Introduction

Hello, everyone. We continue our series on emulating the great men of faith. This week we turn to Moses. This is the fifth sermon in the series: Moses. He lived 3,500 years ago. In Chinese history, there were no written records 3,500 years ago. Records from that period are hard to find. In China, that would have been around the Xia and Shang dynasties.

Moses was an extraordinary man. Some 3,500 years ago, he wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in clear, fluent language. His writing was outstanding. From 3,500 years ago until today, it has remained unchanged. These are still among the most crucial books in the Bible.

How did our church get to where it is today? We began by studying Genesis. A pastor once said that if you want to build a good church, you must read Genesis. I agreed with him. Genesis is the first book of the Bible. And the most remarkable part of our study of Genesis was chapter 1.

On Friday morning, the day before yesterday, an English-speaking fellowship invited me to share with them. I spoke on Genesis 1. It is the finest revelation God has given us. I believe our study of that chapter was our best work: we discovered God's intention. Think about conditions 3,500 years ago. Was Moses an outstanding scholar? Certainly. People must learn language.

Why do children study language in their first year of primary school? Why do they start recognising characters in kindergarten? Because language is the most important thing to learn. Language carries knowledge. Without the Genesis Moses wrote, we would have nothing to read today. Language is the vehicle of knowledge.

Moses was an expert in language. He was not only handsome from birth; he also had a capable mind and could describe things clearly. But when he was born, he did not know a single character. How did he acquire his literacy? He learned. Learning is an important ability, and it requires the right attitude. Without written language, thinking and learning become difficult.

If a person wants knowledge, he must be literate. If he cannot read a single word and has to dictate everything for someone else to record and revise, would he not end up like Peter? Learning involves recognising words and mastering written language. Do you know how to think?

Thinking is simply using words to construct a system of logic within us. That is all. Illiteracy is a tragedy. Ignorance and a lack of knowledge are tragedies. What made Moses remarkable was that he mastered not only Egyptian writing but also Hebrew. That was extraordinary, 3,500 years ago. Learning is fundamental. A person's whole life is a process of learning.

What is learning? It is emulation. Inheriting a legacy and emulating someone mean much the same thing. We want to emulate the great men of faith. This time, we are looking at Moses. Some people say, “Moses was so capable. I am not.” Right from the start, they do not believe. At birth, Moses was merely a little bundle of flesh. Could he count from one to ten? No. He did not know how.

Which was his left hand and which was his right? The newborn Moses did not know that either. He probably did little more than whimper for milk. You were the same when you were born. Moses, you and I all began alike. But one thing makes a difference: learning. Some learn well; others do not.

To emulate Moses is to learn. If Moses is our example, we should follow him. You may say, “I cannot do that.” There will certainly be people who say the standard is too high. Shall I find you a lower standard—a roadside popcorn seller? What would be the point of emulating him? Do you want to become a popcorn seller?

When you practise calligraphy, you do not choose someone with dreadful handwriting as your model. You practise the styles of Liu Gongquan or Yan Zhenqing. You hold the brush as they did and write as they did, copying stroke by stroke. Why not copy terrible handwriting instead? Would I be foolish enough to do that? Then why insist on choosing a roadside popcorn seller as your example?

Do you understand? If you are going to emulate someone, emulate the best. Moses was outstanding. Emulate him. Abraham was outstanding. Emulate him. Jesus Christ was outstanding. Emulate Him. Even if you train yourself to be like Jesus Christ, you may not fully resemble Him. If you choose Peter as your model and become like Peter, what have you achieved? Learning is, in fact, an exercise of faith. One day I will be like Jesus. One day I will be like Moses. One day...

I love learning, but I was born with some serious shortcomings. The first is that I am no good at ball games. The second is that I cannot sing well. My singing wanders all over the place. People call it singing off-key, and that is exactly what I do. But I value learning. I can learn to sing! I have learned one song after another. I still go off-key occasionally. People who sing in tune cannot understand my difficulties, much less my determination.

