Acts 7.38c NAS
Just prior to his death by stoning, the first Christian martyr preached with passion to his accusers. Stephen recounted Jewish history highlighting the lives of patriar22chs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. He concluded with a stirring portrayal of Jesus as the persecuted Messiah whose “betrayers and murderers” (v. 52) now stood before him, rocks in hand.
The bulk of Stephen’s sermon was spent on Moses who is arguably the greatest leader who ever lived, second only to Jesus. “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (v.22). As a young man of forty “it entered his mind” (v. 23) to offer some leadership and help his downtrodden people.
“He thought his brothers would be glad that he was on their side;
and even see him as an instrument of God to deliver them.
But they didn’t see it that way”!
Leadership is the highest of all callings the greatest of all leaders are those who receive living words from God and endeavor to pass them on. A young or new leader should not be surprised when his or her words are not readily received. Although he was forty years old when it first “entered his mind,” it was not until an encounter with a burning bush, at the ripe age of eighty, that Moses’ impact was felt and his leadership recognized.
“After forty years had passed” (v. 30), Moses led two million people from the bondage of slavery through the wilderness to the brink of the promised land. His amazing gift of leadership was made possible by God who chose Moses as a receptacle for “living oracles” which he faithfully passed on “to you” and me.
You are a receptacle for the “living oracles” of God, qualifying you as a leader. So,... be one!
____________
The woodcut illustration above, called “Moses and the Burning Bush” was created by German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) and originally published in Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden.
“Moses… received living oracles to pass on to you.”
The bulk of Stephen’s sermon was spent on Moses who is arguably the greatest leader who ever lived, second only to Jesus. “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (v.22). As a young man of forty “it entered his mind” (v. 23) to offer some leadership and help his downtrodden people.
“He thought his brothers would be glad that he was on their side;
and even see him as an instrument of God to deliver them.
But they didn’t see it that way”!
Acts 7.25 The Message
Leadership is the highest of all callings the greatest of all leaders are those who receive living words from God and endeavor to pass them on. A young or new leader should not be surprised when his or her words are not readily received. Although he was forty years old when it first “entered his mind,” it was not until an encounter with a burning bush, at the ripe age of eighty, that Moses’ impact was felt and his leadership recognized.
“After forty years had passed” (v. 30), Moses led two million people from the bondage of slavery through the wilderness to the brink of the promised land. His amazing gift of leadership was made possible by God who chose Moses as a receptacle for “living oracles” which he faithfully passed on “to you” and me.
You are a receptacle for the “living oracles” of God, qualifying you as a leader. So,... be one!
____________
The woodcut illustration above, called “Moses and the Burning Bush” was created by German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) and originally published in Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden.
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