As she was going out the door,
Celeste Peterson said to me, I sure wish you would write a
hymn about the beautiful feet of those who preach the gospel.
Referring to that text, she has quoted more often in my hearing
than any other since God saved her. The prophet said, how beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth." You had the
privilege, the rare, rare, blessed privilege this past Lord's Day
of hearing a prophet. Prophet. As best I can discern what I
mean by that word, what the scriptures mean by that word as it's used
in the context of the New Testament. Prophet is a man raised up of
God, usually one in a generation, at least one in a given area
in a generation. with a sense of the need of God's
church and people in that generation and sent of God for the deliverance
of his people. I first met Brother Henry Mahan,
heard him preach in either September or October of 1969 and didn't have any contact with
him after that. I can remember distinctly The two messages I
heard him preach on that occasion, I can give you the outlines.
They had an effect on my heart. But our paths didn't cross again
until 30 years ago this month. I was on my way to a meeting
down here in Lexington to listen to folks brag about the church
and brag about what they were doing for the Savior. Landmark
folks. And I had heard a lot of things
about Brother Mahan. He was a little younger then
than I am now. And I decided that, you know,
I've had a little experience. I'll go by and see if I can help
this old man out and give him a little instruction. And I went
by and asked him some questions about things I'd heard. If it
had been me, I'd have thrown the young snot-nosed kid out
on the pavement. But he's nicer than me. And he
sat patiently and listened to all the questions I had. Then right before I left, he
said, Brother Fortner, I've been sitting here today preparing
a message I want to preach tonight. He was working on his television
message. He said, I want to show you my text. Everything you've been talking
about, we believe those things. But it's got nothing to do with
our message. If you ever learn the message
of this book, it will radically change your life. And he turned
his Bible around and pointed to a text and said, I want you
to read this. And I started to read. He's like, I want you to
read these three verses I've got underlined right there. Christ
is all. And I read it, and I thought,
well that's good, and I went on my way. A month later, I was laying in
a hospital bed expecting to die. Doctors told me I had cancer,
it was spread far, and they didn't expect me with everything they
could do to live very long. And I laid there for 21 days,
flat on my back, And I hardly thought of anything else except
those three words. God brought the man into my life
at a crucial time. He and his wife Doris have been
such faithful, blessed examples to Shelby and I. We had the privilege
yesterday of visiting with him for two and a half hours and
we haven't been able to do that in many, many years. We just sat
and talked all morning yesterday. And I had some things I wanted
to tell him face to face. Now things weren't put in paper. I don't mind putting them on
paper. I have. I just wanted to speak to them. And I said
to Doris, I want you to know, I now know what I could not know
when I was a younger man. Because I've had the blessed
privilege of working side by side with this lady and her being
my helpmate and my companion all these years. I now realize
what a great contribution. You are and have been to God's
kingdom. You are and have been to that
man's ministry. What a blessing you are to my
life. I appreciate it. Thank God for you. And to Brother
Mahan, let him know how much I appreciate his example. I know of few men who have endured
the hardships he's endured, difficulties. Many because of the gospel he
preaches, much opposition. I know of no man, no man, who
has been so greatly used of God to touch the lives of untold
thousands of people around the world. Not only by his direct
ministry preaching to them as he did to you Sunday, but also
by his effect upon the lives and ministries of other preachers
like your pastor. And by that, their churches and
the people they affect. And by that blessing of God that
has been upon him. The Lord has caused a tremendous
revival of the preaching of the gospel of God's free grace. The preaching of Jesus Christ
and him crucified. And only eternity. will tell
what we owe to that faithful man. I thank God you had the
privilege of hearing him again, and I hope you had the privilege
of hearing him many, many more times. Now I haven't said all
that just to honor him, though I make no apology for that. I
believe it's proper to give honor to those to whom honor is due,
and it's proper that you rightly esteem faithful men, rightly
understand their value, their usefulness. I want you to know
as many faithful gospel preachers as I can get you to know. I want
you to hear them and be familiar with their ministries. We're
not in competition with each other. We're laborers together
in the cause of Christ. But I've said all that because
I want to preach to you tonight on a subject that churches now
and then need to hear. I want to talk to you about the
making of a prophet. You turn in your Bibles, if you
will, to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3, and just hold
your hands in Exodus 3. I'll get to it in a little while.
