God Calls Those He Has Prepared

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. 7 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, 8 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. 9 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. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 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.” 13 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?” 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.’ ” 15 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. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Intro:

We are joining God to set people free.

God given passions aren’t deterred by time or expense.

Our dependence on God reveals His goodness.

God remembers His covenants. When God speaks, it is a promise and we can count on Him to fulfill His word.

God humbles his people to prepare them for ministry.

God does whatever it takes to humble his people.

God humbles his people to prepare them for ministry.

‎The forty years spent by Moses in the wilderness of Midian were, in one way, the most important of his life. They were the means by which God trained him for his great work.

What is humility?

“Humility, the place of entire dependence upon God, is from the very nature of things the first duty and the highest virtue of His creatures.” - Andrew Murray, Humility pg. 16

One of the greatest dangers we and the church today face is pride.

The greatest danger we and the church today face is pride.

Pride made Moses feel like he had the right to be judge and jury of the Egyptian.

Consider the major headlines that run on the news today...

Racism, abuse, scandals - all of these things find their root in pride.

Pride make us believe that we have more value than another person.

Abuse - pride

Pride is the very reason that Satan was cast from heaven.

He looked at his own qualities, which were given to him by God, and thought he should be equal to God.

Isn't’ that the same trap we fall into? We look at ourselves and think, wow.

That may be a silly thing to think about corporately, but isn’t that exactly what we are doing anytime we put ourselves before others?

I have had people tell me they were going to take a job somewhere and I asked if God had called them there. They responded with, “well I have all the qualifications they need”.

Isn’t this absurd in light of what we are seeing in the passage today?

Even though it is absurd, this is how we make decisions.

There is a call to ministry and we think about things like...

Do I like the thing that is being asked of me?

Do I have time for this?

Am I qualified for this thing?

All of those statements are about us and are in no way about God.

Is there an area of your life that the Holy Spirit is revealing your pride?

Moses is one day a prince of Egypt and the next he is a refugee in a foreign land.

By cultural and social standards, if anyone would have a chance at freeing the Hebrews, it would be the prince right?!

NO! Even the idea that Moses could do it on his own reveals that in his heart, he believed that He was more capable than God.

Us asking “I or me” questions reveals the same faulty thinking that is in our hearts.

It reveals the truth that we are more concerned with ourselves than we are with God.

It reveals that we lack humility.

‎The forty years spent by Moses in the wilderness of Midian were, in one way, the most important of his life. They were the means by which God trained him for his great work.

It took forty years for Moses to get to a place where he abandoned any hope of regaining his former status.

God used that time to help Moses see that his value was exactly the same as the people he had a passion for saving.

“Humility is the proper estimate of ones self.” -Charles Spurgeon

God will do whatever it takes to remove pride.

If there is anything that we think we can bring to the table, we have made ourselves useless to God.

“Humility is the only soil in which virtue takes root; a lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure. Humility is not so much a virtue along with others, but is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God and allows Him, as God, to do all.” -Andrew Murray, Humility pg. 17

The things we say and the things we do, reveal the truth about who we are and what we believe.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to do what is necessary to rid us of pride and bring us in to the right attitude before God.

Only when this happens will God be able to use us and work through us.

Pride is what destroyed our relationship with God and humility is what saves it.

Look at Paul’s plea to the church in Philipi.

Phil 2:1-

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We cannot be used by God until we have been humbled.

If there is any pride in us we make it about us and therefore tear down God by building ourselves up.

We live in a world of self promotion and the world doesn’t need more of it.

Remeber

The world needs to feel the freshness of men and women who are living, serving, and sacrificing for one another.

When we look at the life of Jesus, that is what we see and it challenged and ultimately changed lives.

Moses, after many years, has the right perspective on his position before God and people. We will see this a little later in the chapter.

God calls us in His timing to accomplish His work.

Exodus 3:9–10 ESV

9 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. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

ex 3:

God waits until people are ready.

God waited until Moses, the people, and political climate were ready.

God waits until the Pharoah that Moses knew and was wanting to kill him had died.

Exodus 2:23 ESV

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.

ex 2:

God waited until the

God knew that the people were at the end of themselves.

Ex 2:

God knew that Moses was aware that he had nothing to offer.

Exodus 2:24 ESV

24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

God confirms the passion that he placed in Moses’ heart.

God knew that Moses was aware that he had nothing to offer.

Exodus 3:1 ESV

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.

God speaks to Moses to communicate His plan.

God still speaks today. Moses did not have the benefit of the Holy Spirit and so God revealed Himself as light. (flame of fire that did not burn - same as when the Holy Spirit came in .)

God has placed Himself in each believer for the specific purpose of working through His people.

That same Holy Spirit lives in us when we come to faith in Christ.

The purpose of the HS being in us is for us to allow Him to work through us.

Again, it’s not just about us. It is God’s desire to use us to proclaim His truth to those around us. To be a light in the darkness.

God confirms the passion that he placed in Moses’ heart.

As we abide in Christ, His desires become our desires. That means that the things that break our hearts also break God’s heart.

God will confirm for you that the passion, the thing that breaks both your hearts, is from Him .

This passion that Moses has, to free his people from slavery, was in his heart as a young man.

He tried what he knew and was able to do and it failed.

God is now saying, it is time to free your people and you are going to be the one that facilitates it.

Moses is confused.

Exodus 3:11 ESV

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

Just like with Moses, God will accompany that confirmation with a plan.

