Will you please turn to the book of Hebrews?
Hebrews Chapter 11. We begin with verse 24: Hebrews Chapter 11, verses 24 through 29.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king; for he endured as seeing Him Who is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as on dry land; but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
In the same book, Hebrews Chapter 3, just one verse: verse 5.
And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken.
We have been considering together Moses as the servant of the Lord. Moses was called by God to be His servant, to serve God’s purpose in his time.
In like manner, brothers and sisters, we are all called to be God’s servants, to serve God and His purpose in our generation.
Moses was chosen by God. So are we chosen—chosen even before the foundation of the world, set apart even in our mother’s womb, and called by His grace.
Because God had chosen Moses, one day Moses chose God. When he was forty years old, he chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy all the pleasures of Egypt.
And one day, we who have been chosen by God have to make the same choice. Do we choose Him? More than anything else, would we rather have Him than have anything in the world?
Moses was not only chosen, but we find that God trained him. He had to learn, and unlearn, and learn. And that is the same thing that will happen to us.
There are many things that we have to learn. And after we have learned them, and think that we can depend upon them, we have to unlearn them. Then we have to learn further of our God. It is only through such a process that we become usable in the hands of God in serving Him.
In serving God, there are a few things that are absolutely necessary. We mentioned one thing last time: authority and meekness.
Moses served God with authority—not authority that comes from man, but authority that comes from God: authority according to the life of God and according to the gift of God. But such authority must be exercised with meekness.
Moses was the meekest of all men. Through authority and meekness, he was able to serve God’s purpose.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we need to know what spiritual authority is. It is not a matter of position; it is a matter of life. And we need to exercise that authority with meekness—that is, not thinking of ourselves, but only of Him.
Now this morning, we would like to conclude our consideration of Moses with another thing that is absolutely needed if we want to serve God well. That is faith and faithfulness. Moses served God with faith, and he served God with faithfulness.
You know, without faith no one can please God. In Hebrews Chapter 11, verse 6, we are told that he who comes to God must believe that God is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek after Him.
If we do not have faith, there is not even a beginning in our spiritual life. By faith, Moses’ parents hid him for three months. By faith, when Moses was forty years old, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He chose rather the reproach of Christ than all the riches of Egypt because he considered the recompense. By faith, Moses became what he was.
Now there is a verse here in Hebrews Chapter 11. It says:
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered as seeing Him Who is invisible.
Now, if you read Exodus Chapter 2, verse 15, it says in the last sentence, “Then Moses feared, and said, Surely the matter is known.”
According to the record of Exodus, when the news got out that Moses had killed an Egyptian, and he heard that the news had spread, he was afraid. He knew the matter must be known to the king, and for this reason he fled.
Yet in Hebrews, when the Holy Spirit comments on that incident, the Holy Spirit says, “By faith he left Egypt.” In Exodus, it says he fled; but here it says he left—he forsook Egypt. In Exodus, it says he feared that the matter was known to the king; but here it says he did not fear the wrath of the king.
Now, is there any contradiction? Sometimes when you read the Bible, the Old Testament gives you the history and the New Testament gives you the comment. Sometimes you find the comment does not seem to agree with the history. Yet we know both are true. How are you going to reconcile history with the Holy Spirit’s judgment?
This verse has been a real difficulty for many commentators. Of course, there are two different interpretations.
The first is that it refers to the incident when Moses, after he killed the Egyptian, fled. The explanation is that he was afraid that the news had spread and that the king knew about it, so he fled. But at the same time, he was a man of faith.
In other words, the reason why he left Egypt instead of giving himself up was because he believed that God still had His hand upon him. So he would not simply expose himself to the king, cast himself upon the mercy of Pharaoh, and give up the work to which God had called him. Instead, he persevered because he saw the invisible One.
That is one explanation. There is another explanation: this does not refer to his fleeing from Egypt. Rather, it refers to the time when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
You remember in Exodus, the last time that Moses came before Pharaoh, he warned Pharaoh that if he would not let the people go, something terrible would happen. The destroyer would come and destroy all the firstborn of Egypt.
