It's time now for the Chapel Hour, coming to you from the campus of Bob Jones University. Today's message was preached during the 2007 Bible Conference. Our speaker is Dr. Brian Green, pastor of Calvary Free Grace Baptist Church in Middlesex, England. The title of his message is, What is in Your Hand? The text is from Exodus chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. I want you to turn with me, if you will please, to the book of Exodus and chapter 4. And as you turn in the Word of God, may I say what an honour it has been for Pat, my wife, and myself to be here during this week and to share with you in Christian fellowship around the Word of God and particularly tonight in this special service It certainly has been a wonderful service already and we have enjoyed what we've seen and what we've heard and we rejoice with you what the Lord is doing here and I want to thank those who invited me and have looked after us so well and the friendliness that we have found here and praise God for such a place where the Lord is honoured and glorified And now we come around the Word of God to seek His face and to ask for His blessing, that He will bless each one of us. When I come to preach in any service, I ask the Lord to give me just exactly the right message and the right word. I believe that you should be the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message. And I trust tonight that that will be true. You know, I remember that George Whitfield used to say that he always preached as if it's the last time he preached. And I think that's a good thing for every preacher always to do. Whenever I preached here, and it's been my honour and privilege to come here on a number of occasions, I thought, well, they'll never ask me again anyway, and this is the last time I ever preach in Bob Jones University, but I seem to come back. But tonight I feel this could be my last time. Why? Because, well, who knows? And so I want to preach tonight as if this is the last occasion and the last time I ever preach. And may God be pleased to speak to you and that you listen as if it's the last time you ever listen to the Word of God. Exodus and chapter 4. And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me. nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee? And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent. And Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand, that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee. I want to speak, if I can tonight, from the familiar verse which comes in verse 2. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. I'm sure that you'll agree with me when I say that Moses was probably the most outstanding character in the whole of the Old Testament. The Jews today venerate Moses as the greatest of all of their great leaders. And you will know, if you know your Bible at all, that the name of Moses occurs predominantly through the whole of Scriptures. In Hebrews 11, he stands out as one of the heroes of the faith in God's hall of fame. He wrote most or more than anybody else of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 1, it speaks of him as the man of God. And we know that that saying is only reserved for a select number of people. If you read his obituary, you'll read that in Deuteronomy and chapter 34, it says there, there arose not a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. And if you think about that phrase, you realise that here was a man who had an intimacy and a fellowship with the Lord that very, very few all down the years have really enjoyed, and yet something that we all ought to have ourselves. We remember Moses tonight as the great emancipator of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and right to the very border of the promised land. But what we really remember about Moses is this. He was a man of God for his hour. He was God's man for that hour. And by which we look and see Him, we can see that here is a man that God saw, and selected, and chosen, and set him apart. And here was a man who was yielded to God, and God was able to use him mightily for His own honour and glory. So that tonight we all know about Moses, even though he lived so many years ago. And we say, we would like to be like Moses, we would like to be used like Moses, we would like to be called the man of God, we would love to have, when we die, such an obituary that that man had. But how did it actually all begin? Well, you may know that it began at Mount Horeb. Sometimes it's called the Mount of God. Why? Because there were so many experiences of God that happened at that particular place. But you'll know that the first occasion we read about this place in the life of Moses, it's described as the back side of the desert. And that really describes this place because it was an obscure place, it was a lonely place, it was an insignificant place until God met Moses. And from then on, this place which is the Mount of Horeb became the Mount of God. And you will know that Moses was there because he ran away from Pharaoh and from his wrath. You'll know the story, of course. You don't need me to hardly need you or really to remind you about it. But Moses had run away from Pharaoh's wrath and Pharaoh was looking to take him and no doubt would have slain him. But here was a man who had lost the dream that he once had. He believed that he could deliver Israel. Of course, he tried to do it in his own strength. But he had a dream of delivering Israel. But he was defeated because he tried to do it in his own strength. And when he was defeated, he ran for his life. And then he finds himself right in the desert. And he's content. It's an interesting verse that you will see in chapter 2 and verse 21. And it says, And Moses was content to dwell with the man. Moses was content. We usually reckon contentment is a virtue, and it's