So I learn. I learn from Andy Lau—Liu Dehua. If I cannot become Liu Dehua, at least I can manage “Liu Deshui”, because the song goes, “Give me a cup of water to forget love, and a lifetime without tears.” I still do not sing well, but I am better than before. I may not be Liu Dehua, but I have managed to become Liu Deshui. Brothers and sisters, understand this: everything takes practice.

Learning to believe in the Lord takes practice too. Many years ago, I was not like Jesus. That did not matter. I wanted to become like Him. My handwriting used to be dreadful. Later, I found copybooks and practised. Gradually, it improved. Look at my handwriting and my manuscripts. I love writing. I love drawing diagrams. Why? When I look at my writing, I find it quite good. How did that happen? I practised.

Do not go astray as you learn to believe in the Lord. Whom should you learn from? Jesus Christ. Not Martin Luther. You do not need to learn from John Calvin or John Wesley. If we are going to learn, we learn from Jesus Christ. If we are going to align ourselves with anyone, we align ourselves with Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul. Or we follow the approach of Genesis. The Genesis approach: “Abraham, come out!” Understand it thoroughly.

Do not spend your time investigating where the twelve tribes disappeared to. What are you studying? What are you trying to achieve? You study Ahab, and then what? Do you want to become like Ahab? It astonishes me how many people turn to strange things as soon as they begin studying. You study Ahab; I study Jezebel. In the end, I become “Jezepig”, do I not? My surname is Zhu, which sounds like the Chinese word for pig. So, “Jezepig”.

What are you learning that for? Is yours the religion of Jezebel? If that is what you believe, then go ahead and study Jezebel. What else do some people believe in? Palace intrigue and its schemes. Then study those properly. Study Cao Cao or Sun Quan if you like. But if I am learning to believe in the Lord, should I not learn from Abraham? Should I not learn from Moses? Should I not do as Moses did?

Let me tell you one great quality Moses possessed: he could express things clearly. His writing was clear. Few people can write with such clarity. Some say they want to learn from Guiguzi. But his disciples all met miserable ends. They studied the art of alliances and political manoeuvring. Once you have learned it, where will you find Qin Shi Huang? Do you want to become Zhang Yi?

Moses was truly remarkable. He mastered Egyptian writing and Hebrew. He learned Hebrew in the Egyptian palace. Do you know that Indonesia does not allow people to learn Chinese? Learning Chinese there is against the law. It was difficult for Moses to learn Hebrew in the palace. Brothers and sisters, if you cannot explain something clearly, you do not understand it clearly.

“I cannot explain it in English. I cannot explain it in Chinese either, much less in Hebrew.” The fact is, you cannot explain it in any language. You cannot make it clear because you lack the knowledge. When you learn to follow the Lord, learn properly. Describe the truth of the gospel clearly. Fortunately, Moses had this character, and God could use him.

We should truly learn from this quality in Moses. Some time ago, a professor at the National University of Singapore lost his temper. Every student had used ChatGPT to produce pages of text and submit them. The knowledge was in AI, not in their heads. What use is knowledge in AI if it is not in your head? “Wait a moment, Professor. Let me turn on my computer.” What use is it if it is not in the human mind? People must learn to describe things clearly. If you cannot, go and learn. Once you can describe something clearly, you have organised it clearly in your mind. The same applies to writing and drawing diagrams.

If you cannot explain things clearly, how will you preach? If your speech is unclear, you become like Peter in no time. We badly need to emulate Moses' strengths. He is like a calligraphy copybook. Some people are several decades old, yet their handwriting still looks like a primary school child's. How can they present that to others? Suppose they become senior officials and are asked to write an inscription somewhere. Their writing is crooked and childish. What impression will that make?

The reason is that they do not practise. They waste their time. Moses not only described things clearly; he also worked meticulously, like an engineer. He recorded the complex structure of the tabernacle with complete clarity. He did not act on “what I assume”. Acting on assumptions can be disastrous. Moses' greatest strength was this: whatever God said, he did. That is not easy.

