God had already answered Moses two questions and he had given to Moses two messages one to the Elders of Israel and the other to the pharaoh of Egypt in those two messages God had revealed to Moses that he was the god of the past present and future and he gave details regarding how the Israelites will be saved that was what we had learned last week but it appeared as if Moses was not listening and he was still worried about how he'll be treated when he went back to the Israelites he was still thinking about the last time he had spoken to the Israelites which was 40 years ago and they said to him who made thee a prince and a judge over us Exodus 2 verse 14. therefore Moses asked God what if they still don't believe what can we learn from here well this was a denier of divine revelation because remember God had appeared to him in the midst of the burning bush personally so he was a direct Disobedience of God's commandment you and I must trust and believe the word of God today we may not encounter the same dramatic experience as Moses had where God spoke to him in the midst of the burning bush but nonetheless God has also spoken to us through his word the Bible and whatever God has spoken to us whether it be a promise or a commandment we must not disobey it the way Moses did but we must simply accept it by faith that is what we must do for example we have been commanded to share the gospel and to trust God's promise that he will save Sinners by his grace so when it comes to evangelism when it comes to sharing the gospel with our unbelieving families and friends somehow we are often tempted to think in the same way as Moses and to ask the same question what if they still do not believe or they refuse to listen to us Romans 10 verse 17 says so then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God our responsibility is to keep sharing the word of God the gospel regarding our Lord Jesus Christ and to leave the saving to God himself and to trust God's promise that he will redeem his own the title of our message is what if they still don't believe God responded to Moses question by performing three miracles let us consider the first miracle Exodus 4 verse 1. and Moses answered and said but behold they will not believe me nor harken unto my voice for they will say the Lord has not appeared unto thee even though God had already said that the Elders of Israel would believe him and together with them Moses must bring the message to the pharaoh yet Moses doubted that the Elders of Israel would believe him or listen to him he believed that they would accuse him of lying that the Lord had appeared to him let us move on and look at verse 2 to 4. and the Lord said unto him what is that in thy hand and he said a rod and he said cast it on the ground and he cast it on the ground and he became a serpent and Moses fled from before it and the Lord said unto Moses put forth thy hand and take it by the tail and he put forth his hand and called it and he became a rod in his hand God graciously answered Moses question with what was immediately in his hand in other words you want assurance you want to see something miraculous as a proof let me show it to you what do you have in your hand God was so powerful that he need not wait for any opportunity that is deemed right in Man's eyes to perform a miracle anytime anywhere and anything our almighty God could use this most comforting for us to lend take a moment and consider this God does not need to wait for the right situation for the right place offer the right timing in order for him to perform something miraculous and to answer our doubts humanly speaking sometimes people think perhaps this is not the right place and this is not the right time it is just not convenient maybe we should wait for a better opportunity for God to answer our prayers but the truth is that any time and anywhere is the best opportunity for God if it is according to his will and purpose well God said to Moses you want to be assured you want to see a miracle what do you have in your hand in this one Miracle there were actually three miracles why do we say that firstly the road which was just an ordinary rod which the Shepherds would carry it miraculously turned into a serpent it must have been a poisonous snake because Moses as an experienced Shepherd recognize it as deadly that was why he ran away secondly Moses was commanded to take hold of the snake by the tail if you are familiar with snakes you will know that it is most dangerous to take hold of snakes by the tail because it will attack you with its venomous things the only way for you to catch the snake is by the head not the tail yet Moses actually did it and he was not beaten thirdly the moment Moses caught it by the tail Not only was he not beaten it immediately became a rod again that was why we said there were three Miracles within this one Miracle itself what is the significance of this miracle you see God had used the rod to show Moses how he could use something so ordinary to accomplish his extraordinary purpose by this miracle God was like saying to Moses look Moses if you still have your doubts let me show you what I can do look at the rod in your hand it was just an ordinary Rod isn't it let me show you what I can do with it later on God used Moses wrote to bring the Plex on the Egyptians to part the Red Sea and to bring water from The Rock there was nothing magical about the road God could have used any other things he could have used Moses garments or even he send us so the emphasis should not be on the road but on the almighty God who chose to use that rod to perform his miracle the valuable lesson we can learn from here is that if God could do all that with a rod imagine what he could do with Moses dear friends this same principle applies to all of us if God could do all that with a rod imagine what he could do with you and me Francis safer the American Theologian said but firstly the rod of Moses had to become the wrath of God you and I are limited and weak I believe we all recognized it physically spiritually and emotionally we