God saying "Go" to Moses (Quality: Good)

[0:00] With the Lord's help we will venture this evening to read a text you will find in the book of Exodus, the fourth chapter, the eleventh and twelfth verses.

[0:11] The book of Exodus, the fourth chapter, verses eleven and twelve. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh a dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?

[0:35] Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

[0:51] The Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Who maketh a dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

[1:12] One thing that is clearly demonstrated in the life of Moses is that his steps were ordered by God.

[1:34] We can see right from his very birth God's protection. And as we follow him, through the courts of Egypt, through his banishment at the backside of the desert, the time when he was called to lead Israel down to Egypt, the afflictions that were sustained there, and the ultimate coming through the wilderness, and his viewing the land of Canaan from the mountaintop, every part of the life of Moses speaks to us of the overruling hand of God.

[2:26] But such an aspect of things is not peculiar to Moses. If we can look over our lives, shall we not be able to trace, sometimes more clearly than others, the same overruling hand of God.

[2:58] There was nothing in Moses' life that was, as it were, at the mercy of luck and chance.

[3:09] Moses' life's minutest circumstance was subject to God's eye. And what appears in his life must appear in the lives of every one of God's children.

[3:28] But then, Moses did not go on through life looking at what we might call a rosy picture, he was a subject of many fears and of much apprehension, a sense of his own weakness, a consciousness of his unfitness for certain positions to which he was appointed.

[3:57] He was keenly aware of his limitations. And so was God. What our secret confessions before God may be, what our consciousness may be of what we are and our lack of ability, or even on the other hand sometimes of a false feeling that we have more ability than we possess.

[4:27] Yet God is above it all. and he kindly watched over Moses and he kindly watched over his children to bring sometimes good out of evil.

[4:43] Sometimes to make it so clear that the scripture is deeply true for we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to those who are the God according to his purpose.

[4:58] Now in the context before us Moses has come to a point in his life which although he might have had some thought and certainly Stephen's apology in the Acts of the Apostles gives us to understand that he did have some thought that God would raise him up.

[5:26] now this was displayed when he attempted to separate his brethren that were fighting one another and they said who may be a judge over us.

[5:42] He thought that they would have understood. He thought. So evidently Moses had some thoughts of a time that would come when he would be raised up to a certain position already appointed by God with relation to national Israel.

[6:12] But then as we look at the beginning of this chapter we find a very deep consciousness of his own weakness.

[6:26] Moses answered and said that behold they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice for they will say the Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

[6:39] There is much in this which agrees with the experience of the people of God at times. If God proposes a certain thing to you it seems impossible.

[6:55] Moses might well have felt that he was not in the right place or that he had not the right contacts and therefore if he should go to the people and tell them that God had sent him they would not believe him.

[7:13] Would you understand from your own inside experience of these kind of temptations and how fierce and how full they can be?

[7:27] But you know these things do not deter God from his purposes. Our fears will not deter God from his purposes.

[7:38] What the poet says is perfectly true. his purposes will ripen fast and folding every hour the bud may have a bitter taste but sweet will be the flower.

[7:51] Moses was to be an example in his life of what God could do and he's not alone. If we are the children of God we shall be examples of what God can do.

[8:04] What God can do in us, what he can do with us and what he can do for us. We shall appreciate this all the more when we feel our utter weakness may be our rebellion, may be our lack of faith and our lack of confidence in God.

[8:29] None of these things will prevent the Lord bringing to pass his purposes. And the Lord makes it clear to Moses by one or two miracles at this time of what power he had, what power God had to bring about that which is impossible.

[8:58] Is there a case, a child of God that has never been in that place that has felt the forcefulness of those words?

[9:09] With men it is impossible, but with God nothing is impossible. Now that has a very wide influence in the lives of the people of God.

[9:24] Very often when God moots to a person a design that he has in mind to bring about, the thought may well be dismissed because of the impossibility of its performance.

[9:49] Again and again in the scripture, while we read in one way or another, is anything too hard for the Lord. Now some of us, I know, are witnesses of God's power in bringing about the impossible.

[10:13] We can relate it to providence, we can also relate it to grace. The hardness of our hearts can be such that we might have said we will never believe that, we will not accede to that, we will not bow down to the other, but God brings about the impossible.

[10:42] Our determination measured beyond its quality thinks that we shall continue to rebel.

[10:57] But with God nothing is impossible. And so we come down to read of the opposition which Moses had in his heart when God spoke to him, continued to speak to him.

