pastor neal

PLEASE NOTE: IF THIS IS A REPEAT I APOLOGIZE...I JUST LOST THE ONE I WAS WORKING ON...THANKS, NEAL. Jesus Christ, the pure and blemish-free lamb, was sacrificed in order to achieve the same goal as the bleedings of the sacrificial lambs in the Old Testament...to wash away our sins. For those of us who are saved and reborn (important steps to take) we are redeemed and washed in Jesus' blood and protected from the wrath of God.

I believe that we fight our battles in the flesh because we are conditioned to fight only that which we can see. From the time we are old enouh to understand this crazy world we see man in conflict with man. Unless we are exposed to the church and gain an understanding of the spiritual war that is constantly going on witin the Heavens we will continue to use our "weapons" on the human evildoers. "Warfare" is most taxing to the human body and when forced by human command the constant conflicts will destroy that which God has graciously given us. We need to stop the participation in conflict and listen to what God has to say. He will only engage us in conflicts in which He will assist us in becoming leaders in his army, lending His strength. We must have faith and trust in His decision when we respond to His calls knowing that He needs us to fulfill a plan.

Moses had not accepted Pharaoh's compromise for there were limitations and restrictions governing the agreement. Although the current situation would had been resolved, by agreeing to the compromise Moses wold had been setting the precedent for the success of his taking his people out of Egypt. Compromising at times can be a sensitive issue and can make or break a large corporation my the sucess or failure of a deal, which would sling-shot the company into a new direction. This theory also applies to the operation of the church. There may be times, especially in smaller congregations where we must compromise and work with church leaders who are not "Scriptually qualified" (Dr. Ralph F. Wilson). Despite this fact it would be beneficial to apply the skills of these leaders, mayhaps training them to become Scriptually qualified. By compromising we are keeping in mind the fact that we are helping our church to move forward. As we have seen, compromising can be hazardous, or it can be a positive, affiriming experience. However, there is one instance when compromising should never come to mind...when it is in direct cinflict with God's commands or the written word. When God commands us to carry out a certain task it must pass exactly as he lays it out (Moses and Aaron). To take the initiative to alter His plan is a direct act of disobedience and will surely result in some sort of punishment.

In addition the the examples supplied I can think of other reasons why church-leaders find it difficult with confrontation and rebukes. There are those involved in the church that experience intimidation by older members as-well-as those who have the means to leave large sums of money upon their death. Secondly, they lack the trust and faith that God will allow their congregation to grow, fearing that instead of strenghting their church they might lose members! When the fear to confront and/or rebuke individuals the foundation of the infrastruction is weakened. It allows others to do as they deem necessary, mayhaps with only their benefit in mind. After so long of inadequate, strong and proper leadership there could be a downfall in the church and contempt for the church-leaders.

Moses is essentially holding God responsible for sending he and Aaron to confront the Pharoah, an action that had resulted in the mistreatment of the Israelites (who now must gather their own materials for their brick making and if their quota fell, their formen would be disciplined). Although it was the Pharoah who is responsible for the harsh treatment of Moses' people find it easier to blame his leader. The stubborness of Moses and Aaron was motivated by both fear and unbelief. Their first attempt to secure a three-day feast for their people resulted in sadness and hardship. It is conceivable that their feelings were that should they make any other attempts at securing some freedom for the Israeli people they would instead bring forth more pain and sorrow, hence, they demonstrated their fear for, and their disbelief that should they trust God's command they would fall upon the proverbial sword. By allowing fear and disbelief to seep into their souls Moses and Aaron were essentially paralyzed with fear, which froze them in their tracks. This not only retarded their ability to move forward but it kept them from growing in the Lord. God, however, would only tolerate this disobedience for so long before He, as their Leader, would "encourage" them to comply to His commands. We should never have a disbelief or a distrust in our Lord for His commands, even when they seem not to fit our "wants." For as Moses was soon to find out the Lord God knew what He was doing.

When God leads our hearts to do someting decisive it may be something that we had shied away from in the past for fear of failure or injury. Despite the fact that it is God calling us forth to carry out His plan it may still be difficult to place one's body or reputation on the front line. Fear is a very natural instinct and without it we could and would make some very dangerous decisions. Allowing fear to control us, however, is counter-productive. As a fire-fighter (injured in line of duty), and ex-military, i have found that it is important to dicuss your fear openly with Jesus and ask for the strength to overcome fear. The relationship of fear to courage are like that of spouses. Both are needed in order to create a natural balance. Fear is that emotion that encourages us to keep our guard up while undertaking something outside of our comfort zone, and courage is the ability to undertake this challenge with confidence and strength. It is necessary to find courage in our leaders and disciples as we look to them for direction, especially in time of need. These people are often time the only barrier between panic and total free-for-all. If they fail to demonstrate a level of courage this will waft to others, resulting in total collapse of a system[/size]

Moses still finds excuses why he cannot carry out the plan of God. Up to this point God has been patient but His anger is about to become evident. God is furious with Moses lack of faith and his refusing to accept his assignment. God has told him there need no need to fear as he will not be alone...He will be with him. Moses basic sin is his inability to have faith and belief in our God. He needed to trust that he would not be alone and that he would be protected. Eventually, Moses accepted God's plan which set into motion a confrontation that would test Moses' faith. Having the Lord angry with me has occured several times. I have fallen from His grace. Basically I had committed the same sins as Moses. I refused to heed the Lord's guidance thinking that my decision was better. Were my made out of fear, disbelief, disobedience? I'll never tell, but I will say that once I turned over to Jesus the results were wonderful.

Moses went from a superior position in the Egyptain palace to that of a shepherd in charge of sheep; not of his own, so it is in the realm of feasibility that he is suffering low self-image, low self-esteem. Moses is a highly educated man who has lost all of his daily challenges so mayhaps he blames God on some level which creates a lack of faith. Numbers 12:3 does tell us that Moses is the most humble man on the face of the Earth which could bear a little weight on his pushing against God's plan as he doesn't feel worthy to undertake such an important journey. However, when we explore a little farther we find Moses continuing to make excuses as to why he can't go while God is offering him solutions to his fears. God assures, and reasssures him that He will be with him all the time...but still Moses looks for a way out.

It is interesting to find that Moses may have adopted an arrogant attitude during his growth in the Egyptian palace. Was it this arrogance ( a negative trait) that led him to believe that he could pass by the justice in the Paraoh's court to take maters into his own hands, thus convicting and executing the Egyptian. Although this would be an oxymoron I find that by defending this Israelite as he did it shows a great love and loyalty to "his" people. His strength allowed him to murder this man and then to bury him in the sand. Unfortunately, his rash action, exposed him to others in the work group.