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Moses' Perspective on Life and Leadership

Just a few days ago, my wife asked my eldest granddaughter, four and a half years old, “What…what is the job of your grandpa and uncle?” And she said, “Just talking.” (laughter from congregation) I was…I was smiling because…Yeah, I've been talking for the past 40 years. And you know, when you are going to talk, you talk nonsense, or maybe a lot of good sense. I hope that what I have been talking for the past 40 years were good sense and yeah, we…we want to realize that there is a need for us to have a right perspective in the way we talk, the way we serve, the way we live.

So today's message is about “The right perspective of life or living” and we will take this from Psalm 90, which is the prayer of Moses, the man of God. I feel that this is the passage that would be very fitting for us to learn about life, because it is written by the man of God, Moses. And he wrote this Psalm when he was nearing to his death. You know, when they were wandering around the wilderness for 40 long years because of God's judgment to the nation, because they were rebellious. So Moses saw this sad scenario or shall I say, a picture of sorrow and sadness as he journeyed with God's people. Every day there was death, and he had to bury somebody, because all those who are 20 and above should die in the wilderness. And they were wandering the wilderness for 40 years, and they moved around 42 times. And somehow, I believe that we are like the church in the wilderness, having a spiritual journey together. And this world is a spiritual wilderness, isn't it? There's nothing that can satisfy our soul in this world. We live in a harsh environment, spiritually speaking. It's not easy for us to live a Christian life, not maybe because of physical hardships, because we are here in Singapore. But the spiritual climate that we are right now is really hard for a believer to thrive with the advancements of technology. The easy way of doing things, that the thought of comfort and convenience, the thought of doing things according to what we want, is easy for a person to do because of technology and advancement of science.

Moses' Greatness and Prayer

But nevertheless, we have to learn from this man, Moses, who is one of the great leaders, if not the greatest leader, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. He's pictured by artists and sculptors. I select this one from Michelangelo as one who is man of a posture of physical physique. And in this particular sculpture, according to my readings, that there is a picture of trembling and indignation. But most importantly, the picture of the Bible that Moses was a great leader because of this verse in Numbers chapter 12 verse 3, which you have studied during the time of our series in Numbers, that he was the meekest man on earth.

And I think he reflected his attitude and character of being a meek person in this prayer, and his greatness is expressed in this prayer. And I believe that the true greatness of a Christian leader is in his prayer. He was a man of prayer, and he was very close to God. We should listen to him, because he's very credible to talk about life. Because he was the man who spent (with) God at Mount Sinai for 40 days, and that after that, his face glowed because of God's glory. And even that account was also reinforced during the time in the transfiguration, because Jesus appeared and to the disciples with Elijah and Moses himself. Although he was not able to enter into the Promised Land, but we know that he was a character who was with God and with Jesus. So please listen from this man. He was already old here, and he was reflecting about the journey in the wilderness, how God has led them this far, and they were about to go into the Promised Land, handing over the leadership to a young man, Joshua. So I think this is really fitting for us, who are seniors, and maybe a reminder for us if you are younger, because life is unpredictable and we need to learn these principles.

God's Eternality and Man's Temporality

There are two declarations of Moses here in this prayer, and one resolution. His declaration that God is eternal and man is temporal, and his resolve is to learn wisdom and get wisdom from God in order to live rightly. God is eternal. He started this chapter with the word,

Lord, you are, or you have been, our dwelling place in all generations!(Psalm 90:1)

This particular word ‘Lord’ is ‘Adonai’, which is the emphasis of God, you are the ruler, you are the master, you're the Lord of our lives, and you have been our dwelling place. Lest we have a wrong conception about who God is, he said in verse two.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting, you are El. (Psalm 90:2)

And this reminds us of what he wrote in Genesis 1 verse 1, that

In the beginning, Elohim, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Now this is the encouragement of Moses. Imagine he was there addressing the people in Exodus chapter 33, blessing them, preparing them to go, and warning them under the new leadership although he will not be able to go, as I said. And he said to them,

