In these two bible passages for this morning, we shall be looking at how situations and challenges made Moses and John, the Baptist who is the front runner of Jesus Christ to doubt the mission God committed into their hands. The bible in Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that our thoughts and ways are not the same with God's thought, that as the heavens are higher than the earth, So God's ways and thoughts are far apart from ours.
In the book of Hebrews 6:13, we were told that when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could not swear by no greater, He swore by Himself. Whenever God start something, He ensure that the thing He started is completed by all means. No wonder the bible tells us in 1 John 5:4-5 that whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and the victory for overcoming is our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
To properly understand the topic of today's sermon, it is good to understand the meaning of these two words "Doubt" and "Integrity".
The word "Doubt" according to the dictionary means "to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe. The bible in James 1:6-8 described a doubtful person as someone who wavered like a wave of the sea driven with wind and tossed, an unstable and double-minded person and such person can not receive anything of the Lord. The word "Integrity" according to the dictionary means "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character, honesty".
Our God is a God of integrity and honesty because for someone to magnified His Word above His name according to Psalm 138:2 means whatever He says He will do; will He do and not change at the last minute like we His children usually could not keep our obligations to Him. We change at the last minute when we encounter situations or challenges. No wonder Hebrews 6:18 told us that it is by two immutable things for which it was impossible for God to lie..-" .
The word immutable according to the dictionary, means "unchanging through time, unalterable. In the same Hebrews 6:17, the bible went further to tell us that when God wanted to demonstrate His immutability of His counsel regarding His promise, He God confirmed it by an oath.
Now let's look at the sermon text in Exodus 5:22-23, we see here that Moses doubted the integrity of God that sent him on the assignment. This is the way most of us believers do when we encounter an obstacle while performing the assignment God has committed into our hands. The bible narrated to us in Exodus 3 about Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush and how God told him He wanted him (Moses) to bring out His children from pharaoh's oppression. Then in Exodus 3:19-20, God told him that Pharaoh will not let the children of Israel go until when He God has demonstrated His mighty hand in Egypt before Pharaoh will let them go.
The question is "Shouldn't Moses have refreshed his mind back to the conversation which he had with God during his encounter before going back to God in Exodus 5:22-23 to question God? We, believers always do the same mistake and we think by questioning God will bring about the solution to our problems.
Let's look at the second text of the sermon in Matthew 11:2-3, we see John, the Baptist here who by himself confirmed Jesus Christ in John 1:32-34 as the Son of God. He baptized Jesus Christ in river Jordan and witnessed everything that happened there according to Matthew 3:13-17. How come is he now doubting what he had witnessed? He (John) was the person who answered his own disciples when they reported Jesus’ baptizing people to him in John 3:26. He told them in John 3:30 that "Jesus must increase, but he must decrease"; meaning his assignment as the frontrunner in John 1:23 as a voice of one crying in the wilderness, to make straight the way of the Lord is now completed the moment Jesus Christ was confirmed to him.
What are the lessons to be learnt?
1. God is the owner of the assignment given to you. He has the blueprint of how that assignment would be accomplished. It is your responsibilities to always ensure you follow the instruction(s) given to you. God will fulfill His own part if only you follow strictly His instructions to you. In the text of the sermon in Exodus, we can see that God already narrated His intentions to Moses as well as provide him with an advance notice of what to expect, but it seems Moses forgot all these conversations he had with God. In life, it may be true that God may give you an assignment to accomplish for Him, the assignment may be easy or daunting depending on the glory that shall be revealed when the assignment is performed by you. Is it bad as to Moses going back to God to question God? No! It is not bad but first when situations or challenges is experienced, always go back to refresh your memory about the assignment giving to you to see if something that should be done is missing.
2. Never doubt God's ability to fulfill His own part of whatever assignment committed to you. Always believe in God even while in the midst of trouble that God will show up for you. And even if God did not show up, never see it as being abandoned because He only can tell you why the situation is what it is. You only need to hold on to God and trust Him.
In conclusion, as children of God, we must develop and exercise our faith in the Lord. We must remove doubtful mind away from us. Once the spirit of doubt rare its ugly face, cast it down with the word of God in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and let the doubt be brought into captivity and be obedient to God’s promises for you. As you exercise your faith, I pray that God will increase that little faith of yours and make it strong in the name of Jesus. Amen!
