The Life of Moses ~ Overcoming All Criticism

There is a lot of talk these days about the mean spirited criticism that can be found on Social Media.  If you watch any late-night TV you may have seen Jimmy Kimmel’s response to all of this with his Mean Tweets where he has celebrities read some of the actual mean tweets that they have received.  I was going to show some clips of those today, but as I previewed them, none were really appropriate – that’s how mean they were.  While facebook, twitter and comments to online websites have provided us with a quick and anonymous way to be critical of others, harsh and mean spirited criticism is nothing new.  It is well documented that Moses was harshly criticized many times while he was trying to help and lead God’s people and that criticism came from his own people and his own family.  The criticism could have destroyed Moses if he had not learned how to overcome it.  By looking at the life of Moses today, we can also learn the key to overcoming criticism in our lives.

The first criticism Moses faced came immediately after he led the people out of Egypt and God had rescued them at the Red Sea, Exodus 15:22-27.  I mentioned this passage a few weeks ago and continue to find it amazing that just 3 days after the people had seen the hand of God provide for them through the parting of the Red Sea – a miracle God did with water – that the people have lost sight of God’s power and willingness to provide for them and are critical of Moses for not giving them water.

But it’s not just water they complain about, it is also food and this time when they grumble against Moses it gets a little more personal, Exodus 16:2-3.  After all Moses had done to free the people from slavery in Egypt, they had the audacity to tell him they would have been better off if they had stayed in Egypt.  After all the hard work Moses had put into their freedom when he clearly had not asked for the job, those words and their attitude must have hurt.

The people continued to criticize Moses every time something went wrong or the people had some need.  In Exodus 17 the people needed water again and so they grumbled and were critical of Moses.  When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to meet with God the people criticized Moses because he was taking so long.  It was at Mt. Sinai that the criticism actually turned to rebellion because they took Aaron aside and convinced him that since Moses had been gone for so long they wanted someone else to lead them and something else to worship.  So Aaron and the people made an idol, a golden calf that they could worship.  The people criticized Moses again after spies came back from the Promised Land saying the land was filled with fortified cities and strong enemies.  Because they didn’t trust God to help them defeat their enemy, the people criticized Moses for bringing them out of Egypt in the first place.  Numbers 14:1-4.  

So we can see that the criticism Moses faced wasn’t a onetime thing, it was an ongoing part of his life.  The people constantly criticized Moses for what he did and how he did it.  With conditions as difficult as they were for the people travelling in the wilderness, I’m sure the criticism was harsh, pointed and personal and it wasn’t just the people or crowds who criticized Moses, it was his family as well; look at Numbers 12:1-2.    While we aren’t sure why Miriam and Aaron or so upset, it is clear that they are jealous and so now they start to pick apart Moses’ life and his choices.  While we don’t know if Moses ever heard their criticism, we do know that God did.

Let me just stop for a moment because while we are going to go on and look how Moses overcomes this criticism, it is important to see that our criticism of others does not go unnoticed.  God hears it.  God hears the words of our hearts and the comments we make under our breath or behind people’s backs and we are held accountable for them.  While we think we can say things anonymously today, there is no communication that is really private.  Nothing that we post, tweet, blog, email or even share with others in a personal conversation is ever really private.  We see this on a daily basis as politicians, celebrities and all kinds of leaders are getting into trouble for comments they have made which they thought were private.  Just this week a doctor was sued for half a million dollars for comments made about her patient while he was under anesthesia.   No words today are really private, but beyond what might be captured and secured through some type of technology, God holds us accountable for our critical words and attitude which means we need to guard against a harsh and critical spirit.  

For Moses, criticism came from every direction and those words could have destroyed him if he had not learned to overcome them, so let’s look at what Moses did the first time the people were critical, Exodus 15:24-25a.  For Moses, one of the keys in overcoming criticism was to cry out to the Lord.  If we were to go back and look at every situation where the people criticized Moses, we would find that Moses found strength and power in overcoming that criticism by turning to God first.

Moses never allowed the criticism of the people to shift his focus from God.  Moses never allowed himself to turn away from God and really consider or spend a lot of time thinking about what was said, he kept his focus on God.  Moses always looked to God and Moses always asked God for the help and strength and patience needed to keep leading the people.  To overcome the harsh and critical words of others we also need to look to God first and ask God for the strength, patience and truth that is needed to overcome the words that we have heard.  The key to overcoming all criticism is to not turn and consider all that is being said but to turn to God first, but let’s be honest, that is often not our first response.

If you have ever gotten an email that has been harsh or critical, our first impulse may be to send a quick reply defending ourselves and advocating our position with that same harsh and critical tone.  I will admit that I have done this a few times.  I have actually written documents defending myself or the church’s decision on something and while I may not try to be intentionally mean spirited, the words were often written with the same harsh attitude that was used on me.  Fortunately instead of hitting send I have either hit delete or on a few occasions I really liked what I wrote so I sent the document to myself.  The ease of communication these days makes replying in the heat of the moment too easy which doesn’t allow us to take time to think, reflect and ask God for his help and perspective.
To overcome criticism our first response needs to be to stop and pray.  Before we formulate a response, before we get angry and start defending ourselves, before we hit back with our own criticism of others, we need to turn and ask God for strength to hear the truth, patience to deal with others and the wisdom to know how and even if we should respond.  If we are willing to keep our focus on God instead of turning to consider all the words and attitudes of others – we will experience so much more peace and contentment.

