This sermon emphasizes the importance of being saved to serve God's purpose, using the example of Moses who initially tried to serve God in his own way but failed. Through Moses' journey, we learn that God can transform our skills and professions into tools for His miracles when surrendered to Him. The sermon encourages believers to allow God to reduce them to nothing so that He can be glorified through their lives.

Will you please turn to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 3. Just one verse. Verse 5. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 5. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a ministering servant for a testimony of the things to be spoken after. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, as we continue in thy presence, our hearts are wide open for thee. Lord, speak whatever is on thy heart and enable each and every one of us to hear thy voice. Lord, we are here for thee and pray that thou will be glorified in the midst of thy people. May all thy will be done in and among us as it is in heaven. And we give thee all the glory in thy precious name. Amen. Brothers and sisters, we are saved to serve. We find in the scripture when God was to deliver his children of Israel out of Egypt, he sent Moses to them to speak to Pharaoh. In Exodus chapter 8 verse 1 he says, Let my people go. Why? For what? That they may serve me. In other words, when God created man, he created man with a purpose. And the purpose is that we may serve him. So brothers and sisters, none of us are saved for our own sake. Thank God that because he has saved us, our sins are forgiven. Because he has saved us, we have eternal life. We have hope. But this is not the main purpose that God has saved us. He saved us because he wants to use us. He wants each and every one of us to serve him. I don't think we need to remind brothers and sisters that it is not a few of those who are saved to serve. But every brother and sister, young and old, as long as you are saved, remember, you are saved to serve God. And this is God's purpose for each and every one of us. In spite of the fact that we do not all serve in the same way, God may call you to do this for him and he to do that for him. Nevertheless, it is to serve his purpose. Now how are we going to serve him? I think this is a basic and tremendous problem. I don't think I need to remind you. As long as you are saved, I think you know within yourselves that you are saved to serve God's purpose. You are not to live any longer for your own self. We used to do that and what a miserable life we have lived. But immediately after one is saved, I believe God has put in each and every heart the thought of serving him. In many different ways, nevertheless, the purpose is the same. We are saved to serve. So the problem with us today is how do we serve? In what way are we going to serve? I remember my own experience. After I was saved, I was so grateful to God. I wanted to serve him. And I tried to serve him according to the way that I knew. We tried to start some meetings in our school. We have prayer meetings. We have meetings for ministry. And young as we were, I was only 15 at that time, we led a prayer meeting. And we pray and we also preach the word of God. The way I preach the word of God is to go to my father's study and find a book. I still remember vividly. It was Dr. Jarrett. At that time he was a famous preacher in this country. So I got his book and translated one chapter which is on Noah's Ark. I translated it into Chinese and memorized every word of it. And on that day I went to preach. You know, after I preached, I felt good. The only thing I regretted was nobody praised me. That was the way we tried to serve God. And I still remember I led a prayer meeting. And when the students as well as some teachers came, I gave a short message on prayer again. I copied it from my father's book. And then I asked everybody to kneel down and pray. But you can see nobody prayed. And instead of that, some students began to laugh. And I severely scolded them. I said we were in the presence of God. There should be reverence there. Brothers and sisters, I think we all try to serve him in the way that we think he should be served. It takes some time for me to realize that serving God is not a simple matter. Now suppose you are called to serve the President of the United States. Do you think that you can serve him in the way that you think fit? Do you feel that you should learn how to serve? And strangely, among God's people, it seems as if we are all experts. As soon as we are saved and as soon as we start to serve, we know how to serve and what God should be pleased with. Can you imagine that? How can we serve God, he who is the creator, the redeemer, the king of kings and the lord of lords? Do you think we need to learn how to serve? And because of that, I am thinking of Moses. Because in the Old Testament, you find Moses, God called him, my servant. Moses in the Old Testament represents God's servant. So I think we have lots to learn from Moses. How did he serve God? Basically, I would say, he tried to serve God when he was 40 years