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy’. (Deuteronomy 33:27)

Perhaps this thought casted an illusion to what Moses also has received a revelation from God when he was there alone, reclused. He was running away, and he was contented to live in the backside of the desert of Midian. He did not think about serving God. He was a reluctant person to heed the call of God. And God assured him, “I am who I am.” And he said, they say to these people of Israel,

I am has sent me to you….This is my Name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. (Exodus 3:14-15)

Yes, God is God. He is eternal God. What Moses has emphasized here in this Psalm is that let us have high or, if not, the highest view of God, that our God is beyond creation, that our God is not like us, which in fact, it's something incomprehensible. Which in fact, when you talk, when you look into these two verses, there is a kind of disconnect in terms of concept. When he said, “Lord, You are my dwelling place, or you have been our dwelling place in all generations”, talks about space, time and people, concrete imageries. But when we move to this verse in verse two, it's hard to comprehend. We can easily read that God is eternal, but we cannot really figure it out in our minds. Can we? Because from everlasting to everlasting, there is no such thing as from and to in eternity, in an everlasting, infinite concept of time.

The Role of God as Our Dwelling Place

But although this God is incomprehensible, as Moses although how he explains himself that in first hand of who God is, he is awed, and he kept always have this wonder that I am serving God who is incomprehensible, yet this God is our dwelling place. He has been our dwelling place in all generations. Now this word ‘dwelling place’, has been translated, unique translations in different ways. In the older translations, ‘dwelling place’ is often the word ‘for refuge’. But in the modern translation, ‘home’ or ‘protector’ or some concrete words that defines and express that God really is our fundamental, basic sustainer of life. Now all this ‘dwelling place’, ‘habitation’, ‘protector’, ‘refuge’, it's all the same, boils down that He, God, is the main person in our lives and in our ministry. Now I pray that Gospel Light will always be God-centered, so that our life principle should be that we are just privileged people.

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Life is privileged to have God as our shelter, our stability and sustainer in all of life, life's ministry, homes, and even in our ministries. Talking about shelter, now many times over, in the book of Psalms, God is our hiding place, expressed by David. He expressed one thing of his desire of the Lord,

…that I may seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4)

It is better to me that I will be at the doorstep on the temple of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness and all these kinds of expressions that there is no safer place aside from God. Remember, it's not the place. It's God Himself. Now in lives, in ministries, we are under attack, whether you like it or not, or whether you recognize it or not. We are always under attack, and who is our shelter but God Himself.

I remember, in my ministry, I remember how many times I experienced hardships. There were times that I almost had to give up because of hardships in ministry when I was in the Philippines. There was a time that I had to ask a public apology in church, in my home church, and I did it believing that God will honor His Word. In 1 Peter, chapter 2 verse 5, that those who humble themselves, God will honor and God proved it. There was something that happened that I had just to believe that God is my shelter. And I learned. I learned the lesson. I learned the principle that in the ministry, it’s not about your honor, it's not about your reputation. That in the ministry there should be a posture of no attack and no defense.

I remember the writing of Robert Kitchen when he said, “I don't need to put into the court of man, the person whom I already put in the court of God in prayer.” God is our shelter. He will defend for us, and not only that, he's our stability. What I mean with this is that we settle with God. I hope that in this church, in Gospel Light, we are not going to just be quick to adopt novelties just because it works in some ways, somewhere else that we have to do this in Gospel Light because it works. Now, our business is not to pursue what works, but what pleases the Lord. We settle in God. Or we swing to other extremes that, oh, we hold on to this tradition. We cannot give up to this tradition, the old things that we do in Gospel Light, just for the sake of tradition, that it replaced the place of God. We settle with God as long as God is exalted, as long as God's name will be honored, as long as the gospel and Jesus will be exalted in this church. God and Jesus is the habitation of this church, and he is the sustainer in all generations.