I've got some things that need to be said. In this third chapter of Exodus,
we have a detailed account of Moses' call to be God's prophet,
God's spokesman, the man by whom God would accomplish the deliverance
of his people out of Egyptian bondage. Now let it be said at
the outset, the deliverance of Israel was altogether God's deliverance. It was altogether God's work. But the Lord God Almighty raised
up a man to be the means of deliverance. So that Moses is described as
that one who was the deliverer of Israel. He is that one who
brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage. That is to say, God
Almighty by this man Moses brought deliverance to his people. Now
understand these things. The Lord God Almighty from eternity
has decreed and purposed the salvation of his elect. He's chosen a people whom he
has determined to save. He has declared that he will
save them. And they must and shall be saved,
all of them, every one of them, and none but them. They shall
be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ, in the
fullness of time, came into this world and assumed our nature
as the covenant head, mediator, and surety of those people, and
by his blood put away their sins. In his own body he bore our sins
on the tree, and by the sacrifice of himself he put away forever
all the sins of all God's elect, so that they shall never be charged
to them again. And then at the appointed time
of love, God the Holy Spirit comes to the chosen sinner, calls
him by his grace, by sweet, irresistible, omnipotent mercy, and causes
chosen redeemed sinners to come to the Savior, creating faith
in them. Faith is created in men and given
to men by the operation of God the Holy Spirit. And it is certain
that every sinner who believes on the Son of God, that means
you and me, every sinner who believes on the Son of God, whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. That's what the
book says. That's what the book says. Preacher,
does that mean if I believe on the Lord Jesus, God will save
me. It means that and it means something
else. It means He has. He's already done a work of grace
in you. If He hadn't, you would not believe
on Him. You could not believe on Him. But there's something
else that needs to be understood. Turn to Romans chapter 10. Hold
your hands here in Exodus 3. Turn to Romans 10. This needs to be understood.
It needs to be understood as fully, as clearly, as distinctly
as the fact of divine election, effectual atonement, irresistible
grace, and the certainty of salvation by faith in Christ. No sinner
can or will be saved apart from the preaching of the gospel.
Look here at Romans chapter 10, verse 13. The Spirit of God tells
us by the Apostle Paul Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. That word call means worship. It doesn't just mean call out,
cry out, say I believe in Jesus, no. It doesn't just mean say,
oh Lord save me, no, no. When men began to call upon the
name of the Lord, that's when men began to worship Him, back
in the book of Genesis. And when you begin to worship
Jesus Christ the Lord, When you begin to worship Him as God your
Savior, that's what faith is. That's calling upon His name. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him?
I'm interested in that. God said, whoever calls on His
name will be saved. Well, how can a man call upon
the name of the Lord? How shall they call upon, worship
Him in whom they have not believed? You can't worship Him unless
you believe Him. You can't worship Him unless
you trust Him. The only way you can worship
God is by faith in God, God-given faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
And how shall they believe in Him of whom they've not heard? You can't believe Him if you've
never heard Him or heard of Him. You can't believe Him if somehow
you haven't been introduced to Him. You can't believe Him if
He's not made known to you. And how shall they hear without
a preacher? Does that mean what it appears
to? It sure does. Well, preacher, we believe in
God's sovereignty. I've heard folks say, we believe God can
save folks with the use of means, without the use of means, or
in spite of the means used. That may sound clever, and it
may sound logical, but it ain't right. God declares that faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God as we'll see
here in verse 17. Of his own will we are begotten
of the Lord through the word of truth. You are born again
not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of
God which liveth and abideth forever because it pleased God
through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Yes. God could save sinners lots of
ways. He could create faith lots of
ways. He could give you life lots of
ways. He sure doesn't need me and He sure doesn't need you
or anyone else. But He's chosen to take the foolish
things of this world, the insignificant nothings and nobodies of this
world like you and me, to perform the works of His grace in the
hearts of other people. those who are high and mighty,
and bring them to nothing, that no flesh should glory in his
presence." Oh, what a privilege, what a privilege. If you should have the opportunity,
I suspect this would be true of all of you sitting here, if
you should have the opportunity when Mr. Bush is visiting town
or visiting anywhere close to town, If you should have the
opportunity to be selected to perform the most menial task
for Him, you'd count it a high honor, wouldn't you? A high honor. Oh, hear me, sons and daughters
of God Almighty. God has trusted to us the word
of His grace. to carry this treasure in earthen
vessels to needy centers in this generation. What a high, high
honor. Read on. Romans chapter 10. How
shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be saved? No man can preach the gospel,
lest God sends him with his message. As it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good things. How beautiful are the feet of
them who bring good news, the glad tidings of good things proclaimed
and revealed in the gospel. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Who hath believed
our report? So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Now, you are not all preachers. It's not your responsibility
to do what God has put in my hands the responsibility and
privilege of doing. But all God's people are his
servants. All are His witnesses. All are
men and women who have laid down their lives in the cause of the
Master. And I'm calling on you and calling
upon myself to lay down our lives as His witnesses in this generation,
to proclaim to this generation as widely as we can, as broadly
as we can, to use everything God puts in our hands, the means
to use, to proclaim the gospel of his grace and glory in this
day. Now, hold your hands still in
Exodus and turn to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter
4. In verse 11, look at it. The
Holy Spirit tells us that Christ's ascension gifts to his church
include, are you there? Apostles, pastors, teachers,
evangelists, and prophets. Now there are no apostles in
this age. They have all deceased. When the apostle John died, he
was the last of the apostles, so I understand. The last one
to die. That ended the apostolic age.