Many people are like Saul. They assume they have obeyed God's word when they have not. They hear it wrongly and understand it wrongly. Even when they understand it correctly, they fail to carry it out properly. The execution goes wrong, and the result is a mess. Brothers and sisters, be careful. We have too many assumptions. Anyone who constantly acts on his own assumptions will become foolish.

How can a foolish person do things well? Moses' perseverance was genuine faith. The Israelites could not enter Canaan, and Moses suffered along with them. He wandered in the wilderness with them for forty years. “Why should I spend forty years wandering with you?” Yet he endured without complaint. He never complained. Whatever God said, he did. Whatever God arranged, he accepted and carried out. That was Moses.

Scripture

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to suffer with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

He considered the reproach of Christ more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, because he looked forward to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger, for he persevered as though seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the Israelites. By faith they crossed the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned. (Hebrews 11:23–29)

Prayer

God, give us the faith to emulate these men and the right attitude to follow their example. God, help us reject all unbelief! Let us know that when we emulate Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Moses, Samuel and David, You are with us. Throughout our days on earth, we will walk with You.

Help us understand what faith produces. Let Your signs and wonders follow us. Throughout our days on earth, let us continually emulate You. Let us bear more and more of the likeness of Jesus Christ and possess more and more of Abraham's faith, so that all the families of the earth may be blessed through us. God, raise us up in this generation. Raise us up! Let Your name be glorified, glorified through us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Background to the Passage

I have shared with you before that Hebrews was written by Paul, but he could not put his name to it. The entire book contains Paul's theological framework—a theology of faith. Some people find faith and works confusing. But faith is the foundation. Once you believe, you act accordingly, without complaint or regret. If you do not believe, even if you do what is required, you will be full of resentment. In the end, that brings all kinds of suffering and illness.

These verses clearly describe several key stages in Moses' life. The first was his birth. He was a beautiful child, fair and tender. His parents were well educated, especially his mother, who was also his teacher.

His mother had great faith. Giving birth in that period was like having a child beyond the permitted number during the years of family planning: you had to keep hiding. Even in those circumstances, Moses' parents raised him by faith.

If they were discovered, they could be executed. Yet they gave birth to him. That was the result of faith. Remember this: what is brought forth through faith is exceedingly precious. What happened next? They hid him for three months. Do you think they lived in a villa? Do you think a slave's house was spacious? Egyptian soldiers were patrolling. Wherever there was a baby, one cry could mean disaster.

They worked hard to hide him for three months. Eventually, they found they could hide him no longer. So they put him in a waterproof basket and set it afloat on the river. It drifted to Pharaoh's daughter. She picked it up, saw such a beautiful child and thought, “Wonderful. I will take him home and raise him.” Miriam, Moses' sister, was standing there.

Do you think an Egyptian princess was so keen to raise a child herself? She needed a servant. Miriam was a clever child. She said, “I will find you a nurse.” The princess said, “Good. A nurse would be very helpful.” So Miriam brought Moses' mother. In fact, Moses grew up with his mother in the palace. Was that not extraordinary? She raised her own child, and the princess paid her for it! What a blessing!

Faith is a remarkable thing. Without faith, a person's life is ruined. He is always running into misfortune. With faith, there is no mountain of fire he cannot cross. People with faith are formidable. Understand this: without faith, the outcome of a person's life is very poor.

In the palace, Moses learned the Egyptian ways while also learning Hebrew culture from his mother. He therefore mastered Hebrew, Egyptian writing and the most advanced science of his time. Why could he later describe the construction of God's tabernacle so clearly? Because he had received professional training.

Every flourishing dynasty must undertake construction. Moses was therefore thoroughly familiar with building houses and palaces. What did he learn from studying Hebrew and the story of Abraham? Let me tell you. God promised his ancestor Abraham that Abraham's descendants would become slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. When four hundred and thirty years had passed, God would bring them out.