Pharaoh did not believe it, and he was angry with Moses. He said, “Moses, beware. If you see my face again, I will have your life.”
Moses was threatened by the wrath of Pharaoh, but Moses went out not fearing the wrath of Pharaoh. He led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The reason why the second explanation is possible is because you notice the different tenses used in these verses. Chronologically, of course, he fled Egypt first; then he led the children of Israel out of Egypt through the Passover feast.
In other words, after the Passover, he left Egypt. So if we are saying that verse 27 refers to his escape, then verse 28 mentions the Passover afterward. But in verse 28, the original uses a present participle: “having celebrated.” So people think that, because of the difference in tenses, it can refer to the coming out of Egypt.
Now, whatever it may be, I think it illustrates one thing: faith is necessary for our spiritual life. Without faith, there is no spiritual life.
Without faith, Moses would not have been hidden for three months; he would have died. Without faith, Moses would not have chosen the reproach of Christ. Without faith, he would not have been able to withstand the wrath of Pharaoh and persevere to the very end.
So far as spiritual life is concerned, you need faith, and I believe we all understand that.
But there is another side: spiritual work. If we want to do God’s work, and if it is spiritual work, it has to be by faith. In other words, without faith no spiritual work can be done.
Any work that is done without faith is not God’s work; it is not spiritual work. By faith, Moses celebrated the Passover. By faith, Moses led the people out of Egypt. By faith, Moses crossed the Red Sea.
So you find that the work of God has to be done by faith. Without faith, no spiritual work can be done.
Think for a moment of the celebration of the Passover. Moses went before Pharaoh and said, “God said, ‘Let My people go.’ If not, then all the firstborn will be killed.”
Then God told Moses to tell the children of Israel to prepare a lamb for each house. On that night, every family was to kill that lamb and put the blood upon the doorposts and the lintel.
The whole family was to gather in the house and feast upon the lamb, because on that night the destroyer would pass through all the land of Egypt. When he saw no blood at the door, there would be shed blood within the house.
Moses told this to the children of Israel, and he also told Pharaoh that that night all the firstborn would be killed. Now, how did he know that this would happen?
Never in history had something like that happened before. There was no precedent upon which Moses could lean. It was the first time; there was no example to follow.
Yet because God had said so, Moses believed what God had said. It was by faith that he celebrated the Passover.
If he did not have faith, would he have believed that there would be a destroyer coming to destroy all the firstborn? If he did not have faith, would he have believed that the blood of the lamb could deliver the children of Israel?
To worldly people, it seems absurd. How could the blood of a lamb substitute for the blood of the firstborn? But by faith Moses celebrated the Passover. It is a work of faith.
Forty years ago, Moses started to work for God. When he was forty years old, you remember, it came into his mind to go out and see how his brethren were. So he went out.
He thought he was serving God. He thought he was working for God, and he was. But he took the initiative. It was not a work of faith.
He himself took the initiative. He did not wait upon God. He was not sent by God at that particular moment. He did not consult God as to how to do it, but he took upon himself the work for God.
He took the initiative. He went out himself. He did it on his own, by his own strength, with his eloquence and with his physical prowess.
It was working for God, but not working with God. And, you know, brothers and sisters, there is a great difference between working for God and working with God.
Working for God is working your own work, but working with God is doing His work. Outwardly, sometimes it may seem about the same thing, but when you come to the source of it, you find a great difference.
Working for God is your initiation; working with God originates from God. Working for God is working with your own wisdom and strength, but working with God is in His power and in His history.
Working for God is for your own glory, but working with God is for His glory. Working for God does not require faith because you can do it; but working with God requires faith. Without faith, nothing can be done.
You find that there is a great difference between Moses’ service to God forty years ago and forty years later. Forty years ago, it was working for God; forty years later, it was working with God. Why? Because God sent him.
