In order to stop the ever-increasing population of Hebrews living in Egypt, Pharaoh ordered his soldiers to throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. Hearing the sound of agonizing screams draw closer as soldiers went from home to home, slaughtering children, one Jewish woman named Jochebed made a life-threatening decision: She would hide her newborn son from Pharaoh’s murderous decree.
But after three months, Jochebed realized she could no longer protect the growing infant. So she developed a plan that would not only guarantee her baby’s deliverance but would also guard him in the royal palace under the watchful eye of Pharaoh’s daughter. The child was found floating down the river in Jochebed’s carefully crafted basket and brought to Pharaoh’s daughter. She named the child Moses and decided to adopt him as her own.
Moses’ mother imparted to her son the extraordinary legacy of a deliverer. His heritage became evident when, many years after his adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter, he paid a visit to his people, the Hebrews. During this visit, Moses witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Thinking that no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian and buried him. But someone did see what happened—and when Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he ordered him to be killed, forcing Moses to flee to the land of Midian.
Although God had a plan to use Moses to deliver the Hebrews, Moses’ method was not God’s way. But after spending years in exile, Moses’ life was about to change!
As Moses was living the life of a lonely shepherd, the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush with His plan for deliverance. Moses would be God’s spokesman, demanding that Pharaoh let the Hebrews go free.
Making a demand of a king is an outrageous prospect for anyone. But the waters between Moses and Pharaoh ran deep, which made God’s instructions to Moses even more extreme. Needless to say, God had to convince Moses before he finally agreed to take this seemingly impossible assignment.
Moses’ first response was a familiar excuse—one that many of us use today. “Who am I?” he asked God (Exodus 3:11 NLT). Like Moses, we also have a tendency to focus on our weaknesses and inabilities. But to do so means we are more self-conscious than God-conscious—placing ourselves before God. It means we put more faith in our inability than in His ability.
Certainly making a demand of a king is an extreme measure, but God has a way of being extremely convincing.
The excuses Moses used ranged from “Who am I?” to “Who are You?” to “No one will believe me.” Despite everything God had done to convince him, Moses brought up one final issue: “…O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled” (Exodus 4:10 NLT).
The Lord ignored Moses’ shortcomings, inadequacies, and imperfections and simply responded, “Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say” (v. 12). The Lord will also ignore our inadequacies until we finally decide to obey, so we might as well obey from the start.
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Vikki and Dennis began as youth pastors in 1973 in Southern California where they received tremendous insight into the work of the local church. In 1976, they moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, to work with Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Vikki worked with KCM for three years before entering full-time ministry with her husband. Since that time, their relationship and involvement with Kenneth Copeland Ministries has continued. Vikki and Dennis have had numerous articles published in the Believer's Voice of Victory magazine.
Vikki has spoken in several nations including Australia, Japan, and Canada. She has ministered on television, radio, in women's conferences and marriage seminars. Her desire is to see people raised to a higher level of living through the Word of God. By acting on Gods principles, Vikki has obtained a testimony of victory and imparts encouragement to others.
Throughout the years, Vikki and Dennis have pursued new avenues of reaching people. The Lord has continued to expand their vision. Their dedication has affected thousands as they are impacting God's people with the love of God.