very evident observations that need to be made at this point. They concern the "what" to which God was referring, and that was identified by Moses in response to God. "Just a stick!"
But the message of Scripture is that the "stick" in the hand of Moses was:
1. Suited to the Person God would use – namely, Moses!
2. Secluded in the Plan God would utilize - deliverance for His people Israel!
3. Scheduled for the Purpose God would unveil in His time – the miracles for which faith and obedience were absolute necessities.
Therefore we come to deal with the issue of this message: "How to use what God has given to you."
Whatever God has placed in your hand, it is suited for YOU, and not to someone else!
Remember:
"When God is ready to do what seems to be the impossible He takes what appears to be the improbable and transforms it into the improvable."
What was it that God had in mind when He asked Moses the question: "What is that in your hand?" It was only a stick, perhaps well worn with the years of use in the hands of Moses as he trekked across the burning sands of desert, as he herded the sheep for his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, or as he fended off any predators who would take some of the sheep. Just a stick; just a piece of wood…a limb broken off a tree, no intrinsic value, very insig-nificant. Just a stick…just a piece of wood.
And is that how we feel about what is in our hand? What is it that God has placed in our hands? In your hands? Probably only you know the answer to that question. Sometimes we do not even know what God has placed in our hands with His intention that it be used for His service. But whatever it is, it is important to God.
But back to Moses and his timeworn stick of wood…his broken tree limb. In response to the answer from Moses, God said: "throw it on the ground." Moses obeyed, and the stick became a snake! God said: "Pick it up by the tail." Moses obeyed, and the snake became the stick again. Here is the transforming power of God to take what is in our hands and change it that it might be used for His glory and according to His sovereign will.
Now to the serious question: "What is that in your hand?" Let's think a little about life's realities. Too often we hear: "Let the preacher do it. That's what we hire him to do." But what are some of those "non-preacher-type" gifts from God that while for some they may appear as the improbable, God believes they are improvable so that they can be used for His glory.
a. A hammer – representing many crafts; construction, woodworking, furniture building, and the general field of craftsmanship.
b. A wrench – representing the world of industry and mechanics and many related occupations.
c. A piece of cookware – representing the millions of homemakers with their culinary artistry.
d. A book – representing the world of education; teaching, learning, research, scholarship.
e. A piece of music – representing the world of music and entertainment.
f. A stethoscope – representing the world of medicine – physicians, nurses, technicians, pharmacy and research.
g. A watch – representing the fact that each of us has an equal amount of time…to use for God.
h. A USB Flash Drive – representing the world of communicative technology.
i. A set of car keys – representing our mobility and opportunity to care for others meaningfully.
j. A pile of money – so essential in our daily lives – representing our financial stewardship – a matter God has committed to all of us.
These are only a few of the gifts God has placed in the hands of people, and now asks us: "What is that in YOUR hand?" Moses answered: "Oh, it is just a stick…a piece of wood…a broken tree limb." And God might have said: "Really? Let Me show you what it really is!" Now the question is: "What is that in your hand? Whatever it is, it is suited for your person, for your resources, for your abilities.
That which was in the hand of Moses was also secluded, or tucked away in the plan of God to deliver His people Israel from the long Egyptian bondage. And what was the plan of God? It is found in three key statements and the Divine sequence that follows them, as found in the text of Scripture. God's first three statements are:
a. "…I have seen…" (Exodus 3:7)
b. "…I have heard…" (Exodus 3:7)
c. "…I have come…" (Exodus 3:8)
God spelled out His plan in strong words to Moses:
" I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…" (Exodus 3:8)
God's people Israel were living out the 430 years of bondage in the land of Egypt, the first great world power. The seventy people (Exodus 1:5) who had first gone to Egypt had multiplied until there were many hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a couple of million. They were crying out to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their deliverance. God saw their affliction, heard their distress cries, and came down to bring deliverance. That deliverance would be through the miracle working power of God exhibited in the life and ministry of His servant Moses, aided by Aaron, the brother of Moses.
What is God's plan for you? For me? Obviously we do not know all the details of His plan, but there are certain specifics to which the Scriptures draw our attention. For example, note the following key New Testament Scriptures that detail God's plan for us:
a. "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
b. "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
(John 20:21)
c. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
d. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
(Acts 1:8)
But returning to the life of Moses, we need to ask the question: how was God's plan to succeed? It is very clear from the text of Scripture:
"And you shall take this rod (this stick…this broken tree limb) in your hand, with which you shall do the signs." (Exodus 4:17)
But God did not leave Moses hanging at that point. Surely Moses could easily recall God's words of promise given to him earlier. Those words are three in number:
a. "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:10)
b. "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain." (Exodus 3:12)
c. I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst." (Exodus 3:20)
What is the key? Notice the words throughout these Scriptures: "I will" and "you." Those are God's words. While they are specifically applicable to Moses, they are also applicable to us. We dare not forget the words of Jesus: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20)
"What is that in your hand?" What has God given to you that you are now to use for His glory? To accomplish His plan? To bless the world around you? To bring conviction for sin to the lost and dying? What is it? God knows…and so do you!
And now we observe one more element of the uniqueness of the gifts God gives to people. For what is in your hand is scheduled for use in the purpose of God for His Kingdom work.
God has placed the proverbial ball in our court! He asks the question: "What is that in your hand?" And we know what it is…it is probably the ability to do whatever we are doing.
Moses argued with God at this awesome assignment, using what he called his own inability…his own ineptness…his own lack of eloquence…his own…call it what you will. So God chose Aaron, the brother of Moses to help him. And Aaron became the spokesman. But that did not relieve Moses of the responsibility of acknowledging God's intention for that "stick of wood…that broken tree limb" in his hand. God made it very clear to Moses:
"And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs." (Exodus 4:17)
God has assured Moses that He, the LORD God of Israel would be with the mouth of Moses and the mouth of Aaron. (Exodus 4:15b) Further, God assured Moses that He, the LORD God of Israel would teach Moses what he should do. (Exodus 4:15c) But it would be the responsibility of Moses to obey, and "take the stick…the broken tree limb" with which the wonders…the signs…the miracles would be performed by the power of God.
"What is that in your hand?" A haunting question, isn't it? It strikes at the heart of each one of us. Who among us can recall who made this statement?
"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." (William Carey, May 30, 1792)
The father of William Carey was the village schoolmaster. He apprenticed his young son to a shoemaker in Hackleton. Young William Carey was so caught up on the Holy Scriptures that on his own he learned Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Dutch, and French while working on shoes. He too became a schoolmaster, but the call of God was on him to be a missionary to the lost of this world. He also preached the Gospel without fear or favor of any. A neighbor argued with him regarding his spending so much time preaching. His reply: "My real business is to preach the Gospel and win lost souls. I cobble shoes to pay expenses." And he became the "Father of World Missions."
"What is that in your hand?" A stick…a broken tree limb. What YOUR true stewardship?
Stewardship is:
- using your God-given abilities (what you are)
- with your God-given resources (what you have)
- to accomplish God-ordained purposes (what you are to do!)
"What is that in your hand?"