When he was eighty years old, he thought that was the end of himself. Yet God said, “Go.”
Moses said, “How can I do it? How can I go? How can I deliver the children of Israel? I cannot do it.”
And you know what God said? God said, “I am with you. I will go with you.” It is not a matter of what you can do; it is a matter of what I am going to do.
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, God’s work can only be done by God Himself. You cannot do it. I cannot do it. Moses could not do it. No one can do it.
God’s work can only be done by God Himself. But He will do it through you, through Moses, through Paul. But it is He Who does the work.
So here you find, in the case of Moses, by faith he did the work. All along through the forty years—from the time in Egypt, through the wilderness, up to the time when the children of Israel came to the eastern shore of Jordan—you find that all the works Moses did, he did by faith.
You can see very clearly that it was not Moses; it was God. Sometimes Moses was puzzled. Sometimes Moses was on the verge of giving up.
“Moses, enough! Why? Why? I just could not do it. Why did You send me? I made a fool of myself.” There were a number of times he wanted to give up.
It was not Moses. It was God Who did the work. It was God in Moses Who did the work. And because of this, by faith the work was done.
In the whole history of Moses’ service unto God, there was one occasion when Moses seemed to lose faith. That is recorded in Numbers Chapter 20.
You remember the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Zin, and at that time there was no water. So the people murmured and complained, and began to accuse Moses. They said, “Now, Moses, you led us here, and You will just let us die in the wilderness. It would have been much better if we had died in Egypt. Why do You do such a thing? We have no water to drink.”
When they complained, Moses fell upon his face before the Lord and before the people, as he usually did. Then the Lord said, “Moses, get up. Take the staff from before the presence of God—that is, in the tabernacle. Go to the rock, gather the people together, and speak to the rock, and water will come out.”
Moses got up. He took the staff from before the ark, and gathered the people together to the rock that followed them. But instead of speaking to the rock, he was so provoked in his spirit and so angry that he lost control of himself. He lost faith.
So instead of speaking to the rock, he smote the rock once and twice.
But God hallowed Himself in spite of what Moses did. God vindicated Himself by letting the water come out in great abundance from the rock. Moses disobeyed God, but God vindicated Himself by giving the people water.
According to Psalm 106, so far as the people were concerned, the Bible says Moses’ spirit was provoked, and he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.
Because Moses’ spirit was so provoked, he got so angry. When he spoke to the people, he spoke unadvisedly. He said, “You rebels, shall we bring water out of this rock for you?” He did not honor God. He misrepresented God in the sight of the people.
But so far as God was concerned, what was God’s comment on this incident? God told Moses, “Because you did not believe Me, and did not hallow Me, therefore you shall not lead the people into the promised land.”
In other words, so far as God was concerned, it was a matter of faith. Moses, at that particular juncture, lost his faith. He did not believe that by speaking to the rock water would come out.
Water had come out once when he smote it, so he thought it was better to smite it. He smote it not only once but twice. It was unbelief.
And you know another thing? The staff that he used to smite the rock was not Moses’ rod; it was Aaron’s staff. They took the staff from before the presence of the Lord, before the ark. It was Aaron’s rod that budded that was before the ark.
In other words, he was just exercising priestly authority, and water would come forth. Why? Because the rock had already been smitten. It did not need to be smitten again. Just speak, and water will come out.
But Moses did not believe. So when he smote the rock with Aaron’s staff, the flower and the bud would all be broken.
In typology, you know, it is a very important thing. Why? Because the rock is Christ.
Christ is the rock, as we find in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. He is the rock that followed the children of Israel throughout the wilderness. Because Christ was smitten on the cross, once water comes forth from Him.
It is done once and for all. You do not need to have Christ crucified a second time in order to have life given.
Once and for all, He was crucified for us. He was smitten for us, and water comes out. Life comes out from Him.
All you need to do, when you want to enjoy His life, is to speak. I think it speaks of priestly function: take what He has already done and just apprehend it. Claim it by faith, and water will come out. Life will flow again.
