WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR GOD? ( Part 3)

“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”
For March 7, 2010

3 GIFTS THAT MADE THE WEAKLING A WARRIOR; TURNED BURDENS TO BECOME BLESSINGS, BARRIERS BECAME BRIDGES, FEAR BECAME FAITH, ANXIETY BECAME AVAILABILITY. NOT EXCUSE NOT TO SERVE GOD.
Ex 3:1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, "I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." 4 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." 5 Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 And the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain." 13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may 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 sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Moses must have been startled no end with the burning God and the voice of God that came from within the bush. A bush that burns without being consumed; a bush that speaks! And the bush spoke to him! The voice in the bush told him things he must have dreaded to hear all those years- go back to Egypt and bring my people out. Moses was a fugitive, wanted by the Egyptians for murdering one of their own. Moses did it to protect one of his own people but it became known and he had to run for his life.

Serve God in Egypt? Serve God somewhere else, yes, maybe, but in Egypt? Oh no! Moses was like many of us. We serve God but we choose the place and type of ministry. So we say YES, BUT. In the Lord’s ministry, no ifs, no buts. In the end, Moses obeyed, reluctantly, it seemed, but he obeyed nevertheless.

To help Moses overcome his fear and whatever it was that made him reluctant to serve, God gave him 3 very important gifts (same gifts for us who serve God now).
1. THE POWER OF HIS PROMISE: I will be with you. Ex. 3:12 And He said, "Certainly I will be with you,…” God is not in the habit of calling His servants and leaving them hanging. He stays with them. For you, as you read this, have you forgotten that God has given you the Holy Spirit who is in us and will never leave us? We have reasons to fear the world but we a good reason to overcome our fears: God is with us. The Lord Jesus was born as the EMMANUEL to remind us that God is with us.

2. THE POWER OF HIS NAME: I AM. Ex. 3:13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may 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 sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God says He is the I AM. A painful reality in our life is that we have the word WAS in our vocabulary. He WAS with me and he is no longer here. I WAS among friends and then they were all taken away. God is not affected by our time zones and the unending age-increasing revolutions of the earth. He remains I am. At every phase of our life, God is there and time cannot keep Him out of your life. He is I AM and remains faithful as He cannot be unfaithful because He is the great I AM.

3. THE POWER OF HIS COVENANT: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… . Ex. 3:" 6 He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”… The historical proof of God’s faithfulness to His people is seen in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Every time God mentions these three, He is saying that His covenant with Abraham (He declared Himself to the God of His people) still exists and that He Himself has nurtured and protected that covenant relationship. His relationship with Abraham was something He faithfully preserved. You know what? Read Galatians 3:29. If you are a believers, you are also a child of Abraham and enjoys the historical faithfulness of God.

There is no excuse not to serve God. There is no excuse not to overcome our fear. With these 3 gifts, all things shall become possible for us. The weakling became a warrior because of these gifts. The burdens became blessings, the barriers became bridges because of these gifts. Go ahead and go forward. Don’t be afraid. He is on our side.