When I first received some criticism in ministry, I was hurt and offended and my immediately reaction was to defend myself, but some very wise pastors told me to do two things.  The first pastor told me that instead of defending myself I needed to stop and define for myself who God had called me to be as a pastor.  I needed to turn and in conversation with God remember who I was and who God wanted me to be.  As I did that, my focus shifted from the criticism of others to the call of God in my life.  My eyes and heart got back on God.

The second pastor told me to look at Jesus and learn from him how he handled all the criticism he faced in life.  Jesus faced a lot of criticism and like Moses he faced it from adversaries, friends and family and the brilliance of Jesus is that many times he respond to the criticism by not responding at all but simply kept his eyes on His father in heaven and kept going.  At Jesus’ trail when he was criticized and questioned by the religious leaders and the roman officials, most of the time Jesus stood silent.  He didn’t defend himself; he didn’t respond to their words, he simply kept his eyes on God.  This pastor’s advice has helped me shift my focus from the problem to the one who provides the solution – Jesus.  I have used this advice more than once.  When criticism has come I have tried to turn and look to Jesus first and learn from him how and when and if a response is needed.

Turning to God first is often not our first response in the face of criticism, but it can be learned trait if we are willing to discipline ourselves in this area.  
Moses not only turned to God first, but his turning to God again and again helped keep Moses humble and it was his humility that helped Moses overcome criticism.  It was in the face of the criticism Moses faced from his family that it says, Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3

It’s hard to see the humility or meekness in Moses at times because he was such a strong, visible and powerful leader, but his humility can be seen in how he faced criticism.  When people grumbled against Moses, he didn’t turn on them and lash out at them and he didn’t defend himself and tell everyone how right he was and much he had done for them and how ungrateful they had been.  When the criticism came, Moses humbled himself and carried that criticism to God.

Humility can help us overcome criticism.  First of all, it is humility that allows us to actually listen to what others have to say to see if there is any truth in their words.  The reality is that when the people grumbled to Moses about not having food or water, that was true, there was no food or water and so in humility Moses listened beyond the critical words and carried the concerns of the people to God.  While the attitude of the people may not have been the best, there was truth in what they said and because Moses could hear that truth it kept the criticism from destroying him or causing him to respond in anger.  Many times there is truth in what people say to us and we have to listen hard through the harsh and mean spirited words to hear the real concerns or fears of those who are criticizing us, but if we can hear those concerns and respond in grace to those issues, we will overcome the criticism and help bring peace.

Again, when I first faced criticism in my ministry, I had to listen beyond the mean things people said so I could hear their concerns for their church.  When I got a letter saying I was doing the work of the devil, I knew that wasn’t true, but I did have to stop and ask myself if what I was doing to try and help the church do was right and in line with God’s will.  I had to do some soul searching and ask God if I was in line with His will and I had to evaluate my own heart and motivations and actions.  If we are willing to be humble before God and others, we can defuse the critical spirit and bring about a spirit of cooperation and trust that can move us all forward.

A great example of this has been the humility and grace seen by the people of Charleston, SC.  In the wake of the shootings last week we have seen a spirit of humility from victims and leaders and people have been asking themselves what it is that God wants them to do not what is it that God wants others to do.  The humility seen in this situation has brought about a peace and a spirit of cooperation that many would have said would never have been possible.  Humility can defuse a situation and free us from the hold that hate and anger can have on us when people become critical.

Again, we can look at Jesus to see how his humility helped defuse difficult situations.  When the disciples were critical of Jesus for welcoming children in his presence, Jesus continued to humble himself and called children around him and took the time to bless them.  While the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest and asking Jesus for special places of honor and power, Jesus was washing their feet.  Jesus’ humility helped him overcome the criticism of all those around him and his own humility filled his life with an overwhelming sense of peace that helped him deal with more criticism to come.

It is amazing how humility can overcome hate and bring us peace.  The more we humble ourselves, the more peace we have in the face of criticism.  It’s not that we are weak and allow ourselves to get beaten up; it actually takes a lot of strength to be humble and listen to and at times let go of the harsh words others have said about us.  So overcoming criticism takes humility and humility can be something we learn.  It’s actually very easy to learn how to be humble; we just need to serve others.  The more we serve our family and friends and the more we serve God through the church and by helping others, the more we move ourselves out of the way and make room for God.
The life of Moses shows us that humility is learned through service.  Moses was humble because Moses served God and Moses served the people.  Moses gave up his own safety, security and his own quiet life as a shepherd to lead God’s people out of slavery and through the hardships of the wilderness and that service worked to keep Moses humble.

The life of Moses shows us that overcoming all criticism happens when we look to God first and when we allow that habit of keeping our focus on God to develop a humble spirit within us.  If we can learn this action and develop this attitude, we will find peace even in the face of persecution and contentment in the face of criticism.


