People Spots Online
Produced by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries

With God’s Help . . . !

by James W Moss, Sr

Several years ago there was a commercial that went like this. A man picks up his phone and responds, “Rochester on Monday, I can do that; Denver on Tuesday, I can do that; Berlin on Wednesday, I can do that.” He hangs up his phone and exclaims, “How am I going to do that?” Does that sound familiar?

Have you ever felt a call from God for a specific task and responded, “How am I going to do that?” There is a certainty that if God calls someone to do a job, He has already equipped you to do that job or will bring you in touch with someone who can help you. In July 1977 I accepted a call to be the Assistant Superintendent of the East Pennsylvania Conference of the Churches of God, General Conference. I had pastoral experience, but was stepping into a position where I had no experience. I believe God equipped me and brought other people around me so that I could do an acceptable job over 31 years. I believe God’s Holy Spirit was constantly at my side encouraging, instructing and helping. With his help all things are possible.

I have been reading through Exodus recently. What a challenge. Wading through the instructions and rules given to Moses for the Israelites, there was a very important lesson. God gave Moses the instruction for building the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was to be quite ornate and complex. I wonder if Moses said, “How am I going to do that?” Then there is an interesting twist. In Exodus 35 we read:

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³¹ and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— ³² to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ³³ to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. ³⁴ And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.

It’s rather simple, God gave Moses a job and then gave him skilled people to do the job.

In John 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. As Jesus approached the tomb he asked the people to do three things. They could do everything he asked. First, he asked them to show Him where Lazarus was buried. Second, he asked them to remove the stone. This was a more difficult task. Several would probably have to co-operate to do it. Third, after the raising of Lazarus, he asked the people to unloose Lazarus and set him free. I believe that was no small feat in itself. Everything he asked they could do. There does appear to be an ascending degree of difficulty, but each task was still possible. Jesus reserved for himself that which the people could not do—the raising of Lazarus.

I believe Jesus still works that way. Anything he asks of us, he knows we can do. Sometimes we need to enlist others to help. But it is still possible. Jesus still reserves for himself that which we cannot do.

In Luke 1, there is an interesting development. The aging Zechariah and Elizabeth are to become parents of John. Mary is impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and her son will be Jesus. “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

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October 9, 2008. Volume 11, Issue 7. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.

With God’s Help . . . !

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