God Is Calling

Exodus 3:1-10

“God Is Calling”

BY: Rev. Kenneth Sauer, Pastor Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News,

VA

When I was in seminary, I had a really tough Old Testament Teacher....he was good,

but tough. He really expected us to know our stuff, even some stuff that may seem

inconsequential.....and his tests....his tests were incredibly difficult.....we had no idea what

questions he would ask......and as I read this Scripture I am reminded of one of his questions.....it

went like this, “What are the two names for Moses’ father-in-law?” Not just one name, but

two.....Not that anyone reading the Scriptures would necessarily think that even one of the names

of Moses’ father-in-law was significant, or even the fact that Moses had a father-in-law at all

was significant....but we had to know both of the names for Moses’ father-in-law.....and as we

see in verse 1 of our Scripture....one of the names was Jethro, and if we look back at chapter 2

verse 18....we see that he was also called Reuel.

Amazingly enough....I got this question right. Go figure.

Anyway, with that off my chest....this morning’s message will not focus on the names of

Moses’ father-in-law....nor on the fact that he had a father-in-law at all....I just wanted to prove

to myself that at least some of my seminary training....for which I am currently forty-thousand

dollars in debt was of some use.....which it was....it was actually worth every penny.

What this morning’s message will focus on is the call of God....and we are all called by

God to serve Him....the question is: “Have we heard that call?”....and “Have we answered that

call?”

We must keep in mind how amazing it is that God bothers to call us at all.

Just think, the Lord Himself, the great God and Savior who created the universe and

sustains everything throughout the universe actually stoops down and offers us the wonderful

priviledge of serving Him!

And many of us...too many of us decide to ignore or reject His call.

And God usually calls us when we least expect it.

Look at Moses, he was minding his own business....tending Jethro’s sheep when all of a

sudden “the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.”

Now Moses was a man who would stop and seek the meaning of things.

As verse three describes, “So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange

sight--why the bush does not burn up.”

Just think what would have happened if Moses had not stopped and gone over to see the

unusual sight: he would have....

Missed the blessing of God....missed this deep expereince with God....and missed the call

of God upon his life.

It’s such a shame that so many of us are not interested in the meaning of things, at least

not interested enough to stop and study the real meaning lying behind things--especially the

meaning of God and of spiritual things.

Too many of us ignore God and the things of God....

I remember how frustrating it used to be to hang out with some of my friends in high

school. Whenever I would start a conversation about God, they would inevitably interrupt

me....and change the subject....I couldn’t understand how they could live without having interest

in God, and the things of God, and the meaning of life.

But too many of us are just too busy and too wrapped up in the affairs of this life to take

an interest in the things that really matter.

Too many of us are only interested in the pleasures of this life and the possessions of

this world.

Most of us are not like Moses. We are just not willing to stop and to seek the meaning of

spiritual things.

And we see that when Moses stopped he realized that the Lord was appearing to

him.....notice in verse 4 that “When the Lord saw that” Moses “had gone over to look, God

called him from within the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!”

Notice that God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Lord

continued to speak to Moses from within the burning bush all the way to the next chapter.

In light of these facts, the messenger appears to be the Lord Himself, and more

particularly, most scholars believe that this was the second person of the Godhead, the Lord

Jesus Christ Himself.

In any event, the Lord

was appearing to Moses and Moses stopped and sought the meaning of the Lord’s appearance,

And the Lord has also appeared to us; He has come to earth.

We must also stop and seek the meaning of His coming because the person who truly

seeks the Lord will find Him as Jesus promises in Luke chapter 11: “Ask and it will be given to