Mortgage Burning Ceremony: I Am Who I Am

Exodus 3:1–15 ESV

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. 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. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 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.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 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. Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 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.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 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.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘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, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Fire is very interesting isn’t it?

It can be used to destroy something (Wood)

It can be used to clear out an area.

It can be used to stop a fire (Controlled fire)

It can also be used to refine (Break something down and remove the dirt from the steel)

It can also be used as something to bring light and for people to follow. (Pillar of fire at night)

God used fire to get Moses attention.

“One fire burns out another’s burning.” - William Shakespeare

Here in a few minutes we will burn our mortgage.

This is symbolic to the idea that this body of believer’s building is paid in full.

The document will burn out but another fire should be lit in our hearts.

This building has been paid off but the maintenance of this facility will continue.

What should be taking place now, what fire should be lit, is us following the direction of the Lord, lookin into the future at what He wants to do.

Not only should we be positioning ourselves to maintain this campus, we should also be developing a facility that is out to WOW visitors and guest.

A facility that is attractive and draws people who the Lord wants us to minister to / to disciple / to see come to a personal relationship with Jesus. (Become part of the family of God)