a blessing, and it's something that each one of us wants in our own lives. But it's not a virtue here, is it? Because Moses is content to settle down. He's now a married man. He's married Zipporah. He has two sons. He has a family. He's joined the father-in-law's business. And he's looking after the sheep in the backside of the desert. Instead of the palace and the Pharaoh's courts, he's now in the desert looking after sheep. And of course, this is a sad picture. of a man who is content to just be there and instead of doing what God wants him to do. The dream that once he had came from God and that picture of the deliverer was what God wanted him to be. But he lost it. Now he was content just to do business and to bring up a family and to make his life where he was. I read a story recently about a person who said he was content. First of all, he had some things that he wanted to say to his employer. And he went there and he said all these different things that was wrong with the business and wrong with his place of work and so on. And the employer said to him, well, tell me, what would it mean or what could I do to make you content to work here? Well, the man said, I think, and I'm going to translate it into American here, he said, I think if you gave me a hundred dollars, I'd be content. So the man immediately put his hand in his pocket, gave him a hundred dollars. He looked at it, he was amazed that he gave him a hundred dollars. He went outside and he saw someone there, he said, well, did you go well? He said, well, it went okay, but I wish I'd asked for two hundred dollars. And people are like that, aren't they? You give them one thing and they wish it had more. And we're all a bit like that. But that wasn't the sort of contentment. This man was content with something which was lesser, something that was second rate, something that wasn't really in God's will for him. And then, and then God surprised him. You'll remember the story of the bush that never burned. and how God appears in the fire of that bush. This is one of the greatest miracles of the Old Testament. And God speaks to him, and reveals himself to him, and he calls him by name, and he tells him that he's going to send him back to Egypt to deliver his people. And Moses is fearful. And Moses is full of excuses. Do you remember that there were five excuses that Moses went and made, rather, and I want you just to notice them. In chapter 3 and verse 11, he says here, And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? He's saying there that he's a nobody. Here's a man who was a prince of Egypt. Here was a man who had great position. Great education, great learning. And he says, Who am I? Here's a man with an inferiority complex. Look at verse 13. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? Isn't it amazing that this man, brought up by his mother, taught the things that we know he knew, and yet he can't remember the name of God. Here's a man not only with an inferiority complex, he's got a forgetful memory. And then we come to chapter 4 and verse 1. And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice. For they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto him. They won't believe me. Suddenly he's full of all unbelief. And then we come to verse 10. And Moses said unto the Lord, Ah, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. He can't speak. With all the education he'd had, with all the experience he'd gone through, here was a man who was claiming inadequacy. I can't speak. Then in verse 13, we'll see here again. And he said, O my Lord, send I pray Thee by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send. Send somebody else. Here's what we call the transference of responsibility. Oh, I know someone ought to go. I know someone ought to do it. I can see what you mean, but send somebody else. You know, Joseph Parker, who was a contemporary of C.H. Spurgeon, said this, How inventive we are in finding excuses for not doing God's will. That's true, isn't it? C.H. Spurgeon himself said this, It is hard to overcome unbelief in the human heart. How difficult! We seem to find it, to trust and to venture upon the naked promise of God. We're all a bit like that. Tonight we come to this final service of this conference week. And I guess that there are many people here who've heard the Lord speak in one way or another, maybe for salvation, maybe for service, maybe about something in their own lives. And somehow we've been very inventive in our excuses. Why we won't do the will of the Lord? Why we won't go? Why we won't do? Why we won't give up? Whatever it may be, we're very inventive, aren't we? But look how God answered him. First of all, He shows His presence. In verse 12 He says, and He said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee. You know, if God should say to you tonight, go, and you say, but listen, I'm not sure as I could go. But God said clearly to you, certainly, that's the positive note, I will be with thee. Don't you think you'd say, I'll go. If I know God's going to be with me, I'll go, but not Moses. And so God has to speak to him again. And in verse 13, God says, And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent you the all-sufficient God. I am. There's nothing outside of that. God is everything. I am hath sent you. And then in verse 12, of course, there's another promise there where it says, I will be with you. And now we come to verse 14 of chapter 4. where it says, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well, and also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. You know that Aaron became his spokesman. This was second best. And in this sense, Moses had second best. Would it be tragic if there's a young person here or even an older person, doesn't matter who you are, and yet after all this week and all these messages and the