Pastor Aaron Cordeiro
February 23, 2014 - W1408

What greater an example of Faithfulness is there than that of Moses? Last week we talked about his giving, and Faith is really about giving. Today we are going to talk about the huge responsibility that Moses had to undertake and gave his life to. But if you look at his life you will see that he did a million and one mistakes, but God used his mistakes mightily in many different ways.

I don’t know about you, but I often cry out to God, “Oh God, I make so many mistakes, I am so frail and fragile at times, and I have so many flaws I don’t know how you can use me? But if you can use an imperfect person like Moses then oh God Please use me.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise? Don’t you ever feel so riddled with mistakes and ever wonder if God can use you? Well, looking at the life of Moses, yes, God can use you.

When I pick up my tiny baby boy, I am amazed at how wonderful he is. And I often dream about all the things I’m going to do with him like all the surfing trips. Then I stop and think about all the mistakes I’ve made, then my confidence and assurance of what it is to be called to be his father is shaken. So as I am holding this little guy in awe, I say “God I pray that You will help me and that You will increase my Faith in such a way that this little guy will have the best future.”

But we can be assured of one thing that Faith will give us hope and a confidence especially if you are like Moses and me, someone that makes a lot of mistakes. I am sure that many of you call out to God and pray that you too can be a part of the good and the giving that God has called others to do. You would especially like that in your life, in your marriage and in your future. Isn’t that what we all hope for? The Bible says Faith leads us to be confident and assured in these things that we can’t see. Moses teaches us that if you want to predict the future then increase your Faith and he is going to show us how. Let’s read what it says in Hebrews:

“Now Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2)

This verse gives us the promise and hope in what Faith truly is. Moses was plagued with mistakes, frail, flawed, but what caught God’s attention was his willingness to obey God despite his many flaws. God saw in Moses someone who He could mightily use. Moses is saying that God can use every single one of us in mighty ways if we’re willing to obey Him despite our mistakes and no matter how flawed we are. The story of Moses will remind us of how flawed and wracked with mistakes Moses was but because of God’s Faithfulness He used Moses and He can use us also.

So now you ask the question, what kind of Faithfulness is this that you can still be of use to God in spite of all your mistakes, frailties, shortcomings?

Using Moses an example we see it as a kind of Faith that is being spiritually responsible.

Spiritual responsibility is not about self responsibility, it’s not fiscal, political, fiduciary, or parental even though these are the responsibilities we aspire to. Spiritual responsibility is not about being perfect.

Moses was far from being perfect. First of all, he was a murdering fugitive, failed liberator, he was 80 years old and passive, he was insecure and he was a runaway. God met Moses right where he was. Let’s now look at the responsibilities that God laid before him by looking at the verses Exodus 3:10-15. Through these scriptures we can see what spiritual responsibilities God has laid before him and us:

“Therefore come now and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt, But Moses said to God ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel  out of Egypt?’ And God said “Certainly I will be with you and this should be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “Behold I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” This is what you are to say to the Israelites. “I AM has sent me to you. God, Furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons 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 this is My Memorial Name to all the generations.” (Exodus 3:10-15)

Now think about this….that’s over 3,000,000 people and Moses ran away from them 40 years ago. He miserably failed to liberate those people then. So what is the Spiritual responsibility that Moses wants you to carry with you today? Here it is:

A. Spiritually responsible people live like God has sent them.

I wonder if it seems like God can’t use you (us) sometimes because you (we) don’t LIVE like God has sent you (us). Do you realize that God has sent you into your world, into your family, to your surroundings, to your workplace, but if you don’t live like God has sent you how can He work through you? Moses recognized a responsibility even though it was God size, and even though he failed the first time, that the only way he could accomplish this was through the Person who sent him. And that is God. Moses here reminds you that he couldn’t rely on his own strength and that he needed to rely on God’s strength and the Person who sent him to undergo this enormous task. You too need to realize that God sent you to perform this responsibility and He will, like with Moses stand beside you giving you the ability and strength to complete the responsibility He has laid out before you.

Remember what it says in Exodus 3:14: “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” This is what you are to say to the Israelites. “I AM has sent me to you.”

Here you are reminded that you can call upon God’s name at any time and use it. He is the God of the universe and most of all He can REALLY handle the situation. He just uses you, all of us, to reflect Himself to others.

With Moses, remember also, that he really had face to Face experiences with God. As Moses talks with God face to Face as a friend, he reminds God that 40 years ago he failed. But God reminds Moses that He, God, wasn’t with him 40 years ago, but now He is with him. So Moses teaches us the spiritual responsibility is in knowing who sent you. You need to know the power of who sent you. Moses finally understood all this. It was God who sent him and it is by HIS power, by God’s power, that he will succeed, and if you know who sent you, it will be by HIS power that you will succeed.

I recall 7 years ago, my wife and I were called to Pastor at the New Hope Church in Hawaii Kai. Now if it was someone else who told me to be Pastor there I would have probably said “No, I don’t think so.” But when my father sat me down to consider this position I listened more intently, because it was WHO I was talking to. He is someone spiritually very close to God and someone who was sent by God. And I began to trust him. After all, as I thought about it, if he tells me to go and I mess up then it’s his fault not mine and if I screw up the finances, he will finance it to make it right. See, it REALLY matters in WHO sends you. It’s not like I have to be exactly as my dad is, but that I, like my dad, have to always “mirror” God’s Heart.

Moses began to see the spiritual responsibility that there is a shift that goes from being “human” to mirroring the Person Who sent him. This next point sounds very similar to the first point but it isn’t really the same. I’ll explain in a moment.