old. Evidently, his mother, while milking him, was able to impress upon him that God had saved him for a reason. Because he was born during the time when Pharaoh commanded that if any Hebrew woman should give birth to a male child, he should be killed, thrown into the river Nile. And Moses lived under the sentence of death. Humanly speaking, he was not allowed to live. But somehow his parents sensed something in that child. They tried to save his life, but after three months, his crying would be too loud. So they had to do something for him. And you remember how the mother made an ark of acacia wood and put Moses in it, and by the river Jordan of Nile. And God, in his providence, allowed Pharaoh's daughter to come by. He saw that ark. He asked her servant to bring it to her. And when they opened that little ark, he saw a little boy there, and he cried. And you know, the cry of a baby touched the heart of a woman. That's how Moses was saved. And evidently, his own mother impressed upon him that you were saved for a reason. You were saved to save the children of Israel. And he, in spite of being 40 years in the Egyptian palace, had learned all the learnings of Egypt. At that time, Egypt was the greatest nation in the world. He learned all the learnings. He was mighty in words and in deeds. And yet, the impression his mother put in him was there. So when he was 40 years old, he went out to see his brethren, how they fared. And you know how he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite. So he looked around and saw there was nobody there. So he was mighty in deeds. So he beat that Egyptian to death and buried him under the sand. The next morning, he went out again to look after his brethren and saw two Israelites fighting each other. And he was mighty in words. So he tried to separate them and he was rejected even by his own people. He had to flee for his life. In other words, brothers and sisters, at that time, Moses tried to serve God according to himself. By his words and deeds. In his own way. Thank God. God allowed him to fail. What if he should succeed? Brothers and sisters, can you see the picture? When we are saved, probably, I don't think there will be anyone here that are able to serve God in his way. I don't think so. I think everyone, when our heart is turned by God, is touched by God, and we want to do something for Him. We all try to serve in our way and by our own strength and wisdom. Now if the Lord should allow you to succeed, what will happen? Because you are not serving God, you are serving yourself. And thank God if He makes you fail. Have you been a failure? If you are, thank God for that. But if you are successful, who to you? Because you will continue in that way, and you are just serving yourself instead of God. So brothers and sisters, we are saved to serve. But that doesn't mean that we should serve in our own way, in our own wisdom, depending upon our own self. No. If you want to serve God, you have to serve Him in His way, by His will. So this is an important lesson for each one of us to learn. Thank God for putting in us that inward desire to serve Him, because that is what it should be. When God created man, He did not create man for man's own reason. He created man for his own purpose. And it is but right, when we are saved, we have the desire to serve. But let us remember, we cannot serve God by ourselves. We can only make things worse, instead of fulfilling the will of God. So first of all, you find Moses learned this important lesson. Of all people in the world, Moses who was so learned, mighty in words and deeds, he should be the only one, the first one, who succeeded whatever he wanted to do. We were told that he was a great general in Egypt at that time. He was powerful, but it was God who allowed him to fail. Because he tried to serve God in his own way. He tried to deliver his brethren by his might and by his eloquence. So God allowed him to fail. He fled. He spent another 40 years in the wilderness, looking after a few sheep. And brothers and sisters, after he had done that for another 40 years, no wonder when God really wanted him to go, he said, I cannot because I'm nobody, I do not have eloquence. Now, if you have spoken to a sheep for 40 years, all your eloquence will be gone. And all your might will be gone because you cannot use your strength. Otherwise, all the sheep will die. So in those 40 years in the wilderness, Moses unlearned everything that he had learned in Egypt before. Brothers and sisters, if you are naturally gifted, or if you have received such training, do not think that this is a plus to you in serving God. As a matter of fact, it is a minus because God had no need for your help. We have to serve God according to his will and by his strength. And how can we do that? Where does it come from? It comes from vision. So brothers and sisters, we feel that it is basic and not only basic, but important to know that we cannot serve God if we do not have vision. By vision, it simply means God has revealed himself to you. God has revealed his mind to you. He has shown you where you are and what he can do with you. So you remember Moses when he