challenge that we have received, and yet we go from this place and we accept second best instead of God's best for our lives. Ah, let me tell you, when you get old, you look back upon your life and you say, I wish I'd done that, I wish I'd done that, I wish I'd done this, Listen, you shouldn't live with regrets, should you? But some of you will live with regrets if you accept second best and are not prepared for God's best in your own heart and in your own life. But what I want to say tonight is how God spoke to Moses. Because here was Moses before him. And Moses says, but they won't believe me. They won't take any notice of me. Who am I? And then God says, And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. You know there are many lessons that we can learn from that particular verse. I want to go through some of them tonight with you, but look at this first of all. The first lesson that you see here is God doesn't see as man sees. There's almost a surprise here. God says to Moses, what is that in thine hand? And Moses said, well, this? This? This? It's a rod. God sees differently. And tonight we could look at you and we could say lots of different things about you, Moby, but God looks at you in a different way. And then the second thing, Obviously, what we see here is this, that God can take the ordinary and make it special. Don't we say something sometimes? Little is big when God is in it. Are you a little person? You feel insufficient? You're not as good as them? Educationally, you're not really up to what they are? And anyway, you just blend in the background. You're not a leader. You're not a person that goes to the front. Listen, little is big when God is in it. And the third thing that you can see here as well, and this is very important, God can use anybody and anything. Because the God that we believe in is the Sovereign God of Heaven. And if He is the Sovereign God of Heaven, He made all things. And we believe that He can. use anybody and anything. I came across a poem recently. You might know this. If God can hang the stars on high, can paint the clouds that drift on by, can send the sun across the sky, what could he do through you? If he can send a storm through space, and dot the trees, the mountain face, if He the sparrow's way can trace, what could He do through you? If God can do such little things as count our hairs or birds that sing, control the universe that swings, what could He do through you? General Booth, who was the founder of the Salvation Army, was a mighty man of God. Wilbur Chapman, in this country, also was a man much used of God. They were both asked a similar question and both answered in exactly the same way. And they said this, what really is the success of your Christian service? And they both said these words. God has every bit of me. I wonder if that's true of you tonight. God has every bit of me. You see, God takes a man as he is, where he is, and what he has. And if that man is truly consecrated unto Him, God will use it for his honor and his glory. I want you to notice, first of all, in our text tonight, the subject. And it's a very surprising subject. What is it that in my hand? And he said, a rod. It's amazing that we can speak tonight about a subject of a rod and where it comes and the history of that rod. And the first thing I want you to see is the inquiry that is made. What is that that is in my hand? There are many questions in Scripture, aren't there? Questions which demand an answer. Some very important questions that the very answer that we give determines our eternal state and our blessing here on earth. The first question in the Bible is, where art thou? The two who had disobeyed God. What about that question of the angel to Hagar when she was running away from Abraham and Sarah? Whence camest thou and whither wilt thou go? The two questions which every one of us must answer. Where did you come from and where are you going? We look into the Psalms and the Psalms is full of questions. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, that hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity. When we go into the New Testament, once again, so many questions. The Lord turned to his critics and said, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? He turned to that erring disciple and said, Lovest thou me more than these? And you'll know the unanswerable question. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? There is no answer to that particular question, is there? But look at this question that we have here. I suggest to you that this was the most important question in the whole of the life of Moses. What? Is that in thine hand? What have you got in your hand? Why did the Lord ask that of Moses? And why does he ask us questions about our lives and about everything about us? Surely, as far as Moses is concerned, and we as well, it's not for the Lord's knowledge. He knows everything about us. He knew what Moses had in his hand. No, it wasn't for his own knowledge. It was to make Moses himself aware of what he had in his hand. to show him that he had the resources, that he himself had all that it took to be serving Him. And the Lord says that to us tonight. And the question is to every young person, every older person, every minister in the gospel, every person who's here and can hear my voice, what is that in thy hand? What have you got in your hand? your talents, your gifts, your calling, your purpose, the resources which God has given you to accomplish that will of God which He has for your life. What is that that you have in your hand tonight? But I want you to also see that this question really is in the form of an investigation. What do I mean? You know sometimes This could be a rebuke. And it may be a rebuke to some person in this service tonight. What is that that you have in your hand? There are things that