Next Steps
Overcoming All Criticism

1.  Moses faced a great deal of criticism in his life.  Read the following passages and reflect on how Moses worked at overcoming criticism.
• Exodus 15:22-27
• Exodus 16:1-18
• Exodus 17:1-7
• Exodus 32:1-20
• Numbers 12:1-15
• Numbers 14:1-25

2.  Moses overcomes criticism my keeping his heart and mind focused on God.  Use the following practices to help you keep your heart and mind on God in the face of criticism:
• Count to 10 before you respond to any criticism
• Ask God for help
• Ask others for their wisdom before you respond
• Look at how Biblical leaders responded when facing criticism
• Remember Jesus’ response when he faced harsh and unjust criticism

3. Identify one confidant who can help hold you accountable to looking to God first.  This week, ask them for their support.

4. Humility can also help us overcome criticism and humility can be learned through service.
• Find one way to serve someone this week.
• Identify a mission or ministry that you can give your time to during the next moth

5. Identify 5 times when Jesus humbled himself during his life and ministry.  Use these examples as a focal point in your own pursuit of humility.

The Life of Moses ~ Overcoming our Enemy

This summer we are looking at the life of Moses and how one of the recurring themes in his life was his ability to overcome.  Moses was born a Hebrew slave and should have been killed at his birth but he overcome his history thanks to several faithful women who overcame their history and their own place in the world to not only rescue Moses but move him from place of poverty to power.  Last week we heard how Moses overcame his ego when God called him to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery and into the Promised Land.  Moses had to get over himself and realize that God was inviting him to be part of something historic and life changing for everyone involved and it really didn’t need Moses’ ability or strength, just Moses willingness to be used by God.

When Moses finally agreed to lead God’s people he was told to go to Pharaoh and ask him to let the Hebrew people leave Egypt so they could worship God.  Exodus 5:1-9.  It is clear from Pharaoh’s response that leading God’s people out of Egypt was not going to be easy and if Moses was going to do this he was going to have to overcome his enemy, the most powerful man in Egypt –Pharaoh.

To help Moses overcome Pharaoh, God provided him with miracles to perform to help convince Pharaoh that God was real and that God wanted his people to be free.  Exodus 7:10-13. This show of power didn’t move Pharaoh so the next day Moses returned as Pharaoh was entering into the Nile River to bathe and as he stepped into the water, Moses turns it all into blood.  Exodus 7:19-24.

Pharaoh still would not let God’s people go; in fact, all that happened was that Pharaoh dug in his heels and became stronger in his opposition.  Even though this was God’s plan and God’s power at work, the enemy was strong and was not going to give up easily and the truth is that the enemies we face are strong and even when God is on our side, they do not give up easily.

When Pharaoh didn’t let God’s people go after all the water in the land was turned to blood, God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh with another plague, a plague of frogs.  Frogs covered the land and at first it seems like Pharaoh has agreed to let the people go if Moses will make the frogs go away.  The next day all the frogs died just as Moses said they would but when the people of Egypt got relief, Pharaoh changed his mind and would not let God’s people go.  The enemy was holding on strong.  .

God sent several more plagues on Egypt.  First there were gnats, and then flies, and then all the livestock of the Egyptians died but Pharaoh still did not let God’s people go.  Then God sent a plague of boils that broke out on all the Egyptians but none of the Hebrews and then there were plagues of hail, locusts and darkness.  After each plague Pharaoh simply dug in his heels and refused to let God’s people go.  There were times Pharaoh tried to bargain with Moses and work out a deal where he would allow some of the people go and worship God, but Moses held firm and when Moses held firm so did his enemy.

Moses returned to Pharaoh one more time and this time the plague coming was going to be the death of all the first born in Egypt.  Pharaoh still refused to let God’s people go so the angel of death moved through Egypt and those who were in homes protected by the blood of a lamb were spared death, but all other families lost their first born.  It was after this plague that Pharaoh finally gave in and allowed the people of Israel to leave.  Exodus 12:31-39.

So after 10 plagues and one powerful miracle, it appears that Moses has overcome his enemy and God’s people were allowed to leave Egypt but the enemy has not given up.  Once again Pharaoh changes his mind.  Exodus 14:5-9a.  Just when it looked like God’s people were free and clear – the enemy attacked again and the people are in a difficult situation because in front of them they have the Red Sea and no means of crossing over and behind them they have the fast approaching Egyptian army.  It appears to be a hopeless situation, but Moses has learned an important lesson during the past several months. Moses has learned that he can overcome his enemy if he will be persistent.

After the first miracle and then the first plague, Moses could have called it all off and given up, but he didn’t, he stood strong against his enemy again and again   10 times Moses went back and fought against Pharaoh and this process told Moses that to overcome his enemy he had to stand firm and stand strong, which is exactly what Moses now says to the people.  Exodus 14:13-14.

Overcoming our enemy calls for persistence.  Moses had to go back to Pharaoh 10 times and then when it seemed like they had finally overcome the enemy – the enemy attacked again.  Moses persisted in his faith and once more trusted that God would do something to rescue them.  While Moses didn’t know how God was going to do it, he knew God would do something and so he stood firm and in time God parted the Red Sea, the people of God crossed over and the waters came crashing down on their enemy once and for all.

