Through Christ, Who Strengthens Me

This passage deals with Moses leading the people of Israel as he confronted Pharaoh of Egypt, and with the lessons the apostle Paul conveys in his letter to the believers of the church in Philippi. Moses passed the outward test of fighting Pharaoh, who held absolute power, but he fell in the inward test of his own people's greed, as they took the miracles God gave for granted and complained, and of their ungrateful attitude. In particular, his love and sense of responsibility for the people clouded his judgment, leading to the tragic result that he could not enter the promised land.

Through Moses' failure, the sermon points out the deep tests that leaders and parents face. It warns that the most dangerous time after receiving God's grace is when our self-regard rises and our emotions are shaken by the weaknesses of others. The apostle Paul, even in such situations, set an example by being content whatever his circumstances and focusing on spreading the gospel. He suffered because of the quarrels among the believers, but he controlled his emotions and exhorted them solely for their restoration and for God's will. Paul longed earnestly for the believers to recover, beyond material help, their first love and a heart of obedience, and this shows that true maturity is possible when emotion and faith are brought together as one.

The sermon asks how believers should receive God's grace by faith, and how they should take on an attitude of controlling their emotions and obeying in the face of others' weaknesses. It also leads us to consider what power and peace God gives when we carry out our mission with unchanging faith.