But I Will Be With You

But I Will Be With You Exodus 3:1-15 March 8, 2020 THE BIG IDEA: God is self-existent and holy, yet, He chooses to reveal Himself to us and invites us to approach and know Him. Moses learned that God takes as long as needed to prepare our hearts to be willing to serve Him and lead people. The secret to serving God and leading people is to know that God will be with us. Exodus 3:1-15 3 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.” 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. 13 In the name, “I AM WHO I AM”, Moses learns that God’s name is more than a way to address Him, it tells the story of God – He has no beginning and will have no end. In every part of time, God already IS. What He was to Moses’ fathers, He will be to Moses. He has not and will not change! John 8:24 (ESV) “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” John 8:58 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Seven times, Jesus made statements about Himself that began with “I AM …”. If you want to know God, dig into Scripture and get to know Jesus. In Christ … 1. God has chosen you to know Him. 2. God has called you to serve Him. 3. God is equipping you to serve Him. 4. God will be with you. Acts 26:15-18