The life of Moses teaches us that overcoming our enemy calls for persistence.  Our enemy can be anything that we fight against in this world.  Our enemy can be addictions, it can be depression, it can be negative self esteem, it can be the destructive forces of the culture around us and yes it can be people who are determined to bring us down or destroy us.  This week we have once again seen that our enemy can be long standing attitudes of racism and bigotry and the idea that human life is not sacred and valuable.  While our enemy can be any number of things, in each and every situation the way we overcome our enemy is with persistence.  Like Moses, we aren’t going to overcome our enemy in a single day, it may take many days, many difficult circumstances and maybe many years and lot of working together, but if we will persist, we will overcome.

The word persistence means to go resolutely on in spite of opposition, which tells us is that there is going to be opposition.  Overcoming the enemy means that there is someone or something working against us and therefore the road ahead is going to be hard.  Overcoming our enemy is not going to be easy and we need to understand that from the beginning. The second thing this definition tells us is that we have to be resolute or determined to not let anything stop us as we move forward.  Moses quickly learned how strong his enemy was when Pharaoh not only refused to let the people go but actually made their life more difficult, but he also learned to be resolute and determined by seeing God’s strength return each time Pharaoh said no.  Moses learned persistence through the opposition and it was his persistent faith in God at the Red Sea which brought him and all the people of Israel victory.

To overcome our enemy we need to be persistent and the life of Moses teaches us how we can develop persistence in our own lives.

1. PAY ATTENTION.  We need to listen to God and God’s word and then we need to put what we hear into practice.  Moses spent a lot of time listening to God as he was working to overcome Pharaoh.  After each plague, Moses listened to what God had to say and then Moses followed God’s instructions.  It was important for Moses to listen and act on what he heard because the safety of God’s people depended on it.  For example, the night the angel of death moved through the land, God’s people were protected because they put the blood of a lamb on the door posts of their homes.  These were clear instructions God gave to Moses to give to the people.  So Moses paid careful attention to God and followed what God said and this helped him overcome Pharaoh.

We also need to pay attention and listen and learn all we can if we are going to overcome our enemy.  We need to listen to God, but we also need to listen to the wise advice of others.  We need to listen to experts who can help us and leaders who can guide us through the difficult and dark days we see around us.  We also need get our ego out of the way and remember that we might not have all the answers but we can learn from and lean on others.

2. PRAY.  We not only need to pay attention but we also need to pray and ask God for his help and strength.  Prayer connects us to God and we don’t just pray for wisdom, we pray for the strength and the endurance that God gives us to keep going.  I am sure there were times Moses was ready to give up.  The plagues were not pleasant and while many of them didn’t touch the Hebrew people, life in Egypt must have been horrible during this time and so Moses was not just turning to God for help but for the strength and patience he needed to keep going.  To persevere we need to pray and ask God to be with us and to give us the strength and patience to keep going.

3. PLAN.  Persistence also means planning ahead so we can move forward.  To be victorious, we need to be a step ahead of our enemy and anticipate their moves so we can be prepared when they attack.  If the enemy we are fighting is addiction, then we know that once we start saying no those things that have a hold on us that the temptation to give in is going to get stronger and when that happens we might need people to step in and help us.  We need to plan ahead and be prepared to get the help we need.  When a previous church member of mine was fighting the enemy of alcoholism, she planned to have people surround her during difficult times when she knew she would be most likely to give in and that plan kept her strong more than once as she worked to overcome her enemy.

4. PACE OURSELVES.  There is also a certain pacing in this story of Moses that helps him endure until he overcomes.  There are the times Moses goes to Pharaoh and has to stand strong, but then he is able to return home and get rest and strength from those around him.  There are times of action and times of rest and it is this kind of pace that is needed if we are going to overcome our enemy.  Our enemy is strong and powerful and is not going to give up quickly or easily so we need to be prepared for the long haul which means we need to pace ourselves.  Periods of rest and recovery are very important in any battle and the battle of overcoming our enemy is no different.

6.  PRIZE.  We also need to keep our eye on the prize and remember why we are fighting.  For Moses, the prize was freedom and life in the Promised Land.  God continued to remind Moses that there was a land flowing with milk and honey waiting for them.  The prize for us might be a healthier life or marriage, it might be greater satisfaction in a job or the joy found when we are living for and with God.  The prize might be a world where we are able to live together despite our difference and where we reach out to those who are troubled and broken with the love and grace of God.   The Apostle Paul tells us the importance of keeping our eyes on the prize.  Philippians 3:12-14.

Persistence can be learned and developed when we pay attention to God, pray, plan, pace ourselves and keep our eyes on the prize and it is this kind of persistence that is needed if we are going to overcome our enemy.

This week I had to ask myself if I really believe what I am saying here and if this kind of persistence can help us over the evil we have seen in Charleston S.C.  At times it seems like overcoming the violence that comes with racism, bigotry and the devaluing of human life will never happen, but the relatives of those killed and the witness of many in the community of Charleston gives us hope that persistence can help us be victorious.  We have been reminded by the family of those who lost loved ones on Wednesday night that we can overcome this evil by persistently holding out the love of Jesus.  We need to stop dividing ourselves racially, economically, socially and religiously and remember that Jesus taught us that every person is a child of God and that we are called to love and welcome everyone into our hearts and lives.  It is this kind of persistent love in the face of opposition, persistent grace in the face of violence and persistent hope in the darkness of despair that overcomes the attitudes that lead to the horrific actions we saw this week.

