Pastor Samuel Sharing

Brother William Sharing

The Lord did what Moses asked

Today, let's look at Exodus chapter 8. In Exodus chapter 7, people repeat a sentence, saying this: Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. Initially, Moses and Aaron did what the Lord said, but probably not much confidence. Then, the Lord said to Moses: I will do this and that, etc. This time, we come to chapter eight, and Moses seemed to get a little bit more confident. And this time, Moses did what the Lord said, and interestingly, the Lord did what Moses said. How wonderful is their relationship! I was wondering if the Lord is the Sovereign Lord, and he has all the whether he would do what we said or not. But the Bible is telling us: the Lord did what Moses said. What Moses asked for, the Lord did! In fact, if you read carefully, the Lord never told Moses: if you say this, I will do this. Moses and Aaron were not puppets. They were autonomous people, and interestingly, the Lord did what Moses said.

One day I was leading a Bible study, the book of Samuel. And one sentence grabbed my attention. What was it? "The Lord fulfilled everything Samuel said." The Lord is not just the Sovereign Lord, but he is the Lord of relationships. When we read Exodus chapter 8, we are attracted by all the plagues, the plague of gnats, frogs, flies, etc. But now, I must draw your attention to this: the Lord did what Moses asked. In this part, there was no script. And that is called a relationship. In the previous chapter, Moses did what the Lord asked him to do. But this time, the Lord did what Moses asked him to do. If the Lord fulfilled my words and did what I asked him to do, I would think the Lord is so wonderful. And that is the misleading part. I am not going through chapter eight verses one by one, but what I want to draw your attention to is: the Lord did what Moses asked. And this is very encouraging.

When I was in the local church, most of the time, the people emphasized the sovereignty of the Lord, His power, His own will; the Lord is the Lord of all, the King of Kings, etc. But I hardly have listened to messages saying: God is listening and will do what we say and what we ask. When I read the book of Samuel, it said the Lord never let Samuel's words fall to the ground. These are the original words from the Bible. I find that it is very encouraging.

Moses listened to God

Later, I thought: how nice it would be if I were Moses, to be like Samuel, and what I said, God did it! How nice it would be! A lot of the time, people want that. But people are not willing to take up that faith. They thought: I am nobody. Yes, you are nobody, but the Bible reveals this to us. I want to draw your attention to this part, and later I will go through the rest of the chapter. The Lord did what Moses asked. Before Moses asked, before he even had a chat with the Lord, he agreed with Pharaoh. How can you do that? How can you make an agreement with Pharaoh? And after you did that, then you come back and ask the Lord? And yet, the Lord did what Moses asked.

Our Lord never asked Moses to make this agreement with Pharaoh. It was never mentioned, and it was all just Moses' decision. Making an agreement with Pharaoh. Was this the will of God? He talked to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said: "Pray for me. Pray for me, and take the frogs away from my people and me. And I will let your people go to offer a sacrifice to the Lord." And Moses said things that were more than expected. So I leave you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials, and your people, so that you are your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that will remain in the Nile.

Let me tell you one thing. In the early days when I was a Christian, when I read things like this in the Bible, I was so shocked. Simply because the Lord did what Moses asked. And Moses decided without even asking the Lord! I was so shocked, and you know what I thought? I thought: it would be so nice if I asked the Lord and the Lord did what I asked! And this was deeply engraved in my heart. I remembered that. And everything time I asked the Lord, I remembered because I had a strong biblical foundation. Evangelicals always want to see if something is Biblical. And this is Biblical. I asked the Lord every time I needed something, and God fulfilled it. And I was so shocked; it was not just for Moses, not just for Samuel, but everyone!

So I wondered why so many people's prayers did not get answered by the Lord? That is another thing I wanted to figure out. That is the interesting part. Because in chapter seven, Moses did what the Lord asked him, and in chapter eight, the Lord did what Moses asked him to do! It is an interesting relationship. So I know how to follow the word of God, to listen to him, and I put that into practice. If God asked me to do one thing, I would do it, and if he asked me to do another thing, I would do it. And sometimes, I did what I wanted to do. But most of the time, I do what God asks. And that is why everything I follow the word of God and do what he says, every time I asked the Lord, God did it. And that is called an agreement, a covenant.

