Being Those Who Are Available: Moses ( Servant Series)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This morning I want to welcome you … It is a joy to see you all and I pray you are well, that you are at peace in the presence of God and waiting for Him to move in your life in a great way.
Here is a question right off the bat… Are you waiting for God expectantly?
Waiting for what He is going to use you for, lead you too and allow you the joy of not only seeing Him at work, but you having the privilege to work along side of God.
Wow… are you waiting?
Or… are you just there… you are just living life… but it certainly isn’t to the fullest
So this morning I want to encourage you to move beyond your failures, your own preconceived notions of what you are capable of and lets ask God… God what can you do with me?
And I want you to listen and see what He says and then believe it.... Amen.
If God says you are able… don’t doubt God, instead Thank God for the opportunity!
So this morning lets find the book of Exodus in the OT and go to chapter 3.
Exodus chapter 3 is the story of the burning bush, but it is more than the burning bush, it’s really God’s work in Moses life for His glory.
My friends that is special...
So Exodus 3:1-6
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.
So this morning, I want to share a few thoughts with you as we walk through this text… and I would ask you to do one thing as I share this message with you..
Would you ask God to speak to you.... Would you ask Him, Lord what am I available for?
Why? I believe there is more than you could imagine in God’s plan for your life.
So this morning, 3 thoughts for you…
1. Moses Present Condition....
1. Moses Present Condition....
The Bible is clear in telling us about Moses life, the good and the bad if you will…
And you might ask, why is it necessary to see Moses present condition, we know a lot about him?
The truth of the matter is we always have to see where we are, especially in relation to God and His work? We need to examine our heart, does it line up with God and his expectation for our lives..
You might confess, I don’t know… that is why I asked you to pray a few minutes ago.
So look at Moses, the Bibles says Moses is the son-in law of Jethro who is a priest of Midan, and he is tending His flocks on the back side or the western side of the wilderness, the dessert.
So here is Moses, He is a Israelite. He was set adrift in a effort to save him, placed in a basket and set in the river near Pharoah’s daughter. She claimed him as her own as did Pharoah.
Moses was raised with the best of everything..
Exodus 2:10 says
10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
So he is raised as part of the family of nobility of Egypt. A son of Pharoah. But Moses always knew he was adopted, that he was a son of Israel and he hated the way his people were treated.
Exodus 2:11 - 12 tells us of an Egyptian task master, a servant and leader for Pharoah who worked to keep the people in line and producing the bricks for Pharaoh's needs.... He was a slave master.. As he was beating a fellow Israelite, Moses struck the Egyptian servant and killed him and Moses hid the body in the sand.
But the truth came out and Moses fled Egypt and his people in save His own life. He was a murderer on the run…
He has been in the dessert a long time, Acts 7 tells us he was 40 years old when all this took place and for 40 more He has made his life away from hIs people and God.
Moses has built a life for himself,… but is it all that God desired and wanted?
NO!
You see I tell you all that to ask you this question… What about you, is your life all that God wants for you?
Or have you pushed back when He tried to lead you in the past, did you put Him off because of fear or uncertainty?
You see there is a question we must ask ourselves; am I living and doing the Father’s will in my life? That is a yes or no question…
Moses has been in the dessert, a runaway wanted for murder. But even there, I want you to see God had His eyes on Moses and was preparing Him to not only shepherd the flocks, but to shepherd His people.
His present condition wasn’t perfect… But God was in control. your present condition may not be idea, but God is there with you… He is in control… do you realize that...
Keep praying and asking God right now… what on earth am I hear for?
God will tell you if you ask....
Then secondly this morning I want you to see God;s call to Moses...
2. God’s Call to Moses...
2. God’s Call to Moses...
Now we don’t know a lot about Moses and his walk before God, but I assume He has a relationship with God prior, that He worshipped Him… but we just dont have the detials.
But on that particular day Moses will know He is not alone...
God will reveal Himself to Moses in a powerful way with a powerful message meant only for Moses… But that message would overflow and be a blessing to a nation of people...
Lets go back to our text this morning...
Verses 2-10
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.”
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The phrase right there at the beginning of the passage, the angel of the Lord. That designation is not simply a heaven messenger, a angel in the sense of those who serve the Lord. No, not at all.. why?
Verse 4 says God spoke to Him. The angel of the Lord is just a destruction of God himself.
The Lord has known Moses his whole life and He has prepared Him for this day. His day God has planned to speak to Moses and so God reveals himself first as a burning bush.
