“On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.’
“So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do.’ And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.” [1]
The future is built on the decisions we make today. A child was born to a barren couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. When the angel of the Lord announced that Elizabeth would bear a child, he delivered a great announcement. Doctor Luke writes, “While [Zechariah] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared’” [LUKE 1:8-17].
Note two facts about this account. Zechariah and Elizabeth were presented with instructions meant to assure that the child would fulfil his destiny. The child was to drink neither wine nor strong drink. The couple would have to choose to instruct the child from earliest days. They could either obey the Lord’s instruction, ensuring that the child would fulfil the destiny God intended, or they could ignore God’s expectation, in which case the intended destiny would go unfulfilled. If the parents chose to obey the Lord’s instruction, the child would be “great before the Lord.” Whether John would be great would depend upon the obedience of Zechariah and Elizabeth during the child’s formative years, and it would depend on whether John would likewise be obedient.
God instructs all parents,
“Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
[PROVERBS 22:6]
The command anticipates the Apostle’s instructions delivered in the Ephesian Encyclical: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land’” [EPHESIANS 6:1-3]. And yet, despite the divine instructions given in the Word, a tragic number of contemporary parents effectively allow children to raise themselves in this day, with disastrous results. All parents need to take to heart the truth that the future is built on decisions we make today.
The example of the instructions given the parents of the Baptist is but one example of the point with which I begin the message this day. Underscore this example in your mind: the future is built on decisions we make today. And the text we shall explore in this message provides an earlier example of this same truth. It is critical that the people of God seize upon this truth, incorporating it into daily life. It is especially critical that we incorporate this truth into the life of the congregation, taking care to ensure that we understand how important this is each time we make a decision as a congregation, each time we implement an action as a church.
BUILDING ON WHAT HAS BEEN WITNESSED — “The LORD called to [Moses] out of the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself”’” [EXODUS 19:3-4]. God demands that the people He had chosen for Himself must look to the past and the times He has worked on their behalf. It is the same message He gives to His people in this day: “Recall what I have done for you in the past!”
God’s deliverance of Israel was not something that was gradually revealed or a series of acts that were hidden from the enslaved people—the Israelites witnessed what the Lord GOD was doing from the first day Moses came to them. The LORD appointed Moses to go to Pharaoh to demand that Israel was to be released. However, before appearing before the Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of Israel to inform them what God was to do. We read in the Fourth Chapter of Exodus, “Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” [EXODUS 4:29-31].
Now, fix in your mind what these verses reveal—before Moses ever confronted the king of Egypt, he delivered to Israel the message the LORD had given him. God said, “Watch Me as I humble the gods of Egypt and set you free!” The message Moses brought to the elders of Israel was the message God had given him when Moses stood before the burning bush. The elders of Israel would be intimately involved in the deliverance God would bring.
Let’s review the message the LORD gave to Moses to deliver to the elders of Israel. “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians” [EXODUS 3:15-22].
There is a fact that is easily overlooked as you read the account of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. It is easy to conclude that Moses and Aaron stood alone when they went before Pharaoh. But did you notice how the LORD commanded Moses when he stood before the burning bush? The LORD was quite pointed in saying, “You and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt?” The elders of Israel, whom I would assume to have included at least one leader from each of the twelve tribes, were silent witnesses to Moses’ words to Pharaoh. They were present throughout the confrontation, witnessing all that was taking place. They would be able to provide a full review of events so that all Israel would know of God’s power.
That’s the way God works to this day. He does work in secret it is true, but when it is time to deliver His people it is evident that it is God at work and that what has taken place is not a one-off, a mere happenstance. Here is an example of what I am talking about. Paul was presenting his apologia before Agrippa and Bernice. Festus was also present so that the power brokers of Judea were present. As he spoke, the Apostle was interrupted by Festus, who haughtily dismissed Paul’s testimony, saying in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind” [ACTS 26:24]. He seemed especially offended by the claim that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead.
Paul responded to this interruption by appealing to the knowledge of events known both to Festus and to Agrippa. The Apostle boldly asserted, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner” [ACTS 26:25-26].
The crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection were events openly witnessed. Paul then turned to the King, boldly seizing the moment by asking, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe” [Acts 26:27]. There was nothing secret about what God did in presenting His Son as a sacrifice for all mankind.
Israel had witnessed the LORD’s intervention on their behalf, defeating the gods of Egypt. One-by-one the entities worshipped by Egyptians were bested in direct confrontation. At each stage of the battle, Pharaoh either refused to cede the battle or he tried to negotiate. But he had nothing with which to negotiate! He was attempting to haggle with God—the God Who created all things, the God Who called all things into being, the God Who is omnipotent! Who did Pharaoh think he was? He was in the final analysis a mere mortal who happened to be seated on the throne of Egypt. He had no more standing with God than did the humblest farmer.
What is interesting about this cosmic battle is how often the elders of Israel wanted to quit because they could not immediately see success. We read of an initial meeting between Moses and Aaron with the elders of Israel. “Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” [EXODUS 4:29-31].
