The Final Hurdle // Becoming an Overnight Success, Part 5

I don't know how you imagine your life will turn out, whether you’ll achieve your life’s purpose or not, but often times, and you see this very much of people in the Bible, God puts dreams in their hearts, He puts a call on their lives, but they don’t get to see end game. That, to some, can be somewhat disconcerting.

If we approach life on the basis that it's all about us, that we are at the centre of the universe and everything else has to revolve around us then it's a disappointing notion to think that we may not get to see all that God has planned to do and to achieve through us. And there are plenty of people who have that perspective; the world is full of 'I'm at the centre of the universe' kind of people. Sadly Churches are also full of those sorts of people.

I'm on Facebook as you may know and I saw something the other day that really, REALLY annoyed me. A prominent Christian posted a graphic that said this, “Lord I thank you in advance for my financial overflow”. Really? So I posted this as a response, “Lord I thank you that you died for me even without the clothes on your back and Lord I thank you in advance you have called me to take up my cross and follow you no matter where you should lead or how much it may cost me even if it should cost me my all”.

Two entirely different perspectives on our faith. One says that it's all about me, the other says it's all about Jesus. Now I'm not here to tell you that I live my perspective out every day, I, like you, are a sinner and I, like you, make plenty of mistakes but the question is “what's your fundamental perspective, how do you look at this world, with you at the centre or with Jesus at the centre?”

Because if it's you at the centre you are going to be horrified to find out that you won't get to see all the plans that Gods purpose to work out involving you. But if you see your world with Christ at the centre then the fact that you won't get to see it all, be involved in it all, get the kudos for it all will be an absolute delight.

Overnight success. As we've seen in this series so far in the story of Moses there's pretty much no such thing. Moses spent forty years in privilege in Pharaoh's house, forty years alone in the wilderness tending sheep and then another forty years leading God's grumbling, complaining, faithless people through the wilderness.

And if you read the pithy account recorded many years later in the Book of Hebrews you could easily, easily come to the conclusion that Moses was an overnight success. A bit like Mary Poppins – practically perfect in every way. Let's have a look, Hebrews chapter 11 verses 24 to 29:

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking ahead to the reward.

By faith he left Egypt unafraid of the king’s anger for he persevered as though he saw Him who was invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood so that the destroyer of the first born would not touch the firstborn of Israel and by faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.

Not half bad. When you stand back at a distance like that it seems that Moses was a great success and yet Moses failed God and so he never did get to enter the Promised Land, he didn't get to complete the mission and lead the people across the Jordon into the Promised Land, he didn't get to see the promise of God fulfilled in his life. Have a listen, Numbers chapter 20 verses 1 to 13:

The Israelites, the whole congregation came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month and people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. There was no water for the congregation so they gathered together against Moses, against Aaron. The people quarrelled with Moses and said, “would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord. Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here?

Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates and there is no water to drink”. Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of the meeting. They fell on their faces and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus shall you bring water out of the rock for them, thus shall you provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

So Moses took the staff from before the Lord as He had commanded him to do, Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock and he said to them, "listen you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff and water came out abundantly and the congregation and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron “because you did not trust in me to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I've given them.” These are the waters of Meribah where the people of Israel quarrelled with the Lord and by which he showed his holiness.

It's pretty harsh! I mean you read the account in the Book of Hebrews and Moses was this amazing man of faith really yet because of this one small failure, a lapse in his faith, God kills him off before entering the Promised Land. But listen up, it wasn't about Moses, it was about God.

Imagine if Moses had been the one to both lead Israel out of Egypt and then forty years later lead them into the Promised Land. The people, God’s people would have ended up worshipping Moses instead of God and God doesn't share His glory with any man. Moses, as great a leader as he was, as much faith and courage as he had, it wasn't about Moses, it was always about Gods plan which went way beyond the wilderness, way beyond the Promised Land through the cross of Christ down to you and me.

Moses, like everyone else, just had a small part to play in a much bigger plan. God is playing the long game – get it? So what does that mean for you and me as we set about laying aside our dreams of becoming an overnight success and step out and start to follow God? What does that actually mean?

Well, simply this. Our part, the part that God's given us to play is going to be challenging, it's going to have setbacks, there will be times when we have failures, there'll be times when we experience triumphs but no matter how well suited we are to the part that God's given us to play the point is that we are 'bit' players with our bit to do and that's it.

And when you think about it that's exciting. The ripple effect of what Moses did, well it's reached several thousand years down through history and across the globe today into your life and my life. It's the ripple effect that's exciting.

I had someone ask me 'how do you know what the impact of your radio programs are? What quantitative measure do you have to tell me what you're doing is worthwhile?' The answer is there is no quantitative measure. Do I know that millions of people are listening around the world? Yes I do and I hear the odd story of the terrorist who stopped killing people, the woman who was pulled back from the brink of suicide, the eleven year old boy whose parents were going through a painful divorce and who met Jesus through these programs.

And I thank God for giving me a small part to play in people's lives and I pray, I pray for the ripple effect through them in the lives of others. I pray that the former terrorist will lead many more people to Christ, that the woman who was pulled back from suicide will bless her daughter with her love, that the young boy who met Jesus through these programs will be given a powerful part to play in God’s plan. That's the ripple effect.

God’s playing a long game and if you're on team Jesus then the joy, the delight is to play your part in that long game for His glory. A