The granddaughter of Daniel Simmons, a retired minister who was killed on Wednesday, said it best when she said to the court, “Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, everyone’s plea for your soul is proof that they lived in love and their legacies will live in love.  So hate won’t win.  And I just want to thank the court for making sure that hate doesn’t win.”  May we embody this same spirit and be resolute in reflecting the fullness of Jesus in the face of all opposition, knowing that it is only the love of God seen in Jesus Christ that will help us overcome this enemy.   
Next Steps
Overcoming Our Enemy


1.  This week read the story of Moses and how he overcame the power of Pharaoh.  Exodus 5-14
• What lessons on overcoming our enemy do you learn from Moses example?

2.  Identify an enemy in your life.  An enemy can be any person or force that seeks to bring you down and destroy you.  An enemy can be a person, emotion, health issue, mental health issue, financial issue or any cultural force that adversely affects us.

3.  Persistence is needed in overcoming the enemy and persistence can be developed with these steps:
• PAY ATTENTION
• PRAY
• PLAN
• PACE OURSELVES
• PRIZE

4. Identify how you can each step in #3 can help you in overcoming the enemy you named in #2.  Be specific in your prayers and plans, identify times for rest and write down your prize so you always know what you are fighting for.

The righteous may fall seven times,
but they always rise again.
Proverbs 24:16

The Life of Moses - Overcoming Our Ego

Before I started in ministry I went to visit the pastor from my home church in Connecticut.  To be honest, I don’t remember a lot of what we talked about, but I have never forgotten one piece of advice she gave me.   Andy, she said, to be successful in ministry you have to get your ego out of the way.  I really didn’t know what she meant that day, I assumed she was talking about letting go of our pride, but through the years her words have come back to me again and again I realize that she wasn’t really talking about pride, she was talking about self.  The word ego doesn’t mean pride, it means self, so overcoming our ego isn’t getting over our pride or an inflated sense of our own importance and abilities; it’s just getting over ourselves. To be an effective leader, we have to take ourselves out of the equation and always remember that it’s not all about me.  To put it simply we need to get over ourselves – or overcome our ego.

This isn’t just important in ministry or in leadership, this is important in life.  Too often we think that the world revolves around us and that the most important thing in everyone else’s life is what we post on instagram or facebook.  There are dozens of articles and studies being done on the how social media heightens our sense of self-importance.  Because we are able to share every moment of our lives and what we think about everything with the world – whether the world wants it or not, creates a false sense of our own importance.  As long as we are at the center of our world and everything seems to be about us – we miss out on most of life and much of what God wants for us.  Maybe that’s why Jesus said, those who love their lives will lose it, but those who lose their lives will save it.  It’s in losing our lives that we find life, it’s in losing our self, overcoming our ego, that we find more of life and the life of Moses shows us this.

Last week we started looking at the life of Moses and heard how he was rescued from certain death because there were several women who were willing to overcome their history and step out with faith and courage to do the right thing.  Because Moses was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh, he went from poverty to power and became a prince in Egypt.  As a young man, Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave and he got so angry that he stepped in and killed the Egyptian and hid the man’s body.  Moses was afraid people would find out what he had done so he fled into the wilderness of Midian.  It was in Midian that Moses got married and tended the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro and one day as Moses was out with the sheep he encountered a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed by the flames.  The sight was so strange that he stopped to examine what was going on and when God saw that he had Moses’ attention in this burning bush, God spoke to him.

Through the burning bush, God told Moses that He had heard the cry of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt that He was going to rescue them and lead them into the Promised Land.  God said to Moses, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10)  Moses’ response, however, was not to think about God and his purpose or power and wasn’t to think about the Hebrew people and the situation they were in, Moses was just thinking about himself.  Moses said, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11)  When we hear this we might think Moses is being very humble, but as we read on, we don’t see humility here, we just see Moses consumed by himself.

In the rest of Exodus 3 and into chapter 4, God and Moses have a conversation where God consistently tries to help Moses see that what is going to take place isn’t about Moses but about God.  God says to Moses that he was going to be with him to accomplish this great task – Exodus 3:12.  Then God gives Moses his name which means that Moses will have access to God’s power and he can use God’s name to help the Hebrew people work with Moses.  Then God gives Moses the complete plan for liberating the Israelites and God says he will be the one to persuade both the Israelites and the Egyptians to work with Moses.  Exodus 3:18 and Exodus 3:21.  God was going to take care of everything because this wasn’t about Moses it was about God and God’s people.  It was God’s plan, God’s power and God was going to give Moses everything he needed but Moses wasn’t able to see anything other than himself.

Moses continues to be obsessed with his own ego and says to God, What if they don’t believe me or listen to me.  Notice Moses words here, all he can think about is himself.  God once again is patient with Moses and provides Moses with three miracles he can do to help convince the people that God sent him.  Moses can throw his staff to the ground and it will turn into a snake.  Moses can pull his hand into his robe and bring it out completely covered with leprosy and then put it back in and bring it out healed and Moses can pour water from the Nile river out on the ground and have it turn into blood.  God gives Moses miracles to do but Moses continues to only think about himself and his own limitations and so says to God, O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech. Exodus 4:10

As we look at this statement we see that Moses continues to only be thinking about himself.  God has just provided Moses with miraculous powers and all Moses can think about is his own failings and shortcomings.  God even tries to remind Moses that because God is the one who made him God can do whatever God wants in him and in his life.  Exodus 4:11-12.