[11:15] And this is a point worth noticing. You see, God, if he speaks to you about any particular matter, will continue to speak. He may continue to speak to you at close intervals.

[11:31] On the other hand, he may continue to speak to you at longer intervals, but he continues to speak. It would appear at this time that the Lord continued speaking to Moses in, as it were, one conversation.

[11:49] And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.

[12:04] A man being prepared for a most eminent position, feeling his own complete inadequacy, seeing that of all people he was the most unqualified.

[12:19] and God had made him thus in order that he might subsequently show forth his great work in Moses.

[12:35] And the Lord said unto him who hath made man's mouth. Now we possess our faculties, we possess our parts, and how rarely do we think who has made us.

[12:52] We may sometimes think of the psalmist's words when he said, it is God that hath made us and not we ourselves. And he hath made us what we are, as well as made us in our original state.

[13:12] And he hath made us what we are by the grace of God. And he hath made us what we are in that appointment to which he has set us.

[13:28] And the Lord said unto him who hath made man's mouth. There are times when God expands himself in his glory. Another occasion is when the Lord spoke to Job.

[13:44] Job had to be brought down as it were to size. And the method that God sometimes uses, we may say often uses, to bring his people down to size, is to show them a little of his greatness.

[14:07] Who hath made man's mouth? Now, God that has made man's mouth, is able to do with that mouth what he will. He is able to make the stammering tongue to speak.

[14:25] He is able to give a fluency to a tongue that, as in this case, slow of speech and slow of tongue.

[14:36] God is able. Do we believe he is able? Did Moses believe that God was able when he set forth his own felt inability?

[14:53] There is a great deal of teaching in these things. Where are we this evening? What is the purpose of our considering such a text as this? Is it not a course?

[15:06] Are we looking to our own ability and seeing the limitations which are sadly apparent? And being absorbed with such a consideration of quite forgotten until God brings it to our attention who has made man's mouth?

[15:31] Now God has made man's mouth and God has made man's mouth for a purpose. We read in the scriptures that they may show forth my praise.

[15:50] And God could only make a mouth that will show forth the Lord's praise. tongue is in the tongue.

[16:03] We find in James that the tongue is set on fire of hell. It is an evil member, uncontrollable. God can't control it.

[16:18] Maybe we have reason to bless God, that our tongue has been controlled. Now would you not think that was a miracle performed by God?

[16:29] If you were conscious of an unruly tongue, God can control it. We look at these things sometimes and we say, well, nothing can control. it is a part of me which is out of control.

[16:44] Ah, and so it may be, but it is not out of God's control. Differently, we see here Moses' complaint, that he was inadequate, he was slow of speech, and God was asking him to take a prominent position.

[17:02] The Lord drew his attention to this. Who hath made God's mouth? If he has a, if the experience of Moses, if your experience at the moment has been just the opposite of what now is before you, then who hath made God's mouth?

[17:23] If God can make it to be slow of speech, and have a slow tongue, he can equally make it quite different, just the opposite. But then, we look beyond what God does to the greatness and glory of God himself.

[17:43] He who has to rely upon no one, he who has life in himself, and communicates life to others, who has wisdom in himself, and communicates wisdom to others.

[18:02] Now, this is a point in our text that we have to consider first, who hath made man's mouth. It's a very important part of our whole being, is the mouth, because with the mouth we shall honour God, and speak forth those things that are right.

[18:31] an unsanctified mouth, the last of what evil and wickedness comes forth from it. But we're not concerned just at the moment with that part.

[18:48] The Lord was speaking to Moses about his mouth, that God had made it, and that God could do what he would with it.

[19:00] From time to time we have witnesses who can truly testify with a personal testimony what God has done with their mouths.

[19:16] And in order to emphasise the point, the Lord goes on to say, and who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, blind?

[19:32] Now surely, the answer is with us, and yet put in an interrogative form, have not I the Lord?

[19:44] We think of the man that was born blind, who made himself? The question was quickly raised as to whether it was his sin or the sin of his parents.

[19:57] But God made it very clear. Jesus Christ spoke with emphasis that neither had said to cause this child to be born blind, but that the glory of God might be shown forth.

[20:16] So then, who maketh the dumb? God's glory is constantly to be seen in the earth, in God's earth, his spiritual earth, his church.

[20:33] Who maketh the dumb? The psalmist said, I was dumb. I opened up thy mouth because thou didst it. Who made God? Who made the dumb?

[20:45] Have you been in that place? Then, was it not God that did it? You were dumb, you were overwhelmed because of the greatness and glory of God's doings.

