“And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also” (Numbers 20:11).
TEXT — Numbers 20:1-13
Message
Yes, it does matter a lot to God if we fail in any task He asks us to perform. He expects us to follow His brief all through without deviating. He expects a hundred percent completion of any job He hands over to His servants, since on His part He will not fail to kit us with all we need to succeed.
Moses, the man of God, had all it would take to get water from the rock at Kadesh to quench the thirst of millions of Israelites and their beasts. The Lord did not instruct him to use the rod He told him to carry. He was only to speak to the rock, “and it shall give forth his water”. But Moses, driven by anger due to the incontinence of the assembly, got into trouble as he struck the rock and gave the impression of unbelief, which God charged him with, as he did not “sanctify [Him] in the eyes of the children of Israel”. Therefore, he was disallowed from reaching the Promised Land for his error.
Leaders are to be doubly watchful in the assignments they receive from the Lord. Corresponding with the business of sticking to the brief of His agenda, they must constantly control their tempers so they do not feed their emotions with self-will. The second level of precaution is the people. Spirit-guided leaders would not permit themselves to fall into sin because of the demands of the led.
It is not the wish of the Lord that His servants should fall in the course of serving Him or when guiding His people on pilgrimage in the world. Rather, His teaching is that we can avoid fatal pitfalls if we refrain from carnal interpretation of His guidelines or attempting to deviate a little in order to please members of our congregations.
Thought for the day
Emotions serve better when controlled, not when they control.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
