Acts 7:30-38 

³⁰ “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. ³³ “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴ I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. ³⁷ “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ ³⁸ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

Subpoena [suh–pee-nuh]

A subpoena is a writ, an order of a court, a legislature, or grand jury compelling or requiring a witness to be present at a trial or hearing on a specified date and time.

There is a penalty of fine or imprisonment for failure to comply with the subpoena.

Subpoena is a Latin word for “under penalty.”

Similar to a subpoena, God’s calling is an order from the Ultimate Judge requiring all believers to be Christ’s witnesses. Even before a person decides to become Christ’s believer God’s calling is issued. God’s calling to every believer is irrevocable because God is very certain and knows for sure what, where, and when He called believers for.

God moulds, forms, and shapes us according to the calling and plan He has designed us for.

Each individual person may have similarity but all are given a unique and exclusive calling. This is why each of us has different and distinct experiences in life. No two persons can claim that they have the same experiences in life like: family, school, career, or choices of material needs or relationship.

For every unique experience we have, God prepares us for our calling.

Let’s consider the calling of Moses and learn from it in relation to our own personal calling.

1. Commission

³⁰“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. ³³“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴ I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

Moses was and will only be the person who became prince of Egypt for 40 years and then became shepherd for 40 years before leading the Israelites for another 40 years.

Moses’ life displayed the eternal creativity of God in designing each person’s life. When God called Moses, He commissioned him and gave him instruction of what to do. God’s calling for Moses to lead the Israelites out of the Egyptian slavery won’t be repeated.

When Moses initiated and tried to be the leader of the Israelites, God did not allow it. Remember when Moses saved an Israelite slave from the hand of an Egyptian?

v.25 says… ²⁵ Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.

Moses had eagerness to save his people and might have thought that God would support it. Yet, God allowed him to escape and became a shepherd for 40 years in a foreign land. For sure, it was not easy for Moses to wait for 40 years until God’s calling materialized.

Moses reasoned out with God because he had reservations and hesitations. Did he doubt his calling was to become the leader of the Israelite nation?

Perhaps, why? He was not recognized at first, so, he expected that he might not be effective. But when it was time, when God has decided that Moses had enough training on how to shepherd God’s people, God revealed His plans to him in a very peculiar, distinctive way.

God’s angel caught Moses’ attention in a miraculous way through a burning bush. Moses’ encounter with God was not only some kind of heart-warming experience but Moses had trembled with fear also.

God made sure that Moses heard his calling audibly and clearly. God allowed Moses to argue his case to remove his doubts about his calling as leader.

Emotionally and intellectually, Moses cannot deny his encounter with God. The calling of Moses to be the leader the Israelites was irrevocable and irreversible.

In Romans 11:29 it says, “²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” 

How I heard audibly my calling  

As early as 15 years old, when I pondered upon the kind of life I would like to have, the life of a minister has fascinated me more than any career.

I had ups and down, struggles and embarrassing experiences, for sure.

After my 31^st birthday, I felt a strange feeling of restlessness in my usual way of life. There was an increasing hunger, thirst and longing for a deeper meaning of life.

One particular night, I was reading God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 ¹The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The idea of following God’s leading became very enticing and appealing to my inner self.

Few weeks later, my pastor and I were on our way to attend a church leaders’ seminar. Out of the blue he asked me, “When will you enrol in the seminary?”

When I heard my pastor spoke, it was very clear and I felt excited and was very glad. His voice was striking and compelling, that kind like overwhelmed me with nervousness.

God’s call is always unique and exclusive to each individual believer. Some believers testified that they heard God’s calling for them through radio, television, or preachers but still their calling was given in an exclusively unique way. There was only one burning bush event in the Bible exclusively for Moses only. Others have dreamed dreams, seen vision and read the scriptures or articles.

When God instructs us about our individual calling, He would also give us confirmation.

2. Confirmation

³⁵ “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 

Moses was very hesitant to heed God’s calling for him to lead the Israelites because they have rejected him, at first, when he tried to help them. For more than 400 years, the Israelites have been slaves so that their mindsets became very dependent to their Egyptian masters. They did not have a united thought of revolting against their harsh Egyptian masters. They were just like sheep needing a shepherd to lead them.

At first, Moses tried in his own effort to save the Israelites but failed, not successful. And when God called him to go back to Egypt, he had reservations but God has prevailed.

³⁶ He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. ³⁷ “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ ³⁸ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

Signs and wonders that Moses performed confirmed more of his calling. Moses stopped doubting about his calling to lead the Israelites when God guided and instructed Moses of what he should do step by step. God gave a vision that they will worship the Lord together as a nation at Mt Sinai.

In Exodus 3:12… ¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

When God gave the idea to worship at Mt Sinai, Moses was still not convinced to go. And indeed, they came to Mt Sinai and they worship God together eventually.

Like Moses, I had my own share of doubts and reservations when things did not go as I expected in my early years in the ministry. God continued to confirm my calling when my family and I went to the mission field. No sure financial support going to mission but God gave us a great ministry experience.

But why is it that many of believers cannot hear God’s calling clearly and audibly?

The Eagle with Chicken Mindset

A farmer brought home an eagle egg and put it in the chicken nest.

The eagle egg was hatched, grew, lived and acted like a chicken.

One day another eagle was hovering above the chickens and the young eagle. The chickens ran and hid themselves inside the chicken coop or chicken cage.

The eagle landed and asked the young eagle, “Why are you acting like a chicken?”

“You should be flying like an eagle, like me high above in the sky. Come, let’s go!”

The young eagle was puzzled but has recovered in time and said to the other eagle:

“Okay then, let me go and say good bye to the other chickens.”

When the young eagle came where the chickens were hiding he said: “That eagle thought he can convince me that I am an eagle. Huh! I am a wise chicken, ehy!

It is really amusing but it’s a very sad reality that most believers have not realized their true calling because they prefer to live in a worldly lifestyle like those people around them.

Romans 12:1-2 teaches us that for us to hear God clearly we need to be pleasing to God. ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

If we live according to the pattern Christ Jesus exemplified us, not conforming to the pattern of this world, our spiritual ears will be open to hear God’s voice more clearly.

The lifestyles of this world are like ear wax clogging our spiritual ears and minds.

Pray and ask the Lord Jesus to help you be transformed into a Christ-like mindset.

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