we ought not to have in our hands. Things that defile us. Things that harm us. Things that hurt us. Things that will trouble our spiritual lives. Things that will dishonor us as Christians. things which are secret sins. And you know we all have them. What is that that you have in your hand? If you've got something in your hand that ought not to be there tonight, that you ought to confess and get rid of it. Listen, it could be a relationship. It could be a secret sin. has got into your life and it ought not to be there. Tonight is a night of decision. Well, you've got to get rid of those things. I want you to see also the identification of this rod. You see, this rod was just a shepherd's scarf. We sometimes speak of a shepherd's crook, don't we? It was probably an old stick that was probably about three foot to maybe six foot long. It had been cut from a branch of a tree and therefore had come from the creation of God. And so what Moses was being asked was something that God had already given him. But it was a common thing. It was an ordinary thing. It was probably a battered thing. I don't know how long Moses had that, But in my mind, I imagine when he first went out there and became a shepherd, 40 years before, maybe he'd cut it down. And you know how things you have and you've kept for long in your life, and they become very precious to you, mean nothing to anybody else. But maybe he'd had this battered old stick, this old crook beside him, for 40 years. And this is what really it was. It was nothing to look at. It was nothing special. But you know something? It was all that he had. That's all he had in his hand. We're not talking about money. He didn't have any money. We're not talking about goods, or possessions, or anything else, or where did he come from, or what has he been up to. What have you got in your hand? And all he had was this rod. And God saw it. and saw how it could be used if this was surrendered to him. And I want you to notice the change in this. Look at verse 20. And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass. And he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. What a change! this battered old bit of wood, this rod, this staff, this crook, and now this becomes the very rod of God. Do you know there are about 14 references to the rod in the book of Exodus? Two of them mention the rod of God. And what that shows is that God took this and that He used it. My friend, can you see the application of this? We belong to ourselves, don't we? We live in our own little private world. But if we're consecrated and we're surrendered unto the Lord totally and utterly, we can become the man of God, the woman of God. We belong to Him totally and utterly. And look at this rod and what became of it. It was used when He went before Sarah and the rod became a serpent. It was used in the plagues. And you can read that in chapter 7. There were ten of those plagues, weren't there? The water turned to blood. It was the rod. And then the frogs, and the lice, and the beetles, or the flies, and the murray, and the cattle, and the boil, and the hail, and the locusts, and the darkness, and then the angel of death. Do you know the rod was used in all of them? Because it was the rod of God. And then when the children of Israel left Egypt, you'll remember they came to the Red Sea, and the rod of God was put out, and the Red Sea fell back, and there was a room for the children of Israel to cross. And then when they were thirsty, the rock was smitten, and the water gushed out. And then when they're in their first battle with Amalek, how the rod was in Moses' hands, and when the rod was in his hands and lifted up, so the people of God prevailed over their enemy. Isn't it remarkable? I could go on, couldn't I, and speak about this rod. It was once just an old piece of wood, but now it's the rod of God. You see, you can see the application, can't you? You could call yourself insignificant. You could call yourself nothing and a nobody. But if you're surrendered to God entirely, just look what God could make of you and be for you, and God could use you in such a manner and in such a way. F.B. Meyer said these words, which I think are worth quoting. When God wants an implement for His service, He doesn't choose the golden scepter, but a shepherd's crook, the weakest and meanest thing that he could find. A ram's horn, a cake of barley meal, an ox goad, an earthen picture of Gideon, the shepherd's sling of David, the five loaves and the two fishes of the little lamb, the rod of God, with God is mightier than the vastest of enemies. My friend, do we believe that? That God could take me with all my feelings and all my sins and all my weakness and all my inability? Could God take me and use me in that manner, in that way? Yes, He can. And that's the message tonight to every person in this place. The subject, the rod. I want you now to see the symbolism that we have here. It's most interesting. In verse 3, God said, cast it on the ground. And He cast it on the ground. And it became a serpent. And Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, put forth thy hand and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it. And it became a rod in his hand. You know, sometimes we read just these words, and we read them quickly over in our quiet time. They don't mean much, but let me try and explain it to you. These words are full of instruction. God uses the rod as a sign to Moses. Note that instruction that we have here. Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent. You know, there are many lessons from Moses here, and I want you to think about them with me. First of all, this rod was his support. I can imagine, again, here's a man, isn't he? He's 80 years of age. He uses this rod as an aid in walking. He uses the rod to lean upon when he's weary. But more than that, he uses the rod in the defense when he's in times of danger. And God says, cast it on the ground. Cast it away. And once he casts this rod away, he's casting all earthly help from him. And the rod becomes a serpent, just when he needed it most. Now Moses is weak, so weak he runs for it. I think I'd be like that if I saw a serpent in front of me. And so would you. But listen, Moses is weak before this serpent. And now, there's no escape. There's no rod to lean on. There's no support. There's nothing to keep him from danger. He's got to rely upon God and upon God alone. The second thing here is that the rod is like Israel. And how it's like Israel is this, you see, Israel were meant to be the rod of God's strength and of God's power in the world. But look at them as a nation. They're now cast down among the serpents of Egypt. Egypt used the picture of a serpent as royal or divine power. And here are Israel, they're among the serpents of Egypt. And Moses must take this serpent by the tail and bring them out of Egypt. Do you know it's the most foolish thing to take a serpent by the tail? You imagine taking a serpent by the tail. It's the most impossible thing as well. And yet Moses is required to do that. Take it by the tail. This demands courage. And it demands faith as well by Moses. God said it. Moses must do it. Listen, there are things we don't understand. And when God first spoke to me about full-time service, and I don't really like that word, but nevertheless you understand what I mean. I didn't understand what was going to happen and where I'd go and what would take place. I had to take the serpent by the tail. And I had to have courage and I had to have faith. And if God is speaking to you about something, don't try and work it out logically. You can't do it. If God said it, do it. Because God will work it out. You know, we could look at this and we haven't time, but think about this. That's what Jesus did upon the cross. He took the serpent by the tail. And that's why tonight we have victory through the blood of Calvary. Because he took the serpent by the tail. The instruction. Now notice the intention. Verse 5 tells us, it almost seems a verse out of place, but it's not of course. And it says, that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee. You know, this miracle was done three times. First of all, it was done in the desert to Moses, that he might believe. And then it was done to the children of Israel, that they might believe. And then it was done to Pharaoh, that he might believe. Of course he didn't. Hardened his heart, didn't he? But this was to show God had appeared, and that Moses was God's man. You know, three in Scripture is a most important number. It's the second number that is used most in Scripture. Christ raised three people from the dead, Jairus' daughter, the young man of Nain, and then Lazarus. It's the number of the resurrection. Jesus rose again on the third day. It was the sealing of the cross. In 1 John, it speaks of three bearing record in heaven, the Father and the Word and the Holy Ghost. But there are three that bear witness on earth. The Spirit, and the water, and the blood. Three is the number of completion. And God said, this is complete. This is how I'm going to show the world that you're God's man. But you know, God always does that. He puts His stamp. He puts His seal. He puts His anointing. He puts His Spirit. He puts His blessing upon the man which He chooses and the one that He chooses and sends forth to be His servant. I want you also to notice the importance of this. This rod has now been given over to God. It's God's instrument. And that rod is a symbol to our lives tonight. What God can do when we are His and when we are totally given to God. D.L. Moody came to my country a number of occasions and had many wonderful meetings. But if you know anything about D.L. Moody, you know that in lots of ways he was an insignificant man, certainly uneducated as far as education is concerned today. On one occasion he was going back to the United States of America, in those days by ship, And a Church of England vicar, an Episcopalian by the name of Varley, who had a church in Brighton, saw him off at the docks and he said, Mr Moody, the world has yet to see what God can do through a man wholly given over to Him. I guess you've heard those words before. But let me challenge him with you. The world has yet to see what God will do with a man, with a woman, wholly given over to Him. Mr. Moody said goodbye and went on the boat, but the words kept ringing in his mind, the world has yet to see, the world has yet to see. By the time he reached New York, he said, I'll be that man. And that really is part of the success of D.L. Moody. A man wholly given over to God. Listen, couldn't we repeat those words tonight to every person here? Because I believe that this is the message for tonight. I believe that it's a message to you. The world has yet to see a young man, a young woman, a person wholly given over to God. What God would do through that man. And would you be prepared to say tonight with all your might, I'll be that man. I'll be that woman. I'll be that person. Nothing's going to come in between. Nothing's going to stop it. I'll be that man. Think of what God could do with your life. I look at some of you here tonight, you've got much more than I ever had. More education, more qualifications, more everything. I don't know where to begin. Listen, I'm old and you're young. You've got your life in front of you. You've got everything. Everything. And if God can use me, I'll tell you this, He could use you if you're prepared to surrender yourself to God. We've all heard of Paganini, haven't we? Paganini was playing in his great concert. And those who were right at the front could see that something was amiss. He'd broken three strings on his violin. Before