But instead of believing, Moses did a terribly wrong thing: unbelief. That was the only occasion when you find Moses really did not believe. Because of that, he was not able to lead the people into the promised land. The work could not be done.
On other occasions, Moses sometimes wavered. Sometimes he felt he could not do it. Sometimes he wanted to give up. But when God assured him, he always believed. He always believed, and because of that he was able to do God’s work.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we who are called to serve the Lord, remember: not only does our spiritual life require faith; our spiritual work requires faith too.
Oftentimes we think that, for our spiritual life, of course we have to have faith. Without faith, we would not even believe in the Lord Jesus. We are saved by grace through faith. Without faith, how can we receive the grace of God?
We can understand that faith is important. And faith is not only important in the beginning of our spiritual life; faith is a part of all along our spiritual life. It is from faith to faith.
We must not only believe that Christ has borne our sins on Calvary’s cross, so that our sins may be forgiven. We must also believe that when Christ was crucified, our old man was crucified with Him, so that we may be delivered from the power of sin.
Many believers have faith to believe in Christ bearing our sins in His body on the cross and receive the forgiveness of sin. But they do not have faith to believe that Christ has already taken you and me away on the cross, so that it is no longer you who live, but Christ Who lives in you.
Now, if you do not believe that, you do not experience the liberty of the sons of God. But if you do believe, reckon yourself as dead unto sin in Christ; reckon yourself as alive unto God in Christ; and you will find that you live.
It is by faith. All along our spiritual life, it is a matter of faith: believing Him that He is, believing that He is the rewarder of all who seek after Him.
Brothers and sisters, we need faith. Without faith, we cannot live. Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” This is our spiritual life.
But we tend to forget that not only in the area of life is faith absolutely needed; in the area of work, faith is essential—very essential, fundamental.
Without faith, you can work for God, and many are working for God. But without faith, you cannot work with God.
If you really want to do God’s work, you have to believe. I like that verse very much: John Chapter 6, verse 29. It is a verse that probably many people overlook.
You remember the occasion when our Lord Jesus used five loaves and two fishes to feed five thousand people. These people were so happy because the food problem was solved. You did not need to work; unemployment was no problem. You had food anyway. So they wanted to make Christ the king.
Christ sent them away. But the next day, they came to Him again. The Lord Jesus said, “You do not come because you saw the signs. You come because you want to be filled.”
The Lord said, “Labor not for the food that perishes, but work for the food that does not perish.” Immediately they said, “Master, what shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
They said, “We want to work for God. All right, what shall we do?” And you remember what the Lord said? In John 6:29, the Lord said:
This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.
What is God’s work? What is doing God’s work? People think, “Now, what should we do? We want to do something. Maybe we sacrifice something. Maybe we serve in some things. Maybe we engage in some activities. We do something for God. That is doing God’s work.”
The Lord said, “No.” Doing God’s work is believing. Faith—faith, believing. Believe the One Whom God has sent. In other words, you believe Christ. If you believe Him, you are doing God’s work.
Why? Because God’s work can only be done by God Himself. So if you believe Him, He is able to do His work in and through you. But if you do not believe Him, you are doing the work and He is not doing it. You know the difference?
If faith is not involved in your work, it is not God’s work. If it does not require faith, and you can do it, and you are doing it, remember: you are working for God, but you are not working with God.
It is not doing God’s work, because God’s work is essentially a work of faith.
It is true: faith without works is dead. But work without faith is also dead work. And we need to be delivered from dead works.
Faith is essential to God’s work. Now, what do we mean by that?
First of all, if it is by faith that we do the work, then God has to take the initiative. In other words, the work cannot originate from you.
Even if you may have the thought of doing something good, yet if it is you, it is not God. God has to initiate that work.
Second, if it is by faith, it has to be done in God’s way, not in your way.
Third, if it is by faith, it has to be done in God’s time and not your time. We are always in a hurry.
