Supported by your prayers, I am now back in Oita from my trip to Israel. On the way back, owing to the thick fog, we couldn't land at the english airport for 40 minutes. We had to fly around and around until we finally landed. And, of course, I had many other experiences on this blessed trip. But, I am still suffering from "jet lag".

I think because of this, my face was a bit swollen yesterday. My wife was quick to say that I had enjoyed too much nice food on my trip!

Twelve hours of flight took me from Japan to England, and finally we flew to Egypt. On the first day in Egypt, we had a chance to visit the pyramids, and view many valuable jewels in them. Just looking around at all of those things, I just couldn't imagine how wealthy those kings must have been. It would be impossible in this day and age! Even the richest people today are not as wealthy as they were. They were very, very wealthy, and this was beyond my expectations!

But, I remembered, Moses. Incredibly, Moses had refused to hold those treasures in his hands, when he grew up. Just by faith, Moses refused it. By faith, his parents had nurtured him as a baby, even though it was illegal to allow him to live. They nurtured him for three months. By faith, before this, the nurses of Israelite women helped them give birth to their babies, and we can read this in Exodus 1:15-21. All of these people felt the aweful power of God, and were not afraid of the life-taking power of the king, but kept their faith in God.

Now, think of the faith of Moses. He had been raised as a son of Pharoah's daughter, yet he chose to be a follower of God. This reminds me of Jesus; He threw down the throne of God, and came down to us, to live among us. He did not hesitate at all. Moses chose to suffer with the Chosen People by his own free will. He could have had and enjoyed the pleasures of Pharoah's authority that were there immediately before him, but he did not. He chose the way to God rather than the earthly pleasures that fade away, no matter how great they are.

Moses had his own priority with faith. He kept his eyes fixed on what was the most precious thing of all. St. Paul was the same; he used to have great authority and this came along with his talent, and training that was beyond the reach of common people. However, he thought nothing of them. Compared to the grace and reward that he knew was prepared for him in Heaven, everything else was worthless. Moses was the son of Pharoah's daughter, but this was nothing to him compared to the authority of the King of kings.

In Egypt, I had the same experience as the Israelites crossing the wilderness. Well, for our case, we had cars! They wandered there for 40 years. They had to walk with their own feet! By going through the same route, though it was by bus, I understood why they had grumbled and refused God over and over again - inspite of God's graces along the way. It was huge! It takes such a long time to cross! In the desert, where there is nothing, when the bright sun was shining, and while the Israelites were heading towards their promised land, they couldn't but grumble -- I thought this way.

I also had a chance to climb Mt. Sinai. To climb up it, I used a camel. Being on a camel, I could reach the top at last. It would have taken three hours by foot. On the top, it was dry and cold. Moses climbed the mountain with his own feet, spending about three hours travelling, then he knelt down before God. And finally the very fine voice of God came to him. After a hard situation, Moses received the words from God. And so do we. Being in a terrible situation with problems, we ask and beg God for an answer. Without troubles and problems it might be difficult for us to come before God. The life of the Israelites is often compared with our lives. In Egypt, they were sinners, being away from God. But, through the long journey through the wilderness, they went back to their promised land, their home. After certain lengths of time, being sinful and not knowing God, we know God.

When we think of Moses, we might regard him as a strong, and powerful person. But this is not the whole truth. Numbers 12:3. To lead a people, we need to be humble and very soft hearted. This reminds me of a donkey. Jesus rode on one when he was coming into Jerusalem. This animal is very soft-hearted. A child tries to put a little stone into its mouth, and right away the donkey knows that there is something in its mouth that is not eatable. It keeps its mouth open until the child takes the stone out again. We do have lots of stones thrown at us in life. But, we'd like to be softened so that we can show the love of God that we have inside.

Translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
For another sermon see: Oita Evangelical Christ Church
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