Chapter Seven — Part Four: The Book of Acts
By: Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 08/01/2021
Foundation Scriptures:Acts 7:30-36
1. Moses’ Calling.
a. Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt.
b. A long 40 years later, when he was 80, the Lord appeared to him in the desert and called him to action.
c. Acts 7:30 NKJV — And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
d. The “Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament is a reference to the Lord Himself—and during the interaction, He identified Himself as such (Ex. 3:2—Ex. 4:17).
e. God can meet and touch anyone, anywhere, even in a bush in the desert.
f. God did not call Moses because he was perfect, but because He knew He would be able to use him for His purposes.
g. Acts 7:31-33 NKJV — When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
h. No doubt Moses had given up on himself, and his calling, and he was taken by surprise when the Lord appeared to him.
i. Many times, people sense the call of God on their life, but when it does not immediately work out, they give up.
j. They feel like they failed God, or He failed them (which is never the case).
k. They believe the lie that God cannot or will not use them now.
l. However, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
m. He does not change His mind or withdraw His calling.
n. Romans 11:29 AMPC — For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]
2. Moses—God’s Messenger.
a. Acts 7:34 AMPC — Because I have most assuredly seen the abuse and oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their sighing and groaning, I have come down to rescue them. So, now come! I will send you back to Egypt [as My messenger].
b. Exodus 3:1-10.
c. The Lord told Moses:
- I have seen the oppression of my people.
- I have heard their groaning.
- I have come down to deliver them.
- And now I am sending you!
d. God always uses someone—a person—to carry out His purposes on the earth, as they yield to Him.
e. The Lord “came down” to rescue His people, just as Jesus came down from Heaven to rescue and deliver us (Eph. 4:8-10).
f. The Jews (in the Book of Acts) mistakenly believed that acceptance of Jesus was a rejection of Moses.
g. But as deliverer of Israel, Moses was a type of Jesus Christ.
3. Moses and Jesus.
a. Acts 7:35 AMPC — It was this very Moses whom they had denied (disowned and rejected), saying, Who made you our ruler (referee) and judge? whom God sent to be a ruler and deliverer and redeemer, by and with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel that appeared to him in the bramblebush.
b. Exodus 2:14.
c. The Jews poured contempt on the one that God honored—both Moses (then) and Jesus and His messengers (now).
d. They accused Stephen of blaspheming Moses, but their ancestors were the ones who persecuted and rejected Moses.
e. Even after they were delivered from the Egyptians, they continued to rebel against both God and Moses.
f. They witnessed the supernatural deliverance of the Lord time and again, and yet they ungratefully grumbled and murmured.
g. They experienced the supernatural protection and provision of the Lord over and over in the wilderness, and yet they selfishly whined and complained.
h. The Lord saved and delivered them despite their terrible attitude and behavior.
i. They rejected and resisted Moses then, but he became their only deliverer and ruler.
j. They rejected and crucified Jesus Christ now, but He was their one and only eternal Savior and Redeemer.
4. The Message and the Messenger.
a. Acts 7:36 AMPC — He it was who led them forth, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and during the forty years in the wilderness (desert).
b. Exodus 7:3; 14:21; Numbers 14:33.
c. Stephen was pointing out to the Jews, that they had put Moses on a pedestal, but during his lifetime they gave him nothing but trouble.
d. The only reason, they exalted Moses is because they claimed him as an ancestor, as a point of personal pride!
e. Not because they honored the Word of God, as spoken through him.
f. By their actions, they showed their disrespect toward God’s Word through Moses—then and now!
g. Hebrews 11:27-28 AMPC — [Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible. 28 By faith (simple trust and confidence in God) he instituted and carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood [on the doorposts], so that the destroyer of the firstborn (the angel) might not touch those [of the children of Israel].
h. Exodus 12:21-30.
i. Hebrews 11:29 AMPC — [Urged on] by faith the people crossed the Red Sea as [though] on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do the same thing they were swallowed up [by the sea].
j. Exodus 14:21-31.
k. Moses did nothing in his own capacity, but he did it in faith and obedience to Almighty God.
l. And God honored His Word to and through Moses.