The first meeting with Pharaoh didn’t produce the results the people of Israel wanted. “The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, “Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.” Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words’” [EXODUS 5:6-9].
The people of Israel petitioned Pharaoh to show mercy, but he responded that they were lazy and refused to show them mercy. Thus, we read, “[The elders] met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, ‘The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us’” [EXODUS 5:20-21].
We read a plaintive account in the verses that follow. “God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.”’ Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” [EXODUS 6:2-9].
And so it went even throughout the contest between the LORD and the gods of Egypt. The people of Israel moved between hope and despair as they witnessed the titanic conflict. Only after the LORD had sent the death angel to kill all the firstborn of Egypt while sparing all who sheltered under the blood of a sacrifice did the people at last hope. Then they joyfully obeyed as they plundered their former masters.
Throughout the entire journey through the wilderness, the people doubted God and repeatedly disobeyed. At the Red Sea they howled and charged God with evil. “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?” For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness’” [EXODUS 14:10-12].
At Marah, the people grumbled [see EXODUS 15:22-24]. Soon after this the people complained, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” [EXODUS 16:3]. In response, the LORD fed His people with manna, continuing to provide for them for forty years. At Massah and Meribah the people quarreled with Moses until God brought water from the rock [see EXODUS 17:1-7]. Thus it went until we come to the time when God spoke through Moses as recorded in our text.
The LORD might well have asked the people, “Did I do what I promised? Did I free you from slavery in Egypt? Have I provided for you? Have you been carried by My Divine strength?” And, of course, honesty would compel the people to admit that God had set them free. Honesty would compel the people to admit that God had defeated the gods of Egypt in stunning demonstrations of His might. Honesty would compel the people to admit that God had brought them through the terrible desert in safety. Honesty would compel the people to admit that God had provided both food and water for them and for their flocks. Honesty would compel the people to admit that God was gracious and that He was good to them. The people were witnesses to God’s goodness and God’s mercy. Knowing His goodness, they should have been prepared to obey God in all things that He would call them to do.
AGREEING TO OBEY — “‘If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
“So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do.’ And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD” [EXODUS 19:5-8].
The LORD set the conditions for greatness before the people. According to the LORD’s promise, among all peoples of the earth Israel would be God’s treasured possession. Israel would stand out as having a unique and powerful relationship with the Living God. These was not mere words, for the LORD made a point of stating that all the earth was His. We must remember that He created the earth and all that was in it. Therefore, His proposal for Israel did not constitute mere words—God was openly promising that Israel would be a Kingdom of priests to the LORD, they would be a holy nation. The condition for fulfilment of this promise was that Israel would need to obey God’s voice which effectively meant keeping God’s covenant.
God’s covenant? What was entailed in God’s covenant? In the opening chapters of the Book of Exodus, we witness a statement concerning God’s covenant. “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” [EXODUS 2:23-24].
Okay, we know that the covenant in view was the covenant God made with the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When the Lord GOD appointed Moses, He spoke specifically of His covenant. “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant” [EXODUS 6:2-5].
What, then, is this covenant between the LORD and those who descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? To see this covenant, we need to go back to the beginning, to the first Book of the Bible. There, we read God’s promise to Abram. The LORD said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly… Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” [GENESIS 17:1-2, 4-8].
Let’s bring this matter up to the present day. Appealing to the Word God has given, there is no such entity as Gaza! There is no West Bank! There is no Palestine! There is only the land God promised the descendants of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob. In our text we witness God ratifying the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, clarifying that the covenant was more than merely an issue of land. To be sure, Israel was given the land they now occupy—and more that is occupied by others; but according to God’s covenant, Israel was to be a kingdom of priests, they were to be a holy people. The nation was to take upon themselves responsibility to reveal the Lord to all the world.
Listen as God speaks through Isaiah to this very point.
“Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
“The LORD saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
which the wind of the LORD drives.
“''And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,' declares the LORD.
“‘And as for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the LORD: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,’ says the LORD, ‘from this time forth and forevermore’” [ISAIAH 59:14-21].
The LORD pledged to fill Israel with His Spirit, filling their mouth with His words. What He would do would touch not only those who first heard Isaiah’s proclamation, but God would place His Spirit in generations to come if only they would receive the covenant as promised. God would work through Israel to bless all mankind. Indeed, we hear the Master speaking of this very issue when He says to a woman whom He met, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” [JOHN 4:21-24].
At that time, all the people responded, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do” [EXODUS 19:8b]. All alike were united in giving assent to the call of God. God had spoken. A great and wonderful promise had just been made. Israel was given the opportunity to be distinguished among all the nations on the earth. They could be something no other nation would be. It was a glorious opportunity that was uniquely given to Israel.
I suppose it is possible that some of the people were caught up in the excitement generated at the moment. Perhaps some simply wanted to please a parent or a friend. There are always some who just want to be part of the group. Few ever want to be the odd man out, so they agree—they go along to get along. However, there is little doubt that the most of those who agreed with God’s appointment that day were deeply committed to doing whatever was necessary to obey God’s voice and to keep His covenant.