When Moses was forty, he said, “That is the time.” But God said, “Too early.” At eighty, when you come to the end of yourself, then the time has come.
We think that when we come to the end of ourselves, the opportunity is gone. So we have to do it. But God says, “No, you are doing it. I am going to do it. So until you come to the end of yourself, then the time has come.”
Fourth, if it is by faith, it has to be done in His power and not in our own strength.
Fifth, if it is by faith, it will be done to His glory and not to our glory.
So, when you see that it is God’s work, if it is by faith, it is actually a work of Him, through Him, and for Him. It has to be of Him. It has to be through Him—that is, by His power. And it has to be unto Him, for His glory. That is God’s work.
So, dear brothers and sisters, do remember this one thing: if you really want to serve the Lord, in whatever capacity it may be, in whatever area it may be, remember that it has to be done by faith.
Without faith, no one can please God. Without faith, no one can serve God. You have to do it by faith—that is, entirely looking off unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Our work suffers when our faith ceases; the work ends.
If the work can be carried on when our faith falters, or if the work can continue when our faith is lost, you know it is not God’s work. It is your work, and you are doing it.
Faith is absolutely necessary. It is the essential ingredient of God’s work. And thank God, Moses was a man of faith.
You know, it is very strange. As you read the Bible, you will find that at the very point where a person seems to be strong, he usually fails at that point.
Moses was a man of faith, and his faith failed him. Usually it is that way. Even when you come to our experience, you find the same thing. What you seem to be strong in is where you may fall.
Because of that, we know how we need to cast ourselves utterly upon the mercy of God.
But Moses not only served God with faith—he believed—he also served God with faithfulness.
Faithfulness and faith are related, but a little different. Faith is toward God, but faithfulness is toward the work that God has entrusted you with.
Moses had faith in God, and he was faithful in the work that God entrusted to him. That comment of the Holy Spirit is really marvelous.
We read Hebrews Chapter 3: “Moses indeed was faithful in all God’s house.” But this is a quotation from Numbers Chapter 12.
You know the background of Numbers Chapter 12. Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness. They began to move out of Mount Sinai toward the promised land. While they were doing that, something happened.
Miriam, Moses’ elder sister, conspired with Moses’ elder brother, Aaron.
The leadership of all the children of Israel was composed of these three brothers and sisters: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Miriam was the prophetess, Aaron was the high priest, and Moses was the leader.
But somehow, you find there was jealousy—there was jealousy. As we mentioned before, probably the jealousy began with a woman’s jealousy over another woman.
Miriam was jealous over Moses’ wife. Miriam was the elder sister and was always taking care of Moses. You remember, when Moses was in that ark, Miriam was watching. Ever since then, there was that motherly attitude of the elder sister toward Moses.
She wanted Moses to be under her. But another woman came into Moses’ life—Moses’ wife. Moses’ wife gained the affection of Moses, so Miriam began to be jealous.
She began to speak against this Cushite woman. Actually, she was not a Cushite woman, but perhaps because of her dark complexion, Miriam wanted to put her down.
Out of that jealousy—a personal jealousy—it grew into a kind of conspiracy. She began to influence Aaron, and they began to accuse Moses. They said, “Does God speak to you alone? Does not God speak to us too? Why do you take that position above us?”
Actually, Moses served God very faithfully. He was just doing what God commanded him to do. He was not ambitious at all, and he was not arrogant in himself. He was just doing his duty.
Yet he was misunderstood and unjustly accused, not only by the people but even by those nearest to him—his sister and brother.
When this thing happened, Moses said nothing. He did not argue. He did not even explain. He just left it to God.
The Bible says Moses was the meekest of all men. That was where his meekness was manifested. But God vindicated him.
God called Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the door of the tent of meeting. These three stood at the door of the tent of meeting, and God came down. God was very angry.
God said, “If there is any prophet among you, I will speak to him in a vision and in a dream. But not so to My servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. I speak to him face to face. How dare you accuse him?”
