9-24-23 God Encounters - Moses

Announcements

Biblical Citizenship class w Rick Green

Rita Springer tonight/No Awe

Monday Night Fellowship at Jeff’s house

Womens conference

Tithe’s and offering - Don’t curse your blessing

Recap

In a series of God encounters

Last week we talked about Jacob. How he had an encountered God twice. Once he saw the angels ascending and descending on a ladder from Earth to heaven. The second was where he wrestled with God and told God he wanted a blessing or he wasn’t going to give up. Both of these times were in the midst of a time when his brother hated him and wanted to kill him, he was trying to find where he was going to settle. From the outside his life looked like a mess but God was there with Him.

Read Gen 25-35 and tell me what God highlighted to you about this story.

Intro - Moses

I don’t think there is another man that had more encounters with God then Moses.

Today let’s look at this iconic story of the burning bush.

Backstory

The children of Israel were slaves to the Egyptians. There was a decree to have the male babies to be killed because they didn’t want to have so many slaves. Moses was born and at 3 months old when she could no longer hide her son she put him in a basket and sent him down the river where Pharaoh’s daughter found him and adopted him as her own. So moses probably grew up in royalty.

One day Moses was out and saw an egyptian beating a slave and he took and killed the egyptian. The next day he saw two hebrew men fighting and he went and broke it up. One of the men said, who appointed you judge and prince. Are you going to kill me as you did the egyptian yesterday. Moses being afraid that everyone now knows what he did fled. He went to the land of Midian where he met a young gal Zipporah, married her and had a son Gershom. Now Zipporah’s family was a family of herdman so Moses also became a shepherd.

Moses from the outside perspective had a nice life. A simple life. I’m sure that Moses was glad that he could get away from his old life and just leave it in the past. BUT God had other plans.

Let’s pick up the story in Exodus 3:1

Exodus 3:1 (NLT)

1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

Exodus 3:2–4 (NLT)

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

I believe that God calls for everyone but not all are listening.

Let’s keep reading

Exodus 3:5–9 (NLT)

5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

God sees all things. Don’t give up hope for this city.

I hate how people talk about how dark this city is. Read what the Lord showed me on 9-17 during prayer.

God doesn’t call you out of something without delivering you into something. Out of slavery into the promised land.

Let’s read on

Exodus 3:10 NLT

10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”