It was not only in the particular generation where they wandered around the wilderness, but even before that. Maybe Moses was thinking about the time that he was in the palace as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, until the time that he led this 1.5 million Jews through the wilderness. He looked back and say, “Yes, God, you have been our Sustainer.” Yes. Imagine a boat, a sailboat sailing from one shore to another. The sail, the sailing is not smooth. There will be rough seas along, but at the end of the journey, we look at the sails, there are some wear and tear there, but they arrived to the destination. Now, life is not smooth, but God assured us that He is our dwelling place. That's number one. God must be God. He is eternal.

The Frailty of Man and God's Wrath

The second thing is, man is temporal. This is the declaration of Moses here. In the backdrop of God's eternality is the frailty of man. The first time I went here in Singapore, be back to, I mean, 2004. This is the picture. I didn't have the picture then, I did not find it. But this picture is like a person comparing himself to the skyscrapers. I went to the Raffles Place and see the building around. I felt that I'm tall, because in my village, I'm one of the tallest guys. But when I stood at Raffles Place, to compare myself with a skyscraper is ridiculous. To compare ourselves with God is quite ridiculous, isn't that? It's like comparing an ant hill with a Mount Everest. Is an understatement, yes. But Moses has to make this comparison in order to emphasize that man is man and we are not God. He said,

You return man to dust…(Ecclesiastes 12:7)

quoted by Solomon in Ecclesiastes and say,

..Return, O Children of Men (Psalm 90:3)

It's ridiculous, because there's no point of comparison when, in fact, the best of man is nothing before God. The word ‘return to dust ‘here has an idea of crushing into powder, pulverized. In other words, whatever man we claim that he is proud of is nothing. Look at the dynasties of the world. Look at the glory of Greece and the grand of Rome. Where are they now? Now we are here in Singapore, right? Some of us would be mourning at Bidadari, okay, walking at Novena and Dhoby Ghaut. I mean living, I mean strolling around the park of Bishan. But we didn't know that a few years back, they were cemeteries, right? And we forget it. Yeah, because time is just really short for people to exist. It's, it's just this comparison.

…one thousand years is just but one day and one day, one thousand years.
(2 Peter 3:8)

Even a watch in the night, we are just but fickle and frail, and our life is brief. According to verse 5,

God will sweep them away, as with a flood… (Psalm 90:5)

Now it's so sad that the news in the US (United States) right now is that there were campers who are swept by flood. It's like a dream. It's like a grass. Isaiah said,

…All flesh is as grass…(Isaiah 40:6)

And Peter quoted it.

…It flourished for a little while, but it will wither…(1 Peter 1:24)

And even verse 10 describe this poetic description of span, that

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty, yet their span is but toil and trouble. They will soon be gone and fly away. (Psalm 90:10)

So in other words, when we look at the span of man's life, there's no fun, right? It's toil and trouble. In the King James, there's strength, labor and sorrow. The word ‘span’ there in some translation, is their pride. Their pride is trouble and sorrow. Now I think Moses is not saying that we cannot have fun in life, but sometimes he has to emphasize it. He has to emphasize this because we forget that we become serious only when we think about the troubles and the sorrows of life. That's why in Ecclesiastes chapter 7, Solomon says

It's better for us to go into the house of mourning than into the house of feasting…(Ecclesiastes 7:2)

because we tend to remember and to consider the end of our life. Our life is very short, and what is the reason behind that our life is short? It's because of God's anger or wrath.

For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath, we are dismayed.  (Psalm 90:7)

In verse nine,

for all our days pass away under your wrath, we bring our years to an end like a sigh. (Psalm 90:9)

Under God's wrath, we end our day, our years like a sigh. It sounds like a long breath, a sigh like that. Why? Why is it like this? Because we sin. Moses looked at themselves, including himself. He said,

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Psalm 90:8)

The Importance of Viewing Sin Correctly

Not what Moses had emphasized here is, if we look unto the eternality of God, of who God is, how can we miss of looking who we are. In the light of God's holiness, in the light of God's perfection, we are sinners, even our secret sins are not hidden before God.

