“Establishing a Trust”
Exodus 2:23-3:15
Barb and I do not look forward with any great excitement to the day when we can no longer take care of ourselves. But we are ready for it. We have established a trust – we have made provisions for making decisions on our behalf and for disposing of whatever earthly goods that might still remain. Having such a trust frees us from great worry and frees our boys from difficult, emotional, sometimes near impossible decisions. HAVING A TRUST LEADS TO FREEDOM.
The same principle is true in our spiritual lives. When we have a confident reliance on the integrity and honesty of God, when we have confidently committed our lives to His care for His use and safekeeping, we experience freedom. Having a trust leads to freedom.
But how do we establish such a trust? Consider Moses.
IT’S AN ISSUE OF PRESENCE. Moses was concerned about his qualifications for such a significant task. So he inquired of God (11), “"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"” (12) “And God said, "I will be with you.””
IT’S NOT WHERE WE ARE, IT’S WHERE GOD IS THAT MATTERS. And God will be with us! God will be where we are! That is all that matters. No matter where we are, no matter where God leads us, no matter what the circumstances – if God is with us, who or what can defeat us? God is with us! Listen: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."” I am the God who was present with your people in the past. “At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians…” I am the God who is present with you now. “… and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." I am the God who will be present with you in the future. GOD HAS BEEN, IS, AND WILL BE PRESENT WITH US. He is the God of real people with real needs; He hears our cries and feels our pain. We may feel weak and insecure, but God is with us; we can rely on the power of His might. We may feel worthless, but God is with us; we can rely upon His worth. We may feel inadequate, but God is with us; we can rely upon His wisdom. We may feel all alone, but God is with us; we can rely upon His help.
Centuries later, during another dark and dreary time, another man stepped forth. His parents had named him Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Through Jesus, God speaks to us, “Do not fear. I am with you – and always will be. All power, in heaven and on earth, has been given to me. You will not be one second without my companionship. You will not experience one difficulty with my cooperation. You will not face any Red Sea without my pathway stretching before you. You will not travel one inch of wilderness without the Angel of my Presence.”
WE ARE FREE FROM WORRY AND FEAR. We can go where God wants us to go and do what God wants us to do. Young people – everyone but especially young people who live in such a tough, defiant world – God has called you to be his witnesses, to live for Him. Never forget, He is not asking you to do it all alone. He is with you. Trust Him. It’s where God is that matters. And He is with us!
IT’S also AN ISSUE OF PERSONALITY. Moses was speaking personally with God – he had the advantage of this miraculous encounter, so He knew for sure this was truly God. But he wondered how he could ever convince the Israelites it was actually their God who spoke to him. Moses knew that everything depended on whether or not God could be trusted. (13) “Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" In other words, what if the Israelites want to know how they can depend on You, God? 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, '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.' IT’S NOT WHO WE ARE, IT’S WHO GOD IS THAT MATTERS. I am that I am. What does that mean? God is self-existent and self-sufficient. He is unchangeable – the same yesterday, today, and forever. But who is He? He is that He is – He will be who He will be. He is the One who is always with us. More literally it means, “I am He who will make things happen.” God will make a way. When the Hebrew was translated into Greek the tense was switched and it became, “I am the One who makes things happen.” GOD IS.
Centuries later another man was asked his identity. (Jn. 8:58-59) Jesus responded ““I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” Jesus claimed he was “I AM”, that he was God. Catch this: in a sense, we determine who God is! God has given us a blank check, to fill in as needed. What we need, God will be! Are you in darkness? “I am the Light of the World.” Are you hungry and empty? “I am the Bread of Life.” Are you defenseless and anxious? “I am the Good Shepherd…I lay down my life for the sheep.” Are you tired and weary, ready to give in or give up” “I am Shiloh, the Rest-giver.”
Are you feeling impotent, overwhelmed by life? “I am the true vine…Abide in me, and I in you.” Are you afraid? “I am, fear not!” Are you unsure of how to obtain eternal life? “No one comes to the Father but by me.” Do you want more out of life? “I have come that you may have life and have it in all its fullness.” Do you feel inadequate? “I will never fail you.” Do you feel alone? “I will never leave you.” Do you want to be free from your sins? “If you do not believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.” Do you feel insecure? “I am the first and the last and the living one.” Do you feel uncertain about the direction of your life? “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Do you worry about your death or are you mourning a loss? “I am the resurrection and the life.” Do you find it difficult to face another day? “I am the bright morning star.”
