A Divine Rescue With Your Name On It.
Exodus 3:1-8NKJV
After being informed of a 911 call from a concerned Citizen, a state trooper drove along the train tracks, shining his flashlight into the dark until he spotted a vehicle stranded on the iron rails. The troopers dashboard camera captured the train barreling toward the car. “That train was coming fast,” the officer said, “50 to 60 mph.” Acting without hesitation, he pulled an unconscious man from the car near seconds before the train slammed into it.
This man owed his life to the officer.
Our day bread, June 8
In the book of Exodus chapter 3, God had a rescue plan with Israels name on it.
Israel wasn’t stuck on a train track, but much worse, they were in bondage and oppression, with no way out.
But God…
I want to look at 8 verses of scripture from
Exodus 3:1-8, and show you God’s rescue plan for every listening individual that dares to believe.
Exodus 3:1NKJV Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Fact—After Moses killed an Egyptian solider, Moses left Egypt fleeing for his life. Fearing the very Egyptians that raised him.
Moses spent, 40 years on the back of the desert while God developed Moses’ character.
During this 40 year time, Moses was faithful with his menial task. He married, and tended sheep. During this time Moses learned how to follow his Hebrew God.
From 1964 to 1975, the UCLA Bruins dominated college basketball, winning 10 NCAA National Championships. Seven of those championships were back-to-back. Six times John Wooden was named College Basketball Coach of the Year—Unbelievable!
John Wooden's college coaching career begin at Indiana State Teachers College. After winning the Indiana Inner Collegiate Conference title in 1947, his team received an invitation to compete in the national tournament. Wooden rejected the invitation because of the policy banning black players. One of Wooden’s players, Clarence Walker, was African-American. “If all his players could not compete none of them would”, Wooden said.
Wooden’s team made it to the national tournament final the next year, where they lost to Louisville. It was the only championship game ever lost by a Wooden coach team, but he had already won a moral victory. John Wooden's refusal to play the year before was the catalyst that caused the NAIB to reverse their policy banning black players. Clarence Walker became the first African-American to play in the postseason intercollegiate basketball tournament. (Mark Batterson, Win The Day)
Coach John Wooden lived by a seven-point creed, this creed served as his compass.
Be true to yourself.
Help others.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance, and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
Moses learned to do what Coach Wooden lived by—Number 3, Make each day your masterpiece.
Simply put, success is doing the best you can with what you have where are you are.
Exodus 3:2NKJV And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
Hebrews 12:29NIV for our "God is a consuming fire.”
This is what I believe— “I believe Gods got a burning bush with your name on it.” P.H
Exodus 3:3NKJV Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
“God is amazing, God is a God of miracles!
When Moses decided to look at the bush—that’s when God revealed His plan to him.” P.H
Exodus 3:4NKJV 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.”
This bush desired Moses’ attention. God say’s, Stop overlooking, and overthinking, Trust Him in the small things, for He’s a consuming fire.
God say’s, “Turn to the bush; look at the miracle, There can be a life changing event even in a bush.”
Each day of creation in Genesis was a masterpiece, was it not? Pick a day, any day—flowers blooming and trees bearing fruit on day three, the sun setting and moon rising on day four, fish swimming and birds flying on day five. At the end of each day, God stepped back and admired His handiwork. It's almost like He exceeded his own expectations, if that is even possible. He said, “Behold, it was good.”
Again, Exodus 3:4 God calls, “Moses, Moses,” And He said, “Here I am!”
God spoke this word to me, “Are you willing to be found?”
Planet earth is spinning at 1000 mph while speeding through space at 66,000 mph. How do we not get dizzy? Your ability to maintain balance is absolutely astounding! And even on days when you feel like you didn't get much done, you traveled 1,600,000 miles through space!
Again, Exodus 3:4 God calls, "Moses, Moses,” And He said, “Here I am!”
Every day we take about 23,000 breaths which means we owe God 23,000 thank you's. By the way, some Hebrew scholars believe that the name of God, Yahweh without the vowels is the sound of breath.
Your heart will beat more than 100,000 times today circulating 5 quarts of blood through 100,000 miles of arteries and veins and capillaries. Thirty-seven sextillion chemical reactions are happening in your body at any given time. And the combined DNA in all the cells in your body could stretch to the sun and back 61 times.
Once again, Moses answered God, “Here I am!”
Listen to me—there are no ordinary people! There are no ordinary things! There are no ordinary days!
Albert Einstein said there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.
Exodus 3:5NKJV Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Your rescue, your—911, might mean turning fully toward Jesus, giving Him full attention, giving Him everything.
1 Peter 3:12TPT For the eyes of the Lord Yahweh rest upon the godly, and his heart responds to their prayers. But he turns his back on those who practice evil.
God said, “Go ahead take your shoes off!” P.H
In other words, Do something to let God know you acknowledge His truth in your life.
Exodus 3:6NKJV Moreover 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 upon God.
God say’s to Moses, “Okay, I’m the same God that directed your forefather and I want to guide you!”
Teddy Roosevelt had a nighttime ritual that is worth emulating. It was like an exclamation mark at the end of his ideal day. He and his friend William Beebe, had a habit of going outside and looking into the star-filled-sky. After using the Great Square of Pegasus to locate the Andromeda (Drama) Galaxy, Roosevelt would recite the following: That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of 100 million galaxies. It is 750,000 light-years away. It consist of 100 million suns, each larger than our sun. He would pulse, then grin and say, now I think we are small enough! Let's go to bed.
Exodus 3:7NKJV And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
God say’s to Moses, “I have an assignment for you, I have something I’ve called you to do.”
God say’s, “I’ve heard them crying, ‘their weeping,’ ‘I’m concerned about their suffering.”
And God spoke this little word to me, We already trust Him for the big things like keeping the planets in orbit. All we need to do now is trust Him for the little things, which is everything else by comparison!
Jesus said in Luke 16:10ESV “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Speaking of little things, how many species of ants do you think there are? If you see one ant, you've seen them all. Right? Not quite! Etymologist have identified at least 12,000 species!
Going back to Coach Wooden, How do you become the greatest coach of all time? How do you start and sustain an 88 game winning streak? How do you win 620 games with only 147 losses? It starts with you putting on your socks, one foot at a time. At least that's how former all American Bill Walton and NBA Pro remembered his first day of practice.
The first thing Coach Wooden did was call his new recruits into the locker room. Walton was waiting for the Wizard of Westwood to cast a spell and hand them the keys to the basketball kingdom. His first words? Men, this is how you put your shoes and socks on.
Coach Wooden's motto was, “How you do anything is how you'll do everything.”
On his 100th Birthday, Coach Wooden was asked what he missed most about coaching? His answer astounded everyone, he said, point blank—practice.
Again, Exodus 3:7, God say’s, “I have an assignment for you, I have something I’ve called you to do.”
I can hear God saying, “Will you have daily devotions, read My Eternal Word, and Stay in fellowship with Me daily!”
Exodus 3:8NKJV So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
God not only saw but He acted—“I have come down to rescue them.”
God's rescue of Israel reveals God's heart, He longs to assist those who are destined for ruin unless God arrives to save us.
Though are situation may be dire or impossible, all we need to do is lift our eyes and heart and watch the one who loves to rescue.
Psalm 121:1-3NKJV I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Questions: Where does all seem lost and where do you need God's rescue? Are you willing to turn your hope toward Him in this dire place?
Pray this prayer with me, God, I am in trouble, and if you don't help me, I don't see a good ending. Will you help me? Will you rescue me?
Again, “God has a rescue plan with your name on it!” To You, you might seem small, but God is huge, and God cares!
Benediction.
