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Christ Accompanies His Minister
Exodus 3:12
Good News From The Redeemer
Sermon by Pastor Daniel Parks
Radio Message #312 ~ March 25, 2000
Christ commissioned Moses to be His minister for the salvation of His Old Covenant people from physical bondage (Exodus 3:10-12). Christ commissions gospel preachers to be His ministers for the salvation of His New Covenant people from spiritual bondage (e.g. Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:8). The former is a type of the latter. Not only did Christ send Moses to be His minister (v.10; see preceding message), but …
Christ accompanied Moses His minister (v.12): "I will certainly be with you." The reason why Christ made this promise to Moses was in response to Moses' confession of his own inadequacy for the task Christ had set before him (v.11): "But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?'" Moses' inadequacy was three-fold.
1. Moses recognized his own inadequacy as a person. He was being sent for the deliverance of God's people and the overthrow of their oppressors. Surely he now remembered that his own previous attempt to deliver only one Israelite from only one Egyptian had ended in utter defeat (see 2:11-15). Now he was being sent to deliver the whole nation from a much stronger nation! No wonder acknowledged his personal inadequacy in exclaiming "Who am I?"
Christ, in replying, "I will certainly be with you," may be portrayed as answering Moses' "Who am I?" with His own "Who am I?" This is He who just a few moments earlier had identified Himself as "I am the God of your father -- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"! (v.6).
2. Moses recognized his own inadequacy as a persuader and a preacher (4:1, 10): "Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you." … O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'" Christ answered this objection by promising to accompany Moses' ministry with miraculous signs (vv.2-9) and with the assurance that "I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say" (4:11f).
Again, this type is fulfilled in the antitype:
Christ accompanies His gospel ministers. As He said to Moses "I will certainly be with you," He says to them "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). His presence is with them in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18), whom all His preachers have received (see 20:22; Acts 2:1-4). Christ makes this promise to gospel preachers because they acknowledge Moses' three-fold inadequacy.
1. Gospel preachers recognize their own inadequacy as persons (2 Corinthians 2:15f): "For we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?" But upon remembering that Christ is with them, they confess "our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5f) and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
2. Gospel preachers recognize their own inadequacy as persuaders and preac hers. But upon realizing that Christ is with them, they confess as did Paul the apostle (1 Corinthians 2:1-5): "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of man but in the power of God." Christ through the Holy Spirit miraculously does the persuading, being not at all hindered by the inadequacies of the preachers. And when they know not what to say, He Himself speaks through them (Matthew 10:16-20). It would behoove us to heed them!
Your servant for Jesus' sake.
Address all questions to pastor
Daniel E. Parks (2 Corinthians 4:5) e-mail RedeemerBC@aol.com
Pastor, Redeemer Baptist Church
2801 Cleveland Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40206 / 502.899-9205
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