We call these things, the burning bush, the cloud and pillar of firs that we will see as God leads them out of Egypt later on, These are all just manifestations of Himself.. we refer to them as Theophianies … God is a magnificent form that reveals His glory.
God is revealing Himself to Moses, at the Mountain of God. It has two names, it is referred to as Mt Herod, and My Sinai. But it is the mountain where Abraham when to offer Isaac and God provided the ram.
It will be a special place for Moses and the children of Israel later on as they establish the covenant, as they receive the law of God…it is indeed a special place for Moses and them.
And there God appears to Moses and don’t be mistaken, Moses sees the bush it is on fire, yet not consumed. And it gets His attention and he turns and approaches it.
And as He nears the bush, there on the edge of the mountain, God calls out. Moses.. verses 4-6
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.
Holy ground, how precious… Moses take your sandals off, the place where you stand is Holy… Moses is in the presence of the Almighty.. Wow.
And just so there is no mistake, God says,, I am the God of your father, Abraham, Issac and Jacob.. The god of his forefathers and His God has well.
And Moses hid his face… He was afraid to look at God… why?
Moses knew of His sin, that He was a fallen creature and He is in the presence of the perfect one, God himself. The one who came and visited all those before Him. And Moses is just in awe....But he has a holy fear, a reverence for God.
And then God calls him to work..
Verse 10 “.... Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses, its time to begin, its time to get to work. I want to remind you a long time ago Moses wanted to help His people, but in his own strength and resources he could not… he just made things worse, He murdered a man. But now God is setting him to work.
There is something special when God sets you to work.
It;s the right time when God calls you to work, It’s the right task when God calls you to work and it will have the right outcome when God calls you to work.
God says I am sending you to Pharaoh, That I can bring my people up out of the land of Egypt.
It certainly wasn’t a small task God was calling Moses too, and I am sure it probably gave Him a considerable bit of fear…
God, your talking about Pharoah here… by the way He thinks he is a god himself…
Moses is so uncertain....But the good news is God’s ways are right and perfect… they are true and whole.
You see my friends, it didn’t matter how much God was asking of Moses, big or small.. God was the one who was sending...
When God is doing the work.. when he calls us to join Him.. friends it is perfect.
For someone here or who is listening to this message, God is calling you. You sense it and fill it
But the unknown is so scary… my friends, never forget the God who has saved us, He knows what is unknown to us.. He has planned and ordained it.
Do you trust Him?
Yes or No????
You have to trust Him and say ok… or you walk way defeated.
God’s wants to use you, are you available to God.
Now lets look at one more thought...
3. The Revelation of God’s Plan...
3. The Revelation of God’s Plan...
Let me ask you a question?
Do you believe God knows you and loves you? Yes… we can say Yes to this...
Then know God loves the world as well, every person, every child, doesn’t matter who they are or anything about them, He desires to set them free, for them to be forgiven and to live in the peace and freedom as a child of God.
As Moses hears the plan, I am sure it is overwhelming… God did I just hear you right… you want me to go to Egypt, the place I fled from…
But the purpose is seen in verses 7-8
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.
This passage is truly one of my favorite.. why? The Lord says I am seen the affliction of my people… my friends, please do not doubt, God knows you and all you and your sufferings, your afflictions, Your good and your bad. He knows it all..
But God tells Moses I have seen their affliction, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and into a good land.
What God is doing to remembering the covenant with Abraham. He promised to give him a land, to make Him a people. That all the world would be blessed by Him and his offspring.
They have been in the land of Goshen, in Egypt for 400 years and now it is time to return. It is time to carry on so they can be his people and He can be their God.
My friends please understand God’s plan always involves deliverance.
He is going to use Moses to bring His people up and out of that land. God will do this… God will empower and stand behind Moses. He will speak to Him, guide Him and with his willingness… Moses will lead these people out of Egypt.
The people were enslaved, beaten down by their taskmasters. These were once the people who were a blessing to Egypt because of Jospeh… But we know there arose a Pharoah who did not know or care about the descendants and family of Joseph, the children of Israel.
They need deliverance...
The same is true of us. We need deliverance, we were lost in our trespasses and sin.. Hopeless and helpless.. enslaved by sin. held captive by our own sinful ways.. But thanks be to God a deliverer as come.. God raised up His own Son Jesus..
And through the death of Jesus, we have been set free.. and now we walk as children..
But God is still calling those who are available.
Are you available to be His servant?
Will you let go of the past, trust Him in the now and so no matter what. I am going to serve Jesus.
Will you be a Moses in this dark land. God is calling you.
Will you answer.
Let us pray...