Relationship with God

So this time around, Moses said: "I leave you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you, and your officials, and your people, that you and your houses may be rid of frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile." All this is made up by Moses, what he said. Whether he is confident or not, we are not so sure. In the previous chapter, God said he would make Moses like God to Pharaoh, and this time around, Pharaoh looked at Moses and said, "Can you please pray to the Lord for me?". More and more, Moses' confidence started to be established. Not the confidence in himself, but the trust in the Lord, the faith in the Lord. So that's why he tried something. He spoke and said: "I leave you the honor of setting the time," Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow," so tomorrow it was. And the Lord backed Moses up. You have the freedom to say this, to agree, and you have the freedom to let Pharaoh set the time. God never blamed Moses: "Why did you do this? I never let you do this!" And that is because they had a relationship.

I am trying to figure out this relationship. It is growing from being a slave in front of the Lord to being a friend, then becoming a son of the Almighty God. The son means the child of the Almighty God, even starting from an enslaved person! An enslaved person has a slave mentality, which means he listens to what you say. But a friend means you can exchange ideas and information, and they have this friendship. I ask you to do something, you ask me to do something, and let's do it! That is called friendship. The relationship between Moses and God grew from being a slave and passively listening to what God said into a new stage: Moses prayed to the Lord, take away these frogs, and it happened! The frogs all died. If you read the Bible carefully, this is not a part of the script! God never said to Moses: do this or that. Moses is an autonomous person, not a puppet, which is the wonderful part.

The Lord will back you up!

After some time, I realized that if I were to become a businessman, and I started to negotiate a contract either with customers or suppliers, and I sent them out, we have to communicate. The most important thing is to communicate. But there are times when I would stop and return to the site and sometimes agree with the customer or supplier. Do you know what you have to do? You have to back them up! If you don't back them up, they will be so nervous next time and don't know what to do, and you will have to answer a thousand and one problems. And you will be overloaded. You cannot even handle it. If you are so involved in the nitty-gritty details and don't back things up and don't make decisions on the spot, you will have problems.

And the Lord will always back us up. Pharaoh said to Moses: "Pray to the Lord to take away these frogs," and Moses agreed! How can the Lord say: why did you make that agreement? If Moses, at this point of time, waited and said: "Let me check with the Lord" (of course, there are things you need to check with the Lord, for example, if the devil said to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, first, you have to check, because you know what, the Lord already told you: "Do not eat the fruit!"). Do you get what I am saying? Let me tell you one thing I found in the Bible. Now I am trying to tell you the fundamental principle:

Live by faith and do it by faith

Let me tell you about my fundamental principle. If God forewarned you not to do it, obeyed Him and refrained yourself from doing it. If you want to do it, think twice and ask if you should do it. If God commanded you to do it, you better follow His instructions and do it now. If God did not tell you to do or not do it, you do it by faith. Are you with me?

This has become the underlying principle for me to walk with God through His words. "I don't need to wake up and ask Lord, should I wash my face or should I brush my teeth?" You do not need to ask these kinds of questions. "Lord, should I take up this business?" You do not need to ask what the Bible says to do it by faith. Lord, do not bother with what jobs you choose.
Many Christians prayed a lot to get an answer from God. If there are three job offers, they will pray to ask God which job offer they should choose. They would come to me and ask for my advice. "Pastor, I have three job offers; which one should I take?"
Clearly, one offer seemed the best, and the decision was easier. The most challenging decision was when these three offers had advantages and disadvantages. Many Pastors would respond by advising them to pray first and see what the Lord said. Is that what they are supposed to do? Do you know how I am going to respond? I would tell them to take one of the job offers by faith.

Righteous man lives by faith

To become a righteous man, live by faith. Why is it by faith? Look at the ten commandments, what God commanded, obeyed, and do it. If God did not ask you to do it, do not do it. If the Lord did not say you can or cannot do it, go ahead and do it by faith. That is called faith, and even you do not know what God's answer is. Moses lived by this principle. In the book of Samuel, Samuel also applied this principle in his life. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph lived by this principle in Genesis. Those who live by this principle are righteous men who live by faith.

Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God. The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile." After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. And the LORD did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, courtyards, and fields. They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was a relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Exodus 8:10-15 NIV

Interestingly Moses agreed and came back to the Lord. Moses felt remorseful about not seeking God's permission before agreeing with the Pharoah to rid the frogs. Moses said, " I am so sorry, Lord, for not seeking your permission first. How am I going to stand in front of the Pharoah tomorrow?" The Lord might say, "You cannot do it as you did not follow the agreement." But, of course, that is not the true story.
The actual story was the Lord our God did exactly as Moses asked and the agreement with the Pharoah. Let's learn from Moses. From now onwards, trust in the Lord. If you had to agree, do not worry; God will do it. God will fulfill it. Every time, pray by faith.

