Moses got excited when he got a first hand look at the latest “technology” in his day, so much so, that he left his flock of sheep to look at a burning tree that never became ashes. In Exodus 3, the Bible tells us of Moses’ encounter with the ‘burning bush’.

If that was today, he would have pulled out his smart device and captured it to share on YouTube or Facebook and it would certainly have been trending on Twitter. Media houses would download the footage and play it in their breaking news features. Social media video outlets would be overloaded with views, likes and hits.

However, this was not just spectacle for social media highlight or mere fascination to a desert-parched shepherd. It was God’s way of gaining the attention of the rejected “Prince of Egypt”, who instead of commanding armies and servants at his every word from a throne room in Pharaoh’s palace, now spends most of his time trying to make sheep sounds to gain the attention of his bleating herd. His crooked rod was his sceptre and rocks became the stones from which he ruled.

After forty years away from the refinement of Egyptian education and culture, a burning bush is not only interesting it is mesmerizing. God had a message to share with Moses and He was using a most intriguing means to get his attention. “I will now turn aside and see,” said Moses “this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” (Exodus 3:4)

When God finally had his full attention, Moses came to realize that this was now holy ground and the power and presence of God was that which had come down on to the tree and He had a message and a task to share with the ‘shepherd-king’. God’s people were enslaved and He was calling the husband of Zipporah, the father of Gershom to deliver, not sheep but a people enslaved by an arrogant Pharaoh in Egypt.

Challenged by the mission that God was calling him to, Moses became afraid, due to his lack of self-confidence and doubt in his abilities. God, in an attempt to empower him and reassure him of His presence decides that he would show him some signs of His power.

Therefore, in preparation to show Moses what he can do, in Chapter 4:1-2 God asked Moses “What is that in your hand?” This shepherd’s rod was going to be used as a symbol of God’s authority and power that would attend the prophet in the halls of Pharaoh and the minds of the enslaved Israelites.

God wants to use what we have in our hands to put his power on display, deliver many and to reassure ourselves and others that God is still in control.

In Matthew 28:19-20 God gave us a mission to preach, teach and baptize, while emphasizing that he is going to be with us until the end (READ). Like Moses we have been exposed to some of the most intriguing technology and advancements ever known to man and God is saying here is your opportunity to carry a message of deliverance to every person not just in our local community but to the ends of earth.

So, What are you doing with the devices at your hands? Where are you going with the mouse in your palms? What are you pressing on your touch screen? What is your search history saying about your commitment to the mission? Are you in need of deliverance or are you seeking to help the masses?

According to Data Portal between July 2018 and 2019 people, between the ages of 16 and 24, world-wide spend six hours and forty-two minutes on the internet every day. In Jamaica, with a population of approximately 2.9 Million people there are over 3.24 million mobile subscriptions– meaning there are more people devices that people, which is not surprising. Among those numbers there are 1.2 million internet users and 1.1 million who use only their smart devices for social media.

These statistics are saying to us, that right here in our country, there are thousands whoo need to hear the message of salvation, the truth of the three angel’s message that God has given us in Revelation 14:6-12 and who need to hear the call to “come out of her my people” Revelation 18:4.

Our Internet users in Jamaica, while they spend a lot of time googling and watching YouTube videos, among the top twenty things that they are occupied with online are news, banking, shopping and, sadly, a preoccupation with pornography. Pornography by the way, according to some sources is a major factor behind the expansion of human trafficking, as many who are taken from their homes and families are forced to engaged in forced sexual labour. People are trapped on so many levels.

God commanded Daniel “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4 However, God has commissioned us to carry the message of deliverance in these last days with a “loud voice” Revelation 14:6:7, 9.

Put God’s Power on Display

According to Paul “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 We are called to challenge men and women to come out of “darkness and into the marvellous light” 1 Peter 2:9 This is not the time to hold down our heads or hide our convictions of the truth as it is in the word of God. He has given us the tools of communication technologies, (smartphones, internet, computers, television and radio) as a means to tell of the goodness of God’s power.

We can declare the power of God by sharing the testimonies of those who have been transformed, broadcast, as we are doing today, live services where the truth of God is preached with clarity, authority and power. God is calling on this generation to first of all, like Moses, spend time in the Holy His holy presence so that he can infuse us with Spirit to go forth in our community and online to tell of his goodness, love and ability to transform lives. Put God on display online.