was 80 years old. Now if you have read Psalm 90, you find in Psalm 90 verse 10, he said, how long a man will live? He said, it is three scores and ten years. That is 70 years old. But if you are strong, you may be four score years, 80 years old. And remember, Moses at that time was 80 years old. So, so far as he himself is concerned, he considered himself as dead. No use. He is already 80 years old. What can he do with that? But man's end is God's beginning. So when he came to the end of himself, God began to use him. Brothers and sisters, have you come to the end of yourselves? Are you still thinking great about yourselves? Mighty in words and deeds? Or do you come to the point when you realize there is nothing in you that God can use? You have to unlearn everything you have learned in the world in order to allow God to begin his work in you. So you find in the case of Moses, when he was 80 years old, God waited for him. Waited for him for 40 years to unlearn all he has learned in Egypt. Because God has no need for such things. At the end of himself, that's the beginning of God. Dear brothers and sisters, how difficult it is for us to come to the end of ourselves. The more talented you are, the more educated you are, the more experience you have, the less you are able to see the end of yourself. The more you would depend upon yourself. Brothers and sisters, God had no need of you. He has to be the beginning and the end. So thank God if one day we come to the end of ourselves. Because this is where hope really begins. Moses, he was 80 years old. I think he has given up the idea of saving his people. It took 40 years for him to give up his ambition. Now he is nothing. And he is ready to go. But it was at that time that God's calling came to him. You know, in the wilderness, it was so dry. It was so hot. So only bushes were there. But these bushes are of no use. And they burned very easily. Because of the heat, they suddenly were burned by itself. And when it is burned, it is gone. You cannot use it even as a fuel. Because it is gone so quickly. Nothing. No use. It is a common sight in the wilderness. Moses must have seen this for many, many times. But Moses was a very observant person. One day as he was keeping the sheep, he saw a bush burning. But strangely, it was not burned. Now, that was a miracle. So that caught his attention. He drew near to see what had happened. It was most unusual. And as he approached that burning bush that was not burned, the Lord called him from the burning bush. Because the Lord was there. And because the Lord was in that bush, so when it burns, it is not burned, but rather it glows. It glows. Brilliant. Glory. And God said, put off your shoes. Because this is holy ground. Dear brothers and sisters, we need such experience. We need to come to the place when we can see something, which is most common. You know, we sometimes expect something spectacular. He said, no, because it is spectacular, God is in it. No, God is in the very common thing. But because God's presence is there, it becomes uncommon. It should be burned. But the presence of the Lord kept that bush. Instead of burning, it glows with glory. And you know, that vision of the burning bush speaks of Moses himself. He usually considered himself as the cedar of Lebanon. High up, glorious. But now God showed him, you are but a bush in the wilderness. You will be burned very easily. The reason why you are not burned, but rather aglow with glory is because of the presence. Dear brothers and sisters, what do you think of yourself? I think we are all familiar with the story of how Mary took a nap, took a bound of nap in an alabaster flask. She came to the Lord out of her great gratitude to the Lord. Probably that was the only worthy thing that she had. Probably it was accumulated for her marriage. But because of what the Lord did to her brother. He was so grateful. He must be thinking, what can I do to the Lord to glorify him? She had nothing else but that alabaster box. So he came. He broke it. And let the nod fill upon the Lord. And the fragrance filled the house. And you know how the disciples, especially Judah, he said that can be sold for 300 denarii. That is 300 days wages of a man. And why do you waste it on the Lord? But the Lord said he did a good thing. Brothers and sisters, do you consider yourself as an alabaster? Or do you see yourself just a flask? Nothing. Are you willing to break yourself and allow what the Lord has done in you to pour out for the glory of God? And I believe God taught Moses a very precious lesson. So throughout his life you can see in spite of the great things that he had done, the Bible says Moses was the meekest person in the world. You know we often thought of Moses, when you see a picture of Moses, that's imaginable. All these pictures must be a most muscular person. But he was the meekest person in the world. Think of that. Why? Because he has been given a vision that he was just a bush. Less than a bush. A burning bush. Here for a minute and there gone. Dear brothers and sisters, I think the greatest lesson that the Lord has us to learn is to see that we are nothing. We always