Exodus 3:5 – Ch. 4 When God calls a Man

Intro: We Noted – Moses life divided into 3 40 yr. Periods - /

1st – SOMEBODY

2ND – NOBODY

3RD – LEADING EVERYBODY

We Have been looking at Moses in 2nd 40 yr. Period – in the Desert / in that Place of Obscurity - / Shepherd – Lowest – social latter

  1. But this is the place of Training – of God working – molding shaping

    2. B) Don’t Despise the DESERT - last week –

  2. It was there in the Desert that God Called & Chose Moses – for this great work –

Read v. 1-4

Now we noted the Significance last week of God appearing to Moses in this Burning Bush & what that Symbolized –

  1. Pick up tonight – by noting when God spoke to Moses – it was when He turned Aside to see this site
  2. James 4:8 contains a neat promise - 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

    3. Prov. 8: 17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

    Heb.11:6 rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

  3. Awesome Promises – but at the same time they send us a message that the Lord really isn’t into Half hearted commitments

1) Doesn’t appreciate Lazy Hearts / but Rewards Diligence

Some People say Oh I really want to know the Lord more – REALLY turn off the T.V. – pick up your Bible – But my favorite Show is on tonight

  1. I really want to grow in Christ – but I can’t come to Church on Wed. because I’ve got to see the GAME
  2. Reminds of the story – Barnhouse – Plane – Seminary student – Dr. Barnhouse – I would love to know the word like you
  1. Barnhouse – declared you can – If you would put down that Time Mag. & pick up your Bible start reading

C) So Moses turned aside & God Revealed Himself – Notice How /v.5-9

V. 5-9

God revealed Himself to Moses in 4 ways

  1. Covenant. Keeping God –v.6 God of Abe / Isaac & Jacob

  1. God who keeps His Promises – Promise to Abe – passed on – Lord is saying I haven’t forgotten

B) Also note - God of the Living & Not the dead !!!!

  1. The God who sees – v.7,9 sees affliction /

A) Nothing misses – His view sees bird falls /all You go through

 

3)The God who hears – v.7,9

  1. Many Years ago in N.Y . – women – accosted – stabbed 37 times – screaming – neighbors heard cries – did – nothing

B) That is no the Lord – He hears our cries & responds

Broken & contrite heart he will not despise

C)Blind Bartimeaus – Cried out even Louder - We need to Cry out

  1. REDEEMER - v.8a – I will deliver them …….. I will bring them up from that land to a land that is flowing w/ Milk & Honey

When God redeems, He not only redeems from something, He always redeems unto something.

  1. We have been saved from sin unto holiness and heaven.

    2. Paul speaks of this Eph. 2:5,6

    5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

    6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

  2. God has raised us up and given us a position in Christ. -You have been brought out of Adam and put in Christ.
  1. You have been brought out of death and put into life. You have been brought out of darkness and put into light.
  1. You have been brought out of hell, & put into heaven. That is redemption: IT IS OUT OF THIS & INTO THAT

God said, "I am going to take the children of Israel out of bondage and into a good land."

D) Great Picture of the salvation of God.

This is a great picture of Salvation Of REDEMPTION

  1. Man Bondage of sin / weighed down / oppressed
  2. God saw / Heard – Love picture in v. 8 – God came down to Deliver
  1. INCARNATION -
  2. Lead us to Abundant life
  1. God sees men in Bondage today – heart is still to set free – REDEEM

Notice God’s Method – always seeks to work through Men v.10

10 "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
  1. God says this is what I want to do – Moses – but I want to use you to do it
  2. He could have delivered in so many ways – Angels / Catastrophe – but He choose to work through a man – still does today
  1. He wants to Partner w/ Us

b) God interested in Men – Not Methods / People Not Programs

  1. This principle seen throughout scripture & it is in direct contrast to those who teach – it really doesn’t matter because
  1. Some elected heaven / others to Hell – so no need to preach – have Crusades – those who are supposed to get saved will
  1. Bible shows over & over again – How God has chosen to work through Human instrumentation – to bring about Deliverance
  1. Desires to use us – People have a Choice & we need to present it to them –
  1. Yes it is true that God Knows who will make that choice – but He has commissioned us to Present the Gospel – give them that Choice

So God says – Come Moses I have a job for you - / Moses responds v.11

  1. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

Here we see a significant change has taken place in Moses – 40 yrs earlier Moses would have said – Here I am / I am your man

  1. But now He says –WHO AM I – Solitude has sobered him
  2. Now He saw his frailties & his weaknesses – where as before Moses only saw his strengths
  3. So Moses says Who am I & God declares to Moses that the issue is not who He is / but who is w/ You

1) Not Who you are / but Who’s you are that Matters

12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

BLESSING :

  1. God never says – YOU GO & DO THIS - He always says Come let me do this w/ you / in you / through you
  2. Come follow me He says / or when He says Go – He always promises to be w/ us !!!!