Moses persists in his self-centered way and says once more to God, Please send someone else.  Now God is getting frustrated, it says that God’s anger burned against Moses, but God does not give up, God actually gives Moses what he wants, kind of.  God does send someone else, not to replace Moses but to go with him.  God sends Aaron to work with Moses in setting the people of Israel free.

Through this entire conversation with the living God, Moses is only focused on his own self.  While God is offering God’s power and strength, Moses is focused on his own fear and anxiety.  When God offers Moses miracles, Moses can only see his limitations and failures and as long as Moses is focused on his own self he is not able to grab hold of the life God has for him.  God is offering Moses the opportunity to be part of something historic and life changing.  God is asking Moses to serve his own people and save a nation and God is giving him everything he will need to do it and all Moses can think about is himself and his own human weakness.  This is not healthy humility, this is self-centeredness.

While it’s easy to see how ego is a problem for Moses, I’m not sure we can always see the program ego plays in our own lives   I’ve talked with so many people who feel like God can’t use them because they don’t think they are good enough or smart enough or gifted enough.  I’ve heard people say the same thing Moses said, Who am I that I should do this?  Now one will listen to me?  No one will believe God sent me or is working in me.  I’m not good enough or smart enough or strong enough.   While I often listen sympathetically because I’ve been there, what I often want to say is, get over yourself – this isn’t about you, it’s about God.

Some people have also disqualified themselves because they don’t think God can forgive them because they have sinned so many times or so badly.  No matter how I’ve tried to help these people see that God forgives everyone and everything and that God equips all of us to do more than we ever thought possible, these people are so fixed on their own failures and limitations that they can’t see God’s goodness.  When we are so caught up in our own sense of inability and insecurity that we can never see God’s power or possibility then we can never experience the fullness of life. All of us have to overcome our own ego and get over ourselves and the way we do this is to shift our focus from us to God.

That is exactly what God is desperately trying to do with Moses – he’s trying to shift his focus.  First God gives Moses his name, which is an amazing gift because if a person knew a god’s name it gave them the authority and power of that god.  God gives Moses his name not just for the power but to help Moses stop thinking about his own name or himself and start thinking about God.  Then God gives Moses his plan and the plan was that God was going to do everything that was needed to set the people of Israel free.  Then God gave Moses his power, not in 1 but 3 miracles which would help convince the people that God is with Moses.  Then God reminds Moses that he is the one who created him and if God created his mouth then God can put any words into that mouth that would be needed.  Every time Moses says no its because he is looking at himself and not God.

To overcome our ego we also need to shift our focus from ourselves to God and we also do that by considering God’s name, God’s plan, God’s power and the reality that God created us.  God’s name can help us overcome ego because all the names of God in the Bible remind us of who God is and what God has done for us.  There are over 100 names of God in the Bible and when we think about God as our Rock or Redeemer or Savior or Friend we stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about God.  It’s interesting that just in this encounter with Moses we hear God called, I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, The LORD and Creator.  Every name God used was to help shift Moses’ focus from his self to God and God’s name can still help us make that shift and overcome our ego.

God’s plan does the same thing, it reminds us that while our plans may fail, God’s plans are eternal and God has a plan for us and if we are willing to follow those plans, we will find the fullness of life only God can provide.  God also makes clear that he offers us his power to use in following those plans so that we can do more than we can do on our own.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was going to come upon us with the power so that we would actually do even greater things than He did.  We don’t do these things by trusting in our own power but the power of God.  The Bible says I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

We also can overcome our ego when we remember that God created us.  If God created us, then God knows all of our faults, failures and limitations which means that God can either remove them or work around them to complete what He wants in our lives.  What’s interesting is that while Moses said to God that he was not eloquent and so God sent Aaron to speak for him, Moses was the one who ended up doing most of the speaking – God removed whatever speech concern Moses had because God is the one who created Moses’ mouth in the first place.

We overcome our ego by focusing on God and when we consider who God is and what God can do in us and in our world through us, it truly does humble us, but in good ways.  Instead of a false humility where we become obsessed with our own selves, we are simply wise enough to understand that all we do comes from the power of God.  Humility can go hand in hand with confidence when our confidence is in the power of God and not the power of our selves.

Humility and confidence are both needed if we are going to overcome our ego.  We need to be humble before God and acknowledge that God is God and we are not – which Moses does when he takes off his sandals to enter into God’s powerful  and holy presence, but Moses also had to leave God’s presence with confident assurance that God was going with him to help  accomplish all that God’s plan required.

Like Moses, we are being called into the presence of a powerful and holy God who calls each and every one of us to step out to do great things, but we aren’t going to do anything of lasting value or worth if we trust in ourselves, we have to stop looking at ourselves and trusting in ourselves and keep trusting God,

Overcoming ego requires healthy humility and faithful confidence in the goodness, grace and power of God.  Overcoming ego requires us to stop thinking about ourselves and start trusting in God.  Overcoming ego requires us to stop being obsessed with the self and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.  So let us get over ourselves and start looking to and trusting in Jesus.