God departed in anger. When the glory left, Aaron, being a high priest trained in spiritual sight, saw immediately that Miriam was afflicted with leprosy.
You know the story: Aaron pleaded with Moses, and Moses pleaded with God. God forgave and healed Miriam, but the whole journey was delayed for seven days.
Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
If we want to serve God, faithfulness is very, very important. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 4, it is said that what is required of a steward is faithfulness.
Paul said, “I do not mind if I am examined by anybody, or by man’s day. I do not even examine myself.” Why? Because all these are nothing. They will not justify anyone. But it is the Lord Who examines me.
What is required of a servant of the Lord is faithfulness.
In what particular way was Moses faithful in all God’s house? I think there is one place that demonstrates it more than any other, and that is when he built the tabernacle.
God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle. God gave Moses the pattern from the mountain. Again and again, Moses was warned that he should do everything according to the pattern given on the mountain.
He should not deviate. He should not change. He should not add anything to it. He was to do everything according to the pattern given to him on the mountain.
And Moses built that tabernacle exactly according to the pattern shown to him. That was where his faithfulness was manifested.
Remember, Moses, when he was in Egypt, learned all the learning of Egypt. Egypt at that time was the first empire in the world. It was noted for its architectural feats.
Even today, you can visit a pyramid and see not only how massive stones were brought up and put together to such a height without modern inventions, but even astronomically it was perfect. There was a hole in the great pyramid that pointed to exact north.
So Moses must have been a great engineer, a great architect, and a great builder. He could build an empire. For God to ask him to build a tabernacle, that was nothing.
God could have said, “Well, Moses, build Me a tabernacle,” and Moses would have built a tabernacle that was gorgeous, glorious, and tremendous.
Maybe, from the human standpoint, it would have been much more beautiful and much more massive than the one for which God gave the pattern. Most likely it would have been.
That tabernacle really was not too big. It was beautiful, but Moses could have made it even more beautiful.
Sometimes I think it was almost like an insult to Moses. God gave him all the details: what materials to use, how much, how to make it, where to put it—everything, even a nail and a thread.
Everything was laid down in the pattern. God said, “Moses, do not change it. Do it accordingly.”
Why did God warn Moses more than once? There was a temptation there. It was natural. For one who was such a good architect, engineer, and builder, when he took that blueprint in his hand, he might say, “Well, this can be improved a little bit. That can be enlarged a little bit.”
There had to be temptation there. So God warned Moses, “Do not do it. Do not do it.”
Moses was faithful in this sense: he rejected all the temptations to change, to improve, and to alter. He faithfully followed it to the very end.
Moses was faithful in all His house.
Now, why is this so important? In Hebrews Chapter 3, it is said, “Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a ministering servant.” He was a servant; he was not a master.
He was faithful “for a testimony of the things to be spoken afterward.” Remember, the tabernacle that God ordered Moses to build was but a shadow.
Where is the reality? It was a testimony of things to be spoken afterward. In other words, that tabernacle, which was after the heavenly pattern, was actually a shadow of all the testimony of things to come.
What is the reality of the tabernacle that was to come? The church. The church.
The Lord said, “I will build My church.” God said, “This is My holy habitation, and I will dwell in it.”
In other words, you find that God’s thought from eternity past to eternity is that God wants to dwell among men.
It is a wonderful thing: the Father dwells in the Son, and the Son dwells in the Father. There is a mutual dwelling. The Father makes the Son His home, and the Son makes the Father His home, and they are always home. What a sweet home it is!
Yet it is the will of God to extend that home to include us. God wants to live in us, that we may live in Him. We are to be the tabernacle in which He can dwell among men.
But what kind of a dwelling place can God dwell in? The heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him.
God can only dwell in His Son. “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”—satisfied, resting. God can only dwell in His Son.
But it is the will of God that His Son should be the firstborn of many sons. Therefore, you find that the church—the tabernacle in reality that God wants to build, that He may dwell in us—must be built with Christ in you, in me, in all of us.