    3. We see this in the Great Commission- Jesus said Go into all the earth

    No doubt, the disciples must have felt like Moses

    But in the next verse Jesus said: I am with you always

  3. Great Comfort / It is not me – I don’t have to have the gifts to Pastor this church – God is going to meet me
  1. Show Himself Strong – where I am weak !!!!
  1. So many situations that intimidate me / Spoke Last week at a Pastors meeting – Harvest Crusade – ( God is so Faithful)
  1. Need to see THE BIGNESS OF OUR GOD

 

God says to Moses – I will be w/ You – THAT IS ALL WE NEED TO KNOW

  1. At our Resource is infinite amount of Power for the Supernatural

 

 

 

IMPORTANCE OF SEEING THE LORD IN THIS WAY – REV. 1

DUET. 6 : 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up

.8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Psa.78: 4 We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.

6 so the next generation might know them-- even the children not yet born-- that they in turn might teach their children.

7 So each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

  1. Then they will not be like their ancestors-- stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

 

Joshua 4: 5 BUILD A MEMORIAL – SO THEY WILL ASK -

The Lord says to Moses I will be w/ You – so don’t worry Moses- to Which Moses Responds – v.13

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.'

God’s Memorial

A) At this time many of the Israelites were sucked into the polytheism of Egypt - Moses says: Who shall I say is sending me? ..... Which god is it?

B) God said: My name is I am- You can just picture Moses scratching his head... Stroking his beard thinking- "I am what?"

1) "Fill in the blank please"

C)This is the TETRAGRAM- a word of 4 Letters/ It is the holy name of

God

D) It is so holy that we don't know how to pronounce it even to this day

1) All that we have are the consonants....... YHWH

E) From that we have the pronunciation JEHOVAH and YAHWEH

1) They would NEVER pronounce His name in the reading of scripture

 

Moses may have thought: "I am what?"- The point is - "I am anything you have need of....... Fill in the blank" BECOMING ONE

  1. Pentecost – It contains each tense of the verb to be & might be translated I was / I am / & I shall always continue to be

B) God was saying I am EVERYTHING you need-

C) Jesus Christ came to this earth to help us fill in the blank

1) When He was being taken in the garden they asked: Are you Jesus of Nazareth?

D) He answered: Ego Eimi..... I AM..... And they fell backward

Jesus filled in the blank when He said

John 6:48 I am that bread of life

John 8:12 I am the light of the world:

John 10:7; 9 I am the door

John 10:11; 14 I am the good shepherd

John 11:25 I am the resurrection, and the life

John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no …… by me John 15:5 I am the vine,

So Jesus reveals who YAHWEH really is/ Jesus filled in the blank

 

It is great to know that God said His name is I am

NOT I was..... NOT I will be... It is I AM

A) God lives in the eternal NOW- There is no past nor future for God

B) There are many Christians who DO NOT live in the NOW

Their past is secure..... They know they were saved 4-5 years ago

C) Their future is secure..... They know they're going to heaven

But their PRESENT is shaky

1) Like a saggy mattress- Both ends are firm but the middle sags

  1. Jesus said: Don't worry about tomorrow- Learn to live in the NOW with the God of the NOW

V. 16 –22

Note the I wills – v.17 I will bring them out

v. 20 I will strike Egypt

v. 21 I will give favor –

Clearly something that God was going to do !!!!

