Sermon Tone Analysis

Exodus 3-4: Answering God's Call

This morning, we will continue our new series in Exodus, by looking at Moses's calling in chapters 3-4.

Last week, Loren Hawthorne reminded me of this story sometime last week about the drowning man:

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood.

He was praying to God for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."

So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by.

"The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me.

I have faith."

So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me.

I have faith."

So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned.

He went to Heaven.

He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown.

I don't understand why!"

To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

I agree that this story is somewhat funny, definitely ironic, and even a bit foolish, I think it's a good reminder for us today that we should always be looking for God's will and properly responding appropriately to that will.

We'll do that this morning by looking at the story of Moses's calling.

We can learn a lot from this, but unfortunately, just like the drowning man, there's much to learn from Moses's failures, just as much as his victories that we'll see throughout our sermon series.

Let's start by reading the opening section of chapter 3:

1 NOW MOSES WAS KEEPING THE FLOCK OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, JETHRO, THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN, AND HE LED HIS FLOCK TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE WILDERNESS AND CAME TO HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD.

2 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE OUT OF THE MIDST OF A BUSH. HE LOOKED, AND BEHOLD, THE BUSH WAS BURNING, YET IT WAS NOT CONSUMED.

3 AND MOSES SAID, "I WILL TURN ASIDE TO SEE THIS GREAT SIGHT, WHY THE BUSH IS NOT BURNED."

4 WHEN THE LORD SAW THAT HE TURNED ASIDE TO SEE, GOD CALLED TO HIM OUT OF THE BUSH, "MOSES, MOSES!" AND HE SAID, "HERE I AM."

5 THEN HE SAID, "DO NOT COME NEAR; TAKE YOUR SANDALS OFF YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND."

6 AND 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 AT GOD.

Let's face it, Moses started off very well.

God grabs his attention, and we see that Moses responds.

Let's pause for a moment.

God used a unique way of grabbing Moses's attention.

Moses is simply working in the field.

Probably something he's done for decades, likely in the same place at the same time.

He's probably seen that bush countless times.

But ... this time it's different.

It's on fire.

But it's controlled and not consuming the bush.

As soon as Moses pays full attention to that bush, the Lord speaks to him.

We see that Moses listens, because when the Lord told him that he was on holy ground, he listened - and when God told him who He was, He was in awe of God and His holiness.

It says he was afraid.

Now, the lesson for us is almost obvious.

When we're in the presence of God - which is always because God is everywhere - we are to be in awe of Him.

That means that in our everyday lives, we are to be in a state of worship and awe of the Creator God that we've been reading about in our daily reading plan.

With this in mind, here's the main idea for today's passage:

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called

Now, I can't take credit for this phrasing, as I've heard it from people here several times, as well as others, but it's hard not to have this in mind when we speak about Moses.

Remember last week we learned that he was a murderer and he fled to Midian?

According to the Scriptures, he was 40 when he killed the Egyptian, and was in Midian for 40 years before this encounter with God at the bush.

Even if we don't read the rest of the story, this statement still holds true.

Why would God call an 80-year-old murderer turned shepherd?

That's the beauty with the Lord.

The bush wasn't special, it was what God did with the bush.

Moses wasn't chosen because he was special, He was chosen because that was his purpose, no matter how broken or weak he was.

But, as I stated earlier, this doesn't automatically mean that Moses responded the way he should've.

Let's learn from Moses on five ways ...

HOW NOT TO RESPOND TO GOD'S CALLING

What we'll see from chapter 3, verse 11 through chapter 4, verse 17 is the exchange between Moses and the Lord on this call.

Moses begins to engage in excuse after excuse effectively trying to talk God out of choosing him.

He begins with this from verse 11:

* Who am I?

o On one hand, I can fully understand why Moses said this.

In my studies this week, many experts commented on this verse.

Is Moses being humble?

Or is Moses feeling inadequate?

o I think it could be either or both.

o I mean, he was effectively run out of Egypt, now working for his father-in-law for 40 years.

o But, on the other hand, he was telling God, "Are you sure you have the right guy?"

o Let's look at the passage to see how God responds in verses 11-12:

11 BUT MOSES SAID TO GOD, "WHO AM I THAT I SHOULD GO TO PHARAOH AND BRING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF EGYPT?"

12 HE SAID, "BUT I WILL BE WITH YOU, AND THIS SHALL BE THE SIGN FOR YOU, THAT I HAVE SENT YOU: WHEN YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, YOU SHALL SERVE GOD ON THIS MOUNTAIN."

o Did you see it?

o God says, "I WILL BE WITH YOU"

o In other words, "it doesn't matter who you are, Moses, I will be with you"

o We've all seen the commercials or the movies, where one guy tells the other, "hey, tell 'em Frankie sent you" He has the pull.

He has the influence.

He's the one calling the shots.

o God reminds Moses - and you and I today - it's not about you.

It's about Me.

o Moses's next response is interesting.

* Who are You?

o Moses goes to God with another hypothetical situation.

The latter part of verse 13 says: what if they ask me, "'WHAT IS HIS NAME?' WHAT SHALL I SAY TO THEM?"

o God responds in verse 14: GOD SAID TO MOSES, "I AM WHO I AM." AND HE SAID, "SAY THIS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL: 'I AM HAS SENT ME TO YOU.'

o This Name, "I AM" is the name of all names.

It is the "ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence."

o It's the idea that when God identifies Himself in this way it means that He is always there, no matter when or where.

o So, when Jesus uses the same designation for Himself, it affirms that He and the Father are one.

That is why we are only able to come to the Father through Him.

o You'll notice in verse 15 that He then identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This is a call back to His promises to them.

A reference to the fulfillment of those promises to the forefathers through Moses.

o I don't know about you, but I'd like to think that "I AM" would be enough for Moses, but it's not ... Moses then asks:

* What if they don't listen?

o This takes us right into chapter 4.