He counted the years and thought, “Is that not me? Who else but me is to lead them out of Egypt? Who else but Moses?” Moses was excited, just as I am excited today. In this generation, God is going to use the Chinese people. He is going to use the Chinese language! People around the world are learning Chinese. Malays in Singapore are learning Chinese to use Taobao. Taobao is useful for buying inexpensive goods. This generation is like the generation of Moses.

As Moses read this, he became full of dreams. His foremost purpose was to emulate Abraham. His mother told Abraham's story more vividly than I do. I imagine she was a highly knowledgeable, well-educated woman. Do not dismiss her because she was a slave. The Israelites were remarkable. Moses did not approach learning as some of us do, feeling pain everywhere except in our hair.

Moses faced difficulties. Where could he find a dictionary in those days? Many things were difficult to learn. It was hard work. But every difficulty he encountered became an exercise of faith. Brothers and sisters, have you encountered difficulties? When you do, bring your faith out and test it. Is it genuine or false? If your faith collapses into a mess the moment it is tested, you are finished.

If your faith is firmly established, nothing can defeat you. When a difficulty arises, you solve it. Every instance is an exercise of faith. The author of Hebrews says that when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months. By faith, when he grew up, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

Why? “My ancestor Abraham received a covenant from God. What is your Egyptian palace compared with that? Our God told my ancestor Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation. They would go to Egypt and serve as slaves for four hundred years. Then they would come out and become a great nation.” Listen to those words. Who loves that promise? Who longs for it? Only those who emulate Abraham's faith. Moses was full of pride in his identity.

Brothers and sisters, if there are preachers listening to me, you must build a church whose members have a strong sense of pride in it. If your members have no pride in their church, your task will be difficult. It was like that when we first built our church. Things were bleak. A member would say, “Next Sunday, I will go and have a look at another church.” That hurt. There was no pride in our church.

A brother once told me, “Teacher, a friend asked me which church I attended.” I asked how he had answered. He said, “A very small church.” When I heard that, goodness me, it was painful. Later, I changed things according to God's word. Even while our church was still small, our brothers and sisters became full of pride in it.

Moses knew he was a Hebrew. He did not take pride in being in the Egyptian palace. “I am a Hebrew. Abraham's blood flows in me. I bear God's promises and God's mark. I am proud of that!” If a person has no pride in his people, something seems to be missing.

Today, even if we have learned Egyptian culture and the cultures of various countries, the one we learn from is Abraham. I have Abraham's faith. Abraham's blood flows in me. Abraham's dream lives within me. As a citizen of God's kingdom, I will not divide my allegiance. One foot in the world and one foot in God's kingdom—that is disastrous.

Do you realise how extraordinary Moses was? In the palace, he stood at the very pinnacle of the Tower of Babel. If some of our brothers and sisters, including me, were in that palace, how proud we might feel! We would go out dressed in the finest clothes, moving in the highest circles, surrounded by officials and nobility.

But Moses did not covet any of it. That is difficult! Even today, many people are trying to force their way into high society. Are you someone who longs to get into those circles? Let me share my own view. I do not think such things are good. I do not like high society. Why? It is too complicated, too tiring and too demanding.

I simply want to be a straightforward person. Fortunately, I know God. Without Him, I could not keep things simple. Now, with God as my good friend, every problem can be resolved. No one can overcome Him. I have powerful backing. My backing is God. I need no other patron.

That is why I do not like getting involved with these things. Officials, powerful people, politicians—I keep as far away from them as I can. I need only one source of backing: my God. To develop this way of thinking while living in a palace is extremely difficult. How could one take that path without faith? It would be very hard.

God was with Moses while he lived in the palace. Later, he fled for his life and went to the household of the priest of Midian. He married into that family, becoming the priest's son-in-law, and tended his sheep. An ordinary person could not bear such a fall in status. Could most people endure it?