There are no apostles. The word apostle means messenger,
but as it is used in the New Testament, speaking of the apostolic
office, is talking about men who were ordained and chosen
of our Redeemer, who saw our Lord in his flesh as his messengers,
messengers sent forth to proclaim his word, which they had received
from the Holy Spirit. There are no prophets in the
official sense of the word. No prophets like Isaiah. No prophets like Amos. No prophets
like Elijah. No prophets like John the Baptist.
The last of the prophets was John the Baptist. And yet, the
Apostle Paul here uses this word prophets. Prophets. As a gift of Christ to his church
in this age. He's not talking about something
that was back down in the Old Testament. He's talking about
that which was given to his church as an ascension gift of Christ.
He says these men are pastors, teachers. Every man called of
God and placed in the ministry in a local church is the pastor
teacher of that assembly. And the word is really a conjunction. Pastors, teachers, they are men,
not a conjunction, but a double word, a compound word. They are
men gifted of God with understanding and gifted of God with the ability
to teach you the word of God, the gospel of His grace. And
evangelist. Now, that word evangelist has
come to be used today for You know, every kind of yay-hoo-hoo
puts up a shingle and says he's an evangelist and he travels
around and gets big crowds and he entertains them with religion
and gets them to make a profession of faith and all that stuff.
It's not talking about an itinerant preacher. It's not talking about
that at all. And I know some good itinerant preachers. I've
known some over the years who've been faithful men. I don't mean
to lump them all together. But that's not what the word
means as it's used here. Walter Groover is an evangelist. He's an evangelist. An evangelist
is one who is sent like Timothy to ordain elders in every city,
establishing gospel churches. An evangelist is one who we call
a missionary, one who goes and plants churches and helps in
the establishing of churches in various parts of the world.
Walter and Cody, Brother Cliff Heller and his son Lance are
evangelists as it's used in this context. But then he speaks of
prophets. What on earth is he talking about?
when he talks about a prophet. A prophet, if I understand what
I think the Lord's taught me here, is a man with extraordinary
gifts. God's servants are all gifted
men, and some gifted in areas more greatly than others. A prophet
is one who seems to be a man of extraordinary gifts. remarkable
understanding of the scriptures. I don't mean he's necessarily
a brilliant man. I don't mean that he's necessarily
a well-educated man. I don't mean that he necessarily
is an eloquent preacher. I do mean that he's a man gifted
with extraordinary understanding of the Scriptures, with a keen
awareness of the need of the age in which we live, of the
preaching of the gospel, and with the ability of God, God
the Holy Spirit upon him, with the anointing of God on him,
to proclaim God's message in this deedy generation. A prophet,
in this distinct sense of the word, appears to be what Paul
is talking about here. A man gifted of God to lead his
people in crucial times, with boldness, with unconventional
realism. In the book of Acts, there are
at least six men identified as prophets in this New Testament
era. There have never been many true prophets. Lots of prophets,
but not many true prophets. But the times in which we live
call for prophets. The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, alone, isolated, relentless, dogmatic, uncompromising
voice. That's what he is. The voice
of one crying in the wilderness, speaking the word of the Lord.
