This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, by continuing with our new mini-series entitled, “Focusing on Dying To Self”. A few days ago I highlighted six believers in scripture who had to die to their old identity in order to become the person God called them to be. One of them was Moses. I said the following about him:
“Moses had to die to his identity has both a Prince of Egypt and an exiled murderer in order to become the deliverer of Israel. God looked at a man who thought he had wrecked his life by committing murder. He had resigned himself to living in the wilderness. He left his life and his dreams back in Egypt until an encounter with God at a burning bush. The Lord called Moses to go back and lead Israel out of bondage, but he first had to die to self in order to get past his past. Moses’ error had not disqualified him from his divine assignment. God gives us our assignment by His unearned and amazing grace.”
Once again, Jesus said: “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34,35 ERV).
Let’s seek to learn a few things from the life of Moses this morning.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- The greater the assignment, the greater the attack. Moses was born destined to redeem Israel from Egypt. But he was also born with a death sentence. During the time of his birth the Pharaoh decreed that every Hebrew boy born must be thrown into the Nile river to die. The enemy was attempting to kill Moses before he ever got started. The enemy did the same to baby Jesus. Satan was trying to kill them before they were born. For many others, like me, satan attempts to kill them before they are Born-Again. In both cases the attack is against the assignment and the greater the assignment, the greater the attack. The good news is that satan’s poison cannot stop God’s purpose!
- What satan meant for evil, God can turn around for your good. Instead of throwing Moses into the Nile, his mother released him into the Nile, in faith, trusting God, and God provided a breakthrough. The same man (Pharaoh) who had pronounced a death decree over Moses wound up paying for his education and paying for Moses’ own mother to take care of him.
- You know PURPOSE is inside you. Moses grew up looking, speaking, dressing and living like an Egyptian, but deep down inside he knew he was different. The Bible says that God gives us a deeply implanted sense of purpose, working through the ages, which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy (Ecc 3:11). Moses was living like a Prince of Egypt, but deep down inside he knew he was connected to the Israelites. It is this deeply implanted sense of purpose that keeps you going. You cannot be satisfied until you become the person God called you to be.
- You cannot fulfill a divine assignment with human strength. One day Moses saw an Egyptian brutally beating an Israelite. His deeply implanted sense of purpose towards the Israelites kicked-in. But Moses did not do things God’s way. Moses wound up killing the Egyptian. See, God has called you to do things, but you must seek to accomplish God’s assignment God’s way, by His grace and not your power.
- The right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing. Moses knew he was supposed to help the Israelites, but the time was not right and he got out ahead of God. This caused him to live in exile for 40 years.
- You cannot disqualify yourself from the assignment only God qualified you for. Moses resigned himself to living a life in the wilderness. He thought he had disqualified himself from his purpose. He thought he had derailed himself from his destiny. But he had never qualified in the first place. God called him (and us) by grace. So the God of grace met Moses at a burning bush and redeemed him to his purpose.
- You have to die to live. Moses had to die to past; to all the mistakes he had made, and to all the guilt and shame he had embraced. Moses had to let it all go in order to GO BACK to Egypt in order to GO FORWARD to freedom. God is not holding your past over your head. But you must DIE TO IT in order to embrace the life He birthed you to live!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016 by dying to self. I have a deeply implanted sense of purpose. You placed Your eternal purpose in my heart and my mind, so I could never be satisfied until I complete it. I did not qualify for this purpose, You called me to it by grace. I accept it. I receive it. I believe it. I become it. I live by faith in continual access of Your grace. I die to my past. I die to my failures. I die to my flaws. I die to my mistakes. I die to my ways. You qualified me. You called me. You equipped me. You enabled me. You empowered me. And You now employ me in Your Kingdom, for Your glory, by Your grace! No matter what I did in the past, by the Blood of Jesus I am REDEEMED to my PURPOSE! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