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Now, in 2014 during a certain conference, there was a question and answer, and there was somebody who asked a question, and there were forum. And there was a forum, and then there were some panels who would answer the questions. And one of them was R.C. Sproul. And the question is that, “Is God's judgment towards sin so severe?” And R.C. Sproul said this, let me read “this creature from the death defied the everlasting Holy God. After that God had said, “the day that you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) And instead of dying, ‘thanatos’. ‘Thanatos’ in Greek means death. That day, he lived another day and was clothed in his nakedness by pure grace and had the consequences of a curse applied for quite some time. But the worst curse came upon the one who seduced him, whose head would be crushed by the seed of the woman, and the punishment was too severe? What's wrong with you people?” And the people were chuckling. They were laughing. And he continued, “I'm serious. I mean this is what's wrong with the Christian church today. We don't know who God is, and we don't know who we are. The question is, why was not it infinitely more severe if we have any understanding of our sin and any understanding of who God is?” That's the question, isn't it? How? What is our of our view of sin? What is our attitude of sin?

Now, for some believers today, some Christians even, have been thinking that sin is just an emotional imbalance. Is a psychological disorder. It as it is a social, social misalignment. But sin is breaking God's law. Is rebellion against God. We will never be able to understand what sin is and how dreadful and ugly sin is if we don't compare ourselves with the holiness and the greatness of God. Whether sin is wrapped with a good euphemistic description, it is always ugly and distasteful pungent before the eyes of the Lord. Unless we view sin that way, we will not be able to pursue and continue to proclaim the true gospel, because the gospel only is the is the solution of sin. That Jesus died, he was buried three days later, he rose again to conquer sin, death and hell. That's the only message that we have in Gospel Light and we continue to hear that every Sunday. Yes, we talk about the decay of man, the problem of relationships in marriages, the problem of relationship in homes and in workplaces and even in church. Why is it that we have problems? It's because of sin. I'm not ruling out, I'm not minimizing the need of counseling. There is a need for that, but the root of all this problem is sin. And Moses has emphasized this in his journey, as he looked back, ‘Lord, we are miserable people, if not for your grace and mercy, we are miserable people.’

So you come to Gospel Light. You come to Gospel Light because you want to hear an inspirational talk, a motivational talk to encourage us. No, you come to a wrong place, because we are here looking at people having problems of sin. We are looking at people who are dead in sin and trespasses and only the gospel and the life and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ that was done at the cross that can help us to be forgiven, emancipated, or liberated from this problem of sin. Jesus is the answer. He came to become a sin for us. He bore our sins in this body on the tree.

I don't know about you today. Maybe you come and thinking that you are not that sinful. I'm not a rapist, I'm not a murderer, I'm a good person, I'm an honest person. But the Bible tells this, no one good. No, not one. Everyone is a sinner. And perhaps because of the thinking, you think that, “Oh, I'm not really ugly before God. I'm good before God.” No, the Bible tells us that all of us are ugly before God because we are sinner. And unless we have that, that view of God and of ourselves, we will never be able to come to the point where we are desperate and ask God's forgiveness. Be saved from the wrath of God. Be saved from the anger of God. That's a problem, but God has a solution already, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the problem sometimes in our Christian life is that we live a decent life, but the Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus, that the Lord also knows the secret sins we have.