The prophet, he's a man who just doesn't fit in. He just doesn't
fit in. There's nothing conventional
about him. You look at John the Baptist, Elijah, the scriptures
describe their dress and their diet and their manner of life
in the wilderness, not so that we will be impressed with their
oddity in the physical sense, but rather that we might be made
to understand that that man who comes with God's message, with
the burden of the word of the Lord on his heart, is a man altogether
consumed with this thing that God's given him to do. The prophet. Someone said he's an unreconstructed
rebel. An odd number in a day of regimentation. And he has no more patience with
religion than Isaiah had when he thundered, or when Amos had
when he called Israel to come to Bethel, or than Elijah had
when he mocked the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and mocked
their gods. It is the prophet's business
to say what others Won't say, or can't say, or dare not say. It is his business to proclaim
God's message in his generation. The prophet has one message,
and his one message is Jesus Christ and him crucified. It
never changes. Does it change with circumstances?
It doesn't change from place to place. It doesn't change from
Sunday to Sunday. It doesn't change from year to
year. It doesn't change from generation to generation. His
message is repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
His message is behold all flesh as grass. Behold your God. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. As far as God's prophets are
concerned. He seeks no man's office, no
man's position, and no man's honor. He fears no man's frown
and courts no man's favor. He's God's servant. He's God's
servant. He can't be bribed because he's
not interested in what you're bribing with. He can't be coward
because he's coward before God. He can't be turned aside because
he has a relentless burden upon his heart, and he must deliver
it. Churches today want scholars
and specialists and socializers and showmen. We need prophets,
a prophet. He's a man who's always known
as a troubler in Israel. He fits no mold. He can't work
in organization. He just can't do it. He can't
bring himself to. He's a man that is never popular
with religious folks and has no desire to be. Never popular
with Pharisees and has no desire to be. But he's a man that nobody
can ignore. You may or may not believe his
message. You may or may not bow to his Redeemer, his God, and
his Savior, but you will not ignore a man who is sent of God
as his prophet. Wherever he comes, Ralph Bartlett
used to say, wherever I go I want either a revival or a riot. That's
what John the Baptist had, and that's exactly right. The prophet, like John the Baptist, pulls
down the high places, builds up the low places, and seeks
to make the way of the Lord straight. His business is the proclaiming
of the gospel of God's free grace. He's a man in whom the Word of
God burns like fire. He carries with him what the
old prophets used to call the birth of the word of the Lord. That's the greatest privilege
and the greatest weight in the world. The greatest privilege and the
greatest weight in the world. You see the prophet is a man
who is responsible to stand in the gap, who is responsible to
be a watchman over Israel, a watchman upon the walls of Zion, to sound
the trumpet and to give a certain sound. And the scriptures speak
very plainly, if the watchman does not give forth a certain
sound so that those inside the city are warned of the approaching
danger. If he doesn't give a certain
sound, then those men shall perish for whom he is responsible. But their blood, God says, I
will require at your hands. Now let me tell you exactly what
that means. That doesn't mean if I don't tell you the truth,
God's going to put me on the shelf and take away some of my
crown when I get to heaven. That means if I stand here and
speak in God's name, and I don't proclaim the gospel of God's
free grace to you, and you die in your sins and go to hell,
I'm going to hell with you. That's exactly what that means.
His blood will I require at your hands. Oh, what a burden. But what a privilege. For as the prophet gives forth
the sound, the message that God has burned into his soul from
his word, God sends deliverance to his people. Calls out his
elect by his own omnipotent, irresistible grace. Alright,
now turn back here to Exodus chapter 3. Let me give you just
three or four things about the making of a prophet. Prophets are made men. They are made men. Not men who
make themselves made men. Not men who are made by other
men, but men who are made by God Almighty. You remember what
the Lord told Jeremiah? He said, before I formed you
in the belly, I knew you and ordained you to be a prophet. Paul said, God separated me from
my mother's womb. Every man chosen of God to be
a prophet and called of God to be his prophet in time, was chosen
of God and ordained of God as his prophet before ever the world
was made. And God Almighty makes everything
in that man's existence, everything, instruments by which he prepares
his servant for his task. Everything. Here's Moses. Now
this third chapter of Exodus is not telling us about Moses
conversion. We know that because 40 years
earlier, we're told in Hebrews chapter 11, Moses left Egypt
by faith. He was already a believer. He
was already a man who knew God, already a man who followed Christ,
already a man who worshipped at the footstool of God's mercy,
trusting the blood and righteousness of his son. But here's Moses. Back here on the backside of
the desert, 40 years after God had revealed himself to him in
grace. At least 40 years afterwards.