One needn’t be a history scholar to realise that Israel didn’t fulfil the promise made at the foot of Sinai. Israel never spread the knowledge of God as they were meant to do, no more than the Israel of God has succeeded in evangelising the earth in this day! Oh, yes, the faithful in this day are the Israel of God, just as the Apostle has stated as he writes the churches of Galatia. Closing his letter to those churches, we read the words Paul wrote. “It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” [GALATIANS 6:12-15].
Then, the old saint exults, “And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” [GALATIANS 6:16]. It is the redeemed of this Church Age, the Faithful who walk in the way of the Risen Son of God, who are identified as “the Israel of God.” That is us who are known by the Lord Jesus who are called “the Israel of God.” We have an appointment to spread the knowledge of the Saviour everywhere.
That is what we are doing by living godly, holy lives while living in the midst of this darkened world. That is our charge as we declare the grace of God in salvation to all who will receive it in this day. This is the Apostle’s statement concerning this matter. “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things” [2 CORINTHIANS 2:14-16]?
God did not forget Israel. There awaits a day, and it may be very soon, when out of Israel shall come a great army of powerful evangelists spreading the knowledge of the Christ throughout the world. And they shall be successful! John saw this and has written, “I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.”
[REVELATION 7:1-8].
Soon after witnessing this selection, John saw these evangelists again, and he wrote, “I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” [REVELATION 14:1-5].
These are extremely successful in evangelising in the midst of a world doing all it can to turn from serving God, for we read following their appointment, “I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’” [REVELATION 7:9-12].
The greatest harvest the world has ever seen still lies in the future. And that harvest is the result of godly Israelites, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are dedicated to the Lamb of God. And they shall serve during a time when to openly confess the Christ will be an invitation to suffer, an invitation to be discriminated against, an invitation to die! And yet, a multitude so great it cannot be numbered will turn to the Christ in the midst of the days of the Great Tribulation. God is at work! And God will continue working even during those dark days that are soon coming upon the earth.
Just because that day is coming does not give us an excuse to cease labouring for the cause of Christ. We are appointed to serve Him, and we know, “There is no discharge from war” [ECCLESIASTES 8:8b]. We are appointed to serve, shining the light of the glory of Christ in the midst of a darkened world, and shedding the knowledge of Him wherever we are appointed to serve. We know, “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-6].
A PROMISE TO OBEY MEANS LITTLE — “All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do’” [EXODUS 19:8a]. I know, I know; a promise is a promise. And I don’t doubt that all the people meant to do what they promised. They were much like us in this respect, I would guess. We come to faith in the Master and at first blush we want to do all that He commands. But life intrudes.
How many Christians—people who are genuinely born from above—knew that the Master had called them to fulfil a specific ministry, and that work remains unfinished to this day! I cannot tell you how many saints have told me that God had called them to preach, but they delay because they need just a little more time to settle affairs, or they need just a little more money. How many who hear my voice are certain they were appointed to speak to a neighbour, or responsible to confront some close friend who was self-destructing, or charged to just sit with a colleague who was passing through dark waters, and the responsibility remains undone. I’m not condemning anyone; I have too many failures in my own life. I am merely challenging us to understand those Israelites who heard the words Moses spoke and failed to do what God appointed them to do.
Perhaps the message serves to remind you of a charge you received from the Spirit of Christ, a charge that has yet to be fulfilled. Perhaps this reminder will serve to move you to obey. One can only speculate how frequently those who heard Moses speak thought of the covenant God had made with them. While the weight of time dims the urgency of fulfilling the appointment each follower of Christ receives, from time-to-time God graciously sends a reminder by way of a word from some fellow saint, by a statement read during quiet time with the Bible, by a message delivered by the servant of the Lord, or by the gentle urging of the Spirit of Christ. These reminders are meant to goad you to finish what you began.
Paul needed to remind a congregation to finish what it had started, when he wrote, “In this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have” [2 CORINTHIANS 8:10-12].
That was about a gift that was pledged to relieve suffering by other saints. However, the concept is applicable to fulfilling the service you promised you would provide or to now begin the ministry to which you were appointed. God hasn’t changed and His appointment still stands.
I was concluding the first message I had preached in San Francisco. I ended with a call for any who were moved by the Spirit of Christ to come to the altar and openly make whatever commitment God was calling them to make. A boy of about eleven or twelve years of age came to the front of the church saying that he wanted to be saved. He came, committing His life to faith in the Son of God.
Right behind that young man came an elderly man or sixty-seven years of age. He came before the congregation to confess that he had received a call to preach the Gospel of Christ when he was a young man of twenty years of age or so. Life got in the way, and somehow he never got around to preparing for the service of preaching. Now, at last, he wanted to openly acknowledge the call he had received and somehow fulfil what God had appointed him to so many years past.
I would not discourage anyone, and I cannot tell anyone what God can do with their life. However, I must wonder what had been lost when life got in the way for over forty years and the call of God was shoved to the back of life? Someone who listens in this hour my know that God has appointed them to a task, and that task still waits. Isn’t it time to quit shoving the call of God to the back of your life? Serve Christ now! Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