Whoever will conceal his transgression will not prosper, but it's only upon our confession to God that we will be forgiven. (Proverbs 28:13)

There is no covering. There is no other thing that can solve the problem of sin, not even covering, not even euphemizing, it, not any other thing, except by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that whatever needs we have in this church, whatever concerns we have in church, let's go back to the very basic problem of men, the problem of sin. It's not just a behavior attitude. It's the root problem that we are separated from God. Do we look (at) sin that way? And because man has a problem of sin, it continues to deceive us, and let's not allow that deceitfulness of sin to harden our hearts. Let's be sensitive to God's conviction in our hearts. Otherwise we will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. What is our attitude towards each other? We are just sinful people forgiven, put into this community, the body of Christ. We are not perfect. We should be loving one another. We should be forgiving one another, as these verses will tell us.

Be kind to one another. Turn your heart and forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Colossians 3

bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you. So you also must forgive and above all this, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:13-14)

So by way of application, because of the sin of man, because we are imperfect people, we should be tolerant and forbearing and loving each other. You know when you are going to love we are not going to love because somebody is lovable, worthy of our love. We love him because we have the love of Christ in our hearts. What's the essence? Why Jesus told Peter,

…if you forgive him, forgive him, not only seven times but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22)

Because there is an expectation that people will wrong us. We'll commit mistakes, but this, in this community of love, we are, we have experienced the love of Christ, we will be able to dispense this love, not because we have this love, but because of the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts.

Now let me go to the resolution. There are two declarations, as I said, God is eternal, man is temporal, and this is the gap that the world is trying to close in their thinking, right? They want to put down God. And they want to elevate man, right? They want to always figure God, that God is like a Santa Claus. I want a God that that, you know, that that will do what I want. And man now is elevating himself to become like God. They are closing the gap in their mindset. But as believers, we are going to continue recognizing this big gap. God is God, and we are not. We are temporal, we are frail, we are sinners at the mercy of God.

The Need for God's Wisdom

So at this particular time, Moses recognized that he needs the wisdom of God. He said,

Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you?

Now this rhetorical question is answerable by, “I do” or “I don't do”, right? Do you consider the power of your anger or God's anger and wrath, so that you will fear God. It's either answerable by “I do” or “I don't do it”.

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Because once a person will have the fear of the Lord, he will be wise. There was this guy who was apprehended by a traffic police at the end of the road, and the traffic police said to him, ask him, “Why did you cross the street? Did you not see that the light was red?” And the guy said, “I saw that it was red.” “Then why did you cross?” “Because I did not see you, sir.”

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That's the problem. We don't see the power of God's anger. We don't see the power of God's wrath. That's why we don't fear God. We don't respect God. And in this particular resolution, Moses realized that what he needs is the wisdom of God.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

It's not how long. It's not adding another year, another day of your life. The remaining days that I have, Lord, let it mean that I will be able to count it, to be, to be able to put it into, to be a good steward of it. That I may have a heart of wisdom. The heart in the Bible is includes the whole faculty of man's being, intellect, emotion and will. So that in this particular resolution, Moses realized that it was wise for them to resign unto God, to have the joy of the Lord and even to realign the works unto the Lord. It is wise to resign, rejoice and realign to God daily. Teach us to number our days daily.

Maybe you're here this afternoon, this morning, that and then you say that, “Pastor, I should have. No, I regret that I became a Christian only in my old age. I am already in my senior years that I became a Christian. I don't have much time to serve the Lord.” There's, there's nothing to regret, because you have nothing to, to you know, to in this particular prayer of Moses, we know that it's not about having much time or having a few days in your life. It's about using what you have right now. It's not numbering the days that you should have or you wish you have. It's numbering the days that you have. The water has passed the bridge already. Don't worry about it. But what you have right now, until the Lord will take you home, that's the thing that you are, indeed you need to be concerned about. Teach us to number our days so that we'll be wise in applying our lives unto wisdom. In verse 13,

Return, O Lord, how long? Have pity on your servants. (Psalm 90:13)

The Joy of the Lord and God's Steadfast Love

This is the posture of brokenness and humility of Moses. Lord, we are just but desperate people. When was the last time that we feel that we are desperate people before God? That unless God will pour His grace and mercy upon us, we will be miserable, just like when Jacob was clinging unto the angel of the Lord because He was already broken. He was already feeling the pain, and he said,

…Lord, I will not let you go unless you will bless me. (Genesis 32:26)

Now, it is of the Lord's mercies.