I once met a retired senior official who had been brought down in a political struggle. His daughter lived in Singapore. She asked, “Could you visit my parents?” I asked, “What should I go and see?” She said something was wrong. He sat there all day, muttering to himself. He had become mentally disturbed. Once a high official, he had been brought down by political infighting. No amount of military achievement could save him. He sat muttering all day. Was he unable to accept reality?

Moses was different. He had received Abraham's values and Abraham's faith. “I will complete the path appointed for me in this world.” How remarkable! Later, he led the Israelites out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea as though walking on dry ground. When he stood before Pharaoh in Egypt, Pharaoh could have killed him at any moment.

It was not that Pharaoh did not want to kill Moses. He must have sent assassins, only to discover that Moses had an invulnerable shield around him. They could see him but could not get near him. Pharaoh would have concluded, “Forget it. We cannot kill him.” If he could have killed Moses, he would have done so long before. The Bible simply did not bother recording such things. We must understand how great God's power is.

Then Moses built the tabernacle in the wilderness, and God's glory filled it. His greatest quality was this: whatever God said, he did. Whatever God said, he did. Our greatest talent is often the opposite: we are told to go east and go west; told to chase a dog and catch a chicken. Is that not so? The moment we hear an instruction, we misunderstand it.

If that is how we deal with God, do we not need to return to Moses' example? As soon as we speak, the meaning becomes distorted. We never describe anything clearly. Everything comes out muddled: perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. If God's glory is to fill our midst, one principle is crucial: whatever God says, we do. Chinese Mingding Doctrine has come this far by that very principle.

God says in the Bible that all who came to Jesus and sought Him were healed. All were healed. Good. Very good! All were healed! I remember preaching a sermon in church more than ten years ago titled “All Were Healed”. It should still be on the website. All were healed.

Many people looked at me and thought, “Practising healing and deliverance already makes you a charismatic. Praying in tongues and doing healing and deliverance—that is charismatic enough. But now you are saying all were healed. Must you be so extreme?” That is what the Bible says. I did not invent it. One day, all will be healed. Do you believe it? I do. The Bible says so.

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, no one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for Me and for the gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in this present age—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecution—and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29–30)

Do you believe it? A hundredfold in this age, and eternal life in the age to come. I believe it. “How could that be possible?” Why should it not be possible? People can be exasperating. Last Friday, I told that fellowship that ours is a remarkable church. I explained in English that we have meetings every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Chinese is interesting and is becoming popular. In Chinese, the days are simply “Worship Day One”, “Worship Day Two”, “Worship Day Three”, “Worship Day Four”, “Worship Day Five”, “Worship Day Six” and “Worship Day”. But in English, you have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. What hard work! Was that not how we learned English? Chinese is so straightforward: Month One, Month Two, Month Three, Month Four, Month Five, Month Six. Even a child can count them. In English, it is January, February. You spend ages twisting your tongue around the words. They do not mean anything of that sort; they are simply the names. Chinese has enormous advantages!

Now many direct Chinese translations—“Chinglish” expressions—are entering English dictionaries. Chinglish is rather good: “Good good study, day day up.” My point is that, for us, nothing is impossible.

When China was in decline, Lu Xun and a group of misguided writers said, “Unless the Chinese language is abolished, China cannot prosper.” What sort of statement was that? Today, Chinese has tremendous influence! Within China, the dialect with the greatest power to spread is the northeastern dialect. Live in a dormitory with someone from the northeast, and before long you will be speaking like them. Is that not so?

Perhaps I have not put it entirely accurately. But why am I talking about this? Because we meet on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and right through to Sunday. The English-speaking people, including Indonesians, who heard me share this were amazed—especially when I spoke about signs and wonders following us. Yet nothing else in people's lives had been neglected. Do you believe that?