are without strength we are no more than a road isn't it true but just as when the rod of Moses was used by God it was able to display such a miraculous demonstration likewise when we are used by God when we become his instruments we can accomplish extraordinary things for his glory when we are called to serve the Lord whether it be preaching teaching singing in the choir playing the piano playing the organ leading in the worship services let us not think too highly of ourselves we are just ordinary people we are just like the road but the difference is that we are the rod used by God we become the instruments of God and when we are instruments of God when we rely in the power of God then we are able to accomplish extraordinary things for God's glory this is what we must always bear in mind let us look at a second miracle the first miracle should be convincing enough nevertheless God gave a second sign if God could use a rod most certainly he could also use the hand that held the rock the rod right that is why verse 6 says and the Lord said furthermore unto him put now thine hand into thy bosom the bosom is the chess area so Moses was commanded to put his hand underneath his garments close to his chest and he put his hand into his bosom and when he took it out behold his hand was leprous as snow the seventh and he said put thine hand into thy bosom again and he put his hand into his bosom again and pluck it out of his bosom and behold it was turned again as his other flesh which means it was restored like the rest of his skin this second miracle was as impressive as the first one today leprosy is very rare according to the World Health Organization there are only about two hundred and eight thousand people who have contracted leprosy with most of the cases in Asia and Africa with the advancement of science and medicine leprosy is curable but in those days leprosy was widespread it was well known that this disease was highly infectious and completely incurable that was why anyone who had contracted leprosy had to be secluded you can read about that in Leviticus chapter 13.
the sudden appearance of this Dreadful disease would have been more shocking to Moses then his sudden disappearance total disappearance the very next moment was nothing short of a miracle now the significance of this miracle was twofold firstly it was immediate one moment Moses had leprosy the next moment he was killed if you consider the Miracles in the Bible regarding healing they were all immediate and thorough which means totally killed there's no such thing as partially cured today the charismatics like to focus on miracles because they know that people are fascinated with miracles so they were claim to be able to perform miracles but those so-called miracles are all stage they are only able to perform those miracles on the stage those who are sick and Afflicted with infirmities would not be immediately and totally killed I remember the late doctor those Yang Hua our church founding pastor he used to say to the charismatics if you say you have the gift of healing then welcome to my Hospital because I have thousands and thousands of sick patients waiting to be healed none of them will be healed well the charismatics may say those people do not have faith that is why they were not healed when Jesus healed the ten lepers how many of them returned to give thanks to God only one what about the nine lepers did he not believe they did not acknowledge that God was the one who healed them they did not have faith yet they were healed some years back one of my friends had cancer it was colon cancer he went for surgeries and chemotherapies and after he ran for all those painful medical procedures he was killed one day a charismatic pastor heard about his recovery and he requested for my friend to share his testimony in his church these charismatic Pastor tried to convince my friend that his recovery was truly a miracle and he wanted my friend to share his recovery as a miracle and not mention anything about the medical procedures my friend was very wise and he said it is truly a miracle and God has used the doctors the medicines the surgeries and the chemotherapies to help in my recovery How can I not mention those things secondly the significance of this miracle was that leprosy was incurable we had mentioned that a moment ago so you can imagine when Moses took out his hand from underneath His Garment how horrified you would be do you think Moses will be thinking well no worries I will be all right I will be cured most certainly not he had just contracted an incurable deadly disease but the amazing thing was that even before he could possess his fears his hand was immediately killed 100 percent killed dear friends perhaps you had received devastating news about a medical condition or some tragic news about a family situation words could not express your fears you went on your knees and you prayed earnestly you prayed in your mind you were already preparing for the worst you were already planning for your children in the event you die then all of a sudden you were healed 100 percent you experience this recovery what would you be thinking for men it is impossible for God all things are made possible as the saying goes men's extremity is God's opportunity to show what a powerful God he is finally the third miracle let us look at verse 8. and it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee neither hearken to the voice of the first sign that day will believe the voice of the letter sign which means if they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign they will believe the second miraculous sign verse 9 and he shall come to pass if they will not believe also these two signs neither harken unto thy voice that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it onto the dry land and the water which thou take us out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land in other words if they still do not believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you take some water from the river now and pour it onto the