…we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, so that we'll know what is the good and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1)

That's why he said in verse 14, that

Lord, may You satisfy us with your loving kindness. (Psalm 90:14)

Or this is the word “chested”. In the morning, the first hour in the morning, I want, Lord that you will show me you will give me and impress in me your steadfast love. That's why, when Jeremiah also saw the goodness of the Lord upon the nation behind me, they were captives in Babylon, he has to encourage them. He has to, he has to tell them and encourage them during the captivity.

It is of the Lord's mercies that you are not consumed…(Lamentations 3:22)

Because of the great mercies of God, we are not consumed. Let's resign and rest unto the steadfast love of the Lord every day. Let us not be arrogant and haughty to think that I can live my day without God and he asked also for this loving kindness in order to rejoice in the Lord.

Now, John Piper has popularized this statement that the Lord is most glorified in him who is the most satisfied in him.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 12),

This joy is not what the world can give. It's the gift from God. It's a divine joy. Without the joy of the Lord, we will not be able to live a life where we will be contented and fulfilled, because this joy is apart from us, apart from whatever man can do. It's the gift from God. And we have to realign ourselves unto God. In verse 16 to 17, the prayer of Moses is that let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children.

Now, there is a work that only God can do. God is glorious, and he cannot share it to another.

Lord, share your glory, to your children. May your work appear unto Your servants. (Psalm 90:16)

The Role of God in Our Lives and Work

But in verse 17, there is a shift here when he prayed,

…Lord, establish the work of our hands. Yes, Lord, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Now God is working, and we must be working. And what must we be working? What must we do? Must be in subservient to God. That is why he said,

Let the favor of the Lord be our God be upon us. Let the beauty of the Lord be of God be upon us…(Psalm 90:17)

Now I can explain this to this illustration in flying a kite. When I was the little boy, I used to fly kite. I made kite for myself, and I realized that no matter how I run and toss the kite, if there is no wind, no breeze, I will just be wasting my energy. But my friends told me that if I whistle, the wind will come. So I tried to whistle like that (Pastor whistled), and then I don't know, is there a scientific reason for that? I don't know. When the wind will blow, I have just to toss the kite, and the string will just have a whirring sound, and then the kite will just fly away. You know, Moses said,

Lord, if you will not go with us, we will not go. Unless your presence will go with us, we will never go.(Exodus 33:15)

We should not be a church and a people where we go ahead before God. We should wait patiently before God. We should resign before God, wait for him, because that's the wisest thing to do. Yes, this picture is a picture of how the life of a Christian can be meaningful and useful. I look forward that I will be flying kites with these little kids. These are my four grand kids, and physically flying their kite, and then spiritually also flying the kite. To teach them that God is eternal and we are sinners. We need God, and I pray that they will realize that unless God will be the first in their lives, that like the kite, they cannot fly.

Conclusion and Prayer

Yes, today we've learned the two declarations of Moses. God is eternal, but man is temporal. Let's live wisely. It's wise that daily we have to resign, we have to ask God's joy, and we are going to realign our lives unto the Lord.

Father, thank you so much for your word. Today, I pray that you will use these words, Lord to address a need in our hearts. Lord, if ever there is somebody here today who is not a believer, may you just open the hearts and the minds Lord, of that person, and he will recognize, recognize the need of God's forgiveness and receive Christ and believe Christ as his Savior. And for us believers, Lord, help us to really realign our lives unto you. If we are going off tangent, Lord, in our Christian lives, we are pursuing a lot of things, maybe good things, better things, Lord, maybe we are successful on things in this world that does not matter for eternity. I pray Lord, that You will just make these words, Lord, stay in our hearts, and we'll be able to apply this. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.