What are You afraid of?

Good morning. I am so glad that we can be here together. It is a great day this morning.

Have you ever thought about fear. What it means to be afraid of something. When i think of fear my mind can go in so many directions. Fear of death. Fear of pain. Fear of suffering. Where do we begin. I got thinking though about moments when I have been afraid in life. I then thought of some of my favorite moments from my youth.

Teen Lock ins

Growing up for some reason many churches would have silly adults who would commit to locking themselves in a church with a bunch of teenagers and stay all night to have a night of fun and games and other activities. I have been that adult a few times. It is always a long and hard night on the adults but the teens sure love it.

I remember some of those events as a teen though and often one of our favorite games to play as a youth group would be hide and seek or Sardines. Sardines was always fun because it played so much differently then just regular hide and seek. For those who don’t know Sardines is the reverse of hide and seek. Instead of one person looking for a group of people it is everyone else looking for that one person hiding.

I remember one time when we were playing we were out looking for one of our youth leaders and they thought they would make it a little bit scarier walking around a dark church. As we were looking we came into the hallway where the nursery was and all of the sudden we hear the sound of children’s voices. We look around and were like there shouldn’t be any kids around. As we approach the nursery door we hear the sound of children singing “Jesus loves me this I know”. Let’s just say in a dark hallway at night in a church suddenly one of the most beautiful songs for kids becomes a very scary song as you just don’t know what is going to happen.

Hiding Well

It is in these moments of fear that sometimes stand out in life and fear can come in many ways. Moses experienced some fear in his life. Last week we talked about Moses and how God saved him as a Baby. This morning we are going to jump ahead a few years. Moses had gotten older. and he had done something horrible. He saw a man He saw what was happening to his people and he ended up killing an Egyptian. It was in this moment that he fled. He fled far because he was afraid of what might happen. He was afraid for his life because the Pharaoh was out to kill him. Moses lived for quite awhile away from Egypt. Long enough that the Pharaoh died but the Israelites were still under slavery. Moses stayed well hidden though because he had no idea how long he would really need to be hidden.

It is in Moses Hiding well that I was also reminded of another time I was at a lock in that I experienced a moment that i still remember that I was the cause of fear in a teenagers life. I was hiding from the teens in a game of sardines. I had managed to hide so well that i spent the better part of 20 min in my spot. The teens had passed by me so many times and never saw me that I was starting to get tired. I made up my mind the next teen to walk by i was going to scare them. The next moment a teen comes by i reach out and grab their ankle from my hiding spot and this poor girl screamed so loudly. Let’s say everyone found me pretty quickly after that. I was hidden too well though and i wanted it to end.

Moses thought He was Hidden

Moses had to have thought he was well hidden. Unlike me he wasn’t worried about revealing himself but God had another plan in mind. God decided that it was time to reach out and grab Moses by the leg. God Showed up and decided it was time to pull Moses out of hiding.

Exodus 3:2–4 NIV

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

The Burning Bush

Can you imagine this sight. Many of us have heard this story. Many of us have head this story many times in our lives. Some of us it may be totally new but it is one that always amazes me. The burning bush. The Bush that is on fire but is not consumed. It is the kind of thing that is only possible because God is making it possible.

This is how God presents himself and grabs Moses by the ankle to get his attention to bring him out of attention. He does something that only the divine can do to leave no doubt that this is from God.

Exodus 3:5–6 NIV

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Holy Ground

This is a story that reminds us that God’s presence is something we have to treat with deep respect. This is holy ground. God’s presence requires submission it requires a heart that is submissive. Not only that but in case the burning bush wasn’t enough to get his attention God reminds Moses of who he is.

Moses recognized that he could not look at God he knew that he was in the presence of the divine.

It is in this moment that we see Moses prostrates himself and submits himself to God and who he is. Moses listens to what God has to say.

God presents to Moses the truth about the state of the Hebrew people. It is time for something to be done. It is time for them to be delivered and to take them to the promise land. It was time for Moses to come out of hiding because God had decided.

Exodus 3:10 NIV

10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Moses is Scared

Moses was scared. God showed up and he encountered the divine. He was afraid for his life becuase he knew he couldn’t look at God but then God drops this bombshell on him that he is to go and to free the Hebrew people from the Egyptians. Moses had a history and a past that he didn’t think ti was a great idea for him to go and be that person to free them.

What if people remembered what he did?

Would they follow him?

Would the Egyptians kill him on sight?

What might happen?

Moses was worried Who was he. He didn’t think much of himself and he didn’t think he could do what God was asking him.

Exodus 3:11 NIV

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

God’s Response

Now in typical fashion God won’t let this kind of attitude stand. He knows his man and he has chosen him to do great things. He know that Moses has it in him to be the leader that he is calling him to be. Moses just needs to be reminded of something really important.

It isn’t Moses’ ability that is going to save the Hebrews from the Egyptians. It is God’s Presence that is going to save them.

Exodus 3:12 NIV

12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

I will be With you

It is in these five simple words that we find the hope that Moses needed and the hope that we often need ourselves when we are uncertain.

The truth is that God ill often ask us to do things that we may not always be comfortable with. For some of us it might be talking to new people. For others it might be committing to leading an activity at church or new ministry. For others it might be leading Kids church or youth group or an adult Sunday school class. There are so many ways that we can encounter God’s calling in life and it is something that scares us and we don’t think that we can do it. It is in these moments we can’t forget those five words that God told Moses.

I Will Be With You

What a promise that is to have from God. What a promise that is to be reminded that he is with us. That he will provide all that we need to do the work he has called us to. That doesn’t mean it is always going to be perfect but we can have confidence that God is taking care of us and will walk with us. it is here that we realize that fear melts away because we know his support is there. It is in his very name that we can be confident. We can be reminded of that..

Exodus 3:14–15 NIV

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

He is the I AM. The creater of the universe and we can be confident and know that he is faithful and because of that we have no reason to fear.