I have surely seen the affliction
of my people which are in Egypt, and heard their cry by reason
of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. And I am come
down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptian, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land and large, unto
a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perzivites, Hivites, Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the children
of Israel is come up before me, and I have also seen the oppression
of them wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now, therefore,
I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth
my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Verse 11, Moses
said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? In Acts chapter 11 and verse
17, Peter is being called on the carpet and he said, Forasmuch
then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand
God. Now we're looking at both of
these servants of God have been given Herculean a task for them
to perform in the name and the power of God. We understand the
Apostle Paul saying, He hath made us ample, able ministers
of the New Testament. Here we have two men who have
something before them to do, who wonder how why they are chosen
and sent. Moses was called and commissioned
by God in Exodus chapter 3 and verse 1. He was tending the sheep
when the Lord God made a wonderful manifestation unto him. He is
told that he will be sent down into the land of Egypt, that
he will bring the children of Israel out and bring them into
the land of promise. for far better that Moses have
the attitude he had than to think of himself more highly than he
ought, as he realizes the insufficiency in his flesh for the task that
God has assigned unto him. How glad it is to hear Moses
doubt his ability of the thing that is before him, rather than
hear him boast What a great man, what a great messenger, what
a faithful deliverer he would be unto them. Better than hearing
Moses boast, I'm learned in all the way of the Egyptians, though
he was, Exodus chapter or rather Acts chapter 7 and verse 22. And he was the adopted son of
Pharaoh's daughter in Exodus chapter 2 and verse 10, and well
able to negotiate for he knew Pharaoh and such like. But Moses
had the right spirit, such a Herculean task before him. Who am I? And why does he ask, who am I
to do such a thing? Why does he not jump at the chance
of the opportunity to be a very visible servant of God, do a
great and an important thing? Well, the adopted son of Pharaoh's
daughter had taken one of the most common job of that period
of time, that as a shepherd. Once he had sought by his own
might, by his own hand, to deliver and to protect his Jewish brethren,
and had been run out of the country in shame. Now he is told, go
again into Egypt and bring them out. And this evokes the astonishment
in the question of Moses, who am I? Now before we consider
Moses' question, Let our attention fall upon the little word am
here in our text, for here it is a perfect place, I believe,
to take just a minute or so and consider something. Two things
please notice about it. A, notice that in Exodus 3 and
verse 11, the word am is in italics in this play, literally who I
to go deliver Israel. And then you remember that great
verse in Exodus 3 and verse 14, God answers the question of Moses
in the 13th verse. When I say unto them, who sent
me? When they demand of me, whose
name have you come in? By what authority are you doing
these things? Then what shall I answer them? The answer of God in Exodus 3.14
is one of the great verses in all of the Bible. Tell them that
I am has sent me, because I am that I am. John Gill wrote, God
is declaring here that he is the being of being, and he includes,
says Gill, both his eternality and his immutability, that he
has always been and that he cannot change. The point being, Moses
does not use the word am of himself. And you find that so often in
the scripture, and in Genesis chapter 22. Twice we see this
in God's dealing with Abraham. In verse 1, Abraham answered,
Behold, here I. Again in verse 11, when the angel
of the Lord called unto Abraham, again he answered, Not here,
I am, but here I. But back to the question of Moses. Who am I to go and deliver Israel? So let's consider some of the
things which Moses might have viewed in his own mind as obstacles
and impedance under the deliverance of them by the hand of himself. He might have thought these things.
Number one, the power and resistance of Pharaoh. He knew Pharaoh well,
the evil, despotic king of Israel. For the people were in deep servitude
under them, and he wielded an unorthodox an unending power
over them, and had a mighty army at his command to enforce his
law. Secondly, it might have been
that the Jewish people had much earlier chided Moses for trying
to deliver them, for acting as a judge between one man and another. And then thirdly, Moses doubts
the people would believe him. What shall I say? How shall they
believe me? In Exodus chapter 4 and verse
1. So the Lord endured him with
a power of working miracles. And you see that in Exodus 4
verses 2 through verse 9. And then, fourthly, Moses pleads
his inadequate verbal skills in Exodus 4 and verse 10, and
a lack of revelation from God. Who am I? For I'm not eloquent. The margin said, I'm not a man
of words is how it is rendered. I am slow of speech. I am slow
of tongue. And then he declares, God did
not God enhanced, therefore, his lack of eloquence and gave
him the words that he might speak. And God delivered the children
of Israel by the hand of Moses. And so we see that great thing
given unto him to do. Go, I will deliver them, I will
bring them out by thy hand. Now, let's switch our focus to
that passage that we had in Acts chapter 11 and verse 17. But this time, it is the Apostle
Peter who asks the question, what or who was I that I could
withstand God? Now, the issue concerned the
Apostle's recent experience at Pentecost and then again at the
house of Cornelius. And when he preached at the house
of Cornelius, the Spirit of God fell upon them, and they were
moved, and they began to speak with other tongues, and a great
manifestation Now, at one time, Peter had been opposed to that.
