Exodus 4:20 Exodus 3 Moses was in the desert keeping the flock of Jethro, and the Lord appeared

to him through a burning bush. vs. 4 God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. What was the response of Moses? And he said, Here I am. (When someone knocks on the door, especially when it is late at night). Moses did not ask, God? Is that you? What was the response? His response was simple. Here I am. Up to this point in his life, there was no indication that He heard Gods voice but he knew it was God speaking. The answer of Moses only indicates that he has been taught about God by his mother and Jethro. Lesson 1: When you know who God is, you recognize His voice. More often, we ask the question, How do I know that this is the will of God? The answer is, if you know who God is, then you will know whose will you are responding to. Appeal: Know God. vs. 5 And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Now try to remember Moses was in the desert. It was a very hot day. And he was near the burning bush and God asks him to remove his sandals. You know how hot it is to walk on the beach sand on a hot day? You would not want to do that. But here, God commands Moses to walk on the desert sand, with bare feet. God says, Moses, remove your sandals, you are on holy ground. You are on ground dedicated to my use. You dont need protection here. The reason why God asked Moses to remove his sandals was that, You do not need your own protection in Gods presence. God does the protecting. Lesson: The safest place on earth is the closest you could get to God. The closer you are to God, the safer you are. (Marawi experience. Parents asking the safety of their children). -------------------And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land Come now thereto, and I will send thee unto Pharoah, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

vs. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? What is our usual response to people asking us, Who am I? I cannot do that. I do not know how. Most likely, we affirm a persons capability of doing things because of what he has done in the past. But what was Gods answer to Moses? vs. 12 And He said, Certainly I will be with thee God did not say, You are Moses. The son of ___________. The ruler of Egypt. Instead, He says, I will be with you. Moses, it doesnt matter who you are. When you are at my service, you forget who you are. You forget what you can do and are able to do. But you remember who sent you, and you remember I am with you. It is not about us. It is about God. Lesson: Our humility to accept what we cannot do will create a greater opportunity for God to do what He can through us. In Gods service, it is never about who we are. It is who God is. Appeal: Let us therefore humble ourselves in service. vs. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? vs. 14 And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Now look at the verse that follows: vs. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. If you have noticed, this same verse is repeated 4 times in Exodus chapters 3 and 4. Three times in chapter 3. (verses 6, 15, 16) Here, God constantly reminds Moses of who He is by telling Him who He was. What does this tell us? Unless we remember who God was and has been in the past, we will never get to know Him now. Lesson: When we ask God to reveal to us who He is, He reveals to us who He was, who He is, and who He will be. The reason why we doubt so much of Gods existence; of Gods goodness; of Gods love; of Gods faithfulness; of Gods mercy; is because we forget who He has been and what He has done in our lives. Exodus 4 vs. 1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. vs. 2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, a rod.

vs. 3 And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And God commands Moses to pick it up; By the tail. Now I have known that when you pick a snake up, you pick it by its head or particularly the back of the head. Moses was hesitant, but eventually, he had to pick it up, and so he did, and it became a rod again. What message id God trying to tell us here? Lesson: Whatever you have in your hand that is your greatest strength is your greatest weakness and God has something better to offer. Appeal: Trust God. He has something better to offer. Once again, God tells Moses to go to Egypt and deliver the Isrealites from the Egyptians. This time, what was the excuse of Moses? vs. 10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. vs. 11 And the Lord said unto Him, Who hath made mans mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? vs. 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. What is God trying to tell us here? Lesson: Whatever it is that we think as our greatest weakness will be an opportunity for God to show His strength and power. Again, we are reminded that it is not about us. It is about God. We are reminded that the battle is not ours. It is always Gods. God says then that Aaron will become Moses spokesman. And Moses returned to Jethro and seeks his permission to let him go back to Egypt. And Jethro tells Moses to go. vs. 20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in His hand. Let us stop right there. The verse says, Moses took the rod of God. It was no longer just a rod. It was no longer the rod of Moses. But it was the rod of God. Just look how the rod was used by Moses in the next chapters that follow. Going back in verse 16, we see a similarity here. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. What does it say again? Moses will be stand instead of God. He will be like God unto Aaron and unto the people. Lesson: When you submit your life for Gods purpose, you will become like God.

When we submit to Gods purpose, God is magnified in us. We shall no longer be ourselves. We are no longer our own. But we become Gods instrument. Whatever is your will no longer be yours. It will be Gods own. The moment we dedicate our lives, we are transformed into His likeness. Because just like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one because of the purpose they serve, when we serve that purpose, we are for them, we become like them. Let us know God, for us to hear and know His voice and His calling; let us humble ourselves in service to God; let us remember Gods goodness by letting God constantly reveal Himself to us; let us lay down our strength and submit to what God has to offer; let us make God complete us in our weakness; and let us transform into Gods likeness by dedicating our lives into His service, serving His purpose. This is my prayer.