Gtcotr/ss120317
For
the next few moments we are going to take a brief survey of the life of one of
the most well-known characters in the Bible, a man named Moses. Moses’ life,
like most people I believe, can be broken down into three seasons or three
phases if you will. For example:
·
His
first 40 years he was raised as a prince in the courts of Pharaoh.
·
The
second 40 years Moses spent in a wilderness tending sheep and raising a family while
living off the land.
·
For
his final 40 years Moses lived as the undisputed leader of the nation of Israel
after he was used by God to deliver them from bondage and slavery in Egypt. For
the Children of Israel, Moses was the voice of God. We begin today at the
beginning of his final season.
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was
tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led
the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
God
found Moses at 80 years old on the backside of a wilderness alone and tending
to a few sheep. Moses had been prepared to do God’s will and fulfill his
highest calling while being a shepherd in the deserts of Arabia.
So many people are willing to be used by God but are not as willing
to spend the years it takes to be prepared for use.
I
doubt Moses felt the middle 40 years to be the preparation he needed for the last
40 years of his life … but rather I imagine he felt more like it had been
punishment for the first 40 years. Moses did not know he was on his way to meet
with God. Moses was not expecting to encounter God or have some spiritual
experience on this day. Moses was simply being faithful to what lay before him
… his natural, normal duties of life and family. Moses was just busy making a
living which was far beneath that of which he was capable. Moses was easily one
of the most educated men in the world, yet Moses was tending a few sheep in the
wilderness of Midian.
Horeb,
where Moses was headed, was not the mountain of God before this incident … only
afterwards. Moses wrote this account in retrospect and remembrance that God
chose this mountain on which to manifest Himself first to Moses and then to the
whole nation of Israel.
Any place where God decides to meet with us
becomes Holy Ground.
Exodus 3:2 And the Angel of
the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he
looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not
consumed.
The Angel
of the LORD …
·
A
clear and continuing reference to Jesus the Messiah, the Word and the Son of
God.
·
Angel
= Messenger
·
LORD
= Jehovah, The Existing One – The God Who Is …
·
There
is no doubt or scholarly argument that imagines anything different than the
fact that this was the Holy One of Israel who made this appearance and spoke
with Moses.
·
No
mere created angelic being elsewhere claims that he is the Almighty God. In the
passage Jehovah Elohim vouches for Himself …
Exodus 3
3 Then Moses said, “I will
now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the LORD saw that
he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said,
“Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
LORD = Jehovah God = Elohim
Not two Gods … Rather two expressions of the
One God. There are many facets of this One God who is known as a Savior,
Healer, Warrior, Shepherd, Counselor, Father and Friend among other names of
His nature.
o
You may be called by your name; referred to
by gender; A Boss; A Parent; Spouse; Sibling; Child; Friend; or Foe …
·
But you are only one person … You’re not more
than one person just because you have more than one facet or one existent
expression of your life. So also, the LORD our God is One God.
·
These verses clearly indicate that the One
speaking is no created or lesser being … this is God!
·
The Angel of the LORD is our Jehovah – Jesus,
the Messiah – The Great “I Am”! And so He unmistakably identifies Himself …
Exodus 3
5 Then He said, “Do not draw
near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand
is holy ground.”
6 Moreover He said, “I am
the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Here
we see the proper response to a Holy encounter with God. Moses displayed a Holy
reverence and a right response when faced with the reality that the Great I Am
has chosen to reveal Himself to man.
God
had a message for Moses and ultimately a message for the entire world. It is
the same message God had in the beginning and the same message God is speaking
to as many of us as will listen to Him today.
Exodus 3
7 And the LORD said: “I have
surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard
their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8 “So I have come down to deliver
them …
10 “Come now, therefore, and
I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of
Israel, out of Egypt.”
It’s
a memorable story … but what can we learn from this story?
1.
God prepares us all of our lives to serve Him in our highest
calling.
2.
We do not know when, where or how the Lord God will choose to reveal
Himself to us.
3.
God’s plan is always the same … “Set My people free so that they may
worship Me!”
4.
You may not always feel capable or qualified, but God’s got you
covered.
Just
as the captain of a ship cannot make the wind to blow yet he can raise the
sails, stand the watch and man the helm to catch any offering God does send …
so are we when we sit in Church, open our hearts and faithfully wait to know
God’s pleasure. When the Spirit calls we will be ready to serve. Are you ready?
First, you must be born again and then, you must be prepared to serve … It can
begin today, right here, right now!