B. Spiritually responsible people live like they’ve been sent by God.

If you remember, Moses really suffered. The difference with the first point and this is that you have to remember that when you are faced with serious situations and trials you really were sent by God and that God is actually with you. That’s what spiritually responsible people realize, that God is right by their side wherever they go.

Moses comes face to face with various trials, like face to face with his nemesis, with Pharaoh and he is probably freaked out. “God what am I going to say to him?” So this is what God says to Moses:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship Me.’ ” ’ ” (Exodus 9:1)

Now Moses understands that not only is he sent by God, but that God is with him. Moses is not the one with the agenda, but that this is what The LORD God wants and He is with him. If they don’t listen to HIM, then they will have much to contend with. So Moses tells Pharaoh, to let the people go not only so that they will be free but that they will be free to worship their God. Therefore once God has sent you it is no longer YOUR agenda, and you aren’t going through this on your own nor by your own strength, but by GOD’S strength and power. Remember also that you were made free not just for the sake of freedom, but that you were made free to worship Him. Spiritually responsible people know what it means to be face to Face with God in every single part of their day and to walk with Him every single way. Just like it was for Moses.

“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Exodus 33:11)

Doesn’t this sound wonderful to be able to be face to Face with God as like a friend, so that in whatever situation you are in, God is constantly there, face to Face like a friend? It’s one thing to know that God sent you to do some awesome thing for Him, but it is entirely another thing knowing that no matter what, God is WITH you.

I remember a time when I was doing my devotions on the verse “If God is for me who can be against me?” It came to me at a time when I was really struggling with my insecurities and wrestling with things that people had said to me and it really hurt. So I got so excited to read this and I journaled on it. I was so encouraged by these words. As I was walking outside and being excited about this, there was a homeless person who popped out at me and started threatening me. As I remembered these words from the Bible that “if God is for me who can be against me?” I asked that guy, “Hey do you know who I hang out with? His name is Jesus!”

He kept threatening me again, saying “I’m going kill you!”

And I kept saying “Hey do you know who I hang out with? His name is Jesus! His name is JESUS!” And I continued saying this until I truly believed it. “His NAME is JESUS! You know who’s with me? His name is Jesus, the creator of the universe. His name is Jesus!” All of a sudden the man ran off into the darkness of the bushes. I was so relieved.

Then I was reminded that the disciples also went through something very similar to this. Remember when they were casting out demons? They all ran back to Jesus and they were so excited in being able to cast out demons and Jesus said something most unusual, “Do not celebrate that you can cast out demons but celebrate knowing that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life”. How more cherished it is to know that you are in Jesus’ Book of Life. See, God doesn’t set you free for the sake of freedom but He has freed you so that you are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The last point is this:

C. Spiritually responsible people walk with God and mirror His Heart.

Now if you follow the life of Moses, you will see that in every step he walked he reflected God’s Heart. In every situation he was faced with, he inquired of God. However in one incident when the people were complaining “We need water!” God told him to strike the rock and the people were happy, but they complained over and over again. This time God told Moses to go and speak to the rock because God wanted to reveal Himself to them. God wanted to show himself not only as a God of Law, but as a God of Grace. But Moses was so irritated by the complaining that he whacked the rock several times. Up to this time Moses mirrored God’s heart. He didn’t let his flesh rage; except for this ONE time because he was so fed up with their complaining. It was only this one time that he disobeyed God, but because of this, it forfeited his opportunity to see the Promised Land.

So It is important to remember that in every trial that we are going to face, in every situation that we will encounter we need to constantly be obedient to do as God sends you to do, and know that God is with you and you need to mirror the God who sent you. Remember that if God is for you, who can be against you?

And lastly remember that, like Moses, you do not ask that others model their lives to yours but that they model their lives to the One True God who sent you. Moses makes that statement here in Acts 3:22:

“Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers, you shall listen to Him in whatever He tells you.’ ” (Acts 3:22)

We are not the model, but Jesus is that Person to whom we mirror, for He is the Messiah. Wherever you go, if you shine the Heart of Jesus even in your frailties and mistakes then you are a person of Faith and God will be with you and use you always until you go home to be with Jesus.

I want to share one more thing before I close. Now I pray every day that I will one day truly mirror all of God’s goodness to everyone around me, because I don’t always reflect God, I have my failures and shortcomings. I recall a time when I went out to surf at Diamond Head and protocol in the surfing world is when someone catches a wave you wait for the next one. Well one day this really grumpy guy came out and he caught the same wave I was on. I tried to wave him off politely, but he didn’t stop so we tangled and he got thrown off. He yelled at me that I owe him for the ding in his board.  I wanted to confront him in return but instead, I asked him if he went to church. He softened up and said yes he goes to church. And in fact he was saved in prison by Pastor Wayne. When I told him that I am Pastor Wayne’s son and a Pastor too, the fella really calmed down but was worried that God would be angry for threatening a Pastor. I said it was okay and that I would pay for the ding but I had no money with me. So he followed me to the ATM Machine and I took out $40 and I said this is $20 for the ding I caused and another $20 for the next guy who dings his board. And I asked him next time he was out surfing that he would show God’s Grace to everyone around him. Today he is a part of the New Hope Prison ministries witnessing about God’s Grace and telling this very same story. How wonderful it is to mirror God to those around us!

1. What kind of mistakes have you made in your life?

2. What does it mean to be Spiritually Responsible?

3. How do you mirror Jesus?

4. By God’s strength and calling, who or in what ministry would you like to shine God’s love?