HERE, AWARE, ACTIVE
Bible Engagement: Learn • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsGod is here now, knows your life, and is always working for your good — just say “yes” to Him
Notes
Transcript
Pre-service Passage
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Introduction
Remember the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
The second law of thermodynamics expresses a fundamental and simple truth about the universe: that disorder, also known as entropy, always increases
This law isn’t always bad. In not for the second law of thermodynamics, we couldn’t digest our food in order to get the proper nutrients into our systems to keep us alive. Even breathing is made possible by this process.
If I dipped my hands in a bucket of ice-water and then Linda held my hand for a bit…the warmth of her hand would cause entropy…dissipating the cold and warming up my hand.
People that use compost or fertilizer would be disappointed if the second law of thermodynamics did not work.
Things do not last forever — new car smell, a new laptop that needs replaced in a year if you want to keep up with everyone else, new smart phones can become dumb phones and need replaced. A 200 dollar pair of shoes. Some things last way longer than others…but everything fades away over time.
Not so with the One true God, the eternal One — no beginning, no end. This world will continue to fade over the centuries, but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
The only reason you can have hope for the future is because God is here with you now, aware of every little detail of your life (even the things you are not aware of), and He is not an absentee Father — He is actively involved in and around you, right now.
VIDEO: “God is Eternal” (Bible Engagement - Learn V. 2, Session 4)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Narrative
Everyone knows Moses — the infant Hebrew boy who God kept from being murdered by allowing him to grow up as the Pharaoh’s grandson. Moses grew up with wealth, safety and a great education. He had all the advantages.
As a young man, Moses became more and more angry at the the way the Hebrew people were treated. One day, he got into a scuffle with an Egyptian slave driver because of his cruelty — He ended up killing the Egyptian. Fearing that Pharaoh would have him executed for this murder, Moses fled into the Midianite wilderness, where he learned to be a shepherd, married a wife and raised a family.
Skip ahead 40 years — Moses probably thought he would never see his people again — he was living his own life, doing his own thing. One day, Moses discovered something that would upend his nice quiet life, something that would remind him that God was with him, aware of the people’s horrible situation, and ready to use Moses to save the day.
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.
PRAYER
Big Idea: God is here now, knows your life, and is always working for your good — just say “yes” to Him.
Transitional: God is eternal — He is everywhere present — He knows where you are at this very moment (not just physically but in every other way)
GOD IS WHERE YOU ARE (Exodus 3:1-6)
God will show up when and where you least expect Him
Moses was probably not looking for God to show up that day — it was a normal day for a nomadic shepherd in the wilderness
It was the last normal day of shepherding for Moses — God had bigger things in store
When God shows up, stop everything and turn your attention to Him
Moses hid his face....he was afraid
But he did not run away…he stayed put…waiting for God’s next move
Application
Do you ever feel like you may have missed important opportunities or perhaps missed God’s plan for you?
Expect God to reveal Himself anytime, anywhere, and say “It’s time! Are you ready?”
He might speak to you through a burning bush — or more likely, through an unexpected crisis or through a casual conversation with a friend or a stranger, or through reading & study, etc.
Transitional: God “meets you where you are” because He was always there in the first place — And He is always aware of your pain, fear, confusion, joy, excitement…past, present, and future
GOD KNOWS YOUR PAIN AND WILL BRING HEALING (Exodus 3:7-11)
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?”
In the deep waters, God hears your cry for help
He heard the Hebrews’ agonizing cries for help
He also knew where Moses was and the things going through his heart
In the deep waters, God is not too big, distant, or holy to be right next to you in your time of need
Moses couldn’t help but ask “Who am I? I can’t do this thing you suggest!”
Here’s what Moses learned and what we should know ---
If God calls you, He qualifies you for whatever the task, no matter how big and impossible it may seem.
Application
Do you sometimes struggle to understand how God is with you and knows what your are going through?
Of course we struggle in this way because, at times, it seems like there is no end to the struggle or the pain
Rest assured…God hears…He cares…and He is working things out according to His plan — part of the plan is growing us through adversity — strengthening our faith.
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
Transitional: In His perfect time, our eternal God puts His plans into motion
IN HIS PERFECT TIME, THE ETERNAL GOD PUTS THINGS INTO MOTION (Exodus 3:12-15)
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.
God not only sees your pain, He does something about it
God sometimes works in our lives through other people
Moses — an unlikely deliverer but the one God chose
Who has God used in your life to bring hope and comfort?
Application
Never forget who your deliverer is — God uses people to accomplish His plans, but just as Moses needed to tell the people who sent him, we need to keep in mind that the one who saves, keeps, and sends us out is Jesus, the eternal one.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Challenge
Although Moses argued with God and tried to make excuses as to why he could not lead the people out of slavery — he finally had no choice but to say “yes” —
The work wasn’t easy for Moses…there were many challenges, but God brought miracles and deliverance at every turn, because Moses did say “yes” to God
Keep this truth close to your heart today:
God is here now, knows your life, and is always working for your good — just say “yes” to Him
What is He asking you to do today?