  1. He was going to work through Moses – but it was God who was going to do the Work

B) Same way God Works through us – but it is God who does the Work

 

CONFUSION REQUEST FOR THREE DAYS – TRUE

  1. God was showing how cruel this Pharaoh was – after 40 yrs of labor wouldn’t even give 3 days off

V.19 Key verse King will not let them Go !!! God’s Omniscience

  1. Key verse in understanding later – God Hardened Pharaoh’s heart

B) Pharaoh’s heart was already hard & the Lord Knew it / the Lord is illustrating this

  1. When we read later that Pharaoh hardened his heart & that God hardened Pharaohs heart 2 things to note

1st – Mentioned – 14 times that Pharaohs hardened his heart

7 times Pharaoh Hardened his Heart - & 7 times that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart

  1. Pharaoh – idea is that Pharaoh Hardened his heart & then God Ratified His Choice –

B) Which is made very clear by the Language – 2nd thing to Note

There is a degree of hardening spoken of

C)Pharaoh stiffened his heart - / God ……/ God solidified Pharaoh’s position

his choice

D) Pharaoh hardened – little stronger / God ……/ God solidified Pharaoh’s

position his choice again

  1. Pharaoh made his heart firm – little more stronger / God ….. firm/

But it all comes back to this right here God Knew Pharaoh’s heart – but allowed the scenario to play out – never accused of being unfair

  1. Gives Chance after Chance -

So the Lord says to Moses Come – Ch. 4:1

4:1 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"

v.18 –They will hear you –but what if they don’t – read v. 2-9

 

The Lord is so Gracious – I will Give you 3 signs

  1. See the same thing – w/ Gideon – fleece – but wasn’t a good thing

    2. It was a sign of His unbelief

  2. God gave Moses & Gideon His word – I am calling you & I will go w/ You – that should have been good enough – for both of them
  1. But in their unbelief – they asked for a Sign
  1. Remember Thomas - I won’t Believer unless - ……..
  1. Thomas you believe because you have seen – but Blessed are those who will believe who haven’t seen

What do these 3 signs mean ? – Can’t tell you for Sure – Read much – but it was all speculation – For instance Magee –

When Moses cast the rod to the ground, it became a vicious monster. Note that there is no power in the rod. It is simply an instrument and can be used by Satan as well as by God. For example, liken a dollar bill to the rod. The dollar can be used to help pay for a murder or for prostitution, gambling, liquor, etc. In other words that dollar can become a serpent. Only when that dollar, or the rod, is put in the hand of a man of God who is moved by the power of God can it be used for God. This is an important lesson God is teaching in this passage.

Many people consider the automobile, radio, and television to be of the Devil. The Devil can use all of these instruments, but they can also be used for God. Grab that serpent by the tail, friends! Use your automobile to take some dear saint to church or some of your unsaved friends to hear the Word of God preached. Support Christian programs on television and radio. Do your part to make the media an instrument of God rather than an instrument of the devil. You make them a rod in the hand of God.

Nice ideas but is that what God Meant here sign of Rod –

  1. Give my own opinion – as good as anything I read
  2. These signs were to be a testimony to the Hebrews that Moses was coming in the name of God – THE I AM – 1st the Rod
  1. The Egyptians had their Magicians men of supernatural power– their occultic practices & part of that Magic- Snake Charmers
  1. They worked w/ snakes – see later how they duplicate this miracle Illustration of how the Devil has power to work the Miraculous
  1. but Moses snake eats there snakes / God’s Power is greater
  1. And By having Moses grab the snake by the tail - & having it turn back into a Rod – the Lord was Demonstrating His power over theirs
  1. it was totally unorthodox to grab a snake by the Tail – sure to get bit

So the First miracle was a sign that God’s man & Power would be more powerful than the Magicians in Egypt – the Power behind them

 

2nd Hand becoming Leprosy & then being cleansed –

  1. Leprosy was one of the most Dreaded Diseases in that time – to which there was no cure – totally baffled the People
  2. Here the Lord was showing His Power to afflict & to heal that which was no one else good do
  3. He had the Power over Disease – Death

3rd Nile to Blood - Nile was the source of Life for the Egyptians

  1. Where they lived was 96% Desert – w/ out the River they wouldn’t survive
  2. God I believe was very clearly demonstrating that – The Life source of Egypt was in His hands / - in a moment turned to Blood

So that is my insights on these 3 signs – God seeking to Manifest His power over their men of supernatural power –

  1. Power over Disease & death
  2. Power to cut off their life source

 

One more thing – Quit – back to v.. 2 WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND

  1. The Lord uses what is in our hands

B) Peter – fishing net – soul winner

    1. John mending nets

C)Paul a pen / Scholar -

    1. Samson a jaw bone - / Shammah a spear - / David a Sling