At least that much. It was 40 years since he had
left Egypt. Now look what he was doing. He
was already a man of faith. God never called a man to be
a prophet who he hadn't first given faith in Christ. When the Lord God called Moses
to be his prophet, he wasn't in seminary somewhere.
He wasn't even in college somewhere. He was tending sheep. Look at it. Now Moses kept the
flock. The word kept has the idea of
continual action. He was continually keeping the
flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He was
a shepherd. And it looks like he was a shepherd
for a long time. Perhaps this had been his job
ever since he first came into Midian and first came into Jethro's
house. But it was done by the arrangement
of divine providence. Moses was made a shepherd in
the land of Midian. taking him out into the back
side of the desert tending sheep for 40 years because God Almighty
intended to make him a shepherd. A shepherd of his sheep. Moses learned how to spend a
lot of time by himself and learned how to protect Weak, defenseless
sheep. Ignorant sheep. Dirty sheep. For forty years. Delivering them
from one foe after another. At the hazard of his own life. He learned something about those
things. Though he was not yet sent of God as prophet to Israel.
The Lord made Moses a man of unique qualities by compelling
him who had been the prince of Egypt. This man
who had learned everything there was to learn and had all the
wealth there was to have, had all the opportunity there was
to get, who was next in line for Pharaoh's throne, God brought
him down to tending sheep. so that he could give him some
qualities he couldn't possibly get in Pharaoh's house. You see,
a shepherd had to have a heart that was both tough and tender,
hard and compassionate, disciplined and yet soft. And in addition
to this, the shepherd had to spend a lot of time by himself
where he could meditate. Can't you imagine the things
that must have gone through Moses' mind? Remember, he was a man
of faith. He knew. He knew way back down
in Egypt while he was still there that he was the man that God
had appointed to be Israel's deliverer. He learned it somehow.
I don't know how. His parents perceived it, and
I suspect he learned it from them, but God hadn't called him
yet. And he ran before he was sent and thought the time had
come for him to show himself to Israel. But he ran because
God had not yet sent him and the time of deliverance had not
yet come. And now God's got him out in
the desert. Lord, what is your purpose? What did
you mean when you spoke to Abraham as you did? What's the meaning of all that's
going on these past 400 years with Israel, your people? When
will you deliver them? How will it be done? Lord, have
I misunderstood? Show me your way. You see, this
is God's promise to his people. I will give you pastors according
to my heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Larry Moses was fixing to take
a 40 year trip. another 40 years, another 40
years in the desert with the flock of sheep who would make
the sheep that belong to Jethro look like smart, clean animals. He was fixing to take Israel
into Egypt, or out of Egypt into the wilderness for 40 years as
their shepherd. And God spent 40 years preparing
him for it. To make him a pastor after God's
own heart. So that when God Almighty said,
Moses, step aside. If you get out of my way, I'll
kill every blessed one of them, and I'll raise up another people
out of your lords. Moses said, oh God, don't do
that. They're your people. Your name is connected with them.
Your glory is connected with them. You called them out. What
shall become of your honor if this people perish?" Moses was made a prophet because God Almighty revealed
to him His glory. In verses 2 and 3, the angel
of the Lord appears to him in the bush, in the flame of fire
burning in the midst of the bush. And Moses turned aside to see
it. Now, when God calls a man to be His prophet, He reveals
to him His great glory, the glory of His grace. Now, when Moses
asked to see God's glory, that which is His praise and His honor, His Majesty. God showed Moses how it is that
he saves sinners in a just way by the sacrifice of his son according
to his sovereign pleasure. That's what Moses saw here. That's
exactly what he saw here. The Lord showed himself to Moses
And reveals himself to Moses as the savior of his people.
Reveals his glory to Moses. And he reveals his glory to him
with such life-altering splendor that Moses never got over it.
From this day to the day of his death, this man's life was consumed
by the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush. Utterly consumed
by it. A prophet is a man whose life
is continually conquered by God's grace in Jesus Christ. Continually, so that he's consumed
with the calls of God's glory. You remember how David came to
bring his brothers some food and refreshments. His father
sent him out there when they were doing battle with the Philistines.