long, there's only one left. And they said, he'll have to stop. But he didn't. He carried on. And this violin, in the hands of a master, I played the most beautiful music that they'd ever heard. Listen, a life in the hands of the Master. What is that in mine hand? And he said, a rod. My last point is concerning surrender. I want you to read again with me verses 19 and 20. And the Lord said unto Moses, in Midian, go return into Egypt, for all the men are dead that sought by life. And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. Look at the call here, because in that verse 19 it says, go return into Egypt. Now you say, what's remarkable about that? I'll tell you what's remarkable. It's the fourth time that God had said it! Fourth time that God had said it! Check it out, if you like. Chapter 3, verse 10. Chapter 3, verse 16. Chapter 4, verse 12. And then verse 19. Four times! Isn't it wonderful that God is patient And he's persistent in our lives. Spoken to you before, hasn't he? Spoken to me so many times. And I'm thankful tonight that God is patient and persistent. For 42 years, David Thomas in Wales slipped a love letter in the letterbox of his neighbor, Rachel Jones. Years before, they'd gone out together. They hoped to marry, but they'd had a lover's tiff, and not spoken to each other since. And each day, he brought the letter and put it in the letterbox, and each day she took the letter and burned it, unopened, till finally one day he went to the house and he knocked on the door, and he spoke to her. And he said, will you marry me? And she said, yes, I will. And they got married. They were 74, each of them, 74 years of age. 42 years! That's persistence. But think of all the years that they missed. The Lord is speaking to you tonight. Imagine coming back here in 40 years time. I won't be here. Some of you will. If the Lord tarries. And God speaks to you again. And finally you say yes. But what about the years you've missed? What about the years the locusts have eaten? Tragic, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it be tragic? Don't let it happen. Don't let it happen. Look at the compliance. At last, in verse 20, Moses took his wife, his sons, set them up on ash, he returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. The compliance. At last, he yielded to God. shows that he's totally surrendered by taking his wife and his children, his boys with him. There's no turning back. He's burnt his bridges. There's no looking back. He's going now and there's only one thing that he took with him. What was it? The rod of God! This shows his faith in the power of God. What's in your hand? A rod. And that's the only thing that he took with him. He didn't take anything else. He just trusted God. And he believed that God would do it. But it's a rod that's consecrated. It's a rod that's dedicated. Here's a man yielded to God, wielded by God, and will be shielded with God in the future. I quoted here General Booth. There was another occasion when someone asked him the secret of his happiness. And he said this, I never say no to God. I never say no to God. Matthew Henry said, if religion is worth anything, it's worth everything. Do you believe that? If it's worth anything, it's worth everything. So finally we come to his commission. If you read verses 21 to 23, you'll see the commission. But let me just show you verse 21. And the Lord said unto Moses, when thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh. He will do wonders! Now, of course, you know as well as I do, he wasn't perfect. There were many battles that he had to fight. There were many upsets that he had. There were many disappointments that would come in his life. But here's a man who was going to do wonders. He was going to confront Pharaoh. And to do that he needed courage and commitment and faith and obedience and trust. He had to be single-eyed. He was going to do wonders. or my friend tonight, I have to say to you, if there are those here tonight who really consecrate and dedicate themselves, you're going to do wonders for God! Wonders for God! What's in your hand? Abel would say, a land that I'm going to sacrifice for God. Mary would say, a jar of ointment that I'm going to pour forth. The woman we heard about last night in the temple would say, two mites, I'm going to give them entirely unto the Lord. Dorcas would say, a needle that I'm going to give to God. Moses would say, a rod that is given to God and becomes God's. All for Jesus. All for Jesus. All my being's ransom powers. all my thoughts and words and doings, all my days and all my hours? Would you be prepared to say that? We often quote Mr Spurgeon. What a wonderful man he must have been. He said one day he was walking around a cemetery and he was looking at the tombstones and he came across a most remarkable tombstone. At the top of the tombstone it just said, must have been the man's name, Freddy. And underneath there was just one word, nothing about his life, nothing about when he was born and died, it just said, yes. And Mr. Spurgeon said, I imagine that man was a Christian. And somehow this man, Freddy, there he was, there's nothing about his life or what he did, but he was a man who said yes to the law. What about you tonight? What is that in thine hand? A rod. Are you prepared to say yes to the Lord? Do it now. You've been listening to The Chapel Hour, coming to you from the campus of Bob Jones University. Our speaker was Dr. Brian Green, pastor of Calvary Free Grace Baptist Church in Middlesex, England. His message was preached during the 2007 Bible Conference. For a cassette or compact disc copy of today's message, send a check for $6 to Campus Store, Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina 29614. Be sure to mention the name of the speaker and today's date. The Chapel Hour has been sponsored by Bob Jones University.