710 likes | 959 Views
What is your calling in life?. Moses, called to be:- Patriarch. Prophet. Priest. Leader. Discerning your spiritual calling. Reflections from Exodus 2. “ balik kampung ” exodus. Outline of the Book of Exodus. Out of bondage from Egypt ( chps 1-15).
E N D
Moses, called to be:- Patriarch. Prophet. Priest. Leader.
Discerning your spiritual calling Reflections from Exodus 2
Outline of the Book of Exodus • Out of bondage from Egypt (chps 1-15). • The calling of Moses (chps 1-6). • The plagues on Egypt (chps 7-12). • Leaving Egypt (chps 13-15) • Journey to Mount Sinai (chps 16-40). • Arriving at Sinai, the 10 Commandments and the Book of the Covenant (chps 16-20). • The Tabernacle (chps 25-40).
Cane in Tutankhamen tomb depicting Nubians and Asiatic people Engraving of Ramesses II and captives
So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. Exodus 1:11,14.
Thebes Tomb painting Merneptah Stele engraving
God’s calling may not be what we expect. • God does not answer their prayers by making the lives of the Israelites better in Egypt. He answers by calling them out of Egypt. • Moses does not expect to be called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. • The Jews did not expect Jesus to call them to spiritual liberation, they expected political liberation from the Romans. • When was the last time God surprised you?
No surprises in life. Are you fitting into God’s plans or are you trying to fit God into your plans?
Common views on how to discern your spiritual calling. • You have a burden for certain tasks in church, or for a certain ministry. • You believe you have the necessary skill set/talent/spiritual gift for that calling. • You believe you can work with the people group within that calling.
The calling of Moses • God: “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
The calling of Moses • God: “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” • Moses: “ Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:10-11.
The calling of Moses • Moses: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1)
The calling of Moses • Moses: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1) • Moses: “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue .” (Exodus 4:10)
The calling of Moses • Moses: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1) • Moses: “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue .” (Exodus 4:10) • Moses: “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” (Exodus 4:13)
Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses pleaded with God to send someone else (Exodus 4:1,10,13).
Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses pleaded with God to send someone else (Exodus 4:1,10,13). • Gideon was called to lead an army against the Midianites. Gideon lacked faith that he could carry out the task (Judges 6:15,36-40).
From the wisdom of Sheila Teh. • Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses pleaded with God to send someone else (Exodus 4:1,10,13). • Gideon was called to lead an army against the Midianites. Gideon lacked faith that he could carry out the task (Judges 6:15,36-40). • Peter was called to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. Peter was racially bias against Gentiles (Acts 10:28, Gal 2:11-13).
God can call you to a task even though you have no passion, interest, desire or confidence for.
Discerning your spiritual calling. • Realize your spiritual identity. • God is working in your life even if he appears not to be. • We have various spiritual callings at different times of our life. • Spiritual calling is the anchor for our purpose in life.
Realize your spiritual identity. Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Exodus 2:1-2
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value then the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26
Our priestly identity. “But you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
Getting the right starting point for your spiritual calling. “It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion p 37)
The calling of Moses. • Priestly lineage ( 2:1).
The calling of Moses. • Priestly lineage ( 2:1). • Prince of Egypt (2: 10).
The calling of Moses. • Priestly lineage ( 2:1). • Prince of Egypt (2: 10). • Failed social activist (2:11-14).
The calling of Moses. • Priestly lineage ( 2:1). • Prince of Egypt (2: 10). • Failed social activist (2:11-14). • Outcast (2:23).
The calling of Moses. • Priestly lineage ( 2:1). • Prince of Egypt (2: 10). • Failed social activist (2:11-14). • Outcast (2:23). • Reluctant leader (4:13).
We have various spiritual callings as different times of our life. • Moses the Prince of Egypt – learning how to lead a nation. • Moses the failed social activist -experiencing failure. • Moses the Outcast –learning humility. God trains us in His own time for our spiritual calling.
Defining “spiritual calling”. • Our spiritual calling is to simply be part of God’s salvation plan and stewards of His Kingdom at home, work, church and everything else we do (Col 3:17). • Spiritual calling is not restricted to the ministries we are involved with in church.
Tony Fernandez- pioneer of discount airline carrier/hotelier/chartered accountant/ President of ASEAN Basketball League/entrepreneur/racing car enthusiast/ majority shareholder Queens Park Rangers/ reality TV star.
We can be called to different tasks or roles from God at different seasons of our lives. • Paul- Pharisee scholar/tentmaker/Apostle/Roman prisoner. • Joseph- favored son/slave/forgotten prisoner/ruler. • Nehemiah- Babylonian cupbearer/contractor/security chief/leader of the Israelites. • Esther- minority outsider/Queen/savior of the Jews.
………… The Israelites prayed for deliverance from slavery from Egypt. God answered by working behind the scenes to bring up Moses. It was a very long wait.
The silent ways of God. During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 2: 23-25.
God is working in your life even if he appears not to be. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
When you choose to obey God especially through difficult times, you are part of His sovereign plan, even though you may be unaware of it. The midwives chose to not obey Pharaoh’s ordersto kill Hebrew babies.Exodus 1:17a The mother of Moses chose to attempt to save him. Exodus 2:3 Miriam chose to suggest to Pharaoh’s daughter that Moses be nursed by a Hebrew woman. Exodus 2:7
If your Kingdom service does not include hardship, rejection, opposition, humiliation and risk you probably were not called by God into that particular ministry. • God’s calling will cost us. • God’s calling is with His strength, not ours. (He is “with our mouths” (4:12) when he calls us.) • God’s calling is collective. It is never to be undertaken alone (Moses was called together with Aaron, 4:14-16).