want to be somebody. And we try to be somebody. But in the sight of God, we are nothing. And I believe it is the first lesson if we want to serve God, is to see that we are nothing. We are nobody. And if there is anything that is done, it is not because of us. It is because of him. Because he dwells within us. And that's the reason why the bush is not burned, but a glow instead. So I think in order to serve God, brothers and sisters, we may serve in many various different ways. As the Lord is pleased, but the principle of serving God is the same. We have to come to the point to see that we are but a burning bush. But thank God he is in the midst. Now secondly, I think this burning bush also is a revelation from God concerning the work that Moses was sent to do. So far the children of Israel go, they are also like a burning bush. The children of Israel were beloved of God because of their ancestors. And yet in themselves, they are nothing but like a bush in the wilderness. Very common. And worse than that, they are a burning bush. Israel was supposed to die. Under the command of Pharaoh, Israel as a nation was to be annihilated. But the reason why Israel was not annihilated, it is because God is there. He watches over them. And this is the mission that God has given to Moses, to go back to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. But more than that, into the Promised Land. This is the mind of God. Brothers and sisters, God's purpose with us is more than negative, just delivering us out of trouble. But his purpose with us is positive. He wants to bring us into the Promised Land. And of course we know our Promised Land is Christ. He wants to bring us into Christ. Not just have Christ, but be foregrown in Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now how? How was he going to deliver the children of Israel? Moses said, who am I to go to see Pharaoh? What can I do to deliver the children of Israel? So God said, what is in your head? And he said, a shepherd's rod. And God said, throw it down. He did. And he became a serpent and Moses fled from it. And God said, took it by the tail, upside down. And he took it and it became a rod, the rod of God. Brothers and sisters, what does he mean? You know, a shepherd's rod is the shepherd's skill. It is his instrument of keeping the sheep. And yet we do not know that what we depend on for our life and livelihood actually is a serpent. We have to take it upside down and then it becomes the rod of God. So you know, in other words, so far as our profession is concerned, if you consider your profession as your rod to make a living out of it, remember, it is a snake, a serpent. The enemy is using it to trap you. But if you hold that upside down, then it becomes the rod of God. In other words, God can use your skill, your profession to perform his miracles. That's the first lesson that Moses had to learn. And then the second lesson. God has, God said, put your hand into your bosom. And he, when he took it out, that hand was leprous. And God said, put it in again. And it becomes whole. In other words, it is not only your skill, your profession, that you have to hold it upside down. It is your own life. By yourself, it is leprous, full of sin, but by the grace of God, it can be a hand used by God. And how God used Moses, not only his rod, but especially his hand to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt through the wilderness to the border of the Promised Land. So dear brothers and sisters, whatever seems to be natural to us has to hold it upside down twice before these can be used by God. So put it in another way, it doesn't mean that everything you have learned in the past and what is of yourself is absolutely unusable to God. On the contrary, if you handle that in the right way, God can use these things to accomplish great things. May I suggest that unless Moses, who had learned all the learnings of Egypt, do you think God can use him to lead such a people out of Egypt 40 years in the wilderness? Who can do that? Humanly speaking, something beyond man's ability. But you see, if you are really yielded to the Lord and consider yourself as nothing and depending upon the Lord, the Lord can sanctify these things and use it for His glory. So this is the way that God prepared His servant to serve in His house. So dear brothers and sisters, none of us should think that we are of no use to God. He saves us because He wants to use us. The only thing is what you think about yourself. If you think of yourself as great, God said nothing to you. If you think of yourself as nothing, God said I can use it. So this is the lesson that I feel we all need to learn. Let us pray. Dear Lord, bring us to nothing that You may be everything to us. We want to praise and thank Thee that Thou wilt not use one who considers himself as great, but Thou dost use the one who knows himself is nothing. Oh, Thou are the great God. So we just commit ourselves to Thee and say, Lord, reduce us to nothing and never nobody. And out of that nothing, Lord, glorify Yourself with each and every one of us. Do pray that this lesson will be learned by each and every one of us.