GREAT FAILURES OF THE BIBLE

“The Personal Failure”

 

            He was well educated, in fact, he had studied at some of the finest universities in the world.  His potential was almost limitless, however, at the age of forty he suddenly found himself homeless and destitute.  After living for some time on the street he was eventually able to acquire a job which at least provided him and his family a living even if it was a very menial occupation and one which he was able to have only because he was working for his father-in-law.

As far as the world was concerned he was a total wash-out.  His education and special talents had been completely wasted.  At the age of eighty it seemed that he had accomplished nothing.  But his story wasn’t over yet.  He would go on to become one of the greatest figures in all history.  He would lead his nation to victory in spite of overwhelming odds.  His dismal personal failure actually became a spring board into greatness.

His story is found in the book of Exodus.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.  And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and come to Horeb, the mountain of God.  And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.  So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.  Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”  So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”  And he said, “Here I am.”  Exodus 3:1-4

It was at this point that God told Moses He had heard the cry of the Israelites in their slavery in Egypt and that He was sending Him to deliver them.

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ “  So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”  He said, “A rod.”  And He said, “Cast it on the ground.”  So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”  Exodus 4:1-5

Although God also gave him the sign of the leprous hand as a sign that He had sent him, it is the rod which will continue to play a prominent role throughout the rest of Moses’ life.

And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.  … and he returned to the land of Egypt.  And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.  Exodus 4:17,20

Think about that rod or staff for a moment.  The rod identified who Moses was.  He was a shepherd.  That was his life.  Today a doctor may be identified with his stethoscope, a carpenter with his hammer, a soldier with his rifle, etc; but the rod of Moses told everyone he was a shepherd.  That’s who he was.

But to Moses the rod also represented something else.  Here, on the back side of the desert, is one of the best educated and gifted men alive yet he spends his life doing the lowly task of herding sheep.  In that sense the rod represented his failure.

Today God is still asking the question, “What is that is your hand?”  Each of us have a “rod” of some type.  That rod is who we are, our hopes and ambitions, our talents and our strengths, but also our weaknesses and our failures.  The difference between success and failure in God’s eyes is determined by what we do with the rod.

1.  SURRENDER THE ROD.

            … Cast it on the ground…

            Surrender - To yield possession of or power over to another.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  Romans 12:1

The joy and satisfaction for which so many Christians are vainly striving can be had only by surrendering back to the Lord what He already has given to us, including our innermost being.

Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Matthew 22:37

            Presenting ourselves to God is what takes place when we surrender the rod of our lives.  Such a sacrifice begins with…

 Soul

The soul is the inner, invisible part of man that is the very essence of his being.  Until a man’s soul belongs to God, nothing else matters.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, an loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  Matthew 16:26

Before anything else worthwhile and acceptable can e given to God, the self must be given to Him in saving faith.

Body

            Believers have given their souls to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  Now we are called to present our bodies to Christ as a living and holy sacrifice.  Our bodies, of course, include our flesh and have a tendency to sin.  However, our bodies can be controlled by our redeemed soul.  We are therefore to offer a holy sacrifice to God.

The truth is that God cannot work through us without in some way working through our bodies.  If we speak for Him, it must be through our mouths.  If we read His Word, it must be with our eyes.  If we hear His Word it must be through our ears.  If we go to do His work, we must use our feet.  If we help others, it must be with our hands.  And if we think for Him, it must be with our minds, which now reside in our bodies.  There can be no holy living apart from our bodies.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  1 Corinthians 6:19

 Mind

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… Romans 12:2a

It is in the mind that we make choices as t whether we will express our new nature in holiness or allow our fleshly humanness to act in unholiness.  The expression do not be conformed refers to an outward expression that does not reflect what is within.  J.B. Philips translates the phrase as:  Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould.  We are to stop allowing ourselves to be fashioned after the present evil age in which we live.

Will

…that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2b

If we truly present ourselves to God as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice, we are offering Him our wills and allowing His Spirit through His Word to conform our wills to the will of God.  In other words, when a believer’s mind is transformed, his thinking ability, moral reasoning, and spiritual understanding are able to properly assess everything, and to accept only what conforms to the will of God.

2.  DEDICATE THE ROD

… the rod of God…

            Dedicate - To set apart for sacred use

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.  Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the master, prepared for every good work.  2 Timothy 2:20-21

            Simply stated the illustration is as follows.  A large home would have a great number of vessels for all types of uses.  The gold and silver vessels were used especially to honor guests.   The wood and clay vessels were  common and unattractive.  Because they were often used for garbage or even human waste they were kept out of sight as much as possible.

The large house would represent believers as a whole.  The vessels represent individual believers.  This passage is not in reference to the God-given difference among believers.  We know that we all have spiritual gifts and each one is vitally important.  However, in this passage the honorable vessels represent the faithful and useful believers.  The dishonorable are those who are not faithful.

Our desire should be to be a vessel of honor.  It is a matter of dedicating ourselves to that purpose.  It begins with a cleansing or separation from the vessels of dishonor.

Sin is contagious.  Willing association with ungodly believers, vessels of dishonor, inevitably will cause some of their sin to infect you, whether you realize it or not.

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”  1 Corinthians 15:33

            A vessel of honor is to be sanctified or set apart.  We are to be set apart from sin, and set apart for God.

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  Romans 6:13

3.  USE THE ROD

What is that in your hand?  Surrender it to God, dedicate it to Him, and use it for Him.  For the rest of his life, Moses carried his rod and used it as the Lord directed.  As he stood before Pharaoh, as he led Israel out of Egypt, as they crossed the Red Sea, when they needed water in the wilderness - over and over again the rod was used symbolizing the power of God upon a man who was totally surrender and dedicated to God.

A vessel of honor will be useful for the master and prepared (ready and willing) for every good work.  Our greatest desire should be to be used by the Master.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.          1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Take my life and let it be - Dedicated Lord to Thee.

This is my earnest plea, O Jesus, please use me.

Thine alone my one desire - Be in me a consuming fire

But most of all, Lord, please use me.

No matter what I am, or what I’m not Or what I will ever be

My only prayer is “Jesus, please use me.”