A Holy Commission

Read: Exodus 3:1–4:17

God replied to Moses, . . . “Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14

IN WORD

Moses was no ordinary deliverer. He never sparked an uprising, he never led a group of insurgents, and he never wielded a weapon. This first prophet, sent by God to a captive people, could put only one legitimate claim on his résumé: God had sent him.

That’s really all the résumé anyone needs. If God has sent someone to do His work, no other qualifications will suffice, and no others are needed. God had plenty of reasons for choosing Moses: his symbolic deliverance as a baby, his unique background as a Jew who had grown up in Pharaoh’s household, and probably many more. But those attributes alone aren’t nearly enough to equip someone to deliver a nation of captives. That job requires the presence of the God who is, who was, and who always will be. It requires supernatural intervention.

The church forgets that. We focus on having the right background and the right plan to serve our world and meet its needs. But our experience and our plans are nothing without an intimate sense of relationship—in power, presence, and purpose—with God.

IN DEED

The church needs to be a Moses in this world. There’s nothing wrong with the training we receive or the strategies we implement, at least not in themselves. But if the first item on our résumé isn’t “God has sent us,” we can’t possibly deliver a captive world. Why? Because being sent by God implies that His presence and His power are fueling the ministry.

We may think of prophets and priests as individuals, but Kingdom people themselves are prophets and priests (1 Peter 2:9-10; Revelation 5:10). God speaks to the captives of this world through us, and He mediates His covenant through His Son and those who follow Him. Whatever house of fellowship you attend, never lose sight of this. You and the believers around you are to march into the throne room of the world’s enslaver with one primary conviction within you: “I Am has sent us.”

ADDITIONAL READING: Revelation 5:10

Nearness to Christ, intimacy with Him, assimilation to His character—these are the elements of a ministry of power.

HORATIUS BONAR