Next Steps
Overcoming Our Ego

Remember: Ego is not pride it is self

1. In what ways does your ego keep you from God?
• Feeling too unworthy or incompetent
• Too focused on your own failures
• Trying to do everything on your own
• Thinking we know better than God

2. Review the ways Moses’ ego got him into trouble with God.
• Exodus 3:1 – 4:17
• Numbers 20:2-12.

3. How can God’s names (found in scripture), God’ s plans, God’s power and the knowledge that God created us help us stay focused on God and not ourselves.

4.  Identify how the following practices can be used each week to help us “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  (Hebrews 12:2)
• Prayer
• Scripture Reading
• Scripture Memorization
• Serving God and others
• Giving
• Worship
• Celebration

4.  In humility and yet with confidence in God’s power working in you, what are they ways you need to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”  This week, share God’s call on your life with someone who can support and encourage you.

The Life of Moses ~ Overcoming Our History

Today we begin a series looking at the life of Moses.  Moses has always been a central figure in history and today there is still a lot of interest in his life.  Last year a major motion picture, God’s and King’s, was released which chronicled the life of Moses and who can forget one of the most beloved films of all time – The 10 Commandments with Charlton Heston.  As I was working on this series I realized that the life of Moses covers four books of the Old Testament: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and the only other person to get that much attention in the Bible is Jesus.

The events of Moses life are certainly central for the people of Israel.  It was Moses who was used by God to send the plagues on Egypt which is what led Pharaoh to finally set God’s people free from slavery and those events are still commemorated in the most holy celebration in Jewish life – the Passover.  It was also Moses who received the 10 Commandments which began to establish God’s law for the people to live by and it was Moses who led the people through the wilderness for 40 years as they made their way to the Promised Land.

One of the themes that run through Moses’ life is his capacity for overcoming great obstacles.  From his birth to his death, Moses faced challenges that seemed insurmountable and while at times he told God he was ready to give up and walk away, he never did.  By facing those obstacles with faith, what formed in Moses was this spirit of overcoming.  This summer I hope we can learn from Moses how to overcome the challenges and obstacles that we face in life.  It is only by overcoming that we enter into the fullness of life.  It is only in overcoming that we enter our own Promised Land.

Today we are going to start at the beginning and look at the history into which Moses was born.  Exodus 1:8-22.  When Moses was born, life for the Hebrew people was hard and getting worse.  They were slaves in Egypt and while for many years they had been treated well, a new Pharaoh had changed all that and now they faced an impossible situation.  They were expected to do more work but were not given the time or resources to do the work.  In time Pharaoh became afraid that the Hebrew nation would get so large that they would become a threat to his own people so he issued a decree that all boys were to be killed as soon as they were born.  With this background, Moses should have never survived.  He was literally destined to die just moments after he was born, but he didn’t.  Moses survived because there were women willing to do something to help overcome this situation.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Moses life is actually seen in the months surrounding his birth and it has to do with the role that women played in Moses survival.  Remember that women in these days had little status and no authority and Hebrew women had absolutely no standing or power.  First they were Hebrew which meant they were slaves and second they were women who had no rights.  They were powerless, and yet they didn’t let their situation stop them.  A few women were willing to take courageous steps to help save little boys and because they were willing to overcome their history and take some risks, Moses’ life was saved.  

And it wasn’t just one woman, it was several.  First there were the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who were told to kill all the baby boys when they born.  In faith, they risked their lives and disobeyed that law to allow the Hebrew boys to live.  They told the Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were so strong that they gave birth quickly and by the time they arrived to help, the women were done and gone so they never had the chance to kill the boys.  Because of their courage, they were able to overcome the plans of Pharaoh.  Pharaoh however just doubled down and said that all boys that were born were to be thrown into the Nile to die.

Once again, Moses should have never survived, he should have been thrown into the Nile as an infant, but he wasn’t because his mother risked it all and hid him.  Once again the courageous acts of a woman helped overcome the fate that awaited Moses at his birth.  Then, when the child got too large and loud to hide, it was once again her courage that told her not to toss Moses into the Nile but to send him out in a basket.  Exodus 2:1-8.
Once again, notice the role that women play here.  It wasn’t just the courage of Moses’ mother but also his sister who followed the basket and even the kindness and courage of Pharaoh’s daughter who rescued Moses.  This Egyptian woman defied her father to take in a Hebrew boy and then allowed him to be nurtured by a Hebrew woman.  Without the courage of all these women, Moses would have never survived.  Because these women were willing to take some big risks, Moses didn’t just survive, he moved from poverty to power.  Moses went from a life of slavery to a position of authority.

At the very beginning of Moses’ life we see him overcoming great obstacles.  He should have never survived and if he had, he should have been a slave, but through God’s hand and the faith and courage of some woman, Moses overcame his history.  God opened the door so that overcoming his history was possible and God still opens that door.

Too many times people will look at their lives and see where they have come from and the families, community and culture into which they were born and assume that they can’t amount to anything and yet the very life of Moses teaches us we can overcome our history.  The women around Moses didn’t allow their position to keep them from overcoming Pharaoh and because of their courage, Moses had a life.  Moses shows us that we can overcome our history.  Where the world may see no potential or power, God sees great possibility.  While we look at ourselves and think we can’t amount to anything, God looks at us and sees infinite value and the ability to do great things.  Where we see no future, God sees great plans.  Overcoming our history is possible, but it requires faith in God and the courage to step out to take some risks.

