Sermon Central
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New Signs, New Perception
Contributed by Rudolf E. Y. Mensah on Mar 14, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: Don’t let your fears prevent you from doing what God asks of you. It is not our job to determine results. It is our job to obey. God will take care of the results. He will fulfill what He has promised.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter was solely afraid to the bones. He and the rest of the disciples went into hiding. He was not at the place Jesus was crucified. In fact, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus 3 times. He did not want to be associated with Jesus. But now we see peter proclaiming the name of Jesus openly, and with great courage and great faith. WHY? Something has changed. Jesus appeared before His disciples after His resurrection. Now they know He is not dead! He is resurrected! He is alive and he is with them! Look at what Thomas said when they told him about Jesus’s resurrection:
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Mine O mine… Thomas was the one who ridiculed the risen Jesus when his fellow disciples told him the dead Jesus resurrected and has made appearance to them when he (Thomas) was away. He made fun of Jesus that unless he sees with his carnal eyes the mark of the nail and inserts his finger into his ribs, Jesus is remains dead. But a week after when Jesus appeared physical to him and challenged him to do all that he said he would do when he sees Jesus face to face; he could no longer do it. He had a change of heart and said to Jesus, “You are my Lord, master and my God”! This is an example of what we call new signs, new perception.
Moses
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
We humans have a tendency to go from one extreme to the other. If we find out that we are wrong in a particular area, it’s easy to make as serious a mistake in the opposite direction. Though he was raised as Egyptian royalty, Moses never forgot his own people. It was his desire to deliver them from slavery. His problem was that he went about it the wrong way. Instead of relying on God, Moses took things into his own hands. It wasn’t the right time, and Moses didn’t use the right methods. As a result, his own people rejected his leadership. In addition, he murdered a man and was forced to flee Egypt.
Forty years pass. The time is now right for the Israelites’ deliverance. But Moses has now swung to the opposite extreme. He not only doubts his own ability to lead, he also doubts God’s ability to save His people. When God calls us to do something, He also gives us the ability to do it. Excuses don’t cut it. Though God is amazingly patient, He still requires obedience. The question is not whether God’s plan will be accomplished – it will be, but whether we will have a part in that plan. When we are doing God’s will, He not only gives us the strength to do it, He also prepares the way.
Moses was afraid that he wouldn’t be accepted by his people. When they saw the evidence that He was sent by God, and that God cared about their situation, the elders of the people bowed down and worshiped. This is another demonstration of new signs, new perception in the life and history of Moses when he encountered the manifestation power at Mount Horeb. Don’t let your fears prevent you from doing what God asks of you. It is not our job to determine results. It is our job to obey. God will take care of the results. He will fulfill what He has promised.