People find it hard to believe. They think in terms of twelve hours or twenty-four hours a day, less the time spent sleeping and eating. But my day has thirty-six hours. Where do the extra hours come from? Can God not make them available? One sister said, “Everyone thinks I am from the northeast because both dormitories I lived in were full of northeasterners.” Their language spreads so powerfully.

Let the faith handed down by Moses and Abraham spread like the northeastern dialect, reaching the whole world! Amen! That is what we want. When I shared with them, I asked, “Why should it be impossible?” Some pastors say it cannot be done in Singapore because everyone is so busy. Why can it not be done? Everything is possible. For those who trust God, nothing is too difficult for Him. This is precisely what we intend to do. Emulate Moses. So many impossible things happened in his life.

Emulating Moses' Faith, Part One: A Good Attitude Towards Learning

Let me tell you: attitude reflects faith. What did Moses do when he encountered difficulties? He overcame them by faith. Is learning hard work? Yes. Some of our brothers and sisters do well in their studies. Is it hard work? If you ask whether studying was difficult for me as a child, I would be lying if I said it was not.

Other children went out to play or watch something interesting. I sat at home writing. Our house was small and very cold in winter. When it was full of visitors, I sat on a little stool studying. Everyone played mahjong, with tiles clattering and people calling out, “One dot, two dots! One bamboo, two bamboos!” I continued studying. No one could disturb me. Was I tired? Of course.

My mother often said, “Child, do not wear yourself out.” Thank God! The conditions were poor, but they produced someone who could work without being distracted. For Moses to study Hebrew in the palace was no small matter. An Egyptian prince studying Hebrew could be putting his life at risk. At first, his mother taught him. Once his knowledge matched hers, he had to study on his own.

He secretly studied the stories of the Hebrews and learned about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Look at how well he wrote Genesis. He had an excellent attitude towards learning. That attitude was sustained by faith! A child without faith will certainly not have a good attitude towards learning.

Many adults today are the same. They keep thinking, “That is you. You are an outstanding student. I am a poor student. How could I possibly learn it?” That is the wrong way to think! You believe you cannot do it because you lacked faith before. Everyone with faith can become an outstanding learner. Do you believe that? It does not matter if you cannot do something well: God will enable you to do it well. If you lack character, trust God and you will develop it. If your attitude is wrong, trust God and it will be put right.

Faith is vital! There is hardly anything I have done that I did not get through by faith. When tackling a difficult problem, we may see no result for one, two or even three years. We have taken many wrong turns. Software development, for example, moves so quickly that without faith, you cannot carry on.

So, brothers and sisters, if you want a good attitude towards learning, emulate Moses' faith. If you can teach your child to become a person of faith, that will be excellent. False faith is useless. It must be dismantled. Difficulties provide the best test of faith.

Emulating Moses' Faith, Part Two: Inheriting Abraham's Values

Unless a person puts death and life in their proper perspective, he cannot live well. Abraham's values treated worldly fame and gain as insignificant. He recognised that life was vanity, and therefore he sought God. Unless people recognise the vanity of life, they will not seek God. Moses enjoyed wealth and splendour in the palace. He had everything he wanted. Yet he inherited Abraham's values. That was extraordinary faith. He found little meaning in these worldly things.

“The covenant my ancestor Abraham made with God—that is meaningful. I do not value the things of this world. I value the things of eternity. Even in the Egyptian palace, with the best physicians and the best magicians, people still die regularly. They may even die sooner.” Moses was remarkable! In the palace itself, he inherited Abraham's values and saw through everything in this world.

There was an advantage to living in the palace: it stripped palace life of its mystique. It was not really so interesting. Even Pharaoh, wearing his royal robes and sitting on his throne, looked like a king. But strip him naked and put him in a public bath, and no one could tell whether he was a king. In a northern bathhouse, how would you pick someone out? Whether he was a king or a billionaire, he looked much the same as everyone else—just more flesh or less flesh.

Moses had seen enough of it. As I said, once they were naked in the bathhouse, Pharaoh and the princes were all alike! Human life is vanity of vanities. People live, and then they die. In that respect, everyone is the same. So we must seek God as Abraham did!