We sometimes spend too much time highlighting our achievements, bitter experiences, highlighting the failures of others, magnifying the trivial and making viral the sometimes insensitive, inappropriate and immoral. God wants us to use what we have in our hands to make a difference. As Adventist-Christians, we have “message to tell to the world” notes the Pathfinder song “and a truth that will set men free– King Jesus the Saviour is coming back for you and me.”

We can deliver many

As we put God on display we are mindful that men and women will be set free. People are searching online for hope, peace, meaning and according to one website over 1.5M are googling every day for the name of Jesus. Online users are hungry for the truth that is in Christ. According to him “they shall know the truth and the truth will set (them) free.” John 8:32 There are thousands searching for Bible Studies daily. What are we doing with what we have in our hands.

The sad truth is that many of us who are aggressive users of the internet are preoccupied with everything else except sharing the message of freedom. When the Holy Spirit is guiding our social media posts and directing our Google searches and YouTube video shares “anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Research is numberless that speaks to the addiction of internet users to social media. What if in their addiction to and overuse of this great source we can share the word of God?

Paul asked the question: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14 Communication in our church is not a means of showing off the latest technology or preoccupy tech-experts with the capacities of their instruments rather than seeking how they can be used to teach and preach righteousness.

We are living in an age when that which can be a blessing to all has become a means of enslavement to its users. Like never before people are reading and imbibing all kinds of evil, that is creating more and more secular communities, nations and a world. The enemy of souls, Satan, is pleased with the enslavement of the minds of men but God. According to SDAdata.org “Just as Seventh-day Adventists made strides in popular media throughout history—from print to radio to television—it’s now time to leverage the near limitless missionary opportunities the internet and digital technologies provide for us.” (Search Engine Optimization Guidebook, North American Division of Seventh-day Aventists, page 7)

God is Still in Control

Despite the hopelessness and challenges that the internet may present, God is still in control. He is not just in control of the things we so often see across the world at the speed of light on the internet and TV, but in the sharing of the Gospel by those who have made the technology an outlet for the Gospel. God promised that He will be with us “until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). When God sent Moses with the message of deliverance, He demonstrated with, three miracles, to assure Moses that his word could be trusted, before Pharaoh and the people. The thing that the shepherd was using for years to guide sheep is now a symbol of God’s divine authority. God has the power to transform your use of technology that you may have been addicted to, underestimated or avoided can be used to tell the and reassure the world that God is still in control.

Examples of God’s power:

43 persons baptized as a result of event held jointly by the Adventist TV network Hope Channel Kenya and New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church ended on July 13, 2019. (https://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story13861-dozens-baptized-after-joint-tv-and-local-church-effort-in-kenya)

The “Polish Adventist YouTuber’s videos (that) result(ed) in baptisms” (https://news.adventist.org/en/all-news/news/go/2019-04-02/polish-adventist-youtubers-videos-result-in-baptisms/)

In June of 2017 the Hope Channel Reported: As a result of evangelistic meetings broadcast nationwide in February and June by Hope Channel Tanzania, more than 43,000 precious souls have been baptized! In September, an evangelistic meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, broadcast nationwide by Hope Channel Malawi, resulted in more than 10,000 baptisms. (https://www.hopetv.org/about/news/article/go/2018-03-02/from-broadcast-to-baptism-and-beyond/)

The young lady who watched the live stream of Pastor Glen O. Samuels in March of this year, on Facebook, and made her decision to get baptized while the campaign’s final appeal was being made. (http://www.westjamaica.org/news/225-baptized-over-130-certified-during-the-footprints-of-hope-series/)

CONCLUSION

There are many who have heard and need to hear about the power of God unto salvation. If we do not share, then how will they hear. What a blessing we have to use that which we have in our hands to share the Gospel. The latest technology that we have in our hands is not to merely impress our peers or demonstrate our tech-savviness; we have an easy way to tell of what God can do. Moses has done his part, what are you doing today!

References:

(Accessed: July 27, 2019 https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2019-global-digital-yearbook?utm_source=Reports&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=Digital_2019&utm_content=Global_Overview_Promo_Slide)