The Work Of God
Text Reading ~ Exodus 15:2-13
Ex 15:2 “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”
Ex 15:13 “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.”
Introduction~ If we are going to do the work of God we are going to need the enablement of God and the strength of God to get the job done. God is involved where he calls and equips the Christian with His enabling, equipping grace. The question for us today is, “How does God equip His people to do the work that He wants done?”
I. God provides the enablement for His work.
1Ti 1:12 “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;”
The definition for the word enabled is the following… [Grk. 1743] endunamoo (en-doo-nam-o’-o) from 1722 and 1412; to empower:–enable, (increase in) strength(-en), be (make) strong.
This simply states that God empowers us to do the job He wants us to do.
II. God provides the empowering for His work.
Ac 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
The definition for the word power in this verse is the following… Grk. 1849] exousia (ex-oo-see’-ah) from 1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:— authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, .
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The definition for the word power in this verse is the following… [Grk. 1411] dunamis (doo’-nam-is) from 1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):— ability, abundance, meaning, might(-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.
III. God provides the encouragement for His work.
see Psalms 18: 2,17
We certainly need encouragement in the days that we now live to do the work of God. The following verses show that God is our source of encouragement and strength.
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
IV. God gives the envisioning needed to do His work.
God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as the “I AM THAT I AM”.
The definition ~ “I AM” means to exist, or the self existent one who reveals Himself.
A. Moses envisioned God.
God allowed Moses to see who the I Am is, so Moses could see how the great work he was called to do could be done. God let Moses know that His work would be accomplished, not from Moses’ source, but from God’s source. It was not about Moses doing it, but about Moses’ God. It was not about Moses’ weakness, but about God’s strength. The battle was not between Moses and Pharaoh, but between God and Pharaoh. Moses learned that God is the self revealing, man abasing, mountain moving, mercy giving, people promoting, miracle working God. We know that the God of Moses is also the God of you.
B. We need to envision God ourselves.
As Moses found God’s enablement and strength to do his commission, God will be the enabler for you and I in our commission. God gives the encouragement needed to do His work We need to get envisioned not at what we can do for God, but what God can do through us.
Jesus let us know the prerequisite to carrying out the Great Commission is to realize that He has all the power in heaven and earth. As God displayed to Moses who the I am was in the Old Testament, we also see the I am of the New testament.
C. Envision how much power our Commander has. “all power …in heaven and in earth”
Mt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
In His ministry, Christ proved He has all power over His creation.
a. Over the physical world as he turned water to wine.
b. Over the spiritual world to cast out devils.
c. Over human government ~Jn 19:11
d. Over Sin to forgive ~ Mk 2:10
e. Over life and death.
Compare Christ’s resurrection to the Red Sea crossing. Moses saw God help him:
a, Do the unthinkable ~ lead millions out of Egypt.
b. Face the impossible ~ Moses faced the hard hearted powerful Pharaoh
c. Overcome every obstacle ~ The armies of the enemy, His great task, the difficulties of the dessert.
We also can see God move mountains, open closed nations, and aid missionaries to do the job God wants done in relation to the Great Commission.
Illustration ~ There once lived in Scotland a boy by the name of Eric Liddel that wanted to get on the English Olympic Team. On this particular competition he had already won the 100 yard race and the 220. He was now going to run on the same day the 440. His opponent J.J. Gillies was considered England’s best runner.
After the race began, J.J. Gillies knocked Eric into a fence. Eric lay there rattled by the fall. Then someone said the words, “Eric, get up! You’re still in the race.” Realizing the race was not over, Eric got up and ran with all his might from 20 yards behind the last runner. With both sides cheering, Eric, running like a windmill, went on to beat the lead runner, J.J. Gilles, by just a chest length.
Eric is said to have prayed to God that he could win this race for a testimony for God’s glory. Eric later became a missionary to China. He died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp having given his food away to those weaker than he was. Yet, Eric learned this secret that God enables one to go through anything He commissions one to do by God’s enablement, strength and grace.
Closing ~ God gives the enabling, the empowering, the encouragement and envisioning to do His work in the Great Commission. Paul the apostle learned this as well. When Paul felt powerless as he did the Great Commission, Paul found a source of strength beyond himself.
2Co 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us,
God gives us a job to us, just as He gave a job to Moses. God calls us to do things way beyond one’s natural abilities. This is so that in the Great Commission, God will get the glory when the work is accomplished.
God did this for Moses. God did this for Paul and God will do this for you by his enablement, grace and strength.
God does not need our ability, but our dependability.
God does not need our stamina, but our steadfastness.
God does not need our intellect, but our life’s investment.
God does not need our self reliance, but our total dependence.
God does not need man’s strength, but our weakness so that He can get the glory enabling the weak and strengthening the faint.
Faith promise is about one stepping out on faith as God strengthens you by promise.
How are we doing? Are we willing to face the impossible, Confront the obstacles and to do the unthinkable? By God’s grace you can do whatever God calls you to do! The stuttering Moses did the job God called him to do. Paul did his work by the grace of God.
God called me to a ministry way above and beyond anything I ever imagined.
You to can do whatever God calls you to do as well.
Brother Mark J. Bach
Web address: www.goall.org
Email: savedsure@gmail.com
Church Planting in Alaska~ Western Canada
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