Even if I become an Egyptian prince, that is not the meaning of my life. Even if I become the richest man in my locality, that is not the meaning of my life. Even if my family owns a yacht, a sports car and a large mansion, those things mean nothing to me!

At the crematorium, everyone is the same. Reduced to ashes, we end up as a box of dust. But in eternity, I have a glorious hope! A crown of glory is reserved for me in eternity! I have a part in God's plan! God will raise me up. Although I am in the palace, that gives me no pride. But I am a descendant of Abraham, and in that I take pride!

One day, God will raise me up to lead the Israelites out of Egypt! What an interesting and splendid life! What richness within! Walking down the street, we look like everyone else, but inside us burns a heart that lives for God and has hope in eternity. Death is not simply the extinguishing of the lamp and the end of everything. The fruit of our ministry will follow us into eternity. That is remarkable!

Emulating Moses' Faith, Part Three: A Meticulous Attitude

Some people say, “Teacher, I also know that life is vanity. Since it is vanity, I will just lie flat and do nothing.” Then lie there properly! But they see a palace or an attractive picture while scrolling through Douyin, compare it with their own shabby circumstances and decide, “No, this will not do.” Up they get again! Then, as soon as they encounter a difficulty, they say, “I have seen through it all!” Are there people like that? Certainly. They spend every day doing sit-ups—lying down, getting up—and exhaust themselves.

That is not faith! Nor is it seeing through life. Some people believe in the Lord as though they were taking opium. That is not what faith is. Genuine faith comes with a meticulous attitude. What we do on earth will be carried into eternity!

You will have to give an account before God for what you do in this world. Jesus taught this too. We need a meticulous attitude. When Moses entered the wilderness and went up Mount Sinai, God told him how to build the tabernacle, where He would meet with them. So Moses built it. He had to find sealskins in the wilderness and dye them red. Where was the dye? Where could he find a chemical plant? Where could he obtain such things?

Then there were things like red cattle. When you study those passages, you encounter so many pegs, so many of this and so many of that. Moses would have had difficulty even finding a peg. How would he take the measurements? How many obstacles did he have to overcome! Thank the Lord, Moses was an outstanding scholar. Everything he had learned in Egypt was put to use. Not a bit was wasted. All this trained Moses to be meticulous.

In business, when you hire someone, you are hiring an attitude. If the attitude is poor, the outcome will certainly be poor. God trains people. Understand this: ours is the real aerospace enterprise. My secondary school teacher had hoped so much that I would go into aviation and aerospace. When I became a pastor, he felt a little disappointed. But there is no need for disappointment. My work is in the business of ascending to heaven—truly flying in the spiritual heavens. It demands even greater precision than aerospace. Greater precision!

Some people muddle along and produce work that is a complete mess—sloppy, misshapen and defective. Everything they do is wrong, and they are very practised at doing it wrong. What can you do with that? How could there be God's glory? We walk with God, and God is a God of precision. Remember: God is a God of precision.

You cannot be careless in believing in the Lord. I have met a few older women who say, “Pastor Liu, we already believe in the Lord and have been saved by grace.” Then they spend all day talking nonsense. The issue is not that you lack education. The issue is that you need an attitude of learning and an attitude of precision. I taught this way in a local church before. There was a seventy-year-old woman who had never attended school. I taught her to recognise words.

Later, she copied the Bible into a large notebook. Seventy years old! I was deeply moved. There is also a sister among us who showed me a thick stack of her notes. That moved me too. They were not highly educated people, but they had an attitude of learning. They were putting faith into practice.

That is why God's glory filled the tabernacle Moses built. If we build a tabernacle that is crooked and badly put together, can God dwell in it? People would not want to live in it. Would God? What the Bible says is crucial: whatever God said, Moses did.