He didn't go in under strange men, not allowed to have company
with one that was not of his nation. But God changed all of
that when he gave him the revelation as he rested upon the top of
the house in Joppa at the house of a friend. And so, with that
revelation, Fresh in his mind. You remember the sheet let down
all manner of unclean beast arise Peter slay and eat no Lord Nothing
uncommon common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth But
after the revelation he goes he enters into the house of carnage
And he begins to speak to them the Word of God when the Spirit
is poured out upon them when the Apostle Peter returned to
Jerusalem after that experience, he was criticized by them, quote,
that were of the circumcision, Acts 11 and verse 2, for his
recent behavior, going in to the uncircumcised Gentiles. having
fellowship with them, entering into their company and into their
house. Indeed, the apostle himself had
made mention of this upon his arrival at the house of Cornelius. Acts chapter 10, verse 28. Peter
tells those that are gathered there with Cornelius, you know
how it is unlawful for one that is a Jew to keep company or enter
into one that is a foreigner or a Gentile? To those of another
nation, to those not of our ethnic society, to one uncircumcised,
therefore, without the mark of Abraham in his flesh. The words
are simple. You know how unlawful it is that
such a thing should occur that a Jew enter into the house of
a Gentile. And he would have them to understand
that as a Jew, he would not do such a thing on his own. It was
not something that he would ever have done on his own. inclination. Then he adds, however, God has
shown me that I should not call common or unclean that which
God has cleansed, referring to the vision of the sheets that
he had in Joppa. At the time of the vision, Peter
doubted what the vision did mean unto him. Acts chapter 16, you
can see it. I'm sorry, Acts chapter 10 is
where it is recorded. It became clear to him at the
house of Carnelius And he acted in a clear conscience in preaching
Christ unto those Gentiles that were gathered there in the company
of Cornelius. And Peter is forced to defend
his action to those Pharisee Jews who calls him on the carpet. And you find the record in Acts
11, 4 through 16. We won't take time to read it.
But his vision, the voice from heaven, the men from Carnelius
arriving at a certainly providential time in his life, the corresponding
vision that was given to Carnelius over at his house, the coming
of the Holy Spirit sealed the matter in the mind of the apostle. Then, too, he remembered the
words of John the Baptist, which he had predicted the Spirit would
be poured out. Then in Acts 11 and verse 17,
the apostle draws his conclusion based upon the factual account
of the event. He said, for as much since, or
therefore, and he frames his defense in the question that
is in our text unto his critics, based upon the facts as he knew
them and as he experienced them. Now, the fact is this, God gave
to the Gentile the equal gift that he gave unto us, the Jew. Literally the same, or the equal
gift. He gave to the Jew the Spirit
of God, and he has given unto the Gentile also the Spirit of
God. So the question here in verse
17 and the last part, what or who was I? That is, I, who am
I? Who am I, the Apostle Peter,
that I could withstand God in this matter? Not that he wanted
to, and not that he tried to withstand God after it was made
known unto him. But consider the word understand
in the King James Version, or withstand, the word withstand
in the King James Version. The word is more than 20 times
in the New Testament, yet only here in Acts 11 and verse 17
is it translated into our English by the word withstand. It is
most often rendered as forbid and hinder. Once it is rendered
as kept in Acts 27 and 43, was let in Romans chapter 1 and verse
13, I was kept or hindered from coming unto you. That's the same
word. Peter's reasoning is this. It
was a sovereign, irresistible, almighty work of God. God did
it, and Peter did resist preaching to the Gentiles up until Acts
chapter 10, when God then enlightened him. And besides, the shedding
forth of the Spirit upon the Gentiles was not accompanied
by any will or any ability of the apostle. It was not accomplished
by his inclination. Peter neither could cause it
nor could he hinder it. And he realized that. And he
had no idea that such a thing was about to occur at that particular
time. And while we're on the subject
of this, it is the perfect and happy opportunity to set the
record straight about the two outpourings the Holy Spirit of
the Jew in Acts chapter 2 and of the Gentile in Acts chapter
10. I like to call this the Gentile
Pentecost that we have in the 10th chapter of Acts. There have
been those who have taught that Pentecost was a result of the
action of those apostles and disciples. There are plenty today
of who teach that they sanctified themselves and they prayed so
fervently of the disciples that they actually prayed down the
Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost. What's more, some of those misguided
zealots have insisted that Pentecost can and that it should be repeated
by men in the churches again. And they seek all the time a
repetition of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They pray
for it, they yearn for it, and they seek after it. But we should
say Pentecost was a once-for-all, unrepeatable event. If the spirit
came unasked for, it came unexpectedly, it came without any influence
on the part of the people or the disciple, there is not the
slightest hint anywhere in the scripture that it needs repeating
or that a repetition of Pentecost is to be sought by the Christians
of later generation. But back to the question of the
apostle. Who was I that I could hinder,
that I could forbid, that I could withstand God? Now, the reason
that Peter did rehearse the matter is so that he can emphasize,
as Calvin said, quote, that God was the initiator and the controller
of the whole affair, unquote, the words of Calvin. So Peter
