Exodus 3 “13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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 this is My memorial to all generations.’
Today we continue our trip through the Book of Exodus. We will continue this journey until Thanksgiving. Today we begin with something un-natural. Something super-natural. Exodus 3:1-10 contains the familiar story of The Burning Bush. Fire is one of the most common signs of God's presence in the OT. This fire on the bush does not consume - neither do the "tongues, as of fire" in Acts 2:3. Fire that consumes everything is natural. There are wildfires in the news right now. If something is not burned up in a fire – we call it a miracle. This is a preview of unnatural occurrences that will come later in Exodus (plagues - frogs and flies). No matter what the History Channel has to say.
I’m not a big fan of the History Channel – except for one show, “The Curse of Oak Island.” They try to eliminate the supernatural from every Bible story they investigate. I want a supernatural God! I want an awesome and mighty, miracle-making God!
All of us in this room have seen many, many amazing discoveries in the fields of medicine and science. One time I was helping my Grandfather with some painting on the farm. We were relaxing in the shade and I asked him – “What’s the greatest discovery you have seen in the 20th century?” I was thinking about a man on the moon, modern farm equipment or even television. He thought for a moment and said, “Well, if somebody had ever told me there would be paint as good as oil paint that could be cleaned up with water – I would have told you they were crazy.”
At the beginning of Exodus 3, Moses meets his God in the miracle of the burning bush. This is a preview of the supernatural plagues (not according to the History Channel). God is the one making the first move. When Moses goes to look, God calls him by name.
God is the one who calls Moses (like us) - Exodus 3:4 "So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
When God calls people today – are we seeking first or is God seeking us first? It’s stories, like this one, that assures us that God makes the first move. We can be walking away from God and He is knocking on the door of our hearts. In this, we respond to His first move.
Then, God is the one who commands Moses (like us) v. 5 - "do not come closer" "take off your sandals". Why? Because God is HOLY! Holiness is one of His attributes. We say God is “altogether holy.” His holiness is perfect. So it can’t be altered by any of His other attributes. When we say “God is Love” we name another of His attributes. He is “altogether loving.” Not like our love – limited and touched by sin. We understand then that God is incapable of loving us so much that He would be less concerned with our holiness.
Moses is the one who brings in doubt (like us) v.11-12. Before this exchange is over, Moses will question God's plan five times. But God always has an answer for him. Do you have questions? Have you searched God's Word for the answer? Have you cried out in prayer and then taken time to listen?
Ps. 91:15 "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him…"
Jer. 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'"
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
Now God reveals Himself - in 2 ways- 2 names – God’s names always reveal something about who He is.
"I AM WHO I AM" – because Hebrew words have multiple meanings, we can also see in this name – “I will be who I will be” and “I will create what I create”. Our Bibles begin with 4 words - "In the beginning, God…" God is "PRE-EXISTENT" which means that as the Creator of all things He existed before all things. This one of the Basic Beliefs of Christianity that is proclaimed in the NT - John 1 "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God."
There is a second name here "The Lord God of your fathers". God existed before creation. God created. God reveals Himself in the midst of human history. The story in Exodus is connected to the story in Genesis where God is moving and active in the the person and family of Abraham. Then in the people called the “12 Tribes of Israel” following the book of Exodus. God goes on to say "This is My name forever" v. 15. God is moving and active through out the book of Acts. He continues to work miracles as the Church goes forward.
What about today? Would we sit in a church meeting and say “No, we can’t”? My answer is “GOD CAN!” Is there anything our miracle-making God can’t do?
So God decides who God is? Right?
We never try to change Him, right?
We who have been called by God and commanded by God - too often bring doubt to "Who is God?"
Let’s use an example found nowhere in God’s Word – to illustrate – let’s pretend that in God’s Word there is an absolute condemnation of “eating turnip greens.” We have been taught that putting anything before God is creating an idol. Let’s expand the idea of idolatry.
To create a God, who in our heart/head that allows what the Bible forbids, is the essence of creating an IDOL. We use simple phrases to do this - "I love _____________" (eating turnip greens). Just because we put the word “love” in there does NOT make it ok with God.
"I feel like God is ok with _____________" (eating turnip greens). There is an unwritten rule today – as soon as someone says “I feel like” you have to back off. Can’t challenge someone’s feelings. We used to say “I think” or “I believe” and then have discussion – no longer.
"Back when the Bible was written, they didn't really understand _____________" (eating turnip greens). If God wrote it then and it meant – DON’T EAT TURNIP GREENS – then it means the same thing today. People can write thousands of books that say its ok to eat turnip greens but that is not what it means.
One last phrase – “God must think of this (eating turnip greens) the same way we do.” God’s Word is crystal clear on this point - Isa. 55 "8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."
God gets to decide who He is – He reveals it and we need to accept it. Amen.
TEACHING SHEET:
(Date)
Sermon Series: Exodus
Exodus 3:13-15
“God Reveals Himself”
Exodus 3:1-10 contains the familiar story of The Burning Bush. Fire is one of the most common signs of God’s presence in the OT. This fire on the bush does not consume – neither do the “tongues, as of fire” in Acts 2:3. This is a preview of unnatural occurrences that will come later in Exodus (plagues – frogs and flies)
God is the one who calls Moses (like us)
Exodus 3:4 “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
God is the one who commands Moses (like us) v. 5
• “do not come closer”
• “take off your sandals”
Why? Because God is HOLY!
Moses is the one who brings in doubt (like us) v.11-12
Before this exchange is over, Moses will question God’s plan five times. But God always has an answer for him.
Do you have questions? Have you searched God’s Word for the answer? Have you cried out in prayer and then taken time to listen?
Ps. 91:15 “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him…”
Jer. 33:3 “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Now God reveals Himself – in 2 ways:
“I AM WHO I AM”
(I will be who I will be, I will create what I create)
Our Bibles begin with 4 words – “In the beginning, God…”
God is “PRE-EXISTENT” which means that as the Creator of all things He existed before all things. This one of the Basic Beliefs of Christianity that is proclaimed in the NT – John 1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.”
“The Lord God of your fathers”
God reveals Himself in the midst of human history. The story in Exodus is connected to the story in Genesis. Then God goes on to say “This is My name forever” v. 15
We who have been called by God and commanded by God - too often bring doubt to “Who is God?” To create a God, who in our heart/head that allows what the Bible forbids, is the essence of creating an IDOL:
• “I love _____________”
• “I feel like God is ok with _____________”
• “Back when the Bible was written, they didn’t really understand _____________”
Isa. 55 “8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