It has to be built exclusively of Christ. Nothing else.
You cannot try to put some other material into that building. You cannot add anything more than Christ to it. You cannot take anything away from Christ. You cannot change it in any way.
In other words, the church of God that God is building has to be built according to Christ—not according to doctrine, not according to creed, not according to teachings, not according to forms, not according to systems, not according to methods.
No, it has to be built according to the living Christ: the Christ that God has revealed, and that we have confessed and experienced. It has to be Christ and nothing but Christ.
That is the reason why, in building the tabernacle, everything had to be according to the pattern. What is our pattern today? Christ.
Our New Testament church pattern is not elders and deacons. No. The New Testament pattern of the church is not the Apostles’ Creed, however great it may be.
The pattern of the house of God today is Christ—the living Christ—not knowledge about Christ, but Christ Himself.
Dear brothers and sisters, that is where faithfulness comes in. Are we faithful in all God’s house?
Moses was just dealing with a shadow, but we are working with reality. How much more serious it is today than at the time of Moses. Moses was faithful in all God’s house; how are we? Are we faithful?
God is doing His work, and His work is building His church with people such as we are.
Some, like Paul, laid the foundation, but others are building upon it. Brothers and sisters, we are all engaged in God’s work. But how faithful are we?
Are we building with gold, silver, and precious stones? Or are we building with wood, hay, and stubble?
Are we building with the nature of God, the redemption of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit? Or are we working with our own life, our own nature, and our own work for our glory?
What is it? Is it Christ? That is where faithfulness really comes in.
So do remember: if we want to serve God, we have to serve Him faithfully. Being faithful means that everything has to be according to the heavenly pattern, which is Christ.
Faithfulness also is seen in diligence. If you are faithful, it means that you do it diligently. Oh, how diligent was Moses!
If you read Exodus and Numbers, I do not think you can complain that Moses was lazy at any time. You have to confess that Moses was a most diligent person—a most diligent person.
How he labored incessantly! How he prayed, how he interceded, how he judged, how he led. Moses was most diligent in exercising whatever God entrusted to him. That is faithfulness.
So, brothers and sisters, we need to be faithful.
You know, in the parable of the talents, God gave talents according to different abilities. To one He gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, according to their ability.
In other words, God has made us all different. Thank God for that. No two persons look alike. No two temperaments are exactly the same.
The natural abilities that God has given us are all different. There is no equality there in that sense. It is simply that God loves variety. That is all. So He makes us all different.
According to our different abilities, God gives five talents, two talents, and one talent. It does not make any difference. If you have greater gifts, more is required. If you have fewer gifts, less is required.
But if you have been given five talents and you earn five talents, you pass. If you have two talents and earn two talents, you pass in the same way. But if you have one talent and bury it, then you do not pass.
Be diligent. Trade. Function as members of the body of Christ according to the gift and grace that God has given to each. Let us function accordingly.
Every member works its part for the building up of the body in love. That is diligence. Yes, faithfulness.
Finally, faithfulness simply means that when you serve, you do not serve with an ulterior motive. You are not trying to build a kingdom for yourself. You are not trying to build a monument that will bear the power of Abel.
But you are building the house of God for Him to own and to occupy. In other words, faithfulness means you do it all for Him and not for yourself.
Faith and faithfulness: these are the things that we see in the life of Moses, in his serving God. I do believe that it is God’s will and God’s desire that we who are serving Him in our generation will serve likewise: faith and faithfulness.
Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that we see in Thy servant Moses faith and faithfulness.
For, our Father, we know that this is something that Thou dost require of us. We pray that we may always look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
May nothing we do be without faith. And, Lord, if we should lose faith, then, Lord, we ask that Thou wilt stop us, that we may return to Thee, look to Thee, and seek again.
Father, we also ask that we may be faithful in that which Thou hast committed to us. Oh, give us vision of that heavenly pattern, and teach us how to diligently and faithfully do it according to Thy will.
And we want to give Thee all the glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Amen.