ground the water you take from the river will turn into blood this third miracle was extremely significant because even if the people did not believe the other miracles at least they will believe Moses when he demonstrated God's power over the river now because the river now was something the Egyptians considered to be the source of life which means the god of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the source of life not the river now each of these miraculous signs was meant to verify Moses credentials an authenticate his ministry as a true prophet notice Moses repeatedly said they will not believe me they will not listen to me which means as a prophet sent by the almighty God they will not listened or believe anything I say to them at this point in time the Bible was still in the process of writing in fact at the very beginning it had not yet been completed God will send His prophets to deliver his words and the only way for the people to confirm that those prophets were speaking the truth of God's word remember they had nothing they did not have the word of God to verify him whether the spoken verses were true or not so the only way for them to confirm was through miracles that was why it was common for the prophets to be used by God to perform miracles after they performed the Miracles they would say Tas saith the Lord and the people would believe that these were indeed the very words of the Lord today we have the complete Canon of the Holy scriptures so we do not need miracles to certify the preachers credentials as a true preacher we have the Bible and we use the Bible to verify whether the preacher is truly speaking the words of the almighty God or not one good example is the berians in Acts 17 verse 11 which all of us are very familiar even though he was the Apostle Paul who was preaching to them in the synagogue they did not receive everything the Apostle Paul said as true and factual what did they do they verify whether or not Paul was speaking the truth by searching the scriptures the Bible says the berians were more noble than those in thessalonica in that they received the word with all Readiness of mind and such the Scriptures Daily whether those things were sold this is the desire of every pastor's heart that his members would be just like the bereans they would sit and listen to the word of God receive it with all Readiness of mind but they will not just walk away with no consideration at all they would walk away and then search the scriptures whether those things are true or not today many people are looking for a sign from God they want to know for sure if God is there that he is really who the Bible says he is they say they are willing to believe in him but first they demand some sort of a sign they will say God if you are really there show yourself to me then I will believe in you the truth is that God had already given a sign it was a miraculous sign the sign of the empty tomb Jesus said in Matthew 12 39 to 40 allow me to read for you Matthew 12 39 and evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the Prophet Jonas for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth Jesus claimed to be the son of God his Earthly life ended on the wooden cross outside Jerusalem the Bible says his death and the sharing of his precious blood who paid a penalty for our sins then Jesus was buried if his body remain in the Tomb Jesus could not be the Messiah he could not be the Christ in order to prove that our sins are forgiven through the cross that you and I can have fellowship with God forever and ever Jesus must be raised from the dead his resurrection is a sign that Christianity is true it was a signed recorded in the scriptures and he was assigned confirmed in historical accounts from many reliable eyewitnesses today anyone who is unsure whether or not to believe in Jesus instead of asking God for more signs they should ask God for the gift of faith when they do that God will show them his salvation the same goes with all of us who profess to be believers God has given to us his word we have read about all the promises the Miracles the things that our lord Jesus had done and promised to do our responsibility is to accept those things by faith it is not to come to God and say give me more signs God has already given us salvation signs we should ask God give us the gift of faith help us with our unbelief when we do that God will strengthen our faith and you and I will believe that indeed he is the god of the past the god of the present and the god of the future let us pray Our Father in heaven with handy for thy precious word even as we consider this portion of scriptures how Thou Art so patient with Moses who repeatedly asked thee what if they still don't believe and thou would perform the three miracles and out of the three miracles we are able to draw valuable spiritual lessons indeed the greatest miracle that the world has ever sinned is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ if anyone is unsure whether to believe in thee or not we know that it is not the lack of signs but the fact that they should ask the for the gift of faith and if any man would humble himself to come before thee and ask thee for the gift of faith thou will show that person thy salvation doubt are the gracious God we pray that God will teach us and help us to believe everything thou has said in thy precious infallible and inarrant word that we will not be like Moses to respond in direct disobedience to thy commandment whatever thou has spoken to us whether it be a promise or the Commandment we will obey and help us that we will obey thee all the days of our lives we give thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus name amen
God had already answered Moses' two questions, and He had given Moses two messages: one to the Elders of Israel and the other to the Pharaoh of Egypt. In those two messages, God had revealed to Moses that He was the God of the past, present, and future, and He gave details regarding how the Israelites will be saved. That was what we had learned last week.