Overcoming our history first requires us to have faith in God and the firm conviction that God makes all things and calls them and us good.  This is what we hear in the creation story, God creates all things and calls them good.  All life is good.  And then look at Ephesians 2:10.  We are the work of God and God has created us to do good things and to have us a good future, Jeremiah 29:11.  
If we can trust God who created us and calls us good, than we can overcome any family, culture or environment that might tell us something different.  Overcoming our history calls for faith but it also calls for courageous steps of faith.

The church I served in Altoona started an afterschool program for our neighborhood and we worked with children from some difficult family situations.  Many of these children were born into difficult circumstances and had everything stacked against them.  They didn’t have money or power; they didn’t have stable homes or the love and encouragement to help them succeed.  We heard heartbreaking stories of families living in homes with holes in the roof and parents more interested in drugs than providing for their children.  To me, these obstacles seemed insurmountable at times.  Our desire wasn’t just to provide a safe haven for them once a week, we wanted to help these children overcome their history and move on to greater things and the good life God had for them.

A few years ago I heard from a young woman who attended our program in those first few years who was graduating from Lock Haven University.  Overcoming her history was not a dream but a reality.  A young man from the program is now a local pastor in our annual conference.  With the help of others, these children took some courageous steps of faith and overcome their history to accomplish more than they ever thought possible and they are not alone.  Many people have succeed in overcoming their history

A few years ago at the Leadership Summit we heard from a woman who overcame her difficult history and is serving God in some phenomenal ways.  Christine Caine was abused by several men at a very young age and she says, When you're abused, you think God could never really do anything with your life. You can hear a thousand sermons on destiny and purpose and God having a plan for your life—plans for good and not for evil—but deep down you can never believe God could use you. It certainly has been the fight of my life to get to the place of trusting God to redeem the broken pieces of my past for his glory.

As we see, for Christine the first step was learning to trust that God could love her and had created her for something good.  Once she began to believe this she was able to continue to overcome her history by taking some small courageous steps of faith.  Christine began by attending church and then she stepped out to volunteer with the youth ministry.  She said, When nobody else would stay and clean up, I swept the floors. I remember cleaning the toilets as well.  I remember holding that toilet brush and doing it as unto God with a passion.

Those were courageous steps of faith for her and as she walked on, Christine got some counseling to help her overcome her own broken history so that she today she is able to reach out and help others overcome their own broken and painful history.  Today Christine is the co-founder of the A21 Campaign that helps rescue women, men and children who have been victims of human trafficking.

Every 30 seconds someone becomes a victim of this modern day slave trade and the average age of those kidnapped and forced into slave labor and prostitution is 12 years old.  There are more people in slavery today than at any other point in human history, something we never hear about, and only 1-2% of them will ever be rescued.   With faith in the God who created us and calls us good and the courage to take some risks, Christine overcame her own history and is now one of those people who are willing to take some great risks to help others overcome their history.  She is just like Shiphrah and Puah and Moses’ mother who risked it all to overcome Pharaoh and set the stage for Moses to overcome his history.

The story of Moses tells us that we can overcome our history.  It doesn’t matter where we have come from or how much seems to be working against us, God created us from something good and so God is making a way for us to overcome all obstacles and struggles so we can find life.  The story of Moses also tells us is that we all need some help in overcoming our history.  Moses had the help of many women and their courage gave Moses the opportunity he needed.

There are people today trying to overcome their history and realize God’s potential for their lives and they need our help.  It might be people who are victims of human trafficking; it might be children and youth in our own community who need mentors and love; it might be those we serve in Sierra Leone.  Overcoming history doesn’t just happen for anyone; it is a choice we have to make at some point in our lives to believe and trust God enough to take some courageous steps of faith.  Overcoming history also happens because we make the choice to step out with courageous faith to help others overcome the history of their lives.
 
Next Steps
Overcoming Our History

1.  Read about the events surrounding Moses’ birth from Exodus 1:6-2:10.  What obstacles did Moses face at his birth?  How did God help him overcome them?

2. Moses went from poverty to power, but later in his life he had to overcome some problems which took him from power to poverty – see Exodus 2:11-25.  What courage was needed for Moses to make this change in his life?  In what ways was Moses’ time in Midian needed for God’s future purpose in his life?

3. What “history” in your own life have you had to overcome?  Economics?  Academics?  Abuse?  Physical or emotional problems?  Lack of support and encouragement?

4. Can you identify the people God used in your life to help you overcome?  What specifically have they done to give you the courage to move forward in the face obstacles?

5. How did Jesus have to overcome his own earthly “history”?
(Born into poverty, living in Nazareth - see John 1:43-51)

6.  How did Jesus help others overcome their history?  (Fisherman, women, children, prostitutes, tax collectors)

7. God wants to use each of us to help others overcome the obstacles and challenges they face in life.  How can God use you in the lives of others?

8.  There are more slaves today than at any other time in history.  Hear how God is overcoming human trafficking through the ministry of A21 (Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century).