Let’s go to Exodus 4. Moses has seen this burning bush and talked with God. Shoes have come off; he’s standing on holy ground; he’s seen two miracles. Now God gives him an assignment to go back to Egypt, and now the 80-year-old senior citizen is about to go into the journey of his life and enter the annuls of Christian history.
Now what’s interesting to me is that the moment that he leaves that mountain, Moses begins to do everything right. Let me read this to you. “Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, ‘Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’ And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.’” (Exodus 4:18-19, ESV).
I think this passage is significant. Think about this: Moses talks to God personally. He hears the voice of God. There’s no doubt about this; he’s seen the miracles of God take place in the wilderness before he even sees the Ten Plagues take place in Egypt. Even after hearing from God, he still presents it to his leadership. Moses still goes to Jethro and says, “Would you approve this for me to go?” Jethro puts his stamp of approval on this call. Notice what happens here. Once Moses did this, the Lord spoke more instruction to him.
Think about that for a moment. Many of us have heard less, thought less, and we go on our own and never get any confirmation from the people whom God has put over your life. The reason why that’s difficult is that we are so easily moved to go do something without any accountability. So many people today went but were never sent. Most people go without full instruction because they won’t submit it to leadership.
This is why scripture says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Hebrews 13:17) and “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise….submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:15,21).
After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.