But it appeared as if Moses was not listening, and he was still worried about how he'll be treated when he went back to the Israelites. He was still thinking about the last time he had spoken to the Israelites, which was 40 years ago, and they said to him, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?" (Exodus 2 verse 14). Therefore, Moses asked God, "What if they still don't believe?"
What can we learn from here? Well, this was a denial of divine revelation because, remember, God had appeared to him in the midst of the burning bush personally. So, he was in direct disobedience of God's commandment. You and I must trust and believe the word of God. Today, we may not encounter the same dramatic experience as Moses had where God spoke to him in the midst of the burning bush, but nonetheless, God has also spoken to us through His word, the Bible. And whatever God has spoken to us, whether it be a promise or a commandment, we must not disobey it the way Moses did. But we must simply accept it by faith. That is what we must do.
For example, we have been commanded to share the gospel and to trust God's promise that He will save sinners by His grace. So, when it comes to evangelism, when it comes to sharing the gospel with our unbelieving families and friends, somehow we are often tempted to think in the same way as Moses and to ask the same question, "What if they still do not believe, or they refuse to listen to us?" Romans 10 verse 17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Our responsibility is to keep sharing the word of God, the gospel regarding our Lord Jesus Christ, and to leave the saving to God himself and to trust God's promise that He will redeem His own.
The title of our message is "What if they still don't believe?" God responded to Moses' question by performing three miracles. Let us consider the first miracle.
Exodus 4 verse 1 says, "And Moses answered and said, 'But behold, they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord has not appeared unto thee.'" Even though God had already said that the Elders of Israel would believe him and together with them Moses must bring the message to the Pharaoh, yet Moses doubted that the Elders of Israel would believe him or listen to him. He believed that they would accuse him of lying that the Lord had appeared to him.
Let us move on and look at verse 2 to 4: "And the Lord said unto him, 'What is that in thy hand?' And he said, 'A rod.' And he said, 'Cast it on the ground.' And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail.' And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand."
God graciously answered Moses' question with what was immediately in his hand. In other words, you want assurance, you want to see something miraculous as a proof, let me show it to you. What do you have in your hand? God was so powerful that He need not wait for any opportunity that is deemed right in man's eyes to perform a miracle. Anytime, anywhere, and anything, our almighty God could use. This is most comforting for us to learn.
Take a moment and consider this. God does not need to wait for the right situation, for the right place, or for the right timing in order for Him to perform something miraculous and to answer our doubts. Humanly speaking, sometimes people think, perhaps this is not the right place, and this is not the right time. It is just not convenient. Maybe we should wait for a better opportunity for God to answer our prayers. But the truth is that any time and anywhere is the best opportunity for God, if it is according to His will and purpose.
Well, God said to Moses, "You want to be assured, you want to see a miracle? What do you have in your hand?" In this one miracle, there were actually three miracles. Why do we say that? Firstly, the rod, which was just an ordinary rod which the shepherds would carry, miraculously turned into a serpent. It must have been a poisonous snake because Moses, as an experienced shepherd, recognized it as deadly. That was why he ran away.
Secondly, Moses was commanded to take hold of the snake by the tail. If you are familiar with snakes, you will know that it is most dangerous to take hold of snakes by the tail because it will attack you with its venomous fangs.
The only way for you to catch the snake is by the head, not the tail. Yet Moses actually did it, and he was not beaten. Thirdly, the moment Moses caught it by the tail. Not only was he not beaten, it immediately became a rod again. That was why we said there were three miracles within this one miracle itself. What is the significance of this miracle? You see, God had used the rod to show Moses how he could use something so ordinary to accomplish his extraordinary purpose. By this miracle, God was like saying to Moses, "Look, Moses, if you still have your doubts, let me show you what I can do. Look at the rod in your hand. It was just an ordinary rod, isn't it? Let me show you what I can do with it." Later on, God used Moses' rod to bring the plagues on the Egyptians, to part the Red Sea, and to bring water from the rock. There was nothing magical about the rod. God could have used any other things. He could have used Moses' garments or even his sandals. So the emphasis should not be on the rod, but on the almighty God who chose to use that rod to perform his miracle.