Moses certainly encountered difficulties. Looking for sealskins in the wilderness sounds absurd, does it not? Dyeing them red in the wilderness—goodness me, where could he get what he needed? What should he do when he encountered a difficulty? God could do it. Pray, and it would come.

“Did it fall from heaven?” Yes, perhaps it really did. What if you searched all Israel and could not find it? If you trust God, He can send it down from heaven. Brothers and sisters, we must be meticulous. We cannot muddle along.

Do not build a tabernacle that leans in every direction. We must see through life: it is vanity of vanities. But with God, it is no longer vanity. With God, it becomes substantial and real. Therefore, the fruit of our ministry must not be a muddled affair. It will follow us into eternity.

Emulating Moses' Faith, Part Four: Perseverance

Perseverance is an expression of faith. Suppose we minister to someone and then ask, “How do you feel?” He replies, “Teacher, it is still the same.” Still the same? Do you think that will make me retreat? No! Again! Again! Still the same? Again! Do you understand? He will certainly be healed. This is the fruit of faith. We walk the whole course of our lives by faith.

Moses' perseverance was costly! How exasperating the Israelites were. They had no ability to enter Canaan, but when it came to opposing Moses, they were highly capable! Facing such a group, it would be very difficult not to lose your temper. They were truly hard to endure. Yet Moses persevered.

On one occasion, God said, “I will destroy all these Israelites. Then, Moses, I will raise up your descendants.” Moses understood clearly that God was speaking in anger. God gets angry too. How could He not be angry? Then Moses interceded for the Israelites—for a thoroughly exasperating people.

Our pastors and ministry workers must remember this. We truly need to learn it, because God is training us through these things. He is training us! Endure! Trust God! Is God not sovereign over all this? He is. Human choices matter, but God remains sovereign. Perseverance is powerful!

Emulating Moses' Faith, Part Five: No Longer Relying on Himself

Moses had previously relied on himself. He killed an Egyptian and then fled. He went to Midian, stayed in the household of the priest of Midian, became his son-in-law and tended his sheep. As he reflected, he realised, “I have been relying on myself. I am educated. I have an attitude of learning, a meticulous attitude and Abraham's values. But I have too much confidence in myself. From now on, I will no longer rely on myself.”

“When I rely on myself and Pharaoh wants to kill me, my body is not invulnerable. Every blade will draw blood. I cannot do it. I must stop relying on myself. By myself, I can accomplish nothing. I once had glorious dreams and a heart burning for God, but inwardly, I was still relying on myself.”

He decided to stop relying on himself. Then came day after day, day after day—forty years tending sheep. Those years wore away his self-reliance until he no longer depended on himself for anything. Moses became a man who could say, “I am just an ordinary person. Put me in a crowd, and I look like everyone else.” Then God could use him!

One day, God appeared to Moses and said, “I will use you.” I thank God. He truly trains us. Have you encountered difficulties? Good! Are you distressed? Good! Is it hard? Good! God is training you to stop relying on yourself. Whenever we are weak, we must rely on God for strength.

Conclusion

There are too many stories about Moses to tell them all. But I have drawn out these points and gone through them briefly. I hope these words will take root in you. An attitude of learning, a meticulous attitude, inheriting Abraham's values and learning perseverance—all of these are faith. No longer relying on yourself—that is trusting God.

Moses' wife was a difficult woman! Moses wanted to circumcise his son, but she would not agree. As a result, God sought to kill Moses. That would not do. “If You kill my husband, I will become a widow.” Zipporah, Moses' wife, finally agreed to the circumcision.

Do you understand? Can God not bring your wife into line? He has plenty of ways. Therefore, nothing can hinder you on the path of serving God. As you serve Him and allow Him to use you, trust Him.

As Chinese people reaching out to the world, in my faith we have already spread across the whole earth. Wherever there are people, there is a place for us to preach the gospel. How good that is! We live in this generation, and God has prepared the best tools for us. May His glory be revealed through us, through an overcoming church like ours, and fill the whole earth.

That concludes our sermon. May God bless you all.