WE ARE FREE FROM POWERLESSNESS AND DEFEAT. 22 times in John’s Gospel Jesus assumed divine authority over our sickness, sin, and sadness. Each of Jesus’ miracles, each of His ‘I Am’ statements answers one of our aching needs. We can leave all that in His hands. We might not be great – but God is. We might not have influence – but God does. We might not have respect – but God does. We might not have the skills or knowledge needed – but God does. We might not have the power to do what God asks – but God does. God is. God is not looking for extraordinary people. God is looking for ordinary people who will trust an extraordinary God. It’s who God is that matters. It’s an issue of presence and personality.
IT’S also AN ISSUE OF PERFORMANCE. Moses wanted a guarantee that he could show to the people, a word of assurance that God could be trusted. ““This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”” I am the God who has never let you down. I am the God who has never failed to deliver on my word. I am the God who is faithful to all my promises. God is both a promise-maker and a promise-keeper.
IT’S NOT WHAT WE DO, IT’S WHAT GOD DOES THAT MATTERS.
To endure, we do not need more advice or principles – we need help – we need to find someone we can trust. God has made a promise to be faithful to His covenant. He will glory in His faithfulness. It began with a call to Abraham – God called him to leave everything he knew and had and head for a place he had never seen – all because God wanted to build a great nation through him. That’s all Abraham had – the promise, the word of God. But he discovered that GOD DELIVERS ON HIS WORD – for, from him, a nation was born. Moses was called to go face to face and toe to toe with Pharaoh – all because God wanted to rescue Israel from slavery. That’s all Moses had – the promise, the word of God. But he, too, discovered that God delivers on His word – for Israel was set free.
Centuries later, when it seemed as if maybe God had forgotten His promise to send a deliverer, this man named Jesus marched to a cross, shed His blood, was laid in a tomb, but rose again! God’s people – you and I – were set free! God delivers on His word. God is the ultimate Promise-Keeper! On His word, and His word alone, we are free to love and serve - because the future is guaranteed. As the Apostle Peter later wrote (2 Pt. 3:13): “According to his promise, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth where everything will work right.” WE ARE FREE TO BE FAITHFUL TO OUR WORD. When we are, we are like God! Keeping our word, in fact, is what will ultimately hold our world and lives together.
Just imagine what being faithful promise keepers would mean – in our marriages, our families, our schools, our workplaces, our halls of government, our churches. What if, in our marriages, families, schools, workplaces, government, and churches we truly promised, “I am the one who will be there for you” instead of “I will be there for you as long as you provide me with all the satisfaction I have coming?” To be like God is to keep our promises even when we are not getting what we want or deserve. It is the difference between a covenant and a contract. Thomas Carlysle, near the end of his monumental history of the French Revolution, concluded that the revolution failed, not because of corruption in high places, but because ordinary people in their ordinary places neglected to keep their promises. Lewis Smedes wrote, “If we do not keep our promises, what was once a human community turns into a combat zone of (self-centeredness.)” We are free to be difference makers – we can keep our word because God has kept His. It’s what God does that matters.
Just knowing all this will not change anything. Israel knew all about God. Yet repeatedly they failed to trust Him. We really are no different. We say we trust but we never let go. We say we trust but we keep trying to solve everything ourselves. Our problem is not that we have found God at some point to be untrustworthy – rather we have not trusted Him soon enough. Perhaps you think that you ought to be able to handle life yourself, that it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help. Maybe you would rather wallow in self-pity and think that you’re the exception in this world, the one person for whom Jesus did not die. It might be that you think Jesus cares more for other really special people than He does for you. Jesus says, “Get over it!” The burning bush is calling you this morning. God came in Jesus for you, to defeat anything that keeps you from freedom in Him. Death could not hold Him and the grave could not defeat Him. He’s alive. He’s with you now. It doesn’t matter where you are – God is with you! It doesn’t matter who you are – God is! It doesn’t matter what you do – God is faithful to you.
WHAT IF YOU REALLY TRUSTED GOD? What would your life look like? What would you do if you really trusted God – truly believed that He is with you? What would you do if you really believed that God is – that He makes things happen, that He is the answer to all your needs? What would you do if you truly believed that God was faithful to His word? What promises would you claim? Are you willing to trust God this morning? A little boy was walking down the beach, and as he did, he spied a matronly woman sitting under a beach umbrella on the sand. He walked up to her and asked, “Are you a Christian??” “Yes.” “Do you read your Bible every day?” “Yes.” “Do you pray often?” the boy asked next. And again she answered, “Yes.” With that the little boy asked his final question, “Will you hold my quarter while I go swimming?” What do you need to give to God as you head back out into the waters of life? I invite you to establish your trust in Jesus. Lay before Him your needs, your fears, your challenges, your dreams. Give Him you quarters – whatever they may be. For God is – and you are free to trust Him!