And Goliath, the giant of the Philistines, mocked Israel and
mocked Israel's gods. And all the soldiers in Saul's
army trembled before him. And Saul was scared to death
of him. And David said, well, I'll go out and kill him. And
his older brother came to him. He didn't have a clue what was
in David. But he thought he understood
what was in David. He said, Proud boy, you've just
come out here in your haughtiness. And when he got done with his
rankings, do you know how, remember how David described what motivated
him? What it was for which he was
willing to risk his life. What it was for which he was
willing to go out and do battle with this giant for this day.
He said, is there not a cause? Is there not a cause? I call
on you and I call on myself relentlessly to devote our lives to the cause
of our Redeemer. And I'm telling you that when
we have devoted everything, we've devoted nothing. Is there not
a cause? God's prophets are men separated
to the gospel. And I realize I've got some friends
who'll hear this and they'll be stoned by it. I hope they'll
be stoned real hard. God's preachers ought to have
nothing else to do. And I mean by that, they ought
to make certain they have nothing else to do except preach the
gospel of God's grace. Nothing else. Well, I want to
get my retirement, then I'm going to give myself to the ministry.
No, you won't. No, you won't. Well, I'm going to secure my
family's future, then I'm going to give myself to the ministry. No, God
won't have leftovers. He won't have them. You can keep
them. You can keep them. He won't have
them. He won't have them. Paul said, I am Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, separated unto the gospel of God. when it pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace to reveal His Son in me. They are separated by God's
purpose and separated by God's call and separated from all things
to Christ Jesus by the revelation of Christ in them. And they are
separated to the gospel by their deliberate determination. I'm not going to let anything
interfere with it. I realized I can't speak about
some things where other men can. I just have one daughter. I don't
have four or five. I didn't have four or five children
to raise. But I made up my mind long before
my daughter was ever born that I wasn't going to allow my relationship
to that woman I love or to those children God might give me. And
when He gave me one, the one He gave me, I'm not going to
allow anything. to interfere with what I am convinced
God would have me to do in the service of his kingdom. At no
time, in no place. I'm God's servant. First and foremost. Second, your
husband. Second, your friend. Second,
Faith's daddy. Second, Audre Grasse and Will's
granddaddy. Everything else is secondary. Everything else. And
must be. Or I'm here to tell you, I'm
not God's servant. I'm just using His name and His
service for myself. And that's all there is to it.
The prophet, he's a man called of God. Look at the call. I'll
come back to this another time, Lord, whatever. First, in verses
4 and 5, the Lord called Moses. And then in verse 6, he identifies
himself with his people. He says, I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. It is as though the Lord were saying, Moses, listen to
me now, I'm trusting to your hands the people I have loved
and chosen and redeemed for myself. In that light, I understand these
next words, and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look
on God. I understand that. Who is sufficient
for these things? And then the Lord gave Moses
an assurance. He tells him in verse 7 that
he is ever tender and affectionate with regard to his people. I know their sorrows. They're
the apple of my eye. That means they must be the apple
of your eye. And then he makes Moses a promise.
In verse 8, he says, I'm going to do what I told Abraham I'd
do. I'm going to bring them out of Egypt. And I'm going to bring
Abraham's seed into the possession of this land that I promised
them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And then in verses
9 and 10, with that blessed word of assurance, God sent Moses
to deliver his people. He said, Moses, now you go down
to Egypt and you go directly to Pharaoh. and bring my people
out and Moses went right straight to Pharaoh with a word from God and never
quivered never cowered never compromised because he went as
God's prophet confident God would do what he said And God would
bring them out and provide everything they needed along the way. And
you know the rest of the story. God brought them out. And God
cared for them and provided them and at last brought them into
the land of promise. And so it shall be in every generation
until generations cease to be. May God be pleased ever to make
us faithful in the service of His kingdom for the saving of
His people and the glory of His name. Our Father, Bless your
word and bless it to our hearts. Make us faithful. God make me faithful. You've blessed us as you promised
you'd bless us. And now we ask an even greater
thing. As you promised your servant Abraham, Lord God, make us a
blessing in this generation in which we live to your people.
Oh, make us a blessing to those people blessed of God. We don't know how to pray as
we ought for our friends. Claus's niece, your dear servant, Brother Gary. We don't know what's best for
them or best for your glory. We don't know what's best for
those who love them and care for them. And so we ask our Father as our
Redeemer taught us to ask. Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. And with these things we pray
that you will supply your daily grace to your people. Sustain
us day by day with your grace. Forgive us our trespasses. And oh Lord God, teach us to
forgive those who trespass against us, for Christ's sake. Amen.