The valuable lesson we can learn from here is that if God could do all that with a rod, imagine what he could do with Moses. Dear friends, this same principle applies to all of us. If God could do all that with a rod, imagine what he could do with you and me. Francis Schaeffer, the American theologian, said, "But firstly, the rod of Moses had to become the rod of God." You and I are limited and weak. I believe we all recognize it. Physically, spiritually, and emotionally, we are without strength. We are no more than a rod, isn't it true? But just as when the rod of Moses was used by God, it was able to display such a miraculous demonstration; likewise, when we are used by God, when we become his instruments, we can accomplish extraordinary things for his glory.
When we are called to serve the Lord, whether it be preaching, teaching, singing in the choir, playing the piano, playing the organ, or leading in the worship services, let us not think too highly of ourselves. We are just ordinary people. We are just like the rod. But the difference is that we are the rod used by God. We become the instruments of God. And when we are instruments of God, when we rely on the power of God, then we are able to accomplish extraordinary things for God's glory. This is what we must always bear in mind.
Let us look at a second miracle. The first miracle should be convincing enough; nevertheless, God gave a second sign. If God could use a rod, most certainly, he could also use the hand that held the rod, right? That is why verse 6 says, "And the Lord said furthermore unto him, 'Put now thine hand into thy bosom.'" The bosom is the chest area. So Moses was commanded to put his hand underneath his garments, close to his chest. And he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, "Put thine hand into thy bosom again." And he put his hand into his bosom again, and plucked it out of his bosom; and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh, which means it was restored like the rest of his skin.
This second miracle was as impressive as the first one. Today, leprosy is very rare. According to the World Health Organization, there are only about two hundred and eight thousand people who have contracted leprosy, with most of the cases in Asia and Africa. With the advancement of science and medicine, leprosy is curable. But in those days, leprosy was widespread. It was well known that this disease was highly infectious and completely incurable. That was why anyone who had contracted leprosy had to be secluded. You can read about that in Leviticus chapter 13.
The sudden appearance of this dreadful disease would have been more shocking to Moses than his sudden disappearance. Total disappearance. The very next moment was nothing short of a miracle.
Now, the significance of this miracle was twofold. Firstly, it was immediate. One moment Moses had leprosy, the next moment he was healed. If you consider the miracles in the Bible regarding healing, they were all immediate and thorough, which means totally healed. There's no such thing as partially cured.
Today, the charismatics like to focus on miracles because they know that people are fascinated with miracles. So, they will claim to be able to perform miracles. But those so-called miracles are all staged. They are only able to perform those miracles on the stage. Those who are sick and afflicted with infirmities would not be immediately and totally healed.
I remember the late Dr. Tan Yang Hua, our church founding pastor. He used to say to the charismatics, "If you say you have the gift of healing, then welcome to my hospital because I have thousands and thousands of sick patients waiting to be healed. None of them will be healed."
Well, the charismatics may say those people do not have faith, that is why they were not healed. When Jesus healed the ten lepers, how many of them returned to give thanks to God? Only one. What about the nine lepers? Did they not believe? They did not acknowledge that God was the one who healed them. They did not have faith, yet they were healed.
Some years back, one of my friends had cancer. It was colon cancer. He went for surgeries and chemotherapies, and after he went through all those painful medical procedures, he was healed. One day, a charismatic pastor heard about his recovery and he requested for my friend to share his testimony in his church. These charismatic pastors tried to convince my friend that his recovery was truly a miracle, and he wanted my friend to share his recovery as a miracle and not mention anything about the medical procedures. My friend was very wise, and he said, "It is truly a miracle, and God has used the doctors, the medicines, the surgeries, and the chemotherapies to help in my recovery. How can I not mention those things?"
Secondly, the significance of this miracle was that leprosy was incurable. We had mentioned that a moment ago, so you can imagine when Moses took out his hand from underneath his garment how horrified you would be. Do you think Moses would be thinking, "Well, no worries, I will be all right. I will be cured"? Most certainly not. He had just contracted an incurable deadly disease. But the amazing thing was that even before he could possess his fears, his hand was immediately healed. 100% healed.
Dear friends, perhaps you had received devastating news about a medical condition or some tragic news about a family situation. Words could not express your fears. You went on your knees and you prayed earnestly. You prayed, in your mind, you were already preparing for the worst. You were already planning for your children in the event you die. Then, all of a sudden, you were healed. 100%. You experienced this recovery. What would you be thinking?
For men, it is impossible, but for God, all things are made possible. As the saying goes, men's extremity is God's opportunity to show what a powerful God He is.