I am going to share with you my experiences. There were umpteen times when I faced a very sick person; I was unsure what I should do. Someone had brought a sickly person to me, and I said to God, "Please do not bring this kind of person to me; it is too difficult. Can you please bring me someone easier such as headache or backache? Do not bring someone with cancer spreading all over their body." I had to manage the mixed feelings inside me; I struggled with these feelings as it was tough. There were two voices, and one voice said to me it was difficult and what if God did not listen to what I asked for, I would be embarrassed. The other voice said Nothing was too difficult for our God. Yes, it was true; God listened to what I asked for. I had told many people if you prayed and everyone was healed. Everyone who came to Jesus Christ would be healed. For what I said and believed that person would be healed, I prayed by faith, and a miracle happened.

Man of faith will be followed by miracles wherever he goes

The man of faith will be followed by miracles wherever he goes. Let me tell you the lesson that I had learned about miracles. A miracle can happen within seconds. A miracle can happen in a minute. A miracle can happen after a month. A miracle can happen after a year.

We have a church member who is paralyzed. She was paralyzed due to a car accident, and her spine was injured. The lower part of her body is paralyzed. Every time I was leading a prayer meeting, she came up to me to ask me to pray for her. Do you know what happened? After many months, she is still paralyzed, but do you know what she told me? "Pastor, though I am still paralyzed, and it seemed that God did not heal my leg. Amazingly, my health condition improves significantly on the upper part of my body." She had many health problems, such as breathing problems and chest pain in the past. She also went for a blood test before, and her test results were not good. The blood test results showed her internal organs were having issues, and now she is getting better. Mentally she is healthier. Do you know what I told her? One day, you will surely stand and walk. Some people might ask," Which day?" I proclaimed that one day, God would surely fulfill His promise. Paralyze is not a good thing. Those who are paralyzed will stand up and walk, and this is what the Bible says.

Nothing is impossible to God

Nothing is impossible to God. To God, it is not difficult. As a man of faith, faith is a challenge for us. When Moses was facing Pharoah, he agreed with him. Probably, Moses was not having any confidence at that time. But, this time, God did what Moses asked. You could see Moses's faith and his relationship with God had increased. Wow! God had listened to what Moses said amazingly.
In chapter 7, Moses did what God asked him to do. In chapter 8, the Lord did what Moses asked him to do. Wonderful! I want to be like Moses. I want to have this kind of relationship with God like Moses. When I asked God and God will do what I asked. That will be the main line of the story when God commanded Moses to do it; Moses followed His instructions and did it. Let's go in parallel when Moses asked the Lord to do it, the Lord did it.

And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt, the land was ruined by the flies. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land. "But Moses said, "That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer detestable sacrifices in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us. "Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now, pray for me." Exodus 8:24-28 NIV

What do you think about Moses standing in front of the Pharaoh this time? He was like God, and he had God's power to pray for the Pharoah. When you stand in front of people, you are like God, and people will ask you to pray for them.

Moses answered, "As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord." Exodus 8:29 NIV

Follow Moses's example

God again did what Moses asked. One more time, Moses experienced the backing up of the Almighty God. If we worked with God, we would see the Almighty God backing us up. How nice is it? This is what I dreamed of. God is humorous and interesting. God is a faithful God, and He fulfills what He promised to His people. I am sharing with you and hope you will have the same desire. It is so lovely when God did what I asked for.
Remember never to ask silly questions; what is the point of asking all these silly questions? The point is you must be the person with the destiny and the person sent by God to lead His people. The people of God came out of Egypt is to set His people free. Are you with me? You are someone who brings God's people out of Egypt from bondage and belongs to the Army of Almighty God. If you ask me, what is the fundamental reason God responded to your prayer and did what you asked for? The simple answer is that I am a pastor and a Christian who has a destiny. My destiny is to set up a glorious church with God's presence. I have found this doctrine and called this doctrine of destiny.

The Church is the body of Christ

In our church prayers, we do not pray for someone's friend. We do not pray for a boyfriend. We do not pray for a good job. We do not pray for a good business. We do not pray for good fortune. Our church is the army of God, and our fundamental job is to set people free. The church is the body of Christ. If you do what the Lord asks you to do, follow His direction, and certainly, God will do what you ask for. If this is your desire, follow the footsteps of Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, and Samuel. These people found favors in the eyes of God. They walked together with God. In the new testaments, Jesus Christ followed the word of God and eventually walked onto the cross. Apostle Paul is another person we should follow. When we follow in the footsteps of these people, we will find God is a faithful God, and He will do what you ask. Thank you, everyone, and I wish everyone would be that person. Wherever you ask God, God will do it for you. Thank you very much. May God bless you.