A Significant Life

When I was in college, I was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, and every year in the fraternity magazine, they publish an honor roll of members of that fraternity who achieved significance within their profession, and they call them significant Sigs. John Wayne was a Sigma Chi and a significant Sig because of his outstanding acting career. I still have a letter that John Wayne wrote me in 1979, right before he died, because we were fraternity brothers.

A life of significance was honored by that fraternity. Well friends, the things of this world pass away, and there comes a day when each of us will leave this world with all its rewards and honors behind. What matters most are things of eternal worth, and a life of significance in God's eyes is more important than what the world thinks of you.

The Son of God came to this world, and all man did was to reject him and murder him like a common criminal. God has his honor roll, and it can be found in Hebrews chapter 11. Our subject today, friends, is Moses, and our text can be found in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 34.

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses one through seven. The title of my message this evening is A Significant Life.

I like what F.J. Hegel said about Moses. He wrote, for 40 years on the lonely slopes of Midian, the fiery Moses is schooled. There were graves, if I may so speak, scattered all over the mountainside, where hope after hope was buried, until at last self went down in utter annihilation.

And that's true, friends. If you ever want to study something fantastic, study the self-emptying of Moses in Scripture. Well, let me read us our passage at this time, and may God's Spirit attend the reading of his holy word.

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountains of Nebo, to the top Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Neptali, and all the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed.

I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, was buried there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab over against Beth Peor.

But no man knoweth of his sepulture unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Did you hear that, friends? Our text informs us that Moses lived to be 120 years old. But do you know what, friend? Listen to this. The first 40 years of Moses's life in Egypt is covered by only 15 verses of scripture.

The next 40 years of Moses's life on the backside of the Midian Desert is covered by only 10 verses of scripture. Moses lived to be 120 years old. But the record of Moses's life after he encountered God and lived for him is the last 40 years of Moses's life.

And it's covered by approximately 4,252 verses of scripture. Surely this clearly demonstrates that the significance of a life begins after that person has given themselves entirely to God for his use and his glory. How about you, friend? Is church just a small part of your life? Is religion something to you to do on Sunday and the rest of the week? You give yourself to this world in an attempt to accumulate as much of it as you can.

God wants you to begin an adventure with him in a life of significance lived out for him and his glory. Why, if you get hungry enough, friend, for God, he will satisfy your hunger by giving you a deeper experience of him. God will give you your personal burning bush experience if you begin to seek him in earnest and give yourself entirely to him for his use.

I can verify that with my own personal life, friends. And in verse 10 of our text, it says of Moses, and there arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. Do you want a deeper walk with God, friend? Do you realize that God has ordained steps for you to walk in? Ephesians 2.10 speaks of this, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Are you lined up to his footsteps for you? Are you lined up to his will for your life, friend? Do you hear his voice to lead you into those significant steps of faith for him? Like I said earlier, the record of Moses' life after he encountered God was long and significant. The Bible says Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. Well, God has some great adventures he wants you to participate in with him, friend.

Do you believe that? It's true. He's looking for faith. He wants to build faith in you.

For the last four years of my life, God has been building me into a life of faith. He has stretched me. He has tested me.

He has emptied me. He has strengthened my faith. He has placed me in more adventures with him these last four years than ever before in my whole life.

And I'm an old man near the end of my journey. You see, friends, I asked God years ago to take me on an adventure with him in building my faith. And he's been true to his word.

He's answered that prayer. For I desired more of him like Moses when Moses asked to see God face to face. And God passed by Moses and showed him his back part, so to speak.

But yet the biblical record, when it speaks of Moses, it says, Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. That's how God viewed their relationship. God considered him a friend he spoke with face to face.

And God wants you, friend, to pursue him in a red-hot love relationship face to face. Are you game? Are you ready? Do you want more of God? Then be prepared to give him more of you. God has a significant life waiting for you if you will only join him in that adventure.

Let us pray.