Finally, the third miracle. Let us look at verse 8. "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign." Which means if they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they will believe the second miraculous sign. Verse 9. "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it onto the dry land, and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land." In other words, if they still do not believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you, take some water from the river now and pour it onto the ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood.
This third miracle was extremely significant because even if the people did not believe the other miracles, at least they would believe Moses when he demonstrated God's power over the river. Now, because the river was something the Egyptians considered to be the source of life, which means the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the source of life, not the river.
Now, each of these miraculous signs was meant to verify Moses' credentials and authenticate his ministry as a true prophet. Notice, Moses repeatedly said, "They will not believe me. They will not listen to me," which means as a prophet sent by the Almighty God, they will not listen or believe anything I say to them.
At this point in time, the Bible was still in the process of writing. In fact, at the very beginning, it had not yet been completed. God would send His prophets to deliver His words, and the only way for the people to confirm that those prophets were speaking the truth of God's Word, remember, they had nothing. They did not have the Word of God to verify whether the spoken verses were true or not. So, the only way for them to confirm was through miracles. That was why it was common for the prophets to be used by God to perform miracles. After they performed the miracles, they would say, "Thus saith the Lord," and the people would believe that these were indeed the very words of the Lord.
Today, we have the complete Canon of the Holy Scriptures, so we do not need miracles to certify the preacher's credentials as a true preacher. We have the Bible, and we use the Bible to verify whether the preacher is truly speaking the words of the Almighty God or not. One good example is the Bereans in Acts 17:11, which all of us are very familiar with. Even though it was the Apostle Paul who was preaching to them in the synagogue, they did not receive everything the Apostle Paul said as true and factual. What did they do? They verified whether or not Paul was speaking the truth by searching the Scriptures. The Bible says the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. This is the desire of every pastor's heart, that his members would be just like the Bereans. They would sit and listen to the Word of God, receive it with all readiness of mind, but they will not just walk away with no consideration at all. They would walk away and then search the Scriptures, whether those things are true or not.
Today, many people are looking for a sign from God. They want to know for sure if God is there, that He is really who the Bible says He is. They say they are willing to believe in Him, but first, they demand some sort of a sign. They will say, "God, if You are really there, show Yourself to me, then I will believe in You." The truth is that
God had already given a sign. It was a miraculous sign, the sign of the empty tomb. Jesus said in Matthew 12:39-40, allow me to read for you, Matthew 12:39-40: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. His earthly life ended on the wooden cross outside Jerusalem. The Bible says His death and the shedding of His precious blood paid a penalty for our sins. Then Jesus was buried. If His body remained in the tomb, Jesus could not be the Messiah, He could not be the Christ. In order to prove that our sins are forgiven through the cross, that you and I can have fellowship with God forever and ever, Jesus must be raised from the dead. His resurrection is a sign that Christianity is true. It was a sign recorded in the Scriptures, and it was a sign confirmed in historical accounts from many reliable eyewitnesses.
Today, anyone who is unsure whether or not to believe in Jesus, instead of asking God for more signs, they should ask God for the gift of faith. When they do that, God will show them His salvation. The same goes with all of us who profess to be believers. God has given to us His Word. We have read about all the promises, the miracles, the things that our Lord Jesus had done and promised to do. Our responsibility is to accept those things by faith. It is not to come to God and say, "Give me more signs." God has already given us salvation signs. We should ask God, "Give us the gift of faith. Help us with our unbelief." When we do that, God will strengthen our faith, and you and I will believe that indeed He is the God of the past, the God of the present, and the God of the future.
Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your precious Word, even as we consider this portion of Scriptures. How Thou art so patient with Moses, who repeatedly asked Thee, "What if they still don't believe?" And Thou would perform the three miracles. And out of the three miracles, we are able to draw valuable spiritual lessons. Indeed, the greatest miracle that the world has ever seen is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If anyone is unsure whether to believe in Thee or not, we know that it is not the lack of signs, but the fact that they should ask Thee for the gift of faith. And if any man would humble himself to come before Thee and ask Thee for the gift of faith, Thou will show that person Thy salvation. Thou art a gracious God. We pray that God will teach us and help us to believe everything Thou has said in Thy precious, infallible, and inerrant Word. That we will not be like Moses to respond in direct disobedience to Thy commandment. Whatever Thou has spoken to us, whether it be a promise or a commandment, we will obey. And help us that we will obey Thee all the days of our lives. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.