[20:58] And if you were asked the question, who maketh the dumb? Not necessarily dumb in respect to a physical lack, but dumb because we had to be silent before God.

[21:16] Keep silent all created things and wait your makers not. My soul stands trembling while she sings the honors of her God.

[21:32] In that sense, we may truly look at these words, who maketh the dumb? Now, Moses was dumb in one sense, in that that was set before him was tremendous.

[21:50] He could not face up to it. He looked at his natural strength and he saw it was failing. He investigated his natural ability and he saw it was inadequate.

[22:05] But this didn't alter God's purpose. You see, when the Lord referred Moses to man's mouth, he drew his attention not only to the ability that could be given to it to speak forth the praises of the Lord and to honor God, but sometimes that very mouth might be done so that he could not say a word.

[22:33] But God made it or death. Now this is certainly a point for us to weigh who make it for death.

[22:52] Well the word before us is have not I the Lord. Now God's purposes are to be worked out whether death is physical or sometimes it might be of a spiritual kind.

[23:14] Solemn it is when God's purposes are worked out in connection with those words that their ears may be heavy that they cannot hear and their eyes that they cannot perceive that is a solemn observation that might well make us tremble sometimes.

[23:47] This in a sense was the ministry appointed to our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah seems very clearly to point to this for so I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I send and who will go for us and then said I here am I send me now that is a prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ but listen to the words of his father to him and he said go and tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see indeed but perceive not make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed what a ministry and yet it was the ministry of one that God had appointed very similarly

[24:57] Jeremiah Ezekiel they were to be prophets of the Lord but by and large they were not received God had appointed that they should not be received what a solemn consideration these points are but it brings us back to this word who maketh the dumb or deaf but we can look at it in this light to be deaf for the glory of God we think of another word in the prophecy of Isaiah in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book and the eyes shall see out of obscurity now this was a day in the life of Moses a day when he was to learn a great deal there are days in the lives of God's children sometimes special days and they're not days of feasting and they're not days of celebration but they're days of learning and sometimes the days of learning are days of sorrow and the days of learning are days of temptation the days of learning are such days when we discover but know that the days of darkness shall be many what is to be found when the children of

[26:56] God prove that the days of darkness are to be many we are given instruction by the prophet Isaiah again when he says who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God are we dumb are we deaf are we afraid that we shall not hear the voice of God and it becomes a serious matter with the children of God not to hear his voice my sheep hear my voice and deafness will not prevent your hearing the voice of God and maybe

[27:58] God brings us into some aspect of deafness in order that we may know that it is God that speaks because no other person could cause us to hear who maketh the dumb or deaf God makes it so what should we say about it what would be the submission of the mind to a person naturally afflicted with dumb dumbness or deafness or blindness a little child should lead them and we may hear this from the lips of a child even so father for so it seemed good in thy sight or the seeing or the blind have not

[29:06] I the Lord may the glory of God rise up before us now we might see what we are we are by the grace of God and sometimes if affliction is laid upon us then may it prove to be for the glory of God the glory of God being manifested by the grace that is given by the hope that is given by the strength that is given by the patience the spirit of endurance the looking unto Jesus the keeping alive of our own souls receiving refreshment from time to time and an assurance from God that we shall endure unto the end have not

[30:07] I the Lord now Moses had been brought down to complete dependability upon God he could well have echoed what we have subsequently sung no help in self I find though oft I've sorted well the hidden treasures of my mind as sin and death and hell when Moses spoke about the slowness of his speech and the slowness of his tongue and his lack of eloquence was what was he looking at oh thou hideous monster sin what occur is thou brought in all creation groans through thee pregnant cause of misery but having been brought down to nothing there it is that God speaks to Moses now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say many of the saints of God were to learn the truth of this in their lives there were those that were to be persecuted for righteousness sake and such were given the reassuring words that they should be given a mouth and wisdom to answer their persecutors and we can read much of what took place in the time of the martyrs in our own land the astonishing words that were put into the mouths of one and another now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth thy whole dependence on me fix nor entertain a thought thy worthless schemes with mine to mix but venture to be naught and

[32:18] Moses had to venture to be naught this is the preparation that Moses had to go through he ventured to be naught in this way that nobody knew him many people in the world find it very useful to know this or that person who can exercise their influence but here was Moses kept in the backside of the desert so that nobody knew him oh how impossible it looked to Moses that he could ever be received maybe it looks impossible sometimes to some of you to the people of God here and there that they will never be received and never be accepted but God gives this assuring word it will mean so much to us to have an assuring word from God I will be with thy mouth and I will mold thy mouth and I will put the right words into thy mouth as we have it in the