At that point we come to a crisis of belief.

Do I really believe what I say I believe about God speaking, God working through believers, and God delivering people from bondage?

Has God confirmed a call in your life? If so what is that call? If not, what do you believe God has given you a passion for?

How can we have confidence that what we believe to be a God given passion or call is really from God?

When you receive the call or have a realization that God has been calling you, there may some anxiety in you, just like we see in Moses.

That’s a normal response and it isn’t sin.

God doesn’t get mad at Moses because he is unsure of himself and his abilities.

Remember, God took forty years to remove the pride from Moses.

Moses is exactly where God wants and needs him to be in his self awareness.

“Humility is the proper estimate of oneself.” - Charles Spurgeon

Moses is finally in the correct frame of mind. He is ready to follow God’s lead.

God gives very specific instructions about where to go, who to speak to, and what to say.

Exodus 3:12 ESV

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.”

Ex 3:12-

This statement is a game changer for Moses!

In response to Moses questioning God’s call, God promises His presence.

God, Himself, will be with Moses.

This may not seem like a big deal to you and I now because we are accustomed to the idea of God being with us because He lives inside of us.

This is a huge deal for Moses. Think about what it means for him.

God is saying I’ll be with you, as in, my presence will be in you.

God is saying I’ll be doing it through you.

This is how you will know it is me doing the work.

My people will be freed and will worship on this very mountain.

This idea is significant for us because it lays the foundation for our understanding of how God goes about freeing His people.

He does the work through a willingly obedient servant.

This idea of joining God to set people free is wrapped up in this detail. God is the one doing the work.

Is “God doing all the work” a current focus in the execution of your calling?

Our act of “joining” is in being willingly obedient.

This is why it is so important to live in the abiding cycle.

God is not interested in you trying to figure out how to accomplish His goals. He wants to tell you His plan because it will work. He involves us because He loves us AND it proves to the world that He loves them.

So God tells Moses that He will be with him and Moses says, “Okay, when I get there, what do I say?”.

Exodus 3:13 ESV

13 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?”

EX 3

I don’t want to belabor this point, but we see it here again and it is everything.

Whatever God call’s us too, He provides for.

God tells Moses exactly what to say to Israel.

I don’t know about you, but I used to worry a lot about what I would say when God gave the opportunity to share Him with people.

You know what I’ve learned over the years?

Don’t worry, God is going to give you the right words at the right time.

years of working with people have taught me that just saying, “don’t worry”, doesn’t keep people from worrying.

Consider this though… Our worrying is us trying to figure out how to accomplish something in our own power.

If God is the one that starts the work, He will also be the one to finish the work.

God’s call will always be bigger than anything we can accomplish.

This is what causes us to want to worry. If God has set the plans it is going to be God sized not people sized.

It’s obvious in this story that the task that is set before Moses is huge.

Go to this powerful king, tell him to let millions of slaves go free, and walk out with all of their riches.

No big deal.

Russ was telling us in the class on last Monday that one of the defining statements of the Bible is God saying to Israel, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt.”

It’s defining for us as God’s people because it gives God the right to have authority over us.

We have asked you guys as we study this book to see yourselves as Moses and Joshua.

What I hope is happening for you is that you are realizing that this isn’t just Moses and the Israelite’s Story.

This is your story.

What is your story? How has or is God using you to set people free?

This is the story of a loving God remembering His promise and acting on behalf of us.

Until Christ returns, we are still in the story.

Until Christ returns

There is still sin and suffering in the world and as God’s people we have within us the Holy Spirit, who has the desire and ability to free people from bondage.

My hope is that this week and from here on out, you will be asking God what your role is in this story.

What is your call?

Here’s what I believe God wants to do through the church.

God wants to set people free from living under the death sentence of sin and the law.

God wants to set people free from dead religion.

God wants racial reconciliation.

God wants to end slavery.

God wants to end abuse.

You know how God is going to accomplish these things??

God is going to do it through you, His people.

I’ve shared this idea with you guys before, but in a different way.

If there are people in our lives that are suffering, God is speaking to you about it.

How do I know that? If you know, it’s because God wants you to know.

Have you asked what your role is in accomplishing the work He has for you?

If He has already told you, have you opened yourself up to be obedient?

Don’t be intimidated by the call. It is going to appear to be insurmountable.

It is in your power, but with God at the controls, it’s nothing.

At the end of the passage today, God puts the icing on the cake when He is sharing the details of His plan with Moses.

Exodus 3:21–22 ESV

21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

ex 3:

Not only is He going to set the people free, but they are going to willingly give away their possessions to Israel as they leave.

This is so absurd that no one will be able to get the credit but God.

That will be true in your part of the story as well.

If we are willingly obedient, it is going to be evident to those in our lives that it isn’t us accomplishing anything.

They are going to see God for who He really is, a loving, gracious, merciful, and just God.

If we are each, individually, obedient. God is going to set people free and we get to be part of it.

What has God set you free from? How will if feel to share that freedom?

Church, God is calling us as a body to something that is way bigger than us.

What’s important to understand is that the story isn’t over.

I am so excited about it because, if we as the people of God, will obey, the people that are suffering around us are going to be set free.

This story is foreshadowing the coming of Jesus to save us from the slavery of sin and death

Pray for:

He has done that, but the story is still going. It’s still going because there are still people that are slaves.

God to prepare us us for ministry.

There are still people in the world that are still slaves to sin and death because they haven’t yet understood the truth.