has no blame. For he openly followed the lead
of the other apostles that were in Jerusalem. It was not his
plan. It was not his idea to initiate
the Gentiles into the church of the Lord. He could not be
blamed. He only did what the Lord commanded
him. He obeyed God in the matter,
and this is how God brought about the calling, the great calling
of the Gentile into the kingdom of God. Yes, he went in to the
uncircumcised Gentile. Yes, he had eaten with them at
their table, for they asked him to dwell there with them certain
days after the event, Acts 10, 48. He even led the way in having
the Gentile converts baptized in water to follow the example
of the Lord in Acts 10 and verse 48. Who was he, therefore, he
asked them, a mortal man and a frail mortal man at that, to
hinder, to stop, to forbid the work of God in this instant. How could he forbid or hinder
God pouring out his blessed Holy Spirit on this occasion as he
did? Did his critics, the Pharisee
Jews in Jerusalem, did they think that he should have had no part
in the matter whatsoever? Then Peter's answer would be,
this was an irresistible work of an almighty and sovereign
God, and who was I that I might forbid it or hinder it?" Now,
expanding or broadening our focus to show that man is powerless
and insignificant without the guidance, the help, of Almighty
God, that he cannot cause what God opposes, nor can he perform
what God is not the author of. And we feel our inadequate ability
to do these things apart from God. We ought to feel our unworthiness
unless we are endowed by God for the task at hand. Moses felt
a keen sense of his inadequacy to deliver Israel. In fact, light
of all the things that had happened to him from and among them. Paul felt the inadequacy of ministering
in 2 Corinthians 3, 5, and 6. He'd been discussing his exercise
of the ministry, and in the end of the second chapter, had asserted
his honesty and his integrity in handling the gospel, But in
2 Corinthians chapter 3, 1 through 4, he did not forsake this to
win the commendation of men, for they were his commendation
of his ministry. The success of the gospel among
them, their conversion and their calling, and he confided He had
confidence, therefore, in the ministry of the Lord, but not
in himself. However, in verse 5 and 6, his
sufficiency to preach the gospel was not in himself, nor did he
reckon it to be anything of him, for our sufficiency, our competency,
the word might mean, is of God. For it is he that has made us
able, competent minister of the New Testament, who is of himself
sufficient to preach the gospel or to preach the word of God. What is a man that he might take
upon himself without a divine calling to speak divine things
and assume to speak in the name and authority of God? Let us
always bear in our mind our unworthiness and our inability. But remember
God's sovereign power to make frail men His instrument. When Moses said, Who am I? God said unto him, I will be
with you, and these will be evidence that I have sent you. and the
successful exodus out of the land of Egypt did not depend
upon Moses or upon Aaron, but upon the power, the might, the
will, and the purpose of God. In other places we see the same
attitude. For example, 1 Samuel chapter
18 and 18. When Saul promised his elder
daughter to be David's wife, David said, and I'm quoting,
Who am I? What is my life? Are my father's
family in Israel that I should be son-in-law under the king? Unquote. Calling himself in 1
Samuel 18 and 23, a poor man and lightly esteemed. And yet,
It pleased David to be the king's son-in-law, even though Saul
was scheming against David at the time. Again, over in 2 Samuel
chapter 7, the Lord made great and exceeding promises unto David,
which were conveyed unto him by the prophet Nathan, such as
highly blessing his house and his family, raising up out of
his loins one to sit upon the throne of David. And David responds
in the 18th verse of that particular place, Who am I, O Lord? What is my house that you have
brought me this for? Who am I? What is my house and
my ancestry that might deserve or merit or earn this? When we
think about it, Who are we? What have we in the way of our
merit or our ability or our family or our talent that God would
bestow his great grace upon us or that we should be the sons
of God and we should have the privilege of becoming the eternal
sons of the eternal King of heaven and of earth, the almighty, sovereign,
all-powerful, all-knowing God. God is our Father. We are His sons. We are His adopted
sons, brought into the royal family of God. Who are we to
merit such a blessing? Who are we to experience such
a position before the Almighty God? If not for God's grace,
if not for His will and His purpose, it should have not have been
so with us. Who am I? And when we think,
and I know some people do. I once heard a man who had surrendered
to preach. And he said to his wife one day,
honey, you know, I wonder why God chose me to be a preacher.
She said, why, honey, because he knew you'd be strong and faithful
in the word of God. No, it doesn't rest upon the
ability of men. The psalmist broadened that.
In Psalm chapter eight, he wrote, what is man that thou art mindful
of him or the son of man that thou should visit him? He makes
a contrast. When I consider the heaven, when
I consider the moon and the stars, all that thou hast created, then
the thought is this, what is man? Little puny, insignificant,
dot on the globe man. What is man so small and insignificant
like a speck of dust, as it were, upon the earth? What is man that
thou should be mindful of him? And yet God in his grace and
in his purpose that's called this one and that one and the
other, to do those things that are His will and His purpose. And though we were unworthy,
had nothing at all to commend us to God, in fact much to cause
God to detest us if He went by outward feeling and eye, yet
He has looked upon us in grace. Who are we? that we have become
the sons of God and have been given grace unto everlasting
salvation. Think about that. Who are we
that God should so highly bless us?