[33:27] Psalms open thy mouth wide and I will fill it not open it wide and then you can fill it but I will fill it now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say now if God teaches us what we shall say we know we know that there will be such words that cannot be spoken against in later times when the apostles were sent forth and the disciples to preach the gospel the Lord was with their mouth and the words that they spoke could not be spoken against there were many that would have spoken against such words there were many that would have cast out the apostles they did what they could they appeared to gain some ground at times

[34:32] Moses in like manner you read on through his life we may almost say a troubled life was guided and directed and strengthened by God proving now Moses had to prove the word here now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou should say now you see this is the life of faith we have to go forward God brings us into situations where you've got to speak it may be in a very confined situation you've got to speak between two people you may have to speak before many people but now God says I will go God says go and I will be with thy mouth and Moses had to go with all his inadequacies and it was a crucifying experience to his flesh as we shall find too as having nothing and yet possessing all things and yet the psalmist says

[35:57] I will go in the strength of the Lord God and will make mention of his righteousness even of his only now you will know that God is with your mouth whether it is faith in the ungodly whether it is in the midst of the church of God whether it is in a family circle whether it is in limited or unlimited situation God testifies gives to Moses gives to his people now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and until you go you will not know whether this is true you see people have to go not presumptuously to go depending upon what God has said Moses had a limited life like this command the people that they go forward well was it a nice open road was the way clear before them there was it was certainly not so you will remember that the

[37:19] Red Sea was before them but God said to Moses command the people that they go forward and Moses was the leader and he had to go forward in front of them and I will be with thy mouth a mouth of faith true sometimes without a spoken word the Lord caused Moses to stretch forth his rod over the Red Sea and it divided of its own accord not by some metaphysical or earthly work a strange phenomenon no it was by the power of God the Lord spoke

[38:20] Moses spoke I will be with thy mouth could Moses divide the Red Sea the words of Moses if he was commanded to use such words how weak they were but God said I will be with thy mouth and the words that they are to speak they shall not be the words of a man but they shall be the words of God and therefore they shall be powerful words they will be effective words they will be performing words Moses had to go he did not be in a position where God said well no you sit here and then I will work this before you Moses you go and in your going I will be with thee and furthermore I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say we may say very many foolish things sometimes very many hurtful things but you know if

[39:35] God teaches us what to say then our speech will be seasoned with salt and some of those things which our carnal heart might dictate to us to say may be by a secret power restraint we have to speak to the honor and glory of God speak the result of the grace of God in our hearts speak honoring God and all the while proving this first question in our text who hath made man's mouth you see our mouth is not our own there are times when perhaps we've made up our minds to use the expression to give a person a piece of our mind but we couldn't frame our mouth to say it and sometimes we've been thankful that we couldn't frame our mouth to say it and why because

[40:52] God has made man's mouth it's a great mercy if God prevents our using our mouth to the dishonoring of his great name and his great work we look at it from the other aspect a desire might sometimes spring up in our hearts to honor him and to speak to his honor and glory in the church of God sometimes before wicked men and our mouth seems paralyzed we cannot begin to think that we should ever open it at all but then this word might come and does come who hath made man's mouth and to our astonishment a mouth that was closed on another occasion is now opened and we were able to speak surely on the day of pentecost peter's mouth was opened in a remarkable way not only so according to the scriptures those apostles were given the power of tongues their mouths were so moved by the holy ghost that they could speak in such languages that they were not conscious of earlier

[42:17] I never learned God made man's mouth has he made your mouth are you aware of it and if you are what on what ground can you say that you are aware of it because my mouth has been moved and I've uttered things which are not me now just let us look at this in regard to prayer because if we should regard it in the light of just speaking to men women or even children we should also need the wisdom to speak to God now it is something for us to be aware of our complete weakness that we need God to teach us to pray and teach thee what thou shall say now if we are aware of

[43:28] God's greatness and holiness and conscious of our own inadequacy it will be a very deep matter and a deep concern for us to approach unto God wherewith shall we approach to God we shall need God to teach us what to say wherewith shall we approach to God and stand before his throne by pleading what the Lord has done and trusting him alone can we frame our our lips in prayer along those lines it is not in nature but it is in grace whenever you are able to pray and to approach unto the throne of grace with that feeling in your soul consider these words now therefore go and

[44:35] I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say we find Hosea describing to us a very sad case of